If you follow us on Facebook then you know we have an event coming up. For those of you that don't let me tell you a little about it.

On Monday, July 3rd Tullahoma is hosting their annual fireworks celebration. We will have a booth set up and invite you to stop by between 3 PM and 7 PM and say hi and sign up for our email list (don't worry I don't send out more than 4 emails a month) and add your slip to the box. At 7 PM we will go live for the drawing. We are drawing for the handcrafted leather bottle holder pictured above. If you win and you don't happen to be present we will call or email you to set up a time for you to pick up your prize. We are getting excited and can't wait to see you there!

Today is Father’s Day and it still hits me hard. I lost my dad almost 2 years ago and the whole his death left is still just as big and painful now as the day he died. We lived 2200 miles apart most of my childhood but I was and always will be a Daddy’s girl. I moved to Tennessee after my mom died so I could be close to him and my boys could be near him. He was crazy, goofy and fun loving. We couldn’t go anywhere without him acting silly he loved getting a rise out of his friend Dave. We went on a ride on the motorcycles one time, when it started raining we pulled off at a McDonald’s to get lunch and put our rain suits on. Dave went straight to the bathrooms when we went in. Now Dave has a temper and Dad always loved to set it off so he told the girls at the counter that Dave had just been released from a mental hospital. He told them he was harmless unless he was stared at so when he came out of the bathrooms they were all staring at him. Well needless to say, his temper went off and we were rolling with laughter. I miss this craziness. I could write a book on all the crazy stuff my dad did and maybe someday I will. For now, I’ll stick to one story at a time.

My First Father-in-law

This is Dave Morton, he was my first father-in-law. He accepted me as a daughter from day one. He taught me a lot about patience and fixing things. He was a Jack of all trades, if it needed fixing he was your man. If he didn't know how to fix it he would learn. He was always a phone call away if I needed something. After I had my son I had only been home from the hospital for 2 days and had a panic moment thinking something was wrong with me (i had a C-section) from the surgery. Everyone else was at work I called him panicked and asked him to take me to the hospital. He lived between me and the hospital and traveled 30 mins to pick me up and then an hour and a half to the hospital. He never blinked an eye at it and the whole way there he eased my fear and anxiety. He truly was an amazing man and I miss him dearly.

#fathersday #dads #fathers

My Step Dad

This is Jerry Greene he is my step-dad. He was my go to father figure growing up. My father lived in Tennessee and we lived in Nevada so he couldn't be involved in my everyday life. Jerry stepped up to the plate of raising me. He helped me with my homework (when I actually put in an effort to do it), he took me to my first concert (all the way to Oakland California) and he taught me to drive (this was no easy task when it came to a stick shift). I'll never forget the time he was trying to correct my bad habit of riding the clutch when I made a turn. I was coming up on the road we lived on and he told me to downshift, let off the clutch and make the turn. I did this as I was turning off a paved road onto a gravel road. Needless to say, I started fishtailing and he said STOP so I hit the brakes. I spun around and ended up in the sagebrush in his brand new car. I just knew I was done driving. I backed it up and headed home like he told me to. As I pulled into the driveway he had me stop in front of the house instead of going to the garage. He opened the door to get out and told me to go drive around some more. I asked him if he was crazy because I had just taken his brand new Honda Civic off road. His response was "Hell no! That's why I'm getting out of the car."

#fathersday #dads #dad #fathers

Happy 242nd Birthday U.S. Army

Did you know that today is the Army’s 242^nd birthday? The U.S. Army was founded on June 14, 1775 this was over a year before we signed the declaration of independence. At that time, the Continental Congress authorized expert riflemen for enlistment to serve the colonies for one year.

On June 15^th George Washington was made Commander and Chief. He officially took command in Boston on July 3, 1775.

This year’s theme is “Over There! A celebration of The World War I Soldier” in recognition of the 100 year anniversary of World War I.

Interesting Army Facts

·         During World War II, supporting one soldier on the battlefield took one gallon of fuel per day. Today, the Army uses more than 22 gallons per day, per soldier.

·         The Army has a total of 1.1 million soldiers in its ranks and more than 400,000 civilians and contracted employees. If the military branch was a city, the Army would represent the fourth largest city in the United States.

·         * The Army has 158 installations worldwide; more than 132,000 miles of infrastructure for electric, gas, sewer and water; and over one billion square feet of office space.

·         * The Army owns more than 15 million acres of land across the United States, or about 24,000 square miles which, if the Army was a state, it would be the 42nd largest.

Sources

http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2017/06/us_armys_242nd_birthday_2017_f.html

Losing A Beloved Family and Team Member

Words just simply cannot express how I'm feeling today. I got a call last night from Nancy (Mom) telling me this wonderful woman, that has become a sister to me, had passed away. We have a unique family dynamic here. Nancy is my ex-mother-in-law and her son Kenn is my ex-husband. She has stayed Mom to me and he is now one of my best friends. Trish was his girlfriend and quickly stole all our hearts. We didn't get to have her in our lives for a long time but the short time we had with her was a true blessing to us. Trish and I became close very quickly, I was surprised at the short time it took for us to become as close as sisters especially with the odd dynamic of me being the ex-wife and all. She had such a pure heart and fun personality it was impossible not to love her. I am still in shock over her being gone, I feel like a piece of me is missing. I know she is in a better place and free of the pain that plagued her daily. I take comfort in this as the grieving and healing process begins. Rest In Peace my dear sister. 

Crafting With My Granddaughter

I am finding that having my granddaughters at the shop with me every day is a great bonding experience. My youngest is still too small to craft with but she sure enjoys all the pretty things we have. Now Avery, on the other hand, is loving every aspect of it. When we were setting up she was excited to dig in and clean and help put things together. We have been working on flower arrangements together and she absolutely loves it. She has a good eye for placement and color combinations as well. At least one a week she insists on getting out the broom and mop and cleaning and she makes sure I remember to water our flowers by the front door. I decided last night when we were done with our teapot flower arrangement to make her a pair of earrings. She was so happy to have a pair that I made her. I think next I will let her make her own. These are memories that will forever be with her as special times with Grandma. I know I still to this day cherish the memories of doing things like this with my grandmas. Her maternal grandmother passed away before she was born so I feel the need to give both of them extra time and memories. I am truly blessed to have them and am thankful for them every day.

Changing Things Up

Part of running a store is changing displays around. We conquered that today. We moved the showcases up front now it's time to rotate some of the product around. One thing I have found is that furniture sliders are my best friend. These displays are not light. If we didn't have sliders it would be a grueling job. With the help of one of Kenn and my son KJ we got it done. Little Avery helped with replacing the product on the displays. It's great to have family helpers, things get done so much quicker.