This is going to date me...but remember when..

When I was a kid in school we got shots, it was like a cattle call, we all lined up and got it in the arm or sucked on a sugar cube. Last night I had to fill out the forms for Sam and Isabel to get the H1N1 vaccine, they are giving them at school. They have never had a shot without me in the room. They are a bit freaked out by this and how their reactions could taint their reputation forever in school.

I hope they are brave.

This last weekend was great, I'm glad it's over but it was fun. Blue Moon Emporium had a date with a holiday sale, it was at a private country club and you had to pay to shop (it was a fundraiser). The vendors had fabulous stuff, I had to really work hard not to buy things that I thought were just too cute. I have sold my stuff at our farmer's market and in the Fire but I'm kind of branching out now and it's getting exciting. There is a gallery/store that has a rack of my necklaces and another store in town wants some. I'm willing to take this business wherever it's supposed to go.

Today I'm going to mosaic a table for my front entry to look like a black hole...I'll show you when I'm done. My front entry has always kind of been an afterthought but when you think about it, that is the first thing someone sees and imprints in their brain about you. Better make it good!

Have a great week blog readers!

Fun things you see along the road

 

Owning a factory

ok..do you really want to see the factory? It is a 3 story facility with one employee.

My Mom

I've started many things in my life...I have quit many things in my life. I guess I have always wanted to be known as creative, my mother was an artist, a somewhat kookie artist (is there any other kind?.) I've fought my creativity because of my mother and not wanting to be like her in some aspects. This week I cut my hair short and I'm selling some of my creative pieces of glass and other goodies at a sale. It has brought back so many memories for me of my mom making jewelry and selling it on the Queen Mary. My brothers and sisters and I would help her make it. We would go visit her at the Queen Mary - it was an old cruise ship that was docked in Long Beach Harbor she eventually had to get a job there and quit making her jewelry because it didn't pay the bills. I can still remember the smells of that old boat.

I make jewelry and have short hair...but I'm not my mom.

Maple Marie Pendants

This is a sample of a new line of pendants I've been making, artwork is incredible..it's done by a friend of mine, we have big dreams...Macy's, Abercrombie...every gift shop in America and beyond...me and my little kiln...working like a slave.

It's so much fun to see them afterwards, so cute.

My brother is very sick so this keeps my mind on something else.

skull and crossbones by cathystratton on Etsy

First Born

Mike is a first-born, and so is Isabel (obviously). First-born children tend to think they know a lot and want to share it with the poor people (e.g., younger brothers) that have less experience on the earth.

Tonight we were driving -- it doesn't matter where, the scenario is always the same... Sam says something and Isabel corrects him. Tonight Sam said something or mimicked some dialog to a movie or show, it was quiet for a minute and then Isabel blurted out something to "help him out."

I said, "Isabel, MYOB" (Isabel's and my code for "mind your own business.")

Isabel said, "You know, before I said it, I thought about it and thought about it. I knew I shouldn't, but then I thought, "It'll feel good!"

Then, as soon as I said it, I thought, "I shouldn't have said that."

It must be such a burden to have the answer for your brother almost all the time and yet also know it won't be received well.

It's so funny to watch them grow up and really get to know your kids and not just raise them. I love getting to know them more and more. Isabel has now decided that she loves all things Ann Taylor, she goes to their website, asks me to take her to the mall all the time just to go to that store. I have to admit I would rather that she loved AT rather than cheap trendy clothes, but dang! it's expensive! I keep telling her, just get a good education and get a great job and you can wear Ann Taylor all you want.

And Sam, if anyone is looking for a person to replay every word of dialog to any show, movie, commercial or funny situation; I've got your boy! Word for word, with inflection.

Super Baby!

When my brothers and my sister and I were little we were a bit ferrel, my mother and dad would be at work and we would find some trouble to get in to. One day my brother David, sister Sherry and I wanted to show Rick that he could fly so we tied a sheet around his neck and took him to the top of the stair and said "Super Baby Fly" and Rick jumped (because the poor guy trusted us) and landed in a heap at the bottom of the stairs.

We tortured him on a regular basis for most of his childhood. He was the one with all the good looks, charm, etc. He played football, got a football scholarship to University of Redlands in CA. When he was about 19 he got Hodgekin's Disease and we were told after his treatment he would never have children. Scott is a sophomore at a University in AZ, Julia is an accomplished singer, actress, dancer and Ben is brilliant and talented in his own right - I guess they were wrong.

He made it through his bout with cancer, snapping both of his Achilles tendons, deciding to (with his wife Cheryl) become the owners of an Willowbrook Apple Orchard and teach full time and part-time professor of Kinesiology at the University of Riverside.

 

Rick is great, he' always ready to laugh, make a joke, watch sports, talk about sports, ride his tractor and be with his family. He has had a cough for a long time, they thought it was pneumonia initially, this week he got the bad news that he has lung cancer. This is just the preliminary diagnosis, more to come after the PET scan.

This is the website to his orchard

http://willowbrookapple.tripod.com/

Love ya Rick.

Tuesday Mornings

I'm coming to love Tuesday mornings, 9:00am I have coffee ready and the doorbell starts ringing, in comes some of the most fabulous women I know. We talk, drink coffee, talk about God, look at the new addition to the group - Maple Marie Holiday Reetz. She is 3 weeks old and beautiful.
My friend Emily (Maple's mom) put is so well, that God has provided her with such a rich group of people around her she really gets her needs met for support and God's touch here in Appleton with friends and family.

We are all spiritual explorers, we have been through "church". I loved all of my church experience for the most part, some of it was messy but people are messy.

Tuesdays are good.

Blogs I love

There are a few blog links on mine that I love to read, if you have spare time just puttering around you should check them out. I've just added a new one "confessions of a gas station attendant", my friend Sarah writes. Funny.

Good Weekend, Good Night. Go Pack.

Labor Day in Door County

Labor Day weekend Sam, Isabel and I went to Door County to Penninsula State Park. We had a wonderful time like we always do with our friends the Leiva's. I forgot my camera, so this photo that I found will be a constant reminder/memory of all the kids in the dinghy...so great.