10/22/2026
Thursday, October 22, 2026
The Garage and Adventures with friends.
A much needed day away to reset my mind, restore my spirit and make memories with friends. Joyce, Alise and I found a lot of great treasures. Elaine was unable to go this time; but, our next trip is being planned. We visited a new place in Bellefonte, Bonfatto's and I found a new chai that I will definitely add to my list of good chai.
A few pictures of what The Garage looked like Tuesday evening. Unfortunately; I woke up in the middle of the night/early morning Wednesday and things will be moved again. I’m never sure what will work until I live with it for a few days.
The Garage continues to improve and I think the Mister and I have accomplished a lot in a short amount of time. We have either reused, recycle, repurpose or relocate a lot of items in less than three months. Two of the main reasons for this adventure was to utilize space and have the garage as an income source and to lessen the “load” of Steve’s painting business and actually see what we had in storage that needed passed on. The bonus parts are my booth stock will be in one place and on the first floor. That reason alone gives us back a bedroom that I used for storage. I have also been able to sort through stock and show props that I no longer need or want.
We are all experiencing the crazy economy and having the garage be an income source for us to live on is a major factor. We all know we can’t give anything away for free not only in this time period; but, at any time in our lifetime. It’s a hard decision that we need to make. Nothing in life is free except advice and opinions. At the end of the day the Mister and I have to do what is best for our family.
Yesterday, I got gas for my car at a local gas station and had a lovely conversation with a young man. This young man is known in our area for his upbeat and positive attitude. Some how we talked about people “judging others” and he said we shouldn’t be “Judge Judy”. I told him my mother’s wise words that I try to live by - Don’t live someone else’s life. There are days that I hear my mom saying this in my head when I start to be too holier than thou. Those days when I am saying or even thinking “they shouldn’t do that”, “what are they thinking” and even “my husband, children or grandchildren would never do that”. Oh goodness, my mom would be disappointed in me.
I think sometimes when I am missing her I am missing the wisdom and advice she would give me the most. The understanding that we are all flawed and we are all trying to be better humans. The conversations that were really life lessons to live by. There are days when I forget her words and then she reminds me of these lessons. Who doesn’t want to make their mom proud of the fact that you are living her lessons out loud?
I try to live my life as an individual who is still following her mom’s advice, trying to be nonjudgmental, giving and encouraging. You know how people talk about a devil and an angel sitting on each shoulder? I imagine my mom,my sister, Teresa and brother Scott and my dad standing beside me and giving me strength through hard times, feeling the joy in my days and when needed a gentle nudge to be a better person. Weird, huh? Sometimes I just need to think my loved ones are still here guiding and teaching me lessons.
Every day might not be filled with joy; but, sometimes it’s just the knowledge knowing that your loved ones live on in us through lessons taught, words spoken and love given freely.
Found my Joy today with friends that accept me for who I am and all my weird ways.
