new years eve

it's new years eve and my household is anything but festive.  that's just fine with me.  all the dogs are curled up sleepy as is my beloved steve in his recliner.  men and their recliners.  i asked him earlier if he made any new years resolution.  he was quiet for a moment, which tells me he's actually thinking about his answer, and finally said 'to quit smoking'.  i seconded that.  he didn't ask me if i had made any and if he had i wouldn't have had an answer.  i think as i've become older it's what i resolve to do, but how did i hold up the year before.  i've had a number of major changes in my life the past two years and live a life i had no hope for.  while it is strife with complications right now, i can honestly say it's a life i have chosen, and i've survived worse.  but this time i'm not alone.  happy new year.

end of the holidays

i don't think i'm the only one who is glad the christmas holidays are over.  such anticipation of upcoming events are just too much, too much money, too much anxiety, too many obligations, too much expectation.  and there always seems to be someone who is disappointed or unappreciative.  in the next couple of days i'll start taking it all down and putting it back in the garage and the house will return to it's former self of day to day clutter and dog hair.  if only the sun would come out for awhile so i would feel like there's something else less taxing to anticipate. 

ho, ho, ho

here come the holidays.  and i hate winter.  i'm sure who thought mixing them together was a good idea.  jesus was supposedly born during the summer months.  and who thought property taxes and the holidays should go together.  jeepers, people!!  but i'm in a much different place this holiday season than i have been before.  i've become engaged to a wonderful man who keeps me settled, and he comes with family, and my mother now lives down around the corner from me.  closer is better as they get older.  while all the same players were involved last year, they were all new to my life.  this year they are my family and i feel that way about them.  i would love to buy everyone i know a wonderful gift that wouldn't buy for themselves but funding for such endeavors have not been an option for a number of years now.  in retrospect having the money to buy everyone wonderful gifts most assuredly make the holiday merrier and i actually have no fond memories of those years at all, except for a child who is now an adult and out of my reach for many different reasons.  but this year is better for many different reasons and while i haven't spend much money, kept each of my selection on a tight budget, i content with what i've selected for each person i chosen to purchase for.  so all the packages that have to hit the mail tomorrow are ready, trans siberian orchestra is playing in the background, the christmas menu is planned, and i'm pretty much as ready for the holidays i'm gonna get.  if you haven't heard trans siberian orchestra, check em out.  they put out a new christmas rock opera every couple years and tour during the holidays season, and they are awesomely bitchin.  my favorite cd is 'christmas and other stories'.  hope everyone is coping with the holidays and well and if not look for those tiny moments of joy and seize them. 

holidays

here come the holidays.  i've survived thanksgiving, what alot of work, and, i wish with more enthusasim, am planning christmas.  one of these days i'll plan the finances for all this better.  this weekend we are going to cut the christmas tree and drag out all the decorations.  last year i pulled out all the christmas stuff i own and weeded through all of it.  i cleaned out everything that i didn't want or like and took it to the paradise senior center thrift store.  it turned into a whole car load.  i found stuff with price tags on it and i'd look at it and think 'that's cute but why on earth did i buy it'.  they were thrilled when i pulled up with a bunch of great stuff.  at that point i realized that i wasn't just cleaning stuff out but helping other people be able to have wonderful decorations for cheap.  so out come the christmas mess.  my significant other, the wonderful steve, loves all the christmas stuff so i ride his coattails and get with the process.  so get out all your christmas stuff, pick out your favorites, and pass the rest of it on. 

window coverings

i love window coverings.  i had a friend some years ago who considered my interest in what was on my windows as a fear that someone was going to be looking in.  my response was that windows are an opportunity to add color, texture and interest to a room.  she still didn't see my point, but since she has passed on, i'll just say that she rarely saw anyone's point but her own.  though i loved her dearly.  we are what we are.  this weekend my family and i went to the psychic faire in chico.  i've only been one other time and it was several years ago.  it's always interesting.  in our meandorings afterward we went into world market and bed, bath and beyond.  eventually i will wind up looking at drapery, and forget that both  stores have wonderul options when looking for window coverings.  and the penneys catalog is most dangerous, inspiring, and loaded with beautiful options.  you can beautifully do a large window for about $100.  and for less than that if you chcek some of the larger discount stores which have a very nice choice.  it, unfortuanately, always makes me want to redo my windows even though i have seasonal drapery for all my windows, i am always inspired with new ideas.  new drapery/curtains can remake a room into a wonderful sancutary.  the darker, more closed drapery of winter makes a room into a protected nest.  light airy curtains in the summer allows light and air to flow into the room.  your surroundings truly can alter your mood.  next time you're wandering a store check out the window coverings and see what inspires you.  and i am always available for advice. 

trying to do a wedding on the cheap

as we make decisions on the little details of the wedding, we've agreed that once we both are on board, the info goes in a wedding folder and that's the end of that decision.  online shopping has made so much easier and accessible.  and then you think you need gobs of stuff, the lists are crazy.  i realized quickly that i was not going to be able to do an economical wedding and have all the cute stuff too.  but we picked invitations and will be getting those with envelopes and little note cards and all that stuff for about $120.  that's a deal.  and the reception venue on had white tablecloths available.  i don't want white.  the color is purple, i want purple.  so i found throw away purple round tablecloths for a better price than renting them.  and i found really nice paper napkins, cute intertwined hearts with our names and the date, with little desserts plates for the cake, all for about $50.  i've given up the beautiful wedding dress and am going to wear a purple ball gown and carry white flowers.  it'll be beautiful.  the floral centerpieces are being put together by moi and some friends.  ok, i did promise liquor for the volunteers.  should be fun.  i'm planning on ordering 10 dozen purple carnations from a wholesale floral place and am having safeway do the bouquets.  it's all saving a tidy sum of money.  i'm selling all the stuff i don't need any more to help pay for the wedding and find it most therapeutic to clean lots of old stuff out.  kinda making room for a new life.  i like that idea.

winter interiors

i pretty much hate winter.  it's cold, wet and the days are too damned short.  i thrive on long summer days and lots of sunshine.  at some point i break down and try to come to terms with the seasonal changes.  the cooler temperatures, did i mention i hate being cold, force me to put heavier curtains which block the light but soon enough that won't make any difference because there won't anything but short days and it'll be dark when i leave for work and dark when i get home.  but i digress.  so if i have to be trapped inside more during the winter months, my surroundings need to be comforting.  my living room drapery is a beautiful cranberry with emboirdered dragonflies.  what light there is, when it filters throught the drapery it cast a warm beautiful color into the room.  when the drapery is completely closed, it covers one whole wall and makes the room feel like a cocoon.  my bedroom is basically the same.  the heavier winter curtains are a much heavy color, brown with steel blue accents, and when closed create the wonderful cocoon feel.  i find this to be settling on cold, wet mornings like this one.  i am left alone on sunday mornings, my fiance works a second job at this time.  i lived alone a long time and i've come to utitize this alone time in different ways.  with lots more ideas.  my goal is generally to be domestic.  it's when i do the laundry, at my whole pace, in my jammies, with the little dogs following me around.  i like to think it's because i'm a wonderfull doggie mom but i'm pretty sure it's because there might be some kind of doggie snack coming.  ok, that may be true.  they've trained me well.  but today, since i'm doing so well at coming to terms with today's weather, oh stop laughing, i'm going to change more of the decorative accents in the house.  i have a bag of beautiful fall color silk leaves and some pinecones to scatter along bookshelves, etc to add more color to the rooms.  i can walk out in my front yard to get cute acorn clusters.  it looks very nice and brightens my day.  christmas decor is coming soon enough, there is no reason not to add some extra color now as the daylight wans and moods become gloomy.  i've met alot of people who think it's kinda crazy to have multiple set of drapery, different pillows, and a collection of decorative accents, and generally they're not happy with their surroundings, or, i find hard to believe, they just aren't interested at all.  but i do and i highly suggest to anyone that stands still long enough for me to share that information.  i'd love to hear your comments and always have info i'll share. 

getting married

it appears i'm actually gonna get married.  this is something i never dreamed i would ever say again, much less would want to.  my past is not pretty when it comes to picking men and i chose to be alone for a long time.  little dogs, it's the only way to go.  they think i'm beautiful and wonderful all the time and they always vote my way.  and i can send them outside when i don't want them to bother me and they can't tell their friends that their mother locks them outside when she's tired.  but i met steve, online, and he has added so much to my life.  maybe maturity has improved my decision making...........ok, not always.  but we paid for the wedding venue yesterday so i'm thinking there's gonna be a wedding.  i'm not sure if i'm excited or freaked out.  but, ya know, i look at steve standing there in his jammies, slippers, and 'mr rogers' sweater and i just see myself getting old with this person.  a friend tells me 'that's love, honey'. 

flea market results

we survived the selling at the flea market event yesterday.  made about $100, lots of nice comments about our selection of product.  really?  then why aren't you buying it.  but i digress.  it was a good experience and i'm thinking we'll do it again as we do have a nice bunch of stuff.  the man in the booth next to us is a regular and he said the traffic was pretty slow, it was rainy, and we thought we got pretty good traffic so feel inspired and the holidays are coming up and we have some nice gift stuff.  and the shoe junkies in size 8 1/2 , you reallly missed out.  i'm gonna try selling the really nice shoes on craigslist being that i've done extremely well selling on their recently.  and because i know some of the most wonderful people in the world, i was able to sell a piece of jewelry and it looks like there's gonna be a wedding june 18th.  it's kinda freaking me out a little but i truly believe it's a good thing.  i was going to try and do a visual merchandising project out our outing to the flea market, being that visual merchandising is the one class i'm missing from having my interior design certificate.  ya know, that whole thing was alot of work and while it looked nice it didn't get the attention i wanted to give it.  and we left the pretty purple table covers at home.  i do recommend the table coverings if you're going to sell at the flea market.  while there are good table to use, they show there use.  of course, i can't help but wanitng to make everything look interesting.  it's coming down in buckets outside so it's domestic goddessness for me.

only the good die young

i heard today a coworker who has been in the hospital died on tuesday.  i am most sad.  while not a good friend, i knew her well enough to know she was a warm, compassionate, wonderful person.  and she was my age. it was cancer.  my mother always says 'if you live long enough, cancer will catch up with you'.  and she's certainly at an age when your friends do start to die regularly.  i hear us saying 'at least she didn't suffer very long'.  but suffer she did and i wonder if people say that to ease their own pain at the loss.   it's always tragic when a young person dies but as i get older i find it most painful when someone my own age dies.  we expect to die when we're 'old' but what defines old.  my deepest condolences go out to her family.  i am blessed to have met her and had her add to my life.  appreciate those who are close to you and let them know you love and appreciate them.

fall changes

now that the weather is truly going to change and there is apparently nothing i can do about it, i broke down and starting changing out my household curtains, pillows, etc for winter.  during the summer my windows are covered by beautiful sheers and the rooms are light and airy.  however, i have original windows in my home and the insulation is not the best so i opt for heavy curtains for winter.  my living room drapery has already been changed out.  i made these drapery myself.  i also have an agreement with a friend that if i ever start talking seriously about doing it again, she's to slap me until i get over it.  but the drapery is beautiful.  a deep cranberry color with gold dragonflies, they cover most a wall.  the side windows are covered in a silk like gold fabric and bring in a beautiful golden light, when there is light.  in case i haven't mentioned it before, i hate winter and the lack of sunlight.  my bedroom is on my schedule for this weekend.  taking down french embroidered sheers and replacing them with a dark brown and blue woven drapery.  it actually makes for a wonderfully cozy room.  the bed coverings are changed to a pale floral quilt.  now that there is a man living in my space, i have agreed to look at different bed coverings so as to tone down the girly look of the room.  however, i didn't agree to do it any time soon.  as much as i fight the seasonal change, changing out the colors and accessories in your home is very gratifying.  i love instant gratification.  most people do.  so taking an hour out of your day to change out curtains, pillows, art work, etc is worth the effort.  i'm loaded with ideas if anyone is interested. 

Clearing clutter

the plan at my house is to go to the flea market at the fairgrounds on the 23rd and see a bunch of stuff.  my house and garage are complete disaster areas and i have uncovered stuff i haven't seen in years, as has steve.  it's time to clear out stuff we dont' need and meld our combined stuff.  i have moved 5 times in the past 7 years and i eliminate all kinds of stuff each time i move so i'm naive enough to have thought i wouldn't have alot to go through.  silly me.  however, it is most therapeutic and i would whole heartedly suggest to anyone, especially anyone who at a critical part of their life and are, or need to, begin a new direction.  it allows to you reconnect with old stuff, decide what you need to keep and what you are able to give away.  the senior center in paradise has made, i'm sure, a tidy amount of money from my donations.  one of the things i had to do was open a crate that contains the belonging of my step daughter, janel.  i haven't seen or heard from her in years,which breaks my heart, but i know she avoids me because she is making bad decisions in her life and she doesn't want me to think badly of her.  she is making bad decisions in her life still at nearly 30 but i would never think badly of her.  i am, however, most sad that she had chosen this path for her life.  i opened the crate, looked at what was in it, and couldn't make any decisions about the contents.  it wasn't my stuff.  i closed the crate and it's on a shelf in the garage waiting for her.  but i did find some things i thought were long lost and made me feel warm, fuzzy and a little weepy.  my rooms are a mess from all the boxes of stuff that need to stored in the house and the garage is an open space,with new shelving going in, that is waiting to collect new stuff we think we need to keep.  it makes me feel like steve and i are a family.  i've never felt that way before. 

doing design/home show

i'm pretty excited that i get to go to the home show at the fairgrounds this weekend.  i haven't been in years and the weather is going to be nice for it.  i don't think i can get to much home improvement information and wonderful ideas.  i'd really like to put a gas fireplace in my living room so i'm planning on pricing one of those. 

i've always planned to do interior design as a retirement job but miss having a creative outlet which i got from going to classes and doing small projects for friends.  i am short one class to get my interior design certificate.  the class is a day class only and i just don't see me missing a day from work each week.  and the class, visual merchandising, doesn't seem critical to me.  so i've decided to announce that i am available to do design consulting at $25/hr.  first consultation will be free.  i can give advice on your design, create and implement a design, consult on color, shop for product, organize your space, and stay in your budget.  my next blogs will cover what i consider important in making selections for your space.  space is important and affects so much about your being.  as soon as i figure it out, i'll post my business information. 

Seasonal Changes

the end of summer is today at 8:09pm.  i'm bummed as i am a summer person.  i'm bummed i can't figure out what the stupid address to this blog is, or at least i can't find it.  this is most probably an operator error.  at the beginning of october, not only is to now pantyhose season, but the time i change out my house accessories.  the pretty, light summer shears come off the window and the heavy, window sealing curtains go up.  i put the winter bedspread on, change out the pillows, and start to change the decorative stuff in the house.  i have a large, built in cabinet in my dining room.  it used to be outdated, beige paneling, odd glass doors, but i removed the doors and painted out the entire cabinet and it looks quite nice.  lots of space to display cute stuff.  while i've gotten quite picky about what cute stuff i keep, i have quite a collection of beautiful, unique decorative items.  i do enjoy going through my stash and making the changes on the shelves.  and it makes the room look totally different, more seasonal.  ok, i don't go nuts with holiday stuff changes and have a boatload of cute christmas stuff, that would be too much for me, but i do have some lovely pieces i like to put out.  one of my favorite places to shop is 'home goods' in sacramento.  wonderful stuff at a good price.  everyone's favorite.  i've learned to not a buy a piece that doesn't work in my home, or it has to speak to me in a dramatic way.  keeps me from having too much stuff that never sees the day of light.  this weekend i'm planning to clean out all the boxes in the garage that i don't know what's in them and then having a yard sale at the fair grounds in mid october.  make some money for the upcoming nupituals next summer. 

design etc.: Starting a Blog

design etc.: Starting a Blog: "my name is sue, i'm 50 something years old and live in the beautiful town of paradise in northern california. i love living here. it's as c..."

Starting a Blog

my name is sue, i'm 50 something years old and live in the beautiful town of paradise in northern california.  i love living here. it's as close as i can get to living in the mountains and still have walgreens on the corner.  my priorities have changed with age and i refuse to apologize for it.  i am a devoted county employee.  for those of you who know me, you can stop laughing now.  i am blessed with wonderful friends which i cannot say about the first part of my life.  there have been more 'good' occurances in my life in the past 2 years than i've had in the past 20.  i owe this to several people.  

it has been highly recommended that i do a blog.  i'm not sure of the reasoning but i have found it's easier to give up and do what this person keeps recommending than argue about it.  then came the harder part.  what to blog about.  after a couple of weeks of pondering, i decided to blog about what i know.  this can go several directions.  my life ambition, or in my old age, is do interior design which has always been my passion, but without monetary benefits for a long time, and discuss my theories on creating a beautiful room on a limited budget.  as is the interior of my home. it's difficult for me to walk into someone else's space and not look for ways to improve it.  not that everyone's needs any advice as they have their own style, and some, ok, my sisters, who do not take to it well at all. 

also, i am a mature bride.  i never in my wildest dreams thought i'd ever be getting married again but i'm planning a wedding for next summer and plan to do it on a very tight budget.  this is already created a monster so we'll see how i tame, or not, it.