Turning the Tables

hey y'all!!!

oh.my.gosh. i've been v. bad. AGAIN.

i know i'd promised to blog more often, but more often than not, i don't. whaa??

i don't know. life is so crazy. either i'm too tired, too bizzzzy or something else comes up.

ANYway, what drew me back to blogger (gahh gahh gahh!! it took me THIRTY minutes to figure out my login and password!!) was my most recent project(s).

recently, as i was driving down a neighborhood road, i spotted two cafe tables, sitting pretty as you please, curbside. naturally, i slammed (er, i mean slowed down) on my brakes, hit reverse and backed up to the aforementioned cafe tables. not ONE, mind you. but TWO of them. CURBSIDE!!!! (read: FREE)

i don't know about YOU, but my heart goes into v-tach (that's like real fast thumpety thump-thump for you non-medical types) when i see "stuff" that has been tossed out and kicked to the curb.

i mean, one man's trash, blah blah blah, and all that jazz, right?!?!

so i jumped out, hauled the not-so-light tables to my camry, arranged them nicely in the backseat and headed on my merry way.

let me interject here and say that these cafe tables were UgLy!!! if i had no motivation or inclination to paint them, I'D throw them out too.

case in point:

 

 

seriously?! red and silver metallic stripes! what was this USED for?! WHO used it?? looks like something that belongs at the north pole, no? ho-ho-ho!!

and then THIS one:

 

metallic silver with an attempt at trees on the top! what. the. WHAT?? maybe the tin man from the wizard of oz lost his table along with his heart.

 

 

well, i've been wanting to do a chalkboard project for the longest time. yes, folks. that's right. i'm the LAST person on planet EaRtH to use chalkboard paint. so before i even got home, i knew that one of those tables was doomed, i mean, destined to have a chalkboard top.

ALSO, i've had it in my crazy tow-headed/gray brain to paint something ... ANYTHING ... a lovely robin's egg blue. i've fallen head over heels in love with it and thought it'd be a nice change-up from my usual PINK. yes, i know ... a moment of silence. she's not using PINK.

over the last four days, the project has finally come together (after only 3 trips to walmart, several naps, multiple xanax and more than a few cuss words!).

the gawd-awful red and silver metallic table (henceforth to be known as table 1) was converted into a chalkboard table. i used the robin's egg blue for the heavy metal base.

 

the metallic silver table (table 2) has been transformed into a lovely cafe table. it has the robin's egg blue top and white for the heavy metal base.

 

i think they both turned out pretty well. i love it when i can rescue an old, thrown out, kicked to the curb piece ... and give it new life. makes me just a tad sentimental for some reason.

together, before:

 

together, after:

 

 

with any luck (blogger is imPOSSible to work with ... slooooow photo uploads, weird screens, ack!) my next post will be about another recent rescue rehab, a bad-a$$ old screen door which was teetering atop another pile of junk, on another road, awaiting another life.

til then!

love and hugs,
terry lee

 

let's have a cup of tea!

VBS (Valentine Bottle Swap)!!!

hey y'all!

and a big 'ol HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY to everyone!

okay, maybe it's a couple of days early, but i just couldn't wait any longer to share my valentine bottle swap goodies!

yes, my dear sweet mother figure mollye over at fruit of the spirit, sponsored a valentine bottle swap and this was my very first time to play! you might call me a valentine bottle swap virgin (VBSV) ... or you might just wanna pass on that. ;) heh heh

ANYhow, my VBS "secret pal" was a sweet lady named barbara boyack at dog mom diva and boy, did she make me feel SPECIAL! what a lovely way to be ... er ... initiated into the world of VBS (am i the only one who keeps thinking vacation bible school when i use those initials?!).

barbara is one sweet gal! since a picture speaks a thousand words (well, so could i!) i'll let them do the talking this time.

thanks a BUNCH, barbara! you made my valentine's quite special! love, love, love the bag (i. am. a. TOTE. fanatic!!!) and the sweet lil magnets ... and the yummy smelling votives ... and wait! i was going to let the pics do my talking. yikes! here ya go:

sweet grouping!

i HEART these cute magnets!

can't WAIT to burn these yummies!!

 

my hubby LOVES betty boop!! great choice!

 

adorable lil card!!

 

YOU, barbara, are AWESOME!!

 

THIS is going junkin' with me saturday!

THANKS again, sweet barbara!!

 

and i'd be remiss if i didn't thank mollye for hosting this VBS ... that's VALENTINE BOTTLE SWAP to you southern baptists! :)

 

MUCH love to y'all,

terry lee

She's Comin' Down

hey y'all!

on the way home from today's thrifting haunts, i drove by "my" old silver water tower as usual. it seems i've always lived nearby this water tower, ever since i was born. it was an icon of my childhood. a part of the scenery and background of my life.

when i was a little girl, i used to imagine it bursting and flooding the neighborhood ... but mainly i had happy thoughts and memories of it. the silver tower served as a beacon in many ways. i always knew HOME was close by.

well, i was gobsmacked to see HUMANS on top of it and quickly pulled over to take some pictures. then i drove closer to investigate. were they cleaning it??

i drove down the little side street leading to the fenced-in area at the bottom of the tower ... and discovered a full crew of worker men, cranes, etc. OH! they're renovating it, i thought to myself. how nice!

i noticed a clark kent-looking guy, notebook & pen in hand, interviewing what must've been a supervisor, because all he was doing was standing there in his hard hat, smoking a cig. it didn't take long for them to spot me and soon they were at my car.

i babbled on and on about how special this water tower was to me, growing up in the shadows of this silver giant, blah blah blah ... and then the reporter blurted out, "well you DO know they're tearing it down?!"

"uh, no. i did NOT know that. i thought y'all were cleaning it. or even better ... renovating it. you can't tear down my tower!"

"it's not being used," said hard hat. "they built a newer one over on lake road."

like. THAT. mattered. to. me.

clark kent started asking me reporter-type questions and scribbling fast and furious (i talk fast) about my history with the tower (oh, we go WAY back, all the way to 1961). my sweet little elementary school (fowler elem) is right across the street, where i spent 6 years of my childhood and many hours on the playground swings and slides, looking up at my huge silver friend and wondering what it'd be like to climb up that high. scary!!!

after chatting with hard hat and clark, i left the scene feeling a definite and significant sense of loss. tomorrow, i'm told, is when the "BIG" crane comes and "that's when things will really start coming down fast," hard hat had told me.

i don't think i can watch it. how do you watch an old friend just crumble (or clang) to the ground?? i circled the streets and took a few more shots of the silver giant, realizing this may be the last time i see her standing there.

keeping Perspective in check, i realize a water tower isn't a person or pet. i've lost both and nothing compares to that grief. but it's still a loss ... perhaps just a symbolic icon of my childhood and the fact that sometimes memories will have to do.

love and hugs,
terry lee

Would You Doily Me a Favor??

hey y'all!

it's the weekend but it's WET and DREARY outside ... so yadda yadda yadda, i'm at home sitting in front of my computer. blogging when i should be working ebay or at least sorting/sifting through That Room of mine which is FILLED to the GILLS with junk.

GOOD junk mind you. the kind i need to SELL.

why am i using so many caps?! i think there's an italicize button on this thing for emphasis. let me check ... ok now i see it! no more yelling.

anyway, queen of digression that i am ... i'm blogging because i wanted to share my new baby with y'all! it's a gorgeous, one-of-a-kind lamp shade for my vintage lamp lady (yes, i realize she has no arms. but i don't discriminate. i'm an equal opportunity vintage junk lover).

if you've read my blog in the past, you'll remember me talking (more like raving) about my dear friend sue (aka vintagesue). this lady is a treasure and her creations are simply incredible!

i was telling her the other day that i get a natural "high" when i see the lovely things she's created. i swear, the endorphins are buzzing fast and furious in my blood and brain. she. is. a. creative. genius! a magic-maker!

and what an angel she is. after showing her my new vintage lamp lady, she volunteered to doily-up a lampshade for it. wow. who am i to turn down an offer like that?!

so here it is, in all its glory! it's a beauty and made by the loving and oh-so-gifted hands of sue. the only problem i have with it is ... it's so beautiful all the way around, with different embellishments ... so which side do i display???

i guess for now i'll just turn the shade a degree or two every morning and it'll be a new masterpiece every day!

thank you, thank you, thank you sue!! you're. the. BEST (and yes, now i'm yelling)! :)

love and hugs, y'all!

terry lee

I Can't Talk Now. I'm Breathing!

Hey Y'all!!!!!!

It's been so long since I've blogged ... AND blogger has changed SO much since I've last written, that I don't know HOW or WHERE to begin!!

What I really wanted to write about is my CPAP machine, which is now history. Well, it's still in the house but will be gone just as soon as I can manage it.

I was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea a couple of years ago, after a two-night sleep study. What a joke! The sleep study, that is. Sleep apnea is no laughing matter. It can lead to chronic health problems if untreated. Apparently, your body needs lots of good, restorative sleep. Who knew?!

Anyways, for two years I've been putting off the inevitable, mainly because I KNEW I wasn't cut out for a CPAP machine. I was right!

After some not-so-gentle nudging from my doctor, I decided to give it a whirl. After all, it couldn't hurt me, right? WRONG.

The medical supply girl came to my house last week and set me up. Instructions, supplies, a trial run with my "dosage" of air. It was all fun and games until I put the contraption on for the night. GAAAHHHHH.

Sure, I was medicated. To. THE. HILT. Like most sane folks, I do NOT care for anything covering my face/nose/mouth at any time of the day or night. But especially when I'm trying to SLEEP. So I figured the drugs would prevent any anxiety associated with all that garbage attached to my head.

No. Wrong again.

I lasted about 2 hours, if that. At 12:30am, I had drifted off and woke with a start. I yanked off the mask, tubing and whatever else was attached and bolted out of bed. That's when I realized that my nasal passages were sore and my right eye (I'd recently had surgery on this eye for a blocked tear duct) was uncomfortable.

The next morning, I emptied the water from the humidifier section, disconnected the hose/tubing/mask and packed it all away ... right back into its nifty black bag and zipped up the case, along with any desire I'd had to be a successful CPAP user.

Some users have concerns about their sleep partners. Some of those sleep partners have concerns of their own. Mine (my dear hubby) had only one: "will the machine make any noise that might keep me awake?" No, the thoughtful inventors designed it to be as quiet as a mouse. Or almost. And even BETTER: the user can't TALK while using the CPAP because the air flow will be disrupted ... something my hubby was happy to learn! Grrrrr. Not being able to talk or open my mouth at will?! Impossible!

But speaking of partners, this is where I'll add that the CPAP machine could be an effective birth control device. At my age and post-hysterical-ectomy, I'm no longer in need of those services, so it didn't immediately register with me that it serves dual purposes: it helps keep your airway open and all other by-ways CLOSED. See photos.

More than anything, I'm perturbed. Not at myself. I know that my body is sensitive and doesn't like anything new or foreign in or around it. I get that. No, I'm perturbed that in the year of our LORD, 2013, THIS is the best we can DO for sleep apnea?!

Scientists! Doctors! Researchers! All you Smart People out there!! WHY, oh WHY can't we figure out a better, less obtrusive way to treat sleep apnea?!

I pity the folks with severe sleep apnea who are definitely at higher risk for health problems ... the ones who MUST use these torture devices. I can chuck mine (gladly hand it back to the medical supply folks) and wash my hands of it. At least for now.

Anyhow, that's my rant for today. Feels good to be back in bloggie land. I knew I'd return some day, but I also knew that it was all in the timing. Welcome back, my maniacal muse! I've missed you.

Love & Hugs,

Terry Lee