Notes from A Cottage Industry

And then...it was November.

We ride at dawn.

At least I do, 'coz I've got an early flight to the Biggest Little City for my Junker's Jubilee vacation.

And I barely slept a wink last night. Mostly because I was more excited than I am for Christmas, but also, because, very last minute, the day before yesterday I realized I really desperately needed wanted a new pair of fun sandals, so I ordered a pair (okay, I went down a decent sized rabbit hole and ordered three different pairs) that were all listed to arrive "the next day by 10:00 PM.

Eeeeeeeee!

This is what I love about Amazon. It has saved the lives of millions, if not billions of procrastinators not unlike myself.

Well.

Amazon, for the first time in my entire spending history of shopping with them, (which is...lets just say, a lot.) sent me an email late yesterday basically saying, "Just kidding, all your sandals will arrive tomorrow, after you leave for your flight."

Feeling mad (mostly at myself for procrastinating, but also kinda ticked at Amazon for failing me.) and irritated, I knew now that I would have to wear my old, in rather-questionable-condition black flops I got at Target last spring. 

Except, when I looked in my little shoe bins that I keep my flippy flops in, there was a lonely looking shoe missing its mate.

That prompted me to spontaneously reorganize my entire closet floor. (Where does one flip flop go in such a small house?) While it was nice to get the dust bunnies out from under the shoe racks in the closet,(Oh! And I reconnected with some fabulous mustard yellow wedges that I had somehow forgotten I had.) I did not have time to be on a shoe search...yet...there I was.

After over ninety minutes of searching, I gave up, and contemplated where I would be hiding if I were a size eight flip flop that was worn just a week ago when we had a teeny tiny sneak peek at what spring weather might look like, before the rain returned.

Ugh.

It's not the end of the world, I know, but a random missing shoe is the kind of thing that keeps me up...all night. It just bugs me. I even dreamt about it. (Do you do that?)

I can't help but feel that thirty minutes after Ralph leaves me at the airport this morning, he will text me with a picture of my missing flip flop, found in some obvious location, and it will be sitting next to a stack of Amazon boxes containing my all too fabulous new black sandals, that he will have spotted on our porch as he drove in the driveway from dropping me off.

Oh well, it's all okay. I'm going on my much anticipated dream junking vacation, and I can't wait! 

Rain, snow, or sunshine, it's the official first day of Spring, 2024.

When you looked out your window this morning, what did you see? It's absolutely fantastically sunny and warm here! Perfect weather, if you will, as today is the official first day of spring....however....according to our local television weather expert, Dave Salesky, today is the last sunny day here in the Portland/Vancouver area for the next couple of weeks.(or more...ugh.)

The cloud's silver lining here (see that weather pun that I did there?) is that the chance for actual rain is pretty low most of those days. (under fifty percent! Yay!) 

Now, most of the time the rain and the cloudy days don't usually get to me, (the darker days make me enjoy being inside my cozy home that much more) but this year has just been a bit too much even for my liking.I mean, just look at the forecast here....

Rain, rain, even on Easter...rain. (I know. It's not that bad at all, as many of you are up to your eyeballs in snow at this very moment.) I'm slightly obsessed with the weather right now, because Easter will be here shortly (on March 31st) and that always gets me wondering about the weather because I associate Easter with sunshine, outdoor egg hunts and flowers of all sorts.

Whenever Easter is earlier than later, like mid April, the weather is much more uncertain. Anyway, I am rambling here, when all I meant to post today was that it is now Spring, and that causes my heart to lift, as we are looking towards sunshine and longer daylight hours, and enjoying being outside much more....so, happy Spring to everyone reading this!

July: the month that tells us we are officially closer to next Christmas than to last.

Ah, July. The month that launches us into the second half of the year. (I don't wanna stress anybody out, but there are only one hundred and seventy seven days left until Christmas, in case you were wondering.) On the bright side, July is also the month in which we get to enjoy a little two day thing called "Amazon Prime Day", so that helps, if you happen to be one of those uber-organized-early-Christmas-shopper types. (of which I am not.)

I like the month of July for several reasons, one of which being that it's National Ice Cream Month, as well as National Ice Cream Day, which falls each year on July 16th. (What's not to love about that?!)

If you have been a blog reader of mine for a while, you know I like to make homemade ice cream. I'm adding some new disposable ice cream containers to my etsy shop this week, along with a whole new section in my shop for vintage finds. (Including the cutie-patootie jelly-jars-turned-ice-cream-cups and scoopers in the photo for this post.)

Anyway.

Probably my most favorite thing about July is the long, warm, cloudless days, with the sun staying up until around nine o'clock, and all of the colorful flowers blooming everywhere. It's nothing short of heaven to be able to go outside in the early mornings to enjoy my cup of cocoa, and just take in the peaceful quiet beauty around me. I love my little house so, and while Ralph is not nearly as smitten with charming tablescapes and over-the-top-fancy cocoa with whipped cream, marshmallows and a drizzle of chocolate syrup, (the man is just as happy on the sofa with some Swiss Miss and a piece of toast) he does indulge me, and I know that he enjoys it too.

Welcome to the second half of twenty twenty three!

A quote for the first Tuesday in January.

This quote perfectly sums up the little let down I feel after I feel the euphoria and wild energy of looking at my clean Christmas-is-put-away first day of January. After those high-on-life moments of euphoria, the dark gray days of winter coupled with the fact that we do not have another big holiday weekend until Memorial Day at the end of May smacks me in the face and I want nothing more desperately than to stay home and nest, making comfort food for suppers and staying under the covers till waaaay after 8:00 on Saturdays.

This explains why today's post in coming at you in the afternoon, and I am still in my robe. Happy Tuesday, my friends. Stay warm, stay safe, and be nice to everybody you meet!

What has 2022 got in store for you?

I took a pretty deep breath as I started to write this post. If I have learned anything from 2020 and 2021, it is that none of us should take anything for granted. I said in a post last week, I'm all about setting new year's resolutions and feeling the potential that the new year offers. This year is no exception, and I pray 2022 is kind to all of us. 

I've got some ideas brewing in my head business-wise, and in my personal life as well, and I am excited to be back to blogging, and sharing those ideas! I'll be taking down the last of my Christmas decorations today (which is a few days late for me!) and that always gets me in a cleaning-and-organizing frenzy. (Well, maybe frenzy is a bit of an exaggeration. More like an inspired state of mind I guess.)

At any rate, I'll be sharing my adventures in organizing as I work my way through the house here in January, among other things. What plans, if any, have you got in your head for 2022?

Happy New Year, my friends. Stay safe, and don't forget to smile.

Who else is ready for spring?

I know we are not supposed to wish our lives away, to live in the present, but...dang, between the Covid virus and the record setting cold and storms (and tornados...) I am over winter already.

Talk about your cabin fever.

I've got a crazy busy day planned here, with a quick trip down to Camas Antiques (our snow is melting....yay!) to pull the last of the Valentine items from my booth and get it ready for my spring and Easter items that I will be loading in tomorrow. From all I have been creating and gathering, it looks like aqua and coral are gonna be taking the lead color wise. (Which is no surprise, as that are my favorite color combo and what I am pulling out of the trunk in the living room today.

I store all of my offseason linens in there (everything must be useful in a small house!) and today I will be putting away the red and black plaids from Christmas and Valentine's Day, and I'm beyond ready for my yummy robins egg blues and corals to totally change the feel of my front room! I'm feeling happy just thinking about it.

I hope everyone is staying safe, and warm, and I hope you're doing something today that makes you smile.

Hello, 2021.

I hope today finds you healthy, and happy.

I always take down my Christmas decorations the day after Christmas, but this weird year has me in a mode of what's-the-rush-life-is-shorter-than-you-know and therefore, my Christmas tree is still decking the halls of our little home.

How about you? Was your holiday decorating and take-down the same as always, or was this year different for you too? Did you put up the usual amount of sparkly holiday touches, or scale it back a bit, embracing the less-is-more feeling?

Well, that tree isn't gonna take itself down, so I guess I am going to tackle that today, after I enjoy my New Year's cuppa cocoa (with whipped cream and marshmallows, thankyouverymuch.) Happy New Year, everyone!

#hello2021 #kiss2020goodbye #happynewyear #newyearnewgoals #notesfromacottageindustryblog

And on the fifth day of December, the holiday baking commenced.

(Insert a ginormously long, happy sigh here.)

Oh, I how love to bake.

Especially when it's an all out multiple baking jobs kind of time of the year. I tend to make the same treats year after year, even though I save new recipes all the time. (Do you do that too?)

I always, always bake my snowball cookies (Russian Tea Cakes I first knew them as) my old faithful Betty Crocker Cookbook sugar cookies with buttercream frosting, itty bitty white cupcakes, and dipped pretzels. It's my tradition I guess you would say. 

Oh, and I love a white on white on white theme, so I then add Trader Joe's chocolate dipped star cookies for that nice splash of color depth. (Okay, now I sound a little nutty.)

Anyway.

I am pretty much in my full glory when I have a baking day like this. No out-and-about-commitments on my calendar (Helllllllll-lo, it's the pandemic, after all.) and it's Saturday. (I don't worry about housework on weekends.) It's going on 2:00 in the afternoon, and I am still in my pajammies and robe, baking, and hummimg off key, and totally enjoying every single second of it all. It's a Traceyville day here, for sure.

What about you? Do you do holiday baking this time of year? How are you spending your first Saturday in December?

Knee deep in Christmas and glitter.

Time management has always been my biggest life challenge, and it has gotten way out of control while living through this pandemic. (I know I have shared this time management struggle before. I'm a work in progress.) Since the start of the year I have ever so slowly, as the slowdown to  shutdown has happened, gotten into a mind-set in my head where I think I always still have tomorrow to do that thing on my list that I didn't get done. (because, I am at home, after all.)

I'm sharing this (again) because I have a blog post 99% written that is full of my gift wrap tips, and I am anxious to share, but I am still editing photos and I keep remembering more info to share. Anyway, it was on my to-do list yesterday (because I wanted to share it today) but paper crafting took far longer than I had expected. Time flies when I am having fun with glitter, glue and cardstock!

Who else struggles with time management?  My latest tool is to use my Alexa, and set a timer. Then, I try to get a certain project or chore done in the allotted time. My other not-really-working-for-me-tool is a written to-do list. (I usually manage to misplace the list.) What are your tools to try and stay on a time frame? Help a girl out!

Hello December, twenty twenty.

I had fully intended to have this post ready to go first thing this morning, and here I am, a little after 8:00 PM Pacific Time, just getting it written. 

I can't seem to get my act all the way together.

(I'm blaming 2020.)

I am challenging myself to do a blog post each day in the month of December, not because I feel I must do it, but because I miss not doing it. I'm trying to stop being so hard on myself (as two separate friends in the past week have told me that I am.) and make more time for doing the things that really make me happy.

(Like writing!)

So...

Our little home is holly jollied up, and feeling all sorts of cozy and safe, and I'm sitting here on the evening of December first, reminding myself that I am doing my best, and that is enough.

I plan to post tomorrow, and I hope you'll pop by for a little read!

Happy Thanksgiving, 2020, my friends.

I just made a huge sigh out loud as I began this post.

Weirdest holiday on record, and no changes in sight if the jammed airports are any indication.

Trying to make the most of it when you know your Mom is sitting home alone a fifteen minute car ride away, spending this Thanksgiving watching movies, feels wrong in every way I try to approach it in my head. Meanwhile, I'm painting a piece of furniture in my dining slash living room, and writing this post while waiting for it to dry in between coats.

Another big, long sigh.

I'm spending Thanksgiving this way because I love my 87 year old Mom. 

Because I don't know if I could be carrying Covid after going inside Walmart yesterday for some items. (Ordering online was not available for curbside pickup until Sunday.)

Because Ralph works in a medical office, and yes, he certainly takes precautions, but could be carrying it with no symptoms, and it could get to me, and through me, to my Mom.

Because not enough of us are making the harder choice to stay more than six feet apart.

Because I am a person of faith, but also a believer in science, and numbers are spiking. (I'm telling you this, and of course, you already know it.)

Today, I am extra thankful that everyone in my family are all healthy. I know I am doing the right thing by cancelling Thanksgiving with my Mom, and my daughter and son in law, and grands because if this is what we all need to do to keep each other safe, then I am onboard. 

I hope you stay safe, and your loved ones are healthy on this most unusual Thanksgiving day!

And just like that, October arrived.

Well, another page has been turned on my calendar, and I am praying (hard) that October is kinder to us than the previous months of 2020 have been. I do not believe that I can get through this new month if I think too long or hard about all of the trials and tribulations of our world currently, (I'm wondering how many of you are feeling the same way...?) so I have decided I will spend my time and energy on the people and things that bring me contentment and a little slice of happy to my heart.** 

(**I have very good reason to trust this month will be awesome, as today, a new grand babe is arriving!!! More details coming as our day unfolds!)

...

 

So.

October.

Aaaaah, October!

The month where autumn weather really arrives, with shorter crisp, cool, blustery days and chilly evenings. (Sweater weather!) I like to totally change things up around my home as the seasons change, and so, with fall comes a complete change up, both inside and out. (Do you do that too?)

I take the summery flower basket off my front door, and replace it with my umbrella full of faux sunflowers. (Because, Pacific Northwest.) I add oodles and toodles of pumpkins (both artificial and real) that are strategically tucked in nooks and crannies throughout both the front as well as the back patio areas, and inside the house. 

I switch my yummy smelling summertime wax melts (Orange Buttercream Cupcake from Better Homes and Gardens at Walmart) in my wax burners to a fall scent ( A Thankful Harvest scent from Better homes and Gardens at Walmart.) and I switch my sheets from my cool summer cotton to my favorite oh-so-cozy micro flannel.

I put away my summertime seasonal items, like the couple of birds nests I have, and the artificial hydrangeas in my copper boiler pot in front of the fireplace are replaced with wood for fires on cold autumn mornings. I'll be sharing some of my change-ups this week, to hopefully inspire you to work with what you have, and make your home your happy place, so I hope you'll check back! 

#acottageindustry #happyplace #October #acottageindustryblog

And, in the longest year of our lifetime, it is finally August.

Oh, August, please be kinder to us than the previous months of 2020. We are counting on you.

If you're lookin' for a sign that it's time to party on the back porch, this is most definitely it.

AmIright?

During the stay-at-home order I found myself doing some serious nesting, both indoors and out. My cottage was built in 1952 (I think) and at some point in time, the person that lived behind this house put up a decent sized storage shed.

Right on the property line.

Mmmm hmmm. The back of my neighbor's shed, faces our covered back patio. In fact, the back of the shed is the first thing you see upon coming out to the covered patio from the garage. (To get to the backyard, you go through the kitchen, then the laundry room, then the garage, and out the door to the backyard.)

It wasn't hideous, but it was....big.

One day I got the idea to go buy a piece of thin plywood and design a giant four foot by eight foot sign. I would paint it and have Ralph help me hang it on the neighbor's shed backside with screws, I thought. 

Then I worried about drilling on my neighbor's shed.

(Hmmm, maybe not the best idea.)

Then it hit me that I could simply paint my design directly on the shed back.

Yes!

So, I designed my sign, and then made a graph layout so I could gauge size of letters.

(I got pretty excited at this point.)

I used regular blue painter's tape to make my rectangle, using a level to make sure I kept things straight...

...and then I primed and painted the white four by eight foot backdrop. I used the blue tape to create a green line around the outer edges...

I used my little design template to figure out how big my letters should be, and then printed the largest words (Back Porch) in my cheesy print program....

....and I tried doing a chalk transfer, but it was a rather epic fail. I then cut out the letters, traced around them, and painted them in.

Success!

For the smaller letters, I used my Silhouette cutter. Now, I had not used this machine in about...oh, maybe eight years, so I was a little nervous, but it turned out that it was like riding a bike. It all came back to me.

I transferred my letters to form words in the fonts and estimated sizes I wanted, and used them as stencils....

I then made a rectangle out of my blue tape to create the green painted background for the bottom of the sign....

....and it started really coming together.

 

I'm crazy about it. What do you think?

 

The cost to do this project was my time (I guesstimate it took me about four or five hours) and less than five dollars in new supplies that I didn't already have around the house. (I had the tape, white paint, and the paper and such needed for my patterns all around the house, so the only item I had to buy was a sample size of exterior green paint for $3.89 at Home Depot.)

Have you ever tackled a project like this? Just got brave and said "it's only paint!"? I'd love to know your thoughts!

Hello, May.

Happy May Day, my friends!

I have been trying to publish a post to my blog most of the week, but my blog host, Typepad, hasn't been cooperating. (It wouldn't let me publish any photos....ugh.) I had the tech support folks helping figure out the problem, and finally, this morning, it seems like it is back to working.

Yay! (I have to admit, I am holding my breath, hoping the fix is permanent, and the problem doesn't reoccur...)

I baked up a batch of my favorite sugar cookie recipe, some in circles and some in flower shapes and came up with a cute little berry basket of flowers a couple of weeks ago, and it was just too perfect to not share here on May Day. (You can find my original recipe post for my sugar cookies and buttercream frosting recipe here, and the little tags I made will be in my etsy shop soon.)

It reminds me of a May Day basket- do you remember those? Knocking on someone's door and hiding to watch them open it after leaving a basket of flowers hanging on their doorknob, or sitting on their welcome mat? Such a fun surprise! Hmmm, I might need to make some more flower cookies today for my neighbors.......

I hope you're off to a good start on this first day of May! (Hoping my photo challenges are gone for good- cross your fingers!)

 

Best. News. Ever!

At the very beginning of this pandemic stay-at-home situation, we got some big news, and now that I am quite sure that the entire family and all of the friends know, I am excited to share it with you.

My son and daughter in law have a sweet baby on the way! They are due in early October, and needless to say, we are all about out of our minds with excitement and joy!

Not too long after the happy announcement, we were all invited to a virtual gender reveal party, (Who knew that would ever be a thing?!) and were excited to find out that they are expecting a boy! He's going to be loved and hugged and squeezed and treasured, and I am sure there will be a constant long line of family waiting for their turn to hold him!

We are all feeling truly blessed these days.

Writer's block.

That's why you haven't heard from me since Sunday.

Or maybe it's the fact that I'm pretty much spending every waking moment (that I am not baking or eating) in my home office working on my etsy shop.

Every morning I come in and sit down to do a post, and the only thing that seems to be new is more baked treats, paper banners, and paper crafts (Mother's Day is coming, whether we are quarantined, or not) and I think if you see one more look-at-my-newest-banner-tag-label-baked-good-whatever you will vow to never read another thing I post. 

Anyway, that's what I've been doing. I'm wondering what you all are doing to keep from losing your marbles. Are you cleaning things out? If so, what are you doing with your ever mounting donations pile? (Asking for a friend) Are you binge watching a gajillion shows? (I have to say here that television has lost its luster for me.) Are you taking yourself on daily walks around your neighborhood? 

I'm also wondering what you'd like to read about here, during this crazy adventure, (Am I causing you to roll your eyeballs with each new paper craft post?) ad I would love it if you'd share with me what all would interest you!! (I will tell you that I am contemplating two new home projects around here that I plan to share next week, assuming they come into fruition.)

Stay home, my friends, and stay safe!

A little outdoor spring cleaning...

Is today Saturday? The struggle is real when anyone asks me what day it is these days. (We forgot to put our garbage cans out this week, because we didn't know it was Tuesday.) This being said, I think when we keep busy, it is a bit easier, and so we have been trying to have some sort of scheduled activities each day. (Who knew waiting for the grocery store to send a text that our order is ready for pickup would be a highlight of a girl's day?)

Anyway.

The weather here has been spectacular, so we decided we should do some outside work. We power washed the covered patio behind the garage and then power washed the white picket fence and the sidewalks and porches out front. Talk about instant gratification! 

We enjoyed our first patio bonfire of the year last night! Small victories and baby steps here in quarantine. We're gonna get through this!

Because, at the end of the day, we always have hope.

And faith.

And wine.

(Okay, maybe we don't all always have wine.) 

(Maybe that's just just me.)

Have you seen this movement making its way across America, to front windows of homes and stores in your town? Your city? Your neighborhood? People have begun putting hearts in their windows, along with teddy bears, and words of hope, and anything they find comforting to share with others to remind us all that there is still hope. That we are not alone. We have each other to lean on, and to commiserate with, and to be there for.

Maybe you think it's silly; cheesy even. You know what? I'm all about cheesy. Heck, if was ever there was a time to throw caution and properness to the wind and be a total dork, it's now. We might not be here come Christmas. I don't mean to be morbid, but if that's God's plan for me, I am good with that. However, while I am here, I want to make the most of each day, and let those around me, the ones I know and love, along with the guy walking his dog past my house, know that they matter. That we are in this together, and we still have hope.

Ralph and I took a walk around our neighborhood, and we saw the sweetest sign on a mailbox post around the block from us....

I told Ralph I had seen the heart in the window movement on the news, and we both liked the idea. He said I needed to whip up something for our window. (Well, you know that was all the encouragement I needed...) In about a half of an hour, I had created a quote for a banner type sign in our window and Ralph helped me hang it up.

Yeah, it's cheesy. It's schmaltzy. It's a tad bit unusual thing to put in your window, (but still, it's Bob Marley for gosh sakes. It's still cool. And relevant.) but who cares? It made us both smile, and if it makes someone passing by do the same, and feel less alone, less quarantined, less out-of-control, I'm good with that.

...

After I shared my window pictures with a friend she suggested I put it in my shop as a printable, so I did!

My Mom then needed a smaller version, so you will find both a three foot wide and a six foot wide instant download listing in my etsy shop, here. Join the movement! (and if you do, please, please share a picture of your window with us!!)

Twenty twenty, the year of the virtual Easter.

It's the Monday before Easter; Holy week, and I am feeling the need to be a nagging Mom here, as I spoke with a good friend this morning who shared that her son-in-law, who is a specialized pediatrician in Texas, is hosting house guests this week. (I have no words...)

Are we all clear that we are not going to be hosting a house full of family that does not currently live with us for Easter brunch/dinner/egg hunts/whatever this year?

I certainly hope so.

It's not rocket science. Find the church service of your choice on a local TV station, or streaming online, and enjoy your family in the 2020 way; virtually.

Video calls on facebook, facetime, houseparty, zoom and skype....just to name a few, are incredibly easy, and actually kinda fun. We tried it out yesterday with a portion of our family, and I have to say, it is the next best thing to being there. Yes, it will be different, but we will make it work, and, God willing, we will talk about this Easter for years to come.

Quarantine goals. (And some thoughts I wanted to share.)

I'm here, following the Washington State Stay-Home order, while doing more than my part to not let those sugar cookies get stale.

Among other things, this whole shelter-in-place-because-life-as-we-know-it-has-become-the-twighlight-zone thing makes me absolutely ache for comfort food. Orange cinnamon rolls, homemade chili with cornbread, mac n'cheese....foods that have the incredible ability to make me feel like every little thing is gonna be alright. 

You probably popped over to read this blog post for a bit of sunshiny reprieve from all that is going on, and if I have disappointed you today, I'm sincerely sorry. It's just that, while I do have oodles of cheery, inspiring, and interesting things to share with you from around my house, (I think they're interesting, anyway.) it feels so weird and wrong to not first acknowledge the big coronavirus in the room, so to speak.

I will interject here that there are some hilarious memes to be found online that provide some much needed comic relief through this nightmare, and it goes without saying that none of us will ever disregard the importance and value of a roll of toilet paper ever again. Along with this new enlightenment comes the unfolding reality that life as we knew it last Christmas is gone.

While I am a firm believer in faith over fear, it's becoming more frightening out there, day by day, and part of me keeps thinking this is a really long, bad dream. (I don't want to be in a situation where I have to learn how to make a protective face mask from a bandana and two hair scrunchies...) I'm worried for our doctors and nurses, our police and firefighters, and that guy that was putting produce out at the grocery store yesterday morning at seven A.M. when I arrived for "senior shopping hour".

It's consuming my mind and heart.

I'm not gonna get on my soapbox about how all of us that are not doing undeniably essential work need to keep our potentially virus carrying butts at home. (We all already know this, by the way.)

I feel more than a little...helpless.

In between cooking, and baking, and, God help me, eating, I am praying. Praying my heart out for all of us. That we find a vaccine or a cure, that people don't die from this, all alone. That we all learn to be kinder to one another, and to give each other more grace. 

I promise you that tomorrow I'll be back with something far more chipper, and light, and hopefully I will maybe even make you chuckle, but please know that even as I share easy-breezy-my-home-is-my-haven posts, I am praying at a ninja level for this to pass for us all to realize what really matters in this life, and to love each other better.

Baking America great again. (Or, how Ralph and I are working to achieve the quarantine 15.)

What can I say? I'm a stress baker.

We are currently on day 12...er...13 (...572?) of quarantine, and apparently I am determined to single handedly guarantee, through cookie baking, that my household meets the Quarantine 15 in record breaking time. (Our love language is carbs.)

Forget toilet paper. We've had to buy milk twice as often as we usually do.

How about you? What types of stress relieving activities are you doing these days to cope with the current situation of staying at home? Are you watching a record breaking amount of television? (No judging here. Have you checked out Tiger King? If so, do you think Carol Baskin killed her husband?) Rearranging all the furniture in your home?  Cleaning out pantries and cosets? (that was around day four for me...)Are you staying up so late that you have totally messed up anything resembling a routine time to eat meals? I'm dying to know what other folks are doing to cope, so please, do tell! 

And please friends, stay home.

The post where I share the really short version of what I've been doing while I wasn't blogging.

I've started and stopped, and re-started this post about a gajillion times, trying to decide what I should write about in today's blog post. (It's been a minute, I know.)

Pondering whether or not I should maybe just jump back in with a post on the latest cookies I baked, (They were pretty cute, if I do say so myself) or go deeper and put my two cents in about how strongly I feel we all should be doing in regards to this new virus world we are living in. (No, I think we all are growing weary of this topic on every.single.form.of.social.media. and I am no expert on it.)

So....with that being said...er...pondered...I decided a short catch-you-up post could be a good re-entry-to-blogging post.

Okay, so here is an incredibly abridged version of some of the things I have been doing these past few months, between sporadic blog posts (Most of which have been my Weekly Words to Live By...) so I can have it out of the way, and you're up to date. Then, I can get back to sharing all sorts of fun stuff I have been doing, and creating.

Life has been good, and I have been busy! Time spent with family and friends (holidays of course, girlfriends get togethers, visits with grandkids, and my son's promotion ceremony to Captain in the Nevada Air Guard!) and time at home with my Rock n' Roll Buddy. (Car shows, car rides, band gigs, yard work, football games, gatherings with friends, and lots of sofa picnics while we watched football or Netflix...)

Some small-ish items to note:

Remember that I had taken a second booth space at the new shop in town? (Reliques Marketplace) Well, I gave it six months, and I guess I just wasn't a fit, because my sales were flat the entire time, so I gave my notice and left there at the end of November. I'm still a customer there!

Meanwhile, I've been going gangbusters at Camas Antiques, and pretty much outgrew my boothspace there. I moved to a larger booth space in mid-February. (Yay!) I'm still kind of getting settled in to my new space, but loving the additional square footage and taller wall space for displays.

I've been expanding my etsy shop, and am right in the middle of adding about thirty new banners and bags and signs, so I'll be sharing some of that very soon! (Happy Hour, birthday, Mother's Day, Cancer Survival, and party in a box to name a few!)

I'm still doing my Redfin Real Estate thing, and I am getting ready to renew my license, which means I have been doing this for two years now. (Time does fly!)

I think that covers some things I get questions on, so now we can get back to my more usual and expected kinds of posts. Until tomorrow, stay well my friends!

Are YOU ready for some football?

If so, there's a banner for that.

And it's a freebie. A little prezzie to you from me. Click on the following link for your free printable itty bitty banner. ( Download Are you ready for some football mini banner ) Print it. Cut it out. Punch holes across the tops. (I use a tiny hole punch.) String it together. (I use embroidery thread and a large needle.)

Hang it where ever you please; on your mantel, your front door, across your table, or above your TV. Fold it up and pop it inside invites to send to friends that you watch football with. Swag it across your desk at work.

After what seems like forever, it's finally here; the other most wonderful time of the year. (Go Hawks!)

Vintage doctor's bag turned band tip jar.

When I came upon a vintage doctor bag at an estate sale a few months back, I grabbed it up. (And for only six dollars!) You see, my Rock n' Roll buddy is a member of a classic rock band called the Rock Doctors, and I knew it could be perfect for something band related.

I just didn't know what that perfect thing was just yet.

(Not to worry. I knew it would come to me at some point...)

Maybe it could be used to hold guitar or amp cords? Hmmm...maybe a pretty cool replacement for the usual tip bucket? 

Yes!

Well, maybe.

I was all set to paint the band's name on the bag, when I realized how bumpy and rough the old leather was, and I kinda shy'd away from tackling the painted name project for a while. We simply used the old bag as it was, with the tip sign sticking out of it, which worked out just fine.

Fast forward to a couple of Sunday's ago, when I took a mental health break in the late afternoon, and got my creative juices going on that vintage doctor's bag.

Ralph thought stencil and a can of spray paint would work, but I knew spray paint would cause bleeding and over-spray, but maybe he was on to something here. I decided I would try and make a red cross shaped stencil to get things started,  and got out my old stencil paintbrushes (which haven't been used in forever, and I was suddenly glad I had hung on to them...) I then got a damp washcloth ready in case I needed to quickly scrub off any wet paint that didn't work out before any of it dried.

It worked!

Except it was a perfect shade of 1990's mauve.

Ugh.

I re-painted it with a vivid red.

Better.

That was all I needed to get moving. Using alphabet stencils and blue painter's tape to keep my letters straight, I forged ahead.

Once the letters were stenciled, I filled in freehand with a paint brush.

After it dried, I used some Annie Sloan dark wax to age the lettering up a bit, and all in all, I am pretty happy with how well it turned out.

My biggest concern was the paint bleeding, and the letters being crooked. It is a challenge to paint on any sort of non-flat surface, let alone a smaller object that can slide around on your work table!)

Whatcha think?

Happy Valentine's Day, Twenty Nineteen.

I hope your day is sweet!

The busiest time of the year.

December, that is.

Not only do we have the Christmas season, (which for me mentally begins every Thanksgiving evening, after the day with family eating way too much, and I am home, in my jammies) but my family also has three birthdays in December, and with my booth at Camas Antiques, some paper goodies at The French Door, and my etsy shop, well....it gets to be a little on the coo-coo-for-cocoa-puffs side of life.

I'm not complaining, mind you. I love me some Christmas time. It's the glittery-est time of the year, by a long shot. It's just the same challenge I always have; too many fun events/ideas for crafts/cookie recipes I want to try/whatever, and not enough time. 

That's how I fell off the daily blog wagon again. (That's my story and I'm stickin' to it, dang it. It is starting to look like organization will never be one of my top skill sets.)

Happy December, everyone!

What really matters.

While it is currently my "slow" season in real estate, I cannot seem to get a grip on, let alone get ahead of the curve on my paper goods and booth items. I have been lucky enough to be able to offer up my creations in not only my booth at Camas Antiques, but The French Door, and with one of my junk pals in her booth at another shop. (And let's not forget that I still have my etsy shop, which I need to be promoting on social media, as well as adding my new products...)

It's awesome to have so many opportunities!

(It's also incredibly stressful as I am a creative-messy-and-disorganized type of person who tackles every large project like a squirrel in the middle of the road.)

This morning while I was trying to get myself as organized as I am capable of, completely full of anxiety over my time-frame, and wondering how I landed myself in this predicament again, the TV news was on, and of course it was covering our nation's latest hideous, senseless tragedy in Pittsburgh.

This should not be happening.

The faces and stories of each of the victims.

This should not be happening.

Suddenly, paper crafts and glitter seem so beyond trivial. Yes, it is how I make part of my living, but the absolute horror of knowing we have so many troubled people here, living in our communities, and there is no possible way to know exactly who they are, or how to help them is overwhelming. And scary. And so very sad.

I just feel so helpless.

My heart breaks at the state of our world today, and other than praying, I am struggling for what I can do. I do not know all of my neighbors, but I feel compelled to work on that. To get to know them better. To continue to work on making eye contact with strangers I pass, always giving a hello and a smile.

I am not naive enough to think that this would ensure that we can avoid all of these tragedies. I still may not know if someone has an arsenal of weapons in their home, hidden behind their always-closed mini blinds, but maybe, just maybe, getting to know my neighbors, and taking a few more minutes to be kind can be a deciding factor in whether someone takes that big step off the deep end.

I dunno.

I'm not being even a little bit flip when I say this puts my paper crafting deadlines in perspective. We have got to figure this out, my friends. 

My life continues to be not so ordinary.

Heads up. Today's post is rambling, and far too long, with too much information you didn't need to know, but its all stuff that has been on my mind and heart, and I needed to get it out. I promise tomorrow I'll be back to sharing something far more entertaining and light-hearted!

 

Many of you have asked how my new job in real estate is going, and the short answer is that it is okay.

When I have an event filled calendar work day, it is good..I would even say great. Events (appointments) equal money, and I need to be working as close to full time as possible. I like working with people, and helping them, and I love houses, and all that goes with the topic, so the job itself is a no-brainer perfect fit.

But...

When I have a slow day, it is pretty much an all out battle in my head, trying to stop myself from worrying about income, or the lack there of, and what my future might look like, while trying to continue to be productive (and busy my mind) with other things. (I proclaim that I am keeping the faith, all the while trying to control everything, and having zero patience while waiting on the outcome I desire.) 

...

You know how you have those certain moments of life, that are frozen into little crystal clear snippets of life memories in the back of your mind?  The ones that spring forward when something of significance that is kind of similar to it happens in life, and you suddenly have that de ja vu feeling and think, "Oh, I've felt this before"? Some of them were fabulously amazing moments in life, and some you'd so much rather erase from your memory completely. Well, the slow days of work are kind of like that, a de ja vu experience.

 

I remember oh so clearly, like it was last week, the night I became suddenly single.

(... only I didn't know it yet. I would come to realize that my life would be forever changed the following afternoon.) I was at home, alone, not at all understanding why he was so upset when he left, and yet, something inside my told told me something big was happening.

And awful.

...

And it was.

Life as I knew it ended, and the years seemed to creep by for a while. I  s l o w l y  became who I am now.

Anyway.

For those slow-little-or-no-work-events moments (which seem to be far more often now that the summer home-buying frenzy has ended), I feel like I am back in that place in time. That frightening, cold-sweat, pitch-black-dark-as-night petrified moment that feels like it surely won't ever end, and you actually begin to think that you very well might die from the confused-and-scared state of panic you are in.

And you would be okay with that, because you have no idea how to get through the next ten minutes, let alone the next week.

(In some oddly weird way, it is actually scarier this time, because I feel I am far too late to the save-money-for-your-golden-years party to recover financially from this, I am now more than a decade older, in my 60's now, (actually arriving at retirement age by most folks standards) and all of my hopes and best laid plans of a nest egg left with the last economic downturn and housing crisis, never to be resurrected.) They say one in three people reach retirement age with no money. I am that third person.

I need to be, and I am grateful for the job I have, and embrace the parts I truly like about it, which is good because  I will be (hopefully) doing it for a long time to come.

The not knowing what is going to happen to me financially, and where I will be a year from now, and feeling completely and totally ill-equipped in trying to figure it out, (It turns out that I am not Harland Sanders, after all.) looms over me, as I struggle to get my career and financial life to return to some (any) sort of even, steady keel.

Some background on how I landed here...

As you may recall, I was laid off from the job I had worked so hard to climb up the income ladder to earn a really good living at nearly a year and a half ago now. Every single minute since then, I have been searching my mind and heart to find what God's next adventure for me might be. (I didn't have a plan beyond that last job, but I trust that surely He does.) I have a long (two year) non-compete clause from that last company that laid me off which didn't do me any favors, and while I job hunted, I worked on my etsy shop banners, and my booth at Camas Antiques, (What is that they say? When one door closes, another opens?) but saw very little change in my bank account numbers. 

Ugh. (Apparently that was not my door.)

I started to get more than a little freaked out. At my oldest and dearest friend's encouraging, I decided to try the real estate thing, as an associate agent. I like people, and customer service, and I figured I had nothing at all to lose, as I had no other job prospects in my pipeline. If you have read my blog for a while, you know that I studied, managed to pass the licensing exams, and took the job.

Nearly seven months later, I have learned the job and feel I do it well, but I continue to walk on financial unstable ground. Basically being on call, and learning to live with a schedule (and paycheck) that ebbs and flows is dicey, and not for the faint of heart. It seems to be a feast or famine atmosphere, and that doesn't make for a secure feeling when I look at my bank account. (In other words, if money were no object, and I was doing this for fun money, this would absolutely be a dream job.) I like the working-with-clients part a lot, as well as getting to take tours through some pretty interesting homes, but the giant question mark as to how much (or little) work I will get, and what the daily jobs will actually be is taking time to adjust to. 

Will I ever get used to this, and just take each day as it comes?

I dunno.

I hope so. I try and look at each day as an opportunity to do as much as I can, and enjoy whatever it is I am doing on that particular day; some days it is easier than others.

I think it's pretty clear that this is another lesson in patience and trust.

(Insert ginormous sigh here.)

I'm going to take my seat and do my best to stop trying to drive the bus.

Because the beginning of a new month seemed like a great time to start blogging again.

We (My Ralph and I) flew to Phoenix for a quick-but-fun-filled-weekend trip for the Seahawk/Cardinal football game, (Go Hawks!) and we are heading home tonight. I'm here, in the hotel room, sitting at a table with my Macbook, my head bursting with ideas, and thoughts, and oodles and toodles of things I have been wanting to share with you.

I suddenly realized that I had a nice slice of quiet time here this morning...er....mid-day, and it is the first day of a new month. (I love the symbolism of that, you know? New Month, and a Monday- first day of most folk's work weeks...fresh and new.) It seems like the perfect time to get myself back to my happy place of writing.

So.........Where to begin?

It's been a good long while I know, and I am not sure who is still out there checking in here, (or reading anyone's blogs any more for that matter) so I may very well be writing this for myself, but no matter. I have been quite literally aching to get back to my daily writing, and if no one is reading it, I still need to do it.

It feeds my soul.

Life has been busy, busy, busy for me, (as I am sure yours is as well) between my newest career move with Redfin Realty, my booth space at Camas Antiques, a few treasures at The French Door, my etsy Shop, my family, and my friends.

In a nutshell, my life currently looks kinda like this: I am still adjusting to having complete control over my work day schedule, while at the same time, being flexible, as I am at the mercy of my day changing with a two hour notice. Ralph has some upcoming band gigs, I've got grand babes I want to spend time with, and another play with my Mom, and a gal-pal scheduled at our local theater coming up soon. I just bought two aaah-mazing new rolling pins I can't wait to try out with my sugar cookie dough, and I'm a little bit over knee deep in glitter and sheet music, creating Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving decorations for my shop.

Oh, and on Sundays we do football.

(And some Mondays and Thursdays.)

So, yeah, life is busy, and good.

I'm betting your life looks similar; people to see, places to go, recipes to try. If you have time, I hope you'll stop by and check my blog out again soon, because I plan to be right here, sharing my thoughts, ideas, and stories.