If you’ve read My Story, you know that I have always enjoyed crafting. I’ve lived in SD, MN, NY, VT, TX, and ended up back in MN. Other than South Dakota, every place I’ve lived, I’ve always had a place where I could display and sell my creations. I did have a Doll Accessories Shop in Vermont, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The only reason I didn’t sell my items in South Dakota was because I was only eight when we moved to Minnesota. Other than that, I always found a place that either purchased my items outright, or I did consignment.

Returning to Minnesota was no different. I found a store that did consignment, and I had my own booth, which grew to a second, then a third booth. I needed more room. One day I was talking to my brother Bill and we decided to go into business together and open a store. So, in September of 2017, we did just that. The name of our store was The Blue Rooster Shoppe. It started out at 2,500 square feet and shortly after we opened, we expanded to 5,000 square feet.

I enjoyed buying and creating items for our store, but most of all, I enjoyed this journey with my brother Bill. Every year, we did better than the year before. We even survived COVID.  Unfortunately, this wonderful journey I was about to come to an end.

In 2019, my brother Bill was diagnosed with Parkinsons. What a horrible debilitating disease this is. Through this entire battle, I never once heard him complain. With everything he was going through, he still worked the store. Then in September of 2020, it was my turn. I was diagnosed with breast cancer. With both of us dealing with our issues, running the store was no longer an option. So, in November of 2020, we sold it.

While keeping an eye on my cancer, they discovered I had an aneurism on my ascending aorta and a leaky aortic valve. This is something they’ve kept an eye on through yearly follow-ups. In the summer of 2024, they decided it was time to repair these issues. On September 11, 2024, I went through open heart surgery where they replaced the dilated section of my aorta, the root (where the aorta attaches to the heart), and the aortic valve. I’ve been told that this is about the toughest surgery there is, and I believe it. I’ve been recovering and starting to take an interest in crafting once again.