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Oh, Melody, please just one more regular hatcher in copper patina! I have 23 pairs of matching youngs and regular hatchers and one pore lil copper patina young with no matching hatcher and he’s so lonesome without a partner!!! There is no substitute for a matching partner!!! (squeak, squeak!!) :((
I have a male dragon named “Chocolate #1” done by Olimpia Carapia that I used for my icon until the forum changed and it has now disappeared (the icon, not the dragon). This “chocolate rain” is a different one, isn’t it?
When I first started collecting, I took all the tags off because I thought, gee, why would I keep tags on Windstones when I don’t keep them on clothes or other stuff, then I learned from the forum that missing tags can decrease the value so I started leaving them on. I don’t really like the danged things, and now I have a choice whether to leave them on or take them off! Wonderful!! 😀
I’m noticing that the ebay items lately have mostly been very dark, like black emerald, black violet, black this and that. The backgrounds on the pictures are so dark that the pictures are difficult to distinguish from the background, everything is just dark. I know it’s winter and dark outside until late, I’m wondering if the background on the dark pieces could be lightened up so they stand out more and could we get some lighter more cheerful pieces? (now my wallet is talking: no! no more temptations, it’s hard enough as it is! dark is less tempting! Me: well, at least some light background on the dark ones, ok? Me, the therapist is talking: Well, maybe Melody is depressed and can’t do light and cheerful right now, it’s hard in the dark and cold and she is used to sunny S. Cal. and plenty of sunshine. Me: Well, I decided to bring it up anyway, just to let her know I noticed and I hope she feels better, spring is really coming, honest it is and the sunshine will return to us! Take care, Melody! P.S. other forum members have commented on it too, especially the dark backgrounds being somewhat gloomy. Just thought I’d mention it.
I’m so so very sorry that you lost him. Nothing can ever take the place of a loving cat who loves you unconditionally and that you can love the same way. They are so special!! I know he will always have an abiding place in your heart that is just for him and all the memories you have of him. Please allow the comfort and heartfelt sympathies of your forum family to soothe your heart and somewhat ease your grief, most of us have had to say goodbye to a beloved furry friend at some time and we are with you in thoughts and feelings. Take good care of yourself!
Update on the dragon disaster: Barrdwing and her husband came up this afternoon to help me with this mess, and my young neighbor came too. We took all the Windstones off the other shelves and replaced all the shelf supports with nickelplated ones which are stronger, and rearranged the pieces to redistribute the weight. We also researched all the broken pieces for the values through my records and ravenheart database and the store, to establish the cost for the insurance company. Then we packed up all the pieces to be ready to send to Drag0nfeathers who said she is willing to repair them. I also have a box of large chips and paws and legs and eyes, etc, to send. It will cost quite a bit to send them to Mass., especially in this weather, so I can’t send them all now, some of the pieces are quite heavy. I don’t know if the insurance company will cover any of it, but at least I can now send them the information and the pictures.
So, THANK YOU Barrdwing and spouse for your time and help, I am truly thankful!!! :yes: :yes: It would have been so much more difficult without you! I still get upset looking at the poor damaged pieces, it is so sad! It helped that you were here, it was less hard that way.
I will keep you posted on the progress. Next is shelf replacement and fixing the scratches, and getting the packages to Fedex and cleaning the wood parts of the cabinets. and finish one cabinet shelf support replacement. I will post pictures when I can.
Thank you to everyone with all the messages, they have been a great help!!! :yes:My father had this disease for 7 years. He was very difficult at best, was hallucinating, believing we were kidnapping him, stealing from him, refusing to get out of the car at night because he didn’t recognize his house, threatening to bite us and break our arms, telling us he hated us, etc., then became very loving and cooperative. My sister, my stepmother, and I were his caregivers, and occasionally my brother. It was a very hard time. It helped when we learned not to take anything personally, that it was the disease that was talking, not him. We talked to him when his “window” was open and worked around him when it was closed and didn’t get mad at him because it wasn’t really him talking, etc.
There is very good book called “The 36 hour day” which addresses the problems of being a caregiver for people with Alzheimers or senility. There are also support groups for caregivers that are very helpful so the caregivers don’t feel that they are all alone in this struggle and they can express their feelings openly with others who understand about the negative feelings that come up. They can usually be located in the local hospital and/or hospice.
It’s good that your father seems to be a person who is natively ok. My dad was natively aggressive so he became more that way, and very independent, so he fought giving up his independence and allowing others to help him.
Yes, it is one of the most stressful things about life and we learn a lot about ourselves going through it and yes we do get through it.
Take very good care of yourself (diet, exercise, sleep, water, vitamins B especially, and breaks), accept help from others, and breathe a lot! Hang in there, you won’t go crazy, and you will be stronger for it.
Big hugs and warm thoughts!You have no idea how much your posts of empathy and support has meant to me. I am so grateful and proud to be a part of this group of kind and generous and wonderful people. Thank you from the bottom of my socks!!!
I contacted the insurance company and they want pictures, lists, and cost estimates which will take me a while to gather up. I have to get the glass replaced as well. I checked the other cabinets and all but one are in good shape. That one is bowing slightly and the shelves aren’t movable, so I have to rearrange all the pieces. The top shelf has all the unicorns/families on it and the other shelves aren’t tall enough to accomodate the grands, so I will probably leave them there and break up the families,which distresses me, but not as much as more damage would, so they will get moved. I have a wooden brace on another one, but it has a wooden base, this one has a mirrored base, so that won’t work. I don’t know yet where I’m going to put what, there is no room for more cabinets.
I decided to get the pieces repaired, rather than look for replacements as much as possible. Some of them aren’t replaceable, particularly one tiny cat I got from a forum member that is very old and doesn’t have much damage. I spent so much time rounding these up, I think it will be better to repair the ones I have.
I am so thankful and grateful for all the wonderful offers of help in so many ways including providing replacements/gifts/rehoming etc as well as people wishing they could come and help. What wonderful gifts!!!!!!! I will continue to keep you posted in the progress and also continue to learn to post pictures!! Thank you!!This is an experimental post for a link to the pictures. I hope it works! If it doesn’t, PLEASE let me know!
Click here for the entire album:
http://s255.photobucket.com/albums/hh127/dragonjoy/Windstone%20cabinet%20crash%202011/
[code][code][/code][/code]Thank you SO MUCH!!! I love you all!!! Your messages have helped me so MUCH!!! I feel so connected to each and every one of you!!! I can feel your empathy because I know how much we are all connected to our wonderful Windstones and how we all know how much we all value and treasure them and even though we may be separated by miles, I know you are all with me and helping me the way you can. 🙄 :cry :shout:
Update: I have 2 young men here helping me, my computer helper and his assistant. They have opened the cabinet door and just as predicted, everything spilled out of the cabinet. They have been able to take out all of the Windstones and a lot of the pieces. They have sorted out the glass as much as possible and taken out 2 full bags of glass to the dumpster. There is some major damage to some of the pieces, a head sheared off, two “circle/councils” that have broken in half, paws and eyes broken off. No piece escaped damage of some kind. Some of them “just” got chips and scrapes, ears suffered the most consistently. I am so grateful that none of them were so damaged that they were unrecognizable, none got totally smashed as I feared they might have. I have taken a lot of pictures both for you and for the insurance. I do have insurance, but I don’t know if it will cover this, it may only cover things like fire, flood, theft, earthquakes, roofs falling in, things like that. I will call them on Monday and see. Maybe they will do a partial coverage, and even that would help. I also checked with Lowe’s, a large hardware company and they made some helpful suggestions. Replacing the glass will be expensive too.
Things to feel so grateful for: 1) Nobody got hurt! 2) Of the 5 cabinets in the room, that was the one in middle of 3. The one on one side has the baby tiger in it, one of my most prized Windstones and the other side has all the castles in it and the baby bear as well as a lot of other ones. 3) The cabinet across the room has all the griffins and families, the kirins, and a shelf of nonWindstones, like my collection of Swarovski crystals, a jeweled elephant, and a statue in goldstone of Quan-Yin, another irreplacable piece from my late husband and the 5th cabinet has all the unicorns and the emperors. So of all of them, if this had to happen, that cabinet was the most suitable. 4) I got so much support from so many including the forum and other friends. 5) these 2 guys were available today for practical help. They have sorted the pieces, vacuumed each piece for glass shards and the bottom of the cabinet, taken all the pictures, and packed up the pieces in boxes. I’m taping as many of the gypsum pieces that have color on them as possible to scotch tape so they don’t get scattered. I was having trouble just looking at the destruction, so they did most of the work.
I don’t know how to post pictures, so they are going to help me send you pictures of the mess. I was hoping to post pictures of the whole collection, but obviously some of the pieces will have to wait until they are repaired and come back. I have that as a priority to do the whole collection, (last time I tried, the pictures were so bad, Jennifer had to lock the thread!! 😮 I haven’t tried since but the intent is there!!)
I had 27 Windstones in that cabinet, mostly cats of various kinds, 3 gargoyles, 3 spirit wolves, several circle/councils, etc. I will keep you updated as things move along.
I am so grateful for the messages you sent, they really did help a lot! I feel so much less alone coping with this tragedy and knowing that you know exactly how I am feeling because you all feel that way about Windstones too!!
Thank you !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I was sitting in my office talking to a friend, and all of a sudden, a huge crash and the sound of breaking glass so loud I just covered my ears. We went outside to see if someone had crashed into my car or something else, nothing. So we went into one of the rooms that I have 5 ( I have 11) of my Windstone display cases in. I went into shock. In one of the cases, one of the top shelf’s metal supports for the glass shelves had become twisted and dumped the entire shelf onto the two lower ones breaking all three shelves and leaving all the Windstones that were on the three shelves in a broken heap at the bottom mixed with the broken glass. Every one of the Windstones is broken and/or damaged. Heads sheared off, horns off, gypsum in little pieces every where. The door to the case is bulging so I haven’t opened it up yet, I need to get a sheet to put on the floor before I open it because it is going to come out in a rush. I had a lot of the cats, dragons, gargoyles, and other ones I can’t see under the rubble. This just happened about an hour ago and I am still in shock. I just don’t know what to do. I can’t throw them out, I don’t know who could do such a massive repair job, and I feel paralyzed, grieving this major hit to my collection which has been a huge focus of my life. The last count was about 460 and I don’t even know how many were destroyed. Apparently the glass held up, it was 1/4 inch glass and I haven’t had any problems with any of the glass in the other cases and it is all that thickness. It was the metal supports holding the glass in place that got inexplicably twisted and dumped the shelf. So I need to replace the supports as well. The glass doors and sides weren’t damaged.
I just hurt so much!2 of my favorite winter drinks are hot chocolate and Bailey’s, and eggnog with peach brandy and freshly ground nutmeg on top. Yum!!! I also like spiced hot cider with spiced rum in it! These are what makes winter worth it! I also make eggnog custard cups, also really good! Any room left on those benches?
Thank you so much!!! It’s beautiful!! I’m so glad to be thought of and to get such a nice card!! Merry Christmas to you and your family!!
