Daffy Girls

My friend and 'antique dealer neighbor' Debi Burton sent me this email today, and I told her I just HAD to 'blog it'!

"Good morning, Deb!
Hope you had a good recovery day yesterday . . . know I'm feeling MUCH better now! I didn't get out of the house until evening and briefly looked over the vans (need to unload and reload soon), and I spotted the lovely yellow daffodils you gave me at the end of the Sand Point show.

It occurs to me that we are like the "daffydils" . . . somewhat daffy, lovely and bright--and, even when we wilt (which they were after all that time), just give us some sustenance (water) and a bit of time to rest - and we perk up just like this!!!"

I could not have said it better myself, my friend! Thank you!

Is a picture worth a thousand words???

I hope so! Snaps from our booth at the Sand Point Antique & Design Market this weekend...

Please forgive me for a short post, my friends, but I'm exhausted!

There is so much to share, and so many friends to thank for their support... please visit our Retreat blog for my 'show report' and photos!

All photos copyright Debi Ward Kennedy 2009, all rights reserved.

Copying, reproduction, or use by other parties expressly prohibited. Sorry I have to add that... recent problems with 'lifted' photos necessitate it.

A Day's Work...

We spent today setting up our booth for the Antique show tomorrow. It took us just five hours from unloading the trailer to final details & taking photos, which isn't bad - considering three days ago we didn't even know we would be doing this show! ;0) More photos on Monday!

Has anyone seen my white coat lately? You know, the one with the buckles and wraparound arms???

It's like this: I'm down, I'm frustrated, I'm so ready for spring that I'm crazy. I'm thinking about the Sand Point Market this Sunday, and I get a wild hair. I call Dennis, the promoter, chat him up, next thing I know I'm saying 'We're IN!' and hanging up the phone.

I go out to the shop to tell Bob about this little development. Actually, I ASK him if he thinks we could do the show Sunday. He nearly passes OUT. He thinks I'm certifiable. I point out to him all of the product that is complete, all of the various and sundry goodies tucked into every nook & cranny of three barns, and remind him of the things still in my studio. His head tilts to the side as he looks at me. He's wondering just how hard it would be to have me committed, I know it. I realize that I must get on his level. I must reason with him.

Big sigh. "We can sit here and make product and wait for other people to sell our stuff in stores before we take this new stuff in - OR, we can go do a show and sell our stuff ourselves and have a great time while we are at it."

"In THREE DAYS" he says, incredulous that I would even THINK of such a thing.

"Yes. We have the STUFF already. It's a matter of a little bit of paint and a lot of schlepping & packing & loading." I smile. I tilt my head to the side. I wink.

He relents and says "Go call Dennis".

Then I tell him that I've already talked to Dennis and we're in. Probably in a space right next to Debi Burton of Ormolulu, according to Dennis. Bob just shakes his head at me and says - get this - "Well, go put it on the blogs and then get to work!"

I love this guy! Even if he is walking around right now singing an old song from the Dr. Demento radio show: "They're coming to take me away, HAHAHEEHEEHOHO those nice young men in their clean white shirts, to the funny farm, where life is beautiful all the time and I'll be sitting and laughing while wearing a new white coat...HAHAHEEHEEHOHO"

So, yeah, we'll be schlepping and hauling and loading in on Saturday, and you can come see us on Sunday at the Sand Point Antique & Design Market in Seattle. (Info is on the photo above - click to enlarge.) Whoo hoo!!!!!

Play It Again, Sam....

"Bridal Sweet #4!" Three girls married, one son to go....

A & J have chosen a wedding date, and the planning is ON! A wedding in Texas, on a soft warm April evening in 2010. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?!

So, let's recap, shall we?

1980: August. Bob & Deb's wedding. That's all I'm sayin'. (It was 1980, so you can fill in the Gunne Sax lace dress, floppy-lacy-hat with veil, and ruffly-tux-shirt details yourself.)

2001: After 18 months of planning, the intergalactic onstage nuptuals of Princess Jeni (Padma Amidala) and Prince Joel (either Luke Skywalker or Annikin Skywalker, take your pick and don't worry about continuity of the storyline...) rocked the Seattle Repertory Theatre on a hot summer day, while Mr. Clapton rocked the Key Arena next door.

2005: After three months of planning, a Washington winery became a Tuscan villa for the fairytale Autumn evening wedding of Princess Bethany and Prince Jason.

2007: After five WEEKS of planning ('planning' being a relative term, believe me), Princess Brianna and Prince Brandon took their vows in a Secret Northwest Garden on a warm July summer day.

2010: After 13 months of planning, Princess Ashley and Prince Joel and His Royal Highness Prince Jameson will unite in marriage on a romantic April evening in San Antonio, Texas. (I don't know anything about the details of setting or theme yet!)

2010: On a warm August evening in the golden sunlight, surrounded by their family, Queen Debi and King Bob will renew their vows on a beach on their Northwest Island paradise. After 30 years of planning, they'll finally get the setting, the ceremony, and the wedding they originally wanted!

Five weddings in less than ten years. After that, dear friends, the Kennedy weddings are DONE. ;0)

A Daffy Weekend...

All day today the wind blew fiercely and furiously, finally moving the cloud cover out just as the sun was setting. Amazing effects, and perfect timing for the weekend I have planned...

mmmhmmmmmnnnn....that's what I'm hoping for this weekend. Bunches & Bunches and Acres & Acres of blooming daffodils. And sunshine, at least part of the time. And this guy...

The drive to the daffy-o-dil fields will be tomorrow, followed by a party to celebrate my friend's birthday (Which was today) tomorrow night. On Sunday, the girls and Mr. Man will come to our place for some of Dad's killer grillin' to celebrate my birthday. (And I happen to know somebody is bringing Angel Food cake with hot fudge sauce - yummmmmmm!)

The only other thing to wish for is my Texas kids... and I do....

Happily Ever After...

This photo was taken on July 7, 2007 - 'the Luckiest Day', according to some. That would include our daughter Anni and her husband Brandon, who were married on that day. At their wedding, the bouquet and the garter were caught by none other than our son Joel and his sweet girlfriend Ashley, shown above.

And this afternoon, Ashley and Joel announced their engagement! We're going to have another wedding! (Not sure when, they haven't decided yet...all I asked was that it's not in August of 2010. Daddy & I get that one for renewing our vows on our 30th anniversary.)

It's been a rollercoaster ride for these two over the past two years, but as my son said to me on the phone, even the bad times - the really, really, awful, bad times of the past three weeks that our girl has endured - have made them realize that what they want out of life is what they have right now. Each other. Their darling son. Family. And so, it was finally time to take that step. My son has been wondering for awhile when the best time to do this was....

....and Ashley beat him to it! SHE asked HIM! No wonder I love this sweet girl so much! Way to go, darlin'.... and much happiness to you both, for the rest of your lives.

If you remember the photos I shared of Miss Ashley following the birth of her son, our grandson, you'll remember that she was a glamorous, glowing, beatific beauty. (It was disgusting how perfect she looked, really...) I can't even begin to imagine how stunning she will be on her wedding day... but I will treasure every moment of it for me, and for her mom.

See? Sunshine DOES come after the storm!

Fresh Greens

Even on these cold, gray days, there are robins and chickadees and wrens and even a family of six mourning doves that perch in the still-bare branches of the trees on our farm and serenade us with beautiful songs. The trilling, warbling, melodic notes float through the air, bringing with them the hope that Spring is coming...

Today we finally added some of the special things we've been working on for our space at Faded Elegance. It's a perfect setting for a Garden Party - with flowers and birds and a new style of my NeSts, and soft greens bringing a fresh update to the soft ivory & white palette.


To see more, pop on over to our Retreat blog for a visit!

Can't Sleep, Might as Well Blog...

It's pretty bad when the visions in your head are of new blog layouts and Facebook apps... At 2 AM, since I couldn't sleep, I just gave up and got up, and then created this new background for our family blog. Looks pretty cool on there, and is fitting not only for this month but any month for a family of Irish peeps.

I don't really know why I did this, cuz' we hardly use the blog anymore since all of us are on Facebook! We just use the blog to post recent photos (or links to online photos) and then comment on them, usually rather sarcastically. That's just how we roll - it's either sharp wit or quoted movie lines with us.

I'm still looking for a cool damask pattern to use as a background here on this blog, so I can create a custom design for myself. I like the damask that is currently on here, but of course that belongs to TCBOTB (not to be confused with NKOTB) and so I can't use it in one of my own creations. I've been busy creating custom blog designs for a buncha' people lately, so I'm a bit obsessed with it. If you know where I might find some copyright-free patterns online, let me know!

Can you tell it's the middle of the night and my mind is all OvEr the place? Yeah. Too much caffeine for Deb today, apparently!

Adventures in Babysitting....with Grammy

Yesterday, we went to the zoo... Auntie Anni went with us. (Five year old Hope calls Anni "Ariel', because of her long red hair...whenever Gramma called her 'Anni', Hope would protest loudly that "Her NAME is ARIEL".

This is Mr. Troy greeting the Otters...a big arms-open gesture, as if he was going to hug them, and a soft "Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!" He was absolutely amazed by them... he ran alongside the tank as they swam, laughing and talking to them. He ended up learning a new word and saying "Hi, AWtuh!' (his word for Otter). Have I said he's adorable yet?!

We saw a great BIG brown bear toodle by us and then lay down for a nap. I have a huge stuffed brown bear at my house that Troy loves to cuddle with...when I said 'It's like Big Bear at Grammy's house!', Troy reached out to hug it!

Today, we went to the Childrens Museum just a few blocks away from home. What a FAbulous place for kids! We planned to stay for about two hours - and ended up being there for FIVE hours!

We played in the 'Vet's Office'

We played in the Water Room (which is inside a mini-sized Washington State Ferry!)

We played in the Construction Room

We played in the Pizza Restaurant

We played in the Art Room

...and the Train Room and the Reading Room and the Bank Room and the TV studio Room and the Glow in the Dark Room and the Theater Room and the Treehouse and the Blocks Room and the Farm Room and on the Airplane and with the pingpongballs in vaccuum tubes and on the Bus.... and Grammy still has a brain because Auntie Anni/'Ariel' went with us today, too!

Grammy is totally in awe of this place, and is going to buy a year's membership for the family. (And I got some great ideas for that new upstairs playroom - with the secret hideaway playhouse - that Grampy & Daddy just built stairs to!!!)

Gram and Mr. Man

For the major part of this week, I am spending my days with a younger man. Yep, my Dear Hubby has to share me with this adorable young man all week long. Not that I need a reason to spend time with my grandson, little mr. charming, cuddly, sweet, playful, energetic, and really keeps me on my toes, but it's all because of these two:

I'm spending all day every day playing with my grandson while Bob helps our 'son' Jay with a remodel project - adding a staircase to the second floor and more cabinet space to the kitchen under those stairs. Some very serious messmaking is going on, and I am in charge of keeping Mr. Man out of that mess.

You see, Mommy is in Texas, visiting Aunties Jeni and Ashley and 'the Uncles Joel' (plural) and cousin Jameson, and wisely asked a) daddy to do the remodel while she is gone and b) grammy to babysit in the midst of it! No problem, honey...

...I'll let you know later in the week how I did...

A Work of Art With Heart

This is my beautiful and inspiring friend Linda. We've had an online friendship for more years than I can even remember - we met long ago on a forum for women entrepreneurs, and have been emailing ever since. Last June, we met up at the Portland Gift Show after my seminar for a lovely visit in person. That's when the photo above was taken. You can't really tell in the photo, but Linda's long hair was halfway down her back in a ponytail.

On Friday, I received this email from her:

"Hey, Deb! How you doing? I am fine. I just finished my third out of four rounds of chemo.

I lost all my hair as you might imagine.....but thats ok...I'm cool. I don't like the wig thing....and the hats a scarves are too fussy for me. Sooooo what did I do? I got myself a Henna Tattoo on my head and I just go around like that. I have a picture of it on my website.....it's quite lovely I think. And Wendy Rover the Henna Artist did it freehand. She lives in SW Portland and is a very special person.

Today I managed to get my website up to help raise awareness for breast cancer and raise some monies for them. I designed a tassel for it. My Website is http://www.tasselsforbreastcancer.vpweb.com/ Take a look....give me some feed back if it moves you and spread the word if you like. I need all the help I can get. "

Please do go to Linda's web site and read her whole story - it is uplifting and motivating. Her message is important, as is her cause....you can contribute to Breast Cancer Research by purchasing a Pink Tassel from Linda!

Honestly, I think Linda could write the book on helping people. This woman is so filled with spirit that she lights up a room as big as the Portland Convention Center when she walks into it. She's found a way to turn this difficult situation in her life into yet another way to reach out and touch people... and she's a creative dynamo that wouldn't let a thing like losing her long, thick hair get her down. Oh, no, she just goes and has a work of art created on her head!

I am awed and humbled by the power of the human spirit. I am touched by this woman who chooses to look at life in a way that does not make her a victim, or less than anything that she previously was before an uninvited illness/event/situation fell on her from out of the sky. She chooses to become more than a survivor - and I am beyond blessed to call her my friend. I may have helped her with business info through the years, but Linda has taught me more than she will ever know...

I Love Spring....

I thought you might enjoy some of the photos that we snapped last weekend at Christiansen's Nursery in Mt. Vernon, Washington. When we walked into the greenhouse pictured above, it was heady with the scent of orange and lemon blossoms....a fragrance from my childhood. It never fails to transport me to long-ago orange groves in Tustin, Orange, and Corona, California, where I went for so many drives with my grandpa on sunny spring days. The warm air inside this greenhouse carried the sweet scent straight into my memories and made me positively swoon with delight.

We wandered among the topiaries and blossoms and flowers while Billie Holliday was crooning 'Blue Skies' on the sound system. The skies above were actually gray at the time, but this charming place and soothing atmosphere denied the grip of winter's chill outside and defiantly proclaimed it Springtime! I could have moved right in... and I'll soon go for another visit, as acres and acres of Daffodils begin to bloom and fill the entire Skagit Valley with golden light. My favorite time of year!

*Dona just commented and asked about Ashley's family... they are doing well, under the circumstances. The service was Wednesday, now there are all of the other details to finalize and then they'll head back home to San Antonio. My son says that his girl is 'better', but that he thinks the coming weeks will be very hard for her as the reality of all of this sets in. My daughter is going down for a short visit next week (this was already planned before Ash's mom passed away) and is in hopes she can be of comfort to her 'sis'. Thanks for asking, Dona...*