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Friday, January 18, 2013

PHM January Update

Hello my prim pals...I want to say a HUGE thank you for all of you who sent such sweet and encouraging emails in the wake of the hubs losing his job. We have both been touched by your generous spirits and hope you will keep on praying ! It really has meant so much to me and I dont even know how to thank you all properly...if you were here I would hug each one of you so consider yourself cyber-hugged !

Not much new going on around my house except that I just updated my PHM (Primitive Handmades Mercantile) for the January update....Oooooooh I took a sneak peak at what some of the ladies were offering and all I can say is WOW...everyone outdid themselves this month. I have 2 items up and am still working on my updates version of last years Hooked Heart with a rusty key...hopefully I will add that tomorrow.

For now...heres what I have listed....


I got in my new order of woolens to over dye and I am soooo excited !!! I will have some spring colors out VERY soon but in the meantime I will be listing lots of wools today and tomorrow...some wonderful golds, reds, oranges, greens etc so be sure to check out my WOOL FOR SALE page too.

After that I will be finishing up some robins eggs blues, soft yellows, light pinks and lilacs....if you have any requests...just shoot me an email !

Well, its after 2 am and I promised I would try to finish early tonight so I had better scoot.

Until next time,
Grace to you,
Margie


Friday, January 11, 2013

In Desperate Need of Prayer

Hello my wonderful prim friends. I am coming to you with a heavy, heavy heart...it's almost 6 am and, as usual, I haven't even drifted off to la-la land yet. As I was sitting and talking to my son yesterday around 4pm we heard the bells jingle on the kitchen door and in walks the hubs...This is surprising cuz he generally works till 8 or 9 pm. I immediately thought he must be sick, although he never, ever misses work even though he's on salary, he normally just works through the pain or discomfort.

When I saw his face I knew something was terribly wrong and he broke down and said that he had been let go from the company for which he has worked the last 9 years. I was not stunned since they have been systematically getting rid of most senior managers and even though the hubs and I had talked about the possibility of this happening, I don't really think he ever really thought it would happen to him....he works harder than any human being that I know..he gives it his all...and he has never been fired, ever ! He has made this company millions of dollars and has been in the Bronze Club for profit every single year except 2012...apparently the big wigs don't understand that the economy is bad here, nor do they care that the bus routes to the shopping center where the hubs store is have twice been cut this year. They dont seem to care that almost all the stores in that shopping center have closed and now 2 schools have taken their place, not to mention that you cant see the hubs store from the road and the company has refused his many requests for a sign.

They made him sign a non-compete agreement 3 years ago just two days before they rolled out the new bonus program...so basically he can not even look for a job in the same field within a certain mile radius. Oh and that new bonus structure they instituted....he ended up losing over $50,000 in gross bonus over the last 3 years...But he thought it was best to stick it out with the economy being like its been. He was apprehensive at maybe quitting a place he had seniority and a good record to take a job where he would be low man on the pole etc.

And then of course theres the issue of his health benefits which were the real reason I think he stayed there. As most of you know I have been ill since 2003 when I got neuro-invasive west nile virus which left me in a lot of pain and in need of a lot of medication/treatment. As I am typing this I am having my first bout of worry and fear even though I spent the entire evening reminding the hubs that God has been and always will be, our provider and that we have been through tougher spots than this...but ladies, if truth be told, I am more than a little nervous.

This all comes on the heels of my tooth breaking over the holidays and no I hadn't gotten around to seeing to it yet because my car died on me on Christmas eve...we thought we had it fixed and my son took it to his girlfriends house and it died there and we had to have it towed again...just got word that the engine needs replaced to the tune of $2500 which is more than the car is worth, so we are down to one vehicle and trying to figure out if there's a way to get any money for the car at this point.

I am tired gals, just really , really tired but I have got to hold it together !
So today I am asking for your prayers...prayers that he finds another job, prayers that I dont run out of medicine before he gets another job, prayers that I can keep it together and be strong for him, prayers that we can weather this storm with integrity and character.

I know God loves us and I know He has a perfect plan for us...I just need to be quiet so I can hear what it is. We do have a tiny bit of savings in the bank  and my wool sales might need to be in the budget instead of "fun" money. I keep trying to tell Jim (aka the hubs) that it will all be ok but I am fearful that I am not making a compelling argument and I am afraid he can see right through me and see the fear. We can live on very little...we have done our best to not have too much debt but I am worried about the expense of my medical needs since it bankrupted us when I was first sick and I just cant go down that road again. We have finally been able to dig ourselves out of that hole and I just dont want to be smothered again !

I am sorry, I think I am just rambling now and worrying out loud...forgive me please for laying this out in what's supposed to be a fun blog about rug hooking and primitive decor but many of you have become my very dear friends...when you are housebound due to illness like I am for sometimes days and even weeks at a time, friendships fade because people get tired of asking you to do things only to have you cancel at the last minute because you couldnt lift your arms over your head to wash your hair or that you had never been able to get back upstairs because the steps were just too much to navigate or the pain was too intense or that you hadnt slept in several days and you just couldnt even talk on the phone because your hands hurt too much..but you guys, well, even though you are real people, you are in my virtual world where the expectations are different...

Gosh this is all just coming out wrong so I think I will just stop for now. Again, please pray for Jim and I...we have a good solid marriage but I know this is a blow to his ego and he takes great pride in his work and I just feel like I am a huge burden that cant contribute very much (I know thats not at all how he feels, but it is how I feel).

Until next time,
Grace to you,
Margie

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Catching up & BIG WOOL SALE Going on NOW

Hi everyone...I hope you all had spectacular holidays filled with wonderful memories that will warm your hearts for years to come. Me ? Well, this was just a downright odd, but very happy, Christmas. I never really got into the spirit of things, never got a cookie baked, didnt like the gifts I picked for anyone and just all around didnt FEEL like it was Christmas until just a couple of days ago when it finally snowed ! I felt rushed and hurried and just out of sorts.

But I do need to say a big thank you to all who have prayed and offered kind words of encouragement to my son Kyler (the Marine) while he was deployed. One of THE BEST gifts and answer to prayer happened when he got home here in Pa on Dec 23 and I cant tell you how many times I have hugged that boy since then. He will be here till the 13th and I think I can finally get back to my "normal" activities since he is spending lots of time at his fiance's. Wow, have we been running though....He took my car the first day he was home to go to the Steeler game in Pittsburgh and, well, lets just say he is HARD on vehicles, which is why we dont allow him to drive our good car lol. Well, long story short, it left him stranded 30 minuted from home and we had to get it towed and are still waiting to hear what the complete damage will be...no idea if it was something he did or if its just that the car is getting old...she's a 2004 but only has 76,000 miles on it and , up until now has been pretty great, but I dont drive much and we keep up on maintenance etc and well, like I said, he drives like a typical 20 year old Marine ! Sooooo, we have been driving him back and forth to his girls house or we go and get her (she has no car either...grrrrr) and it literally costs us $7.00 for each trip plus it adds an extra hour to the hubs already LONG days. Oh and I have to tell you he got me some francinsence from Jordan and a beautiful linen scarf in Kuwait.  So I think that would have been plenty but he said he had read that crime was getting worse due to the economy so he also bought me some Bear Repellent Spray to keep in my purse...yes, he has an eclectic personality ! Here's a picture of he and his fiance...They make such an adorable couple...

OK, well I also got another great gift on Christmas Eve...we had a beautiful candle light service and I was so pleased to be there with the hubs, Kyler and his fiance Ashlee but the night got better cause when we got home, my older son Kirk (who moved to Virginia back in the spring) was there waiting to suprise me...he worked that whole day until 3:30 and drove straight to our house ( a 6.5 hr drive) and literally had to leave the next day by 5 pm...He and his girlfriend Nikki were both so sweet to make that kind of sacrifice for me and I love them for doing it...just wish I had done more, you know...I only partially decorated, didnt bake or anything...and I had already sent his gifts to Virginia and I didnt evne have enought stuff to make our traditional Christmas morning breakfast buffet ! Neither he or his girlfriend like to get pictures taken but I did manage to get my 3 guys to pose for one just for me...

The hubs and I decided not to exchange gifts this year since so many people in our community and church were really hurting. Since I am the program director for our church foodbank, I knew we had lots of people who needed help and since I stock the pantry completely on what I can get from savvy shopping and couponing (church members bring me all their coupon inserts so it helps alot), I knew we were going to have to add more to it from our own funds than what we normally do. We have a very small church...maybe 60-100 if everyone shows up, but we do more outreach than most of the large and even the mega churches we have attended. Anyway, it did feel good to make sure that every needy family in our church (and several outside our church that people asked us to help) got nice big laundry baskets filled with food, cleaning products, health & beauty items and even diapers where needed..."Joy" was what I felt when we gave those baskets away...Just 8 years ago our family was on the receiving end of that type of program and it feels so good to be able to give back even in a bad economy.

Well I guess I have caught you up on the personal side...I am working on lots of Valentine projects at the moment in the workshop and in an effort to start the year off right I have a HUGE WOOL SALE going on right now with some deep discounts to make room for new arrivals, so be sure to click on the WOOL FOR SALE page on the right hand side of my blog. I will be having a Blog Yard Sale soon and will also be listing some of my finished projects for sale at deep discounts too so keep checking back. Once I get all the Christmas stuff put away it will be back to the dye pots so if you have any requests just shoot me an email.

Until next time,
Grace to you,
Margie