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Whats been going on?
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As many of you know it has been a long and hectic year for me. I spent most of last winter cleaning sorting and packing in preparation for selling our home of 20 years and moving. In the midst of it all, on April 10, I had to have surgery to remove some very large tumors. Just a couple weeks after the surgery I had listed my house never thinking, in this economy, that it would sell in just 12 days. We actually got above our asking price but we had just 2 days after closing to get out. On June 10 we moved into our new house and have working every since. We built a large koi pond, built a large bay area overlooking the pond, painted nearly every inch of the house, & replaced all the light fixtures. I also found some great new (used) furnishings on Craigs List, most of which needed to be refinished. And, it was quite a challenge figuring out just where to put all the furniture from the first house. Life happened along the way (unforeseen expenses) and ate into my decorating budget. No new carpet. No new counter tops. I'm not sure I would get them at this point anyway given the news of the financial state our banks are in and the bail-out and the auto makers all on the verge of bankruptsy. I have one dear friend (my prim twin) who has lost her home and her construction business after filing for bankruptsy due to the economy and another friend who is barely making ends meet, trying to avoid foreclosure. And, I know that I could just as easily be in their shoes as my husband works in the automotive industry. So, anyway, I am done spending on the house for some to come. I haven't been crafting or selling on ebay since last spring. Between everything else and my disgust with all the changes ebay has made and continues to make I just haven't been motivated. So, I finally decided to explore other avenues and I'm pleased to say I was recently accepted by Lemon Poppy Seeds to join their team. This weekend is my Grand Opening of the Willow Ridge Primitives Poppy Shoppe! So I'm back in gear and got my creative mojo flowing again. There may be a slight bump in the road as December 3rd I go back to surgery. There is a tremendous fluid build up where my 4lb tumor was removed. They are going to put drain tubes in again and I could be stuck with those tubes for several weeks this time around. But it has to be done. I still have several other tumors that can't be operated on till we get this first post-op problem straightened out. A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do!So it has been a flurry of activity around here the past 2 weeks. I have been digging out all the christmas trees and decorations and turning my house upside down. It's been a real challenge to find a home for all my trees and arrange all my christmas decorations in a all new surroundings. But I did it! It has really come together and I am so pleased with how it has turned out. I do still have one large tree to go up in the bay window, but that one will wait till Thanksgiving weekend, after the pond and waterfall are shut down for the winter. I hope you enjoy the slideshow of new house all decked out for the holiday.
