AT LEAST IT'S FINALLY SPRING.

Such a beautiful day out yesterday and today
I'm so Happy!!
Nice to get outside and walk around the house.
I see the birds have pulled apart my soffits.
Noticed that my front railing is coming apart.
The deer have chewed off the bottom of my little trees.
I better get that fence put up this year.
The grass is growing that I planted after I dug up the front yard flower bed.
Guess that means I need to buy a lawn mower.
Oh and my driveway is almost all dirt again, I better get a big load of gravel delivered.
Sigh... no wonder I'm always tired and BROKE.
Oh well!
At least it's finally Spring.

CORAL PINK · UN SET DE ICONOS SOCIALES PARA TU BLOG O WEB

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Ya sabes, la imagen está enlazada a mi dropbox, así que sólo tienes que pulsar sobre ella para descargar el archivo que contiene los iconos. Si además haces clic en el botón de pinterest que aparece al pasar el ratón sobre ella, podrás compartir este recurso con millones de personas en todo el mundo. ¿Sigues la cadena? ;)

This is just the COOLEST THING!

First, make sure you have the SOUND turned on! 
Enjoy!

21 Balançoires (21 Swings) from Daily Tous Les Jours on Vimeo.
21 Swings
Exercise in musical cooperation
Every spring, an interactive installation takes over a high-traffic area in Montréal’s Quartier des spectacles and sets a collective ritual. The installation offers a fresh look at the idea of cooperation, the notion that we can achieve more together than separately.
The result is a giant instrument made of 21 musical swings; each swing in motion triggers different notes, all the swings together compose a piece, but some sounds only emerge from cooperation.
The project stimulates ownership of the public space, bringing together people of all ages and backgrounds, and creating a place for playing and hanging out in the middle of the city centre.
A traveling version of the project is currently being made for these collective moments to spread around the world.
dailytouslesjours.com
A Project by Daily tous les jours
Created by Mouna Andraos & Melissa Mongiat
Executive Producer Antoine Clayette (2012), Hugues Monfroy
 (2011)
Music Radwan Ghazi Moumneh
Concept Team Dominique Côté, Alexandre Landry, Yolène Leroux, Luc-Alain Giraldeau

Design Sébastien Dallaire, Alexandre Landry
Technical Direction Eva Schindling
Production Coordinator Tara DeSimone
Technological Partner ESKI

Technical Direction Vincent Leclerc

Project Manager Josiane Mercier

Programming Patrick Keroulas, Vincent de Belleval

Production Philippe Savard, Marc-André Tessier
Video Geoffrey Boulangé

Doppelgänger

Meg Ryan, Poppy



STRETCH

A lady called a vet clinic
She was upset because a stray cat that she had, kept vomiting in her house.
She was asked how long she had this cat in the house and she said 6 months.
and it kept vomiting. 
She was at her wits end.
She had even tried to take it to the no-kill shelter but they were full.
She didn't know what to do, she thought that maybe it was just time to put him to sleep.
The receptionist asked more questions.
He was an adult black cat but not old.
He wasn't her cat, she said, she had just found him, 6 months ago.
She was told that an appointment needed to be made to look at this cat.
When asked what his name was, she replied. "He doesn't have a name"
He's a stray cat.
Rather than make an appointment, the woman decided to give the situation more time.
The receptionist hung up and turned to her co-worker, the Boarding Manager.
"Sounds like this would be a cat for YOU!"
but the Boarding Manager said "No way! we are full up at my house"
A couple of weeks went by and the woman decided to bring him in and have him looked at.
She just couldn't take it any longer, he was vomiting all over her house.
So she dropped him off to have him observed for the day.
He sat in the cage and just looked at everyone.
Never vomiting.
Eventually the boarding manager walked by and saw him in the hospital cage..
"Who is this black cat named "Stray Cat?" she asked as she opened the cage to hold him.
The receptionist told her, "That's the cat I told you about a couple of weeks ago!"
The boarding manager frowned and put him back into the cage
and walked away.
So the stray cat sat there and just kept looking at everyone.
He ate and used his litter box and didn't vomit.
At lunch time the Boarding Manager took him out of the cage and held him again.
He leaned against her.
The receptionist walked up to behind her. "Isn't he just the sweetest thing!?"
"Yeah" said the Boarding Manager as she put him back into the cage and walked away again.
The day went on.
Different tests were run. Nothing was found
and he never vomited.
Finally x-rays were done.
The Boarding Manager walked back up to the lab area and asked the vet techs what the x-rays showed.
"He looks to have an inflamed bowel, some sort of irritation, hopefully a change in his diet, some medication to firm his stool will do the trick."
Everyone started to try to think of a name for him.
They called him several names but the Boarding Manager looked at him and said
"No, that's not his name" and walked off as the others exchanged looks.
The Boarding Manager went up to the receptionist and they talked.
The owner hadn't called back yet to check on him, so the receptionist called her.
No answer.
Just before closing, the woman called.
The receptionist gave her an update and started to comment on how very sweet he is
and that "one of the "girls" has really taken a liking to him"...
The woman immediately interrupted her and said
"She can have him! I'll pay the bill but she can have him".
The receptionist went back to boarding and talked with the Boarding Manager.
So the Boarding Manager went back to the lab area and took the stray cat out of the cage.
Doc looked him over again.
He checked his ears and looked into his mouth.
He stared at the x-rays.
One of the vet techs said to the Boarding Manager
"So are you taking him?"
Doc wrinkled his forehead and looked at the Boarding Manager.
The Boarding Manager replied hurried "Yes, but she's paying the bill!"
Doc mumbled, "She's paying the bill?" and then shrugged, shook his head and walked away.
The stray Cat went back to the Boarding area where he could be monitored and medicated.




He was given meds for a week and the Boarding Manager brought him organic pumpkin to firm up his stool
and he never vomited.
One of the vet techs came back to visit him and the Boarding Manager said
"Here, hold him out so that I can take a photo of him that shows how long he is"
So the tech held him up and stretched him out.

"What's his name?" she asked.
"Stretch" replied the Boarding Manager.

The Boarding Manager took him home.
He vomits.
She buys him canned gluten free food and special dry food.
It seems to be working.

NO MORE DOGS! or CATS.

Thank god this week is over.
Of course it's just the beginning.
But Spring Break always hits hard at the kennel.
I had dogs and cats everywhere.
Friday morning as I was trying to get dogs outside and back in and feed and medicated,
several owners showed up to pick up their dogs early.
One of the receptionists offered to run the dogs up front for me.
She was racing back and forth and I was loading her up with their food and supplies 
and then another receptionist starting paging me.
She had more dogs coming in.
So the receptionist ran back more dogs and it was a mad house.
She finally stopped and looked at me and said
"I have no idea how you are able to do this every day!"
"Neither do I" I replied.

At the end of the day, my kennel worker showed up to take over.
She stated how tired she was of doing "all of this".
She does it four times a week
for 4 hours intervals.
I told her that I was tired too
and that I do it all week for 9 hours shifts.
But I reminded her that at least we worked with animals
and didn't have to deal with people.
She agreed, it was a better situation.
I left out what I was thinking,
That I'm 35 years older than her, so I didn't really want to hear how tired she was.

Yep, I hate to say this but it is REALLY getting to me.
Maybe it's the stressful situation happening here at home right now
that makes me so tired of it all.

I feel like my home has turned in a old dog nursing home.
I mean, I knew this day was coming but
I don't know...
Anyway, the other night as Ruby stood all wobbly at the water bowl,
she fell over
so I stood her back up.
and over she went again,
so I set her back up
and down she went.
I lift her up again and
finally she had her footing.

Later that night, after everyone had been out for their final nightly potty.
Claude just stood at the bottom of the three steps.
Staring at them and then at me.

It was like he needed a running start
and he just couldn't do it.
As I started to go get him, he walked away and circled around
and with great effort, hurled himself up the steps.

The next morning I let everyone outside and then when they were finished, I called them back inside.
Button was pacing back and forth along the fence.
She's totally blind now but usually knows her way around.
But she was confused out there and although I called out to her
she just turned around and listened, not sure where to go.
I went out and picked her up.
I reassured her and her tail was wagging like crazy.

And then there's Rosie.
Older than dirt.

Just two random snaggleteeth left on bottom of her mouth.
She's doing fine
but very quirky.
She has to walk against the walls
or along the furniture to go room from room.
She even squirms under the china hutch to get to the laundry room
rather than walk across the floor, out in the open.
Maybe she's not so dingy after all.
Maybe it's self-preservation.
After all, packs of dogs are known to take out the weakest link.
Although I would never leave her alone with the bigger dogs
where that could be a threat.
but she is very old.

So, I'm tired.
Which is why I recently turned down a Maltese dog.
I love Maltese's.
My first "little" dog, my first small rescue was a 10 yr old Maltese.
and this one is only 9 months old and deaf.
He's a boy dog. So there would be the potential of a leg lifting hassles.
Not all male dogs do that but some do.
But I don't have the energy
I'm trying to share info with them about deaf dog rescue.

So, no more animals are coming home with me.
Which reminds me
I need to do a post about my newest cat
that I got a couple of months ago.

HOME… LESS EN EL FESTIVAL MIRADAS DE MUJERES

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Estoy muy contenta de poder anunciar digamos que oficialmente, mi participación el el Festival Internacional Miradas de Mujeres con el proyecto fotográfico Home... Less. Es mi primera intervención en un evento cultural de estas características y me siento tan feliz como asustada en este momento. Bueno, más feliz que asustada en honor a la verdad :)



¿QUÉ ES FMM?


El Festival Miradas de Mujeres es una iniciativa de MAV, Mujeres en las Artes Visuales, una asociación interprofesional y de ámbito estatal sin ánimo lucrativo formada por 400 profesionales en el sector de las artes plásticas en España.
El propósito principal del Festival Miradas de Mujeres, creado en 2012 por la artista Mareta Espinosa, es el de difundir el papel de la mujer dentro de todos los ámbitos profesionales de las artes visuales, desde la creación artística al comisariado, la crítica, la investigación y la gestión.
Con este objetivo, el Festival invita a museos, galerías, centros de arte, museos y universidades a sumarse con muestras y actividades de mujeres artistas durante el mes de marzo, con el objeto de aglutinar el mayor número de exposiciones protagonizadas por mujeres y ocupar la agenda expositiva de este mes, a escala nacional y, desde este año, internacional.


PUEDES VISITAR ESTA EXPOSICIÓN EN...


Litografía Viña es un Centro de Estampación Artística. En sus talleres se promueven la formación, la experimentación y la producción artística contemporánea. Además se encargan de esto tan importante que es la exhibición y difusión del arte procurando definirse, sobre todo, como un espacio interdisciplinar. Desde el 24 hasta el 30 de marzo, podéis visitar la muestra Sinergias en la que participo con otras talentosas y admiradas compañeras.



Mi obra es 100% interactiva y también puedes participar de la instalación si lo deseas. Se toca, se mira, se escribe. Sigue mi ruta en el mapa o cuéntame lo que quieras en el diario de viaje. Home... Less es un proyecto abierto y susceptible de ser continuado con otras historias similares a la mía.





Si tienes la oportunidad de acercarte sería estupendo. Nosotros no vamos a perdernos la inauguración del próximo lunes aunque el nuestro vaya a ser un viaje relámpago cruzando España de sur a norte ya que varios compromisos laborales y proyectos nos tienen anclados a Andalucía de manera constante.
Prometemos hincarle el diente a la fabada, a la morcilla matachana, al chorizín a la sidra y al cachopo. Nos vamos a desquitar aunque sea un par de días y a salirnos de la dieta y, sobre todo, a refrescar la mirada buscándole el horizonte al norte, que por lo menos yo lo tengo bastante olvidado

Y ahora os dejo con el mismo audiovisual que utilicé para presentar Home... Less en la Escuela de Arte de Granada, a la que por supuesto tengo mucho en mente en estos momentos, especialmente a las dos mejores profesoras de fotografía que he tenido jamás: Susana Vellarino y Paloma Brinkmann. Sin ellas esto nunca habría salido de dentro de mi. Esto, no estaría pasando. ¡Gracias!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIMMY CHEW!

It's my Jimmy Chew's birthday today! 

He's Six!

 

Yep, we've been together for more than 5 years.
He celebrated this morning by somehow getting my work hoodie off of the kitchen chair where I had just set it after taking it out of the dryer. 
I was upstairs brushing my teeth and came down to find him laying on it in the middle of the living room. I shouted for him to get off and shook it out.

Hmm, maybe it was OK to wear?
I put it on and then noticed he had peed on the sleeve.
He's very lucky that it's his birthday today!

Spring Break has Begun!

and I'm already tired.
The kennel is packed to the max
and I worked a double shift today,
yeah, on Sunday.
But
I love my job, I love my job, I love my job.
that's my chant.
until I finish the books 
and they become bestsellers!
Or at least sell a few copies.
LOL!
OK, that's my new chant.
Finish the book, Finish the book, Finish the book.

Pillow Vases IV: Frosted

One of my favorite decorating tools in the studio is a pastry bag filled with slip with any one of the various decorating tips I've purchased over the years. I found my first "set" of decorating tools at K-Mart, when Martha Stewart still had a relationship with them - the kit I purchased (in a very nice lidded metal box) had her name on it. Since then, I've scoured cake decorating aisles at Michaels and JoAnne's for new and exciting effects. I find myself most often using star, round (of various sizes) and ribbon tips for my projects. The "Frosted" Pillow Vase designs are made using a "star" tip.

After assembling the Pillow Vase vessel form, it's often too dry to decorate right away. If that's the case, I can either re-hydrate it by draping with a damp rag and placing in a plastic bag or brush the surface with slip intermittently before adding the decoration. Once the piece is moist enough to successfully accept the decoration - moist but not so plastic that the clay will buckle at all with any pressure), I can apply whatever decoration I choose - spirals made from extruded clay, rosettes cut out from a thin slab of clay or slip decoration using a pastry bag and various tips.

For this "frosted" decoration, I use a pastry bag with a star tip. I score and then slip around the vase's opening and along its waist - the location of the join between the two parts of the vase. In the case of those tiny vases with a "pansy frog" (see two vases to the right side of the picture to the right), I mark a circle that encompasses all the openings and score and slip around it. (By slipping the scored area, the applied decoration does tend to conform to the piece more successfully.) I apply a circle of rosettes around the opening first, then around the waist, thus minimizing the risk of "messing up" the work I've already done. I'll either use my finger or a tool of some kind (doesn't really matter which), I clean the opening of any encroaching clay before setting it to dry. It's important with these pieces to make sure to sand the decorated area before bisque firing as the slip can dry into very sharp edges.


Black Cat Pottery 2014 Calendar of Events

Saturday, April 26, 2014, 10:00am-12:00n:  Clematis Pruning Workshop Long perceived as “difficult” or “temperamental”, Clematis are actually proven performers that can give years of gardening delight. Join us for a hands-on workshop to learn about the care and culture of these garden gems and specific pruning techniques and concerns for various species and hybrids. Bring your favorite (by-pass) pruners and a chair. $10 pre-paid/nonrefundable registration includes one hour of instruction, an hour of supervised hands-on experience, refreshments and a comprehensive hand-out. Pre-enrollment required, including your name and contact information in case of inclement weather. Limited enrollment. Two hours of education for Master Gardeners. Register at www.blackcatpottery.com.

May 31 and August 16, 2014 (Saturday), 10:00am-2:00pm: Annual Spring/Summer Garden Tours. Cheryl's life-long love of Clematis and her more recent obsession with native plants are both immediately apparent as you arrive at her garden. Designed as a teaching and learning space, her garden includes numerous Clematis, representing over 10 species as well as large-flowering hybrids, and over 200 species of native plants, ranging from Spring ephemerals to trees, shrubs and vines. Take advantage of this opportunity to become acquainted with some of the lesser-known small-flowering species Clematis varieties and the beauties of our native flora. Cheryl's garden was featured in the July 2009 issue of Michigan Gardener, a publication for which she also writes about Clematis and native plant topics. We will feature at least one hands-on workshop (pre-paid registration required), prints and notecards by Notable Greetings, hypertufa garden furnishings by Farmbrook Designs, Black Cat Pottery’s garden-inspired pottery and other locally-sourced creative products. We also feature a limited selection of seasonally-appropriate native plants and a butterfly release at the Summer Tour. Qualifies for Master Gardener Educational Hours. No fee or pre-registration required for the tour.

December 13, 2014 (Saturday), 10:00am-4:00pm. Join Cheryl English’s Black Cat Pottery and other Michigan artists for a day of holiday cheer. Meet the artists, enjoy holiday goodies and take care of your last-minute gift needs with handmade art for the home and garden! In addition to our garden-inspired pottery creations, we’ll be sharing our studio space with Don Schulte of Notable Greetings with his line of exquisite note cards and prints; Chris Hopp of Farmbrook Designs with his beautiful hypertufa lanterns, fountains, planters and other garden accoutrements; Glenda Hopp of So Many Colors with her one-of-a-kind hand-dyed cotton wearables; and Shelley Rothenbuhler, all made right here in Michigan! Locally made refreshments and musical accompaniment, as well as a book signing by a local author, round out the day.  Join us for some holiday cheer, get to know the artists and take care of your last minute gift-giving needs!  Bring a friend and spread the word!

Other Activities  Schedule an activity for your group or organization!

Pottery Workshops. Choose from a variety of projects for two (Original, Fancy or Deluxe Sunflower; Wall Pocket; Leaf Pocket; Applied Leaf Bowl; Leaves; Lace Bowls) or three (Hanging Bird Bowl) sessions. (Other workshop projects are available upon request.) 

Hypertufa Planter Workshop. Under the guidance of artist Chris Hopp, owner of Farmbrook Designs, make your very own unique hypertufa planter. (Advanced classes are available upon request.)

Botanical Monoprint Workshop. With the help of artist/educator Christine Laikind, make your very own unique botanical monoprint using material from the garden.

Botanical Cyanoprint Scarf or Notecards Workshop. Make your very own unique printed notecards or scarf with the assistance of artist/educator Christine Laikind, using special materials and the sun’s light.

Call or e-mail Cheryl English for additional information
or to book a private garden tour and presentation
or other activity for your group!


All events at 3903 Grayton St., Detroit, MI 48224-4003
Contact:  (o) (313) 885-3385/(m) (313) 690-3385
Check our website at www.blackcatpottery.com
Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BlackCatPottery

THE SNOW MISSED US!

We were supposed to get snow again.
Anywhere from 3 to 10 inches, depending on what TV channel you listened to.
But the snow missed us, (just a few flurries).
Finally the snow is melting!
and everything is muddy.
Well, mostly mud.
My dogs go out to an enclosed patio area that is mostly concrete.
For a very long time they have been going out there and doing their business in the snow and then it would be frozen to the ice before I could scoop it because we've been having windshield factors of sometimes as low as 25 below.
If it wasn't the wind, then it was new snow, which would cover it and now...
it’s all melted out there and I have been literally shoveling shit.

AARRRGGHHHH!

WAHOO! LET"S START AGAIN!

It's time to set our clocks an hour ahead!
I guess there are some pluses to being a procrastinator because I never got around to turning back my kitchen clock or the one in van. LOL!
So it's all good!
I think this is the PERFECT time to put this not so fun year behind us
and Spring Forward!  
I think I will plant my flower seeds in the starter trays today.
I know that last year I said I wanted to cut back on my outside garden time
but screw that!
When it finally turns GREEN outside, 
I might never come back in!


THIS WEEKEND

This weekend
is devote to getting rid of STUFF
and cleaning.
But mostly to thinking,
which always leads to writing.
I don't have WORD on this laptop
or maybe I do

sort of
but it keeps asking me for a KEY and I don't have a key.
and then it tells me that I have one less time to access my saved words.
I think I down to maybe 12?
and it started at 28.
So, need to get those words out of there
and into my email folders.
I save all my writing in drafts in my email account
so that I can open it wherever and look at it.

Sometimes I open them up and read the draft, maybe tweak it a bit and publish it as a post.
But it's a good place to store the thoughts in my head
that I need to get out.
To get rid of them for awhile.
I had a draft that I wrote last night
something about feeling like I was losing it at work.
Ya know, like where you are on the verge of a crying jag?

Rambling on about being tired,
tired physically and emotionally.
 
And maybe sharing an another tragic story from work
but then deciding to keep it to myself, mostly...
(sorry, Tammy)
rather than bring everyone else down too.
Yeah , it was about burn-out just before one of the busiest times of the year for me.

and about needing to remember not to dive out of the pot
into the fire.

Yeah, mostly stuff like that.
Hey, we've all got our problems.
Whatever.
So, this weekend will be spent
sorting through more of my STUFF
some to be donated and others things to be maybe sold
and sorting through my thoughts
and dumping them into my DRAFT folder.
So I hope everyone has a good weekend.
It's supposed to be much warmer here tomorrow.
Just enough to melt the snow and ice
and expose the layers of mushy poop out on my patio.

Yep. lots to do this weekend
and one hour less to do it in.
But one hour of sunlight is a good thing.

Talking to my Dad and Letting Go of a Dream.

So I was talking to my Dad the other day,
which some might find kinda weird since he passed away almost 20 years ago.
But I think some people do that. Talk to someone in their head.
I mean he started the conversation....or maybe it was my sub-conscious.
But, well. Anyway!
I was thinking about a little place that I drive by every morning.
It used to be an office space for a heating/cooling company but then it was for rent one day.
My sister called me and told me that she had seen a sign on the window.
She knew that I always had this fantasy of having a little shop in this area.

The place is located in the back of a building that houses a coffee/sandwich shop on the front end.
The space for rent has a picture window with an awning and another one on the other side at the back of the shop which people would walk past when they went into the coffee shop by the back entrance.
It's small but perfect.
So I had called just to satisfy my curiosity and found that rent was month to month for $500.
Not expensive but still out of my reach while living paycheck to paycheck.
So it is now rented and they are selling electronic cigarettes out of it..........
(I'm wondering how many cigarettes you would have to sell to make rent.)

My shop idea is something that I've toyed with doing for many years.

I'm full of IDEAS. 
I remember posting about wanting to have an alpaca farm. HERE
Doesn't that sound like Heaven too?
and the time that I had the booth at the antiques/collectibles mall HERE
and how I filled the vet clinic with my paintings and prints HERE
where I've only sold 3 pieces so far
and I am still very much in the red on that one.
Sigh...
What is wrong with me? Jeez, I annoy myself.

So RIGHT NOW I'm am working on my Kanga book and doing little bits and pieces on my BLUE book
and then yesterday as I was driving to work, thinking about the SHOP IDEA again.

I heard my Dad's voice in my head telling me to
"Knock it off! Stop going off in another direction AGAIN and stay on course!".
I thought to myself  that yeah, that's what he WOULD say.
That and to keep my focus and energy on track. 
Not to get side-tracked...
and to clean my damn house!
Of course thinking about that, I could feel myself getting irritated
and my neck muscles stiffening up thinking how he'd say -
"Get rid off all that stuff that you are hanging onto! If you haven't used it yet, get rid of it or sell it."
That would be my Dad, no sugar coating it.
We had a bumpy relationship.
When I was little, he was mostly a stranger that worked all the time and 
then after my Mom passed...it was awful.
He got rid of everything
including my pets.
I can't even type the words about my dog
or I will start to sob...
so, I loved him but also HATED him.
A lot.
But years later after I was grown and out on my own
and he mellowed with age,
we became very close.
It got to the point where he said that I was honestly his best friend.
and I would call him about EVERYTHING.
Suddenly we clicked and got along.
If I was struggling with a decision, I would call him and he'd always say -
"Let me think about it."
He would think my idea through and we would talk about it.
We still disagreed on things, but it was nice to have someone who really listened and thought about it.
He had no regard for my Art and was always more concerned with whether my house was spotless or not.
But even though I had a boyfriend and lots of friends and he had my step-mom, 
we would still depend on one another to talk about our feelings and fears.
Yep. were very good friends
He was retired and had a little part-time job to keep busy but he would come to my house and putter around
but he always made me pay for every little thing.
That was just the way he was. 
He didn't believe in hand-outs. He had grown up during the Depression
If he picked up something for my house, he'd give me the receipt and ask for the money and count out the change.
That was my Dad.

At the time, I only had 2 dogs and everyday while I was at work he'd stop over and let them out at lunch time.
He would say "Don't you worry about those dogs!"
Many times he'd leave me a note."You need to scrub out that sink" or "I like your new rug".

One of the reasons that I originally got my house (besides the low dollar amount and great neighborhood factor),
was the fact that I could walk my dogs easily to his house.
I'd go over and he'd come out and we would sit on the patio and watch the dogs run in his big backyard.
He had a little dog who would run after the tennis ball until she was exhausted.
Dad liked to throw it up on the roof of his ranch home and his dog would run sideways, back and forth
and wait for it to roll down and drop to the ground.
Dad would LAUGH and say that "She could do that all day!"
Yep, after all these years.
I can still hear his voice...
and know what his opinion would be on everything.
He'd be brutally honest with his opinions.
In fact I'm currently ignoring his comments in my head about my cats.
He never liked cats.
He let me have one when I was young and then changed his mind and got rid of her.
She was a very good little cat, never doing anything wrong except for the fact that she was a cat.
I won't dwell on that.
Or I will be very mad at him again....
and I've worked hard to let go of that anger.
But now, you kinda see why I am like I am.

But just quickly here -
The shop idea. Brick and Mortar versus Etsy.
The idea is of a little place to go to where you flip the open sign.

A place where I could sell fresh cut flowers from my garden and little bags of organic catnip.

A place where an old rescued dog sleeps behind the counter

and an ancient cat lays on a shelf.

Yep, that fantasy of holding Saturday afternoon "Story Hours" where my niece Maggie would sit in the middle of a circle of little kids sitting on brightly colored painted chairs and read.
Reading beautifully illustrated books that held wonderful stories in their pages. 

Maybe have a TUESDAY night, serving beverages, appetizers while creating.
It would be a night for adults to come and make stuff and chat.

It would be a place with BIG windows that would hold magical displays
and a fun painted door -

There used to be a shop that I passed on my way home every night.
It was located on a corner, that had traffic lights.  I would pray for a red light so that I could sit and stare.
I wanted a shop like that.
But while the IDEA is perfect in my mind,  I realize the odds of success are VERY low.
I have to remember that time is fleeting and I can't do it all.
I must narrow it all down to what I want the most
and do that.
or I will have a million things going
but never get anything accomplished.
There is just not enough hours in the day.
And...I have to remember to just ENJOY.
Enjoy life and not to feel so frantic.
I'm remembering something else my Dad said to me.
He worked A LOT when I was little,
I mean, he would go to work in the morning and come home for lunch with my mom and then leave and be back for dinner.
And after dinner, he would leave again and work some more.
He was working hard to make a good life for him and my mom, that's what I was told.
So one day years later, while having one of our talks he told me -
"If I had known that your mother was going to become ill and die...I would have worked less and spent more time with her."
Yep, Life is what happens while you are busy making plans.
So, I'm going to let go of the SHOP dream

and get rid off the stuff that I've accumulated, the things that are taking up space in the basement.
Wire racks, a pegboard display case and odds and ends meant for my shop idea.

Yep, I'm cleaning house.
Dad would be Happy.