A LONG AWAITED ADDITION...

"Buttons...Ben and Peggy have done you proud

...you have your first  grandchild!"

And I have a new Great Niece...

This one is special in the fact that it's my deceased sister's first grandchild!

Sadly one that she will never see or get to hold...;(

This is the look of joy I know she would show...

maybe even a LOT more...

[this is an old photo of her holding my first grandchild...

I've added hers instead]

I know that she would love the fact that they named her after her "Virginia [Louise]" and Peggy's grandmother "Lily"...who raised her from childhood. 


It just so happens that PoD's Great Great Grand Mother's name is "Lily" and it was a family tradition in their family that all the girls all have flowers in their names. [I didn't know that at the time of my daughter's naming, her grand mother's name was Daisy Violet and Lily Rose was her mother's]. So how weird is that...as I'm sure PoD and Peggy never discussed that fact.


Lily is such a pretty name too!




But what do I want to call our new addition...?


I like the two of them together? VirginiaLily...but you kind of say their whole name together like that when your angry at them?




We all called my sister by her nickname "Ginny". But in her final year, she mentioned that a few women in her town called her "Virginia" and she kind of liked it better than the name "Ginny". Her husband could never wrap his tongue around the name "Ginny" so he called her "Jenny"?

So, seeing as our younger sister and I had changed ours to the ones we liked, it was only fair that she get to change hers too!

In my last conversation with her [on my birthday, 9 days before she died] I did jokingly say to her "Luv you...Bye...Virginia" before I hung up...?



My first comment to my daughter upon seeing this first photo of Virginia Lily was... "what a cute little button nose"! PoD then replied, that she had "her, button nose"...so have I nicknamed her "Buttons" by my first response?


But "Buttons" is my nickname for Ginny now!


Hmmmmm?

I'm sending out a mental vibe......mmmmmmm

Any of my fans and lurkers out there got a comment on which one I chose...and why I might have?


1. Virginia

2. Lily

3. VirginiaLily


4. Ginny


5. Buttons

I won't tell you until you tell me...;}

WTF

What more is there to say....even Creepy Hollow was amazed!

This was at 5:45 am this morning....

Me and the drunks from next door got to watch this annoying event...

I know I live in the northern hemisphere but come on...

MORE SNOW????

It's 5 above right now?

There's even ice on the bird bath!

One never know what they are going to wake up to around here anymore?

The other "Alien Brothers" are still here and trying to stay warm and dry....;}

Wasn't there a mention of global warming?

Not a nice way to start the day!

Do hope things get better for my son-in-law today...

Hope those magical wizards come and wish those nasty snow/rain clouds away so PoD can bar-b-que you something nice for your special day!

Wished my present for you was less "holy"...

unless you can walk on water?

Have a happy day Trebor!

ps...

Hope the sun is shining where you are...;)

SKIES ARE A LOT BRIGHTER...

Well for at least a little while...work has slowly started


All of the old sayings held true for long weekends...especially this weekend...

"Wait 5 minutes and the weather will change"


It did!

Many times!


We went from "oh my god it's SO FRIGGIN' HOT OUT HERE... and if you smile at me one more time, cause you like it, I'm gonna hit yah", type of weather

to..."what the hell it's cold/rainy enough to turn the heat back on...

to it's SNOWING!


?...that leaves only June and July that I haven't seen it snow....




I'm so happy that I wasn't away camping like most of the fools people from here were...;)!




AND the town was SO QUIET!!!!




The town kids like this weekend to do some "partying at the lake" so I enjoyed that part of this labor day weekend!




My plans were to plant sweat peas in the front under the awning and sunflowers along the side of the garage.

Maybe kill some ants along the way...


Sounds easy...it wasn't...as usual!



Both had to be prepped...




Under the awning I had made a walkway [2009]out of re-cycled bricks salvaged from the pile left in the back yard. The old woman that previously owned the place had placed these old bricks along the length of the garage and fence at the other side. So I had made the pattern the same...only it was too narrow and hadn't quite finished it.


The plan was to remove the bricks from the side of the garage and use them to expand the walkway...

Last weekend I got my grand kids to do that heavy stuff like breaking up the soil and removing the bricks...;)

But I did all the rest...

Which sounds easy...but WASN'T!

I liked the look so much better but wasn't quite satisfied...

Another thing that annoyed me was how narrow the walk was up to the door. The crumbling concrete slope is unfix able due to the pine tree next door [the soil is too acidic and eats away at the concrete] and is a hazard so maybe some added width on the other side?

Not to mention cutting back on the weed growing area...;}

Did I mention the rotten weather?

The 2 day torrential rain did help soften up the weed bed and I was able to sink the bricks into the muck...did I mention I love playing in the mud...;}

I must have been great entertainment  for the neighbors across the street...this chubby old lady putting something on the ground then jumping on it or trying to balance on one leg...;}

Did I mention it was raining...

The snow did finally drive me inside!

And the sun did finally shine...

For, I was able to do this later...

 

Did manage to tucker out with only 2 more feet to go.

DIDN'T manage to get the seeds into the ground yet.....ran out of steam!






Did I mention ants?




The ants have started marching in one by one lately...




I think I live on an ant hill!


THEY! ARE! EVERYWHERE!




One of the reasons on the walkways are to stir up the colony the lives around my front entrance. I've put out bait traps but they give me no visual satisfaction. But BillyRoo found these little beauties that causes me great joy....

WARNING ANTS WERE HARMED IN MAKING THIS PHOTO!

Can't express enough my joy in seeing that!

Sorry you bug lovers...but this way is more humane on the birds who might catch the ones that carry the poison bait back to the hill...so see I'm still thinking on some ways to not harm birds.




So I managed to do some labor on labor day




Got a sore back




No seeds in the ground.....




Maybe next weekend....




Oh...I managed to get some garage sale items too...






Hope you enjoyed your time off.....;)

WHERE THE HELL AM I....

Not sure myself...




Last post was a missed Easter and that wasn't all...




Celebrated my son's 29th birthday on the Easter Sunday but missed posting about it....sorry BillyRoo!




April is not such a great month for me and it's only highlights are my son's birth on the 5th and my business anniversary of being the sole owner on the 16th...6 yrs. Other than that, it SUCKS!




It's a death month for me...




A girl friend died on the 4th [1999], my stepmother on the 9th [2003] and the worst...my dad on the 25th [1972].


Of all of them, I miss him the most!


He is my inspiration to stay busy!


I still remember watching the life go out of his eyes when he had to retire and stay home...the step mother wasn't the best to have to live with day in and day out! Bowel Cancer and heart problems were really the culprits but if you have nothing to live for...fighting to exist is even harder!


April just so happens to be the slowest work-wise for me...always has been! But lately the work has been slow since December of last year and things aren't looking too much better! I did just land a new account that seems to be looking good but I won't hold my breath on much more from them. My dependable oil company has been in a holding pattern for over two years now with rumors of it being on the "for sale" block? So no hope in it's direction. Found that I can't depend on  town folk business!




Not one for being beat down for too long I have been searching my brain for new avenues...

Like these fortune telling balls...an answer to fancy gift packaging

which were for my two grandchildren and PoD's niece and nephew at Easter. They were a great hit!

BillyRoo even liked his on his birthday, mostly because I had filled it with things that he liked. It's amazing how much fits in that sphere. He now uses it to collect all of his loose change.


Another one was made for the Gala Evening held on the 24th and it took 20.00 in chocolates to fill it! They used it as a door prize and the lady that won it had no plans on sharing the chocolate...;)

Since then they have multiplied...

The Gala Night was also a time when I tried to launch my "Wall Talk" designs...which has proven to go nowhere? A lot of it depended on how it was presented. I had donated over 200 dollars worth to their cause and I guess I have to be happy with that as my donation, but still feel miffed that they were presented as a joke. It wasn't done intentionally but one shouldn't have the comedic act do the presenting of prizes...everything is a joke to them! Not happy about that!

It was a toss up for me whether to advertise what extra things that I do during that event or spend the 200 on the up coming trade show? The Gala didn't work, so now I have to fork out once again and try for the trade show! Huge signs outside my place doesn't work...I still get the question..."what is it that you do?" So I need to do something about it...thus the second attempt! Will try to launch those spheres again there!




Another little thing that caught my attention were these...

I had come across these cute little paper shoes on the net.

They're cute but of what use were they?

Being one that has to have everything useful, I decided that they could be fancy business card holders for women that have their own business! All they need to do is be widened...here's my attempt...

I LOVE paper projects! These ones were a challenge as I couldn't afford to buy the patterns designed by others. I love the architectural structure of them and before long I was hooked...




Business card designing is another thing that I do and usually make a simple box to house them for easier customer pick-up so now I can add "card holders" to the list.

Seeing as the majority of my customers are men, I decided to make some for them...

these are still works in progress. The cowboy boots are open it the front and I use them to hold my "sweet" samples of advertising. I'm working on making running shoes, dress shoes and work boots. As of yet they haven't been seen so I'm hoping that the trade show will do something?


These projects also help to keep my hands busy in the evenings instead of stuffing my face while watching re-run movies.


The lack of work has done nothing for my mental well being and eating for comfort has always been a problem. My not working has also affected my daughter too as she feels that she should keep herself open to helping me so she's not working either...it's a mad vicious circle for both of us!

One day things will soon work out...?




Wish that I could be all jovial and happily blogging but I have to record the bad too...




Mother's Day was great for me cause I have a wonderful supportive family who give me the best gift of all...themselves!


But to say a Happy Mother's Day to my mother would have been better...if she had lived! Sadly that happy day's wishes ended 49 years ago [July 13]!

The step mother never filled that gap in my heart...granted it's her that I have to thank for forcing me to be the strong willed person that I am today! Yet I feel that I don't want to honor her as a mother due to the fact that she slighted all of us in her will for her daughter only! No final words for us...so I give none back! She got my thanks when she was alive!




As of this moment I am working on grad decor for here and a small town south of us. I get the usual stop-ins people but that pays nothing...should ask for a consulting fee for the "free advice decoration"...ha, ha, ha on that one! Like that would work! Not! Only in small towns do they think they have the right to do that! My ex was good at that...not me, I work it out on my own!


One thing about free time is getting the books in order...filing is all done!


This Sunday my kids/grand kids came and did my yard work so I have no excuse not to do the rest of the outside stuff...only I now have to wait for the sun to go down as it doesn't work well with my medications...whine, whine, whine....




This is all I can stand for now as all it does is bring up more misery when I'm trying to think positive...


Writing is usually therapeutic to me but not this time...




Warning.....don't hold your breath waiting for the next blog...