black and blue

That's how I feel today, black and blue.
No, didn't fall and even if I did, I was taught way back how to tuck and roll...very helpful for people with balance problems. No I just feel all grouchy and put upon.

I have no right to feel this way. I can't watch CNN without being reminded how things could be so much worse. Nope, no right at all for the whiny pity party I want to toss myself. Still...

Gas prices...uh, what the heck...how can the same gas that was there yesterday cost 40 cents more this morning???

Snow and Ice... I know Michigan should be just sold to the Canadians and be done with, but dang...every day with the winter storm watches, flood warnings (?!?),wind and temp advisories and power outages...starts to make one think Michigan has upset the 'powers that be'.

And etsy seems to hate my guts for reasons I have no idea about...dudes, who pee'd in your wheaties??? (or soy-based, carob and stevia rolled oats) I'm just trying to make a living, I have no agenda you didn't provide for me...get a grip!

And now I am coming down with the flu...I haven't been out of the house in weeks..for reelz!!! How is that even possible??? Are computer viruses real viruses???

Ok, I'm just going to go find my book, sit in my tub and try to think of rainbows and unicorns. I'll shut the door to the worlds problems and try ever so hard to think positive thoughts...

and drink excessively.

Ice snow ice and snow, ice and ice...ack!

OK...enough is enough. First snow then ice and then an ice storm that knocked down my trees and then more snow and then a bit of a melt and now...more snow.

ACK! and the ice completely coveres every inch of the trees making them sparkle like diamonds when the sun hit them...beautiful...and deadly.

But that the way it works, isn't it...to try to lull you into a false sense of security and wonder...

'oh look Bambi' the waters stiff!'

So you go and slip and fall on your ass...hohoho...

And your dogs slip and fall on their ass...(but that funny)

And then your neighbor slips and bites the inside of his mouth and bleeds so bad his wifey calls the ambulance that gets stuck in the snow and the police come and then the wrecker gets stuck and then they have to get the big-giant wrecker and then the neighbor ends up getting hauled to the hospital by another neighbor in a truck while the ambulance sits sideways in the ditch for hours...

And that will be funny later

And you have to go to the store to get dog food (you, however can eat Romain noodles) and your car is a giant block of ice.

And even tho you have electronic locks you can't budge the door handles...your boots are slipping on the ice and the branches in the trees are creaking...and you wonder what the weather is in Honolulu...

Meanwhile, back in the house you can hear your phone ringing but can't get traction enough to even think about getting back in the house to catch it.

And you look into the sky and see the sun peeking through the branches making them all shimmery and sparkly and you think to yourself...

FTS!

music has changed!

So I bought the big-gas truck and managed to talk the dealer into throwing in a 3 month XM radio package (even tho it didn't qualify) and finally got it up and running this week. I love sataliet radio cuz I live in the boondocks between some major radio markets and the signals are terrible...Yea satalite!

I love that they have a 40's station, 50's...and up to today, but generally keep it parked on the 60's channel. I love 60's music!

And anyone who is wondering if there really has been a culture shift needs to listen for about an hour...

'This is a man's world...'
'wear your hair just for him...do the things he like to do'
'baby I know that he's been cheatin', but what can I dooooooooo'
'I'm a little bit wrong, your a little bit right...'

Well, you get the picture...things certainly have changed and I hope for the better. And while I hope the 'get back in the kitchen where you belong' songs are a thing of the past, the 'you is my HO' songs seems to be taking their place.

I think that's why I like PINK so much...especially her song "stupid girl"

"What happened to the dreams of a girl president
She's dancing in the video next to 50 Cent
They travel in packs of two or three
With their itsy bitsy doggies and their teeny-weeny tees
Where, oh where, have the smart people gone?
Oh where, oh where could they be?"

and the video is hilarous!

Anyway...for the next 3 months I will be screeching all the top 40 hits of the 60's, 70's and 80's while tooling around beautiful downtown Jerome. Look for me in my sparkly blue eyeshadow and ABBA jump suit. After that I'm back to the Ag report and lost and found.

Valentines day for the Queen

I really feel sorry for the hubs when it comes to these type of holidays...he tries so hard to get me something I would love but I am a pain when it comes to presents.
Because I make jewelry he has decided I don't need more...even though I point out diamonds, sapphires and rubies are always welcome...

I am usually on some diet or other, really don't like cut flowers and after the 'mu-mu' incident, he is forbidden to buy me clothes.

Yup, I have become my mother!

But this got me thinking of other professions and how it would be living with them.

Like the professional chef whose family would really love to eat Capt. Crunch for dinner and for god sake does every freakin' meal have to have a sprig of parsley???

The Dr. or Nurse's kids who never can really enjoy that scabbed up knee or elbow.

The police officer's kids who secretly rip off every tag on every pillow and mattress in the house.

And the guy who owns a dollar store franchise...you can bet his kids are wishing they had some high priced, made in this country, named brand shampoo once in a while.

So while the coblers kids have no shoes, and the mechanic's car is a hoopty with duct tape holding the trunk down, we can all be assured someone out there has it a lot worse...

Mixed bag

One of my newer items in my shop. Its filled with all kinds of stuff including a curtain ring, some antique shoe buttons, old jewelry findings and antique buttons. I like it, its like me, too big, miss-matched, funky, and all round odd. Yup, that's me alright.

I don't mean to be odd, it just comes out. I don't try...half the time I am desperately trying to grab back the snarky comment that is sailing across the room. The other half is me trying not to point out the obvious to the many and varied information needing folks that cross my path. I'm really don't try to be like this.

But dang it, people make it too easy!

I mean really...did my neighbor just call me from Mexico asking me what the POLICE wanted a week ago.

Did the guy at the farmers market really just tell me 'lookit, lady those chips are so bad I'll give them to you, no charge'. Thanks???

Are there still people who go to the dollar store asking me what I thought the price was...

Did someone on the interwebs just ask me to explain a sex term to them...really???

And that was just this weekend.

Sometimes I think its a test...I think there is some benevolent being up there saying' lets hit her with this one and see what she says...and its been happening my entire life! I remember watching the Jerry Lewis telethon and thinking: why is he singing 'you'll NEVER walk alone'???

But with maturity comes restraint...someday

My Dad

This is a picture of my dad...taken back in the day, who knows when. My cousin Ted (hey Ted!) started a family group on Face Book and relatives are coming out of the woodwork...so now I am wallowing in memories with no end in sight.

My Dad was a great guy who would give you the shirt off his back literally. He was slow to anger and quick with a joke. He could hold a grudge better than anybody I know and would never ever forget a kindness. He had the typical 8th grade education but the most beautiful handwriting I have ever seen for a man. He loved tennis.

He hated to travel and would avoid it at all costs. He wouldn't drink a coke on a bet and finally told me that during the war he was on a troop ship heading to the Aleutian islands and then got re-routed to Japan and the only thing that gave the men to shave and bathe with was coke...

He was ridiculously strong. Once a car fell on him and he pushed it up with his shoulder to crawl out...yet would feed baby kittens with an eye dropper with his baseball mitt size hands. He never ever had a pair of gloves to fit.

He was a proud man, and when I was in high school, his company was on strike for over a year...money was tight, so I never ever asked for a class ring. When he found out...(and they always find out) he was so mad at me and insisted on me having one. I picked the cheapest one I could but never told him that.

He could fix anything, even if it was with duct tape and bailing wire. He insisted the girls learn how to change the oil and tires of the car and made sure we knew how to respect guns. He couldn't cook worth a damn, but I loved his fried corn and burned hamburger balls.

He lost the hearing in one ear during the war but could hear us kids cutting up when we should have been sleeping. And he thought he was 'pretty'...just ask him and he would tell you!

But mostly he was my dad and I miss him.

The sky has officially fallen

and people have lost their minds.

I have lived in Michigan my entire life and it snows every year...every ding-dong year. Oh, some years more than others and sometimes in amounts that make you think you have somehow been transported to Antarctica...but it snows. Lets all just take a deep breath and think people!

Don't panic and run to wal-mart and buy up all the bottled water, even if you don't have a degree in biochemistry I bet you can figure out what snow is made from.

Don't think because you have 4 wheel drive you are somehow above the laws of physics.

Don't assume the people at the weather channel are your best source for information...they stand in the middle of hurricanes for a living. Also, sitting up watching the cold front move in does nothing to help the situation.

Dogs do not share your feeling of impending doom...

Never hire a snow plow guy who thinks if he plows the roads before the snow hits it counts...also, never hire the guy who plowed in my car, thanks again dude.

Keeping the Queen in line

After spending far too long in Michael's (meaning any time in Michael's) I had to have a long heart felt time out concerning what exactly is Queen G and what am I trying to do. Because of the economy or just a deep seated need to 'create' there are so many people out there selling 'hand made' items that the market is effectively flooded. Even my favorite, incredibly scary, dirty and always entertaining flea market/livestock auction has a guy sitting in one of the cow sheds stringing beads.

Got a new outfit, need some matching (urg) jewelry...just download a 40% off coupon and head to the nearest store...some one there will hook you up. Never done it before, its simple, child's play, anyone can do it! Why, its almost therapy. Make 2 and call yourself a Crafter, make 10 and congratulation, you are an Artisan.

The necklace in the picture is a classic example of what I am trying to do, taking broken pieces and repurposing them. In this case, a broken rosary, a barrette, some vintage chains, antique buttons, some recycled beads and a rose quartz. Its a one of a kind, hand assembled...(there is quite a discussion over what constitutes handmade) and very quirky.

But the competition out there is fierce, cut throat and down right nasty. Photos are being stolen from shops, ideas flat out copied, concepts and techniques are being lifted as soon as they hit the Internet.

For me, that isn't a big concern...go ahead and copy, good luck and god bless...but some of my friends, especially the quilters, designers, cooks and digital artist are really struggling. And how would you protect your Grandma's uber special dark chocolate mocha fudge recipe if someone has something similar...well, you can't. So we do what we can, support our own and hope for the best.

Last year was my first full year doing this as a full time...hobby??? therapy??? keeping Ginya off the streets??? After counting the costs, mileage, supplies; not including my time; I think I should just go hand out carts at Wal-mart.

But for the most part, I would do this anyway...and so would most of my fellow strugglers. So please, if you get a chance to buy handmade even if it costs a bit more, involves having to open a pay-pal account, can't be picked up on the way to the...(insert function here), involves communication between you and the crafter, and means you have to put some thought behind your purchase, at least give it a chance. Who knows, you might just be the person who gives confidence to the next great jewelry designer!