3-2-1...We Have Lift-Off

I've finished arranging my display at Maude's Other Place, ready for opening day tomorrow, Friday May 26!  After months of preparation, designing and making new pieces, and an enormous amount of thought and ponderation, it's finally time to START...again. :)

I will be hanging out at this wonderful new shop as artist-in-residence on Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays from now until the first week or so in October, and I'd LOVE to see your smiling faces.  In addition to my jewelry, Maude's Other Place also features a wide array of antiques and collectibles, vintage clothing, and everything from handmade soaps to gallery-worthy paintings and photography.  We're located on Ludington Avenue very close to the original Maude's Garage, just on the other side of Subway (on the left-hand side of the street as you're heading toward the beach.)

For more photos of my display, please take a look at my new Gallery page!

And for those of you who don't live in my little corner of the world, if you see something in my collection that you'd love to have, please send me an email: watersedge7 at yahoo dot com, and I'll be happy to place it in my Etsy Shop for you.

Jump, Day 4: Building Stuff with My Dad

Today my Dad and I built a "new" sign board to go out front of "Maude's Other Place," the shop where I'll be hanging out as artist in residence for the summer.  (More details next week!  Stay tuned!)

Building stuff with my Dad is always an adventure.  He's a champion scavenger and packrat, and very creative.  All you have to do is say, "Dad, I need a wooden thingamabob that's thirty-nine and a half inches long, four inches wide, has weathered paint, and original hardware," and off he goes to various piles, outbuildings, and workshop areas to find just what you need.  And if it's not quite the right size, color, or needs something added, he sifts through even more piles of tools, containers of nails and screws, and endless buckets of knicknacks to create the needed item.

Our sign board was made of old wooden doors (complete with vintage porcelain doorknob) with cool patterns of peeling paint, sturdy old hinges scavenged from another set of doors, a bit of rope, and metal cabinet handles from the bottom of one of those buckets of treasure.  It took us about an hour and a half to make, from start (finding just the right doors from the tin-roofing covered pile) to finish (carrying it, by the strategically placed handles, to make sure my short little self could manage getting it in and out the door at the shop!)

Everything we needed was right there in my Dad's highly unorganized "zone."  We created our project organically and spontaneously, and it turned out perfect.

I love it when that happens. :)

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For those of you in the Ludington, Michigan area, "Maude's Other Place" will be opening Memorial Day Weekend, close to Maude's Garage, just on the other side of Subway on Ludington Avenue.  Come see me on Friday, May 25!

Jump, Day 3: Car Trouble

I have good news and bad news.

Bad news first: My car died yesterday, knocking me back $465, which I don't have.

But you'll be glad to know that there's a whole lot more good news than bad news. :)

1. At least I'll rack up some points on my Barnes & Noble credit card.  Yippee!  More books!

2. At nine years old, my car has been paid for for over five years now, and $465 is still a whole friggin' lot less than making a car payment every month.

3. Before it died, my car safely and uneventfully carried me to my sister's house and back...a 7-hour drive, round trip.

4. It could've died in any one of a dozen highly inconvenient places, including the busy shopping areas of Battle Creek, or the S-curves in Grand Rapids, or on the expressway with 80 mile-per-hour traffic whizzing by...but I made it back to my hometown, where the last ounce of my Saturn Vue's energy ran out literally a few yards from my auto repair shop of choice.

5. That's what I call REALLY awesome. :)

6. I'm proud to say I never freaked out once.  The choice was to either laugh or cry, and laughter was by far the better choice.

7. It makes for a good story.  Serendipity never ceases to amaze me.

8. I made it over 115,000 miles on the original battery, serpentine belt, and alternator.  With new internal organs, the ol' Celtmobile should be good for another hundred grand.

9. The guys at Auto Service Center in Ludington always take good care of me.  Dudes (and dudettes!) who fix cars, and whom you can TRUST, are such a blessing.

Who knew that car trouble could be a way to jump more wholeheartedly into life?  Just goes to show, when you allow yourself to open up to all the good stuff, even the most unlikely, inconvenient, expensive, and dreaded things can show you ways to count your blessings. :)

Jump, Day 2: Unexpected Beauty

Walked into the kitchen and was stunned by the marvelous sight of sunlight shining through an ordinary plastic cup.  I love it when beauty stops me in my tracks when I least expect it. :)

And the wonderful thing is, when something seemingly simple like this happens, and wakes you up and takes you outside your usual ponderation and preoccupation, you become alive to more of the same all day long.

When was the last time this happened to you?  Tell me about it in the comments!

Jump, Day 1: Urban Hiking

I've lived in the country most of my life, and out in the boonies it's a given that if you want to go somewhere, most likely you have to get in your car and drive there.  The few years of my life that I lived in towns or cities, I did a great deal of walking, because I thought it was so cool to be able to go to the shops or get a coffee or go to the movies without having to use a car.  It's the little things that bring happiness. :)

I've spent the past few days pet-sitting for my sister and bro-in-law in Battle Creek, Michigan...and today I woke up to gorgeous sunny skies without a cloud in sight, and perfect temps for hiking, so I decided fill up the day pack and put some miles on my Keens.  And instead of driving to a place out in the woods with perfect hiking trails, I left my car at home and checked out the "urban trails" (sidewalks!).  I walked to a cafe for lunch (spinach and feta quiche...YUM), to a park less than a mile away (down a street I'd never explored before), and to the library (you won't find one of those on your average forest hiking trail!).  I thoroughly enjoyed all the wonderful plant life in people's yards, the fascinating stone architecture of some of the neighborhood homes, and most of all, the chance to move my body and enjoy some nice stretches of time to think and dream.

Sometimes, just the slightest change in perspective can completely turn around your experience.  I've been visiting my sister in Battle Creek for thirteen years, and by walking instead of driving today, saw the old familiar place and some of my favorite haunts with new eyes.

Sometimes you don't have to jump very far. :)