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