Art | A Thankfully Imperfect Woman

Feb 24

A Blog in a Pod

This blog comes to you live from Girl’s Weekend!

(Well, ok…great plans…it’s now 3 days after girls weekend.)

Welcome to the lobby of the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Can you say FANTASTIC?

Just look at the architecture of this place.

It’s modern, almost futuristic, definitely fun, and gorgeous!

Check out this little slide show. Read more

Mar 9

Imperfect Organization

For years I have shuffled around the purses I’ve accumulated.

First hanging on a closet rod…to the floor…to the other end of the rod.

Not anymore…

Thanks to Pinterest and it’s amazingly creative crafters, I found the perfect solution. (OK, in recognition of all the downsizers, yes, I could have sold or donated some, but in my way of thinking…why get rid of a good thing that you’ve already paid for and love!?!

I started with some beautiful reclaimed wood (thanks to my friend Jan). Then I added some antique and vintage door knobs…and walaaaaa!

OK, so it wasn’t quite that easy, but not too far from it. There were nails, screws, epoxy glue, power tools…and of course, the purses.

Here are shots of the finished products:

I know, I know…the purse hanger in the first picture is hanging crooked…and if you look really closely you’ll see my errors (it does hang straight…I just didn’t catch it when I took the picture 🙂 ).

Just a reminder of how thankfully imperfect I am.

I LOVE how this project turned out.

What do you think?

Patty O

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Jan 24

4 Comments

Four Angels and a Cigar – Part 3

As Paul Harvey would say: ‘And now, here’s the rest of the story’…

One of the (hopefully temporary) setbacks of these bizarre syndromes is having to be grounded from driving out-of-town. It started as a self-imposed setback, after making a 4 hr trip that was a struggle, I came home and told my husband that was the end. I feel safe driving in town – I’m driving slow enough that if I were hit with a dizzy attack I can quick slow down and pull over to a stop. But driving 55+ is too much – especially for a long period of time. It’s now Doctor ordered. I have to go 6 months without a dizzy spell before I can drive out-of-town again. I’m up to 2 days without one – whoohoo! Most of the time it doesn’t bother me – trust me it’s better than the awful feeling knowing I’m driving too much and feeling ‘out of it’ – but there sure are days I’d just like to jump in a car and go to something without asking for someone else to drive me.

Sigh.

This last bit of background information brings us…finally…to the story of the Four Angels and a Cigar: Read more

Mar 24

3 Comments

A Clear Head and a Good Heart

My daughter Sam is in the Studio Arts program in college and this is one of her recent creations. Isn’t it AMAZING!?!

Little did she know that when she gave it to me it was incredibly significant to what I was going through.

I’d been having some health issues and the doctors had decided that I needed a stress-echocardiogram to look for heart damage and a brain/inner ear MRI to look for a tumor. Needless to say we didn’t want to tell the kids until we had definite answers…positive or negative.

I was scared to death.

I cried as I showed my husband the print and he nodded, knowing just what I was thinking.

He accompanied me to the tests and the doctor visits after, thank God, because I was a mess. I’d always been the caregiver – dealing with doctors on behalf of parents, kids, other loved ones, and friends. But this…this was about me, and I knew I couldn’t do it alone.

Once we received the news that everything was good, we felt like a huge weight was lifted. We didn’t have all the answers we needed, but we sure had some fantastic negative results!

We did receive one answer (to the loud hum, aka tinnitus, and hearing and off-balance issues I was having): Meniere’s Syndrome in my left ear. It’s a health issue diagnosed by elimination…meaning there’s no one test that can diagnose it. It brings with it random episodes of Vertigo, a feeling of being off-balance, and sometimes permanent hearing loss. My hearing loss is permanent, but only moderate/severe to mild (I can’t hear low sounds but I can hear high-pitched sounds). It can be progressive but doesn’t cause full hearing loss, and it doesn’t usually affect the other ear. A hearing aid should help, which I hope to get this week. So if you see me walking around a store and I’m wobbly, remember I’m not drunk, it’s just the Meniere’s!

I’ve learned one thing from all this: if you have tinnitus in just one ear – get to an ENT or Audiologist right away! I’d been having the loud hum off and on for probably a year, but just figured ‘everyone gets tinnitus, don’t they?’. Wrong answer.

My other health issues will have to wait until April when we go to the Mayo Clinic for some specialized testing. In the meantime I’m just hanging out…writing a little, getting myself a new look (see the new profile photo), and reading a lot of books…and once in a while watching those crazy babies who sit and snuggle with me!

Life is good…I don’t have heart disease or a brain tumor!

Patty O

ps…Back to Sam’s art…now we can relax and have her print as a reminder of just how blessed we are. It will soon be framed and in a place of honor on our wall.

pps…Notice I didn’t say an empty head. I have too many friends that would have far too much fun with that. 🙂

Mar 13

A Touch of Spring!

I’ve decided that I’m not waiting for Mother Nature to change the seasons. I swear the old broad is on vacation and left Jack Frost in charge. Although, I admit, we are finally in somewhat of a warm up. We actually hit 50 degrees ABOVE zero the other day (instead of 50 BELOW)! Most of our days are above zero now…20’s and 30’s. This has been the coldest winter here since 1917!

A couple of weeks ago I decided that I needed at least one bright sunshiny spot in my house that would brighten up our moods…so, coupon in hand, I visited TJ Maxx. I found a fantastic set of towels in what I would call Spring Green, and of course, I had to buy one for each of us (5), plus two hand towels, and two wash cloths. I’m a bit of towel snob, I have to admit it. I LOVE big plush towels! Now here’s the deal…TJ’s is the best place to get a deal on them! The total for everything was approx. $47. But hold on…I also had $20 of TJ cash (which they send you when you use their credit card to pay)…So I only paid $27! Whoohoo! Now don’t forget if you get a TJ card – pay it off the same month so you’re not paying any extra fees! Win-win!

I only took a couple of pictures of my Spring bathroom as the other side of the room isn’t nearly as exciting. Here’s one with the towels:

The big bright floral picture was another TJ find from a couple of years ago – $9.99. It’s traveled all around the house, now landing here.

The sign is one I usually put by the entry in the garage in a cute little vignette, but this is one of the Spring highlights. Do you remember playing this game with your friend when you were little? We’d sing and do a clapping game: ‘See see oh playmate, come out and play with me, and bring your dollies three, climb up my apple tree, slide down my rain barrel, climb up my cellar door, and we’ll be jolly friends, forevermore, more, more, more, more, more!’ This is one of my sweetest childhood memories!

On to the colorful candles in the candle holders, these have been up for many years, I just keep changing out the candles in different colors (watch for sales). I bought some chain from the local hardware store and spray painted it so it would blend in with the wall – giving the ‘floating candle effect’. Then I added a little bucket of faux daisies to the windowsill (we received this as a wedding present 14 years ago) and Waalaa! I love it!

Sunshine, flowers and bright colors – even when there’s still dirty snow outside! 🙂

Treat yourself to something bright – even if it’s a single bright-colored flower in a vase! It’s amazing what a mood boost it can be!

Patty O

ps…I know you all noticed the garbage can in the bathtub…that’s the only place we can put it so Motzy won’t it eat. AND, yes there’s dirty laundry in the basket too. I’m really trying to make sure you feel at home (hahaha). Yes, thankfully imperfect.