2 a.m. Sunday

I woke up about an hour ago, Sunday morning.

I went to bed limp as a rag doll 

5 p.m. Saturday evening.

I had been up since 5 a.m.  Saturday morning.

Saturday 6 a.m., headed over to help my friend Ann

"Annie"

with a garage sale.

A BIG ONE

She had been preparing for over a week.

She needs new flooring in her home,

and she also wanted to get some "order" to

her garage and storage shed.

Nothing special about that, but there is a special

back story I want to share.

This is the same Annie I asked

 you to pray for a while back.

Her husband Ron was ill and they were fighting 

a horrible battle with cancer.

They lost the battle a few weeks back,

Annie lost her husband,

and her life has changed forever.

I have watched my friend 

face these new challenges

with such bravery and grace 

and I am in awe of her strength.

She and her Mom Ruth,

forever more "Grandma Ruth" now,

worked themselves silly the past few days.

Annie made enough to make a huge dent in the project.

But there is more to the story.

I always send out alerts 

to local gals that a garage sale is

happening and the girls

turned up for the cause.

They came for the preview night Friday,

 bringing cupcakes and hugs,

opened their wallets and bought treasures.

They picked up unfinished quilts of the family,

and promised to finish them and send them photos.

They bought treasures from Annie

and will make them special in their own homes.

They tried on vintage glasses and hats 

and posed to make Annie laugh.

These other women have faced illness,

loss and tragedy in their own lives.

They've struggled and fought their own battles

and recognize a woman who needs

love and support.

I adore these women in my life.

Both my female "bosses" were there

and they are getting to know one another,

and lo and behold

the guy who owns the emporium

where our booth is, showed up by accident

and more hugs all around.

All these separate folks all intertwining

in work and friendship and love.

I looked up mid way through 

yesterday, I was fading fast,

and saw Annie bundled up in layers of 

her husband's clothes

borrowed from the racks, fighting the cold

and rain that lala land dumped on us yesterday,

and she was "merchandising" the tables, 

and shuffling in her fuzzy clogs and smiling.

Tired but always smiling.

I wake up this morning at 1 a.m.

and there is an email from Ann at midnight,

still up, still working I'm sure,

 thanking me for sharing my friends.

Annie, they are now your friends also.

Women brought together 

with shared experiences, friendship,

 and understanding of what it means to be 

a woman today, well, what it has always 

meant to be a woman.
The strengths we all have within us

to raise our families well, work hard,

love hard, be creative, nurturing.

We are by no means the weaker sex.

We "get it"

Oh yes, there are silly, selfish, even nasty

 gals out there,

always were, always will be,

but by and large I believe

in women.

I believe in these women for sure.

My friends.

Annie's friends.

Get some sleep Annie.

BROKECHELLA 2014 Recap

Ben and Anam 

are very active members of cARTel

Ben made video ( heylookamonster)

Why I never talk to him...lol

SOOOO busy 

but working busy

Give it a view and a Like if you do

20 days till the girl is home

Her bed is piled with surprises for new Apt.

I am having so much fun finding bargains and deals,

and I am scoring some major stuff.

Life is so damn good..

and just because I shared with a few gals already,

I thought I'd share this lovely pic of what part of me
 looks like after a day at one of my great jobs. ..and I mean

GREAT, as in LOVE doing it.

ready?

it's gross...

and those are not hairy legs,

 the dirt goes all the way up to my knees

(my nails are painted grey BTW

well of course they are!)

One gal said I looked like a cadaver

and on that happy note I leave you

to enjoy a great weekend.

I know I will.

Z

What The Hell Have You Been Doing?

Had a friend say to me

"What the hell have you been doing?

You haven't posted in two weeks."

well almost two weeks... 12 days

It's not that I have been uber busy, 

but I have been doing stuff.

I hate the glorification of busy 

some people practice these days.

"I'm sorry I didn't blog, tweet, instagram FB whatever,

 cause I am sooooooo busy"

Well maybe if you didn't do all that crap all day,

all the time, you might have time to do some other stuff.

DUH

I post when I have something to say, or rant about,

or maybe I'm excited about some one or some thing.

I don't think y'all need to hear my daily thoughts.

They might scare you, puzzle you or

tick you off politically anyway.

Like recently I am obsessed with household 

hints I've never heard before. Thank you Pinterest!

I love sharing them like I did today with Annie,

teaching her the right way to peel a banana. 

Yep.... doing it wrong most of you....

from the bottom ladies, no strings

I loved watching the Dave Clark Five and Hollies Specials

and Your Inner Fish. 

I relive and ponder stuff like that for days.

That then makes me relive

 my youth and travel down memory lane and then I veer off

into what was unplanned and sorrows and

STOP!!!!!

see you don't want to follow my daily thoughts

too often or too far. 

My brain and mouth often stop mid thought
 and careen into another realm.

see? scary crap

I am working several jobs, which I love, but

both are quite physical so this old gal is bushed 

when she comes home..and I rarely get anything else done.

Not even tv viewing of which I do very little anyway, 

except the aforementioned Specials.

That means on my days off I have to get everything else done. 
Never had a housecleaner, 
in fact I used to be one

when I first got married and we were dead broke.

I have a yard guy who comes 1 day in the Spring and Fall

 for major cleanup only.

So it's up to me to keep this house ship shape

and that takes effort and time.

Also been helping my pal Annie

 get ready for a big garage sale this weekend

and making stuff for my booth

and scrounging for stuff for darling daughter's 

apt soon to be in LA.

( fingers crossed - jobs needed)

( they freelance)

Also a couple gal pal lunches and visits.

so see? doing stuff....

just not posting

but I read you all

and love when you read me.

so the answer is:

Loving my Kids

Loving my Life

Loving my Jobs

and

peeling bananas 

correctly
like the monkeys do
not monkey see, monkey do

see monkey
do

60 years of doing it WRONG

now THAT IS really 

What the HELL?

THEY DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Project Funded!

 A BIG HELL YEAH!

THE PINK SORRYS

Rolling Papers And The Universe

Rolled papers all day yesterday

Taking these and others up to

Goat Feathers booth this week.

Today I think I'll paint some
word canvas, right after I go to market.

I've been out of staples for days.

No milk, juice, bread, eggs..zippo

Tried to figure out a dish made solely

from condiments, but....

I have an entire fridge door of condiments

and no bleeping food!

Anyone else hate market shopping?

I hate getting dressed to go 2 blocks.

If I look really bad,

sans makeup and wearing paint or food

 splattered clothes,

you can GUARANTEE I'll see

someone snotty I do not wish to see,

and word will spread that I really am unkempt 

unless at work..

At work, both jobs, I also get really dirty

 so 

perhaps I am unusually and frequently unkempt. 

Do I care?

Not a fig.

This week?

I'm plunging head first into painting 

my kitchen cabinets,

or should I say repainting?

I painted them about 15 years ago.

I have a week off from both jobs, so

I am going Grey!

I was thinking of grey but when I 

walked into Josie's shop Vintage Home

and met this lively, oh so friendly gal,

 and then spied a color 

Pittsburgh Grey..

"It's a sign"

I was hooked.

The universe was talking.

I stood there debating

and while listening to Josie give us directions and 

hints and ideas freely with none of that

other gobbeldy gook you get elsewhere in

other shops selling paint, I thought...

Even though it is NOT in my budget,

I am going to support this woman and 

her independent small business.

I gladly plunked down the cash

and I know I will be thrilled.

and THEN

quite by chance

and here is where the universe comes back in.

My First boss told me about Josie's shop

and that is why I stopped in.

I go to my other job the next day 

and tell Second Boss

about this great shop I went to,

 and about painting my cabinets.

Second Boss is doing an auction later that week,

 and meets a paint gal there and gives her 

her card as introduction.

The paint gal says she just met a Suzan 

who works at the auction place.

You guessed it!

Second Boss just met Josie!

When the universe speaks

Pay Attention.

You Guys Are Awesome

You made The Pink Sorrys catch up,

  tie and then hold a great position for hours,

but now they need an extra push to the finish.

So many of you, my dear friends, voted 

and I am ever so grateful.

If you have not had a chance 

to vote yet, please do so right here:

deadline 5 ET April 1st

The Pink Sorrys

One vote per person,

but your friends can vote if you let them know via 

your social media...Don't know what I'm talking about?

See previous post

THANK YOU!

Just thinking of all you

bloggie friends and local friends,

 who reached out to help,

well lump in the throat time.

awesome