Saying Good-Bye to a Wonderful Woman

     We experienced the loss of a wonderful woman the day before Thanksgiving, my precious mother-in-law passed away.  In truth, she was actually my 'ex' mother-in-law since I've been divorced for over 20 yrs, but she has always been "Mom Gill" to me.  She had been ill for several years now, including a recent pace-maker operation and Alzheimer's.   She had become confined to a wheelchair, mainly due to her loss of balance which had caused several broken bones from falls.  Her little 90-yr old body just could not take anymore! 

     She was an amazing woman, raising 9, yes 9, children while moving from base to base---my father-in-law was in the air force.  I believe it was the loss of her husband, my ex-father-in-law, just 1yr ago, that took a major tole on her.  She and "Big Morris" as she called him, had been married for 76 yrs!!  She told me stories of moving to Panama and arriving at the base in the middle of the night.  She turned on the lights to their base home and found........it was FULL of giant roaches!!!  Not one to get discouraged, she cleaned one of the rooms, placed all 6-young children in there to sleep and then spent the rest of the night 'de-bugging' her new home-----and she was pregnant with her 7th child at that time!!!  AMAZING!!

     I was very fortunate to have her in my life.  She was a wonderful example of the Proverbs 31 woman:
                                "She opens her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
                      She watches over the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.
                      Her children rise up and call her blessed, Her husband also and he praises her:"
                                                                                                          Proverbs 31:26-28

     I could say soooooooo much more about this wonderful woman, her creativity, her stamina, her LOVE for all those she came in contact with.  She was a constant inspiration to me and I will miss her greatly.

     And so I say, "Good-bye, Mom Gill--rest well in the arms of Jesus.  I will see again someday"

God Bless all and any who read this,
Pat, A Remade Life

Lots of Things a-happen'

     You ever notice how just when you think you can sit down and take a break all sorts of 'hoop-la' starts happening!?  Well, there is hoop-la galore happening around here!!

     Firstly, as I relayed in an earlier post, my mom fell again last month and broke the femur on her right leg---for the second time.  I'm happy to report that she is doing very well, came through the surgery fine and is currently at rehab were she will be for an undetermined amount of time.

     Secondly, things have changed for the better at Winnie Trade Days and they have found us another, smaller shop!  We are very excited about this as we truly love being at the Winnie show and have developed good relations with many wonderful customers.  And the fun part of all this is that our shop is actually a little house!!  It is soooo cute and we have great plans to fix it up--we will be in it by the January show.  More on that as it occurs.

     Thirdly, I have decided to specialize in vintage/retro clothing and will be opening an ecommerce website soon!  I am really, really excited about this adventure since I LOVE vintage/retro clothing and actually already have quite a collection.  I hope to have this website up and running within the next few weeks and will be sure to notify EVERYONE when it is.

     I do have one more adventure in the works, but 'mums' is the word on this one for now.  Just know that this one is like 'slap yo' mamma' exciting and could be the next step to a free-range life!!

     On another note, sure would like to hear from you guys.  A little comment here, a little 'word' there, would be nice.  Let me know what you are thinking, how your life is going and what I can do to help make your life pleasant!
Until next time, God bless all and any who read this,
Pat, A Remade Life

Good time at Lake Houston Trade Days....and Brayden!

This past Saturday was the Lake Houston Trade Days and Fall Festival.  It was a good show with lots and lots of customers and friends coming out to enjoy the shopping, live music and good food!

A wonderful band called the "Fab 5" Beatle impersonators played---they are very, very good and very popular here and all about.  There was a bungee-jump, a human-hamster ball and much, much more.

It was truly great fun, a time to sell and a time to visit with good friends, customers and fellow vendors.  Here are some pictures of my booth:

It's amazing how much you can fit into a 10' x 20' booth!  And of course, I had to add a picture of my wonderful grandson, Brayden, in his dragon costume!!  He and his mom, my daughter Brittany, came out to enjoy all the festivities.

Our next show will be in two weeks and then another one two weeks after that---November will be a very busy month for us!!  And of course, the Thanksgiving holiday.  We are thinking of going to Dallas to spend the holiday with my oldest daughter, Jennifer.  Mainly it will be a little R & R for me!!

Well, that's it for now, must go and work on items for my etsy shop and for ebay.  More on that later!

God Bless all and any who read this,
Pat, A Remade Life

Decision Made....Now Waiting on God

     This past weekend was our Winnie Trade Show were we have a 660 sq ft indoor permanent shop.  As some of you know, we've been there for about 5 yrs. now, first as just a 'shop-sharer' (we didn't own the shop but shared it with my good friend Kay) and then as the shop owner when Kay retired almost 2 yrs ago.  There are just not enough words to describe the fun, trials, problems, fun,craziness, etc. that we have experienced during that time.

     Like the time we went to work on the shop in between shows and walked in to find broken glass everywhere!!  The shelf on one of our shelf units had collapsed and almost everything had broke.  And then there was the time we went to work on the shop in-between shows and walked into an oven---the air conditioner was broken!   The time the toilet overflowed, the time another shelf fell while I was under it and landed on my head---ouch!!  As you can see, we've had many situations and we learned to deal with them all!

     We have met some amazing people over the yrs!

     These are only a few of the many, many wonderful customers who have graced the doors of our humble shop.  So many allowed us into their lives and we shared our life with them as well..

     I've had co-workers come out to see my shop and even a few old school chums------thanks Ethel Kay, you look the same as you did in high school, only better!!

    The shop has also undergone 'changes' in look and style over the years---

      And so, good times and bad, Winnie has definitely been a fun ride!  We had hoped to simply move into a smaller shop, one that would be less expensive and easier to fill (it's a LOT of work shopping for a 660 sq ft. shop!).  Unfortunately, at this time, there is none available.  So, unless one opens up, the December show will be our last.

     We still have soooooooo much stuff that we need to sell and only 2-months to do it in!  We are marking many, many items down and will be bringing in more to try to move it out.

     Please come and visit and maybe buy a treasure or two if you find yourself in the neighborhood!  We will of course keep you updated.....who knows where God will lead us next!!

God Bless All and Any who read this,
Pat, A Remade Life

Back to Canton Trade Days!...........and an emergency trip home

     I think the title pretty well covers what this blog will be about.  Last Thursday my son Jonathan, my grandson Brayden and I loaded up my van with all the necessities of life and began the 4.5 hour trip to Canton Trade Days, reportedly the largest flea market in the United States!

     We've been planning this return trip for several months.  Our first visit this past spring was amazing, even though I had been very ill the week before and couldn't walk around much.  Anyway, away we went, Brayden singing and happy, Jonathan talking non-stop (as usual) and me just thankful to be able to take a mini-vacation from all the stress and strains of life.

    We stopped for a little break for Brayden (and me, I had to go to the restroom!) at a McDonald's in Huntsville which was only about 1.5 hrs. into our drive.  Here's Brayden enjoying himself at Mickey D's:

McDonald's is one of his favorite places.  We try to take him there as often as possible but I honestly get a little nervous about the play area......have you seen how, uh, unclean those places are!?  Sorry, McDonald's but truth is truth.

     We finally made our way to Canton with only one more stop.  The drive had been enjoyable, Brayden had stayed happy, Jonathan had kept talking and I was again, just enjoying the day!

     We began shopping with purpose!  Armed with our wire cart (you know, the ones you see EVERYWHERE at these kinda places), Brayden in his stroller, diaper bag with drink and snacks in hand, we were off and running!!!  It didn't take us long to begin finding stuff we liked, me for the shop and Jonathan for himself.   We bought a little of this and a little of that, but my favorite purchase was these 2-wonderful mannequins:

     The female one is wonderful cause it's smaller than most of the mannequins I have--about the size of a teenage girl.  This will work wonderfully for my vintage clothing.   Seems like women were much smaller 'back in the day'.  The little boy mannequin is actually about the size of Brayden!  I HAD to have it because it has such a cute face!  I will probably use him in the shop and the female will be used for my ebay stuff.

    The evening was very tiring due to Brayden NOT wanting to go to sleep:

   

     Yes, those are his pajama bottoms on his head!!   He had so much fun that day, I guess he just wanted to keep going!!!!

   

     And then, the fun stopped..........The next morning I got an emergency phone call from my sister.  Seems my sweet mom had fallen AGAIN and she shattered the femor on her right leg!.  This is the same leg she broke about 2.5 yrs ago.  The first time she broke it just below her hip.  This time it shattered the bone right above her knee.

     We loaded up and started the long trip back.  Thankfully Brayden was happy and then fell asleep cause I really didn't want to make too many stops.  I needed to get home to mom.

     We made it home and waited to hear from my sister as to what and how mom was doing.  The doctors said it was a VERY bad break, her femor shattered (their words) and that she must have surgery.  My sweet mom has had soooooo many surgeries over the past 5 yrs and her little body was weak, but there was just no way around it.  Surgery was set for the next day at 3pm and thus begins my mom's next journey in life.

     The surgery went well, mom is now bionic in that leg and the doctor was as pleased as he could be with a 88 yr old woman with brittle bones and numerous medical conditions.

     That was just 5 days ago and mom has had several ups and downs.  Her kidney function is at 50% and she is only lucid moments at a time---that could partially be due to the anesthics from surgery and after.  The big news is that her heart is only functioning at about 30% and of course, that is causing a lot of concern.  She's not hurting and they are watching her very closely but this is not the news we wanted.

     As a child we think our parents will be around forever......as an adult, we realize how limited our time with them really is.  Here are a few pictures of my mom and my kids:

Christmas 2012

My mom cuddling Brayden as an infant--they were watching TV together!

     Well, that's it for now.  I will give updates on my mom (and life) as I get them.  Please pray for my mom, Goldie Marie, and if your parents are still around, go hug them for me!!!

God bless all and any who read this,
Pat, A Remade Life

The Ever-changing Business of...uh, well, Business!!!

It always amazes me how the hills of valleys of business are so much like the hills and valleys of life!  Not trying to get all philosophical or nothing, but there are so many similarities.

You ever noticed how life seems to run in cycles?  Things are going well, flowing nicely from day to day and then, BAMMMM, it hits!!!   Both tires on the back of your car go flat and make you late for an important meeting---the vending machine at work eats not one, but two of your dollars and seems to almost dare you to try again!!  Your hair starts falling out for some unknown reason, your dog poops in your most expensive pair of shoes and you discovery the strange smell in your refrigerator is coming from the tomato that fell behind the vegetable drawer and now looks like a science project!!  No, none of these things happened to me...well, maybe the tomato thing, but that's all.

Our good times are high, our bad times are low and everything in between is what keeps us going.  And so it is with business as well.

Things have been pretty 'low' for us business-wise for quite a while now.  Online sales have been almost 

non-existent and, as you know, my shop has been equally slow in sales.  It has been an unpleasant valley!

Well I'm here to say that we are starting the upward climb on that hill and have started enjoying the high that comes with success!  Sales at the shop have picked up greatly and that by itself is a blessing.  However, I seem to be on a roll with my online sales as well!!  I've been posting vintage clothing on ebay (my seller id is 'aremadelife' in case you would like to check it out!)  and, good news, THEY ARE SELLING!!  Not only that but I've been doing well in both my etsy shops --lovethatvintagestyle and aremadelife---check those out too if you have time!!

So, we are currently on a really nice HIGH----a blessing indeed!  But, I keep remembering that those low valleys are just on the other side of that hill and that I need to keep my 'feet' planted in reality.  Some days are good, some days are bad, but thanks to our Heavenly Father, we get through them all-----and if we remember to trust in Him we will enjoy those wonderful highs and learn from those unpleasant lows!

So we are enjoying this time of success and wanted to share it with you!  Here are a few picture's of my items on ebay and new pic's of the shop!

Vintage 1920's dress--sold within 45 mins.!!

Child's vintage real fur hand muff

Vintage 1940's Fashion Dress

Fantastic vintage Fashion Wrap

Very unusual vintage full slip!

Vintage 1960's Mod-style knit coat

Thanks for listening to me, hope all is well with you!  Leave me a comment!!

God Bless all and any who read this,

Pat, A Remade Life

Mischief Is In the Air!!

     I don't know about you, but when the mornings start getting a little cooler (and I do mean A LITTLE--it's still about 76 degrees in the mornings and topping out around 94-100 by the end of the day!!) and the trees start thinking of shedding their leafs.....well,I find myself feeling all frisky and, dare I say it, mischievous!! NOT in a bad way, but kinda like wanting to run up behind people you know and yell "Boo", then giggle and run off! What?...you don't think of doing that kinda thing?! Well, you should!!

     As I get older (I just had a b-day last month) I find myself thinking more and more of my childhood and all the things the kids in the neighborhood use to do. Things like staying outside until our parents practically dragged us back inside; or playing tennis in the middle of the street until we just got too tired to chase the ball anymore; or just sitting on the street curb and talking...not about anything in particular, just talking.

     Those were good days, but these days can be good too! So I invite you to 'get a little mischievous' (in a good way!) Grab your best bud and go running through the sprinklers before it gets too cold, or invite friends over for pizza and have a food fight (in the backyard of course--NO ONE likes to clean the kitchen!), or just sit on the street curb and talk about nothing in particular---I think you will find it will help to 'cleanse' away all your tensions and stress...and hopefully give you a refreshed outlook on life!

      Before I leave you, here are a few pictures of my curent ongoing project, one I am very excited about. I may try to have a 'grand opening/reveal' before the holidays...at least that's my goal. There is still lots to work out and I can't reveal too much at this time but will try very soon!!

Well, that's it for now----anyone in the mood for pizza!?!?!
God Bless All and Any who read this,
Pat, A Remade Life