My husband Bruce has been painting all winter long–transforming discarded furniture and home decor accessories into fresh, fun, and appealing new looks for your home.
And now it is time for them to find new homes.
“Papa Paints” Garage Sale
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, June 8, 9, 10
8:00 a.m-4:00 p.m.
2025 Wellesley Avenue, St Paul, MN
Here’s what you need to know:
Proceeds to to support Reek House, a transitional housing program sponsored by Luther Social Services to support youth experiencing homelessness.
Only cash, please.
Enter through the alley only (Between Wellesley and Stanford)
My bulletin board was overflowing, and it was time to clear the space.
I re-read each greeting card from the holidays between New Year’s and June. Valentine’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, along with birthday greetings. I felt the love and blessings all over again. In addition there were thank you notes, a get well card for earlier in the year when a miserable cold wiped me out, and a handmade sympathy card sent after a dear friend died. The handwritten message inside another card decorated with hearts said simply and perfectly, “You are loved.”
Along with images that I liked and wanted to keep (a woman standing in front of full book cases, a wintry scene, an abstract of water and sky)were pictures of our family, including one of the last photos taken of my father.
And in the middle was a verse from Romans 15: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
It was quite the pile of love.
Ah, a dilemma. Now what? Do I just toss them? Some cards I placed in my current journal, and I added a couple others to the box where I keep images for collages and to use as visual prompts for the writing group I facilitate, but yes, others I tossed. That is part of the deal when you clear the space.
I can see my bulletin board from my desk and over the months I have often lifted my eyes from the screen or the page and glanced at what I saved and treasured. Each time I head up or down the stairs I pass the bulletin board with its energy of hope, and good wishes, and memory, and I am reminded of the fullness, the richness of my days.
For now the bulletin board looks like this:
I need my father’s photo there. Just because. And that is true for the photo of our family taken at Christmas when we were all together. Maybe that will be replaced with a new picture when we all gather in July.
I have no doubt the many little pinprick holes will be filled eventually, and I smile thinking about the possibilities of the days and memories to come. I have made room for them on my bulletin board –and in my heart.
An Invitation
What do you do with cards and other mementos? I would love to know.
NOTE 1:
The bulletin board may be empty, but the backyard is lush and colorful, thanks to the ongoing gifts of my gardener husband.
NOTE 2:
This coming Thursday, Friday and Saturday, June 8-10 my husband Bruce will have his annual garage sale (alley behind our home, 2025 Wellesley Avenue, St Paul). He has been painting and transforming discarded furniture and other home decor accessories all winter. The proceeds from his sale support Rezek House, a transitional living program for youth experiencing homelessness. Rezek House is located in St Paul and is sponsored by Lutheran Social Services. I will post pictures of some of what is available later, but here are some images from last year–everything sold, by the way!
Out of the twelve books I read in May, only two were nonfiction, and both of those were memoir: The Pleasure of Their Company (2006) by Doris Grumbach, written as she contemplated her 80th birthday celebration, and A Ghost in the Throat (2020) by Irish poet Doireann Ni Ghriofa. I heard an interview with Ghriofa on NPR and was intrigued, but wasn’t sure if it was a novel or a memoir or a piece of literary criticism about an 18th century Irish poet Eibhin Dubh Ni Chonaill. I conclude it is all three. (The bookseller who sold me the book was quite sure it is a novel, by the way.) Did I love it? No, but I am not sorry I read it, and I appreciate the author’s reflection on the text of women’s lives.
Out of the ten fiction books I read, five were books in the mystery series by Nicci French (a pseudonym for a husband-wife team) featuring the psychoanalyst Frieda Klein as the main character. We also listened to the audio book of one of the titles on our road trip to Montana. I have finished the series and am glad I read them one after another for there is an ongoing thread in each of the books that might be hard to follow if read out of order or one without the rest. I won’t say more.
Take My Hand by Dolan Perkins-Valdez, a new novel (2022), which is getting quite a bit of attention. The topic, which is sterilization of black women/girls without informed consent, is an important one, and the story told is chilling and appalling. The main character is a young Black woman, a nurse from a well-to-do family. Set in the 1970’s in Montgomery, Alabama, She works at a family planning clinic and becomes involved with a family in which two young girls are sterilized. That eventually leads to a major law case. One of the themes especially well-developed was the assumptions made about how, when, and what kinds of care and involvement to give.
Matrix by Lauren Groff (2021). What a good book group selection this would be, but don’t judge it by the book flap summary, which says nothing!!!! The book has been reviewed widely because of the author’s previous successes, including Fates and Furies (2015) and Florida (2018), or I would have had no idea what to expect. Also, a male friend informed me there are no men in the book. NO MEN! I didn’t miss them. The book is set in the 1100s in what became England and is based on a real person. Marie was sent to an abbey where she has visions of the Virgin Mary and transforms the abbey from poverty to riches and power.
The Gown by Jennifer Robson (2019). A good vacation read. The story is based on the designing and creating of Queen Elizabeth’s wedding dress, and the main characters are two of the gown’s embroiderers. One of them is a Jewish refugee from France. Part of the story is set later in Canada when a granddaughter wants to learn more about her family history.
Jubilee by Margaret Walker (1966). Based on her great-grandmother’s life, the novel, written over 30 years, was in response to “Nostalgia” fiction about antebellum and Reconstruction South. The main character, Vygry, who looks and is often mistaken as white, works in the Big House of her father, the master of the plantation. The plot moves from preCivil War through the war and to the years after the war. At times the book reads like a well-written text book, and I learned a great deal, but mainly the rich writing and the wrenching story of the characters’ desire for freedom kept me reading.
An Invitation
As always, I am interested in what you have been reading. What do you recommend? I would love to know.
BONUS NOTE:
My husband has been painting and decorating discarded furniture all winter, and the garage is full to the brim. Come view and buy examples of creative talents at his garage sale, Thursday through Saturday, June 2-4 from 8:00 am – 4:00 pm. 2025 Wellesley Ave, St Paul. Access the garage through the alley ONLY. Proceeds support Lutheran Social Services for homeless youth. Wear a mask, please.
Living on Life's Labyrinth 