clothing dilema!

hey! not sure if i've mentioned this but 3 months ago ,i took salt out of my diet.that is to say the kind i used to sprinkle on my food! then recently i took bread out as well.now...anyone who knows me knows that i workout everyday ,we eat no processed food(sometimes we cheat but rare these days)i drink 8+ glasses of water every day,1 glass of red wine(more if i'm stressed) i take cayenne pepper ,garlic and onion in my food and i walk my doggies twice daily as well.i have not gained weight in years but not lost a lot either.i'm healthy and have good muscle and flexibility.in the last 3 weeks ,i've noticed a change in my body.yesterday,i was trying on clothes to wear to all of the musical nights to see my daughter perform.everything was loose and all my skirts are to the floor.every top i like, has paint on it somewhere,which is why i wear painters pants!now, i'm going to have to go shopping!not in time for these nights out ,which start tonite.oh well...it's a good thing i'm creative! emily told me this morning that all her friends thought i was cute! i was surprised but it kinda felt good! gotta go to find a way to create some tops!!!!!! here's a picture of em in one of her costumes!

talky tuesday

hello.... i have had quite the day! mostly i have been blabbing on the phone. i called my street boyfriend ken and i bet we talked for an hour and a half.we have coffee every week together and fill each other in on our careers.he is 91 years young and is the most energetic loving person.he's funny and loves a good giggle as do i! after we covered everything, i no sooner hung up and the phone rang again.it was a newspaper wanting to do an article about my books.good.....then the phone rang again! it was a school wanting to book us for a clown gig.good.....then it rang AGAIN!one of our favorite dogs is coming to stay for 3 days.good again.....

now onto a previous discussion i had with you(whoever you are) about this balloon situation.a store on the main street has started a balloon business even though there are already 3 of us doing this business.i have ballooned here for 14 years,the ida has ballooned for about 6 years,i think and melissa has probably clocked in 20 years.the ida lady talked to me about it last week.she said to me that when others look busy at what they do. eg.us balloon people...then those with a smaller imagination will want to copy.she said it's human nature.i say thank god it's not all humans!!!could you imagine! we'd all share the same brain! anyway, she told me to stand my ground and that the loyal people will not abandon us and that i /we should feel somewhat empowered that others want to follow us.she's right by golly!!!!in the last week or so..i've learned a lot about myself and realized that if i want to- i can do anything and that i have the power within me to get what i want.it's very liberating! i'm tired of the fight but in order to survive around the mindless,you have to put up a little ruckus!i guess the point of all this crap hurled at us is to teach us something.well , you know what ...in the long run who cares!oh! gotta go, my musical child just came home and i have to get details

holiday monday

well...saturday at the market in collingwood went very well! i sold some books and got asked to have an article about me on the internet and in a magazine.many pics were taken of me and my books and i was shameless.i plugged me for 4 solid hours.i think i made a stride.at least ....i'm hopefull.it looks like my goal may just work!!! i'm now getting very excited to see "beauty and the beast".em has worked so hard and long and is starting to get nervous and really excited about it.lots of our friends are going just to see her but they 'll be amazed by the whole production.gotta go ....

sorry,i couldn't figure out how to get my article to go sideways.i LOVE this picture and am going to put it in my new book,"mollie's birthday party"

working away

hi! i got through yesterday!! thanx Cat for your comment.i feel really good about my decisions.the book store hounded me all morning,desperately trying to explain why my books were in a dark cubby hole on the floor.how on earth can you explain it?it's called-her books don't matter!!!! anyway, i'm done with that.i've got 2 more pages on my port hope book and then the cover.i have to black it in and then send it off for everyone's approval.can't wait.this is the hardest part as an artist and once everyone is happy with their page ,i then start the colour process. i layer marker on marker.by the time i'm done each page has about 20 layers so that the tonal value is intense.someone asked me yesterday why i only use the right side of my book for pictures and the other side is blank.i learned long ago that my illustration are very detailed and strong.when doing book readings ,i noticed that all the kids couldn't stay focused on the page i was reading . they kept looking at the page ahead so i had a mock up made with only one side with my art.i found my readings much easier and the kids were able to focus on the story.also ,some kids who like to draw can do so on the other side.i love that!

i'm also going to paint the bottoms of my picnic tables.getting ready for my b&b business if it comes!i'm also going to do the trim on my house but maybe not till the weekend. gotta go....my doggy friend has arrived! happy day

a new day!

well, here we are on a beautiful sunny wednesday.my anger is done and today is the day i move forward.i live in creemore,i love my house but i will not do business with anyone here anymore.i'm going to concentrate on the places who appreciate my work and i'm not going to try to get the stores here try to understand and respect my work.obviously,what i do is not on the level they are usedto and that's ok.i got the message loud and clear!onwards and upwards.i haven't told anyone what happened except my daughter and she hugged me and told me how proud of me she was.i grew a lot yesterday and that's what life is about isn't it? i've lots to do.em and i talked last night and we have decided to move.2 years is what we have to get the house ready for sale.i'm going to make the bed& breakfast work despite the rumours in MY town that i closed.every dollar possible will go towards renovations so i have lots of planning and execution.anyway,off to work on my port hope book.

more pissed than before!!!!

WOW if you can beleive it -i'm even MORE pissed off than yesterday! yes, the toy store is cutting into my business----THAT I NEED TO SURVIVE!!!!! but TODAY i went to the book store to give them my article to go with my NEW book and when i got in there the woman working in there and i ......couldn't find them! at first ,i was heart broken and then i thought maybe they hadn't put them out yet.which begged the question .....why not? i tokk my article back and all my posters and was leaving the store when the woman said ...are these it? on the side of a wall there were little cubby holes...and guess where my books were? in the very bottom cubbyhole with just their spines showing.i was shocked! clearly a huge lack of respect regarding my work!! i then became furious,all the NEW books from authors we don't know, were clearly displayed on the counter proudly.but mine....lost in a cubby! i walked the dogs home and worked out what she had paid for all my books that were in this cubby and i wrote a cheque for the amount(not that i can afford this!!!!!) and i went back to the store and took my books and gave her the cheque.she apologized for her bosses and i apologized for my upsetedness and left with my books.i know in my heart, i did the right thing and even though i'm hurt, there comes a time when a person(ME)has to take a stand and show how i feel instead of running away .ENOUGH. obviously i don't demand respect and therefore i'm not getting it.time for a change both inside of me and who i choose to deal with.yesterday was the toy store taking part of my livelyhood and today it's a store clearly thinking i'm not worth much! well.....i'm done.creemore is not for me.that's a for sure and instead of feeling safe inside my walls ,i'm going to begin the ball rolling to leave this place.I DON'T BELONG HERE.now, i must work on finding the place i do.

hoppin'mad!

OK.......i'm so pissed off !!! i just came from the main street and saw a big bouquet of balloons coming out of the toy store.not only are they now taking business from the ida but they're taking business from me! about 35% of my business is balloons.i can't compete with a store on the main street.to top it off,they don't like me and the feelings are incredibly mutual.why can't these kind of people find their own niche in life instead of taking it from others.it's not like there's enough sales for everyone to do great.i've known for some time that they were going to do this.i guess i just hoped they'd have a bit of class and not do such a classless act! oh well! i should be used to this .these sorts of things have been happening to me since i moved here.i thought i had learned how to roll with the punches but apparently not.i feel wounded which is exactly how i'm supposed to feel. i'm soooooo tired of this kind of behavior.i would never cut in on someone else's business.it's just not right! anyway,i feel better now.i'm going to take a big breath and go on with my day.

my weekend

hi-dee-hoe!! it's monday! i had the busiest weekend.i worked outside in the garden.i confess--i paid a young boy to pull out the weeds and last years growth.i worked on my book .almost ready to black in.yeah!! i took mollie for a big walk and then we received our two overnight guests.they are 4 and 5 years old.we had pizza,coloured-they made their daddy a birthday card!we watched movies and then went to bed.once in the room ,the kids came alive again.on the wall is a poster of em's book that she wrote.soooo i had to read them the book.i got up to get my reading glasses when the little guy yells.don't-you are much prettier without them! i was shocked.he usually insults me but clearly the tides have changed.in the am.i of course made breakfast.he wanted bacon and eggs and toast.she wanted pancakes.as we sat down to eat ,he explained he didn't like my toast so now he can't eat the egg either because he can't dunk his toast.she happily ate her pancakes.when we went for our walk ,he insisted that we go to foodland so he could show me what he likes to eat for next time! so we did.by 9:30, i had collected another 2 children! i don't know how that happens to me but....anyway, i made popcorn and off to the park we all went.it was really great.as i woke this morning ,i looked on the counter and there were my bouquets of dandelions picked with love just for ME! and the pictures were ready to be hung on my fridge.it really is a nice life! oh yeah! em came home too! i missed her an awful lot.order is restored once again.......

our brewery

hi there! today is saturday.i had to get up and do em's job of delivering saturday balloons to our customers.i ran into all sorts of people and yakked a bit.i ran into brian at the hardware store and he was going out to get a paper.i forgot that an article about me was in the friday enterprise bulletin so i walked with him to get it.he told me creemore was in the toronto star regarding the brewery expansion.there is a group of business people who are against it! so now toronto gets to hear about our silliness too! if the brewery were to pick up and move elsewhere, where do these business people think their going to get their business.the brewery brings the majority of our tourists to this town.of late it has been quiet and business for the average has not been great and i wonder what these disgruntled will do if there was no brewery.with the expansion will be 100 or more new jobs,therefore more people to shop and eat!!!! i am the first to say we are more than just the brewery but even i know they are VERY important to our town.anyway.......i got my paper and there we are! not only was it a great article but the picture was fabulous! i love it!!! i'm going to use it in my new book .when my scanner is up i'll post it.i'm very proud of myself today.i think i'll get it copied and get the hardware store to put it up so the town's folk can see it.so...off i go! i've got picnic tables to paint and get ready for my overnite guests.2 kiddies under 7! ta-ta!

humpday again!

it's so fast how the days go by.it seems like yesterday it was last wednesday!!! i had a full day today.i walked the dogs twice,groomed them all and we played ball together.that was fun!mollie looks beautiful.i cleaned the basemant landing ,tidied the main floor and then worked on my book for awhile.before i knew it ,it was wine time!em is rehearsing tonite and everynight until opening day, so i will be dining alone for 3 weeks.well, not completely alone ,mollie is with me and bear is here until friday. i will finish the drawings by friday for the port hope book and then i have to black it in by next friday.at least, that's my plan.i have had no word from any publishers.i don't know why. don't they know i'd be a great addition? sheesh! it's driving me nuts. just call me already!! i'm waiting for my big break.i made out another list of publishers so i'll send off more samples friday. nighty-night!

a work day!

hey! where did my writing go from yesterday? sheesh! i talked about my day at m&m meats event on saturday.it was my first clown act without my daughter.not as much fun but i got through it.it was an awful day weather wise.very cold and the wind was freezing!!!!!!!!i met lots of new people who had heard of me and brought their kids to meet an author/artist/clown.it always freaks me out when people say these things.i don't think of myself this way.i'm just trying to make a living doing what i love! no word from the publishers yet! i don't know if that's a good thing or not.why aren't they jumping at the chance to own me? why does everything have to be so hard.i'm talented ....i'm not bragging. it's a fact. i have heard this my whole life and yet getting to the top has proved to be difficult.how do others do it? if i had pots of money, i could promote myself but sadly this is not the case. i have a teenage daughter , a big house and lots of bills! i'm going to wpork on my port hope book today.it's almost done draw wise so that's my day.also i'm going to check out new publishers to send my work to. happy day!!!

brrrrrrrr

hey! it's way cold outside! yuck! i even started a fire today so i could be warm wilst working.it's very nice but it's so nice i could curl up and snooze.i'm on page 15 of my port hope book.4 more to go and then the cover.i haven't heard from a publisher yet and i say "WHY NOT!!!!!!" i'm good at what i do .where are the smart publishers out there? i'm not any closer to my goal.yesterday this lady called me.she had bid on some of my books at a silent auction somewhere and called to order more.she told me my illustrations were beautiful and that she was captivated by them.boy, does that make a person feel good!anyway it's 3:45 and time to go orchestrate dinnertime.happy friday!

lazy daze

today was not a productive day for me.i was up waaaay tooooo early this morning.i have allergies.yes, i know one of the millions.i haven't had any symptoms for months-no colds for over a year so when i started to act up i would take an allergy pill at my worst.i know i need to take it for a few days running so it can work! i don't like taking stuff but i should've! oh well....i got a few more pages done, activated my new visa card-not that i'm gonna use it! and i cuddled findlay cause he's feeling very insecure.he's the doggy i take care of during the week.he's got issues.he's afraid of loud noises especially lawn mowers! now that it's spring, we are in trouble.he seems so terrified.i only took him out once today, for our second walk ,i couldn't get him out the door so he climbed on the couch with me instead.it was nice for me! i wish i was a true doggy whisperer and i could take his troubles away.....well...gotta go, i have to get dinner ready for my dolly.

humpday

hi dee hoe! it's humpday and i've just gotten my work out and am ready to dive in!yesterday everything came to a halt when my girlfriend arrived with her precious baby.i got to take care of him for 3 hours.he came really fussy and left fast asleep! oh! i still have the touch.it felt good to hold that little bundle and forget about my dilema's.i didn't get to my garden so...i'm going to have to hire that out.i have a clown gig this weekend and it's the first time i will do it without my daughter!yikkes! she's at a dress rehearsal and i'm going to be silly all by myself! i have to design a craft today too!that will be my first job.going through what i do have and seeing what i can use to do what? hmmmm.

a little worried!

well, today looks like a very nice day.i'm going to work on my book.for awhile i will do some gardening.yuck!we have new neighbours again...and have discovered that they own not 1 but 2 pit bulls! imagine my happiness.he says one is just stupid but the other one is not good around other dogs! i have 2or 3 dogs not mine at any given time! i am NOT amused.pit bulls!!!!!!!!!!!!
all my other neighbours are worried as well.in fairness to the newbies- he is building them a fence to keep them inside but dogs are smart and getting loose is a challenge.so..our neighbours have been drug dealers,one nice family in between.last week we had drug induced robbers and now we have pit bulls.will it ever be easy? i'm growing very tired of this strife.you can't pick the people around you and since my home is my business it makes me unhappy but i will not dwell....i've work to do.i'm on page 9 of my port hope book so i will have it all in pencil by the weekend.i'll get them to approve the pics and then it's gunghoe from there!!oh, i may go for coffee with ken.he's one of my very favorite people.he's 91 and an inspiration.i love spending time with him.he's full of good energy and always has lots to say.we laugh a lot! so what ever you are doing enjoy!

bedraggled!

hi! it's been a few days! i've been running around like a crazy woman! last week ,i was getting ready for a gig on saturday.HOLY TOLEDO!!!! what a day! at 12 noon 60 kiddies plus their parents landed on us for the whole day! till 6 oclock.we got home at 9.30 and we were event shocked! we threw our selves on the couch and were aware we were watching a movie only barely and then we slid off to bed.i made some connections though.lots of the moms were interested in my art camp and my books so i handed out lots of cards.we'll see.....i sent my book off last week to a few publishers so we'll see if any one thinks i'm worth taking on.as i've said that's my goal for this year.i started in canada but if i have to go outside - i will. i'm a train with NO stops! today,i'm working on my port hope book and maybe- i said maybe tackle the garden.i hate doing the garden but it has to look nice.beautiful flowers are growing around last years leftovers!so...........happy day