buncha random

Some new things for the house...

A large wine rack from Amazon that takes up less space than the two small wine racks I had before.

The two empty spaces on bottom were filled today with a Malbec and red blend I found at Trader Joe's. I love crisp, white wines and roses (ugh, that's not roses as in the flower...it's "rohzays"...I don't know how to get the foreign accent marks in Blogger!) in the warmer months and then heavier reds in the cold months.

Last Friday, I took a drive out to Woodstock, IL ~ the town famous for the filming of the movie, Groundhog Day. It was a beautiful day, I wanted a little escape all by myself, and the town square is a beautiful place to take a walk and stop in some independent shops. Besides, a few of the shops were participating in a Vintage Shop Hop.

Recognize this gazebo in the town square from the movie?

I came home with a couple of small things ~ this tin bird bath...

and a vintage bowl in one of my favorite colors.

I follow a young woman on Instagram that I used to know from when she was a teenager and we went to the same church. She's now married with a baby and living in the Portland, Oregon area. I've been enthralled by her macrame work ~ she's so talented! ~ and she's now selling it through her Instagram account. I finally decided on this piece for my guest room wall. So pretty, right? She uses driftwood that she finds on the beach.

If you're old enough to remember, macrame was all the rage in the 70's. I took a class with my mom and made plant hangers and even a purse with a Lucite handle. 

I love supporting independent artists, too. If you're interested, her Instagram account is @heatherswebbs. 

Some freebies for the house...

An elderly woman down the street recently passed away. At least, that's what I'm assuming because I haven't seen her and her house is up for sale. A few days ago, Brian and I were taking a walk and there was a Dumpster in front of the woman's house. It was filled to the brim with relics of her life: old-fashioned lamps and torn lampshades, rusty toolboxes, a huge stereo console, a couch that looked like it was from the 1960's with that stiff, brushed polyester finish, lots of junky odds and ends, and ooh, some old ladders.

I also found a huge, vintage pottery crock. The only marking on the bottom is "USA". It has a couple of small chips on the back, but I don't mind. (I found a vintage bean pot too, but it's currently in the dishwasher so it hasn't been photographed yet.)

I guess I officially Dumpster dived! Though I didn't go INTO the Dumpster. Ick. These items were on top. Made me kind of sad though to think this lady lived her life in this house all these years and had all this furniture and things that made her house a home and perhaps made her happy, just like we all do. And then she's gone and all her stuff is relegated to a Dumpster and hauled away. She's gone, her stuff is gone. Like nothing ever mattered. I silently promised the elderly lady that I would take care of her few things and thanked her for them.

My sweet Clementine...

She was diagnosed with kidney disease a few years ago. It's unfortunately very common in cats, especially as they get older. She was young to be diagnosed - only eight or nine years old at the time. She's been doing pretty well since the diagnosis and has been on medicine for high blood pressure which helps the kidneys and a prescription diet. But her latest blood tests show that certain levels are climbing. It's time for subcutaneous fluids. The vet said she needed them one - three times a week to start out. I panicked because of the time and money involved. Long story short, I talked to the vet and we agreed she could start with one treatment per week. From what I've read about and heard from other cat owners, you can get the supplies from the vet and do the IV fluids yourself at home. That way you don't have to keep taking the cat to the vet plus, of course, it's much cheaper to do it yourself at home.

That's all fine and dandy except that IV needles ~ and the thought of sticking them into the cat's skin ~ totally freaks me out. I honestly don't know if I could handle that. Last night as I was lying in bed, I was picturing the whole set up at home and trying to insert the needle into Clementine's skin between her shoulder blades. And it actually made me feel like I was going to vomit. My anxiety was skyrocketing and I couldn't fall asleep. Brian said he couldn't do this either. So I don't know what we're going to do. We certainly can't afford anymore than one treatment per week through the vet. But as she progresses with her kidney disease, she's going to need more treatments. Has anyone out there been through this with their cat?

Gorgeous weather...

We've been blessed with a warm-up in temperatures, plenty of sunshine and brilliant blue skies. As I do every year, I photograph the maple tree across the street almost every day. It's amazing how quickly it changes. This photo was taken today in the late afternoon. 

"How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days."
(John Burroughs)

Brian had the day off work yesterday and we went for an afternoon hike in the State Park. We are so lucky to have this gem close to our house.

If you look closely, you can see a sandhill crane taking off out of the water.

Getting ready for the new couch...

Last month, I told you that we finally bought a new couch from Crate and Barrel after looking for one for over a year. It had to be built - they didn't have the couch we wanted in stock - and it will finally be here on Friday. I'm so excited! The other day when our furnace tune-up guy was here (the son of a friend), he helped Brian move our old couch out to the curb. Luckily, it was snatched up within a few hours.

Our old couch was up against the wall where you see the now-blank space. I packed up the books and pottery from the black shelves, took the two big pictures off the walls and we moved the black shelves and the white table into the basement. Our plan for the new couch is to put it on an angle with the back facing the corner. If that arrangement doesn't work out, we will put the couch in the same place the old one was. 

I love this coffee table. It was my grandma's and it's made by Lane. It's a high-quality, solid (heavy!) piece of furniture. It's too big for our small living room though. Eventually, I want to move this coffee table downstairs into the family room and find a smaller coffee table for the living room. There's other plans I have for the living room too, but one step at a time.

Enjoy the rest of your week. Stay safe and healthy and wear your mask!

💓