Easter Eggs for the Rich

I've been neglecting a number of important things lately-the computer is a black hole that sucks up time. It started as a thing to look at when I couldn't sleep at night or would wake up early in the still-dark morning and, not wanting to wake the rest of the house, I began to surf....Don't get me wrong-I really love the blogging world and the kind and talented people I've come to enjoy there. The fact is though that too many times during the day I find myself here-doing this. That means I'm not working on art, taking care of things, and generally wasting too much time. So, I've decided to take a little break in order to bring some order to my life. Maybe for a couple of days-maybe for a week. I find that when I'm blocked about something( a lot lately) I'm working on-I immediately sit down here and get lost, thus accomplishing nothing artistic or otherwise.

Anyway I wanted to let anyone who is interested know that I'm O.K.-just in need of some time away from blogging. I feel all out of sorts and for some reason a little short tempered and sad. Where's that coming from??? Must be allergies or the weather.

I was going to put some cute bunny stuff up in the spirit of Easter and then I came across these fabulous Faberge eggs on line. They were given as Easter gifts by Czar Nicholas to his wife Alexandra and his children for the most part. The first one is my all time favorite. I love Lily of the Valley.

This one, of course is a fav here-being made of shamrocks.

They are sometimes on the market-most were owned by the Forbes family and a large portion of that collection was sold at Sotheby's to some famous people-Joan Rivers owns a bunch. They are gaudy and beautiful and magnificent at the same time. Imagine being so wealthy that you could spend $60,000.00 on an egg-that's the estimated price of the Lily of the Valley and the others are in that range. Since the whole family was assassinated in a hail of bullets, I hope they enjoyed their eggs while they had them. Even if I had that much money, I can't imagine spending it on jewels but they are beautiful, tiny, masterpieces nevertheless.

I just thought you might like some holiday eye candy. I'll see you soon.

signs of spring and changes

So sorry for the crappy picture but the signs of spring are here for sure. I'm not sure if you can see it but right before I snapped this shot there were about six goldfinches feeding here. As soon as I opened the door all but a couple zoomed off. That's o.k. cause now we can put out the other feeders and I can lie in wait for the rest of the bunch with the camera at the ready. These little beauties are my warm weather harbingers and my obsession. With them come a host of other finches and teeny little birds. I have trouble looking away. Like I need another reason not to work.
My friend Gerrie Congdon says I wouldn't like her kitchen because I said I don't like 50s stuff. I think I confused my eras. I've seen Gerrie's pics of her house and her new kitchen curtains and such and I love the look of her stuff. I think what I don't like is Formica and plastic and Jetson's type housing. By the way-I hate housework-so we would get along well. However, we live in a small townhouse type structure attached to the old part of the house. Space is very very limited. Housework sucks but in these small confines I really have no choice. If left to it's own devices we would be buried under a pile in days. All of us are pack rats. That makes it a consistent struggle. What we really need is a dumpster. Nearly all of the upstairs is our bedroom with a walk-in closet and large bathroom. I have the whole front of our bedroom for workspace. At least that's how it should be. Right now it's the repository for all the crap that we don't know what to do with as well as overflow fabric and sewing supplies and art supplies. Dumpster needed??you betcha!
I am going out in the next few days to find out about a personal trainer for me. The time has come and I hope we can find someone who our wallet will accommodate. I need structure and someone to get in my face. I need that so I can get in shape to get in my husbands and son's face. As I recently said to a friend-it's amazing how getting in shape can bring out the bitch in me. That would be a good thing. Right now I'm Miss Complacent and it shows on everyone. UGH! I'm not looking for a dramatic change just something to put me on the road to physical health. I'm panting just climbing the stairs. I wish I was strong enough to just go back to Weight Watchers like I did once before and loose 50 lbs. but it's not happening and I need someone to bully me- in person- everyday and I need physical excercise and strength-the rest will follow.
Meanwhile...the goldfinches are here...the goldfinches are here .....yippee

meme from Debra

aprons - y/n?-yep-my favs are from Williams & Sonoma-plain white professional. Hubby brought back cool ones from Alaska with puffins on them. Need to make the neck band longer. I need aprons because I have boobage that gets in the way. All my clothes would be ruined.

baking - y/n?- love to but we have diabetes issues here so I don't often. I do make biscuits and scones often. Never touch my oven for any reason from May to Sept-Oct. If it can't get cooked on the grill-it's not on my radar.

clothesline - y/n?-what is this thing called clothesline?????

donuts - ever made them?- when I was young, my Oma used to make them and I watched-does that count? She made great ones with a sliver of apple in the middle.

everyday - one homemaking thing you do everyday?Laundry, laundry and laundry. Son with job working on cars-smelly laundry.

freezer - do you have a separate deep freezer? - no.

garbage disposal - y/n- no

handbook - y/n?-what ???I gues by this you mean Martha or Fly Lady or that type thing?? NO No NO & NO I grew up watching Donna Reed and June Cleaver so I know what is expected of the dutiful housewife. I've been cleaning house since I was 7ish and my mother went off to work at 6 am and I had to clean, make myself breakfast, lunch, and walk to school in Forrest Hills, Queens for Gods sake. I think it made me a stronger woman in the longrun but---Enough of housework. If it needs doing-I'll get to it eventually. No More Guilt!!Fortunately I married a man who is easy going and happy as long as I'm happy-Doesn't get any better than that.

ironing - love it or hate it?- I know it makes me sound crazy, but I love to iron. I think it represents a part of life that can be made perfect(Martha, where?) I like neat clothes that are pressed.

junk drawer - where is it? It would be easier to show you where the one drawer that's neat is.

kitchen - design and decorating? Kinda country-ish. I'm very eclectic. If I love it it goes with everything. I'm not fond of retro 50s type kitchen stuff, although I like the linens and feed sack stuff.

love - what is your favorite part of homemaking?-Favorite? that's not a word I would apply to any housework. I like cooking a holiday meal and I love grilling outside and making things for my family. I'm surrounded by GUYS so mostly they don't notice anything and as far as the food-I could spend ten hours cooking and they would still scarf it up in minutes. It's just a guy thing I've come to live with.I've learned in more important ways how much they love me.

mop - y/n? Doesn't everyone-I like the swiffer thingy but I find it doesn't really clean well enough. The dry one is great for quicky run throughs.

nylons - wash them by hand or in the washer?Who made this a question and who wears nylons. I don't even wear knee highs anymore and I don't think I own any panty hose either.

oven - do you use the window or open it to check? open it. My eyesight isn't the best and the window has that mesh stuff that you have to be eagle eye to see through.

pizza - what do you put on yours?We have the best pizza in NY and I love a good cheese pie. Lately though, many places have come up with interesting additions. The best one lately is chicken marsala. Chicken and portobella mushrooms and a light marsala sauce. Very good. Most of the time it's the real deal though.

quiet - what do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment? Nearly all my moments are quiet. I read, computer, sew. I don't work outside my home and I volunteer so I make my own hours for that. Roger has been very good to me. He enjoys seeing me enjoy myself. I am very blessed.

recipe card box -I have one that belonged to my MIL Dot. It's just something I keep for sentimental reasons.

style of house-Old-added on to. The original part of the house is a salt box type built by my late FIL Jim. We added on a town house type structure when we moved here. My BIL Bob lives in the old house and we live in the new addition(not so new anymore18+years)It's a work in progress-or not in progress most of the time.

tablecloths and napkins - y/n? -No

under the kitchen sink -Billions and billions of cleaning things.

vacuum - how many times a week? -We only have carpet in our bedroom and on the stairs so it is easy to keep up with- once, unless I'm working with fabric up there.
wash - how many loads do you do a week? Countless-Son works on cars and I never seem to get ahead. Yes, I know-James should do his own laundry but I don't trust him not to ruin our stuff, the machine and such. The laundry is in my uspstairs Master bathroom(hubby thought it would be better than my having to carry stuff up the stairs_thanks honey!) Anyway, during the night stuff goes on in the bathroom(dark, angry, stuff) and by morning the laundry explodes. Another WIP.

x’es - do you keep a list of things to do and cross them off?Nah..
.
yard - who does what?Big honking yard-mostly BIL Bob and James when you can hold him down. Roger and I have bad back issues. I'm only good for planting a couple of things and R is about the same.

zzz’s - what is your last homemaking task for the day?dishes into dishwasher-put up coffee for morning.

It's yours if you want it. you can copy questions from Deb's Daily Distactions here http://debsdistractions.blogspot.com/index.html thanks Deb.