Chimera

When my sister was visiting, she offered a hearty endorsement of Nordstrom's house brand undies.  I am involved in the perpetual search for perfect underwear (i.e, doesn't feel binding, never rides up, washes well, no panty lines) and so I paid attention to her rave review.

Over the past weekend, I decided to brave the crowds at the mall and head on over to Nordstrom.  I texted my sister for a reminder of the brand of undies I was looking for.  She said that they were called Shimera, which she explained is Nordstrom's-speak for "fancy ass."

And I'm nothing if not fancy-assed.  In my mind, of course, Shimera immediately became Chimera…..body of a lioness; ass like a goat….that sort of thing.   I managed not to blurt this out to the nice lady at Nordstrom when she pointed me in the direction of the miracle skivvies.

They are amazing, by the way, just as KO promised.  I'll need to sell my soul to buy some more.  But when I do, I'll be a fancy-assed Chimera.  Which sounds like some sort of discount super hero.

I could do worse.

Mariposa

Last weekend in Washington D.C. featured a trip to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum.  Two of my colleagues raved about their walk through the butterfly exhibit on the second floor and so JT and I decided to give it a try.

The display featured more than 24 butterfly breeds, all doing their butterfly thing in a double air-locked butterfly wonderland.

The butterflies were everywhere, flying about and enjoying their day.  It was truly awesome to stand there and watch these beautiful creatures.  From cocoons to adult, they were in various stages of butterfly life.  That's a remarkably short life, by the way, which made them all the more astounding.

Some opted to get up-close with the astonished humans.

Still more relaxed and enjoyed the day.  We're still talking about the extraordinary butterflies that we saw; it was time most well spent. 

Companion

A few months ago, I bought a soft red blanket that caught my eye.  I was already thinking about using the color in my living room, an extra blanket is always handy to have on hand, and it was $7.99 on the clearance rack at Target.  I call that a win-win proposition.  I first deployed the blanket at the foot of my bed, to protect my quilt from the cats. 

JT took an immediate liking to the blanket and he soon took to wrapping it around himself when he went to bed at night.  He gave it a name, called the blanket "my companion."  Since then, he's completely claimed the blanket for himself.  We don't even call it the red blanket; we call it Companion.  Mostly, it stays in his flannel nest, ready for the evening's sleep.

On Thanksgiving, he brought it downstairs for his marathon viewing of Mythbusters.  He stood before me, wrapped in Companion, and announced "Woot, woot.  Companion in the house."  Then he, Companion, and his feline companions, settled down to watch the telly.  This here is fine living, JT style.

Thanksgiving Cooking

There is almost nothing I enjoy as much as putting a well-planned supper on the table.  The prep work, the actual cooking, and even the clean up are all enjoyable tasks for me.  One of the reasons I like to cook is the immediate sense of accomplishment I take from the process.  Cooking keeps my hands busy while my mind wanders, yet another reason I enjoy it so much.

I'm a girl who would enjoy nothing more than making supper for a crowd of family and friends.  So it's one of life's ironies that my family is on one side of the continent and while JT and I are here on our own in the midst of the most densely populated state in the nation.

Happily, the two of us are more than capable of making a celebration on our own.  And so that's what we did for Thanksgiving.  Two people can't possibly do justice to even the smallest turkey, so we opted for fried chicken instead.  I served it with green bean casserole (a Pioneer Woman recipe that I highly recommend), roasted carrots, and rosemary rolls.  We had pumpkin pie for our dessert.  At my house, absent family is present in the form of new and antique dishes that set my table.  My grandmother's pepper shaker joins my great-grandmother's vegetable bowl and her relish platter.  They play nicely with the yellow plates that my mother helped me to select a few years ago and the antique dishes I began collecting when I lived in Tennessee.

Our Thanksgiving supper was hardly traditional, but I'm quite sure that the pilgrims would approve.  And JT and I enjoyed it together, for which I am most thankful.

Real Life Conversations at School: Thankful edition

The backstory:  Working with teenagers means high emotions.  Several times each year I spend time with a tearful or angst-ridden teenager who has been disappointed by something or someone.  When that happens, I listen, offer the usual sensible advice, and then gently point out that if this is the biggest disappointment to ever come their way they will have a very happy life.  On Monday, one of my Model Congress team members came by to review the weekend's events and I expected to trot out my usual platitude.

Senator X:  To be honest, Ms. Sassafras, I thought that I might win a gavel.

Me:  I thought so too; debating ideas is your strong suit.  But you never know how these things can play out.  What would you have done different?

Senator X:  I haven't really been thinking about that.  But I have been thinking that I've got a lot to be thankful for.  Even if I never win a gavel, I've got a pretty great life.  I'm at this school, my family is healthy, my parents are happy and good to me.  I've just got a lot to be thankful for.  So it will be okay.

Me:  Young man, you are wise beyond your years.

Conversations like this are a reminder of why I am so thankful for my job.  And there is much more for me to grateful about: I am thankful for a healthy family, a laughing son, a comfortable home, my garden, my cats, and so much more.  I hope that you have much to be celebrate today.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Living Room Redesign: A Glimpse

As I wrote last week, I'm in the process of updating my living room.  A new color scheme has been selected and new furniture has been ordered.  My mom has been at work on the new window coverings.  With the decisions made, I'm just waiting for things to arrive.  I'm in a furniture holding pattern.

Until yesterday, when I arrived home to find the new chairs in two boxes on my front porch.

Yippee!

JT had a friend over and L was drafted to help unpack the chairs.  The boxes were opened and then dispatched to the front yard for recycling.

The new chairs were carried inside and placed in their assigned corners.

JT gave one a trial sit.  He reports that it passes with flying colors.

I've since taken off the protective covering, of course.  I'll wait until the room is complete before I unveil the furniture here.  But things are changing around Sassafras House.

Stay tuned!

Real Life Conversations at School: By and For the People Edition

The backstory: I've just returned from the weekend's Model Congress events, where students spent hours and hours debating public policy.

Student J:  I think that the real Congress should take some time to listen to young people. 

Me:  Then maybe young people should try voting every once in a while.

It would seem I wasn't my normal cheery Ms. Sunshine today. Ouch.

Monkey in the Middle

I'm in Washington D.C. for the annual Model Congress trip and while the students are busily legislating a better tomorrow, I'm just enjoying the city.  Yesterday, we headed over to the Museum of Natural History to enjoy the company of our fellow mammals.

JT and B successfully fled the stampeding elephant.  That was good, because they had a long-lost relative with whom they wanted to catch up.

Household Style: Living Room, part II

On Monday, I started to write about the living room re-design underway in my house.

The walls are a light taupe that tends toward grey; it's neutral but not plain.  The floors are a golden oak and the woodwork in the living room (and all of downstairs) is walnut stained in a dark tone.  The room receives lots of light in the mornings; it's darker in the afternoon.  Even in the afternoons, however, the number of windows in the house ensures a good amount of natural light. 

The windows have wood blinds which match the woodwork and valence curtains in a cheery blue gingham.  They were made by my mom and she's agreed to make new ones, so those will be updated to coordinate with the new furniture and new color scheme.

The artwork currently in the room is a combination of World War I and II propaganda posters, a piece of linen embroidered by my grandmother, and family photos.  Most of the those photos are black and whites running up the stairway and hanging over a red storage bench that was a garage sale find a few years back.

The carpet on the floor is a red weave from Flor which I've had for more than three years (and which I still adore).  My goal is to construct a room around the carpet and the bench, both of which will remain.  The lamps and tables in the room will also stick around, as will the linen embroidered cloth.  The other artwork might be changed; the jury is still out on that.  I don't feel the need to paint the walls, as I still like the color very much, but I'm open to the prospect if necessary.  The colors at the heart of the new room are brown, dark red, cream, and brown.

The layout of the updated room will likely be the same as the current room.  For starters, that works just fine.  In addition, the room doesn't really lend itself to re-arranging.  The ottomans, which JT uses to sail across the living room (!) will be evicted.  One is likely headed to the study, with the dark blue chair.  The other may go to the playroom.  If I find any replacement ottomans, they will not have wheels, which is strongly opposed by JT but favored by the Mama for very obvious reasons.

The new sofa and two chairs have been ordered.  I've been looking at Waverly fabric and have settled on a pattern with dark red, cream, and brown for new window treatments and some pillow covers.  When the room comes together, I'll post new photos.  In the meantime, it's awfully pleasing to think about the changes that are coming!

Mug Shot

This month, JT and I have discovered the most remarkable leaves in our yard.  These babies are cover-your-face HUGE:

After I made this picture, I asked JT to hold Giganticus Leafus below his face and got this photo for my troubles:

When I remarked that this was like some sort of unhappy leaf mug shot, my boy laughed, which landed me this shot:

That laughing boy is all mine, ladies.  Step away.