V4L Challenge 11 (ranty)

Why Valentine’s Day Sucks!

First, if you’re wondering (and of course you are) where challenges 9 and 10 are, no worries! You did not miss an exciting installment of Cupid + Chantal. I simply skipped those challenges due to math: the pesky 24 hours per day adding up to 24 yet again. Dammit.

Second, I actually like Valentine’s Day and think it’s a lot of fun to celebrate love cuz gawd knows we spend way too much time focusing on stuff we dislike, amirite? The day doesn’t have to be sad if you don’t have a romantic sweetie ~ it can be about other loves. Children, friends, pets. You can even buy a treat for yourself, or for me. 😍

However! I totally get why people hate Valentine’s Day. It’s stressful to be forced to demonstrate your feelings on demand ~ some people just don’t respond on cue, and I respect that. They don’t want to spend money on schmaltzy cards or buy pink teddy bears, jewelry, flowers, candy, etc. because it’s the fourteenth day of February. Whyyyyy? How is that meaningful? Unless it’s the anniversary of that particular couple’s first date or other special occasion, I can see people (especially men) feeling resentful of the expectation to produce tangible evidence of their relationship commitment on this random date.

What’s even more annoying is that women will go along with the above paragraph and then still be upset if the man ignores Valentine’s Day as they had previously agreed to do. She had probably agreed mostly to make him happy, but then when the day arrived she thought well he could have at least gotten me a silly card and a cupcake. That wouldn’t have taken so much time or cost very much. Then he’s mad that she’s upset. True story. 💔

I personally don’t like the pressure to make a huge fancy deal out of Valentine’s Day cuz that’s a lot of work, and who needs more work? I resent the idea that (when I did have someone), I was supposed to buy a gorgeous new outfit and look spectacular on Valentine’s Day, or else I’d disappoint my guy. Naturally he was supposed to make reservations somewhere nice, or else we’d have to plan to cook something special together. So much work! Especially on a weeknight. Ughhh.

But it seems like everything has to be extreme these days, all or nothing, love or hate. Why can’t we (if we have a romantic partner), celebrate Valentine’s Day in a fun, low key way? Do something special but not annoying or expensive? Maybe plan it for the weekend afterward if February 14th is a work night. If we don’t have a partner, there’s no reason to hate the day when we can treat a relative or friend to a little gift, or even ourselves. Gifts can be of time too.

Sure, it would be ideal to express our love every day of the year, to buy a gift exactly when we felt the genuine urge, not when ads told us to, or to give the special people in our lives extra time and attention at any random time just because. We certainly do not need a pink and red hearts day mostly concocted by greeting card companies to nudge us, right? But let’s get real. People who say that stuff mostly aren’t that loving. They’re cranky curmudgeons who don’t randomly make pretty, glittery cards for people or bake pink frosted cakes or jump up and say hey I’m really glad you’re in my life!

So pffft on them and their hatey poopery. They bag on Valentine’s Day because they like to be cynical about all things all the time. They don’t want to shop or create something handmade or give you extra time. They feel awkward about expressing positive, good feelings. Mostly I’m talking about the men I’ve met, since I’m more forgiving of women who are sad on Valentine’s Day because men are so hatey about it. But don’t be sad! We can buy our own candy now.

Sorry… but I guess I just don’t think that Valentine’s Day sucks. There are so many ways to celebrate love. 💖❤️💗

Daily Fun Three

From Rory and the Pimpin’ Imp:

Name Three …

Things you can find in a garbage/rubbish/trash can beginning with the letter D?

– diapers, dental floss, dog food cans

Things that can be found floating on the wind?

– dust, leaves, butterflies 🦋

Things in a river that are not fish?

– Running Bear, Little White Dove, currents

https://youtu.be/VQ3XUM9gUG4

Things found around the house beginning with the letter E?

– etchings, ectoplasm, exes in various states of decomposition

Animals that don’t have the letter E in their name?

– aardvark, octopus, inchworm

Bands/Groups that have three [3] in their name [not a song]?

– 3 Doors Down, 3 Dog Night, 3 Stooges

Holidays/Vacations that only involve visiting ruins?

– Rome, Greece, Trump White House

Things that can seriously ruin your day?

– nuclear war, fleas, perfume

Roman Gods?

– Tony, his cousin Tony, his other cousin Tony

Animals that lay eggs? [Monotremes ]

– birds, fish, snakes 🐍

Three letters in the alphabet that don’t sound the same as the other letters?

– H, Q, W

Gemstones that start with the letter T?

– topaz, tourmaline, tiny diamonds

Cocktails that begin with the letter M?

– Manhattan, mojito, mimosa

Hobbies that are no longer as popular as they were twenty years ago?

– prepping for Y2K, collecting beanie babies, bashing Hillary Clinton… j/k people never get tired of that apparently 🙄🙄🙄

Pastels Galore [CFFC]

For this fun photo challenge, I’m using another pic from the lovely afternoon in 2015 when my eldest took me to high tea up in NorCal. It was such a wonderful day. Besides the delicious tea and treats, I simply enjoyed spending quality time with my sweet girl in a beautiful atmosphere. I never used to appreciate old-fashioned decor, but I do now. I really like to wander through antique shops and check out the dishes and dolls, furniture, jewelry, and knickknacks. I never buy anything, but I love to walk around and look at all the prettiness.

Teal, Aqua, Seafoam, Turquoise [CFFC]

Welcome to another one of Cee’s fun foto challenges! This challenge is in the color series, and since it happens to focus on my fave section of the wheel, I have quite a few pics to choose from.

Cousins at a teal table, Scarsdale NY, 1996.

Jellies in aqua, Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach CA, 2016.

Seafoam in here somewhere, Crystal Cove, Newport Beach CA, 2016.

Car selfie 2015, turquoise sweater, turquoise necklace ~ two for Tuesday!

Plz note crooked glasses, proving I’m not totally OCD or I couldn’t have kept this pic. In fact, the entire photo is slanted and off-center, but not artistically, which isn’t bugging me at all, nopey nope. Will not give it another thought…

Time Pieces

My mother had some old watches and pocket watches she picked up here and there at estate sales and such, and now I have them. I tried to sell them once and was told they had no value, so I keep them tucked away. I’m glad I didn’t get rid of them after all. They’ve grown on me.

This is a plain pocket watch with no cover. It says “Waltham” on the face. This piece is two inches in diameter and feels heavy in my hand.

This is the back. It has a cool geometrical pattern/logo, but no words.

This piece is smaller and lighter, about an inch and a half in diameter, but it’s thicker and more complex, as you’ll see. This is the front.

It flips open to reveal the clock’s face sideways. “Elgin” is printed on the face. The back of the cover says “Keystone” and has a serial number (1194946).

This is supercool ~ the back opens to show gears and stuff!

Next up is a ladies’ bracelet watch. It’s very delicate and pretty. It says “Victoria” on the face and nothing on the back. The clasp says “Hadley” with a patent number.

The last is another bracelet watch, a Bulova. I like it a lot, though its face is scratched up. I might get it cleaned up and working someday so I can wear it for real. I used to wear it anyway, just for fun, but then I decided it was bad luck and stopped.

The reason this watch is so special is because it’s engraved on the back. I imagine a husband gave it to his wife for Christmas in 1947. I’ve decided he fought in WW2 and she waited for him.

My mother died today, nine years ago. I love her and miss her every day. Her voice and presence are both still right here, almost, as if she just left the room a few minutes ago. Nothing has changed in all this time.

~*~

The Daily Prompt: Timely

Crafty

 

I’m trying to remember the first handmade thing I created, in response to today’s “craft” prompt (which could be interpreted as boat or beer, but I’m not going in those directions). It was probably one of those ridiculous summer camp pencil holders made out of a frozen OJ can with glued-on popsicle sticks and covered with paint and glitter. Did anyone ever use these things, or just dump them right in the trash? This would have been when I was 6 or 7 years old, when we lived in Sleepy Hollow,  NY. We were there two years and both my parents worked full-time. One summer I went to camp with mean girls and the other I stayed with a grumpy old lady and her idiot grandsons. Both were horrible experiences. But I digress.

When we moved to Longuyland my new friends were into beads, so I made a ton of beady necklaces and bracelets. My mom saved some of them and possibly one of my daughters kept a few for sentimental value. This would have been when I was 8-9.

When we moved to New Jersey my mom made a giant house for my Barbies out of moving boxes and wallpapered it to match my room. We shopped for accessories to make rooms for the dolls, and she taught me how to knit and crochet so I could make teensy blankets and rugs for them. Later I turned it into a harem, but that’s beside the point. Well, there’s like one Ken for every 20 Barbies ~ Mattel must have foreseen this. Anyway, creating little dollhouse items was my crafty obsession around age 10.

In Jersey, my mom got very into DIY and sewing, so I tagged along and ended up learning some too. I embroidered a denim shirt for home ec and put together an outfit to model at the end of the semester (that I secretly took home at night for my mom to fix up on her sewing machine). I enjoyed that a lot and continued doing needlework after the class ended, buying kits and learning new stitches, making pillows and pictures. Mom and I made candles for a while too.

I stuck with the sewing type crafts for many years. When my girls were little I painted tee shirts. That was a lot of fun and the shirts came out great… I was thinking of starting a biz, until I overdid it and could no longer move my thumb without excruciating pain. Nixed my cake decorating career also. I switched to creating fancy photo scrapbooks, which became my obsession for the next several years. All along I still did the needlework, but as I aged I found I had less patience for it and nowadays have no interest in the detailed “art” type pictures, though I still would like to learn to knit and crochet (I’ve forgotten how). I know there are a million vids ~ maybe I’m not motivated enough yet.

One of the main problem with crafts is that they’re expensive. I priced out how much it would cost to knit a poncho (my ultimate goal)… and depending on the style it might be about 3x more than just buying one! I may do it anyway. And going down the bead path again (occasionally tempting)… yikes! I spent a ton of money back in my scrapbook days… and my tee shirt biz would no doubt have been a tax write-off. 🙂

Yesterday I wanted to go to an antique crafty show near my apt, but there was nowhere to park and I was trapped in the lot for few minutes, which was super stressful. ACK DRIVING ISSUES AGAIN. Anyway, I was happy to escape with my life and car intact. Will try again another time, another place.

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The Daily Prompt: Craft

Silverado Country Fair

Rob and I went to a fair yesterday in Silverado Canyon, about 25 miles inland. It was so hot out! My car temp was 106F when we headed back. Despite that, the fair was really fun. We saw a bunch of cool art, met some of the artists, and did a craft ourselves. I was really pleased to find some dangly kitty earrings made of real silver, just like some I lost years ago, for only $10. I polished them at home and they look adorable.

Here are some fair pix…

Donkey looks sad all cooped up. There were cute goats too and their owner said they’d been “debutted,” which made me feel too bad to take their pic.

Rob is weaving by crisscrossing various blue yarn strands in a grooved cardboard disc. I did one too in browns and called the result a monkey’s tail.

We decide to take a cookie break…

Zomg! There’s a cookie in my cookie! It’s like a turducken… or would be if there was a PB cup on top of the Oreo. (Bakers, take note.)

Rob won a yellow monkey in the beanbag toss! Lookit his long fluffy tail! The monkey’s, not Rob’s.

Rob gave the monkey to me (aww, thanks!) and we decided to name it Donovan ~ Donny for short. Can you figure out why?

I wuvs him. 🙂

I bought a toy for Gatsby, and as you can see… he’s utterly thrilled.

After the fair, Rob and I went to see Mission Impossible ~ Rogue Nation at the $3 theater to get some A/C. Fun movie! And the freezing cold Coke Icee hit the spot.

What a great day. I love fairs.

Lost Earrings [updated]

I rejoined my gym and lost one of my amethyst earrings. What happens is I semi-change in the car and take off all my jewelry before working out. I put my jewelry in my purse or in my gym bag or in one of my non-sneaker shoes, depending on my whim. Poor purple earring, lost and alone. It was inevitable though… and perhaps it will turn up.

A few weeks ago I noticed a pair of silver earrings were missing. I have a vague memory of putting them somewhere odd, such as a pocket or my wallet. Why? I don’t know. Sadness.

Thirty-plus years ago in Chicago I lost a pair of shamrock earrings when I had a “romantic encounter” with a guy in my office on St. Patrick’s Eve. I went back the next morning (a Saturday) when I realized this, because I didn’t want one of my coworkers to find the earrings on Monday, but alas… gone forever. Turned out that guy was engaged and cheating on his fiancée. And this was before the Internet.

People have different views of the honesty concept. I never thought it was that complicated: tell all the truth and don’t omit anything. (I’m not saying I always do this; I’m saying that’s what I believe honesty is.) But many have the view that it’s OK to lie to strangers, and if one of these peeps becomes a friend or romantic partner, then you are honest if at a certain point you reveal the truth. That may be a lot of things ~ prudent, practical, paranoid ~ but honest? No.

Sometimes I want to be honest in the archival sense, in that I strive to remember something totally clearly and accurately, but that gets harder as I age. Part of this could be due to all my writing and daydreaming. I’ve ripped apart events in my mind and glued them together in new ways to make them more interesting for a story… and then reality shifts and slips away.

I have some jewelry from my mother that I gave to her, which is weird. I don’t know whether I should feel sentimental about these pieces. She gave me gold earrings (XOX) that I’ve been wearing more often ~ I don’t want to lose them. And I have a watch with initials of people I don’t think I know… it’s dated 12/25/47. I wear it all the time lately.

I’m planning to make up a story about it…

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UPDATE: I found my amethyst earring in my car tonight (Feb 20th)! 🙂