Sunday Was A Day At the Movies

On Sunday, DH and I sacrificed an hour of sleep and went to the movies to see "Avengers Endgame" which was - yeah - fantastic. It's a long movie, but I was absolutely pulled into it. I had my bottle of water and my large popcorn and I was planted - never to be moved until the final credit and Spiderman preview came on. So many characters in the Marvel universe, and they managed to tie most of them into Endgame beautifully, close the door on one storyline and open another at the same time. That's the way it should be. 

All of these characters and many more are part of Avengers Endgame.
I want to see it again, just to get a good look at everyone who
arrives for the ending battle scene. It's quite the party. 

Of course, apparently I was suffering from brain dead (as well as a website that had its problems) and the tickets I ended up purchasing for the movie actually were for a cinema in a different state. Fortunately there were seats still available near where I had wanted to sit, so I wasn't out there, but I double-paid for the tickets. The guy at the booth assured me that I could get refunded for the incorrect purchase and I'll be phoning the company today to get that rolling. 

The audio enhancement system they use at our theatre screws
into the cup holder and can be adjusted to optimum
position. It gave a teleprompter-style of text, similar to
captions on a TV screen. DH loved it. 

We also tried out the text augmentation they had available for the hard of hearing. DH wanted to try it and actually said it was excellent for 2-12 hours, until the power went out. He will definitely do that again, it made all the difference to his enjoyment level of the movie. If you can't hear dialog, it can be very difficult to enjoy a film. 

It had been a while since I had seen Ant-Man, but
his character was pretty important in Endgame.
I love how well the Marvel universe manages to
interlock the characters and themes of the movies
so that the many become the one. 

After returning home we did a bit of house and yard work, then settled down with margaritas on the patio for a little bit. It was cold, though, so we didn't spend a lot of time outside. After an afternoon nap to catch up on missed sleep, we had dinner and a relaxing evening. All good! 

Here's hoping your weekend was wonderful. I thought of my mother and the many other mothers I've met throughout my life. What a batch of strong, independent and loving women they were. I was and still am very fortunate to have had them in my life. Happy Monday and I'll return tomorrow. 

A Celebration of Mothers

I'm sending a call-out to all  of you because we've all had mothers. Some mothers are wonderful - we think about them and it's almost like a perfect Disney family - smiling children, caring parents, a pet or two and, of course, the swooping and singing birds. Other parents aren't the greatest at parenthood. In some cases, parents should never have been allowed the responsibility of raising a child, or even a parakeet. Still - all of us have mothers and this weekend is Mother's Day here in the USA.

Mom was a real beauty and Dad always treated her like
a Queen. If it was within his power, he would get her
anything she wanted. In that small person (she was
only 5' 2") was a backbone of steel. She was a strong,
capable and amazing woman. 

I am fortunate. I had two mothers - one who gave birth to me and immediately gave me up, and one who saw a baby as an opportunity to shower someone with love, sunshine and possibilities. I never met my birth mother, but I'm totally OK with that. If I had been born in the USA, I might have tried to examine the records and discover who my birth mother was, but for a foreign birth - much more difficult.

Like most adoptees, I've thought about looking for my mother. My cousin hunted for her birth parents, found them, and they wanted nothing to do with her. On the other hand, my niece hunted for her birth mother, found her, and discovered an extended family and a racial identity that has made her life richer and more expansive since then. My husband never bothered hunting for his birth mother, even though he was locally born and could probably have discovered his origins fairly easily. But I never bothered - a foreign mother and an adoption from the years when records were closely guarded and never released - I think it would be too much digging and not really worth the effort.

I had a mother - I had two. They both loved me, they both matter, they're both in my heart. I'm grateful beyond words for my birth mother because her actions allowed me to have my adoptive mother - a talented, loving, brilliant woman I was, and still am, proud to call MOTHER. Celebrate your mother this weekend, even if you live outside of the United States. Mothers need more than a single day. Those who are actually acting as compassionate, loving caregivers deserve celebration every day.

Have a wonderful weekend, I'll be back on Monday! I'm off to swim.

Furs and Mathoms

I love the feel of fur, and I do sell pelts at the store because my customers use them in many assorted ways. But I've never been fond of fur coats. Nonetheless, fond or not, I own three of them that I inherited from various women in my life. 

My aunt left me her Autumn Haze Mink jacket. It's lovely, but
I've never even put it on. It just takes up space in my closet. 

I own a shorter Autumn Haze mink jacket that my aunt left me when she passed in the mid-1980's. It's a lovely jacket and I've never worn it. 

It's a pretty item, but I've never been fond of
Persian Lamb and I don't wear fur jackets. I wish
I had been able to turn down this gift. 

I own a black Persian Lamb coat with fur collar that I was given from my mother-by-marriage's estate. I didn't want it and really tried to not accept it, but my father-by-marriage wouldn't hear of my not having it. DH and I figured it was wiser to not upset him, so I ended up with the fur. Again, I've never worn it and it collects dust in my closet. 

I actually like the black full-length mink coat my
mother left for me. It was a 50th wedding anniversary
gift from my father and it's a lovely coat. The main problem
is that my mother was several inches shorter than I am,
so it hits me at the wrong leg point. Maybe I should
look into getting it restyled? 

Finally, I own a long black mink coat that I inherited from my mother. I actually do love this coat, and wore it at my mother-by-marriage's funeral service and burial (it was a January day with sub-zero temperatures and that coat kept me warm and toasty in the church at at the cemetery). 

So, on my agenda today is bundling up the three coats
into Minion and taking them to Ribnick's Fur for cleaning,
storage and repair. It would be nice to at least feel like I'm
taking proper care of them, even if I don't wear them. 

Why bring up coats? It's spring, and I've never had the coats cleaned or stored properly since inheriting them. But it's something I really should do, so I'm adding a trip to a furrier in Minneapolis to my "to do" list for the day. I want them cleaned thoroughly, stored for the summer to keep them safe, and then I'll pick them back up in the late fall. There is also a small repair needed for the black mink. I have no idea what they will charge, but I should at least look into it before giving up on them as ridiculous in this day and age. 

I wish there was a Mathom House where I could donate the
coats and not have to worry about them any more. 

Have any of you been given gifts that you just didn't want but felt that you couldn't in good conscience give away? That's my situation here. Even though these wonderful women aren't living any more, I'd feel guilty if I gave away something that they treasured. So it will end up costing me a monthly storage fee. *sigh* Happy Wednesday to all. It's looking like my rain will hold off until late afternoon, but it'll be a windy day. 

Thanks for Sharing & A Photo Blog for the Weekend

First of all, thanks to all of you who participated in yesterday's discussion of obesity and perception. It was a wonderful discussion with lots of very valid viewpoints and statements and I learned a lot from all of the comments. I hope each of you who chose to take the time to comment have had a chance to revisit the post and read through the various comments. It was a wonderful dialog.

We had a great dialogue and I was pleased to read so many well-reasoned
and beautifully expressed opinions on the topic. 

It's the weekend and tomorrow is both Mother's Day as well as my own 60th birthday *sigh*. Suddenly I feel old and that sucks. So I'm going to try and ignore all of that and focus on beautiful things for a photo blog to end my week. I hope you have a totally fabulous weekend and come back on Monday with a smile on your face. So here we go...

I'd like to think I keep getting better, but today I'm just
not feeling it. I promise this will be the last silly thing I
say about this birthday. I promise! 

Mother's Day is celebrated this Sunday here in the US, so I'm
taking this opportunity to wish all of my f-list a very Happy
Mother's Day. Whether you are a mother or not, or whether your mother
is still living or not, or even if you dislike your mother and have no
intention of visiting or phoning her, spare a small thought for
her on her special day. Because good or bad, she's still your mother. 

Seeing the flowers above made me think about some of my favorite
flowers and that list has to be headed by the blue Columbine. This state
flower of Colorado is one of my absolute favorite flowers. Although I've
tried to have Columbines here in Minnesota, they tend more often to be
the red colored variety. It's the blue,  almost purple color of the
high mountain meadows that are my true love. 

Seeing the Columbine above made me think about other flowers I love. One
that I'm looking forward to are the lilac blossoms that will line my
backyard as well as the freeway exits throughout the city. I love looking
at their colorful blooms, and their scent is one of my favorite natural perfumes. 

As my last flower for today's photo blog, I'm posting red and white carnations
in honor of my mother. Carnations were her favorite flower and she always
wanted red and white. My father bought her red and white carnations
several times a year until the day he died. 

Have a wonderful weekend and a happy Mother's Day. I'll be back on Monday.

Motherhood

Yesterday was Mother's Day here in the United States, a day set aside by Congressional Order to honor and celebrate our mothers. It is a day when I always feel a little bit out of the picture because I'm not a mother and it was a conscious choice that I have rarely regretted. I can't, in all honesty, say that I have never regretted not being a mother, but most of the time I am happy with my decision, as selfish as it can be.

I came to the decision to not have children when I was quite young. I think it was about the time when I realized that if I had a child, my mother would be hovering over me, smothering me and trying to raise my child "better" than I could. It would lead to more fights and less understanding, increased stress and hidden rage, and it would be so generally uncomfortable that I simply decided that avoiding the situation would be for the best.

I just love this picture of Mother Jones marching down the streets of Colorado.

Let me be clear. I loved my mother. Mainly she was a supportive, talented, and energetic person who generously shared herself with me and my father, opened her house to my friends, and still had time for her crafts and artwork. But I am a person who values my privacy and my solitude, two words that didn't seem to exist in my mother's vocabulary. Anything I was doing was fodder for discussion. Anyone I met could be a linchpin for interrogation later. Any book I was reading was an open target for opinion, welcomed or not. Minor issues? Maybe. But after a lifetime of avoiding these flechettes, I shied away from any other doors of invitation. Thus - no children for me. I hope all of your mothers had a wonderful and well-deserved day of appreciation, and once more I am grateful, in my own way, that I am not one of the marching ranks.

Happy Weekend and a Shout Out at Mom

I've got two stories in the pipeline that have to be completed by early next week, so I've got some work to do on them this morning. It is a holiday weekend, many people didn't have to work yesterady so we had a nice regular day at the shop - lots of hand-holding and helping people out but a really fun and interesting day. Ideally today will also be a busy one, we really need a good week this week and the potential is there but we won't know until I lock the door at 5 pm

My Mother at Age 40. Stunning, wasn't she?

My mother has been dead for more than a decade now, but as is the case with parents many times, her influence continues. We weren't best friends, but without a doubt I loved her and still do. Just thinking about her last few years when she suffered from Alzheimer's brings tears to my eyes. Without doubt, it was the most painful time in my life. I bring this out today because tomorrow, the 8th, would have been Mom's 100th birthday. It's odd, I rarely wish for such things, but I would give a lot for just one more hug from her.

Koala Family Hug - too cute!

So, if you have your loved ones near you this weekend, hug them and let them know how much they mean to you. I've been extremely fortunate in my life. I've had amazing parents who trained me and broadened my horizons to include not only daily living skills, but also the finer things - music, art and craft. I've had a husband who supports me even though there are times when we would like to be on opposite ends of the world from each other. And I've had a life of relative comfort, unmarred by the dangers of war and personal dangers. While celebrating over this holiday weekend, please count your personal blessings and reach out to others. It will enrich your life.

Happy Mother's Day

To all of you who either are mothers or whose mothers are still with them, encouraging them, and loving them, I wish all of you a joyous and happy Mother's Day. 

Happy Birthday Mom

Today would have been my Mom's 99th birthday.  She is no longer with me, she died many years ago.  Yet, in so many ways she walks alongside me every day. 

My Mom was a musician - classicly trained at the piano and a graduate of the Vienna Music Conservatory.  She loved art, ballet, and the theatre.  Growing up in Vienna when she did, in an era without television or computers, the smaller theatre companies and musical events were the entertainment of the time.  Although she enjoyed movies, she never got embroiled in that type of entertainment; my father was much more of a movie fan. 

The Vienna Opera - Such a beautiful building.

And my Mom was an artist.  She worked in many different media and each one that she worked in, she also taught to me while I still lived with her.  We made wax candles, we did glass mosaic, we beaded, we painted, we did everything we possibly could.  She was a talented seamstress who worked in the fashion industry in New York City for a while when she first came to this country.  I owe my mother a great deal of thanks for teaching me that following my heart was acceptable, that art could be a thread throughout my life, and that taking joy in creating something was to be celebrated.  So I remember the good times, Mom, not the Alzheimer's Disease that took your life, but the beauty that you tried to bring to it every day.  Happy birthday, Mom. 

Thinking of Influence

Today would have been my Mother's 97th birthday. The photo is what she looked like at approximately age 40. She was stunningly beautiful. Since she died several years ago, obviously she's not celebrating today, but I am remembering her and thanking her for being an intensely creative influence in my life. I know I've written about her in the past, but she was an amazing artist in her own right. She was a graduate of the music academy of Vienna, Austria in the early 1930's. She was a pianist and taught piano here in the US for many years after she moved here in the 1940's. She was an accomplished seamstress and a fashion designer who sewed and designed her entire life. She was a wonderful interior decorator - changing colors, wall treatments, and furnishings regularly and always effectively. She purchased top-line furniture and had them recovered as necessary (an upholsterer's dream client). She also tried her own hand at reupholstering, but after one fully-covered arm chair, she decided that wasn't the direction for her. And in her spare time, she created art through many vehicles. She did mosaic, stained glass, jewelry-both beaded and precious metal fabrication, she painted, and she drew. She was always working on something creative.

The best thing about growing up with her was the opportunity to participate in each of the creative activities that she did. So I did mosaic. I painted plaster. I did complex braids with leather. I did jewelry, and of course, I sewed. I wish I was better at sewing, I could really use her expertise and talent when it comes to making my Renaissance Festival outfits and finery. But, I remember my Mother often when it comes to creating my own art. Even in her last days, as she was dying a living death from Alzheimers, she painted. I have a photograph of the last piece that she painted and I treasure it. Even though her vision was seriously restricted and her mind was also malfunctioning, she still managed to create beauty in her world. That's a daily goal for me and I have her to thank for it. Thanks, Mom. I love you.

Gorgeous Glass

My time is limited, so I don't read a lot of blogs on a daily basis. But one that I do read is the Daily Muse . Today she showed some of the most incredible glass I've seen, and I wanted to share it with all of you. Take a look at these two pictures:

The squash are made by Molly Stone and the bowls are by Michael Cohn. Their studio, in San Francisco, is holding three open house weekends in October. I wish I was anywhere close to their location so that I could see some of these wonderful glass items in person.

There is something wonderful about glass. It is magical - what it will do to light when they play together. My life's art has been working with glass in a variety of forms. When I was very young, I did beading and mosaic work.

My mother was a talented artist who tried many media over the years, and everything she did, I also did. (And yes, she was a beauty when she was young.) She made a number of wonderful mosaic items. Most of those were sold when she died, but I still have a few of her smaller items. She also bead embroidered until very late in her life. She did stained glass work when I was in college. It was too bad that I was no longer living at home, I could have played with that media as well. But I love glass, and because of that love, I am pleased to have shown you the works above.

Have a wonderfully artistic and productive day. Love people, play with color, smile - A LOT.