My family and friends are awesome!    Not sure how all this could have happened without their help.    Yesterday my sis, brother-in-law and Jacob came over to help out.   Lou helped hang some shelves under extreme circumstances.  The building is not level.  The walls are not level, neither is the ceiling.  The windows are not even at the same heights.   Never ever do the marble test on the floors.   The walls are some old fashioned plaster and the studs are nearly impossible to find.   Yet Lou managed to get the shelf strong enough to hold my glass jars full of great creative stuff.    My sis Heidi was everywhere and anywhere she was needed.    My neighbor James looked at us like we were crazy when we asked to borrow his vacuum cleaner but he quickly obliged.    Jacob was the best.  He is my 11year old nephew.  He helped to clean off shelves and even swept up around the store.    It was all good until his iPod ran out of battery LOL!   I was almost gushy when he said “cool place Aunt Holly”.

There was still more to do this morning.  Kelly and Dave arrived at my house a little before 9AM to help move more furniture over to the store.   Dave set up the round table while Kelly at I discussed displays and classes.   It was so nice to meet their daughter Emily.   Of course I had to show her the Harry Potter room.   All the while I was hoping the doorknob wound not fall off again.  

Jersey Made was open for the first time today so that was very exciting.   It also meant that work tools needed to be hidden, empty tubs removed and painting supplies stashed away.   I totally enjoyed setting up my Leafpile recycled art items.   Since I will be at the store 5 days a week I won’t be able to do too many outside shows now but that also means that my artwork will not be getting destroyed by the packing and travel.  Mostly I am glad that my artwork can be available year round without being in the elements – this summer was the worst with all the rain, wind and damage.

Tanya and Steve from the Pinelands Music and Basketry came over for a visit.   While there we were noticing people walking right by Jersey Made and not stopping.   So we started doing some brainstorming.   Steve recalled a sandwich board that was no longer in use so he went home to retrieve it.   It was perfect!   Well really it was dirty and generally a mess but it showed some real potential!  Tanya and I started discussing the colors of Jersey Made and what paints I had available.   So the “Almost Aloe” from my great painting-on-wallpaper experiment inside was moved outside to be the new background for the board.   Just when we were trying to figure out what to do next with the limited supply of paint colors available Lauren showed up.   She had mentioned some unused paint at home that was looking for a new home so I had asked her to bring over the gray that she had.   Poof!   A coat of gray paint got added to the sandwich board.  

This became Tanya’s project for the day and it looks totally awesome.  We even figured some ideas for moving the sandwich board around since it is quite heavy.    Many thanks to Tanya and Steve for their ideas and contributions to Jersey Made today.

Meanwhile Lauren had also come with all of her artwork to display in the store.   Her business is Orange Slice Art and she uses her custom created fabrics to make awesome purses of many different types and clothing too!    So we moved some furniture around and found a great way to use her display rack and the existing flatwall.   Not without some mishaps though.   First I banged my head really hard on a wooden shelf.   I saw stars and had to sit for a few minutes until the pain subsided.  Another reason to have ice cubes at the store - ouch!     A little while later I came inside from checking on Tanya and the sandwich board to find Lauren clutching her finger with a paper towel.   She had gotten attacked by my extra sharp scissors.  I had packed my old canoeing first aid kit to take over to the store.  The first bandage I pulled out broke apart.  Guess I haven’t been canoeing in awhile.   All that was now left were my Wile E. Coyote bandages.   After fumbling around and dropping one on the floor Lauren & I finally managed to get a bandage on her finger.   The walking wounded - me with an egg on my head and Lauren with a kiddie bandage.   

Lauren has become sort of famous in my world.   I met her earlier this summer at a show and became fascinated with her lint rolling skills.    Her booth was right across from me so I could watch as she lint rolled the table cloth and then her purses.   Of course I had to go over and make a comment.   Ever since that day I have carried my lint roller to every show.    Seeing Lauren using the lint roller today at Jersey Made was such a big kick for me that I went for the camera.   Photographing her lint rolling has become a hobby at every show since.  LOL!

Bill stopped by the store today to see if he could help too!   Of course I had to mention the doorknob that falls off on a whim.  He quickly took care of that and then helped to set up the cabinets/wooden door area in the classroom that will help hold supplies and a little refrigerator.  Hopefully it will have room for an ice cube tray too for future mishaps LOL!

More artists will be coming in the next week to bring their creations to Jersey Made.  It was great to have sort of a dry run today.   I enjoyed hearing the many compliments and talking about future classes with the customers who came in to look around.   This location has not had a store for about a year so the sandwich board will really help to let people know that something exciting is happening at 33-35 White Street!   Something really exciting!!!!

It is sad when an icon becomes an eyesore.

So it is with Olga’s Diner. 

Olga’s has been a fixture at the intersection of Route 70 and Route 73 in Marlton for so many years.  A meeting place at the crossroads.  Everyone knew where it was and it became a destination on the map.  Directions were given that way “when you get to Olga’s go……….”

During plans for the new construction that would eliminate the circle and replace it with a Route 73 overpass, the engineers designed access roads that would still make sure people could get to Olga’s.  They intended to stay.  While waiting for the construction to start Olga’s closed – about the time the Phillies were winning the World Series since “Go Phils” was still showing in the windows up until a few days ago.  When I attended the meeting held by the Township to get information and ask questions, the engineer’s map clearly showed how this icon in our neighborhood was going to remain. 

The construction has started.  A few weeks ago the 9PM to 6AM shifts started.  This triggered a chain reaction of activity around the area.   Today I went to dinner with a friend and I took advantage of being the passenger so I could take some photos.  Mostly I wanted to show my Mom who continually asks me how things are going with the construction.  It is hard to describe it to her so I thought seeing some photos would help her to see the mess the area is right now.   The traffic from the ‘rubber-neckers’ is crazy.  There is constantly a jam up as soon as you get within a mile of the area.   The construction is widespread since drainage ditches, on and off ramps and more are all happening at once.  The trees have already been removed which makes the vast expanse of equipment, concrete piping and dirt seem that much more prominent.   Bob’s Seafood has been torn down.   “Goodbye Cruel World” was the message they left us in the windows of the empty building.  

I must confess I use the construction as an excuse for being late quite often – and most of the time that really is the reason.

All the while the ‘For Sale’ sign remains on the property around Olga’s.  Who would buy it now?  It’s once glowing neon signs are in disrepair.  The darkness is a reminder of what once was and it is still unsettling to drive by at night.   Windows are broken.   The grounds have become a storage facility.  Most of the green lawn is now gone to accomodate the new traffic flow.  

“If we are not careful we will leave our children a legacy of highways and byways leading no where” (a sign on the concrete wall near Cooper River, Pennsauken)   I remember as a little child asking my grandfather to read this sign to me.   Then I learned to read it myself each time I passed.   So I asked my grandfather what it all meant.  He tried his best to explain it to me but perhaps this was something I had to learn for myself.  Now today as I think about Olga’s and all the changes happening in my area the message strikes home once again!

Well I am a little behind on my blogging but life has been hectic.  So we will travel back a few weeks to Sunday, May 31st.  My neice got confirmed.  As her godmother I wanted to have an extra special gift for her.  You might remember the antique skeleton keys that I purchased at a yard sale awhile back.  

Well I spent a bunch of time with the Dremil tool getting the rust off and making them look really pretty once again.  This began the idea for my neice’s gift for her confirmation.   I added a Scrabble letter ‘G’ for her name.  Abbie helped me with some beads to decorate it a bit and we had to include a wheatback penny that we had spent all that time drilling and polishing too.

I stamped a card to go along with it using Stampin’ Up! ”Refuge and Strength” set.   The box is recycled and the lid was decorated with some beautiful paper that I bought at a yard sale.   Together it was a great gift set and I was really pleased with it.   More importantly – SHE was pleased with it.  In her thank you card my neice called the necklace “cute & creative”.

It is great to be able to make my own cards.  I had spent so much time on the preparing the making of the necklace that the card was left until the last minute.  Hehehe – I don’t want to mislead my readers into thinking that I do everything ahead of time.  Like most people I need a deadline.  My Mom is famous for her motto that she often reminds us “never miss a deadline” and she never did!   Deadlines help me keep up with things and often I have so many things on my agenda that I need to follow in the order when things are due.  This of course keeps me burning the midnight oil sometimes.  It is also the reason I am blogging at this late hour since I really had an urge to blog before sleeping tonight.

As always, thanks for listening to my tale…..

Today’s OneMinuteWriter:
Tell a story that has been passed down through your family.

Howard was my great-great grandfather. I remember him from my youth. He used to be a carpenter and made furniture. The tale goes that he used all the little left over pieces of wood and glued them together to make more furniture. I have a black table that has been passed down through my family and it is rumored that this is one of those “little pieces of wood” projects. I am gonna redo the table to find out….