New Year's Show

So the New Year's Day show was short but sweet~~only 4 hours, but it was a quality show and the line was long at 10am waiting on the doors to open. They came with intentions to buy and I am proud to say that I had a handful of faithful followers who drove almost three hours to come and support my efforts. Thanks to those precious friends! If you are ever in the Arcadia FL area I strongly recommend a visit to this quaint little town with its many antique shops lining the main street. Thanks to Flo and Don of Maddy's Antiques for putting together such an awesome event! Here are a few pics of my booth though it isn't quite as elaborate as usual. Enjoy and Happy New Year to all...

WANDERING KITTY

Has anything from the past come to meet you???

Well, it happened to me this past summer so I thought you might like to hear the story and hopefully I can keep it short because I try very hard not to be wordy….but if you really knew me…well, lets just say I’ll try.

I received an e-mail from a girl asking if I’m the same KAREN MARTINSEN who made a ceramic kitty sitting in a baby shoe….well, I didn’t think I would ever have made something like that.

Back in 1974 I was in a ceramics class and made lots of decorative things but they were mostly Colonial items - not cutsy.

I told our boys about it and they said they remembered something like that but were not sure.
I e-mailed her back and told her what I thought and asked if she had pictures…she did….she sent them.

WOW….there was the kitty! AND my signature on the bottom! I don’t sign things in that penmanship anymore but that was mine back then.

She proceeded to tell me she collects anything CATS/KITTY and at a FLEA MARKET IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS she found this kitty and decided to seek out the maker. Can you believe it??? And we live in Wisconsin.

I made this thing in 1974, that was 34 years ago and as any cat IT CERTAINLY DID HAVE 9 LIVES!!!

I just wish I knew the journey this kitty had in those 34 years - how it survived not being broken or cracked/chipped….did it get purchased at one of my rummage sales and sold over and over till it reached Texas? I will never know but I do know my kitty survives….not sure how many more of its 9 lives it has left but I’m certain it will stay where it’s at till time runs out.

Hope you enjoyed my tales of my kitty

My 40-Book List for 2009

Many of you have asked about my pre-selected reading list for this new year, so here it is:

1. Boys & Girls Learn Differently- Michael Gurian (CURRENTLY READING)
2. Masterlife - Avery Willis (skimmed/finished Aug '09)
   
3. A Place of Quiet Rest - Nancy Leigh DeMoss (CURRENTLY READING)
4. Restoring the Pleasure - Penner & Penner
5. The Minds of Boys: Saving Our Sons From Falling Behind in School and Life - Gurian/Stevens
6. Desiring God - John Piper (CURRENTLY READING)
7. A Celebration of Sex: A Guide to Enjoying God's Gift of Sexual Intimacy - Doug Rosenau (FINISHED 2/09)
   
8. Defending Life: A Moral & Legal Case Against Abortion Choice - Francis Beckwith
9. What's so Great About Christianity - Dinesh D'Souza (CURRENTLY READING)
   
10. Women Who Make the World Worse - Kate O'Bierne (FINISHED 2/09)
    
11. Intimate Issues - Linda Dillow & Lorraine Pintus (FINISHED 8/09)
    
12. The Well-Trained Mind - Jessie Wise & Susan Wise Bauer (FINISHED 7/09)
    
13. The Marketing of Evil: How Radicals, Elites, and Psuedo-Experts Sell Us Corruption Disguised as Freedom - David Kupelian (CURRENTLY READING)
14. The Innocent Man - John Grisham (FINISHED 5/09)
    
15. Reaping the Harvest - Diana Waring (CURRENTLY READING)
16. Designing a Lifestyle That Pleases God - Pat Ennis & Lisa Tatlock (paused mid-book; may not finish)
    
17. The Fruit of Her Hands: Respect and the Christian Women - Nancy Wilson (FINISHED 4/09)
    
18. The Other Side of Love: Handling Anger in a Godly Way - Gary Chapman
19. Helper By Design: God's Perfect Plan for Women in Marriage - Elyse Fitzpatrick
    
20. What Our Mothers Didn't Tell Us: Why Happiness Eludes the Modern Woman - Danielle Crittenden (FINISHED 8/09)
21. Practicing Hospitality - Pat Ennis & Lisa Tatlock (CURRENTLY READING)
    
22. Faithful Women & Their Extraordinary God - Noel Piper (FINISHED 1/09)
    
23. Sacred Marriage - Gary Thomas (FINISHED 7/09)
    
24. What To Do On Thursday: A Layman's Guide to the Practical Use of the Scriptures - Jay Adams (FINISHED 05/09)
    
25. Counted Righteous in Christ - John Piper
26. The Mother at Home - John S. C. Abbott (CURRENTLY READING)
    
27. Jesus Among Other Gods - Ravi Zacharias (FINISHED 04/09)
    
28. A Biblical Home Education: Building Your Homeschool on the Foundation of God's Word - Ruth Beechick (FINISHED 3/09)
    
29. The Power of Words - Nancy Leigh DeMoss
    
30. A Long Obedience in the Same Direction:Discipleship in an Instant Society - Eugene Peterson (FINISHED 9/09)
    
31. Keys to the Deeper Life - A. W. Tozer (FINISHED 6/09)
32. Why Gender Matters: What Parents & Teachers Need to Know About the Emerging Science of Sex Differences - Dr. Leonard Sax
33. Home Making - J. R. Miller (FINISHED 8/09)
34. Abortion: The Silent Holocaust - John Powell (FINISHED 1/09)
    
35. Do the Right Thing - Mike Huckabee
    
36. The Mortification of Sin: A Puritan's View on How to Deal with the Sin in Your Life - John Owen (CURRENTLY READING)
37. Heaven on Earth - Thomas Brooks
    
38. The Secret Key to Heaven: The Vital Importance of Private Prayer - Thomas Brooks (Read most by 7/09)
    
39. God's Gifted People - Gary L. Harbaugh (previously read; re-skimmed 9/09)
    
40. Hinds Feet on High Places - Hannah Hurnard (FINISHED 3/09)
    

I'm not reading them in any particular order, but I am going to try to work in the more "meaty" things (i.e., Puritan classics, books about the spiritual disciplines, etc.) in throughout the year as I read the things that are more naturally palatable for me (i.e., books about homeschooling or feminism). And, FYI-- I don't make any money from these links... I just love passing along good resources, and so it was worth it to me to look up all the links so you can easily find and read about whatever books might appeal to you. :-) I'm an unapologetic bibliophile.

And perhaps this will give you some reading ideas as well... please browse the list and click away! TO READ REVIEWS OF ALL BOOKS READ IN 2009, CLICK HERE.