Somekind of Normal

I keep waiting for things here in Bangor to get into a some kind of pattern so that I will no longer feel like I am stumbling along here.  How is it that it took less time to settle into Maine the first time than it has when I just moved a couple of hours north?  Then again hind sight is a bit rosy and I'm not so sure that I did settle into Maine as quickly as I seem to remember.

I'm going to be working some night audits again which should help me get around to posting my blog more often,  I have to admit that night audits not only help me get things done but they somehow remind me that I should be keeping up on here.

As I mentioned last time I am now starting up with an Etsy shop for my jewelry.  I'll soon post pictures of the latest set of jewelry that is now in my shop.  It has been a lot of fun and I am so proud of myself that I've been able to keep plowing along and posting new items.  The more I have up for sale the more likely it is that I'll sell something.  I have had one sale so far (thanks again Penny!) but I know how hard it is to really get these things up and going.  Most people who post to Etsy aren't able to make it past the first few hurdles.  The first step is making something unique and the second is making sure that it can be found.  The third is where it gets really hard, patience.  I'm not always good at that last step.

For now I just keep looking up my etsy shop and smiling with the knowledge that so far I'm passing one of the biggest hurdles...I'm not giving up.

Wire Willow Shop is Now Open!

First Jewelry items on my Wire Willow Shop!

In between moving to a new area in Maine, starting a new job, and hosting various family members on vacation I somehow got talked into opening my own Etsy site.  Yeah, I'm still not sure how that happened, but it did.

I've been making beaded jewelry since about 4th grade and selling it at my parent's store back home.  I usually made enough to go out to a movie once a month and not much more.  About five years ago I learned how to incorporate wire into my jewelry and it just took off from there.  I love giving jewelry as gifts to family but have been convinced by others that I should share what I make on a much larger scale, we'll see.

Mostly my etsy shop will be a fun way to brag about what I'm making and show family back home my latest designs, hey I might even sell something!

My Cross Stitch of Waterhouse's 'Psyche Opening the Golden Box'

The thing that I'm really curious about is my cross stitch projects that I'll be posting.  I love making huge cross stitch projects, most of them represent my favorite pieces of art.  I'd never thought that there was a market where people would want to buy finished pieces, I believed that they were just a bit too old fashioned.  Well it turns out that cross stitch is posted and even sold on etsy so again, we'll see.  For the right price I'd be willing to share my hard work with others, the one above took me over 700 hours to complete.  For right now let's just admit that I mostly posted it for bragging rights. 

So please run on over to my new etsy shop and see what I have to offer and check back soon as I will be posting many more items in the weeks and months to come.

Cats Candles and Crazy

Not sure if she likes candles but otherwise...

Fun blog name huh?  Originally it was the title of my first blog site.  I wanted to focus not only on the things that I love but the things that I think make me stand out.  Those who know me know that I love candles too much, without my husband I would be the classic crazy cat lady, and the crazy was an easy way to encompass all of the rest.

In the coming months this blog will begin to resemble some of what I had intended for the Cats Candles and Crazy blog.  I will be including updates on my various crafts, including the opening of my first ever Etsy shop!  You'll get to see some of the history that I have moved into here in Maine.

The romance writer hasn't vanished, she just really needed a break.  I still love old classic movies and will be putting out book reviews.  Also I'll be putting out those books that I keep talking about.

I hope that everyone is having a wonderful summer!  Check back soon to see the opening of my Etsy shop!

Welcome Back!

When I started this blog I should have put in a little bit more description about myself.  Maybe then these long stretches where I seem to vanish would make more sense.  One thing that you should know is that I'm a bit lost in many ways.  I've been trying to find out where I want to live, what I want to do, what I want to write, and most importantly what mixture of all of this will make me and my family the most content.

The last few months I've been experimenting with all of these elements.  We moved, rather suddenly, to a new area, so far it looks like it might be a semi-comfortable fit.  I've tried to do a bit of non-romance writing but it is hard to switch to and from different genres, or at least it is for me.  I'm also looking for a new job, not only because we moved but because the last job certainly wasn't making me happy.  Now add to all of this that I've had lots of company at my house, still do in fact.

Sure those are all just excuses but I still think that they are pretty good ones.  I'll get back into posting more often, I promise.  And this time you'll get to see more of me than you have in the past.  This blog will hopefully be a bit more about who I am instead of who I was trying to be.  More on that soon!

Me, Mom, and Harry Potter Part 1

Wasn't she a cute little girl?

Although my mom and I are close we've never been able to find the kind of similar interests that pull most mothers and daughters together.  Often it has felt like our interests just barely slip past one another.  We are both crafty but wire jewelry and cross stitch seem like a foreign language to my mom who loves sewing clothes and making wreaths.  She was able to share a love of cooking and baking with her mother while growing up and I still remember seeing her cry when she realized that even mac and cheese is beyond my ability.  I've always been a huge book worm and movie enthusiast but in the past my mom has had a really hard time sitting down for more than a few minutes before jumping up to get something else done.  I'll admit that her attention span always seemed a bit lacking when it came to those things.  And I should probably add how much I hate to shop for clothes which is something that has always mystified my mom and sister.

No matter how much we tried to find some mother-daughter activity it always ended with one of us trying to humor the other person and neither of us really having fun.  I think that our first real turning point was when my mom watched the tv show My So Called Life about five years ago.  Oddly enough when I was first a fan of this show I hid it from my mom.  I was quite young at the time, maybe 8 or 9 and I knew that she wouldn't like some of the subject matter.  If you aren't familiar with it, it is about a teenager who is struggling to find out who she is and where she is in her life.  Since watching her three children leave the house my mom has really started to mellow out and what once would have stressed her out she was now ready for.  As soon as she saw me order in the box set of the series she asked to borrow it and instantly fell in love with it.  I think that it might have helped her understand some things about us.  Most of the TV moms that she knew and loved were all very close to their kids and fully in synch with them but the pair in this TV show didn't understand each other.  The mom wanted her daughter to remain the sweet child who wore matching outfits with her and the daughter believed that her mother was blind and inexperienced.  Both were wrong of course.

So what does this have to do with Harry Potter?  At the urging of my husband I've decided to blog a bit about the most recent interest that my mom and I have bonded over.  This first blog is to help you understand the context of what has really been achieved and also to help you understand the strange but special relationship that I have with my mom.

It is a bit late but Happy Mother's Day anyway.

It Is Out!

My husband's first e-pub release is now available on Smashwords and Barnes and Noble!  I am so proud of all of the hard work that he has done to get so far.  If you are in the mood for a fun children's ghost story, buy The Whispering Ferns now!

Checking In

This wonderful cover is by Deepy Dapper who created both of my covers

I thought that I should at least pop my head in to say hi, even if I don't have that much fun and exciting news.  Well actually I do have great news.  It is about a new book coming out.  But nope, it isn't about my books coming out.


My husband is about to release his first e-pub book on the 26th!  It is a wonderful children's story that takes place in the misty woods of western Washington beside a mysterious and quaint coastal village.  One adventurous boy is about to find himself amidst the Whispering Ferns.  I think that he might turn it into an online series, which I would love since it is such a fun book.  I'll let you more of the purchasing details when it is released on Tuesday.

Until then Happy Easter!