I't Lookin' Good for a New Year!

Things are looking good here.  It appears that I can once again access my Blog... Happy Dance is happening  in front of my computer.  If there is a significant amount of time that takes place from my posts here, please know that it is because I am having difficulties getting back in here.  Kindly contact me on my Face Book Page and talk to me there.  I go there often, as I plan to do the same here.  I can get a whole lot more wordy here than on FB... and if you know me, even a little bit, I can get pretty passionate about things, and of course, words express my passions. 
  OK so here is a little bit about the year in passing...   2011 saw our Brick and Mortar business hang by a thread of existence.  Thank goodness we don't pay rent or a mortgage on it, or we'd be long gone.  Customer traffic was down to one or two good souls per week.  Every person who walked through our door made us ecstatic.  Just a little attention brought us to exhilaration.  It's amazing how, when times are slow, what small things can bring such great joy to us.  We have adjusted our life style to match our lowered income, by eliminating a second phone line for computer work and charge card machine, eliminating TV access to only free local channels, no more cell phone, and no travel to distant towns like Traverse City, which is a 100 mile round trip for us.  We have had a garden for a couple of years to augment food prices rising, but weather has compromised any benefits, except for green beans.  Everything else we planted did not produce much.  We were hoping to can and freeze for winter storage.  Oh well, the green beans were delicious.  We also have a few chickens, which will be a blog soon to come. 
  Our on line shops, Etsy and ArtFire made a few sales, as did our website www.sacredsparks.com.  Jerry and I are hopeful for a productive year to come.  We feel blessed with our creative gifts, and the beautiful place where we live, that we happily share with our customers when they visit.  We do not want for anything, except perhaps insurance for our health and our home.  Oh yeah, a few more happy customers would be good too.
  So now I will now get back out to the warm studio, where Jerry has built a good little fire that's perking nicely in the trusty stove.  I just love wood heat!  My aging bones appreciate the radiant warmth that just doesn't happen with forced air heating.  Thanks to a mild winter so far, we haven't had to shovel our drive way once!  Hard to believe, here in Northern Michigan.  We'll surely get more real winter soon, but I'll happily take the 40's and one inch of snow we currently see melting away!  Far cry from zero and 2 feet of snow like we usually have by now.
  In the studio you will find me working on some new pins.  I received a special request from a customer that purchased a pair of sterling Kitty earrings long ago at an art fair.  Since we have lived in the same place for 40 years, she found us again and requested I make a match for one earring she lost.  I have been out of the etching process for a few years, so it took me a while to get all my equipment and materials and skills back to creating a new piece for her.  I can say that I am almost finished and will be happily letting her know that her request is done.  At the same time, I could not just create her request, but many more pieces as well.  I love to draw and this is a great way to draw and make jewelry at the same time. I'll get Jerry to take some photos and share soon.  In the mean time here is an image of a piece I made a few weeks ago.  You can find it for sale in our Etsy shop if you are interested.
  Wishing everyone a very happy New Year, and hope you and your family is Blessed by all that is Good in this world.      PEACE to you .... Linda

GrandMother Moon Brooch