ELECTRIC BLUES by Lois M Valentin July 2015

This is my latest art project which was created from my dreams that had lasted over 

a month night after night. Last night the dreams ended. 

The paint, glue and baby powder were bought. Everything else was recycled, up-cycled or 

already on hand. I painted, glued and sewed, but did ask for help with cutting the wood.

The project is , " Electric Blues".

  A guy frustrated with issues at home goes to the lake to fish. He 
brings his electric guitar to play as he is sad. He is blue.  He sees 2 
huge blue fish jump out of the water. He is inspired.He goes to his 
boat.

  In the dreams the boat  is sometimes colorless , sometimes different 
colors. I painted it orange mainly as I did not have enough yellow. 
Wanted it to be like a yellow submarine.But alas it did not turn out like that.  

It looks like a birdhouse laying down instead of the  rowboat it actually is.

 I painted  flames on the sides but they did not turn out well so another

 coat of orange went on.

He has no time to fish but wants to, so he sits in his boat . The boat 
sits on stilts or whatever they are called. The boat never enters the 
water. It is over the water. The guy plugs in his electric guitar into 
his boat. He couldn't do that at home as he has no electricity. He 
plays his music. The blues. Soulful electric blues.

He turns up the volume and a school of Electric Blue  fish swim around 
his boat and literally jump on the hooks hanging on the sides of the 
boat. He fishes thru music.

Every note he plays causes a stir in the water. More fish come . They 
do not jump onto the hooks. They dance and jump around the boat . Not 
in a frenzy but in a happy mode. The man,upon seeing this, no longer

 feels sad. He is happy as his music still has life. And so does he.

Lois.

THE HOLIDAYS by Lois Valentin This is an edited repost from 30 Sept. 2011

THE HOLIDAYS by Lois  Valentin    This is an edited  repost from 30 Sept. 2011   

For most people, this time of the year is Halloween. I have memories of Halloween. Decades ago when my children were small, I made some of their costumes. There were  frog, candle bar, spider, clowns, etc I also made my own costumes to dress up and walk around with them. I was either a clown or my favorite- a gorilla.

Now my extent of Halloween is to try and make some extra money by sewing costumes. This has been very rare lately.

Thanksgiving used to be driving with my children and whoever else wanted to come along a distance of 70 miles to my mother's. 

When I was President of a local low income tenant council for 8+ years, I would get donations to supply about 50-100 families with complete turkey dinners. I did that for Christmas , too.  The last year, I decided to end that after some of the people actually chased me for a turkey, etc. 

Then as my children became adults, I would go to my son's. Now I stay home, while everyone else goes elsewhere. Quiet at last!

My favorite holiday is Christmas- both religious and commercial. When I went to church, I would sometimes help with the Christmas pageant by organizing or sewing the costumes.

As a child my Christmas's had their ups and downs.

Aprox. 1960 I had my tonsils out in Dec. I caught whooping cough while at the hospital so I was told. I was so sick. Dec - Feb I was out of school. I went back for 1 day , became sicker in school and had to stay out another month. The doc made numerous house calls to give me medicine. I overheard him say to my mom that there was nothing more he could do. 

But that Christmas I received a letter from Santa Claus saying he would get me a toy dog Gaylord, a walking basset hound.after Christmas.  He did. I proudly walked that dog . I also had kept that letter for the longest time.

When my children were small I enjoyed Santa's visits as much as they did. , We marched in parades. We made things for the neighbors. Once, when I was working ,  I bought a pool table off my brother by selling stuffed Christmas decorations I made to my colleagues at work.

We also drove the distance to my moms. One time I dressed up at Santa Claus in a suit that I made  and drove the 70 miles just to knock on her door as well as visit her neighbors. Throughout the years I also visited nursing homes in my Santa suit with gifts that were pre-supplied by nursing home staff. 

When my children got older, I made quilts as gifts. Now life is different. Being a great grandmother on a super fixed income  vs. health issues vs. the economy vs the wants vs the needs is a major part of my life. Probably many people are in the same boat.  But this year, I  have decided to help myself get through Christmas despite the obstacles.

I will be sharing with you some of my creative works and ideas. I am hoping to post often .  Until Christmas I will be blogging with creative things made from recycled materials. Here is the start of  some of my ideas.

1. Make a list of people. I created a database using spread sheet. Columns are name, wants, got, wrapped yes or no and location of gift after wrapping.  I added the last two columns this year as I got tired of trying to remember where I put everything which I often forgot.

2. Handmade coupons with or without expiration dates are great.  My children used to make these for me for errands, chores, etc. One time I kept a coupon in my wallet for many years. I finally cashed it in. Much to the chagrin of my teenager almost adult who balked at it but as I pointed out- there was no expiration date written in so it was still good.

# 3 will come in a later post. I wonder how many ideas I can come up with to take us to Christmas.

Until next time.

Lois

AGE 60- 365 DAYS OF POSITIVE REVAMPING, REDOING AND MAKEOVERS by Lois M. Valentin

AGE 60- 365 DAYS OF POSITIVE REVAMPING, REDOING AND MAKEOVERS

by Lois M. Valentin

I vowed that if I turned 60, then life would be different. I would have 365 days of making changes. That means at least 365 changes. But could multiple like rabbits to a much larger number.

A few days ago I turned 60. Never thought I would have made it this far. The OUIJA board  I played with many decades ago used to say I would croak at 16. WRONG! It's been a tough road all around but here I am.  I have overcome decades of  abuse of many kinds from many people; gun being held at my head;  car accidents, robberies, death, despair,  loss; etc. And yes, HERE I AM!!!!

I have a wonderful family despite the fact they piss me off at times. I have friends- both online and offline. Some are both. All are great. Some more than others. You know who you are. All are loved but in many different ways. 

May 15th  I did have the high risk surgery. Even up to the time of surgery my doc  talked about death possibilities.I would have been his 1st patient to die.   Proved him wrong. I am ALIVE! All my hernias that loved to poke out and play tug of war with me are repaired and now are sutured  in a mesh cage . For the first time in a very long time, I am in no pain. That's right! No pain from the surgery.  Whereas prior to surgery, I often would cry because of it. Even had to take morphine a few times at the ER.  After surgery I did not take any pain meds.  ( I did take tylenol when I got home because the ab binder does make my back uncomfortable. There is a big difference between uncomfortable now  and excruciating pain from prior to surgery. )

May 16th I left the hospital for home but prior to that  I reflected with a nurse that it was 60 years and 2 days   that I was in the maternity ward of the same hospital with my mom. I love and miss her.

Now it's time to move forward. Full speed ahead. Sometimes taking baby steps and sometimes much larger ones. The changes themselves could be small or could be drastic, but all will be of my choosing.  One thing is  all will be POSITIVE. I am so tired of NEGATIVE. Someone suggested it might be a control issue. Perhaps in a sense it is. I am tired of others controlling my life. Or taking away my own control. 

I do not like being used. I HATE being used . That does entails many aspects.  Past and present. Those users know who they are. I am not talking about games, but am talking about those that want to take away one's soul. 

With that being said, where to start. In one direction or in all directions? Somewhere in between?  Since I have no patience and hate procrastination, then choices must come soon.

Things I love to do and am great at:   I can sew up a storm when needed.  I can write even better. My creative thoughts are always on full steam and out of the box. Recycling, reusing and recreating are other things I am good at.  I love doing genealogy research- mine or others. It seems all are entwined with each other at times. 

I also dream a lot. Most people do. But mine seem to be creative.  Sometimes so much that I have to write them down. Sometimes  they are of the physical sense of objects being created, sometimes they are metaphysical , mythical aspects of love. Sometimes I do have nightmares that scare the bejeebies out of me. Some dreams  just take me out of this world. Hmmm!

Now it's time to get some of the dreams into reality. Now to forge ahead with the improvements.

Coming along for the ride?/??

Until next time.

Lois

REFLECTING AND MOVING ON

By Lois M. Valentin

31 Dec. 2013

2014- the year of rekindling.  Since I am in need of a rekindling or as some put it- a major overhaul. So I thought I would start with my blog which unbeknownst to me has been idle since Nov. 2012.

Since I also have many new friends, perhaps it's time to let others the opportunity to get to know me as someone other than an item giver or an online game player. There are many reasons I play numerous online games. Perhaps one day I will discuss them.

If you read my previous blog  posts, then you'll know how life has been for me. Enough said, at least at this time.

Soon it will be 2014. Milestones of life occur. My mom would have been 90 yrs. old on Jan. 2nd. She died at the age of 80 yrs. on 30 Jan 2004- about 10 yrs. ago. I miss her so much but enough said about that as I will start to cry.

Plus this year will be a biggie for me . In a few months, I'll be reaching the 60 mark.  

This flower child is still trying to find out what she wants to be when she grows up.  LOL

I've had my stint at many things. My 1st place of employment in 1970 was at $1.70 an hour.A shoe stapler. Then I moved up to shoe stapler and shoe lacer. Bumped up to shoe inspector and piecework.  Bumped up to shoe and boot lacer and inspector on piecework.  A multi-tasker even then!

My 2nd place of employment allowed me to cruise the streets as a PT preschool bus monitor.Bumped up to FT preschool bus monitor and preschool classroom aide.

Bumped up to a preschool home visitor and preschool Lead Teacher qualified. Occasionally I substituted for other preschool teachers. I also drove a small school bus prior to CDL .

Bumped up to preschool family worker.

This single parent ( I hated being used as wallpaper.)  used to work, raise my children, go to school and volunteer in the community. I even drove a taxi for 3 days. ( Hats off to taxi drivers.) 

But then that stopped and life changed.

I write children's stories- none published in book form , but they are online. My 1st one I wrote when I was a tween.

I used to be a clown and a gorilla, even made my own costumes, but then that stopped and life changed.

I even ran for public office, though not elected I got more votes than many thought I would get.

Eclectic me  wanted to be a private pilot / private investigator, but regs. and health dictated otherwise.

Now it's almost 2014. It's time to come out of this depressing mode and flourish.

I now hang pink, purple and gold with leopard  butterflies in my office as a reminder of  metamorphism.

I am tired of saying ' used to' aka 'yousta'.

So 2014 is the year of change. The year of green - money I hope. The year when depression lessens and other issues are surgically repaired,. ( I hope.) I am tired of being told I am a high risk.  Bah! High risk is if I do it myself. Specialists shouldn't even have that word  in their vocab. After all, they are the specialists with the specialist income.

Now it's time to be more productive and progressive but at my own pace and time instead of someone elses   Now it's time to rekindle what I do best, creatively sewing, writing and genealogy research.

So Happy New Year everyone.  Have a designated driver if need be. I used to be one  for my friends and friends of same.

Since it is still  2013. Until next year 2014

Lois

THE HOLIDAYS- THE SEASON OF $$$ by Lois Valentin

THE HOLIDAYS- THE  SEASON OF $$$  by Lois Valentin

Yes, I used the word 'holidays'. It encompasses them all- Thanksgiving, Christmas , New Years, and Valentine's Day. You might as well add Halloween to the list because that seems to be where it starts.

The business world seems to think of them in terms of financial goals with comparison charts  of sales past and in the future. Whereas they  may have that wonderful option to possibly see a bigger paycheck with bonuses, as it goes down the chain to the retail stores, the workers and finally to the consumers, that's where many options end.

The sales are everywhere. Discounts, BOGO, end of season sales, are just some to name  a few. There are even days named for sales. Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday.

But what about the people who handcraft to make a living or those that are on a super fixed income ?

What about the people who would love to gift to friends or relatives, but just manage to put food on the table and heat their homes in the winter? Car repairs or Christmas ?  Must life be  always circle the pictures in the ads and  say ' this is what I would get you if I could'?

Oh, you say there are agencies to help. The agencies help those that need gifts especially with children. To my knowledge they are no agencies, etc. that deal with helping people buy gifts for others. No one is going to shell out a wad of cash and say ' Go to it. Buy what you want for your family and friends".

It seems in this era, handcrafted items , which take time, treasure and talent to make, are often the last thing on someone's list of gifts, when for many, it should be the first or even in the middle. But still, with limited funds, these , too, are often a thing of the past.

The holidays bring visions of high tech or  big ticketed items supposedly marked down from prices that may or may not have been raised previously, yet for most, handcrafted items are  all that is possible. Might I say, lasts a lot longer, too.

It sounds like I am rambling. maybe I am . I am tired of window shopping for items and going into sticker shock even on sale days.  I am going back again to my needle and thread and create some handcrafted gifts for my family and friends.

It's the thought that counts. Right?

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy healthy prosperous New Year.

From one of your favorite Valentine's ,

Lois Valentin

NO MORE HOSTESS by Lois M. Valentin

In memory of Hostess . A company that has been generational.

NO MORE HOSTESS by Lois M. Valentin


No more Twinkies,
No more Wonderbread,
And squiggley lined cupcakes will cease.

No more Donettes,
No more Ding Dongs,
Ho Ho's and Snow Balls.
Oh what will Santa eat?

Hostess, Hostess,
We will miss you the mostest.

Nature's Pride, Home Pride,
Beefsteak and more.
Just like Dolly Madison
They'll be waltzing out the door.

Hostess, Hostess,
We will miss you the mostest.

No more cheeese sauce, no more mix.
You have managed to take away, even the fruit cake.
Oh, what will the holidays will be ?
Will it be "good for goodness sake"?

Hostess, Hostess,
We will miss you the mostest.

TOTE BAGS IN HONOR OF TWO PEOPLE. BY LOIS M VALENTIN

TOTE BAGS IN HONOR OF TWO PEOPLE by Lois M Valentin

Two people that died last year brought sadness to many .Sadness filled our hearts. What could I do?

Since both people were associated with food pantries in their community. I decided to make tote bags in honor of them. this project started last winter and finally was finished last week, I gave  25 bags each to 2 churches that these people were parishioners of.

I am hoping that the churches could bless the bags in honor of these people. Using the bags as a fundraiser would help the churches raise some money . It would be nice if whoever bought the bags could, at least once,  fill them up with groceries for the poor parishioners or for  the food pantries.

The bags I made were small, medium , and large. Most were cotton. All made from reused, recycled, freecycled, thrift store finds , flea market finds, items I had on  hand or that had belonged to my late mother.

And before you ask, no, I did not take any pictures. I thought about it but kept on sewing . Life also made me forget about the picture taking.  Oh well!

Now that sewing project  # 1 has been completed, now it's time for another project or should I say projects, It is time for me to sew gifts for Christmas or sew something and sell it to make some extra  money to buy those things I can't make or afford.

Now my question is what to make. Time will tell.


Until next time,

Lois