14. Potpourri

POTPOURI Gift Catalog contacted me and my husband about doing a cover with our wooden carolers. "Of course!" we said (who doesn't want their art on the cover of a major Christmas catalog?) Then the order came- 3000 pieces, to be completed in 3 months! They called to make sure we could complete the order: could we hire more employees if needed? I said I would check the computer. I had no computer (or employees) but assured them that we would get the order done in time, which we did.

We worked every day except Thanksgiving and I swore I'd never paint another caroler again. But then a store in Connecticut called in a panic. Could we please send another set to them ASAP! Apparently, Jim Henson of Muppets fame bought a complete set of 13 and asked the storekeeper to hold 2 weeks until he returned to England. An uninformed clerk then sold them to Ron Howard, the film director, by mistake.

13. Pumpkins, Pumpkins and More Pumpkins

NADI CO. was a business my husband and I had for 15 years. Back in 1990 Halloween items for the home were called "decorations." We created Halloween "art" - the only booth that year at Beckman's Gift Show in Los Angeles to do so. We were swamped with orders. At a craft show in La Canada, people lined up to purchase and we sold out.

THIS PUMPKIN was our best seller. A big chunk of my life was spent making hundreds of them. I kept the pattern (above). It fills me with joy, partly because they are laughing, but mostly because it was a special time.  I could work at night when the children slept, so I could be with them during the day. It was challenging. And I realized I could make a living painting.

EVENTUALLY,  I gave up working in wood and switched to watercolor paintings. Still, I occasionally create pieces cut from wood. I've been working on a show for 2 years now, called "Cut From the Same Cloth" in my spare time. All the pieces are cut from wood. They are more sophisticated than laughing pumpkins and I have more skill now. But the joy in making them is the same. It just feels too good not to.

12. A Good Start

I'VE BEEN MEANING to frame this for 43 years. It just keeps getting put on the back burner. (Or maybe I should say hot plate?) This was my first ever home. I had met the man I later married and we shared the single bed on the right. Craig, who would be the Best Man, slept on the bed on the floor. Boogie, a hamster I inherited from a previous roommate, slept in the third drawer down.

MEALS were cooked on a hot plate, and an ice chest served as refrigerator. Tye-dyed sheets supplied by Yosemite Park & Curry Co. We had all the necessities – heat, food, music, art and love.

IT WAS a good start.