zippypops

let's forget

that the economy is steamrolling straight to hell in a hand basket and focus instead on happier thoughts like my favorite compound of junk shops! located in Auburn, NY, situated next door to Auburn Prison, the site of the first execution via electric chair (a Stickley by the way).

shall we then?

the beautiful facade...

the old, leaky, creaky, and stinky former factory building houses 3 separate businesses filling 3 floors. inside you will find anything and I mean anything (including the kitchen sink) in various stages of decay and disrepair; lamps, luggage, chairs, clothes... etc. and everything seems to be priced either $15 or $20.

and the ugliest/comfiest couch EVAH!

the place is run by a collection of rough and scruffy gentlemen who might cause a fright, but in actuality are quite sweet and accommodating.

behind and to the right of this building, nestled snug up against the prison's outer wall, is another shop, this one classified "antiques." it basically has the same selection as the other shops, just slightly less decrepit and slightly more expensive.

so, irregardless of our country's finances, places like this will still exist and I will still be shopping there.

pre-hibernation mode

unpack the down comforters and the thick books, autumn approaches. (finally tackling Ulysses. if not now, when?)

after several previous false starts, my web design night class is in full swing. I've actually had coding dreams! honestly, dreams in which I am writing html code. how geeky is that? (and none too interesting!)

because there is no obvious visual to go with this riveting post... my kid and my cat...

she is still growing in the fur that was shaved for her emergency thread-extraction surgery, but it is growing in white! (can you see?) why is that?
how strange.

and yes, that is how she likes to be carried and held.

like a baby.

15 years ago...

budget decorating

I spent all of yesterday in bed reading thrift store books. bliss!
I slogged through the entire "DaVinci Code" — interesting topic, but soooo shlocky and poorly written, that I felt like bathing in Listerine to rid myself of the grimy way I felt afterward. bleh.

skimmed through Better Homes and Gardens "Dollar Stretching Decorating" (1983)
I bought it for the many built-in how-tos, such as this...

this is a bit too "potted-plant and prissy-white 80s" for me. when I was a kid, I was certain that when I grew up I would have a giant home with red shag carpeting that not only covered the floor, but would head straight up the walls as well. lots of low-level lighting, and a big conversation pit peppered with plenty of pillows.
I still half-way expect to have that some day, so these how-to books might yet come in handy.

but this kills me...

how to make your own scrapped loomed rug! a GIANT pot holder like the kind I made at girl scout camp.
this is not my idea of budget decorating. it would take forever... ripping up scraps, (or, according to the directions, 50 yards!! of 45 inch wide fabric!!!) sewing them together, and then build the silly loom and have the damn thing in the middle of your living room floor until finished which would take days, and you would probably give up in frustration anyway.

indeed.

Shepard Fairey Obama stickers landed in my mailbox today.
snazzy!

they are only available in packs of 10, and as I only need one for the back of my car, I will gladly share if anyone wants one...even those of you who are not Yanks but might want to show your support for us here in the States who are desperate to elect a reasonable, intelligent, and peaceful man into the head office? hmm?

I have been thinking

about this Andy Warhol quote...

"Actually, I jade very quickly. Once is usually enough. Either once only, or every day. If you do something once it’s exciting, and if you do it every day it’s exciting. But if you do it, say, twice or just almost every day, it’s not good any more.”

and what is today?
why it's the first day of school!

and what does this mean?
freedom for moms everywhere!

woo-hoo!

now, I know everyone says this, and it's corny and cliche, but, summer just FLEW by! I mean really.

in summary:
we had relocating friends as house guests for two weeks while they sorted out their moving situation, Luke got sick, someone near and dear received a little bit of unexpected local media attention for unintentional law breaking entanglements, visited my 94-year-old grandma and she took us to the Jamestown Scandinavian Festival (grandma's like a celebrity there!), Luke traveled with grandparents down south for holiday, Sally (dog) had another life-threatening allergic reaction to a mystery something (spider bite maybe?) rush to the emergency vet, Kiwi (cat) attempted to ingest a spool's worth of thread only to have one end of it wrap around her tongue, while the other end traveled down through the inner piping network and tried to make an exit — massive (expensive) surgery is successful (she's perfectly fine), not to be outdone, Sally gets sick again (for 2 weeks) by getting into some pepperoni that the neighbor left out to feed the hunky neighborhood alpha male cat (since when do cats like pepperoni?) hence ruining my nice jute rug, a village-wide car-robbing spree affects 70 people — me included — I lost 15 bucks and 2 great pairs of sunglasses, the culprits were found along with all the stolen items, I am pressing charges, but it could be months before I get my glasses back, so rather than buying new glasses, I have been stubbornly squinting all summer, took Luke and Cass to the Sterling Renaissance Faire (full of crazies, but MY KIND of crazies!), took Luke and Cass to the Great New York State Fair (full of crazies, but NOT my kind of crazies). Throw in a couple parties and nights out to dive-y bars to watch my friends' bands... and that's my summer. DONE!

whew!
I did manage to do some sewing and have listed 6 new dolls in my shop. I worked out a new dress pattern (which is labor intensive, but quite charming) and have spent more time on hair styling.

I am quite pleased.

happy mother's day!

we celebrated by doing some of my favourite things...

visit the cows...

scope out old, abandoned houses...

by being nosy and asking a nearby neighbor, I found out that this is an old school house, built in 1845. the owner lives in California, and refuses to sell it, rent it, or maintain it, despite repeated offers. oh well!

this is where Bob will end up when he is an old man. him and his books and a bushel of potatoes... he'll be just fine.

gorgeous.

we hit several antique shops. all I found is a new pair of glasses... but gee, aren't they swell?!

and the best present... I was lucky enough to receive this lovely poem, written just for me!

Those coloring books
    That you did in a day
Those puff ball people
    That looks like a cloud
Those jelly bean factories
    That you did during school
Then you got better and better
until you became really good
    What happened to the
good old days?

(*sniff*)

favorite house update

haircut!

who is this strange, new boy in my house?