Christmas Baking on a Snowy Day

Ahh...a world outside the window swathed in white. Snow is falling all around.

What a perfect day for some holiday baking!

I pulled on my down overcoat and sailed out the door.

Walked around up the street and around the corner from work past the Black Sheep Woolen Shop...and Alpine Art...

To Mrs. Backer's Bakery.

(She's been at this location since 1926. Gosh, she must be ready to retire by now, wouldn't you think?)

Is this not the most adorable pastry shop EVER????

The windows had treats for the eyes....

And the mouth!

And aprons too. I already own cute Christmas aprons, but of course, they are packed away.

And you certainly can't expect me to bake anything Christmas-y without my traditional apron, and cookie cutters and rolling pins. Sigh.

Oh well. I guess I'll just have to make do with letting Mrs. Backer do the baking this year.

(Doesn't it seem really sophisticated and cosmopolitan to go to the bakery for holiday treats? I think so. At least doing it that way just this once....)

I had to look over all the sweet napkins and serving pieces.

Loved the feathered wreath.

Love the cornice at the top of the pink walls....love the seventy year old glass display cases.

Shouldn't all pastry shops have crystal chandeliers?

And shop girls with pink aprons?

Time to get serious.

A Christmas cake, six inches, will be just the thing for Christmas dessert for just us three people.

Some cheese danish for Christmas Eve morning...and a couple of cookies to tide me over on my walk back to work.

There now.

That's one way to do Christmas baking in a jiffy!

(By the way...it is the third night of Hanukkah, and Bernie and I find it very soothing to light the evening candles and reflect on Jesus, the Light of the World. Blessed art thou, Lord our God, King of the Universe...

If you wish, you can find our reading for tonight here, from last year's series of posts. It reminded me how important it was to not assimilate into unGodly ways. Let me close this post with a quote from Michael Medved concerning this season of Dedication:

In this holiday season, Americans hear lots of talk about “Hanukkah” but most Christians—and most Jews, for that matter—don’t know what that word actually means. No, Hanukkah doesn’t mean “Festival of Lights,” or “Festival of Tolerance” – the Hebrew word means, simply, “dedication.”

It refers to the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem in 165 B.C., after its desecration by Hellenists who worshipped Greek Gods in the shape of men. The holiday calls for our re-dedication to resisting secularism and assimilation, and recommitting to God’s commandments. The word “Hanukah” has the same root as “Hinukh” –education—emphasizing that there’s no meaningful education without dedication to divine truth.

At the darkest time of each year, the glowing candles of Hanukkah signal dedication to bring light to a world that too often worships men, instead of God.)

Kitchen fun

I kind of like it!

Just so you know...yes, we are in the process of buying a house, and yes, it should close this week, and yes, I will post pictures after we sign on the dotted line (not taking any chances this time...) and no, we won't be able to move into it until Feb, as it will need a considerable amount of remodeling, and yes, I am looking for ideas as to what I should do about the kitchen which we plan to have done as part of the remodel.

Oh my stars and garters...I had NO IDEA how many decisions that are to make when remodeling a kitchen.

What kind of floor? Wood, tile, linoleum, cork, concrete, vinyl....

Say we go with wood.

What color wood? What KIND of wood?

Then there are the cabinets.

Wood, paint or laminate?

If wood, what kind of wood? (Especially if the floor is wood too. Can't match...it would be like living in a wooden box.)

If paint, what color?

(plus paint glazes, paint finishes etc.)

Cabinet door styles: Plank door, shaker frame, raised panel, glass?

Full cabinet coverage (the doors completely cover the cabinet) or just some coverage?

Drawers or cabinets below?

How many drawers? How deep?

What kind of glass in cabinet doors?

Reeded, bubbled, caned, frosted, clear, leaded?

Oh and how about hardware?

Nickel, black, chrome, brass, glass, rubbed bronze, hammered, copper, wood...

Counter top?

(NOT GRANITE!!!!) Ok...Formica, tile, quartz, butcher block, concrete, stainless steel, silestone?

Appliances?

Stainless, black, or white? Or how about "Mamie" pink? (more pink kitchens here...don't they all look kind of like modern IKEA kitchens?) Or even retro aqua or red?

(Lordie, I do love and admire Mamie...read about Mamie and "her" pink here. I've loved Mamie Eisenhower ever since I read that she always wore a slip and never a bra, and her husband referred to her as "saucy." And that he sent her pink flowers every morning. Note to self: Buy more slips. BTW: Wouldn't Mamie be a cute name for a little girl?)

Back to kitchen planning....

Gas or electric range? How many burners?

Free standing or slide in oven?

Single or double oven?

Range knobs on the front or in the back? (No brainer there...the front!)

Side by side or freezer on the bottom of the refrigerator?

Back splash?

Tile? Same as counter? Paint?

What color walls?

What kind of sink? Stainless or ceramic? Or moulded into the counter top?
Single, double or triple sink?

What kind of faucet?

Single handle, double handle, pull out sprayer, dishmaster?

What kind of finish?

Brushed nickel, oiled bronze, chrome, brass, enamel paint?

What kind of trim on the over head can/pot lights? White? Black? Nickel? Brass? Bronze...

ADA compliant dishwasher? (Raised up dishwasher = less continuous counter space, but less bending over too..)

Cut into a wall to make a pass through? (No for now...)

Seal off a pocket door to make more room for cabinets and counter tops? ( another no...)

Again...what color walls???? Bright and cheery or subdued and natural? The kitchen faces south west....

Right now I am at:

Rustic Cherry framed cabinets with black hardware and one glass door above the sink. (Fretting that they should be plank doors to fit in with the house style era...)
White single tub sink.
Oak flooring to match the rest of the house (don't know the shade yet...the floors are original and will be stripped, re-stained and sanded. Gotta decide on a stain color...SOON!)
Stainless GE appliances (worried about finger prints though)
Gas
Quartz counter top (don't know color yet)
One drawers on the lower cabinets on both sides of range top. Roll out shelves in the cabinets.
Dishwasher to the right of sink, and a pull out pantry next to that.
Counter deep refrigerator

I've never dreamed of a "dream" kitchen before; I've always been happy with whatever kitchen came with our houses. I had mahogany plank doors, tile counters and harvest gold appliances for years in the house we raised our kids in. The blue wall paper matched my dishes when we moved in, it was still up and making me happy when we moved out a dozen or so years later.

College course work in Interior Design (over 32 years ago) taught me how to color board selections and how to use color wheels and lay outs and all that stuff. One decision informs the next and once one element is selected all the other elements should harmonize.

Yeah I get that....I also get how much leg work is involved in running down all those options to make the best possible selection.
Or even just a relatively good selection.
Or "what we can afford" selection.

Dear Santa:

I've been a good girl pretty much all year. All I want for Christmas is my very own Interior Decorator. And a whopping gift card to either Lowes or Home Depot.

Say hi to Mrs. Santa Claus and Rudolph, and all the elves.

Your friend who now lives Salt Lake City;

Jill

PS: Sorry we don't have a chimney for you this year; we are staying in an apartment, but if all goes well, next year you can pick between two chimneys when you visit!

More Churches

The United Methodists have a lovely place to fellowship downtown.

A musical bunch they are too, if the banner out front is any indication.
I personally am more interested in seeing those tiny windows up in the tower though. Bet I could get an eyeful of beauty from them!

About the church:

The historic building which houses First United Methodist Church represents a Victorian Eclectic architectural style designed by Frederick Albert Hale, a prominent Utah architect from 1890 to 1934. The appearance of the FUMC building has remained the same since its completion in 1906. You can read more about the church here.

Up the street and around the corner from my work is the very pretty Presbyterian church, a Gothic Revival style church whose services I have attended in the past. The stained glassed windows are glorious, with the sun streaming through them during the morning worship service.

About the church:
First Presbyterian Church of Salt Lake City, Utah, was organized in 1873. The present church structure, built in 1903, was restored in 2003. It is one of the three oldest religious structures in the city. The church architecture is in the Gothic Revival style, designed by noted Salt Lake City architect, Walter Ware and modeled after Carlisle Cathedral in Carlisle England. The church was constructed of indigenous red sandstone quarried at nearby Red Butte Canyon Greek Revival characteristics have a strong association between religion and nature based on the Medieval English precedent from the 12th-15th centuries. The style was a way of building a very tall building while preserving as much virtual light as possible. Main features of Gothic Revival architecture displayed in First Presbyterian Church: Overlaid tracery: Bars and ribs used decoratively in the windows some forming netlike patterns based on the circle, arch, trefoil ,and quatrefoil (insert picture of the angel window) Vault: Covered areas(insert photo) Pointed arch: On doors and windows(insert photo)

Be sure to click on the blue link to the Carlisle Cathedral in Northern England. This church is a dead ringer for that one!

Additional interesting fact: the church has an artesian well in its basement.

The front gardens are quite nice to linger in after the worship services.

Aren't those two pillars amazing?

This, of course, is the Catholic Cathedral one block up from the Presbyterian church.

Everyone remember what architectural style was used when it was built?

That's right...Romanesque exterior with a Gothic interior.

Very good!

Victorian Eclectic, Gothic Revival, and Romanesque architecture...see what cool things you can learn just by read blogs?

Happy Sunday Everyone!

Meme

Julie tagged me with a Meme: find the fourth picture file on your computer and the fourth picture, then tell about it.

A couple of years ago DD Laura and my MIL Barbara and I went to Scotland for a week. The picture was taken in Edinburgh Castle, in late Feb.

While most people would avoid going to Scotland in winter, I liked it very much. And I LOVED having the three of us together, noodling around Scotland, enjoying seeing kilt wearing gents in the grocery stores, stags along side the roadway, castles and century old cemeteries, snow covered mountains and lakes. And yes, I did try haggis.

I wonder if anyone else out in blogland have ever traveled with their daughter and MIL to a foreign country?

As part of the Meme, I am supposed to tag others to do the same. If the idea appeals to you, or if you are curious about what picture would be the fourth one in your fourth file, consider yourself tagged!

Dec 18 1976: 32 years later....

Another anniversary....we sure didn't imagine ourselves living in Utah 32 years after we said "I do" on a bright December afternoon in La Jolla.

Didn't see Texas in our future either. Funny how it is all turning out...

What is really making us laugh is looking at a blog that documents housing interior styles by the decades, starting in the 1950's, back when the Mister and I were kids. We scrolled through the decades, remembering this and that, then when we got to the 1970's, there it was...our first apartment's kitchen.

Or at least pretty darn close to how it looked.

The blog got really interesting when it demonstrated how the sleek 1950's "modern" looks are being found again in the late 2000's. Who knew IKEA was so retro?

The blogger then posed the question: If 2000-2008 is retro 1950's, then will 2010-2018 be retro 1960's? Quite possibly. There certainly are straws in the wind that would suggest that to be the case.

While I toured the 75 houses in my quest to find a house, I was totally struck by how "era identifiable" each house was. I was sure that each house at one time was just the most current and up to date design....yet the elements that were most apparent in indicating the era were also the elements that I found the most repulsive.

I can see how the late 1990-early 2000 Neo-Classic big houses with huge built in niches for televisions already look dated. What in the world will be the next great home feature?

If you like to walk down memory lane a bit, and see the "look" of different eras, you can click on the 1950's or 1960's or 1970's or 1980's or 1990's or 2000's. All the houses shown are in Phoenix Arizona, and it amazes me that my home town had houses that were built exactly like those houses. (The posts begin with swimming pool styles and landscaping, just scroll on down to see what was going on inside those house in the kitchen, baths and living rooms. Some of them are a real hoot.)

I've heard there comes a time in every woman's life when she says "enough" to keeping up, and settles into a certain decorating era for keeps. Eventually I think that look becomes what is known in her family as "looking like grandma's house"...and even great grandma's can remember what their own grandmother's houses had that they thought was quaint at best or hideously out of style at worst.

Us "mid-century" baby boomers wince at 1950 style interior design and decoration, yet I see blog written by 20-somethings who are feverishly collecting what is now lovingly being referred to "Mid Century Modern Design". (Atomic age star burst clocks anyone?)

I'm rambling here, but let me just say that yes, I had the 1980's tulip lamp (and actually made on in green gingham for DD's bedroom) and smiled at more than one picture that brought back memories of friends and neighbors homes. And I laughed at "poof" valences that were stuff with news paper to make them puff out correctly. Been there, done that!

On the plane ride home from San Diego I read that chintz upholstered couches with big flowers and fluffy details are making a comeback to emotionally cuddle us all through the current financial upheaval.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry to admit that I still have that style couch, custom made in the early 1980's, and delivered to my home as Geo. Bush the First was being sworn into office. Our couch, pictured above, is currently in storage with the rest of our belongings...we never could find anyone to take it off our hands in Houston.

Maybe it will be viewed as trendy-cool here in a year or so...who knows?

Now here's the kicker...if you scroll through the 50's lighting examples, you will see couches that look EXACTLY like my couch that was made in the 1980's. Yipes!

And also let me say that I really, really wonder what house styles will look like when we celebrate thirty two more years of marriage. 64 years of marriage...shoot, that happens all the time now days.

Do you suppose that red couch will keep on coming back into style every thirty years or so? Maybe we should keep it after all, and one day sell it to a person born ten years from now, who will think it is just the coolest example of Late Century Traditional ever.

You never know. Stranger things have happened.

Sunset after the storm

It snowed most of the day Tuesday.
Around four I took a break from work, and went for a walk around the block, needing some fresh air and exercise.
The snow storm was breaking up, and the setting sun worked magic on the Wasatch Mountains on the east side of Salt Lake City.

(Each of these pictures look so much better biggified. Go ahead and give them a click, and enjoy the details!)

There were of course buildings, fences and power lines framing the mountain views.
Picasa editing got rid of that visual clutter via a simple cropping click.
(The mountain between the steeple and your right hand side of the picture above is Mt. Olympus, and the community at its base is called Olympus Cove.)

I hadn't noticed the birds in flight when I took this picture.

Now to decide which of these pictures should be my new header.
Decisions, decisions.
I love that all these shots were taken from just up around the corner from where I work!

(And oh, by the way...for the header? The birds in flight over the mountains won.)

Ready for a new Constitution?

I was shocked last week to discover that there are 30 states that have called for a Constitutional Convention, the first such "Con Con" since 1787.

Only two more states need to call for such a Convention and just like that...our US Constitution will be subject to being re-written, presumably to reflect "modern" mores.

Just thinking about that gives me an absolutely sick inside feeling that makes me want to go hide.

I am posting a link so at you will know what is going on.

God help us, God save us....oh, let us continue to say "In God We Trust" as a nation.

Winter in the City

We're having our first heavy snow fall; it began Saturday morning and is continuing through today. It fulfills a personal wish: my office at work is windowless and I oh so much wanted to be able to just sit and enjoy watching a snow fall from home.

Saturday day was spent enjoying watching the snow from various windows in our apartment, and taking a good hot soak in the apartment outside jacuzzi, catching nickle sized snowflakes on our tongues while the steam rose all around us.

Bliss.

Bernie had to go out to work for awhile, and then he ran a few errands. When he returned it was dark out; he urged me to join him in a stroll around the city to see the Christmas lights.

I tugged on some heavy shoes and appropriate winter wear and together we headed out into the cold snowy night.

Here's the outdoor ice skating rink that is two blocks from our apartment:

(I'm all warm, except my nose....)

Downtown Salt Lake has lights everywhere. Every tree, bush, wall, building, is wrapped with lights. Pretty magical in the snow.

We were hardly alone on the streets though. Apparently there were several events being held and each corner had throngs of people waiting to cross the street.

(I had to laugh at some of the fashionable ladies in party dresses and OPEN TOED high heeled shoes...)

Hot chocolate was being sold from carts, bag pipers were playing bag pipes which ALSO were wrapped in Christmas lights. Music, lights, snow, a hand to hold...what more could you possibly want on a Saturday night near Christmas?

What a silly question.

A horse drawn carriage ride through the snowy streets to take in all the sights, of course.

Bernie and I snuggled under heavy carriage blankets, exchanged a few kisses, and smiled at the people crowding the streets that waved and smiled back.

(The wide eyed stares of children surprised to see a horse on the city streets were absolutely priceless...)

After that we walked back home, stopping to "borrow" some time in front of a warm fireplace at 1910 era hotel across from our apartment complex.

Yes...it was a wonderful walk, and yes, I am glad that we now live in this city!

Rapture is better....

Last August Bernie and I walked out of house in Kingwood with two dufflebags, two cats in carriers, and two backpacks.

It was a breeze. I hardly blinked as we climbed into the awaiting taxi and drove away to the airport.

Monday night we walked back into the house...and I cried. Our left behind house was still as it was when we left it; it was beautiful, bright and in perfect order. The lamps shone like life and joy, and I felt like I had returned to the best moment of life.

I didn't forget the reasons why we had left to move to Utah. I don't regret our decision, but for a few hours we sat in front of the fire and talked of the times we had had in this house. Good times and very very hard times. Sickness and health, rich and poor, better and worse...doesn't the house that becomes a home become the stage and setting of a marriage?

Tuesday morning the movers arrived and began to empty the closets and cupboards. It is estimated that there will be close to 200 boxes loaded into a van tomorrow. Frankly, I recoiled as I shot pictures of what was in each drawer and cupboard, in a desperate ploy to jog my memory of where "things" had been stored in the "old" house.

It has been almost four months since I reached into any of those spaces. For four months I have lived just fine with just what we brought with us, a borrowed bed and a couple of chairs, a couch and three bags of "stuff" from the grocery store and IKEA.

What on earth am I going to do with 200 boxes of stuff that obviously I don't really need?

Our household goods will go into storage in Utah for a minimum of two more months. We have an idea of which house we will be buying, but are awaiting some more information before we mentally designate that place as "our new home".

Two hundred boxes...and furniture too...there simply is no room for all of this regardless of where we move.

Bernie's company is paying for the moving costs; it doesn't matter how much we bring. I stoically watched the packer carefully put an empty cardboard Starbuck coffee box in with some other kitchen item; I didn't even reach to toss it out. I will have to get a dumpster anyway in Utah and hold garage sales, put furniture up for sale on Craigslist, or on consignment, or simply leave it at the curb on heavy trash day.

I know that it is common and normal to simplify as we age. But the task of making the decisions of what goes, and how it goes seems overwhelming to me right now. I know I will have to make some sort of sense of all of our belongings and work hard to nestle them nicely into our next nest, to make a fit stage and setting of the next chapter of our lives.

And all the while that I am doing that I will know that likely we will uproot it all again in another ten years or so when we retire, or grow too old to manage on our own.

I find myself longing for heaven, for a place that will not require boxes to be unpacked to move into; a place that will not require different paint or new carpeting or any of the things that a new house always seems to need before it feels like home.

I remember all the strange and empty houses I have seen lately, and am so thankful that as our possessions are driven away, another couple, close to our age will fill it with their belongings. We met the new owners and the new "lady of the house" at signing yesterday; Ellen told me how beautiful she thought the house was, and how all her friends thought so too. She has just lost her father; her mother will be moving in with them now. How quickly even her plans had changed for her move.

As I write this on a clickity library keyboard I really just want to curl up and hibernate, and awake with everything settled again somewhere, somehow. I know that won't happen. We drive errands through Kingwood and it seems dreamlike that I am once again in Texas for just a brief moment, and will likely never be here again in my life time. Christmas decorations are up, and carols play in the stores just like they did last year, and will again next year.

A bit like the old play "Brigadoon". It seems a bit like a dream. I just hope when I awake it will all make pleasant sense somehow.
But for now, it is just most unsettling.

The Thanksgiving Time

Bernie and I flew to San Diego for Thanksgiving.
We got to the airport at seven in the evening on Wednesday, the busiest travel day of the year.

The place was practically empty. This is the flight lounge...usually jammed packed with travelers. We didn't even need to wait in line to check in.

It was very weird.

We asked various airport employees about it, and they all said that in their twenty or thirty years of work they too had never seen anything like it either. The economy just is too rough for people to fly right now I guess.

After we landed in San Diego, we headed to my parent's house in La Jolla. It was raining when we arrived late Wednesday night, and it rained quite heavily all that night.
The next day the paper reported it was the most rain that San Diego had received in a twenty four hour period in 99 years, beating the rain total that was posted in 1909.

By Thanksgiving Day afternoon the skies were clear again.
(The palm trees that were reflected in the puddle above, properly viewed in the sky above.)

A quick game while waiting for the turkey to be done....

My mom always sets a beautiful table.

We are a small family...my Dad....

our daughter Laura....(she is living in San Diego now, and is working as a Hospice coordinator nurse.)

Bernie.

I didn't manage to get a good picture of my mom or me, but we were just six around the table.

Jeff was able to fly in from Salt Lake as well.

I can remember Thanksgivings with the same china on this same table, but there was eleven of us around it...grandparents, cousins and so forth.

This Thanksgiving was a precious grouping to me.

A colorful traditional horn of plenty centerpiece.

The little pilgrim candles that appear on the table each year.

And the turkey salt and pepper shakers.
My mom has collected several themed salt and pepper sets. Rabbits for Easter for instance.

It is a running joke now: One year Jeff sat down for some holiday meal, and grabbed a ceramic table decoration, and began to shake it over his food.

As it turned out, it wasn't a salt or pepper shaker.

The joke is now to grab just about anything and give it a shake....it just might be this holiday's salt shaker!

(And no, the salt doesn't EVER come out the turkey's butt....it comes out of the TOP of the turkey....Smart Alec.)

I got in a few neighborhood walks, and lots of chats with my Mom and Dad, and with Laura. We stopped by Bernie's folks as well for a catch up there too.

Visits home always go so fast.

We were back in Salt Lake on Sunday.

Today we fly again, this time to Houston to sign over our house there, and oversee the loading of our household.

We'll be back in Salt Lake again on Friday.

I'll post if I have a chance...

Otherwise, we'll catch up again next weekend.

Call me a boomer, call me a dink, call me a Simplifier, what do you think?

Last weekend B. and I were heading out to run a few errands and between stops I flipped my cell phone open and gave daughter LauraRN a call.

She asked what we were doing, and I told her we were just dinking around.

She laughed and pointed out that "dinking around" was exactly what we were doing: As Double Income, No Kids people, we were now officially DINKS.

Gee, it seemed like only yesterday we were SINKS (Single Income, no kids) and a few other variations of acronyms.

Of course for a whole life time we've been Boomers. As in Post WWII Baby Boomers. Wow, Post WWII...that sounds positively ancient doesn't it?

I just read this article and discovered I have slid into yet another title: Simplifier.

Sounds kind of practical doesn't it? Less stuff, more life. Oh yeah.

Read all about it below, then tell me what YOU think.
Are you shifting in simplify? How is that transition going? How far do you think it will go?

(And while I do know that pasting an entire article on one's blog without author's permission is a huge copyright no-no, I am going to stick to my new roots, and simplify this read by pasting it right here where you can read it easy!)

How Recession Will Accelerate Consumer Downsizing
Posted by John Quelch on October 15, 2008 3:01 PM

Watch out for a new brand of consumer in 2008: the middle-aged Simplifier. She finds herself surrounded by too much stuff acquired. She is increasingly skeptical in the face of a financial meltdown that it was all worth the effort. Out will go luxury purchases, conspicuous consumption, and a trophy culture. Tomorrow's consumer will buy more ephemeral, less cluttering stuff: fleeting, but expensive, experiences, not heavy goods for the home.
The economic boom of the 1990s fuelled consumption and democratized access to a wider than ever spectrum of goods transforming former luxuries into "must-have" necessities. Millions played the lotteries or aspired to what they viewed on "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous". As they grew richer, pressure increased on those below to trade up. And, as they traded up, pressure increased in turn on the well-off to buy even more--the second home, the big screen TV and the latest sport-utility vehicle. Enter the big houses that measured success in thousands of square feet of floor space, topped by the 40,000 square feet, $50m palace that Bill Gates has built outside Seattle. In 2006, 35% of new homes exceeded 2,400 square feet in floor space compared with 18% in 1986. Ironically, these mansions, many owned by business people on the road half the time, grew in number as the size of the average American household declined.
These huge houses had to be filled with more stuff, good news for the home-appliance and home-furnishing industries. Even grocery manufacturers benefited. Larger homes with bigger refrigerators can absorb more inventory. Flat birth rates in developed economies have put pressure on durable consumer-goods companies desperate for top-line growth. Product quality improvements mean these goods break down less often. So durable-goods sales depend on two things: the launch of new, higher-priced, higher-featured, often customized products that persuade consumers to trade in their existing appliances before they break down (think cell phones), as well as household penetration of products such as fax machines and printers previously used only by businesses.
As the world economy slumps, one consumer segment will grow faster than ever. The Simplifiers have four characteristics.
First, they perceive that they have more stuff than they need. Sure, they may collect something specific like porcelain figurines as a hobby, but they are the opposite of the pack rats who fill their attics and basements with "you-never-know-when-you-might-need-it" stuff.
Second, they want to collect experiences, not possessions. And they give experiences rather than goods as gifts to friends and relatives. Experiences may seem ephemeral. They cannot be inventoried except in the form of "Kodak" moments; but they do not tie you down, require no maintenance, and permit variety-seeking instincts to be quickly satisfied. Dining out, foreign travel, learning a new sport will prove more resilient than expected in the face of recession.
Third, their stuff embarrasses them. Their Range Rovers no longer tell the world that they are sophisticated town and country socialites. There are simply too many of them on the road to offer much social status. Worse, they now signal the irresponsible selection of a gas-guzzler.
Fourth, they have wealth that is so assured that it no longer requires conspicuous display. They lease their cars, rent other people's holiday homes, and would happily outsource other aspects of their lifestyles. They reject the marketer's continual pressure to spend more money on possessions rather than on education, health care, and other social goods.
These are the consumers who are now trading in their sport-utility vehicles. They include the empty-nester baby-boomers, less confident than before, who are tired of heating unused spaces in cavernous mansions, now preferring smaller houses with architectural character and intimate spaces, more charm and less maintenance. Their families are scattered, unable to share conveniently the family holiday home and often unwilling to inherit the burden of something they will never use. The new economy has made it even easier for consumers to get rid of their stuff. The high-tech equivalents of the yard sale, electronic auction sites, bring Simplifiers together with those who are yet to catch the habit.
This growing segment of Simplifiers presents a challenge to marketers. These are well-off people who value quality over quantity and do not buy proportionately more goods as their net worth increases. Their increasing reluctance to consume will dampen expected demand growth in developed economies further and therefore slow economic recovery, requiring consumer-goods multinationals to further focus their efforts on emerging markets where stuff will still be king.
This post is based in part on Professor Quelch's Economist article "Too Much Stuff."

Hers and His

Ever walked into a house and you just had a sense about the owners? A good sense?

That's what this house had.

This house was beautifully decorated with interesting traditional antiques and soft colors.
I imagined a lady who looked a bit like Dale Evans living here, if Dale was still around.
(You over 50 -somethings know what I am talking about and can picture that I am sure...)

The house was carpeted with plush white carpeting, the walls were a faintly pinkish white. Overall the house felt very happy, clean, fresh, cozy...all the good things that a home should be

The period pieces gave away the owners age as did the chandelier. No one of my generation would choose such a lighting fixture for her dining room.

And the neatly done fairly modern kitchen suited the rest of the house without screaming "THE KITCHEN HAS BEEN REDONE....GRANITE COUNTER TOPS.....GRANITE COUNTER TOPS.....GRANITE COUNTER TOPS! like most of the most recent and trendy remodels proclaim in their for sale listings.

The place was so tasteful. Not totally my style, but a style that I could respect as being lovely and modest, yet reflecting personal interests as well.

I'll bet she just loved having a second crystal chandelier in the breakfast room!

A kind of kitchen that says a bowl of cereal for breakfast is fine, and later we can whip up a full luncheon for friends.

I guess I had an affinity for this owner, because on the wall was a heavily detailed mahogany framed picture of the couple back in the late 1970.

She had the typical short haircut, he had on the typical blue suit, there were two late teen sons looking slightly awkward in their suits and a daughter with a turtleneck sweater and skirt, her hair long and flipped on the ends, and bangs that flared out at the side, ala Karen Carpenter.

It could have been any of the families I knew at that time, and I could have easily been the daughter.

On another wall was another picture.

In this picture there were the two parents/homeowners, looking just a bit more older and wiser somehow, and their three children now stood with three other people; clearly all three kids had married and the "in-loves" were fitting right in with the family.

But the best part of the picture: The adults stood in a double half circle in the back, proudly surrounding NINE little granddaughters in identical white organdy dresses, and THREE school aged grandsons, looking awkward in their newly purchased suits and ties.

The grandparents were beaming.

You could feel the love oozing out of that picture. I so wanted to take a picture of it, but settled with storing the image in my mind instead.

I have no idea when that picture was taken. I suspect it was a decade ago...the youngest grandchild was about three.

Grandma is probably a great grandma now. I wonder why they chose now to sell the home. Everything was in such immaculate condition that I hope it is either to downsize or perhaps even up sized to have room enough for twelve grandkids, their spouses and even their children at the table!

You might have been able to picture the woman of the house by just looking at her fireplace, furniture, and kitchen.

Now let me introduce you to the man of the house, via his spaces:

His "I know exactly where everything is" work bench.

I loved this picture. There is something about the garage that is as much of a man's space as a kitchen is a woman's space.

He might have an office, or a den, but in the end, it is his workbench that is his and his alone.

This man clearly was the head of the house; while upstairs had all the tasteful decorating touches of his wife, when it came to doing the basement, he clearly was the man in charge:

The soft white plush baby-snuggling girlie look ended, and Braveheart took over!

I'm guessing here that either he had Scottish heritage, or got a killer deal on this carpet.

I thought it was great, our real estate agent and Bernie had a bit of head shaking to do before they could adjust.

The big dining table stood before a fireplace outfitted with a black stove inset. And there was a small lectern beside the table which held a hefty Bible.

It was so easy to imagine the family gather around the table snacking on something wonderful, while The Man of the House lead the Family devotions and discussion.

It was a large area, including a small kitchenette, and on the walls were huge Mexican sombreros, and other mementos from far away countries. Most likely Man of the House and his two sons had gone on Missions, and returned with items to mark their time in the field.

It was a cold night when Bernie and I visited the house. A fire blazed in the fireplace, and every light in the house was on. It felt light and bright, warm and welcoming. The six bedrooms each had a personality; one filled with dolls and a baby buggie, another was a lavender room with a huge closet filled with Christmas decoration neatly labeled in clear boxes.

The garden in front was delightfully English style, while the back was large and even had a "secret" path through the head high hedges which lead from the upper terrace back down to the ground.

The gazebo in the corner of the upper terrace was appealing, and the covered deck off the kitchen said "Come have breakfast out here in the summer!"

It was a tempting house.

3,048 square feet.

SIX bedrooms.

Three baths.

Beautiful garden.

Beautiful neighborhood.

It was listed at $404,708 when we saw it...a most unusual listing price!

A bit over our top bugeted price.

Tempting....tempting....but no.

It is now apparently sold.

I hope who ever got it will raise a lovely family there, and continue the happy vibe.

If you'd like to see this house as it is listed, click HERE. and select the PHOTOS tab.

If you look closely at the picture labeled OFFICE, you can see the sweet family portrait with all the granddaughters in their matching white dresses that touched me so much.

Church Bells

Another lovely church to visit on a crisp clear autumn day.

Above is a shot of St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral, which is one block south of where I work; the Catholic Cathedral is half a block north of my work place.

Both church have wonderful bell towers, and the bells are regularly in use.

I am happily surrounded by chiming church bells!

St. Mark's has a lovely plaza with a fountain, and I have on occasion walked over and eaten lunch there, and then lingered in their book store for a moment before heading back to church.

If you enlarge the picture above, you can see the rope that is attached to the church bell in the belfry.
I found that to be a really homey touch. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be the one to ring the bell?

It is interesting too that two different styles of crosses were used on the building, and I wonder if the clove leaf shape on the stack like structure was a reminder of Trinity theology.

The church was designed in a Gothic Revival style out of red sandstone from the Red Butte area of SLC. The architect, Richard Upjohn, also designed the Trinity Church in Manhattan. He also founded the American Institute of Architects.

I have learned that inside there is a pipe organ that was built in Glasgow in 1857.

Maybe sometime I can ask for a tour so I can get more information!

The Cathedral has a daily Eucharist service around noon time.
Maybe sometime I will participate in such a service.

I haven't yet been inside, but it is interesting to think of all the historical events that have happened since since the church building was begun in 1870.