Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Spillage

I am definitely turning into my mother.

Now, I’m not saying that this is a bad thing…’cause my mom was the best. Seriously. But this? This is not good, people.

I can remember Mom almost always had some errant stain on her clothes….or smudged mascara on her cheek. When you’d point it out to her, she’d say something about being in a hurry…and you couldn’t help but smile. It was so obvious that it didn’t matter to her...

I’d secretly sworn that I would never walk around like that.

Until today.


At first, I thought I’d splattered some water. I had not.

Then, I thought it was butter from the popcorn I was chomping on. (Popcorn dripping with butter?) It wasn’t.

Upon closer inspection, it looks to possibly be… ink?

Although, upon even closer inspection:


…I do believe there’s a pattern to this “stain”.

I think it’s entirely possible that it’s not a stain at all…but perhaps a hidden message from an alternate universe: “O oo O oo”. Okay, so maybe that’s a stretch.

I’ve taken the liberty of working on it a bit:


It could conceivably be a snowman who dropped his martini. Or…


…it could be a girl who dropped her martini, if you really squint. (HEY. It’s not easy to draw in Paint.)

I’m definitely getting a spillage-vibe out of this thing. (Get it? I spilled something...and it looks like a spill?? Never mind.)

I'm guessing the stain is old…the top however, is not. Luckily, it’s casual wear…but still. I wonder how long I’ve been walking around like this…

When he saw it, Connor (13) wanted me to change immediately. I’ve decided to sit with it for a while.

After all, I am my mother’s daughter. 

Gigi said...

Rolling over here!!! Seriously rolling on the floor! Hmmm, I'm going with the girl (Kathryn) spilling "something" (a Cloudy, a martini, whatever...)

diane rene said...

Oh the woes of a messy shirt ...

a v-e-r-y cute one too, by the way. ::: whispers::: where did you get it??

I can relate, tho it is usually me ... sticking my, uh ... boob in something. and it's usually the UNDER side of said boob, so I don't ever see it until someone points it out (good) or until I take my shirt off to throw it in the hamper (not so good).

I hope it comes out tho, cuz again, WAY cute!!

Gigi said...

And I'm the first? Score!

Gigi said...

Had to come back. (I know, I'm notorious for commenting and then thinking of something else to say....) LOVE that top - it would look good on me......so....once you get it cleaned, can I borrow it?

Nance said...

The stains become more common with age; the concern, way less! I like your idea of Stain Squiggles so much, I may turn all my stained t-shirts into entertainment for my grandson: Sweetheart, PLEASE stop playing with that drum set and come over here; G'ma's got some fascinating stains and a couple of Sharpies!

kathryn said...

Gigi: So...just to be clear: You only want to borrow it after said "stain" is removed? You don't want to go the public humiliation route, like I did? Are ya sure?? You can get back to me on it...I'm not doing laundry for a while...

diane rene: Thanks! (Whispers back) I found it at Macy's. "Cable & Gauge"? That's what Connor said it says. Of course, it's hard to read it in the mirror!

Oh, that is too funny...about the stain being under one of "the girls"! It's true, though...it's a hidden stain that way!

Unknown said...

I used to get so upset with my sister who would borrow my clothes and then always return them with some greasy stain on them. Only to find that now I stain my clothes. All. the. time!

Anyway, hope this wasn't your favorite shirt or anything. That would suck.

:)

Gigi said...

Ah, Kathryn....have you not met me? I HATE laundry! Particularly laundry that involves stains or ironing. Plus? I've done the public humiliation route far too many times....

Entre Nous said...

Oh crap, this VERy same nightmare happened to me today. I got the the library for my two hour volunteer session, checked make-up in the rear veiw before exiting the car, and BLAM. There it was, a STAIN about the size of a dime right next to one of my bare-there boobs. All I could think of is that commercial where the guy is talking to his boss, but his boss can't hear a word cause he is staring at the stain that is speaking LOUDER. I took my hair clip out and forced my hair to hang over the stain the whole two hours..... I AM my mother. Or twelve again when everything I wore had stains on it!
Oh please TIDE work your magic, it's one of my favorite hot-summer-day-shirts!

kathryn said...

Nance: OhMyGod...this is too funny! We'll start a whole new movement...forcing the little ones to view our stained garments through new, creative eyes! And then (of course) we'll keep wearing said garments...'cause now they'll have sentimental value!! I LOVE IT!

Kimberly: See? It comes back to bite us...every single time! Why is that? I'll try Oxyclean on it...I've gotten some old stains out with their pre-treat. And no...I won't allow myself to get too attached to it, in case it's history.

Gigi: Ah. Of course. What was I thinking?? If Oxyclean does the trick, I'll send it on!

Anonymous said...

You rock!

kathryn said...

Entre Nous: Oh, this is hilarious! And soooo typical! (My last shirt had the stain RIGHT THERE.) I happen to LOVE that commercial...it's one of the wittiest ones I've ever seen. Thank God you had long enough hair to cover that stain...but what a PAIN that you probably spent WAY too much mental energy thinking about it!

Heather said...

AND this is why all my clothes are old and out of fashion. People can't get over the shock to their sense of fashion, they never notice the stains! Haha...

Lauren said...

I once went to work with marks on my shirt. My boss promptly took me and assaulted me with a dish cloth. After she finished scrubbing, she explained there were marks. I hadn't realized. By the way, that girl's skirt is not hiding anything... drunk and disorderly?

Vince said...

Ha, you think the spill 's the problem and not the overall colour of the garment.
That colour always looks either you had an especially runny blue thing in the wash or you had a flash-back to babyhood and decided to hand dye something that should properly be on the back of some racy Appalachian chick for night-ware, when it was white.
That colour even on black girls is wrong. You would never see it in Africa.

Anonymous said...

I've never once felt like I was turning into my mother, although I did once turn into a sideroad.

Re The artwork on the stain: Snow good, you'll have to wash it out.

Have a nice day, Boonsong

Alan W. Davidson said...

That's pretty funny. You know that you'll never get 'hot biker chick' status dressing in a shirt with unknown, let's say martini, stains down the front!

sage said...

There is something about that color that seems to draw stains... If I got rid of all my stained clothes, I'd be arrested.

carissa said...

hahaah welcome to my life. I don't think there is a day that goes by where I don't end up with at least a little sumpin sumpin on my clothes.

Unknown said...

I will admit that sometimes when I notice a spot on a shirt, I think "Hmm - is that water? If so, it'll dry. If not, hopefully everyone else will just think it's water..." and then I go on my way.
Hey - it's hard to get out of the house on time in the morning - no time for costume changes!

kathryn said...

Christiejolu: Thank you! I rock...even though I'm a humiliating, runny, stained, hot mess? Sweet.

Heather:HA! Honey, (for me, at least) it's next to impossible to stay current with fashion trends. I have to hope that what I'm wearing runs the line of "classic". IE: It'll never go out of style. As long as the Oxyclean keeps working, we'll be just fine!

Lauren: Yikes! Accosted by your boss with a dishcloth for stains of which you were unaware? Did she at least get them out?? Re: my artwork...an artist, I'm not. Did you notice I gave her a rack this time? Or, at least I tried...

kathryn said...

Vince: Actually, it's interesting that you'd bring up the color. I was commenting to Connor that it looks blue/purple in the photo...but the garment is actually more muted than that...but I've no idea what color you'd call it. Gee...if only I knew my colors...

Boonsong: Ha! Good answer! The garment in question is soaking in Oxyclean pre-soak as we speak. You've never felt like you were turning into your parents? How'd you manage to avoid that??

Alan W. Davidson: I know. (Hangs head.) I debated humiliating myself online just one post after the SBC one (for about 3 seconds)...but my overall amusement at my cluelessness outweighed my desire to be viewed as just another sex symbol. I know you understand.

kathryn said...

sage: Ha! I know...and it does make one wonder what we're eating/touching/working with that leaves a stain that is absolutely impossible to remove through everyday washing....ya know??

carissa: Hey, doll! I hear that. Remember when we lead quiet, civil, sober lives and could wear garments numerous times before laundering them? Yeah, me neither.

ValleyWriter: I know! I always tend to assume that A)no-one else is looking that hard B)maybe it'll wind up in the natural fold of the garment or C)I'll just keep moving really fast and surely no-one will notice.

j.m. neeb said...

So... the martini-dropping girl's boobs are above her shoulders?? Is that some kind of augmentation gone tragically wrong?

(Had to be said.)

Betsy said...

I had to laugh when I read this, my mom is *constantly* spilling something on herself, particularly when she eats. She blames her ample bosom for interfereing with her ability to lean far enough over the plate to keep from spilling. Now, she does have an ample bosom, but we're not talking Dolly Parton here. I think she's just clumsy, heh.

At the moment though, as I look down at *my* bosom, I see an old grease stain on my knit top that I didn't notice before donning it this morning. Oh well. *shrugs*

Tinkerschnitzel said...

Seeing as how I have no ample bosom to catch stuff, my lap gets it all. Add the 14 month old who clings to me like a monkey, and I'm lucky I own pants I can safely wear in public.

BTW, I turned into my mother years ago.

Alicia said...

Love your art work Kathryn. I sometimes see figures of things in clouds, but I never thought to look for them in stains. Hmmmm, that opens up a whole new world. I don't even have to go outside, just to my laundry hamper!

Oddyoddyo13 said...

LoL It appears we experience the change into being our mothers all our lives, because I'm having moments where I think that she would've said what I just did. :)

I think the snowman theory works best.

Carol said...

Why is it that once we become over a "certain age" part of everything we eat winds up on our shirts? It was much cuter when we were toddlers.

kathryn said...

j.m. neeb: Dammit. I was hoping that one would slip by. Yeah, my artistic abilities leave a little to be desired, eh? Evidently, I've also been informed that her skirt does not cover her hoo-hah. Overall, she's anatomically INcorrect.

Gingerella: And....there you go. History simply repeating itself! Somewhere along the way, our moms started missing their mouths when they ate...and I guess we're destined to follow the same path. "Oh, well" is right!

Tinkerschnitzel: HA! Well, I do believe it happens to all of us sooner or later. For you, it just happens to be sooner. But the 14-month-old is probably the cause of 90% of your stains, sweetie!

kathryn said...

Alicia: There you go! Honestly, I wouldn't have thought to do it either...but I was so bummed that I hadn't noticed the stains earlier that I kept looking at them (Heaven forbid I remove & attempt to clean the garment immediately!). That's when I noticed the pattern...faint but definitely there!

Oddyoddyo13: Yeah...I like the snowman one, too. Once I "saw" that, it was hard to "see" anything else. Hey, there are worse things than turning out like our moms, ya know?

wendy said...

Nice photo :)
You are so creative. You are the only person I know of who would turn a stain on a shirt into a work of art! And you DO love your martinis,lol. Can't say I've ever had one...I like the idea of your stain being a message from an alternate universe. You're able to move people with your words so why not spirits as well?
This post was too cute.
PS. I think I lost your comment. I went to post it to my blog and a message popped up and then POOF! Your comment was gone. I hope you enjoyed what you read about a spider I watched in my hedges :)

Gay Guy said...

That amount of stain would demote that shirt only as far as the "not to work but okay to wear out of the house" drawer. The next drawer is the "okay for out of the house, but only to the gym" drawer. Be very afraid of my "not even for the gym" drawer.

Dorn said...

I'm glad I read the comments and I'm sad I didn't read this earlier because I was going to point out that...while I agree producing fine art with paint is difficult...the martini klutz has some amazing LIFT work done. Thanks for beating me to the punch John!

Maureen@IslandRoar said...

Oh, you're so funny!
That snowman? How cute.
I'm finding I'm like this lately too. You can't take me anywhere...

Jen said...

I am constantly walking around with stains on my shirts. I should be more embarrassed. I start off looking all clean and shiny and end up with something down my shirt by the end of the day. Ugh!

Anonymous said...

Rofl time!

Kate said...

I found your site from Servant To a King. I love it. I’m going to poke around a little bit, but don’t worry I’ll put everything back where I found it!!

Straight Guy said...

Let this straight guy advise you... the world is not divided into either clean or stained. There are many acceptable levels in between.

kathryn said...

Carol: I know, right? Well, we didn't have "the girls" getting in the way when we were little...at least, *I* didn't. No excuse though...but today, I almost left the house with toothpaste right there.

Wendy Blum: Thank you, sweetie! Yeah...the artwork didn't occur to me till I cropped and zoomed in on my spillage...then I couldn't resist! Yes, I loved that poem at your place! I'll leave another comment when I visit tomorrow. It was beautiful.

Gay Guy: HA! I'm glad to know where this garment fits into your world (I mean, dresser). Wow..."not even for the gym"? That's gotta have some pretty scary stuff. Some inappropriate rips, perhaps? Would you wear any of it down the street on a triple-dare??

kathryn said...

Dorn: HA! Yes, she's both well-endowed and may have a substantial lawsuit in her future. Hey, at least I made them EVEN...do I get points for that??

Maureen@IslandRoar: Thanks, sweets! I hear your pain...and I'm right there beside you. I'm thinking that maybe we spilled in our 20's as well...but then we actually changed into something else. Maybe that's the difference!

Jen: HA! I'll bet it's a big surprise when you unlock and unload the girls...just seeing what falls to the ground. I've done this w/loose change when I have no pockets, actually. (Shhh...don't tell anyone.)

kathryn said...

Sawah: HEY, GIRLIE! How's one of my favorite nieces in the whole, wide world?? You COMMENTED! You're now officially my FAVORITE. Love you! xo

Kate: Welcome! I'm glad you stopped by. Please feel free to make yourself at home. We're all FABULOUS here...I'm sure you'll fit right in!

Straight Guy:(Nods head solemnly) Good to know....'cause I felt like a schlub once I saw that stain. And lucky me...Oxyclean Pretreat took it out! I'm back in business, baby!

BlackLOG said...

It looks like the stains might actualy be the remains of a snowman from last winter, boy last years snow lasted a long time...

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