Friendship and a MOP Button Giveaway

I teased y'all about my button stash a few posts backed, but since have decided to share a few pictures of the gargantuan carved mother of pearl buttons I have. These beauties measure a whopping 2 inches across, surely the largest I have ever seen! 

These are sure nice to look at and hold in your hand. Each one is unique with its carvings and irregularity that only mother of pearl can have. 

"BEE A GOOD FRIEND"

Was created from some small mother of pearl buttons, used as dangles on a vintage chain along with old glass beads.  I also used a brass medallion that was once used on an old dresser, this piece is the platform for another button and silver bee. A vintage dictionary definition is forever preserved in resin dangles below and gently reminds us what a friend is.  

When you move this piece the sound is like seashells rolling in with the tide...so fitting for the old shell buttons. 

You can find Bee a good friend here.   

 So tell me what does it mean to be a good friend? Has someone been a really good friend to you? Or have you been a true friend to someone...pat yourself on the back and tell us about it. Good friendships are inspirational. Share!

By sharing your story your name will be entered to win some of my fabulous buttons....post to Facebook and tell me about it and you get another entry, the same with Twitter and so on. Share the love and so will I!! 

Giveaway will end  on May 25th and the lucky winner will be posted on Wednesday May 26th.
(I changed the original end date,due to computer issues)

Here's the loot you can win!!

The largest button measures 1 1/2" across.

Share your stories with us!

Tennessee has welcomed me home with some severe weather today...that is not very nice! Although, it is nice to be home. After we landed yesterday we stopped to visit our son Nick at school, I actually think he was very happy to see us, then home to 3 happy kitties and my nice comfy bed.

 It was a wonderful visit, typical fall weather with gorgeous glowing foliage. Got to see most everyone I had planned on visiting with and we attended the wedding of our good friend Scott and his new bride Valoree. It was a great day spent with good friends.

I also spent a few days with my sister Susan and her family and Wilson their silly dog. We did some antique shopping and I filled  my extra suitcase to the brim, it weighed 50.8 lbs...just over the allowed 50lbs, Southwest let the .8 overage go, how nice of them.

 

Lunch with a sweet friend

Yay for me! I got to meet up with Miss Leslie of BeiMondi for lunch while she was visiting family here in Tennessee. This was our second get together, it was like meeting an old friend (no pun intended, I think I have "old" on my mind) We now have a place that we like to meet, a small Mom & Pop Italian place with yummy food! After lunch we did a little antique browsing, but did not find anything we had to have. She gave me a sweet goodie bag of gemstones and I can not wait to play with them. Why is it someone else's beads are always better than yours? Leslie is a sweetie and I can't wait to see her again around Christmas!

Home Sweet Home

It feels so good to be home! Although I have been home for 4 days I am looking forward to Monday to get back into some sort of routine. We had a great trip in Connecticut visiting with family and friends and attending the wedding of our good friends son Matt.

~ Matt & Erin~

When you live away from all of you family it is always tricky trying to fit everyone in and to try to see all of your old friends as well. It was nice that the heat wave of New England mellowed a bit for our visit and gave us a respite from the heat of Tennessee as well.

 my brother Tim and my niece Lisa

During our visit I celebrated my birthday....the "BIG" one, if you know what I mean. I am not saying it so you are on your own for that. My girlfriend Eileen hosted a birthday celebration for me with some of our good friends. It was so great to see everyone, I realize how much I miss them all. I did some antiquing with the girls and had a full suitcase of treasures to bring home. There is nothing like old stuff from New England...I am in my glory in an old shop full of junk!

I also got to visit with my best friend Donna from high school. We had not seen each other for 8 years and it felt like I had just seen her yesterday. That is a true friendship.

We stayed with my sister Susan the last 3 days of our trip. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the beach and I finally got to have the lobster I was dying for....it was so good!

 Our boys...

My son Nick on the (L) and his cousins Nate and Chad

...and we can not forget her other "son" Wilson. It is like have another person with you.

Back to whatever normal is tomorrow...

thanks for stopping by.

The Flood of 2010 TN

NASHVILLE, Tenn., May 4 (Reuters) - Flooding overwhelmed utilities in downtown Nashville on Tuesday, knocking out power and water service to thousands, after weekend storms were blamed for more than two dozen deaths.

"Power will be out for the next few days downtown due to water in underground vaults," the city's mayor, Karl Dean, said in a statement. He said 3,500 customers were without electricity.

The Cumberland River burst its banks and submerged several city blocks in Nashville's downtown tourist district in sewage-tainted water.

Flooding that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers called a "1,000-year event" also inundated sites such as the Grand Ole Opry entertainment and hotel complex, the football stadium, and one of two water plants serving the city of 626,000 people.

It is so over whelming to see this devastation...I still can not believe what has happened. I thank the Lord for the safety of my family and friends but my heart breaks for those who are not so fortunate. I need to keep pushing forward....keeping my mind and hands busy. My sister Susan is here until Monday and she is such a trooper, a little wine and a martini goes a long way. We have friends coming for dinner tonight, our good friend Sandy (chef) will be cooking. I wish you all a wonderful day.

Two bloggers & lunch

Guess who I finally got to meet??? My blogging buddy.... The darling sweet Miss Leslie Zabel of Bei Mondi. She was in town visiting family and put some time aside so we could get together for lunch. I could have easily spent all day with her as we had so much to talk about. I felt as though I have known her forever! She surprised me with the most beautiful pair of earrings, ones that I will treasure. She has hopes to someday move to the Nashville area and I am hoping she does. How fun it would be to get to know her better and show her all of my favorite places. Thanks again Leslie for such a lovely visit.

The Blessing of Good Friends

We had a wonderful Christmas celebrating with our son Nick and very good friends. We are so lucky to have such wonderful friends who we feel are like our family. Since we live far away from our families you tend to rely more on your friends and we know how blessed we are to have such wonderful caring friends around us.

Friends are relatives you make for yourself. ~Eustache Deschamps


If you're alone, I'll be your shadow. If you want to cry, I'll be your shoulder. If you want a hug, I'll be your pillow. If you need to be happy, I'll be your smile. But anytime you need a friend, I'll just be me. ~Author Unknown



But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life, and thanks to a benevolent arrangement the greater part of life is sunshine. ~Thomas Jefferson

I hope each and everyone of you has a wonderful friend on who you can rely on and loves you for who you are. What a good time to tell them how you feel.
Have a great day!

Australian Chrysoprase

There is so much to do....so little time! Getting ready for my Trunk Show & Sale on Friday, yikes! I am trying to get some new things made and this bracelet is one of them. I am very pleased with the simpleness of this design, the stones say it all. You can find this on my website

I am sure everyone is getting ready for their Thanksgiving feast, cooking, cleaning and some will be traveling. We won't be visiting family this holiday as we were back to Massachusetts and Connecticut this past spring, instead we will be walking across the lawn to our good friends house, what a treat it will be for me not having to cook. I know it will be a lovely day spent with good friends.

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Today's the day

Today is the day....I received a call from the horse haulers and they were to arrive at Johnny's around 6pm. I knew there was no way that I wanted to be there, it would be too emotional for me. I spent a lot of time with the horses that day and said my goodbyes, it was so hard knowing I would not see them again. Since our last attempt to get them in the barn went sour we left them in the pasture and let the handlers get them.

Around 10:30 pm the phone rang and it was Olivia, Johnny's neighbor called me to tell me there was someone in the pasture with the horses and there was a trailer in the yard. I told her I knew and it was ok. She let on that it was not a pretty site. Johnny always said that Olivia exaggerated too much but I knew she may be right, especially trying to get that little filly who had a mind of her own. I got very upset and sent Ed to the farm to see what was going on, and told him if it was bad I did not want to know a thing. I just could not handle anyone bad news.

Ed went to the farm and this is what he told me.
He said when he arrived one man was throwing up because the filly had kicked him in the gut. They had the mare in the stall and were trying to get the filly in too. They had managed to get two leads on her and she giving them a run for their money. Ed was relieved to see that they were very patient with her and were not being rough at all. They would get her to move forward a few inches at a time and then she would rare up and go back , they kept doing this for an hour hoping to tire her out. They finally decided that one guy would take the mare into the trailer and Ed would stay on the side of the ramp. Finally they managed to get her up the ramp and then she ran full throttle into the trailer. Now, the other guy was stuck in the trailer with the mare on one side of him and a wild filly and a wall on the other. Thankfully the trailer had a trap door above the mare leading into another stall so he was able to climb through. The two men collapsed after loading them. They said in the 15 years they have been hauling horses they had never seen a filly so tough. They had already loaded Salina and her foal Bucky with no problem at all, (I like to think that my good training helped there...lol). Ed said the trailer was beautiful and the horses had lots of room. I was worried about the long trip in the heat but it too was air conditioned.
The horses were on their way to Ohio to Mr. Hunt's farm were he would now care for them.

Mr. Hunt still had plans to sell Lady Gelaine after this last foal was weaned, and he would let me know when that would be. He made it sound like I would be able to get her and bring her back to Tennessee. I had some hope. I called him a few times after the horses got to Ohio to see how they were and all was fine.
My life changed...for the last year I was at Johnny's several times a week and sometimes every day. After Johnny's death I was there twice a day and enjoyed every second of it. I felt so empty and missed them so much, this is when I started getting more involved with my jewelry to fill that space.

Travis and I continue to stay in touch, he designed my website Judith B. Designs for me. I spoke with Trav last week and told him I wanted to call Mr. Hunt to see how the horses were but did not want to hear any bad news ( I am such a coward!). Anyway, I called Mr. Hunt and we talked for a bit. Salina had her foal and she had a filly this time and was doing well. Artic Roll miscarried her foal at 4 months. Lady Gelaine was due any day with her second foal. He also told me he was not going to sell Lady he was going to keep her, my heart sank as I have been holding on to the hopes of getting her. He also told me he was done breeding and would just train the ones he kept.

I still hope one day to get a horse, I would love to learn how to ride. I have seen lots of advertised horse camps lately, Ed says I should go. I would be the old lady with all the 12 year old girls! But seriously, I just may!! I had the most amazing year with Johnny and his horses and add that wonderful experience to the journey in my life. Next month will be a year that Johnny died...it is so hard to believe, I still miss him so much. I know there will be something around the next corner for me....I am still looking for the right yard to walk into.