Thanks to (Joyce) Marie for this great blog addition.
Marie moved to the Bahamas 21 years ago. She met her handsome husband, Bobby, (pictured with Marie) and they have been together for 20 years - soon to celebrate their 17th anniversary. Joyce met Bobby and they really had a connection, she ended up staying in the Bahamas.
Her business came about out of necessity. She originally was doing T-shirt designs for a local company, one by one, her boss's kids came home from college and she eventually lost her job. She really had a hard time finding another job she liked, so she invented her own. She says she thinks we call this American ingenuity. She sat down and thought about it. She was an artist who liked toys and she knew know how to sew. So she sat down and designed a line of toys, made samples and hit the road. She has been a toy designer for 19 years now. Her toy company is called Huggable Art. You can see a sample of it on this website: http://www.ting-n-ting.com/small.htm and scroll down to see her "Huggable Art". She still loves her job. She has a home workshop, so she works with her dog, Munchkin, under her work table. Her retired husband likes the fact she can stop and play anytime. Last year, she "upgraded" her U.S. citizenship,. Her sister and she applied and were accepted into their grandfather's tribe. She is now a tribal member of Brothertown Indian Nation. Right now she is a permanent resident of the Bahamas, which gives her the right to live and work there, but she didn't give up her U.S. citizenship.
Aren't the pictures just great? I think her life in the Bahamas must agree with her; she looks awesome! Thanks so much for sending them, Marie! Can we have our next reunion down in the Bahamas with you??
