DOSTADNING - Death Cleaning

https://oldgreymareprimitives.blogspot.com/2017/10/death-cleaning.html

I know that many of you still get the "ick" factor when

the topic of death comes up, and I am 7 years older 

than I was when I wrote this post, so the years are 

passing...rapidly.

After the last few months, dealing with my friend's passing 

and helping her daughter, I am even more aware of 

 the problem facing so many, and the resistance of so many

to even acknowledge there is a problem.

Our society and it's love of commercialism and "things"

has only exploded thru social media and it's influencers.

How often have you succumbed and purchased 

more useless stuff? 

I'm reposting this link to hopefully reach a few more folks, 

and spare their heirs the hurt and stress 

that I've witnessed far too many times.

I have friends today asking why are you purging,

it's your kids problem. Keep whatever you want.

To me they are saying, I don't love my family enough,

to spare them the mess I'll leave. 

The deep hurt and pain is real.

Your loved ones suffer far more than just your loss. 

I've seen it too many times.

I refuse to be that kind of mom.

Z

Continuing On

So I've mentioned working on my friend's home.

She passed the end of October and her middle daughter and I

have spent countless hours/ days dealing with the aftermath

of a loved one's passing.

I've been purging a lot the last few years, as you know.

 As I aged I worried about what I was leaving behind 

for my family to deal with.

The situation recently has only sped up

 my process and dedication.

The difficulties we encountered are too much to go into here;

but in this process I edited out more of my 

own pieces and stored them for sale in April

and some I just gave away.

I was persuaded, and I'm grateful that I agreed,

 to take this wall unit for my office/den.

The funny, ironic thing is I spent years dusting and arranging displays

in this unit, for I cleaned house for my friend for many years. 

I met her the first time I came to clean for her.

By the third visit we were joined at the hip. 

Adding the units created a 75% rearrangement 

and purge of the room.

A huge table, glass cabinet, 7 shutters 

and wingback chair left the room

and I love it all so much more! 

This wall stayed the same..for now. 

I'm debating the leaning bookshelf

I'm working on the glass area this afternoon,

filling with blk/wht photos of passed relatives and a few 

keepsake treasures from them. 

The little curtain is hiding some ugly paperwork stuff 

till it finds a new home or I may just keep it.

Z

 

Mat Is Done

I should call this a streaming mat.

It was made while I watched Dr Finley on Acorn

and then the first two recent episodes of True Detective. 

The FR has a lot of grey, brown, cream and yellow. 

Mostly I made it to use up yarn that had sat around for years,

Would get peanuts at a sale, and it keeps me from being idle. 

Too dang cold to do much else but at least we've gotten rain. 

Z

 

Weaving 2

After seeing what I'd been up to, 

Hannah thought she might like some woven coasters

 and picked out this yarn. When I finished the first one 

I could tell she wasn't crazy about it,

so I offered to go yarn hunting again yesterday. 

This won't be a loss. I went back in and opened up 

the ending and I will splice more cording and continue on and

turn this into a mat, or a small rug, hehe as I bought quite a bit of yarn.

She remarked that she wanted the next set to be

 in the same vein as a mat that I was working on for myself.

This one 

Colors are muted yellow, ivory and very dark grey.

I'm loving these as they are super sturdy, not floppy and soft. 

Perfect projects while couch streaming shows late into the night. 

I stood in the store and sent her pics of three color combos

and we settled on this one. I want to complete my mat first

 to avoid yet another Incomplete project. 

Her coasters will be tan, med grey, and an off white tweed blend.

Many years ago, I went with friends and our kids 

to a basket weaving class.

The adults liked it so much we continued on with adult classes 

and eventually met once a week to weave splint style baskets,

after dropping our kids off at school. 

I made maybe 20 all together but only have maybe 10 still.

Made all the painted except for white ones.

Some I painted, some I left natural.

I am by no means an artist in this medium, 

more of a crafter, but it passes the time and 

I'm making useful things.

I only kept one that I made 27 years ago using reed and raffia and 

even though it has uneven flaws (star points)  I am very proud of that one.

 

I'd love to make more, but it involves wet work,

 soaking reed and raffia and my aging hands

 would not fare well with that. 

It is basically the same wrap/joining process.

My gas bill arrived today.

It is now double what it has ever been before.

Hope those executives and shareholders are enjoying

 the huge profits and dividends they're receiving on the backs

of low income folks.

My thermostat is set at 68, so doesn't run all the time,

and my downstairs is freezing cold.

I'm wearing sweaters, bundled in blankets and wooly socks.

Three sets of comforter and blankets on the bed upstairs. 

Wore a sweater to sleep last night,

and paying 326.00 for the privilege.

Latest study showing enormous corporate profits are the cause

 behind inflation and gas prices, food prices.

They have no plans to reduce profits - 

and most just gave executives raises,

 and larger golden parachutes.

Did you know other countries have laws in place to prevent this,

along with laws against these mega mergers that destroy competition

allowing even more increases?

 

 we're screwed 

But I bet they sleep well.

Z

 

Weaving

It's cold here, though not as cold as it is for some of you.

You can still see idiot tourists in flip flops and t-shirts trying to look cool,

but looking ridiculous. 

I'm hunkered down in the studio, loving my floors, and my cleaned up space,

and playing with materials that have sat around for ages.

I'm also avoiding chores I just don't feel like doing,

and trying to get my studio mojo back like I once had. 

Back in the days when I had booths, or taught classes, I would work in the 

studio all day and into the wee hours for weeks on end. 

Now? eh...

I seem to hop around between the purge saga, daily chores and 

napping...lots of napping. Walter has taken to sleeping along my side and hip

 while I nap on the couch. I'm pretty sure it is messing up my shoulder,

but he is soooo happy there.

Tonight he kept me company in the studio,

 while I rewatched Guess Who's Coming To Dinner for the ? time,

I wove this little basket. 

Now it is 1 am and I am wide awake and have screwed

up my sleep once more.

Doesn't help that today will be 24 years since my dad died.

My brother and SIL had left the hospital for the night,

 and I crawled up beside him in the bed 

where he had lain unconscious for nearly a day. 

I told him it was just the two of us alone now,

and he could go.

He never took another breath, and I felt his spirit, 

his soul, leave the room. 

The nurses told me it was not my imagination.

They had witnessed it themselves many times.

 

DJR was my rock, my one true certainty in the world.

I thought I had found it in one other person in my life,

but it was not true. He was not true.

I'm 70 years old and still wish I had my dad to turn to;

to help with hard choices, to gather wisdom and advice,

and to hear once more all the lame dad jokes.

Wow, I'm all over the place tonight...

"Walter, it's time for bed."

Z

 

Madam Alexander Dolls

Some of you may not know that a dear friend of mine 

passed away recently. 

I am still in the process of helping my friends daughter 

deal with the estate, and this weekend we unboxed 

dozens of Madam Alexander dolls still new in box.

We have the complete Wizard of OZ set including Dorothy's house 

and hot air balloon! Also Peter Pan and so much more.

If you, or any of your friends, collect these please 

get in touch with me ASAP, before they go to auction, 

by leaving a comment here.

These collections are incredible! and I don't even 

collect dolls, but as we unboxed, we were all squealing

with how adorable they are.

It's probably a good thing I do not have a granddaughter,

especially the Oz set

or...

The photo is lousy but gives you an idea of how many 

we still have. One gal bought many individual ones over the weekend,

but we kept the larger collections...

I know it seems silly but I want them to find good homes. : D

Thank you

Z

   

It's Been Awhile

Those of you who follow on IG know that right before Christmas, 

and I mean 7 days before Christmas, my entire upstairs was torn apart

as I had wood floors installed. I only waited 30 years. I LOVE them.

I've got everything back where I want it after another major purge. 

It may look almost the same, but it's not.

I have a rug down temporarily for Walter to lie on

 as the large upholstered chair is gone.

I'm getting a new fluffy bed for him this weekend. 

That wicker trunk you see under the half wall opens up to the left

 and right and raises up to lap height.

It stores all my years of patterns and ideas,

and also the new papers for my recent painting obsessions.

Before, all those things were down the hall in cupboard. Now

they are right at my fingertips.  

I love it. It was outdoor furniture from Target in 22.

Bought on clearance. 

I'm working on the walls near the apothecary 

and down the adjacent hallway to guest rooms. 

This is the only room that still has the most "stuff".

I've purged so much everywhere else, and continue to do so.

I'm determined to spend the majority of my time right here

for the foreseeable future.

The rest will be cuddled up with Walter and a good book.

And for those who wonder,

Yes, it is always this organized. I've been doing this 

kind of thing my entire life. You cannot imagine

 the amount of things that are stored in this tiny room, 

I miss all my blogger friends. 

IG has it's place but I delete more and more influencer accounts.

I never followed that many to begin with and only view maybe 25 

regularly anyway. There are several I only know from IG,

 and they inspire me, so I'll stay just for them.

So many women jumping on to make money, that's fine,

but they're all hawking the same products,

 and now copying each other DiYs with no credit to the 

orig postee if you can ever figure it out.

Their homes look indistinguishable from each others

as they're all given the same dang furniture and 

Amazon links. Don't get me started on AG1 and home 

food delivery...hehe

Some will say it's my age, but I don't think so.

This constant need to scroll endlessly is well...

enough said by me..

"Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy ride"

2024 could well be the last year that we view as the year that 

changed it all. 

Hold tight to your loved ones.

I'm hoping to make it at least to 85.

If I see the kids as I do now, about 3-4 times a year,

that means I'll see them at a maximum just 60 more times.

Hard realizations.

Pray for Peace.

Z

 

 

They're Here!

 %$#* &^

That is how I feel about this.

Not politics

Not stupid ignorant people

Not the yahoos I've been dealing with for months

over SS and insurance issues.

NOPE

Those damn AEDES mosquitos have hit Las Vegas.

You remember the ones that bit me 18 times in CA;

caused me to have massive welts and 

rashes all over that developed into Skeeter Syndrome.

Skeeter syndrome is diagnosed when you have a

 strong reaction to a mosquito bite. 

You may see a large area of swelling, soreness, 

redness, and itching or pain at the location of the bite.

 Such a reaction can develop within hours of the bite,

 and it may last for weeks

(yep it's real).

Took me nearly four months for the last spot to heal and I have scars

and discolored skin where they were.

Just when the weather has cooled and I NEED to hit the yard

for cleanup. sigh

I wore long pants and shirt in CA and they still got my hands, face

and crawled up my pant leg. Their nickname is ankle biters.

It made the news when the Urgent Cares here starting seeing folks 

with unexplained welts and rashes.

When I told my GP  back in July about what had happened to me,

 she had never heard of them, but a new Dr who was shadowing her that day 

said "oh yeah they're awful!" She was from CA.

So be warned if they come to your area. 

The latest outbreak is NV and in AZ

You can't see them - teeny tiny, can't hear them, and won't feel the bite at all.

Within a few hours though OH the itch and then you scratch a few times,

and I swear it "Activates it" somehow and you're in for it.

Now in some tropical areas this creature from hell causes dengue etc.

I do not believe that is the case in US

From a google site...

They usually bite you on the ankles and elbows. 

The only way to differentiate between a dengue mosquito bite

 and a normal mosquito bite is that that 

a dengue mosquito bite is much redder and itchy

 compared to a normal mosquito bite.

Aedes aegypti is a small, dark mosquito with a white violin

 shaped marking on its back and banded legs. 

Aedes aegypti has the ability to transmit dengue fever,

 chikungunya, yellow fever, and other viruses.

So be careful please.

Z

See update of last post

 Please see my update on my last post.

I need to double check these posts more and read out loud

to catch such silly errors. I apologize.

I am fine - I've already made it to 70 and plan/hope to 

be around a lot longer.

Studio work

 The last week or so I have been taking Louise Fletcher's

Find your Joy Taster Class

It was tremendous fun and also thought provoking.

This free "taster " course is to introduce you to Louise

if you don't already know her, and then many students go on to take

her year long course which I hear is tremendous. 

I won't go into the object of each lesson just show

you the fun projects and the experimentation I enjoyed.

These were quick mark making studies.

The paper is sectioned off with tape and

 you paint the entire study then remove tape.

My tape stuck a little but it won't matter when I turn into note cards.

Below was using foreign materials and foreign to you techniques and tools. 

I sketched with pencil onto a wood plank,

finger painted the background, finger-painted metallic inks onto deli paper

and then collaged. This was far outside the class idea, as I watched everyone 

else but well, it's where the path took me.  

Trying out collaging metallic deli papers

Very much outside my usual, but 

then that is where the exploration comes in.

We all get stuck in our "box" and repeat

the familiar and comfortable.

For me, these classes are not for 

finished art work so much as educating my own 

eye and techniques that I am unfamiliar with, 

or even better, uncomfortable with.

This process then applies to many aspects of my life.

My life veered off radically the past couple decades,

and I've taken a ride I never could have imagined. 

I've hung on for dear life, and managed to 

educate, graduate and watch my kids soar onto new heights.

They are in loving relationships, highly successful careers, and 

are just good people. 

Becoming ill threw me for a loop, I will admit,

but 6 years later I am still here, and was shocked to hear my primary Dr

tell me at my last visit that she wasn't sure that I would see 70.

I need to amend this : What I should have written was

that the Dr had not been sure that I would see 70 

because of how ill I was. Poor sentence structure-my bad.

I can see why several folks thought my Dr was awful- she's not - she's wonderful 

and I am  fortunate that we have such a great rapport. 

All my life, since I was first cutting up paper samples my dad brought home

when I was in elementary school,

I have turned to creative pursuits for my sanity and escape.

Paper, fabric, paint, bead, hooking, knitting, home design...

Art therapy has seen me through it all.

I'm still at it.  

Rainbow Bridge Day

IYKYK

Eisenhower (Howie)

 Howie   Justice

Liberty (Libbey)

 

Rainbow and UH OH

Yesterday was this gorgeous rainbow

Full side to side and a double! 

And the...

UH OH

Looks like my kiddos and I are both in for some 

"Weather" with a capital W.

Constant boomies, and alerts on radio,

tv and phones.

Here in Vegas many of the houseless

live in massive storm drains and the local 

emergency folks have been trying to move them

 and all their belongings ( including furniture etc) 

out of there as quickly 

as possible so that their belongings 

don't wash out and block 

small drains. Teams have been going all

 over the city clearing drains of debris,

as much as they can.

Even a light sustained rain here can cause serious

flooding, and foolish tourists and idiot locals

do NOT heed warnings and have to be rescued

or worse. 

When I first moved here in the 70's, it was common

 for many of the parking garages to flood entirely,

and even grand hotels to have dripping water 

during storms. All the streets flooded 

but decades of building water retention basins 

solved a good bit. The basins were used as parks and 

soccer fields. Win Win 

The LA folks are also worried about high winds

and mud slides. My neighbor has a dangerous, 

nearly dead, pine tree that concerns me.

It could take off the front of my house.

We shall see.

Hopefully the concern is a reaction to the horrors

of HI and BC.

Let's see what all the climate deniers 

have to say about a tropical storm almost in Vegas?

Although it will no longer be a tropical here, but it 

will be the first to hit CA since 1939.

I tried unsuccessfully to load a video of Walter 

on here, but it is on my IG if you love him.

https://www.instagram.com/oldgreymareprimitives/

Stay safe - and Be prepared,

not just when emergencies loom,

but always, every day.  

Z

 

 

Said it Best-

  I have loved these two for years

 Margaret and Helen

We've all read, listened, and watched 

the insanity for far too many years.

These two are saying what I have been ranting 

to anyone who will listen, but they are funnier than I,

which it makes it more frightening and 

important with all that is at stake. 

It's worth a read- honest 

             https://margaretandhelen.com/2023/08/04/trump-is-a-hemorrhoid/

70

 

The birthday plans changed as I drove to LA so that

 I could attend bonus son Ivan's competition.

First night there Hannah and Nick went to a

 friends B-day party Barbie themed.

They went as Barbie and Oppenheimer

First two nights at Ben and Helene's 

Ben grilled a lovely meal and I was eaten alive (over 40 bites)

by these nasty mosquitoes that invaded CA-aedes - I'll spare you the photos.

In fact I had an allergic reaction called Skeeter syndrome.

It'll be awhile for swelling and infected areas to go away.

Bright and early Saturday after Ben prepared a lovely light breakfast

 we drove to Anneheim for Ivan's event.  

Ivan did great ( second from left),

but was disappointed at second place 

After event lunch at this smorgasbord place.

Many restaurants for takeout and then we reconvened to eat.

I love this photo of Ben and Ivan.

Best buds since jr high. 

That evening a takeout Chinese feast 

Are you grasping the gastronomy path 

we take when together?

 Then kids treated me

 to luxury suite at Mr C's Beverly Hills.

Comped Peach Bellinis to start

Walter and Hannah on one of two balconies.

In the room my favorite pizza caceo pepe, 

and mushroom, both wood fired.

Next day lunch with all-

Here Hannah, Ivan, and Ben

Ben,  Helene and Kevin, Ivan's boyfriend

Walter did great with his new just for the trip, pup cart. He loved it!!

It will totally change how we get out and about.

I highly recommend.

He felt safe and so no barking at strangers or dogs.

 Walter made best friends with security guard Julian. 

We also crammed in a little traditional Target run, 

a visit to Culver's terrific farmers market Saturday morning.

I am so envious of their farmers markets.

Hannah gave me a Taro reading that was freakishly spot on.

Breakfast at the coffee shop where

 Nick and Hannah had first date.

Then salt water pool date at Mr C's with her two besties

Heidi and Jenny.

These thirty somethings even played Marco Polo.

Hilarious!

These three started a very cool writer's group

and all are doing great things, well, WILL

continue as soon as strike is over.

Walter enjoying our last morning.

Oh and yes this is dog friendly hotel.

A doggie area right near the front so we went up 

and out easily as needed.

Gorgeous landmark hotel and it turns out I stayed 

there the last day it was Mr C's. 

It was sold Monday to a large corp.

I sure hope they keep all the staff.

They were exceptional.

So this is 70

A wonderful visit with the most important people in my life.

I hate sharing any photos of me, as those of you who have been here

 since 2008 can attest. However it seemed to be a requirement for this post,

even with my swollen, red, arms and hands from those horrible bites. 

 It's an important milestone and although

I felt guilty for all the kids did for me, it was such a blessing this gift

of time we all shared. 

I gifted them each part one of my Story Worth. 

You saw the wrapped versions in a previous post. 

 I'm thinking that this next year I will 

search thru the years of blogs for some writings 

I am pleased with and add a few more gems

 to who Suzan Rennie was.

This was the bookmark I added to their books

One of my favorite photos of me at 24,

before I was no longer just Suzan Rennie.

oh so very long ago.

Z