You’ve got to admit, the last 9 months of 2020, and all of 2021, so far (save a few bright shining weeks at the end of June and beginning of July), have been the epitome of the battle cry “we’re going to hell in a hand-basket”. Think about it: lock-down, toilet paper hoarding, mask mandates and shortages, businesses going bankrupt, devastating unemployment, an unrelenting death toll, social distancing, protests, insurrections, the race for a vaccine, anti-vaxers, ignoring science, lifting restrictions only to lather, rinse, repeat. It’s had us all on edge and living a life we no longer recognize. Sure feels like hell and I want my doggone basket. Call it a consolation prize.
Yeah…I’m feeling a little cheated. I love baskets. I always put them to good use. They’re great for storage and hiding the stuff you don’t want just lying around.
There’s a myriad of baskets to choose from (note: I am The Grammar Hammer, but this is no longer work or class, so I’ll be breaking a few rules, like ending my sentences with prepositions anytime I darned well please). I used to go for the natural wicker baskets, but as I age, I want bold colors. Maybe so I can see them when my sight starts to fail me, or maybe just because they can be outrageously fun. And let’s face it, since I can’t/don’t really go out in the world and dress as eccentrically as a woman my age is entitled to dress, I’ll do the next best thing. Dress up my surroundings.
The baskets above are displayed in a Fair Trade store in Pasadena, CA. Ten Thousand Villages is a wonderful place where you can really do retail therapy right. Scratch your itch, get your basket on, and help others. A store with a mission run by volunteers who truly love their job and the customers. Love it!
This beauty is not just any basket. —> It is crafted from upcycled Sari fabric. It’s the perfect size to store my Vinyl collection. That will no doubt be another post entirely!
Yep, that’s Ella Fitzgerald you see. I love that old stuff! And on vinyl? It couldn’t get any sweeter. My son accuses me of being a hipster, opting for vinyl on Sunday mornings with my pour-over coffee, but I was raised on LPs, so just hush, punk! One day you’ll understand the draw of simpler times.
These palm leaf baskets come from Mexico. I have several and they are, again, the perfect size for hiding things or just sprucing up your shelves. Pay no attention to the dusty nursing books. I’ve not had a reason to dust them off in ages, but I don’t have the heart to get rid of them. Perhaps I’m in the market for a new basket?
So, seriously. With all that we’ve been through in the past 16+ months, don’t you feel cheated out of your basket?
This Bolga Basket is huge and is used to keep my shoes, flip flops, and slippers under the living room table. I had the bad habit of just kicking my shoes off when I sat down and almost broke my neck tripping over them in the dark a time or two.
Wouldn’t you know? There’s a basket for that!
Where can we lodge our complaints?
Moments of Clarity 