Category Archives: Things

Buttons

Things

When I was a child my mom sewed a lot. She was also frugal, so she reused buttons. I always remembered a large jar of buttons in the linen/sewing closet in the hallway connecting our bedrooms with the bathroom. That large jar came home with me after my mother died.

When mom sewed I sometimes played with the jar of buttons. I had my favorites — my very favorite was a translucent pink, round, concave button that always tempted me to put it in my mouth because it looked like a delicious piece of candy. Okay, most of the time I did put it in my mouth. I can remember the smooth taste of nothing. I wasn’t disappointed it didn’t taste like candy because I knew it was a button, but, if I had that button now I would definitely put it in my mouth.

Buttons!

I just dumped out the entire jar of buttons looking for the lozenge-like button, but mom must have used it for something because it’s not there. However, some other buttons I remember were there. The pink buttons have four glass diamonds on the front — I should have made sure to take a photo of the fronts! The long black one was from an old p-coat. The round black one was from my dad’s navy dress clothes or coat. I think the dome-shaped silver button was from one of my winter coats. I am pretty sure I put that in my mouth more than once too. The big round red button was from my mom’s coat, I think. The others I just remember, but don’t know where they came from.

My button friends

Quatro Amigas

Things

I remember when I desperately wanted a TV in the bedroom. People on TV shows had them, some people I knew had televisions in their bedrooms, but it wasn’t until I was pregnant with Andrew and on bed rest that we put a TV in the bedroom. It was a tiny TV — maybe 13 inches, maybe a little bigger. It sat on a dresser on the wall opposite the bed. I probably had to squint to see anything — but at least it kept me entertained while incubating the baby to full term.

After that, we didn’t have a TV in the bedroom again for a few more years. I don’t even remember the first one, but it was probably moved to the bedroom after upgrading to a larger set in the family room. Since then we’ve always had one at the end of the bed. In recent years we’ve rarely used the bedroom TV. We always watched TV in the family room and had our phones or tablets for bedtime entertainment. I’ve made noises about getting rid of the bedroom TV, but Dean is not ready. We don’t get cable upstairs anymore — but we do have dongles that bring us whatever we want to watch except broadcast TV on the bedroom TV.

Today as I was tidying my attic study I came across a woven piece of art that our friends Sandy and Arieh gave us once after returning from a visit to Arieh’s home in Santiago, Chile. We kept meaning to hang it up, but never got around to it. We draped it over the back of a futon for a while, but various cat claws pulled out some fibers and thread. I’ve moved this piece of art from one storage area to another for the past decade or two and while I like it, I was tired of moving it.

Back to the TV — having a huge black void staring at you when you fall asleep and wake up can be depressing, especially since we barely use it. As I walked past it carrying the textile art I had an idea. Not an original idea since our friend Tal did this 35 years ago when he first got a Mackintosh computer. He didn’t like the black screen, so covered it with a colorful batik cloth when he was not using it. I hung the textile artwork over the TV — it fit perfectly. There are even little hooks behind the TV on the top to keep it in place.

I keep smiling when I look at the TV now — something I have not done for as long as I can remember. And now I can really see the artwork, it’s really nice!

Beaded wrist band

Things

Tidying up again (when am I not?) and have been moving this old beaded wrist band around from one office surface to another.

When I was young and had a very tiny wrist, someone must have bought it for me when we were in Wisconsin. I remember wearing it and I think I must have found it at my Mom’s at some point. It was something typically found in souvenir shops in touristy towns in Wisconsin. They also sold belts (I had one of those too). They were purported to be made by “Indians” — I surely believed that when I was a kid. This one was made in Hong Kong according to some very faded blue letters on the back.

It’s falling apart, something you cannot see in the photo. At one time I planned to make small beaded items out of beads from my grandfather’s beaded belt and give them to my cousins. That never happened and who knows where all of that went. I’m betting kneewall!

Anyway, I wanted to get this up here so I can put this wrist band away.