A GIVEAWAY AND A BLOG PARTY!

Hi, y'all! I am way behind in taking part in 

Vicki's amazing blog party and I apologize. 

Life has been full.

But, I'm here now, with my giveaway and ready to tell you about me and blogging.

Jan Vermillion Thomason of

the Polka Dot Barn

and the blog, polkadotbarn.blogspot.com.

I started blogging several years ago thinking that I would use it as my personal diary. 

And, I have used it that way.

I don't get every event covered

(I've been known to go weeks.......   without hittin' the blog)

but when something funny, fabulous or rusty passes by me

I have to blog about it.

I let you see me at my worst,

I will entertain you with humorous stories,

I will show you amazing junk and antiques

(some I buy, some I simply photograph).

All the while hoping that you accept me,

and that you come to love me as I share my life with you.

I love Jesus Christ.

I adore my husband and three grown boys;

hoping that my sweet boys will always need

their mom.

I adore my brothers and sister.

Nieces, nephews, sister in laws, cousins, 

my dad and Ursula, 

all very important to me.

I try to find joy in every situation,

sometimes after I throw a fit or cry in despair.

I love spending time in my studio, The Crack House.

(I'll be doing a blog post about it in the near future.

If you want to make sure you don't miss it, 

sign up to receive my posts via email at the top of 

the right hand column)

Creating and spending time with 

my friends that create,

reading every single page of my art zines,

and being an mixed media hoarder

make me who I am.

Okay, that's enough, let's talk about THE GIVEAWAY!!

I am parting with two of my favorite vintage hats that I've been saving,

waiting for those perfect projects that will show off those beautiful 

flowers and leaves!

THERE WILL BE TWO WINNERS!

To enter, simply leave a comment.

And if you want to have a second entry,

let me know if you're following me on Pinterest,

Twitter or my blog emails.

I'm supposed to close out my contest and draw for

winners on February 1st, but I'm extending my giveaway

to February 2nd and I'll draw for the winners

that following week.

I'm right in the middle of getting my house in order

and planning supper for fifty

as I get ready for my mom's memorial that will be held here.

After that I'll be able to get back to my blog. *happy feet*

I sincerely thank you for reading this post

and for entering the giveaway.

I hope that you come back often to see what I'm up to.

And, if you do, remember that leaving a comment

makes me do the happy dance!

Warmly,

        Jan

If, for whatever reason, you don't know how to get to the other (over 400) blogs participating

in the Grow Your Blog party, leave me a note in your comment and I'll get you there. :)

UNBELIEVABLE.......................................... ON IT'S WAY TO FABULOUS!

Once I had a really pretty guest room.

When mom came to live with us last January,

I had to take everything out of what is now

known as "MOM'S ROOM", box it up and move

it into my fabulous guest room.

That took it straight to unbelievable.

The double bed was mom's at River Point,

the care center where she lived from July through October.

The guest room originally had twin beds in it

with custom bedspreads that coordinated with

the custom window treatments.

The twin beds were out and donated

and mom's double bed moved in.

 Thank God for good friends.

Phyllis is not only a good friend,

she can sew like a whirlwind.

When she heard that I didn't want to sell

my bedspreads for a huge loss, 

but had no idea what to do about it,

she said she'd make them fit the double bed.

 Oh, my gosh! Of course she could do that!

She can sew anything. So she comes to the house

with her sewing machine and rotary cutter and starts

measuring, cutting and sewing.

 She had a lot of fabric to work with to make it

fit a double bed. I had no worries. 

She seriously is an amazing seamstress.

 The new bedspread is the start of putting

my guest room back together. 

What you're seeing is the never ending 

"favorite artist" wall. It keeps growing and growing

and will soon be ceiling to floor. Love.

 Okey dokey, here's the "real" guest room.

This is the room in it's current condition

excluding the bed.

All of my thanks go to my sons and

everything I had to box up and move over.

 Such a pretty room.

 Wow. I hope he/they found what he/they were looking for.

 How nice, someone threw my lovelies into a box

for safe keeping.

Dark corners can be scary.

 And, here's the almost complete bed!

The euro pillows are having cases made for them

by Phyllis at her house.

I need new bed and sham pillows and

the bed will be finished.

 And a couple of quilts under the spread and

some serious ironing!

Before my mom got really sick, the three of us were gathered 

around the dining room table working on one of Phyllis' projects.

I got up for some reason and mom got paper and a pen

from Phyllis and wrote this note.

The note asked Phyllis to make sure that I got

the sewing machine that I wanted for Christmas.

She knew. I think she knew that she wouldn't 

be able to take care of that because she'd

be too sick.

There was a window of time that mom went through

where she knew what was going on.

She knew that she was losing it and that it was

only going to get worse.

We had talked about it and I had cried about

it after I listened to her and reassured her that

she was safe. 

She was so scared of the future.

It was moments like that one that still break my heart.

I'm so glad, so very happy, to have the note that

she wrote to Phyllis, but it makes me cry out for her

at the same time.

I want my mom. I miss her so much.

If you're counting, then you

realize that this is my 

third blog post in one week.

I'm trying to make up for lost time.

I am so sorry that I didn't write between

May of last year, until this month.

I'm going to be better - not a post a day -

but, better.

If you've read this post and you have time to

leave a comment, I would love that!

XOXO, Jan

MARTA'S ROOM IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE PLACES TO DROP MONEY

I have three shops that are so very easy for me to drop money.

My Heart's Cottage in Comfort, Texas - she has the best Halloween

decorations, the best baby everything that no one else has and

cards I love to send.

And, there's Whimsy's in Llano, Texas. Oh, my, the

money I've dropped there. But, it's all good, you should see

what I've bought over the years.

 And, then there's the shop that has been the recipient of 

most of my shopping money.

 MARTA'S ROOM in Belton, Texas.

 Her shop changes every time I visit 

and I visit often.

 There are a few things that I simply covet when I'm there,

but that I will some day buy.....like that typewriter.

 Or, all of the white pieces above.

 Now, the Madonna in the compote dish

is a piece that I have bought. I think it's 

such a great piece of art....the dominoes and old

watches. Love.

 Look at the frame on this mirror. Lovely!

 Dying for ALL of the above. All of it.

 The white baby shoes.....recognize them?

I used them as the header for my facebook page a bit ago.

 Doll head bottom right. 

Needs to be in my Creepy Doll Room.

 Oh, my goodness.

I want this in my bedroom. 

Isn't it magnificent?

I actually think this mannequin might be

in Marta's house.

No sale.

 I have about 10 vintage suitcases and 

Marta started me out when she was in her old location.

I'm needing a black one so have my eye's peeled wherever I go.

 A black suitcase just like this one.

Maybe on my next visit....I also want everything 

IN the suitcase.

There's nothing in this photo that I don't want.

See what I mean about Marta's Room??

I am blessed to be only 2 hours and 45 minutes away

AND she's in the town right next door to where

Blake and Clay teach - Killeen, Texas.

See how I get there so often? 

Wish you lived closer.

I would love to take you shopping with me!

Be blessed and be a blessing.

And, today is national "no lurkers day".

Meaning that all lurkers are invited to

leave a comment.

Comments make me do the happy dance!

XOXO, Jan

I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY

Profound, huh. My title.
I have spent so many hours trying to think of a name for this post that those hours have turned into days which have turned into weeks. And, I apologize for my tardiness though in some respects I have welcomed the time afforded to me that I did not have to pen this post.

I know that if you're reading this post that you've most likely been reading the others about my mom's dementia, moving to the ranch last January, 24/7 caregiver, moving on to memory care, being with her 8 hours every day.

And then October 2012 rolls in.
What's odd is that I haven't posted since May 2012.
Not really odd because taking care of mom got harder and harder every week as she declined further and further. That left little time for anything else.

But, back to October.
That's when I should have written to you.
That's when my sweet mother passed.
October 12, 2012.
I was there with her, sitting at the head of her bed, when she died.
That day and the day before continue to be very surreal to me.

She was progressing steadily in her dementia decline and then the end of September, she started failing much faster. Then she was dying and after about 1 1/2 days, she was gone.
Not lost.
Just gone.
She has gone on to heaven. I'll be with her again. We'll be able to continue the fun we had here on earth with some differences.
Jesus. God.

That's what I hold on to. Because I don't think anyone ever gets through the death of someone they love as dearly as I love my mom.

One day at a time. One breakdown at a time. One prayer at a time.

God bless all of you, especially my lurkers,
Jan