Sebbie is Baaaaaack

Just a quick note to wish you all a Happy New Year. I've been away for a few days tending to my favorite kitty who was sick. Why is that those you love the best can rip out your heart so easily?? He's doing better but still a bit twitchy. Here he is in his pre-twitchy days

Starting to seriously upload to my Lollipop store. Lots of new stuff arriving daily, be sure to drop by and see us when you have a chance.

CAT ANTICS

What an amazing week it has been. I had no idea that when I posted that photo of my sister and I it would change the course and direction of my life! More about that after Thanksgiving!

For now I HAD to share the hysterical antics of this cat. Reminds me so much of my own furbabies. If you're a cat lover you HAVE to watch it...it will turn a frown upside down. Warning: if you've just finished eating your Thanksgiving fill...you might want to wait awhile for it to digest!

DECISION 2009

I woke up this morning tucked cozily under my new microfiber blanket and heating blanket with the late autumn sun shining brightly in my south window. It was only 17 degrees in Jersey last night which is unusual for this time of year. Since our heating system hasn't operated in five years we've been heating with a wood stove. Sometimes that heat doesn't quite make it down to our bedroom before the door gets closed at night. So the air around my bed was definitely nippy.

Stretching like one of my four contented cats I decided to turn on my side and enjoy a few more moments of warmth before I hopped out of bed and into my long johns. During those moments I thought about where my life is and where I'd like it to be in six months. And I finally made a decision that I've postponed for a year. In the late spring I am going on a much needed sabbatical. Four months of rest, creativity and much needed introspection IS going to happen this time.

We have a 15 year old fifth wheel trailer that is in relatively good shape. At least it was when we closed it down in the fall of '07. It's parked lakeside in a campground in the heart of Pennsylvania's Amish country. I had planned my escape for May 22 through September 17 of this past year but with fuel prices and the lack of a working vehicle I needed to let the dream that had guided me through the winter of '08 become just another broken one. This time I AM going to do it. I'll be 60 in April. 60 is the new 40 and since I didn't get much chance to enjoy that decade of my life I'm going to give myself a do-over.

I have always been available and ready to help my friends and family no matter the day, the hour or my own plans. This time I'm going to be selfish and give myself this special time. I think the fact that I went through metastatic breast cancer successfully without a whimper, at least in part, entitles me to some "ME" time alone.

So once again I'll start my plans for that precious time alone. Time to get healthy. Time to lose the 50 lbs. that came with menopause and chemo meds. Time to paint, photograph and blog about my life. Time with my best pal, my sweet furry love Sebastian.

And when May arrives and the trip looks like a bust AGAIN, I will at least have spent my winter planning, looking forward to days of warmth and solitude and I won't remember these mornings of ear chilling cold.

Faux Cupcakes and CATS!!!

Here's the stuff of which legends will be made:


I got the papers, doilies and ballerinas at the 1.00 Power Store. What used to be the 99 cent store until they decided that they needed to make more money and started charging up to 12.99 for what used to sell for a buck. *Sigh* fortunately or unfortunately, the cost of chocolate is still only $1.25 for a BIG bag of Dove or Hershey's Dark Chocolate Truffles. Ouch! My thighs are growing just thinking about it!

Oh and look who snuck in here to see what was going on with Mommy...my favorite furry baby boy, Sebastian.


Anyhoo..I'm planning on trying to make a few faux today. Then I want to photograph them in a vignette setting and we'll see where that goes. I'm still trying to firm up an answer to the question my DH asked days ago. I'm getting closer but still no definitive answer at this time. What will the wild gypsy still be doing in five years??? Stay tuned!

Wall Street Bail Out

Wish someone would bail me out! It's the end-beginning of the month and credit card bills are due. I can't believe it! All but one of my credit card/banks has been bought out. I don't know who I owe or what their name is. Won't someone bail me out?

Of course not. I'm not an exec. with my slightly tarnished golden parachute. I'm just some working drudge trying to meet her bills and still buy groceries and feed her cats. No one cares whether I've slipped from the middle of the middle class way down to the top of the poverty level class. I got no one watching my back. What I earn from my art is what feeds me. Some weeks it's all peanut butter and crackers and some weeks I get to buy some 80% lean hamburger. Last night it was pot roast...a rare treat that I thoroughly enjoyed.

OK...so I'm one of the whining class that Paulson (?) talked about. Whine, whine, whine...I'm hungry so is that whining or are those just loud hunger pangs? Why is the middle class passe? Don't we deserve to get out of the squeeze press and be able to serve our kitties something other than DRY cat food? Look at this poor baby's face. He looks so defeated Wouldn't you want to bail him out of a life of dry kibble?




OK...whining coming to an end. Back to working on my new line of earrings. I figure if I CAN"T AFFORD TO EAT DESSERT, I'll just create it and wear it...LOL This is so NOT funny! $700 billion dollars...I'd be happy with a bailout of $700...and so would my sweet little furbabies!

Does anyone really care

that I'm blogging today? The world is a busy place, how can it stop to see what I'm doing. Does anyone really care? Probably not, but why not? Other blogs get great traffic but mine is slow on the uptake. I have to get noticed, but how? Ideas for anyone stumbling across this is always welcome. Feel free to tell me what I'm doing wrong and what I'm doing right.
I tweet on twitter but get no replies...do I not do it often enough? Are other people watching my tweets OR am I in cyberspace, flying solo? Hmmmmm...back to sorting AVON products, it's at least making me money. eBay and etsy are stubborn and I can't break through that glass ceiling to become a power seller on eBay or a seller at all on etsy. I AM doing something wrong but I need to spend some time figuring out WHAT??? Blogging can be a lonely business after all...especially if no one comments or says Hey, I like what you just said. Oh well, Sebby, my sweet darling cat is crying to get out of the bedroom and away from all of this cosmetic crap and oh, no! He's climbed up on the desk and any minute is going to pounce on the keyboard................ gbvgf gfv,fv g,vf, see..I told you so....ta ta for now or ttfn for those in the know.