Winner Winner Winner

So I went to the Oldies 108 building today to pick up my tickets that I won yesterday.
Wow I won some good stuff.
I won a free oil change at Carl's auto and who can use a free oil change. It actually comes at a good time cause Mom's car needs a oil change, but it also needs a 30,000 tune-up which comes with an oil change so maybe I'll just wait. Thing is I just got an oil change on my Jeep about 2 weeks ago.
Oh well.
I also got four , yeah that's right a family four pack, tickets to this really huge art and craft show that travels across the USA. It's from American Craft Council and it's a huge deal. It's been going since the 1960's and supposenly is the top craft show in the USA.
Anyway I can't wait to go and the woman I carpool with and her hubby are coming along for the ride.
Looks to be a great time.
AND lest I forget the other reason I'm traveling 50 miles to see a craft show...I found a car I want to buy. It's actually my dream car if you can believe it. And it's real cheap, like 3000 less then Kelly Blue Book but about right if it would to be sold on the street. But through the dealership I'll get a 30 day 1,000 mile warrenty. Oh and the woman I work with bought a car from these people and the way she went on, well you would be just as excited as me.
So you wanna know what my dream car is?
Well it's my fav make, my fav type and the color is perfect.
Ok you've waited long enough.
Dean this one's for you buddy. ;)
It's a 1998 BMW 328i Convertible!!!!!
With hunter green exterior and leather tan interior with wood accents!!!!!!!!
and only 56,000 miles to boot!!!!!!!
So with some luck I'll be checking it out Saturday after the Craft show and let you know all about it.
Wish me luck!!!

here's a link to the car site
http://www.encoreautos.com/cgi-bin/showroom.pl?_cgifunction=form&_layout=encoreautos&keyval=encore.encore_id%3D1015

You Feelin' Lucky Punk!!!!

Cause I just won tickets on theradio.
Yeah it's true.
On Oldies 108 they have this contest called 'My Three Songs" where they play 3 songs and you have to guess the connection between them.
The three songs were Mustang Sally, Cherokee Tribe and a song by Fleetwood Mac.
Can you figure it out?
Come on think about it....
Got it yet?
That's right they all have the make of a car in them.
Mustang, Cherokee and Fleetwood were all makes of cars!
And now I get a free oil change and 2 tickets to this concert thing this weekend.
Last week I was going crazy trying to figure out the clues to win tickets to Hairspray!!! But alas I didn't guess it. But I dii get through 3 times that day. Seems like no one could figure it out so it went to no-one.
So I guess this weekend I'll have another blog story.
Too bad cause I really wanted to do a Garage Sale this weekend.
Oh well free tickets come first. :)

it's beginning to look alot like christmas

Everywhere I go.
:)
I just couldn't wait to get my Christmas stuff up this year.
Mom and I went out and picked up very few things to help us along but the main thing we got was our tree.
She wanted to go to this place called TipTop trees cause of my stepfather, so when we got there they were kind enough to give us a larger tree for only 25 bucks.
That's after she told them that we were there because she wanted Tip to be a part of Christmas and since the name of their place was TipTop...well you get the point.
So here we are with a very nice pine tree that just fills the air with such wonderful aroma, it's such a pleasure.
I went thru all my Christmas boxes and found stuff that I bought last year that I never even put up. Some of it was still in the original wrappers.
I have some pics to show of it but you really have to be here to see all the smaller things. I think I'll take single shots of the items so you can get a better idea, but that wil be a later time.
Oh by the way that tree topper was made by my very hands, and I did it with Michael's help. 100 feet of that plaid ribbon for only 3.50. I had so much of it I decorated the Village with the rest.
For now just sit back and enjoy all the cute pics from around my home.

Delta Psi Omega's the Pony Expresso

At Edison College there is a fraternity dedicated to theatre. They put on shows for a very small amount and its very off Broadway.
BUT...
It's a real nice getaway.
Mom and I saw Rachel Davidson's the Pony Expresso and it was filled with cheesy one liners all based from coffee ads and such.
For example farm hand Bob Dwyer comes to town and needs a place to stay so Star Bright and her aunt Dee Caff tell him to try Maxwell House where they serve breakfast and it's good to the last drop.
And when villain Mo Cabana comes on stage we are encouraged to throw "Villain Balls" at him, which are just balled up newspaper, and to root for the hero Buck Brawn.
Mayor Rich Coffey with his twin girls Sugar and Spice are a hoot (especially that Mayor, deeelicious) and Doc Cappuccino who is trying to figure out why the townspeople are dropping like flies.
Well Fifi Latte knows that it's her man Mo Cabana who's poisoning everyone and he wants the the Pony Expresso for his own so that he can makes lots of money without lifting a finger (seems the government wants to make this place their resting spot for a new contraption called a railroad). Well that doesn't sit well with Palomino Polly who's a pony express rider but all will I'm sure work itself out at the end.
And speaking of the end, I hear Buck and Star are opening up their shop called Buckstar's cause Starbucks just didn't roll off their tongues. ;)
It's a real cute play and for the 5 bucks I payed it was well worth it.
So if you're looking for an escape and don't got a lot of money AND want to help some struggling college students, then go check it out.
Its a fun time for all!

1st Annual Venice Airport Jam

The 1st Annual Venice Airport Jam was full of blus skies, cool breezes, hot bodies and great music! What else could you ask for.
We heard BuckShot, Stoll Vaughan, One Night Rodeo, Stonewall and Marty Stewart& the Fabulous Superlatives. All the acts were great and Marty was fantastic. But I guess playing with Johnny Cash can do that for you.
We went to Skarky's on the Pier afterwards but the food at this Jam was really good. Stuff like ribs and Philly's were top notch. Mom even said she loved it.
I need to give a shout out to the lovely and very hot looking Surf Boys who helped guide me to this place cause I got lost again. Venice really needs to put better signage up.
All in all the 1st Jam was well worth it. Can't wait for next year, or the next whatever that pops up down here.

Ho Ho Ho Santa's little helper saves the day!

Quick story.
They decided to put up the Holiday decorations and they are very well rounded so they put up the Christmas Tree and Santa along with a Kwanza display and a Hanukkah display.
Well I decided to check out the different displays and noticed that each display had a plaque with information about the different Holidays.
Well in the Kwanza display they had the plaque for Hanukkah and for a moment I thought "This is the Hanukkah display?"
Well it turns out they had the wrong plaques with the wrong displays!
Don't worry though cause I set it right. Didn't want us to look like we were ignorant.
Well guess the season is coming whether we want it or not.
Should I end with Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays?
Seeing as we had all the different displays I'll stick to Happy Holidays.

a few pics of just some of the bikes there and yes thats charlie daniels band playing. the bears were carved into the tree stumps and that's just a sample of all the tattoos floating around

the devil went down to port charlotte and the hogs followed

At the Charlotte County Fairgrounds, thousands upon thousands of bikers came up to celebrate the annual Toys for Tots and to bring a bit of fun and wild times along for the ride.
When I showed up I never thought in a million years it would be anything like what I saw.
Rows upon rows of one Harley after another. It truly was "Hog Heaven"!
We went to see the Charlie Daniels Band and as we arrived they were set to come on stage...(perfect timing, yay!)
They went thru all their favorites and saved the best for last. When they asked the audience that they would sing one more song and if they had a preference, everyone yelled Georgia. To which Charlie said "you wanna hear Georgia on my Mind". Of course they played it and did a kick ass job!
They ended up filling up 3 huge trucks full of toys for the tots including stuff like X-Box's so yeah the kiddies will have a nice Christmas this year thanks to some very friendly bikers.
Everyone was there just having a blast and drinking and eating and just plain getting down to the bluegrass sounds and country pickin' of Charlie and his band.
I have to admit though I had a headache today but pushed thru so Mom could have a nice time. I am glad I did cause I had a nice time too.
So if you're heading to Port Charlotte around this time next year stop by the fairgrounds and have a toy ready, cause it was free to get in as long as you brought a toy and the fun was non-stop!

here you'll see everything i spoke of including swiis chocolate's display, mimi working on mom's coral necklace, me and mom at river city grille, maria and margaret and mom at the gallery, the painted wood floor from south sausalito, the outside of so. sal and the purple house and my one of a kind hand made superman beaded necklace. very sweet indeed!

Swiss Chocolate and Joe Mathis Gallery

What an amazing experience mom and I went thru today.
It started out as being quite boring and actually a disappointment.
We took both our cars down to the local Toyota dealership to get very expensive oil changes (24.95 a car) and they said sorry you need an appointment.
Oh well they're lost.
I need to set up an appointment on Monday to take my Jeep in.
That was in Punta Gorda. Can I tell you that I absolutely LOVE Punta Gorda. It is such a wonderfully neat little town.
Case in point. We went to the Visual Arts Center where they were setting up for one of they're many art festivals. The lady there was very accommodating with us and showed us all around.
They have allot of members and all the stuff sold there in the gift shop was all made by the local artists. They have classes to and mom and I are considering the stained glass class.
From there we went to Fisherman's Village where we found many little tidings.
Of them, we finally found mom's glass flowers. See when my step father Tip passed away he left Mom with several old antique vases and glass. Well she's been looking for some glass blown flowers to decorate the vases with. they're nice but we definitely need to find better quality ones.
From there we went to this cute little bead shop just out of boredom. Well seems it was a nice distraction cause we both made very unique necklaces from loose beads. Of course Mimi was there to lend a helping hand which did come in handy. I don't wanna sound stuck-up but I really liked the way they came out. My chain had this "Super" coll stone shaped to look like the Superman emblem. It just so happened that I was wearing my Superman tshirt to boot.
Mom's necklace was made from red coral and it really came out looking outstanding. Many people were complimenting us both.
We were on our way over to this craft show in North Port when we saw a sign that said Craft show there in Punta Gorda.
Well we decided to pull over and that's when the real adventure began.
Fisrt we stopped off at the Purple House which is now closed and checked out the shop next door. South Sausalito had the cutest wood floors that someone decided to paint a mural on. It was a stream with fish swimming down it. Very nice.
And what was even nicer were all the absolutely adorable pieces we found in this little shop. From Italian pottery to Mexican Pewter it had some of the best stuff I've ever laid my eyes on. And even better, the shop owner gave me 50 to 65% off everything with an extra discount after she totaled everything. We found items by world renown Vietri and Mariposa that I can't wait to decorate the house with. it was such a find that I'll just have to go back.
Oh what's that I smell? Seems like my credit card is burning a hole in my wallet. Guess I'll have to take it out once again.
We were on our way home when something happened that I feel will change our way of life here.
We met some Friends!
Maria and Franz are from Switzerland who just last month set up shop in Punta Gorda. They bought the whole building and opened up a chocolate store called Swiss Chocolate (phone # is 941-639-9484) as well as a gallery called Joe Mathis Gallery.
The chocolate was so beautiful that I popped out my camera and took pictures of them.
Then we went to the gallery to check it out.
The pieces there were from Maria's father and he is a well known artist named...wait for it... Joe Mathis!
He is billed as a Painter and Graphic Designer and had quite a life. He was a soldier and a clown and one of the first graphic designers who's work influenced many artists to come.
From Impressionism to Murals, Abstract to Mentor he was well rounded and very very talented.
The gallery opened with his pieces but today was the last day of his works. The next artist to be shown is Margaret Egli-Thomson.
I feel honored to be the last person to close out this wonderful man's show. But unfortunately Joe no longer is with us. He passed away in 2002 and this gallery is in fact run by his daughter.
Who it seems I met earlier.
The owner Maria who runs the Swiss Chocolate store is the daughter of this wonderfully talented man.
We purchased to of his pieces. One is a negative that looks like a moonlit winter wonderland and the other is another negative of this character who lived in this tiny cabin across form Joe in Switzerland. A tuff broad named Sophie who would chase the roosters around and fight with them. The tiny shack in the etching is Sophie's shed where she kept all her gardening tools.
At the end we all went back in Maria's store and had white wine and celebrated what's called FiniteSaugh (I know I spelled that wrong...sorry) which means the end of a journey. with our sale we finished the end of the first month of business Maria and Franz started.
Maria even gave us a small bag of chocolates which I thought was so sweet of her.
It's nice to have new friends here in this new town and I hope to see them again.
We ended the night by going to River City Grille and had another superb meal.
What an amazing and astoundingly day we had.
And tomorrow is gonna be just as wild as we are planning to go to the Toys for Tots with the bikers and Charlie Daniels Band. The Devil is gonna come down to Port Chalotte and leave Georgia all alone.
Speaking of George, I might be visited by him in the coming days along with NB.
That should be fun especially since while I was picking up a gift for him today at South Sausalito he was picking up a gift for me at Marshalls. We still have a great connection.
Hey final thought. I've been seeing alot of NB signs around like a sign to exit NB "North Bound".
Just one of those coincidence he talks about all the time.

Mama Mia, Thats a Nice Place that Venice Art Festival is!!!

Lets me take you on a little trip up the coast to a small place called Venice Florida where my Mom and I just had a fantastic experience with terrific deals that I have never seen in any Art show before.
It starts off quite frantic. There's an ad in the local newspaper touting some Art Festival that sounds like a nice afternoon. So me being the ever adventurer, I decide to jump in my car and go up there. The instructions in the paper are very simple that even my friend NB should find it (he's notorious for getting lost, even with a navigator system). It says go down I75 to exit 193 get off go to West Venice Ave and wa-la you're there. WRONG!!!
After going back and forth on Venice Ave East we decide to stop into the Unity Church to ask for directions. Well God Bless their souls they took us right into the heart of the Festival.
We started out and this time Mom was in top form. She really did wonderful today and I hope I'm getting her enough exercise without actually killing her.
There were so many get deals that I am convinced the artists have to pay a ton more money when they come to Miami just to cover the cost, while in Venice they probably don't charge them so much so the artists drop their prices.
On the next couple of blogs you'll see all the stuff I purchased and you'll see the next up-n-comer Tyler Loncar with his piece. I got real lucky to actually meet the young artist and he was a very proud owner of one of the student pieces. Good for you Tyler. Keep up the wonderful work.
I bumped into Mike from my job and his wife. Thats was a surreal moment. It reminded me that I had to work the next day. Argg!!! I don't like bumping into co-workers. Remind me never to do that again.
Well I could go on for days but a picture is worth a thousand words so please enjoy the ones to come and remember to come on up here when you're in need of a good Art Show.

pics of the 19th annual Venice Art Festival

pics of all my goodies that I found at the 19th annual Vencie Art Festival

Saturday is alright for shopping

Wow and Wow again!
I did so much crazy shopping today that I can hardly believe it. Where are those receipts at cause I see a future in the return aisle.
I purchased many neat cool things today with the best being a deluxe Chewbacca costume at 70% off. Pop over to my Superheromarket blog to see some pics of it.
I also bought that cool Edwardian Butler you must have seen around town. He's the one that speaks in that weird "Rocky Horror Picture" way and even looks like the butler from that flick. His eyes light up also and he's holding this cool tray that I want to place stuff on. I bought him a long gray wig cause I felt he needed one.
Some other stuff I bought was this really nice Angel and Polar Bear that is made of that wire material and moves with lights all over it. For your yard. Can't wait to build that and watch it slowly rock back and forth.
Mom and I Voted today too! She voted all Republican and I voted all Democrat. Seems my step father really messed with her head cause my mom was a huge Democrat before. Guess that's another notch in my step father's belt. I'll have to work at fixing that one.
We ate at this restaurant that Marc wanted to take me to but it was closed...Steamers in Englewood. To bad it was closed that night, it would have saved us 80 bucks tonight. It wasn't all bad but we did have to wait like 30 to 45 minutes for our food to arrive. Oh well guess that's another restaurant to put on that same list I'm making for my step father.
All in all I had a very busy fun-filled crazy day ending with 2 dates from these guys I met online. Same site that I met Marc on.
One guy is Jeff and he's a plumber. Don't ask me why but ilike the fact that he has a trade. I always liked that worker class type.
The other is Kaine and he's a manager at a bar. But there's something about this one that I like. Chemistry you might say. I'll have to let you know how it all works out.
Tuesday I'm supposed to meet Jeff and Chili's but Kaine works nights so I'll have to feel around to see if something can be found.

Tomorrow is the 19th annual Art's and Craft's show in Venice. Be back for all the gory details!!!