The end of a tough year..........

To say I'm not happy to see the end of this year would be a lie. We've had many personal health and financial problems this year, not to mention some of our family members that have gone through their own struggles this year.
For me, there were times this year the stress was really overwhelming. For the first time in my life I felt I was dealing with things very poorly and the situations were getting the best of me....gosh, I hate that out of control feeling.
I've had a few times in my life where my personal life and relationships were such that I really did think about just walking away. Fortunately, the responsible, controlling side of me kicked in and I thought better of it.
As I get older, I really do appreciate the intangible more than the tangible.
There is part of me feels guilty knowing there are so, so many people in the world so much worse off. I believe things happen for a reason. What I struggle with are the reasons.
I'm so happy to have two beautiful, intelligent, compassionate daughters and two sons-in-laws that I really do love a lot....AND then there's my two adorable, special grandchildren. The sad side of this equation is that they live so far away and the older I get the harder it is find the energy and finances to drive to see them. I feel this distance certainly has changed our relationships, but I will continue to love them, and appreciate what time we do get.
For those who happen to read my blog, I wish you a very happy, healthy 2009!

Christmas sales.............

The only thing I'm looking for are deals on Christmas ornaments, ribbon, etc for the charity tree I do each year for my community for the Festival of Trees. I purchase as much as possible the year before. I've had relatively excellent success. The only dilemma is I must decide the 'theme' etc for my tree so I know what to look for in the way of the ornaments. For 2009, I'm doing a 7ft. white artificial tree in whites, silvers, blacks and crystals. The only problem I've had so far is trying to find a really elegant silver, black or white tree skirt. I really love doing these trees and feel in some small way, I'm helping. This festival goes on for a week with donor trees and volunteer donor decorators, auctions, a grand ball, etc. I just get involved in the decorating of one tree amongst so, so many. I try to attend the family night as that's when most of the little ones come and there's a concert that my cousin and his family perform. The proceeds of the Festival go to purchase some major equipment for our local hospital. Last year, the proceeds were used for special equipment suitable for small children. I'm not sure where the money will go from this 2008 Festival. I just found out that the Festival made over $200,000.00. This will do some good things.
I'm also trying to find a deal on a 7 ft pre-lit tree, but so far no luck. Neither my husband nor myself want to deal with running lights next year....had enough of that! However, I refuse to pay the full price for one.
I have so much to do pertaining to my Etsy sites and I've found out recently about another site for handmade items, etc. called ArtFire. I haven't even had time to check it out.
My Google AdSense is all messed up again and isn't rotating the ads, so once again I need to figure out why not. I'm not getting much activity at all from it, but will continue just the same.
I'm suffering from a pretty severe sore throat today and will try to fight off another cold.
We are suppose to be attending a wedding on New Year's Eve. I haven't even figured out what I'll wear for it, but will definitely not be spending any more money. I so rarely need 'dress up' type clothes anymore.

A good Christmas.........how about you?

It's been over a week since I've written anything here. My daughters, their husbands, and my grandchildren have been here and although busy and somewhat hectic at times, I really do appreciate the time we get together. We each have our own special and unique lives so when we can take some time to 'catch up' face to face, it's the best gift of all.
We are all different and individual. This is a good thing, even though that means we don't always agree on many levels.
I am proud that we raised two daughters that have chosen special men to be their partners and that they have learned to think for themselves and stand up for their beliefs. At times that's a bit exasperating, but I smile a bit knowing they feel comfortable stating their positions in spite of what myself or their Dad may think or believe.
The grandchildren continue to bring me so much joy. Our grandson can carry on the most wonderful conversations and I feel we have our own special bond. He continues to be so much fun to be with as he's so imaginative, musical, and quite deep at times.
Our little grandaughter is just over one year old and has the most special little smile and is definitely becoming her own little self. I sit back and smile as she has the sweet smile and bubbly personality of my daughter, but also has the stubborn, independent streak my daughter has ALWAYS had...payback!
It's funny(ha,ha) to hear words I used to spout off to my daughter's coming out of their mouths....and they said it would never happen!
I'm really pooped out, but it's been a really special time.... and we didn't even exchange any gifts, other than time...really special Christmas. Hope everyone out there has found some special moments to their Christmas and/or holiday.

TOTALLY lost the day ..........

Most of my day (and my husband's) were lost to a test I needed to have at the hospital. I was told to be there by 10:30 am and the test was to be for 11:30 am. My husband patiently waited and was told I should be done around 12:30 by the time I came out of the recovery area....well, not so. I sat in a hallway until almost 2 pm. and then around 3:30 pm they took me back out to my husband. I asked him to get me a coffee and bagel as I was so thirsty and hungry. As I started to drink and eat, the room started to spin and I knew I was going to faint. My husband got one of the staff and they then took me back again to the recovery area. After more oxygen and some more time, I finally felt ready to go. It was almost 5pm when we got home. I was still not feeling well as I had some discomfort from the procedure and still groggy....slept on and off most of the evening....
I guess that's why I'm sitting here at almost 5 am. wide awake..........oh well, it's over and I await the results which should come back some time next week.

Maybe I'll make it after all..........

Christmas has come up SO quickly and I must admit I've had some moments where I thought there is no way I'll ever get everything done. My husband has helped a lot by doing some of the baking and today he set up the two artificial trees and ran the lights on them. Tonight, I got one tree decorated and will do the other tomorrow. We are having my nephew and his daughter here for dinner, but will try to get quite a bit done before then.
I got all the Christmas cards done and mailed........yeah!
I've had to put Etsy to the side in order to get some of these things done. In light of the fact that my Etsy sales have been disappointing to say the least has given me reason to rethink what I'm making. It's obviously something most people don't want so I'll probably concentrate more time on the photography side in the new year.
I also have to get in gear to find work. I'm not going to look at specific employers, rather I've decided to go after free lance event planning. One never knows until one tries. I'm very good at planning functions and my organization skills are very much suited to this type of work. Besides, this is something I can actually get enthusiastic about.
I'm so tired right now I won't make any hasty decisions. I need quiet and calm and some stability before I can evaluate properly.
Next week is really busy too. My husband has two separate tests that require going to the hospital. I, too, have to go in to the hospital for a procedure as well.
You never want life to pass you by too quickly, but I have to admit, I'll be glad to see this year end and really hope for a better 2009.

On the go....all day!

My husband and I started the morning by going to our medical centre...me, to get my weekly Vitamin B12 shot, he, to get bloodwork done. We then had to go to the medical centre in town ....me, to fill in papers for an endoscopy I'm having done next week, he, to have MORE bloodwork...there are some new concerns so the process begins to figure out exactly what is going on ... This is difficult for both of us. We think he's finally back to decent health and then some little 'red flags' appear...so we wait to figure out what might be happening this time.
We then went and returned some items purchased and then went and picked my nephew and his little daughter up to go to lunch and then go to one of my cousin's homes for an afternoon Open House Tea. This was to honour her grandparents ( my aunt and uncle )on the celebration of their 66th wedding anniversary. This was so great for my nephew and daughter, as they are now getting to know some of their relatives in smaller groups and become familiar. It will help reassure him that he has a LOT of support. After this, we went to another cousins to pick up some used clothing she had that would fit the little one. She is the sweetest little girl...wonderful nature, very adaptable, and really had a great time running around and playing with other little cousins.
We came home, ate and then I started the Christmas newsletter we do every year to put in our Christmas cards. We send out about 170 Christmas cards to people in Canada, people in the US, a friend in England and a friend in Tasmania. It's starting to get so expensive though. You buy the cards, the paper for the newsletter and then the stamps.....OMG...the stamps...it is almost highway robbery!
Tonight, my eldest daughter sent my grandson's 'school' pictures and I swear this little guy looks like a model...so handsome. GQ...lookout! Here's a pic....now is he not just 'drop dead' handsome?
Another busy day tomorrow! The second family breakfast and then I have to go to Mississauga to see one of my doctors there to schedule another throat surgery... The upside is afterward I get to have dinner with a friend of mine. We became friends when both our husbands were going through liver resection surgery at the same time. Sadly, he husband died just eight months later, but we have stayed in contact and become good friends. We can talk to each other about things others don't understand and we both treasure our time together.

It's late but....

It's late or should I say early and have to get to bed, but, I sold two more photographs today and I'm pretty excited about that!
It's a busy, busy time right now. I'm trying to get the custom plates finished and had no end of trouble this weekend...SO, will try again at some point tomorrow.
My husband has been a dear and is helping out with some of the baking for the holidays.
In the meantime, my nephew who the family as a whole have been lending a hand to get him and his daughter moved down here from way up north. We ( the collective family )
have managed to find in attics, crawl spaces, sheds, barns etc. enough used or unwanted things to completely furnish his little apartment...right down to toys for the little one and we even put up an artificial Christmas tree and put on the lights. We left a box of tree ornaments for he and his daughter to decorate together. I truly hope this is a new beginning for him.
I will meet him at his new apartment tomorrow (today ) to familiarize him with where everything is and give him some information about buses, etc. so he can begin to find his way around. They will be very tired as they fly to Toronto at 6am and then will catch the shuttle bus to here...long day for a little two year old.

Great day...............

I sold 5 of my photographs between yesterday and today...yeah! I sure hope it keeps up! I have to get busy listing more of my pictures.
My husband gave me a gift certificate to get a one hour, one on one, photography lesson on my camera... I'm excited but won't do it until the new year..it was his anniversary gift to me. I'd like to buy the Adobe Photoshop Elements and may do that soon. I keep watching the sales flyers hoping I see it on sale.
Tomorrow, I hope to finish the custom plates.

Almost......

Well, I'm almost finished my custom plate making. I have two done and two to go. I was so upset yesterday. I used a new glue on a custom plate and later that day took a look at it.....darn it all... the fabric had all kind of bubbled and come away from the plate. At that point, there is absolutely nothing to do but start over. It's one of those minor irritations, especially when time is running out to complete projects to a deadline. Finally, tomorrow I have the whole day to work just on plates and getting more photos posted to my 'Maggies Studio' Etsy store.
Once I have that done I can move on to Christmas stuff. I still have a bit of shopping to do, but then I can get the two Christmas trees up and start on the baking. Since we're not exchanging gifts between the adults this year, I'd like to at least have a nice selection of baked goods available. I also like to make up little plates to give to my neighbours. I've done that every year since we moved here and they so appreciate it.
I have managed to buy a few really cute little things on Etsy for my grandaughter, but haven't found just the right little things for my grandson. I will do some searching over the next few days.
After family breakfast this morning, I had to pick up some things my sister-in-law was donating to my nephew's new apartment and then get back home. I had to be at the medical centre to get my first shot of Vitamin B12. I will be on a regimen for the next year to see if this helps the fatigue I've had for over a year. I'm sure hoping this might be the answer.
I then drove back into town to pick up something at my aunt's place, drop off some stuff we wanted to give to Value Village ( like Goodwill ), go to the dollar store to get some bits for my nephew, and then grocery shopping and home.
My nephew and his little daughter arrive on Monday, so we want to have everything set up nicely for him.
SO many family and friends have donated enough items to furnish it completely. We even put a Christmas tree up, put lights on it, and have left Christmas ornaments so he and his daughter can have some fun decorating it together.
I spoke with him last evening and for the first time, he sounds hopeful, excited and just wants to get here. He understands this is just the first step in a very, very long road for him, but it's a start. He really needs a shot at a better life! Let's hope and pray.

Success.........now have a vehicle..

I can't call it a new car, as it's not...but we did have success and feel we did fairly well with the budget we had....we had to go over a bit, but will not finance any part of it...
We got a 2003 Kia Sedona that looks almost brand new. It only had 88,000 kms. and when we did a CarFax it showed nothing negative. It was a single owner and had no history of any accidents, any fires, or any thefts. The maintenance records showed nothing but your standard oil changes, basic maintenance and vehicle registratons each year. It has most of the higher end features and it drives beautifully. As I stated before, you can only do what you can do, but who knows what's ahead.
We had a lot of family at our weekly family breakfast today. There were 21 of us, but when we have the last one before we break for the holidays, we usually average between 35 and 45. The other family breakfast on Thursday usually only averages about 10 people.
Today, my husband and I celebrate our 41st wedding anniversary. My husband made reservations at a really nice restaurant in town called Saporito's...it was superb!! We hardly eat out at restaurants other than the weekly family breakfast's and we certainly don't eat out at the nicer restaurants....so, this was really special.
I worked on one custom plate order today and ended up really unhappy with it, so will start again...not what I needed when time is running out to get them all done as promised.
Tomorrow, my cousin, her husband and my husband and I will start moving furniture into the apartment we found for my nephew. He arrives on Monday with his little daughter. The whole family has been amazing. We basically have found enough furniture, etc from family members to completely furnish the apartment. This, we hope, is his new start to a new life..
I am disappointed that I haven't sold more on my Etsy site, so will take another look at how much time I spend on the Etsy site versus local at some point in January.

Car shopping.............yuk!

Well, tomorrow we get up early and will head to Toronto to try and find a new vehicle. We looked everywhere in Peterborough........nothing! Well, when I say nothing, I mean not what we're looking for in a vehicle.
Our budget dictates that we can only spend what the insurance company gave me for my car. Since we will be down to one vehicle now, we've decided that the most practical car is a minivan. It can be any older than a 2004 and can't have any more than 100,000 kms. on it.
I HATE car shopping when it's going to be a used vehicle. In spite all the care you take, you still never know for sure what problems may lie ahead.
I'm really disappointed that I will no longer have my own car. I know that sounds so stupid, but, the feeling of independence it gives one is wonderful...however, as I've said in the past, my new mantra is "It is what it is"
Gosh, I sure hope we have good luck! The weather forecast is calling for a major snow storm tomorrow, so it could be a fun ride up and a fun ride home....either way, it's going to be a long day.

A crafting day....finally!

With all the nonsense pertaining to settling issues after one's car is totally written off, I finally got word that the settlement cheque will be here on Monday. Unfortunately, we won't. We've looked all over our home town for a replacement vehicle and there is nothing! Soooo, on Monday we have appointments in and around the Toronto area to go look at some used vehicles. On our budget, used is all we can afford and we can only afford one vehicle. It really sucks that I will no longer have my own vehicle, as I feel so much more independent with one I can call mine.. that's not in the cards. We went on AutoTrader.com and have found four minivans that will do OK, assuming they are in good shape. We'll do a CarFax on them, test drive them, etc. etc. and then decide. By the time this is all said and done, we will have lost almost four complete days dealing with all of this...so I sure hope we find something on Monday. I don't like shopping for vehicles, especially when they are used. It's always a bit of a gamble and used car dealers are a pain the butt to deal with for the most part...oops, there I go making generalities again!
I am spending most of today working on some custom plates I have to get done and tying up all the loose ends to outfitting an apartment for my nephew and his daughter. One of my cousins has worked so hard helping with all of this. In fact, I couldn't have done all of this without the major, major contribution she has made. A definite angel here on earth!
I am SO far behind in terms of getting ready for Christmas! I am usually so organized and usually have almost everything done by this time.... NOT THIS YEAR!!!!
Oh well, I'm so physically and mentally tired at the moment, that I've resigned myself to the fact everything may not likely be the way I usually like it. As I stated before in one of my posts, 'it is what it is'.

Happy Birthday to my 'little man'

Today, is my grandson's birthday. He is officially 4 years old.
It was going to be a busy day for us, as I had to go in to the local State Farm Insurance Co. to turn over the ownership of my wrecked vehicle and to take all the repair receipts from the past year. The claims person said they might be able to give me more money if I'd spent it on aftermarket parts in the last year. I got the settlement quote and it's a little bit lower than I expected but the insurance company has been terrific through this process so far.
My husband had to have some medical tests done today as well.
I asked my daughter to call us on our cell phone after she picked up our grandson from daycare so I could sing 'Happy Birthday' to him. She did and I did. He was so cute! I sang 'Happy Birthday' and he laughed and thought that was pretty neat.
Later in the evening, they called again to say he'd opened his birthday present from his 'Grammie and Papa' and it was one of those 'Imaginex' dinosaurs. He told me on the phone that it was a 'way cool' dinosaur. He then proceeded to turn it on and wanted me to listen to it roar and growl. My daughter said it was the biggest hit in the gift department...yeah! I love when I get him something he enjoys.
We then went to the 'Festival of Trees' where I had donated and decorated one of the trees to be sold for a fundraiser for our local hospital. I'll post pictures maybe tomorrow. This year my theme was 'M & M's in honour of our two grandchildren whose names both begin with 'M'. I had been collecting things for a year. I was disappointed with the Mars company as I had called for donations but had no luck. Some of the trees were absolutely magnificent! My tree was 4 ft. high but some were 10 ft. high.....spectacular and so, so creative....a fun night. This festival goes on all week with different activities, galas, house tours, auctions etc. Tonight was family night and my cousin and his family were the opening entertainment. They are a very talented family and very well known in this town. My cousin is an entertainer as his full time work and he also earns money writing jingles for commercials, etc...cool guy and really, really funny!

A bit of a difficult week.......

There have been too many things to list about the week, but the most difficult were my little grandaughter having to go to the hospital the first of the week. This gave her parents a scare and needless to say the whole family was worried. She is OK now, thank God. Then Wednesday night, my husband was driving home from the hockey game and it was snowing badly. A lady going the opposite way lost control and smashed head on into my husband. He too, we hope will be OK. We were at emergency til early am and after CT Scans, various other tests and then stitching up the gashes in his hand we were sent home. Today, I think the aftershock of it all is really kicking in. He is way more sore today, his hand is hurting and he has so many black and blue marks that keep coming. My husband was driving my car, so I had to go to the collision place today to collect all my belongings in the car and to get the plates off. It is a total write off. After seeing the damage to my car, I am so amazed that my husband didn't suffer more injuries...it's unbelievable. There's at least half of the front end of my car missing. The windshield is totally smashed from my husband's head hitting it even with the air bag deploying...absolutely amazing!
Then Thursday, we had to use my husband's van to do some errands regarding the accident and then we were suppose to pick up a rental car for me that my insurance company provides with the policy. I was driving as my husband was still in too much discomfort. We were heading to get the rental car, when all of sudden his van started making these grinding sounds and a lot of other really ugly sounds. It stopped and I managed to get it restarted and we decided to turn into a plaza just in case. As we got in to the plaza, it completely died. Well, today we found out it's on it's way to 'car heaven' The mechanic said the engine is completely shot and with 300,000 kms. on it that's it....done! So now we don't have either car. So we now are waiting to find out how much we'll get from the insurance company so we can buy a vehicle. With our financial situation, we will have to go down to one vehicle. I don't particularly like car shopping, especially used, but I'm hoping with the car dealers suffering with the economy, we'll hopefully find a decent car for the money.
For all the hassles and worries for both my little grandaughter and my husband, we are still blessed by comparison to so many. So, we'll move on and be grateful for the many other blessings we have in our lives.
I did sell a couple of my photos this week from my new studio so that was a morale booster.
I am still having so much trouble with fatigue and between two different doctors they now think there's a strong possibility I have Celiac disease...so....today was some very expensive blood tests that take over a month to read and get results and they are scheduling me to see a local ENT doctor to schedule an endoscopy. With the medical situation the way it is, they told me it could be two or three months to wait. I said I've been suffering with this brutal fatigue for over a year, so what's a couple more months.
I got so excited today at the grocery store! Don't laugh, but I love rum and eggnog and they had the first of the season in today...yeah! In light of the week, you can bet your 'you know what' that I had one tonight.
My girlfriend and her husband are coming for dinner tomorrow night before they leave on another one of their many trips they take each year. It will be nice to just have a do nothing evening having a nice dinner with friends.

A successful but mentally draining day.....

I spent most of the day, and I do mean MOST of the day, trying to recall specifics of my past work history for this new resume I'm trying to put together. I was told to list quantifiable successes for three particular companies...omg! First, I'm one of those people who worked so many years for so many different companies that a lot of it becomes a blur and secondly, over the past thirty + years of working I was proud of my accomplishments at the time, but then I move on and it's put somewhere else in my head. The quantifiable part is difficult as well. Why you ask? Well, most of the bosses I've had are now passed away with the exception of two, maybe three...hmmm!
I hope this will be worthwhile at some point, as I will need to find work. My preference is to design this resume such that I can go after freelance event planning work. I DO NOT want to give up either my art on plates or my photography and WILL NOT! I will tell you that the art and photography consumes most of my mind and most of my days. In hours, I 'work' harder and longer now than I ever did when I was getting paid to do something. On average, I probably spend 12 -15 hours most days....I just wish I could find someone to do the laundry, the ironing, the housecleaning and sometimes the cooking so I could keep at it....no such 'fairy' around that I know of!
As of now, I've completed and printed the first draft of the resume and spent two hours tonight wiring all the ornaments for my tree for our local Festival of Trees that will need to be decorated next Monday night. This is a week long festival with various activities and functions going on to raise added funds for our local hospital. Corporations donate the artificial trees and lights and others volunteer their time and money to contribute decorations for each specific tree. In honour of my grandchildren, my tree has and M & M's theme this year....this one is for the kids!

Slow day.........

I'm having a lazy day...slept in and just kind of doing a little bit of this and a little bit of that...
My whole body aches as I fell off a low step yesterday while out at a craft show and landed on both knees at the same time and then the rest of my upper torso just kind of bounced off the concrete.....ouch! At least I didn't break anything...but I'm sure sore today!
I'm trying to work on a new resume today and I'm really struggling with it. It's amazing how much of your past life you forget when it comes to details..definitely reminds me that I really am getting older.
I was on webcam yesterday with my little grandaughter and she is learning to do things. It's funny, she refuses to crawl but has learned to 'thump' or scoot on her butt and she can sure move! She's now making attempts to try to pull herself up, with no success yet.
Earlier this week, we got on webcam with our grandson and he's getting to be so much fun via webcam. He carries on pretty decent conversations with you ...he comes out with the funniest things sometimes.
I can't wait, the girls, their husbands and the little ones will all be home for Christmas...yeah! We are not doing any gifts for each other this year, except for a few little bits for the grandkids. We are all very blessed and really don't need for anything...the important thing is we all be together.
Tonight I hope to start working on four custom plate orders I have to get done within the next two weeks....all are plates with peoples pets...fun!
I've added another blogger to my 'follow' list. She was kind enough to feature me in her blog and does very unusual work. She makes miniature dolls of famous people...check it out...very 'uneek'!

Check list.....

Well, today I managed to get a few things to do off my list ... finally a day where I feel I made a dent.
It might have something to do with the fact I had to get up early, early to get my car in for the wheel alignment I was suppose to get done yesterday. It took until mid afternoon to get my car back ...but it's now fixed for now.
My husband brought me back home and I got all the photos taken of the new plates and glass blocks, got them downloaded and edited and tonight I've started posting them on my 'maggiemags' and my 'maggiesstudio'. Hopefully, tomorrow I'll finish. I also have many more photos to get posted.
I went back out to my girlfriend's Mom's house. I took her a new thermabag (those things that have oats or beans in them and you heat in the microwave to help muscle aches and pains). When I arrived, I got a great surprise as my girlfriend was down from Toronto so we had a cup of tea and chatted for awhile. She had told me she was coming down, but I forgot.
I got a call from my nephew tonight and without going into it right now, I think he's turning a corner. He had received some good news and for now that has motivated him enough to keep moving forward. I truly hope he stays focused and gives himself a chance for a future.

Weird, wet day........

Had to get up earlier than usual as I'd made an appointment with our auto mechanic to get a 4 tire wheel alignment since I replaced two tires,had all rotated and was way overdue for an oil change. Got there at 8:20 to be told they couldn't do it after all in the morning...frustrating..so had to change to tomorrow...not that I want to spend the money.
I had to go to the bank, go to pick up some Etsy business cards I had ordered, went to the fabric store to get some pieces for a couple of custom plate orders I have to finish in the next two weeks. I then went to get a prescription filled and afterward went out to see my girlfriend's mother and took her some grapes and a bit of other fruit. She's getting so frustrated. She's 83 years old and has been so active and independent her whole life. This back problem has her really slowed down and she sure doesn't like it. She's a very special lady...to me and many others.
I got home around 3 pm and did some household errands and then started to make the Christmas fruitcake that my husband looks forward to each year. He told me once he'd rather have the fruitcake than any present, and he meant it! Personally, I do not like it.
I packed my Operation Christmas Child shoebox and got that ready to drop off. I'm tired but have to wait for the cakes to bake ( 3+ hours ) and then wait for them to cool down so they can be wrapped. I'll be up late for sure.
I had a number of phone calls tonight so didn't get the pictures taken of the new plates and glass blocks I've made, but hope to by tomorrow night.
See what tomorrow brings.. I'm too tired to get too uptight if I don't get everything done.

Overwhelmed.....I need more hours in a day!

I feel pulled in so many different directions at the moment. There is such a small window of opportunity to sell Christmas items. I spend time either emailing shops asking for a chance to show my works, time sourcing out other possibilities, time posting photos on my new Etsy shop called MaggiesStudio, and I still have photos to take of all the new Christmas plates I've made, the new glass blocks I've made and then getting all of that listed on my Maggiemags shop as well.
In between all of that, I'm trying to get laundry done, trying to get fruitcake made for Christmas, etc. etc...Yikes...Calgon, take me away!!! Please.
I had to get two new tires put on my car today and then made an appointment to get all four tires re-aligned on Thursday.
..AND......... we won't even talk about the house and the dust at the moment....!! I finished shopping today for one of the ' Operation Christmas Child' shoebox program.
Just based on our own family, I think people either don't have the money to spend this year or are too afraid to spend for fear what's still to come.
I will forge forward, sometimes a little freaked out, but one never gives up and one can only do what one can do....right?

Sale over...OK...but not great!

Well, exhausted and relieved to have the sale over. Although I didn't do as well as last year I did OK. My husband, who didn't participate last year, did quite well. At least he says he's really pleased.
I learned a lot more about conducting one of these Christmas Sales and will also get feedback from each vendor.
I had many problems with the manager at the venue site and would not go back to that location for sure. I believe we'd change the date to closer to Christmas...like the first week of December. There were over 10 different Christmas Sales going on this weekend and one has been going for 30 years so were up against a lot of competition. Having said all that, everyone tells me each time you hold a sale it's a crap shoot as to the success. Everyone says it's not an exact science by any means and there are so many factors that can lead to a great sale and not so great sale.
We plan to do it again next year, but there will be even more changes. Once I get the feedback from the vendors who attended this year, I can start formulating a new and better plan.
Today, I'm so tired! I did a bit of laundry, finally put away everything taken to the sale, made a nice dinner, made a few phone calls and then spent most of the evening adding photos to my new Etsy shop at www.maggiesstudio.etsy.com ... go see!

Christmas Tea and Gift Sale.............tomorrow!

Well, after months of preparation and organizing and of course, making things to sell, tomorrow is the BIG day! I hope it goes well, but with the economy being what it is and the fact there is another HUGE three day Christmas Craft Sale going on here as well, I just don't know.
For all of us, I hope we do well...........I'll be letting everyone know afterward. I'll either being doing the 'happy dance' or drowning in my sorrows! ( just kidding ) I'll just move forward and find other venues to sell my works.

Obama......'Mr. President'

I stayed up way too late watching all the American election results. I, like many others knew I was watching something incredibly historical! Obama has such a presence and his demeanour is of confidence, steadiness and class. I wish him well, but he has such a difficult task ahead of him. I hope that he picks the right people to his team. I believe the first 100 days will be very telling. I wish him well and more importantly, I wish the American people a new hope and a better future.
People should check out Etsy...there are some Etsians that are selling some wonderful momentos of Obama and of the election.

Countdown..to our Christmas Tea and Gift Sale

Went to family breakfast this morning. From there drove out to see the big poster the girls had made and put up on the site of our Saturday sale....great job! Then drove to my cousins to get some more hand out flyers to distribute to various locations.
I then went to my hairdresser's to get my hair cut and she asked for some flyers to hand out to customers. Virginia is the best hairdresser I've ever had, reasonable and one of the best listeners ever. With all the customers she has, she manages to remember so many details of conversations with me and I assume that holds true for all her customers. She is the sweetest person and yet when you meet her for the first time, one is taken aback. She has a very funky hairdo that changes frequently as does the colour of her hair, she has all kinds of tatoos and a few piercings so one might draw certain (incorrect) conclusions based on her appearance. She is SO genuine and a really hard worker. She's always willing to help wherever she can for her clients and I just love her. She and a friend went out on their own last year to start their own salon and these two deserve every bit of success that comes their way and then some.
Did some last minute purchases for the sale on Saturday like gift bags to put my stuff in when someone buys something and then I want to decorate the center of my tables with a Christmas theme so had a few bits to pick up for that purpose.
I'm going to TRY and make a couple of more plates over the next day but won't freak out if I don't get a lot more made.
I've started packing everything so I don't forget stuff Saturday. I'm sure there are people who can relate. As I think of things I need to take, I now just go get it and put it in a box near my front door.
Tonight will be SO interesting..as I intend to watch a lot of the American coverage and the Canadian coverage of the election....it will be interesting either way it ends up...pretty historical in meaning.

Need a quiet day...........

My nephew and his girlfriend just left after we fed them a big breakfast and I must admit I'm tired. We held an Open House yesterday for all the relatives that wanted to meet with him and tell him they were glad he's home safe and sound from Afghanistan.....a really nice afternoon. Last night we took them to a Junior A hockey game and then got back here and talked and talked. I hope he's going to be OK and I hope the army keeps their promise to let him now go to school on their tab and then we'll see where his life goes...he's sure worked hard and put up with a lot to get to this point...wish him well.
Finished all my glass blocks for the sale and will try to do a few more plates this week. I have all the little last minute stuff to get done for this sale....I hope for everyone's sake it's a success.
Today, I'm going to go in to town for a short while and then back home and basically chill out. We had enough food left over from yesterday that I will not be cooking tonight.
I hope to start posting my photography on my new store site on Etsy...I'm late getting stuff in the shop but it is what it is!

Hallowe'en .........busy, busy

Crazy busy day! Had a lot of phone calls and emails to get out today regarding the cousin Christmas Tea and Gift Sale. Then went to town and met one of my cousins to pick up the hand out flyers for the sale. I then met another friend for lunch at a local 'Tea Room' called 'The Magic Rolling Pin'...absolutely wonderful! The decor, the food, the service and the desserts .....amazing. This girl used to be in charge of the local business development office so has amazing insight, network and just plain smarts. The purpose of the lunch was to pick her brain, so to speak, for both job hunting and for my 'Maggiemags' business. She had some invaluable advice which I intend to put into action once this sale is over. I'm going to completely rewrite my resume and leave off a lot of my past history and turn what I did in the past that applies to the creativity I now have the chance to focus on for the future.
Once I've done the work needed we will get together and then she's offered to help connect me to people that are in the fields I'd like to pursue...mostly event work.
I then went around to some of the local vendors that will be in our sale and gave them a stack of flyers to hand out to people they know. I went to both newspapers to place ads for the Christmas Tea and Gift Sale next Saturday.
I then had to go have bloodwork done for an appointment I have next week.
Afterward, went and did some grocery shopping for my girlfriend's mother who is laid up at the moment and then went to have a visit with her...I just love her to pieces!
Before coming home, I went and did some grocery shopping for an Open House I'm having here tomorrow for my nephew who will be here with his girlfriend. He is the nephew that just got back from his second tour in Afghanistan and thankfully is now safe and sound.
At this point, we've only had seven kids to the door for Hallowe'en candy.... will have lots left over!
I finished all the glass blocks I'm going to make for now and will start on Sunday doing some more holiday plates...from now until Christmas is very, very busy. I am still convinced that sales will pick up on my Etsy 'Maggiemags' shop....it WILL happen! It's not 'if' it is 'when'.........

It's going to be a good day.........

As opposed to yesterday....
Yesterday started out great with the family breakfast and I went my way to do some errands and my husband went his way to do some errands...I get a call about an hour afterward and my husband is at our local mechanics...car trouble. Well, the end result is he barely made it to the mechanics with his van..end result is the transmission is shot and will cost almost $2500.00 to replace with a rebuilt. We just can't afford that for a van that's eight years old and has over 300,000 kms. on it...SO.. we're waiting to hear from our mechanic to see how much he can get for us if we turn it over to a junk yard...my husband is SO upset as he loves his van. I guess we'll be down to one vehicle!
The great news though is my nephew that was in Afghanistan will be arriving in about one half hour...he's safe and home....can't wait to see him and catch up.
I made three more glass blocks last night and hope to get a couple of plates done today or tomorrow.
I also have over 300 bulbs that I'm late getting planted so MUST get that done today.
Our cousin Christmas Tea and Gift Sale is one week Saturday and still have a lot to do to get that all ready. Whew! Busy time of the year.

Home..........watch for my new Etsy Shop!!!

We arrived home this evening and there's always just a lot of stuff to do just to get caught up. Unpack, sort for laundry, go through newspapers, go through and read a back log of mail, catch up on email, catch up on phone messages, etc. etc.

I have a lot to do this week as I have opened a new Etsy shop called Maggie's Studio which will be exclusive for my photography. I'll pull out the photos in my current shop and transfer and then begin adding some new photography. I REALLY hope I get it all done by the end of the week...when ready to go I'll announce on my blog.

Another great thing this week, is my nephew who was over in AFghanistan on his second tour of duty is now back safe and is coming to see us this week. I'm so relieved he's back. I am a bit worried about his emotional well being but will get a chance to talk about that and lots of other stuff with him. He's a very special guy and I truly hope his ongoing hopes and dreams come true. He is a very driven individual...and deserves some good things to happen for him.

Home tomorrow....

We got to New Jersey last night and had a nice dinner with our youngest daughter and our son-in-law...they ordered in as it was 9:30 when we arrived... tired and in bed by 11 PM...wow, that's early for us!
Got to spend the day just hanging out with our little angel girl. Their neighbourhood was holding a street fair today so we did some of that and then went around the corner to their local pub for lunch.
Today is our daughter and son-in-law's wedding anniversary so we are babysitting and their going out for a nice dinner and a few drinks. They are out as I write this. We have the little one in bed and she appears to be down for the count.
I made homemade macaroni and cheese and apple crisp for my husband and I for our dinner. I made enough to freeze for 'the kids' to have this week or whenever. Both of them have really busy week coming up, so maybe that will help.
We are leaving after my daughter and son-in-law make a nice breakfast for all of us and then we have an eight hour + drive home.
I love travelling to see the girls and their families, but, I also enjoy getting home.
It has been SO much fun spending time with both grandkids...they change and grow so quickly!

Down south ........time with my family here

We arrived last night to spend a few days with my daughter, son-in-law and grandson. It was so cute earlier in the day...we were driving and my daughter called our cell phone and said my grandson was upset because we weren't there yet and he thought his Mommy hadn't told him the truth about us coming...so he had to talk to me to be sure we really were coming.. I so love this little guy and we have such a special bond. Tomorrow he and I are going to make peanut butter cookies in the shape of pumpkins and decorate them...his attention span isn't real long yet so we'll see how he does... He is such a happy boy overall and really affectionate and loving...but nevertheless, he's definitely a boy in the sense he loves to rough house.
I'll be checking my email and Etsy shop daily but tonight can't get into my site.....darn! Will try later though.
It's my Dad's birthday today...he's 89 years old today...I'm pretty sure I'll never make it to that age....he's still driving and although earlier this year he was really ill, it appears once again he's bounced back...I told him before we left that I'd make him a pumpkin pie when I get home. He's SO happy when I do that! A whole pie to himself..yeah! There's no point in buying him stuff because there isn't much he wants or needs. I will have to do that very shortly after arriving home or believe me, I'll get a call wanting to know where his pie is....glad to do it!

Happy and Sad ...all in the same day...

I woke up this morning and for the first time in two weeks I was feeling better overall. I'm still coughing a fair amount but that foggy, crappy feeling for the most part is over...
My husband and I had a few errands and paid some bills and I continued to feel better so made the decision to go to North Carolina with my husband. I'm so excited about that for many reasons. I can tell you that I miss my daughter's so much and although I'm so proud and happy for them I miss them very much. I also miss the opportunity to spend more time with my grandchildren. I don't want them living next door to me, but, gosh it sure would be nice if it were just an hour or so apart. Oh well, it's never going to happen so I'll just appreciate the time we do get together. Being rich would help, but that won't likely happen either....one can hope and dream though.
On an extremely sad note, my sister-in-law called a couple of hours ago to say my brother was leaving for work and as he was pulling out of their driveway, he saw their cat laying dead in the road...omg, she was crying, I was crying and I know my brother must be having such a rough time at work...he LOVED, LOVED that cat. That cat was usually so good about crossing the road, but this time some idiot was probably going around the curve of the road so fast and hit him. My brother had to pick him up and because he had to be at work, he put him in his workshop and will bury him tomorrow when he gets home. I really loved that cat as well and quite often took treats to him when I went visit. SO SAD! Goodbye, Frankie! You sure will be missed....

Productive day....

My day started by going to the medical clinic to be checked out and get results of a chest xray I had yesterday...even though I still feel poorly, the good news was I do not have pneumonia which is what they were beginning to think. I apparently have a viral infection and bronchitis so on to a new regimen of medications and I've been told this particular viral strain probably will last another week...oh, yeah!
I am beginning to feel a bit better but very, very tired.
I really hope the next couple of days I improve enough to make the trip to North Carolina with my husband to spend time with my daughter, son-in-law and my little man. I saw him on webcam last night and he's growing up so fast. He'll be four years old next month! He's fun to talk to now and can carry on quite the conversation if he's not distracted by his love of Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, High School Musical...after all, one does have one's priorities. He's really into dinosaurs at the moments so I think that's what we'll get him for his birthday...we'll see.
I made a carrot cake this morning and put a cheese platter together for my husband's woodturning group. The executive met here tonight.
I then managed to almost finish a custom plate I have to deliver by the weekend. My aunt ordered it for her son's future in-laws. It's a momento of the day her son and his new fiancee got engaged. It's turned out quite nice even if I do say so myself.
I got some more glass blocks cleaned and ready to decorate.
I called one of my cousin's who celebrated a birthday today to wish her 'Happy Birthday' and she sounded like she's coming down with what I've had.
Tonight I called my sister-in-law to wish her good luck on the weekend. She's walking a complete marathon. I'm really proud of her as she's the same age I am...yeah, I could see me trying to do that....NOT! It turns out she's starting to get the cold as well...it's everywhere apparently. I hope it doesn't cause her to have to back out on Sunday....she's worked and trained so hard to do this.
OK, I'm officially tired and off to bed I go.

Election is over......thank goodness!

I tell you what, you put in a VERY LONG day when you work at an election. We got there for 8 am and didn't leave the polling station until 11:20 pm...then my husband still had to drive the sealed ballot box into the main polling station. We were both so exhausted. It was made more difficult by the fact that I've had this brutal cough for two weeks and having some breathing problems. I was so tired, but was awake on and off all night. Finally, around 4:30 am I got to sleep and didn't wake up until 10:30 am. At that point, there was a phone call and it was from a girl who I was suppose to meet for coffee and discuss some opportunities I should look at in the way of work. Guess what? I TOTALLY forgot. That is so unusual for me but I did forget all about the appointment. I feel so bad! She was doing this to help me as she has an amazing network here in the area and she was so willing to share information to try and help me find a job.
I called the medical centre and she ordered a chest xray and hopes to have some results tomorrow. My fear is this stupid thing hasn't developed into pneumonia.
My husband is leaving for North Carolina this coming weekend and I had planned to go and spend the days he was at the conference with my daughter, son-in-law and my 'little man'...I'm so sad that I haven't seen him in person since March.
I now have to get working on the final details for the Christmas Tea and Gift Sale my cousins and I are holding on November 8th. We have added new vendors as well this year for the sale.
I hope it goes well. I'm not sure if we'll do it again at this point. I think we'll wait and see how successful this Christmas sale ends up.
I am getting ready to set up a new Etsy shop just for my photography. I think it may draw more people to both shops if I separate out the two. I think my existing shop is too 'busy' and confuses people. My new shop name is 'Maggie's Studio' but to access it once it's up and running you search under' MaggiesStudio.etsy.com.'

Whew, I'm worn out..............but a good day!

Well, our Thanksgiving dinner was a big success on many levels. The turkey was cooked to perfection and the veggie contributions by others were awesome and then we ended up having over 10 different desserts. One of the women makes the most wonderful homemade buns, two make the best butter tarts ever, my sister-in-law made two new desserts and they were so, so good! I made a Dutch apple pie, we had pumpkin pie and pumpkin tarts, and on and on.
The weather was perfect so the kids could go outside. I have balls they can toss around and I always have bottles of bubbles for them to have fun with.
The day ended with some great conversation and a real big highlight for me was I sold one of my fall theme glass blocks to one of my cousins relatives on the other side of her family. Terrific!
I have to buckle down tonight and read this boring manual so I at least half way know what the heck I'm doing at the polling station and election tomorrow. OMG, wish me luck. It's a long 16 hour day. I made and packed two different lunches for my husband and I and got the coffee pot, etc. ready to take. I will DEFINITELY need lots of coffee!
I'm starting to feel a bit better and coughing a little less, however, when I take a coughing fit, I swear I sound like a bull moose in heat!

Happy Thanksgiving Day!!!!!!

Yes, tomorrow is Canadian Thanksgiving Day and a legal holiday. At this very moment, my house is filled with the fall cooking smells. I have a 25 lb. turkey stuffed and cooking on low and will cook it all night and part of tomorrow at a very, very low temperature. I just took a Dutch apple pie out of the oven. Yum!
We are having approximately 28 -30 people here tomorrow afternoon for a Thanksgiving dinner. We obviously will eat buffet style but I've had as many as 75 here, so this amount won't be too bad.
The weather here has been spectacular and the fall colours in the area are the richest I've seen them in years.
The drive up north yesterday was wonderful. Unfortunately, my battery in my camera died. I was really bummed out about it, but then, I have no one to blame but myself..dummy! Our family dinner at the camp yesterday was so great. The lake was so calm, the colours so vibrant, and there were over 60 family members in the lodge dining hall. We ate ourselves silly. One thing about my family, is there are amazing cooks and bakers. We ended up with enough desserts for almost double the people that were there. Needless to say, everyone got leftovers. My chocolate pecan pie is always a major hit and I was told I should have brought more....next year!
The kids grow up so fast. They just love running around the camp property!. My cousin and her husband that have a cottage at the end of the same lake, came up by boat. The boat is a pontoon boat, so the kids had so much fun going out for rides. We didn't stay overnight, but some did and apparently they had a bonfire.. gosh, I remember those fun highlights of my own childhood!

Up and Down Day...

I got up early for me this morning (7am) and had my coffee and cigarette...felt so lousy I went back to lay down and got up at 10:20 am. I had to shower and go back into town because the letter stickers I got for the custom plate ended up being too small... Did some last minute grocery shopping before our very busy weekend. I made two pies to take to the family Thanksgiving dinner at the camp. I made a pumpkin pie and a chocolate pecan pie.
It's been an up day as I was notified I was one of the shops featured in the 'indiecraftcorner' blog so felt happy about that and grateful. However, I'm trying so hard at the moment to 'stay up'. I'm SO disappointed in my sales on Etsy thus far and seriously hope I get a few in the next week or two. My heart tells me I'm doing exactly what I should be doing, and I love it, but I need a boost in my morale at the moment. I hate when I get feeling like this, but with everything else going on in my head, I could really use a major positive reinforcement.
This nasty economy really sucks in more ways than one but I'm in this for the long haul..I'll just have to pout every now and then..I guess I could call it one of my pity parties.
Another up part of the day was I heard from the person who just recently purchased one of my plates from my Etsy shop and was told she 'Loves it'! OK, I'm grateful, I just want to be more grateful...is that a bad thing?

Well, I pretty much wasted this morning....

Went to our family breakfast and then went on a search for clear mini lights, with white electrical cord and only one end with the plug...and I hit every major store and the not so major stores in this city with none to be found. Furthermore, I was told by two separate store clerks they will not be getting them...they've discontinued stocking them...........what's up with that? Last year, I struggled to keep supplied because the stores told me they couldn't keep them on the shelves. As soon as they'd stock their shelves, the product would be gone! Now, wouldn't you think with that kind of demand last year, someone would have the common sense to make sure they had lots this year? Oh, Noooooo! I even called a few of the stores in Toronto that I thought would for sure have them...no.
I guess if I get down south in a week or two to spend some time with my daughter, son-in-law and my little man, I'll have to see if I can find them down there. Gosh! It sure is frustrating! If I can't find them I'll have to discontinue making my glass blocks.
I'm still feeling really crappy and the fatigue is almost overwhelming at the moment. I have SO much to get done .....!!
We spent yesterday getting training to work at the election next week. Omg, more frustration..two 'old farts' trying to teach other'old farts' and they wandered all over the place and confused me even more. In this country, we still use paper ballots and what's involved would boggle the mind! You look at all the paper work and the mass confusion, and it kind of shakes your faith. Boring, and not much further ahead as far as being informed. It will be a long, long day..the polls are open 12 hours and we need to be there one hour ahead of time to set up and then it will take another hour or so to count the ballots, call the vote for our polling station in, get the supplies boxed up, the ballots sealed in a box and then need to take it to the main polling station approx. one half hour away. We're in the little village, so I plan to take a coffee pot, lots of coffee, and LOTS of snacks and munchies!!!!
This Saturday, my Dad's whole side of the family (those who can make it) are going up to a Camp for one very large family Thanksgiving..yes, this is our Thanksgiving weekend It should be great but I need some energy and enthusiasm at this point.
I hope to finish one custom plate on order and still have three more custom orders to go. I'm already tired and haven't even started this next week yet..what was I thinking?...Oh yeah, I obviously wasn't!

I need a fairy godmother..........

to wave her wand and help me get rid of this darn cold/flu....it's a week today I got sick. I'm finally over the worst of it, but boy, do I feel beat up! I coughed non stop last night for over 45 minutes.......irritating or what? It's a catch-22 situation..I take the prescription cough med with codeine and it slows down the coughing but then all I want to do is sleep. I don't take the medicine, all I do is cough and cough and cough.
I did go to family breakfast today and then was suppose to go out to the Shriner's Club to pace off how many vendors we have room for, but got there and it was shut up tight....hmmm, I wonder why I made an appointment! Our cousin Christmas Tea and Craft Sale is in four weeks and still lots to do.
I finally got my hair cut today and even doing that helped me feel a bit better. Isn't it weird how lousy you feel when your hair is out of control? I keep it incredibly short and sort of spikey and I don't colour it. I figure I've earned every grey hair I have, and besides that, I'm too cheap to spend the money. Right now I don't even get manicures or pedicures anymore. I used to get that done about once a month. We have to cut back our expenses as many ways as possible.
I still haven't found a job. Who says there is no age discrimination! I believe there is indeed. You can't even get people to talk to you in person to sell yourself ... oh, no, everything is handled via the internet and email anymore. I spent three hours the other day trying to apply for a position on their online website, getting incredibly frustrated. I'd fill it all in and go to send and it would delete it all. I called the company the next morning only to find out there is a glitch in their software. Meanwhile, they had no problems wasting three hours of my time!
Tonight, I'm going to just take a bit of time for me and try (operative word is try) to get a decent nights sleep.
I have some photography I have to get done of the new plates and glass blocks I've made for the holiday season, but it won't be tonight..TOO TIRED!

Just got this pic.........how cute is this!!!

It's times like this I sure wish I lived closer...my little angel girl!
By the way, the onesie and the tutu are from Etsy shop owners!!!!

She's One Year Old.......tomorrow.

It's so hard to believe that my little grandaughter (my namesake) is one year old tomorrow. I wish I could be there. I think her parents are having a little party for her today. I just love her to pieces!
It's funny to me that my daughter has bought her such girlie stuff. My daughter never liked too much 'foo foo' stuff as she calls it....and yet, for this little one she's bought a tutu from an Etsy shop for her birthday party and buys her quite a few 'girlie' things...something she said she'd never do...
How can you not love that little face?
It's my brother's birthday today and we're meeting with him tomorrow to celebrate. His wife is barbequing lamb and making him his favourite cake...
I'm starting to feel a little bit better, but my rib cage is so sore from so much coughing. I'm on cough medicine with codeine and anti-biotics and it's still beat the crap out of me.
My husband is away all day today doing demonstrations at our 'Pioneer Village' on woodturning so I get to create all day in my shop/studio. In between, I'll nap!
I went out for the first time in over four days yesterday and it wore me out. I had to go vote at the advance polls as both my husband and I are working at the elections on October 14th. It was SO hard to decide who to vote for but it sure wasn't going to be for Harper, our current Prime Minister...personally, I think they all lose sight of why they are there and rarely do what they say they are going to do.

Sleep, sleep and more sleep....and STILL tired..

How can a person sleep the largest part of three days and still feel so beat up and tired....the coughing is so bad, I'm not getting consistent sleep so I suppose that's it. I'm usually such a solid, sound sleeper. My rib cage is actually sore from coughing so much.
I have two really busy weeks coming up, so I hope this is over SOON!
At 2 am this morning I couldn't sleep, so went down to my shop/studio and made two more glass blocks.
My Etsy shop is getting 'busy' with so much going on. I think when I'm feeling better, I'm actually going to open up another shop just for my photography.
I'm busy reading other people's blogs and I'm going to pick a few to follow. Why...you ask. Many of the blogs I've read have great creative and marketing content and others have really touched me with what's going on in their personal lives.
Reading blogs can certainly make you appreciate the life you have, even though there are days you might think your own life could and should be better.
I'm taking on a pretty big responsibility by trying to help my nephew and his little girl. He really has so much growing up to do for his age and he really needs tangible help and emotional help. I can't even begin to give him all of that, but I can do my best to find the people who can.
Ok, tired again...off to sleep I go!

Yes, it's the flu..........

Went to the medical centre yesterday and confirmed I have a full blown flu...I feel SO lousy at the moment! I've spent most of the last day and a half sleeping. At least I have medication now and hopefully this thing won't take too long to run it's course. I'm one of the world's worst patients....I hate being sick! Too much to do, but at the moment just too weak to care.
I'll talk to my nephew tonight who's going through really tough times and see how he's progressing with his plans to move to this area and to get legal custody of his little daughter. He's made some really poor decisions in the past and is trying to get himself straightened around. Family members I've talked to about his situation are willing to help but we need to figure out the best ways to help him. He needs to grow up and do most of this himself in order to start feeling better.
When I'm feeling better, I'll start calling the social agencies in our area to see what might be available to him. I'll also start gathering information for him like map of the city, bus routes and times, food banks, etc. etc. I feel a real need to help him. He lost his mother (my sister) when he was just a little over three years old. My sister was killed instantly in a head on collision. He has a lot of issues that relate back to this very sad time in his life.
Well, I'm heading back to lay down, AGAIN!
I'm really going to try and get some glass blocks made tonight while I watch the American Vice-Presidential debates..Boy, this ought to be interesting to say the least!

Feeling really crappy...!!!!

In the past two days I have developed a full blown cold and tonight, I almost feel I'm in the flu stage...chills, slight fever and just generally uncomfortable. Isn't it awful when you feel like this and have things to do?
We had one of our family breakfasts this morning and there were a LOT of us today...
20 adults and two babies today...Wow, our poor waitress was worked hard today! She is wonderful! The regulars, she remembers every single person's order, every single person's name and actually looks forward to us coming on Tuesdays..
My husband and I had some errands to do today. One of those was to shop for new cell phone service. We've had the same cell phone for four and half years and the service provider just kept increasing the costs. We found a brand new phone today with a service provider whereby the phone was free, and the basic service we wanted was half the cost of what we were paying AND the store added a $50.00 gift certificate in with the offer. We could never get service in the area we live UNTIL today! We thought there was no signals in our area and it apparently turns out it was our phone that was the problem. Needless to say, we got the new service and the new phone. I asked them at the store if they knew any charity that takes old phones and they gave me two in the area, so I'll drop our old phone off there sometime later this week.
My husband and I have to go in to town on Friday to advance vote as we are both working at a polling station for our election on October 14th....the USA isn't the only country in the midst of a lot of political rhetoric...Can you tell I'm cynical?
I spent some of tonight sending out resumes over the internet. One of my cousins dropped in for a while. He had given my husband a very large deer antler last fall and my husband turned a pen for him as a gift. He liked it and wants my husband to make three more pens that he'll pay for to give out as gifts.
Tomorrow, depending how I feel, I have a couple of more resumes to send out responding to a couple of postings on line and then I need to get back to making glass blocks and plates. At this moment, I don't feel like doing squat.

The day got away from me............

Got up this morning and had my usual coffee and cigarette and spent some time by myself just going over in my head the many things on my mind.
Stripped and re-made the bed and got laundry going. I actually started with a scratchy throat and a weird feeling in my sinues and nose.....darn, I think I'm getting a cold. I found out that I have another one of those stupid cysts back in my throat and will need another surgery some time in the future...frustrating and gross.
I finished another glass block and then emailed my nephew who is going through some unpleasant stuff. His wife left and now it's just him and his little two year old daughter. I decided to phone him and talk directly. I feel so badly for him, as he's flat broke and lives way, way, way up north where it's so isolated. He really wants to just get out of there and take his daughter away from a lot of ugliness. He's really distraught and just isn't sure what to do next. We talked and talked and I think by the end of it he had talked through stuff enough to be more certain what he should do next..There is a huge family network down here and all of us will help him on some level but he needs to search his heart and soul and be absolutely sure what he wants for sure.
Myself, I'm still doing a lot of thinking, evaluating and deciding what to do myself...it's going to take me some time.
I talked with my oldest daughter tonight and I always feel a little better once I connect with my girls. She's going to England this coming weekend on business and we have a close friend over there and they will connect...My little man was up in his bed so didn't get to talk with him.....so love that little guy!
I went to see my girlfriend's mother who has been in the hospital for weeks now with a compressed fracture in her back.. She is one spunky lady and I just love her to death! She is and always has been my second Mom and very special to me. My girlfriend and her husband have gone out to British Columbia for two weeks and I know my girlfriend will call her mother every single day. I still like to drop in and keep her company once in a while.
I have one custom glass block to get made this week and I just got an order tonight for a custom plate so things are moving in the right direction....just a turtle's pace. Forward is good!
Still working on this Christmas Tea and Gift Sale my cousins and I are doing the first week of November..

SO BUSY!!!!!!!

I haven't posted anything for a few days for many reasons, but I've been SO busy making new plates for the Thanksgiving and Christmas season... Check out my shop over the next few days as I'll post 2-3 new items per day for a while..I'll feature one on my blog tonight(oops, it's morning now!)
I'm trying to deal with a lot of personal stuff as well and believe the issues currently weighing on my mind will take some time to sort out..we'll see.
I'm also really busy trying to help organize a Christmas Tea and Craft Sale my cousins and I are holding on November 8th.
I have my husband's cousin and her husband coming for dinner on Saturday. Omg, I think I actually better do some housecleaning tomorrow. I HATE a dirty house, but I'd much rather keep doing my arts but can't afford a housecleaner and certainly don't get help cleaning from my husband...
Where's that 'genie in a bottle' when you need him.....hmmm!
We have had such gorgeous weather here the past three days and I've barely made it outside other than two days did my walk.....
GREAT NEWS! I sold another plate yesterday off ETsy....woohoo!!!! I absolutely believe this is what I should be doing and I finally have something I can feel passionate about......

Thinking............

That's what I have a lot to do......think. I've spent a lot of last night and today talking to a couple of people who've known me for some time. It really helps to get people you know and trust to give you another point of view and suggestions. The bottom line, however, is one makes their own choices and one deals with their personal consequences, be they positive or negative. I have thinking to do, fact finding to do and I need time to process.
I've started walking on a regular basis and that helps as well.
For most of the day, I spent working on plates for a custom order and a couple of Christmas ones.
My youngest daughter called this morning with some really sad news. While in high school she had two very special mentors, who happened to be married to each other and have meant so much to her. The couple had retired down to the east coast and were really enjoying retirement. Yesterday, sadly, the husband died suddenly of a massive heart attack. He was not that old and one of the kindest, most caring men. I, too, had the good fortune of getting to know them fairly well. He helped so many kids while in the school system. This is now two very special men in my daughter's life that are gone. It's certainly at times like this I question where is the fairness of this world?

FALL is here!!!!

Well, fall is upon us and I must say this is my favourite time of the year. I only wish the season was longer. The smells in the air, the smells in our homes from baking, the colours of the trees, the really comfortable weather make a lot of us feel invigorated. I love opening the windows and letting in the fall air and for some reason, I feel more energized to do stuff.
For me, the timing couldn't be better as I really need something to help cheer me up. I'm going through a lot emotionally at the moment. I'm struggling with how to do deal with all that's going on. So much I'd like to say, but this isn't the time or the place to say anything. I have so much to think about and so many decisions that I need to make. The whole thing is totally overwhelming at this point.
I am so angry with myself on so many levels and so dumbfounded at where I find myself at this point in my life. I'm certainly not a shining example and have no right to have opinions on other people and their lives. I, at a very late stage in my life, have realized no one really knows what people are going through unless they get to 'walk in their shoes'.
For most of my life, I've tried to stay so positive and be an example for my girls, especially, that things get better. I REALLY need to try practicing what I've preached and get through this.
As a spiritual person, who has a true belief in God, I am looking for some answers from my higher power...I certainly don't have answers and trust He will come through and show me a way to deal with everything.
For the moment, however, I'm working diligently on my plates and photography and I WILL NOT give up. I finally feel some sense of pride and it gives me some peace.

Double birthdays.........

Today is both my husband and my oldest daughter's birthdays...yes, 36 years ago she was my husband's birthday gift. We just talked with her and she had a really nice birthday...lots of special things done for her by her husband and son, her friends and her co-workers...she SO deserves the love and attention!
As for my husband, we had a quiet day and I made a nice dinner and a special date cake that he absolutely loves.
I'm feeling a bit down since I've either delivered or mailed or emailed over 20 resumes and other than one response (negative ) not a single phone call or rejection or anything! Omg, I hope something breaks soon.
I posted on the local posting website to rent out one of our bedrooms. I'm not too hopeful with that either, as we live 20 minutes outside the main city.
I spent a lot of today taking photos of some of my new plates and manipulating them so I can post them on my web store at Etsy. They've had some major technical glitches the past couple of days so I'm hesitant to post them yet.
I have to go to Mississauga tomorrow for the final follow up to my throat surgery and then I'm meeting a friend.
We haven't been friends a long time but feel like I've know her for ages. Both our husbands were having the liver resections for the cancers they had so we had hours and hours to talk and talk...and we did. Sadly, her husband succumbed to the cancer and passed away one year ago this past February. She's had such a rough time trying to take over her husband's company and run it as well as all the emotional stuff she's had to deal with...Gosh, I SO admire her!

Excited, excited.............

I'm finally starting to get some more exposure elsewhere....
In the past four to five weeks I've been featured in approximately eight treasurys on the Etsy site.
I got word that my Etsy store banner has been selected for a special calendar for next year for Etsy shops.
AND.......... today, Google alerts let me know this blogger has featured one of my items on her blog.... omg, I really have to crank it up as far as marketing....BUT for now check this out

www.themarygoround.blogspot.com

Check out Etsy.............

Go to the Etsy store site and check out many of the shops...many have added both Hallowe'en, Fall, Thanksgiving and Christmas items...do a search and you will be amazed at the talent and artistry of some of these etsians...and..oh yeah, check out my shop too!

Took a day off from.........

I've been busy making my plates (I have 5 custom orders to complete)and I'm also busy starting to make Christmas plates, Thanksgiving plates, and Christmas and Thanksgiving glass blocks. In between, I've been mailing out resumes or delivering resumes in the hopes of finding a job as well.
My cousin called last night and said she and three of my other cousins were going up to another cousin's cottage for the day and did I want to come? Y-E-S!!! I should have kept working at stuff but I needed a break.
My emotions are all over the place at the moment and SO much on my mind so said 'go' and feel guilty later!
I so enjoyed my daughter and grandaughter's visit and had a boo-hoo as I left them behind at the airport. We didn't do much while they were here as I felt my daughter needed some down time so we just enjoyed some conversation and that sweet little girl.
The girls made a decision that we would not be exchanging Christmas gifts this year, nor would we be doing our traditional stocking stuffers. The only purchases will be for the two little ones and even then it will be cut back. Both of the children have enough to do about six kids and don't really need any more indulgences....so, I'll be getting them a few little things, period.
I think the girls decided to institute this to help their Mom and Dad who are having a very difficult time at the moment financially. Part of me is relieved and the other part of me feels so badly. However, we will all be together and will have some quality time together and that really is what counts.
My husband and I also had a discussion tonight about birthdays and we've decided to no longer get for our girl's or their husbands. We will still get for the grandchildren but that will be scaled back as well. I think we'd rather give them some small thing to open and then give the parents a little bit of money to put into a bank account for them and their futures.
It will certainly make things different than past Christmases and birthdays but we will continure to love each other and appreciate the family.

Little girl..........charm, character, and just plain cute!

Well, my little grandaughter has been here with my daughter since Thursday and she is just so much fun to watch and interact with..The first few hours she was here, she just wasn't too sure of her Grammie and Papa (it's been six months since she last saw us ) but over the next little while she's warmed up. She's 11 months today and she's at that stage where she is a bit clingy to her 'Mommy'. She has the most adorable smile that just takes you in and you just want to squeeze and kiss her all over. She has to wear glasses, even at this early age, due to severe farsightedness but they look so cute on her and just add to her individual look and character. She eats really well and although teething more at the moment, she handles it pretty well.
My father ( her great- grandfather who's almost 89 years old came today for lunch ) and it was so much fun watching her with my Dad...he absolutely fascinated her. We got some 4 generation pictures which will be so great to have. We took one picture of her little hand on top of my Dad's hand and when developed in black and white should be an amazing picture.
She isn't crawling yet, but by god, she sure is trying and REALLY wants to move..

Can't wait ....!!!!!

Yeah! ... my youngest daughter and my little grandaughter arrive tomorrow. I haven't seen them since early in March and then won't get to see them again until Christmas. I'm so looking forward to some time together with both. My cousins are throwing a belated baby shower on Sunday and that will be great as well.
I got to talk to my grandson last night, although short, he's starting to get better about talking on the phone. He will be four years old in November...gosh I miss them both.
At times I get so sad that neither of my girls are close and I sure do miss being able to spend more time together. I miss the closeness and the 'girl' time we use to have, but then there's no sense getting too upset as it isn't going to change it. I truly love and admire both my girls and I can't begin to tell the world how proud I am of both. That doesn't mean we always agree but I believe we have a great deal of respect for each other.
Now I get to have the fun of watching how they both handle motherhood and to enjoy and yet speculate as to what's ahead for my grandchildren.
Tomorrow would have been my Mom's birthday and I'll go to the cemetary and put some flowers out and just sit quiet and 'talk' to her for a little while....there's was SO much we still could say to each other, but for now, I say ' I love you' Mom! We also never got to spend very much time together once I became an adult...

AdSense.....their help is no help

For someone technically challenged like me it's impossible to get help.....I went to the help forums...no help offered there. I tried to email Google AdSense....tell me they don't respond to emails...go to AdSense Help....the wording is not a help.....
Can we say going crazy....can't figure this out. My daughter who is a technical wizard can't figure it out either ( at least that makes me feel a bit better ).I HAVE NO IDEA WHY THE ADS DON'T ROTATE OUT ANY LONGER??????? SO FRUSTRATING.

Etsy Day.....Things to Do!

I spent most of the night and early this morning listing some new photos on my Etsy shop. I then did some Etsy related purchasing with other Etsy shops. I went back and forth with a designer who created a new, classier business card for me. Then, I purchased from another shop a vinyl decal for the back of my car to advertise my Etsy shop.
I then spent some time outside doing some weeding in our gardens as it was such a gorgeous day....a great Labour Day.
We barbequed and then I went down to my 'cave' and set out materials, etc to start on some fall and Christmas plates.
I have a couple of errands to do tomorrow after our family breakfast ( yes, they start again ) and then will come home and do plates for the rest of the day.
My husband has a Woodturner's meeting so will be gone all evening.

AdSense........I'm so confused....

Does anyone out there have any idea why the AdSense ad on my blog hasn't changed in over a week? Have I done something I shouldn't have??? or what?? I can't seem to locate any way of contacting Google to check this out?? Any of you techno wizards have an answer?? HELP, please!
I'm spending time at the moment doing some research with fellow blog artists to figure out how to enhance this blog so I draw more attention to my Etsy shop but being so technically challenged has it's drawbacks. It takes me so long to figure out what in the world I need to do and how to do it....Don't worry...I WILL get there at some point. Gosh, I envy those that 'get it'.

NEW PHOTOS TO VIEW.....

I've spent some time the past few days editing and posting some new photos. Although I'm not a professional by any means, I've been getting some wonderful positive responses regarding some of my pictures...I think it's becoming an addiction!
In the midst of my passion for both my photography and my plates, I'm trying to update my resume as I have to go back to work...unfortunately. I'm not sure who will hire a 61 year old, but I'm about to find out.
I hate that I'm in this position but it is what it is. It goes to show that sooner or later past poor choices and decisions come back to haunt you. However, must move forward!
Just noticed something on my site. I must be in Google's bad books. I've had the same ad showing on AdSense for two or three days consistently without it changing. What's up with that?

A leisurely day...thank goodness!

We are going to a corn roast tomorrow, so did some baking for my contribution. Spent most of the day editing photo folders and resizing photos I want to list on my Etsy site.
Highlight of the day though was seeing and talking to our little grandaughter via webcam...what a great invention! Living so far away from our daughters, their husbands and our grandchildren it's just so great to stay connected that way. My daughter and my grandaughter will be coming to stay for a few days in two weeks and I can hardly wait to hug and kiss her cute little self. I think she looks so much like her Mom did at that age....amazing.
I have two custom plates to get made in the next week and then will start making fall and Christmas stuff....hard to believe we're thinking of that already! Whew, where does time go?

Photography, photography....that's my day today!

I've spent most of the day either taking photos or downloading, categorizing, manipulating, etc. etc. I am developing such a passion for this. It's funny how you look at things much differently when you're looking for subject matter to photograph..one little flower bud, a tree, a single flower. Although, I like to photograph a variety I tend to be leaning towards nature.
I bought a jump drive today but not installed as my husband says the capacity isn't big enough so I'll return and get a bigger one.
I have a Sony DSC - H7 and I'm on a mission to find somewhere to get personal hands on training on all the features of my camera. I'm a hands on learner. The tutorial is OK, but just a little vague in a lot of areas.
Tomorrow I hope to spend time cleaning up and out all my photo folders and only keeping the quality pictures...big job.

YEAH!!!!! ..........Have my computer back!....GREAT BIRTHDAY GIFT!

It turned out my hard drive was shot, but my tech was able to retrieve everything...Sigh of relief.
I have to purchase a jump drive ( another tech thing to learn.)
When I got up and running today I had over 100 emails and in my junk mail there were over 200 entries and had to review them all just in case.
Today I had a leisurely day as it was my birthday. Got calls from many friends and family and I was able to get on webcam with my grandson. Earlier, while out for dinner he and his Mom called and he sang Happy Birthday to me...so, so cute!

A week of breakdowns..........!!!

Well, I'm currently writing this on my husband's computer...For a week I've had no access to my computer as we thought ( according to my techie ) that my video card died a painful death...today she came and NOT SO....no, no , no ....it's my hard drive...expensive and problematic as I hadn't backed anything up for ages. She is not sure when she replaces it how much she will actually be able to retrieve...YIKES!
I have hundreds and hundreds of photos and family, friend pics that may be lost...not to mention what it will do to my ETsy shop. I feel just sick!
In the past week, my computer, our electric kettle, our alarm clock, one of our phones and our toaster oven all died.
Yesterday, from around 4 pm to midnight we had the closest thing to a hurricane you can imagine for the north. We lost power for over 7 hours, lightning storms like you wouldn't believe, our yard is completely over saturated with rain and there are twigs and leaves and small branches all over the place.
The storm caused my husband's power source on his computer to go and he had to get that replaced this morning.
Our friends from Ohio left yesterday morning so at least they got home safely before all this happened.
My computer techie says it will take at least a week or more to try and retrieve all my stuff, if in fact it can be retrieved....omg, I've learned a valuable lesson! Backup, backup, backup!! I have to get a jump drive today or tomorrow so I can back up. I can't afford an exterior hard drive so next best thing.
I am one of those people that doesn't handle when things don't function as they are suppose to....must work on my patience level with this!
At the moment in my new selections I' featuring some of my husband's work as I can't access my folders to post my own stuff.

Technology.....................yikes!!!!!

Well, I'm accessing my husband's computer as mine as not been working for about three to four days. I have a computer repair person coming on Tuesday and she thinks it's my video card that's shot.........probably parts and labour about $160.00...necessary evils, I say....and yet the way of the future. I'm amazed at what can be done and the world wide spread and exposure..that's the good part. The bad is the technical breakdowns, the scam artists, the perverts and the potential for misuse seems to grow.
Me, the not so technical person, can't believe how much time I actually spend on the computer and specifically the internet! Since mine has been broken, I feel 'out of touch'....Omg! I'm hooked!
These days it seems as fast as I learn the capacity of the internet, I realize I'm just scratching the surface and have SO much more to learn.
My Etsy store is there but I can't do too much more until I'm back on my own computer and have access to my own files, folders, etc.

Today........

Spent the morning just taking it easy and sitting in my 'cave' and designing some new drafts for both fall and Christmas plates and fall and Christmas glass blocks.
They look great in my head...let's see how great they look when I make them!
Our Ohio company comes tomorrow..I swear they're moving in. Got a call today with info on all the stuff they're bringing...omg!..we'll be able to feed the army. For sure, we will definitely eat well. We have an English friend that says most Canadians social life revolves around eating...hmmm, I think she's right!
I got a list of new stores and contacts to sell my plates so will start some follow up in a week or so.... I could truly spend most of my time down in my 'cave' creating and making.I'm going to try napkin rings using the stuff they make casts out of..watch for it!
Oh yeah!..the strangest thing is going on! Yesterday, I noticed one of my plates is missing. I'm still 'missing' two others that over the past two months have disappeared. I've asked my husband and he says he knows nothing...how weird is this?

Etsy busy!

Had a really great lunch with our 'angel' and then have spent most of the rest of the day doing photos and posting some new things on my Etsy site...go see!

Company's coming.........

Started the day at my auto mechanics as I'm smelling burning oil every time I shut the iginition off....well, it turns out that last week when I had the oil changed (somewhere else ) they put in a faulty oil filter. Thank goodness, I thought maybe the seals were going or something even worse...don't need those type of expenses at the moment. Also, in Canada every two years, depending on the year of your car you are required by law to have an emissions test done. If your vehicle doesn't pass then you can't renew your vehicle plates. So, this is an expensive month for my car. They always tie all this required stuff into the month of your birthday. Also, my driver's licence expires this month so have to pay for that as well. Fortunately, that only happens every four years.
Our friends are arriving from Ohio on Sunday so did grocery shopping.
We are having the nurse practitioner ( our angel ) here for lunch tomorrow to say thank you to her. I ordered from another Etsy shop a custom made necklace. The necklace part is three different strands of brown beads and then there is a hand blown glass heart suspended from it in brown tones.Beautiful! This shop is in New Hamshire and she made this especially for me. She has some interesting pieces and if you're curious check out crownpointglass.com.
When our Ohio company leaves on the 18th, I have three orders for plates that need to be done by the end of the month.
I'm going to start making more Christmas stuff as well for my shop and will post there as each piece is completed. Watch! You may find something you like! Omg, I hope so!
I also went around to various retailers today and picked up employment applications. I'll fill them out and drop them back the first week of September. The college kids go back and that's usually the best time to find something. I'm not just going to look at retail though. There are some other options I need to look into.
I so hate that I have to go back to work, but we will not survive if I don't. Oh well, the up side of that is some time away. Even after four years, I'm still not used to having my husband home 24/7. I spent 36 years of our marriage with him away Monday to Friday for his job. I had two separate lives and loved that. This whole retirement thing has been a challenge for me to adapt to but I think I'm getting better at it...I hope!

Patience........hmmmm, do I have enough?

This Etsy thing is both exciting and painful and a lot of work, but my heart is telling me to hang in as there is change coming. I need the patience to not give up or get too discouraged. This is a process, not only from a sales point but for the creative side as well.
So many times in the past, I've given up due to other priorities and I refuse to do that this time. I finally have the chance to explore and test my talent. Talking to other artists on both Etsy and locally, it's a journey that tests your convictions but is so worth the process!
I had my two aunts from British Columbia here for lunch yesterday before they head back home. I got two custom orders from relatives at the reunion for plates and my other aunt bought a plate yesterday. It's so uplifting when people buy your art! So I need to keep on keepin' on!

Omg!...................So, so tired..

I thought one night of good sleep and I would be back to my normal energy level...No sir! I had almost nine hours sleep and at this point, I'm pretty sure I'll fight to stay awake until 9:30 to 10:00 pm and then justify going to bed again!
At almost 61 years old, I definitely don't bounce back the same way I used to and it takes me a while to find my 'groove' again.
My husband and I spent most of the day beginning to weed our sad, sad gardens. WE probably have at least four or five more days of solid weeding to get it cleaned up and out.
Thank goodness, I had brought home some leftovers from the reunion and so I didn't have to cook tonight.
We have friends arriving from Ohio on Sunday for eight days so I'm sure glad I have a few more days to get ready. At the pace I'm moving at the moment, I'll need all those days.

Exhausted.......but worth it!

Well, the family reunion is over and it's been a very busy, fun filled, emotional three days.
Those of us on the organizing committees are both relieved and proud at how well everything went.
It went so well that many family members thought we should do this every year....NOT!
We will let the next generation work on the next one.