New Moon Musings for a Brand New Year

Dear Hearts,

I feel ashamed that I have fallen so far behind on my blogging duties. BLONDIE... the water slide sounded awesome!!! How much fun... I wanna do that! Candygirl, I am having right now at this moment a delish strawberry cupcake with light. You were so sweet to do all of that for me and I appreciate it. Blondie, I can't speak for you cuz we havent seen you but I have noticed something about Canygirl and myself... we are changing... and I know that life is a constant state of evolution anyway, but this is a " more comfortable in our skins and our place in the world" changes. I have noticed that in our red headed girl and know it to be true of myself.

The Hotel is a pain in the ass! Good thing I have new clients. Hopefully one that will lead me to the UK this Summer, where I will be staying a while.

I am glad everyone's babies are doing good. I am so proud of my boy for hanging on and learning and finding his way. He is truly and kind kind soul and that makes me happier than anything in the world.

Blondie J's wedding dress is beautiful. Where has the time gone? Although I like getting older. I really do. You learn so much of what does and doesnt work and what YOU'RE worth, what you can put up with and what you WILL NOT put up with.

NOW... my Mr Big....

I am not saying who he is, he just popped back in my life and when he did I felt like a physical punch to the gut. I have NEVER ever responded to a man this way... butterflies are an understatement. He and I have been thru a lot the past 5 years.
And we will see. I do know this... I would follow this man anywhere... anywhere just to be by his side.
Maybe ya'll can figure it out be he is very hush hush... he is on my FB though. Blondie so proud of you for working out!! We all need a little healthy competition to spur us on. I would love to have a photographer take some

pictures of the 3 of us... the blonde, the red head and the brunette... we can all dress in black and white. Wouldnt that be fun and a great keepsake for this very special time in our lives.

Well my girls, we will see what this year brings for all of us. I hope we continue to explore and dream and dance neath the new moon... we are a long way from old... let's grab it while we can

Much Love,

Gypsy

Good Sunday morning, girlies! I hope this finds you both doing well and enjoying life. Here, working on my third cup of coffee and surrounded by a very quiet house and listening to Sunday morning jazz....I love Sunday's.
MB is gone to her Dad's and Ringo is at work and I just kicked that crazy cat "Maggie" out of the house! She was asleep in one of her hiding places ( under the computer desk up on a shelf that I keep paper on and also prop my feet ). My foot landed on her head and hissed at me and clawed my foot and nearly made me tee tee on myself! She is driving me crazy! Sneaking in...lifting her furry little leg to tinkle on my stuff only!!!!...and hiding in Ringo's base drum! She stayed in there all day yesterday....It's amazing that she don't tinkle on any of his music equipment, but has ruined two sets of curtains and tons of magazines of mine! Ugh!!! Stupid cat! And then, we have two more added to the mix..."Pajama Jeans" whom MB rescued from the mouth of hogs she claims were going to eat her. I'm not quite sure I believe that, but she is definitely a character and then there's "Hootie"...rescued by Ringo from work with the claim that Chef Tom was going to have her killed...I am sure the neighbors refer to us as " those cat people"...and I am still holding out for my furry little dream dog that I will probably not be able to get until I am old and senile...lol.
My hubbie got me a Keurig for Christmas and I must admit on days like this it is a little pain in the butt! I think I will have to drag "Fred" ( the old red coffee maker) back out of the closet so I can make a big pot at one time! LOL The new one is so convenient ( although the little cups are sooooo expensive - lucky it has a little filter you can put in it to hold your own Folgers LOL - it is neat to brew one cup at a time quickly )
I am thinking that I won't do housework today...lol...and will instead go pick a bouquet of camellias to take to Mama later this afternoon. I have the most beautiful ones outside my kitchen window. Huge dark pink and white candy stripe blooms. I love camellias! It makes the bleakness of this time of year a little better! Those and the yellow Carolina jasmine and of course the big purple Japanese magnolias. I regret not planting daffodil bulbs in November like I said I would. I was so looking forward to having those this spring. It seems like my " Maw Maw Byrd" is coming out today. I love flowers!!! Especially the old fashioned ones. I wish I had the green thumb of her and Mama. And of course I wish I had more time for my yard! Every Spring we have the overwhelming chore of cleaning up the yard from the neglect of September - March. I'm hoping to have funds and the time to do some projects we have been wanting to do in the yard this Spring and maybe even plant a vegetable garden... Sigh.....
Blondie! It is so good to see you here!!!! I loved reading your blog about the water slide...you know, I have never had the courage to do that! I envy you and C doing that together! What fun!!! I laugh just picturing Ringo and I doing that! LOL
I'm so glad that you have made some great friends there. The couple you described sounded like such sweet people. It makes me feel so much better about you being so far away from home and being surrounded by good friends and family. I can't wait for you to come home! We have so much catching up to do!
Some of what has been happening lately here.....
Notice the cupcakes above? Thought you both would like this...The peacock theme is definitely in... LOL...This was a creation of yesterday....It made me realize that I will be 45 soon and fast approaching the big 50...Yikes!!!!! Fun project - big realization! Geez! I was feeling depressed as I sprinkled the glitter and then realized that you should never be depressed while sprinkling glitter! LOL...So,I smiled, sprinkled more glitter and also realized that I can't do a damn thing about turning 45 much less 50 so I may as well enjoy it and be thankful for it. It also got me to thinking as I placed the little black heels and fabulous black purse on it, that I am in need of a new purse and shoes...so, I am going to go shopping this afternoon after Mama's and get a new purse and maybe that will make me feel better...lol....My thoughts as I bake and decorate go from one extreme to another...LOL...I think I am spending too much time alone at the shop. I also think I am spending too much time working! It has been a very rough 3 months. It has slowed down enough lately for me to get a break here and there. It also has been tax time and after having another major realization that I broke even for the second year in a row, it may be time to let it go. I am going to give it another year, make some adjustments and go from there. We have definitely had the business, sometimes more than we could handle, but not enough capital to buy products in bulk wholesale. Retail killed our profits this year. The whole experience of being a business owner has taught me so much about myself and helped me to grow as a person, but it has just been so hard. Financially, emotionally and physically. 2012 will be the " we shall see" year.
We have been planning my sweet "J" girl's wedding. September 8 is the date. Plans are coming along nicely. We have the venue ( a beach house ) the dress ( a beautiful Audrey Hepburn- type dress in ivory silk with lots of rouching and a sweetheart neckline...it was so pretty on her! ) the bridesmaids dresses ( similar to the wedding dress but tea length and either turquoise or brown)- the flowers ( white hydraengas and shells ) - the men's attire ( khaki's and turquoise shirts ) the catering ( where my Ringo works...LOL...she wouldn't let me do it ) - the cake ( she will let me do that....LOL...vanilla butter cream with lots of shells and hydraengas)- the invitations ( beautiful natural-look rough canvas paper with shells and red sea fans and coral in brown, turquoise, and red ) -and chairs, tables, sashes and centerpieces taken care of! It's coming together!!! The only thing she is having trouble finding is just the right veil. She wants a vintage-look ivory birdcage veil with either silk florals or a vintage brooch fascinator. I have found some beautiful ones on Etsy. Let me know if you have any ideas for this.
Well, guess I should scoot for now and go pick those camellias....I love you both dearly! Gypsy, I will see you this week for coffee, scraps and light....and Blondie...I so wish you could be here for those.
Have a wonderful day!
Candy Girl

Red Dog's, Water Slides & Home

Hey My Girlies,

Well, I see that some two little misses are behind in their blogging, time for a reminder... And can I just say, it's nice to be good girl for a change! :-) I'm usually the one behind!

Life here in old Oz is good, hot as all get out, but good. We just got home from a get-together with friends in our Hall, a farewell to a really sweet couple we've know since I arrived down under. You would both love them, especially her, she's Italian and reminds me so much of a combination of all my sweet sisters. I see a little of each of them in her and it's been really nice getting to know her. They're moving just outside of Perth so, still within visiting distance. :-) They're like us, the kid's are grown and on their own and they wanted a change, something new and different, a bit of a fresh start. I can totally understand that, sometimes you have to live outside your comfort zone and take a step into the unknown, but you know what I find so comforting... All roads lead to home. I think that you can be so busy looking for home in a new town with new people that you can forget it's those same familiar faces and sleepy streets that feed your soul and inspire you to greater things. We were watching this great movie last night called "Red Dog" it's a true Aussie story that takes place in a little mining town in Northern part of Western Australia, Dampier. It's based on a book by the same name by Louis de Bernières. Try to find it on Netflix if you can, it's really worth seeing, but it's what made me think about home, community, and that spirit of family and good friends that so hard to find in this old world.

You two should have been here a couple of weeks ago. I had my first experience on a big water slide. They have one at the Jetty and had left it on overnight so, on New Year's eve me and CC finished our work and spent the evening acting like two little kids! We had the best time! It's this massive indoor slide that's inclosed, like a big tube, and the water rushes really fast... I screamed every time! It was so much fun! I can't believe I haven't done that before, well one thing I can mark off of my bucket-list. :-)

We're in the middle of planning our trip home, went to see the travel agent last week and seeing what prices they can give us. CC thinks we should wait until the first of February, they're having a big travel expo in the City and you can always get some really good deals so, hopefully in the next few weeks we'll have our dates to come home locked in! I'm counting down the days!

Guess I'd better run for now, gotta go to work, but I'll write again soon. Hope this finds you both and all of family doing well. Love and miss you so much!

Hugs & Kisses,

TOWFL