Sunday, March 5, 2017

i need glasses

A flock of redwing blackbirds has been hanging out at the birdfeeder for the last few days. This is the earliest that I've seen them and with this cold snap (-20s) they are probably regretting their decision to come north. The forecast is calling for more seasonal temperatures in the next few days, so hopefully they'll make it through. In the meantime we'll keep heaping the sunflower seeds on the platform.

Last night was Erik's 13th birthday celebration. It started off at the arena where we all cheered him on in his hockey game. It was a loud a raucous time - not our family which is pretty subdued, but all the other moms, dads, and grandparents hooted and hollered and rang their giant bells. Not the ideal place for the sound sensitive.

After the game we had supper at Mom & Dad's. Mom cooked steaks while Erik sauteed up his signature shrimp dish. Very yum and perhaps the beginnings of a master chef. Olaf was visiting which is always nice.

Friday Carm got a call that there is a bed for his mom at an Italian nursing home, so we met up with his sister Maria to check it out. It is a big room and she'll even be able to bring a bit of her furniture along. It is a relief for the whole family that she'll be somewhere with proper care.

On our way home we stopped at Marks clothing store so I could look at jeans. No luck and with an average price of $50 getting two pairs seemed super expensive. At the last minute we decided on a trip to liquidation (which was 40 min from where we were) to look at what they had. I don't often find anything but luck was on my side and I came home with 4 pairs for $35. Last night my outfit was mostly stuff from liquidation: $7.50 grey jeans, $15 grey nubby sweater, $5 t-shirt. I wasn't exactly a designer fashion plate, but I think I looked okay.

Today (Sunday) is a gorgeous day, cold but oh so sunny. We couldn't stay in the house and needed to take the truck 'out for a run' so off we went with no destination in mind, until we thought of the flea market - it is open on Sunday and is a cheap diversion… though not so cheap today.

Over the last year I've noticed the flea market cleaning up. The junk is not so junky and the vendors are displaying their wares in a more attractive manner which has raised the prices. Today a set of delicate glasses (8 water glasses and 10 smaller ones)  caught both our eyes. They are made from a golden glass which shimmers giving a lovely effect - we both thought they would look great with my gold chargers and white linens. We walked around the rest of the aisles and then after a brief discussion went back to negotiate. We were happy with the deal of $25 for all 18 glasses.

On the drive home my mind flitted over my cupboards and wondered where on earth I was going to put these new treasures. We could leave them packed away in a box, only to be unearthed at the right occasion but I wanted to get a few ready for more regular use. Once we got home we got to work. Carm washed & dried while I rearranged and threw out making room for 6 of each size. The rest are safely packed in a box. If we ever get the craft room done I'll designate a cupboard for extras.

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