Moving DONE plus Art Show...

It's DONE...all moved in.

My former area of work is no more...

Transformed into a new comfortable space.  The drafting table is where the file cabinets were.  It will stay for him to finish his final billing tomorrow and for me to use for drawing.

NOW...this is my whole entire area for painting, painting, painting...

It's not all done yet, but the organization has started with the most amazing help of B!  Thank GOODNESS I have her because I COULD NOT get it all done.  

Frankly the past couple of weeks have been overwhelmingly exhausting.  Moving carloads of art work/supplies several times a day, loading and unloading, in between being Granny Taxi to little Min and trying to navigate my new work desk to finish that job, I am more than overwhelmed.  In fact, I dropped Min off at school after making a couple of load and unload runs then running quick to pick her up from downtown from her catechesis class to then driving her to her day school at 61st & Yale, knowing it was lunchtime and heading back to the "new" studio, I was asked at her day school by one of the teachers how it was going.  Oops, wrong time to stop and talk to me.  I was vulnerable to falling apart at that moment.  There was the director, and two teachers in the hall and I fell apart.  I just hit a brick wall.  It has been so much that my mental capacity is at that breaking point and my body is breaking down too.  My tummy has been in turmoil to the point that sometimes while cooking dinner I almost want to throw-up with the thought of even eating it.  This nearly 67 year old body is to the point of collapse and I can't let it happen because there is still so much more to go.  Come June/July time frame we will again be having the three year old with us more, but she will be a bit older, that helps.  And the move is basically done, that helps.  Work will be sort of over, that helps.  I think there will be a breather in there somewhere.  

This weekend we are heading to the cabin and will have a mini celebration with our cabin friends on Saturday night, and a bit of drinking will be happening!  The Hubby is really in his head with this final day tomorrow and needs to get away.  We thought about staying to Monday but can't.  Have to be back Sunday night because I think we will have Min so they can discharge with Max on Monday and HEAD HOME!!!  Just in time for Easter.

Oh gosh, every second of our lives right now are changed by the minute.  I can hardly plan anything because of it all.  I, my art group, Tulsa Artist Guild, is having an art opening on Thursday evening.  THAT I have to do as I'm in charge of the caterer and food, and I have art in the show!  Looking forward to it.

If you are in the area and would like to come to our show, here is the info.  Please join us.  There will be very yummy refreshments and lots of beautiful art.  I have three paintings in this show and this the art sells very fast usually.  

Granddaughters

What more can I say but, "I AM IN LOVE!!!"  In love with these two beauties.  They are finally in one place together again and I am happy, truly happy and content.  Plus having their momma's, my fantastic, wonderful, BEAUTIFUL daughters together to enjoy being sisters in one town again.  

Snicklefritz and Smiley

Life will change a bit, for the better around here.  No more FaceTime, just lots of hugs and kisses, laughter and joy abounding. 

Smiley

We do have to wait for the hubby's to drive BACK to LA for more stuff and their car but soon all this moving part will be a memory to go in the memory book.  Now on to new wonderful memories.

Roses, Kiddos and Fish

Thought I would touch base here.  Since my life, and everyone else's, is pretty much at a standstill, I can't report much in my world.  Just painting and grandkiddos.

Remember last weekend I picked a some peonies and roses at our cabin.  It was a beautiful weekend!  Last weekend I started this painting and yesterday finished it.  I am so very please with how it turned out. 

"Reflections" oil 16x20

Back to the weekend.  We finally, FINALLY got to spend time with Snicklefritz and we had such a fun weekend, even thought it turned chilly.  There was a bit of warmth and sunshine that The Hubby got to take her fishing.  She also got to drive the golf cart.  We played a lot of Uno, read books and played hair salon.

My goodness I have missed this little munchkin.  It was good to get one of her hugs and kisses. 

More news...

This little family, our youngest, hubby and little Smiley, are moving home to be close to family!!!  Since they live in LA the music scene is pretty much non-existent for them and it made more sense to move here, closer to us.  We are over the moon to have both my girls here, close and their families!!!!!  I can't tell you how happy we are. 

Moving Day

It's done.  We've moved.  Well, most of it is done, the most important part, my desk.  Whew, it was a whirlwind day yesterday but I think we have all settled in, now we start sending out the change of address notifications.  

We had a little help from little Snicklefritz and she was mightily confused by it all but in the end she had a great day. 

Her new digs upstairs were outstanding and she loved the wide open space to run from one end of the space to the other with her push toy, The Hubby not so impressed.  We even found her Momma's old Alrac Electric shirt to wear.  I had forgotten I had it hanging on my wall. 

We did hit a few snags with the proper place for it all and had to make some adjustments in my new desk.  (I was also informed that The Hubby decided to NOT have cable put in, WHAT!  I watch the news and one soap to keep me company but oh well, on to NetFlix movies.)

BUT, look at my new view.  In the other office I lived without windows for nearly 30 years.  It was so depressing and now, YEAH! 

The upstairs view, from my easel,  OH MY!

Happy Thanksgiving

Yes it is HAPPY THANKSGIVING, but it is also moving day for us at the office.  After over 30 years of having our 35 year old business in one location we are moving.  The new offices are done and ready for us to begin operating out of it.  Slowly the shop part has been moving a few blocks away leaving the empty space to the point that it echos out in the shop part.  Last week The hubby and #1Man started moving their offices, and yesterday we packed everything but the computer, postage meter, and calculator and hauled it all to the new office.  It's all still in boxes until Monday when we will start unearthing and organizing.  This will be a challenge because in reality we are moving to a smaller space but it will have so much more ambiance.  Kind of brings a tear to my eye as we have called this work space home for a very long time, but I can't wait to have WINDOWS!

Oh, such a help this little munchkin is.  She was a pistol yesterday as her nursery room is now empty too.  In fact, my car is full of her stuff to move with more to go this weekend.  Yes, we are staying around town to move the rest of the stuff and to enjoy Turkey day.  We have had a lot of interest in all the spaces we have to lease and I think we will have one maybe both of the new spaces leased.  The old space, our old digs, has had a ton of interest and we may have it leased too at this point.  YEAH!   

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to one and all.  I am thankful for my family, and the love we all have for one another.  I am thankful for this little darling who gives me tons of laugh lines.  I am thankful for my fabulous life.  I could NEVER have guessed it would have gone down the path it has gone.  I am truly walking down the yellow brick road of happiness and joy.  Love to all.

Carla

The Dance

"Morning Glory", 5x7 oil on cotton panel
AVAILABLE

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I am gearing up to have the crew.  I'm really very excited to have everyone this year.  I do wish the California girl and her guy were coming but I totally understand.  They are so busy right now with work it's just too hard for them to come home that often.  They will be here next summer for The Hubby's big 60th birthday bash (a surprise to him).  

On top of all of that going on like grocery lists, when to thaw the turkey, table cloths, we are getting ready to move our office next week, FINALLY!  It is going to finally be a reality.  We've still got a few hurdles to go with the city and Certificate of Occupancy and all that popped up out of the blue but it is getting handled.  I am getting a new (used) front desk that I HOPE fits.  The architect, I think, screwed up his measurements so our electrical floor box may be in the wrong place and the bay where our file cabinets are too, which makes everything have to go where it is at and that means we are too close to the front window.  We will just have to see how it all lays out.  I told The Hubby that I HAVE to have my computer and Internet up and running by next Friday so I can do payroll.  It's a dance with all the powers that be.  

Moving On Up

 Another week down and another busy week.  I'm bushed really and still it will continue.

B&B2 have purchased a new home.  This picture is from their first home several years ago but with a few years of marriage and accumulation of STUFF and little Rio added to their family of one dog, Mondo and three cats, Vera, Sammie, and Opal they are bursting at the seams.  

One day about a month ago B was at an estate sale, the kind of stuff she has a passion for that she inherited from her father.  While inside she found out the house was for sale too and how much.  As she was checking out the place and falling in love with it her cell phone rang and it was The Hubby telling her she needed to come by this estate sale that the house was right up her alley.  Lo and behold they were both there at the same time.  Well, a month or so later B&B2 BOUGHT the house.  It's much bigger with space for her side business and a great yard for Mondo and Rio to play in, and it's a bit closer to us!

This sweet 90 year old guy was the seller.  He was an original owner and they were thrilled to meet him and carry on the tradition of raising their family there.  It has been a process for B to learn about, "FOR SALE BY OWNER."  So now comes the part of new floors, paint, moving in...the list is endless but it is the next step in their lives as a family.  I'm very happy and proud for them.  Another good thing is that they sold the house they have called home since they were married in 2007.  We have a friend who is a realtor who had a client looking for a house in their neighborhood and wanted to bring them buy to look at B&B2's house.  They loved it and wanted to put a contract on it.  SOLD!  The luck they have had is amazing really.   

Now the California girl is on the hunt for them some new digs too.  Good luck my dear and you will definitely find something, I promise.  

Love my girls and "son's" and sweet Rio.

Another Monday

It is another Monday as usual. The same stuff, workout, coffee, shower then work. But today I've changed it up a bit with meeting the Jazz girls for coffee in between workouts. I am also meeting me friend C for lunch. She's treating me since Wednesday is my BIRTHDAY. Yup, another year older, not sure how I feel about that but there is no stopping the clock from ticking. Tick tock, tick tock...

We finally got power back last night about 10 pm. It really wasn't a problem for us as we have a generator but some I hear will be out till about Wednesday. Thank goodness for the generator.

This next weekend I'm throwing myself a huge birthday bash at the cabin. Since I was not able to have a 50th I'm doing it now, two years later. It should be fun and I may just get drunk. I plan on laughing and dancing a lot to celebrate. This week though should be a whirlwind as today is lunch with C and work. Tuesday the MIL is finally moving so that will be an all day thing. Wednesday is my facial and massage and that's half the day, the other half of the day is preparing on having a Jazzy girls birthday party for ME at my house. Thursday is my hair appointment and that takes about 3 hours. Then Friday is payroll and gather up all I need for the party at the lake. Somewhere in there I have to squeeze in a little work. Pay bills, do invoicing, payroll, just stuff at the office. So I guess I had better get off this stupid computer and get busy.

Thunder, Thunder and more Thunder

Sunday and the sky's are gray again. I guess there was a reason we didn’t go to the cabin this weekend because it has been crappy weather most of the weekend. Yesterday I went to the MIL’s to see how the work on the front porch was going. The Hubby has been trying to spruce it up by pulling up the glued down indoor-outdoor green carpet she had put down. It was so ugly. He had put down a concrete overlay then stained it and it looked really good but because he wasn’t able to get all the glue up the overlay buckled in places. So he has gone over and cleaned it up again, and where it came up he filed down the sides and it looks like you meant to leave it in chunks, and re-stained where it had buckled after getting rid of the broken concrete. It has been a real ordeal and mess. Today he is supposed to go over and wash off the first layer of stain and re-apply another but the weather is not cooperating and she has an open house at one. Hopefully this weather will blow over sometime today. I went over yesterday and The Hubby was covered in concrete dust and inside the BIL and his partner and the MIL were busy doing more packing so I rolled up my sleeves and joined in. That was about 2:30. I didn’t leave until 6:30 and had to go to the store for steaks for dinner. This whole move thing has been so difficult for the MIL. She is the one that has instigated it but she is so dragging her feet. The movers come on Tuesday at 8:30 and she had better get ready. She still had a built-in cabinet that was filled with glassware, cookbooks and “stuff” that she had not even touched. I put myself to that task yesterday and finished it all. When I asked her for some sheets or bedding that she would be taking with her for use in packing the glassware she went to the hall linen closet and opened it. This is a huge closet that she had not even touched. So she began that and when we used some of the sheets she yelled at the BIL’s partner E not to scrunch it up. This is a lady that irons her sheets and pillow cases. She walked away and E and I just rolled our eyes. I love her to death but it is crunch time and she has not got the luxury of be that picky. I know she is freaked that once all these boxes get there she will have to unload them but I told her I would be there, in fact we all will be, except for the SIL and the other brother that have not EVEN showed up to help one iota. We have done it all. (I won’t start on them here.) We still have the shed that she has stuffed full of junk and all the yard knick-knacks that she is freaked out about taking or giving to one of us. She has a great yard but full of, well just full. I got custody of a paper sack of recipes that she has collected, some since 1956. These were torn out of magazines and newspapers and tossed in were recipe cards, some with MY name one them. I also got a huge box bulging and tied with a ribbon with the oldest ones. I sat here last night an sorted through all of them and ended up with about 45 recipe cards and a basket of handwritten on various kinds of paper and very old from newspapers clippings. I just couldn’t throw some of them away. By the time I was through with them all my nose was so stuffed up from dust and disintegration of the newspapers I could barely breathe.

There were times when she was almost in tears yesterday with all that was going on. When we started going through the cookbooks she was beside herself with not being able to choose what to keep and sell. We’re to the point of just packing all of the rest of it and see if it fits (it won’t) in her new place then bring back what she doesn’t want for the estate sale. That means we will be moving stuff twice. She has a HUGE sectional couch that she is INSISTING she take, that it will fit but the BIL is a designer and has done measurements and “it won’t fit”. This week will be a trial for sure. Thank goodness I will have Wednesday, my birthday. I will have a facial and massage and the house full of girlfriends to celebrate.