i've been busier than ever before. so much so that i broke down and hired a housekeeper. i have mixed feelings about this; on one hand, i feel like i ought to just be doing the work myself. on the other hand, i really think it will free up a little time and a little portion of my brain that stalls when the house is overrun with dust bunnies the size of feral hogs. i found someone trustworthy and willing to take on 3 hours a week of reversing my filth. i figured hiring a person (instead of going thru an agency or something) was a good way to put money back into the economy and keep it local to boot. i'm pretty excited but at the same time i keep wondering if i should tidy up before she comes. uh. dumb. anyway, the last 4 days have been filled with junk, just as we like it. friday brought a huge score of old, tattered lace in various forms. and saturday took me to a barn in the hill country (i had to drive through part of a river to get to it) where i found, among other relics, this fella: we named him 'Moose'. naturally. i wasn't sure where to hang him in the living room because our fireplace isn't finished yet (above the mantel would be cool) and on another wall i have a collection of oddly small [found] antlers. and found wasp nests, as well, but that's another story for another time. so for now, Moose hangs here, on the opposite side of the window from a large, old southern belle portrait in an oval frame. eine kleine pink:

and finally, a self portrait with some huge rusty scissors i picked up at an estate sale and promptly left in a bag and forgot about for a month or so. i was looking through my flickr account the other day and realized that i haven't been doing self ports. the way i used to and i'm not sure why. i figure now is probably the time in my life i should documenting the most...so expect more of these to come.