Blessings, Part 2

“Wonder of wonders,

Miracle of miracles....”

That song has been running through my head since Saturday because of the continued blessings the Lord has showered on me this weekend.

Friday, Mom and I did a little shopping, visiting some of the local thrift stores along the way. Which cheered me up greatly after being sick in bed most of the previous Thursday (stupid choke-cherries!). So we stopped at Hospice for a bit, where these lovelies were waiting for me:

Now that I've finally accepted that I feel more “at home” in shirtwaist-type blouses (I used to think them too plain and mannish), I seem to be finding ones I like everywhere! This loverly Hawaiian print was too pretty to resist. ;-) And it has mother-of-pearl buttons!

That said (about feeling more comfortable in shirtwaists), I still do love “pretties”... especially comfy-looking tunics with feminine lace. 

Since white isn't the best on me, I plan to dye it a better color—pink or aqua, methinks. Probably aqua, as I have a lot of pink stuff already. :-P It's a bit too see-through for comfort, so once it's dyed I'll need a matching tank-top to wear under it.

A trip to the Post Falls Goodwill ended up being the best of all. Three years ago, Mom bought me this dress for my birthday during a thrift shopping trip (now you know what I do on my birthdays!):

(A close-up of the lace--the color is off.)

I hardly wore it because the neckline felt too low, even though it really wasn't. I tend to be a little paranoid. :-P Anyway, long-story-short, I gained some (healthy!) weight and outgrew my beloved dress. *tear* Then I found this one at Goodwill:

Same style, different color, bigger size. I tried it on, and it fit perfectly! And Mom says the color is pretty good, too. I'd been wishing for a red dress (even though I knew head-to-toe red probably wasn't good for my coloring), and God provided one! To be sure, it's not a true red; it's more of a maroon or berry-red, which is probably better than a true red on me, anyhow.

(Same lace! And the color is washed out from the flash.)

Saturday Mom and I attended a recital for a leading music academy in the area. Two of Mom's choir students from school (twins! :-D) were in it and had invited her to come. Their mother was so happy she did.

Anyway, since we were right around Thrift Shop Row (otherwise known as 4^th Street), we stopped by a few places, just for fun.

Here's what was waiting for me at the Women's Center (?) Thrift Store:

Normally orange and yellow don't agree with me, but every so often I get a hankering for them. And since this shirt is mostly blues and aquas (my best colors), I figured, hey, why not? I can wear it on days when I'm feeling kinda wild and crazy! ;-)

Having picked out that rather wild Hawaiian shirt, I looked over at the toys and saw him sitting on a shelf!

In a nutshell, I had a bear like this when I was ten, gave him away a few years later, regretted it afterwards, and have wanted him back off and on ever since. While this probably isn't >my< Freckles, he's so much like him, I just had to buy him, and hang my age and what other people might think. I've missed that bear, and by God's grace, there he was—or rather, his clone—and only a couple bucks. Tom was one happy little wench. :-) The reason he's posed separate from my other bears is because he hasn't had his bath yet, but will come Washday (just pray that his felt freckles don't fall off!). Then he'll take an honored place with the rest of The Menagerie. ;-)

Y'all remember Miss Honey Bear? The little porcelain bear who looked just like one I broke when I was five and eventually had to throw away? Which I found on eBay for under ten dollars last month?

Look who (whom?) I found at the CdA Hospice for 25 cents!!!

Meet Annabelle, Miss Honey's sister. With the bow in her hair that I remember my Tina having. Miss Honey must have lost hers along the way (there's a glue-spot on her head, I discovered). Go figure—fifteen years (or so) of fruitless searching for a replacement for the late Tina Bear, then BOOM! God gives me two in the space of a month! :-D Here's a picture with the two of them together:

As you can see, Annabelle's fur is more detailed than Miss Honey's, and her dress seems not to have faded one iota in thirty years! She's stuffed more firmly than Miss Honey, so that's why she's sitting kinda funny. Am I sorry now that I bought Miss Honey, since God had Annabelle waiting for me? Not really. They're both different enough from each other that it's like having two separate bears, rather than two clones.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to introduce to you a member of the Comedia d'el Arte...monsieur Pierrot!

Found hanging from a pegboard wall inside a plastic baggie, not five minutes after the discovery of Annabelle, and for only $1.25. I mention the price because his clone is on eBay at this moment for $11. 99, plus $7.50 shipping. Score! :-D (And Mom thought dolls were half off that day, so he may only have been 75 cents. Double score!) They had one in a red costume, too, but I didn't figure I needed both. Besides—purple! ;-)

How could I resist that sweet little face? ^_^

I also found Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. PTL! Another favorite book for less than a dollar. >Sigh< I love thrift shops. :-D

Then yesterday afternoon, I bought this pattern from Etsy. I'd had one in a size 8, but eventually got rid of it because it was too small, and my attempt to make it bigger was disastrous. But I loved the style and have been looking for it in my size...and there it was on Etsy! OK, so I paid a lot more than I would have if I'd gotten it at the thrift shop, but hey, $6 isn't bad for a vintage pattern.

And this morning, after some concentrated prayer and hard thinking, I took the plunge and bought this fabric for a current project. I had a tiny strip of this adorable print left over from another project over a decade ago, but of course it wasn't enough for a Summer blouse! I was very happy to find more of it on eBay and have been drooling over it ever since. Originally I thought the listing was for ½ yard, but when I checked it this morning, it was for 1 3/8! PTL! Methinks I can squeeze out a bit more of a blouse with that (I plan to combine it with another fabric anyhow).

It's just amazing how God has blessed me of late. Humbling, too, especially when I get in one of my moods (which is more often than I care to admit). But mostly just plain AWESOME! But then, God is Awesome. :-D

Until Next time, Gentle Readers,

God bless,

~“Tom”~