Flu bug supplies home decorating advice

I had the flu last week, never a pleasant occurrence. At the same time, our area was hit by a two-day blizzard and we couldn’t see across the yard, let alone leave it. It was a case of pure serendipity.

For two days, without guilt, I was able to curl up in bed with a stack of magazines and mystery books, pots of hot tea and a phone by the bedside. Self-indulgence it was, which I enjoyed without a twinge of guilt.

Unable to read a newspaper without a pair of scissors close at hand, by the end of said two days I had a stack of clippings on the bed while bits and pieces of newsprint were scattered about the room.

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These clippings will go in special piles in my offices at home and in town. Once a year, when my youngest daughter has time off from her university studies, she organizes Mom. Otherwise, I have to remember which pile something is in, not always as daunting a task as it may sound.

When I clip stories, unless there’s something special I’m working on tied in with the big stories of the day, I seldom clip from the main news pages.

I’m more interested in trivia and trends, the stuff of which features and columns are made.

Did you know that Frigidaire recently unveiled the fridge of the future, a side-by-side unit with a built-in personal computer? In addition to doing what fridges are supposed to do, this one will let you watch your favorite TV program and surf the net.

Does this presage a return to the kitchen as the main room of the house? It still is on many farms, and may become more so in urban homes with the trend to smaller houses and rooms that perform more than one function.

These, in turn, are signs of baby boomers aging, less disposable income and more attention being paid to being environmentally friendly.

One decorator noted that “as the decade draws to a close, consumers are retreating back home again, looking for soft, soothing, environmentally correct surroundings.”

Wallpaper. Traditional furniture. People “expect to purchase once, for life,” one manufacturer said.

I’ve always had the theory that if I don’t clean off my desk for six months, I won’t have to. After reading of the coming trends in house decorating, I figure if I can just hold off for another few months, I won’t have to redecorate because my wallpaper will be back in style and so will the furniture we bought 20-some years ago.

What goes around comes around and it appears a couple days of blizzard, flu and lounging around were quite productive.