We Couldn't Turn Left, So.....

The other day my friend Lynette was here to help me pack

(she is so good at packing breakables)

and we were running out of packing paper

so had to make a run for more

(and coffee and a snack as we were beginning to fade)

Well ~ as we came out of the storage place we could not turn left,

the direction to go back home..... so.....

This is how things go with us:

We had to turn right and find a place to turn around.

~ But then ~

"Oh look, there's that old antique shop we always talk about going to as we drive past on our way to somewhere else!"

 

"Let's just pop in there!"

 

We do. We begin to peruse...

Lynette squeals," Look at this accordion!!!!"

 

Me: "What, now you want to take up playing the accordion?!?!?"

(she is currently taking lessons for the upright bass)

 

Lynette, " No, my sister has been wanting one!"

She calls her sister, picks up the accordion,

and begins playing sounds that well, you could not polka to,

as I hold her phone towards it so her sister can hear.

I take a photo of her

(as the old guy who owns the shop holds up his fingers as bunny ears over her head)

and he tells us about the accordion from 1962 that is in perfect condition.

She cries out, "SOLD!"

as I try to back-track and ask the guy about a lower price

{which is obviously too late because Lynette is jumping for joy}

I'm trying to train her to be calmer when she finds a treasure but to no avail

We come home and resume packing.

Later, I listen as she tells her husband, "We couldn't turn left, so ..."

{Let's just say he was relieved her sister was paying her back }

This is typical of any day spent with Lynette

~ it is always an adventure ~

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Friends that make you laugh

and distract you from packing are the best kind

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I hope your lives are blessed with friends like this!

Happy Weekend!

=~ Violet ~

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{P.S. ~ No, I have no idea why her sister wants an accordion}

I Like Pretty Things

A Confession:
My name is Violet, and I like pretty things

 

And this month I am packing up all of our belongings

for a move into a rental while we build...

where we will move again this Fall.

When things are in closets and cupboards and buffets

one forgets how many possessions one has

 

("One" meaning "Me")

Last night I had the doors to our dining buffet open

and my husband gasped at all the dishes we have.

(and this was just one pattern, if he saw all the others at once, it would be way too alarming...
4 of these, 8 of these, cute dessert plates.... T.J.Max is to blame....)

And of my china pattern, Blue Danube
I actually only bought a few.

The rest we inherited from his mother and some were given to me

from a garage sale... let's just say I have enough for a feast.

And yet we rarely (never?) have large groups for dinner

... I seem to collect pretty things ...

Dishes

Decor

Clothes

Hats, oh so many pretty hats

and

Art Supplies

As an artist and designer and creator of all sorts of

PRETTY THINGS

I've got stashes of everything I might need to make this or that

... and I have been! Even though my Etsy shop is empty at the moment ...

{I hope to get some of my new creations listed before I pack it all up}

Although we aren't downsizing by very much, and there will be

places to store all of my 'stuff', I've been considering

that I need to let go of quite a lot.

I've been to enough estate sales to realize that all of these belongings

are not permanent, and some day our family will be

going through all of this stuff I've collected

 

Maybe when one gets older we realize our time on earth,

even if we live to an old age,

is well, closer to an end than before.

Not to be morbid or anything, but it's true and we can't take any of this with us!

The treasures we take with us are those bestowed only by

God's mercy and grace,

Treasures in Heaven

that cannot rust or fade

 

Who knew packing and moving could be a spiritual experience.

 

Now, to decide just which Pretty Things I will keep

and what will be donated

(My last yard sale was years ago)

 

It's been fun procrastinating with you this morning,

but now I really must go put some things in boxes.
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P.S.  After all my good intentions,
I am having a difficult time deciding what to keep.
It seems I like my pretty things too much
to give many of them up yet.
I am weeding out the 'not so inspiring anymore' and
packing up the lovelies, perhaps when I unpack them
a few months down the road I will be able to say
goodbye to more,
but knowing how excited I get opening
the Christmas bins each December at the sight of items
not seen for months, well, you get the picture.
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{ help! }