Continuing to Downsize...

One of the hardest things in the world to do (for me, anyway) is to downsize.

Many of us spend years of our lives accumumlating "stuff", things we perhaps once loved or even still do.

However, our housing situation may have changed and we now are in a much smaller space.

It's virtunally impossible to hang on to all the household decor that we love.

There simply isn't room anymore.

For instance, once upon a time, my cobalt blue collection was very extensive, since I'd taken possession of all the pieces a sister gave away.

Throughout the past five years, little by little, (because it's so difficult), the downsizing bug has bitten hard.

The cobalt blue collection is now down to a very few, random pieces, kept on the sills of the bedroom window.

The last, lingering pieces are shown in today's post. 

 My fave is the little sapphire-colored angel with the golden wings. She is so sweet.

Gone is the lovely, large, Colonial, front entry home I loved for years. 

Now, home is a small, lovely but cramped two and one quarter room apartment. 

How long the cobalt pieces will remain is unknown. 

Since deep pink cranberry glass is my favorite colored glass, it might not be too long to let go of the blue pieces.

But not the angel!  

She's a keeper.

She's the color of my September birth month, blue.

So scrap downsizing when it comes to angel girl 'cuz she's staying!

HAVE YOU EVER HAD TO DOWNSIZE?

A Make Your Own Sunshine Day

On sunny days, the glass cross shown in this post makes hundreds of rainbows all over the ceiling and walls of my bedroom.

That's a heck of a great way to start a new day of life.

There is something magical about being surrounded by mini-rainbows and lots of them. 

On dark, overcast days, however, of which Massachusetts has many, there is no sun and, therefore, no colored prisms. 

Those are the days people must make their own sunshine.

Today is one of those.

There is still a plan for the day and that makes the gloom easier to swallow.

The sunshine must be in our hearts and minds.

When it is, the day will still be beautiful and filled with promise.

May you, on this day, wherever you are, carry sunshine in your heart. 

WHAT WILL MAKE YOUR HEART CARRY SUNSHINE TODAY?

Caribbean Island Art

 

Ethnic art has always fascinated me.

It's a delight to see the designs and styles of artists from all corners of the earth.

The clay dish seen in this post came from a Caribbean Island off the coast of Cancun, Mexico.

A first glance of the dish in a thrift store showed that it was definitely Latino styled art. 

Then, I saw the words "Isla de Mujeres" lightly painted on the bottom of the piece.

That's how it was found where it was from.

The colors,  details, and story it could tell about the people on the painted dish, all fascinate.

The painter's name is on the back.

It's a nice little dish that makes a bold statement, now adorning  the wall of a small apartment in western Massachusetts!

    DO YOU LIKE ETHNIC ART?

Fancy "Rolled Flowers" for the Bathroom

While scrolling through the Internet the other day, a short video on how to turn toilet paper rolls into flowers, caught my attention.

It's always very helpful to have a roll of toilet paper nearby when the one on the holder is running low.

|In the video, the making of these "flowers"  was definitely easy as pie. 

First of all, tear four small squares from the roll and set them aside.

Then take a pretty napkin (the larger, the better), in the design of your choice, and starting with a pointed corner, roll and tuck it into the hole of the toilet paper.

When it's completely covered and tucked, take the four small sheets of toilet paper and push them down into the tube.  

The "flowers" shown in this post are now on a tray set on the back of the toilet, along with a fragranced diffuser and bathroom spray as well.

Voila!  You will have paper ready to use when you need it and geesh, the resulting "flowers"  are so darned cute!

They'd be especially nice for guest bathrooms. 

Many thanks for this idea to whoever thought it up and shared it on the Internet.

Truly Colorful Tulips

 

While pushing a shopping cart down the aisles of Michael's (craft store) recently, we stopped to look at some of the adorable Easter items.

Many had 50% off tags in front of them.

Then a painting of tulips halted the shopping cart.

Bright, cheerful, and positively smile-producing, the painting's price was in the 50% off items.

Nope.  

I made the originally intended purchases and left the store.

The tulips painting kept coming into my mind-----relentlessly.

The following morning, I decided to go back to Michaels.

If, by some miracle, the tulip painting was still there, I'd buy it as an Easter treat for myself. 

If it was gone, then it wasn't meant for me to have.

It was there!  

It's now in the spring gallery on the bathroom wall and I love it!

WHEN IS THE LAST TIME YOU BOUGHT YOURSELF A TREAT?