Written on Rice

While I was organizing my jewelry yesterday, I found something that brought me back quite a few years…

In 1997,  Jay and I took our kids to Disney World in Florida.  It was a wonderful trip.

While we were at musical dinner theater one night, we came across a man who wrote on rice.

He wrote my name on a grain of rice.  Then, I asked him to write my kids’ names on a grain of rice.

He wrote Justin on one side of the  grain of rice.

And he wrote Jelisa on the other side of the grain of rice.

I bought this small grain of rice, preserved in glycerin in a tiny glass cylinder, sealed, hanging on a silver chain.

I wore it every day for many years until the chain broke.   It was one of my most treasured pieces of jewelry.    I’ve found a new silver chain so I can again start wearing this grain of rice with these most precious, but all grown up, names around my neck.

Isn’t it funny how such little things can mean so much?

Jewelry Organization

My jewelry was a mess! I had everything piled on a shelf in my closet. I don’t have lots of expensive jewelry but I do love long necklaces. (I once heard that wearing a long necklace can make you look ten pounds thinner and I’ve been hooked since then!) I also like dangly earrings. I have to wear a uniform for work but every other chance I get, I wear girl clothes and jewelry.

I have been thinking about ways to organize my jewelry and decided that hanging necklaces and earrings from cup hooks and eye hooks would work well for me. I bought a two by four to use for my project, which I was going to hang in my walk in closet. Before I got started, I came upon this oak-framed mirror in the thrift store and knew I could make this project so much better.

I paid twelve dollars for this mirror. I almost didn’t want to use it for this project because it is so nice. But I did.

I added eye hooks across the top and cup hooks across the bottom. My husband helped.

When working with oak, it’s best to make a pilot hole to screw in the cup hooks and eyes. Oak is hard. I put the eye hooks about one inch apart and the cup hooks about two inches apart.

I wanted the necklaces to hang down from the bottom and the earrings to be at the top so I could use the mirror when I was putting my jewelry on.

I ended up putting some necklaces over the eye hooks at the top because I had more necklaces than I realized.

I haven’t put it up yet but knew that it would be difficult to take photos while it was mounted on the wall so I put my jewelry on it while it was propped on my dresser to take pictures.

I piled bracelets over the big hooks that were already on each side.

I think this is going to work perfectly for me!

Grandma’s Gnarly Plant Stand

My Grandma had a plant stand in her house that was unusual. I must have made a comment at one time that I liked it.

A number of years ago, Grandma sold her house and moved into assisted living. My mom told me that Grandma was giving me a plant stand, because I liked it. Truthfully, I didn’t remember exactly what plant stand she was talking about.

My first thought when my mom brought the plant stand to my house was “Oh my, where am I going to put that thing?” It was a big, very heavy, gnarly tree branch with log slices mounted on it to hold plants. I didn’t think it went with my house; I brought it in anyway. Surprisingly, I really liked it as soon as I put it in my house. It seemed to be just the thing my family room needed to keep it from getting too stuffy.

It makes my home unique and interesting. I’m guessing no one has one exactly like it. I’m so glad my Grandma gave it to me. I need to ask her where she got it. There might be a story, or she may have picked it up at a garage sale - furnishing our homes from garage sales finds is a family trait, so I wouldn’t be surprised.

It is in a north window in my house , and is the perfect place to keep my geranium blooming (just barely) all winter.

Books I Read in January

I read four books in January.

• The Help by Kathryn Stockett
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
• The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain
• The Doctor’s Wife by Elizabeth Brundage

My favorite read in January was “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett. This is one of the best books I’ve read in years. It’s set in the early 1960’s in Mississippi and tells the stories of three women. Two of the women are black maids and the other is a white woman who is a recent college graduate. The book explores relationships between women, class and race. It was interesting to read about the civil rights revolution from this viewpoint and I really loved this book.

Another book, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” by Mark Haddon was also an interesting read. The book is written from the viewpoint of an autistic teenage boy and I often forgot that I was reading a book written by someone other than an autistic boy. It was a quick read and I liked the explanations about the inner workings of the character's brain told from a first person perspective.

“The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes” by Diane Chamberlain was another good book. This book is about a lonely teenage girl who gets involved with the wrong boy and the choice she makes that shapes her entire life. Although the choices she made were wrong, she was a sympathetic character and I was drawn into this book. It was a page turner.

“The Doctor’s Wife” by Elizabeth Brundage was OK. I found it difficult to relate to any of the characters or sympathize for their situations. I also didn’t find the plot believable. I wouldn’t suggest it to anyone as a great book.

I recommend three out of the four books I read in January.

Summer Dreaming

Every year, about this time, I start dreaming of summer.  

I remember how nice it is to walk outside without worrying about falling on the ice and breaking a hip.    I start thinking about how it will still be light out in the evening.   It will be 100 degrees warmer than it is today! 

In a few months, everything will be completely different. 

It will be like the most fabulous “before and after”

Before:

After:

I just can’t wait.