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Meaningless Drivel Monday: Sick and Repurposing

Yesterday I found out that a person can sneeze so much that it makes their abdominal muscles sore the next day.  I know because I did it.  Saturday night I sneezed so much I thought I would never stop.  Then yesterday my stomach muscles hurt!

People who live in areas of the country where it is still snowing may not realize that there are drawbacks to living in a more temperate climate like ours in Texas.  In addition to the first days of a green Spring, we are also having an onslaught of pollen, so much so that our cars are completely covered in yellow dust.  Even two days of rain which made little yellow-rimmed puddles in the roads and streets didn’t stop the trees from spitting out their sperm. Ew, my students said last year when I told them that pollen was plant sperm.  Well, it’s the truth.  And lots of people are highly allergic to it!  I even take prescription meds and they didn’t do the job!

So I stayed indoors all day yesterday and today in defense from the pine trees and blustery winds and today felt a bit better.  I actually did some cleaning and finished up some projects for my booth at Uniques & Antiques.

This one I made from a yard sale purchase.  The frame caught my eye.  It made a cute chalkboard, don’t you think?

Then I made this little wall hanging from a piece of house siding my dad had left over from a building project.  I just added chalkboard paint, cup hooks, lace, burlap, a button, and some twine.  It would be cute in a bedroom or closet holding necklaces or scarves.

This little footstool I made from a tattered old wooden tapestry stool.  With more foam, a burlap cover, and rags tied to jute twine glued to the edges, it is totally transformed.

I hope to feel well enough tomorrow to place these items for sale in my booth.  There’s a freeze warning tonight.  Maybe that will slow down those tree gonads a bit!

XOXO





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THRIFTY HUNTER THURSDAY: No more hunting!

No more hunting for wedding stuff, that is!  Ha!  Had you going, didn’t I?  Actually, hubby and I did sit in our deer blind for four hours this morning but got nothing but a sore back and lack of sleep.  Those deer just are not cooperating so far this year! But no matter.  That gives me opportunity to show you one of the results of my hunt for cheap wedding decor items.

Remember this photo from October?

I had begun spray painting a piece of an old dresser or vanity, the part that holds the mirror.  At $4.99 it was a steal at Goodwill, and I envisioned it as a vintage-looking chalkboard welcome sign for the wedding.  I think it turned out pretty well, don’t you?

More ivory spray paint, a couple of layers of chalkboard paint, and a welcome message in chalk, and it made a perfect welcome to the wedding.  I tucked it under the low-hanging branches of a pine tree and anchored the base in a small galvanized bucket.  So easy, so cheap, so vintage.

Here is another little vignette I made for the hors d’oeuvres table from an antique clock lamp, some vintage cake toppers, a framed photo, and an old book.  I also added a milk glass compote dish, a wire votive holder with crystals, and a few steampunk gears and keys.  A vintage wedding cake topper perches on the top of the lamp base, which has the time of the wedding on the clock:  3:00.  The green lamp I spray painted black.



Stay tuned for the cost reveal of our cheap DIY wedding, hopefully tomorrow!

XOXO




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TEACHER TUESDAY: More tales from the darkside. . .

Just kidding. . .not really the darkside.  That phrase just has a ring to it, although some days in the classroom or school were dark for a lot of my students at different times.  For a young, inexperienced schoolteacher who was about as confident as a tightrope walker without a net, there were dark times in the classroom as well. 

Like for instance, the daily struggle to maintain classroom discipline so as not to invoke the disapproval of the two very strict male teachers on either side of me.  The last thing I wanted was for them to talk about my lack of classroom discipline with the same disdain they held for other teachers.  In those days, students were expected to remain quiet at all times, even in the science lab.  I can’t even imagine trying to get students to whisper in the lab today.  Times have certainly changed.

Anyway, there were a few students, a couple that I remember in particular, who had trouble keeping quiet during my lectures and scads of notes.  Not only were these students fourteen and fifteen-year-old boys, but they unable to resist challenging a first-year teacher, especially a size 5 female in high heels.

I’ll never forget trying to start class while being conscious of a couple of boys in the middle of the room who were trying to conceal their laughter.  I would give them the pointed teacher stare and they would settle a bit with smirks on their faces.  As I began to write notes on the chalkboard–yes, CHALKboard–I finally discovered what they were snickering about.

Written on the board just above the chalk tray were the words, “Mrs. Coker has a fine a**.”  Now what does one do with this information?  I had stopped for a second while reading, but I then hurriedly reached for the eraser and made it disappear, ignoring the ripples of stifled laughter that swept the room behind me, my face burning with embarrassment.

Me as a young teacher



But the show must go on, they say, so I proceeded with my lesson, acting as if nothing had happened.  Oh, those early days.  With their tales of the darkside.  Or rather, the backside. . .

XOXO