Look at this precious family.  This grown woman is my first baby love.  She is Maya, my fabulous niece.  She married this wonderful man, Eder, two months before my dad passed away in 2003.  I'll take some credit.  When Dad found out he had cancer and told me what was going on and that he wasn't going to do any conventional treatment, friends who are doctors and nurses told me he probably had a year at the most.  Maya and Eder had been together for several years and, although they were very young (20 & 21) for marriage these days, they were seriously discussing getting married.  I told Maya that if they were sure they'd be getting married, not to push them, but that they needed to do it sooner than later if they wanted "Gramps" to walk her down the isle.  As I said, they did it just two months before his passing.  In fact, my dad found out the cancer had spread to his brain when he fell while in Carmel for their wedding several days prior to the ceremony. His health change drastically that day; he had been pretty much without physical change up until that point except for loosing weight.  After that day, the doctors in Monterey pumped him full of radiation so that, with help, he could walk to the beautiful setting to be at the wedding.  He didn't get to walk Maya down the isle as we had all planned forever; my oldest son, Lucas, stepped into those huge shoes and took  his like-sister-cousin to gazebo where she and Eder were married.  Fast forward to today.  Maya and Eder moved from their hometowns on the Monterey Peninsula to Corvallis, Oregon soon after being married and now have an amazingly full-of-life, six year old son, Ben and a sweet, three month old baby girl, Amelia.  She made some tiny comments about starting a blog and I jumped on her band wagon, waxing poetic about how I and so many of my friends sooooo wished we'd been able to have blogs when our kids were born and little.  That was a couple of weeks ago and I didn't think she would do it; she said she couldn't write.  Write, who's writing?  It's talking.  She talks.  She's funny, too.  And now she has a blog and, though she's only made two posts (puleeese, she just went back to work! on top of everything else), dang, she's really good.  Her great, funny personality comes right through.  I highly recommend it (she'll probably be better than I've been in the last year even with all she has on her plate): http://myblissfulmadness.blogspot.com/.  Enjoy.  She's made me a happy Kissy once again as she always has the last 30+ years.  Phew, how old am I?  Oh yeah, soon to be a speed limit-a highway speed limit (no, not the Texas ones yet!).

I'm Still Here

Wow, it's been so long, over two months, since I've posted that the settings styles and options have changed.  Of course, they've made it "better" which means I have to figure out how to do the new stuff.  So glad I didn't know this when I started.  

Where have I been?  Might as well tell the truth.  I have depression, which people who know me know.  I've had a really hard time lately.  My meds failed a while back and my doctor and I have been tinkering with them and it's been pretty rough trying to find the right cocktail.  Today is finally the first day I've felt at all like myself in a long while.  Yep, there have been many, too many, bad things that have occurred in the last year and I was doing remarkably well, too well I knew, so it was no surprise when this happened.  It's very hard to feel so out of control and out of body.  

But there are good things happening too.  I figured out that, after 12 years of doing the art/shop thing, it's time for a change.  The art has saved what little sanity I have left but, obviously, it's not doing it for me any longer.  Not that I'm giving it up completely; I'm keeping my little shop and still doing art but I'm going back to college full time next week!  After 34 years.  This is good.  I need to get out of the house and out of my head.  Being 54 and having a teenager and being around only males at home and doing laundry and cooking and cleaning all of the time has been a real challenge and, of course, I need more.  What I'd love is to have a woman/girl living in our basement who would help me with the housework and be some company.  This house is way too big for us-me-the one who has the most to do here.  But we can't move within our area; we could sell our house and then buy a tiny one bedroom condo.  The market has gone up that much since we built our home 16 years ago.  16 years.  That's a long time to live somewhere you don't really like.  I've got great friends here, though, and they help me keep going.

Now I have a goal.  See the framed document on the right above?  That's one of my daddy's two diplomas he got from Texas A&M.  I want one of my own.  I want an Aggie ring.  I want to be an official Aggie after being an honorary one for my whole life.  I'm working towards my AA in sociology at the local community college.  With my previous two years of college I have about a semester's worth of credits that will transfer; that leaves me with 3 semesters.  I've already been accepted into A&M if I make a 3.0 or better.   Three classes on campus and a fourth online.  It's great to have a goal, it really is.  I haven't known my future for too long and now I can see at least a little into it.  Yay!  

So, I might no be on here for a while but I'm not giving up on this journal and journey I started on here.  I'm not going to be on facebook as much either which is good; I won't know as many bad stories as I have.  I want to help and pray for people in need but I also need to see the good in the world again.  It's not spread through mainstream enough.  

So, I'm here.  And I'll be back and, hopefully, back even better.  Until then, love to all and thanks for checking in.

This Is IT.

So, I'm taking a chance here at being sued by Michael Jackson's estate (This Is It) and by (don't ask me, I'm Swedish, I don't speak Swedish) 

HVÍTUR LAKKRÍS a Swedish blog.

I found her photos on Pinterest and followed them to her blog.  I'm assuming she's a she.  I changed the language to English but I'll have to go back and read.  For now I'm stealing photos.  And I have to ask for permission to post these ahead of time (oops).  I'm doing a real quick post here so I have this as a virtual file since THIS IS IT.  This is my complete fantasy home decor.  My bucket list home.

I will save so much money buying the land and house in Texas that I can afford to have her come from Sweden and go to Round Top with me and make my dream home this.

I really hope this dream gets fulfilled before the all off-white thing goes too far out of style or not as then the stuff will be less expensive.  I'll work with what I get.  I have some really good heirlooms that just need a lot of glass to go around them.

I really do have that Swedish thing going on even if it's only 1/4.  I have a pretty impressive clock collection and even one similar to the one above, standing, from...wait for it...Wal-Mart!  Yep, Janine had gotten one first (plain wood, then we painted them) then I found two, sold one, made one for a Swedish themed show house room and kept it.  The pics are on Pinterest.

Tell me the above and below pictures are not the same just one with lots of color.  The one below is a Carl Larsson painting.  I get the same feel except, as I said, the color.  

Are you kidding me?  Checked floors...

...checked floors, cool lamp, lockers...mmm.

I could just pull up a chair and live out my days with this view.  Probably pretty good from the opposite view.

Numbers on the windows-come on.

Clocks and great box.

Clock and great stuff.

Clooooocks.

Checks again.  Black. And. White.

I have now moved in in my mind.  Set up permanent household.

Last but certainly not least, check out this FENCE WITH WINDOWS BUILT IN.  

Oh, and the clothes I'll be wearing adjusted for the heat and sans the $400 tag for the first little top.  I bet I can find some folks who like to sew in Texas...

Okay, free time, I don't need any more magazines and I've found the best of Pinterest.  So the laundry will have to be done, dinner, call my mom, my sis, live life as best until I find my new local.  As per use, stay tuned and read Miz Juney until I get back.

Get 'em while they're hot!

It's been a while since I've really sat down and created something new.  I have some "wish" necklaces I make from time to time when my memory kicks in telling me that they actually sell at the shop, but I haven't made much with new ideas lately (I've been working on overdue projects on our house).  I kinda messed with my "inspiration".  I saw something on Pinterest a couple of weeks ago that was an old skate and wood shoe mold.  When I see things that I really want to be inspired by, on there, I save it in my own little place rather than repin it.  I know, cheesy (or sleazy?). 

So, I had some of the shoe molds and got me some skates and, by the time I had them together, I couldn't find where I'd put the inspiration.  So, while these aren't truly my own invention, the basics were inspired, but the actual embellishing ideas are mine.  Anyway, I like 'em but I'm pretty sure they're a little wacky for our customers out there in far Western Howard County.  We artists know why we do it, it's for us, at least for me, it's for my sanity (the bit left).

And this is just a little fixer-upper.  A dresser piece I painted and embellished.  It's hanging on a birdcage stand in my little space at The Pink Cabbage.  It takes up a lot of the room.  It's new, I gotta git it in there.  There's a journal that's waiting

to be made...just have to remember...

The Funky Flea

This last Saturday was The Pink Cabbage's second biggest event of the year (our holiday open house is #1).  This was the 4th year; it just keeps getting bigger and better every year.  Not only is it fun and socially and financially successful but we also raise a nice chunk of change for The American Cancer Society.  Our shops host the event by offering people to set up as vendors in the back yard and the parking lot and large piece of land next door.  All the vendor fees to rent their space goes to ACS, we donate some from each of our shops, and we have a donation jar at the front desk.  We usually give a check for $1500-2000 every year.  I hadn't had a space during the event in a few years; not since Matt wanted to unload all of his toys and we sat right in the direct sun on a hot day but he made some money.  This year's goal was to recover at least half of our packed two-car garage.  Done!  Three pickup truck loads of stuff priced like garage sale prices (lots of dealers picked from me) went like hotcakes!  I was pretty good on my end, only bringing home yet another handsome man for my household, David, above.  He told me he needed to come home with me.  Wadayagonnado?  Couldn't be rude.

Here's our ad that went into the papers and sent out to our priceless email customer list.  Jody always does a fantastic and tireless job of promoting anything to do with our shop and this is no exception.

Just one of the many other vendors selling their wares.  I didn't take photos so I'm using the few that Jody took.

Me, advertising my Hot Girl Pearls that cool a girl off after being in the freezer for a while-they really work!  It was a little cool that day.  Someone asked me why I was wearing them on a day that was so cool...duh...cute, right?  ADVERTISING.  The day was extra fun for me because our buddy Ron came and we had lunch in lounge chairs in the sun and listened to music and chatted with folks.  He's such good company even on his worst days but this was, I think, his first public event where he didn't know people and was meeting a lot of new people without Glynnis, and he was great company.  Six months.  He's no where out of the woods but I think he's seeing between the trees finally.  

Our Jackie with her shiny new high school grad, John, who helps us with the parking each year.

Our Kim, artist and person extraordinaire.

Karen and Janet, our fab twins.

Great, mellow band, Greasy Hands-really good.

Umm...I'll know her name well soon.  She and her husband are moving into the store next to us that's been empty for a while.  WE CAN'T WAIT.  Their food was great and we miss having somewhere to have handy.  I think the customers are going to love shopping then lunching for a full, fun amusement-park-for-women experience.  A good time was had by all, woohoo!