A rare moment of self-revelation.

Anyone that reads this blog regularly knows that the content contains very little personal reflection.  Mainly simple, basic postings.  Just the facts, ma'am.

But not known to my readers is the fact that the last few months have been quite stressful for a number of reasons -

o  In addition to renovating Miss Money Pitt, Bob and I purchased another Mid-Century Modern house with plans to make it a rental property.  Even though we had a home inspection before closing many unforseen problems revealed themselves.  Renovations that we thought would take a couple of months are now entering the 5th month time frame.  But, there is an end in sight.  Renters will move in the first of June so we're wrapping up the last minute Punch List.

o  In the middle of our home and property construction woes Bob and I came down with a nasty bronchial inflammation and both of us just completed 3 rounds of antibiotics with a steroid push.  (Mom swears it's the Mid-Century Modern mold and dust we've been inhaling.)

o  The on-going anxiety of separation from the children and grandchildren who live in Washington, D.C., and Minneapolis.

o  Lastly, one of the most emotional stresses that only modern bloggers can endure - loss of their website.

To condense a rambling story:  I came up with the concept of fleaChic over 5 years ago.  Right, Lisa?   I vividly remember rushing into her office (we worked at the same cancer treatment center at the time), explaining my idea for a blog where I posted ideas about decorating with (and repurposing) vintage items from flea markets and thrift shops.  As with every crazy idea I had laid out before her, Lisa smiled and nodded and encouraged me to "go for it!"  

I purchased the www.fleaChic.com domain but set up the blog as it is today under the blogspot web address.  All inquiries to www.fleaChic.com were automatically forwarded to this site.  With encouragement from my daughter-in-law, Lori, and my daughter, Brynna, I began merrily blogging away.

For five years everything was fine but this past January I noticed a drastic decline in daily visitors.  Hmmmm . . . . . what was going on?  

Backtrack 18 months when Bob and I moved back home to North Alabama - the internet/cable server we had used in Florida was not available here.  That meant that our email addresses were no longer available.  We tried to remember every account that we had with vendors in order to contact them with our new addresses.  Unfortunately, I didn't remember a very important one - the domain where I had purchased www.fleaChic.com.

Yes, the domain license expired in December and they didn't have my new email address to contact me about renewal.  When anyone logged onto fleaChic.com it said, "This web page is not available."  When I contacted the registry company about renewing the domain they hit me with an outrageou$ 'recovery' fee which I refused to pay.  My only option?  Wait 3 to 6 months for the domain to become available and repurchase it at the regular price.  Yes, I had let my 'blog child' slip away.

So, for almost 5 months, I've been trying to recover my beloved www.fleaChic.com AND  TODAY  I WAS  SUCCESSFUL!!!!!  At 5:12 a.m. it became available and I scooped it back up. 

During these last few months I've considered not continuing with this blog.  It's been discouraging, frustrating and maddening.  (Antibiotics don't cure despair.)  I feel as if a lost family member has been returned to me - that's a little melodramatic but bloggers are nodding in agreement.

So, back to shallow, frivolous and quirky posts with the confidence that I can now steer fleaChic in a different direction.  Over the next few months I hope to make some drastic changes to the site and I also hope that you like them.

Some people need jogging/running, gym time, yoga, or physical exercise every day.  I need to compose every day.  fleaChic is a writing exercise (therapy?!) which I need to do every day.

Thanks for sticking with me.  I truly appreciate it.