Day 3 - Crazy Running & Friends

Thursday was going to be interesting from the start…
It was going to be a weight watchers meeting then off to see some friends for brunch that I haven't seen for about 5 years…

With the discovery of the deer tick on my belly yesterday (leaning over plants to collect seeds must've been how it got there) - well, it just got crazy. I won't go into details - it was just one little thing after another, and another that just makes you exhausted by day's end (I crashed before Chloe last night at 9:30).

Can I just say: you know you are in the presence of amazing and interesting people artists, when your jaw just drops upon entering their home because they have put so much of themselves into their home and you immediately feel all the energy there and want to just soak it all into yourself and work from it…

That was Anne's house and garden!

I had a great time hanging out with the girls - we caught up, toured Anne's house, laughed together, and ate some wonderful food. The perfect way to spend a late morning…

I could have taken tons of pictures of all the amazing areas in Anne's house. I loved: "this is my arts and crap room". I'm going to use that one… Dave will get a kick out of it.

I snapped a few pictures here and there…
I was too occupied and overwhelmed visually to take it all in and get the camera out.
Yes, even the little rug in her bathroom was inspirational (see the background pattern too? Wow!)

I just tried to soak it all in and pull some of her artistic sense out of it all…

We had a little running joke about me blogging for 8 blogs and the technology I had (iPhone) with me. Dolores asked: What kind of Begonia is that? I said: I'll take a picture and post it on my blog to see if we can get an answer… So - Do you know what kind it is?

Hope you are having a wonderful day…
Let's see what I can get out of Day 4 today…

I think later, Chloe and I will be going to Longwood Gardens for their "Honey Harvest" this evening to learn about honey, bees and flowers. A little one on one time with mom… Can't wait!

Day 2: ADHD Type Day

There are those days where there is SO much going on it is hard to figure out where to start and where to stay put. Today was one of those days for me...

To start off this post: a picture I came across of my pop-pop and me in a bin from the garage.


It was Spring of 1977, I was right around 2 years old...


Little Marsha & her dad... (love my dad!)


My dad & siblings (Top: Jerry, Terry - my dad. Bottom: Janet, Garry)


An earlier photograph of my Grandma & Pop pop.
So many cool things to look through (that box into the attic for over winter going through...)


So at the start of day 2 this is what the garage looked like...


This was the area I planned to tackle... (of which - the back corner was cleaned out, but that was all). The landscaping crew showed up to fix our drainage & runoff issue...


Not too bad when compared to this (above).


A tiny 2.5" tomato from my neglected planter...


Decals for an order & some extras...


Oh, look a dragonfly on the screen door...


Drainage of downspouts to front, soil replaced & rocks added (extra for me to design with too).


Ten minutes to pick up kids...


Hit snooze once (they are playing with friends & having fun!)


At home - Riley is so intent on mastering this toy's features now. Must be all the exploring he is doing at school on those different toys...


A walk with the family after dinner & admiring a few gardens along the way...


Chloe wanted to play with the broom a bit...


She was all over the place with it... She was playing with her shadow too - very funny to watch!

Also fit in some weeding, seed gathering, studio clean up (moving a few small things around), kiln loading, and just found this:



Guess I'm going to the doctor for some antibiotics for Lyme's Disease today...
-- Pictures Taken With & Posted From My iPhone

Day 1: Running Around Start

This is Day 1 for my house/studio overhaul fall project.

Even though this is where I would like to be this morning...


This is where I plan on spending my afternoon when I get home...


The garage is the first place that needs a gutting out...
Better storage places are to be found for seasonal tools & toys...
Shelving is to be used smartly...
And I will actually know what I have and where things are for future projects...



So while I am waiting to see the chiropractor & getting a detox foot bath this morning, I'm going to get the lists made and in order so I can get into the studio faster.



This week: Thursday is my studio day. The rest is for organizing and getting my head back on & finding my brain again.

What projects do you have underway?
-- Pictures Taken With & Posted From My iPhone

A New Start...

Well, in just a few short hours a brand new day starts for me...

Morning Sunrise in Rehoboth Beach, DE (Labor Day Weekend 2010)

Riley is going to begin to go to school full time with his sister…

I am a bit sad, but then I think about:

How much I need to get done around here…

How much has been cast aside since we moved in (over 5 years ago)…

How unfair it is to the both of us for me to try to do it all while putting his needs aside…

He is a very observant kid - he likes to know what is going on around him and studies things…

He has gone to school once a week for a while now and loves it.

Riley just seems to thrive around other kids - as does his sister.

And once we got Chloe into school, I remember thinking: 

Wow - why didn't we do this sooner?

And so it begins…

A new time in my life...

The page is turning for all of us…

I promise to try not to get all teary…

Except for if it's happy tears for having some time for myself again...

To Do List - Getting Done...

I have been super busy taking pictures, cropping them, naming them, all the while juggling Riley being home and only napping here and there… 

So it's been a busy few days for me.

I'm seriously considering listing things up on Etsy only once, maybe twice a month…

I'm missing out on my garden photography time! And that makes me a bit grumpy...

Porcelain Halloween Ghost Pendant in the My Mom Pattie Etsy Shop.

I am however working on getting the new halloween pendants into my Marsha Neal Studio Etsy shop.

Just in time to help you get chances to win Marsha Neal Studio gift certificates during:

2010 "Honoring September"

Click on the Magnolia picture on the blog sidebar for details.

There are plans on re-photographing all the silk strands for my website overhaul. 

I spent the day today pulling one of each kind in every color. 

Pshew - glad that is done…

This is what I have in mind for the actual photographs (in better lighting) for each of the colors.

What do you think?

Hand Painted Silks #0 Almost White in Silky, Fairy and 2mm.

So on my mom's birthday (9/1), I was on a mission to get some pieces up into the My Mom Pattie Etsy shop. 

Finished pieces… 

I had wire wrapped a few of the halloween pendants the other day…

Halloween Porcelain Pendants pre-oxidation.

The sterling needed to be darkened though… 

Too bright for what I had in mind.

Now if I could only find the Liver of Sulphur… 

It hides somewhere in the midst of my jewelry/beading/metalsmithing area.

I know it's in a place that "makes sense" to store it.

That place where you can never find it again…. 

I just saw it the other day - dang!

Ah-ha - Found it (on a shelf, in a basket, behind a bin…)

See… Much better - more in the feel of "old and decrepit"

Porcelain Halloween Pendants with oxidized sterling silver for My Mom Pattie Etsy Shop

I also picked up some glass etching cream from AC Moore the other night…

Which was an adventure in itself…

Not just because the store is being remodeled and things are rearranged…

But because I decided to have dinner with Chloe & Riley out…

By myself…

Then go to the store…

All was ok until the potty training accident…

 Then add a screaming baby not wanting to be put in stroller while I helped clean up #1's #2 to the mix...

But we dealt just fine…

I'm a prepared mother (usually…)

Marsha Neal Studio Etched side of pendants.

Etching and Patina all in one morning - WOAH Nelly!

I was on a roll...

Light a candle over here…

Spray the NeutraAir over there…

All in preparation for the Liver of Sulphur…

No Dave, that stink wasn't from me. 

And no, I'm not cooking with rotten eggs… ;)

Marsha Neal Studio pre-etched side of pendants. 

It was great… 

I can't wait to etch more of my pieces.

And to make more jewelry!

NOTES: I used the cream glass etch. 

Wish I could find my bottle of liquid Etch-All (in that hidden place…). 

Different glazes take different amount of time to etch. 

Some of my glazes won't etch easily (not even after 10 minutes) - they are that hard. 

Others etch quickly (like 4-5 minutes).

Oh, and a quick picture from Beading night...

My work area for Bead Night. Little rabbit pendant is from Jenny Davies-Reazor.

Now I've got the jewelry making bug - darn you beading night!

Which is such a good thing for me, but bad for my plans of getting organized.

Maybe I should make another "Bead Night" my prize for getting organizational goals reached…

Thanks for stopping by!

Honoring September for 2010 for My Mom Pattie...

So here we are…

Three years ago, my mom celebrated her last birthday (September 1) in the hospital while doing battle with Leukemia. I remember it fell on the Labor day weekend. I was three months away from having Chloe...

This is a photo of my mom, Pattie, at our rehearsal dinner in September 2004.  One of my favorite pics!

Actually on this day in, she was battling a bad case of pneumonia which is listed on her death certificate as actual cause of death (with underlying AML)… She was taken off of life support eleven days later...

I wish I could say it was a great last birthday for her, but it was probably the worst one ever. 

Just the week before she had been almost her normal self again.
Chatty on the phone with everyone, joking with the doctors (yelling at one of them as told by Jamie, who jokingly said: I'd never try to intentionally piss of your mom, she's brutal...). 

But I think her body really began to give up the fight. 

The seizures were on her doorstep. 

Sepsis was on it's way too. 

She died at 54 years old. 

Although, it should be said 54 years young… 

Too young...

But Birthdays are for celebrating… 

So enough with that mode of thinking!

Now that I have become a mother myself…
(Insert cute kid pics here - I had to!)

Chloe… Born December 2007

Riley… Born December 2009.

…On my birthday, I thank my mom for all that she must've gone through on that day to bring me into the world…

I have a totally different understanding now.

So Grandmom - THANK YOU!!!

And to all those before her… Thanks!

Owl Clip Art Image on Porcelain Pendant Necklace by Marsha Neal Studio in My Mom Pattie Etsy shop.

Ok, so now for the details of my "Honoring September" 2010 special…

For every $10 you spend (retail) in the month of September 2010 in:

1. My Mom Pattie Etsy shop

2. Marsha Neal Studio Etsy shop

3. Marsha Neal Studio website

You will earn 1 chance to win a Marsha Neal Studio gift certificate…

Owl clip art image on round pendant by Marsha Neal Studio (limited edition) available in the My Mom Pattie Etsy Shop.

Here are the three Gift Certificate categories:

$50 gift certificate category is for everyone that earns at least 1 entry.

$100 gift certificate category is for those of you that purchase $50 or more.

$150 gift certificate category is for those of you that purchase $100 or more.

If you purchase over $210, I will put 7 chances into each category for you…
(you get that last one, right?)

These can be combined retail purchases over the month of September 2010 between all three sites.

I will be adding more pieces into both Etsy shops over the next week or two…

And as a special to those of you out there with blogs or websites: 
If you post about this "Honoring September 2010" event by using the My Mom Pattie Etsy Shop Button (see side bar to right for html code) you will earn one entry for a chance to win a $50 retail gift certificate to my Marsha Neal Studio website or Etsy Shop. 
Make sure to leave a comment here or link up your blog post below…


Thanks Everyone!!!
Happy September to you all...