Heading back to the start.

Sometimes, a road paved with good intentions can take an unexpected turn.

I decided a while back to pull up stakes on Paradigm Thrift, in order to point my bloggy sites in a different direction.

I started a blog about parenting my son, with the approval of the son in question. After the ball got rolling and I'd cranked out some entries, he asked that I stop. He told me that it made him feel uncomfortable to read my perceptions about his life.

I have the utmost respect for my son, and I'm grateful he was able to tell me how my writing was making him feel.

Words are powerful, beautiful, sometimes benign, sometimes evocative, interesting creatures.

And I'm going to continue to churn them out on the Paradigm Thrift site. I still have so much to write about - the blackboard in my bedroom is becoming dusty with new ideas.

So for the readers who visited and began to follow my new blog, thank you. For the thousand or so folks who hit on this blog when I wasn't posting anything new, who chose to continue to follow after I said I was heading somewhere else, thank you. I hope you all stick around.

Because the map continues to unfold itself when it comes to this site, and I have a lot of ground to cover.

A post modernist's dream, for under $10!

My sites are pointed in a new bloggy direction, but I have to share what I found yesterday!

I was in Greeley to visit my son, and of course I had to visit the ARC. I went before I saw Connor, and I saw this chair. I mulled it over, but didn't buy it. I certainly don't need another chair.

But on my way out of town, I couldn't help myself. I stopped by the ARC again, and there it was. God-awful upholstery, but I loved the design. So I coughed up the 8.99 and bought it.

When I got home, I tore off the fabric, which was most likely in fashion somewhere in the '70s. I was looking for a label or sign that might give me a clue as to who made this unique piece.

There's a label that indicates this chair once was the property of Colorado National Bank. I imagined a man the likes of Darren Stevens sitting on the chair, wondering if his loan had been approved.

And there's a date, hand-written underneath. 8-22-69.

Then I did a bit of googling. I started with a 'mid century chair' search, which led me to several other places, which ultimately led me to the work of Hans Wegner. The chair is aptly called The Chair in Wegner circles.

I 'm not 100% sure of its authenticity, but if it's a Wegner, it's worth a whole heck of a lot more than 8.99.

Score!

I'm going fabric hunting today.

So now it's back to the other blog, until which time I trip across something else I just have to share! Please join me at my other site, and stay tuned! I never know what I might find next!

http://straighttalkmary.blogspot.com/

New year, big changes.

So you may have noticed that I haven't posted a blog since before Christmas.

There's a reason for that.

I've been grappling with the idea of continuing with the Paradigm Thrift for a while. Like leaving a child at a fire station because you can't nurture it any more, it's been a tough choice, letting Paradigm Thrift go.

Especially considering I've had such amazing support for what I've done over the past two years. The rants. The discoveries. The experiments. Who can forget Free Time? I was on the tee vee, for God's sake. The month of Cents and Sensibility. The philosophizing. All the good information I've found, just by poking around. I've learned so much.

But I have a lot more to learn, and a lot more to say.

I gladly welcome my old audience, and my new audience, to visit the place I'm choosing to put myself next.

straighttalkmary.blogspot.com/

I'm changing my focus with the advent of the new year. I've had thoughts and ideas bubbling around in my noggin about this topic for a while, and I think it's only right I give it some time.

I welcome you warmly to my new location.

As for the time I've spent with Paradigm Thrift, the site's not disappearing. It's simply changing shape. Its content will be available for the next few months. Then it will most likely be turned into an ebook. So take what you will from what I've learned. And rest assured - I'll let you know where you can find Paradigm Thrift in the future.

Like a baby that's hard to maintain, what I've created is too good to let go. So I'll find a way to keep it.

But my new site is where I'd like to head next.

Please come along with me.