Bedroom Decor

My sister and her husband are home builders, and she excels at staging homes and enticing prospective buyers with simple, crisp decor -- much like the decor in those home magazines and stores that rattle my cage. (Yes, the Shabby-Chic-Practical candle is still in the wire basket in the corner of my kitchen.) Despite seeing my sister’s work and knowing the tricks of her trade, I have yet again been drawn into the staging at a home store, where no one actually sleeps on the beds. Our bedroom is decorated in a blue that reminds me of the ocean with a contrasting chocolate brown that reminds me of… well… chocolate. This bedroom is new; it was part of the addition we put on our house two years ago. However, the color scheme is old: I based it on the curtains, bedspread, and pillows we had for several years in our old bedroom.

The old bedspread was tired and worn out in the new room. I unleashed shopping angels at every home store as I went through the bedding departments, on the hunt for a combination of ocean and chocolate. I passed over many options: No flowers, no paisleys, no extra accent colors.

Finally, a simple, crisp bedspread popped: Ocean & chocolate with a big, fresh, cream square in the middle. Stunning. Were the boys old enough that I could have a big square of bright cream on my bedspread? Yes. At home the colors were perfect. I threw away the price tags. I made the bed & covered a couple of the old pillows with new covers that were included in the set. It was pristine, calmness.

Until we slept in the bed.

To keep it pristine on a daily basis, Bill and I would need to spend five minutes making the bed together, gently tugging back and forth on the bedspread to center the square. We do not.

We do not have a staged square in the middle of our bed. We have a square-ish quadrangle that floats on our bed like a jellyfish with its soft edges and middle rippling along in the ocean current.

Some afternoons I might give it a tug here or there, but mostly I’m thankful for a husband that usually makes the bed on his own in the morning without comment on my decorating choices.  However, on mornings when I make the bed, I occasionally get fed up and change the décor a bit.

Yes, it’s reversible, or at least I think it is.

By the way, did you see those pillows that do double duty as window treatments at night? Not planned, but so very practical.

(The easy-going practicality of a simple summer vacation is refreshing after all that comforter flipping.)

Emulsified Salad Dressing

My experience with making my own salad dressing has been dicey. Even with a written recipe for a delicious salad dressing our Midwest cooking club friends once made, I botched it. Somehow not emulsifying the oil quickly or slowly enough with the vinegar. A few years ago, I made it for a test run and served it to two couples over for dinner one evening. My two girl friends looked at one another questioningly. "Interesting," one said as she poured the separated salad dressing -- oil only -- on her salad. After that memorable incident, I moved to putting a couple store bought dressings on the table, plus the option of a nice extra virgin olive oil and good quality white balsamic. And the pepper grinder. With this, my guests had complete control over how much pure oil went on their salads. However, with a few years of practice under my belt, I've worked out the secret to an emulsified salad dressing.

In our house, we have two sons two years apart: an older brother and a younger brother. They get along pretty well but often times need their own space. To keep rooted in each other's world, we need a bit of glue to hold them together. The word "brother" is that glue. Plus, they need something they both enjoy, a common interest -- Minecraft perhaps. And they need a dash of input from Mom and Dad. And occasionally, they need things shaken up a bit so as not to drop into routines and become complacent or take one another for granted. That's it:

One house One big brother One little brother A little glue A common interest A dash from Dad A dash from Mom An occasional shake up

And that is the recipe for my salad dressing. Clear as emulsified oil & vinegar?

More to the point...

One pint Ball jar with a lid 3/4 c. extra virgin olive oil 1/4 c. your favorite vinegar (I like white balsamic) 1 tsp. whole grain mustard (or Dijon if you want a little kick) 1 garlic clove, minced to tiny bits A dash of salt A dash of pepper

In the jar, put all the ingredients, screw on the lid, and shake like heck until the oil and vinegar becomes emulsified salad dressing.

If I don't have the mustard, I don't even try making salad dressing from scratch.  It's the glue for my oil and vinegar.

Mustard

Grandma, you are riding in the trunk.

During the five days of spring cleaning/purging/organizing while Liam had strep throat, I missed my hair color-adjustment appointment. I rescheduled for yesterday. After the adjustment and the blow-out, the stylist added the final touch to my new-do: hair spray. I do not own hair spray. With the forces of wind and sweat always nearby, it’s not practical for me. Squinching my eyes closed as she sprays away, I silently hope my eyelashes don’t get stuck together. The noise of the spray leaves me waiting for that astringent aerosol smell from the days of highly feathered sides. The early 80’s. But we are in a new century. And this spray is a natural combination of lavender, bergamot, palmarosa, and vetiver. No idea what most of those are, but I smell clean and crisp.

As I’m paying, a hostess entices me over to the Chakra demonstration area. I indulge in this experiment. I close my eyes and each time she touches my shoulder, I inhale from a bottle she is holding under my nose. I pick my favorite: Chakra #1 – Grounded. Balance. Energy. Security. Health. There is something familiar about this wisp of aroma under my nose. Barely there. If I spray this in the air, the aroma will help me stay grounded. Balanced. Energized. Secure. Healthy. “Can I use it as a body mist?” Of course. Well, who couldn’t use a little balance, right? I found the tester bottle and gave myself a couple good squirts.

Then, I couldn’t get away from myself.

“You, Grandma, are riding in the trunk on the way home!” Yes, I had just pulled a Grandma Murphy at the perfume counter in Younkers. I don’t remember if Grandma ever actually bought expensive perfume, but she could test the hell out of it walking through a department store. A spray on the inside of either wrist. The outside of either wrist. And on her neck for good measure. Five spots. And… five different perfumes. The ride back to the home place was a good 20 miles. Hence the threat of the trunk.

My head reeled. To the combination of lavender, bergamot, palmarosa, and vetiver, I had just added olibanum, organic patchouli and… more vetiver! Perhaps it was the double-dose of vetiver that sent me over the edge?

I couldn’t put myself in the trunk. I drive a mini-van. But I did drive 8 miles down the highway at 65 mph with the windows rolled down.

Completely unbalanced.

(Have you met Grandma Murphy yet?)

Spring is on Springs

Spring. It bounces on springs.

The lull of winter is gone, and we are left chasing the boing of spring.  Before soccer and baseball start, we are wrapping up gymnastics, Pinewood Derby for scouts, the Science Fair project, and a visit from Flat Stanley.  And learning the ins and outs of roasting a chicken.

Today's Hump Day Short is mostly in pictures of this surge to a warm spring.

The annual Pinewood Derby Car Build.  Other than the wet white space shuttle falling on the dark stained wood floor in the kitchen necessitating  moving like lightening to scrub up the acrylic white paint before it set -- all went well.  Great camaraderie between Bill and the boys.  And within the Pack:  Having won and gone to districts for two years, the boy that won in Will's den stepped down and let the 2nd place finisher go to districts.  Yes, the sweetness of that gesture made a few of us moms tear up.

Will completed his science fair project independently this year.  Just as well, I don't think the dining room table would have held me.  Actually, this is just the presentation preparation after the experiment: How much weight can eggs hold?  Four eggs didn't even crack under the weight of 25 pounds of books.

It's always a pleasure to have Flat Stanley visit us.  For some reason, teachers in Iowa include Flat Stanley books in their very early spring curriculum.  Nevertheless, Stanley and I made it to a beach and picked up some shells for my niece.  My fingers took longer than his to thaw.

Liam and I wrapped up a cool, windy, rainy spring afternoon with the preparation of a roast chicken.  That boy likes to cook!  I nearly killed the moment when I started in on a story about how we used to help Grandma butcher chickens.  He had chosen the word "butcher" for his vocabulary the week before.  The student dictionary's definition was something to the effect of  "to prepare meat and sell it."  I soon curbed my version.  Some day he'll read the real story.

(Have your read the real Fowl Story?)

Go to the Lobster Pool

If you need a taste of summer, I suggest going to the Lobster Pool.  Why? Sigh…

Eat a great dinner and watch thesunset from the Lobster Pool.  It sits on Folly’s Cove, which conveniently cuts into the land making it westward facing over the water.  Living in the Northeast, this is a gem.

Throw an old blanket in the trunk in case the picnic tables are full.  Bundle up for 10+ degrees cooler than inland.

Plan for lunch or dinner at an odd time, between 2 and 5 p.m., if waiting drives you a little buggy.

Order something off this lobster shack’s menu for you – lobster, steamers, mussel, or clams – as well as kid-friendly fare – burgers or chicken strips.

Grab a cup of chowder as an appetizer; ask to have it right away, before your main meal is ready.  With a smile, plea for extra crackers for the kids.

Ask if you can hold a lobster and have a family picture taken with it.

Find a table inside if it’s too blustery and cool to eat outside.  Then reserve it with your cooler or your blanket. Or Mom.

Climb on the boulders outside while you wait for your number to be called.  Take Band-aids.  Someone will trip on a rock and skin a knee or an elbow.

Make S'mores at dusk.  Roast marshmallows over the stovepipe stemming from the fire on the boulders along the ocean’s edge.  (S’mores are Friday – Sunday, weather permitting.) The early sunsets of spring and fall make staying up for the fire & S’mores easier on kids.  And adults.

Mmmm…  I just might see you there.

 

(Want to catch your own fish? Here's my attempt at deep-sea fishing: A Reel Hairy Tale.)