My 12-Hour Coma

After being away from home for most of the last 3 weeks -- I FINALLY GOT BACK TO IOWA yesterday. However -- it required an 11 hour overnight flight -- and the minute my plane landed, I went into a coma...

BUT I AM SOO DELIGHTED to be back in my Iowa Lazy-boy, hooked up to my own laptop and my own comfortable wireless, with access to ALL MY GREAT PICTURES. I have sooo much to blog about, I almost can't stand it...

Going back 3 weeks -- were you in Beaver Dam for Sewing Weekend? WHAT A GREAT TIME WE HAD!! I wasn't teaching this year -- so I was able to go up for a few days, hang out, take some fun pictures, do a few videos, eat at Benvenuto's, shop the warehouse -- well, YOU GET THE IDEA. I picked Mary up at the Madison airport -- and we went to Nancy's office for a cup 'o tea...

NOW THAT I AM WAKING UP FROM MY 12-hour coma...I remember what I love about my job! Here I am with Deanna -- working in the Zieman productions conference room...

Then -- over to the warehouse for some shopping...

In Mary's motel room, Nancy's Notions left their famous "Teacher Appreciation Goody Bags"....FULL OF DELICIOUS treats...truffles, special bottles of water, etc. A very classy operation all the way around.

In a future post, I have pictures of the Thursday night special event -- the "Four Bitchin' Babes" -- which was AWESOME...

You know how much I enjoy a little road trip. On my way home, I was driving through Belmont, Wisconsin. My cousin Jackie and I once met there for an estate auction. Among other things --I bought a set of summer bedding that was photographed for my "Dress Your Dream Bed" book. I called it "the Belmont set".

On that beautiful summer afternoon, ten years ago -- we were both dealing with some big changes. My parents had both died, our boys were growing up. Our centers were shifting.

On that day -- I remember simply being in the moment. The auction was unexpected -- and we were delighted to dig for vintage linen treasures, then strategically bid against some hostile strangers...lol. We took a break to eat and play Perquacky in the city park. We just talked and laughed.

I thought it would be fun to swing by, after all these years, to revisit that house. I drove into town to take a picture of that old dilapidated farmhouse. Here's how it looks today, Jackie...

Amazing, eh? Ten years ago, the yard was full of dumpsters and hay-racks loaded with mountains of random stuff. The yard was overgrown, the roof was sagging and the paint was peeling...

You're right, babe. Nothing stays the same. It was true on that day ten years ago and it's still true today. The key to happiness is telling yourself, over and over again, that change is good...

Well, maybe it's not always "good". But IT IS ALWAYS ALWAYS inevitable.