Nuts in the News

nuts In the news

by Marian Lane

I wonder if I remember how to do this?  It’s been so long that I admit, I quit keeping detailed notes….  It’s almost the new year, and the last time I gabbed about you all, it was HOT HOT HOT!  Summer has gone and before we know it, spring will be here, but for now, it’s just plain cold up here in Idaho!  I’m gonna try my best to hit the high points for you all from last August until now.  Please forgive me if I miss something important, I do want to include everyone but my mind only has so much space and things just start leaking outta my ears after a while, LOLl! 

So what did we do in the past , yikes, 5 MONTHS!!  Lots!  First of all, BIRTHDAYS!  I love birthdays… especially if they are somebody else’s!  Kelly, Donna and Kae all admitted to celebrating one more year alive and kicking, as did Denise, Jackie and Kathy.   Then Steph sent a query out and we shook a few more birthdays outta the tree.  Happy birthday to our List Momma Becky, Mt Suz, Cheryl, Betsy, Sharon, Peg, Michelle, & me.    If there was anyone else, you hid from my prying eyes.  :o)   I don’t know about you, but I am getting to the point where I gotta start subtracting the current year from my birth year to figure out how old I am supposed to be…how sad is that! <snort> 

We know two of our dear nuts are expecting, and we finally heard that Christa’s baby made it into this world healthy and happy.  Pam is a new grammy!   We got wee one updates from Monica and Cheryl.  You ladies all take care… and catch a nap when you can!  Those babies will love you unconditionally,  tire you out, and then the next thing you know, they are growing up too fast!  We have little ones now in high school and Frances  & Maryanne just sent their babies off to college. 

Welcome to our many new members…  Linda, Hollie, Janet, Kitty, Sarah, Stephanie, Robin and Traci .  A huge, GIGANTIC welcome back to both Mary B and Jackie, two of our list moderators who’ve been MIA.  Jackie is planning to move to Las Vegas in a couple months… where I’m sure they should have RELIABLE internet service <grin>.   Oops,  rewind….. Jackie HAS moved to Las Vegas, and not hearing from her… maybe LV is lacking in internet service too.  Mary is home is home with a recovering DH!  Glad to see you all here! 

Sue K and Camille have their Hoffman dolls in and we are waiting to see if either are going traveling.  If you didn’t have a chance to see their dolls, you missed some lovely artwork.   Camille, in the meantime has been writing doll classes and making more dolls.  As an exciting aside, she’s been asked to submit a doll for a book.  

Speaking of artwork, I tried my darndest to corrupt you all with the Fire Mountain Gems catalog and dreams of handcrafted jewelry!  Did I get any of you?  I know I got myself!  My wallet is flat for a while, but my gems and silver are sure purty!  We got to see pictures of Camille’s bracelets, as well as Steph's.  I know Denise made some too, but somebody <grin> didn’t ever let us see them.    We (as a list) are such a varied group of hobbyists, but what a wealth of knowledge we have together! 

Speaking of wealth of knowledge, we also were reminded to ask the list if you have questions about a supplier you haven’t ordered from before.  It really is a small world out there and someone has ordered something from just about everyone.  It’s really easy to find reliable sources if only one asks…likewise, it’s easy to find those that aren’t…as long as it’s said with a fair pen! 

A few of our members have been very busy and lived to talk about it…the rest of you have been so quiet, I will just assume you didn’t (juuuuuuuust kidding!)  Steph’s been bargain shopping (she found stick blenders, new of course, for less than $10.00).  She’s also been helping her sister plan, shop, and finally CHOOSE bridesmaid dresses, favors and shower gifts…all long distance!  She’s also working on new wholesale accounts and new web clients!  Way to go!  To top it all off, she always has a nice word to say to anyone needing one!  Finola has some time off from her new teaching job, just to turn around and make up for lost time with her soap business.  Kae, well, what can I say.  She not only is running her web business, running back and forth helping her family, hauling wood, climbing on roofs and fighting with wasps, but she has moments, in all her spare time, to fight with the auto repair guys until she gets things done right!  Erika is busy with her two babies and studying.  Denise has been a canning fool!  I think she has done corn, beans, tomatoes, peaches and one other thing…can’t remember!  But, in between this and teaching, and daycare, and shopping for school stuff for Billy, she remembers to play!  I recall a Cheap Trick concert in there somewhere, and a County Fair with the most fabulous food review I have ever read.  Not being a person who ever ate the fair food, well, now I wanna go out and try it ALL!!  You tired yet?  I am!   And that was just the detailed stuff I had from August.  In the meantime,  Pam, Finola, Denise, Jackie, myself, Steph, Paula (her very firstest), and Duane and Nancy had holiday shows.  I hope you all felt good about what you did!  It’s a load of work getting ready for these things, but they can be so fun!  Now, though, we can just take a deep breath and relax…for a week. :o)  I know I’m itching to play with soap.  January is a time to make new things, items that  we get to make for fun, not ‘cause we have orders to fill and restocks to do. 

Summer was a great time to get out and about and several of you did just that!  Donna and her DH went to the Caribbean, stopping to see Finola on St. Lucia.  Well, they got to chat on the phone, but things didn’t work out for a face to face.  Sounds like they had fun though, trying to drive on the wrong side of the road!  Speaking of meets, Sarah and Yvonne got to have a get together.  I wanna have lunch with so many of you!!  Just wait, in a time in the not so distant future, these chat groups will be video!  I wonder how many of us will log in at 5 am before we have our coffee??  LOL!  Sue K still has to drive long distances to visit with here Dh until the house and business sell.  Sue, I believe that your store is just waiting for your buyer to find you.  I hope they are on their way to you now!  Betsy & her DH had a fun weekend learning Irish ditties and stained glass crafting.  Constance and her hubby went down to the Keys for a vacation…narrowly missing the first hurricane to go through.  She’s now back at home in school mom mode, making cookies galore for her son’s cross county team.  Jackie and her hubby went down their too, although not at the same time :o) Jessica spent a couple weeks with her sister.   Deb went to Hawaii, and Shawna came back home to the lovely island of Kauai, and Sharon posted beautiful pictures of their Canadian vacation. 

Fall and winter have been great times to think about staying indoors and what else…Cooking.  We talked canning, baking and EATING!  There are recipes in the archives for venison, turducken, squirrel (yeah, you heard me), cakes, cookies, candies and breads.  Don’t think I saw a single veggie dish lol! 

On soap related topics….   We had lots of swaps in the works.  Since August the “Last Call”,  “Somewhere in Time”,  “Healing Hands”,  “Smells Good” and “Bah-Humbug” swaps have all been shipped, sniffed, and thoroughly enjoyed.     If you’ve never joined a swap, why not try one of the upcoming ones?  They are so much fun!  Not only do you get to try new things, but also the booklets let us know our fellow listees a little bit more. 

We’ve recovering nuts to think about and send positive vibes to…  Lisa’s baby is recovering after surgery, as is Stacy after her ACL repair.  Both these ladies have lots of physical therapy to work through!  Lucille, had great news from a medical procedure and Michelle is home after having yet another test. Hang in there girls!  AND I don’t want to forget!  Michelle has been nominated for “entrepreneur of the year”.  Did she get the nod?  I never heard back… 

Once again, we offer a quiet thought of peace to those of our list who have lost loved ones these past months… there have been more than a few!   I want you to know, we are thinking of you and your families!  Go give your family a hug and tell them you love them.  Life is precious, DON’T WASTE IT!

You all take care and have a great new beginning to a wonderful new year!