It's a sickness!!!

Yes, it's true. I have it and it's a HUGE problem. I can't help it. My problem is a big ol' stash of JUNK!! It's dusty, chippy, rusty, and always ends up going home with me. My dad would say... "It's a sickness".. and he would be right. My husband, thankfully, shares my affinity for the cast offs that sit sadly on the sidewalk during bulk pick up season, or on a shelf at a thrift store or in a junk shop. He loves going junkin', but he can walk away from it much more easily than I will. My weakness is not furniture, thank goodness. It's small stuff, like beaded clutches, china bowls and cups, vintage jewelry.. and not so small things, like depression glass and lamps. The larger pieces of my glass collection was sold a few years ago, so no, you will not see me on an episode of Hoarders, at least not anytime soon.

Those of you that have seen my jewelry booth at shows around the Great State of Texas (yes that is our state's official name) have probably noticed the lack of commercially produced jewelry displays. Yes, I have the trays and a handful of neck-forms. I also have an "eclectic mix" (that is code for random goodness) of display items, ranging from coffee cup trees turned t-stands for bracelets, a room divider turned necklace display, cigar box risers, and even a re-purposed $2 table lamp.

Yes. That my friends, was a white $2 table lamp from a thrift store, once upon a time. It actually looked like this... (the white one in the background) when I found it.

The coffee cup tree is being used for bracelets, the frame will be a sign holder. The other lamps will get stripped, hand painted, and rewired for home use. Not to worry, though. It won't be the only lamp turned jewelry stand. I've got more lamp bases and a couple more lamps that I plan on re-purposing. It really is a sickness and I hope there is no cure. 

Brunswick Bride

Having gotten the reputation of being the "gun show girl", I don't get requests to make wedding jewelry as often as I used to. Unless those request come from Ohio, which is where they have been coming from. Brides are some of my favorite people to work with. I've only had one bridezilla, and even that worked out well. This bride, like most of the others, is someone I have known for a while. She has the sweetest disposition, and I couldn't be happier for her. I love that she asked me to create her bridesmaid's jewelry. I really hope they love the jewelry they receive, as much as I loved making it.

The bridesmaids will be wearing this design.

Her maid of honor will wear this one.

Congratulations Sheila and Rob. May your marriage be filled with much love, laughter, and happiness. 

Monkey Business

Slowly but surely, I'm getting back to being more creative. We took a hiatus while we cared for a senior relative and her husband, and it's nice to get back to artsy stuff. I haven't done any shows or made more than a piece of jewelry here and there. I had forgotten how good it feels to create. All because my younger sister, a high school Spanish teacher, asked if my husband could help her out by modifying a book case before school started. Easy enough for me. All I would have to do is hold boards and harass him while he works. That was my plan until she mentioned she had one bulletin board left to finish decorating. How could I stay away from THAT project??

These are the supplies you will need.

craft paper
assorted green scrap booking paper
scissors
clean plastic bags
staples and a stapler

She already had the background and border up, and the monkeys were previously laminated for a board she decorated last year.

Here's the step by step.

We started by cutting a 5ft length of paper off the roll and crinkling it, first lengthwise then down the length of the paper.

Once the paper is completely textured, it should look like this.

Once the paper is suitably textured, it's time to move over to the bulletin board. Start by stapling the paper on the interior part of the tree to hide the staples. We chose to start the tree on the edge of the bulletin board to maximize the space needed for the information she'd be posting on this board.

Once you have that side secured, it's time to begin building the tree structure by tearing branches into the excess paper that is at the top of the tree. The branch size and numbers is up to you. If you need more branches, cut and crinkle more paper and insert it into the tree structure as needed.

At this point the branches and only one side of the tree should be stapled to the board. Now is when you will begin stuffing the tree. We used the plastic packing material from her mini fridge. Tuck and staple as you go along. The excess plastic we trimmed off went into the recycle bin.

The bottom of the tree got flared and stapled and we added a few more branches. And, since the theme of the board is "Welcome to the Jungle", the tree needed leaves. 

So far, so good. Right? But then, I noticed she had all of these extra monkeys left over. 

The nice thing about this tree is, she can swap out the leaves for dried oak leaves as fall kicks in, and remove the leaves for Halloween. 

It took us a couple of hours longer than it should have.. probably because we spent some time harassing my husband and watching silly videos on Youtube too. Oh yeah! About that bookcase.... I think he did a nice job on it! 

Cents and Sensible Eats

Eating sensibly while travelling and doing so on a tight budget isn't always easy... but it can be quite delicious. Every road trip we take I really try to plan what we are going to eat for the 3 to 5 days that we are travelling well in advance. Travel days are the worst when it comes to meals, mostly because I always seem to make us late for our departure time. So breakfast tacos and salty snacks and fruit seem to be our meal plan during the actual drive.

By the time we get to the hotel, it's usually dinner time. Rather than take the easy way out and pick up a greasy bag of fast food, I prefer to cook if I have any strength left in me. This is why I LOVE my
rice cooker. In all honesty, I wasn't crazy about it when my husband got it. I thought to my self, "great, an appliance that makes one thing and one thing only." But, the more we travel the more things we learn to cook in it.

This trip's recipe is one pot pasta dinner that can be enjoyed cold with a fresh salad the next day. The ingredients can be purchased at most grocery stores pretty readily. Since we were headed to Sulphur Springs this trip and I wanted to make sure I had the supplies I needed as soon as we got to the hotel, I packed the dry ingredients I'd be needing in the "kitchen box". The kitchen box is a Rubbermaid tote that is filled with the basics for cooking on the road. The veggies and the proteins traveled frozen, in a small cooler. We packed the bag of organic greens on top so it stayed cool enough to keep them from wilting.

For this dish you will need the following...

1cup  whole wheat rotini pasta (gf or regular is fine too)
1 9oz container of crushed tomatoes (don't forget a can opener if you buy canned)
8oz water
1/2 tsp dehydrated/freeze dried minced onions
1tsp paprika
1/2tsp Kosher salt
1/8tsp garlic powder  
1tsp olive oil
3/4 c vegetarian chick'n (Quorn is my protein of choice) or diced cooked chicken
8 oz of frozen vegetables Mediterranean Blend

Garnish
10 Cherry Tomatoes, halved
1Tbsp Parmesan Italian spice blend

Into the rice cooker pot, add the pasta, crushed tomatoes, olive oil, water, freeze dried onions and spices. Flip the switch to "Cook" and stir the ingredients before covering. About 10minutes into your cooking time, check the pasta and stir in the frozen precooked protein of your choice and the frozen vegetables. Cover the pot and let it cook until the switch flips back to "Warm". Let it sit for another 5min in the cooker on "Warm". Any residual moisture should be absorbed into the pasta without it overcooking.

We got 2 servings from this as our hot meal on Thursday. I really wish we hadn't been so hungry after that 7hr drive... 'cause I forgot to take a picture for you. We did get two additional servings with a salad and fresh made pita chips the next day.. which are the pictures you see in this post. The crushed tomato will make for a lighter sauce, which means it's perfect as a cold pasta salad too. The cost of 4 servings came to under $12 total. Not too bad, considering that we would have spent at least $7 each for fast food meals. We also had enough frozen veggies, Quorn, pitas, tomatoes and fresh veggies for the next day's dinner.

When you try this, don't forget to share your spin on this recipe. We'd all like to know how it turns out for you.

 I'll post the "home made pita chips" in a few days.

Summer Update...

It's H.O.T... HOT!! I can't remember the last time it wasn't over 100*. And let's just say.. the rain has been non-existent. The drought has been horrendous... with the exception of a couple of cloud bursts that missed 90% of the city. I'm sooo looking forward to winter. The good news is.. we finally got air conditioning in our vehicle. Thanks to my brother-in-law Mike and my husband (refusing to accept the mechanic's estimate for the repair of said A/C unit), I can now go places without risk of a heat stroke. =)

I'm still up to my neck in beads... not complaining... there are worse things to be up to your neck in. Slowly but surely we are getting  back to a more normal existence and doing shows on a more regular basis. The downtime we had over the last few months gave me a chance to try to get my workroom organized. It's a continual work in progress, because as we all know... I bead like the Tazmanian Devil. I've also gotten to work on some custom pieces for friends and family. My older sister bought some gorgeous beads in New Mexico.

... and this is what I made for her.

I've also spent some time "getting hammered".

I purchased a slightly used PMC Hot Pot. I can't wait to put it to use!

... but best of all I got to spend time with family! (hubby is a little camera shy so he's the one shooting the pic.)

Hope your summer has gone well... and that you've managed to stay cool!

;)

The not so little things...

As I'm sure you've noticed, I haven't exactly been around much. Things have been a little crazy, to say the least. My husband finally got the gastric bypass he had been preparing for during the last 6mos. It went well, or so it seemed. About 2wks after surgery, he developed a complication that happens in about 10-15% of patients. It resulted in severe dehydration, an ambulance ride, a 7day hospitalization and a G-tube that he will have for another couple of months. (I came frighteningly close to losing him that day.) Then, less than a week later we had a little scare that resulted in regular nurses visits to our home for another small complication. I've spent the last few months as a fulltime caregiver and all of the beady stuff has been on hold.

Hopefully, the worst has passed us now. Slowly but surely we are returning to a more normal existence and a better life.

Love at Bass Pro Shops....

First of all let me start by saying... I love my hubby! But, there are some places that wives are "invited" to that are truly all about the boys. Bass Pro Shops is one of those places. I know that there are women who love to hunt and fish, and they are all about the great outdoors. Then there are the ones I observed during our little excursion. They looked like zombies, following their husbands around the store like the dutiful wives I am sure we all are. That's when it hit me!! I didn't want to be a zombie!! I am creative, and my world can be what I want it to be!! So, I decided to "go fishin'". We were after all, in the right place to fish for inspiration.

So I did. I wandered around and looked at things, not for what they were, but for what I knew they could be. I found lots of stuff. There were beads used for tackle and lures, Fireline, tackle boxes, split rings and more. Then I saw them....

Spool caddies!!! I've been needing something like this to keep my wires neat while I work and like manna from heaven they appeared. They fit multiple spools in individual recesses and to keep the smaller ones from bouncing around you can insert a dowel to keep your wires from getting crossed.

But nobody tell my husband that the only reason I really came to Bass Pro Shop.... is because there is a really cool bead shop around the corner !! It will be our little secret. (sorry honey!)

So ladies, next time your husband "invites" you to "Testosterone Central"... by all means...GO!!. You might be surprised at what you will find.

I not only found inspiration, I found something that will make my work space a little tidier.

;)

Let there be light!

My grandfather always said... "Lo que no se ve, no se vende!"... translated it literally means... "What cannot be seen, is not sold!" I am a firm believer in that saying. Which is why, I can't believe I didn't properly light my table at craft shows until this year. If you've ever been to a convention or gift show you know the lights I'm talking about. Usually they are high wattage halogen lamps that put out tremendous amounts of light as well as heat. They make everything look ever so lovely and make merchandise all that more irresistible. They are also pretty pricey, part of the reason I hadn't made the investment.

If you recall a few posts ago I told the story of "The Adventures of Sybil and Super-geek", well it was on that trip that I learned the secret to inexpensive lighting and all it took was a trip to the Casa Depot and the not so sneaky appropriation of some clamps from my hubby's toolbox!! This was all well within my budget!! I had less than $50.oo to spend and 1day to get this accomplished with the help of my hubby of course 'cause this Chica has a healthy respect for power tools!

You will need the following....

1. 2 1"x10' electrical conduit pipe

2. 4 1" set-screw couplers

3. 4 1" conduit hangers

4. 4 150watt Aluminum Incandescent Clamp Lights

5. 4 100watt (output) Daylight/Full Spectrum CFL bulbs

6. 4 4"x 4" C-clamps  (raided these from hubby's tool box)

7. 8 bolts and wing nuts

8. 4 household extension cords (you probably have a few extra around the house too)

9. 1 power strip/surge protector (we had several so I appropriated one for my show kit)

10. 1 25' heavy duty extension cord

The first task you can complete in the hardware store. We had the 10ft conduit cut down to 5ft lengths so they would fit in the trunk of our compact car. If you get a super accommodating sales associate you might be able to get them to cut each pipe into 2.5ft lengths for you too. If not, make sure you have an appropriate saw for cutting pipes at home and while you are at it, make sure the drill is fully charged. Once you are home with all the goodies break out the drill and appropriate bits for drilling holes into the pipe and c-clamps. This will take a bit of muscle. So girls, if you have a handy hubby, or a helpful he-man around, now is the time to bat your eyelashes and get them involved. Drill two holes into each of the c-clamps. Then position the clamps onto the conduit and mark the pipes with a sharpie through the holes you just drilled. This will assure that each c-clamp's holes will line up to a corresponding pipe. You will need to drill straight through each pipe so that you can secure the clamp with the bolts and wing nuts. We assembled each of these as we went along, as to not end up with mismatched clamps and pipes.

 You will also need to drill corresponding holes for the couplers and pipe assembly, match those up the same way you did the pipe and clamp fittings.

Now that you have the most difficult part of your Ghetto Lighting done you can begin to assemble your lamps for a test run. Fasten the c-clamp on to a table (preferably a wooden table), make sure that if you are using your dining room table or something similar, make sure to protect it from getting marred by the clamps. Also, threading the power cords through the c-clamps will keep them off the floor and your under table storage neat.

Once this is done, attach the conduit hangers to the tops of each of the second piece of pipe (see above). This will secure your lamp and keep it from swiveling. Before assembling the two sections of conduit, add the light bulb to your clip lamp and run the electrical cord through the conduit hanger in order to keep it clear of the lamp's reflector.

Okay! You are now ready to connect your lamp to a power source!! (This is where the extension cords and power strip come in handy. ;D )

Your Ghetto Trade show Lamps should look a lot like this once installed in your booth!!....

 

What I like almost as much as the way they make my booth shine... is that they pack up really easily!



So for less than $50.oo I got four trade show lamps. They're not fancy, but they do the job. ;)

K.I.S.S.

My muse has been missing as of late. There has been a lot going on in our lives. My husband is preparing for a gastric bypass, and by default.. so have I. My husband's 27yr old son is currently receiving treatment at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston,TX and we've traveled to be with him through this (positive thoughts for them will be greatly appreciated). And perhaps I am guilty of wanting to do to much and doing nothing as a result. Goodness knows the lack of inspiration is not due to a lack of materials to work with. I've been giving in to distraction and procrastination, and that has to stop. I think a return to simplicity is need right about now.


So.... here we go....





;)

Who Knew??

I can honestly say... I didn't!! But, on a recent trip home from Houston, via Greyhound... I found out! Turns out jewelry tools are considered "weapons"... even though they didn't know what some of them were, like my reamer. I had to open the case and show them what the contents were. Yes, that's right. Even my L.E.D lit Loupe was inspected. It was kind of funny to see them inspect my metal hole punch trying to figure it out. Even my husbands paracord weaving kit was looked at with suspicion. Apparently they thought it was some sort of blasting cord. What makes the whole thing kinda funny is... we were worried about my husbands knife and both of our stun-guns!! They were in our checked bag. We made a point of telling them where they were and why we had them before we even went through the scanners. But that didn't stop all 7 security guards from going into high alert. Don't get me wrong... I'm glad they are doing their job. But maybe next time... they can poker face their way through an inspection and not look so much like the Keystone Cops.


There is no moral to this story, but there is good news. We got to keep our "weapons" by shipping them back on the same bus we were travelling on. Also, I now know that if I have to travel this way again... I will make sure to mail myself "all" of my weapons and avoid the headaches at security check points and save myself a couple of bucks.

Widgets and Doodads

I've been experimenting with wigets in the hopes of improving the appearance of my website, blog and other pages. Today was about finding a good slideshow widget, amongst other things.

So, here it goes. If I did it right you will be able to see this....


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

These are but a few of the pieces I've created. Some were custom works, a few of the others are still available.

It's show time!

Well. Here we are, five days from Christmas and there is still a lot to do. I wish I could say, "I've decorated!"... but I haven't. The most I will do is probably bake something for our family dinner. This I assure you is a good thing. I've been busing creating! I had my last show this weekend and even though it didn't require an armored truck pickup of the earnings, we did make a few new customers. They were funny and ever so sweet... and best of all they bought stuff and wanted to know where I would be next. It was really a nice feeling. So I decided that I need to do this again.... and again, and again!

It's been a while, but I think it's time to start selling my own work at art/trade shows once more. That decision having been made, meant that it is time to refine the look of my booth without looking like everyone else. So here is a peek at the set up...


It's a little skimpy. This was after all... day 2! and I upgraded to a second table so as not to feel cluttered. Do you like my fancy tradeshow lights?? I'll be posting the details in the coming days.


I've started to schedule a show a month, to start with. My next show is only 3wks away. eeeek! With Christmas and New Year in the mix that drops me back to a little over 2ks worth of work time. I have to restock some clasps and beads. There are also headpins and ear wires to make. As well as creating new designs for spring. So what am I doing here!?! It's time to get to work!!

Happy Monday!! let's make it a great one!

The Adventures of Sybil and Super-Geek!!

The last month has been quite the odyssey. I did my first trunk show in a few years and was pleased to see that the customers from back in the day still like my jewelry enough to buy it! (hahaha!) I went to my first gun show ever! No, not for kicks. I was a vendor, but don't worry I won't be changing my name to "Beads and Bullets". It was interesting. Nothing like a room full of testosterone and gun toting fellas to make a girl feel like a lady. Doors were held open for me (something my husband always does.. but it was nice to have a total stranger do it for a change), I got more "yes ma'am(s)" than I knew what to do with. I didn't get rich, but I am hoping it has possibilities. I will definitely be doing it again!

The real adventure was my trip to the other side of the Mississippi! Someone I used to work for offered me a trip to Las Vegas for a trade show and some how... I ended up in Georgia! That's where we get today's blog post...

The Adventures of Sybil and Super-Geek!

Day 1... He was tardy for the party.
Once upon an autumn morning a not so young, not so wide-eyed girl accepted a "job". To protect the not so innocent... we will call her Sybil. She was told her day would start at 730am. Sybil knew full well that her travel companion had a reputation of arriving late.... two and a half hours later the man (we will name him Super-Geek) that she was going to work with arrived at the agreed upon meeting place to start the trip east. A couple of minutes into it, they hadn't even left town, and already she wondered what she had gotten herself into. You see.. Super-Geek is no ordinary human. He has superpowers (more on those later) and speaks several languages. Unfortunately for Sybil, one of those languages is code. Yes... Code. As in the code that will operate a flood detection system that is operated by a laser, bolts that are some how embedded into concrete along with doohickeys and thingamabobs, wired to a motherboard with a thing-a-ma-doodle, that operates said system. Poor Sybil was spoken to in a language she did not comprehend. She got detailed instruction as to why a period needed to be in a particular place to achieve a particular response from one or all of the parts of this flood warning system. Sybil tried in vain to explain to Super-Geek that she did not speak this language called Code. Three hours into their travel they arrived in Houston! After almost 3hrs of shopping for merchandise for the trade show they'd be working... they were on the road again. Some 6 hours (filled with words like bits, bytes, and parses) later, they crossed the "Mighty Mississippi". She looked forward to seeing New Orleans... and she did! Unfortunately it was from the highway at 70mph. Another 4hours filled with code would take them to their next stop... Mobile, Alabama. Sybil and Super-Geek arrived in Mobile just before midnight and stayed (in separate rooms) at a Comfort Inn that was, shall we say, not comfortable at all. How did she end up here. The hotel was dirty, with stains on the walls and ceiling and worst of all.... questionable stains on the sheets and cigarette burns in both bedspreads. She spent a couple of hours crying, had dinner (a PB&J sandwich she'd packed... don't knock it!... it beats the donuts I was offered for dinner), and trying to forget the super powers on the road trip with no turn signals and people getting cut-off on the road. It was a harrowing journey but she'd made the halfway point alive.

Day 2 ... Is it just me or does Alabama go on forever!?!
It started with temps in the 20's and Sybil wondering if this would be the day she met her maker. You see, one of Super-Geek's super powers is that he can "measure the space between cars, and when there is an opening... (he) take(s) it!". While the average human uses something called a turn signal, he uses his vast knowledge of mathematics and calculates distance and velocity to change lanes. Even 18-wheelers were not immune to his powers. Something she witnessed first hand on numerous occasions during the 5days she spent with Super-Geek. With each incident, she saw her life flash before her eyes. After crossing Alabama and the Pascagoula River,they arrived at their destination at 1pm. Finally.... Hot-Lanta!! Sybil was never happier to see a La Quinta in her life!! At last... a clean hotel!! After check-in they proceeded to the Hyatt Regency Exhibit Hall with only a few stops along the way for things that Super-Geek had left behind. Apparently Superior Memory is not one of his powers. Lunch was ... wait for it.... banana's!! Yes, those little yellow fruits that monkeys are so fond of! Arriving at the exhibit hall at 5pm they set up (most of ) the booth in 2hrs. Two asthma attacks later, one hour after the hall closed and about 30min after asking Super-Geek.. "can I choke you!?!" they headed back to their hotel 20min away. Dinner was a glorious and welcome 30min at Chez Subway. Back in her "suite", Sybil plotted her escape! She missed her husband and stinky dog desperately. But her sense of responsibility and work ethic kept her from jumping ship and returning home, even though her friends were telling her to get the heck out of there.

Day 3.... forever known as the day he lost the Atlanta Hyatt.
The day started early and with another "Free Breakfast", Super-Geeks favorite words. The city of Hot-Lantaoo at the Hyatt and only $5.oo a mere two blocks over and apparently tolerance to extreme cold is one of his super powers. As they get out of the van Sybil asks, "are you sure you know where the hotel is from here?" Super-Geek smiled. "Yes!.. it's that building right there!!", he said pointing to a nondescript high rise in the heart of Atlanta's business district. At this point Sybil learned of another of Super-Geek's abilities. He is able to move at high speeds at the blink of an eye. Because that is exactly how long it took for him to disappear. She looked up after getting her laptop bag out of the van and he was gone! She walked to the end of the parking lot to find he was half a block away. By the time she got to the corner he was a block away. Wheezing in the icy Atlanta morning she tried to keep up. She began to cry when she realized where Super-Geek was leading her. At the same moment he looked up at the building he'd raced to. In disgust and began to pace. She could see him muttering something and waving his arms in the air. He was upset about something. Sybil began to lose it! A personality that she'd never experienced arose from deep inside her. Like a Banshee she began to scream, fighting back tears and the urge to kill. He was LOST!!! "THAT'S THE FRIGGIN' MARRIOTT....!!!" she wailed. Freezing and with tears streaming down her face she glared at him and turned to show him... "THE HYATT IS BEHIND US!!!" she screamed motioning to the hotel on the previous block. Uphill he raced passing her by as she wheezed in the cold. He went into the hotel, leaving her on the corner trying desperately to compose her self and steel herself for the long day ahead. It was after all only 730am!! He raced back to ask "are you tired already?". "NO! I'm having an asthma attack!" she answered and back into the hotel he went. Hypothermic, wheezy, teary, and grateful that her husband gave her a stun gun instead of a pistol, she entered the Hyatt. Compassion is not one of Super-Geeks powers as she was about to find out. The day improved after an emotional meltdown in the peach scented ladies room of the Hyatt. Lunch and Dinner were courtesy of the convention and quite tasty. A far cry from donuts and bananas.

Day 4 .... Losing the Interstate.
Another cold day begins. It had started to feel routine... a hotel breakfast and a harrowing trip on an unfamiliar highway. But this morning brought curb service! Yes, apparently Super-Geek realized that he was traveling with a mere mortal. Sybil is girl more comfortable on the Tropic of Cancer than the icy tundra. There was no getting lost in the cold, or screaming like a lunatic in the heart of Atlanta. Sybil was at ease today. She decided to try to make the best of it. The end of the day meant the beginning of the trip home. She dealt with another day of his OCD and lack of social skills that made for an uncomfortable journey. Today Super-Geek did not lose the hotel, but he did manage to misplace the Interstate. Evidently a Built-in Compass isn't a super power he possesses either, much to Sybil's dismay. They end up in a neighborhood filled with character. "Stop and turn around... we're going in the wrong direction", she shouts after he admits they are on the wrong road. They travel another block before he decides to listen to her. Like a beacon in the dark she spots it! "Prince Hall!! It's a Masonic Lodge!.. pull over!!!" she shouts. Before he comes to a stop she's halfway out the door. A local chapter of Eastern Star is just leaving the building. The ladies were gracious and ever so helpful explaining where we'd need to turn to get back on the highway. Just then a kind Mason in a black fez stops and offers to lead us to the right highway. In spite of their directions and guidance....once again Super-Geek ends up on the wrong road. Foiled by yet another power!! The Ability to Tailgate, a power he'd used at every opportunity on this trip. After taking another wrong exit they are finally on track!! Nightfall comes and so does dinner at IHop! Midnight arrives like a choir of Angels. In the distance, behind a Lowe's hardware store.. the Microtel in Opelika, Alabama. (seriously... can you hear the choir?) A pristine economy hotel with perfectly white bedsheets and spotless bathrooms. It was the best 5hrs of sleep she'd had in days.

Day 5... The not so long road home.
There were 13hours of highway ahead of them. Sybil was ready. After all at the end was home. Over the course of the previous 4days she had somehow managed to break through Super-Geeks force field to find a somewhat normal mortal. He was funny and had stories to tell. He no longer spoke in code. He shared stories of his childhood. Of doing battle with a bully in school by beaning the oaf over the head with his book bag and becoming friends with the boy that once taunted him. They discussed their travels through different areas of Mexico with their respective spouses. They cruised through Alabama where she saw her first snowfall in a piney forest. Whisked through Lake Charles, Louisiana at sunset. Just as quickly they breezed over the bridge at the Texas state line. She knew she was almost home when she saw the refineries in Galveston. Sulphur never smelled so good. Home was only 4hrs away, only a quick zip through Houston. The road was beginning to look familiar. "Hey look! there's Buc-ee!", Sybil squealed. (For those of you who are unfamiliar, Buc-ee is a beaver. His overbite graces billboards for a truck stop along IH-10 on the road near Luling, Tx) That chubby cheeked little beaver never looked so good. The stress of the trip was beginning to wane. Home was soon on the horizon and the Tower of the Americas was like a lighthouse on the shore guiding them into town. Sybil was once again in the town where she'd spent all her life. The trip ended in the same parking lot where it began. Only this time her husband was picking up a woman changed. She arrived a little weary from her travels and with a couple of super powers of her own. She had her patience tested repeatedly and passed. She learned that she is smarter than she gives herself credit for. She also discovered that she is not capable of harming another human being even when pushed to her limits. And last but not least.... she arrived safely.

The End.


I'd love to travel for a trade show again someday.... but most definitely with different people. Hopefully the next Super Hero I travel with will be my husband! He did save a child from an attacker in a grocery store once upon a time.... but that will be a story for another day.

How you doooooin'?

Goodness!! It's been a whole month since I've updated anything... sorry about that (she says in the hopes that someone is reading). Life's been a little nutty. Been helping friends out with their booths at trade shows, stringing like a crazy woman.. for a former employer and for my own upcoming trunk show. I had forgotten how much work goes into preparing for a show of my own. It's been years since I've done one and I'm getting a little nervous. I have to find some time in the next couple of days to track down all of my displays and order new ones along with bags and boxes for purchases. I have another trade show to help a friend with during this time, which shoots to heck almost an entire week. So, 2 calendar weeks left in the madness and only one is actually of any value. After that, I can take a breather for about a week. And by breather I mean... updating my website and Artfire shop.



Since this post is short and sweet I'm gonna leave you with some eye candy. If you are coming to the trunk show, this is some of what will be available for purchase.

Hope y'all are having a wonderfully creative week!!