I've been away far too long!

It's been so long since I've posted! We've passed two seasons, Spring and Summer and are quickly approaching Fall which is my favorite time of year. Fall has a cozy feel to me. It's a time that I want my home to look it's best and reflect the season. I want to bake more. I want to enjoy the crisp fall days.

I went back to work in May....mostly out of necessity! I want to pay off our debt and there is no other way to do it. My husband was laid off several times over last winter and that had a snowball effect that we are still dealing with but things are getting better! I have enjoyed being back with my co-workers at work. I missed some of them a lot while I was off.

It seems that I was not as motivated as I should have been with all the time I had off of work. Suffice it to say it was a nice vacation. I thought I would spend more time on my etsy shops and get so much done but I didn't. I'm trying to jump on the social networking bandwagon so please like my Facebook Fan page. The link is on the top right of this page. Thanks in advance! I will post sales and deals there. I hope to make the content interesting enough that someone will actually want to read it...lol.

From the top of Cape Perpetua, Oregon

I spent most of my summer at home due to the money issues we've had but I did get a chance to see the California Redwoods, go to the beach and visit the beautiful city of Portland several times. It was a relaxing summer spent with family and friends. I will try to keep up on this blog from now on. I do enjoy writing here!

Oregon Beach Photos

I had a great weekend at the Oregon Beach! It was warm, sunny with not much wind! Uncommonly good weather for this time of year. It was beautiful so I took lots of photos between Lincoln City and Newport. Lots of surfers were out at the Otter Rock/Devil's Punchbowl beach.....

Hope you had a great weekend as well! I'm off to list some new things in my etsy shops! Have a good day! Kitty

Adding Vintage Costume Jewelry To My Etsy Shop!

Sales have been fairly slow for me on Etsy as of late. It couldn't be that I haven't listed or renewed much, could it? I think I will be adding some new inventory tomorrow and the rest of the week. It seems that I do much better when I continually add new things to all of my shops. Makes sense the way Etsy is set up...

I still have loads of vintage jewelry just sitting here waiting to be photographed and listed.  I still have photos from a year ago that I haven't gotten around to listing yet! I "cherry-pick" my favorites to list and save the rest for later......much later! Silly, I know!

The weather is starting to improve around here. I took my grandkids on a walk yesterday. We were out at least 30 minutes walking around the neighborhood I grew up in. Nostalgic for me...boring for them!

I'm trying to make the effort to get outside more often. I like to spend most of my time outside during the summer but right now...it's a little harder to get me out there! I think I will try to weed my flower beds around the front porch this week as well. Time to replace the bark mulch as well.I've been TOO home bound this winter and I need to get out!

The photos are pieces of jewelry that I will be listing during the week. Please watch my shop if you are interested in anything! Thanks for reading.....Kitty

A Warm Breeze........

 

  

 

  

Okay, I've had it with winter!

I know I keep saying that.....so I am going to pretend it isn't winter today.

It's warm and the sun is shining.....

Here are some photos that I took at the Oregon State Fair this past August.

  I love the gardens and ponds that they have every year.

Always colorful and creative.

Since I was with a group of uninterested family....

I had to dash through the garden

and take photos on the way to the food!

I would have taken many more but I was running.....

Enjoy!

Winter In Oregon

We spent the day at Benson Sno-Park on Sunday.

There were 2 full carloads of family!

We spent several hours there.

I usually watch everyone else ride their sleds down the hill.

And take photos.

I played with these at Picnik.

They look much more dramatic than the originals!

I hope you had a fun weekend too!

Oh, For Evan's Sake!

This is my grandson Evan.

We spent the day together.
Just him and I.

That doesn't happen very often.
(One of my New Year's Resolution's too)

I asked him if I could take his photo and he said "Sure".

He sounded much happier about it then he looked.

He's almost 4 and the middle grandchild.

He is adorable and

I LOVE his beautiful eyes.

 He's a sweetie too despite this evidence to the contrary!

And he's r.e.a.l.l.y good at making faces!

But I don't want a "real" job!

I have been very busy listing away in my shops these past few weeks. I have set a certain monetary goal that I would like and need to meet every day. I can't possibly accomplish my goal if I don't constantly list new items or renew the older ones. I am also expanding my horizons and listing some of my handmade jewelry supplies on ebay as well.

So, now I have 4 etsy shops, an artfire shop and I am back at ebay too. I can't miss, can I?

If I don't treat this like a "real" job I will have to go get one. I dread that like you would not believe. I had planned to apply for a certain job after the first of the year but I haven't done it yet. The thought of working for someone else again and working weekends and holidays just about makes me ill. So, I have redoubled my efforts and I feel like it is entirely possible for me to make a living doing this. I just need to keep working hard and I will succeed. I've already noticed a huge increase in my vintage jewelry shop sales so I know that my plan is working!

Any other etsy sellers out there that are having the same dilemma as myself?  Are you torn between your business and needing a steady, reliable income?  I'd love to hear what you are doing in this situation!

The Moment Jars

http://www.themomentjars.com/

I found this fun site the other day. It's a place to save a favorite moment in a jar.

My favorite moment was the birth 

of my first grandchild on May 4, 1999. 

Go check it out!

I've Got Cabin Fever

I hate winter....I won't lie about it.

I hate all the gray, cloudy days and rain in Oregon at this time of year!

I want to feel the sun on my face. I want to swim in my pool and rest in the hammock.

 Summer is like heaven here so I guess it's worth waiting for!

It's just so slow in arriving.....

As soon as Christmas and New Years is over...I start to long for some sunshine and warmth.

It means I am ready for Spring....now.

I've been cooped up far too long already and I'm looking forward to warmer, longer days.

I miss sitting in my back yard in the warm sunshine.

A nice drive to the coast sounds good.

A long walk on the beach.....just me and my camera.

I need to make a reservation for the trip I'm going to take with my sister in a month or two.

We're going to go to stay at the Magnolia Inn in Jacksonville, Oregon.

We never made it last Fall like we had planned.

It's a bed and breakfast. And we want to stay in this room.  It looks so peaceful, yet fun with 2 twin beds perfect for a sister trip!

We'll go see the old places we lived at while we were teenagers and reminisce.

Find some fun antique shops in Medford and Ashland too.

I bought a projector yesterday so we can

have our own "drive-in" movies in the back yard this summer.

This one projects up to 120 inches so it takes 2 white twin sheets to make a "screen" for it!
The back of our garage will work perfectly.

I'm sure you will see a post about it just as soon as it is even remotely warm enough!

I bought this because I once took our tv and dvd player outside to have a

drive-in movie night for my grandkids and niece.
We sat under the canopy, with our chairs lined up theater style, eating our microwave popcorn.

It was so much fun that I vowed to get a projector so we could do it again.

  When I was little we called it the "Big TV" and my Dad would pop

real popcorn on the stove in his pan reserved only
for that purpose and he would dump it into a big paper grocery bag.

We would put on our pajamas and head to the drive-in in the VW bus!

It was the 1960's you know!.

I love to recreate my own favorite memories for the grandkids!

I will try to make the best of the gloominess and get outside to take some photos soon.

Our family is supposed to go play up in the snow at Willamette Pass.

My husband takes his propane cooker to the sno-park at HooDoo.

He cooks a couple big cans of Chili and we have some snacks and hang out.

Always a good time!

This is the time of year where I scour my favorite

blogs and magazines for home decorating ideas.

My house seems so bare after

we take all the Christmas decorations down.

But, I'm also glad to see them go!
Hasta La Vista!

I need fresh, new ideas which usually leads to

"Spring Cleaning" a few months early.....

I will start putting up my Valentine's decorations soon. I need some color!

Some pink and red to brighten my days....

Maybe I will make a paper banner?
Or ask my talented, sewing enabled daughter to make me a Valentine's Day bunting?

Well, I'm just rambling along today! Thinking out loud again!

I'd better make the most of this winter since there are still a few more months left of it!

What do you do to take the gray away?

Photo Negatives Discovery: Before and After

As I was searching through my big box of photos, I came across an old negative envelope. I really don't know how I came to be in possession of it.  There were 7 negative sets with 2 square photos on each one.
I tried to look at them by holding them up to the light and I could make out the outline of several children.
I realized the children were myself, my brother and sister.
I have only seen a few of these photos previously so I am thrilled to have found the negatives!

I looked on-line to see where I could have them developed into photos and discovered that I probably couldn't!
Somewhere in the comments of others....a few had success scanning them and then inverting them with their photo software.
So I cut each negative apart, scanned each one separately and inverted the photos using Picnik.

I was laughing as I saw each photo go from a negative to a real photo!

We were such cute kids too!
I'm the older little girl.

These are from about 1967 or so.

My, how time flies......and

I see how much my grandchildren
resemble all of us as kids.

Goals For The New Year----See Last Year!

Last New Year's I set several goals for myself. What did I accomplish? Not as much as I had planned! But instead of making new unattainable goals....I will try to finish what I started last year!
Here is my list from then.....
1. Organize all of my genealogy papers and get them into binders. NO
2. Get all of my photos and videos onto CD's and DVD's. NO
3. Visit my special friends...and do lunch! ONCE....I will work on this again!
4. Go through all of my vintage linens and organize them. I'm "willing" them to my granddaughter Emma someday. NO
5. Paint my living room and hallway...pick a color. YES!!!!! In a bright and sunny yellow!
6. Organize my kitchen and declutter. YES
7. Finish organizing my office. YES and moved it to another room too!
8. Go to the Beach...soon. YES.....3 times! I'm ready to go again....can you say cabin fever?
9. Visit my brother and his family near Seattle...soon. NO.....I meant to, really.
10. Actually do some yard work this year. I did very little last summer. YES
11. Spend one on one time with each of my 3 grandkids doing simple things like baking or going on a walk to the playground. YES....mostly one got this extra attention....will work on the other two!
12. Go on more *Girls Only* trips with friends and family....got one planned already! YES
13. Go camping more often this summer....more all family trips. ONCE.....camping isn't as fun as it used to be! I'd rather stay home now.....
14. Take the boat out and go fishing even if it's raining! NO
15. Mop my floors more often! That's why I got the Steam Shark for Christmas! YES....thanks to 2 muddy dogs :(
16. Stop worrying so much about.....everything! YES....this was surprisingly easy to accomplish!
17. Enjoy my life as it is....everyday! YES....I appreciate my life just as it is.
18. This one should be FIRST on my list: Be kinder to my husband as he is so kind to me :) He really is a SAINT! I tried......


My goal for 2010 is to finish all the things I didn't get done last year.  I also want to exercise more and to actually use my treadmill that didn't see nearly enough of me last year! It is NOT a clothes rack! 

 

To A Fresh And Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  I am so looking forward to this fresh start! A clean slate! Out with the old, In with the new!

It's been a hard year in a lot of ways. I'm hoping that this new year will find all of my family and friends....healthy, happy and wealthy! Me too!

More soon!