Life, here we go.

Thanks for all the e-mails and prayers. I am still so amazed at times how this blogging community comes together and will bow their heads in prayer. I know that I am making it thru this with the help of my friends and with all the prayers being lifted up in our behalf.

I've had a few questions today about what is going on, so let me fill you in some. Last week was a hard one, to say the least. Our house and the situation went to court last Wednesday, and so it is out there and in foreclosure. Nothing can stop it now. Not that I even want to stop it at this point. There is no way that we can continue to pay these payments and survive. While the building business was going strong so were we, but then it died and we have hung in there as long as we could. No more.

We are having a yard sale this weekend, and we are moving out of our home and moving in with my Mother for the time being. This is really something because her house is not that big and we are moving in, three of us with our four dogs, and there are two of them and she has 3 dogs. But it will all work out just fine. I know it will. And I'm looking forward to spending some time with my mom.

Last week, on Thursday I cried and cried all day long. It seemed like every time I turned around I was getting slapped in the face and I just couldn't take it anymore. Kathy, my friend that is at the studio alot helping me, came in and took one look at my face and knew something was wrong. Then my neighbor and friend, Joanie, called me and I couldn't talk because I was so upset and before I knew it she was at the studio to give whatever support she could. How blessed I am.

I still don't know when the lot and modular will be ready, but I do know that it is finally working ahead and I know that I'll be there soon. I am so looking forward to getting there, really. It is small, but it will be home. Once everything gets settled I will send pics out to everyone.

I am planning on digging up all of my plants and trees and taking them with me. I need to do it now while the weather isn't so hot. Maybe tomorrow.

Well, have a great evening and I'll stay in touch. And I've just got to say, I am so thankful for all of you and I love you.
Charlie

Pictures from classes last week.

Here are the pictures from the last two classes. One was with the HD class and Theresa and Jean seemed to really like the class, and they both did wonderfully.

Kathy had a one on one with me for the Magnolia and even her DH likes it and told her to put it over the mantle of their fireplace.

Next was the clay class. Kathy, Joanie, Maria, Kathy S., and even Mom came for the class.

Myles loves to get in any photo that he can and Kathy was more than happy to help. And Joanie is her usual self and doesn't want to have her photo taken, so she hides behind her beautiful clay piece. Hey Joanie, nice haircut.

And then here is Kathy, and she is so happy to show us her pretty blue piece.

Back from the Pickle Festival.

My sweet Myles in a pot that I painted.

Hello and I hope all had a great weekend.

I'm back from the Pickle Festival in Mt. Olive, N.C. and have gotten caught up on my sleep. My sister and I left around 2:00 on Friday afternoon and drove to Mt. Olive so that we could go ahead and set the display walls and tables up that night and get plenty of sleep for the next day. We ate at a Mexican restaurant that was wonderful and cheap, $6.00 for a big platter full of food. Hey, that is my kind of place. We ended back at the hotel and in bed before 8:00, but didn't fall asleep until later. We started watching Ghost Whisper and got hooked, so it was a little bit later before either of us went to sleep. Then we got up at 4:00a.m., showered and got to downtown by 5:00a.m., got the trailer unloaded and had everything set up by 7:30, and then sat down and waited for the people to show up.

Here is my sweet sister, resting while she can. I am such a hard slave driver.

The only problem with everything is that they put us on a side street that they thought would have a lot of traffic on, but it didn't work out that way. Hardly anyone walked by, but the ones that did stopped and a lot of them bought some of the items. I was so disappointed. Really. I know I was in trouble as I sat there and watched everyone walk by and never come down the street. And here I sat with all of the pickle glasses, and all of the other things that I had painted for the show.

Some good things did happen though. First of all, my sister and I really had a good time together and we were able to laugh and talk, just having "sister" time. And I'm not even going to tell you all about the food that we ate. LOL. Let's just say that my sister didn't feel too good on the drive home.

Another good thing was that the heads of the committee walked around and judged the booths and gave out two awards. One was the the best commercial vendor and one to the best arts and crafts vendor. Guess who won the best arts and crafts? Charlie's Studio. I was so excited, I gave both of them a hug when they presented it to me. What does that mean? Well, I get a booth there next year for free, and my booth and name will be put in their newsletter that they send out.

And one of the good blessings was that I was able to bless others. I usually watch people and when I see them fall in love with something and they can't afford it I will give it to them. So, I sat a birdhouse down and I told my sister that morning that who ever picked it up was going to get it for free. It was later in the day and a woman walked up with her son and she was looking at the stuff in my booth, didn't walk in but stood on the edge just looking. She saw the birdhouse and picked it up. She was talking to her son, then put it back down. I was trying to get up out of my seat to get to her, it was like slow motion. But I got to her and told her that the birdhouse was hers for free. She just looked at me like she didn't hear me right. Then my sister walked up and said that is right, that I had told her that morning that I was giving it to the first person that picked it up and looked at it. She couldn't believe it, but was thrilled.

Then as we were packing up at the end, a sweet lady walked by and she fell in love with everything. She was standing there looking at things, saying that she wished that she had more money with her but she had brought 20 dollars with her and had bought a licence plate that said "Speak It". When I saw it I knew what she was talking about and we got to talking about speaking and believing in God's Word. We had a wonderful time sharing our faith in God, and the whole time I saw her looking at a pitcher and glasses. She walked over to them, picked them up and said how much she loved them and that they would be what she would buy if she could. So I told her to take them. She looked at me, then at the set, then back at me. She then just started talking again. She said that she gives and plants seeds all the time, that she believes that God will bless her, and then when it happens she is so surprised and not expecting it. She said that she expects it, but then when it does happen she is just so surprised and she shouldn't be. I knew what she meant, and aren't we all that way. We believe that God will take care of us and when He does something for us a lot of times we don't believe it or sometimes we don't even see it. Anyway, I wrapped up the set for her, hugged her and she said a prayer for me as she left. What a great way to end the day.

Wanted to share some photos with you from the day. Enjoy.

The set up that morning.

A little of retail items with hand painted items.

That is it for now. Enjoy your life, and remember to breath in and then breathe out.

Charlie

The pickle glasses were a big hit, but when they were purchased it was one glass at a time.

It's Monday again.

No matter what happens, Monday morning always comes, doesn't it? Mine was an early one as my DH left for a business trip and I had an early Doctor's appointment. And here it is after 6:00 p.m. and I'm still at the studio. I have a festival this weekend and I'm painting things for it. I'm taking some windows, glasses, crochet items, clay items, and whatever I can get my hands on. I'll take some photos and post them. I just hope that it is a good festival for me and that it helps to get my name out in the surrounding areas.

You know, it is the small things in life that are blessings. And I've got to tell you that I am blessed each day by a kind word or a promise of a prayer from all of my blogging buddies. You will never know how much your words mean to me, and they seem to always come at the right time. Thank you.

Yesterday DH and I went and spent some money. Guess what we got? We bought bikes. Now we started looking at bikes back in January and then when we decided to move we realized that there is a bike path all over the area and that made our desire for a bike even stronger. The ones that we were looking at were around 300 dollars, and that is without the accessories, I need a basket so I can take Myles with me. Well, yesterday we went to Wal-Mart and bought two bikes, a basket for Myles, a bell for my bike, and a bike carrier for the car and we still got out for less than one of the other bikes would have cost us. Now why do I share this with you? Because, months ago we would have paid the big bucks and not thought anything about it, but now we stop and think about what we are doing, do we really need it, and we keep reminding ourselves that we don't need the best of everything. I was so proud or ourselves yesterday. I really was.

Okay, that is it for now, just wanted to share my thoughts with you. Have a blessed week.
Charlie

Taking a blessing when it walks through the door.

Hi, I was sitting here filling out forms for a show, second time mailing them because the first ones never got there, and wondering how I was going to get to the post office because people were actually coming in the studio today to look around. I was sitting there when I looked up and one of my sweet ladies came in to get her supplies for next weeks lesson and she said that she would take them to the post office for me. What an Angel. Okay, that's all, just wanted to share my blessing with you.
Believing,
Charlie

It's Monday, a new week.

Hi, thank you so much to all of you that have sent me prayers and best wishes. Leaving our home is not an easy thing to do, but we are working on it. Today I spent the day going thru my clothes, and I am so disappointed in myself. As I was going thru them, dividing them into 3 categories, I found so many that I have never worn and that still had the tags on them. What a waste of money. Some were things that I let others talk me into getting, I've got to learn to say no, and stick with my own taste. whatever that might be. And the shoes......some have never been worn. I've got to tell you, this whole experience is teaching me a lot of different things and I hope to be a much better person when we come out on the other side. I feel like I only need a few shirts, jeans, one or two dresses or skirts and a couple pair of shoes. Nothing fancy or much to the extreme. I'm a simple person and I only need simple things. I think. LOL.

Anyway, I wanted to let you all know that my friend Sandy is having a giveaway for her 300th post, so go visit her and enter. You will love what she is giving away.

take care,
and I'm still believing.
Charlie

Please be careful, a virus is being passed along.

Hi,

Last night I posted for the first time in a month, and I got, what I thought was a nice comment, a virus. I was so scared, I have never gotten one like that before. Thank God my anti-virus thing on the computer caught it. I am so sorry to anyone that came on my site and clicked the same comment and got a virus. It has been deleted and is now gone. Shame on the ones that send out viruses, especially in a place like blog land where we all just want to share our lives and interest with others.

take care,

Charlie

Pictures from Dewberry Designs.

pictures

Here are some photos from Donna's home. Just want you to see how she incorporates her art in her home.

Sometimes life is just too much.

Hello, Yes, I'm still here. My plate has just been so full for the last month that I haven't had the energy to even come in here and write. I am so sorry. I guess you might say that I'm dealing with a little bit of depression too, and that has a tendency to make you tired and to lose all interest in your activities. I will try to get you caught up on my life really fast, don't want to bore anyone out there in blog land. Okay, here goes.

My husband and I are losing our home. Yes, you read it right. He is in the building business and it has died in our area, has been dead for a while and we have held on to the things for as long as we could but about a month ago, maybe a little longer, we decided that we just couldn't do it anymore and made the decision to let the house go. We are getting a modular and putting it on a piece of land that we own, and we will just start over. I have been spending the last month going thru all of our things and making three piles. 1. things that we need to keep, 2. things to sell, and 3. things to let go of all the way. This has been interesting, I still have things from high school. I love having things that meant a lot to me in the past, but now I'm at the point of do I keep them or let them go. We are going from a house that is over 3000 sq. feet, plus a garage, storage unit, and a huge back yard with hot tube and swimming pool to a small modular with not much land at all. So I am really trying to downsize things. Then I'm running out of time. Time is short here in the house, but the modular hasn't even begun to be set on the lot yet. I'm concerned about where we will go. But then I have been given more time than I thought, so that is a blessing in itself. Let's be honest here, I never ever thought that this could happen to us. We have always done pretty good, nice homes, cars, and could get pretty much anything that we wanted. Whoa, talk about a wake up call. but I have to tell you, I am believing that God will use this in a special way. This is one of our valleys that we are walking thru, and like the Bible tells us, this shall come to pass.

My trip to Florida was nice, but it was hard because I kept getting phone calls all the time about what was happening back here at home. but I've got to tell you, Sandy, my roommate and friend that is in Ga., and Donna was wonderful to me. God blessed me that week with the two of them. And I learned so much. Sandy and I were invited to Donna's house on Tuesday night for a chocolate tasting, check the link for the healthy chocolate on the right of my blog, and her house is wonderful. You just feel comfortable when you walk in, and at the same time you are so busy trying to take everything in. Sandy and I were both amazed at all the paintings that were in here house. I mean, the things that you see in her books are really in her house. I loved it. And, i really need to tell you this, Donna is such a special person. Her heart is so big, and she truly cares about her OSCI and students. I was fortunate to sit with her for two meals, and I just love her. And she is so funny. Really. The certification for the HD paints was the first one, and it was hard. We painted about 12 hours a day, for three days. To me it was hard, this is something that I've never really done before. But I learned and have already been playing with it some at home. I will post some pictures soon.

Well, I'm going to go for now. I've taken some sleeping pills and need to go to sleep. Tomorrow is a new day and the sun will be shining.
Believing,
Charlie