Month: May 2018

New display shelves for the living room

When we got the new TV in November it messed up the photo display by being too big. The lower photos in the display were blocked by its massive size.  I took everything down and the photos sat for a few months while I figured out what to do.

The other thing that happened is that we lost the display space on top of the television. (Flat screen drawback!) I had been displaying my postcards and a rotation of photos that had rotated out of the photo mobile.  Not to mention birthday cards. Where are we going to put those now?

The blank space above the TV is still there.  Nothing yet has moved me to fill it. But I did install two floating shelves, one each for postcards and photo, and reinstalled the fancy decorative shelf with photo frames we received as gifts at a wedding (that couple has long since divorced, but their wedding gifts live on). Here’s the long (blurry, sorry) shot:

And here’s the close-up view.

That stack of photos only looked like that for a few days.  I had the windows open, and kept hearing a strange noise at odd intervals.  Eventually I wandered over and discovered that the photos had been being blown off their perch one by one.  They are now sitting in the same folding holder they used to be in and that keeps them safe from the wind.

A past way of meal planning

I had a spiral-bound recipe book and was integrating those recipes into my regular recipe 3-ring binders.  In the front were some notes from when I was pantry-style cooking and whipping things up.  I had my monthly shopping list, my regular breakfasts, my rotation of beans, and a list of things to make regularly to have on hand to assemble meals. Plus my cooking plan and a rotation so I would buy specialty oils on a regular basis.

If memory serves, this was a moderately successful venture. While I’m good at cooking from recipes, I’m not the greatest at taking prepared ingredients and making a fabulous meal, possibly because I’m not good at seasoning food. Thus, everything kind of tastes the same.

I think after this I signed up for a monthly Stonesoup subscription where she sent me six (or seven?) 5-ingredient recipes. That cost $20 per month and I did that for about a year.

SKS postcard: New York


This is a great postcard from Sara which she picked up at a NYC street fair. It’s an advertising postcard–the back is full of details about the artist, but Sara has covered most of those details with blank address labels, so she can write me.

Sara reports she’s made it to the last day of the semester!  Hooray for that!

If you want to see more from this artist, her website is www.bicyclepaintings.com

Small house probably not long for this world

This house is right next to the Bethel Lutheran Church, but it looks too small to have ever been a rectory or clergy house.  I’m guessing that if there was a rectory, it was in the space the parking lot is now taking up, behind the church.

This house was built in 1927 and is 502 square feet. It was advertised for sale “as is” and said it would have to be a cash buyer on the sign. That usually means a tear down  It sold for $235,000 on April 19, so expect that soon there will be a monolith sprouting here. It’s got some nice details that I will miss.  Not to mention the loss of yet another sub-1000 square foot house. Not everyone wants a big place.

Three sentence movie reviews: The Gift

Continuing the psychological thriller theme of the day, Matt and I watched this post-anniversary dinner. Matt’s presence was essential to my viewing; during one scene I was so scared, I bit his finger. This was a complete and total perfect movie experience with the story zinging in different directions, keeping us guessing; by the next day my enthusiasm dropped a notch or two when I realized that Rebecca Hall’s character existed only as something to drive the plot.*

Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home with Matt.

*Aside from, at times, making choices that were completely out of character, she was, by the end, quite literally a vessel.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2015/gift.html

Three sentence movie reviews: A Quiet Place

This was one of those movies where I was completely engrossed while watching and then the entire world fell apart once I left the movie theater.* However, the acting was so good and the movie was so scary, I don’t much mind that this was a perfect movie-going experience and not a perfect movie-ruminating experience. Both Blunt and Krasinski have excellent faces for this kind of peril.

Cost: $6.00
Where watched: The Laurelhurst Theater with S. North.

*For example: the creatures at times had variable hearing–that scene in the poster was one example; how, exactly does winter work, with all that crunchy snow and doors that have to be closed?; I also question how the fields were planted with corn but without the use of any animal or machine.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2018/quiet_place.html

Postcards: SKS and one from Alaska


I got a very fun postcard invitation of Cindy’s parents’s anniversary.  In strange happenstance, they are also expecting their first grandchild this year.   Here’s a delightful post from 2013 where Matt and I attended Cindy’s wedding.

I also got a fun postcard from Sara.  She got it at the Red Balloon Children’s Bookstore because she LOVES Jane Mount, the illustrator.  I was not familiar with Jane Mount, or Ideal Bookshelf, but it seems to be a good way to celebrate books.

Miss Joan Gunnuss

Miss Joan Gunnuss died today. I know her because her husband John is one of my former co-workers. She died of cancer, and like probably all cancer deaths, it’s a shame.

Joan was one of those good people that there should be more of.  She was kind and curious and was always glad to see me.  I’m guessing she was always glad to see hundreds of people.

My first encounter with her was an observation.  It was back-to-school time and everyone was getting into the swing of things.  For me and two other teachers, it was the first time we did the back-to-school thing at this particular school. It was hectic and tiring and there were so many new faces.

One of the new teachers, Ariel, was going out of the school, passing through the vestibule–a passageway I could see from my desk.  A woman was coming in and Ariel and the woman locked eyes.  There was some sort of recognition and exclamation and hugging before Ariel continued out the door and the woman came in.

The woman was Joan.  She had taught Ariel dance, or possibly yoga, when she was a girl.  Ariel was glad to see Joan and Joan was thrilled to run into a former student all grown up.  They had a connection, even after all the years had gone by.

I officially met Joan later that day and we had a connection too. Because Joan wasn’t the type of person to give you a cursory once-over and a “nice to meet you,” then slot you into a category and be done with the meeting.  She really looked at you. She was genuinely happy to meet you.  She remembered things about you.

Joan was a hippie in the best way. She taught yoga. She had long hair.  She was full of joy. She lived in a tiny old house on a blueberry farm that was surrounded by a huge suburban housing development.  She was long and lean and moved with grace and purpose.  She loved her dogs, her children, her husband and seemingly everyone else.

I remember at her and John’s wedding watching her walk to the alter.  She took time to look everyone attending in the eye. “It was like she was thinking, ‘I want to remember everyone who was here,'” my co-worker said later when I remarked on it.

Aside from movement, Joan loved music.  She was always up for a sing along, played guitar and loved to have at least a couple songs where the choruses were whistled.

She will be missed by many.  I’m glad to have known her.