woo~hoo, I'm becoming more relevant

At least according to Etsy, who made me go through and edit all my listings and retag everything to fit into the new Google search...my brain is still swimming over that.

And I just joined Google+(whatever the hell that is) so join my circle, or do whatever it is that is suppose to happen to make me one of the cool kids.

Or join my fan page on Face Book...visit on Zibbit, or find me on Etsy...read my blog, find me on linked in, skype, twitter, Creative break room, multiply, blabalbalalaalalalalala...

When did trying to sell my jewelry become spending the ding-dong day promoting on so many websites that my concept of reality is now completely computer based?

When did we abdicate the responsibility to actively participate in a relationship? Write letters, send cards, flowers, visit???

Does an E-card hold the same feeling as a real live Hallmark, one you actually spent time finding, writing and posting? And if not, why?

Is the next generation really going to be looking at pictures on the Internet and think...'that's my Grandma in her bathroom taking a picture of herself on her phone'?
or find forums posts from long dead relatives listed in Ancestors.com?

*shudder*

Really, I use a rotary phone...I am the last person to want to know what Skype is, much less actually use it. Since when is longing for the good old days actually talking about Mircrsoft Windows 7. Are we really that much better off dealing with hundreds of people on a daily basis without knowing their real name?

All I want to do is sell jewelry, really...
so, google me bay-be.

stuff on top of stuff

This is the result of cleaning out my beading cabinet and piling stuff together with a similar look and feel. Stuff with stuff and more stuff. In this case, pearls and silver, and pearls with silver and silver with pearls.

That's pretty much my approach to everything in my life from cooking to decorating.

Some things work together like pasta and cheese...somethings no so much like peanut butter and cucumbers. When you get a feel for what you are doing, you can wing it.

Sure, taste plays a part, but I have always said that I have never let good taste stand in my way. Tacky is a matter of opinion.

So, my MP3 has Kid Rock songs next to Bessie Smith...Colin Ray with the Indigo Girls, Paul Revere and the Raiders with Toby Keith...

Stop by my house unannounced and you will hear Hawaiian music blasting away, or 'music from the hearts of space'...its whatever makes me happy at the moment.

And if I had a style, I am sure it would be considered eclectic (if you are kind) or unique, possibly funky, but more than not, early American garage sale. If it looks good together in my eyes, it works for me.

So, yeah, I have an antique wheel chair in my bedroom...sleds serve as plant stands and my tv is hidden in an antique radio cabinet.

Normal is just too boring. But then again, I've never been accused of being boring.

getting something for nothing

These are my glasses...the ones I use every day. The ones from my mom when we were kids. The ones we got free with grape jelly.
I love these glasses, they are heavy and easy to clean and hold just the right amount of milk. And they were free.

I remember free. When you would buy gas and get a free coaster, or open a box of washing detergent and get a towel. Back in the day, going to the movies got you a dish, and I can't forget S & H Green Stamps...the ultimate in free stuff.

Remember when Cracker Jacks had cool free toys like whistles and plastic monkeys...hot comodies on Ebay now.

And the toys in cereal and the challenge to be the first one to open the box.

I love getting stuff for free, useful things or fun things...or even things that you got a million of but could always use more, like bandaids or socks.

Who wouldn't want a free lottery ticket in a Happy Meal?

Thinking about Grandma's

These pearls were part of some Grandma's 'good jewelry' only to be sold at some garage sale to me so I could refurbish them. Sometimes that bothers me. When I see a quilt top carefully cut and pieced together, sold for $2 to someone like me who is unaware of the history of the pieces, it makes me kinda sad.

Not sad that I scored some awesome cool vintage pieces, or interesting beads. But sad that someones Grandma saved them for years, only to be hauled out and sold to a stranger.

Even today, while in the midst of the great basement cleanout, I found a book filled with poetry written by the hubs's Grandmother. The book, a moldy copy of "Mildred Pierce', with 'pictures of the upcoming movie!' And in its pages, notebook pages filled with bad poetry.

Grandma wanted to be a poet in the worst way (and she was...bless her). each couplet, verse and stanza is worse than the last. But she kept at it till she passed away. For her, the dream never died...

So, Grandma Benner, wherever you are, here is a poem written by you, published on the Internet:

Under Blue October Sky's
by Cora Basten Benner

Under clear October Sky's
I can see the love in your blue eyes
and the gold in your hair
which is beyond compare
under blue October Sky's.

I am in paradise
I'm content any where
as long as you're there
Under blue October Sky's.

Under blue October Sky's
I begin to realize
Love's grand I declare
our lives we should share
under blue October Sky's.

Well, you can't say I didn't warn you...but what the heck, she gave it the old college try and sent these poems in every week to publishers around the country. She lived in hope.

And the greatest gift to give anyone is hope.

perceptions of self..

Yup, I perceive myself as a biker Grannie...and no we don't have a bike anymore. Well, unless you count the 1967 Triumph basket case in the storage unit...no, we got rid of the Goldwing years ago.

But I still think of myself as this rebel Grannie...even though I don't have kids. So basically I am a fraud. A big old wanna be sitting in front of a computer trying to be something I am not.

(Sorry, but I couldn't find a picture of a middle aged white woman with big boobs and purple hair.
I'll keep looking.)

So do I change my perceptions based on my ability to drive a cycle? Do I assume the mindset of 'wacky aunt', 'hipster wanna-be', 'crafty artist-type person' 'political pariahs'?

Or maybe they all fit.

Maybe I am a wacky aunt with artistic aspirations...or maybe I just gave up looking for work a while ago and can't stand being a house wife. Actually both.

So while I don't a motorcycle, I do have the leathers.
and while I don't have a job, I do have a livelihood.
and while I am a wife and live in a house, I am not a housewife.
There are people who call me Mom, and people who call me Mrs. Benner...I will answer to one.

So perceptions are in the eye of the perceived.
Call me what you like, I probably won't give a good &^%$ *&&^$.

thoughts on family

Yesterday was my family reunion. While enjoying the wonderful food, including sauer kraut, ambrosia salad and some deserts that were to die for, I was left thinking about the nature of family.

This weird group of people who all sorta kinda look like you. Who all have the same grey eyes and body images. Who all have a joint connection to each other even if we had never met. Who tell stories that you almost had forgotten. Who remember you when your diapers were full. Family.

And only family can understand when you look at your Uncle and see your Dad, and understand when you start to cry.

Who ask about your health not to be nice but to compare notes.

Who will end up telling you what happened to your 1st, 2nd or 3rd marriage with out really asking.

Who will gladly give you recipes (almost).

And who will ask you about things you really never wanted to talk about, but will anyway.

And my family, who came from one state and ended up here and no one really knows why. Who left what sounded like comfort and security to live here with no real support system in place.

Spending time in the past, remembering our family who have passed away. Or remembering (while never ever fully forgetting) my cousin Richard's 11 months of hell on earth on broad the U.S.S. Pueblo. Looking at military pictures of fathers and uncles and wondering if they thought they would make it home?

And now the next generation, this group of relative (so to speak) strangers who carry the Bame gene that requires them to always have a pot of coffee on hand and sit at the kitchen table talking till midnight.

Thanks for being so gracious and showing up, for sharing your stories, for making those promises to be back next year if not sooner and for signing the book....now when I need a kidney I know where to look!

Angel tears

"When you get into a tight place, and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a moment longer, never give up, then- for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn." ~Harriet Beecher Stowe


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Sometimes we all need to take a minute, reflect on the things we can do something about, and look for strength for the things out of our control.

Finding strength in Friends and family can help, looking within, becoming creative, writing bad poetry or cheesy haiku's...or like me, making more jewelry. It helps keep our minds busy and away from the negativity that can engulf us at a moments notice.

Laugh...remember what use to make you laugh and seek that out. 3 stooges. the Marx brothers, Monty Python??? Wallow in it, laugh that 'kids' laugh that takes your breath away and makes milk squirt out of your nose. Laugh till it hurts!

Have faith and know people are here for you, no matter what...from siblings, to cyber friends you don't even know their real names...cyber hugs are almost as good a real ones and are just as powerful.

Accept help...sometimes that's the only way another person can connect with you. Its their way of being with you in difficult times.

And always remember people are here, and if all else fails, the angels will stand by your side, weeping with you, laughing with you and dancing for your success.

Stay strong