More of My Favorite Things

I have always loved this chair. It is called Thonet Chair Number Nine. I don't have one, but would love to have several one day. The originals are collector's items and pretty expensive.

I do have another original Thonet, the bentwood rocker. I bought it in 1968 and have taken it with me ever since. I lived near Cleveland at the time, and went down to a warehouse on the docks where it had come in on a ship from Poland where it was made.


I also have this table designed by Mies Van der Rohe. It is part of the Barcelona Collection. They tend to be pretty expensive, but I got mine at a warehouse sale at a reduced price because it has a chip in one corner of the glass. I still love it, though; I like the clean lines. It's very heavy; the glass must weigh about fifty pounds!


The chairs in this photo (shown with the above table) are also part of the Barcelona Collection. I have always liked them too, but have never owned one. Back in the 70s I knew a couple who had them in their living room, where I found out they really are very comfortable.


All this started when I took a design class in college. That's where I learned to love all this "modern" furniture (although they were all designed some time ago; I think the style is called "mid-century modern" now).

Obama Stands Firm

Breaking News: I just read that President Obama promises to veto the Republicans' budget bill, H.R. 1363, which includes their "Tea Party-derived riders". I say "you go, Mr. President!"

Well Said!

Did anyone else catch Bill Cosby on the Today show this mornning?


He came on after Donald Trump. When Meredith asked him what he thinks about Trump running for President, Cosby said, "The only thing he's running is his mouth."


Love it!

That Old Time Rock n' Roll

The other night we went to the Big City across the river. We had tickets to see Bob Seger! We ate at a new restaurant that had a great write-up in the paper. The write-up said the chicken pot pie was the best. My husband loves chicken pot pie, so we went so he could try it.


Here is the chicken pot pie. He said it was indeed great, but still not as good as mine (he had to say that).


I had a great big burger and a glass of Scotch. (What diet?)


Bob Seger was playing at the arena, which is next door to the Great American Ballpark, home of the Cincinnati Reds. There was a game that night, too, so town was pretty busy. (The Reds won!)



This is the crowd waiting for Bob Seger to appear:


The lights came up and the crowd roared:


He's down there somewhere... my iphone doesn't have a zoom!


It was a lively concert. People were dancing in the aisles. I don't think anyone sat down the whole time!


There was a lot of "old-time rock n' roll", a lot of beer drinking, a lot of Harley Davidson gear, and a lot of dancing!

p.s. this is Bob "in the day"...


...and this is Bob now:


We Baby Boomers can relate... youth is fleeting! So, if you're young, enjoy it now.

One of My Favorite Things (Or Two)

If Oprah can do it, I guess I can too! That is, talk about some of my favorite things. As I sorted out my closet yesterday, I was reminded of one of them. These felt hangers... I love them!


I first saw them in a catalog, about ten years ago. I bought a few to use for clothes that always slipped off regular hangers. They worked so great that I ordered more. Then I started finding them in stores. I have always hated wire hangers so I replaced them all first. Then I replaced all the plastic hangers.

Now I'm at the point where everything in my closet is on felt hangers. No more wire hangers and no more plastic hangers! I can even color code them so I can tell quickly where everything is. For example, if I have a pair of pants that I like with certain tops, I just put all those items on one color hangers. It's a little like grown-up Garanimals! These hangers have really improved my life. A small thing, but it's made a big difference.

Another one of my favorite things that I wrote about a while ago, but I'm remembering now; this beater blade for my Kitchen Aid mixer. It has a rubber flange (I guess you could call it that) that goes all the way around the edge. It scrapes the sides of the bowl while you are mixing so you don't have to stop to use a spatula so often. Again... a small thing, that makes such a big difference.

I'm At It Again

Around my house, the decluttering process never ends. Yesterday I spent the day going through one set of bookshelves (there is one upstairs and another one downstairs). They are both this big:


I took out three shelves worth and donated them to the library. I took two more shelves worth of magazines to be recycled. Upstairs, I still have eight shelves worth of cookbooks to go through.

Last week, I emptied three boxes of old magazines that had recipes I wanted to save. I tore out all the recipes and put them into separate sleeves, sorted by category.

Today I am tackling perhaps the toughest job of all... my closet. It's hard because I have to try on a lot of things to see if I can still wear them.


In addition to my closet, I have four plastic bins like this full of out-of-season clothes to go through.

When I watched "Hoarding, Buried Alive" the other day I noticed that one woman had these plastic bins all stacked up in her bedroom. That's when I began to worry. My room was beginning to look like that!

The whole process is beginning to make me feel like this:


We are forecast to have 50 mph winds later today. Maybe I should just open all the windows and let it all blow out!

Mayhem

Have you seen this Allstate commercial? This guy (they call him "Mayhem") has an evil smile and a wicked laugh... he reminds me of my ex. He was "mayhem" too!