Looking Back at 2011

Hello

Well, we are winding down 2011... are we not?

To tell you the truth, this year has shot across the sky of my life

 like a shooting star and I only hope 2012 does not pick up speed or I will be looking at my ninetieth birthday sooner than later. 

 I have been fighting time this past year and whenever that happens... I will loose, for sure. 

So have I lost really? 

I started looking back on the year and thought I would share a little.

Starting a year ago January... I started the year out right by taking a road trip to Missouri to meet a dear friend. Here

Debra from Common Ground... opened her lovely home and heart to me for 3 days. We shopped, ate, talked till we were blue and shared our thoughts and inspirations. 
I found a most dear friend in her.


I also did a new years project. Here

The computer room. I had closed the shop a few months prior, so every nook and cranny was filled with shop stuff. My computer room had become a storage space. It started out like this...

and ended up like this...

I am in this room a lot now and really enjoy it.


February brought an exciting road trip to Arizona to visit my sister. Here. We followed that awful snow storm all the way down... but it was so worth it.

My mom was there also... it was a good 2 weeks with my mom and sister.

I also spent a day with my good friend Karen from
 My Desert Cottage. We had a great day together, she took me to her favorite shops and we had lunch together.

March came and with it brought sadness, especially for my two daughters as they lost their father.  We spent time In Minnesota where the memorial was but with that also came joy as they were reunited with their half brother. It was a time of healing. Here

In April I had the pleasure to travel to Virginia and meet so many lovely women as I spoke at their annual Prince of Peace luncheon. Here

It was one of the high lights of the year and I still am grateful to Connie for letting me share what God has been doing in my life.


May brought special visitors and so much fun!
My wonderful friend Donna from A Life Reclaimed came for a whole week and helped me get ready for the one and only FiFi O'Neill and Mark Lohman They were here to do a photo shoot for her new book that is coming out in March.  They also shot for the magazine Romantic Country which I am in the spring issue.

Mark, Donna and Fifi


June was my busiest month as the week after Fifi and Mark left, I left for the Great Pacific Northwest.
Road Trip, baby...
Yep, me myself and I took off for a month and headed to Washington where my daughter Jody lives. We had a date with Farmchicks. I spent a week with Jody of LeFaded Fleur finishing projects and hitting some antique shops. One of the highlights was finally meeting Kathleen of Faded Charm. We did a little shopping and a lot of chatting. She is a sweetie.

We then headed to Spokane and set up at the FarmChicks Show
Here

July brought my daughter back to me for
 Horton's French Flea Market. Here.
Jody and I packed up and went to Indiana to stay with our beloved Donna! We set up our tent again and enjoyed a fabulous Flea market put together by the Horton's and the fabulous Miss Donna. We had great fun meeting new and seeing old bloggy friends too.

August was hot and walking through mud... as I put it. It was my biggest project of all... Studio redo. I completely stripped my studio of every last fabric and bauble and put it all under a tent in my back yard... and that started a long process  Here

 During this process, I also was doing the Kane Country Flea Market the first weekend of each month. My goal was to get out of storage and reduce my expenditures. Try to simplify my life. Here

September brought sadness again with the loss of my husbands brother and best friend, Jack Ersfeld or Kramden as he was affectionately called by my husband. He lost a 3 year battle with cancer on Sept. 25. Jack was born in 1943, served in the VietNam war and served on the police force in Chicago for 24 years. He was quick to laugh and had a gentle heart. He will be missed by Diane his wife and stepchildren along with many friends and very much by his brother and our family. May God bless those he left behind.

October

But mission accomplished!
Of course there were trips to Minnesota to see family and I moved out of my studio at the art gallery. All that went into the garage, which my son was so good to help organize and build shelving to put all my "stuff" on.
So that brings us up to November and December, which were filled with shows and etsy and family and friends.
I started off the holiday season by taking a trip back to Tipton for the Hortons Christmas show.   Here

Another fun fun fun thing I got to do was have a blogger party at the show. And I met some wonderful women and also saw old friends.
I was thrilled to see Patti of Shabby Chick 
and her lovely daughter Tia... love to you both!
And of course I got to stay with the whirling dervish herself 
Miss Donna.  Which is always a joy... we have fun, don't we girl?

Which brings me to December... decorating my house, my birthday and going home to Minnesota. My heart is always with my family, so I will leave you with pictures of my Christmas last week with my lovely family. God is good.

 
(Yes, the Ferret is real... his name is Zeus. She loves him.

I am Thankful...
This past year has been anything but lost...


I want to thank all of you, my friends for letting me share and chronicle my life with you.


Many Blessings in 2012
Rebecca
I will be linking up with
Debra at Common Ground Vintage Friday Inspiration