My last post before this one started off “Two weeks later,” drawing attention to the fact that I had been steadily writing up until the two weeks prior. Imagine my surprise when I looked to see that my last post was four months ago. Yikes!
In my defense, Covid has brought a whole new element of chaos to my job – as it has most jobs. In addition, I have found that block scheduling requires a whole new set of planning magic, and doing that planning has kept me on my toes. Writing, of course, fell to the wayside.
Covid has not only kept us home a lot more because of social distancing, but it has also obliterated my husband’s music career. He plays with a tribute band that mostly backs Elvis Presley tribute artists, but they also play with other tributes. Most weekends are taken up with this band, and I travel with him when I am able to. Now it’s December and the band hasn’t had a gig since MARCH. For a man who has played in bands constantly since he was a teenager, this is a little bit of a shock to the system. We were about to head to a New Year’s gig in Indiana, but now that too has been canceled, thanks to Covid. Needless to say, I am so ready for all of this crap to be done. I haven’t been to a live music event in nine months, and that is a very odd feeling for a couple who used to enjoy live events multiple times in a month.
In the meantime, I’ve been visiting antique stores whenever possible, as it is one of the hobbies that my husband and I truly enjoy. I go for the tablecloths, Pyrex, and other 1950s goodies; he goes for the vinyl. After suffering through a dried-up tablecloth market, I have begun to find them again in stores. I have piles that are waiting to be washed. Most are not tagged, but that is OK. I don’t have to have a tag on it for it to be one of my favorites. If it’s the right color or a cool Midcentury pattern, then I might still buy it. Although I still love finding an unexpected Wilendur or Startex, I have also turned them down because they’re bad colors or just not my kind of look.
Earlier this fall, my hubby and I visited some our favorite antique stores in Spirit Lake, Iowa. As we were standing at the register, I happened to notice an adorable display shelf in my favorite green color, complete with vintage-looking decals. It became a perfect place to display my spaghetti glasses and some polka dot bowls (not vintage, but still cute) that I had found on that same shopping trip. It even has a dowel for displaying tablecloths or whatever else. Here it is with a hastily-folded Christmas cloth that I picked up this past weekend. The cloth is stained pretty heavily, so my folding was designed to mask the major stains.
I am a sucker for vintage Christmas cloths in general, but this one was too much. The colors, the starbursts . . . it was a gem that I had to have. Here’s a closeup of its beauty:
In upcoming days, I will be photographing the rest of the tablecloths that I have picked up lately, along with an amazing luggage set that was so unique that, again, I just had to have it. I’ll also be sharing some of my rekindled Pyrex love – something I indulged in years ago but kind of pushed it off to the side in recent years.
I am hoping this upcoming semester will allow me to have more time and energy to write. In the meantime, I want to leave you with my favorite Christmas gift that I received this past weekend. This is my dog, Miss Molly Mae, dressed as Elvis.
Hilarious, is it not? This artist totally nailed my Molly’s expression, and the fact that it also shows our Elvis love is the best. (Note the dog bone-shapes on the jumpsuit!) You can find the artist at www.hommesurlalune.com, or on Etsy: etsy.com/shop/hommesurlalune .
