The Worst Is Over

...and we all survived.

It nearly took a village to get

through it all but it's now in the past and

I'm moving forward.

We shot these quickly for the ad before 

we had all the furniture out on the front yard. 

Obviously so much more as we nearly hit the $3,000 mark.

We may hit it as just now a gal 

wrote from the craigs list and may come

for FP toys.

We had a preview for invited guests Friday 

night as usual and then decided to put up a couple

signs by the entrance and we nabbed a few more shoppers.

Tidied up a bit, closed the door and tried to sleep

and raised the garage door at 6:30 to waiting folks.

Hauled out everything stacked in 

the back yard and living room

and fired the starter pistol.

By 3 we were winding down

 and kids convinced me to

 do 8-10 Sunday morning, something I never do. 

Slashed prices and Hannah bless her heart went back out

and modified signs.

Glad I did as we were able to give some children

2 train sets that had them beaming.

Meanwhile, through it all Howie 

was vomiting his medicine off and on for three days 

and also the stress of all the people and cousin dog Tubs.

AND Hannah had her HS reunion squeezed in there,

along with renting a truck to 

take some furniture back to CA. 

My daughter to be, and daughter were doing dishes

 non stop and cleaning up. Ben was feeding us

 and doing some home repair for me.

It really was a 3 day frenzy.

Many friends stopped by to say hello

and shop and ask "where are you going?"

My love and gratitude to my three blessings

DD and DS and DD2 for 

always being there for me.

To Annie, Sue and Pam :

Could not have managed without you.

Thank you so very much.

I have some vintage toys left including both 

American Girl Dolls and one overstuffed chair.

Two carloads full to the roof to donation.

One carload to the roof to library.

(took them three trips to get into library with huge cart).

DD2 cooked some lean burger and rice for Howie

and he has not vomited since, and this will

be a lifesaver if it helps him recover

from this infection.

Whew! right?

Now phase two. 

Is there any way I can stay in house? 

Move to Ca? When to sell? How to sell?

Where to rent? What can I afford?

and what the hell is wrong with my health?

Today is more sleep and slowly putting

garage back together and then I am going

 to sew and craft for days and days.

Ben will now have time to get 

my beautiful new website tweaked so that I can sell

again and it's a brave new world..

If we survive the election.

I love the folks who populate my world

including all of you.

Those I've emailed with for a decade and those

who just follow along unknown to me.

Blogging has been a gift.

Thank you for sharing your lives with me.

 I wish I could have you all over for lunch.

With much love

Z

The Sale

Ben's Ad for "The Sale" yesterday:

Come with me, all of you, down memory lane,

For a story of antiques and vintage toy trains.

This woman is moving and cannot be late,

So she’s hosting a SALE and marked it “estate.”

It’s stacked floor to ceiling with one-of-a-kinds

Rows of beautiful pieces and incredible finds

Like linens and fabrics and new skeins of yarn,

Farm tables and dressers brought straight from the barn!

There’s chairs and cabinets and baskets and racks

And plenty of crafting piled in stacks

Over all of these wares you surely will geek

They’re reasonably priced (and so shabby chic!)

Cookbooks and look books and book books galore,

Pitchers, pots, plates, platters, pegboards, and more!

See vintage toys making hobbyists drool,

From Fisher Price, Little Tikes, and Playskool,

It’s stuffed to the gills with grills, drills, and mills,

Old costumes and clothing—denim, lacy, or frilled.

Cookware and keurigs and flatware? You bet!

Plus Rudolph toys—and it’s a full set!

Wooden shoes, stars, and mirrors, plus more vintage smalls,

Come check it out—we’re getting rid of it all!

Her kids moved the heavy furniture all day,

So they sure would be grateful if you came by her way.

We’ll start wheeling and dealing 7:30 on the dot

You’re all beautiful people and we like you a lot!

Sold so much, but some big pieces are left so we marked down

 even more and we're trying two more hours this morning,

then donating all the rest.

Kids headed back to CA

Mama headed to bed.

Exhaustion is the name of the game 

Z

My Favorite People

Today my son Ben gave a vintage typewriter to 

his sister Hannah.

 In the typewriter, a request

These are my favorite people.

DS and DD

Dearest Son and Darling Daughter

there are no words other than 

love

joy

Z

I Am Going To Miss

My garden

My porch

Rain on my tin roof

Especially rain on my roof....

Memories

26 years of them

Stepping forward into the unknown 

My daughter thinks it is exciting; 

a new adventure.

She's 28

At 66

 I'm finding it unsettling, nerve wracking,

and damn hard.

Maybe I'll find the adventure later on.

The way my life goes, 

I'll be Alice sliding down the rabbit hole,

butt upended with petticoats a flappin'.

Keep smiling

Z

Happiness Is

...Your film taking first

...Nearing the finish line with the purge. 

Just in case any of you out there 

might be interested in some vintage toys

esp local or in Los Angeles area, 

as perhaps if they have room

kids could bring back to you

- save on shipping.

I have a lot of American Girl for sale

Vintage Little Tykes house with nearly all accessories

Vintage Fisher Price town sets

Farm- Main Street- Playground 

School and House 

2 sets of Playskool train with track and all accessories

My kids were so clean and neat that

 everything is in great condition, if not pristine.  

If interested please email me using my profile email.

I will send photos and prices. 

Everything is so dang cute. 

My friend Pam came to help and we kept saying

how adorable it all is and designed for kids

to use their imaginations,

not play on cell phones.

But I cannot store for maybe someday grandkids,

and mine don't want.

Also, I believe every piece and many multiples

 from 1964 -Rudolph the Red nose Reindeer movie. 

Some still in original packaging.

As sale nears, I may show some favorite things,

 that I think are good deals.

I wish many of you were closer as there are some 

great vintage pieces and smalls.

That fabulous cupboard in the booth

years ago

that eventually lived in the garage studio.

It's going.

yup yup yup

It ain't easy for sure.

Ok more next week.

Z

Our Children Are Our Future

I mentioned a few posts back

that the kids were very busy and doing fine.

A little brag fest for my journal:

 Thursday night Hannah and her friend 

Zach flew up to Portland 

for the 48 hour film project festival.

They had entered their short film in the project 

and had made it to

the final round.

Bare bones explanation:

It is what it sounds like

You and your team have 48 non stop hours

 to make a short film start to finish.

This is the text I got from her

piece by piece

Mom-Having fun ?

Hannah:

So far so good. Won best actor and actress.

Best cinematography too for a tie 

Best production design 

Best writing 

Best editing 

Best direction 

BEST ^%$#ING FILM 

Now the film enters International in Amsterdam next year.

Ben

 has been working 

on Chasing the Cure the new TNT series

with Ann Curry.

If you know anything about the show

 it is indeed very ironic,

as I am still "diagnosis free" so to speak.

Helene, Ben's fiancee

 is working countless

hours on the homeless and housing issues 

in LA which are in crisis, as they are

in many major cities.

 Tom

works a full time day job and

 most nights and weekends

is either in rehearsal or in a current play

with The Actor's Gang, Tim Robbins group

in Culver City. 

They are very busy, productive and happy.

I am so proud of these four young folk.

They bode well for our future.

Only a couple weeks till I see three of them

coming to help with sale.

Tom has a play, so we'll miss him.

The sale has taken on nightmarish

proportions. If I remember, I will try 

to get a snap of the roll out before we open.

Aren't we all incredibly proud 

of all these young people taking a stand 

today for climate change.

Dear heaven, if the "powers" would only listen..

Pretty weekend to you all. 

Z

It's Happening

Found this on pinterest

(no credit was given)

I fall into bed every morning, yep, morning

between 2-5am

exhausted, but then after strapping on

c-pap I cannot get to sleep.

But then I sleep in so it averages out.

So yes, I finally did get a c-pap.

The longest time used so far is 7 hours,

but that is deceiving as I am awakened

 multiple times during those hours.

But hey, I'm trying. 

I now have preliminary diagnosis

with both lung and heart issues.

The next round of Dr visits begins today

and will determine the next move.

Therefore the purge has reached epic proportions. 

Kids are coming in to help with large sale

the first weekend in OCT.

I have gone through the entire home,

 multiple times as I garner the will power

 to be ruthless during purging. 

Not knowing how much space I will

have to live in, or even what state NV or CA,

creates issues while trying to make decisions.

The area where I have struggled

is with studio supplies.

Will I ever use roving again?

How much fabric to keep?

I coveted those many army blankets I snagged

years ago but they take up so much space.

That is where many of you met me.

After the Where Women Create article 

and white wednesday studio tours.

https://oldgreymareprimitives.blogspot.com/2010/06/where-bloggers-create-ii.html

I find myself growling often.

GRRRRRRR

My pal Sue was over Saturday and sat in the 

heat in the garage with me and priced

 while I sorted and stacked.

AND

she brought cookies

This was so easy peasy for me to do with clients;

 I couldn't figure out why I was moving

slowly and with more difficulty.

Then it was pointed out to me duh..

you're sick and you have no idea if you 

will have a 1 or 2 bedroom 

a garage, a yard, a patio....

Your clients knew where they would be.

DUH

so I have to prep in five stages

1. Everything I'm sure I don't need 

goes to charity now or sale.

2. Assume/pray I will have a second space for studio,

via addtl bedroom or garage and select

 only those studio items and furniture

 for said space to fit into 10x10 area.

3. Once new space and financials are determined

jettison any remaining furniture via social media.

Stop worrying where kids will sleep if they visit me here.

They aren't worried- "whatever Mom"

(that's a tough one for me)

4. List home after 26 years for sale in early spring.

That's a toughie- love this house

5. Be thankful I have any kind of home and 

belongings as so many do not.

It's happening

Health issues

Financial finagling

Downsizing big time

Moving

I'm rolling down hill, picking up speed

It's happening. 

I've Got Your Back Mom

I was purging the hall closet last night

where there is a mirror on the inside of the door.

I glanced in it and caught

my Howie lying behind me in the doorway

 of the guest room.

This Love is never more than 6 feet away from me.

He steps over my O/2 tubing as you can see and will 

trudge up and down the stairs as many times as I do.

He has bad knees, limited hearing

and failing eyesight now.

But he loves me, is devoted to me

and I am so blessed.

When I fall sleep and begin to have 

breathing issues he now nudges me

awake and stares at me until I say 

"It's Ok Howie go to bed."

If I ever need reminding that all my troubles

mean nothing in the big scheme of life,

this pic says it all.

I've got your back Mom

Yikes

66

is a large number

50

is also impressive

I turned 16 the day they walked on the moon.

The moon is my ruler in my astrological sign.

My astrological color is white ( no kiddin')

One of my astro lucky numbers is 20

Seems it's all heading somewhere...

YIKES

Can Yunz Believe this?

Yesterday was to be my one day out day.

I get one about every 14 days or so.

Headed for a haircut and color at 10:00.

I was determined to hit the ground running

right after that, or shuffling at least, so I headed

to Michaels for some jewelry findings I had needed

for months to repair two necklaces.

Because I  had only slept 4 hours the night before 

due to more challenging, er, bad news

on the medical front, I found myself getting

a little weak and dizzy so decided to head home,

and skip Trader Joes which had been the "BIG" plan.

ha!

make plans, the universe laughs HA!

I pull into the garage and hit the garage door

remote and a hideous, screeching, crunching,

sound occurred and I hit the remote stop immediately.

When I opened the drivers side door,

I nearly peeked thru my fingers

 as I knew what I would see.

A crumpled door.

'scuse me but shit shit shit.

Called insurance I have 2000 deductible, 

they said get estimate first.

Called an emergency service and no kidding

 they were there in 30 minutes.

At first I was looking at around $4,000

to get the same quality door or around $2500

to get a bottom level version.

Maybe it was me cradling 

my head in my hands with tears drippin thru

and my O/2 canula hanging out...

but Clayton the tech says.

"Let me see what I can do."

Since I hit the button so quickly

 I did less damage than I could have.

Just under $1,000 later, not using insurance, and 

my door now closes, you cannot see the tears

in the panels from the outside

 and it's guaranteed for 3 years.

Clayton and I had a very spirited political discussion

while he was adding new springs and bolting new metal struts;

but it was respectful with no meanness or put downs.

We could not be more politically opposed,

but we parted with very good feelings. 

STILL....

what did I do in a former life to have this karma?

(please don't say things could be worse as they are worse medically)

I need/want so much to get back to my old self,

no O2 needed, lose all the prednisone weight etc.,

be able to work.

I love this, and I am not making light of horrific crime,

I'm poking fun at me OK?

Z

Happy weekend youins

(my homage to Latrobe slang")

A common informal word used in southwestern Pennsylvania and the forefront example of what is commonly known as "Pittsburghese" is the word yinz, pronounced /jɪnz/ in IPA. Alternatively it is less commonly used in long form, youins, pronounced /ju.ɪnz/.

I never knew anyone one who used yinz always spelled yunz

Granddog And Friend

Darling daughter has been dog sitting 

for a neighbor.

(David the grand-dog on the left)

Yep, another Husky.

I think Hannah would take in

 a thousand huskies if she could.

Seems every time we speak

she is on a dog walk.

Oh, she also walks Tubs, my other grand,

after she leaves work 

as Tub's Mom and Dad work later.

Remember this shot?

All kinds of great things have been

 happening work wise for the fabulous 

CA four. I am so proud of all of them.

I also miss them. 

Sometimes, 

more than I can stand.

Once this medical mess is over 

or at least has progressed, 

I will be driving straight away to CA to 

hang with my favorite folks.

Meanwhile there is a towering stack

 of bins and boxes all labeled for a sale,

that are waiting in the garage for either 

cooler weather, or help, or both.

Plan to binge the first couple o' Handmaids Tale

tonight or tomorrow.

I'm saving up as there is now a drought in 

my viewing arsenal.

GoT gone

Killing Eve 

Gentlemen Jack

Russian Doll

Barry

Call The Midwife

Walking Dead

(all off for now)

There is Big Little Lies

I enjoy, but not the same passion.

I've avoided Netflix so I'll have some new 

ones for the summer.

I play silly games like that with myself.

I've been rereading in order, all the Robert B Parkers,

for the third time;

but at half my usual speed, not wanting them

 to end all over again. I will get the Spenser series continued

by Ace Atkins from the library,

 as I do not own them.

I think I may change my mind and buy them

after all. 

We're off to a hot summer already.

I am stressed about the overgrowth in the yard

and I will try to hire help this week.

Wish you were all closer.

There's some nice stuff stacked up for sale,

and I'd love for it to find good homes. 

Yeah I know, silly. 

and

I miss you Dad

every day.

Z

To my Unknowns

Just a quick note to 

Mary and Cathi.

I am unable to contact you :D

Thank you Mary for the upright MRI info.

I just found out about them last Friday.

My primary and I are working on it

 but the few who have one here in lala

do not accept my insurance. We're working on

an appeal to have them in network.

Cathi please go to my profile for my email

and then send me yours and I'll be happy to

send you the recipe.

To all those other folks who leave comments

but are unknowns:

Thank you so much for following along 

this life of mine. I love hearing from you.

I do wish that someday you would let me know 

who you are so that I can respond directly,

but I do understand folks who like to stay 

anonymous.

Again, you can always find my email in 

my profile in the sidebar for a private convo.

Several have asked about my holiday gifted website.

It is all on hold as dearest son is uber busy

and I want to have product ready when it launches

but alas, not enough product being 

created these days.

All my focus is on the purge.

Today it is fabrics. OUCH!

Z