Dresses are finished...

and I have reclaimed my living space from piles of fabric, sewing notions and the machine. What! you thought you would see the finished dresses BEFORE the wedding? No way -- you'll have to wait for the wedding pictures next weekend.

This is the way we wash our clothes....

When I first moved into my second floor apartment I went to the laundromat to do a couple weeks' worth of laundry--no simple task. I hauled my basket of dirty laundry half a block to the parking garage, took the stairs to the proper floor (I NEVER remember what floor the car is on, so the elevator was not an option), loaded the car, spent about $15 to wash and dry, hauled the clothes back to the car, parked the car, took the elevator to street level, and dragged the basket to my apartment and up the stairs.
I thought, "This is nuts! too much work AND too much money."
So I spent $15 for this washboard (found at a local antique shop), $15 for the handwasher (the thing that looks like a metal plunger and which I found in a catalog) and another $15 for a drying rack. I figured the items would pay for themselves in a month and a half; and it would be a lot less work. And the bathtub became my "washtub." Convenient and fairly easy....after a run, I'd dump in a load of clothes, scrub them and let them soak while I had a few minutes quiet time, then drain the tub, rinse the laundry and hang it to dry. I work in an office, so I do not have to worry about heavily soiled clothes or heavy clothes (like jeans). To save my back, sometimes I'd hop in the tub barefoot and plunge; that way I didn't have to bend over the side of the tub. My dad, however, did NOT approve of his daughter doing laundry in the tub!

So when his wife saw this electric Wonder Washer on television, they bought it for me. It holds 1.8 gallons of water, enough for the amount of clothes that will fit on the drying rack I already had. I wonder why someone hasn't invented something like this before. Basically it's a 2-gallon blender, except the ingredients placed within are water, soap and laundry, instead of food; and it has an agitator instead of cutting blades. Instead of the typical blender handle, this bucket has a handle similar to those found on any two-gallon pail. It has two "speeds" -- standard and gentle. The "tub" lifts off the base (just like a blender jar). I filled the bucket from the tub faucet (my kitchen sink faucets have separate faucets for hot and cold, so I can't mix water temperatures from there), carefully placed the bucket back on the base, added a small amount of laundry and twisted the lid back on till it sealed. I then plugged it in, turned it on and it agitated the laundry for me, saving me the work of plunging clothes with the hand washer or rubbing them on the washboard.

Ahhh....even better. No hauling laundry to the laundromat, no collecting arm loads of quarters for the machines, AND no bending over the tub to plunge and scrub.

My phone rang and "Dad" appeared on my caller ID. I picked up the phone and said, "Hey Dad! This is perfect. Thank you so much!"

Upgraded Living Room

The "perfect" living room has people in it, like mine did today (unfortunately I didn't get my sewing picked up so it was still piled everywhere; I quickly just dumped it on the table). Left to right: Stephanie (Anna Maria's friend since middle school); Anna Maria; Stephanie's mom; and Geoffrey holding Michael. Stephanie's mom and I used to walk and talk several mornings a week, when we all lived in Tonawanda, NY. I haven't seen her for about 15 years or more. It was great to see her; and we picked up right where we left off. Staunton is halfway between Stephanie and her family's house, and my daughter and her clan's home. So my block (Cranberry's for lunch and my apartment later) became the "we'll-meet-in-the-middle" spot.
Anna Maria, Steven and the girls also brought the rest of the my birthday present from the crew. Eliza Grace picked out the lamp. The sheepskin (which, my daughter said, is a real one) is so soft against the skin, which is great in hot weather and on bare legs. And the pillows can be a back or arm rest.

Turning 50 -- STILL MORE!

This settee is a birthday present from my siblings, daughters and my best friend Nelson.
In Staunton yesterday, AM said she had to run an errand and asked if I would watch the girls for a few minutes. I got busy making some lunch and was just ready to eat when she returned, and asked if I'd take a look at something with her. At my urgings (not knowing what she was up to), we ate and then went to see what she wanted to show us. The girls were anxious to go swimming, but agreed to wait after their mama whispered a "secret" in their ears. She showed me a couple secretary type desks that she just wasn't quite sure about. One was old and neat looking, with a fold over top and pull out desk top, but a bit shaky. The other was brand new, a reproduction of an antique looking piece of furniture.
Let me backtrack a bit. Several weeks ago I saw a secretary in a store and we talked about how something like that might fit in my apartment. That particular one, however, was extremely expensive. And the reality is that I just really am not much of a traditional desk user; and after we had discussed it I wondered how much I would really use one. Nonetheless something the right size might be practical and cool looking in my extremely old apartment in historic Staunton, I thought.
Then Anna Maria explained that my other daughter, my friend Nelson, and my siblings had all pitched in to find something special, something that would last, for my apartment. And she said I could look at things, but not at the price tags. I had to trust her on that. Now that I realized this was a serious shopping trip, not just a visual treat I got more serious. The two desks she had found would have been great, but not perfect. We also saw a chaise, which I considered. It would be more durable than a futon but provide seating area and a place for the girls when they stayed overnight. But it was lumpy and really needed reupholstered, though the fabric was fine. I just wasn't sure whether I needed guest seating or a work space more.
I asked AM if she'd mind wandering through one more store with me, a market where different dealers rent space. She had already been there, but agreed to wander through with me. We were wandering, perusing, talking, thinking when we rounded a corner and saw this settee -- mission style, love seat size (meaning we would actually be able to get it up the 34-inch-wide stairway to my apartment).
As soon as I saw it, I said to AM, "Look at this! What do you think of this?" (Later she said my eyes just lit up when I saw it, and she knew it would be perfect. Mission style is my favorite, she remembered). She checked the price and said, "On my budget I could get this AND some pillows for it."
Curbing my enthusiasm, I checked it out. Solid, not a wiggle or wobble when seated on it or handling it. The cushion has a two small discolored areas; some day that could be reupholstered easily. In the meantime no one using it needs to fear of making the first spill. And with the right colored pillows and a throw tossed over the back...well you get the idea.
AM went to pay for it; Eliza stayed behind to guard it. The dealers at the desk offered to deliver it later, but I said, "We can carry it home. It's only a couple blocks."
They looked at us -- AM weighs about 100 pounds and is almost 5'2" tall. One lady said, "Well, I suppose if you get tired, I guess you can always set it down, sit on it and rest a while!"
Exactly, I thought as I remembered making three trips a few weeks back to carry the dining chairs and washboard home from that same store.
The dealers opened up the double doors. AM and I hoisted the treasure and headed out, attracting onlookers seated near windows in restaurants. Passers by made room for us to pass, the little girls in front. As soon as we got the settee up the stairs and in my space, I burst into tears. It is perfect! It complements the diptych that I love, that AM made, and it complements the table and chairs I bought earlier.

New Living room

Because the realtor is showing the building in which I live tomorrow, I put away the sewing project and de-cluttered the living room. Above: the new-to-me gate leg table unloaded and open. Below: re-arranged and tidied living room.

Projects

I told daughter Sam that I would make her wedding dress, and the assistants' dresses as well. That was before I learned that I would be moving to Staunton, Va (she lives in Hornell, NY). She said I could borrow her sewing machine, but she sews a lot and I couldn't imagine her doing without it for a whole summer. And anyway, I figured I could borrow Anna Maria's machine, who lives in Broadway, Va--just an hour away. Alas! that was not to be. AM's machine is a wonderful basic machine, but it cannot seem to handle fine fabrics. After weeks of pondering and advice seeking, I decided on a new Brother. About the same time a friend of a friend at church gave me a wonderful gate leg table. Folded up it takes only a scant amount of space in my apartment. Opened up it's a great work table. But the table came sans chairs...

Today I visited an antique shop I often frequent and found these solid, but ugly, wooden chairs with vinyl seats for just $40. No big deal...they're comfortable and I figured they'd work as comfortable sitting chairs for visitors AND as dining room chairs.

I also found this glass washboard, which covers up some nasty mars and nonremovable large black screws on the bathroom wall. And so I made three trips, three blocks down the street to haul my loot -- first the washboard and a chair, then two chairs and finally, on the third trip, the last chair. But on the way home, my ADHD kicked in when I noticed The Golden Tub Bath Shop. I left the chair just outside her shop and went in. Seeing a whole wall of cloth shower curtains, I got an idea. The owner, a widow, asked "the same question I was asked when I moved here...how did you come to Staunton?"
I answered and she asked if she could help,
"I have a very bizarre idea. I just bought four chairs and I'm thinking that one of these curtains would make excellent new seats for my chairs."
In a very business-like manner she asked, "Well, what do the chairs look like?"
"Well," I answered, "I was carrying the fourth one home when I decided to stop, so it's right outside your shop."
"Bring it in. Let's have a look." She then proceeded to bring out four or five options -- in the color schemes I was hoping for, and all in heavy fabric. And then she said, "And I have this one that has a flaw, so I have to sell it for just $15."
I couldn't decide. I said, "My money is at home. Let me take this chair home, and bring my purse and the painting that I'm decorating my room around." I hurried home, and took down a diptich AM had created and carried them to the bath shop. I set them against a counter, and the shop lady laid out the curtains -- one and then the other. It was easy that way to decide, although as she said, "It will look different, of course, in different lighting..." She also asked if there was enough fabric to cover all four. All good things to consider. I decided on the $15 curtain. I really liked the soft, almost suede, fabric of another one; but it was $40 and just not quite the right color. As I went to pay, she said, "Since you're new in town, let me sell this to you for $12." So for $52 and some labor, I could have a gate leg wooden table and four pretty chairs. Excited, I came home and immediately went to work.

The finished chairs...they be can painted or refinished, but the worn look goes very well with everything else in my apartment. So I decided to stick with doing just the seats for now. Now, with a good chair at the right height (I had been sitting on a folding camping chair with pillows stacked on it to bring me to the right height), I dove into the sewing projects for Sam's wedding.

AND I made a lot of progress. No sleeves, trim or hem yet, but it's coming along. To see "the rest of the story," you'll have to keep checking my blog.

Moving in -- an ecumenical journey

Very quaint, don't you think?



Magdalena stands in front of what has become her favorite seat -- the radiator. Eliza, who loves to dance, found the wooden floor a perfect platform. (Both photos by Steven David Johnson).

Moving to Virginia was an ecumenical journey involving Pentecostals from Iowa, Virginia Mennonites, and NY and VA Wesleyans and Presbyterians.

On Easter weekend, my Wesleyan friends Camelia Sheesley, Steve Bragg and Nelson helped me load a U-Haul trailer with my belongings. Then Steve, Nelson and I headed for Virginia, where we left my things stored in my daughter's shed. We hunted, to no avail, for an apartment and returned to New York.

After finishing classes on the 10th, I received several monetary gifts and gift cards from Pentecostal and Wesleyan New Yorkers and Iowans --all necessary to help me meet the financial costs of paying a down payment and renting an apartment. Steve Gardner, facility manager at Crosswinds Wesleyan Church in Canandaigua, organized a wonderful open house -- providing me an opportunity to say thanks to many people who had encouraged me as I finished up my bachelor's degree in paralegal studies.

From there I drove over the Dansville (NY) hill through the snow at about 45 mph, praying I wouldn't slide off the highway and into oblivion. Though the bad weather ended near the PA border, Nelson told me later that Canandaigua received about six inches of pure slush that weekend.

After stopping for a spot of tea at my daughter and her family's in Broadway, I drove to Fishersville, Va.. There I met Barbara Ray, who attends the Parkway Wesleyan Church in Staunton. Though she had never met me, she put me up for a couple days until I found an apartment. Virginia Mennonites, Presbyterians and Wesleyans all helped with the search. Though Barbara was an awesome hostess and became a good friend, I was anxious for "home".

So on Wednesday evening, the same day I signed the lease on my apartment, I camped out in my new apartment existing on what was crammed into my Toyota, some donated goods from Barbara Ray, and some household items from my friend Camelia. I slept on a donated air mattress, donated by my Presbyterian landlord. By morning the only thing between me and the hardwood floor was my sheet and two layers of the vinyl mattress. All the air had escaped during the night. No problem...I was home!

On Saturday, a Mennonite family in Harrisonburg donated their van so I could haul my belongings from my daughter's home to Staunton. Once there Anna Maria set up my kitchen. Steven hung a few pieces of artwork, making my apartment seem a bit more like home. Eliza Grace and Magdalena helped put my bathroom shelves together, and then Eliza organized those things. Magdalena then went to work setting up a nightstand -- picking just the right scarf for a decorative touch and then organizing my Bible, devotional book and planner very carefully so that the edges of the books were lined up parallel to the sides of the table. What fun it was to watch as each one left a bit of their personalities in my new home.