Good Things

IN the spirit of continuing to post about things that make me happy, here are a few things that have made me smile.

Faux Kate Spade handbag purchased at Goodwill for 1.99





My garden in bloom again.


I'm still on-again off-again, as I'm sure my infrequent and weird posting reflects. Spring is here and I'm loving the good weather and long days. I'm less than a week from an 11 day vacation, and Thomas's and my 2 year wedding anniversary is this coming Monday. I've got plenty to smile about.

Still, I'm struggling to stay on an even keel. The kids are always particularly trying during the week before a vacation, and my gas bill came and it's 300 dollars, because you know, excellent.

It's weird: in the spring I get these crazy urges to do chores. Like, right now, I just really want to mix a big tub of OxyClean and go out and wash the cement in front of the house. Seriously. And I think I'm going to indulge myself in that today. I also crave giving the dogs a bath. And I'm finally feeling ready to tackle the music room wall that has been waiting for a revamp since November. Maybe spring cleaning is a real and actual urge, instead of just something mom's say to get everyone to pitch in once and a while.

Things In My Purse

I know I should be on vacation from this blog, but I can't be. I'm all devoted and stuff now. Anyway, I just want to tell you about some things that have made it into my handbag over time.

My mom used to say that you could tell she was a mother by the contents of her purse--not because there were bottles or diaper pins in there, but because there was a hammer, some crazy glue, 5 carrot sticks and a butter knife. Because who knows how those things got in there? I needed them! I'm a mom!
Once she went to some event at the White House with my Dad who used to work on Capitol Hill and was detained by security because there was a screwdriver in her purse.

Though I am not a mom, except to Gert and Gonzo, my purse seems often to fill itself with strange and interesting things.

There used to be a great picture of me sitting in a bar with a pile of things around me from my purse. I'd been looking for my cell phone. In my left hand, I'm holding the cell phone. In my right, I'm holding up a package of potato nails, because they had been in there too. (For those not familiar with potato nails, they are long aluminum nails that you put in a potato to help them bake more evenly and quickly. People always ask me that when I tell this story).

Once, in Jackson's Barbeque, the hushpuppies were so good that I decided to wrap the extra ones up in my napkin and carry them home in my purse. Then I forgot about them. There are still traces of hushpuppy goodness in there.

I had a wrench in my purse for almost a full year because my friend Jennifer needed help building her grill and I brought it over to her house in there.


All this occurred to me because last night, at my terrific friend Michelle's house, I put a tomato in my purse. The aforementioned Jennifer had brought nice ripe tomatos from her garden. I took one, and having no better place to put it, I stuck it in my purse. Miraculously, it made it home in one piece.

Once I put a lit cigarette into my purse by accident. I was sitting at the bar, and someone told me it was time to go home, so I started packing all the things around me away into my purse. I'm surprised I didn't add the whole ashtray, a couple beers...
Clearly, it really was time to go home.