Okay…we’re going to totally shift gears here. I know I come across a lot of the time as this little earth mother spouting grace and wisdom and love and light but I’m not feeling it right now. How many of you have lost your spouse, in one way or another, and now you are on your own and you couldn’t find the jumper cables and had to go to the hardware store after an already full day so you could jump the car in the driveway and move it before the major winter storm which is now raging out there with a foot of snow on the ground and much more coming and you worked all day only to come home at 25 miles per hour to an empty, cold house and a snow shovel with your name…and your name ONLY…on it?! Show of hands? Okay, now….how many of you got so mad at him for dying on you that you could just spit nails? I hope to high heavens it’s not just me. I know that anger is one of the stages of grief and I also know there is no timetable as to when that bad boy is going to show up! I was stunned at the rage that just boiled up in me while I was trying to push the snow off the driveway when I was already tired from a long day at the office. The thing I’m most angry about is, that if he hadn’t smoked, he might have lived longer and not left me alone to do everything by myself. So I shoveled enough to clear the front sidewalk and a path up to the door. I called my lawn sprinkler dude and begged him to go into the snow removal business. (He’ll be here tomorrow…yay! I think I scared him! lol) And I came in and drew a hot bath. I’ve settled down now, for the most part. But, you know what? Sometimes this just stinks and you gotta blow off some steam and move on. I can guarantee you one thing…the big yellow ball in the sky will come up again tomorrow and the world will look a lot brighter. Well…literally, it will. It’s snowing, remember?

“Crowds on Black Friday”

The only day you go out of your way to shove your way through a crowd in order to purchase cheap plastic crap the day after giving thanks for all the things you have!

Might I suggest purchasing gift items from local, mom & pop stores and from independent artists? At the very, very least…check the labels and buy products made in the USA.

I remember learning this song in grade school. I wonder if they still teach it. It always excited me because I knew before long we would be gathered around my Grandma’s table out at the farm with a bounty of wonderful food. My favorite was her pumpkin pie. She grew her own pumpkins and made the filling from scratch. She always complained that she couldn’t make a pie crust that was fit to eat but it seemed those pies were always gone in a flash!

“Thanksgivukkah”

Thanksgivukkah, 11/28/2013.

Yep, I was right…this is a once in a lifetime event! Thanksgiving and Hanukkah will not fall on the same day again until the year 79,811! So, let’s all be Jewish this year and celebrate such a monumental event! Top your latkes with turkey and cranberry sauce! Play “Spin the Turkey”! Sing “I Had a Little Turkey”! Oy, Vey…this is going to be FUN!!!

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday today, and remember…it doesn’t matter what you celebrate…just be grateful for all the blessing we have been given!

“Beautiful Bed”

Very busy and productive evening in the studio. Time to call it a night. Sleep well!

“Security”

One of the big name security companies came to our house a year ago offering to put in a security system. The equipment would be installed for free and we would only pay the monthly monitoring fee. Mr. Virgo thought it was a good idea and we should do it, but for some reason we just never got around to it. I lived here for 5 years before I met him and never once felt frightened to be here alone. However, since the time change, and there are no street lights near me, I have had a few unsettling feelings when I hear (or imagine I hear) something outside. The other night I swore I heard footsteps outside my window. It was probably just a wild animal, but it gave me pause. Granted, I am insured by Smith and Wesson. You can rest assured I am packin’ when I’m traveling alone in TOW-Wanda and a gun lives by my bedside. (I always lock them away when the grandchildren are visiting.) I had a security system installed on Saturday and I love it! They are so much more than just an alarm these days. Mine has a button each for police, fire, and ambulance. I downloaded their app onto my phone and iPad and I can arm/disarm the system remotely. I can turn lights on and off. (I have my Christmas tree lights plugged into it and can turn them on before I get home so I can see them when I drive up!) There is a video camera that I have aimed out the sidelight in my front door. If the doorbell rings when I’m in bed or in another room, I can bring up the app on my iPad and see who is there. I can check the thermostat remotely so I step into a warm house when I get home. Here’s the fun one…I can turn up the heat in the house from my bed when I first wake up and after I’ve read the news on my iPad, the house is warmer when I go for that first cup of coffee! OK, I am a geek. I admit it. I love techno-toys. But I have to tell you, I slept better the last two nights than I have since Mr. Virgo died. And that is worth every penny!

“Sisters on the Fly”

Une grande journée de plaisir avec mes sœurs à la volée! Translation: A great day of fun with my Sisters on the Fly! (I’m still drunk on “Paris in Denver”!)

“Antique Fork Necklace”

Just off the bench. A birthday gift for a friend!

“Marshmallow Ranch Art Jewelry”

These, plus several peace sign pins came off the bench this morning. Now I’m out of here to mail a couple of necklace orders, give a friend a tutorial on FB and get some lunch!

“Freedom”

A while back we discussed my nemesis…panic attacks. I suffered my first panic attack in second grade when three things happened in rapid succession. First was a little bandy rooster of a preacher in my grandma’s church who preached hellfire and brimstone. He literally jumped from the pulpit, stuck his gnarly finger in my face, and with veins bulging and spit flying, told me I would go to hell if I did not believe. I wet my pants right there in the pew and decided it was much safer to follow the “Church of Ginny”. At school, I was bullied by a teacher who somehow chose me to be the poster child of stupid. It got so bad I couldn’t eat. She would save my untouched lunch tray to show my mom. It was decided I would bring lunch from home. I would stand in line to wash my hands before lunch and pray out loud asking God to please make me hungry so I wouldn’t get in trouble. I was beaten by both the principal and the teacher because I couldn’t eat. And if you got it at school, you got it twice as bad when you got home. Thankfully we moved over Christmas break. The third thing that happened was getting molested by a high school neighbor kid. When I told my friend’s mom, she grabbed my friend, put her hand on my chest, and pushed me away so she could shut the door in my face. But not before warning me to NEVER tell anyone about that, EVER again. I didn’t tell my mom till I was 35. Three things, in and of themselves, that were devastating. But together, they cemented a lifelong anxiety disorder.