Tarnished Living

09/01/2026

08/25/2026

Created between 1945 and 1955 by a patient named Myrllen at a Tennessee psychiatric hospital, "Myrllen's Coat" represents a poignant triumph of artistic creation amid personal tragedy.

Working in the hospital laundry, Myrllen meticulously gathered discarded threads, lint, and fabric scraps, weaving these salvaged materials into intricate garments. Though she crafted several pieces, only a scarf and this remarkable coat survive today.

Tragically, after undergoing electroshock therapy, Myrllen lost both her creative drive and her memories of making the garment, later denying that the coat was ever hers.

Today, this powerful piece of fibre art is preserved in the permanent collection of the Tennessee State Museum.

08/04/2026

Gather round children….😂🥴🙃

Via Jennifer Vallez 🕯️

07/10/2026

Today’s Daily Cartoon, by Natalie Horberg.

06/11/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1E17YJNdfc/?mibextid=wwXIfr

05/10/2026

05/09/2026

Maybe your mother was the perfect mother.

Maybe she carried you

bled for you

sang to you

smiled at you

nurtured you and marveled in you.

Maybe she understood your essence

and was patient and let you unfold

in your own time and in your own way

honoring the heart of you all the while.

Maybe your mother cared for you;

Maybe she was there for you

long past childhood days.

Maybe your mother worked for you

cooked for you

sewed for you.

Maybe your mother listened to you

held space for you

Maybe your mother laughed with you

played with you

stayed with you through all your years.

Maybe your mother protected you,

But

Maybe she neglected you

rejected you.

Maybe she abandoned you

hard-handed you

betrayed you

flayed you.

Maybe your mother couldn’t mother.

Maybe your mother forgot you

lost interest

grew cold.

Maybe she never really loved you.

Maybe you were just her duty

for a little while.

Maybe your mother did the best she could

with what she had.

Maybe she was sick or sad.

Maybe her mother was bitter or bad

and hurt her in her deepest parts.

Now

Maybe you are a mother.

Maybe you are a perfect mother.

Maybe you pour abundant love into

your daughters, your sons.

Maybe you delight in them.

Maybe you struggle

Maybe you feel exhausted

resentful

lost and unseen.

Maybe you feel nothing.

Maybe you are just surviving.

Maybe you are not a mother

but long to be a mother

Maybe you mother others.

Maybe you don’t want to be a mother;

will never be a mother

Yet

We all need a mother

Yes, we do

And maybe there is a perfect mother

just for you.

She is the mother of your mother

and your mother’s mother

and back as far as the eye can see

or mind can know

or soul can feel

to the first mother.

Lie on the grass and feel Her heart.

You were formed of Her earth.

You come from Her waters.

Her winds kiss your cheek eternally.

Her rains cry with you when you cry

and wash your wounds.

She will heal you

nourish you

wait for you.

She will give you beauty

give you joy

give you new life

again and again.

She will always be there

to enfold you in Her embrace

when at last you return —

Maybe you have the perfect mother . . .

Rebekah Myers, A Perfect Mother

Art: Nicole Revy, “Mothers & Daughters”
on Instagram

05/05/2026

Did anyone else watch the Met Gala 'red carpet' yesterday? You may have noticed the current trend of the "naked dress," but did you know this trend actually goes all the way back to Napoleonic France?

In the 1780-90s, after the end of the Great Terror, French aristocratic women embraced a "neoclassical" look, devesting themselves of their corsets and cumbersome gowns. In these new style of more simple muslin gowns that clung more to their forms, women's bodies were more shown off in a more natural state than they had been previously. 18th century French aristocratic women then took this a step further, having their gowns made of semi-sheer fabrics, sometimes worn over flesh-colored "bodystockings" or even wetted to make them even sheerer and more clingy. Napoleon himself disliked this trend so much, he would make sure parties were held in very cold spaces, so as to make these women regret their choice of attire.