Visit with my childhood friend and Happy T-DAY!

Now this is why we moved back to Michigan....I am so happy to be back with family and old friends.

Sue and I met in 5th grade and now we're 51??? Impossible, but apparently true. Yesterday, her Mom Shirley and son Matthew came to visit with all of us.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Let's get some more pics on this thing!

Come back everyone.

Happy Fall!

Hello everyone! This is Leslie, using Liz's computer. See that huge smile on my face? It's a real one. I am so glad to be up here with the kids. We are settling in and re-acquainting ourselves with Ann Arbor which is a wonderful town.

Can you believe that the holidays are upon us? It seems like once August comes the rush begins. I'd love to hear what everyone is doing. Lois? Phyllis? Ellen? How about sharing your holiday plans and photos?

Markel and I are thrilled to be going to Mom and Dad's with Liz, Dylan and the kids because Mary and her whole family will be coming for Thanksgiving. We can't wait.I hear that Doug and his family will be over on the day after T-day.

Hopefully Eva and her Tommy will be coming to visit sometime in December. We wish that they Vanessa and Lynne could be there for Thanksgiving too. It's always hard to be away from family during the holidays.

I hope that everyone jumps back on here and posts pics of the holidays- love you all- leslie

CLAMITY JANES (COWGIRLS FOR A DAY)

TOOK A DAY WHEN Dolores was here to go into the mountains and do some serious leaf peaking!! We also did a wine picnic in the nearby woods...along the way we had an encounter with some horses..it was a spectacular day...so we were lucky and were able to take some great photos!! Like someone else in the family to BLOG.now and then besides me and Eva..HELLO!!! any family out there!!!!

 

COWGIRLS OF NEWENGLAND IN NEVADA

When Dolores came to visit a few weeks ago, we took a little trip to Markleeville, Ca. where the leaves turn color like in New England. We brought a little picnic lunch and ate it in the trees!! (drank a little wine too!)..ran into some horses, scratched their noses and then we galloped away. It was a beautiful day and we took a million pictures.....HAPPY TRAILS.......CAROL


 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVA!!!! I LOVE YOU!!!! CAROL XXOO

Happy Birthday To Our Dear Eva!!

27 years ago I was going to bed as a very pregnant mama and in the morning of October 10th, 1979, at 5:00 a.m. I would be awakened with labor pains. I got up, lit candles, and rocked in my rocking chair timing the contractions, reading the book "Spiritual Midwifery",the home birth "bible", making sure that this was really it....and it really was.

Soon the whole house, (Rick and I were living with my Mom and Dad, Doug, Mary and Lynne), was buzzing with the excitement of the arrival of our little Eva.

By 6pm that night we were sitting in front of a roaring fire in the living room taking turns, holding our darling little girl. You certainly have been a well loved girl, no denying that. You were born into such a big, wonderful, loving family

27 years! It's hard to believe; it feels like the time has flown.

I wish we were together sweetie. It is so hard to be so far away. I have always said that this country is just too damn big.

I am so proud of you and so glad that you are who you are. You are an amazing person and as a mother I feel truly blessed to have such great kids....and now grandkids (keep them coming :).....

Liz found all of these pictures and got all of this set up, because I am still computerless and all of our photos are still in storage.

She wanted to write too, but June woke up and she is patting her back and soothing her back to sleep.

WE LOVE YOU DOLL! HAVE A WONDERFUL BIRTHDAY!

Tom and I went to the Topsfield fair, and it was SO much fun. We went and checked out all the animals, and OH man, these are some funky chickens. Whenever they moved, the one crazy headed one's hair would wobble back and forth. The polish chicken it was called. HILARIOUS> we had a blast. As you can see, I bonded with the fancy white chicken and of course the camel, who watched Tom and I like a hawk, following us everywhere. Hope everyone is doing well, miss you all....

MY VISIT TO MAINE!!! LOBSTER CENTRAL!

That is Eva,Mom and me at the Blue Mermaid, having a delicious lunch in Portsmouth. It was fun seeing Eva, it's been too long. MOM enjoyed it too!
















This is Eva,me.Lois and Hannah at her Soccer game...it was fun to watch!




This is the "kiss of death" for Mr. Maine Lobster, we were in love, but alas, I had to kiss him goodbye, the story of my life, ha ha...he was delicious too!!














Katie, Savanah and Hannah..the soccer buddies...are they too cute or what!! 

Very Sad News

Yesterday, Emma was hit by a car and killed. We are staying out in the country at a friends farm and she escaped the fenced in area that she adn the other dogs stay in and got out on the road. Thankfully, she was killed instantly and didn't suffer. Markel found her and I didn't have to see her before he buried her. We are very sad.  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUSTIN!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUSTIN, YOU ARE 33YRS OLD NOW!!!! HOW did that happen, when I am only 29?????? Love YOU!!!! MOM!!!




 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOLORES!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOLORES!!!!!!!...WE LOVE YOU!!!!! 

MISS SENIOR NEVADA PAGEANT 2006!

Went to the Ms. Senior Nevada pageant wednesday afternoon in Las Vegas! I was with my friends and we had a blast!! Women are great! These seniors were kicking up a storm and the contestants ranged from 60 to 78...they also had dancers that ranged from 60 to 91!!! I loved all the energy they projected, the charm, the wit, the TALENT!!! There were 15 contestants, there was not one dull moment! I might run next year.....why not...Im cute, and talented, right!! ha ha ha..LOL!!!...

 

MY Chef has finally made it home Leslie!

WELL, as you an see Leslie, the Chef now has her permanent home, and before she left, Dolores put the final touches on the wall. This is over my kitchen counter, and I love her so much, and I think of you, and Key West, everytime I look at her! Thanks my dear cousin! Carol The Contessa!
 

Summer in Barrington

I had Nolan take some pictures of me to use in my dating search. I had just had my hair done and I didn't want to waste my beauty! It worked! I have been dating since my new pix went up on Match.com!
Nolan and I are heading to Disney World this week. We are making a pit stop in West Palm so I can see my parents. My Mom is very lonely. She has been such a good sport about the study. It means staying in Florida through the summer and not seeing all of us in Rhode Island, but it is so worth the trouble. So, I just have to stop by and give her a big hug! 

Purplebabydaddies has landed in Ann Arbor

We made it and we are on step 19 of the 26 steps that it will take for us to be completely settled into our new place in Ann Arbor. We have been shuttling between our friend's farm in the country and Liz and Dylan's in Ann Arbor. Our friends Ireta and Eric live near East Lansing. We have set up a temporary work space in their corn crib and we are staying in their queen-sized camper that they set up for us, complete with windchimes, outside dining area, and twinkly lights, before we arrived. It has been lovely, wonderful, sleeping weather in the 50's-60's and the corn crib is sheltered, breezy, wonderful. The dogs are in heaven.

On the weekends we come to Liz and Dylan's and take care of the kids from Sunday evening to Monday early afternoon. I am in heaven of course, feeling so much better and you've heard that saying...."If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!!!!" Couldn't be truer. As much as we loved the Keys, it just isn't fun if no one is around to enjoy it with. We are both very happy to be back up here. Ann Arbor is a very cool town. I feel as though we are back in civilization. We aren't done with Florida. We'll probably try to do a winter (January- April) in Florida and the rest of the time in Ann Arbor when we figure out how to do it. For the next couple of years it will probably involve some kind of camping where we can work set-up, but we want to be closer to everyone in the Jupiter- Stuart- West Palm area, 1-3 hours away, as opposed to 5-6 hours away from everyone.

For now though we are waiting to move into a house that won't be available till the middle-to-late September which is a 5 minute drive to Liz's, 30 minute walk, and 2 blocks from downtown Ann Arbor, which is an exciting, thriving city that we love. We will be renting the downstairs of an old Victorian and having our art studio in a stone barn on the same property, which was built in the 1870's. The barn has a big wood furnace. We are psyching ourselves up for a chilly winter....but you can all laugh at me....we are looking forward to it. I quess I have more north in me than I thought, I am actually looking forward to the change of the seasons....and with menopause in full swing, the cool fall is welcome to come on.

Moving out of our house in the Keys was a bit of a nightmare. It was so hot and so buggy and there were so many details, plus we were finishing work for the shows we had scheduled up here and for our wholesale accounts. It was not fun (at all), but we managed to make it. We drove straight through- 32 hours, in a 17 foot U-Haul, pulling our car, with our three dogs and Pippin who is my friends dog (because we were delivering him to his mistress in Michigan). AAAArgh! Those are 3 weeks of packing, traveling and unpacking that I will be happy to block out.

We've done our two shows, one the weekend of the 4th and 5th that was a stinker and one last weekend in northern Michigan that was as good as usual....thank goodness.

Mom and Dad and our close family friends Gay and Bill Browne came to the show and we went out to dinner and roared with laughter throughout the dinner and generally disrupted the restaurant with the non-stop humor at our table. I am happy to report that my mother is as feisty and willing to get into the raucous humor as ever. God, she scared the hell out of all of us.

So now we are back in Ann Arbor. We had a sitting night last night with the kids and I am on the computer for the first time in forever, since my computer has been zapped by lightning and I haven't had a chance to have it fixed. Liz is taking Michael to Cedar Point on Thursday and we will take care of Juniper and then next Monday we are all going to our favorite camping place on Lake Michigan. Doug and his family are going to join us, Mom and Dad will rent a hotel room nearby, and with any luck Lynne who is coming to visit for her birthday will be able to come for a night or two. We wish Mary and her family could come too, but they can't make it, unfortunately.

I will post pics as soon as Liz wakes up. I have some pics of the camping set-up we have at our friend's house and some of the art fair this last weekend.

I feel as though we have recovered from the past year. We are still bruised by our failure, but have regained our stamina and hope. We are going forward, taking the lessons from the failures and successes we have had, and re-inventing what we are doing in a more effective way. We hope to have at least another 20 years to make things right and continue to grow as artists and a business.

By the way, it was so good to hear the news about Aunt Margie, just wonderful. And Carol, that mural is teriffic and the pics of Jake....what a doll! I've missed being able to do this and I'm happy to be back on the blog.....love you all- leslie