
09/20/2023
Dressed for the save! Lisa Duchene, Writer, captures the funny and poignant everyday events and elevates them to written gifts!!!
Lost glasses? Can't ever find your keys? Partner leaves change everywhere? We've got you covered!
Corral your wayward items with a pretty little Trinket Tray...the perfect target to set your routine into a more organized day!
“These are built like a tank,” the eyeglass guy said.
Impressive.
“They’re made in Chicago,” he said.
SOLD.
A branch of our family lives in Chicago. My Great Uncle and Aunt, in their 90s, are extraordinary people who together built a life, raised their family of eight children and grew a family manufacturing business in Chicago. Quite a love story.
Particularly at that moment during those wobbly, late-winter, pandemic-stressed days of 2021, I took comfort and strength in connection to our Chicago kin.
(Also, the back door of the eyeglass shop was open, flushing the air with an icy breeze, so I needed to be quick.)
These durable specs have served me well. My essential combo of tools, body armor and bold accessory all in one. (STATE is the company. Not a paid post!)
My vision is so blurry I don’t get out of bed without them.
Until the other morning, when I reached for them and came up empty.
Nose near the table, I didn't find them there. Nose near the floor, I looked under and around the table, under the bed.
Nowhere.
A mild panic struck. A blurry world, and frustration in not seeing clearly to search for the fix.
I almost texted my husband. One deep breath later, I realized that was the worst idea ever. This was not life-or-death. Not yet.
Calm returned. They had to be in that room.
I found them on the floor, beside the beagle who loves to hunt, steal and chew paper and plastic. She has stolen and destroyed an untold number of items over eight years: Dish towels, books, cash, remote controls, shoes, disposable plastic razors, shotgun shells and a key FOB. Twice, emergency X-rays did not show a foreign object. Just beagle.
We never found the razor blades. The hunting supplies are secure. I plucked the key FOB’s lithium battery from the back of her tongue.
Close call. This time, the beagle was innocent. Blissfully snoring. My specs took a big bounce away from the night table and landed beside her. Missed them on my first look.
They have a secure spot, in this sweet basket-tray by artist Susan Polay of Festively Dressed a gift from my friend Elizabeth, (whose shop, Art a la Carte PA, carries Susan’s rope baskets.)
Not taking any chances.