About the Author
Although this blog has been written from the perspective of Wendy, one of the owners of Aunt Lillie Bells, the actual author is me, her youngest sister, Amanda (Mandy). I fit into the picture as I am the youngest of four girls, and Lez and Wendy are my older siblings. My degree is in English literature, and I teach high school and college English courses. Like my sisters, I live in the country where my family maintains a small menagerie of animals. My daughters show goats, and we have horses, cows, cats, dogs, and a rabbit. Most weekends my little family can be found at an ag show somewhere in Texas; the friendships and the life lessons my children gain from their agriculture and FFA experiences provide such strong character building opportunities, that my husband and I both gladly traverse the country side looking for Jackpots and shows for my girls and their goats. Just like my parents and my sisters, I love creating, making crafts, repurposing junk into treasures, and I often go junking with my mom or siblings. My parents instilled in us all strong work ethics, so none of us spend much time relaxing; we work during the day and create at night.
I too own a small business, aptly named Aunt Grace's Charm, and although I do not own an online store, I am on Facebook, and I try to set up at a few shows here in the North Texas area a few times a year. My business is named for my Great,Great Aunt Grace (Aunt Lillie Bell's sister). My Aunt Grace was a school teacher and a witty woman. I loved visiting her very much, and I enjoy creating and searching for items to sell that possess a charm that, I hope, will appeal to others as well. Additionally,I love the notion that my sisters and I own businesses named for sisters. As Marion Garretty once said, "A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost." When the world lets you down, it is family who can pick you up. I love my family dearly and enjoy spending my free time with them whether we are in Las Vegas, working at Canton, sitting by each other at church, or cooking out on the weekends. Hopefully, through my blog entries, my love of my family, my roots, my faith, and my sense of adventure compel you to continue to read these short pieces and to check out the latest and greatest that my sisters' business has to offer.