Catch-up

Hello there! How have you been? Have you done something different with your hair?

What am I up to? Oh, the usual. Getting to know my new corner of the world, going on outings, walks and bike rides...

Spending time with granddaughters...

standing on Granddad's head

Getting glue on my fingers and playing with dolls.

Annie Hall

'Audrey'

I made this paper doll and her wardrobe for lovely blogging buddy Connie at Snow in the Air.

It's a little Connie with a Dottie Angel dress and jeans and tunics.

Oh, yeah, and I'm binge-watching on Netflix like there's no tomorrow. I feel like I'm a part of the 21st century now  - Netflix, a smartphone, Instagram, and a new laptop!

But I try not to get completely wrapped up in all that technology.

Val

When the World Was Flat

Anybody else remember the Flatsy dolls, circa 1970?

They came up in the comments on a recent post at Bag and a Beret - both Shelley and I mentioned being called Flatsy in our pubescence, a name that was trumpeted on TV commercials at the time thanks to the Flatsy doll and its taunting jingle: Flatsies, flatsies, they're flat and that's that - that's that!

Only a man would give them a name that's sure to torment early adolescent girls. Asshole.

I'm making more of my own flatsies - paper dolls - but I choose to call them Two-Dimensional Divas, avoiding even the shorter '2D' in case that makes anyone think of a bra size, albeit a freakish one.

Here's a Two-Dimensional Diva inspired by one of my fave television characters. Do you recognise her?

It's Elaine Benes from Seinfeld! Her wardrobe is so distinctive and I wanted to have it for myself.

Um, it's not really my size, but at least I can play with it.

This is what I started with - the 'Elaine' template I drew and the possibilities for her signature floral dress.

She really deserves an entire Elaine wardrobe, but I started with the one dress, ankle socks and loafers, blazer with big shoulders, and blue backpack. And of course, her big hair, which I made from lace.

Remember this episode of Seinfeld where Elaine sees a mannequin that looks like her? (This one has Italian subtitles - che strano.)

I hope Elaine wouldn't get upset about my paper doll.

Val

Stress? What stress?

I can't believe how quickly we've settled down in our new home, thousands of miles away from where we lived for ten years. We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto.

We spent months sorting through and clearing out a home we loved, and saying goodbye to family and old friends. Now that I'm sitting here in Wales, fairly relaxed, I look back and wonder how I got through all that stress.

Here's what helped - I gave up wearing make-up and jewellery, quit cutting my hair, and stopped worrying about what I was wearing. That's why you haven't seen any pictures of me here on the blog for quite some time. It was essential, though, partly to save time and partly because I didn't always know where my things were during the move!

Since I'm a freelancer, I still spend days looking like this.

Still also wearing baggy old shorts, weather permitting

I made some paper dolls to stand in for me on social media - they're better dressed than me!

You can see them on the right sidebar as the buttons linking to my Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest pages. 

Guess which one's my favourite?

I call her Velma.

Which one is your fave?

Val

Things I can't take with me

People often ask me, "Val, how do you stay so calm and cool when there is such chaos around you? You just sold your house (in two days) and you're moving to another country. Another country! Won't you miss EVERYTHING? How DO you do it?"

I smile graciously and reply, zen-like, "For everything that must be given up, there will be something to take its place. Memories are yours to keep and cost nothing to ship. You must learn to bend like the willow or else you will break like the oak" and other such nonsense.

The fact is, life moves on, and there are tears and goodbyes and regrets along the way. The highs and lows make up life's rich tapestry (I've got loads of aphorisms, don't I?). So I'm concentrating on those free-shipping memories and looking forward to creating new ones on a different canvas, because I can't take everything with me.

I can't take my grandmother's rocking chair, which I've been fortunate to have in my possession for ten years. Now it will go to my sister or one of my nieces.
 

I can't take my fantastic rotary dial telephone because it won't work in the UK. But I'll sell it for as much money as I can milk out of it.

I can't take my sister, but I can look forward to showing her and my brother-in-law around Wales and England when they come to visit. And my sister and I will always be connected. Not least because I'm chaining her down.

I made this necklace for her because she told me she liked this saying, which she saw in my post at Christmastime. I also wanted a necklace with that saying, so I made a matching one for me that continues the phrase, connecting the sentiment.

I had some little jewels, which happen to be our birthstones, and I added a bit of lace from a pillow our grandmother embroidered. Mine acquired some bubbles while the resin was drying. I'm calling it wabi sabi - beauty in imperfection. Just like life.

And all manner of thing shall be well.

Val

Hey, I made scones!

We're just about to list our house for sale. As I've mentioned before, I will be sad to leave this house - this neighborhood - this town.

But come on, let's get on with it!! I feel like my mind is living in two places at once, and my physical body is now in a place that's "staged" and soon to be thrown open to strangers. We have to keep it CLEAN!

So I took refuge in a new little beach hut.

It helped me maintain some feeling of sanity, although I probably shouldn't have fed glue to the neighbor's dogs. (Kidding, but do they really need to bark so much?)

Hey, I made scones!

 And little tiny knives, and a fake jar of jam, and a little magazine and book.

There are beach towels and blankets for sitting on the sand. And a little parasol in case the sun is too bright.

And a big bottle of wine!

Although I had to go wandering around the house to find the supplies, which have been tidied away in various places, I think this turned out pretty well. Maybe one day I'll have a life-size beach hut to escape to. Fortunately, I can get a life-size bottle wine right now!

Val

Flux

Have you noticed how time is, yes it is, going faster all the time? When you were 7 years old, one year was one-seventh of your life. When you're 59, a year is one-fiftyninth of your life. The years are scientifically shorter as you get older! Yikes!

As I'm on the cusp of a major life change and moving to another country - for the last time - I can't help but think about the passage of time and my passage through places on this earth. I'm thinking about how the years seem to have disappeared in ordinary days of work and watching TV. I'm wondering what my future life in Great Britain holds and how much the country has changed since I last lived there. And I'm still wondering why the British don't rinse the soap off their dishes.

pondering, 2010

When I started blogging a few years ago, I joined in with other 40+ and 50+ fashion bloggers, taking selfies and trying out new outfits. I had just bought some new clothes and cut my boring bob, I was ready to take the plunge, so I started blogging at Late Blooming Sparkle.

 

January 2013

People who knew me were surprised that I was suddenly taking an interest in fashion, and many of my friends and acquaintances still don't know I blog because I've felt self-conscious about it.

March 2013

I had fun trying new things, writing up silly posts and taking photos, but it wasn't really me.

September 2013

I'm impressed, though, by the camaraderie and wide network of lovely women worldwide who keep up with each other's blogs, offering encouragement and advice and humor. I don't want to give that up, but I have cut down on my blog-reading lately.

March 2014

I decided to blog as Muse Fondue to widen the scope of my blog. Now I'm more likely to post about crafts or my attempts at photography. I love to get lost in creating little things, mostly dioramas in tins. I know that's a pretty narrow-interest niche, but it's my narrow-interest niche.

my latest, sort of an experimental piece

tiny railroad model figures on a bench with a Parisian background

For the next few months, I'll also blog about the changes in my life. I don't want to bore you with stories of cleaning door jambs or sorting through old socks. I plan to write about some of the profound but universal stuff churned up in such a major change: looking at past and future, learning to change compass points in life, and saying meaningful goodbyes to people and places, maybe for the last time.

with my mom and cousins in Florence, Oregon, 2013

Whew, got myself choked up there.

Anyway, thank you for your lovely felicitations on my last post about my 20th wedding anniversary. I hope you'll keep reading about my wild ride!

Val

Idol Hands

Not working right now, but I am busy, busy, busy. Trash is being trashed. Crannies are being cleaned. Another garage sale is imminent. As I write this, Mr. S is sorting nails and screws and odd bits and bobs that must be disposed of.

I've gone through my craft stuff and have created several Grab Bags to sell - stamps, ribbons, beads and whatever.

I've kept back what I want to keep to work on over the next few months or to move with me because, really, some of this crap is irreplaceable.

especially the 3D glasses

Right now I don’t want to start a big project - I'm easily distracted and have many little things to do. But I don't want my hands to be the devil's playthings (or, hmm, I could rethink this). So I've been working on refining my wardrobe. I've started sewing the lace on the jacket I showed you here.

And I embroidered the reverse of the hat I showed you here (after I sobered up).

And I decided to make a pullover out of this stripy wrap (previously seen here and here and here, and at least one other place that I can't find, but that would be overkill anyway), so I basted the neckline together.

It does hang a little funny because the ends aren't square, but it might work. I think I like it.

Have I mentioned how much I'm enjoying the presidential campaign here in the US? No, I didn't think so. But I did enjoy the last four movies I borrowed from the library - my latest picks were all excellent! They were:

The Imitation Game with Benedict Cumberbatch
The Grand Budapest Hotel with Ralph Fiennes et al.
La Vie en Rose with Marion Cotillard
Celeste and Jesse Forever with Rashida Jones and Andy Samberg.

I know there are a lot of fans out there of Mr. Cumberbatch, but do you know who I have the biggest crush on? Rashida Jones. She's cute, funny, talented, smart, the daughter of Quincy Jones and Peggy Lipton. I mean, how cool can one short, freckle-faced girl be? She's adorable!

Ja, I tink zo.

Val

S-S-S-Scavenger Hunt

The Scavenger Hunt this month is a little different. Our hostess and ringleader, Jill (Greenthumb) at Made With Love, is on hiatus for a few months. With advancefuturetiming technology, the link-up went ahead last month - basically, we showed up at her place and made our own drinks and snacks. She just asked us to clean up after ourselves, and then she gave us carte blanche to do what we wanted for January. I made up prompts for my photos. I wanted some kind of theme to tie them together, so they all start with the letter S.


First up, SEQUEL
 

I wasn't completely satisfied with my logo cover-up that I showed you in my last post, so I changed it. Here, I've used a scrap of rather lovely fabric and glued it down to the logo. Then I glued a plastic brooch (without the pin) on top of it. The brooch came from Citizen Rosebud's shop.

I like this better, but I still need to trim the edges or add something to finish them off.

SOFT
 

I was given a lot of lotion at Christmas, and some lip balm. So I'm pretty soft right now.

SORT

Yikes! I've been sorting through lots of old clothes and shoes to see what I could jettison - I got $79 at a resale shop, which was way better than I expected! The rest went to the thrift store.

SCISSORS

Trying to work out an idea I had for embellishing a blazer. It's all pinned - see below - but I just haven't started sewing yet.

SUGGESTION

This is my suggested placement of the lace pieces.

STACK

You may have guessed there's a sort of sewing theme going on here.

SAFETY

I seem to have several of these travel sewing kits with safety pins, thread, needles and buttons.

SEE

See! It's nearly invisible - and has been waiting for use since the '60s!

STICK

A "voodoo" doll I was given long ago. I use it as a pin cushion.

And, breaking away from the sewing theme -

SCULPTURE

At our local art museum - the head is sculpted out of Sotheby's catalogs!

Check out the other scavengers here. Happy scavenging!

Val