SOMETIMES I MISS THE OLD DAYS.......

I'm not sure all the old days were "good" old days, but some were.

I have a painter working right now, giving some of my rooms a nice fresh coat and I can't get over the lift it gives! Not that I didn't like the previous colors, of course I did, but sometimes you just need a change. As someone said, the paint didn't owe us everything, it was still in great shape. Good paint=good results. The new color in our living area certainly is giving our little house that "Coastal vibe."

Jamie is on the couch, just chatting quietly with the painter who is an old friend of our kids, and I'm down in the basement, trying to pick through the piles of stuff I've had to store down there during the upheaval of housecleaning. Almost every little piece of wall decor I have or paintings that Krystal has created for me over the years, curiously has a bit (or a lot) of this new paint color, so the whole thing is going to have a surprising "new" look, when in fact, it's all been around for a while.

But I digress.

I also picked up a new set of curtains to match up with the paint, and I planned on shortening them a bit so they wouldn't drag on the floor. No time like the present. So I lit the old wood stove, and hauled out the iron and sewing machine.

Now, anyone who knows me, knows I used to sew a bit. I've lost track of the Prom gowns, one of a kind Wedding dresses, costumes, etc that I've made over the years. The quilts, all manner of garments, I can hardly believe that part of my life is over. It seems like I've reinvented myself every few years.

The ironing board I have came from an old house in Morell that was being torn down and that would have been at least 60 years ago. Momma snagged it, I don't know the details, but it is solid wood, foldable, heavy and was the back bone of my sewing career.

Jaime Lee, in one of her writings said that the constant sound of the sewing machine humming provided the sound track of their childhood. Did I feel guilty sometimes? Rest assured I did. For instance, while the veggies were cooking for supper, why, that's just the right amount of time to set in a collar, and give a quick press to the shirt I was working on, or pin and press the hems on a pair of jeans in readiness for sewing. But as long as people were paying me to sew for them, sometimes asking the near impossible, I took my job seriously. I was a stay at home Mom, and my sewing gave me the ability to provide some extras for my growing family. I had then and still have the most amazing ability to make a little money last a long time. Harks back to my Acadian roots, no doubt. It has certainly come in handy.

But there I go, off track again.

There is something innately comforting about a sewing project. I had the curtains pinned and lined up. I was planning to reuse my present cast iron rods and rings, so the whole thing shouldn't take too long.

Right color thread? Check.

Full bobbin? You bet, many a project goes off the rails when the bobbin runs dry. That's where I've done some of my best swearing.

Is the iron plugged in and full of water? Well of course, what sewing project is complete without it?

Even if the panels hadn't needed shortening, they are so wrinkled from being packed in a plastic bag with the air sucked out that it's distracting to hang them that way. And ironing was always one of my favorite things to do, in fact it still is. You can see your progress and the immediate improvement. I find it calming, repetitive and meditative.

While the iron is heating up, you hear that familiar sizzle where water droplets hit the sole plate. And the smell......for me, I wait for it, I can't really describe it. It's remotely damp, steamy. But my quilting friends out there, you know what I mean. It brings you back, and for me, it's a loooooonnnnng way back, all the way to 1971, when I learned to sew in the Home Ec Lab at the old Souris Regional High School. I can close my eyes even today, and hear the hum and clatter of a room full of sewing machines working smoothly as we turned out peasant blouses, maxi or mini skirts, or hot pants. The irons were lined up at the ironing boards, heating up and putting off that familiar spa-like smell. My grandmother recognized a budding talent for sewing, and with one wave of her magic wand, Presto!! I came home from school one day to find a brand new Singer sewing machine, complete with the custom cabinet and seat, which I still have and use to this day. Not the machine part, that was 1971-72, and I long since wore that completely out. But the cabinet and seat are still in use. They hold a lot of memories, and a lot of secrets.

But back to the present. I had lots of time this morning to enjoy the process. The curtains are now hemmed and pressed, ready to hang when the painting is cured a bit. By the time you read this post, my family room and hall will be all back to normal, with perhaps a bedroom sporting a new color and style. It can't hurt!

Spring cleaning? What's that? Back in Momma's day, you turned out the whole house from top to bottom in the spring, when you could have the windows all open, and bring in that fresh air. I drank the Koolaid in those days too, but not any more. I'm all grown up now.

We built a new house a few years ago and so everything was clean and unused. What a treat to damp mop walls with a special sponge. No more wallpaper and crooked slanted old walls for me. It was so easy to keep house, and so I just always did. I never waited for "spring." If something needed replacing, we replaced it. If it needed cleaning, we cleaned it. If it needed fixing, we fixed it.

I find it organized and just simpler that way.

One of my favorite sayings is, "I have everything I need, and I need everything I have." By this I mean of course that I am not a collector, nor a saver, nor a hoarder. I just use everything I have.

Keeps my sanity. If that's worth anything.......