Transformation

I got a start on reorganizing my crafting area in the basement into a functional area again today. I moved all Durwood's books over to a different shelf (for now) and am putting up shelving that will better hold all my yarn, pattern books and needles. I thought about putting a bunch of my books on Book Mooch but I don't want to replace books, I want to get rid of them, plus I'm not thrilled with the idea of paying postage to ship them off. Maybe I'll just haul them to Goodwill or donate them to the library for their annual book sale. It's a much bigger job organizing the craft area than I thought it'd be but I'm determined to work my way through our accumulated crap this winter, free up some storage space, donate things we no longer use, and make better use of the space we have. I want to have access to my newly reawakened interest in sewing there too, so I have to make nice space for fabric and all the sewing odds and ends I brought home from Mom's. And I can't forget to make a place for my watercolors. In other words I'm trying to shove 10 lb. of sh*t into a 5 lb. sack. Typical. I went over to let Porter out this afternoon and played with her for a while. Being out in the yard throwing a ball for her and chasing her around really blows the cobwebs out of my head. She's not supposed to be interested in or try to get at the chickens but that darned Henny & Penny cluck around and taunt the dog until she tries to run at them or burrow under the fence. I think I hear them laugh when Porter gets yelled at. Crazy birds.

December 30--American or European, Evening Dress. "I can't imagine wearing something like that," Meris said, her arms folded across her middle. "Me neither," said Diane, "who ever thought bustles looked good and how did they sit?" "I can't imagine." The women kept on walking through the exhibit marveling at the styles and admiring the fabrics. "I never imagined that peachy pink would look so good with that red, would you?" Meris shook her head. "I wish we could touch the clothes. I want to see the underwear too." Diane frowned at the red silk evening gown with its enormous bustle. "Do you think they made special chairs or sat on benches? And how did they ever go to the ladies' room?"

I'll bet they didn't wear undies because they could never have gone to the privy by themselves with all those skirts and frames and stuff. Crazy fashion. Happy New Year's Eve!
--Barbara