grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

Built by Tom Tate

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In 1954, Daddy built this piece of furniture in high school shop class. Staci and I used it as our night stand for years and then it was Tate’s. Now it’s in our Fayetteville house.
It belongs back in Arkansas.
When I was in 9th grade, I decided to take shop instead of home ec. I thought I might build some furniture too.  Daddy ix-nayed this idea right away, saying you only want to take shop because Craig is in that class… I was forced to go straight to home ec with all the girls. Turned out to be pretty fun other than the sewing debacle. And I still managed to spend plenty of time with Craig…
Craig and Me 2011
That little night stand is sturdy and very well built with dove-tailed joints. He did a great job on it. In the back of the drawer, upside down and hidden, Daddy burned an inscription into the wood, Built By Tom Tate 1954. The inscription is only visible when the drawer is emptied and removed. The inscription itself is a treasure, written in Daddy’s hand.
The little drawer has held all sorts of trinkets beginning in 1962. During the past year, Tate’s room has been empty, but the little drawer still held his things. Things left behind. Some not touched in years. A time capsule from childhood through high school. Plastic ninja toys from Ci-Ci’s Pizza, his Harry Potter Halloween glasses, guitar pics, golf tees, boy scout badges, his lifeguard whistle, a Little People person… 

Now it’s empty and polished and sitting by our bed in Fayetteville. I’m not sure what will end up in it, but I know whenever I go, it’s going with me. Until it can’t.
talya
Musical Pairings:
I Love, Tom T Hall
Craig and Me 1966?

50 Shades of Ridiculous

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just a quick update….

I am having a very difficult time reading 50 Shades of Grey. After all the hype, I jumped on the bandwagon afraid I was missing out on THE great summer read. So far I’ve been disappointed. Maybe because of all the talk, I expected too much?

It reminds me of my experience with Twilight. Although my friend Jenny and I loved the first book, we  laughed all the way through the movie while everyone else in the theatre seemed to be completely captivated by odd looking, sparkling vampires. Everyone knows that vampires DoNotSparkle. They just don’t.

Maybe I’m too quick to judge – I’ve only made it to page 145 of 50 Shades.But, it is full of laugh-out-loud cliches. How many times will Ana refer to her inner goddess?

Christian is way more creepy than hot. And apparently he’s too skinny as his pants hang on his hips every time he’s described, on every other page. Or maybe he needs to buy a smaller pant size? But, of course, his pants must accommodate his throbbing triple-extra-large-you-know-what… Pul-leaze.
Poor Ana is truly spineless and a completely unbelievable character. If she was a real person, I would be compelled to slap some sense into her empty head. Of course she would like that.
Apparently something is happening (or not happening) in our society causing women of all ages to queue up to buy this book like cheap crack cocaine. It’s a strange pop phenomenon.
What am I missing? Maybe I have no inner goddess.
talya



Musical Pairings:


Sex on Fire, Kings of Leon



 

Is it the size that counts?

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How small is too small? Could John and I possibly downsize from nearly 3,000 sf to 900 sf on a permanent basis? Without killing each other? There was a moment this week I thought he might suddenly pull a Katie Holmes and disappear the day before my 50th birthday. Poor Tom Cruise and me. Katie moved to Manhattan. I went for a walk and noticed an unmarked white van at the end of our block … Scientologists? Then I remembered we aren’t in that cult. All is well.



Being in Fayetteville is liberating, not being weighed down by stuff. Stuff we never use or see or need. But sometimes having that stuff tucked away in a closet is comforting. It’s there if we want it. Or need it. Once a year. Like the giant turkey roaster pan we use only on Thanksgiving. 

900 sf, two adults, two miniature schnauzers and one teeny bathroom. This is a challenge for a Southerner. In NYC it’s no big deal, but I doubt those people even know about a properly brined turkey.


I bet Katie’s new uber exclusive NYC home is huge.

But I need this…

Everything we bring into our Fayetteville house must be carefully considered, its merits debated as if we have decided to live in a Volkswagen. Could that square inch be utilized better another way? 


In Dallas, we really only use a few rooms in our house unless we have visitors. But our closets are crammed packed with clothes we never wear and things we don’t need. Because they can be.

Why on earth do we have so many sets of sheets? For a possible toga party? or to build a fort in the living room? 

I have three deviled egg platters. John hates deviled eggs. 

I see an incredible estate sale in the future. Maybe. Someday.


Unless we kill each other first.

talya


Musical Pairings:


Our House, Crosby Stills Nash & Young

Small rooms or dwellings discipline the mind, large ones weaken it. – Leonardo Da Vinci

Are we really leaving Dallas?

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!