My Take on Social Networking

I have to give you a readers digest's condensed version of my take on social networking.

When I first thought about signing up for a Facebook account, I was very hesitant. I couldn't see how it would benefit me. I thought it would do nothing but take up my time. And, if it was something that my kids are doing, is it really for me?

Well, I ended up taking the plunge and some really cool experiences have happened. It did take a while to get used to it, and it can take an awful lot of time, if you're willing to let it. When I first started out, it felt kind of weird to "chime in" on other people's conversations. However, you soon come to realize that's what it's all about!

So I jumped in with both feet and started getting to know people. I have met a lot of people in the drapery industry and have had many great conversations! Some of them I have met in person and some I haven't, but you feel like you know them all equally well. You also learn that there are some people that you seem to really "click" with.

Not too long ago, one of my Facebook friends invited me to visit her in Oklahoma over the 4th of July. I was astounded to even be invited! At this point it felt like "internet dating". :) She is definitely one of the friends that I "click" with and I am totally excited to not only meet her, but to spend a week getting to know her. I know that we'll have many stories to share and I think that we're both totally nuts! And believe me - that's a good thing.

So, as of this coming Tuesday, I'm headed out for Oklahoma and will be gone for a full week. I'm not taking my laptop, as I want to totally disconnect and enjoy my time. I know that I'm in the process of building a fantastic friendship that will last a very long time and I can't wait to get started!

I hope you all have a wonderful 4th and I'll be back afterwards with some great pictures to share

Happy Father's Day to my Dad

As we think of celebrating Father's Day this weekend, of course I think of my dad. I'm very blessed that he is still a part of my life. As I look back at what I know of his life, it has always revolved around music. Here is a picture of him playing a saxophone with a band back in about 1948 - before I was ever born.



After I was born, the things that I most remember about my dad, is that he was still always playing with a band. Him and my mom opened a music store when I was 3 years old, and I spent 8 years of my life in that store most every single day from open to close. He was also a disc jockey and worked at numerous radio stations over the years, even one owned by baseball Hall of Famer Bob Gibson! Every memory of my dad is music related in some way or another. Here is a more recent picture, taken about 1998, with his guitar, fondly dubbed Mickey Mouse. This is the instrument that I remember him playing the most, even though I don't think that there isn't any instrument that he cannot play.

This year, my dad turned 83 years old. Even now, he spends numerous days each month going to nursing homes and entertaining the senior citizens of Omaha. My boys both tease him that he is playing to people younger than himself, and in many cases he is.

I'm not sure how long my dad will be around to enjoy, but I do know that the music will live on. My son Levi is a bass player and my younger son Noah is a guitar player. I might be prejudiced, but they are both extremely talented. They both play in bands and love to entertain a crowd. We definitely know where they get it from.

Thanks Dad and Happy Father's Day!

I Love you!

Dumber than a...

OK, so if you know anything about me at all, you know that I hate to procrastinate! However, some things just take longer than expected. Here is the perfect example...

Over 20 years ago, I got a phone call from my Grandma telling me that they were going to tear down the old family farm that her and my Grandpa had built as their first home. She asked if there was anything from the house that I would like to have before it was demolished. I'm not sure why this even came to mind, but I told her that I wanted the door knob from the front door. I think that I was planning on using it for the front door of our first home. However, I wasn't even thinking about the fact that the door knob didn't have a lock, or that we would have to replace it if we ever sold the house, etc. So, the doorknob sat - for a long time.

On the other end of this story, I have a very artistic Uncle who has a number of antique doorknobs that has mounted on blocks of wood and hung for decorative purposes. So, that thought started to take root as another option.

Fast forward more than 20 years and I finally had my husband mount the door knob onto blocks of wood for me to use. Since the knob has 2 sides, he was able to use both sides and give me 2 "hooks" for different items. Here is a picture of one side of the knob after he mounted it on the wood block.


I had him hang one by my desk in the workroom so that I could hang my favorite tote bag. It has always just been laying on the floor and always seems to get in the way, so I really like having it hung up.

Then, I got to thinking about my necklaces that I really had no place for and figured that this would be another way to use the second part of the knob. You can see the screws that we used to hang this, in the picture, but when you see it in real life, they really do hide quite well. This side of the door knob actually has some paint on it from some point before I ever got it. In any other situation, I would probably want to clean that off, but considering that these are more memories of my Grandparents than anything else, I wanted to leave them exactly how I received them - paint and all.

Maybe the next project won't take 20 years to finish!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Luggage tags

With summer upon us, I'm thinking about the 2 trips that I have planned so far. I have noticed that when you're standing at the baggage claim at the airport, so many suitcases look alike. There are people who take a strip of fabric and tie it around their suitcase handle to make it easier to spot theirs. So, I took that idea and decided to make a tag to put on my suitcase that would be easy to spot. This is what I came up with:



On the left is the back side, and on the right is the face - just some scraps that are pieced together. It was fun to do and went pretty fast! I made one for myself and one for my best friend, while I was at it.
You have to admit, the colors have a tendance to jump out at you! I was thinking about attaching my business card to the back side, but having it in bown and green, just didn't look good - so it goes in the one that came with the suitcase originally. I have to amit though, I love the colors of my new tag up against the black!

I've got my first summer trip coming up at the end of the month, so I can check 1 item off my list. Next is to get a new swimsuit. Don't worry, I WON'T be blogging about that. :)