Emotional Rollercoaster

On Saturday, August 3rd, we lost our sweet Sadie. She was just over 12 years old and she was our fur baby. She had suffered from skin allergies for most of her life. In the last several years she also suffered from awful arthritis in her back legs. She never complained though, she was always a happy pup. Yes, she could be stubborn, but that was as much a part of her as her very expressive eyebrows and her "Chewbacca" grumbling. 

She was by far the sweetest, most loving dog. She helped me keep my sanity after losing my mom. She would stay by my side and lay her head on my lap whenever the sadness overwhelmed me. She certainly knew who the soft touch was in our house (my husband) and would gaze at him longingly whenever he had food, not to mention, follow him anywhere. She also liked having conversations with several of our friends who knew how to speak "Sadie". She was definitely a people dog and believed everyone who came to the door was there to see her.

Our house is so quiet without her and there is a definite hole in our lives and hearts that will never be filled. I know someday we will get another dog, but there will never be another Sadie.
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I did have something positive happen today, I received acceptance into Kent's 20th Annual Art in the Park . It will be held on Saturday, September 7th and Sunday, September 8th at Kent's Fred Fuller Park. I'm really happy about it as I did very well at this event last year. I hope this year will be just as successful. I feel I have a lot more to offer and definitely new and unusual items, such as my beadwoven images. I also hope the weather is beautiful and the turnout is huge.

Listings

I've finally gotten around to listing many of the pieces I created for the Art in the Park show. I still have about 10 more to list, but the majority are up in the shop now! http://arosebyname.etsy.com

I've had great response from my latest pieces and have had some lovely email conversations with people I met at the show. I now have a lot of new ideas and I'm excited to get moving on them! If only there were more hours in a day!

It's likely I will be a part of a show on December 2nd and possibly a future show at the art museum. We'll just have to see how things pan out. I really feel like I have grown a lot in my art over the past year or so and I'm actually finding it easier to refer to myself as an artist. Believe me, this has been difficult! I have amazing support from my family and that makes it even better!

This weekend Baby Girl is moving out, so that will rearrange the upstairs and I may just have my "studio" finally! I'm very excited about that, but I'm not heartless, she is just as excited to have her own place, too!

Best get back to work on my latest order...

1st Art Show was a Success!

On the 8th and 9th of September, I participated in Kent's Art in the Park and it was an amazing first art show for me! I was extremely nervous about it beforehand and didn't sleep much at all the night before, but it turned out to be a wonderful experience, even with the rain and chilly temperatures! I had a lot of interest in my pieces and sold quite a few. I made enough to cover all my costs (including the tent!) and still made some money...you can't ask for more than that!

I would like to thank my family for all their support. To my sweet husband; thank you for all your patience and putting up with my beads and jewelry covering every surface in the house, for setting up and taking down my booth and for supporting me each and every day as I create, and especially for telling me, "Don't worry, if it doesn't work out at this show, there's always another one." To my beautiful girls; thank you for your love and support and giving me new and fresh ideas all the time. Amy, thank you so much for being there and helping me both days...all day, I couldn't have done the show without you! To my brother-in-law, Todd (of http://toddalanstudios.com/); thank you so much for the display ideas and prodding me to charge more for my art.

I would also like to thank a very special couple, Pete and Lois; I know it was my art that got me in the show, but they wouldn't have looked if you hadn't shown them! I cannot thank you enough for that! And I hope to be a part of Art in the Park every year from now on.

I'll post pictures of my booth set up as soon as I get them from my dearest!

Falling Fall

Spent last weekend at the lake for the final time this summer season. It was beautiful...but sad, too!

New Listing and Events

OK, so it's been almost two months, but I've finally listed the Champagne Cuff. It's really gorgeous and it will go with most any outfit. Dress up jeans for a night out with friends or with that little black dress to add just the right amount of bling!

In other areas of life...the girls and I went up to the Buffalo area this past weekend to celebrate our cousin, Ally's graduation. It was great seeing the family there and we will be seeing more of them this weekend for Uncle Cal's birthday and 4th of July celebration at the lake. We really love it there as it's so peaceful, yet a lot of fun with the family!

On the health front, I finally got my injections to block the occipital nerves in my head so that I can stop getting these horrendous 3-day headaches. They aren't migraines as it's not caused by anything other than a malfunction in my occipital nerve. I was really out of it yesterday (the procedure requires sedation) and today I'm still "off", but day-by-day it will get better and I hopefully will have months and months without another headache episode.

So, that's all the updates for now...

Latest News

Just the day after my last post, Grandma passed away. She was 92, but it was still tough as we had been taking care of her for almost three years since my mother-in-law died. She didn't live with us, but we moved her closer to us so we could spend more time with her and always have her with us on the holidays and birthdays and Sunday dinners as well. My dear husband spent the most time with her and he cherishes every moment.

In the last six years we have lost all our Moms. My Mom passed away in July of 2003 when she was just 60. It was ovarian cancer. We lost my Mother-in-law in January of 2007 and she was just shy of 70. It was also cancer. Now Grandma. These losses make for quiet and bittersweet holidays. And I don't care how old you are, you always need your mom.

And so, we wait anxiously for our daughter to come home from Italy so that we can be together for these holidays...as quiet as they will be.

News

I haven't posted as much as I should, but I have very good reasons! I was trying to get things together for my first show! It was a two-day event and I did fairly well! I made enough to cover my fee as well as all the stuff I bought to do this show! (boxes, bags, display pieces, tablecloth, etc). The best part is that I had a really good time! I met some great people who have shops on Etsy and/or Art Fire or who just sell locally. The row of tables I was in had some hilarious people and we laughed a lot! Thank you to Lizz, Melanie, Veronica, Aminta, Jessica and Deanna for making my first show a blast! And also a very large thank you to Tammy for setting this up and being such a love to work with! The photos aren't the best as I took them with my phone, but you get the idea and note the BAO, EBW and Carol Dean's cards I had on my table as well! Oh, yeah, and I did show off my pattern in Step-by-Step Beads! :)

Secondly, yet more personal, Grandma has been very sick and it's not looking good for her recovery. It has been tough the last several weeks and the last several days have been the hardest yet. There is more before us... We give each other strength and have grown closer to each other through this trying time. So, if I don't post for a while again, I hope you'll understand.

Happy Father's Day

To my dad, my father-in-law, my dear husband and all the other dads out there...Happy Father's Day!

Happy Birthday Mom

We miss you and wish you were here with us...

Thank you!

Thanks so much to all of you lovely bloggers! I truly appreciate the well-wishes! The head is better, but real life it now really complicated with family issues. I hope to have a modicum of normalcy soon, but please don't give up on me if I'm not posting for a while!

Thanksgiving Thursday Thirteen (#6)

I'm sure that a lot of people are putting up Thanksgiving lists, so I'll just join the crowd!

Things I'm thankful for:

1. My husband. He is so wonderful and puts up with a lot from me! I can't believe we've been married over 22 years!

2. My daughters. Our oldest is a sophomore in college and loves it. She would like to study abroad next year...not sure if/how that will happen! Our youngest is a junior in high school and just received her varsity letter for cheerleading. Both girls are loving and beautiful!

3. My furbaby. Sadie is our big baby. She's 7 and I don't know what I would do without her. Here sweet face and loving personality saw me through some really trying times!

4. My family. Though we've lost the moms, we still have the dads, their wives, grandma Trudy, brothers and their families and they are loved.

5. Our home. It's just the right size and our mortgage is fixed.

6. Our neighborhood. We've lived here for almost 10 years and our daughters grew up running around this neighborhood. It's still the type of place where everyone knows everyone and you don't have to worry about your kids walking or riding their bikes out of your sight because the neighbors look out for each other.

7. Our city. It's not too big and still has the small-town feel.

8. Ohio. I was born in California and lived in Washington, but this is my home and I love the parks, the weather (yes, even the snow) and even though it's fairly flat, the trees and landscape is beautiful.

9. Thanksgiving dinner. The turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bead casserole, yams, and of course, the pumpkin pie!

10. Days off with my family. Though I am currently not working, my husband will be home today and tomorrow, our oldest is home from school and we're all together.

11. My senses. Sight to see my loved ones and the beauty all around us, hearing to listen to the music of life, touch to hold my loved ones, smelling the wonderful foods cooking right now and the taste of the feast!

12. Beads. My creative outlet and my therapy.

13. Books. I love reading, especially the banned books! (LOL)

Tell me what you're thankful for...

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Ease in Chaos

Well, we have finally gotten Grandma settled into an assisted living facility today. She has been in and out of the hospital and nursing care centers since May, so it's really been a tough summer. It will take a while for her to get used to this situation, but it's a really nice place (brand new facility) with a wonderful staff. It's also very close to our house, which makes it a lot easier for us, especially my husband who has been driving an additional 45 minutes every other day after work to check in on her. I know she would rather be in her own home, but she's just not steady on her feet anymore. There are still many things that need to be taken care of, but having her in her new place is a real ease on all our minds!

There are still many other things going on for us in the real world, but this one has been the toughest, especially on my dear husband. So, for his sake, I'm very glad she's in her new place.

Nostalgia

They say that the sense of smell triggers the most memories. I would have to agree, though taste runs a close second, especially when you associate it with family recipes. My older daughter and her friend decided to "be domestic" and make some desserts. One of them was a family recipe for "The Best Chocolate Cake Ever". It's a lusciously rich chocolate cake with a touch of cinnamon! We used to have this cake when I was growing up and it was a favorite to take with us on our weekend boat trips when we lived in the Seattle area.

Anyway, I came home and the house smelled delicious and then I had a piece of cake and the wonderful chocolaty/cinnamon flavors just melted on my tongue and make me think of some of the happiest times in my life. Ahhh, childhood! Made me miss my mom, too. She taught me how to make that cake...

Sadie and Snow

Our golden retriever is the sweetest dog. She is patient and loving and she has gotten me through some tough times. I have loved seeing her these last few days playing in the snow and I wanted to share! (She's almost 7 and has bad hips and a skin problem, but you'd never know it after she's been playing outside!)

Harder Than I Thought

Yup, we moved daughter #1 into her dorm this week and attended orientation with her on Wednesday. I was fine. It was hot and miserable weather, but otherwise I was OK with it all. It hit me yesterday that she doesn't live at home anymore and I am terribly sad about that! So, I'm adjusting to having one child at home, though she has made herself scarce the last couple of days because she and her friends (all cheerleaders) are preparing for their first games tonight and tomorrow. We will be attending the first football game tonight and it will be both a new experience in having a cheerleader performing and also bittersweet in not having a child in the band. Life changes and moves on and it is harder than I thought...

I'm Still Here!

Just wanted to let anyone who stops by know that I am still here. I have been working on two new projects, working in the "real world" and trying to get my oldest ready to leave for college next week! Needless to say, it's been crazy! So, once I get the camera back, I will have several new pieces to photograph. I'm really happy with all the new pieces and find it very difficult not to start yet another because so many new ideas keep popping into my head!

Furball

Just thought I would share a photo of another member of the family that keeps me busy! This is Sadie. She's a big ol' 85 pound golden retriever. She's six and the poor baby has skin allergies! She's gotten me through some really rough times. Dogs are so wonderful!

OROC Fundraiser

In January, my daughter's cheerleading squad is having a competition and proceeds will benefit OROC (OutRun Ovarian Cancer). The theme is "We Roc for OROC" and there will be a competition to see which team can raise the most money and we will also be selling bracelets, which I have volunteered to create. I was originally going to make them like this one:But after pricing out what it would cost me up front to make 50 of them, I had to revise my thinking. So, I am going to make them similar to the ones below. I purchased "awareness ribbon" charms to add to them, but the rest will be a combination of these two bracelets:I am really happy that the idea of raising the money for OROC was approved by everyone. It really means a lot to me and my daughters. After losing my mom and mother-in-law to ovarian cancer and finding out one of my daughter's friend has been diagnosed with it, I realized that I can help. I may not be able to find a cure, but at least help by raising money to find a reliable pretest that will allow women a better than 25% survival rate!

Time

The older I get, the more I realize that there are just not enough hours in the day...or night for that matter. I will find that I get more beading done in the late evening, end up working on a piece until 2am or 3am, then I have to get up to try to get some work (I'm an at-home transcriptionist) and around 10am or so, I can't keep my eyes open and end up taking a nap - a 20 minute power nap will usually work, but sometimes I'll wake up an hour or more later!

Anyway, between work and running errands or running my youngest here and there, beading gets put off until late evening and the whole cycle starts over again! Can someone please put an extra couple of hours in the day?! :)