Be Grateful

It’s  hard to be grateful sometimes – isn’t it? So many heartaches and stresses, so many losses to contend with. I truly believe though, that without the difficult things in life to deal with, we cannot truly appreciate how very fortunate we are ~ there is always someone in less fortunate circumstances. We can choose to be grateful ~ no matter what. Gratitude turns what we have into enough.  Let go of what is gone, be grateful for what remains, and look forward to what is coming.  Forgive yourself for not knowing what you didn’t know before you learned it.  Gratefulness is a gift we give to ourselves.

In the end only three things matter: How much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you. –Buddha    

Some of these thoughts and words are my own, some are not. So, if you know the originators please let me know so I can give them credit.

Start each day with a grateful heart.

Never Forget–A Moment of Silence

14 years later we are remembering again that terrible moment in history that changed our way of life forever. Never forget all the fallen heroes and the ones they left behind.

Never Forget……..

All Hallows Eve

Just had to make a banner with the sentiment “All Hallows Eve” this year. Love the look of this – very simple look to it. This one is in sepia tones and black with silver glitter.

Before I go on, I want to send a message to Nancy because I’m not sure she will see it in her blog comments on her last entry – but she usually does stop by here to hi.  This is the link to the image you like:    https://www.etsy.com/listing/97240988/halloween-post-card-digital-collage?ref=shop_home_active_2&ga_search_query=halloween   Another great site for this type image is Iralamijashop on Etsy. Thank you so much for the kind and encouraging words.

I’ve only made one set of ornaments so far this year, and do not know if I’ll be able to make more as I hope to start packing up my studio in about 3 weeks.

And a Plaque

I have about 5 more in various stages of  completion I hope to putting into my Etsy shop by this evening. This one has a great poem on it and you can see it better here https://www.etsy.com/listing/247460880/halloween-decoration-hanging-wall-plaque?ref=shop_home_active_5 in the alternate photo.

No news, we’re waiting to hear if we can get financing on the one home as we are self-employed and may not be selling our house as quickly as needed – still no bites.

Take Care and try to fit in some time for creating – it soothes the soul.

Dru

Hello Again

Yes, I’m one of the worse bloggers ever – but it doesn’t really seem to matter as if anyone does stop by - for the most part they do not tell me.

If any of you visit my Etsy shop you are probably aware that after 16 years of living in South Lake Tahoe, CA and 10 years in our current home ~ we have sold our business and opened another one in Long Beach, CA. I’m here in South Lake trying to sell our home. If you know anything about resort areas then you have an idea of what I’m dealing with. Seems a lot of other people are wanting to get out of here also. The market is saturated with homes for sale, our market is not improving as quickly as some areas so our home values are not all that great – nothing like when we bought!

So, after 4 months on the market – nothing! What does that mean? We do not have enough money for a down payment on another house. We don’t want or dare to live in an apartment (even studios go for around $1500. per month – homes to rent start around $2500. (that’s a house payment) and of course you’re basically just throwing money away! So, the solution?

We decided just to get our foot in the door – we would go with a manufactured home in a gated Senior Community – turns out all the homes listed had been sold for about 3 weeks before we even started looking, and they are all STILL listed as for sale even though they are not! So, start looking a little more inland – found a great family park – but nice and quiet. Several homes for sale – many we can just pay cash for, finally downsize – which is always a good thing to get rid of a lot accumulation that we don’t need, have some money left over to begin remodeling and updating with a clean slate. Now some of you may think we’re going a step or 2 or 3 down (Our home in South Lake Tahoe is very nice) but we disagree. We’re looking at all the positives with this move and are very excited.

That being said – I will be sharing here before and after photos of all the updating, etc. that we will be doing in our new adventure. I love new beginnings and adventures – don’t you?

Happy Fall to you

Dru