As a glass artist it just frustrates me to see people being duped this way.  I don’t think it would bother me as much if I didn’t know the conditions that these beads were made in.  I just find it so interesting that people are willing to do anything to save a buck or make a buck.   At least when we go to Target, Walmart, KaMart and a dozen other places and pick up those lovely cheap jewels we sort of know that they are imported knock-offs.  And, if you don’t know – well they are, so if you enjoy wearing children’s tears on your neck – buy your jewels from them.  But, if you enjoy wearing things that were created by an artist, someone who willingly labors over their work try out etsy or go to your local art boutiques.  Support someone who wanted to make something for you to enjoy. OK I am done with my rant .

On to good news – I almost finished my entire household list!  I got all the tile floors sparkling – even the grout.  I discovered a great way to keep your grout really clean – clean the floors with hot water and OXY CLEAN – the oxy clean just eats the dirt out of the grout.  Now, here is the real trick – don’t just mop all your dirty water around – just suck it up.  I have a Bissel floor machine – but you can use a wet/dry vac – takes all the dirty water off the floor and out of the grout too – instead of just swishing dirty water with a mop – you are actually removing all the sludge.  Works fantastic .  This is great for spills too – I have one of those tiny wet/dry vacs and it is great for clean ups. Speaking of grout – my DIL, Marcy uses Lysol bathroom cleaner on the grout in the kitchen – and the grout lines look amazing – just spray and wipe – smells good too .  AND if you are really on a roll, you can shampoo your carpets – use the OXY CLEAN again – even removed an old rust stain that was on the carpet when I moved in – love it!

If you haven’t noticed yet, I like to clean – lol.  Well… I don’t LIKE to clean but I like the way I feel after the house is clean .  I think I may like to paint too – at least I am trying it.  I took 8 Ikea chairs that we picked up for a song, and a craigslist dining table – and painted them white…take a look

My kitchen table redo

Now I am off to do the am dishes, make some beds, get mom all settled in – maybe even cut her hair today

]]> http://livinginmurrieta.wordpress.com/2010/04/14/lampwork-beads/feed/ 0 livinginmurrieta table http://livinginmurrieta.wordpress.com/2010/04/13/oh-my-goodness/ http://livinginmurrieta.wordpress.com/2010/04/13/oh-my-goodness/#comments Tue, 13 Apr 2010 16:05:04 +0000 livinginmurrieta http://livinginmurrieta.wordpress.com/?p=14 ]]> First here are some beads I have been making – inspired by the California Sunshine – next an update – after 2 whole years – lol.  If you want to see more of my little glass creations – visit Glitzy Glass Studio

OK – so here I am again – almost TWO YEARS later!!  How the heck did that happen??  Once I moved to Murrieta time just seemed to go so very fast.  It was like I ended up in a fast forward your life drama – lol.  Since my last post I have moved to Murrieta (of course) and NY is just a memory – some good, some bad.  I have learned so much in the last few years – also good and bad – lol.

When I was first writing this blog, I was on my way to Murrieta with my mom to live with my sister – well years and things change.  Almost a year to the day that I moved to Murrieta my son and his lovely wife AND of course my lovely grand-daughters moved here too!!!  Joe got a job in Solana Beach and commutes from Murrieta.  My sister moved down the street, in a her son-in-law’s rental and I live in his other home with my son, his wife, my grand-daughters, my 94 year old mom (yup, she is still with us), 2 dogs, 2 birds an occassional mouse,  that wanders in and is caught with a peanut butter laden living trap and promptly released back outside – lol.  Now I know that this sounds like a lot of people in one house – but when you are living in over 2800 square feet – it just isn’t so.

When I think back to the time I originally started this blog I am amazed at the changes that have occured.  Things I never thought would happen.  I certainly had no idea that my grand-children would be California girls!  Or that Grace, my niece would be a wonderful part of their lives.  Even though Grace is almost 10 years older then my oldest grand-daughter, Natalie, seems to feel that Grace is her “best friend”  – lol.  Grace, being the girl she is allows Natalie to follow her like an adoring fan. I love seeing that a part of my family is connected in some way.  I am looking forward to them all growing up together.   Well I am off now, to get some things done – my daughter (I hate the in-law part) so lets just say daughter, is in NY right now with the “girls” and I am trying to get my act together and finish a few projects.  I PROMISE to be back – at least weekly from now on….

My dogs are are doing well to, for now – they went to their vet check to get cleared to fly (in cabin – NOT CARGO) and the only glitch was the medication we tried on my nervous little guy Buster it gave him 2 seizures – it was horrible – thank goodness there was no permanent damage.  China is a much calmer little girl so she can fly without any help.  For now we are looking into something a bit safer for Buster.  China is rescued Peek and during her check-up we found that she will need to have a tooth extracted – Peeks have terrible overbites and tooth alignment – and apparently I was missing brushing that tooth – poor little girl – at least it will all be resolved before I leave. 

Aside from packing I have been attempting to update my mom’s address with all the various organizations – whew, what a job THAT is.  First I had to call Social Security, then her Bank, then Medicare, her doctor, her pharmacy – what a chore.   I have to run over and pick up her medical records this week so I can bring them to her new doctor in Murrieta – and at the same time I will request that my dog’s records get sent to their new vet too!   Paperwork!  At least the post office makes it easy – they allow you to change your address online – it costs a dollar for each address change though.  

The hardest thing about doing all of this is the WAITING – every single place puts you on hold for at least  5 minutes and that is AFTER you have been through all the automated stuff – finally you reach a real person – and then the fun begins – lol. 

The last few weeks have flown by in a flurry of activity – I have been trying to finish up bead orders, as well as pack.  Then mom, who in the last 8 years or so has not had one cold – got one!  I was so nervous – kept thinking it would turn to something worse.  Fortunately, after giving her extra zinc, Vitamin C and Mucinex – as well as a bunch of other boosters, it appears that the cough is resolved, but it gave me a scare. 

In the midst of all this chaos I am trying to remain calm – NOT HAPPENING – lol.  My nerves are frazzled to the point of being on fire.  Just when I am sure I have gotten one situation under control there is another one that pops up.  Just getting my brother’s paperwork in order has taken hours and hours.  Today I realized that he has been gone for over 3 months – that doesn’t seem possible.  I can’t believe that Doug isn’t a phone call away anymore – that he isn’t on this earth anymore.  I had two brothers Don and Doug and now they are gone – just leaving the two sisters – Carol and I.  It doesn’t seem possible.  In the last few years death has taken it’s toll on our family.  My sister lost her grandson, Jason – her daughter Kelly’s oldest boy, then our dad, then our step-mother, Peg – then Doug.   Our family has changed so very much. 

I suppose moving has spurred a ton of memories – just unpacking old photos and looking at cards from Joey (my son) when he was a little boy – where did the time go.  Now Joey is Joe – and daddy to 2 beautiful little girls – and his wife Marcy is a mom – my goodness – I can still remember her as a little school girl.  Now she is a talented young mother.  At least Joe is still in the his twenty’s but only for a few short years – my goodness an almost 30 son – lol.  How did that happen????

I think the hardest part of this move is not seeing Joe and Marcy’s little girls on at least a weekly basis – thank goodness for the internet – but it’s not the same.  I am hoping that I can stay a good part of their life.  At least in the “virtual” sense.  Of course my sister is leaving her grandson, Jordan too – and that is going to be hard for her – she has been his companion for over 10 years now.  

The great thing is we will have Grace – Tracy and Nigel’s little girl – she is wonderful, sweet and talented and she will fill a huge void in all of our lives.  I am looking forward to going to her events.  And since she is also a dog and computer lover – like her auntie – we will have tons of things in common.  I have found Grace to be a very artistic and loving little girl and I am excited to be a part of her life.  Of course I am going to have to fight over her with my sister lol – SHE is the Nanny – and she has reminded me of that on several occassions – lol. 

Well I am off to clean what can be cleaned and then lug some of Doug’s CD’s upstairs for a guy to look at  – boxes of opera – I wish I could bring them with me – but at over a dollar a pound it would cost me too much to do it!  Hopefully this guy will like the CD’s.  I still have over 13 boxes of hardcovered books I am trying to find a home for – did you know that libraries don’t take donations anymore?  What the heck is that about??

See you all soon!! 

DeMarie

I did get a wonderful gift though, my daugher-in-law came by and organized my entire kitchen – again, tell me just how the heck did I manage to have FIVE – yes Five containers of salt – not salt shakers – but those round containers of salt!!  I organize my cupboards all the time and never saw them – yikes!!  I was so grateful that Marcy came and did the kitchen – because she threw out things I never used, but would try to keep! Let me tell you it was a major test of will not to run to the garbage can and go through all the bags – but so far so good, the garbage man comes on Thursday and I haven’t done any dumpster diving yet…..

I had a bunch of custom glass orders to finish this week – and it looks like I have been able to get most of it completed.  Tomorrow I will take mom to her final Doctors appointment in NY.   Doctor Coletti has been so wonderful over the years, it’s a bit scary to have to learn to trust a new doctor with my mom’s health.   Fortunately Tracy (my neice) is already paving the way for her with her doctor.  It really is nice to be able to share a bit of the responsibility with family, and especially Tracy who pays attention to detail – that makes all the difference.

On another note – I ordered a POD – from www.pods.com  .  I have used this company before and let me tell you they are fantastic to work with.  Check them out if you need to move or even store your items.  What makes them a cut above the rest is the customer service.  You can chat online with them or call direct – and you get to speak to REAL people with the nicest attitudes.  I had a problem with my online order, I kept typing things in wrong – and when I called I felt like I was speaking to a family member.  Remember those days?  The days when you could call a store and reach people who thought you were worth speaking to? 

I will take a pic of my lovely POD on Friday when it arrives so you can see the new love of my life. 

Oh and I have my airplane reservations!!  I used Northwest Airlines – VERY pet friendly – of course my two fur babies are coming with me and mom – and since I have empty nest syndrome they are my kids now.  I ordered the airline carriers from www.sherpa.com – here is the weird thing about that – if you go to the Sherpa website and you click products it redirects you to another site – now that site wants 10.00 more than the Sherpa site advertises, but when you click checkout you get the 10.00 off.  However, if you order directly from the other site you pay the 10.00!!  Strange but true – so my advice is go to the Sherpa site and let them redirect you. 

So now you know why I have neglected the blog in the last few days – but I promise I will share all as it progresses!  Hopefully I will be able to provide a quick list for folks that are moving from state to state once I get to California. 

Hope you all are enjoying the journey!!

This is the best thing that has ever happened to me – I will be near family – actually my sis is sharing our new Murrieta digs – and my neice and hubby and their lovely daughter Grace (the folks that made this move possible) will be living just minutes away.  I am so very excited – I recently returned from a visit to Murrieta and I am in awe of the weather and the house.  The best thing is that my mom actually “woke up” in California – she talked and painted bisque ware and the best part – she laughed.  Anyone who has ever dealt with Alzhiemers Disease will understand just how thrilling that was for me.  It gives me such peace that my mom will be spending her last years in the company of her family. 

So why did I start this blog?  Well…my head is full of plans and stuff to do, so I thought I would unload here and share a bit of the journey with you.  I will tell you what it takes to move, who is good to me, and who is not and hopefully I can help you and myself at the same time.

For now I have to get back to work – if you want to see what I do for a living check here Glitzy Glass Studio

 California living!  From Snow to Sun!!