October 1

My favorite season is here AND my favorite month. I’m going to make every effort to value and enjoy each day (even though I can’t believe it is here ALREADY!).

Happy Birthday to my brother Bill today.

If you haven’t already and particularly if you are in your 40’s, I recommend listening to “Bossy Pants” by Tina Fey. I just started it on my commute this morning. VERY enjoyable and I’m amazed at how much of it I can relate to. I might even go so far as to say it’s inspiring me (MIGHT – don’t want to set expectations that I’m going to DO anything with the inspiration).

Happy day all!

jen

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Looking forward to a long weekend here…

Monday…

Why does it seem to take as long to get through Monday as the entire Friday night, Saturday and Sunday? They FLY by!

Thought for the Day

In the winter, the trees do not search for a warmer place to be. 

They continue to experience life right where they are.

Happy Friday all!

Make it a great weekend…

jen (by jennifer)

Friday? Really?

Is anyone else really thrown off by the holidays falling in the middle of the week this year?

I started my new job on November 18, so I only worked one full week and then I was off for Thanksgiving on Thursday and Friday.  Then I worked another full week and another but then all of the sudden it was Christmas and then New Years – both weeks where I was off two out of five working days.

It’s hard to believe that tomorrow is Friday!

I’m making the best possible effort to stay positive, but MAN Monday is gonna be rough knowing that there will be a stretch of nearly five months (unless I take personal days) before there’s another long weekend.

Oh well!  Guess I had better make my weekends between now and then count!

 

Old friends do it all the time …

Playing catch up is just something we do, right?  So…here is a catch up photo of the last custom painted item I delivered.  Ellie approached me at the Art in the Garden Festival in Naperville for the last two years, inquiring whether or not I thought I could do something with a milk can that has sentimental value to her.  This year I went to her house and brought her milk can home with me.  With the help of my awesome boyfriend John, we sanded it down and cleaned it up.  Then I went to work spraying the base coats and then adding the hand-painted details.

She was very pleased.  What a great project.

 

jen

3… 2…1… The Last Push

There is a 30 percent chance of scattered thunderstorms predicted for Naperville tomorrow.  I guess I’ll pack my umbrella among the other items for the show.  As you can see here, I’m stacking and packing product.

I’ll continue to paint a little today to finish the few items I started yesterday.

And to give you an idea of  the additional product I’ve been painting the past couple of days – watering cans!

 

Have a great day all – hope to see you tomorrow.

jen by jennifer

Where Did Day 4 Go?!

I painted all day yesterday and totally forgot to post … back to painting in just a bit.  I’ll try to remember to post a photo of what I’ve accomplished.  It’s watering can time!

 

see you soon

jen

Happy Mothers Day!

This picture reminds me of my Grandma A.  It also represents quite a few other women who have impacted my life.  The brush belonged to my Great Grandma Krueger, the peonies remind me of Grandma A, the old purse and glasses are from my Grama Z, and the fact that I put these things together on the top of my dresser comes from learning to decorate creatively with things that having meaning to me from living and learning from my mom.

Happy Mothers Day to all the great women in my life (then and now).  If you are reading this, you are likely included.

love, jen

Sharing Flowers

My black-eyed susans are amazing!  And abundant.  To think they came in a shopping bag, dried up and dead-looking about 12 years ago from my friend P… crazy.

Happy Tuesday All!

Mother’s Day – Early or Late?

Good morning.  The stool is ready to be delivered to mom.  Will do that in a little bit.  Now to pick the next project.  I have a large white watering can I started… but I also want to put a coat of paint on the window that was going to be a pot rack but is now going to be the holder for stained glass fireflies in my shop…  I guess I can do both!  So the picture…  Archie is sitting on his favorite chair by the windows on the east side of the shop.  The unpainted frame and little mirror are recent acquisitions from GZ.  And the mirror has been in my dressing room but I had to finally tear it away to prep it for sale in the shop.  I miss it in there, but hey…  Oh and you can see the flowers on the floor reflected in it.  And a little bitty bit of the leg of another old ironing board waiting to be revived.  Guess I should get out of my jammies and get going.  Have a great day!  

R.I.P. GZ

Although cryptic, my last post was inspired by a visit to my Grama Zimmerman (GZ) in the nursing home.  I never thought I would be sitting next to her holding her frail hand and answering questions to help her sort out how long she’d been there and assuring her that family was around her and that she had been visited regularly.  It was very sad.  But I was able to make her laugh a couple of times and she said she felt better after talking with me.  I’ll leave the other details of the day out for the sake of brevity and staying on topic.  What it really comes down to is it was time for her to let go and move on.  And she did.  Thursday morning after a visit from my mom.  So, now there are two.  This is a picture from about three years ago at her ninety-third birthday get together at my brother Bob’s house.

Hazel Marie Zimmerman, Janet Marie Zimmerman (Anderson), Jennifer Marie Anderson

So today we will have a private service and lay her to rest.  I’m certain she is already much happier than she has been in a long time, reunited with my Grampa and my brother.  For that I am happy.

I spent a lot of time with G and G Z when I was growing up.  And when I stayed with them there was always a project to do.  Often it was painting something.  So this morning until the time I have to clean up to go to the service, that is what I will do.  Already I can smell the varnish from the other room.  I put a coat on a project I’m finishing for my mom that is her Mother’s Day gift from last year.  Figured I better do it before May rolls around again.  I get the feeling even if I live to 96 in good health as she did, there will still not be enough time to do all that I will want to.

Peace and love GZ –

“Jenny-re”

You just Never know

If you know me at all, you know I can rationalize anything.  You also know I believe everything happens for a reason. 

I am extremely grateful to be from a family of creative individuals.

Tell someone today that you learned something from them.  Doesn’t matter whether it was positive or negative.