The Newbies

New things available at Glitter and Grunge October 1. Check out all of the other artists too. Wonderful things available.

Vintage Book Swap

Finally, finally a chance to catch up and show the wonderful books I received from my swap partner Blondie. She, by the way, did a great job picking the books for me. Such great illustrations which remind me of some of the books I read when I was a little girl. And the little pouch that Blondie sent was just precious. Here's several pics of the package before, and after. (I almost tore into the package before I remembered I wanted to take some pics for show and tell.) And the very best part of the swap was getting to know such a generous, genuine person! Thanks so much Blondie.

Jackie O

Here's my latest for The Primitive Gathering. Check it out on October 1, and stop in and sign up for the October Gift Away. Win cool stuff!

"Mom, Can I Vacuum Glass?"

"Mom, can I vacuum glass?" That was the ominous text message on my cell phone. The phrase ‘Ignorance is bliss" takes on a whole new meaning when your filet mignon is interrupted by a message like that. Sadly, I guess history set precedent early on, when Alexander G. Bell summoned Watson for an eerily similar reason.

Anyway, to back up a bit; my husband and I were on a rare night out and we’d left our 15 year old in charge of her younger sister, who is almost a teenager herself. It was only for a couple of hours, and they are both fairly responsible, so a few hours away from home didn’t seem too foreboding. Until blissful ignorance was replaced with an odd curiosity and then, indigestion.

I quickly excused myself to get the full story: "Where and how much?! What??! Is there any blood involved? Put on your shoes, get the dog out, shut the door, and I’ll take care of it when I get home."

The evening wasn’t a total wash however. I suppose the fact that the culprits exhibited some responsibilty by consulting the "experts" instead of diving into cover-up mode was a plus--and I now have one less picture frame to dust.

Going once, going twice. . .

I hope by now you've heard about the silent auction for little Ava Grace. It's already generated some very generous bids, so hurry over and get in on the bidding! Here's a peek of a sweet, sweet primitive-style painting by Suzanne of Pear Tree Primitives. Or go directly to this link to see all of the items up for bid.

Also be sure to check out The Primitive Gathering for the October Gift-Away to celebrate six months as a gathering . Registration is October 1-13. And while you're there, check out all of the wonderful things for sale by all the artists. Winners will be posted October 15.

Oh, Technology

So, technology has finally come through. After years of achingly long wait times with dial-up, we finally were given access to DSL. I think our little family felt like our predecessors when electricity came. Wow--we are finally in the 21st century. Until nature decided to have the upper hand.

It's been over a month since our DSL, unbeknownst to us, was struck by lightning. It didn't quite completely fry the cable, but just singed it enough to make us all slightly crazy. There was no rhyme nor reason to our internet connection. I'd be working on something online, just about ready to send my attachments along their merry little virtual way, when, as if some devious little gremlin flipped a switch, the connection would go down. After weeks of threatening, cajoling, and coaxing I'd had enough. Deadlines were fast approaching, so the phone tech was summoned, and I awaited anxiously for the ominous diagnosis. It was not a fatal wound, but open-cable surgery was required. Five hours and a trenched yard and driveway later, the ailing internet line was pronounced healed. I quickly sent out my images (and barely met my deadlines), and then leisurely caught up on some emails and blog surfing. Life was good again--until the next day. As I was checking emails, suddenly, it was as if the roto-rooter job had never occurred. I tried to convince myself that it would jumpstart soon enough. Finally after another week of dealing with the on-again, off-again misery, Dr. Phone Tech was summoned a second time. After several hours they found the real problem, which had been in the line up the street! And, as of today, it appears finally cured. I hope they took that little gremlin too.

Almost Time

Just a reminder that the silent auction for Ava Grace, Angels Unaware starts September 16 at 6:00 am Easterm. It ends Saturday, September 22 at 9:00 pm Eastern. Be sure to check out all of the talented artists who have lovingly created and donated their creations.

Winking Sunflowers

I've been thinking about our sad little garden again. It's just so brown, and it's time to get the plots ready for next year. The weeks of 100 degree temps were just too much. But the sunflower "patch" we had was very interesting and the plants did most of their blooming before the worst of the hot spell came.

I had tons of dried seeds from last year's beautiful bounty, so this spring we just scattered hundreds of those leftovers in a clear part of our pasture. I think every seed germinated and sprouted, and I was so excited! My thumb is only green when I'm using green paint, so this was just a wondrous surprise.

Well, the plants just never quite looked "normal" but grew tall nonetheless. Some of the plants began to show signs of blooming, but in the oddest places on the plant. Finally some flowers began to emerge, but these were no ordinary blooms. Some were half-flowers, some had only a few petals, some had oval shapes with tons of petals, some looked as if they were giant eyes winking, and many were what my daughter deemed "conjoined twin" blooms.

But these unique flowers didn't seem to know that they were odd or misshapen. They bloomed with such abandon and reached heavenward just as proudly as if they'd been prize-winning roses. Funny how the Lord used those little oddball flowers to teach one of my girls a wonderful lesson. She suffered a really serious injury to her foot last fall, and was on crutches almost 6 months. It sidelined her from her passion of running cross country until recently when she started training again. Needless to say, it has been, and continues to be a painfully slow process, and discouragement has settled in at times. We were reminded of the joy in reaching heavenward, in spite of circumstances, or even because of them. The Lord isn't really concerned with what the offering "looks" like, but in the fact that we're giving Him what we have.

Celebrate Life

Here's a sneak peek at the figure I'm working on for the Angels Unaware Auction. She's a papier mache bunny angel with glass glitter sprinkled on her wings. Her dress is accented with crepe trim, her shoes have tiny pink bows, and she wears a tinsel halo. Be sure to check out the auction September 16-22.