A Snotty Little Display

These shots are from a couple weeks ago at the shop as we began making our Hot Snots display in the gallery.

We made our own card display racks (well, actually, we've only completed one so far... there are four, but it's been too hot to paint) because we couldn't find anything on the market that we liked that was affordable. Because our line is at 140 designs now, the wire racks aren't ideal, but we may eventually have to go with them... I do think the wire racks are ugly.

I made a few Lil' Snot cards and like the translucent envelopes we bought for them. I think they are pretty cute and retail for only a buck each.

Our prototype bags turned out nicely but are made from a thinner material than I would like to ultimately use. I only bought enough material for about 40 of these so, hopefully, we will use them quickly and move onto more suitable fabric.

I finished several pendant necklaces last week but haven't photographed them yet. I had lost my camera (which turned out to be buried in my purse!) and so maybe I can get that done today.

Sadly, I woke this morning thinking about Christmas in the gallery and wondering what in this world I am going to do. I have one idea for a tree but, like last year, I feel some apathy about it. I am NOT into the discount Christmas market and refuse to go there. So, basically, what that means is a lot of work and a lot of imagination but nobody wants to buy until everything is at least half-price. I guess we could do a "Hobby-Lobby" and make a fake price to begin with, so that when it's half-price it's really full-price, but something about that seems deeply unethical to me and I won't do it.

Who knows. I might start on a snotty tree this week!

Love to all and especially to new bride, Sierra. Welcome home! d.

Girls coming home... leaving home...

Tomorrow, my girls, Ashley and Alicia, will be coming home for younger niece Sierra's wedding on Saturday. My girls are coming home - just for a couple days. My sisters little girl is leaving.

All these girls - my two and my sister's Savannah and Sierra - have been away from home for years now -- all in college, some of them married. Both my sister Linda and I are left with only little lap dogs for our babies (and recently, my sister acquired an inquisitive peacock who according to her possibly lying husband decided on his own to leave in a day or two... do you really believe that?) but we don't have any real babies anymore.

As I got dressed for work this morning I looked at my old fat head in the steamed-up mirror and said to myself, "I will never be young again." This is still coming as a revelation to me. I will never be young again. Wonder what that even means.

My husband called the other night from work just to tell me the news that the son of friends of ours just turned 30. We were both astounded by this. Little Brian was 3 years old when David and I got married. THREE YEARS OLD! And he's 30 now! HE'S THIRTY!

No wonder I will never be young again. You can't still be young when you got married nearly 30 years ago.

And so our littlest niece will marry and my girls are already married and, no doubt, Savannah will be married before we know it and one thing's for sure: Christmas will never be the same!

When I grow old I shall wear purple?

I ain't gonna wear purple. Nobody cares if you wear purple. That's no big fa-looten deal. That's not like it's some wild thing just because you stick on some absurd stupid red hat. Purple sucks. That whole idea sucks.

When I get old I'm just gonna go around with no pants. That'll make somebody remember me. And even if they don't remember me, they'll at least say, "what was that old thing that just run by here with no pants? Did you see that?"

Nobody will believe their eyes. And it'll be me that done it! It'll be all about me-me-me!

Sierra, the Bride

I took down our old hammock today, put up its replacement, then stood there for several minutes and just looked.

The trees in this old yard are huge. The trees we planted for the girls when they were babies now tower above the house and the limbs have to be cut back every few summer weeks because they brush against the roof. The other trees that my own father planted are all over 50 years old now and there's too much shade. The grass doesn't grow and flowers don't grow and the house is dark. But it stays cool all day long without air conditioning.

The wind always moves in the trees here. Our elevation is high enough for a breeze to stir almost constantly. When you lay on the hammock, it never stops moving. The breeze lifts you like a gentle, soothing hand.

It's never quiet here. The wind chimes move. There is wind in the leaves. There are locust in the heat of the day; frogs and crickets at night.

It's always quiet here. The wind chimes move and there is wind in the leaves and the singing of locust and frogs and crickets.

And so it's how we look at our life.

Our baby Sierra, my youngest niece (I only have two) and the youngest of the four (my two girls and my sister's two daughters), will marry next Saturday and change will come. Such is how life is lived.

All in all, though the days are filled with racket and worry, when the days become years, we find it's made for a quiet life of enduring meaning.

God's blessings on our little baby Sierra. We are so happy for you. What a beautiful bride you will be.

Love and more love to our Princess Sierra,

Princess Aunt Donna

Storms and Stuff

Lots of storms around and more coming.

Dogs are worried. Lucy is 10 1/2 and just stretches herself out to relax but Frankie is still young and he wonders what to do.

Lots of turkey and deer crossing the road where they have for decades (on the treeline in the picture above)... I saw some almost every night this past week coming home from work. Later someone ran over a raccoon right there where all the critters cross. Guess raccoons got someplace to go too. They should look both ways first, even at night when you could be fairly sure no car is coming.

There were snails in the cat's metal food bowl yesterday out on the deck. I left them there and fed the cats in something else. They were gone this morning. And, noticed that Gandolf the Grey Cat, a stray that has lived here for years, is really a pretty ugly, rangy old cat. I had been defending him to my daughter Ashley when she laughed at him and asked, "WHAT is THAT?" but now I think he's ugly too. He was all the uglier because he was wet. Poor Gandolf the Grey Cat. He is the ugliest cat we have.

Grass needs cut again and it was just cut Saturday. Trees are growing over the roof of the house again.

Bird baths are full of rainwater. Never saw a bird in one yet. Whoever thought of a bird bath? I like the idea of a bird taking a bath and splashing around all happy and singing and being cute like a cartoon. To an ordinary real-live bird I suppose it has no appeal or they would be taking baths hundreds of times a day.

Hammock is all wet.

Last night after it rained steady and long the sun came out one last time and the woods went wild. Squirrels were chirping. Birds were calling. Locusts were humming. Woodpeckers were pecking. It sounded like a classroom of naughty kids who'd been pent up all day.

I bought my wiener dogs a pool. It's a one-ring, 3 feet around and cost five dollars. Husband says it's stupid. I wish it had only cost three dollars.