A Little Behind...

Hi there, remember me??? LOL  I didn't mean to be gone so long since last time, but Oct. and Nov. have been crazy months, w/so many things happening all at once, including 3 deaths, which I will explain in a moment.  

Oct. has always been the month that our ladies' missionary group (WAC ~ Women Active for Christ) has their silent auction and the $$ goes to missions, of course.  Mostly, we all bring in home-baked items to sell, but some bring in hand-made items as well.  This pair of wooden pumpkins went for the highest bid of the night and boy, were they ever cute! (they would be a cute craft fair item to sell).

 And speaking of craft fairs, I actually did my very first one at a local church.  I had always wanted to do one for many yrs. and a friend of mine talked me into it.  I had sold some things here/there in other people's craft booths yrs. ago, but never did one myself.  My new DIL helped me w/the whole thing.  Here are some pics of my table...

I know I'm a bit behind w/showing my fall decor, but I'll show a few anyway, lol.  This is in our living room, (my hubby made the faux fireplace several yrs. ago).

 Several items I made, but some were made from some of my sweet blogging friends...

 This was in our kitchen and the lighting was terrible that day, so I apologize in advance.

I mentioned 3 deaths earlier, so let me explain....(#1)the gal I worked closely with for almost 2 yrs. died of cancer around the middle of Oct. so I had all that to deal with, boxing up all her stuff for her family, etc..  She had worked there for over 20 yrs. and had quite a bit of stuff to box up. 

 Then while still grieving over her, I had a new co-worker to train in, during which time my husband's aunt passed away(#2) and I couldn't even go to her funeral b/c I was training in the new gal.

Then finally, (#3), my dad.  Got the call that I'd been dreading for yrs.  He'd been taken to the hospital by ambulance last wk. and we were able to drive the 5hr. trip there to see him before he passed away the day before Thanksgiving on the 25th of Nov.  This is what I wrote on my FB page...

My dad, Carl Collins, passed away yesterday morning and I made it up there in plenty of time to say my goodbyes for which I am very thankful to the Lord.

He was 94, married to my mother for 61 yrs. before she passed away back in 2009, and lived a very full and interesting life.
He spent 24 yrs. in the service, traveling the world, serving in each branch except the Marines, became an Army recruiter, a deputy sheriff, a security guard, and maintenance man, among many other jobs he had over his lifetime.
He was in 3 wars while in the service, World War II, Korean War and the Vietnam War.
He enjoyed spending time w/his family the most and fishing was his other favorite pastime. He loved working on Sudoku puzzles and reading western books. Along w/being quite the jokester, he also was a very giving person, lived on his own until the very end and could make a mean pan of cornbread.
He will be greatly missed by his family.

With that I will leave you all on a happier note ~~ I am having a SALE in my ETSY shop from now till Sat. Dec. 5th, you will receive a 20% discount on any/all purchases.  You will need to use the coupon code - HOLIDAYS15    (NO spaces and ALL caps)  

(***Please contact me first if you live in another country so I can figure shipping fees)

 Hopefully things will calm down some for me so I can visit all your blogs on a more regular basis like I used to.  I sure miss blogland and I hope to 'see' you all back on here real soon!

Big warm hugs,

                                             Tanya