{image1}In an attempt to simplify her life and flee from the divested Northridge area, Pam McFarland moved her 28-year-old frame shop to Riverwest.
Pam's Frame Center is now located at 2974 N. Fratney St., and McFarland also rents living space in the building. It's a far cry from the Mequon home where she lived for 18 years with her now ex-husband, but she's not complaining.
"Things have started to happen since I moved here," says the 50-year-old who promised herself on Nov. 1 of last year that she would lose weight (she has already lost 20 pounds), smile more often, learn to be seductive and not be alone.
Only hours after parking her moving truck in front of her new space, a neighbor -- who was half her age mind you -- struck up conversation with McFarland, loaned her a radio and asked her out on a date. The two mingled for a few weeks before deciding it wasn't going to work out, but it gave McFarland her first boost of confidence and was a sign that she had done the right thing by revamping her life.
"I love it here. I lived in Mequon all of those years and I think I knew two of my neighbors," she says.
After her "Mrs. Robinson" affair dissolved, McFarland went on to have 20 dates in December, mostly with men whom she met on Match.com.
"My college-age daughter wasn't too happy about this, but I assured her I am following safe rules and I'm learning a lot," she says.
McFarland has learned so much about online dating that she is currently writing a book on the subject; a sort of "how to" guide for both men and women who want to meet friends -- or lovers -- on the net.
"I'm finally passionate about one thing other than framing," she says.
Prior to opening her own business on Brown Deer Road, McFarland ran the now-defunct frame shop, U-Frame It, on Oakland Avenue. She says the North Side was initially a good place for her, but area landlords gave up on the area.
"They just let it slide and slide and slide. Once the man shot his wife in the parking lot of Friday's, it was all over," she says. "And the saddest part is that it seemed no one cared."
But the end of one venture is always the beginning of another, and McFarland feels everything happened for a reason.
"I love it here. It's as if I were reborn here," she says.
Pam's Frame Center offers framing, matting and glass cutting services. McFarland also consults by going to businesses and private homes to help with art selection and placement.
"If art on the wall is not becoming to you, you should be coming to us," she says with a wink.
Pam's Frame Center is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call (414) 264-2801.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
