I had a bit of a scare yesterday. My husband calls to tell me that he is 'forced into retirement'. Reason being.........our local Ford dealer has CLOSED their doors down in the blink of an eye. No warning, nothing. Everyone was shocked to say the least. People were calling their loved ones, crying, stunned, and calling about town to see if any other jobs were available, complete chaos.

In my panic, I cried and worried, not just for my husband, but for all the people I know well who also have families to feed and who live from pay check to pay check. I soon sat down to see what outstanding bills we had and what we spend on our monthly bills. I know everyone should be prepared and living on a set budget, but we have kinda lived by 'if you want it or need it, then go ahead and buy it' kinda way. Don't get me wrong, we always pay our bills, don't have huge expenses on credit, and always keep a certain amount of money in our bank account at all times. We live within our means but have also been able to 'play' when we wanted.

So with this scare I go around and turn off the tv and lights and sit in silence pondering 'how is my husband going to handle this? will he have a heart attack like so many do when they retire? what will he do with himself?'. All of these questions are going through my mind and I don't have the answers, but I am very concerned for him. He is a fairly high strung, strong, healthy man at 68 who does'nt know what to do with himself if he cannot be busy. Oh, he can sit and watch his ballgames and such for hours on tv, like most every man I know can, but he has been on this daily schedule and routine for well over 40 years. This will not be an easy thing to adjust to. I know because I was forced to 'retire' 11 years ago at the age of 45 and emotions ran from anger, depression and worse for years. I did'nt know what to do with myself. Who was I? What did I want to do with the rest of my life? Why can't I find a job I could work at? So many unanswered questions which took years for me to find the answers. I don't want this for my husband. I want him to go into retirement because he's ready to.

We just don't realize how every day routines and what we have set for our life goals can be changed in that blink of an eye. Is this something one can really prepare for? I know some can. But do you really have a plan for how you will go about each and every day? For a man like my husband, who I can rarely get to take a vacation and relax, this would be devastating right now.

After speaking back and forth with my husband on the phone, he tells me he has already called the unemployment office and around town to other companies to way out his options. I can hear the anxiety in his voice and I know he is concerned way more than he will admit. He finally comes home around 7 pm to tell me that he will begin working at the local Chevy dealer starting next Tuesday. They want to hire him and one other guy from Ford to work strickly on Fords at their facility since there will no longer be a Ford dealership here in Klamath Falls.

For now the burden of worry has been lifted off our shoulders. But I know this day will once again, in the near future, come back upon us. I hope that we will both be a little more prepared for when that day comes. If I could only get this man to learn to vacation and find life outside of work.

My heart still aches for our friends and their familes we have met and known over the years that have worked beside my husband. I pray they will find a way to get through this and can hold on to whatever normalcy they can until they each find work again. I know my husband has already spoken with some of them. To let them know we are here to help in any way we can. A few of the men have found work just like my husband, but there are many that I know it will be difficult for them to find. Our town has been shrinking in business a lot in the last year.  So many places have closed down.
 For now all I can do is pray and hope that our economy will turn around soon. Before it is too late for some.  I can only leave you with this.

   The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.


Amen.



--Reinhold Niebuhr

I just received a picture of the infant whom I had crocheted the blanket and hat for. Thought I would share how adorable he looks in them. I was actually relieved to see that the hat fit. His name is Sylas and he was born on Jan 19 weighing in at 8 lbs 7.4 oz and was 19 1/2" long. I understand mom was a champ.


Sylas Dante Rodriquez


I hope soon I will be able to pop in on mom and Sylas and meet this little guy. Is'nt he just too cute?

I also thought it was time I showed you the pics of the antique goodies I had on hold for about a month at the Keepers Corner Antique store while I was waiting to get the craft studio completed.

Even after finishing the studio our weather was'nt cooperating for a bit but eventually I was able to bring our trailer into town and four men loaded the items up wishing they had not been in the store on the day I decided to pick them up. Needless to say, men don't realize that if they only took out the drawers, the items are not near as heavy to move.





Once I got them home it was a piece of cake to get them into the studio. Thank God my daughter is strong. Love you. :)




This piece I call my Hobbit cubboard. I just loved how it was shaped. Yeah, it was a bit heavy, especially since it is made of 3/4" plywood, but it was just the kind of piece I was looking for. Something different.
It is filled with things I have been making and I have put my smaller scraps of materials in the drawers.

The pink bear I had purchased also because I just knew she would fit in to my girlie theme. She even plays music. I should give her a name.....hmmm. What do you think?

The other piece I purchased is this desk I now use for my sewing table. I really thought it was a metal desk because it was also heavy with the drawers in it, but it looks to be oak that had been painted. I felt this would give me a little more room rather than the smaller childs desk that I had been using.

All in all, I think I made a couple of good purchases which helped complete the last of the large items to go into my studio. Now it's just material, materal, material, and everything crafty I can use.

I know there are still things to do in the room, but I am enjoying it anyway. I have started several different projects. That's kinda how I work sometimes. I just finished another apron, a couple of sewing animals and this crocheted market basket I just finished this morning.




market basket


I used up bits and pieces of some yarn I had laying around. I think it turned out okay. If I just keep practicing, I hope to some day crochet much nicer.

Now it's off to see what other things I can get into. With so much snow on the ground, I won't be doing anything outdoors any time soon.
Hope you all are having nicer weather.

Tootles.....................

 

This week has been Winter once again. We have had some pretty cold days and nights down in the teens with plenty of the good old snow to cover everything up again.  My girls have been stuck inside while its been snowing, watching mom lay around in bed or sit in her chair with neck and back pain. Not much fun for them.



Pearl out front, Jade chasing her



So it was time for them to get out of the house while it was'nt snowing or freezing. The sun was up and they had on their coats to keep them dry and warm for awhile. They just love to play in the snow, although Onyx prefers it away from the rowdy girls. They like to snow dunk her so she prefers the safety of the dog kennel. Plus she loves to just take off and pretend she cannot hear when one tries to get her to stop. I was not in the mood to have to go and run her down.



Onyx (Lil' Princess)



After about 20 minutes I called it enough as poor little Jade can wear herself out pretty quick trying to keep up with her bigger sister. I could let her keep going but she starts gasping for air from playing so hard, so fast. They really love playing in the snow and will roll all around in it. I was able to ride on my quad down to pick up the mail today so Pearl got to get her ride in too. She loves it.

I have not only been resting but doing a little crochet and some embroidery. Not out in the craft studio as I have'nt felt that grand to do too much. Just reading books and taking it easy. And this is enough typing for one day as the neck can't take any more.
I will have to catch up with you all on your blogs at another time. Until then, stay warm and have a great weekend.



Craft Studio pics

Well I know you have all been waiting patiently to see what I have accomplished in my studio. Here is where I am at so far.  Hubby and I got a couple of the heavy items moved in this weekend but I still have my antique items to pick up from the store. As you can see my studio is filling up quite nicely.


paper craft area

 Putting in all the bottles and boxes with beads in them I managed to spill some all over the floor. That was fun trying to get those tiny buggers up.



sewing area



Here I get to sit and look out over the valley and breathe in the fresh mountain air while I sew. I may need to put up a sheer to help block out the afternoon sun somewhat. It can become quite bright.

computer area


I have placed another sewing machine on this desk in case I need a back up or someone comes over and wants to sew with me. I placed my books up top which works for me. I know that really getting this place organized is going to take time. As I sit and begin crafting, I will know what needs to be where, as I go.

I still need to have a phone line put in and my computer brought out here. I'm finding more things to move in as I walk around the house.  I did'nt realize I had that much crafting supplies but I keep finding more, under the bed, in the closet, out in the tack room. Goodness you'd think I had enough but I'm always picking up a good bargain when I see one.

I did purchase a new Singer sewing machine, which was still in the box brand new, from a lady over in Medford. She said she had'nt even used it when she found another she liked even more. Good deal for me as I paid half what she paid for it. It stitches like a dream. It can do over 35 different stitches and I will need to do a lot of practice for sure. Heck, it took me 45 minutes to figure out what the picture was trying to show me on how to wind the bobbin. And that was winding on top like I usually do. This puppy can wind itself and thread the needle by itself. That's another lesson for another day.

I have never owned such a nice, more modern type machine. I have always bought inexpensive ones with no frills. They have always worked just fine for me and I hope I don't become too overwhelmed trying to figure out this one.

I am open to any suggestions you all may have on how I can better organize my room. I have looked at many different blogs and have seen some pretty nifty ideas out there. I hope I will be able to incorporate some of them into my room.