the latest

my latest project has been a time consuming one, but quite enjoyable. 3 of my friends and i decided to open a christmas shop in a recently closed boutique in saxonburg on main street. we had 1 week to put it together and had the grand opening that next week- one week after our week in south carolina for my mom's memorial. we seem to be a popular place in town- since there are only 2 other stores that sell gifts. we decided to carry decorations, wrap, gifts and some furniture. the shop was called "a couple doors down" so we tacked on " little bit of christmas"

whoever works on any given day, brings in "new" items- so it stays fresh and we have some customers who visit us each day to see the latest!

we change the window every 2 weeks- this one was a toy window- this one was one of my favorites. this is the back side of the window. the view from the outside is one of my first pictures- yow! will i ever get these things right? we seem to have a lot of window shoppers and we hear about our windows from them.

i decided to go out on a limb and order earrings from a company (silver forest) that i found while in so. car. these earrings are made in vermont and are really beautiful. they sent me the display (also made at their place)- for free- wish me luck on this one! (can't really see them, but trust me, they're exceptionally pretty).

this last picture shows the various angels i have found for shannon's relief society dinner. they are using an angel theme and will decorate each table with these angels. i was able to find them at 4 different places and paid less than $40.00 for all. the picture doesn't do them justice.

lot's of work, but fun too...

a thankful thanksgiving

i fixed a pre- thanksgiving dinner for today ( did most of it yesterday) because i'm going to be at shannon's for the actual thanksgiving week.

as i was preparing some of the food yesterday, i was thinking about my family and a few of the things i wanted to say at this dinner, so i wrote some of my thoughts down. i read this after i served the pie tonight. here goes...

i want this dinner to be my thanksgiving gift to all of you.

i am thankful that i have my health so that i am able to do this and all the other activities i am involved in.

i am thankful for paul- that we were able to have all of you and that he has been able to support the family and provide for our needs. many times people who know him come up to me and tell me how much they appreciate his care for their pets. i also appreciate his willingness to help fix my broken projects.

i am thankful for shannon, my first daughter and dear friend, we have been through a lifetime together. brian and the kids always welcome me with open hearts and make me feel as an important part of their family. they see to my every need.

i am thankful for katie. i love her independant spirit even though i get on her case sometimes for it. i admire her creativity and spiritual strength. she is a wonderful mother and it shows in my best buddy, josie. she is a little light to me.

i am thankful for nathan. i can always count on him to help me with whatever hairbrain project "comes down the pike". he is a good father and devoted husband and a hardworker.

i am thankful for seth. he is a loyal son and friend. i appreciate his dedication to his job and even though i comment on his choice of friends, he is truly a loyal friend to them- deserving or not. he helps me with my shop setups and it's always nice to see his smiling face show up at these events.

i am thankful for joanna- for her ability to pick herself up and find happiness again. she is the middle child like me and a people pleaser. i am grateful that she is able to be in new and exciting areas of the world with stephan , who makes her laugh. i miss her tonight.

i am thankful for nella she has been my companion in various times of my life- first as an attachment to my leg when she was little- later on as my chief cook and movie watcher companion. she has her own distinct style. i appreciate her spiritual advice and her sometimes willingness to go along with my various schemes.

i am thankful for ryan- the son of my past. he has been accepting and loving to me in spite of his difficult beginning.

i am thankful to my Heavenly Father for all of the above and for showing great love towards me. by sacrificing his son, Jesus Christ, he demonstrated the ultimate love for each of us.

didn't take pictures of the dinner- must be slipping- that was always a must! but here is the centerpiece with an added treasure- at least josie thought so!

always a mess afterwards, but some of us can find fun in anything!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!

balmat trip

i just read shannon's account of our trip to watertown and balmat this year. it brought back so many wonderful memories- i can't believe we actually went rafting! my first AND last time. i am not a thrill seeker, but have always wanted to try that. now i can use my mom's favorite expression- "been there, done that". these trips just reinforce the importance of family in my life. check out shannon's blog.

it's nice to be loved!

this one is short but sweet- someone (or two) missed me when i was gone for almost 2 weeks. this is what greeted me when i opened my bedroom door yesterday- don't know where they found these but it put a smile on my face. ( for those who don't understand this- i have two cats- )

blog fix, please...

i've been home for5 days from my fabulous trip to shannon's and then watertown,ny and balmat,ny. and i need a blog update from any one of you! i will write about our trip, a life highlight which included a wonderful 3 hours in a neat thrift store (WHAT?????), white water rafting experience- (yes, i did it!), a visit to the balmat ancestor cemetary, and 1 1/2 days and 2 meals with our newest cousins . that was probably the best part of the trip along with just doing what we wanted when we wanted. i love these yearly trips and hope some of the other girls can go next year. shannon has all the pictures so she will have to document our trip. (ahem) .
i'm getting ready to go to fredonia for my 45th class reunion- another life highlight and i will promise to take pictures, but are you really interested in a bunch of strangers who graduated in 1964? stay tuned for that one...

it's over

that's about all i can say at this moment about the horse trader days in zelienople. a friend and i had a booth (tent) set up and worked it thurs. , fri., and sat. i didn't take my camera- sorry- there WERE some interesting people there. it cost each of us $40 and i made $260- so you can do the math...... my shop is looking better by the minute!
one of the best parts of the 3 day deal was the few minutes i was able to spend with josie and katie. the monkey tree will live on- now i have to think of some stories .

wedding blues (greens, purples etc.)

today was the big day for a friend's daughter...her wedding day and also the day i had been dreading along with the photographer (daughter- katie) . this had "blossomed" into something more than we had planned, but it actually turned out to be a success. i am pretty tired right about now , but satisfied with the results... some interesting shots of the flower- making process:

this first one was taken after holly and i returned from the strip district in pittsburgh. we went to a wholesale flower place, thanks to a local flower shop. lots of money was saved by going through them. we spent $550 on all the flowers, ferns, and branches.




that was actually the cleanest my floor looked during that project! it took on a lovely green tint.



this was our work area. holly began by making the pew bunches- she had to do 10 of them- we decorated every other pew. they were really pretty, but i would have attached them differently to the pews- cascading down instead of sticking up. oh well, that was her area of responsibility.
( she also made 9 boutonnieres' and 3 little corsages)


this is hard to see- you may have to make it larger.


i put together the 2 large arrangements for the front of the church. i waited for holly to leave as i needed to have some creative time . the pale green roses made the arrangements pop.




a third smaller vase was made to put on the gift table. lana had told me to just throw some flowers into that one!! :o( thanks, lana! )

3 round bowls were filled with water and flowers and ferns. these were placed in front on the bride's table. i used ivy to wind around the bowl on inside.

these are the bouquets- 3 bridesmaids, one throwaway,2 mother's bouquets. katie made the fresh white rose bouquet. it looked like silk flowers- really beautiful.

many positive comments were made and i felt both relief and satisfaction. the flower shop is now CLOSED!!!