Friday, December 19, 2008

Yes...that IS my cat !!

This is Bob...remember him? He has kept us on our toes since his arrival a few months back.

He couldn't climb the real Christmas tree due to its denseness (even though he tried about a billion times) He was SO excited when I set up the artificial tree in the kitchen. Without hesitation he was up that thing so fast. I think I had it set up about 30 seconds !! Needless to say...a little spray with the water bottle and he hasn't tried it again.

I just wanted to share with you my last hurrah of the season. I had a great time making this special order Santa and Winter Girl.


My favorite part is the trim on her pantaloons. I hand gathered silk ribbon to make a wonderful ruffle and then stitched it onto the hem of her pants.

Now I'm just playing a little catch up here. A while back I participated in a trunk show at Cottage Jewel in Danville. Iva Wilcox and Charlene Geiger joined in the fun.
(currently, Charlene does not have a blog or website)

Iva's lamp...which is too too wonderful. The outside is covered in a combination of glitters and mica. This picture does not do it justice.

One of Charlene's wonderful trees. This one came home with me.


OH and these pumpkins...need I say more? Many of them came home with me too!!

One of Iva's sweet ornaments.


And some of the type of treasures you will see if you visit Cottage Jewel.










If you have a chance...stop by and visit Marcia at

Cottage Jewel
Danville, CA
(925) 837-2664
www.CottageJewel.com

Friday, December 5, 2008

Christmas Offerings


If you pop on over to my "available" blog you can view my Christmas offerings for this season!

Monday, December 1, 2008

Holiday Cheer...

Coming soon!


Next Web Sale is Thursday, December 4 at 5pm PST
right here

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Yummy Yummy Goodness

Just a little Beautiful-ness to brighten your day...and it really brightens mine. A gift from my sweet friend Sally. Isn't it Gorgeous??

Friday, November 14, 2008

Everybody is talking

A wonderful new online store where you can collect handmade goodness from oodles of talented artists. You won't want to miss it and make sure to bookmark it so you can visit each month on the 13th. That is when new art is available.

SpookyTime Jingles is all about Halloween and Christmas...all year!!

p.s. Don't miss the "guest artist" page...you might see someone you know.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

If you are in the area....

Stop by for a visit !!
In an attempt to "kick start" myself I have joined forces with Iva Wilcox, Charlene Geiger and Marcia from Cottage Jewel for

Spirit of Danville
Cottage Jewel Antiques
Holiday Open House
November 13
5-9pm

125-D Railroad Avenue

Danville Ca 94526

(925) 837-2664

Downtown Danville merchants come together to host holiday open houses, raise funds for worthy causes and kick off the Christmas shopping season.

We will be celebrating with a petite trunk show of holiday happiness.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Back in the Saddle...

I'm trying...I'm really really trying to get back in the saddle again.

But that horse is so darn tall !!


I have found myself trying to find motivation and inspiration wherever I can. The only place I have truly found it is in the kitchen. I love to cook and I love my cooking magazines. During my hiatus I have gone thru all my back issues of Gourmet and Bon Appetit and have been playing in the kitchen with some wonderful foods. My kids are LOVING it...the husband...well... he is trying to love it but he doesn't have much of an appetite.

On that note...thank you so much for your comments and emails of concern. I will fill you in on a bit of what I have had going on.
The husband went in, just over a month ago, for some "routine" arthroscopic outpatient surgery on his knee. The surgery went swimmingly well. It happened on a Thursday...I dropped him off and he had a big smile on his face as he stepped thru two big swinging double doors. Off to the operating room to relieve the knee pain that was keeping him from doing all the things he loved.

Working out, playing golf , a sound night of sleep... and our 5 a.m walks. Hellloooo? Remind me why I am getting up at this unimaginable hour to go for a high impact hour walk just to watch you limp along??


The surgery was just what the doctor ordered and his doctor was the best in Northern California (the old man should know since he has been in the health care biz for forever). So I drop him...I pick him back up...he is happy and life is good...he is already on the mend.




Friday holds a down day of ice and keeping the knee propped way up on pillows.

Saturday?? hey...if it feels OK... do it...

That is the motto for outpatient knee surgery.

So the old man is up and moving and climbs in the car to go to San Jose (1 hr away) for the 10 year old soccer tournament. Hey...it's only 2 games and about 7 hours of overall soccer and driving. Oh Colleen?? You are in Pleasanton at the 12 year old tournament?? I feel so good I am going to come hang out with you for a bit!!! (always keeping the knee up and icing it, of course). Sunday comes along and what does that hold???? Well the Raider game of course !! Can't miss that. (oh and let's end that day with a concussion and the ER room for the 12 year old...the second in 5 months).


By the end of Sunday life is still good.

"I feel good" the old man tells me.


Monday...back to work...still feeling good.


Tuesday...lovely day isn't it????


So I have to tell you...by Sunday I had pronounced that something was TRULY wrong. This was too easy!! You should feel pain...Pain beyond Tylenol. Where is the discomfort? This was WAY TOO EASY!!


I got a phone call Tuesday afternoon..."I'm not feeling well."

"Flu? Cold? Aches? "

"Nope...Just not feeling well."

Husband comes home and about an hour later we were off to the ER. It just so happens that he had developed blood clots from the surgery. The pain in his chest and through his back was not a heart attack like he thought it was. It was the numerous clots that had left his leg and had traveled up through his artery...THROUGH HIS HEART and had burst into his lungs. HELLO? Why were you downplaying this at home? You didn't want to panic me??? A little panic right now would go a long way!!


So 5 days in the hospital and many many hours of watching him sleep and me, monitoring every breath he took, we were finally released to go home. Only to return a week later from complications to his knee because of the large dosage of blood thinners he is taking.


I could go on and on...tell you about my mommas shoulder surgery that happened in the midst of all this...or about the flu that hit the house the day before the husband came home...or even the horrible horrible throat infection that the 12 year old just got over...or that flu has hit the house AGAIN!!!

But I'm not gonna go there. I will just sum it all up with...Life really is good...yet short. So let your loved ones know just how much they mean to you. Life is all about change and you never know when yours will.

You are probably wondering about my choice of photos I have here with this post. These are some of the photos that are inspiring me at the moment.

HATS !!

I am loving hats!!

Since I have spent so much time in hospitals and Dr.'s offices I have read all the magazines the waiting rooms have to offer. So I started bringing along my own reading materials and one was a book about the history of hats. I love them all...but don't you think the bathing beauties above are a hoot??

A hat???

To swim in??

Yes....change in life can be good.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Things change...

In the blink of an eye...life as you know it...can do a 180.

I like change.

Really I do.

Change is exciting.

I used to move the furniture around while the husband was at work. Re-hang the pictures...AND PAINT...don't even get me started on paint. I LUST paint.

I used to tease the husband that he better "watch out" because if he wasn't on his best behavior...I'd change him too. Maybe a new haircut, new clothes...heck...if he didn't come home from work on time...I'd trade him in for a new model. (the husband has a great sense of humor)

Sometimes life throws changes that you aren't quite prepared for. Sometimes those changes aren't welcome and you have to go with the flow. Dig deep and find your inner strength. Place trust in people, and God, that things will turn out ok.

I have recently been thrown a loop and I have had to find my own
inner strength. I have had to find trust that I didn't realize I had. I am still finding trust as my family journey continues.

I want to say a huge THANK YOU to my blogger/art buddies who have become some of my very best friends. Your strength and your support is unparalled...you know who you are. My neighbors, friends, family...for the food that has been showing up in my refrigerator, all of the offers to shuttle my kids, run my errands...but hey...what happened to cleaning my bathrooms??? To all my customers and stores for their understanding...whoa...you guys are the best.

I will be back soon. Thanks for hanging in there with me and understanding my absence.

xoxo

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Monday, September 15, 2008

A Day Late and A Dollar Short

....always seems to be my story. The girls beat me to the punch on posting pictures of the Tinsel and Treasures show. So if you want to see how fabulous the show looked and all the amazing art work, please visit these blogs.





Ah hah! I do have some pictures that noone else has!!
Dinner the night before the show. We set up and then went out and had a bite to eat. It was great just relaxing and visiting with the girls.

Pictured here is Iva Wilcox, the very funny Donna O'Brien and the always magical Ulla Millbrath.

Iva (pronounced Eee-vah) is the rockstar behind Tinsel and Treasures. Her tireless effort to promote the show made it a huge success.

This is Gina Gabriell of Eleven Morning fame, Laura (who you might recognize from behind the American Harvest counter) and mixed media queen Connie Govea Stuart.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

I can't believe

it's over!! Tinsel and Treasures has come and gone and OH! what a day we had. Thank you to everyone that came for a visit. The room was filled with a buzz and excitement. We had the most amazing day.

I will be posting pictures over the next couple of days as well as updating my Available blog on Monday, September 15 at 5pm Pacific time.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Tick Tock...Tick Tock

The Floor

The Worktable


The "Almost" Done



The "Far Away" From Being Done


The One That Is Slowing Me Down !!
It's Almost Time
For The First Annual Tinsel and Treasures Show!!

Please Join Us


Friday, August 15, 2008

Meet Bob !





The new 2 pound 13 ounce spitfire that we have added to our family.


And see the new additions I have added to the American Harvest Theatre Mystique Halloween Open House.
You can see these and more at 10 am on Saturday,
August 16.

Visit American Harvest

438 Main Street

Pleasanton CA
(925) 485-1577





Pop on over

to my "available" blog to see new Halloween treats...

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Please check back...

On Friday, August 15. I will be doing a little Pre Halloween web sale on my available blog. Sweet witches, pumpkin girls and even a theatre will be arriving. See you then!!

Friday, August 1, 2008

Summer time...

It always flys by much too fast. It's been very busy around here.


We have been doing a little of this...


I've been doing as much of this as I can...



and I am slowly making progress...

We always find time for this...

And I even found a couple of hours to play paper art with my friend, Connie Govea Stuart and my new friend Leticia.

Hope you are making the most of the long warm days and beautiful evenings. We are off to the lake next week but I will be back with a Halloween update on my available page.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Traditions


The handing down of customs from generation to generation.
I sometimes wonder what traditions we have in our family that will give my children great childhood memories. What traditions will they carry into their own families?

My husband grew up with many family traditions. I love to watch him tell the boys stories about "when he was a kid". One favorite family tradition was their annual car trip back to Oklahoma for the family reunion. Once, they made a stop at the Grand Canyon. They all got out of the car to take a look...and after 2 minutes Poppy (my father in law) said "Okay, you have all seen it now get back in the car so we can get back on schedule."

Coming from a farming family there was a lot of time spent in the kitchen. Big breakfasts of biscuits, gravy and sausage. My mother in law makes THE BEST scrambled eggs. Why is it that farming wives are the best cooks? I have done my best to take one of the husbands favorite traditions and introduce it into our family.

Apricot Jam
Summer no longer seems complete without a day or two of slicing apricots...

Chopping them into little pieces...cups and cups and CUPS of little pieces...

Standing over the hot stove, stirring, stirring and stirring some more...did I mention that we do this in Summer??? The HEAT of summer?

And in the end...having beautiful jars of jam to share with our friends.

I will never forget the first time I joined in on this family tradition. I was 9 months pregnant and because I was ready to burst, my mother and sister in law gave me the job of stirring with the reasoning that I could sit on the stool and do it. Looking back...no air conditioning and being 102 that day...I don't think sitting had anything to do with it. They were breaking me in and they did a good job.

My mother in law no longer participates on those hot summer days but she still enjoys the bounty of our hard work. I wonder if one of my sons future wives will be interested in joining our little summer party. I think she will have to start off by stirring...

Friday, June 13, 2008

Mark Your Calendars

An intimate new show featuring some of the nicest women you will ever meet...oh and they are wonderful artists too! Their work has been seen in Artful Blogging, Victoria, Somerset Studio, Art Doll Quarterly, Somerset Workshop and more. Sign up to be on the mailing list...you won't want to miss it.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

What is it...

about the end of the school year that makes kids go all loopy? My kids anyway? It never fails that as we enter in the last week their minds start wandering...what kind of crazy outfit can they put together...what can they write across their foreheads...their arms come home covered in the signatures of their friends...and sometimes their clothes too. Is this their way of celebrating? Their way of showing they are soon to have freedom?

This one...



...who is all too conservative, never likes attention on him and pleeeeeze...do not tell him he is cute or that you like his freckles. He decides he wants a new haircut for the last day of school. A mohawk maybe? A reverse mohawk!! yeah...that's it. Ummm...no...could you just shave my name into the back of my head? Thanks mom!



Whatever!!

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