My Bucket List

     There comes a time in life when you know your getting old.   Oh, you don’t notice it all at once.   It’s an ache here, a pain there.   Suddenly you realize your not twenty anymore.   Oh let’s be honest, you realize your not sixty anymore!

     Okay, being old isn’t all that bad.  Your retired so you don’t have to get up and go to work each morning.   Your kids rush to help you do each and every little thing.     And, no one gives a second thought if you gain a pound or two.  Or fifty.

     But who wants to be old?   Who wants to think the good times are over and your one step from the Nursing Home?   Not me!   I like to think this is the time in life to go after all those things I’ve been putting off.  It’s the time to go places, meet new people, try new things.   In other words, it’s the time to really enjoy life!

     And what better way to do that than to start a “Bucket List”.

     Over the next few months I’m going to share some of the things on my list & how I’m working towards crossing them off.   I will add here that a lot of things I’ve always wanted to do I was lucky enough to do when I was younger…….Have a large family, adopt children, live in a little white house with a white picket fence, have a little cabin behind behind my house, have my own shop, have a greenhouse and a zillion and one other fun things.   BUT there’s a lot of other things I want to accomplish before my time here on earth is done.

     So, let’s start out with number one on my list.~~~To have a booth in a Flea Market.   This dream came true about three months ago.  Granit, it’s just a small booth but it’s MY booth and I love it!  I’m having so much fun making and thinking of new things to make for it.   And when something sells it thrills me to no end.   Now the best part of my booth is receiving ‘goodie boxes’ from my dear friend Sher in New York.  Sher is a very talented lady & I love having her things (Small quilts, prairie bonnets, candle mats, ect…) to add to add to mine.   It’s became a joint venture between two friends, even though they live miles apart.   The e-mails fly back & forth and there’s lots of laughter mixed in with ideas of what to do  and how to decorate the booth  next.

       If any of you have ever entertained the idea of having your own booth, let me be the first to encourage you.   I’m certainly no expert but here would be my tips to get you started.

(1) Check out all the different flea markets in your area.   Then choose the one that best suits the things your wanting to sell.   In my case, I choose a store that handles mostly vintage & primitive items.

(2) Next start getting your items together several weeks or even  months before you plan to open.   Even if your booth is small it will take a lot of things to make it look full.

(3)Before you set your booth up in the shop, be sure to do a trial run at home.     Poor Keith, although he did our background at home, when we got to the store it wouldn’t fit in.  (We didn’t realize there were some boards sticking out behind the other gals background.)   He had to do some finagling when we started setting up the actual booth but thankfully it all went together.   Be sure your background fits the items you’ll be selling.   For me, that meant using old doors and barn wood.   They made the perfect back drop for my hooked rugs and reproduction samplers.

(3) Once you get your booth set up, treat it like you would any job.   Devote time to it each day.   If your offering crafts, make sure you work on something each day for it.   At least once every two weeks re-work the whole booth.   Even if you don’t have new things to add, re-do everything else.  It’s amazing how many different looks you can get using the same items.   And changing things around will give customers a chance to see all you have to offer.

      I guess by now you know how happy I am that I have followed my heart and completed the first thing on my Bucket List.    Remember, the only way you’ll do everything you’ve always wanted is to work towards your goals.

In a few days I’ll share another thing I’ve crossed off my list.   Until later….Do what makes you happy.  Hugs, Sher

Cinco de Mayo Gathering

    It’s time to tell the truth about our family.   The whole truth, no matter how much it hurts.   Are you ready? Okay, here it goes….

    My family is nuts!   Now I don’t mean are the dangerous kind of nuts, we just sound that way.    We’re the good kind of nuts.   We’re the family that if you drop in when we’re all together you wonder if the line between normal and abnormal has been crossed.

        WELCOME TO OUR WORLD!

       For the past sixteen years, Keith & I have been the host of the family Gatherings.   In the last two years those Gatherings have suddenly became every six weeks and have now gone in a whole new direction.~~Now each Gathering has a theme.   You’d think we’d be running out of ideas but not this bunch.   You put three sisters and an their 84 year old mother together and the ideas flow like water.

      This past weekend we hosted the Cinco de Mayo Gathering.  I have to admit , this was really a tough gathering for me.  Oh, the food was easy….We all love Mexican food so I have tons of recipes.   It was the decorating that was so hard.   It’s next to impossible to come up with anything Mexican related in our area.   Luckily my daughter Kara was able to pick up the paper products & I was able to fill in with lots of sombreros and wild striped sheets.

        Since we knew Kara would arrive early, my DIL, Renee, & I made short order of our cooking….We wanted to get in some “Kolt lov’en time” before everyone else arrived.   And love that baby we did!   Poor little guy was passed around like a football all day long.   He sure didn’t seem to mind as he slept through the whole party.    I swear, he’s the best baby ever.   I don’t think he even knows how to cry.  Kara & Paul sure lucked out with this one.

    Our guest started arriving around 10:00.  (Twenty-one people in all.)  That’s when the laughter and teasing started.   We always try to dress ‘in costume’ and who ever has the best wins a prize.   Believe it or not, the prize usually goes to my Mom.  I don’t know how she does it but just with things from her closet she always looks the part.   Well, this month she was beat out by my little sister Shelia and her family.  From the moment they walked up those front porch steps, the laughter started. Dressed in simple, authentic  decorated dresses, Shelia and Alex were a hit.   And Glenn was hysterical in his fake mustache.  (Which he lost while eating lunch!)   Of course they won the prize but I couldn’t help but hope they would have car trouble going home….I would have loved for the rest of the world to see my ‘always perfect’ sister dressed that way. HA

      As usual, each & everyone out did themselves in the food department.  I’ve never seen our tables so loaded with food.   We honestly could have fed twenty more people with food to spare.    Each recipe was authentic, down to our dessert of Mexican cake. (Thanks Sindy!)

     After lunch we had a pinata for the little ones.   Starting with the youngest to the oldest grandchild, each child got several ‘whacks’ until it finally broke, spilling candy everywhere.   Little hands made quick order of loading their waiting sacks.

      Then came the news we had all been waiting for.~~Seth & Codi told us the gender of our newest grandchild.  In our typical nutty fashion, this too had to be done in game form.   In the middle of our outdoor coffee table, there was a pink baby gift and a blue baby gift.   Seth & Codi were suppose to pick up the gift that told us whether it was a boy or girl.   First they picked up the blue gift but it was quickly put down and the pink one took it’s place.~~~Another little girl!   How exciting!   This will make us five grandsons & five granddaughters.  WOW   Our family is growing!

      From there we moved on to gifts for Sam & Renee’s little one.  (They won’t be back for our next gathering.)   And then it was time for a small Mother’s Day Party for Mom.~~She’ll be spending Mother’s Day watching Sindy’s daughter, Emily, graduate from Pharmacy school.  Oh how I wish daddy had lived long enough to see this day too.   I know there was never any doubt in his mind she would do it.   And Sindy is to be commended for working two jobs all these years to put her through.   Talk about a Mother’s love!

      Our day ended with hugs, laughter and talk of our next gathering.  (And NO Shelia, I am not going to dig a pit to roast a pig in my back yard!!)   Would you like to join us for Christmas in July?   (The more the merrier!)   It’s sure to be a day of laughter, tears and priceless memories.