Another Way to Help Jody & Jayme!

If you would feel more comfortable contributing money towards Jayme's bills at her vet's office, you can send your donation to

Dr. Tom
Crago Veterinary Clinic
7077 West Blvd.
Youngstown, OH 44512

If you would like to call the clinic, their number is (330) 726-0068.

Please let them know that this is for Jayme the newfie's account; she really likes Dr. Tom! (Jody asked that I not use her last name here, but if you need it to make a contribution, just ask for it!)

Thanks so much for all your help!

Can You Help a Friend?

Jody is one of my online friends. Due to some chronic medical problems which leave her unable to work, she's in a dire financial situation. She's sold pretty much everything she owns, as well as everything her mother can part with, and now it's come down to this -- she's selling one of her dog's plushies! I've started the bidding and I hope you can help her out.

I can guarantee you that the story IS true! Jody has been on full disability for several years. When I first met her, she worked at Goodwill for $5/hour but, as she writes in the auction description, her health no longer allows her to work -- heck, she can't even drive (some days even walking is a challenge!). And did I mention she's only in her mid-40s?!

Jody gets a small disability payment each month, but it's barely enough to pay for her mortgage and utilities. Her healthcare is covered by Medicare, but she doesn't quite qualify for food stamps; even if she did, she says that the welfare office is on the other side of town so she couldn't get there if she wanted to. Selling on eBay has really helped Jody make ends almost meet for the last few years, but with the economy in the tank, she's having more trouble than most of us making ends meet. Please ... if you can help her out by bidding on this auction ... I hope you will do so! Here's the auction link:

Selling my plush stuffed Ducky to pay bills Bizarre!! - eBay (item 380066276121 end time Sep-28-08 10:16:21 PDT)

Also, if you could share this email/auction link with a few friends and/or dog lovers, I'd sure appreciate it! Jody doesn't know that I'm spreading the word myself. I'd just love to see her innundated with bids for Jayme's ducky!!

Oh, and if you live in or near Youngstown, Ohio and need someone to sell stuff for you on eBay, Jody's your gal! I'm not sure how much she'd charge, but I'm sure it would be reasonable!

Jody has a number of other interesting things listed as well. She likes vintage stuff and has sold everything from vintage panty girdles to artificial legs! She tries hard to list a bunch of things every Sunday, and occasionally she'll list on Thursdays too; it just depends how she's feeling that day.

Pumpkins from the Prairie Primitives' Pumpkin Patch

Fresh from the pumpkin (or punkin, to some of you) patch, here's the early 2008 crop of Prairie Primitives' Pumpkins! I've made orange pumpkins, white pumpkins, and even green pumpkins this year (I love that shade of green, by the way!). These are just 3 of five or six different shapes and sizes that I make. I've got tall slender pumpkins, short chubby pumpkins, tall thicker pumpkins, and whatever else I can dream up! They're priced in the low to mid 30s, and you can buy them by clicking on the picture -- which should take you to my web site! :-) If you've got your heart set on a pumpkin in a different shape or color, let's talk!

Y'all will be glad to know that I survived my weekend in the Bay Area! Did most of the stuff I'd planned to do (see previous post), with the exception of visiting with Linda & Janell; hope you're feeling better now, Linda!

We (my friend Renee & I) took BART to the 16th street stop and walked up to Home in the Castro, where we had brunch with some of the ADYKE gals. After brunch, we walked around the Castro and then rode MUNI up to Noe Valley. I hadn't been to Noe Valley in 8 or 9 years and was delighted to see a few of the same businesses were still there! We spent a couple of hours wandering in and out of many of the shops before taking BART back to the East Bay (via the "scenic route" -- first we got on the wrong train and then we got off a stop early!). Renee really has it made because she lives within walking distance of the BART station!

Saturday evening found us at the local Round Table pizza joint, and then Sunday we went to the antique fair at Shadelands Museum in Walnut Creek. My only purchase was a bundle of vintage sewing patterns from the 1940s/50s. We had lunch at Marie Callender's and made a few stops -- first at Quail Country Antiques and then at Keenan Heinz/Cool Stuff where we visited with the delightful Carrie Hill. Later in the day, I headed back to what I fondly call the "East East Bay."

(Hopefully I'll get to play DDR next time I visit Renee!)

Workin' for the Weekend!

I've got a FUN weekend coming up this next one!!! I'm headed down to visit a friend in the Bay Area. We'll take BART over to SF and walk around a bit (probably in the Union Square area). I hope to visit with my friends Linda and Janell; they live near Union Square, and I haven't seen them since I moved to Sacramento eight years ago!

Then on Sunday, we're going to the Shadelands antique show. Having been handed an application for this show may have been the best thing that happened to me at the Danville show! Since I've never been to the show, I was a bit hesitant to sign up for a booth; so we're going to check it out and if it looks promising, I'll plan on doing it next year! I've heard that it "used to be" THE show for primitives in the area, but that it's fallen on hard times the last few years ... but is starting to come back. So we'll see ...

The friend I'm staying with for the weekend has "Dance Dance Revolution" so I hope she'll hook that up so we can try it -- it was still in the box, unopened, as of a couple weeks ago!

What's Past and What's Next

The Danville show wasn't very exciting. It had been billed as "Antiques & Art" but it turned out to be more "Flea Market & Art." There were LOTS of people out walking their dogs -- golden retrievers, pocket pets, and THREE standard poodles (those are the big ones!); I was surprised there weren't any dalmatians or Irish setters in attendance!

The next place I'll be selling my primitive folk art will be the Lodi Street Faire. This is a HUGE event held twice a year in downtown Lodi, California. It's always on the first Sunday in May and the first Sunday in October. The October Faire will be on the 5th of the month. I'll be sharing a booth with my friend Jennifer (aka Crow Junction). I will have primitive dolls in both Halloween and Christmas styles, and many smaller things as well. Our booth will definitely be on School Street, and it will probably be near the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (yummm!) -- we've been in this location for a few years now and it's worked out well. Hope you'll come see us!