My Fluttering Heart

My latest collage.
I call it "My Fluttering Heart"

Digital Whisper Challege this week
Peacock

This is what I did with it
Such fun!!



I plan to make a note card with this one also

UNBELIEVABLE

Recently my hubby and I decided now that I have turned 62 we would do a reverse mortgage. A reverse mortgage is done through FHA. We live on this beautiful piece of property which consists of 9.5 acres.
We have a natural spring which has the best clear, crisp, cold, wonderful tasting water. Our application was turned down because FHA insists that we have a well drilled or access to hook up to city water! Can you believe this crap? Well water is acetic and city water is treated with all sorts of chemicals! Our spring water is pure because it goes through a filter and ultra violet system.

Soooo today the drilling began.

They will probably have to go down at least 100 feet maybe more. The cost to drill a well 100 feet down is $3000.00 and an another $1000.00 for each 100 feet after.

Oh get this, we would have had an extra $7000.00 cash in our bank account after the reverse mortgage was closed but now this drilling is going to eat most of that up. Makes me think that it was planned that way.

I have to think positive so I am thinking that my hubby can put a pump on the well and we can use the water to water our grass and trees. In the summer in Oregon on property as big as ours, the grass usually turns yellow due to lack of rain so the well water will allow us to have pretty green park like grass year round.

I just thought it was weird that FHA in all its glory just had to throw a wrench in our otherwise great plan.
City Water?, Well Water? Natural Water? Which would you chose? GO figure!!

FLOWERGIRL

This was the image for the challenge this week for Digital Whisper.

This is what I did with it. Created it in Photoshop and then made a 6 x 8 note card and embellished it with satin ric rac. It is going in our space at the mini mall with the rest of my handmade cards.

EVER WONDER WHAT HAPPENED TO CONNIE FRANCIS?

Today I heard a song by Connie Francis and it started me thinking about where she is today and why she suddenly stopped performing. I knew there was an incident with her but for some reason I did not know the whole story. I remember hearing that she was attacked but what I found out shocked me.

Do you remember her and what happened back then? She was so pretty and had such an angels voice.

The following is what I found on her:


Connie Francis is the prototype for the female pop singer of today. At the height of her chart popularity in the late '50s and early '60s, Connie Francis was unique as a female recording artist, amassing record sales equal to and surpassing those of many of her post-rock era male contemporaries. Ultimately, she branched into other styles of music -- big band, country, ethnic, and more.

She still challenges Madonna as the biggest-selling female recording artist of all time. Like Madonna, Concetta Rosemarie Franconero comes from an Italian American background. Francis started her music career at three, playing an accordion bought for her by her contractor father George. Her father's dream was not for his daughter to become a star, but for Francis to become independent of men as an adult with her own accordion school of music. At age ten, she was accepted on Startime, a New York City television show that featured talented child singers and performers. The show had no one else who played an accordion. Its host, legendary TV talent scout Arthur Godfrey, had difficulty pronouncing her name and suggested something "easy and Irish," which turned into Francis. After three weeks on Startime , the show's producer and Francis' would-be manager advised her to dump the accordion and concentrate on singing. Francis performed weekly on Startime for four years.
After being turned down by almost every record label she approached, 16-year-old Francis signed a record contract with MGM, only because one of the songs on her demo, "Freddy," also happened to be the name of the president's son. "Freddy" was released in June 1955 as the singer's first single. After a series of flop singles, on October 2, 1957, she undertook what was to be her last session for MGM. Francis had recently accepted a pre-med scholarship to New York University and was contemplating the end of her career as a singer. Having recorded two songs, she thanked the technicians and musicians, hoping not to have to have to record the third song her father had in mind, an old tune from 1923. After a false start, she sang it in one take. When Dick Clark played "Who's Sorry Now" on American Bandstand, he told its eight million viewers that Connie Francis was "a new girl singer that is heading straight for the number one spot."
"Who's Sorry Now" was the first of Francis' long string of worldwide hits. By 1967, she had sold 35 million world wide, with 35 U.S. Top 40 hits, and three number ones ("Everybody's Somebody's Fool," "My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own," "Don't Break the Heart That Loves You," and "Stupid Cupid" ) to her credit. 1963's "In the Summer of His Years," written as a tribute to the assassinated John F. Kennedy, remains one of the earliest known charity records, with proceeds donated to dependents of the policemen shot during the incident.
1957's "Who's Sorry Now" was going to be her final session for MGM. She ended that relationship in 1969, choosing not to renew her contract when MGM was taken over by Polydor. She opted instead for domestic life with her third husband. Francis didn't return to the recording studio until 1973 when the writers of "Tie a Yellow Ribbon," longtime friends, wrote "The Answer" especially for Francis. In 1974, her husband encouraged her to return to the stage, with disastrous consequences.

After her third performance, she was raped at the hotel she was staying in. Ultimately, this incident contributed to the end of her marriage. During 1975, nasal surgery temporarily robbed her of her voice. She was on the comeback trail in 1981 when her brother, George, was brutally murdered. It took seven years to determine that through all of those events, she was also a manic depressive. She finally made her return to the stage and recording in 1989 and Connie Francis continues to sing to sold-out audiences. She has recorded more than 70 LPs.

In the late 1960s Connie went to Vietnam to sing for the troops. Through the years, she has performed charity work for organizations such as UNICEF, the USO, and CARE.Following a November 1974 performance at the Westbury Music Fair in Westbury, New York, Francis was the victim of a brutal rape and robbery after an intruder broke into her hotel room and held her at knifepoint. She won a lawsuit against the hotel for inadequate security, the result of which influenced the hotel and motel industry to install deadbolts, viewing ports, and improved lighting. Francis was unable to sing for years after her attack, but slowly recovered until she was again able to tour in the early 1990s.Her autobiography, Who's Sorry Now, was released in 1984.

WE BEEN TAKIN CARE OF BUSINESS !

Here it is. Leaf's Tree House Mini Mall!

Our space is all set up and ready to shop in. We do have more things to add like an antique secretary and Sparklettes water cooler and a book shelf that we can fill up with things also.
I love it. Hope it is inviting enough to attract all kinds of shoppers.

We have a good variety of things like
Vintage Marilyn Monroe Calendar from 1990. Altered Shoes, Handmade Clay Art, Chrome Coffee set with serving tray, Handmade sculptured lamp

One of a kind paintings and handmade jewelry, handmade pillow shams,
a vintage animated Coca Cola Santa

One of a kind Collages in a few different sizes, framed, unframed, on formica and canvas, Nic Nac's

Vintage Franciscan Ware (Desert Rose Pattern) and beautiful vintage cobalt blue glass items.

Vintage Indiana Glass Salad bowl and serving dishes as well as hand painted serving pieces.

We also have numerous note and greeting cards as well as Memory Glass necklaces

So if you are anywhere near Coos Bay, come on down and take a look and do some shopping.

AN INCREDIBLE WOMEN HAS PASSED AWAY

Do you remember Audie Murphy. The most decorated war hero of WWII and actor?

Pamela Murphy, widow of WWII

hero and actor, Audie Murphy, died peacefully at her home on April 8, 2010. She was the widow of the most decorated WWII hero and actor, Audie Murphy, and established her own distinctive 35 year career working as a patient liaison at the Sepulveda Veterans Administration hospital, treating every veteran who visited the facility as if they were a VIP.

Any soldier or Marine who came into the hospital got the same special treatment from

her. She would walk the hallways with her clipboard in hand making sure her boys got to see the specialist they needed. If they didn't, watch out.

Her boys weren't Medal of Honor recipients or movie stars like Audie, but that didn't matter to Pam. They had servedtheir country. That was good enough for her. She never called a veteran by his first name. It was always"Mister." Respect came with the job.

"Nobody could cut through VA red tape faster than Mrs. Murphy," said veteran Stephen Sherman, speaking for thousands of veterans she befriended over the years. "Many times I watched her march a veteran who had been waiting more than an hour right into the doctor's office. She was evenreprimanded a few times, but it didn't matter to Mrs.Murphy. "Only her boys mattered. She was our angel."

Audie Murphy died broke in a plane crash in 1971, squandering millions of dollars on gambling, bad investments, and yes, other women. "Even with the adultery and desertion at the end, he always remained my hero," Pam told me.

She went from a comfortable ranch-style home in Van Nuys where she raised two sons to a small apartment - taking a clerk's job at the nearby VA to support herself and start paying off her faded movie
star husband's debts. At first, no one knew who she was. Soon, though, word spread through the VA that the nice woman with the clipboard was Audie Murphy's widow. It was like saying General Patton had just walked in the front door. Men with tears in their eyes walked up to her and gave her a hug. "Thank you," they said, overand over.

The first couple of years, I think the hugs were more for Audie's memory as a war hero. The last 30 years, they were for Pam.

One year I asked her to be the focus of a Veteran's Day column for all the work she had done. Pam just shook her head no. "Honor them, not me," she said, pointing to a group of veterans down the hallway. "They're the ones who deserve it." The vets disagreed. Mrs. Murphy deserved the accolades, they said.

Incredibly, in 2002, Pam's job was going to be eliminated in budget cuts. She was considered "excess staff." "I don't think helping cut down on veterans' complaints and showing them the respect they deserve, should be considered excess staff," she told me. Neither did the veterans. They went ballistic, holding a rally for her outside the VA gates. Pretty soon, word came down from the top of the VA. Pam Murphy was no longer considered "excess staff."

She remained working full time at the VA until 2007 when she was 87.

"The last time she was here was a couple of years ago for the conference we had for homeless veterans," said Becky James, coordinator of the VA's Veterans History Project. Pam wanted to see if there was anything she could do to help some more of her boys. Pam Murphy was 90 when she died last week. What a lady.

TREE HOUSE

A couple of my friends and I have decided to rent a space in an antique mall. Here it is, a 7.5 x 9 space. We plan to fill it with some of our vintage things as well as our crafts such as collages, jewelry and greeting cards. It is in Leaf's Tree House Mall here in Coos Bay. We are excited about this venture and look forward to making some extra money too. I will post more photos when we have the space filled. Wish us luck!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRENDA

Last Saturday I took my friend Brenda up to Grants Pass for the day. Her Birthday is July 11th and she will be out of town so we decided to take a little road trip and have some fun.

Grants Pass is about 100 miles from Coos Bay and so it took us awhile to get there. We talked all the way so it was fun.

We stopped at a place called Heaven on Earth. All of their baked goods are huge !!
These are two of the many cakes they had there.

This pineapple upside down cake is bigger than a large pizza in diameter.

Same with the cinnamon rolls. They are as big as a standard cake.
Yes, I ordered one but only ate a small portion and Brenda had their pumpkin bread pudding. It was heavenly!

When we got to Grants Pass we walked up and down the streets and stopped into several antique shops
I guess it was an extra large day because t his light bulb was the biggest I have seen. Up close anyway.

Brenda had an idea!!! She held it up above her head to show how big it is.

I just fell in love with this painting framed with a vintage window, glass and all.

Now this is the way toys used to be made. Iron, heavy and unbreakable! Cute little fire engine :)

Just my style. Love it

Cute wrinkled baby dolls. I am a doll freak even thought I don't collect them. I got my last baby doll when I was 12 years old. By age 15 I had my very own real live baby. :)

Brenda had fun trying on hats in the hat section. Cute huh? and I love the mirror

This is a very vintage baby bottle. I remember feeding my babies with one of these.

Lassie and Timmy, remember them?

I found this little wood burning stove to be interesting. Too small to put out very much heat but back in the day houses were small.

Remember these telephones. The ones you had to dial and not just push a button? Oh, wait looking at this closer it does have push buttons! Well you get my drift right?

I even remember our phone number when it was only 5 digits! I AM getting old!

Oh yeah this is the kind of typewriter I taught myself to type on. I am so glad I was able to learn and break into the new world of computers

Look at this adorable fabric we found.

We stopped for lunch and had a Pennini sandwich
It was interesting, it had this stuff on it like ground olives,and we laughed and said it looked like caviar


On the way out of town our eyes were drawn to these most interesting bikers.

What?

Take a close look at these guys. They are amazing!

I have never seen anything like it. Interesting for sure.
We stopped for an ice cream cone on the way home.

We stopped to take this photo on the Sandy Creek covered bridge.

Brenda is an amazing person and always makes me smile. She is a true friend, one that listens and gives advice when I ask and is an inspiration to me in so many ways.I love this lady :)

Happy Birthday Brenda !


She is also a wonderful artist and she makes the most beautiful jewelry. This is her latest piece and the link to her art page Salzano's Design and Decor, This is the article that she wrote about t his extraordinary piece of art.

Blood Red Agate from Tibet

A good mystery intrigues me. I love to watch NCSI, Bones, and other mystery type movies. Which was the inspiration in this creation. Jade from Korea (flowers) frosted agate focal from Tibet, and those wonderful Wasabi Potato fresh water pearls, which I found at Artbeads.com ! The translucent red rounds are glass.

I loved the jade flowers which had a hole through the center, thus, being able to "float" a glass bead in the center. The red agate has symbols on both sides, and is thick and solid. I do not know what the letters say but if you do please send me a note! ;-)

The title has the link to buy this piece if you are interested in a truly one of kind precious artisan Necklace!