Remember how I mentioned I was getting a little burned out on making beads for a while? I was...I still kind of am at times. It seems like it's the last thing I've focused on in a long time. BUT...oddly enough, I still like it. I still want to continue making them and I still have some good ideas. The ideas are on hold a bit because of all the other things I've been doing. BUT.... in the next few weeks, I think you'll be seeing more beads available! Plus....I really need to start my torch up! It's been weeks since I've touched it!
Second thing..... I've been a life-long lover of herbal remedies and natural ways of living. I haven't always followed a path of practicing what I believe I should do.... BUT....the desire and intention has always been there. That being said, I've been studying aromatherapy and the use of herbs for a while now. One day in the near...or not so near but close enough....future, I plan to do something with it! I love working with essential oils and making products naturally. Completely natural! No synthetic anything...nothing but pure plant/earth/sea derived ingredients. I've also been studying Botanical Perfumery for a while now. So..... I've decided when things settle down a bit with family stuff, and I've decided where I want to go with branding, I'll open my Etsy shop and make my products available to you! I already have a name and the website reserved though! I'll let you know much more when the time comes.
Third thing.... I'm also a life-long lover of most things antique/vintage. I go to estate sales, antique shops and thrift stores in search of items I want and need for my house. Since we have an old home...built in 1916...we've been trying to replace much or our "new" things with "old" things. It sounds like a backward thing I know, but much of the new stuff falls apart in a short time and is cheaply made. Plus... a lot of the items we've bought were made by hand here in the USA. I've been collecting mainly dishes and embroidered linens and have found myself with more than I could ever use. Since I'm not a hoarder and loathe even the sight of clutter, I've decided to offer some of my findings for sale. I have a LOT of Pyrex, Fire King, Hazel Atlas, Federal Ware and Depression glass ware that I'll probably never use. If I find these items for a good price, I know if I don't use it, I can probably find it a good home and someone will love and cherish it! Same thing with embroidered linens, vintage napkins, tablecloths and doilies. AND....chenille bedspreads. I'm finding it harder to part with those and decided to keep quite a few of them for myself. Plus it's fun switching them up! BUT.... I do have two or three I can part with! Luckily, we have neighbors and friends that also adore these items so they can peek through first! We've bought some furniture too, but we'll be keeping those items. Plus....shipping furniture is not my thing at all! My husband has quite an eye for rare and unique pieces too, so there will be other items we'll be offering as well! So..... I'll let you know when we open our Etsy shop! I already have a name for it too! Funny thing, it's a website name I reserved about a year and a half ago just because I liked the name and thought I could do something with it one day! Who knew it would be perfect for this venture! I have the blog name too! I just need to make a banner!
I still don't know how I'll balance all three, but I sure will try!!! Since I get bored with things so easy I figured if I have three things I love doing, something like this would be perfect for me! They all practically go together for me and my personality if I think about it too. I make the beads because I love to create things and work with colors. I love the beauty, smells and natural healing properties of flowers and plants. I also love the beauty of using items from the past that were made with care. There's a mystery to each piece. Wondering who had them, who loved them, and in some cases, who's hands made them. I could write a book about each subject and why I love them but I can't add another thing to my list right now. I have too many things I want to do first!
That's all I can spare time for right now...as each become available, I'll let you know!!!
Oh....I'll be sharing pictures of my new chenille bedspread soon! A lovely mint green! Keep checking back!
Best Wishes,
Rebecca : )
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
Look what we found!
I can't seem to focus on anything else other than this nice weather and antiques! Since it has been so nice my husband and I have been making many visits to the flea market, local estate sales and yard sales! A few antique shops here and there too. The best deals are NOT usually found at antique shops although you can run across a few good deals from time to time. Like some of the items in my awesome, vintage Pyrex collection! That's another story though! Right now I want to show you a yard sale find. We think we know a few things about it....I did say "think" since I've been wrong a time or two! ; )
Anyway, here's what we think.... it's Art Deco. Looks to be made in the early 1900's. It could be Tiger Oak. It has a lovely embossed motif and a mirror that's in excellent shape. The piece is in great shape too. One of the drawers has green felt lining and it's (the lining) missing in the other drawer. Any thoughts? Oh...we think it's a sideboard or a wet bar? Do you know? Either way...we love it and it should fit many of my vintage dishes in it! My kitchen cabinets are overflowing!!!
Here's some pics!
I hope you're having a great spring and enjoying the weather! I'll fill you in soon on my other goings on...like the beads and such! Right now I have dinner to fix!
Best Wishes,
Friday, March 30, 2012
A note from my husband....
Sometimes something touches you so much you feel like you should share it with others. Last night my husband told me about how a facebook friend of his had recently lost her grandmother. From reading her wall posts he said he felt he should share with her some of the wisdom he shared with me when I was going through the same thing since it DID make me feel better. It also helped me to understand that what I was going through was normal. I wasn't going to be stuck in a state of grief forever unable to get out. My husband is quite humble in most cases so he will probably shy away from the term "wisdom" but that's what I call it...and to me...that's what it is. As you'll read, my husband has had his share of loss....especially at such a young age. His brother and sister both passed away in their teens from congenital heart disease.
Anyway...here's the letter. I feel it's beautifully written. If you're going through grief from losing a loved one, maybe these words will help you some too. I think I cried the entire time he read it to me this morning. I'm also a pretty emotional person these days so I guess when something touches your heart that's understandable! : )
Hello, Sarah -
When my wife, Rebecca, lost her grandmother almost three years ago it was, understandably, crushing.
I know that you lost your grandmother in January and your heavy sadness for that loss is apparent. Forgive me for sending this message if it brings that sadness forward again at the moment. Undoubtedly, any moment of thought that you have about her will bring some measure of sadness - but I know that there is much happiness, as well, when you think of her. Judging from your Facebook postings, you think of her often enough for me not to worry about "bringing it up" - but I needed to say that anyway, before I continued...
After my wife lost her grandmother, she cried, at some point or another, almost every day. She started to wonder if she'd ever NOT cry about it... whether the intensity of her sadness would last forever!
Depending on our age and circumstances, we've all experienced the sorrow and heartache of losing someone close to us. I lost my paternal grandmother (whom I was very close to) when I was just six years old. I didn't understand... it wasn't fair and, at that age, I threw a tantrum!
I experienced some other significant experiences with death/loss at fairly young ages: I lost my older sister when I was eleven years old and I lost my younger brother when I was twenty years old. I'm now losing my mother to Alzheimer's.
This isn't a very uplifting message, is it?! Sorry!
Well, I'm not seeking sympathy... I tell you of my losses because I think that my experience lends some sort of credibility to the subject when I reach out to speak to someone that is so apparently affected, with a considerably heavy sadness, at the loss of someone close to them.
I suppose that I also tell you because it illustrates why my wife, through the time that she just could not stop crying... just could not shake the gripping sadness that came at the loss of her grandmother, asked me if I thought it would ever pass. When she did, it was still less than a year since her grandmother had passed away. I told her that, while I should, first, respectfully and understandably say that all people grieve differently, with different intensity, and for different periods of time, I thought that the first year was the hardest... for logical reasons.
I said: "You know, this is the first Thanksgiving that will pass since she passed away... the first Christmas... the first time that she won't be alive to tell you "Happy Birthday!"... the first time that you won't be able to tell her "Happy Birthday!"... all of these events... these special days that we recognize... they're all firsts, now. They'll remind you, even more, of the fact that life goes on without her. But, perhaps when that first year passes - perhaps sooner, perhaps later - it's not for to me to know or to say, she'll be truly "eternal" to you... not "missing"... not "unavailable" to speak with or share things with... she might, at that time, after the passing of those mundane things (many more than just birthdays and holidays), be the spirit, the energy that, through your memory of her - alive in you and alive in the things that you carry on and do, especially with her in mind - be a peace that you find in this temporary life... the one that assures you of some eternal sense in having known her and in now accepting her for the enigma that she was to you and to others throughout her lifetime. At that time, she may become that very thing that defies death... at least in the sense that now, beyond the "firsts" from which she was missing, she is the spirit that shaped and continues to shape you - not at all absent, now... but everpresent."
This isn't religious sentiment, Sarah. I, like you (if I gather correctly), am agnostic. However, I entertain and allow so many things because I have left myself the option of not needing concrete answers for everything. I've left myself only the freedom to wonder and to change if and when my life's experiences inspire me to do so.
My wife found great comfort in what we talked about that day. For her, at least, she believes that my idea of the "first year" holds some considerable truth - that it is logical.
More importantly, perhaps, it's the illogical that, if only for our own personal benefit, we ALLOW... that we leave possible so that our willingness to wonder is not restricted or subdued. And, in our faculty of wonder, we retain our youth and all of the possibilities that existed because there were no 'answers' to crush or condemn it. There, as I've found it possible for me to allow, I've found the companion spirits, the angels that I rectified my siblings to always have been. They are not "missing", they are not "absent", they are not "lost".
I wish you the greatest of peace as you find the companion spirit, the enigma... the angel that is your grandmother - with you always.
Most sincerely,
Matt
I still miss my grandmother...aka Mamaw... and think of her most every day. I still cry at times and wish how I could have been older...and wiser... and spent more time with her when I was in my early 20's. You know...the whole thing about "If I knew then what I know now" things would have been different. I would have spent more time with her and not so much time hanging out with a few friends that have come and gone from my life.... BUT..... such is life.... and we learn and grow from such things....
Here's a picture of me and my Mamaw when I was about 3 years old. The brooch I'm holding is the one she is wearing in the photo. I now wear it every Christmas. My Aunt Brenda...who passed away about a year and a half ago.... gave me her jewelry box after my grandmothers funeral. It sits on my dresser, I wear her jewelry from it and when I'm cleaning I still wind it up and listen to the tune it plays...Strangers In The Night...
Have a lovely weekend!!! May it be filled with happiness and joy! : )
Rebecca : )
Anyway...here's the letter. I feel it's beautifully written. If you're going through grief from losing a loved one, maybe these words will help you some too. I think I cried the entire time he read it to me this morning. I'm also a pretty emotional person these days so I guess when something touches your heart that's understandable! : )
Hello, Sarah -
When my wife, Rebecca, lost her grandmother almost three years ago it was, understandably, crushing.
I know that you lost your grandmother in January and your heavy sadness for that loss is apparent. Forgive me for sending this message if it brings that sadness forward again at the moment. Undoubtedly, any moment of thought that you have about her will bring some measure of sadness - but I know that there is much happiness, as well, when you think of her. Judging from your Facebook postings, you think of her often enough for me not to worry about "bringing it up" - but I needed to say that anyway, before I continued...
After my wife lost her grandmother, she cried, at some point or another, almost every day. She started to wonder if she'd ever NOT cry about it... whether the intensity of her sadness would last forever!
Depending on our age and circumstances, we've all experienced the sorrow and heartache of losing someone close to us. I lost my paternal grandmother (whom I was very close to) when I was just six years old. I didn't understand... it wasn't fair and, at that age, I threw a tantrum!
I experienced some other significant experiences with death/loss at fairly young ages: I lost my older sister when I was eleven years old and I lost my younger brother when I was twenty years old. I'm now losing my mother to Alzheimer's.
This isn't a very uplifting message, is it?! Sorry!
Well, I'm not seeking sympathy... I tell you of my losses because I think that my experience lends some sort of credibility to the subject when I reach out to speak to someone that is so apparently affected, with a considerably heavy sadness, at the loss of someone close to them.
I suppose that I also tell you because it illustrates why my wife, through the time that she just could not stop crying... just could not shake the gripping sadness that came at the loss of her grandmother, asked me if I thought it would ever pass. When she did, it was still less than a year since her grandmother had passed away. I told her that, while I should, first, respectfully and understandably say that all people grieve differently, with different intensity, and for different periods of time, I thought that the first year was the hardest... for logical reasons.
I said: "You know, this is the first Thanksgiving that will pass since she passed away... the first Christmas... the first time that she won't be alive to tell you "Happy Birthday!"... the first time that you won't be able to tell her "Happy Birthday!"... all of these events... these special days that we recognize... they're all firsts, now. They'll remind you, even more, of the fact that life goes on without her. But, perhaps when that first year passes - perhaps sooner, perhaps later - it's not for to me to know or to say, she'll be truly "eternal" to you... not "missing"... not "unavailable" to speak with or share things with... she might, at that time, after the passing of those mundane things (many more than just birthdays and holidays), be the spirit, the energy that, through your memory of her - alive in you and alive in the things that you carry on and do, especially with her in mind - be a peace that you find in this temporary life... the one that assures you of some eternal sense in having known her and in now accepting her for the enigma that she was to you and to others throughout her lifetime. At that time, she may become that very thing that defies death... at least in the sense that now, beyond the "firsts" from which she was missing, she is the spirit that shaped and continues to shape you - not at all absent, now... but everpresent."
This isn't religious sentiment, Sarah. I, like you (if I gather correctly), am agnostic. However, I entertain and allow so many things because I have left myself the option of not needing concrete answers for everything. I've left myself only the freedom to wonder and to change if and when my life's experiences inspire me to do so.
My wife found great comfort in what we talked about that day. For her, at least, she believes that my idea of the "first year" holds some considerable truth - that it is logical.
More importantly, perhaps, it's the illogical that, if only for our own personal benefit, we ALLOW... that we leave possible so that our willingness to wonder is not restricted or subdued. And, in our faculty of wonder, we retain our youth and all of the possibilities that existed because there were no 'answers' to crush or condemn it. There, as I've found it possible for me to allow, I've found the companion spirits, the angels that I rectified my siblings to always have been. They are not "missing", they are not "absent", they are not "lost".
I wish you the greatest of peace as you find the companion spirit, the enigma... the angel that is your grandmother - with you always.
Most sincerely,
Matt
I still miss my grandmother...aka Mamaw... and think of her most every day. I still cry at times and wish how I could have been older...and wiser... and spent more time with her when I was in my early 20's. You know...the whole thing about "If I knew then what I know now" things would have been different. I would have spent more time with her and not so much time hanging out with a few friends that have come and gone from my life.... BUT..... such is life.... and we learn and grow from such things....
Here's a picture of me and my Mamaw when I was about 3 years old. The brooch I'm holding is the one she is wearing in the photo. I now wear it every Christmas. My Aunt Brenda...who passed away about a year and a half ago.... gave me her jewelry box after my grandmothers funeral. It sits on my dresser, I wear her jewelry from it and when I'm cleaning I still wind it up and listen to the tune it plays...Strangers In The Night...
Have a lovely weekend!!! May it be filled with happiness and joy! : )
Best Wishes,
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