The kids are out on their sleds giggling with delight at how fast they can go with ice on top of the snow. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that our power doesn't go out and that they don't hurt themselves. Sometimes it sucks being the grownup...

I had to remove the Artfire shop preview because the code was messing up my site, but there is a link in the top left module to get you there to see the beads. I'm going to try keeping both my Artfire and Etsy stores stocked once it warms up enough for me to torch. The few warm days we have had the last couple of weeks I've spent hauling water and splitting wood...

would call me on the fact that I have not updated my blog like I said I would. For those of you who wrote me emails that I have yet to respond to, thank you for thinking of me and I will get back to you.

First, let me say that my dad was an alcoholic from before the time I was born, which was quite a feat since he was only 17 when I made my debut. He stopped drinking for a short period of time when I was small and then never really tried to quit again (although he did slack off for a few months when he found out that he had the beginnings of cirrhosis and emphysema). I don't think he thought that anything that brought him such pleasure would actually kill him, especially since, in his mind, beer wasn't as bad as other types of alcohol. He was convinced that he would end up with cancer, like his father before him, and that that would be his ticket out of this world. He was wrong and died of liver failure at the horrifically young age of 52. He left four daughters (I being the oldest and the only one from his first marriage) to deal with the mess he left behind. His disease caused each of his marriages to fail and broke many hearts, those of his daughters included.

Having said all that, he was also one of the most genuinely funny and good natured people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. It didn't matter how bad a day I was having, he could always say something to make me laugh. Granted he could also be the reason I was in a snit in the first place, but that is for another story another time. I'll cherish my memories and photographs and try to keep him real for my children; even though, I fear time will take their memories of him. He was and will always be loved and I guess when it comes right down to it...a person couldn't ask for more.