A rather ominous sign was on the porch of the Fraternity house, as we rounded the corner to Jeffrey's new abode! From the street, the House looked like it was the set for the "Munsters" TV show!! The lawn was half mowed, (with Lawn Mower left mid-lawn, as if it had run out of gas or the mower had a better offer!) and there were weeds everywhere. It hadn't rained for a few weeks, so everything looked a bit brown. There were grills (plural???), several refrigerators and ladders sitting on the front porch…As we got out of the car and walked toward the front door, we noticed the FOR SALE sign with the amount posted. After driving 9 hours, I was not amused….in fact, I thought….what the heck?????? It looked like it should be in FORCLOSURE or better yet…CONDEMED!!!!!! Jeffrey seemed excited and started laughing when he saw the sign (a good thing, I guess!). He had the proper upbringing and brought the sign INSIDE, so as not to "horrify other Mom's"!!!! Of course, Jeff just thought the whole thing was so "TYPICAL of college life!" ……it is nice to know that even after all these years of raising boys, I can still be surprised at what is deemed "acceptable" living conditions!
We entered the House to gaze up GINORMOUS garbage cans filled with renovation debris! It turns out they had decided to redo all the bathrooms over the summer break. Jeffrey reminded MOI that he had told MOI this last May, when he was first home and that I remarked that was a GOOD THING! Obviously, that went into the deep recesses of my mind!!! Not in short term memory! So after 4 months, they had one shower completed in one bathroom (six bathrooms in all) and one working toilet in another bathroom. Jeffrey announced that most the bathrooms in the BASEMENT still had to be completed…You can only imagine!!!! So we forged ahead….Jeffrey also announced (interesting how these topics didn't come up during our 9 hours drive-I guess that is because he SLEPT during the entire drive- due to a late night out with friends….one more time before he left for school!! Wouldn't want to spend a night without partying with friends!!!!! These kids really have stamina!!!!) that he was the second to last person to pick a room, due to the Lottery…I am sure he just forgot to put his name in for the LOTTERY! SOOOOOOO…..his room is first one off the Living Room….Jeff and I just looked at each other…O.K., when is this kid going to study???!! Anyway, his room was being used as the storage room for all the building materials!!!! Not so simple to unload the car and move in! The nice thing is that he does have a single….we can only hope that might make a difference!
The next day, the "MEN" set about clearing out the debris (outside dumpster was filled to the brim) and then to paint the room (it was a lovely shade of BLOOD RED). We didn't say anything, Jeffrey thought he wanted a different color (so proud of him!). So, as the Queen of "Linen White," I knew my baby wanted to have his walls just like his room at home. I asked him what color he was thinking about and his reply…ORANGE!
O.K.! I suggested he might want to think about a shade of white and he said that he was tired of that, since our whole house is white! LOVE THAT KID!!!
We also had to find a rug shampoo machine…you all know the drill. Did I mention there wasn't any furniture….But, most importantly, the GINORMOUS Big Screen TV in the Living Room remained PRISTINE! These boys have their priority!
Headed to the Home Depot, my new favorite shop, who knew it had so much! Convinced Jeffrey to really think about that Linen White-it would open up a small space!!!! While Jeff and Jeffrey were debating the paint color choices, I wandered a bit….in the next aisle, noticed a nice Amish fellow looking at door latches (Who knew there were so many to choose from! I will be honest with you, I get very confused about the lifestyles of each of these groups. I thought some made all their own tools….Or don't have electricity! I know..I know..I should be up on all this. I do know that they were Amish (Jeff confirmed this!) but surprised to see them at Home Depot! ). He was there with his young son (about 6 years old). His son kept staring at MOI and so I smiled and tried to look Grandmotherly….not wanting to scare him….And then he kept STARING AT MOI! I finally walked by thinking why isn't he staring at the zillions of shelves of Door Latches. Perhaps, he was looking at my tres chic Gucci Bag!!! Painting supplies in hand and saw that we could also rent a rug shampoo machine, back to the House! The space was small and I didn't pack "Painting ATTIRE," so I was left to help out the best way I know!
It was a beautiful day outside, so headed out to tackle that LAWN! No gardening gloves, but thought it best to use the disposable latex gloves we had purchased to paint. I did a quick assessment and thought it best to move the lawn mower to the collection of "equipment" on the front porch. Noticed that the House didn't have a garage??? Decided not to think too much more about this! Also noticed that the Lawn Mower must have been in that spot for a few weeks!!!! Felt best to work on the weeds, since it was difficult to tell which were weeds and which were not! (Thank goodness, I have paid close attention at all of Pam Benz's Butterfly Garden weeding events. I know that I gave her pause, many times, in my efforts to "beautify" the Butterfly Garden! Get rid of those unattractive plants! But, Pam showed MOI the way and told me that in fact, many of those plants attracted butterflies, so very important for the garden!) I noticed the 6 foot milk weed pods interspersed with the arborvitae and felt it best to start there!! Fortunately, it was dry, so with aggressive tugging, they popped out!! I was really going to town with these and had filled 6 large garbage bags in no time!! I found some lovely ivy and myrtle ground cover underneath. Rounding the house, I was now focusing on the front. Several of the weeds were clumped together, so I knew that I would have to get a good grip (I wonder why I didn't think to go back to Home Depot to buy gardening gloves and tools-it just never entered my mind!) and pull. With great gusto, I bent over and gave it my all….I pulled so hard that I fell back on my tailbone, on a piece of flagstone. I thought I would die! All I could think about was the 9 hour ride HOME! I sat there for several moments…not sure what to do…Scream….or….CRY! Decided the latter!! Still had the other half of the house to go….so pulled myself up and continued the purge!!
All in all filled 14 LARGE yard bags…piled them up at dumpster and PRAYED that they would be picked up for fear that the weeds would find their way to re-root!! I found a broom somewhere and gave the walks a sweep. Decided the front porch needed a FLORAL touch! Headed back to Home Depot for MUMS!! They said HARDY on them..I just hope they are BEER proof!!!
Upon leaving the next day, Jeffrey remarked that several of his "Brothers" were impressed and said that the yard looked great. AND they loved the MUMS!!!!
Returning to reality found myself working a shift at the "Deacon's Closet." It is Thrift operation run by 1st Pres in Evanston. They are open several days a month and take in donations and give them to folks in the community who are in need. I was doing a few extra community service hours for an organization, and so curious to see how it compared to Thrift House. The Church is located about a mile from out shop…so serving a similar demographic. The only difference is that the Thrift House cliental is purchasing the items and the proceeds from those sales goes to pay for programs serving the community. This is a more direct, however, things aren't always so simple! I was there to help the "clients" with choosing their items. Each person gets 5 items per family member, but they all have to come from different categories. Interestingly, t-shirts were the hot items….I was only allowed to let them have only one! I noticed some Fabulous Ferragamo shoes that had been donated. The "clients" gave them a pass. My mind was racing…at Thrift House we practically give t-shirts away…yet we have a huge demand for Ferragamo shoes! (We have very CHIC clients!) Will have to figure out a better system for both groups!!! Maybe a swap-T-shirts for Ferragamo's! I did my best to be helpful and cheerful!! Several "clients" commented that they liked my "Ensemble." So nice to know that good design transcends all economic strata! At the end of my shift, there was a large garbage bag filled with items. One of the woman said that it was a bag for ESCCA, I couldn't believe what I heard. A bag for ESCADA???? All the lovely folks just turned and looked at MOI…NO ESCCA, a place that takes donations of children's clothes. O.K., now how to redeem myself. Asked where it was located and found out it was on my way home, so grabbed the large bag and headed out the door. As I was walking out of the Church, several "clients" asked it I needed help out to my car-so polite! I smiled and said no…and then received the best compliment of all. YOU GO GIRL!!! It just doesn't get any better than this!
Of course, more to report…but MORE IMPORTANTLY…the FALL FASHION SEASON IS IN FULL SWING!!
Had sort of a LONG day at work, no details, but we were experiencing the remnants of the Hurricane. Torrential downpour, so I had driven that day. We are between sessions at school, so the maintenance staff was busy sprucing up the building painting all the walls WHITE!! I didn't realize one of the walls wasn't dry and for some reason managed to brush against it getting my raincoat and suit coat dusted with white paint. It wouldn't be a problem except that they were BLACK! I had offered to drive the intern home (IT WAS POURING and she had far to go-couldn't ride her bike!). So, driving along, I noticed all the white paint on my "ensemble!" Tried to be light hearted about it (naturally, it was one of my ITALIAN ensembles), I laughed and said Turpentine would take it out! Dropping her off, I realized I was close to TARJAY….so, headed there to see if I could find Turpentine and CHECK OUT THE FALL ITEMS! No Turpentine, but headed to the clothes….OH MY GOODNESS! Not so impressed with the Isaac Mizrahi line (I think it is his last line with TARJAY before he heads over to Liz Claiborne!), but the MOSSIMO line is FAB!!!! Picked up a very cool denim-like suit jacket. I think it is denim material, anyway it is a suit with stitching and looks very similar to the Chloe jacket I purchased last spring….At $29.99 BUY IT! They had adorable pencil skirts and great t-shirt tops in black and grey-long-sleeved and perfect for fall!!! BUY THEM! Nice v-neck sweaters-thin, great for layering! BUY THEM!!!! Headed over to the GO International line! Adorable blouses and Anorak jackets!!!!! BUY THEM! Of course, the handbags were next door! I bought all the Botiker ones!! And a few others…One had a Marc by Marc Jacobs look to it! BUY THEM!! And then dashed over to shoes! Some great pointy (but not too pointy) toed Mossimo ballet flats in a deep raspberry patent, with a blending of colors-I am not describing it well-you will see it when you go there!! VERY FAB!!! Also picked up a pair of Mary Jane Patent pumps in a shade of PURPLE! They are fun! BUY THEM!
Filled up my cart and headed out!!!! So next day, headed to Payless….OMG! They have terrific shoes! I bought a Black Patent high heeled Oxford. I am not super crazy about this style shoe, but it is tres chic for the moment, so buy it at Payless and be au courant! It looks so similar to the very expensive ones, so get the look with out the price. The Abate line also has two booties, one patent and one grey suede…buy them both!!!! Truly on a roll…
Saw in O mag, that there is a new line at Carsons!!! (I know Jo Ann is laughing right now!). Headed there on my way home! It is by Victor Alfaro and it is the upscale answer to the Simply Vera line at Kohl's. WHERE ELSE can you get all this market analysis???? It is the same price point as Vera's, with a few items over $200. BUT, it is nicely made and right now, it is all 30% AND, if you don't have a Carson's charge, I think you get an additional 20% if you open a charge!!! RUN to check it out!! O mag recommended the Chunky Knit Jacket. It has kimono sleeves and a honeycomb stitch. For $91…..BUY IT!!! You can throw it over everything and be so CHIC!! They have a nice black Sheath dress…you can always use a few more. SOME fab looking Leather (probably Pleather, but that's even better!) jackets! Great sweaters….Did I say FABULOUS???!!! I think you will be quite pleased!
And last but not least…Jessica Simpson is PRINCESS of the shoes and handbags for fall!!! If you visit www.jessicasimpsoncollection.com and enter the code "WDdiary" at checkout to receive 20% off your entire purchase! Valid until September 30th! Yes, I even read Woman's Day, so you don't have to!!! They have great articles about organizing!!! Too bad, I don't have the time TO FOLLOW THEIR SUGGESTIONS!
And truly last but not least…..
Both my boys do their best to make their mother proud!
Jeffrey sends in a recent email (which alone is something to admire!!!! Contacting the parents!!), and I quote, "…everything has been going well, I have planned some successful rushing events as social chair, they say I'm the best they have seen in years."
Charlie is now in Japan, for a year, teaching English in two Japanese Jr. High Schools. He is part of the JET program, a Japanese government program that brings foreigners to remote cities in Japan (well that really isn't the program, but that is more of the reality!) He is living in Hamatonbetsu, the northern most point in Hokkaido, across the water from SIBERIA! All you Tokyoites might enjoy reliving your first few months in Japan by visiting Charlie's blog. It is interesting to see what our kids are doing, with that experience early in their lives!!!
http://leftinfront.wordpress.com/Happy Fall!!!
Love, P
