Tag: myself

Best Laid Plans

Son is forced to wear flower hat at art show

Well, as life would have it, things between my last post and this one didn’t go as I had thought it would. UGH.

Last fall I got through show season and that was great. Lots of fabulous customers, some laughs, a lot of serious conversation, and many more ideas for the future. Then we had an election (we could talk about that for a month)and we headed into the holidays. We’re a small family so we had lots of time together. As is tradition we cook together for each holiday and choose a different category each time. Thanksgiving was Indian cuisine and Christmas was Asian. Such fun to create things we’ve not done before…and delicious!

Then right after the first of the year everyone got sick. My son came down with the flu. My husband came down with the flu…and my daughter came down with the flu. And just when everyone was starting to feel like they kicked it…it all happened again! My son and husband both got hit by the flu twice! They tried very hard to give it to me but other than a couple days of feeling lazy and tired I didn’t get sick.

The worst part of all of this was our lovely 16 year old dog was getting more and more feeble. She had lost the use of her hips so couldn’t get up and down by herself. That meant that for many months we were up at all hours of the night helping her get outside to go potty or eat or just get some exercise. We tried getting her into a little wagon for some trips around our block but she hated it. As February approached she was more and more miserable. She began howling in the middle of the night, every night.

We had a wonderful vet that came to the house only to tell us she had lymphoma and wouldn’t be getting any better. With lots of discussions and heartache we made the decision to help her over the rainbow bridge. So during the second week of February our lovely vet came to the house and we said goodbye to Sunny. To say it was hard would be an understatement. Losing a furry family member is the worst.

So all of this to say that I messed up my application to Irvine this June. First time in something like 18 years. In the midst of my emotional distress I got it in my head that the deadline was April 1st (after as long as its been you’d think I’d have the deadline memorized) but what it really was was March 1. And I totally missed it.

Now it’s July and here I am in my studio surrounded in my art. There are literally 100’s of pairs of earrings, necklaces, and bracelets in this studio. I was contemplating applying to a couple other shows but I’m on the fence about it and feeling like I need some mental break time to refocus and reinvigorate my creativity. Everyone needs some down time right?

Stay tuned while I figure out what’s next…

Thoughtfully Yours,
Susan

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Website Work

the real me as a clown

Working, working, working…why is computer work so time consuming? Blah…

I’m attempting to make this website prettier and easier to get around. New pages for all my jewelry and creations. New pages for my portfolio and all my cute clients. Updated event page so you know where to find me. Please take a tour around and see what you think.

More to come…

Life is short. Believe in fun.

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Vegan in a House of Carnivores

It’s been about 18 months since I made the plunge into a vegan diet. Not because I have an emotional attachment to animals, although I do on some level, and not necessarily to help save the planet, which I do think needs all the help it can get, but I did it for health reasons (menopause is no joke) and how it made me feel. That’s not to say, even though they all knew the reasons, that my family thought I’d lost it. (you can see how excited Paul is)

Thrilled!

All they could see was a life without bacon or hamburgers, no more steak on the grill or sausage sandwiches, and oh geez…no eggs! When I tried a two week trial vegan diet out for size on the entire family it lasted about ten days before my son came to me in tears. “Mom…(sniff, sniff) do you remember (tears, sniff, sniff) when you used to cook with meat?” True. True story.

What! No bacon??!
What! No bacon??!

 

So you have to come to grips with the fact that you live with a bunch of carnivores. How does that work if you don’t eat animal products and you do all the cooking, grocery shopping, etc.? One could say very carefully…but really it just takes creativity and extra hands when you have to deal with things you don’t want to deal with. Like cut up chicken for the gang and not touch it…you designate one of the carnivores.

Martinis are vegan!
Martinis are vegan!

 

Meals are planned (most of the time) so everyone can have what they like and I am not driven absolutely mad by cooking like a crazy diner chef. Things like mexican style spicy hamburger alongside a pan of black beans made with the same ingredients minus the obvious. Or Jerk chicken…again substituting beans for the bird stuff but using all the same ingredients in both.

Tyler eats vegan
Even Tyler likes vegan.

 

There are times that the whole family eats vegan. Do they always know it? No. Too many things are pretty good replicas so there’s no need to spill the beans (so to speak). Once I committed to this I found some great resources with recipes that work for all of us.

Samosa Style Potatoes
Samosa Style Potatoes

 

Let me share some. Maybe you’ll give it a try…

My absolute favorite and go to recipes are from  Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Another go to book, especially if time is tight, is from the Minimalist Baker (they also have a fabulous blog)

Minimalist Baker’s Everyday Cooking: 101 Entirely Plant-based, Mostly Gluten-Free, Easy and Delicious Recipes

Again great, easy recipes that pride themselves on being able to be done quick!

Third, but equally as good, is Vegan Richa’s Indian Kitchen: Traditional and Creative Recipes for the Home Cook

Now we happen to LOVE Indian cuisine and this gal translates all your favorites into vegan yumminess. I have this on my IPad because I cook from it so often.

There are many more that I’ve come to love and rely on. Next time let’s talk about baking. Sweet stuff…everybody’s favorite!

If you try any of these let me know what you think!

 

Until next time,

Susan

 

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Decisions, decisions, decisions…

One of the things that keeps me from this blog is always some kind of decision. What should I talk about? What will anyone be interested in reading? How much should I show? Maybe a peek, a tutorial, a personal look at something? This goes on for long enough, and enough decisions are made on everything else, that I never get into the blog at all. Anybody else have this problem?
Addiemenose1
Then there’s always the “to do” list. Finish designing the stuff on my desk, prep for this weekend’s show, run errands, get change at the bank, order supplies, fill out your calendar, re-arrange your desk, mail out your orders, check social media, schedule social media, delete 900 e-mails, try to put out a newsletter, do tomorrow’s to do list, etc, etc, etc…
Then there’s the family “to do” list…collect all the laundry, call the Doctor, cook breakfast, go grocery shopping, wash the dog, advise child #1, clean the bathroom, wash the car, take a shower, drop the kids at sports, call your Mother, sweep the floor, wash the other dog…ad nauseum..

Gigantic bears at Costco
Gigantic bears at Costco

…you get the picture. More decisions. On everything.
But do you see “write on the blog” anywhere? Blog doesn’t show up, does it?
Not first…or in the middle…or at the end. Too many decisions and I can’t decide where to put it.
Sooo….time to make one more decision…what the hell am I finally doing here? Well…I guess I decided it was long enough. That I needed to try this again.
For how long and how often? No clue and I don’t know.
What will I bring my self to write about? Well…art…creativity…daily life stuff…basically I will be winging it and post things that tickle my fancy dependent on what day it is.
So about those decisions…I think I just made one.
To quit.
Until next time,
Susan
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Eleven Months

Geez…eleven months??!

…has it really been that long? Eleven months? Yikes…

A lot of folks must be wondering what the heck happened to her? I also took a three month hiatus from social media…so some are shaking their heads.

Who are you?

Well…honestly, even though my intention to get in her to write are good ones, I often feel like I have nothing of any substance to say. Or some topic peeks my interest and time or family or something keeps from writing even two words.

Eleven months!? I can’t believe it…but I do.

Let me do a little refresher…yes I am still here!!

My goofy son
My goofy son

Yes my son is amazed its been eleven months also. Family time has been priority around here and the summer was spent all four of us. Lunch and dinner together just about everyday.

I’m still working up some crazy art and wearable stuff. Doing a lot of sewing but will have jewelry this fall.

CoExist Bracelet

So I’m not truly MIA…just taking a break…for eleven months. LOL.

Did you miss me?

Until next time,

Susan

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