Pink Wednesday....finally, progress!

The bears are finally nearing completion. YAY!! I'm down to attaching the ears and beginning to see hints at bearsonalities. ;o) Facial detailing begins tomorrow!! Yahoozer doozer!! I know.....a collective "It's about time!" Aleta!!

It will be good for my soul to see bear faces looking back at me again. I do adore the little one's....the big one's just seem to have more....hmmmm....for lack of a better word at the moment.....soul. Most likely because they're.....BIGGER!!
I also wanted to show you a little something....okay, a rather BIG (5'10"!!)something. It's a mirror that Bill made out of all sorts of old wood bits. It's absolutely my color palette so I'm really waffling as to whether I really want to take it to Monticello or not. It's not every day you come across pillars that will work for this type of thing!

Here's the thing: Bill and I have THE most fabulous piece of old brass trim, very ornate, that came from a fabulous old victorian shop window. It's six feet long! We've been carting that piece of trim around for at least ten years!! The lentil at the top of the mirror accomodates the trim perfectly. If Bill attaches it to the mirror....it's not going to Monticello or I'd have to put a ridiculous price tag on it.

On the one hand, my heart says to keep it. Bill made it. The trim fits as if it were meant to be. On the other hand, I'm so proud of what Bill designs.....I want other people to enjoy what he can create. I really shouldn't be a piggie. I want to be the piggie. I shouldn't be the piggie. Oh heck....I'm the piggie. Hee! When Bill attaches the trim I'll take another picture. You can drool over it then. Make sure you bring a tissue to clean off the computer screen. Ha!

A most lovely Pink Wednesday (or Thursday!) to you!! I've not been on the computer much. I'm still trying to catch up from family visits and clearing out the last of our belongings at Mt. Pleasant. That chapter is officially closed. It just wasn't meant to be. A new young couple is hoping to make the schoolhouse their new home. That makes our heart smile for everyone involved. :o)

Warmest Pink Wednesday bear hugs, Aleta

My sister. My mom. A diagnosis.

Me. My sister, Michelle. My mom, Judy. We went to the auction....and bought stuff!! Now that was fun! The not so fun part of the day was mom's doctor visit. (sigh) The doctor confirmed that mom has Sensory Polyneuropathy. What they don't know, and are still testing for, is the cause. More bloodwork and a possible spinal tap. Doesn't that last one sound like fun? Insert squishy face here. All I know is that my mom isn't the same person she was before all of this and it makes me really very sad. :o(

On a brighter note.....and I'm going for all the brighter notes I can!!....we went to Joe and Jermonne's Barn House event on Saturday morning. Yay!! As always, fabulous eye candy at every turn!!! I bought a couple of wonderful monogrammed linens to make into pillow slips. Since it will be a long holiday weekend, I should be able to sew a few of them up to take in to Monticello. First things first though....I simply must get some bears done!

And last, a picture of my space in Monticello as it looked yesterday. French table gone....a wonderful old two piece cupboard and primitive farm table in it's place. Next weekend I'll start switching out seashells for autumn accents. I'm kinda ready for that, aren't you?
Have yourself a fabulous Monday!! I'm off to the studio to work on bears.....

Warmest bear hugs, Aleta

Pink Wednesday at Monticello Antique Marketplace!

A peek at Lisa's booth....Tickled Pink!!
Pretty things in Sue's new space.
A lovely statue in Mary Mac's space.
The garden room!
Faded pink at Colby Cottage.

My best laid plans always seem to go cattywampus. The three bears I thought would be done.....aren't. And they won't be until next week sometime. Bummer. Focusing on the little bears for so long, I forgot how much time the larger bears take!! Besides that, my sister is here. Whatever makes me think I can get anything finished when I have family visiting? Not only that, my mom is coming with two of her friends this afternoon and will be here until Sunday!

Add to the stack, the french farmtable in my booth at Monticello sold so I have to do a complete redo on my booth this morning or everything will end up on the floor tomorrow. I had a feeling that silly table would sell around this time and really add to the chaos. Sure enough!! It's all good though. I'm dragging my sister and Bill with me this morning to help and then voila! all done. :o)

I'll be away for the rest of the week....we get a diagnosis, or at the very least, some sort of direction as to what's going on with my mom, tomorrow. I'm glad my sister is here. Happy thoughts. Think happy thoughts.

Warmest Pink Wednesday bear hugs, Aleta

And the winners are......!!!!

I've got to make this zippity quick because my breakfast is almost ready and I have a REALLY busy day today. My sister is coming to visit!!! YAY!!

Okay. So, here we go. The winner of my sweet little bear is....Anonymous - Val!!!! Congratulations, Val!! Yay!!

And the winner of half a dozen roses, in the form of my art cards is.....Karen Cider Antiques!!! Yay!!

Okay you girlies, you need to send me your mailing addresses so I can get these in the mail before my mom gets here on Wednesday. Otherwise, they won't go to the post until the week after this one.

Ups...Bill's yelling breakfast is on the table!.....I'll be back tomorrow with pictures of my weekend at the flea and antique markets. Woohoo!! Okay..bye.

Warmest bear hugs, Aleta

ACK!! I almost forgot THE MOST important part of this post.....thank you ALL, so very much for the birthday wishes. The fun part was imagining 34 girlies with roses pinned on their noses!!!! Is that cool or what?!! A fabulous Sunday to you all!!

A Birthday Giveaway!!

Today I'm celebrating 47 years on the roller coaster of life!! As much as I like receiving presents on special days, I like giving them even more. Since I'm 47 today and a 4 and a 7 equal eleven, which, in numerology is 1 plus 1 equals 2, (are you still with me?).....I'm giving away a present to two lovely bloggers out there. Yay!!

The first name drawn will recieve the sweet little bear that just didn't get picked for the prom (ie....she's been listed three times and this morning pinned a WISH tag to herself and said with the most pathetic little pout you've ever seen, "I wish for a bearmom." Now how could I not grant her wish? And on my birthday no less. I'm telling you, my bears just pull on this chickie doodles heartstrings. ;o)

The second name drawn will receive a half dozen roses....in the form of my photo art cards! Now when was the last time you received half a dozen roses from someone? A dozen? Sure. And how long did they last? Well, there you go. You don't need to find a vase, cut them under water, or any of that silliness. You can even share the love if you want to.....or not, and frame them for yourself!

All you have to do to is leave a message saying, "Pin a rose on my nose, it's Aleta's birthday." How simple is that? I will draw names on Sunday morning (Pacific Time). I won't tell you a time because I don't exactly know when I'll wake up and feel like drawing. Ha! Rest assured I'll post a little something on Sunday with the lucky recipients names.

Until then, Happy Birthday to me! Make it a glorious weekend!!! It's going to be a hot, hot, hhhhot one here!! You'll find me.....in the pool!!

Warmest (97 degrees today and 102 tomorrow!!) bear hugs, Aleta

Pink Wednesday on Tuesday!

It's a Pink Wednesday post on a Tuesday!! I figure if I jump ahead a day, I won't feel like I'm so far behind!! Yay! Hey, it makes perfect sense to me at this moment. Tomorrow I may feel different. Today....it's all good. Ha!Family and friends have been sending me sweet little notes telling me I haven't updated my blog. I know, I know, I know! Sorry everybody. I've been a wee bit swamped with projects like the one above. I've been arranging and rearranging furniture to accomodate all the furniture from our little hairbrained idea. That's what I'm referring to it as these days. File it under: What the heck were we think'n?!!
I've also been training these three (Gracie, Max and Walker) not to step out the door if the screen is open. Don't they just look thrilled with the whole idea? Ha!

Who says cats can't be trained?!! Pishaw! This training is a result of the neighbors cat getting out and being lost for two and a half weeks. We all thought the coyotes got her. The story ends on a happy note though....Sophie was found in....our garage!! We don't know how long she was there. Our garage door is always open when we're outside. All I know is that I went to take out the trash and there behind the bin was a cat tail. I tentatively whispered, "Sophie" and she ran right to me just a meowing her little head off. It was one of the happiest phone calls to make....letting our neighbors know I found a furry member of their family!! Yay!!

My space at Monticello is taking up a bit of my time too. People seem to like what I'm bringing in so I have to fluff my space pretty regularly. It really should not be as much fun as it is!! ;o)
I've also been thinking toward Halloween and collecting bits and pieces here and there. White, black and pumpkin orange! Hey, I have cats in those colors!! I see you scrolling back up to look. ;o)
Christmas is on the brain too! I've signed on to do the annual Christmas show in December at Monticello so I'll have my main floor booth to decorate as well as a space in the garden room. I love decorating for the holidays!! It should be a blast!! Oh, the ideas!!
Been spending lots of quality time in the studio too. Notice the settee and chairs? Finally, family and friends have a place to sit besides on the floor when they join me. Yay!! (It only took three and a half years!) There has been some good to come out of that little hairbrained idea metioned above. Ha!
And just to show you that I have, indeed, been working on bears. Ta da! They're a little further along than this. I worked last night until I couldn't see straight. I'm trying like the dickens to get three bears listed by the first of next week. Cross your fingers!!

So, there you have it. A long winded Pink Wednesday post on a Tuesday!!

Warmest bear hugs, Aleta

P.S. Happy Birthday, Justin! My son is 27 today!! Of course, I had him when I was, like, ten. :-0 Ha! ;o) Yeah, right!

Merry Christmas!

Yup. That's the name of this daylily....Merry Christmas. It's been blooming in my garden for a few weeks now. And, it keeps going and going and going. I love the color combination of the bright lime green center and the deep red petals. It's been Christmas in July and now August!!

Speaking of August....is it really August? Already? It was just June!! Where has the time gone? In all reality, I really am thinking ahead to Christmas (running and ducking for cover). It's okay, you can hit me with a big stick for bringing it up. You'll be happy to know though, I have no idea how many shopping days there are left. I bet one or two of you out there do though!! Ha!

Warmest Pink Wednesday bear hugs, Aleta

The move to Monticello Antique Market!!

Look what Bill and I did yesterday!! We opened our booth space at Monticello Antique Market!! YAY!! We arrived late in the afternoon and two hours later we were set!

A special thank you to Sue and Joe for leaving the fabric on the walls for us. It was a huge time saver! And even better.....it works beautifully!!

A few of my favorite things. Shades of white and luscious cream, old leather books, ironstone, beautiful frames, pristine tablecovers with sumptuous wide lace trim and fancy gold mirrors. Yum!
More favorite things! Bill's knob racks and birdhouses. A wonderful way to repurpose antique door knobs, striker plates, old door lentils and picture frames that have seen better days.
And then there's Lucy the iron chicken!

I'll be adding a few more things tomorrow. I forgot to grab the ivy topiary on my way out the door yesterday. It was supposed to be the centerpiece and a touch of something living to soften everything. Oh well. (Insert squishy face here.)

Today though, I'm working on getting bears packaged and ready to go to the post. Then it's up to the studio to try to sew up a couple of pillow slips. All of my old linen pillow slips sold lickety split at the Barn House Flea Market. That was another YAY! moment! I love YAY! moments, don't you?!! Okay then, off I go.....

Warmest Monday bear hugs!! Aleta

The last of the little bears for awhile!

These are the last of the little bears for awhile. (L to R: Cindy Lou, Belindy, Sally Buttons and Tuck-In, Truffle) Two faces may seem familiar.....that's a story for another day though. It's time for me to work on some larger bears and finish up a panda that has been waiting patiently for my undivided attention. The poor thing has been waiting and waiting and waiting.

Speaking of waiting, it's now up to the doctors to review all the tests on my mom. One thing is for sure.....she has sensory nerve damage and no feeling in her hands or feet. I watched in amazement yesterday as they had her wired to a machine and shocked her with this wand thingie. She had absolutely no reaction whatsoever. Is that weird or what?!!

On the bright side, and you know I always have to find a bright side somewhere.....it's raining!!! Yes, I'm delighted that it's raining!! We haven't had any for weeks and weeks. It smells absolutely delicious outside!! Tomorrow we're back to sunny skies so I hope today it just rains and rains and rains.

Warmest rain soaked bear hugs, Aleta

P.S. Listings will be up at 2pm Pacific Time. Happy Peeking!!