Surgery done!..

Yeah, had my throat surgery yesterday and it went fairly well. I can talk ( probably some out there wishing I couldn't ) but my throat is very, very sore. They removed all of the cyst ( about the size of a quarter ) and the doctor assures me it won't come back. It will take a couple of days for my throat to start feeling normal again....an excuse to be a kid again and eat popsicles, etc.
I was actually encouraged to eat anything I'd normally eat. My whole body is very achy today. I thought I might go to the hospital to see my husband, but don't think I'm up to it. It probably isn't a good idea to risk picking up an infection. Sad commentary when you're afraid to walk into a hospital for risk of an infection. At the moment, I'm more worried about my husband. He's been in since Tuesday early am. and he's not doing well. I called the hospital this morning and insisted a doctor call me to try and get some resolution to this. I'm thinking surgery to unblock his bowel is essential now. If it's left much longer, there's risk he will go toxic and that would definitely not be good. I may not be able to get to the hospital but I can be his advocate via phone at least....
I'm not much of a worrier, but in this case I'm now officially getting worried...
He's fought so many health battles and won but this one may be his new fight to win.

Yikes........

Going a bit crazy at the moment ( hmm...maybe I'm already there ) My husband is in the hospital and waiting to hear if his problem clears up or he'll need surgery, Friday I go into hospital for my surgery, and as if that isn't enough I'm trying to deal with my father and the many health issues he's having at the moment....omg, I need a drink! Hey, that's a great idea...tonight for sure. I can't eat or drink anything after midnight tomorrow night so what the heck! Based on what I've been told I won't be eating or feel like eating for a few days after my surgery...throat surgery is never fun, apparently. Oh well, it will all be just memories before too long..I thought at the age of 60 life was suppose to be easier....NOT!
I did manage to finish a couple plates that I hope I can post tonight.....we'll see. Some good news is that I've had inquiries about two or three custom order for plates pertaining to people's pets...yeah, I love doing those custom works!
Well, gotta run. I bought some ice cream cones and some maple walnut ice cream to indulge myself a little....yum!

Waiting game...

Well, I've worked at bit on my Etsy store today, made some phone calls, and then helped my husband a little bit to start tiling the walls around the bathtub. He started to feel uncomfortable after dinner tonight and now we wait to see if I have to take him to the hospital. He has a history of bowel obstructions that started after he won a fight with colon and liver cancer. It's been a little over a year since he last had an attack and we thought he'd overcome the problem. It appears that isn't so. He's very uncomfortable at the moment and it could be a long night. I'll watch him pretty closely the next half hour or so, but it's certainly got a ring of familiarity.

Ho-hum day........

Did laundry and then decided it was just too nice out to be inside.
We've spent four years designing, planting and adding many new garden areas to our property so it's a perpetual thing to maintain, but I really enjoy it. I get alone time and I find it very calming to care for the plants. In turn, it allows me quiet personal time to be introspective.
It's so exciting to watch all of our plants, grasses, bushes and trees come into full bloom and take pride in all our hard work. I'm constantly wanting to add new plants and flowers and move others around. Our neighbours tell us they love the view and love to see what we'll do next.
Oops, drove buy a nursery and yes, purchased another few plants for my rock garden.
My husband spent the day vegging out in front of the big screen TV to watch the Indy and then the Nascar races. Like I said, a pretty ho-hum day.......

A Beautiful Day....but, I cooked and baked all day

It's an absolutely beautiful day here today, but I needed to be busy indoors.
Since my Dad isn't very well and can't/won't cook for himself, I decided to make up a few meals and do some baking for him. I know if all he had to do is microwave something, he will eat.
My aunt who was also quite ill is now at home and thought I'd cook a meal for them as well.
So, I made some homemade macaroni and cheese ( my special recipe ), apple crisp, and banana breads.
I then drove it into my father and my aunt. Both were very appreciative and it will help them out a bit. I also took some groceries to my Dad. He's lost over 35 lbs. since January and needs to start adding back some of the weight so his strength is better. He was relieved when I bought him chips and dip and Pepsi and told him he needed to eat a bit of 'junk' food to help put some weight on. I think that made his day. I also took him some homemade Christmas fruitcake which he absolutely loves. ( It's the last of the holiday cake ) Personally, I don't like it but I make it for my husband, my Dad and a few friends. All gone now, until the late fall.
Came home, had a cocktail, walked our gardens and then had our own dinner. I don't plan to do much else today. Oh yeah, we have a bathtub again so plan to have a bubble bath! We are close to getting ready to tile around the tub and then thank god, we'll be able to have showers again.....can't wait!
Needed to take a break from the plates and all that that entails. I'm a bit discouraged that I've had no sales recently, so took a break. I need an attitude adjustment!
I'm going to spend the evening browsing other shops on Etsy.
My youngest daughter called today and we got caught up. She was telling me that my little 8 month old grandaughter is having some eye and sight issues and in all probability will need glasses very soon. She said she was going to get another opinion first. Although it's tough to find out a little baby already needs glasses we both agreed, there were many more things that would be worse...thank God, it's only glasses.

Are Fridays still a big deal....

Once retired you'd think Fridays wouldn't still be a big deal. Well, to us they are...why you ask?
After 'working' all week my husband and I love our Friday evening. Fridays and Saturdays are when we allow ourselves to have a couple of drinks ( alcoholic type ). We've been on a kick lately of having what we choose to call 'Seabreeze'...it's vodka, cranberry juice and orange juice mixed and sometimes we'll add a wedge of fresh lime.....so refreshing!
Unless we have company through the week, the only time we drink alcoholic drinks is the weekend. Although we're retired, we are busier than we ever were working. The difference is we're busy doing things we enjoy for the most part. The other part of that for my husband and I is we need to find ways to bring in extra money. We retired ill prepared and must face our reality. It is what it is! I'm trying to get my art out there for sale and I've also started locally baking pies for sale. It's a case of try, try and try again until it's successful and profitable. My husband has taken up his passion for woodturning. He's doing especially well with the pen area of his business. We still believe networking and word of mouth from exisiting customers will bring more reward than anything else. I guess we'll find out over time, right?
Oh yeah, let's not forget my Etsy Store and blogging!

Short and sweet....

That's my message tonight. I've spent most of the day cleaning my father's apartment as it was really, really bad. It looks so much better. I just wish I could convince him to edit over half the stuff he's got lying around......major pack rat! He could afford to get rid of many things and a few pieces of furniture but that's a slow persuasion process.
One week tomorrow I have my surgery. I have so much I want to get done pertaining to my maggiemags store and on a personal level....yikes!

Wierd day......

Slept in as I didn't get any sleep the night before...boy, I needed that!
I spent today in slow motion and couldn't find my groove. I did manage to start researching possible places to market my plates and listing the contact information. I hope to start making some phone calls and sending out emails to some possible venues next week.
I finished another plate and will post shortly.
I'm having one of those days where your mind knows you're doing the right thing to stay committed to my 'art', but my heart is getting a bit discouraged that it's not happening fast enough. I have no intention on giving up though. My intuition is telling me my efforts will be well worth it.
I made one contact today that could lead to more so that was encouraging. Many people tell me they love my work. I just need to find the ones that not only love my work, but are prepared to invest in it as well.
I'm wondering if some people just aren't plate people and maybe I should look at doing some decoupage work on canvas as well........Hmmmm!

Check it out....!!!

I finally got three new pieces added to my shop on etsy.com...yeah!
I will rotate out new pieces periodically for everyone to view and hopefully there are people out there that find a particular piece they just have to have!
The piece featured on my blog at the moment is in honour of all the actors and actresses that have their own passion for the arts as much as I do for mine. Many succeed and many don't, but you never give up. What's that expression...."It ain't over until the fat lady sings" or something like that....follow your heart no matter what age you are when you get started. Enjoy!

Too tired....!!!!!!!!

It's been a very long, tough two days and we're not done yet.....bathroom pretty much gutted and when we lifted the floor, discovered two more layers of flooring under the first...omg! We got that all pulled up and then had the brutal task of pulling approx. 1000 - 2000 nails and staples out of the sub floor...brutal job.
This afternoon my cousin's husband who is a professional plumber came and helped us remove the old tub, put in the new one and re-do all the plumbing for the tub and fixtures. It would have taken us three or four times the time to do it with no guarantees at the end that it wouldn't leak somewhere.......worth paying to have it done.
I'm so glad this isn't something that needs to be done too often.....
Let me tell you two days without a shower or bath is not fun....and certainly not fun for anyone that had to be around us......I'm sure.
We had a friend stop by about gardening and we donated some splits of some of our own plants to get her started on a new garden..... I love sharing and getting different plants from friends. It not only means more but it sure saves money!!!!
Well, too tired so off to bed!

On my mind.....

Today I spent most of it getting a pre-op for a surgery I need. It's a two hour drive up and two hour drive back so had lots of time to think.
Allow me to share. A week or so ago there was a woman who has an etsy shop that was feeling kind of down herself. So, she decided to give some joy to others and to help her feel better. She actually gave away 8 of her very special shop items. Other shops told her why they would like one of her pieces and she had the difficult task to pick the 8 lucky, well deserving people to receive her art.
I'm rather new to Etsy, but that really has touched me and I REALLY love her work!
I encourage others to visit her shop...absolutely stunning! Her shop is http://www.lfaigen.etsy.com/
I know there are many more like her in the Etsy community and over time I will learn of many more I'm sure. But for now I want to acknowledge this special person.
I especially loved the swan necklace. Take a look! I've also featured one of her pieces in My Favourite Shops.

Home Reno.....

Today I went to the family breakfast for my Mom's side of the family....many there today ( 20) We spent some time talking about the family reunion planned for August of this year. It's a really big job trying to organize a reunion. We started planning last summer and still have a lot to do...evcnts to plan, menus to plan, locations to book, etc. etc.
Afterwards, time was spent at Home Depot and Rona buying the required stuff to gut and renovate our main bathroom. Aside from the mess and the tremendous amount of energy that goes into renovating a bathroom, I'm REALLY not looking forward to having no shower available for a few days. Spoiled or what?
The reward will be when that new soaker tub is functioning and I can have many "Calgon, take me away" moments!
I've managed to do another two plates and in spite of the reno, I hope to get the photos downloaded and posted to my Etsy store by Monday....watch for them! I've done a music theme plate, a theatre theme plate, a movie theme plate and two floral plates.
Well, must go to bed. Tomorrow I have a two hour drive to go through a pre-op for a throat surgery coming up in two weeks.

Move on.........

It's been a tough day for me...emotionally. I'm trying to help my father any way I can as he is ill. Although I think he does appreciate the things I do for him there is absolutely no connection between us and never has been. Although, I appreciate it's a situation I can't control and I need to keep moving forward, it is still hurtful.

I HATE BUGS!

Today, I went to our weekly family breakfast. It's kind of a cool thing my extended family does. Each Tuesday morning, any of the aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. on my Dad's side of the family who can make it show up at a local restaurant ( always the same ). We have breakfast together and catch up on the lives of each of us. Lately, my generation is dealing with ailing parents and although we all knew this time would come, it really adds another new dimension to each and every day.
For most of the afternoon the weather was so terrific I did more work in the gardens.... but let me tell you, I was lunch and dinner for many a nasty blackfly who managed to take a few chunks out of me..... I'm so thankful for Benadryl gel as it helps kill some of the pain.
Blackfies, mosquitoes, bees, hornets.......they're back!!! Give me the creeps!
Spent the evening watching American Idol and Dancing with the Stars........I wonder who will win?
I have three plates finished but still need to photograph them and get them listed on my etsy site....

A Mundane Day with ONE BIG Exception

This was one of those days that are tedious to say the least.....why you say?
Well, laundry...need I say more! Then to add to the 'excitement' of my day, I cleaned out and reorganized two freezers, cleaned two bathrooms, sat down and we paid some bills ( boy, that's always painful as there never seems to be enough money ) and then I had cooked many saved chicken carcasses and made soup stock and picked off all the meat and then added more to those freezers. At some point, I will make some soup... not today! We barbequed hamburgers and then my oldest daughter called and gave me a bright spot to the day......a really bright spot. She said my grandson had asked to talk to his 'Grammie and Papa'. Thank goodness for technology as we have web cam and get to both see and talk with him. He's almost 3 1/2 years old and each time I see him, I melt. I get snippits of info from him at this point but he loves me and I sure love him. I sure hate that we live so far apart.
I spent the rest of the evening just vegging out in front of the TV......thankyou 'buddy' for a bright spot in my day!!!!! You rock my world!
Did you notice no mention of ebay...........oh, well maybe tomorrow.

Mother's Day

Nothing special......slept in a bit, did some gardening. Had a cocktail and then made gourmet pizza and raspberry shortcake for dinner.
I really hope I get time tomorrow to spend some real time posting my plates on ebay...we'll see!

Wow, I really am getting old!

Busy day....went to see my aunt in the hospital and it was her birthday today. The rest of today, I spent doing gardening and worked on our rock garden. It's about 40 -60 ft. long and I built it on a fairly steep slope so trying to weed and plant it is tough when you're my age. Well, at least that's my excuse for being so sore and tired tonight.

I did manage to go to my 'cave' and completely finish two plates and almost finish another.

Tomorrow is Mother's Day so I salute and wish the best to ALL mothers. For me, it's bittersweet, as I so love my daughters but they live so far away. We don't get to celebrate together which is really too bad. They are now mothers themselves and must know to some degree how special your children are no matter what the age.

I will work a bit in the gardens tomorrow, but for me I plan to relax at least some of the day.

Fun Day.....

The morning was spent working on a new plate and then going to town to do some personal business for my father.
My neighbour and I then left to have a fun afternoon. We went to a small town near us and had a really terrific lunch at the neatest little Tea Room. So-o-o-o good! We ate and talked and ate and talked for over two hours and then went driving in the countryside around the area.. I wish I'd brought my camera as there were some wonderful photo opportunities. ....Next time and we agreed there would be a next time for sure.
When I got back home my husband had arrived back from his day.We had a couple of drinks and sat outside and talked about our days.
Tonight I'm going to get back to my plates.
All in all such a fun day! Life is pretty darn good all things considered.
I'm going to review my Etsy sight and see what's happening there.
Tomorrow I hope to start working on a store for eBay....feeling a little more confident about tackling that next.

Priorities...

Well, today I knew I wouldn't get much chance to work on plates. Had some family things to take care of and for the next while it may stay that way.
Most of the afternoon was spent talking to various people on the phone both personal and web related....... It's funny that trying to find places to put my art is much like the networking that once was part of my job. You learn to deal with the rejection. If it's 'no', move on. Many times it's a numbers game until you get a 'yes'... you know, the 80/20 rule. The message... never give up.
My heart is telling me to stay with it and there will definitely be reward.
My neighbour called and said we should get together and celebrate our own Mother's Day and invited me to lunch tomorrow. She loves coming over from time to time to see the new plates I've made and had purchased two for gifts in the last little while...

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood...

Recently, I've been researching other opportunities to sell my art and today a local B & B has agreed to take 5 pieces on consignment so drove out to the B & B which is about 50 minutes away....what a beautiful setting on the south west side of Rice Lake. My husband came with me and she had asked for some landscaping advice as far as plant locations, types of plants to grow, etc. etc. Landscaping has become another new passion in my life since we retired. We then took a short drive, had lunch and came home.
I need lots more exposure so will continue to call local B & B's, gift shops, etc. If anyone out there in cyber world has suggestions, I'm all ears...!!
It has been raining heavily in our area since lunchtime and isn't letting up.
This afternoon I finished a plate with music theme and started a 'drama' type plate. Fun!

Great News!!!!

My day has ended on a very, very upbeat note.
My nephew who is presently in Afghanistan sent out an email telling us he's OK.......sigh of relief!
How can it not be a great day when you get that kind of news...

Yeah!....Finally some sun!

It's such a beautiful day today! Although a little cool the sun is out in full force. I always feel so energized when the weather is good.

As far as my plates, well I've had a couple of disasters this morning. Somehow, when I see an idea in my head it's wonderful and then when I actually try to implement on the plate it just doesn't translate the same. So, I did two plates and then scratched them.

There were a few family obligations today, but tonight I plan to go to my 'cave' and try again. I get so lost in my own little world when I'm 'creating'.

When I get a couple of new ones finished Ill put them on my blog.

Now all I need is some actual sales......I know they will come. I'd just like it to be sooner than later!

Arts and Music

Well, yesterday helped me decide where most of the focus for the next few plates I do will be.........theatre, music, etc.
I've found some images that will work well, I think. I'm searching out old sheet music to use to decoupage on my plates. I think I can do some pretty cool stuff!
Once I get a couple finished I'll post photos for feedback. Come back and see!
A very rainy, dreary day here today, so spent most of the day writing down ideas and looking for appropriate materials.
I also spent a lot of the day checking out other Etsy.com stores and t here are some amazing shops on Etsy.com !! In the near future, I will set up a section to list some of my personal favourite shops and/or blogs.

Strange day.......

I'm having some trouble finding a rhythm today....I need inspiration and I KNOW I need energy today!
All kinds of ideas are running around in my head for plate designs. I just can't seem to focus today on actually getting started. I'm sure other artists have days like this. However, my nature is to keep moving forward and not to procrastinate. NOT TODAY! I'm allowing myself a day to do nothing. I struggle sometimes between the normal day to day routine stuff that needs to get done and where I'd really rather be...which is in my 'cave' doing what I really love to do.
I need to be quiet and introspective today.

Made a decision.......

I've decided at year end to donate 5 - 10 % of my sales to the Canadian Armed Forces Widows and Children's Fund. Why you ask?

Well, I have a nephew currently in Afghanistan for his second tour of duty and think about him every day. I hope and pray he gets back here safe and sound both physically and mentally.

I personally am so blessed and feel this is a good way to honour him. It's not much, but our military and their families sacrifice so much and this is a small way to say thank you.

I also believe in giving back no matter how big or how little in both time and money.