I'm out the door for my morning walk with the girls.(What? A healthy choice? Whats next salad instead of pizza? Let's not go completely crazy.) I'm leaving you with a couple deep questions this to contemplate this morning...If you "wrap" up Gabby, does she become a HOT DOG? If Gabby falls asleep in the sun, is that GRILLIN' a dog? And last but not least, if Gabby is off her leash, is she a FREE RANGE FRANKFURTER?!? May you have a Doggone Great Day :)

Turquoise Twist

Turquoise is one of my favorite stones. The color is a necessity for me. It makes me feel good. It keeps me grounded and reminds me of my youth.(ahhh yes, I was so cool in high school with my 3 rings on one hand and 4 rings on the other, what a Turquoise REBEL) My softest and most favorite T-shirt is Turquoise, boy do I baby that thing, gentle wash, cool dryer etc...They say all things on the Earth run an 'energy'. The energy that turquoise has is very healing. It is very spiritually protective. It heals and cleanses the wearer, keeping them safe. the coolest thing it's known for is bringing peace to ones mind. Wow, PEACE OF MIND now that's a necessity. I hope you run across a Big Ol' Chunk of Turquoise to put in your window sill, the perfect Turquoise T-shirt, or an old Sterling and Turquoise Ring from the 70's (a tip to clean old jewelry: wash it in toothpaste, it'll shine the silver and it won't hurt the turquoise stone). In other words, May you always be PROTECTED and have PEACE OF MIND!

ONE HELL OF A DAY!

OK, soooo yesterday was our second Saturday Market. The hours are a short 9:00am-12:30pm, a concise 3 1/2 hours. Now the weather was a little 'iffie', but stable enough that we got completely set up and ready to sell our wares. The Market opened sharply at 9:00 am, then about 9:30 it started to spit a few drops so we prepared a tarp to cover the displays, you know, 'just in case'. By 10:30 am it was POURING. The wind was blowing a moderate 20mph, nothing we hadn't managed through before, a little rain, a little wind, besides my Mom always told me "you'll be fine...you're not made out of SUGAR!" About half of the vendors pulled out, 'Sissies'. the rest of us stayed, slowly coming out from under our tents. We meticulously rolled our sides up and chuckled to ourselves, "We beat it!" The sun came out, the wind slowed down...Now we get down to the business of selling our handmade wares. 11:00am came and a few customers were strolling down the isles, umbrellas at the ready. A pair of earrings go out, then I box a small necklace for someones grandmother, we're on a roll of two...11:20am POW! The side of the canopy moves about 12" Oh Noooo, the wind, I stay calm, I mean, my gosh we have 80lb. weights on each of the legs of our tent. I HATE WIND, come on, stay nice for a frickin hour, that's all I'm asking. My husband tells me he's got to run to the restroom, I mistakenly think, that's cool I've got it under control "Hurry back" I say, with kind of a hysterical laugh. As soon as he was out of sight, WHAM! The tent moves another 12", with such force our earring display falls over. I grab the crossbars of tent, so me, the tent, and 340lbs of weight, lift off the ground, YES AIRBORNE! I call to the market Master (of course, the tiniest lady around) HHEEELLLLPPPPP!!!!! Anne and 4 men who we're walking by, grabbed the legs of the canopy. My husband came back just in time to chase earrings, (they're display cards acting like little tiny airplane propellers) oh and by the way, need I say, his mood had changed dramatically. This time the wind did NOT stop. We had to get the canopy down, the wind just kept blowing constant with the big gusts probably hitting close to 50mph. We started unstrapping weights and peeling off sides, everyone was hanging on for dear lives. All the jewelry displays toppled over twisting all the necklaces into 'knotted chain puzzles' for solving at a less crazy time later that night (now that's a family 'fun' project). Our booth set up usually takes us 2 hours to complete, this take down took us 25 HELLISH minutes, so I'm guessing you can figure out how things got packed. When we got home my husband packed the jewelry up stairs, set the boxes down, stripped, walked into the bathroom and crawled into a hot bath, got out and without a word went to bed. I made a pot of HOT coffee, took an 800mg Ibuprofen put on my Pj's and crawled into the Lazyboy with the wiener dog and a fleece blanket. Neither one of us had coffee and we didn't wake up until 5:00pm. It's HELL getting pounded on by the weather! It's the one thing you can't control. Maybe just maybe, we got the worst weather out of the way early in the show season, yeah, that's what I'm gonna think. May your partner be blessed with a bladder the size of Boise and may the Weather Gods always be kind to you.

GIFTS !!!

Gifts from the Universe, We are sent Gifts everyday, whether we see (receive) them is up to us. They could be as simple as a bright sunny day during a Parade, or as complicated as a family emergency changing travel arrangements and that delay keeps you from being in an accident. We notice the 'BIG' things, but we need to be grateful and pay attention to the 'small' Gifts. When we first started doing out of town Arts and Craft Shows, it was a big expense and always a gamble. If we didn't make enough money it would be a burden that would be hard to bounce back from. We signed up for a show in Great Falls, about 5 hours travel one way, and it happened...The Big Bomb and not Bomb like Randy says on Idol "That was the Bomb Dog", but Bomb the Big ol' Failure. We sat there for 2 days 'not' selling, Yikes! We were upset, worried and bored. All the while we pouted and griped to each other, but we also were talking to a gal from Guatemala who was traveling through the U.S.A. She supported her travels by wire wrapping jewelry and selling at these little shows. We became fast friends and she happily showed us a couple wonderful techniques she was doing. That horrible show really wasn't so horrible. The Universe Gifted us with a new friend and a wire wrapping technique that we have used for the last 15 years. What a GREAT Show! May you always NOTICE your Gifts big or small.

Compromise Is Good

Today was a bright and sunny day. It was gorgeous, blue skies, and not a cloud in sight. With the dawn of a new day I started a new phase in my life. I joined a group of my friends for a walk...TA DA!!! Yes, I WALK. I'm a Walker, I WALK! My girlfriend Cathi presented me with a new pair of Merrell tennis shoes. (she is so thoughtful). Not only am I a Walker, but I have "happy feet". Now the body is another story...yep sore, all parts are sore. I'll be a little slow in the morning, but I'm aiming to be out and Walking again. I hear you can turn good nutrition and exercise into a compulsion...hummm...We'll see, I really like to Eat, Drink, and Be Merry. Maybe I can still 'Live La Vida Lo ca' with a little exercise on the side! May you be blessed with Good Health, I'll drink to that!

Show Season BLAST OFF!!!

Yesterday was opening day of Farmers Market! Oh yeah baby, the show season has officially started. THANK GOD. It was glorious...the sun was out, little wispy clouds, and a slight breeze. Very few people, but that will only increase. We're ready to start. We have jewels and we're not afraid to use them...HA! I say to the universe..."BRING IT" all I ask, is a chance to prove money can't make me happy:) May you meet all of your burdens with HUMOR.

April Is Not Just Another Pretty Month

OK now, the month of August must have been very busy in our family through the years...Because we've had a bunch of births in the month of April, starting off with the eve of April fools Day, Happy B-day to you Auntie Pat. (If I had been there, we would've shopped or had tea together, something very 'girlie' and fun.) The 14th is my best buddy in the Bay Areas day...Happy B-day Debber! I wish I could've hung out with you. ( We'd drink Champagne, and eat Sushi till we're bloated for days! Just like old times.) Today, the 15th brings us Tax Day and my husbands B-day, it's also the day Lincoln died, the Titanic actually finished sinking, and the Hindenburg exploded...Whats that telling us?(Always keep receipts, don't go to the theater, and for goodness sake, stay off of Cruise Ships and Big Ol' Blimps!) My gorgeous niece, the RN, was born on the 22nd (She is responsible for getting me hooked on IDOL, thanks alot Heidi...Go Crystal and Lee!) My wonderful Brother, Kerry's Birthday is the 25th (if I was with him, I'd be playing Pinnacle or laying by the pool over looking the ocean in Kauai, WHAT AM I DOING HERE?)The 25th also happens to be my father-in-laws, Happy B-day Fred. Last but not least my lovely Sister-in-law Tammy finishes the list on the 28th. (If we were together we'd be in a Casino somewhere, Drinking 'Heavily' OH YEAH 'Heavily', PARTY ON!) You know... April would be a great month to vacation and visit everyone (hummm...).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO EVERYONE! May all of your wishes come true. I hope you have a very prosperous and healthy year. HAVE LOADS OF FUN... FIND YOUR BLISS... ENJOY LIFE!