PRACTICAL PARSIMONY: Lamp Chopin

Showing posts with label Lamp Chopin. Show all posts

Friday, August 3, 2012

Triple Sweet: Lamp Makeover

Chopin lamp

Are there any other lamp lovers out there, reading this post? Do you just buy inexpensive lamps because you can afford nothing else? Do you buy cheap lamps because you prefer not to spend more money than you must? Do you buy lamps for their goofy or quirky or elegant style? Does a lamp ever speak to you? Can you see good bones and possibility?

This lamp has been a conversation piece. No, some people don't like it. I do. Friends think it is weird, and I don't care. When I bought it for $1, it was Pepto Bismol pink and the "gold" part was rusty. A coat of white paint did the trick along with a little "gold" paint. The electrical part was not painted gold, just the part above the white base.

Since the lamp was $1 and the gold paint and white paint were from other projects, I have only the initial purchase invested in my lovely, quirky lamp. Sweet! The wiring was good, so that saved a bit on the makeover. Plus, there was a good bulb in the bargain. Double Sweet. That almost makes the lamp free! A friend hated the lamp shade that came with his new lamp, so he gave me his new shade. Triple Sweet!

I taped the top part and either sprayed the lamp or painted it with a brush. After 20+ years, I have forgotten. The memory of painstakingly applying the gold paint with a cheap artist's brush remains. There is a "before" picture somewhere, taken before the digital age. Just think Pepto Bismol and rust and you have the right idea.

Right now, the lamp is not in use. I am packing it for the day I have a place for it. Forced downsizing will not cause me to give up all I love. Someday.... Now, you must understand I have sold many lamps. That is another story for another day.

This lamp brings to mind The Awakening by Kate Chopin. Can anyone tell me how this lamp reminds me of the novel? I call it my Chopin Lamp.

Miracle Whip has a site where people tell how much they love MW or how badly they hate it. Share with me how you feel about this lamp, especially if you hate it. I can take it because I have my Big Girl Panties on.

Your turn
Do you just hate this lamp? You cannot hurt my feelings by saying so. I asked a few other questions at the beginning of this post? Where are the lamp lovers amongst my readers?

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The Cast

Fancy is my favorite hen. She is one of the three youngest hens I adopted. Because she is so gentle and friendly, she may be the one I rescued when she was being pecked to death after she could no longer stand. She got to live in the house in a box. Sometimes, I let her sit in my lap while she was convalescing. Now, she comes to sit in the swing with me, cuddling up to my body like a cat or dog. She died in February 2012.

Fancy follows me begging, complaining, needing me to do for her. She talks to me in various voices. She allows me to pick her up and carry her. When she became an adult, her head was a darker red and her body was light brown. Around her neck were tips of black feathers. It appeared she had a necklace of jet around her neck. When I showed this characteristic to a friend, he said, "Oh, you have fancy chickens and plain chickens."

Chessie has a broken toe. I broke it! She had a habit of jumping really high and almost sticking. A raccoon ate her in October 2009.

Thelma is the blonde. She is also the largest hen and the alpha hen. I suspect the gigantic eggs are from her. She often squats and presents herself to me. She is top hen, but I suspect she knows she had better be deferent to top feeder of the flock--me.

Louise is the auburn-feathered hen. She looks like the true Rhode Island Reds in pictures. She is almost as large as Thelma. Some days I suspect she is trying to be top chicken. When I got Pepper, I found out Louise is the Alpha hen.

Pepper came here from the same home as the first four. We were discussing putting red pepper on their food, wondering if it really would increase egg production. Pepper is the only name we agreed on. She is terrorized each day by Louise. Even after the worst was over, she was and is still filled with terror and very wary.

Linda is owned by four hens. They allow her to fetch for them. She loves them dearly, so she allows them to boss her around. Linda comes out in the rain to perform chores for them and make sure they have food and water. She begs scraps from all sorts of places to make sure they have fresh fruits and vegetables.

Parsimony is not a vegetable

Parsimony is extreme care in spending money. Stick around and learn about my random thoughts on accomplishing goals economically--dumpster diving aka safari, gleaning, do-it-yourself, sewing tips, recipes, and whatever is happening in my life.

Okay so maybe "parsimony" is not your thing. How about thrift, frugality or just plain saving money? I try not to go the tightwad route as that seems to imply others will suffer from my habits.

Some of my not-spending habits have very much been a part of my lifelong habits. Other habits are newly acquired and are an extension of my lifelong not-spending habits.

I am very imaginative when it comes to substituting or making instead of buying. I will tell you about making a heater for the chickens' water. Not one dime was spent since I had everything I needed right in my basement.

Practicality must rear its head alongside parsimony. For example, I will use the dryer in bad weather or because of allergies in the spring. But, I will not wash clothes in a tub as long as I have a washing machine or can find one.

You may hear more about my four Rhode Island Red hens than you care to hear. They lay delicious brown eggs.

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Friday, August 3, 2012

Triple Sweet: Lamp Makeover