The Drunken Hat Attack

Aaaand, following on from my last post and the picture of my plain old white fisherman's hat,

Here it is in all its new glory -

Now, don't be distracted by the wine, which I'm grasping tightly as if my life depended on it. On Thanksgiving weekend I went to a few wineries with my mother, sister and nieces. It was very cold, but of course we had a great time!

It's funny how just taking sips at a wine tasting can leave you feeling tipsy and laughing uncontrollably.

Or maybe I had the bottle opened so I could taste it more easily.

Here are a couple more shots of the hat, something with a little decorum to link up with Hat Attack over at the Style Crone.

I just loosely sewed pieces of that beautiful fabric over the hat, using a slightly gathered piece to go around it, and then some more pieces to fashion a little flower/bow. Because I left the edges frayed and did the whole thing sort of ragged, it wasn't difficult.

Come check out the other hats and fascinators at Style Crone!

Val

Dec. 6 - Did someone say brandy and roasted almonds? I'm heading over to Patti's for Visible Monday!

Jim Morrison's Grave and Scavenger Hunt

I was walking around in town when a car drove by and the driver yelled out the window - at no one in particular - "Don't let them desecrate Jim Morrison's grave!!!" I looked around to see what prompted this outburst, but he just looked at me and laughed crazily as he drove away.

If only I'd had my camera ready, because one of the prompts for the Scavenger Hunt this month is A Stranger. And that guy was strange.

But that's okay - half a block later I saw this guy.

A stranger to me, but obviously happy to make friends with anyone willing to drop some cash in his case.

Without a smartphone, I've learned to always have my camera with me when I'm Out and About - another one of our prompts this month.

Some of these prompts were literally right in front of my eyes when I was walking around, like Hole.

And One.

There were so many Signs to choose from.

And some of the signs fulfill other prompts, like Pop Culture,

and Bottle.

 

I went into a bookstore that was really Big.

From one of the windows I was Looking Down to the street where the stranger was singing.

The weather was fine on that day, but another day the rain was coming in horizontally against the window screens.

With the colder weather, I've been wearing hats when I go out. This plain, white fisherman's hat is handy, but it was so boring I decided to cover it with fabric from a pretty shirt I outgrew (ahem).

I'll post the result in a day or two so I can link up with Hat Attack at the Style Crone.

And finally, Whatever you want - my most recent picture, taken at a local winery, getting me in the mood for Christmas.

Thanks to Greenthumb for hosting the Scavenger Hunt - it's always fun to try to think outside the box. December's words are already posted!

Val

O my! It's October Hat Attack!

I love October! Besides being my birthday month, October usually has lovely weather as the seasons change hands. It's a time to savor before the leaves are gone, the days are short, and all the hype and shopping madness take over for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

I actually don't like Halloween very much any more. It's become over-consumerized and grown-up oriented. I mean, we always did spend money on candy and costumes and cardboard decorations. But now every other house is lit up with purple and orange lights, and scarecrows and pumpkins and hay bales tumble down the porch steps, and people who work at banks and restaurants try to punch keys with werewolf hands or serve food while wearing long wigs and mermaid fins.

I guess I'm a Halloween grinch. How did that happen? I like candy corn, and I don't mind the trick-or-treaters - they're usually pretty cute. And I did have the best costume ever last year (here).

The clothes are all old, had them for years. And yes, it was warm enough for sandals - until it rained.

Here I'm playing around with a plastic costume fedora (seen in VOGOFF and in yesterday's Scavenger Hunt) to join Hat Attack! with the Style Crone.

How do you feel about Halloween - an orgy of sugar madness, or a socially acceptable excuse for playing dress-up?

(Those are not the only acceptable answers.)

Val

Scavenging through September

Me again.

I know, you're surprised to see me two days in a row, especially since I've been such a slacker lately. I'm just unpredictable - it's part of my charm! But it's time for another Scavenger Hunt at Made With Love, and I got my act together this month. Thanks to Greenthumb for hosting!

Lots of variety this time, and I even put in a cameo appearance. Drum roll, please.

S is for...

The Simpsons and Springfield.

This mural was recently completed in the adjoining town of Springfield, and since Matt Groening (creator of The Simpsons) is from Oregon we're all sure that our Springfield is the REAL Springfield.


OUTSIDE YOUR WINDOW and 2PM

I call this "Study in Texture and Geometry" but it's really just a photo looking out the bathroom window. And it was taken around 2PM.


CAR PARK

Washington State Ferry - there are cars parked on it (in it?).


HAT

This is my plastic fedora. It had a Happy New Year band around it and came from a party store, but I've been making use of it for photos (in VOGOFF and others that I'll link up tomorrow for Hat Attack!). It would actually be very practical in the rain because it's waterproof. 


IN THE MIRROR

First I told my friend not to let me buy anything that day. Then I ended up at the cash register with this little mirror, and I told her, "Don't stop me. I know what I'm doing." Twenty-some years later, and I've never regretted buying it.


GARDEN

One very ambitious spider - he built this web across our path three times!

LOCK

Not a recent picture, but just perfect for Lock.


NAILS

This is why you should always bring your camera wherever you go. We were walking on a country road, and wandered off to explore this old wooden bridge over a stream. The bridge was studded with long nails that had been bent over. I was so busy taking pictures and thinking ,"Wow, this is lucky," and my husband was busy figuring out that the nails had been put in this way to add traction for when the bridge was wet or iced up.


LAMP

The lamp on my desk, which was a wedding present to my parents in 1951. Pink and gold may not be everyone's cup of tea - which is why my mother got rid of it - but I think it's lovely.

STREET SIGN

...dwarfed by a roof sign.

GAME

Mr. S's vice - Spider Solitaire. He's frighteningly good at it.

That's all for today, but I'll be back tomorrow. Three days in a row!

Val

The Madwoman in the Garden

The following post was originally published on January 31, 2014. I'm reposting it because, well, Blogger and I had a little contretemps and I thought Blogger was going to throw this post in the bin. So I quickly hit Revert to Draft thinking that would save it, even if it didn't save my recent changes to the labels - I added labels so I could get "dynamic pages" on my new tabs on my blog. Cool, huh? I also updated the banner, in case you didn't notice. Doesn't my blog look really slick now?

Where was I? Oh, yeah, I hit Revert to Draft, and it did indeed save my post. But made it a Draft - unpublished - again. I guess that's what Revert to Draft means. Seems a bit cryptic to me.

So now I'm publishing it again, with the labels, so it'll show up if you click on the Short Stories or What I Wear tabs. You can skip the whole thing if you already read it. You can skip the whole thing even if you haven't read it.

But if not, I give you The Madwoman in the Garden -

The day was cold and drear, with an opaque fog seeping in off the Baltic Sea. Nevertheless, I decided to take some air in the small side yard of this crumbling old pile where I reside. I avoid the streets and open spaces. People stare at me and whisper behind my back. 

I prefer my solitude.

I am Valastasia, and I am the last survivor of my illustrious family, the Bugheroffs.

The passionflower vines are dead, as is my youth, and the fog clouds my mind and wraps me in a shroud of nostalgia. Memories haunt me, speaking to me in ghostly voices from the past.

But I find comfort in the confined space and the familiar gargoyle that looks down from the fence.

I wear old clothes salvaged from the dusty trunks in the attic of my family home. They are my sole luxury and my only mementos of past lives – an embroidered brocade jacket, a shirt of the finest imported silk, and hat and gloves made from the fur of an ocelot. 

The jacket's not really embroidered and the shirt is cotton. Of course you know the fur is fake. What a drama queen! 

My belt and boots were left behind by an officer in the military who was my lover in the halcyon days before the revolution.

I remember with yearning the days we spent together, days when we were young and untroubled, when we shared the deepest secrets of our souls, and dreamed of our brilliant future together. 

Whatever.

Alas, it was not to be. One ominous evening we went to see the ballet – it was a magnificent performance – and the next day he was gone. He had deserted the army, discarded his possessions, and abandoned me for another love. I was inconsolable! He had fallen for the lead dancer of the Bolshoi, Ivan Toudance, and they had fled to San Francisco.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. 

Blah, blah, blah, Valastasia never recovered, okay? She hung out alone in that creepy old house, shunning the world and living in the past. 

(No cats? That doesn't seem right.)

This Gothic tale inspired by and linking up with:
52 Pick-me-up at Spy Girl - Short over Long
Share in Style at Mis Papelicos - Gothic
Hat Attack at TheStyle Crone - Hats!

Jacket - Coldwater Creek (old)
Shirt - Jones New York (resale)
Skirt - Fresh Produce (resale)
Boots - JCP (old)
Belt - thrifted
Hat and gloves - WalMart (ocelot, my ass!)

Valastasia