Friendship

My favorite word, friendship. I cherish my friends so much! They send me snarky emails and tolerate my constant begging to view my Etsy shop. They write me long letters and short tweets, they show up at funerals and parties...they come and dig rocks from my yard and dress up in funny costumes for no apparent reason...they get tattoos with me and never comment on my hair...(or weight or shoes or clothes or...)They may even be related to me.

Friends are the glue that holds your brains in place...they keep you sane and make you nuts at the same time, they give you a reason to think twice about that tube top or make you try sushi...the first time you got drunk was probably with friends.

It may be years since you last talked to your friend, but connect with them and its like no time has passed. Facebook is wonderful for that! And the Friends I am connecting with now are so cool and funny and deep and witty and kind and lovely...who knew???

So, no cheese, no sappy sentiment, no crap...my friends, you all rock! My old Friends who I ran home to catch Dark Shadows with to my new friends I am finding thru the Internet, you all know who you are and you all rock!

more hearts with wings

Hearts with wings are my new icon. I have a tattoo of a heart with a band-aid and would consider getting the wings added someday soon but for right now I will enjoy this new pin.

What does it mean to me? Donno...my heart can fly...'mount up on wings of Eagles' as the scripture says, chicken heart??? Probably a bit of all. Everything doesn't have to have a meaning. Once, a long while back I was getting 'consoling' (and that is a very loose description of what was going on there) for pain management and my 'person who wrote crap down' wanted me to have my tattoo altered. 'You need to remove the band-aid and replace it with something more uplifting, more appropriate to being healed, like a rose'...I dumped the person and kept the tattoo.

Sometimes things are just things. No deep meaning, no hidden agenda...I am not mourning my lost time by using clockworks in most of my pieces. I don't long for a more simple time by using antique parts, and I certainly don't look for a connection to the past using vintage buttons...I just like the stuff...and hope you do too.

what I would rather do

One of my latest creations, made from a barrette, a button and an antique earring. Maybe it looks like I have just sat down with a pile of stuff and glues it together, (cuz that's what I did) but it involves a lot more...and its the 'more' that I would rather be doing.

I'm not much of a photographer, and my computer skills amount to me cussing a blue streak and then re-booting. I really felt sorry for my photoshop teacher as he was happily discussing vectors and I was still trying to turn on my computer. I don't want to junk my mind up with any more useless knowledge, thank you.

So when the world economy dictated I 'start my own business' (yeah, right) I had to get a camera and fire up the photoshop...took 6 months to post my first item. Its not what I want to do.

I want to sit happily in a room somewhere gluing weird items together in new and interesting ways. I want to wake up excited because the neighborhood church is having a rummage sale. I want to spend my days in antique malls and flea markets. Instead, I am promoting the shop and trying to figure out my next move...consignment stores, home parties, wholesale??? ugh.

I want to have people buy my lovely stuff and vindicate the life choice I have made...(or to put another way...support my junking habit) I don't want to hammer people all day long...if my stuff were able to be mass produced, I would be hawking it to wholesalers, but its not...and frankly that would take the joy away too.

So, I divide my time in looking, making, promoting, and hoping...

And somewhere along the line I actually sell a piece or two and it makes it all worth while.

Captian Obvious to the rescue

Thanks to Popzarra for this image...my hero!

It was a long weekend and apparently a full moon to boot. I spent the time trying to entertain myself while the Mr. worked and my FEZ went to the prom. What to do, what to do, what to do...go hang around large groups of ignorant people, always good for some laughs! I kept notes!

To the lady trying to pass off the Channel bag: A) I highly doubt you would pay the kind of money that purse would cost and schlep it around with your nasty-azz tore up GAP hoodie and too short of sweats...the diaper bag was a nice touch tho. B) you can't buy class, no matter what the guy at the flea market told you.

To the mom(?) who continued to pick up and give back the pacifier to the 5 month old in the BBQ joint...this place is essentially a bar, the floor is a septic tank and you are an idiot...

To the waitress at the BBQ joint...oh no, you did not just pick up that same pacifier and hand it to the baby...

To the goth wanna-be with the nose ring, black finger nail polish, skull tattoo and eyeliner...I appreciate your angst and your attempt at being cool, and we all need a job, but you may need to re-think working at the ice cream parlor.

To the chatty clerk at the 'MAJOR DEPARTMENT STORE' (no names please!) exactly how long am I suppose to stand here within your eyesight while you are talking with your friends about the wedding you were in this weekend...10, 15 minutes...is there a chart somewhere???

To the ladies at the Goodwill...its the GOODWILL...don't try to talk the workers there into a discount because it has a stain...

But to the cashier at the Goodwill, you rock, you just stood there and let her ramble on and on and never even flinched...I would have pounded her head like a Chinese gong.

Maybe the its me, maybe I need to re-think my priorities or my prescriptions...one or the other. Maybe I need to become one with my fellow man and get Zen with my surroundings. Maybe some Yoga, or bio-feedback, or Prozac...or maybe just maybe its not me at all and I am surrounded by idiots...Save me Capt. Obvious, save me!

sometimes simple is the best

I just posted this necklace and I really like it. It is a pair of antique glass buttons on a simple chain. After I finished it I dinked around with adding a semi precious stone or a cute heart dangle but decided it said exactly all I wanted to say. K.I.S.S.

I have a bad habit of overdoing it, of adding just that wee bit too much garlic (as if there could be such a thing) or grinding the pepper one crank too many.

I wear way too much jewelry, eyeliner and perfume and always add one extra thing that should have been left behind. Scarf anyone?

But such is my style. My mother had a bunch of things she kept waiting to wear for 'good'...hats, shoes, jewelry...not me baby, if I got it I'm wearing it. Once I bought this awesome pin at the Atlanta gift market, freaking awesome (OK, they guy that sold it to me was wearing a Kilt and his accent put me right over the top...love a man with a dagger in his sock!) Anyway, it was silver and had long long feathers in it. I didn't want to smash it on the flight back so I wore it home.

Getting to the airport the Northwest agent said ' oh baby...you don't have to worry, we will fly you home'...apparently the feathers were a bit much.

And don't get me started about my hats...I have been wearing Fedora since before they were cool.

So, in an attempt to add some simple grace to my shop, I will just leave the necklace the way it is.

Queen G Designs

100 years ago, when I was an impressionable young pup I wanted to be many things, everything from a Vet to a radio announcer. I wanted to do something interesting and creative and somehow help people in some manner. How I became a person who haunts garage sales and flea markets astounds me. How did my 'career path' lead me from my what I wanted to do to what I had to do to what I need to do and back to what I want to do is confusing even to me.

I was working hard in retail and loved it, got married, moved away, became 'dental assistant to the stars' then back to school to finish what I started and somehow ended up in Mainland China...huh??? Back home to Michigan and 20% unemployment rate and suddenly I am working for myself. Enjoying it, meh...

I miss working with people, I miss the interaction with others. The little jokes that made the days so memorable. (Did I really try to rent out Tiffany's cubical?) The people who I came in contact with and I will never forget. Eating lunch with Trena who was constantly fighting for her diet coke and french fries, or trying not to laugh during particularly heated staff meetings. Listening intently as a co-worker complains bitterly that the elevator is in the wrong place or just trying to deal with people in general...I miss it all.

So now I sit and put my fingers to a different use. I create things that I think people like. I try to connect with the outside world via the Internet. I write this blog as much as I can, twitter and facebook constantly in an effort to stay connected. But mostly I wait...wait for comments, returned calls and emails. Wait for the recruiter to get back with me, for friends to let me know they are still out there, family to reconnect and my next batch of funny emails from Tiffany (love that!). Thanks for all your support out there in cyber-land...I look forward to connecting with you all in some manner...even if it is in virtual reality.

Faith

The essence of things unseen:

What exactly is Faith? For me it manifested in everyday activities like:

The guy that pulls out in front of me on a rain slicked road, he has faith my brakes work..me, not so much.

That interesting smell coming from the restaurant is either cleaning liquid or the special of the day.

That the restaurant you love and always go to is going to be in business...(rip Grandma's Kitchen)

The toilet dispenser if full

It actually IS decaf

Paypal will work

Your hair isn't THAT bad

The pilot is well paid, content with is job and sober.

They will call back, they will...honest

Its all about faith. faith in our fellow man, business or Deity...and without faith we are hopeless...afraid to do anything and unpleasant to be around. I have faith...faith that people will like what I do, create or say...my faith is being tested pretty hard lately, but I also have faith that I can handle it.

Love Always

I am not the kind of person to wax poetic about sunshine and rainbows. My world is not filled with fairy dust and unicorns, more like pollen and rabid chipmunks... that's living in the woods is like. No, I am not a sentimental person and don't like schlock of any kind. I try really hard to avoid the cheesy, overdone and sickening sweet things that make me gag..(cheap mothers day cards, plastic flowers that spell out MOM, pink T shirts with roses and glitter...*shudder*) So this new pin with the words 'love always' was a bit of a surprise to me.

That is not to say there are things I don't love. I love a lot of things...a lot! here is just a partial list:

*60's music...everyone from the Beatles right on down to Gene Pitney...love it all!
*Coffee, any way, any time, any place...wish I had some right now...
*Estate sales...yeah, a lot of people find them creepy, but I always find something interesting and usually get a story behind it.
*Terry Pratchett..his Disc World series is awesome and if you are the least bit into British wit, check him out! (Thanks Jan!!!)
*British TV, I have no idea why...but love everything from 'how clean is your house' straight to 'Dr. Who'..
*Chocolate..I would eat a milk bone if it was chocolate
*Furry baby things...I now they grow into furry pooping things, but they are so cute!
*Alan Rickman, Christopher lee, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry,...(apparently I am living in the wrong country!)
*Having exchange students...will blog about this later, but suffice to say they are a hoot and teach you more than you ever teach them.
* Being married to my best friend. (awww...)
*Making things for my shop...yeah, I don't sell much but as long as I break even I guess I will be happy till the recession is over.
*Traveling...love it, especially for business. I know that is kind of weird, but when hubby and I travel together it is a fun filled week of: what do you want to do, I donno, what do you wanna do, I don't care, whatever, well what do you wanna do, I don't care..........
*Facebook...OMG! I am chatting with people I haven't talked to in years and years...I spend way too much time there but dang it is fun.

At any rate, we all have things we love. Maybe its going to the local Rocky Horror Picture Show or running 10k (when nothing is chasing you) or even listening to the Beatles while drinking cold coffee waiting for the glue to dry on your latest masterpiece.

Wonder...

I wonder about a lot of things...it keeps me up at night, really. Like:

Why do they sing 'You'll never walk alone' after the telethon...

Why do we turn the radio down when we are trying to find a street sign...

Why we mouth the word 'call me' and make that stupid thumb finger sign instead of calling them in the first place.

I wonder why we can sit in front of the TV for hours but complain when we wait for the Dr.

I wonder why they serve popcorn in movies

Where the tradition of tipping came from and how can we stop it. (tipping annoys the Queen)

I wonder why the same people who lock their doors and windows will gladly hand their credit card to some toothless old guy behind the counter at the gas station.

I think we are all given the gift of wonder...what do you wonder about???? Maybe we can answer each others questions and all get some sleep tonight

a face in the crowd

The Queen went shopping yesterday, this is never good. Apparently I am not of the world and have no excuse but to go back where I came from and wear the native burlap sack and oak leaves of my ancestors.

The mall is designed for teenagers to hang out, I get that. Give me the days when the teenagers hung out at the pizza place so they would not be bothered by the annoying old people. It was win win all around. Now if you need to get something it involves a virtual agility contest just to find the store. Dodging the people in the kiosks trying to hand you samples or give you a 'free' hand massage, dipping past the knots of girls ogling the guys in the Apple store (urg...what a freak show that place is! Blog for another day), desperately trying to get to the food court. Madness!

I find I am invisible in most places at the mall. All the weird shops with skulls and techno music seem so uninviting. Oddly pierced people who have no clue what I am talking but desperately trying to help me...its not enjoyable at my age.

I guess I need to show up at 9:30 with my polyester pants and walking shoes...power walk the mall, grab a coffee and head out before the kids wake up.

Remember back in the day when you use to go to Macy's or other big deal store and actually get service. I never ever remember having to hunt down somebody to show me something behind the counter...and they treated the customers with, well if not respect at least a less obvious disdain. Now I have to set my hair on fire to get someone to notice me. I loved going to Macy's and having lunch, browsing the newest stuff and having the cashier tell me that this item will go on sale next week so I should wait to buy it...service...lovely.

No, apparently the only service I can expect is to be asked if I want fries with that.