HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I thought I would count my blessings for the past year and - I can't - there were too many. Family - how important it is to us and how much we love spending time with the Jacklins and the Martinez Family - Blessing from a wonderful wedding to old and new grandchildren and great grandchildren and grand nephews - the St. Mary Cathedral All Class Reunion - where we had a chance to see so many old friends (no that's not the way to say it - where we had a chance to see so many friends from the past!) to Pat's parents 65th wedding anniversary - can you imagine 65 years? That will be 2037 for us - WOW and I think counting down to retirement is hard!

Family - so many people coming together for Caroline and Jesse's wedding - lots of cousins - spending time with Jim and Cindy - going to dinners - sitting in front of the fireplace on Christmas Eve Day - reading the Noble blogs - loving every minute of it.

Going to St. Peter and Paul Church - no we haven't joined yet - Pat has in his own way he volunteers for things like choir and delivering gifts - but he is very patient with me not ready to join - I'm still sitting in the pew wondering why I still have a problem with this but at least I'm content at the moment.

Traveling all over the place with Patrick - we have done so much this year - several trips to Traverse City, Grand Haven, Tawas, Grand Marais, Manistique, with lots of camping trips too. Then the best - off to Boston to see Elise and Roger and Rhode Island for the Chihully Exhibit and then to New Jersey to see Kim and Fred and the girls - what fun we have had.

We've been to hundreds of antique stores and garage sales and Goodwills and St. Vincent de Pauls and Salvation Armies - we love traveling to new places and finding treasures to resell. Finding a good way to sell the knives with the dishes for a combination of First and Second Serving - Pat making beautiful backdrop displays for the shows for me.

And most important of all - Friends - so many good friends in our lives - a party reuniting many of us at Olympia and Vince's - Friends who stepped in and made the wedding a wonderful time - camping trips with friends, dinner with friends, spending time in great conversations and lots of laughs and even some tears - we are certainly blessed with good, good friends. These people we choose to have in our lives and we appreciate all that they do for us and with us.

Happy New Year everyone!

65th Wedding Anniversary

Pat's parents are celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary today - it is an amazing number of years! When I think about the commitment and love it takes to stay together through thick and thin - I say all the time that Patrick is my true love - he certainly grew up in a home where there was an abundance of love and a wonderful role model marriage to learn from and bring to our marriage. I am so thankful to his parents for the love that Pat shows me every day.

We are so blessed to be able to celebrate this day with them. We'll be seeing many people that we haven't seen in years - including Pat's brother Bernie and his wife Bonnie. What a good day this will be.

I also think about Caroline and Joanna who have married wonderful men that remind me of Grandpa. He and Pat certainly helped form what kind of man they would choose to marry - our family is filled with many blessings.

ANNOUNCING - FIRST SERVING NOW AVAILABLE AT THE PATISSERIE

When I was at the Horizon Keepsake Show - someone we know from St. Mary's and Mt. Carmel days came over to the table and said that he really liked the dishes and knives and thought that maybe they could sell them at his business. But that he would want to discuss it with his business partner, his sister before making the decision.

OH MY GOODNESS - Click the link:

THE PATISSERIE - the most exclusive wonderful bakery in the whole area. You just walk into Heaven when you walk in the Patisserie. Not only does the aroma surround you but your mouth begins to water just thinking of their fabulous cakes and cookies.

So Saturday Pat and I went shopping, shopping, shopping and bought large plates and large knives and I started wrapping. I made a nice presentation in a metal basket of six plates - set a price no one can refuse - $12 - and called the bakery. I made an appointment for Wednesday - AND - I am so pleased so say they will be selling the First Serving dishes and knives to customers that are purchasing cakes.

I am so happy to add them to the list of great places that carry First and Second Serving:

The Patisserie in Saginaw
Northwood Gallery in Downtown Midland
Andersen Enrichment Center in Saginaw
Fabulous Finds in Tawas
Earthly Possessions in Grand Haven

Good Season

We sold lots of hostess gifts at the shows. I already signed up for more shows next fall and winter season. I'll probably do nine shows next year. Of course we may need to postpone Christmas because we don't even have a tree yet - but oh well....

Jim and Cindy were so thoughtfull - they saw a Chihully special and ordered the DVD for me. It is about a week in Tacoma where many of the people that have worked on his teams came together and worked on the projects they made in the past 20 years. Over 10,000 people saw them worke together - so - guess what I'm starting to look for - a chance to see a Chihully Team!

I don't have much time tonight - I promise to really update in a few days.

We're Ready for Today!

Today is the Keepsake Show at Horizons Conference Center in Saginaw from 9am - 3pm. My daughter Joanna is going to help me sell today - that should be fun.

I have so many plates and knives both Christmas and every day and very special plates. These make great hostess gifts for the holidays - just add a cheeseball and leave it with your hostess as a gift. $10 OR 2/$15 - so many to choose from you will have fun looking through the hundreds of plates at my display.

Pat even made two backdrops for me to display 24 plates - I am so thankful he helps me so much.

AND we have lots of big items - cake plates and servers - a turkey platter with a great carving set - a quiche/pie plate with dessert plates and forks and a server - Four Christmas plates with a serving platter and place settings - a plate and serving set and a journal to keep track when someone is a "Star" for a day in your family - A large platter and 8 plates with seafood forks and a large serving fork for serving shrimp - just lots and lots and lots.

Hope you can make it there today - I'll be watching for you!

IT'S HERE!!!

I set up at the Grandy Farm last night - I packed so much in my little corner no one will be able to get anything out of it! It all starts tomorrow morning - and the farmhouse is waiting and ready for all of you. Anyway - I am really looking forward to being there on Saturday. Many of my friends have said they are going to see me there.

I'm getting a little worried about the Horizon Show - so I bought more knives today and I'm going to wrap all next week! Pat is working on some cool backdrops that will hold a few dozen plates to have at the Horizon Show.

Busy, Busy, Busy - that's all I can say about the next two weeks.

From Sunshine to Winter Storm Warnings

On Saturday it was so beautiful we decided to take off for Up North. We stopped at several stores and really bought lots in Oscoda where the woman who owns the store was making deals with me that I couldn't refuse. The dishes are so beautiful - little black ones with white flowers that are just right for a little salmon dip that I serve - I don't know if I can sell those! Beautiful dishes that are Cornflower Blue with little flowers on them. Some pretty little milk glass white dishes with a Teal design around the edges. And I am always a sucker for those wheat dishes - so I got some of those too. I can't wait to go through my beads to see what I have to go with them. We stopped for lunch at the Ausable Inn - and our favorite waitress was there - we only go there about once a month and she knows what we want to eat and what we drink. As you watch her she knows all the customers - she is amazing.

We stopped at Barb and Dave's on the way home - such a nice visit with them - Kirsten and her friend were their and Tom made his way over, too. It is always such fun to catch up with them. Their house was a decorated for Christmas and it really got me in a holiday spirit.

Then yesterday, we drove with Pat's parents to his sister's home in Lansing for our Thanksgiving dinner. There was a weather storm warning for 4:00 - but we thought we could get home before it - WRONG - it was treacherous. Instead of one and a half hours it took three and a half. 127 was awful - we thought about going all the way to 20 but when traffic kept stopping and ice on the road was forming we pulled off and took the back way home the rest of the way - it was a bit better - but not much. I have never seen so many cars in the ditches and of course the crazy drivers all around us thinking they could go faster than everyone else. I think I heard Grandma with her rosary in the back seat - that is probably what got us home.

We did have a nice visit with everyone though. We celebrated Mary's birthday with a cake and a song and enjoyed a nice visit.

Well - the long weekend is done - December is here - the shows are the next two weekends - so I'll be wrapping, wrapping, wrapping the next few days. Hope to see you at The Grandy Home this weekend.