BOY HOWDY, DID IT RAIN ON BRAT!!

Yes, it rained on Brat......like a wedding SHOWER!

And, I went to it.

You wouldn't think driving five hours to the Ft. Worth area

would be that big of a deal for me.

But, you must remember that I am an old woman.

A very, very old woman, and that I made a huge mistake

in my drive north....I drove up I-35.

For you that know me, you know that I.DO.NOT.DRIVE.ON.THE.INTERSTATE.

I found myself 'talking' to the other drivers, using gestures (nothing nasty), and shaking my head most of the time.

It's the semi's.

Oh, yeah, S-E-M-I.'s.

You know the one's I'm talking about...

"Breaker....Breaker....

I'm going to pass you

now that we're approaching a hill"

"Breaker....Breaker....

This is Black Roots; can girls play?"

And, you (that'd be ME) average 40 mph a-l-l-l-l-l-l-l

the way to Euless, Texas.

Oh, my gosh, I wanted to smack someone.

(And, if you drive a semi, love someone that drives a semi, and this offends you,

just play Pass Another Semi on a Hill - you'll feel vindicated)

Okay, enough about me for a moment.

.....The shower for Brat was delightful.

The food looked amazing.

The house was beautiful.

And, it was apparent that all had a fabulous time.

This is the sign that greeted us as we walked up

to the house. When I saw it, I KNEW we were

going to have some fun!

These lovely girls met me at the door.

That's Brat, second from the left - isn't she pretty?

Oh, yeah, here I am trying out some layers

in Photoshop Elements 9 that I've just purchased.

This was an experiment and took me an entire

day, therefore, it's included.

This is a picture of the fruit that was served.

It tasted better than it looks.

THIS is a really good cupcake. Oh, my.





The room was filled with friends, family and

sorority sisters of Brat's.

Will's mom (on the right) came from Ohio

(I know) and though I didn't get but a minute

to talk to her, I hope to get to know her better

at the wedding. Brat says she's delightful.

(Just like my DIL says about me)

"Oh!!" I think Brat just opened

something that really excited

Hostess Heather!





                                                    

It's embarrassing how bad my memory is -

at the shower I introduced myself to the

same woman twice. Yeah.

But, for some reason, I remember who is in

this picture with Will's mom -

it's Jessica (in the middle)

(oh, dear, it could be "Jamie" now that

I'm writing it. SEE?? It's so embarrassing:)

and Will's aunt.

TaDah!!

                                         Now, for gift opening and, though,

I'm really not a selfish person,

I just really want to share the card

and gifts I gave her.

WELL??? It's my blog.

(Oh, hush, I'm just being sarcastic.) 

                                                  Okay, after 45minutes  of trying to get this to right justify, 

I give up and wouldn't ya know,

it right justifies. I can honestly say that I

hate blogger. The envelope I made is above.

This is the back of the envelope.     

                

The card. I loved being back in my studio!

All eyes were on Brat as she opened all of her wonderful gifts!

Brat's shower really did give me the excuse

I needed to clear off a 4" square of work space to make a wall hanging for her and Will.

It wasn't on her registry so I knew I'd surprise her!
This will be so handy on those

away games on the bus.



There's always that one gift

at every shower.....

This also wasn't on her registry,

this canister set, and Brat

was so excited to receive it.

If I could just remember who gifted it.



























Bed Bath and Beyond was a
very successful registry store.
Brat received so many great
gifts from that store.







Isn't this so cool?

I wonder if she'll give it to me

for my birthday?

 

I want to introduce you to an amazing

young lady - Jackie. She was one of

Brat's best friends (and remains so)

in college and was in a horrific

automobile accident that left her

in a coma for a very long time.

She came out of her coma and Brat

and everyone that loved her were

overjoyed! No one knows if she

knows who you are when you talk to

her, but after meeting this amazing

young woman, I know that she does.

Jackie is an honorary bridesmaid in

Brat's wedding and I think that's very

special, just like Jackie.

Y'all know what retail therapy is, right?

After two days in a row on I-35

(I didn't mean to take I-35 home, I just somehow ended up

on it. True story.)

I decided I needed some.

I stopped at my favorite shop in

Llano, Texas, and spent $75.00.

I picked up some wonderful things.

Unfortunately, it didn't help.

*sigh*

But, you know what did make me smile

after two days on I-35?? Coming home to

all of this mail. It's all donations, monetary

and art supplies, for kids that need our

love and something to take their minds

off of their problems - hopefully in JOPLIN.

My other 'little girl', Skyler, and I are 

planning a "mission" trip the first part of

July - God's plan and we're so excited!

And, btw?? I'm still smiling.

And, though it's not my usual sign-off,

I LOVE YOU, BRAT

                MOM2                                      

one more thing - if the pictures aren't spaced correctly with their text, I apologize, but I'm not re-opening this post. it's 8:45 P.M. and I'm pooped! I hope you've enjoyed reading about Brat's lovely shower.

Good Night! lol

OKAY, I PEEKED..................DID I MENTION THAT I HATE BLOGGER??

I NEED SOMEONE TO SMACK.

"Oh, Franki-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e"

THE RANCH AT SUNSET - HEAVEN

When you haven't posted since August and it's November did you know that some people will email you to see if you're alright? Isn't that the sweetest thing?
And, in answer to that question, am I alright, physically - no, mentally - of course.
I'm working as hard and as much as I can on the rehearsal dinner things for my son's upcoming wedding and a wedding thing for Jana, the bride:). It's a chore since I am not okay physically at the moment but it is bringing me much joy as I am back in my studio and it has lost some of it's crack house aura. I'll post about that later.

Today I was going to quickly throw these photos up of the ranch and get back to work on the wedding, BUT, the new uploader of photos for blogger is stupid and it's turning my pictures sideways. (Anyone out there know Mr. Blogspot and could you call him?)

However, in this instance it's going to save me a lot of time because the pictures are already on flickr COMPLETE WITH descriptions so I'm just going to send you over there.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/polkadotbarn/  But, read this next part first for it's important to set the mood...

.............I was driving up the lane about 6:30 p.m. yesterday and I glanced to my left and saw the black cows in the pasture of really green grass with the sun fixin to set. It was so, so pretty.
I sped up to the house, jumped out of my car (okay, I didn't jump), ran (ALRIGHT, I walked) and got my camera, jumped (did I say, "jumped" again??) on the four wheeler and raced (I did "race" - I love driving it fast:) to the front pasture to take pictures. Then I meandered closer to the house to take more pictures and to the barns and down the lane. It was fun.

For protection, the photos are stored in flickr and in this case, you can just hop over there and see them with their descriptions and just pretend that you're still here on my post.
Cool, huh.
Oh, and click on the pictures and they'll get bigger by magic. On some there's explanations and arrows. It's just who I am.

I've missed this.
Blogging.
Hope Mr. Blogspot fixes his uploader soon. It's very frustrating and kinda ticked me off for a minute or ten.

I hope y'all have a delightful evening and.........................
if you're reading this on Tuesday......................................

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE REPUBLICAN! (did I say, "REPUBLICAN"??)

LOVE YOU!! JAN

http://www.flickr.com/photos/polkadotbarn/

I SIMPLY MUST STOP WHAT I'M DOING, JUST FOR A MINUTE...

Okay, y'all saw my crack house in the last post.

I'm trying to make it into a studio again - alone -

though my "little girl", Skyler, helped me last Saturday.

No one else has been knocking on my door...
(that was a HUGE hint).

Anyway, I must stop what I'm doing to share with you
 a gift I received in the mail today.

Now, I'm about 8 posts behind and have
my eldest son's Valentine's candy to mail,

an "I hope you're feeling better" box

that should have been mailed to my friend,
Molly Alexander, about 8 months ago

and a giveaway + many extras for her patience,

to the winner of that giveaway that probably thinks

 the Tank went ahead and put me in the home
 if she read my last post.

.

BUT, all of that waits while I show you
 this most wonderful gift I received.

My friend, Jan Armentrout, ordered a nest for me

made by the amazingly talented (I could go on and on)
Victoria Boster.

She had sent me to her website to look at these nests
and when I did, I swooned.

So, what does my most gracious friend, 'the other Jan' do??

She orders me one.
I simply must show you pictures of it.

Now, if you have trouble understanding
what it looks like because my photos are, well, lacking,

you can go to Vicki's blog and see pictures.

She makes a lot of these and

sometimes when you order one
you have to wait MONTHS to get it -

that's how good she is,

how amazing the nests are,

and how much demand there is for them.

(I really think Where Women Create should do an article
on her studio - can someone pass that on??)

Okey dokey, I've got to get back to the crack house,

so here are the pictures that don't do the nest's beauty justice...
one side of the nest

another side of the nest - really, go look at them on Vicki's blog

I really love this side of the nest-it has some twigs w/ white glittery 'flowers'

Okay, now you're going to be totally confused-

this is the center of the nest.

You know, where the bird sits?

The sides of the nest are built up to surround the center

just like in real life.

Now I must get back to the studio crack house.

I will start posting all of those old posts on my next break.

One more little thing,

You know what?

I have found that my artist friends make the best friends.

Thanks again, Jan, I love my nest!

Until later,

thanks for reading,

      Jan

I CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

"I can make a difference...I can make a change"....it's nothing new. I've had that thought on my mind for months (and months) and I try to do just that every day.
I was thinking about how I try to make a difference in at least one person's life every day and thought that it was worth sharing with y'all because if I can make a difference then,
"YOU can make a difference.....YOU can make a change" and that equals,
"WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.....WE CAN MAKE A CHANGE".

SHAUNA AND LISA GIVIN' A HUG

This thought of making a deliberate effort to make a change in at least one person's life every single day came from brainstorming with my dear friend and pastor, Jay, one day at lunch. The idea was originally the brain child of one of our Sunday School classes and the list that we came up with was to be one used while AT church.

But, in thinking about it I decided that there was every reason for me to use this list in my every day life.
Wanna hear some ideas how you can change someone's life?
It's really simple!
It just takes a concious effort on your part to remember to it every day.
Now, that's really hard for old people like me - the remembering part - that's why I put God into every part of my day and ask Him to remind me.

ME....CONFESSING.....

And, while I'm confessing...I also ask Him to put His hand over my mouth and His arm around my shoulders.
Sometimes I move too fast and His just misses my mouth and I say something that is hurtful (I'm always teasing when this happens, but like my mother is so fond of reminding me, "some people don't know when you're teasing..." Oh, yeah. Thanks, mom.) So, even when I'm trying to be a blessing every day I, too, make mistakes and that really hurts my heart - it bleeds when I find out I've hurt someone's feelings because my goal in life is to simply be "the Jesus people see" (Jesus when he's teasing, usually).
And we all have "issues" from our upbringing that makes it hard to do some things.
The behavior we possess that is a direct result of how we were treated as a youngster is hard, very hard, to change, even with therapy (I'm here to tell ya), but, if we keep our eyes on God and ask Him to help us, miracles can happen.
I'm a miracle *but that's another post*.
So, if you find that you're having problems making a difference by implementing these ideas I'm going to share with you, just keep it slow....slow and steady.....and make yourself step outside of the box. You will be the one who is blessed!

SINCERE COMPLIMENT

Which is exactly what I did when I was visiting with the two nurses that were taking care of my mom after her fall (and before her brain surgery because of that fall). I was so thankful for the loving care they gave to my mother that I couldn't compliment and thank them enough.

But, you know what?

I even try to find a reason to give a sincere compliment to the checker at Wal-Mart who is a wee bit surly.

Okay, she's a lot surly.

It goes along with my daily mantra which is, "Always be kinder than necessary because everyone is fighting some kind of battle."

I make myself realize that "she" may be frantic about how she's going to pay the rent or her husband mistreats her or she has a teenager.

     MAKING SOMEONE *MY NIECE* SMILE

A lot of these pictures that I am using to depict certain attributes of Making a Difference are of my family, not random shots at Wal-Mart or the park, etc. Just bare with me - if I waited until I got all random shots this post would never come to fruition.

It's so easy to make someone smile.

Smile at them while making eye contact.

That is one of the most basic of human instincts - to smile back at someone that smiles at you. So, try it. Just make eye contact and smile. Maybe even throw in a, "Good morning!" or, "Hi!" or, "Howdy!" if you live in Texas:)

                     GREETING

We all  have our own special personalities.

I certainly have mine and on most days you don't see Psycho Jan, you see She's Funny Jan.

And that is often my way of greeting someone, in a teasing way, even if I don't know them. (That can bite you in the butt)

At a recent estate sale I was standing next to a girl, okay a woman obviously younger than me, and she had her treasures piled up on the counter and I was leaning over checkin' out just what she had found. I wasn't going to snatch anything.....she turns to me and I say somethin' like, "I'm just lookin'!!" and she has some like and kind retort and guess what...we are now friends. We have emailed each other several times and tomorrow mom and I are meeting up with her (Anne) at an estate sale down the highway.

See?? Just open your mouth and greet someone and who knows what will happen! You might make a connection with someone (and it won't be until later that you'll realize that God orchestrated the whole thing and you'll laugh out loud when it dawns on you!)

But, even if you spend the day greeting people and that's all it is, remember that you might be the only person that speaks *kindly* to "that" person.

LAUGHTER

One of the things that I firmly believe in is that a day without laughter is a wasted day.

And my boys know that...............you're looking at one of the many pictures I had to take Christmas '08 to get a decent picture of the three of them for family and friends. Every time I went to take the picture one of them would do something that would crack them up and lay me on the ground because I would be laughing so hard I couldn't breathe.

I think it's a definate gift from God, the ability to make others laugh.

And I think it's one of the healthiest things you can do for your body.....LAUGH.

If you don't think you have anything in your life to laugh about then watch a funny movie; there are a lot out there! Read the comics in the paper or better yet, read up on Obama's health plan - it's laughable. (Oh, hush, I'm just kidding.)

TOUCHING ANOTHER

Think about it. Do you realize that there are people that go through an entire day with no physical human contact? No touch from another person?

A hand on someone's shoulder, a hug, a handshake, a rub on the upper arm?

The elderly make up a huge part of the population that go through an entire day (week, month) with no one touching them.

And children and all of the rest of us - we all need, we all hunger for GOOD touches.

GOOD touching and you could be the person to change someone's day (week, month).

    SINGING SO GOD CAN HEAR YOU

Oh, I hear ya, you can't sing.

You know what? God doesn't hear your voice when you're singing to Him, He hears your heart. And I understand that if you're sitting in the back of the sanctuary or worship hall or around the campfire away from others, that you might be self concious if you don't think you can sing; and when you try to utter those first words all you can hear is your voice *shocking*, it's because you're not sitting with the "family". Move up and squeeze in, then you can just blend your voice with the others all around you and you can forget that you're supposed to be self concious *Satan* and sing your HEART out to God.

End of sermon. Point made.

That's it, my list of Joy Points, though there could be many more.

If you can think of something that is noteworthy, please tell us about it in your comment.

And I hope that this post has been taken in the spirit I intend it to be taken - with sincerity and my love for people.

And included in those "people" are you, my precious readers!

xoxo,

. . .jan

 

A TRIBUTE TO MY FRIEND, TINA

I've been writing posts on facebook.
I've been reading posts on facebook.
I've been answering messages on facebook.
And, I've been answering emails.....
all about my sweet Tina.
But I have not been able to bring myself to blog about her.
This is my safe place.
This is where I tell you about the funny things that happen, where I show you new art, tell you about my family and sometimes, but rarely, bare my soul.
That's what has made this so hard....it's one of those soul baring posts because my dear friend, Tina, went to meet her Lord this past Sunday, January 3rd.

What that means to me is that she's not here any more.
She's not here to talk to on the phone, to email, to play "soldering", to enjoy the adventure of the Paper Cowgirl art retreat that she founded with Cindy Mayfield.
All of that is the selfish part of me.
The unselfish part of me, the part of me that drowns in sorrow, will tell you that she has left behind an amazing husband, amazing kids, grandbabies and friends.
Her husband, Will, "Silly Will" to me, gave me the endearing(?) nickname recently, "Nine Toes", telling me that it was my Indian name. "That's silly, Will!"
I've seen Will and Tina together more than once and I know deep in my heart that he simply adored her. He was Mr. World Federation Cancer Fighter during her fight, researching, Googling, putting her on a homeopathic diet (she called him "the Food Police"), doing everything that he could to make her better.
They were married for 27 years and now she's gone on before him and he's sad that she's not here with him.
He has an amazing faith, thank you, God, for his faith in you, or I don't know how he'd get through this.

Also mourning her passing are her children, Nicole and Deke, both so very special to her.
When Deke was counting the days he would be coming home from the war, she was counting them, too, and telling anyone that would listen that her Deke was coming home! Oh, how she had missed him, loved him.
Oh, and, she loved Nicole as only a mother can love a daughter!
She has also left behind her darling "grandbabies". She doted on those girls. She would have them stay with her and Will and they would play "art" and would just enjoy being together.
How do you explain grandma going to Heaven to wee ones in a way that they understand?

And, the friends from her world of Harley's, the friends that she loved going on Harley road trips with - they will surely miss her sweet nature.
One day she and Will and another couple rode their Harley's to the ranch. They were on a road trip in the Hill Country and she knew where I lived - very close to where they would be riding. So, she calls and we make plans for them to come by and go to lunch.
That was the first time we met in person. Oh, my gosh, you would have thought that we had lived next door for years...........once we started talking we couldn't stop! Poor Will and Frank - thank goodness they really liked each other. But that poor other couple...I can't remember their names right now, but both were so nice. I hope they didn't leave feeling left out!
It was at that point, that 'in person' visit, that Tina and I really clicked. Just think, a Harley made us complete. Who would'a thought?

And, this tribute wouldn't be complete without mentioning her art. She had a gift from God for creating and teaching. I have many pieces that she made that I bought from Paper Cowgirl Art Retreat Vendor's Nights, several pieces that she made "for me", and one extremely precious necklace that she made for me last March for my "half-birthday" (celebrating my half-birthday cracked her up).
She was always gifting her friends. That's who she was.
The mixed media art world will surely miss her.
There are hundreds that she touched in some way. And, there are so many from the blog world, mixed media art world, facebook, places that I'm not thinking of, that she touched that didn't even know her.

*click on the picture to enlarge*

The saddest part of Tina's death is when I think of all of the people, hundreds of people, that are reading blog posts about her, facebook messages about her - there are SO many, and they/you don't understand Tina's passing the way that a believer does because you aren't a Christian.
You don't understand what I mean when I say that I look forward to seeing her again, sitting at the feet of Jesus. You don't understand Will's faith that will get him through this horror on earth; nor do you understand the peace I feel because I know that God has healed her.
But, she died, you say.

No. Her body died. She lives on in Heaven. It gives me great peace and joy to know that she is with Jesus.
If you are someone that doesn't understand any or some of this, if you've got questions about Christianity, anything, please email me (polkadotbarn@gmail.com) and I'll answer your questions. And if I don't have the answer, I'll find it.
And remember, there are no stupid questions. Never.

Tina would want you to ask questions.
On her facebook page it says, "Jesus Christ is my Savior. Who's yours?"

That's my "tribute" to Tina. I hope it made sense to you. I hope you were able to see into my heart and know what I was trying to say with words that seem so inadequate.

I loved her dearly. Still do. And until Jesus takes me to Heaven, I'll miss being with her, but I'll keep her memory in my heart every......single.....day.

God bless you, my sweet readers, know that I'm back and know that I love you,

Jan

Can I say one more thing? I think Tina would like it if I mentioned this thought that I can't get out of my mind. . . . .Don't wait until it's too late to tell someone how much they mean to you, how much someone has touched your life, no matter how small, to tell someone that you love them. Don't keep those kind of thoughts to yourself - share them with those involved, preferably in writing so that they can have that tangible piece of you for all times.

It's important. Tina would tell you that and it's what I'm going to be doing this year. If I love you, you're going to know it, if you have touched my life in a positive way, you're going to know it. I think that if we all did that for each other that we would all have higher self esteem, we would have higher self worth and we would all be a better person because of it.

Oh, and one more wee little thing.....if you don't have something nice to say about someone, don't say it. And remember that everyone is fighting some kind of battle so always be kinder than necessary. (I promise that's all:)

God bless you all.