business first

 Hello to all, by request we are having two ribbon flower classes in November. The first is Thursday, November 17th at 6:00 pm and the second will be Saturday afternoon on November 19th. The cost for class is $25.00 plus the cost of ribbon for your flower and leaves. The business part first. You must register and pay the class fee ahead of time and it must be paid by Tuesday, November 15th. If no one signs up by that date there will be no class. Also on Thursday evening Basket and Things, who are right next door, will be having their third sippin' Thursday from 5:30 to 9:30 so you'll have plenty of time to make your flower and have a sip of wine next door.It promises to be a fun evening. To sign up you can do so by stopping by the store,by email at horatios@peoplepc.com or by ringing the store at 253.389.8002.

beginnings and waiting

I still think each new year should start in September, rather than January 1st. September is an ending and a whole new exciting beginning especially if you have children.
 On the whole other hand I am grateful that the weather has changed again and this week we will be back in the mid seventies again. I am not ready to be cold yet. That shouldn't happen until December. Gotta love my dream world.
On the shop front I've got four little bears ready to be jointed and stuffed and ready for their Christmas mittens. They are turning out to be fun. Just two more to finish, then it's on to the bear turkey. They will make their debut at the Crossroads Doll and Bear Show October 15th and 16th at the Puyallup Fair grounds.Went shopping this weekend and found a few fun things for the shop so stop in and say hello. Even though it's fair time traffic -isn't bad and there is lots of parking. On that note we will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday again this week.It worked out so well last week and I got so much done in the studio.
For those who have asked the number 3 child, who was attacked and had part of his nose bitten off. He is doing really well physically, emotionally still a work in progress but better. The idiot's trial starts the first of next month and once that is over he will be able to heal even more.Pray for my patience in the courtroom, cause I'd really like to give this idiot a few words but I can't so I'll be biting my tongue throughout.

this and that

when our youngest was transferred down to Vegas I knew I was going to have the empty nest bit...again so I made my summer list
   sand and stain the old dining room floor...... check
   paint the old dining room walls, ceiling and woodwork.......check
   paint the old living room walls, ceiling and woodwork, which also included the walls goin upstairs and the upstairs hall.............................check
   oil and paste wax old living room floor...........check
   switch rooms and redecorate, that was the fun part...............check
  paint the bathroom .............oops not yet
   stain the kitchen floor.............check
  paint the floor in the upstairs hall...........check
   re-stain the stairs.....................check
it helps fill the time and now the house is looking fit for another 100  years. Still missing the girl bunches, however, she is having a great time being back in Vegas. She graduated from UNLV and worked down there for 3 years after, till the economy forced her home. So most of her college friends are still there.
  I'm just excited that we have slowly but surely pared down our long honey do list. There were lots of other bits that also got done. You know how one thing leads to another, This needs doing but that has to be done first. Especially in a 90 year old house.So to celebrate a day of just enjoying the new look.

Oh I miss being warm in summer

Brrrrr, not to be a pain but I really need about two weeks of warm weather. It doesn't have to be hot hot just warm with a low humidity please. You see we've finally got the old living room/ new dining room painted, and it is time to oil the old hardwood floors. It's a mixture of varnish, linseed oil and paint thinner. You apply with a rag and let it soak in and dry. When it dries then it's paste wax and industrial buffer time and then these old floors will look beautiful once again. But cold air or lots of humidity means that they will take forever to dry. I want to play and put things in their new spots, but can't till the floor dries. Did I mention I really have no patience..... Well after all we have been painting for a month now. The old dining room/new living room is done except for pictures and some final fluffing which I can't do until I set up the dining room soooo. Since I can't finish I guess that means it's play time.

Road Trip...for the bears

The bears at Horatio's are all in a twitter, except for Horatio. It is road trip time, they have a show this weekend you see. Now granted it is a really short road trip, maybe six blocks, but a trip is a trip. This week end is the Crossroads Doll and Bears Show at the Puyallup Fair grounds. Enter through the Gold gate please.
 The problem with the bears is they can't all go, there just isn't room on the table for everyone plus the stacks of ribbons, laces, trims and vintage French hat veiling. And they all want to go, so the discussion will be loud and long and sadly the losers will pout making life miserable for a while. This time I'm thinking of  trying to solve the problem with logic. Those that stay home this time go to Portland in September. Now you ask about Horatio, he doesn't do shows or travel any more. He much prefers a full picnic basket and a comfy chair in the back yard. So do I actually, but shows are a fun time. It is great to see friends and fellow vendors. I look forward to seeing you all this weekend. Show opens at 8:30 Saturday and 10:00 on Sunday. See you then.

Road Trip

It has been years since, better make it decades, since I have driven to California and Nevada. When the Queen started freshman year at UNLV she and her dad made the road trip and I, sensible soul that I am, hopped on the airplane a couple of days later. Dad drove her home that spring and drove her back in the fall. Thank God for airplanes. After her freshman year she moved into an apartment and there weren't any more road trips until she lost her job and moved home. Fast forward two years. She's had this job a year and a half and they offer her a transfer, and she's off. She loves living in Las Vegas, and the heat and sunshine. So this time dad and mom are road tripping It was so fun. It would have been a lot more fun without the sixteen foot truck and the car dolly, and a whole lot faster too. We've decided to take another road trip in September. At least as far as Medford then over to the coast and back home that way. Then we can explore all the things we only dreamed over because we were driving the Big Boy and towing Baby Blue. As for driving to Vegas to visit, Nope that trip is an airplane's job. The country was beautiful and the scenery breath taking, but no the only way to Vegas is to fly.
I had every intention of opening the shop today, but after being pet free for five days, I forgot to put my contact case in the drawer last night. It is just the right size for a kitten toy you see. Without my contacts I am blind as a bat. It took me three hours crawling all over the upstairs, but I finally found them. So Wednesday we will be open with bells on. Used the quiet time on the road trip to come up with some fun new things to create for the shop. My note book is full. Stop in and say hi.

I'm sorry, but you don't suit

Three years ago when I applied for farm chicks that was my reply. So last year I wanted to go to see why I didn't suit, but the fates intervened and I didn't get there. I rationalized that by remembering just how much I hated that drive when son #2 went to Eastern. So this year we were really going, until two weeks ago. Now we are still doing a road trip, just longer and in another direction. Our baby girl has wanted to move back to Las Vegas for the last year so she kept track of transfers and snagged the first one available. She starts work Wednesday. So tomorrow morning she flies out at dawn to start work in the afternoon. It gives her just enough time to get her new apartment keys, rent a car and stop at the store. Honey and I get to load her stuff in her truck and hopefully hit the road tomorrow after dinner. I've been lifting weights. She has so much stuff. It is hard to see her go on one hand, because it has been so nice having her home the last couple of years, but letting go is what it's all about. She spent six of the last eight years in Vegas. She graduated from UNLV and stayed to work after until the economy bottomed and she lost her job. So for her it is like going home. Most of her college friends are still there and several are moving back in the next few weeks. After all it's only a couple of hours away by plane. Not to far, but I will miss her company. So honey and I are road tripping. We are antique shopping our way to Vegas. While we are road tripping the shop will be closed. We'll reopen Tuesday, June 6th..