Yippie Yahooooooie!!!!!

I went for my pre-op appointment with my ob/gyn yesterday and, after further examination and discussion, she decided that I don't need to have the hysterectomy surgery I was scheduled for next week. Yee haw!!!! I had to go off my Estrogen (The Pill, supposed to be curing my symptoms for all these years) for at least 30 days prior to surgery or else...I don't remember but it was scary. I was almost as worried about going off the pill as I was the surgery. In the past when I've missed a day I've become homicidal, so I just figured it was going to be a hellish 30 days. But I went off and NO SYMPTOMS plus I felt better, more energy and more level hormones, than in longer than I can remember. So now when I act bitchy the excuse is...wait for it...I'm a bitch. No more covering my butt with other excuses. This wasn't just luck, the cosmos have other more pressing business for me to help with for now.

Recent...ummm...work

I've gone a little nutty with the nest recently but JoAnn's is out of the ornaments so until my next original inspiration (forget that...truly original ideas only come every 10 years or so, the rest are "inspired" by others) comes the ones left are the only ones there'll be. I have a couple on Etsy along with some of the other things I'm showing here. This nest was kind of hard to photo getting all elements in but in the nest is the Sweetest Occupied Japan little pixie sitting in a cute little wooden trellis.

Another Etsy listing..."Clara Wins First Place", Clara being a retired roller derby queen who had won first place in her long, illustrious career.

Nest in the shop. I was lucky enough to snap up a set of these large antique paper umbrellas from Tammy at The...dur...Pink Cabbage before anyone else caught sight of them.

The pixie clown necklace is on Etsy for fun, fun jewelry.

This butterfly habitat is in the shop along with...

..this new assembledge made of an antique dress form as the base and "dressed up" (pun intended) with antique and new elements. I do love birds and nature-inspired things, can you tell?

Sweet Little Nest Swap

Swap partner, Megan, look away unless you want to ruin your surprise, I mailed it out today. Anyway, here is the nest that I made for Megan for the swap. The day after I signed up for the swap I was in JoAnn's and they had big, round, silk rose ornaments. I instantly loved the look and had the idea to cut them in half, scrape out the middle, and stuff it with nesting tid bits, and Voila!

Tammy of Sweet Finds at the Pink Cabbage had the hearty blue eggs and big, antique, paper umbrellas. I had the vintage paper shreds, flowers, birds. I searched for the perfect real tree limb to mount it on. You should see the back of my car and my limb collection. I've since made several for the shop, will be making some for Etsy, and have even made some with the limb as the tree in gilded pots and the nests in the trees, really fun. Anyway, like I told Megan, I hope she enjoys having the nest as much as I did making it...

Walking on Ice or Air?

After my sister visited here she sent me this picture and a long letter letting me know that she thought my life here was like this. Too fast paced, too rat raced, too walking on egg shells. It wasn't the best cross-section of time to do a full study. All my family was here for the first time, I was turning 50 and having a big party, wanted everyone to see everything they wanted to and have a good time, I had just spent the month before getting ready to go to Silver Bella, and the day the fam left I had to pack my car for SB in Omaha, the day after that my mom and I left for a week long road trip to Nebraska. Not my usual "day in the life of..." Although the photo is an uncanny likeness.I have to say that I have never really gotten used to the pace here; I mean we are squeezed between one of the most violent cities in the U.S. and the most powerful city in the world. Criminals and power-mungers aren't exactly the grillin' and chillin' types. I love the quote from the car insurance commercial where he says, "Let's treat others more like they are people and less like they are in our way.", Amen. Now we just need to convince 3 million other folks to get on board with it.

So my guru, Oprah, said infatically to rush out and get this book-that it will change your life. Well, you know if I go to Ledo's Pizza in College Park the day after Gail King says it's good, I'm gonna to get the book. I was in the middle of a great book my sis gave me for my birthday but I thought I'd better get to this first. Then Oprah is doing the world's biggest book club online for this book. Okay, I loved Middlesex, I hated/didn't get The Road, and I have The Pillars of the Earth next to the bed, too. But this book is really great. So deep that I really need a nap before reading; it takes some concentration, at least for me. So far I'm leaning toward Buddiahism but I haven't read very far yet. It's already a little freaky like in Getting the Love You Want where you find out that your conscience is run by your subconscience which you have no control over; I'm still pondering that one. I'll keep you posted but my recommendation it to rush out and get it...Oprah said so...

Thinking of you on this love day...

Happy V-Day to The Queen of Valentine's. It's because your heart is so big that you love this day so much; it was made for you!

Groove Came, Groove Went

But don't cry for me, Argentina. Remember those cool big windows from Oella that I hung the stroller and the monkeys on? Well I took them in last Saturday and they sold within a couple of days. Plus a couple of big new things I had brought in sold too...yippie! With my groove still groovin' I put together this table on Saturday and Sunday. Jody had the antique sewing trettle she didn't want and Nene had several old windows she was selling. While working on Saturday I was inspired to somehow bring them together. I took the window home Saturday night, cut a piece of wood and covered it with some colorful toile I had, added a book under the glass, and attached the board to the window. Then, on Sunday, I sprayed the heck out of the trettle with off-white paint then, Voila!, a table, desk if you will, was born. I've gotten some pretty nice compliments on it but it's still there, okay, I know, it's only been a week. Got the Capademonte lamp a couple of days later and then found the perfect new lamp shade, installed new wiring, and it and the desk are in love.

I always try to stick with "something in, something out" since our house was filled to the gills a few years ago. I was proud that after bringing home the new table yesterday, in the post below, that not only could I take in the cute little blue table the bar had been previously living on but I had just finished up this project I'd been working on. It's a beautiful curvy, flowery, iron table that normally would be missing the glass top. But not for me! I asked my father in law to cut a round piece of wood to fit then I fauxed it up into antique-looking clock and urethened the whole thing. So I did one in and two out...it really only works if you sell the pieces...

I went nest crazy last week. I'm in the Speckled-Egg nest swap and I was instantly inspired by something I found somewhere (yep, I'm protective of my sources) so I already made the one for my swap partner and this is just one of three I took to the shop to sell. Sold one within a couple of days, yippie! I made another into a topiary but the photo made it look like I'd stuck a wad of trash onto a stick and poked it into a gilded pot. It looks great in person though.

And here's my little blue table which, fortunately, allows the antique child's rocker to perch upon because, claustraphobia or not, the place is packed again. Come haul some of these goodies home with you!

Ode to My Old Friend, Coke

Ode to My Old Friend, Coke

Oh dear Coke, my old friend,

You've been with me through thick and thin.

All these years of migraines and fatique,

but I found something that kicks your ass indeed.

I don't remember when or why I first picked up the can

but I was already hooked just by giving the ingredients a scan.

The color of piss may put some off

though too many cans had been ingested before I saw what was inside.

By then I didn't care, I shouted to the world, I didn't hide.

And knowing that the tiny Bull costs the same as your 3 litres,

I'd still prefer to run a 1 minute 2 meters.

I'll be back to you one day,

in fact I already do if it's almost time to hit the hay.

So don't completely give up on me too,

You know I'll still order you at the McDdonald's drive through.

And my new friend, Mr. Two Tier Table from (durrrrr) Tammy, Sweet Finds, at The Pink Cabbage. I've had the old dresser box for years but have never had the exact right place to put it but now I do. This is in my dining room (no, that's not my bedside table with the bar on it) with the suitcase bar on top...the idea I shamelessly stole from Nene. Hope you have some great new and old friends of your own!

In the news...

This was in the Baltimore Examiner today. It's nice to have the recognition but we aren't doing this for attention; the teachers and staff are so appreciative that it's such a good feeling.

Gotta a little of my groove back...

So a couple of weeks ago I was saying that it freaked me out when I found a woman with her head between her knees having gotten dizzy from claustraphobia in my room. I then decided to thin out and rearrange so that it was more open. Well I done got over that. All the other women in the shop were doing cool, and some funky, displays and I felt like I was off my game. So I decided to try to get my groove back and here's part of the result. I actually added a desk, two lamps and several big nests since these photos were taken.I decided to start with the great big windows I'd gotten out of Oella Mill and put them in at a funky angle. Then I hung the baby doll pram from the top of one window and let the monkeys have a better view and get more attention.

I thought this was a great wood bird cage. It was my first hook in the ceiling, I feel like such a wiener saying that; it's not exactly like the hanging tables that Nene used to do at Oella.

Wow, can you believe I painted a gen-u-wine antique black comb case pink? See, I've become a wiener. But this does look quite fetching with Hope/Paper Relics Valentine cards in it, right? Back in the day it would have been a coffee table or a lamp.

And just a new piece. I found this antique figurine guy in some trash I was throwing out of a box to use for shipping; it was from the DC Big Flea and I guess I overlooked it when unpacking my treasures from my last trip there...in September! I got him together with a horse I had and they are having a grand time together.

Mo funk. I put a baby doll crib on top of the tall shelves. It's not like anything could be reached to buy or really even be seen so some one might buy but I still liked it. (Update 3/8/08...a lady bought the crib for a friend whose home is all shabby chic, it's a bed for her dog...perfect!)

Another new little collage ditty. What you can't see is the antique egg illustration with real green quail eggs. That's it for now but I'll share my new lamps and nests with you the next trip out to the shop if they are still there...

Have a Happy Period

Having been a huge fan of periods for the last...ummm...37 years, you can just imagine how I'm feeling about having major surgery in 2 1/2 weeks to remove all my female organs other than the ones that can still please my hubby, I assume. The last few years I have invested more than my share in the feminine mattress industry, so we can buy that island in the Carribean we've been eyeing with the left over money (you know that's a joke, of course it will be the cottage in Stromsburg, NE). Nene sent this letter to me this morning and I just had to pass it on as it rung a bell and I thought it was too funny. I told her it was written in my style, nothing but sweet diplomacy! When I read it I "hear it" in Paris Geller's voice. Enjoy!

This is (supposedly) an actual letter sent to American company Proctor and Gamble regarding their feminine products. She really gets rolling after the first paragraph...

Dear Mr. Thatcher,

I have been a loyal user of your "Always" maxi pads for over 20 years and I appreciate many of their features. Why, without the Leak Guard Core or Dri-Weave absorbency, I'd probably never go horseback riding or salsa dancing, and I'd certainly steer clear of running up and down the beach in tight, white shorts. But my favorite feature has to be your evolutionary flexi-Wings. Kudos on being the only company smart enough to realize how crucial it is that maxi pads be aerodynamic. I can't tell you how safe and secure I feel each month knowing there's a little F-16 in my pants. Have you ever had a menstrual period, Mr. Thatcher? Ever suffered from "the curse"? I'm guessing you haven't. Well, my "time of the month" is starting right now. As I type, I can already feel hormonal forces violently surging through my body. Just a few minutes from now, my body will adjust and I'll be transformed into what my husband likes to call "an inbred hillbilly with knife skills." Isn't the human body amazing? As Brand Manager in the Feminine-Hygiene Division, you've no doubt seen quite a bit of research on what exactly happens during your customers' monthly visits from "Aunt Flo". Therefore, you must know about the bloating, puffiness, and cramping we endure, and about our intense mood swings, crying jags, and out-of-control behavior. You surely realize it's a tough time for most women. In fact, only last week, my friend Jennifer fought the violent urge to shove her boyfriend's &=&+*+*****s into a George Foreman Grill just because he told her he thought Grey's Anatomy was written by drunken chimps. Crazy! The point is, sir, you of all people must realize that America is just crawling with homicidal maniacs in Capri pants... Which brings me to the reason for my letter. Last month, while in the throes of cramping so painful I wanted to reach inside my body and yank out my uterus, I opened an Always maxi-pad, and there, printed on the adhesive backing, were these words: "Have a Happy Period." Are you ***** kidding me? What I mean is, does any part of your tiny middle-manager brain really think happiness, actual smiling, laughing happiness is possible during a menstrual period? Did anything mentioned above sound the least bit pleasurable? Well, did it, James? FYI, unless you're some kind of sick freak girl, there will never be anything "happy" about a day in which you have to jack yourself up on Motrin and Kahlua and lock yourself in your house just so you don't march down to the local Walgreen's armed with a hunting rifle and a sketchy plan to end your life in a blaze of glory For the love of God, pull your head out, man! If you just have to slap a moronic message on a maxi pad, wouldn't it make more sense to say something that's actually pertinent, like "Put down the Hammer" or "Vehicular Manslaughter is Wrong", or are you just picking on us? Sir, please inform your Accounting Department that, effective immediately, there will be an $8 drop in monthly profits, for I have chosen to take my maxi-pad business elsewhere. And though I will certainly miss your Flex-Wings, I will not for one minute miss your brand of condescending bull sh*t. And that's a promise I will keep. Always.

Best, Wendi Aarons Austin, TX