WHERE OH WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?

Painting, that's where I've been. I sold 21 this month for a grand total of sales $104.76. Last month in April I sold 16 and only had $47.07 in sales. These paintings are miniatures measuring 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches. The watercolor paper I use costs about $6.00 a sheet to buy in bulk. I can cut about 50 from 1 sheet. It's my time that doesn't make this very profitable.

If I spend 4 hours painting just one and it sells for $2.50.......  I'm sure you can see the problem. Sixty or so cents an hour. But practice makes perfect.  I'd better get busy this morning.

A NEW ADDICTION HAS ME UNDER IT'S THUMB

An addict has to watch out for new addictions.  It crossed my mind that this was happening to me but how can this be bad? I have been painting morning, noon and night. Right now my EBAY account says I have sold 40 paintings over the past 60 days and there have been 13 unsold, 8 are active. My hourly wage is out the window.

The 40 sold have only brought in $180.00 and this does not match what I made at Walmart. It averages $4.50 each. Since practice makes perfect, painting daily is needed to improve and  make every painting salable. The better an artist I become, the more money I make.

I am running out of time though because my husbands job shuts down for the summer. So, I have been splitting my time getting my products ready to present to a local boutique for sale.

I sell my paintings on EBAY without a mat and unframed. As of today I have completed 18 watercolors with mats and frames. There are 60 blank greeting cards ready for sale. I have 4 glass jewelry holders ready.

I'll be ready to present my items to the boutique upon completing the 3 tier glass desert towers and their handmade candles.

The towers need to be glued together, make the candles, redo my business card and add professional looking labels. 

So, if I have been allotting half the time of the past 2 weeks on the boutique items, is the painting a real addiction? I know what the ultimate goal is. Money, money, money.

I regret not keeping the blog counter up to date. People are counting on me. In that respect I'm still an addict, full of hot air because I promised to change the counter daily.  Perhaps that's too harsh but the truth is that I will always be an addict. A trip to the casino is right around the corner if I don't stay focused, have safeguards in place.

Facing that truth is not as hard as it once was. I'm happy painting every day.  One thing I have always loved to do is find a new purpose for things.  My boutique items fill that need.  I used to look upon my daydreaming as a bad thing.  I now realize I need to do that to re-purpose this and that and hopefully make money.

Here are a few pictures.

 Should I not be able to place my work in a boutique, the next step will be garage sales to get a sense what I can do to sell what I have.  I have a lot of inventory left from assembling these dolls.



















Another couple days and I'll be ready to request an appointment to present my re-purpose work.


All the glassware is from the second hand stores

All the mats and frames are re-purposed from thrift outlets.  The greeting card photos have been through a computer program and altered in various ways so I think of my photos as re-purposed.  The candles will be topped with melted leftover crayons I have. Who knew I would find a new way to use them. 

If I think hard enough to bring  new life to trash, that's a good thing.  The trick is to make money doing it.

HOME AGAIN HOME AGAIN QUICK AS A WINK

When you are on a trip it seems like some negative parts will never pass fast enough.....erase, erase, erase. And enough said about that so I will send those thoughts to the back of my brain.

Now for the good parts. Oh, what a beautiful country we have. I sat in the passenger seat mornings just snapping pictures out the window. I took over 800 photos.  A lot of those can be deleted because I wasn't fast enough on the draw. I am in the process of editing the rest for my travelogue.

Driving a new car was most pleasurable. What's not to like about push button start, backup TV screen, GPS, precise climate control, and 50 miles to the gallon.


We arrived at our destination,Virginia Beach, Virginia and here is the gorgeous sunset the next morning from our fourth floor room which overlooked the beach.

I'm very happy to be home but the experience once again reminded me of a dream of mine.  It would be perfect if my husband and I could get in the car and travel around our states for awhile. The question is how long would the "for awhile" last.

That's the unknown. I am however, just the kind of person who always wants to see what's around the corner..

HOW AM I DOING WITH THE LIST?

Before I can check off accomplishments I must add to it.
11. file business tax report
12. give the dog a haircut

Now for the good part I will xxxx the completed items.

1. get rid of Christmas
xxxx                 2. get a new nightgown
3. get a haircut but really just a trim-up
4. clean the house
5. pack my mini suitcase
6. make a list for my suitcase
7. keep painting
8. finish Christmas projects I did not complete
xxxx               9. check my calendar for conflicts
10. finish grand-daughters birthday presents

That felt good but this is taking way too long. Here's the zinger... Today I got word of a change to the plan. We are to leave the 14th, a day early  and that leaves me 4 days to do all this. HaHa 

I forgot the most frustrating part. Since my husband will be at home during my absence I assumed my mother, who lives with us, would have no complaint.  How wrong I was.  Oh, she told me that even though she thinks it's good I'll be taking the trip and helping someone...she does not want to be alone 8 hours every day while my husband goes to work. Imagine my surprise.  I'm analyzing my options.

I realize she is 92, has serious visions problems, no hobbies other than TV and making phone calls.

On a brighter note I continue to sell my watercolor paintings on EBAY, paint with my friend Sunday mornings as we can, and consider my merchandising options for my jewelry dolls and greeting cards.
Life is good.  Really. 

The other day I walked into the garage and had a flashback to the day I found my husband's secret hiding place for the checkbook and extra blank checks out there. It was a metal locking toolbox type thing and I became a maniac with a screwdriver and hammer.  The combination lock codes I tried brought no results.  To my surprise I managed to bend, pry, finally shake the thing and out popped the book.

These terrible things I did made me feel like I had a split personality. While I was engaged in the act I could stand behind myself, talk to myself and tell myself "this is wrong" but the disease was most powerful at that point. It took a family, counselors and doctor, fellow gamblers, and yes myself because I had to want to stop, to get me here today.

So, you see. Life is good. It's been 427 days since I walked out of that casino with a $1200.00 jackpot sitting on the buffalo machine and it's bells ringing.

PICK YOUR OWN TUNE AND SING WITH ME..."I'M GOING ON A ROAD TRIP, I'M GOING ON A ROAD TRIP"

It's true. I have one more week to get ready before I leave for a week. I need to make a list.
1. get rid of Christmas
2. get a new nightgown
3. get a haircut but really just a trim-up
4. clean the house
5. pack my mini suitcase
6. make a list for my suitcase
7. keep painting
8. finish Christmas projects I did not complete
9. check my calendar for conflicts
10. finish grand-daughters birthday presents

That's enough for now. This list will keep me busy for sure. As I read through this post it seems like I'm in a hurry. Well, yes I am.

AHHHH I LOVE A RAINY DAY!

Yesterday was almost perfect.  A rainy day, coffee, working with my paintings, out for a drive, photographing birds at the riparian, talking to my kids, mom and being with my husband.

I met an Iranian couple at the riparian took their picture, emailed it and I'm waiting to hear how they liked it.

Taking that drive with my mom made me remember all the drives she and I took to get to the casino.  I fantasized doing just that. What would it be like to stop off at one now after all this time?

Well, let's see....my excitement level increases as I drive to the nearest one, hurriedly park the car, skip across the lot, open the door, walk inside and hear familiar sounds. Bells are ringing, machines are playing their tunes, people are talking as I wonder what I want to play first.

I start playing and just that quickly I'm in another world, all else is blocked out. I win a few large rounds, increase my bet because if I won low it would be great to win betting higher.

Well, that didn't work so let's try another machine, get out more money and do the same thing over again and over and over and over and over. Suddenly, I hit a good pot so let's play even higher.

Oh no. I lost it all. No money left, sadly I walk out to the car and once inside I bang my fists on the steering wheel, calling myself stupid. Why did I do that again? Why can't I win, get up and leave?
Now I must drive home, face my husband and and and .....

Ha, it's good to play that tape in my head every once in a while and it's so fitting for this first day of the new year. Just think, I went through a whole year, 2014, playing that tape whenever I felt the urge and never once set foot in the casino. Thank you one and all for your help.

What a great way to celebrate this first day of the new year. Happy New Year everyone!
Here's a few pictures from the riparian.

As water dripped off the blooms of shrubs a Black Phoebe (Tyrant Flycatcher) landed in front of me. I glanced at movement higher up and a fat Northern Mockingbird watched me take his picture.

I HAVE BEEN ROBBED

It's been a long time since I've changed the counter or typed a post. Ever since my last post my main activity has been getting ready for Christmas.

Decorating the house inside and outside, painting watercolors for sale on EBAY, shopping for items at the resale stores for my White Elephant Christmas game have occupied all my time. The grand-kids came over and we made a few new ornaments for their tree.

I've been determined to have a paperless Christmas and so all 70 plus items for the game are in Christmas boxes. All the personal gifts to family are without wrapping paper to tear off too.

I haven't been this involved for a long time and that is why I say I've been robbed. It's evident in so many ways. I was a different person during all those gambling years and that was not who I am. I am this current involved person.

One other example of what I've lost is when I opened the Christmas seal box and all the memories of my cousin who passed at the height of that lost period,

came to me.  I had no money to travel home to see her when she was diagnosed with cancer or when she passed. We spoke on the phone and I shared my addiction to her but I wasn't there to support her or her family.

All I can do now is look inside that box and remember how we played with those seals at Christmas as children. I see her as my Maid of Honor at my wedding and countless other times in our lives. I miss her very much.

It's Christmas Eve and I can't wait to have all my family with me tomorrow. It should be a crazy day with friends here as well, and lots of cheer, food and fun. Merry Christmas everybody.