BROOKLYN

 
 

Happy Monday!

...I'm glad it's over! One down, six to go!

The weekend flew by as usual. Saturday, I met Gloria and Laure at the "Streetside Cafe" for our "Wad of Meat" lol. It was really good! Laure left after dinner, so Gloria and I decided to go visit our friend Bev, who just bought a new house! It was good seeing her again. She is a Breast Cancer survivor, and has also had part of her Lung removed. We got there at about 5:20, and didn't leave till 11:30 p.m.!! Well, we had a lot of catching up to do! Her house is awesome! It's in the "Frank Lloyd Wright" style, very linear and lots of windows! The house came with most of the contents, Tons of furniture & nic-nacs galore! Well made French Provincial China cupboards, tables, and chairs. Not really my style, but I had to admire how well made the pieces were.

So last night, Daughter Jamie came over to use the puter. She laughed at my Halloween decorating...! in a good way lol. He eyes got really big, when I told her, there were a lot of decorations that I didn't even put out! She also had to have a bowl of freshly made Navy Bean soup!... ahhh.. I think it was my best pot ever, if I do say so myself! And It tasted even better today! I was up late last night, working on an art project. I made a Collage, for a co-Worker Krystal, who's pregnant, and do in just a couple weeks. She's having a girl, and naming her Brooklyn Jewel. Jewel is her grandmother's name. And her grandmother grew up in Brooklyn, and told Krystal many stories. So, I had to include a vintage look photo of the Brooklyn Bridge! Krystal really loved the collage, and so excited that it's in her "baby colors" of Pinks and Browns. It was fun to make, and I'm glad she liked it.

I'm watching Dancing with the Stars, and I don't have a favorite just yet.

So nothing exciting going on. I'm looking forward the the cooler weather forecast for this week. I might end up having to make a pot of Chili too!

This evening's sunset

What a beautiful evening. There's a definite chill in the air, and I'm really getting a taste for some homemade Navy Bean soup, or Chili. And I think I'll be making some very soon! The forecast says it's supposed to be in the low 60's by Wednesday. Ahh! The leaves are starting to turn, and some are already a brilliant Golden yellow.
My little Maple tree "Mosley".. hasn't really started turning yet, but I'm sure it will be soon, after a few more of these wonderful chilly nights. I've had my window open while I sleep, & I haven't slept so well in months! Gone is the obnoxious sound of the loud air conditioner, replaced by the rustling leaves.

So I'm watching the debate, and I don't know who to believe. It's a hard choice, actually...I don't think it's much of a choice at all. I don't care for either candidate! That's my whole feeling on politics.. the end!

I got my artwork back from Somerset Studio today. I was surprised to find only one piece (the one that was published) in the box, along with a note saying my artwork was going to be published!...I got all excited thinking they were keeping the 2ND piece, and publishing it too!... then it dawned on me, the letter was just a reminder about having the first (and only) piece published. I wrote Somerset, and got a quick reply. They told me that the 2ND piece would be mailed shortly, and that multiple pieces sometimes get separated when one gets published. She also said, it also might be possible that they could be holding my 2ND piece to publish in their "Gallery" issue, but this was only a possibility. It was fun seeing my (published) piece again. The colors (in the magazine) really are "off" compared to the original piece. It doesn't matter at all, I know.

So... Thank you Twyla, for wishing me a good weekend. Yes, I do look forward to them!.... I hope you have a wonderful one as well xoxo. Saturday, I'm meeting friends Gloria, and Laure for lunch. We're gonna have.. as Gloria calls it "A big wad of meat".... LOL... Steaks. I'm a big meat eater, and I love Steak, and Roast Beef, Gloria prefers Vegetables.. or.. Cheese lol.
My daughter Jamie will come over in the morning. I'm supposed to help.. (or do) make an anniversary gift for her friend. I have to work Sunday 11-5.. : (... And I have to work next Saturday 12-6!!!!... OMG! 7 days straight!.. that STINKS!!!!!..Then it will be "YA YA" time! and I've requested off Oct 10th.. YAYA is the 11th.. It's our 6th Annual! And it's such a great time!.. more on that later.,

So...I keep feeling like I have to work tomorrow.. BUT I DON'T!! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY. So I think I will indulge myself, and have a REAL cup of coffee.. get wired, and maybe.. I'll clean up the big mess that has been sitting in the middle of my art room for the past 3 weeks............ehhhh.. hmmm probably not.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!!... ESPECIALLY YOU TWYLA!

MY HALLOWEEN SURPRISE!

LOOK AT MY ADORABLE BLACK AND ORANGE HALLOWEEN SLIPPERS!!

I'm sooooooooooo LUCKY!

They arrived in the mail today! a gift to me, from my sweet, thoughtful Blogger friend, Twyla, from "Two Crazy Crafters"....(See her Blog link below.)
I actually squealed when I opened the package!

Twyla lovingly hand Knitted them just for me! She obviously knows just how much I love Halloween!
You just have to visit the Etsy Shoppe "Fancy That Shoppe" run by Twyla and her adorable daughter Lindsey, And find your own cuddly pair! Twyla says she has been Knitting house slippers since she was 11 years old! They are beautifully made, and oh so cuddly!!! I will love them forever!!!

Twyla and Lindsey are the cutest mother and daughter I've ever seen. Along with their genuine affection for each other, they share a passion for sweet vintage items, Barbie dolls and other collections. They're just too cute for words. THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH AGAIN TWYLA!!
YOU REALLY MADE MY DAY! I LOVE YA BIG!

IT HAS ARRIVED!

It's here! Autumn arrived today. I love this time of year. Beautiful weather, beautiful colors.
A time when life seems to slow down just a bit. The nights are cool, and I want to drink Apple Cider, and grab a sweatshirt! MMMmmmmm and Navy Bean Soup ahhh.... and let's not forget
a hot bowl of homemade Chili.
Enjoy your Autumn!

TREMONT 2008

Well another great weekend has come to an end. I had a great time hanging out at the Tremont Arts & Cultural Festival with my sisters. We all met at Susan's house, then went to breakfast Tremont was nice, but it didn't seem like there were as many vendors this year. I didn't buy anything this time, but learned that they now allow sharing of booths. This is good news, because my sisters and I, would love to sell at the Festival, but don't want to have to pay for 4 separate spaces. So, maybe we might actually participate next year!

We went to Ruby Tuesdays for dinner, then headed back to my apartment. We sat around the table talking, laughing and drinking wine....hmmm.. it's a pattern! LOL. Rita fixed the dried flowers I put in my new way cool Victorian "Witch" boot vase, I snagged on Etsy for only $5!!! I love it! It's "life size" and it's the perfect addition to my Halloween decor. I am no good at floral arrangements, and Rita is an amazing floral designer! It looks so cool now! I'll be posting picks of it and the apartment, now that the decorations are done.... for now :)

The sisters all pooped out, and went to bed early. I was more tired than I realized, and went to bed soon after. I made coffee and breakfast in the morning, and they left about an hour later. It was so fun being with them as always, and having my apartment "Christened" with a sister sleep over!

I started and finished my Calendar page. I have "January"... it's for our next project, with the same women that all worked on the Puzzle swap. I wasn't sure what I was going to do and sorry I didn't pick October! But I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

Soooooo... 10.30 p.m. The weekend really is gone. POOF! Another week lies ahead.

I COULDN'T WAIT...

"Happy Jack"

"SPOOKY CAT"

Well, it's only the middle of September, but being in my new apartment, I just couldn't wait to put up my Halloween decorations any longer! I pulled out all the bins holding all my Halloween treasures. It was so great to see them all again!
I spread them all out, and I realized I have a thing for Pumpkins! I didn't realize just how many I have! Big and small, scary and fun. I love them all! One of my favorites, is a painting I did. I named him Happy Jack. He wears a fun "Velvety" witch hat, and a big grin. I'm still trying to decide where to put them all! I'm having the most fun decorating the bay window!

So last week, I got an email, from Marie Patterson, at: spookytimejingles.com, telling me I won a door prize!Spooky Time Jingles, is an online marketplace for one of a kind holiday art, all year long!! Yay! So I it arrived in the mail, and it's the most adorable primitive Halloween Cat painting called "SPOOKY CAT" I just love it! Thank you so much Marie! Check out Marie's ART, and all the rest!

Yesterday, I had my evening all planned. I was going to make some collage stars to hang in the Bay window, Then finish decorating, while watching the "Big" Browns/Steelers game at 8 p.m. Well.. All day the winds were howling, a little remnant of Hurricane Ike, yes, all the way here in Cleveland! Around 6:30 p.m. my power went out! Grrrr! Now what? Oh no! no football?... no decorating? So suddenly, there was nothing I wanted to do more than make those stars! I sat at my art table, frantically cutting, stamping and glittering, while watching the poor little Maple tree outside my window, thrashing around in the wild winds. It was so grey and overcast, that what ever was left of daylight, was being masked by the clouds. I found my little hand held TV, and batteries, and lit some candles. I was trying to think of some way I could finish my stars. I remembered the little light I have hanging on my key chain. It's very bright, and I thought if I could find a way to hang it over the desk, I could keep working. So, I started rigging, hanging, and positioning this tiny little light, and even though the light was diffused, it would do the trick! Just as I was about to sit down...and at 7:45 p.m. The power came on!.. Ahhhh that's better! Well, I finished the stars, and the Browns lost. I still have decorations scattered all over the place. I finish (hopefully) by the weekend.

Speaking of the weekend, my sisters and I are going to the Tremont ARTS & Cultural festival. We go every year, and it's always a good time. I haven't been with all of my (3) sisters since June! So I'm hoping for cool weather and fun

Starting the beginning of October, I'm planning on posting Halloween costume pictures, of my kids and I, over the years. So you'll have to come back and see them!

The first day of Autumn "Autumnal Equinox" is next Monday! I just love Autumn. I think I will start photographing the little Maple tree (that thankfully survived the high winds yesterday,) outside my art room window, and document the change of colors....stay tuned! I talk about that tree so much, that I've actually given it a name: Mosely, the Maple tree.......
yes.. yes... I have officially lost my mind, but I'm lots of fun!

WEEKEND OVER

Another weekend gone in the blink of an eye.
It was beautiful, breezy and on the cooler side. Finally the humidity has gone!

Here is a pic of a dimensional "ARTkissed" collage hanging I made for my artroom door. I really like it, and think I'll make some dimensional collages to sell.

I had lunch with my PSMWG buddies, then we headed to W's (Winnie) mom's house.
Her sisters, their friends, and an old neighbor joined us. Before you know it, the long Oak table was cover with cookies, dips, chips and pastries In true Bailey fashion. we sat around laughing and talking as usual. I brought some things I had bought in my company employee shop. Firming creams, cover sticks, hair thickeners, Frownies...for everyone to take. The girls had so much fun "playing" with it all.

/Sunday, my daughters and I, went to my friend Tom Smith's memorial service. I searched threw all my photos, and found a bunch of Tom from back in the days when we worked together, and assembled them in a photo album. Tom's sons were thrilled to see them, and even happier when I told them they were theirs to keep.
The service was very nice, and very low key. Tom was in WWII, and so there was a brief ceremony, and the playing of Taps...ok.. that tore me up! They presented Tom's wife Cynthia, with A Flag, and I could hear her crying softly.
The Pastor spoke, and later, invited us get up and talk about Tom or share a story. My daughters kept telling me to go. I'm not really comfortable with public speaking, but I felt compelled to say something about my friend. Before I knew it, I was walking toward the podium. I was nervous, and not really sure what I would say. Somehow I managed to share a few funny stories. I was happy to share them. Tom's oldest son Tommy, was the spitting image of his father, and was equally as animated as Tom. It was great meeting all of his sons, and sharing more stories.

After the service, My daughter's and I, went to Chili's for dinner. The food was very bland, and I won't be going there again! Jamie has a Blackberry phone, and it has a cool navigation feature on it. It was very surreal having this little thing tell me when to turn, and pinpointing my every move! I felt like a backwoods yahoo, amazed by this "new fangled gadget!" Allison left, and Jamie and I stopped for Coffee at Panera's, then I dropped her off and headed home. I got very tired, and decided to take a "little nap" around 8 p.m.... and woke up at 12:30 a.m... and here I am. I will wake up like a Zombie, when it's time to go to work, I'm sure!

My Artroom, is a complete disaster! The boxes of photos are now sitting in the middle of the room, along with all the other stuff I attempted to organize two weeks ago. Oh well. I'll get to it eventually!

So have a great week, and lets hope it goes quickly, on to the next weekend!

THE WEEKEND IS HERE AGAIN

Another weekend before me. yay!
Because of Labor Day, this week really went by so fast! You know, after having a Monday off, You wake up on Tuesday, thinking it's Monday, then get excited when you realize it's not. by Thursday, it feels like Thursday, and ya still have one more day to go. Anyway... Friday is done!

I finally got to see my daughter Allison's new house on Labor Day!
It's a great house, with so much character! and a wonderful back yard, full of huge Maple trees, that will be beautiful in the Fall. I brought her a gift "basket" that's really a oval Galvanized bucket, that says "Happy Halloween" and filled it with Halloween Decorations and things. I also made her two collages. One for her kitchen, that looks like an advertisement, and says "Enjoy Allison's Fifty pound Lasagna"... She makes awesome Lasagna, and they're huge! She really loved it. The other collage, incorporated a photo of her house, and her most favorite picture of boyfriend Andy, and her two dogs Luke and Cody. Behind the sky and grass, you can see words I added to the cardstock, words like Home, love, family, friends... etc.
She hung it in her dining room. It also has a poem hanging from it, that I wrote.
It was fun hanging out with Allison and Andy. I can't wait to go back again. More pics will be coming, as soon as Allison sends them to me

Oh, and speaking of Pictures, I finally sent my camera in to be repaired. The turn around time was incredibly fast! The fixed the "recalled" problem, and even gave me a new shutter!, mine was sticking before. And.. they replaced the little battery door, which stuck too. They did it all for free! I was very impressed, and sent an email thanking them, and said I would spread the word.. so... here I am.. spreading the word! Buy Canon products!

Tomorrow, I'm going to be hanging out with my PSMWG buddies. We're going to lunch, then hanging out at Mom Bailey's house. Winnie's sisters will be there, so it should be a really fun evening!...pictures will follow.

I will be going to my friend Tom's Memorial service on Sunday, with my daughters, who knew, and loved Tom too.I spent a few hours last night, going through boxes of photos, trying to find some of Tom. I told his son David that I would bring them along. I've also found several fun Halloween costume pictures, of my kids, me.. and Even Tom. I'll share them with you closer to Halloween!

So the weekend will be over before ya know it. So... Enjoy it!