Bad Dream

I had a long, drawn out, bad dream this week. The dream was, my house had been bull dozed and cleared while I was not home. In this dream world the neighborhood was different and I was across the street at a friend's party, I came home and my house was gone; only an messy empty lot remained!
Well, there was a pile of chewed up & spit out building materials left. But that was all.

The feeling the dream left was one of loss, shock, anxiety, surprise, fear and did I say loss?
I repeated to the players in my dream "I'm literally homeless", the idea was difficult for me to get my mind around. The biggest gyp was that all my "good-damn stuff" was gone. Vanished. All my stuff.
I've been trying to figure where this all came from. I don't think all dreams have to mean something, but some sure do seem like a thinly veiled message while others seem to be an analogy for something going on in our lives at the time. I always try to allow any useful information contained in dreams to come to the surface of my mind at its own pace.
Two days later I think this was a manifestation of all the closet cleaning out and general purging I've been doing. I'm looking to buy some clarity of mind for the low low price of letting "stuff" go. I'm also reorganizing some things. To be sure, there's still a room in my house I will allow no one to see; I'm getting to that next!
I was re-prioritizing things on my vision board last night after making some serious headway in my bedroom and the bathroom closet (closet is a bit too fancy a word for it, it's a glorified cubby hole with a curtain instead of a door). I have a deck of cards with different affirmations that I love. Wouldn't you know it? I drew one that says
Detach Yourself from your "Stuff"

on the front and

You're not what you have and you're not what you do. You're an infinite, divine being disguised a successful person who has accumulated a certain amount of stuff. The stuff is not you. For that reason, you must avoid being attached to it in any way.

on the back.

This is a good thing for me to remember, especially during a good "throwin' out"...
But let's not start talkin' crazy; I am after all living in this earthly realm, and I like & enjoy a certain amount of stuff.
The rule of thumb for me is A) Do I need it? B) Do I use it? or C) Does it have enough sentimental value to earn a place in my limited space?
Those three things get a lot of crap out of my house.
I must say, it feels good to narrow down the material possessions.
And after that dream I'm counting my blessings for what I am keeping.

Hotlanta II !

Home again, home again, jiggity-jog!
It was snowing on the way home from Atlanta today! Snow before Christmas, very rare in these parts. It was like white blessings raining down on us.
On the way down to ATL the Dodge was jam packed full of our wares.
Bran hams it up good at Scott's Antique Market where we started vending this last weekend.
It took us two hours to set up, everything looking good!
We met so many wonderful people, such a fantastic array of personalities. Our neighboring vendors were all so different & interesting. I think we got off to a great stat & were a hit in this gypsy-antique community.
The man next to us is a Persian rug dealer who really knows his stuff and has impeccable manners. We became fast friends with Jubin and he blessed us with introductions to some of his repeat customers. He was such a delight. He even made me a cup of Persian tea that was to die for! He says things like "She will bring many blessings to your business" after introducing me to a designer or "You have been blessed with this beautiful face" after I showed off a vintage celluloid cameo I just bought. Such a dignified person with a beautiful spirit abundant with generosity,kindness and consideration.
He opened many doors to clients for us. Here is a baroque ornament I sketched out after he introduced me to an interesting couple who want a custom over-mantle for their Louis XV living room.
Alas, it was me & Brandi and there was plenty of hilarity and laughing ourselves into tears. There was more than one time when I feared getting pulled for a DUI due to my spasms of hilarity while driving.
I was a very bad girl and bought myself this celluloid mourning cameo circa 1930. It simply couldn't be helped; I was compelled, under the thrall of it's beauty.
We are so fancy we put our styrafoam plates on silver platters to eat our salads. You know, just to gussy-up the antique show fare.
By Saturday night we were ready to go out & "tie one on", an expression I taught to Jubin who was delighted to learn such a weird American expression. We found a cozy sushi place in Buckhead and Brandi was just dying for some raw fish that night. I have had it before long ago, and as I recall I was not particularly impressed...Time has not made me grow in my appreciation of this delicacy. I ordered two different kinds of salmon sushi rolls and I had to master my control of the gag reflex to carefully, slowly, deliberately choke them down! The only thing I have going for me in a sushi bar is my dexterity with chop sticks, (and ability to override the gag reflex).
We were our own paparazzi, as per usual.
Brandi ate nearly three orders of sushi since I tried two but did not like either and we hated to waste it. She said "Oh no, you have to eat something!" to which I replied "NO. I don't ever want to eat any food ever again. I'm on a sushi diet; I'm only allowed sushi to eat and it is totally gross so I will starve myself thinner!"
It's day two and I've already broken that diet. I tell ya, I got no self control!
We found our way (with some difficulty) to Jeff & Dolores' house to check out the space and discuss design obstacles & options. They really had a gorgeous home; the kind I could never maintain, spotless & perfect everywhere you look. Like a gorgeous fancy hotel! But it certainly was stunning & in good taste. Did I mention he is an engineer? And yes, I do know that I can design & build something that will meet his approval and exceed his expectations. I do love a challenge! I'm so excited about the project. I really love the process of working with someone to come up with a solution to what they think they want with what you tell them they are going to love!
We return for our second show in once month hence! We have so many ideas & plans to bring to fruition. We will be working on some pieces on site so people can witness first hand how we do wat we do. I have a great deal of difficulty getting people to comprende what it is exactly that I do. I guess because handmade items are a thing of the past and people just can't compute it.
But rest assured; we are going to learn them on what's good here directly!
I've got sketches to draw, deals to strike, ideas to document, alliances to form andblessings to count and manifest for the upcoming future.
After all; the future is now. Life is going on right now and I don't want to spend these precious moments on the sofa like a commoner.
The force is with me!