Pioneer Woman invited me back to the ranch!

Okay, Ree Drummond, aka, The Pioneer Woman, did not really invite me back to her ranch, but that did get your attention, didn't it? I know, not fair, but in my head, I really, really want to go baaaaccckkk! Maybe if I send out that vibe...maybe she will invite me to visit her ranch...maybe? Okay, she probably won't but if anyone reading this out there in blog land knows her well enough to let her know that I want to go back and take more photos of her mustangs and cattle...please let her know. Just want to get "it" out there.  :-)  But I really did visit with her, and she really did meet me, and if you run into her, here is a photo you can show her to remind her. I know, look at her...(sigh)...she's tall AND gorgeous, AND, she cooks, AND lives with horses, a cowboy, great kids, has great hair, big eyes, AND is really nice on top of all that...damn! You just want to smack her! But once you get to know her, you realize how much you really do like her because she really is the real deal. 

Me and the beautiful Ree Drummond.

Before I get too busy and too much time passes, I wanted to share with you, as promised, my visit with Ree Drummond, better known as The Pioneer Woman. Now, let me back up for a moment and catch you up. I have been honored to photograph some studios for Where Women Create and Jo Packham, the editor and creator of this wonderful publication, is now creating a brand new publication, Where Women Cook (due out this December). A wonderfully new publication about women, cooking, their kitchens, and their journey with food and their love for it. (And by the way, I will be in the first issue!)

Jo calls me up one day, all excited and asks if I could fly out to Oklahoma and shoot for Where Women Cook and be one of the photographers for the photo shoot. I am not sure what could have kept me from not going, but of course, I my appointment book suddenly became cleared. I had certainly have heard of The Pioneer woman, in fact, I had read some of her stuff way back when, before she really became "known." And I will be the first to admit that I hadn't really kept up with her since she had really became "famous" and maybe that was a good thing because I went into the shoot only knowing she had a nice ranch, a new cookbook out, and is a fabulous photographer, and not much more. Later I learn that Sony Pictures is making a movie about her, People magazine has had her twice, she has appeared on The View and the Bonnie Hunt Show and the week I was there, she was getting ready for the Today Show. People who know me well, know I am clueless when it comes to this kind of stuff, just clueless. I thought I was doing good to know she had a cookbook out and a "popular" blog! It is better that I just think of people as people, because it is usually way after the fact do I get all worked up when I find out what everyone else knows and then get all disappointed that I wasn't star-strucked like everyone else was at the time. It happens all the time with me. 

So, I packed my equipment and fly out to Tulsa, Oklahoma and just pray that nothing happens to my carrying on bag...this is the first time I am traveling with every single piece of camera equipment I own in one bag. I have traveled all over the world and this is the first time I can honestly say I was really nervous about my one bag ever leaving my sight, getting kicked, some kid playing around it, or some idiot trying to cram his bag next to mine in the overhead bin on the plane. I was like a nervous new mother with a crying infant, wearing a maternity bra, constantly looking down, checking for leakage.

Once in Tulsa, I met up with Tiffany, better known as The Fancy Farm Girl, who was the other photographer. She is a fabulous photographer and we talked about our shooting styles and of course, equipment. We talked as if we have known each other a lifetime and I loved her immediately. Only about 30 minutes later, Jo and her assistant, Loralee of Loralee's Looney Tunes blog,  met up with us and off we go to get the rental car and on a new adventure!

Now Ree (Pioneer Woman) assured Jo that her ranch was only one hour and 20 minutes away from the Tulsa airport...but we took the "scenic route" and got to the ranch almost three hours later, with the help of a Kansas State Trooper. We had stopped at a tiny gas station to take pee break and both Tiffany and I spotted a muscular State Trooper gassing up. As we eyed him up and down...I mean as we noticed him, we both at the same time noticed his car had Kansas plates and I wondered out loud, "Why is a Kansas Trooper in Oklahoma?"

Just then, Jo, who drove the rental car, rolls down the window and checks with the trooper and it goes like this:


Jo: Can you tell me how far it is to Burnstown? (I don't remember the actual dinky town's name)


Trooper: Burnstown?


Jo: Yes, we need to turn onto 60 at Burnstown.
(Jo is now waving the piece of paper with the directions out the window at him, as if that was proof.)


Trooper: You mean, Burnstown, Oklahoma?


Jo: We aren't in Oklahoma?


Trooper: (With a big smile on his face as he bends down and looks at all us clueless women in the car)
Nope. You're in Kansas. You aren't in Oklahoma anymore.


We all crack up laughing because we knew he was just dying to say that line.

Somehow, we drove almost 30 miles into Kansas with a car of four women, and not one of us saw the "Welcome to Kansas" sign. And what is really sad about all this is that we are in the middle of NO WHERE with only fields and farms, so we can't even blame heavy traffic on blocking the signage.

After the photo shoot, when I returned to St. Louis, I emailed this card from Jib Jab and sent it to Jo, Tiffany and Loralee, (Click to play and wait a second for it to start. Have your volume up.)

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

The card said: "We're not in Kansas anymore!" 




So back on the ranch...

We finally arrive at what is known as "The Lodge" on the ranch. This is the place where guests stay and the personal home, I am told, is a couple of miles away on the ranch. I am guessing there are thousands of acres attached to this ranch. Before I arrived, I was picturing dusty dirt, and dry land. NO, this is a lush, rolling landscape with green fields and a view to die for. We arrive in the dark and you don't know what dark is until you are in the middle of a huge ranch with no lights, no where.

The lodge is huge, with timbered ceilings, stone fireplace, gourmet kitchen (stocked for us), and four huge bedrooms, all with giant glass doors overlooking the rolling hills. We girls were in heaven. I went out onto the huge porch into pure darkness and stillness. The breeze was so nice and I don't think I have never been in such a dark and quiet place before. I sat down on a chair to take it in. Suddenly, I hear a little tiny trot coming towards me, and before I know it, I have a slobbery jaw on my knee and sad eyes looking up at me as if I were there for one reason only, and I better get to it. An old ranch dog came up out of know where to greet me. She/ he? (too dark to see the parts) looked like part pit bull, part boxer, part hound, part this and that. But mainly, big part lovable. I petted its head for a while and before I know it, she/he was gone. I learned from Ree later the next day, that I was petting, Hooker. Apparently she has had numerous litters and is a really "friendly" dog that has earned her name. I love it!

The next day, I wake up with light streaming into my room through the sheers. I almost forgot where I was. I suddenly jolted up and realized I had to get some sunrise shots! I jumped out of the most comfortable bed of my life and grabbed my camera and went out onto the porch in my bare feet and pj's. I had the entire porch to myself that morning. I am NOT a morning person and I told myself that I would just take a few photos and go right back to bed, but it was too beautiful to pass up, so I never went back to that really, really comfy bed.

I began snapping and couldn't stop. I padded around the porch and like an idiot, I kept thinking, I should put on some shoes, but never did and so I walked around on pebbles, thinking, I need to get shoes on, but again, I never did. Why do we stuff like that? I mean, I was only 20 yards away, but there I am, still bare foot. Below are some photos. So...on with some photos....

All this beauty, and I have to take photos of telephone poles...go figure. But the sunlight just made them look so mystical.

As the sun rose, the colors just kept changing and changing...

I am guessing, a ranch-hand's home...I'd take it!

Can't you imagine just how quiet it is in this scene?

The sun and sky just kept changing the scenery and this road went as far as the eye could see.

The Lodge.  Why anyone would ever leave this place is beyond me....

Does this look like Oklahoma? More like Montana to me....

The ranch is a working cattle ranch, has a wild mustang reserve, and more. It is a fourth generation ranch and I do believe I could give up city living...I really fell in love with it. As I sat there on the porch, taking it in, I suddenly hear a loud neeiiigghhhinggg coming from way down below. I jump up and looked all around...and then right there below me, is a horse looking straight at me, tossing his head up and down, neighing at me to get my attention. Then he just stopped and stared at me. He just stood there and stared at me and I just stood and stared back. Oh how I wish I had a telephoto lens! He was just saying "Good-morning!" Geesh, even the friggin horses are magical at this ranch. I was really happy to have that moment to myself, though. I just have to move there...I already have many cowboy boots, so I am ready.

Last night I had Hooker greet me (how ironic that "Hooker" was my night greeter) and this morning, this beautiful horse trotted up and waited for me to take note of him and wanted his picture taken too!

Okay, Randy, on my Christmas list...a telephoto lens, please!

The sun continues to rise and the sky and fields are awakening...

Cattle in the distant...I can hear them greeting me as well. (Please, honey, a telephoto lens!)

Can you believe that color?? And no, I did not add a single element to this photo. This is what I really saw when I stood on that beautiful porch. Breathtaking! And I got to see this beauty all by myself that morning. So nice.

Soon everyone is up and Ree arrives and greets us all with a big smile. She is very friendly and kind and soft-spoken. She is making lasagna and I will show you a few photos - but like always...you have to get the publication to see it all. :-)  After I came in after snapping the sunrise photos, I tipped-toed around the lodge while the others slept and quickly snapped these photos just for you...yes, that is right...I took these just for you all because I know how much you like the behind the scenes shots and I thought how fun it would be for you to see the lodge all quiet BEFORE the action even began. Besides, I wasn't sure if I would even have time to take photos after the shoot and the house, would most likely be a mess. So, here are a few photos of the inside with the bright morning sun shining in.

Can't you imagine a line of really cute cowboys sitting on these stools eating chow?

And just to really make you wonder who ends up sitting at one of those bar stools down at the end of the kitchen....and to make you go and reserve you a copy of Where Women Cook...you might want to see just who some women are cooking for and in particular, this special man...

After several hours of shooting, out of no where, we heard him. You know, Marlboro Man. I didn't see him at first, but I heard his spurs on the floor. He is a handsome, rugged man that is truly in love with his woman - his Pioneer Woman. They are the cutest couple. I introduced myself to him, but mainly stayed back and took some photos. I hope the way he looks at his Ree is the way Randy looks at me after being married for 17 years. I believe no matter how much press and groupies that are bound to come their way once the movie is out, they will still have eyes only for each other, as it should be.

You know, so many women today, especially young women, are so against anything "domestic." Growing up in the feminist 60's and 70's I was raised to be independent and remaining in the home meant I didn't really succeed. And yet, look at the line of work I ended up in - basically, interior design - back in the home, the place I always wanted to be all along. Ree is a woman that I admire immensely. She has all the qualities a woman should be PROUD to have. She can cook, run a family, take care of her husband, raise her children, and yet, she is very much her own person. She isn't swallowed up by it all, rather, she celebrates it all by cherishing it, rather than running away from it like so many  can with busyness or hobbies. In return, she gets a husband who adores her, protects her and the family and admires her talents and allows her to be her. 

I have no doubt that she has her challenges just like the rest of us, but she seems to have taken on many traditional roles with such grace and with such a modern "flare" that makes domestic life almost magical - that is, if you include cow poop and a dog named Hooker as part of the fairyland. I don't pretend that her life is Martha Stewart on Horseback. I am just saying that in an era in which motherhood, housekeeping, taking care of your man, and cooking are deemed as duties on a to do list, rather than a passion, it is refreshing to meet a woman who is so front and center about what is so in front and centered in her life - her family and taking care of them with a passion and a great sense of humor on top of it all. If you haven't visited her blog, please do. You will love her sense of humor, take on life, recipes and just how she can take an everyday event and make it funny - like how her dog might sleep with its head turned so all its crooked teeth show and how it looks deformed. Stuff like that. Good stuff. 

Thank you Ree for allowing me into your world for just a short bit. I will value my time with you in so many ways.

Jo Packham, Ree Drummond and Me. Yes, yes, I added lots of "glow" to this photo. This was taken after a LONG day of shooting and I got up at sunrise at that. I mean, look at Ree. She just glows naturally.  I needed some glow too! :-)

The evening ended with Jo having to fly home with a family emergency and me, Tiffany and Loralee spent the night at a hotel near the airport since we all had very early flights. We all were yakking and comparing notes and photos and blogging....below is what Loralee called a computer geek's fantasy:

Me, Tiffany, and Loralee. Can you hear the clicking of the keys as we all three type? Can you believe we have known each other only 24 hours and here we are in bed together with our computers? Tiffany emailed this photo to Jo while we were still in bed and said, "Look how hard we are working for you!" And she texted back, "I want to know who's there taking that photo..." (I took the photo on my little pocket camera with a timer - but we left her guessing.) It was late at night, but we were all still high from the fresh ranch air, I think.

Story Time:

Photo from hitherandthither.net

There was a moment out of the whole adventure that meant a lot to me that I wanted to share, and then I will close with my own thoughts. On the evening that we arrived, as stated earlier, the three went inside and I stayed out onto the huge porch and enjoyed the breeze and complete, complete silence and darkness. I have never seen such darkness. I leaned on the railing, taking it all in and soon Jo and Loralee joined me and then later, Tiffany.

Suddenly, Jo points out into the wilderness and gasps a little and says, "What's that?" I cock my head and look out towards the horizon. We are all quiet as we stare out into pure blackness. And then Jo says, "Look, there it is again!" I am stretching my neck, and looking out into the fields and I have no idea what she is talking about and suddenly Loralee says, "I see it now!" I turn just in time to see Loralee and Jo pointing and smiling at a.....firefly!

A firefly. I discover they have never seen a firefly before. When I tell them they are looking at a firefly, they both turn into little girls. I feel honored to be there to witness the first time they have ever seen a firefly.

Jo says softly as she watches out into the fields, "I always wondered if they were just a myth."

You see, Jo and Loralee live and grew up near Salt Lake City, Utah. Fireflies don't live there. I don't think I had ever met anyone before who had never seen one. I just found this so fascinating that someone could live an entire life and never had seen a real firefly. Growing up in Texas, I guess, I just assumed everyone grew up catching fireflies in the summer.

Jo asks me, "What do they look like?" She never takes her eyes off the fields.

Oh, how I wish I could catch one, but they are way down in the field and there only seems to be two or three way down there. I explain to her how I still catch them on my front porch to this day and wait for Randy to come out and show him all in my hand, blinking. I tell her stories of my growing up and putting them in mason jars with holes punched in the lid and having "lanterns" for the yard at night. I tell them how I used to love catching them and then scattering them in my long hair as a little girl and pretend I was a fairy as they blinked their way out of my messy, sweaty hair on a hot summer Texas night. She and Loralee listened to my stories as they lean on the railing and watched the few fireflies blink in the distance.

And that is the beauty of this wonderful world of ours. No matter our age, no matter how much we think we know, we can still find wonder and amazement at the simplest things. But those simplest things can become so fantastic when shared with someone we care about.

A firefly. A tiny, twinkly fly that shined in the night amongst thousands and thousands of dark acres. It just did what it was created to do, and nothing more. Yet, it managed to catch and hold our complete attention. Can you imagine for just a moment how we must fascinate God when we shine with not only what we were created to do, but also with what we create from our hearts as well?

Maybe that is where that term, Shining moment comes from? Whether we live in the middle of a beautiful ranch with a cowboy, or in the center of a huge city with a roommate, or in a small bungalow with a barber husband, the point is, our shining moments are more brightly lit because we have someone we are shining for. Just something to think about.

This Friday, I believe Design Sherpa will be announcing its top 10 winners out of the 100 winners to go on to phase two. I am honored to have made it to phase one, so click on the site on Friday and see if I am in phase two, or if they announced it yet. I will be no where near a computer - I will be with a bunch of wonderful women out in the middle of no where in Arkansas on a women's bible retreat, boating, swimming, and laughing (and eating)! So I will have no idea until I get back what is going on - so I hope I have good news waiting for me. Thank you all for the lovely comments you left me on Design Sherpa's website, I appreciate it so much.

May your shining moments be often, and may they be witnessed by those who truly love you.

From my house to your house,


Elizabeth

Creative Company

Hello!

I guess it is official. I think it is out now. I am talking about the summer issue of Where Women Create. I received a couple of very nice emails from women who read my article in the magazine and I was so touched by their words. The issue was printed and mailed out earlier than I was told it would be, so it beat my new website, darn it. But you can peek at my "coming soon" page to get an idea of the new look. 

First, let me say that I don't think I have the words (really, no joking) I don't have the words to express what an honor it is to be in the company of such creative women, much less, on the cover of such a beautiful publication. I was truly, truly shocked when I got the email that told me I would be on the cover and even more shocked to be sitting in my office, looking at my computer screen seeing my own work space on the cover! I have to tell you, as dumb (and funny now that I think of it) as may this sound, I was so shocked the first time I saw the cover on my computer screen, I studied it for a moment, then I turned around in my chair to look at my big cabinet behind me. I have no clue why - it was as if it wasn't real or something. 

Now that my article is out and you can finally see my new office, I am excited to finally show you! I haven't been able to share it with you due it being saved for the publication. But before I go into more detail about my office and show you some before photos and give you a little "tour" on some personal items, I would like to take a moment to thank some people that I couldn't thank in my story. My original story for the article was much, much longer and I was required to cut the word count way down (I know, hard to believe, isn't it?). So, I wanted to take a moment and expand a little on my published story, if you will allow me.

First, I want to thank Jo Packham for giving me the honor of being on her beautiful publication's cover - I am still smiling from ear to ear when I look at it. Thank you Jo!

I want to thank Mary Engelbreit for taking a chance on me, way back when, and publishing my apartment in her wonderful magazine, Home Companion. Mary walked into my store after I was opened only seven days, and before I knew it, a year later, my apartment was on the cover of her magazine.Mary is always hosting workshops with Barbara Martin, and when those two team up, you can't go wrong. So, thank you Mary and Barbara for "getting me out there" into the public world for the very first time, so many years ago.

Before I moved into the apartment, it had not been lived in for months. It had been used as storage and was a rat trap. This is where I want to thank with all my heart Sherrie Whitehead. My very first friend I made in St. Louis. She is a fabulous artist and she is the one who did those great murals you see on the walls in the living room and the "mirror" painted in the entry and the walls in family area. She worked with me night and day, mixing and remixing colors until I got exactly what I wanted. Thank you Sherrie for your hard labor, lovely art work, but mainly your friendship and all the laughter you freely share with me!

With my article being cut short, my thanks to Sharon Derry of Secret Leaves was not included. She is what she called herself as my "shop girl" for so many years. Sharon entered my life at the perfect time and helped me in so many ways I can't count. The customers just loved her and every shop should be so lucky to a "shop girl" like Sharon. Her true talent is with paper. See for yourself on her website! Thank you Sharon for all the devotion but mainly for taking such good care of my customers and my shop when I couldn't be in two places at once.

I also want to thank Anthony, my ex, and my friend. He is the one who pushed me when I didn't think I was ready to be pushed and he is the one who believed that I was ready to go forward when I truly thought I wouldn't be ready for years. About two weeks before my store opened, I was sitting on the floor, totally exhausted, worried, broke, scared, and I was unwrapping some soaps, and started to cry. I cried out loud, "What am I doing?! I have never even worked in a store before! I have no idea what I am doing!" I was just so, so tired. Anthony was hanging up a chandelier, and without even coming down off the ladder, he just said very matter-of-factly, "When you are doing what God has planned for you, you can't fail. You are meant to do this." That's all he said. I thought about it for a moment, and in my gut, I knew he was right. I stopped crying, just kept unwrapping soaps, and wondered how I was going to pay rent next month. So, thank you Anthony for pushing me when I definitely did not think I was ready.

I also want to thank Debbie Dusenberry of Curious Sofa. I hope those of you who have read this is reading it again. This is the third time I have edited this section, as Blogger keeps knocking out this paragraph for some reason and I don't know why. I want to thank Debbie for befriending me after I opened my store only a few months. She has been a mentor and friend and has always encouraged me to see the value in my talents. She always let me bend her ear and she believed in all that I ventured out to do. Thank you Debbie!

I also want to thank all of my wonderful customers and readers. My customers and you readers, are the people who have kept me going all these years. Whether I am running a store, writing stories, designing a room, designing bedding, taking photos, or taking a hiatus...you devoted readers are always there to give me encouragement and a lift. Know that I never, ever take you for granted.

Finally, my most loving thanks goes to my husband, Randy. 

The beautiful work space you see on the cover of Where Women Create was actually his office that he lovingly turned over to me to do with as I wish. It is the very first place that I ever worked in that has windows, heat, air, and no rodents....no joking! If only you could have seen his face as I clapped my hands together and announced that I couldn't wait to paint the floors! More on that later. Thank you honey for not only the work space, but for the huge space in your heart that you seem to have saved just for me.

Not that I meant for these "thank you's" to sound like the Academy Awards, but I feel it is important to let others know that there is no such thing as a "one-woman show." Without the help, love, work, and connections of many people who have crossed my path over the years, I truly believe the cover of Where Women Create would have never happened. I never want to lose sight of that and I want to make sure that my readers know how much gratitude I have.

Okay, now, on with the "back story" as I like to say. I would like to share some of my office with you in more detail, if I may. I would also like to share some before photos and a few behind the scenes shots....and some photos of some of my past work spaces. 

To start my "tour" I would like to start with my desk, or rather, Randy's desk. He didn't want me to paint it and we had no room for it anywhere else in the house.  I wasn't happy about not being allowed to paint it, but as the paint Gods smiled down on me, Randy had left a big pile of his papers on the desk for months and as he removed them, something gross was stuck on the bottom of them which stained right through the top of the desk....and so the paint Gods smiled down and Randy relented as the desk was "ruined" and I was now allowed to paint it! I picked out one of my favorite quotes to paint on the side and then distressed away. Actually, Randy now says he actually loves the desk.

When I announced I would paint the floor, Randy agreed to it since it was "my room." But he did go on to tell me that after he bought his house, he spent two weekends removing tar from the floor and renting a sander to bring up the wooden floors....I felt bad for about..... a second...but I couldn't get out my brushes quick enough. He was a good sport about it because the floors in that room did not match the hallway anyway as you can see a few photos below.

I masked out the floor and used three colors. They are all Ralph Lauren colors. I then aged down the floor to purposely make them looks dusty and a little dirty. Then I sealed it with three coats of poly urethane. I also painted the walls and aged them very lightly as well. The room is tiny - only 8 feet by 7 feet. I really needed to use every inch of the room for storage.

 

  

 

I found the drugstore cabinet at a local antique mall and had my eye on it for two years. It was on sale at almost 50% off! It almost fit...I had to cut the corner of the edge of the window sill off at an angle to make it fit, which kinda flipped out Randy a little...I reasoned that I was going to keep the little cut off corner piece and when we finally sell the house, I would glue it back and paint over it. I think at that moment, he realized he married someone who will do whatever it takes "to make it work" which makes him nervous....but he admits, it keeps him on his toes.

 

I painted my cabinet and loaded the shelves with some of my favorite mementos as well as useful storage items. I have a WWII photo of my father, the very first store sign I had written on a small platter when I had antique booths in Texas, some items from my European days and old pharmacy medicine dispenser bottle that I always loved and now I have a pharmacy cabinet to attach it to. On the opposite wall is a marble top shelf that is from Sweden. I love it. The marble is actually from an American cabinet that I placed on top of the shelves. The shelves are a natural gray and weigh a ton. Again, this piece fit just perfectly along this tiny wall and holds a lot of my files.

 

The dress you see in the corner, near the Swedish shelves, is yes, my wedding out fit, that I designed and the "EH" you see in the window next to it is from my store counter. My ex carved three of them out of wood and I painted them. When I sold the store counter, I popped them off and kept all of them. One in each window and one over the door. And speaking of the door...that door is the door from my apartment that was over my store. I first bought that door in St. Louis while visiting here from Texas and brought it back to Texas. Then when we realized we were going to move to St. Louis, I brought it back to St. Louis and replaced the apartment door with this beautiful old door. I designed the "frosted glass" which is actually frosted laminate at a cost of only $30. 

  

When Randy gave me his office, I really wanted to use my door for my office but it didn't fit. It was too costly to rebuild the entire door frame. I was really disappointed, but that was okay, I would make do. Then one day, while I was taping down the floor and deciding on wall colors, Randy called me up and asked if I would be home all day. When I told him I would, he sent a friend over who built an entire "fake" frame around the door jam so my antique door would fit. It was still costly, but Randy wanted me to have my door - which I absolutely love looking at it. It is probably the most favorite part of my office. When we move, we can take the door with us, pop off the fake door frame, and replace the original door again.

 

The curtain you see hanging next to the door is covering up the opening that use to lead to the kitchen. It is now covered on the kitchen side and on my office side, it will have small shelves to hold all of my photo disks. The curtain also came from my store apartment and I love looking at as well. The bathing beauty canvases on the wall are prints from the ten foot long original print that I had hanging in my store over my counter. I used to sell these prints in my store.

  

These organ pulls came from the very first Victorian organ that I painted and turned into a display case for my booth back in Texas. My ex was fixing it up and restoring it and I was painting an old stool near him. I stood next to the organ and wondered how it would look if it was painted. Back in those days, I only painted "ruined" furniture. This organ was in mint condition with solid walnut wood. I walked right over to the organ with my giant paint brush of white paint and slapped a huge splash of paint right across the entire side of it before I could stop myself. My ex gasps and just stared at me. I then said, "I guess, we will have to paint it now..." It was the best thing I ever did. From that moment, I no longer painted only "ruined furniture." The organ display case sold very quickly and I made several since then as well as desks from old organs. And I have painted everything from solid cherry wood, walnut, tiger oak, oak, and even - gasps - rose wood!  :-)  

The little metal drawer cabinet fits just perfectly in the nook area. I painted the drawer front with chalkboard paint so I can label the drawers as needed. The drawers hold a 8x11 reams of paper just perfectly and magazines. I covered the top with a St. Louis grain sack. Since I had so many European items in my office, I thought having something local would be nice. The old typewriter, I had for years and has been used all over my store and in displays. That little piece of paper with the "EH" on it is actually 10 years old! Ten years ago, I remember sitting up until 3AM and tearing up sheets of paper that I had printed tons of "EH's" on and soaking them in tea and then baking them in the oven. I have used these little pieces over and over again. It is hard to believe they are ten years old.

 

This French mannequin is one of my favorite girls and actually my first girl. Around her neck is my father's WWII compass as well as some mementos from friends. The Victorian jacket was my inspiration for my wedding outfit jacket.

 

Leaning against the desk are boot lasts that came from a flea-market in  Tongeren, Brussels. My brother, Bill and I were at a flea-market and he bought them as a surprise for me and I love them. They weigh a ton and little does he know they added to my much limited weight allowance (which he didn't understand back in those days) but I would never trade them for anything! 

Next to the boot lasts is an old metal and canvas mail cart that Randy bought for me as a surprise. I fell in love with it at a local antique store and he couldn't for the life of him understand why I would want a "rusty old cart" for my nice new office. He told me one day to go ahead go get it and when I did, it was already sold and gone. I came home disappointed, only to walk into my office (which was empty since I was painting it) and right in the center of the room sat the old mail cart! Inside the cart hold my very old European grain sacks and other items that I adore and never tire of looking at. The cart originally was going to be used to hold files, but it turned out that I had enough storage for my files so I could use it decoratively instead.

 

On my desk is an old silver gravy boat that holds my cards. If you don't have the issue of Where Women Create, I will repeat my story of the little bags. When I first began back in 1998, I couldn't afford professional printing. Back then, printers weren't nearly as good as they are now and I definitely did not own the best at that. I printed my own cards, and they would smear if held too long, so I the only solution I could come up with was to put them in these "ugly" brown paper bags that I would stamp with a design. Finally, the day came I could afford professional printing, and, yeah! no more ugly bags! Little did I know that the ladies at the antique malls went ballistic when I stopped using the little bags and wanted them back.....so I had to go back to using the bags...little did I know that the customers found them so cute. Now they are my signature. That is what I call a "happy accident" in forming my business identity. 

And now we are back around to my chair. That is my dining room chair that goes with my set. It is currently in storage since we have no room in our little home for my set. The little vintage blouse that hangs on the back, I would like to  tell you that I planned that all out, but to be perfectly honest, I had a bag of linens that I was digging through one day at my desk. I came across this, and just "hung" it on the back of the chair while I kept digging in the bag looking for something. I forgot it was on the chair and took the bag back down to the basement. When I returned, I saw that I left it behind, was too lazy to take it back downstairs again, and so I rearranged it on the chair and discovered it fit perfectly, and so it there hangs today. Another "happy accident!"

 

I hoped you enjoyed the tour of my office. I know I enjoyed writing about it to you from my desk. I would love to say that my office is always this neat, but not nearly so. Many times, I have fabric spread out, notes on the floor, or papers on the desk. But, I do like to keep it fairly neat only because I have worked in such horrible conditions for so long. Below are some photos of work spaces of the past:

This was my office for five years beneath my store. No heat, no air, no windows. Yes, that is a sewage pipe right next to me. I could hear flushing and water running. Above me, you can see the rafters. In the morning, I would find "crumbs" or "things" on my desk left from "critters" the night before. You are only seeing about a tenth of the wires, plugs, and fire hazard conditions. Something that most people don't know about me: I am deathly, deathly afraid of mice and rats. I mean, freakishly afraid. I have no idea where this fear comes from...but I have to tell you a story. One day, after working late into the wee hours of the morning, I was so tired, I went to bed for just a few hours and got up to go back down to my office to work. Sharon wasn't at work yet and as I went down my narrow steps (see below) and headed towards my desk, I stopped in my tracks as I saw a rat on its back on my desk, with maggots squirming on its belly and I screamed  really loud and ran up the stairs. I don't remember who, maybe it was Sharon who called the exterminator when she got in, but when he came, I went down the stairs behind him, right on his back, creeping behind him, and I was sort of yelling, "oh my god, oh my god..." over and over. I was freaking out. I stood about 10 feet away from my desk as he went towards the desk and as he got closer he said he didn't see anything...I stepped closer, saw the rat, jumped back and screamed, "oh my god! oh my god! oh my god!!!" over and over and pointed at the desk and yelled at the poor guy, "IT IS RIGHT THERE!!!" The guy jumped at my screaming and went back and looked and said he didn't see it and I went closer, saw it again, and pointed again and yelled, "IT IS RIGHT THERE!! THERE!! THERE!!" He looked at me like I was on acid. I was covering my eyes because I couldn't look at the maggots moving around and I am wondering, what is wrong with this guy????  In the mean time, Sharon is wondering what the hell is going on down in the basement. The guy finally calmed me down enough to get me to go closer to my desk, and as I got closer, covering my eyes as he pushed me towards the desk, I peeked through my fingers and saw that I was looking at a small, tan, shag carpet sample, that had some threads that were moving from the fan that I had turned on the night before!  The guy looked at me like I was a freak. I don't blame him. I was just so tired, so freaked out about working down there for five years, I was just losing it! But I laugh about it now...When I look back at these photos, I shake my head and wonder how I managed.

This was my workshop area right by my "office" area. It must be summer because my hair is sweaty. I burned up in the summer and froze and wore parkas in the winter. I remember many nights working late because it was so cold my items took forever to dry. The building was so old and so large, it was impossible to heat. The landlord from hell would never do anything about it.

I almost forgot about these stairs. These are the stairs that I took every single day from my store down to my office. I went up and down them about 100 times a day some days. They were very narrow and not to code. When carrying VERY expensive bolts of fabric, I had to be extra careful not to let them touch the walls, the wires, the floor, or snag or it could mess it up the material. Bolts of fabric are very heavy and all you want to do is drag it... not carry it carefully!

It feels good to be clean, warm, dry, and in sunlight....

I just wanted to close and say again how fortunate I feel to be a part of such a great publication and in the company of such talented women. Please take a moment to enjoy their stories....I know I will.

Now back to getting busy - lots going on over here...but mainly hunting down photos to finish up my website. My website is only a start of other things to come. I am excited that my site is in the final stages of going up and from there, I will only add to it. The nice thing? I can work late into the hours and never hear anything above me and never find any "crumbs" on my desk left over from any critters the next morning...unless Randy has been checking his email at my desk while he munches on chips, that is. But he is a good critter....who is welcomed in my office any time. 

Thank you for visiting with me and until next time, think about what Howard Ikemoto, artist and professor once told this story: 


"When my daughter was about seven years old, she asked me one day what I did at work. I told her I worked at the college-that my job was to teach people how to draw. She stared back at me, incredulous, and said, "You mean they forget?" Howard Ikemoto.

Let's not ever forget how to create.... From my house to your house,