Have a great Halloween! 

Turkeys, turkeys, 

and more turkeys 

. 

Speechless!

This morning I was struck speechless. I looked out the kitchen window as I was making the coffee, and there were wild turkeys in the back yard. A LOT of wild turkeys. I wanted to call to George and I was so excited I was struck speechless. I didn't want to yell, for fear of scaring them off. As it turns out, that was not a problem. George counted 21 wild turkeys, and as we watched and whispered, they went from our driveway across to the neighbors yard and were finally stopped by a high fence. As they meandered back, we got brave. I went out on the porch and they didn't seem to mind me or my camera at all. Then George went out onto the driveway with a liter of sunflower seed, and as he dumped the seeds on the ground, the turkeys came running! Just like wild ducks.

Anyway, we had a fun time watching this gaggle of turkeys and thinking about Thanksgiving!

Have a great day. Gobble gobble.

Poor George

Today we will have a "poor George" day. He had a wisdom tooth taken out this afternoon, and I got busy making peach jello and chicken soup. He is on the couch with an ice pack and I am being very kind and gentle. I made a killer chicken soup, with home made broth and an array of veggies like parsnips, potatos, spinach, cabbage, carrots, turnips, tomatoes and onions. This soup will cure what ails ya. It is delicious, and we hope George feels a lot better tomorrow.

Have a great day tomorrow!

Hurricane Wilma bends into a Nor'Easter

Hurrican Wilma raced up the eastern seaboard and is now twirling around our heads as a classic Nor'Easter. It is amazing to me, coming from the midwest, that weather can go out over the ocean, and then circle around and come back again, and again, and again. A classic Nor'Easter means that you have over your head weather that you have had over your head yesterday. It just keeps coming back round. Today is gray, windy and rainy, and tomorrow will be the same. But, trees are not blowing down, and it is not flooding--yet. It just looks miserable out there, but it could be worse.

My calendar for November is filling up and there is lots to do before my office moves to new space on November 19th. After that I will no longer have a window from which to see the weather---not sure if that is bad or good.

Have a great day!

Halloween in coming! 

Fall in New England fell with a thud

The whole country seems to be rolling with the punches this year, with all the hurricanes, catastrophes of floods, fires, and wind. New England in the fall is a beautiful place to be, but this year is a dud. The sugar maples, which turn a scarlet red have lost their leaves due to eight days solid of rain two weeks ago, and the rest of the trees are a rather mousy shade of brown and gold. My recent trip to Minnesota was very nice because I got to see fall colors there, but Massachusetts is not competing that well this year.

Now the forecast this week is for more wind and rain due to Hurricane Wilma which is going to race up the eastern seaboard and get here tomorrow. Not much we can do about the weather, but hope for a easy winter and a pretty spring. At least we have our homes, and hopefully Lousiana and Mississippi and Florida will be back on their feet and in their homes soon.

I have pictures on my desk at home of beautiful trees in yellows, oranges and reds that I took in previous years. I'll just have to use those to remember what fall in New England is supposed to be. Lets hope Hurrican Wilma doesn't blow Florida away today--so we have somewhere to go to escape the New England winter.

Have a great day!

Yesterday's craft show

George and I bundled up the car with crates, rugs, tables, tablecovers, and my fabric covered boxes of necklaces and earrings and we were at the Congregational Church in Medford for the craft sale. I had talked to some of my jewelry making friends online and they suggested that all tables for selling should be waist high. George cut PVC pipe into 10" lengths to put under the table legs. I had two tables set in a L shape, and when we raised our tables and put that pipe under them, people stared. It was a great thing! I covered the two tables (one rented from them, one mine) with taupe fabric and purple tableclothes and put two lamps at either end, laid out all the jewelry and sold a necklace five minutes after I was set up. Having the jewelry waist high meant people could examine it without reaching down, and it worked like a charm.

It was a fun day and I sold several necklaces and several pair of earrings. I didn't exactly deplete my inventory, but people had a lot of choose from, and that always helps. Selling out is not the goal, selling anything is the goal. Keeping my goals within reach, and having fun meeting people and spending the day showing my jewelry is my only goal. Several people commented on my striking color combinations, and it was nice to hear what they had to say. Getting out into the public with your art is a great way to get feedback and ideas. Indoor craft shows are a lot easier than out door. We were there from 8:30 until 4:00, and it was fun talking to everyone who came.

The advertising for the show was good, but there could have been more customers. There is going to be a first ever craft show at my church next Spring, and I am on the committee. We are going to have to make sure that people come out for it, since without shoppers there isn't much point. Getting good crafters and artists to display their work is one part, but getting people to come see it is just as important. Happy customers and happy crafters make for a successful show.

The next show for me is November 19th for Hallmark Health Hospice in Wakefield, Mass, and this one is going to be big, so it's off to the jewelry bench again to make more.

Have a great Sunday.

A few pictures from my trip to Lake City and Red Wing Minnesota early this week

Me, next to one of the special boots that were all over town, since Red Wing Shoes is a historic local company.  

My rented PT Cruiser. A spiffy little car I think. I liked it more than I thought I would. Cute huh. 

I loved this old truck at the cheese factory in Wabasha, Minnesota. The bittersweet was beautiful and lush and bright orange. Too bad I couldn't get it in my suitcase. 

Visiting the UffDa Shop in Red Wing, Minnesota 

A view of Lake Pepin, in Lake City, a really beautiful place 

Home Sweet Home 

Home safe and snug

It must be me, but I thought that getting from Hastings to the Minneapolis Airport was a little tricky. Thank goodness my gracious and kind relative was helpful enough to give me a "dry run". George and I often do dry runs if we have a morning meeting, or an event to go to, and we don't know where it is or how long it will take to get there. She gave me all the directions several times, a map, and a sticky note. I only missed one exit, uffda. I missed the 149 Exit right before 494, but, no matter, I went west, just as I was supposed to, and pretty soon, there was the airport. Following signs once I got there was no problem. It did seem like a rubik's cube of roads right around the airport and I'm not surprised that I got really bungled up when I picked up the car. Budget rental car did a great job of letting me turn the car in fast and I was at the gate with plenty of time. The church ladies preparing the luncheon for after the funeral packed me a nice lunch of two ham on roll sandwiches and two delicious homemade bars. I ate them in the airport, not even waiting to get on the plane.

I had a silver tricked out PTCruiser for a rental car and enjoyed it a lot. George asked if it was big enough to fit a model airplane in. I said sure. (It is not.) But I was hoping he may want to take one for a test drive some day, I was that impressed.

Minnesota has always been beautiful, and still is, and the towns of Red Wing and Lake City are even more beautiful and prosperous than before. I will go back and take George there too. I really enjoyed seeing the cousins, if only for a short time, and the hospitality could not have been better. I'm not unpacked, but it is time to go to work and back to reality.

Have a great day.

The Uff Da Shop

"Uff Da" is the Norwegian exclamation when something untoward happens. Like taking two wrong turns getting out of the airport, or having a wet fish drop in your lap, or taking a minor slip on the ice. "Uff Da".

There is an Uff Da Shop in Red Wing, Minnesota and I veered off the road (Uff Da) to find a parking place as soon as I saw it yesterday. I remember this shop from when I was here 25 years ago and I was happy to look around. The prices are much higher than then, but it is fun to see all the Scandanavian design Christmas ornaments and candle holders, the hand knitted Norwegian sweaters ($385) and they had a plate of lefsa on the counter to snack on. Lefsa is a Norwegian potato pancake like a potato tortilla, and we always had it on Christmas Eve. Yesterday I wasn't hungry enough for even a taste since I had just stopped at MacDonalds. Uff Da.

I bought an Uff Da magnet for my mom's refrigerator, and some pretty napkins for my cousin for a housewarming gift (small) and will probably go back today for another treat or two. It is a beautiful shop. I saw they are selling knitted mohair tams for $42.50. I am in the wrong business. Uff Da.

The bluffs along the Mississippi River in Red Wing are in fall regalia and are gorgeous and I just have to see more of them. This part of the country is really God's country. From the airplane window yesterday, on a clear sunshiny day, Minneapolis was beautiful, with those 1,000 lakes sparkling in the sun. It looked like heaven.

Today is the visitation for my Aunt Laddie and I'm looking forward to joining the crowds of people who called her best friend and favorite aunt.

She was an angel in God's country!

Have a great day.

A busy day far away

This morning I got up at 3:00, took a 6 a.m. flight out of Boston to Chicago, had a nice Starbucks coffee and a cinnamon scone, took a shuttle plane to Minneapolis, and then the troubles began. I went to the rental counter, got my PT Cruiser, and asked the lady how to get to Hastings. I think there is a plot by whoever designs the rental car maps. They are really useless. The lady said to veer left after leaving the airport, stay left, take highway 5, which went well. Then, I didn't know what to do next. I made three wrong decisions in quick succession and a couple of u-turns. I finally realized that 55 East really meant South, and I was in Hastings in about an hour. Trouble is I don't know how to get back and my timing from the funeral service to the flight going home is going to be tight.

I will try not to worry. I had a very very good day today catching up with cousins who I havent seen in years. It is family that I hardly ever get to see. It is good to be with them, even for a sad occasion. We have a lot of stories about Aunt Lad to share and more tomorrow.

Have a great day.

My Aunt Lad

I found out yesterday that my Aunt Lad died. She was in her eighties and had suffered with leukemia and she had a heart attack because of the stress of her disease. My whole family is very sad. Aunt Lad was a fun, funny, energetic and delightful woman who was the "glue" who held our extended family together. No matter how far we roamed, or how much our lives changed over the years, we could always call Aunt Lad and get all the news about everyone.

My Aunt Lad was perhaps the best card player I ever "seen or heard of". She loved to play cards and often had a game going with someone. She rarely went a day without a game, or three or four, of cards. She also made beautiful quilts and was very generous with giving them away. We all have wonderful Laddie stories, and I'm looking forward to hearing more of them.

She lived in Hastings, Minnesota, and I am going there tomorrow to attend her funeral. My mother is very sad, and said that Laddie and she were like twins while they were growing up. Being part of a family with nine children, meant that the kids paired up and helped each other as they grew up. When I called my mother to tell her the sad news yesterday, she said that she had just had a long telephone conversation with Laddie that day, and they were both happy and laughing. God works in miraculous ways.

I am not stretching it to say that Lad was everyone's favorite person. We all love each other, but Lad was really a special person to everyone who knew her. She was the only person I know who went to clown school when she was in her sixties so that she could entertain at nursing homes and local events. She was funny and although I never saw her in a clown suit, I sure remember a lot of clowning around. She was great at practical jokes and would go a long way out of her way to make others laugh. People like that are very rare.

We are all sad and I am also busy getting the arrangements made so I can go to Minneapolis very early tomorrow morning. Like my mother said, "You HAVE to go!". We just all feel that if we can walk and have a credit card, we have to be there for Laddie. She was always there for us.

Have a good day.

Laughter is the best medicine

I think there is a Reader's Digest column called "Laughter is the Best Medicine". I can vouch for that. I have had this cold for two weeks, and just doing what I need to do at work, and then going to my meetings at church two nights, seemed like almost too much. Last night I cut my bell choir practice short, but I was there to rehearse our piece for Sunday, and I had so much fun laughing with the others at the silly antics, that I think it was just good for my soul. At one point I had tears streaming down my face, overcome by giggles, only because someone's page clip had shot across the space during a particularly fast page turn. It was funny. You had to be there.

Today is a day for me to look for other ways to laugh, since I'm sure that is something I need more than antibiotics. My doctor does not prescribe antibiotics for colds, which she says are viruses, and don't respond. She thinks we should save the antibiotic for when we really need it. Maybe she is right. I hope. But, I am getting better, and life is looking up.

Have a great day.

Water-logged in Boston. Send canoe.

It has rained for three days, and we are expecting five more days of rain here. I'm not talking about a little sprinkle either, but the whole banana. Rain, rain and more rain. New Hampshire has had floods that have washed cars and homes away. They had eleven inches of rain in one day in places. This was the weekend of the Wool Tour, where sheep farmers and wool stores open their businesses to people who travel from one farm to the other. There are seven farms and stores, and it is fun to go and visit old friends on that day. I have never missed a Wool Tour in several years, but it rained too hard this year. Now it looks like some of those country roads we used to travel from farm to farm are washed out. It is bad for those cottage industries there, since they are small stores and this is a big weekend of sales for them.

Three more days of rain are predicted, and the gutters are running with water. A big vacuuming truck is outside clearing the street drains. Not sure whether there was a problem or whether it is just serendipity, but it is a good thing to have the drains clear when it rains for seven days straight. Low lying houses will be sopping up their basements, that is for sure.

I'm still coughing, but my cold seems to be going away slowly. Way too slowly. It will be nice to have a whole night's sleep one of these nights.

Have a good evening. I'm off to a church meeting.

These are the cultured pearls that George brought back from Hawaii for me. In the center is a bracelet. There is one strand of coin peals and three strands of round pearls. I am going to make a beautiful necklace for myself, but first I'm going to stare at them for a few weeks. They are so gorgeous! 

Home Sweet Home

George's plane should have landed at Logan by now. It is early morning, and I'm up already to see him in the front door. The welcome lamps are lit. He had a good trip, and in a way I am glad that he was somewhere safe when I was in the throes of my bad cold. In another way, I missed him even more than usual.

I feel better today. I called the doctor's office and they told me to get Musalix, which I took yesterday and it seemed to have helped the coughing a lot. I slept all night for the first time in a week. I'm on the upswing, and very happy about it. I usually get one cold a year, and they are always pretty severe, sometimes going into bronchitis. I don't get a cold that I can travel around with, like some people. Either my colds are worse than most, or I'm just a sissy. Not sure which.

Today George will be tired, and I plan to make jewelry while he is napping. When he wakes up I would like to take a drive to the apple orchard and get some apples, and maybe stop for dinner out. When he is gone, I really miss eating out, since I don't really enjoy eating at a restaurant by myself. I had a lot of chicken caesar salad while he was gone, so that is one thing I don't think I will order for awhile.

Oh it is going to be so good to have him home!

Have a great day, stay safe.

Waiting for my Friskies. 

The Good, The Bad and The Not Ugly

The good is that mom is better. The "cocktail" of half a cup of white antibiotic fluid which the doctor gave her on Monday seemed to have worked it's magic, and when I called her on Wednesday night, she was much better, stronger, and said, "Hi!" with a clear voice full of optimism. It was a gift from God to hear her strong and getting better. The bad is that I, on the other hand, did not get such a cocktail, and have been fighing this cough/cold/bronchial infection by myself. I did not go to the doctor when I should have, and every day I think that I am going to be ok, and every night I suffer through with lots of wakeful periods of coughing and a box of kleenex. Today I am some better, but not well.

The hopefully Not Ugly is that I have twenty items listed on Ebay and sales have been slow this week. I'm hopeful that my jewelry is pretty enough to attract some attention soon. I do know, from selling at craft shows, that people either like it or not. Some think that it is too showy I think. But I have analysed this, and feel that I simply must make what I love making, and find an audience that appreciates it. Making jewelry that I don't love sounds way too much like work. I want this to be fun.

George is home Saturday morning from Hawaii. He shopped and bought three strands of freshwater pearls for me to string for myself. I can't wait to see them. He said they are beautiful, and it was fun listening to him talk about all the things he looked at. The website is: www.pearlcoralhawaii.com, if you feel like doing some shopping.

This morning my goal is to get kitty to understand that we have run out of Friskies canned food, and that the bit of tuna I gave her is going to have to make do until I get out to the store. She gets Science diet dry food and has plenty of that, but her half teaspoon of wet food is what she seems to live for. Somehow, she is not getting the whole picture, and if cats can badger, then that is what she is doing. Meow, Meow, MEOW!!!

Off to go get cat food.
Have a great day.

Another day another necklace

Today was a day to get through. I am still in the throes of a bad cold, and coughing hard enough to give me a headache. Here it is 8:30 p.m., and I'm just sitting down to blog. Life just seems a little duller when one has a cold. To top it off, I had to go to the dentist today. I warned them that I might cough, and they wanted me to come in anyway, so I did. I managed to contain my coughing while I was in the dentist chair, and that in itself was a small miracle. Thank goodness for Robitussen DM. But now the Advils have worn off and I'm hurting again. Seems like an early bedtime might be just the ticket. George is off in Hawaii shopping for pearls and coral, God Bless His Pea-pickin' Heart!!!

I managed to make a necklace tonight out of sparkly pink beads and rose quartz, (see my other blog: www.sparkleandcharm.blogspot.com) which made me feel some better. Now I think it is time to make like the Red Sox and go hide. They lost today, with bells on. It was a horrible sight. It made my cold seem all that much worse. Oh well. It is the Red Sox, and tomorrow is another day.

Have a good night.

I have a bad code

I have collapsed under the weight of a bad cold that hit me friday night, left me shivering with fever on Saturday night, and home with a cup of tea on Monday morning. I called mother on Sunday night, and found out she has it too, which is somewhat more scary when you are 96 years old and prone to pneumonia. I did a lot of praying last night, and George and Mike both called so I had a chance to share some of my burden of worry. When I called mom this morning, she said that she had a doctor's appointment this afternoon. I finally figured out that my basis for calling the paramedics for mother is if she is unable to get out of bed. That means that she is not drinking or eating, and it is time for the experts. Otherwise, I try not to disrupt her, and just call to make sure she is ok. Other people are on call too, so she does have some help there. I just worry, and I can't help it!

Today I am rearranging all my beading supplies and putting little things in this container and that. I have two color coded boxes for semi-precious, one box for Swarovski crystals, one box for sterling earring findings, one box for not precious stones and beads, one box for sterling and gold, and one box for base metal. Then, I have my boxes for wires, tools, crimps, and the two important boxes: necklaces on currently sale, and earrings currently on sale. Taking care of these little details is just about all I'm good for today.

Aloha (is that hello or goodbye in Hawaiian?) to George in Hawaii. I hope he is having a great time there in the sunshine, and welcome back to Mike, who had an exhaustingly fun trip to San Diego to see the Everquest folks and ubah player.

It is back to my box of kleenex for me.

Have a great day!

Thunder says Hi. 

The weekend is here with a thud

George took me out for dinner last night at a party at Jimmy's Harborside at "Boston's famous fish pier". It was wonderful food and a great view. The Prime Rib was wonderful, and we both went gaga for the smoked salmon sandwiches. It was just plain wonderful and we had a great time. We left early because I was coming down with something, and today I got it. A cold! I have a sore throat, and all plans we made for errands and shopping today are put on hold until I feel better.

It is nice to spend a day at home anyway, and I have made two necklaces to list on Ebay. I got a delivery of beads from Fire Mountain today; amethysts and lavender glass, and I'm thinking about that purple and lavender necklace I want to make.

George leaves for a week in Hawaii Sunday morning. His flight leaves at 6 a.m., so he will have to set the alarm clock for 3:00 a.m. Yeesh, that is early.

I plan on making a spaghetti and meatball supper for my friend Dave today and taking it to him. The Italian Sausage with fennel is defrosting on the counter. He just got home from the hospital and is feeling low. Maybe Italian food will help. Makes me hungry to think about it.

Have a good day.