Dorms and Decor

Dorms and Decor....

O goodness.

We moved Miss Bunny into her dorm last week.

Who knew dorm decorating was a competitive sport?

Certainly not me. At least not until I arrived at the Ole Miss campus.   I should have gotten a heads up when Bunny showed me this article regarding...yep...an Ole Miss dorm room.  Here's the room from the article:

A beautiful coordinated dorm room.

Photo by Lindy Goodson, one half of the dorm design duo

and here's the article link.  The two girls did what, it appeared, every other girl in the dorm that Bunny moved into did. They met, they discussed what they wanted their room to look like and then they ordered and planned and shopped.
Bunny and her roommate also met on social media (and then in person) and have been discussing furniture and fabrics since last March. Things slowly started accumulating in the dining room, waiting for school to start. Orders for sheets and comforters (PB Teen)  and headboards (WalMart) were placed, HomeGoods was scouted.  Not a whole bunch of money was spent but the end result was fabulous.

And let me tell you. These dorms need a dose of fabulous.

I confess. I never lived in a dorm during my gazillion years of college attendance.

I'd only been inside one or two-ever- and certainly not an empty one.

When I walked into Bunny's empty dorm room last Wednesday morning all I could think was "This is the most depressing little dungeon I have ever been in."

Before

Peeling and water stained wood cabinets. (Bonus! There was an empty beer bottle in one of the drawers. Were these rooms even cleaned???) Cinder block walls.  Two plastic chairs that cannot be removed from the room.   And bunk beds. (Not bunked, but they could be)

It's a 13'x10' room. With two tiny closets. For two people. For nine months. 

Double the depression.

Honestly. I would have called in a designer if the girls hadn't already done their own thing.


And where will Bunny be calling home?

The finished room.

Not over the top but mighty cute and

a HUGE improvement on the "before" pic.

The Bunny Eye view from the bed.

Not quite done but almost.

And let me say, the girls in the viral photo have gotten a lot of flak about over achieving, going overboard, etc. but guess what? Their room is nothing compared to some of the rooms we saw during move in. A quick survey of maybe 15 rooms on one floor of one dorm on one campus revealed some of the most gorgeous, Pinterest worthy rooms I have ever seen- inside a dorm or out. The viral room above had nothing on most of the other rooms. 

All of the rooms had coordinating headboards, coordinating dust ruffles, coordinating pillows and in many cases, coordinating girls. Quite a few said they had bought their room stuff from last year's residents. Creativity was the order of the day and it was amazing to see how and where refrigerators, microwaves and clothes were all stashed in these tiny tiny rooms. (Bunny's roommate has the fridge stashed underneath her bed.) Most girls mentioned HomeGoods/TJ Maxx as the main source of their decorative items. I.e. These rooms were done on budgets.

So let's think about this.  If these girls can figure out all this before they've ever even spent one night in a room together, think how prepared they are for negotiating the rest of their lives. Bunny lived in Texas. The room mate lived right outside of St. Louis, Missouri. (Albeit actually in Illinois.)   They met briefly for the first time in March when they both went to Mississippi for ONE weekend. But some how, some way, they coordinated an entire room online, showed up on the appointed day with the coordinated stuff and the only duplication they had was TWO microwaves. Unfortunately neither one of those microwaves fit in the intended space even though Bunny swore she had measured, but whatever. The roommate's kind daddy found one that would fit. And I don't know about the roommate, but I do know Bunny spent quite a bit of her own hard earned money for this room decor.

So what's the problem with having a nice room? 

Dorm decorating. Maybe it's a competition but you know what? It's also a life lesson. Think of the negotiating skills! The budgeting knowledge! Problem solving!  

(We ran into a problem with the beds being too low for the fridge to be under one and still open. A trip to WalMart solved that...bed risers.  Then the shelf between the two beds was too low after the beds had been raised. A trip to Home Depot for new legs and a bit of paint solved THAT problem. How do you hang a curtain rod on a cinder block wall? Command strips. There were a lot of critical skills used that day.) 

O!   And best of all? School started Monday and I got a "first day of college" pic.

Look! That room is already a mess.

Having my cards read, No. 84

Having my Cards Read: No. 84 


OK.
No. 84 is have my Tarot cards read.
The Aspen Arts Festival just happened to have a Tarot card/Palm reading booth. Fifteen minutes for $30.00.
I was on that like white on rice.

Me, Claudia, Cards

Do I look excited?! 

My guide to the future was Claudia from Aspen Intuitives*. She and her partner Ruby do Tarot card readings and astrological readings.

While waiting my turn I heard Claudia asking the girl in front of me what questions she needed answers to. Hmmm. I decided right then to offer up the least amount of information possible on myself. Didn't want to "lead" her answers.

Nevertheless, she started out so "spot on" that I was open mouthed.

Can't complain if the first card describing me is Victory.

Most of the cards were positive although I need to get my financials under control in the next five years or I will be a bag lady in my 80s. But sometimes I think that may be everyone's fate.

 Power, Completion, The Priestess, Success

Sounds good so far...

Life is going to be good. Changes are going to be made. 

My future

A powerful woman, Art and Lovers

Is it the power of suggestion? Do the cards tell your fate or do you alter your actions to conform with the fate that has been predicted? 

I don't know but we shall see.

Yes, the future is looking mighty fun.

Some of the cards that I look at now I think maybe she white washed what they meant. Or maybe not. Everything is open to interpretation.

Cruelty and Death followed by Abundance? 

Sounds scary but probably just means hard changes with happy outcomes. 

Have you ever had your cards read or your palm read?

I am a bit of a skeptic but not entirely. I think there are a lot of things that our subconscious controls without our realizing it.   The world works in mysterious ways. I was the one choosing the cards and my hand definitely gravitated towards certain cards, even though they were unseen to me. (face down)

On an interesting note, way back in the late 60s my mother threw an Age of Aquarius party for my father's birthday complete with a Card and Palm reader.  Brother Paul and I were having our futures foretold and I remember one thing in particular. She told Paul that he would end up having a scar on his face. Paul was in high school and sooo handsome. Just a heart throb. He was frequently mistaken for David Cassidy which was a big thing back in the day. So the idea of a scar on his face? HA. Not going to happen.

Partying down in the 60s.

But guess what?
In the 80s, he was driving a little john boat down Caney Creek and hit a log. His fiancé was dumped off the front of the boat, he cranked the motor so he wouldn't hit her and flipped himself out. Into the water and under the boat motor. Fortunately he put his arm up so it didn't get his eye, but there was a slash through cheek, arm, and forehead.
The local hospital did the basics and said "Take him home and find a plastic surgeon." I remember the car ride home. He could stick his tongue out the side of his face.
Yes, he had a scar. 

Coincidence?
Fate?

The Princess of Swords:

a forceful and determined woman 

Hard to say but I'm going with my future is so bright, I'm gonna need shades.

* Not a paid or sponsored or reimbursed plug. I tried it, I paid for it, I loved it. 

This Wasn't on the List!

This wasn't on the list!  
(But maybe should have been)

I'm back in Texas to get Bunny off to college. My babyyyyy. Eek! Squeal!
That's why the blog has been silent.

The house is a disaster while she acquires all of the things she MUST have to go school.
"Mom, I don't have any towels yet!"
"I have an idea. Take some towels from the bathroom."
Seriously. Do we HAVE to have monogrammed towels for college? I suggested taking the monogrammed towels we already have that have her siblings' names on them. What's the matter with taking towels that say Belle and Boy? No one will steal them.

Anyway, this is what I arrived home to:

Using all of my restraint, I left it. All of it. Not my mess.

A week later, it looks like this:

Progress.  Still ignoring it. Still not my mess.

I have helped her do the laundry that was on the floor of her room.  
Her sister's room currently looks like this. Please note, the sister does lives in Florida. While Belle was home last week for a few days, she took all of her stuff with her when she left. This is Bunny's adjunct room/closet. All of this is hers. All of this is going to college. She has another room that looks basically the same. Everything in there is going also.

Bunny is doing the classic "spoiling the nest" routine that teenagers do so well. Trashing our house so that we will be eternally grateful when she leaves.  Bless her heart.

Anyway, I'm not sure how two rooms of clothes, bedding, clothes, furniture, clothes, laundry items, clothes and bathroom items (and clothes) will all fit into basically a 9x12 dorm room along with another cute teenage girl who will also be bringing the same amount of crap  personal belongings, but we shall see.

Meantime, I'm off to find a bed safe for the girl. And maybe just a couple more "must haves".
Because.
Like mother, like daughter.

I'm not sure Mississippi is ready for her.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I still need to write about the most interesting part of my trip to Aspen. I had my Tarot cards read. 

I recorded the session and have been listening to it, trying to absorb all that was said. Also have pics of all the cards so that I can refer back to them. That will be next post.

Across the Divide and into Heaven

Across the Divide and into Heaven (well, Aspen) 

Last weekend I went across the Continental Divide again...second week in a row!
(I crossed at Monarch Pass going to Lake City the week before.)

It was a bit windy. 

And that's not my motorcycle helmet. 

It's the guy's who took my picture. 

This time I crossed at Independence Pass on the way to Aspen. I had been warned that it was another one of those roads where the State of Colorado could/should probably invest in just a few more guard rails. Here's a pic of my GPS. See all those switchbacks? Ten mile an hour speed limits. It definitely required all of my attention.

But o! Once I got to the top...look at the view. Seriously, this has to be one of the prettiest drives I've done in Colorado.

 Sky and mountains and valleys and wildflowers as far as the eye can see. 

At 12,095 feet high, it's a little chilly, even mid day in July. 

 And then I descended into Aspen, passing a sign warning "narrow roads" Ha! What the sign meant was "one lane road, good luck".  But I made it. 

The purpose of my trip to Aspen? 

Friend Ann had a condo there for the month of July and had invited me to come visit. Never having been to Aspen, of course I said "Yes!" I spent the weekend with her and another friend of hers, Julie. Great time. Great company. 

And I LOVED Aspen. Fun and beautiful.

Dinner on Friday night was pizza at Brunelleschi's. Good pizza and even better people watching. Some amazing plastic surgery...and I don't mean that in a good way. 

The Aspen Arts Festival was right outside the front door of the condo on Saturday. The highlight of the show for me was seeing Aaron Sault, the creator of some stunning jewelry and the same guy I won some earrings from a couple of years ago. All of the art was of the highest caliber and I was inspired and amazed many times that day. Back home, I've already been to the bead store, inspired by a necklace I spotted there.

Art galore

Saturday night was another fun restaurant, La Creperie du Village. O my! Restaurant perfection. Aren't we cute? I had crepes, and more crepes.

Cute us. 

Julie, Ann, Me

Cute little perfect French Bistro

Ooolala!

Sunday was breakfast out at Poppycock. A little hole in the wall that had a wait, although we were lucky enough to get there before the big line formed. Eggs Benedict held me over for the hairpin drive home. 

After breakfast, and before I got back in the car, we took a quick trip over to the Benedict Music Tent and Harris Concert Hall. Ann and Julie were meeting friends there later for some chamber music and a picnic. We went early to put chairs out and save a spot. What a beautiful venue. 

Cool Music Tent

I was sad I didn't get to stay for the show. (But I did NOT want to make that drive home after dark, so I willingly skipped...)  And look at this tree. 

Bears climb trees.

Remember that. 

I'm always looking up when I walk.

Know what that is? Bear claw marks. Eek. Fortunately Mr. Bear was not in attendance. 

So three new restaurants. A new city. A new pass over the Continental Divide. 

What a great weekend. 

A Fly Fishing Attempt

No. 58: Fly fishing- take a  lesson. 

I didn't quite get a real professional lesson but I certainly had an experienced fly fisherman try to teach me.  Try being the operative word.

Wynne, my teacher for the day, decked out like a pro.

When I was in Lake City with Liddy, she convinced her patient husband, Wynne,  to take me out on the river and try to teach me to fly fish.
Decked out in all of Liddy's gear, with a pole in hand, I hit the South Fork of the Gunnison River. Wynne wins the prize for patience and determination. We started near a bridge on their property. He instructed me on the proper way to cast. Then he told me just to fling it. He was being pretty realistic about my skills. Trying to keep my wrist straight, I got pretty good at putting the fly close to where I wanted it. 

Wynne was smart and put a bobber on my line, knowing that the trout are pretty quick and by the time I felt one, it would be gone. But guess what? Even SEEING the strike, I missed the fish. 

We tried closer to the bridge, on the other side of the bridge and even through the bushes and upstream to a deeper spot in the river. 

Three or four strikes, no fish. I was too slow. 

Threatening skies and thunder echoing through the mountains cut my lesson short. 

The fish were safe for another day. 

BUT...

I've done it before and I WILL do it again. 

Thirty something years ago I caught this one little trout...also in the South Fork of the Gunnison, also in Lake City. As I know so well, lightning CAN strike twice in the same place. Just not this time. 

A much younger me pretty delighted with myself for catching a fish!