Flailing

Yesterday I delivered vegetables and Clark wrote "Mary at the mansion" on my delivery list instead of plain old Mary. It was funny how many people saw us in the newspaper! Last night at the school carnival, loads of people were talking about it. If my neighbor was in the paper I would never be the wiser. So our fame lasted two days. Back to vegetables -- at the first delivery I fell down someone's front steps! My feet slipped out from under me so we had the whole spectacle of shoes soaring through the air, skirt flying up, and me landing with a heavy thump on my tailbone. The woman who lives at the house came running out and felt quite helpless as I sat to catch my bearings (and even had some tears). Baby was crying in the car so as soon as I was able I wobbled over, tenderly sat down, and slowly drove away. I started to think how my life would change. I have so much to do every day, I just wanted to go home to bed, and I have just started exercising regularly! Of course, I already feel quite a bit better, walking and sitting aren't too bad, just picking things up, etc. So, as usual, I always suffer from the gloom and doom complex and think everything is going to be worse than it really ends up being.

Twice a week I pick up three kids from preschool and take them to their respective daycare facility. Phin is getting so that he recognizes that we are at their drop-off spots and knows that I will be getting out of the car without him for a minute. He starts crying even as we first drive up and I think that is so smart of him that he can identify where we are! I was telling Ella what a genius he is and she said, "If he was so smart he would know that you're coming right back so he doesn't need to cry every time." She has such a candid perception of life. Another example of his intellect is that he has started playing peek-a-boo by putting his hands on his forehead or over his ears, etc., but never his eyes. He thinks he is doing it right and throws up his hands, opening his mouth in a wide smile. It is so utterly adorable I wish that you could all see it -- never fails to amuse.

15 Minutes

I hope that everyone had a Happy Mother's Day!  My family is always sweet and I try to stay out of their way (who knew it could be so difficult to stay out of the kitchen?).  We didn't have time for breakfast, but then there was a big nacho lunch and a grand sweet pork taco salad for dinner.  Yummy!  I had heard on the radio that a local mansion would be open for free tours on Sunday afternoon and then when I looked up the address I realized that it was only a few blocks from our house.  Since it was such a stunning spring afternoon we strolled over there and enjoyed meandering through the rooms, oohing and aahing at all the little details, and waltzing in the ballroom.  Light refreshments were offered so that we could survive the trip home, and then we spent some time on the grounds.  Imagine our surprise to see this on the front page of our local paper Monday morning:

Mary Smith of Bloomington, was joined by her daughters, Ibby, 6, and Lucy, 9, as she sits to watch her son, Phineas, 1, after touring the Broadview Mansion in Bloomington. The mansion, built in the early 1900's, was open for tours Sunday afternoon. (The Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK-NEISLER) (May 10, 2009) 

We were famous for a moment.  Good thing it was a slow news day and the governor wasn't being impeached or something!

My rain dance seems to have worked too well -- it poured all night.  I hope my son is not too sodden.  The new day has dawned bright and all is ready for my Mother's Day tea.  I was a little worried this morning because unfortunately I don't think things are urgent until they are URGENT and hadn't gotten anything ready yesterday.  For the sake of time I had to sacrifice some of the elegant touches like place cards and streamers, but we will be fine as long as we have the essentials = very cute food!  I ran to the store this morning to procure the makings of watercress sandwiches and scones, my helpful friend Kristi came over to help set up tables, etc., my lovely husband swept the patio free of maple leaf blossom debris, and the tea is steeping.  Baby has just nursed and now I should probably dash!

Spring Chatter

Oh, life is so busy, too busy.  Spring comes with delightful baggage -- twice as many chores in a day!  I have been raking out last fall's leaves, churning up the earth for another year of riotous exuberance, and madly planting -- dahlias in front, hydrangeas in the sheltered back, and goodies in the one sunny plot.  I finally put in the vegetables.  Some of the same stars have returned for another season -- swiss chard, zucchini, and heirloom tomatoes that go into the many recipes I have collected for just those ingredients.  We also have some new faces -- arugula for that extra kick in a salad and some lemony basil.  It has such a strong lemon component we will have to see how that goes over in the pesto.  I also came across some chocolate mint that I just couldn't resist sampling at the nursery (um, that lady over there is ingesting the plants), it tasted amazing, but I couldn't quite make myself purchase a mint plant when I have plenty at home steadily overtaking the other defenseless herbs.  

I was bemoaning the unceasing drizzle last week, but now that I have been planting, I am singing a different tune, "Rain, rain, please come again.  I don't want to use my watering can!"  I am spoiled living here and not at all used to having to water my own garden!  My adorable niece was over for a visit this afternoon and said that Illinois was just the place for me.  You just put something in the ground and it grows.  (Except for my boxwoods -- I had such high hopes of a hedge in 25+ years, I will have to post a picture of its demise).  I do indeed enjoy my little piece of Earth and I watch the skies for any signs at all of precipitation (Ooh, it has gotten really dark and gray, rainfall is imminent.  Drat, here is the sun again, you know, the one I have missed all winter.  More clouds blowing our way, just a little further...).   Of course, even in the midst of my petitions, I am torn because I have also been grateful for the unseasonably dry week -- oldest boy is off with the school for a week of Outdoor Education.  They are out sleeping in tents, cooking their own food over campfires, and indulging in nature walks.  Oldest girl had a very wet week a couple of years ago so we are glad there hasn't been a duplication of that.  Surely he could survive one good afternoon soak and the plants would be much obliged, I'm sure.

Love Seat

And we cannot forget the darling little love seat that was the best price of all -- free!  Complete with colorful afghan and that ever-present black cat.

"New" table

Here it is -- the table that changed my life.  I moved one of the chairs so that the fancy legs could be seen.  What do you think?  Do you think it matches my house?  And me?  

And also a picture of some cool old butterflies I found at a garage sale, and the temple picture that made me question my ability to make basic decisions.

The Amazing Sale

Last Friday I thought I was spontaneously stopping by an estate sale.  I had never been to one before and I had a little time between the post office and whatever was next on my list (Facebook?  No, surely something more important, although now it seems to have slipped my mind).  There were a lot of cars on the cramped street so I had to pull over and let all the cars that had gotten there after me pass by and then I finally found a lonely little spot way down at the end of the street.  I always feel personally affronted by such circumstances, "How rude.  Don't they realize that I have to carry a big baby all that way?  They don't have big babies.  They are selfish.  Oh wait, I am trying to lose weight.  What a great opportunity."  So instead of changing my mind, I lugged my big baby down the street, around to the back of the house and in through the garage.  The scene was typical of any other garage sale: an old fuchsia sofa (I need a new couch, but my walls are red, cringe!), random gardening tools, some broken chairs -- no portent of anything noteworthy.  I wondered if this was the sale in its entirety, but then saw that there were people inside the house.  I sidestepped my way unsuspectingly through the narrow back door and found myself in a veritable Aladdin's Cave!  (Angels singing -- Aaah, Aaah).  Everywhere I turned another treasure caught my eye.  In the butler's pantry were tiny Limoges saucers for .50¢, the kitchen held heaps of trays and bowls overflowing with kitchen ware.  The dining room had sets of china and old Japanese framed prints.  The living room had beautiful furniture -- lacquer hutches and a mahogany secretary.  I found myself wanting to transport the contents of the house lock, stock, and barrel to my own.  But I resisted and merely crept around looking and pondering.  There was part of me that felt like a plunderer, rummaging through another woman's things while she is powerless to do anything about it.  And the thought coming quickly behind  that you really cannot take it with you.  You spend your life scrambling around  and really in the end, very little of it matters.  Those impressions kept my hands loot free for a while (or was it that big baby?) and I felt somewhat somber as I looked at the scraps of her earthly life:  She was a mother -- three boys and one girl; her husband was a prominent doctor in the area; she was catholic; she loved dishes, crystal, and silverware; she was a quilter, a gardener, a reader, a cook, a traveller, a homemaker.  She had made a lovely home and I felt a comforting spirit there.  I turned, and there on a table in a back room were my dishes that I use every day!  I smiled and thought, "We are kindred spirits.  No wonder I like every single solitary item in this house."  This discovery changed my tune as I began to think that she wouldn't mind, with her newly acquired perspective from the other side, if her things went to another house with someone who would enjoy them.  I thought about my own eventual demise and the inevitable letting go.  It will be fine.  With that I picked up a lovely set of cake plates -- each with its own flower pattern, grabbed the little saucers I had seen earlier which would be ideal for sushi dipping, and then went to stand in line.  I made my purchases then stopped back by the dining room.  Hmmm.  What a table!  It matches my hutches perfectly.  And those chairs.  I don't like the way that lady is eying those.  In fact, I am pretty sure that those belong in my house.  I picked up the phone and told M that I was going to buy a new dining set.  "We already have a table."  "I know, but we this one is perfect!"  We went the next day to pick it up and everything was discounted, in fact by the time we left everything was 75% off.  Here is what we ended up with: dining room table with three leaves and six chairs (same brand as my free hutches), loveseat (exactly the same shape as the one I have wanted online that cost $3500 and I was considering saving up for, given to me free because I bought the table), a black afghan with bright flowers (exactly like the one in "Stranger Than Fiction" that I admired so much that I checked out "Crocheting for Dummies" from the library because it had the pattern and I was going to try to make it myself even though I don't know how to crochet), the game "Acquire" (Matthew's favorite game ever and no longer sold in stores and one which I need never play since I am obviously expert at acquisition), my set of dishes -- I now have 18 dinner plates, time for a party! (she had them marked $100, but then gave them to me free when I told her they matched ones I already have), a hammock (I have wanted one for five years and have scoured clearance aisles and garage sale in vain.  I didn't want to pay too much and it ended up that I didn't), a Christmas tree skirt (with pom poms on the edge), a cake slicer (my mom has the one that I grew up with and that was her mother's.  I have looked for one like it at antique stores and thrift shops for years and there it was sitting patiently with its yellow handle that matches my kitchen), and various other plates, bowls, etc.  I think that is all of it.

The first question is should I ever set foot inside another estate sale?  There would not be room enough to receive another haul like this last one, but surely nowhere else would I be able to find so many of just the right things.  I have been having dreams about the sale almost every night (it really had an effect on my subconscious) and woke up quite disappointed on Monday that I couldn't go find one somewhere.  And what did they do with the things that didn't sell (hands wringing, did I need something else)?

And the next question is, what does this all mean, if anything?  It was incredible to me that so many things that I have been searching for were right there at that one house.  I really am not looking for that many things, but I am learning to be patient and just wait for them to find me.  What if I hadn't gone?  Would the Earth have stopped spinning?  Was I meant to go there?  Was it a coincidence?  Or was it a blessing, a tender mercy if you will?  And if so, why?  Things aren't that important, and certainly me having things isn't that important.  And there are plenty of more deserving people in the world who seem to have it pretty rough.  This is a question I ask myself often about amazing little occurrences that happen in my life and I really don't know the answer.  What I do know is that I want to give credit where credit is due.  I know that God loves me and I am sure that I am supposed to "pay it forward" somehow since I have been smiled upon.   I am grateful for what I assume was a unique experience.