October 19, 2010

Mandarin Craft Festival October 16, 2010






One day show, lots of work and preparation, but we had so much fun and were very successful! Here are some pictures of our booth. Come see us at our next show at the Moroccan Shrine Temple on Nov 21 & 22.

October 14, 2010

15 Things you may not know about me

1. I don't have a "bucket list". I'm happy to have survived some of the stupid things I've already done in my life.
2. When I get dressed, I put on a sock and a shoe and a sock and a shoe. Not a sock and a sock and a shoe and a shoe. Can't do it any other way.
3. I have discovered that I count things subconsciously, like when I walk up stairs, I count the steps. That's not too psycho.
4. I really don't like people who don't know the rules of the road AND INSIST ON BEING IN FRONT OF ME OR ON MY BUTT, oh sorry, it gets my hair on fire thinking about it.
5. I am one collection short of being on my own A&E "Hoarders" show.
6. "Amazing Grace" on bagpipes makes me cry.
7.  I'm disturbed by people who are mean spirited.
8. I could buy a new pair of shoes every day.
9.  If I could, I'd eat something sweet for every meal, like a banana split followed by a piece of turtle cheesecake.
10. I still feel like I am 24 years old. On the inside.
11. I kind of like doing some things by myself that most people like to do with friends, like shopping or eating in a restaurant.
12. I am happiest when I am with my grandsons.
13. I am saddest when my children are hurting.
14. If I had a do-overs-decade, it would be my 20's. (no explanations)
15. My biggest regret in life is not dancing with my dad at my 8th grade dance. I never got another chance, and I think I hurt his feelings.

October 01, 2010

Only 30 days til Halloween



Halloween in my house circa 1960: Every year my dad would get in the kitchen to cook some weird concoction which we had to eat before we were allowed to go Trick Or Treating. In retrospect, it probably wasn't all that weird, it was likely some kind of stew. We were used to my mother's bland style of cooking and anything out of her short repertoire of recipes seemed "weird" to us. There we sat at the dining room table, shoving things around on our plates, hoping beyond hope that mom would say, "OK you're done". Then Ding-Dong, "Trick Or Treat!" Aaack, the other neighborhood kids were already out collecting their goodies. A few more bites and we were on our way. We carried big brown grocery bags to haul our loot. Back then, we were able to go without an adult, and go we did. My brother who is 5 years younger than me, was in tow. We ran as fast as we could from house to house and I can barely remember any Halloween nights that it wasn't raining. And hot. We always came home all sweaty with a ginormous stash and our bags were soaking wet. Mom immediately pulled out all of the bubblegum. We weren't allowed to chew it. Does that even make sense?! No gum, but all the candy we could stuff in our face. Our dentist loved us.
To be perfectly honest, I can't even remember what costumes we wore, all I can remember is how much fun we had. It was a happy time in our neighborhood. We had lots of children our ages to hang out with and we were all innocent enough to enjoy Halloween for what it is meant to be: a happy, silly, care-free day to dress up and get all the candy you'd need until the next candy holiday. Happy Halloween.
...and, No, those are not my dogs, I don't even have a dog. But I can guarantee you that if I had one it would have a costume.