July 4th and other stuff

little patriotic cutie

I had a great 4th. Oldest DD brought the grandbaby (she’s just about 2 ½ now) up and we all went to the hometown parade, fairgrounds and that night the fireworks display. So glad it was a mild day, unlike last year—hot! We actually live in the country but 10 mins. either way are small towns that have festivities going on. The grand D played on those air blown jumping things until she was covered in sweat! She had a great time. When it was time, we went just outside the fairgrounds to watch the parade, we usually are farther up on the route and there are usually a ton of people, but not where we were. It came really close to us at the edge of the lawn. Grand D wasn’t too sure about being so close to noisy fire trucks and extremely large horses, but she did really well. Afterwards we found a place on the grass, spread our quilt and waited for the fireworks. When they started granddaughter was scared. She covered her eyes and kept saying she wanted to go home. Mommy and I tried to reassure her and get her to look, and finally I said we should cover her ears. Mom did and grand D slowly peeked thru her fingers to watch, but she kept her hand up to her face pretty much the whole time. Towards the end she started falling asleep! She actually fell asleep for awhile all the time the loud Booms! were going off! Who can figure out kids? Lol.











I finally broke down and bought some glass glitter. I’m not one to use much glitter, but I’ve been making some things that just seem to say “glitter me”. I bought a pound of clear to be able to sell a little in my etsy shop.

I also found a couple more clear glass containers to store arty supplies on my shelf. I got the pretty little lead crystal dish for $2 and the large canning jar for a buck more. The canning jar has some French words around the top which I think is so cool! I needed a large jar to keep the little bits of trim I have so I can see what’s there. I’m always forgetting I have some stashed here and there.


This little metal pan I found all rusty and I had the green spray paint so I now have a little tray to store all the little things that seem to accumulate on my desk. Now they won’t be knocked to the floor and lost in the corners. See I’m trying to stay organized.

Ok, Enough of the Kids, Already!

To continue the “maternal” theme of late, I just finished this piece, called appropriately "maternal love". Its one of the largest so far at 8 x 10 inches. My camera broke recently so I'm forced to scan everything, so can't show how nice this looks hanging by the ribbon. Its listed in my etsy store, check it out.


I guess I’m pretty lucky; I’ve got some great kids. They are healthy, well adjusted, compassionate, and generally well-behaved (maybe that’s because of the daily cattle-prod, whether they need it or not!) Just kidding of course. For the most part I don’t have to do much in the way of discipline (to my two youngest still at home). My middle child, just turned 16 and she’s awesome in school and I don’t even have to nag her about it, go figure? Just have to rein in her mouth sometimes when it goes a little too far. I’m sure no one knows how that is with a teen, right?

My oldest daughter lives with her boyfriend and my 18 mo. old granddaughter. We had some tough times during her 16-18 years, but thankfully no drug/alcohol problems. I think our main problem is that we’re just too much alike (both like the last word) and we bumped heads a lot over her schooling and some boyfriends. But you can’t believe how gratifying it was to hear this the other day, and I quote “Mom, I can’t believe how well you raised me and how lucky I was to live with such a normal family”. We had been talking about how some kids just don’t have a chance, because parents let them run wild, no rules, do drugs in front of their kids, etc. So this mom felt pretty good after that conversation. (picture strutting chicken with chest puffed out ;-) I couldn’t be more proud of this beautiful, mature, baby of mine (at almost 23 yrs old!)

And then there’s my son…my last baby and my baby boy. It’s so true what people say about the bond between a mother and her son and its probably doubly so, when he’s the only boy and baby in the family. He just turned 13. We have a great relationship, we talk a lot and he knows he can come to me with anything (the girls know this too). Then there’s the other side of this pre-teen boy coin that shows its ugly head. He just seems to do those typical “boy things” that cause him to get into trouble, with a typical response of “I don’t know” when standing in front of me. I’m even smiling as I type because I’ve told this kid, over and over, “don’t even think that I won’t find out!” I think I’ve got him believing that I do have some kind of sixth sense (got to keep him on his toes ya know). It’s never been anything bad…who drank the ?, when I said not to, how did such and such get broken, etc., you get the idea. I probably get more of those sharp pains above the eye, that you have to put your index and middle fingers on and press hard, than I should, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. I love my kids.

Ok, I promise no more about my kids, maybe.

Thinking About How They've Grown

Yesterday was my youngest daughter’s 16th birthday, and that got me thinking about my kids and how fast time has gone by (the old cliché). We had a quiet little pizza party for her and wish with all my heart we could have thrown a party she’d never forget but we just don’t have the money. We did what we could and she was surprised with her gifts. I did surprise her with a “Sweet 16” banner that I made and she said she really liked it. (My camera broke recently so can’t take a pic, but will try to scan a couple to post soon.) So anyway, my little girl is growing up. I remember her first day of school, just a few days after we moved into this house (which wasn’t completely done, and still isn’t after 11 years!) I hadn’t realized she should be starting school that year, with us building our house and trying to get it done after 9 months while living in my in-laws home with 3 kids! (and yes, I was ready for the nut house after those 9 months, believe me). She has always been almost painfully shy, and I was so worried about how she would do with riding the bus alone and being in a new setting. She was so tiny and only 4 yrs old (she wouldn’t turn 5 for another few weeks). So I frantically searched for daycare (she was used to daycare been there since she was about 6 mos. old) that could watch her before/after school and also meet her at the bus. I did all of this while working 2 hrs away still (yes, that’s a 4 hour commute daily). But we made it and I remember following the bus on that first day, having promised her I’d meet her at school. I remember choking up and her just walking into class like not a thing was wrong, waving to me through the door. There have been plenty of times when there were tears or nervous stomach aches, but she always knew she would just have to choke her way through it and get it done.

Flash forward to a bright, loving, beautiful 16 yr old who has that same attitude and there are still times when she has to stand in front of a class and choke back nervous tears, but I’m so proud of her that she knows she has to do it and gets it done. She is just starting her driving training online (boy how times have changed since I took my driver training), so no permit yet to drive, which means no big worries (for me) right now. She doesn’t seem to be in any hurry either. My son secretly told me that she said she’s “sort of afraid” and it’s “too much responsibility”. I’m not pushing her, But I’ve mentioned that it’s her right of passage of sorts, her ticket to freedom, and just something that need to get done.

A Birthday Wish

In approximately 20 minutes it will be midnight and a new day, and that day is my baby girl’s birthday. She was born 16 years ago on a Friday the 13th. What a very, very lucky day for us. She is a beautiful, kind, generous, talented young woman, and I couldn’t ask for a better child. She does well in school and knows what she wants from life and I hope she gets all of it and more. I’m so proud to be her mom. Happy Big 16 Baby! We love you.

My Humble Arty Beginnings...(cont.)

My senior year I moved out on my own, so I was too busy trying to stay alive to do much art. Then after high school I was too busy working and I don’t remember doing anything arty. Then at 24 I became a mom. I remember sewing all her crib bedding, purple and yellow did sew all her bedding and made some her clothes (which was practical as a single mom). I just entrusted my oldest daughter with some of those keepsakes and her old quilt, that I had stored away in boxes.

At one point baby and I, moved back in w/ my dad and brother after my mom passed away and started woodworking, which I had always been interested in. My dad had an awesome Shopsmith and he also did some woodworking. We both had our items in a consignment shop in the Napa wine country for a time. I kept up with the woodworking through my marriage and 2nd and 3rd kids. After I moved to No. Calif. I put some items in a consignment shop here, but didn’t do too well. So the wood crafting went by the wayside…but I still have some of them stored in boxes.

Then I got too busy raising kids to do anything crafty. A few years back, I wanted to make some Christmas items my country look home, so I made a few soft ornaments, like snowmen and santas. I also have several unfinished holiday cross-stitch things stored somewhere. Since then my décor has changed dozens of times and I no longer use those ornaments, but I still have them stored in boxes. (I'm seeing a trend here...).

Next came trying my hand at quilting and sewing. I inherited a box of awesome vintage fabric and quilt pieces from my grandmother when she passed away. So I was jazzed to learn how to quilt so I could use these fabrics and pieces. I had learned how to sew in high school in a home economics class, which was a great thing for young people back then. I wish they still offered something like this for kids nowadays. None of my kids knows how to sew and they don’t want to learn. So anyway, I've always sewn when the need arose, i.e. new curtains for the new house, pillows for the couch, some baby/kids clothes, “letting out” clothes that seem to have shrunk while hanging in the back of a dark closet. You get the picture.

I started buying fabric and fabric and more fabric. I now have several storage boxes full of fabric. I started several quilts, but found out I just couldn't get seams to line up very well, and everything turn out crooked. (I did manage to finish a pretty quilt for my granddaughter before she was born.) I’m still promising my daughter I’ll finish her quilt (that I have stored in a box).

Then I thought I could make some of those cute boutique baby clothes I saw for big bucks on ebay, (after I got used to the idea that my daughter was having a baby). I made several outfits and didn't get a very warm reception from baby's mom! I was pretty bummed. She would rather her new baby have those cute store bought clothes. So there went that, and the clothes went up on ebay.

A couple of the items I made for my granddaughter that ended up on ebay.

About that time I found myself going into a deep depression (deeper than my usual deep), and I talked to my dad a lot during this time. One day while we were talking, he said to me “I don’t know why you never kept up with your art and painting”. We talked some more and about it and I went home and soon it was like they say “a light went on” and I knew I had to start creating art. I don’t remember that I was specifically looking for anything on ebay, but I found some art called ATC’s. I did some more research on the Internet and knew this was what I had to do.

Seems like I’ve come full circle and found art again after all these years.

My first atc, now that I look back at it, it sure reflects my state of mind at the time.