Sandra Graves / Isis Rising

Assignments and Friends

2012-01-28T05:45:00.000-06:00

Assignments - So DH says to me last night as I was looking carefully through Spectrum 18 (one of my happy things to do - LOL) that he wants assignments. "Assignments?" I query in return. "What do you mean? Do you want prompts for writing, a goal for artwork, a media in which to produce something, a deadline to meet? What kind of assignments?" "Yes" was his response - LOL. I then go on to tell him that's why I belong to several on-line groups. They provide prompts and challenges that push me to produce writing and artwork, so they keep me busy and focused. I think, after a bit more conversation, that it is indeed this type of 'assignment' that he is looking for. So...how to couch it. What to do. If I don't give him something like that - a direction in which to head, he'll be like a rudderless boat meandering around the lake in circles and accomplishing nothing except getting in my way. I won't stand for that...so figuring something out will be very, very important.

Friends - aren't they the absolute best? I know I've spoken of Seth before, but he's such a fabulous person and I'm so lucky to have him back in my life again. His response to my post from yesterday may have solved some computer issues that I was having without my having to tear my hair out or having any additional white (we'll just call them silver...it's so much more civilized) hairs decorate my already pale head. Two on-line friends posted wonderful music videos by A-ha this morning that put me into a wonderful mood for the day, and the friend I do beta reading for had a fast turnaround on the latest chapter and already has her revisions waiting in my in-box for me. How wonderful!

And, finally, today is Saturday. I slept in an extra 20 minutes, getting up at 3:50 instead of my usual 3:30, I'll work an hour less because we close at 5:00 pm instead of 6:00 pm, and I'll treat myself to breakfast (maybe) or oatmeal (maybe) - I haven't made up my mind about which edible item sounds best just now. I'll have Italian for dinner (yippee!) - all in all, Saturdays are good days. Oh! And I can sleep in tomorrow morning, maybe even until 9:00 am! How fabulous! Have a fabulous Saturday on your own little part of the world and treat people with kindness, happiness, and love. Hug a person, a pet, a horse, and pass it on.

Happy Friday

2012-01-27T04:50:00.001-06:00

It's Friday and I really need it. My art project got one step farther yesterday with a little time in the early morning and a half hour of time at the end of the day. Crazy - shoveling my time into small bits and pieces. Considering how often I end up pushing my creative activities into small portions of time, it's no wonder that I love writing drabbles. The short and focused 100-word stories fit within my crazy time frame. So, I have the next step of the project perched in my head, but it has to clarify a little more before I set pencil or pen to paper.

DH wants to take photos and learn how to download them into his computer and play with them on Sunday. I would love to help him do that, it's something he's been wanting to do for a long time, but I don't have a workable copy of Photoshop CS5. My old Adobe 5 which I use on all of my other computers won't work on DH's new computer so a friend sent me some CS5 codes. But the licensing codes are temporary codes and I can't manage to get the software to work more than a short time before it requires another code. It's been frustrating because I've wanted to do some work with CS5 also. I just don't have the money to buy the program. I was pricing it out this morning and - ouch! I really want the program, and my Photoshop is a program that I use on most of my computers on a daily basis, but - ouch! Maybe I should try another license code?.....sigh

I have been sleeping downstairs on the couch for more than a week, getting over a head cold and cough that was miserable for me and anyone in my vicinity. I'm mostly over it now, though, and think I may try sleeping in my very own bed again tonight. I kindof miss my DH next to me, although I'd have to use my earplugs again since his snoring keeps me awake otherwise. It's a positive/negative situation, but the positives usually outweigh the negatives, and isn't it often that way in life? Have a creative Friday!

The Possibilities...

2012-01-26T05:26:00.000-06:00

I was running all over town yesterday, but managed to get my errands complete, worked on some writing, figured out where I wanted to go with my latest art project (if this works, it may be a miracle - LOL) and had a lovely phone talk with a friend for an hour late in the afternoon. Three loads of laundry were washed, the vaulted ceiling of the livingroom was dusted, the sheets were changed, and Face Off last night was excellent - body painting at high caliber.

This lovely aquatic creature was from the second episode of Face Off and had to survive both in the studio as well as submerged in a tank of water.

As if life doesn't have enough reality in my life (hmmm, did I ever wish for a dull life?), I love some types of reality television. One new show that my DH and I have fallen in love with is on Tuesday nights called Ink Master. This is a tattoo competition for $100,000 prize and it is the judges that make this show really work. They are brash, confrontative, and they don't back down. I've watched two episodes now, and for entertainment value, it's right up there. The winning tatoo for this week which featured tribal tatoo styles was by James Vaughn and it was nicely done.

They only get six hours to produce their tatoos, and what James was able to do within that timeframe, as well as the quality of the work - awesome!

And for the entertainment disappointment of the year - Heidi Klum and Seal have separated after more than five years of marriage and three children. They were the ultimate romantic couple, getting remarried every year. His proposal, in 2004, was on top of a mountain in an igloo furnished with a bed, candles, roses and rose petals everywhere. He flew her there on a private helicopter. Pretty darned romantic. What a disappointment that they couldn't even reach their 10th anniversary. *sigh*

I Need my Day Off

2012-01-25T05:20:00.000-06:00

I have a day off today, so I might get a chance to get my illustration done for the LOTR Community Art Challenge, I need to do some samples for my upcoming lecture, and I want to rewrite the drabble I was discussing yesterday and see if I can be happier with it.

Dali did a wonderful Elephant sculpture in London.

Back to Middle Earth Month is coming up and we are doing Bingo this year - playing cards that we choose centered on themes and requiring certain actions. I haven't decided how heavily I'm willing to jump into this, March is looking like it will be a very busy month and I don't want to overload myself, but I would like to participate, so I'm thinking...

I just want to dive into some writing projects today, and I'm not really in the mood to bead, but I guess I really have to, or at least I have to get my thoughts in order. I did buy a new NookBook yesterday on torch fireing enamel techniques and I'm anxious to crack that one open and start reading, but I'm totally wrapped up in "Lionheart" by Sharon Kay Penman, a recommendation of a friend that is well worth while. I only get an hour a day to read, so books are much slower for me than they used to be when I could bury myself in pages for hours at a stretch. I miss those days.

Thinking is Bad (Sometimes)

2012-01-24T04:38:00.000-06:00

It is possible to overthink something, and it can eat at a person and not let them go, rather like a dog worrying a bone. Last week's drabble based on the prompt sell is my bone right now, because I'm not happy with it. I'm not happy with what I ended up posting, and I'm not happy with the final version that I have my writer's board looking at. The first version had an underlying bite, but by the time I went through four revisions, it was watered down. I keep looking at it and looking at it. I'm writing a full story of the scene, and that is working out really well, but I keep going back to this drabble. Yesterday I decided to print it out and work it again later this week. Hopefully I'll be happier with it.

I'm listening to John Tavener's "The Whale" on YouTube as I write this, something that was mentioned in today's "Composer's Datebook" as having been performed and impressed The Beatles so much that they arranged for it to be performed and recorded on the Apple label in 1970 and then once more to Ringo Starr's private label later on. It's haunting, atonal, wild. I think I'll have to listen to this again. I'm not sure about buying it, but it's well worth the listen to both parts.

Delays and Apologies

2012-01-23T04:55:00.000-06:00

For years I've been posting on my blog six-days-a-week unless I was on a vacation. But Saturday I tried to log in and couldn't. Thus started a weekend of semi-frustration and no access. Finally, this morning, I was able to align the stars properly, make the appropriate sacrifices to the electronic gods of the circuit, and waft the correct scent of insence in the air - voila! I am now connected again and I can communicate with myself and, through my thoughts, others again.

I have been fighting a head cold over the past few days, in fact, that was my last post before my electronic meltdown. Unfortunately, the cold has been tenacious and I am still fighting the great fight. I feel better, but am not recovered by any stretch. No wasting time today, though. My reality is that I work for a living, and work hard. So I'll be at the shop today filling mail orders and helping customers, filing our electronic taxes, and dealing with my partner. All normal, all things that I have to be present for. *sigh* I suspect I'll be exhausted by the time I arrive home tonight.

Last Solstice (2010) I had asked my DH for a NookColor, the Barnes & Noble e-reader. I waxed poetic about it for a while, and then was silent. But I have to let all of you know that this is STILL the BEST PRESENT EVER and something that I use EVERY DAY. With the introduction of their NookTablet, and their upgrade in the software system, the apps for this machine have gone crazy and I not only read book on it, but play games and...I can write my fiction on it. Yes, there is an app on this that allows me to write in an MS Word format and Dropbox is also on as an app for free, so I can save my doc to my dropbox, and then pick it up again at home on my desktop later that day. I'm a happy, happy writer :-)

I Need a Friday...

2012-01-20T05:08:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a lost day. I fell under the baleful influence of a head cold and spent much of the day sleeping and shivering. I had a really hard time getting warm. I fully admit that it's cold outside. When I left the house yesterday morning it was -11F (-23.8C) with a wind chill of -33F (-36.1C), but I was properly bundled up, so that wasn't my problem. This head cold has really hit me hard, though.

I finally gave up on sleeping in bed at 2am this morning. It is highly distracting to hear crackling when I breathe, so I moved downstairs where I could elevate a bit. I may end up sleeping in the recliner for a couple of nights while I try to get over this stupid cold. I have to be at work today, so I'll find out how crummy I really feel. If it is horrible, I'll leave work early and go to the clinic for some meds.

Project Runway All Stars last night had the designers creating a flamboyant cocktail dress for Miss Piggy. Yes, the one and only Miss Piggy of The Muppets. I agree that grey and pink are colors that traditionally go together, but Austin Scarlett's pink was more mauve and it was a horrid choice of color. He was in the bottom three, but is safe for another week. Michael was the winner with a lovely, multicolored dress featuring a flat bow down the right front side. I didn't like Rami's dress at all, but it was Gordana who went home.

Stepping in the Dance

2012-01-19T06:28:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was one of those two steps forward and one step back kind of days. I got most of my errands completed in the morning, then went home and finished my SV piece. That's done and ready to send on now. It's not too bad :-)

I got welcome concrit on my current drabble as well as firm suggestions on how to tighten it up which I instituted. I still have one more change to make this morning after I return from my morning errands later today.

I had a simply lovely conversation with a friend that I've really been missing. We didn't talk about anything earthshaking, but spent almost 1-1/2 hours catching up with each other. I have a direction now in a story that had me bogged down, so I am absolutely joyous.

And Face Off last night was awesome. Love that show!

Unfortunately I also wasn't able to get the effect that I wanted with my fire and enamel (I'll probably try again today) and I am coming down with a cold that kept me snarfling and coughing all night. So when I woke up at 3:30 this morning, I was up for 20 minutes and decided to wrap up and go back to sleep for almost two hours on the downstairs couch. That, at least, was a good idea. But I'll be fighting this cold for a few days - bleh!

Studio Day - 1 of 2

2012-01-18T04:51:00.000-06:00

So, my auto repair people are pretty amazing. My DH did a total number on our car - after cleaning the throttle cable, draining the overage of gas from the engine, replacing the gaskets and spark plugs, and changing the oil (along with other things that were affected by DH's inability to start his car properly) we walked out of the repair shop much poorer. Ouch! I need to make an appointment for my own car to get a 100,000 mile checkover in February, I'm going to begin to feel as if I'm supporting these guys singlehandedly.

Today is the first of two days off in a row (if all goes well). I will spend some time on the phone or just on-mic with a friend this afternoon, just to catch up. I've missed talking with her - a LOT. And I hope to spend a lot of time with my beads, my torch and my enamels. There is a project that's been perched in my head that I really want to try out, so I'm going to play with fire. Nothing much better on a cold winter's day.

I have a lecture to give in early March that I want to start the samples for, and I have three unfinished bracelets on the desk in front of me, as well as two color samples that I've developed that need to be sewn to pack and sell. I don't think I'll be bored :-)

Oh! And I may have a mouse. At least my DH thinks that there may be a mouse sneaking around the computer room. Apparently something moved yesterday and startled him. It wouldn't be the first time we had mice in the house, it actually happens often enough that we check our traps daily. But they usually aren't on this level of the home. I'll keep an ear open today and see if I hear anything. If so, I'll set some additional traps for the little furry beasties. As much as I hate banning any living critter to the very cold temps of our outdoors, they are not welcome to share my warm cozy home and raise their children on my largesse. Nope, not at all.

What Gods Have We Angered?

2012-01-17T04:31:00.000-06:00

Yesterday morning I was optimistic about things having turned around and being able to focus on crafting for a while again. I had stories in the works, artwork ready to be crafted, Bead & Button classes registered for, I was reading happily each morning, listening to an audio book in "spare" moments, and LOTRO was plugging along. DH was even feeling better. Everything was looking good.

At 9:10am I got a phone call from DH. "My car won't start. It turned over, gave a 'whoosh' and now it won't start at all."

My response? "I'll be right there." So within two minutes I was in my car driving home again. I had enough time to get him to work and myself to work before unlocking the store, and then had to drive him home again after work. He tried the car one more time after we had returned at night, and it is non-responsive. So, at 6:30 am today I get to phone AAA to arrange for a tow to get his car delivered to the repair station. We'll get that arranged, then I'll drop him back home because he has Tuesdays off from work, and I'll continue on my merry way. It's a total muck-up of my morning schedule, will cost us money that we really don't have, and in general was NOT what we needed right now. *sigh* Here we go again... At least we had good sales for a Monday...that's something positive at least :-)

Moving Forward

2012-01-16T05:20:00.000-06:00

So, last week is just better off behind me. I had a sick husband, had to work an extra day, and ticked off friends who really mean a lot to me. Basically, it was horrendus, I owe apologies to lots of people, and I'm just looking at today as an opportunity to start again - sorely needed.

One of my holiday gifts from my DH was a promise to contribute towards my Bead & Button Show expenses. He wants me to go, was very disappointed that I had decided I could not afford the expense. So I carefully balanced my expenses and decided that I could afford a shorter time with a different hotel and only two classes. I'll stay a bit farther away - I'll have one more block to walk to get to the Convention Center, so I'll make sure to pack an umbrella since rain can sometimes be a problem. Maybe I'll buy one of those awesome Samuri Sword umbrellas like Zhie had when I saw her last year. But the hotel has free parking and free internet - both very important and both huge expenses at the closer hotels.

I also signed up for two classes. That's right, oh long-term friends of mine who know I'm a class addict - only two. I signed up for Tool Making 101 - grinding, sawing, and flaming tool steel - fun, and happy time. Also I signed up for a class called Loveburst by Melissa Manley. She's an artist who I've followed for several years and the technique will teach a method of forming metal without the use of a hydraulic press, then playing with enamel (my love). I'll have a lot of fun at both of these classes. Then I'll have two days open for the show itself and I hope to have a chance to get together with Zhie and her fabulous hubby for at least one night of dinner and drinks, and who knows, maybe more if things permit.

So I guess I'm going to Milwaukee after all. That's going to push back my ability to get a new computer, and I really, really need one. But, I'll have to push it to the back half of the year and re-examine my cash then. In the meantime, I'll continue to save as much as I can for as long as possible. So...time to get ready for work *sigh*.

One Last Workday this Week...

2012-01-14T06:02:00.000-06:00

What a week. With my poor DH down with diverticulitis and, after beginning to heal from that, coming down with the beginnings of the flu, it's been unbelievable stressful and I've had to work a six-day week. On the writing front, I finished and turned in a LOTR Community story, I'm almost finished with my SV story, and I did another drabble - this time to address the word "borrow". My first attempt was dismal and I pulled it the next day. My second attempt moved it's scope over to one of my more familiar playgrounds - Ost-in-Edhel and the admittance of Annatar into the Gwaith-i-Mirdain. This version I was pleased with and put it up for concrit. Changes suggested were looked at and, if I felt they were consistent with my inner view of the scene, were incorporated.

When an author, a student writing a paper for his fourth-grade class or a professional author with many books on the shelves bearing her name, constructs a scene, s/he develops a mental image of what is being written. In many cases the author lives the work, walks through the rooms, looks at the content on tables, and sees the layout of the buildings. Each author's vision is unique. Unless they are writing a purely factual text, everything is subject to interpretation. In a fictional work, everything is up for grabs.

I rarely spend so much time over a blog post, and I rarely delete as much as I have on this one to avoid casting stones. I live in as much of a glass house as anyone, and I'm personally a bit shy of stones. I gave a reasoned response to someone I considered a friend yesterday and received a thrown stone in return. *sigh* Maybe next week will be better.

Happy Midwinter's Day

2012-01-13T05:09:00.000-06:00

Today, the 13th of January, is traditionally known as Midwinter. It is supposedly the longest and coldest day of winter and winter's half-way point. Early Pagans took atock of their food stores around this time to determine their ability to survive the second half of the winter. If there was enough of a surplus, they would brew beer with the extra grain and mead with any extra honey, causing this to also be known as the Festival of Brewing (Irish).

The Featival of Midwinter was led by druids and accompanied by singing, dancing, feasting and storytelling. Bonfires were lit to encourage the return of the light and warmth of the sun. Light was then carried to all of the hearthfires where they would remain lit until Imbolc, coming in a few more weeks.

The ceremonies of the Festival of Brewing were celebrated in Ireland, but similar ceremonies and celebrations were also celebrated in the Norse lands, honoring Tiu, the ruler of the year. In Urnasch, Switzerland, the ceremonies included the nighttime clanging of bells throughout the streets to banish evil spirits for the coming year. So...

Today, wait until darkness, ritually cleanse yourself and your clothing, and take up a bell that you have sanctified. Go around each room of your house with your bell, open each window and door in turn and ring your bell, ordering any malign spirits to leave. Close the windows and doors and proceed to the next room, eventually going through each room of your house. Now, do the same thing virtually to your own brain - banish the thoughts of negativity and concentrate on the positive. Then raise a glass of beer or mead to the Celts for giving us such a marvelous reminder that winter will end eventually.

Still Working....

2012-01-12T05:15:00.000-06:00

So my Manager is still too sick to come to work, although he is slowly getting better. I am hoping that I'll get a day off tomorrow, but I have to work today. Of course, I normally do work on Thursdays, so it's not an unexpected schedule, but I would really like my day off at some time this week. Even if I can take tomorrow off, I'm not 100% sure that he'll be feeling well enough to actually be of any help to my other staff instead of just sitting in the back room reading the newspaper or perching at the computer working on possible purchase orders and order recommendations.

I downloaded several apps for my NookColor yesterday, mostly puzzle apps because that's the kind of thing I really love. I also made a fairly extensive wish list of apps that I want to purchase. With most of them running $1 to $3, this won't break the bank, but I want to be sure before I eat memory up with apps. I really use my NookColor for books, but it never hurts to have portable entertainment either :-)

I probably wrote one of the worst short pieces I've ever written yesterday morning. Fortunately that opinion was borne out by two others, so I rewrote it in the afternoon with a completely different subject focus and now it works, and works well. At least I accomplished something yesterday, since I wanted to beta the latest chapter of my friend's story and can't do much on that until I have several uninterrupted hours. Happy Thursday!

Scheduling Change...Crap!

2012-01-11T04:52:00.000-06:00

So, today is supposed to be my day off. Unfortunately, my Manager has come down with diverticulitis and asked me to work for him today. I'll get my day off later in the week...but my schedule is all scrammed up today.

I was going to phone a friend in California who I wanted to catch up with for quite a while and we just couldn't work out the schedule, so we're putting it off again - for another week. One more thing that messed up for my day off.

I did get my weekly drabble written last night and posted on my writer's board, but I'm not thrilled with it. It's tolerable, but it won't go down in history as one of my knife-edged drabbles. Then again, it's hard to be knife edged when you're dealing with a young child and his father. It's not exactly battling the forces of evil with sharp swords.

So, if I sound a bit dispirited today, I am. It's temporary, and I know I'll get my day off later in the week, but I am a glutton for scheduling and my schedule just got blown away. So I'll concentrate on beauty instead, sharing pics of beautiful things with my readers instead. Equilibrium.....

Thoughts on Creativity

2012-01-10T04:37:00.000-06:00

I get asked periodically about creativity. "Where does your creativity come from?" Or, "You're so creative, I could never do what you do." It's a possibility that the person(s) speaking may not be able to do what I do - not in terms of creativity but simple knowledge of the stitches, procedures, and techniques that I use. But I do believe that each person has some creativity.

I get people in my store quite often who are accompanying their friends while they pick some items up for their latest project. Of, if they are very lucky, they are picking beads together because their friend is going to make something for them. When I talk with them, they say thay are not creative people. But then we start exploring the areas in which they ARE creative - because they invariably are, just not in beading or jewelry crafting.

The person who can't/won't bead or make jewelry may be an amazing cook. S/he may have the garden that all of the neighborhood visits. S/he may be the family historian and geneologist. S/he may knit or crochet sweaters and socks. S/he may write...oh...she may write. The creativity of mankind spreads its wings throughout everyone, but in different ways. Explore your personal creavitity today and feed it.

Catching Up...We'll See How Long This Lasts!

2012-01-09T04:59:00.000-06:00

I'm feeling much better about my lack of time management skills. I got my Potluck piece completed, and my beta chapter for my friend is complete and now posted, I'll work on her next one tonight for a while. My SV piece is actually progressing well, and I'm keeping the focus and request of the person I'm writing it for firmly in mind this time. The second revision is much better all around, so I'm not regretting this at all. I'll have to check other things pending and see what else I feel like doing.

It's Monday, and I finally have all of my calendars. I'm quite fond of them, and hang two in my computer room and three in my guest bathroom. I always have "Gardens of the Spirit" which focuses on scenes from a variety of Japanese gardens - lovely and calming. I also have a Witchcraft calendar because the artwork is magnificent - I just love that calendar. The other three are up for grabs.

I ended up with a calendar of images by Brian Froud, renowned for his artwork of fairies and gnomes. The other two are a calendar of environmental art - really fun stuff, and one of sayings by Eckart Tolle with some fantastic environmental pics. My DH has a Celtic Mandela calendar in the bedroom and an art calendar by our entryway - this year he requested Louis Rojo's art. I have a Cierulo Dragon calendar at work. I know...it's a total overdose of calendars - LOL.

Weekend Looming - Work Ahead

2012-01-07T05:36:00.000-06:00

Well, today is Saturday and I am psyched. It's been holiday after holiday and finally we're back to normal. I got some beadwork done last night, and even more important, I got a chapter betaed for my friend in Germany. I had been feeling horribly guilty because I was so behind with her due to my horrid work schedule for the holidays. Of course, we know the routine by now, we've been working together for more than two years now. But I still feel much better having sent a chapter on to her for a look-over.

Sales...well, we seem to be moving back into our sales figures that were fairly normal for last year again. That's not necessarily a good thing, but there's not much that I can do about it. So far we're able to keep Chickie working and that's my goal for the year. So we'll see how well we can do.

DH said that he wants me to go to the Bead & Button Show in Milwaukee in June, something that I had decided I couldn't afford. So for Christmas, he promised me some financial support. I do have to find a much less expensive hotel, and I might go out by the train or bus to cut down the cost of parking fees. I think I can afford one class, so I've been looking through the catalog and think I have that figured out. It will be shorter and cheaper, but I hope I'll be able to have a good time, and also I hope I'll be able to get together with Zhie and Mark again. Meeting them last year was a true joy. So...Have an EXCELLENT weekend - the first one of 2012.

Friday Timeframe Panics

2012-01-06T05:04:00.000-06:00

So, my DH has been complaining that I spend too much time at my computer and not enough time with him. He wants me to cut down on my writing. But I really need to start my Beta work for my friend again (I've been VERY bad and hadn't touched her stuff since before the holiday), I've got Slashy Valentine and LOTR Community Challenge, the new ALEC just came through this morning, I have my weekly drabble for Tolkien Weekly, and LOTR Community also decided to do an art challenge that is intriguing me. Time...I have a feeling it is not my friend.

I am scheduled to give a lecture to the Upper Midwest Bead Society for the March meeting. That means I need to get my act together on that - samples have to be made, notes need to be taken, and if I want anything for accompanying materials, I have to have those ready. I keep telling my fellow members to have their rotten fruit ready to throw. At least it would liven up things a bit. Subject wise, this will be hard to make really fun, but not really a problem to discuss - topic: Beads and Stitches - An Exploration. I can do this in my sleep, but they deserve me awake and prepared.

So...a life. Yeah...right. Those of you asking about my glass saw and what I am doing with it...that's going to have to be a mid-March begin time just because of all of the things I have already listed. *sigh* I really need a clone...

Back to Normal

2012-01-05T04:28:00.000-06:00

As promised, life is back to normal today. The confetti has been put away and the lessons learned from the 2011 MEFAs are now catalogued in my mind. Time to start making my list of stories I want to nominate when the 2012 nominations open up. But for now, back to concentrating on writing and on daily life, starting with a dental check-up this morning. I'm in the mood to give you pretty pics today, so here are two pics of the Northern Lights.

I did manage to finish my weekly drabble yesterday, and get quite a bit of writing done on my LOTR Community Challenge as well as my Slashy Valentine project, but they both have a way to go. I also got one of six colorway examples beaded, five more to go.

LOTR Community is doing their first art challenge this month and I signed up, but am very unsure about whether or not I will actually be able to finish on time. I enjoy working with digital graphics, though, and have something in mind that may work. I'll give it a shot if I can keep up with my other commitments. Have a fabulously creative day today!

24 Hours of Happy, Then Back to Normal

2012-01-04T05:07:00.000-06:00

I actually won an award in the Middle Earth Fanfiction Awards for 2011. So I'm going to take today and bask, and tomorrow I'll be back to normal - working hard. My drabble "Morning Song" (that's a story of 100 words) placed second in the Drabble-Elves category. OK, that's enough about me, many of my friends placed numerous times and their wins were far more deserved than mine. So my sincere CONGRATULATIONS go out to all of the winners as well as all those stories that were nominated. Well done!

Today is my studio day. I give a lecture in two months to the Upper Midwest Bead Society on "An Exploration of Beads and Stitches" so I need to start working on examples for that, I also have six colorways that I designed to pack up a colorway kits that I need to start making up. I guess I'll be busy with needle and thread as well as continuing my writing today. It looks to be a good day :-)

Back on Track

2012-01-03T05:15:00.000-06:00

Although I usually would have posted on Monday, it was a day off for me to celebrate the New Year, and I spent it at my computer, writing and playing a bit of Lord of the Rings Online. I'll be playing catch-up all week with posts that I need to respond to or at least read, but it was SO worth it!

My DH wants me to attend the Bead & Button Show, so I guess I'll be looking at inexpensive hotel rooms and schedules. I'll be pleased to be able to be back in Milwaukee, hopefully I'll have a chance to see Zhie and her DH again, they're very fun people. And I have a lot of friends there that I want to see again. But I'm not sure I'll be able to swing any classes. I'll have to take a serious look and see if there is anything of interest.

I hope that this new year finds you in good health, surrounded by loved ones and/or fuzzy four-footed loved ones, and that your 2012 exceeds your fondest hopes and expectations. In the meantime - have a great Tuesday!

Happy New Year to All

2011-12-31T06:41:00.000-06:00

I just spent the past 2-1/2 hours catching up on as many MEFA reviews as possible and I think I caught most of my friends and those stories that really caught me over the past year. If I missed you - it was totally inadvertent. If I reviewed you - I wish I had the time to review more of your work.

And finally, on this final day of 2011, I want to wish each of you a safe and happy New Year's Eve and a 2012 that exceeds your hopes and dreams by fulfilling all good things. Celebrate happily with those that you love, curl up with a kitten or puppy, and hug a child. These are the things that make the world worth living in. Felicitations to all!

Hell Day #2

2011-12-30T05:16:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was busy, lots of happy customer, lots of sales. It didn't quite make my sales goals, so I'm hoping that the Friday/Saturday still remaining in our EOY sale will pull in the sales dollars that we need. I'm so stressed that I'm not sleeping well and my hands are a bloody wreck. I don't chew my nails, but my tension always shows most in my hands - what a pain (literally). I just need to make it through the next two days... I think I need to work hard at getting back my normal optimism. *sigh*

At least my writing is coming along. I have one drabble in for final comments by my writers group, but probably will review it one more time and then post it. It will end my latest series. I have another story underway that I begged an extension for, and it is finally starting to come to a conclusion, and the other major one I'm working on is going well. I have to get to work on my SV story relatively quickly though, this one will be a stretch for me and since I'm doing it as a gift for someone else, I want it to be good for them.

My turkey is still frozen, my weight is still over what it should be, and I'm still enjoying my holiday gifts and cards. Things could be much worse, really. Silly me...just ignore the beginning of this post - LOL.

Hell Day #1

2011-12-29T04:38:00.000-06:00

Today is the first day of our End-of-Year 3-Day Sale. I reslly don't like running sales, it makes customers wait for a special before buying and we pride ourselves on our pricing year-round. But, we have had a year-end sale for the past few years and it has always been successful. This year we had our three day Thanksgiving sale and now we will have this one, that's it. I guess two sales isn't too bad.

The first day of any sale is usually the busiest and I'm hoping we will get people in quantities that will allow us to help them adequately and not overwhelm the staff. We'll be working hard and I know I'll be very grateful when 6pm rolls around and I can lock the doors again until tomorrow. I'll probably be so exhausted I won't even have the energy to write.

So I'm already looking forward to my New Year's weekend. We're closed on Sunday, of course, our standard hours are only six days a week, but we are also closed on Monday so I'll have a rare chance to have two days off in a row. DH wanted a turkey for Sunday dinner, so my refrigerator is currently hosting a turkey getting ready for the oven.

I've been listening to some CD's that I won on a charity auction. The group is called Boiled In Lead. They are a Minneapolis musical group that started in the 90's and play Irish influenced music and some of the Irish standards, but with a very distinctive twist. I'm just loving it. Want a better idea of the group? Here's a You Tube link for you.

Studio Day? Not Today :-(

2011-12-28T04:58:00.000-06:00

Today is Wednesday. It's supposed to be my studio day. But we're doing a 3-day End of Year sale starting tomorrow and my Manager gave up most of his Tuesday day off to check pricing on our sterling silver supplies so that they could be offered in the same merchandise. So I promised that I would come in for at least part of the day to make up for his giving up his day. Isn't that more like two wrongs not making a right? Oh well, one way or another, I'm working for the morning and probably part of the afternoon.

Although I try my best to ignore the scale for the holidays, I know I've gained weight because I can feel it. I'm looking forward to New Year's because after that, I can begin to watch what I'm eating again, and hopefully build exercise back into my regime. Ideally, at least. I really need to get my body back under control, but even though I had lost weight in 2011, I need to keep that trend going in 2012.

And I finally got a First Place in A Long Expected Contest. The fact that I had the only entry...well, I'll just call this a nice Solstice gift, because I'm pleased with the story I submitted. I'm grateful, though, that friends of mine didn't submit that month, so "thank you's" are going out to Aearwen and Fiondil. LOL. I'll be posting the story in my usual places tonight when I get back to my computer.

Birthdays and Endings

2011-12-27T05:55:00.000-06:00

My DH had a really nice birthday. He had requested a Candy Cane pie, so I picked one of those up first thing in the morning. I gave him my replacement iPod from the replacement I got after my iPod bit the dust at Thanksgiving (it seems so long ago - LOL). He's really looking forward to dumping some CD's onto it, so I'll set up an iTunes account for him and teach him how to use his iPod on Sunday. It's always a chore to teach him how to use new features, but I think he really wants to do this so it might work - LOL.

This is M27, also called the Dumbbell Nebula. Take a look at it. It's beautiful, isn't it? This, by best estimates, is what our own Sun will look like after it explodes in the future. We'll contribute to the beauty of the universe. Personally, I think that's simply marvelous. So I'm sharing my joy with all of you today. Have a phenomenal day today!

My Christmas - A Mixed Bag

2011-12-26T05:04:00.000-06:00

Christmas was hectic and a bit stumbly, but it turned out all right in the end. I woke about 8am, even though I wanted to sleep in, and went down to make out certificates for part of my DH’s Christmas gifts. Mine usually consist of admissions to various cultural events or museum exhibits, the ones that he gives to me usually consist of $20 for a DVD or book, the annual “extra day off” and his usual annual Uncrab certificate – highly valued.

We had told my father-in-law that we would be by around noon to drop off his gifts. He started phoning us at 8:30am complaining that we were coming too late. By 10am he had already called twice *sigh*. DH and I opened our stockings, but decided to leave the large gifts until after we had seen his father, so we got dressed and went over. My FIL was a total mess – angry, rude, just pissy. It was an experience I could have missed easily, and it upset my poor DH enough that he was in tears going home.

This isn't my Father-in-Law, but not far removed...

After arriving home, we spent a couple of hours decompressing and playing LOTRO, playing the Winterfest and getting the first of the two Winterfest horses that we can. I turned on the oven and when ready, put in the prime rib to cook. DH was finally back on an even keel again, so we opened the larger gifts. I had some wonderful books and, of course, my glass saw. So happy!

Spectrum 18 was one of my gifts. I have most of the series and love them.

So today is DH’s birthday, and I’m going to try everything I possibly can to make it extra special for him because I know that his father will squash things again. Please…someone promise to shoot me if I ever grow into my Father-in-law.

Joyous Holiday and No Sleep

2011-12-24T04:34:00.000-06:00

I was unable to sleep last night. Perhaps too much Chex Party Mix (wonderful munchy food that DH makes once a year in a HUGE batch, and responsible for at least two pounds of weight gain for the holidays). Perhaps it was the fact that today is Christmas Eve, the last day of my holiday working schedule, or...or...or. Who knows? All I know is that I was awake at 2am, and although I tried to sleep until 3am, I never really managed to accomplish it. I gave up at 3:05am, grabbed another small bowl of Chex Mix, and went down to my computer. DH will wake early today and we'll go out to breakfast before heading to work. We'll try and grab a drink on the way home tonight and then, tomorrow is Christmas with his birthday coming on Monday. Like foolish people we're open for business on Monday, so we only get the one day off this weekend, although we will take two next weekend to celebrate New Year.

"For Unto You This Day, A Child Is Born"

Christmas Wishes for You... It is my true hope that those of you who celebrate the Christmas holiday have a blessed one, celebrating with those who you love and allowing yourselves to be happy both in your home and your worship. I wish you joy in your lives, today and in the future. Blessed Christmas.

Under Pressure and More Greeting Cards

2011-12-23T05:28:00.000-06:00

I awakened this morning and went down to my computer. One of the groups that I belong to is a Game of Thrones activity group, where we combine writing with graphics in a variety of challenges. I had signed up to be a Secret Santa in a Tolkien group that I belong to, and also my Game of Thrones group and knew, in the back of my mind, that my "gift" was due on the 23rd. I had decided to do five graphic icons and a story of 500-1000 words and had the graphics complete several days ago. I hadn't done anything about the story, though. So, when I awoke this morning, I double-checked the deadline date and had a slight panic attack. Oy! How did time get away from me so badly?

Sitting at the keyboard, I started writing. And an hour later, had posted a 700+ word fic that went in a direction I had never foreseen. I did take one read-through before posting to polish it slightly and catch any errors, but normally I will read through my stories up to 20 times before posting. I almost feel naked, having had to trust myself to post something that wouldn't be embarassing or too badly constructed on the fly like this. It's not my best work, but it's not my worst either. I think I can live with it. The Secret Santa fic I wrote for my Tolkien group was quite different. I worked on that one for many days and did many revisions. Either way, I hope my recipients enjoy their gifts.

And I have to shout out to my friend Shirebound whose greeting card arrived in yesterday's mail. I just loved it! And the trading card was fabulous. When the trading cards were first released, more than ten years ago now, I collected the first three sets - the Fellowship of the Ring, the Two Towers and the Return of the King sets. I have sets one and two complete and I'm missing less than five cards in set three. They are all in acid-free card holders in three-ring binders along with my artist cards that I also collect. Getting this card was a real bonus and I loved it! Have a marvelous Friday!

Good Solstice/Happy New Year

2011-12-22T05:18:00.000-06:00

Last night was the longest night of the year, and today's sunrise begins a new year. Winter is just beginning and its days are already numbered, it has been born and is already dying. Today I am contemplative, so I will share three pictures of Solstice sunrise from three different places in the world. I also want to thank each of the following people who sent me absolutely wonderful Holiday cards. I adored each and every one of them...

Curious Wombat - so beautiful and handmade with a gorgeous golden envelope as well.

Zhie and her DH. One of the bright light of my 2011 was meeting both of them while attending a summer conference. A joyful and happy card.

Solstice at Stonehenge

Chaotic Binky - lovely, small, perfect, with a joyful picture and message.

Alexcat - reindeer nine on the card, matching envelope and even a matching address panel. Loved it.

Solstice at Chaco Canyon, New Mexico USA

Jay of Lasgalen - Such a beautiful portal to such a lovely sentiment. And a wreath of holly - my favorite.

My dear friend Iris who I beta for with a lovely 3-D holiday card expressing exhuberence in crafts and in the Holiday.

Silver Trails - A really lovely and very Peruvian-styled Nativity. I loved the colors and the sentiment. It was good exercise for my rusting Spanish skills as well.

Solstice at Newgrange

My friend Shruti from India, who enriched my life with a card of her own artwork. Lovely.

And so many other friend and family from the US whose pictures and the colors of their cards brightened our entryway.

I thank all of you who sent cards. AND, even more importantly - I thank each and every one of you who allowed me to send a card to you. I love having an outlet for my creative energies and you afforded me a focus in the last month of my year. I hope that this New Year brings light to your lives and happiness to your hearts.

Holiday Time

2011-12-21T05:33:00.000-06:00

So, I have to wish a Happy Hanukkah to those of my friends who walk that Path. When I was young, we would all go over to Tante Gerty's home and light the menorah. I gather, from other blogs, that it is not called a menorah any more, but old habits of more than 40 years die hard. I don't think I'll be changing this. I have two menorahs that I brought back after Mom died, along with her mezuzzah which I have by my door. I may not light the candles any more, but I am still a spiritual person, just walking a parallel pathway.

So today I will celebrate the Festival of Lights in my heart before turning to Solstice tomorrow. I have nine Holiday Cards that will be mailed this morning and that ends this year's group. I think I ended up making and sending about 50 or so. I don't keep numeric track, I just trust that I will make the appropriate amount, and so it worked out to be.

Today is my "day off", but we've been busy at the shop so I will have my day with the possibility that I will be called in to help out at the shop if we get swamped. But we really need the business and it's a joy to see the various things that people are working on. Yesterday I had the joy of working with a woman who was given a beautiful Victorian-style locket into which she will put a lock of her deceased father's hair. She wanted to put it onto somekind of neck chain or rope so that it would be secure. It wasn't a big sale, but after she chose the chain and I assembled everything for her, she felt a lot better about a very traumatic time in her life. Good karma - I can always use some of that. Have a day where you pass good karma on to others, it bounces back in unexpected and glorious ways.

What's Cooking?

2011-12-20T04:46:00.000-06:00

Do you have special foods for the holidays or other special occasions that bring memories to the forefront for you? Each family sets their own traditions over time, but food traditions seem to carry through the generations.

My friend Chickie gets together with her parents for her holidays every year. Her mother insists that they serve chili for dinner, and they also do a shrimp salad every year. Apparently her mother always had chili on the table when she was growing up in Montana, and she has passed that, rather unusual holiday food item, on to her family. I'm not so sure I would go for chili for my holiday meal, but to each their own.

My DH and I have cheese and Honey Baked Ham for dinner. I blame my mother for that - she bought us the first ham we had. They were (still are) expensive and as newly weds, we couldn't afford something like that. But she sent us a gift certificate for one, and we fell in love. We have one a year - always for the Christmas season. I'll be picking up our annual ham tomorrow morning. YUM! Add cheeses and Christmas cookies and I'll be in fine fettle to celebrate Christmas, Solstice, Hanukkah and every other holiday of the season.

Are You On Track for the Holidays?

2011-12-19T04:53:00.000-06:00

Well, today is the 19th. Solstice is creeping up quickly, Hannukah begins mid-week, and Christmas Day is seven days away. Are you ready for your holiday of choice?

I have almost all of my overseas holiday cards made and mailed with one last one going out this morning. I will be finishing my local and domestic cards within the next 48 hours and they will be mailed on Wednesday morning. Will they arrive on time? Most of them will, and those that don't doesn't negate the wishes that I have sent with them. In the meanwhile, if you receive a card from the US with a golden deer on the front and a blue "Seasons Greetings" on the back, it's from me. Enjoy the Swarovski sparkles on the front and the poetry inside.

I am still working on Sharon's gift and will probably end up Express Mailing it to her late this week. It's not urgent that it be there on THE DAY, but I do like to have everything complete on my end by Christmas Day. We'll have Sunday off, but (like really silly people) will be working on Monday the 26th. That was an error, we should have scheduled the day off, but we didn't. We will have the Sunday/Monday off for the New Year's celebration next week, though. Something to look forward to. Get to work and finish your holiday prep stuff...

Jump Start Yourself

2011-12-17T05:03:00.000-06:00

Do you ever get to the point where you are so tired that nothing seems to penetrate? I have the last holiday cards to decorate. I have a Yule Fic to review because I'm not happy with where my muse took me at the end of it, and I have another story to complete and submit by the end of the month. I have another Santa fic or graphic to make. I have stories to beta, drabbles to write, packages to wrap, and I was even thinking about putting up our tree. But I'm so tired and worn out from holiday ick that I have no energy left.

This is an easy season to let depression take over. Those of us who fight with that demon are familiar with the holiday season and approach it with a bit of trepidation. We know that the sugarplums, carols, tinsel and bows only hide and decorate an emptiness that exists in us and hides well. It's not that I'm a grinch or that other people who are depressed at this season are, it's that we are fighting the sugar plums of artificial happiness wrapped in a big bow. It's a balancing act and right now, because I am tired and a little bit spread thin, I'm feeling gritty and a bit rocky. I know I'll get my balance back, but there is a reason why the holiday season is the season of the highest number of suicides. This "season of love" can also be a "season of emptiness".

So, I want each of you reading this today to reach out to someone and tell them that they make a difference in your life. Don't just give them a physical gift, those are too easy to lose, break, or regift. Tell them, to their face if possible, that you are the person that you are today because of something that they did. Let them know that their footprint on this earth matters. Hopefully they will pay it forward and some of the pain of the Holiday Season will be minimized by just one small action on your part. Have a good weekend!

Attempting to Refocus

2011-12-16T04:59:00.000-06:00

I am winding down the projects for 2011 and starting to think about what I want to do in 2012. I know I want to do more enamel work, I know I want to play with my glass saw and fused glass pieces, and I'm really enjoying my writing and the photoshop pieces that I have worked with over the past nine months. But I don't have a specific deadline staring me in the face. Oh, I've already registered for some writing challenges. And I have a wooden base for an enamel piece that is barely hatched in my mind, but no specific deadlines. I have a year ahead of "no" though.

Rainbows of bead colors are just one of the fun things that B&B Show has tempted me with over the years. I will miss seeing friends I've met there, but the economy finally caught up with me.

I will NOT be attending Bead & Button Show for the first time since the 1990's. This will be a shocker and will take me some time to get used to the idea. But I'm doing less beading, and really developing my own personal style. I also just can't afford it any more. It's not the classes as much as the hotel room which is more than twice what it used to be. So I won't be in Milwaukee in June.

One of the fun things that the PMC Conference does are displays of work by various chapters and their members. This hallway at Purdue was filled with windows of exceptional metalwork - such inspiration!

I also won't be at any metal clay convention this coming year. It is the final year for the PMC Conference, and it will be held in a slightly more accessible location than Purdue University, but even though I will continue working in the metal clay media, I don't have the time/money to spend on going to the conference. So, it's looking like I won't get any vacation time in 2012, and that is really bumming me out. But if I can refocus on my art and spend the money that I would have spent on conferences on materials and equipment, I think I'll actually end up much happier in the long run.

Hard Work and a Flash Mob to Share

2011-12-15T05:17:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was just as filled with work as I had thought, but things worked well. I had a fun-filled morning with Meghan, meeting Chickie for breakfast and then taking Meghan with me to the fabric store for some decorative braid, and Penco Art Supply Warehouse store. It's always so much fun to catch up with her. She worked for me in '03-'04, a long time ago, but she's still a friend. It was a dreary day, though, with rain all day. I'll have to be careful driving around today, all that rain probably froze overnight so the roads, potentially, might be icey.

I've got a cute, seasonal flash mob for your viewing pleasure. This actually took place at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Business. I really enjoyed looking at it this morning and share it with all of you.

My Silhouette machine was working non-stop from the time I got home yesterday morning until 6:00 pm. The inserts for my first batch of cards were glued, stapled, and put into the cards, then they were made ready for mailing this morning. Group 2 cards are at the embossing stage now. I also got some work done on Sharon's holiday gift. My drabble is stumbling a little bit, though. Hopefully my brain can clear out a bit so that I can get the cadence down within the next day or so. Today would be best.

Studio Day - Breakfast with Meghan

2011-12-14T04:54:00.000-06:00

Meghan is back in town. After being gone for almost two years, she has finally moved back to Minnesota and I can see her again. Count me happy! I'm picking her up and we're meeting Chickie for breakfast. Then I need to drop by the art supply warehouse for more gel pens, and she'll come along with me there. I'll finally drop her back off at home and then I'll dive into my second batch of holiday cards.

This is Meghan and her lovely son Sebas in 2009. He's so big by now!

My Silhouette machine will be operating at high levels for the rest of the afternoon, getting batch two ready to go. I addressed the first batch yesterday and just need to put in the inserts, add postage, and they're ready to go. I should buy some stamps, but a lot of these are cards for overseas so I will need to get individual postage amounts for those. I'll drop by the post office on Thursday and let Susan help me with my overseas pieces. I'm very happy with how they turned out, even with all of the issues getting them completed. It was worth it. My in-town cards can still be mailed at the last minute. I don't really stress out on dates, but want to progress to the next project when this one is finally complete and I'm seeing light at the end of the tunnel :-) Now to tweak my Yule Fic and finish my ALEC for the month...oh, and those weekly drabbles....LOL.

Tuesday - Writing Addresses & Pretty Solstice Pictures

2011-12-13T04:45:00.000-06:00

As I said yesterday, the first batch of my Holiday Cards will go out on Wednesday. That means I have to address the envelopes today so I'll be working on that on and off throughout the day. I usually type the addresses, but I think I'll actually hand-write them this time. If you get an envelope with a golden deer on the front, that's from me :-)

This is SUCH a great Solstice pic - over the snow and ice.

And I must admit that I adore Stonehenge at Solstice. What's not to like?

Things finally came together this year, although I would have loved things clicking into place just a bit earlier (sigh). The cut-out cards that I really wanted to send never worked so I shifted designs, changed from blade to pens, and used my "fancy" equipment to draw designs and to write poetry and sentiments in the card. Then I applied Swarovski crystals, added decorative braid, and embossed things in the interior. I will be including something special in some of the cards, just open carefully :-) Happy Holidays and Good Solstice to all!

American Football and Cards

2011-12-12T05:12:00.000-06:00

There are times when I'm so happy that I am not a Minnesota Vikings fan. For those of my friends overseas, this is an American Football team from my state and, usually, they are not too bad. But this season is ridiculously bad - we currently are the 2nd worst team in the entire National Football League. And yesterday the Vikings lost again.

But the beauty of all of this is that I am not a Minnesota Vikings fan. I am a fan of the football team that I grew up with - the Denver Broncos. And the Broncos are first in their division. So, with the terrible record of my DH's team and the steadily improving record of my team, I have one thing I can flaunt over him. Call me happy - LOL.

My first batch of holiday cards will probably hit the mail on Wednesday. I have a bit more envelope decoration that I want to do, and I need to organize the addresses, but I'm relatively happy with them. They turned out quite different than I had originally envisioned, but they are 100% my own - I had started with blank pieces of paper. Time was not my friend this year, so the inclusions are minimal - but very kewl. I'll be happy to do the second batch on Wednesday for the second group sendoff next week. Then I'll be finished. What a job - but so worth it. I've already started receiving cards from some of my overseas f-list friends and I just LOVE it. Getting cards is fun, but sending them is even MORE fun. Call me happy...

Running Late

2011-12-10T05:34:00.001-06:00

As much as I would love to say that I'm running late because I overslept, I didn't. I was up shortly after 3 am as usual, I'm just running late because I was catching up on some reading and then watched a few videos. So, nothing fantastic to report today. DH is still not talking to me and I'm still finalizing my first batch of holiday cards. They turned out really cute, so I'm happy with them. Just wish I'd been this far along a couple of weeks ago :-)

Have a great weekend.

Progress

2011-12-09T04:41:00.000-06:00

I did get quite a lot done yesterday on my "extra" day off. I finally finished a repair that I accepted in October. I had given an original due date of Thanksgiving, and obviously ran late from that, but after three more hours of work on it and some late night finishing work, it is finally complete and ready to be returned.

Late again...*sigh*

I determined exactly how I want to decorate my holiday cards, and will begin working on that at the shop this morning, so my fic work may be delayed for a bit. But I'm progressing on two stories, one for a contest and one for a Yule Fic gift.

I feel as if I'm walking alone into my future sometimes...

DH has been a total pain. He's "allowing me to live a totally independent life, just the way that I want" and isn't talking to me. I'm not that bothered by it, but occasional conversation would be nice. If this extends a lot longer, however, I'll have to re-assess my options after the holiday season is over. What a mess.

I love this scratch-art piece, a wonderful sunrise for all of you.

Have a joyful day. It is the end of the week, and I hope that you have a day of beauty and happiness to bring into the weekend.

Shuffling my Schedule

2011-12-08T05:08:00.000-06:00

I'm cashing in a certificate today. Each year for the past few years, I have been gifted with a certificate allowing me to take one extra day off. I'm using my 2011 certificate today and taking that extra day to do a bunch of errands and try to finish the first round of my holiday cards. I worked on them yesterday for the afternoon and got a lot done, I'm very happy with how they turned out so far. But I want to add glitter and crystals to them. So, still work to do.

I picked up my replacement Nano yesterday. It's nice and new looking and I'm thinking about giving it to DH for a holiday gift since I have my new one that I really love. He can hear better when he uses headphones, so I might give that a try. What the heck, another gift under the tree isn't a bad thing. And I got to spend 20 minutes while waiting for the Apple store to open, talking to a couple of guys about my NookColor and E-readers in general. That was fun.

Today would have been the 68th birthday of Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors. Those of you who feel a bit of heart-pull reading this - well, it makes me feel old and probably you also. When I was in my early to mid-teenage years, I thought he was the most amazing guy. I must admit that I still love his music and some of his poetry, so I guess I'm still a Jim Morrison fan, probably always will be. I'm sure his grave in Paris will have flowers, etc all over it again, it is one of the more popular graves in the cemetary. It's also the birthday of Homer - the Roman author who is famous for his various Odes and whose words, in translation, gave us "carpe dium" or "seize the day". So...go forth and do so!

Studio Day - Working Hard for Christmas

2011-12-07T05:17:00.000-06:00

So today is my day off - my studio day. It's the 7th of December, and I've received the first of my Holiday Cards from people on my f-list (Thanks, Silver Trails!!!). That means that I will be working like crazy on things today. I need to finish this repair because I want to have it available for her to pick up on Friday, and I need to do the interior of my cards and determine what, exactly, I want to do for the exterior. I can do some work on them tomorrow also, because I'm taking a second day off then. But, tomorrow is tomorrow and I'll discuss it then.

For today, although we don't expect snow for the next few days, we are getting a nice cold snap so I'll be bundled up and I might even break down and wear socks :-)

DH is still not talking to me, but we were both chuckling while watching "A Christmas Story" last night. It's hard to resist the tale of Ralphie and his desire for a Red Ryder Carabiner BB Gun. I was flipping between that and George C Scott's appearance as Scrooge in Dicken's classic tale, "Christmas Carol". Two of my favorites, and both on the same night. I know that "A Christmas Story" will be shown for 24 hours (or at least it usually is) on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day, so I'll catch it again then.

And RIP Darrell K Sweet, an illustrator that I have loved for many years. I didn't care for a lot of his Tolkien work, but LOVED his basic fantasy art. I have collected books and artist trading cards of work for many years, and he is one of those artists that I have quite a bit from. I wish I had one pinkie's worth of his talent, but at least our world was able to share his vision.

Monday - Thank Goodness It's Over

2011-12-06T05:00:00.000-06:00

I usually don't care about what day it is, but Monday was a ton of work and I was just exhausted by the end of it, leaving my temper tied by a hairstring. So when my DH came down at 9pm and my most recent story was refusing to post properly, I was LESS than happy, leading to unhappy people and a DH who dropped the D from his designation for the remainder of the day. He usually will sulk for a few days, so I can make an expectation that he will be pissy about my poor mood for most of the remainder of the week *sigh*.

In spite of being busy at the shop (which is a good thing that I will never complain about) I still had time to work on my Yule Fic, my December ALEC and a new quick story that I posted last night for the Yet Hope Remains comentfic board. I'm sure I have errors in the story, but I wanted it in and out quickly so this one was less than 24 hours in the works.

I'm finishing up listening to Swordspoint on audio books, and I'm reading the second book in Patrick Rothfuss' "Name of the Wind" series. Although it doesn't catch me with quite the same intensity as Storm Constantine's Wraeththu series does, I am still quite pleased by it. I'm having fun reading Kvothe's story and would recommend it to others looking for a good read. Have a great Tuesday!

Sleep? What's Sleep?

2011-12-05T04:31:00.000-06:00

Obviously my body is squirrely - it has no idea that people are supposed to be sleeping at 2am, especially when I only went to sleep at 10:15pm - not very many hours previously. But I tossed and turned for 15 minutes upstairs, then went downstairs to see if changing to the couch would let me get another hour of sleep. No go! So, I'm operating on four hours today and I know I'll regret this BIG TIME by the end of the day. Crazy. You would think I'd at least get some writing in, and I do have one story out for beta and two others in the works, but I'm just catching up on Emails and posts from the weekend. Silly me!

The US Post Office had some special painting on selected mail boxes when they introduced their Star Wars stamps a few years ago. This little R2D2 was one of them - too sweet!

I did finish the bead weaving for my larger repair yesterday, and am just down to weaving in the loose ends before completing it totally. It was an interesting project, but would have been much faster if several people who had never worked on that type of project hadn't tried to "fix" it in the past. Their "fixing" caused me to have to double the time I had to take to get everything repaired. Now I have one more repair pending, then I can work on my own stuff again, just in time to mail things out for the holidays. Crazy! I'm still searching for the computer file where I put last year's holiday card addresses, so...if you want to receive a holiday card from me and haven't already Emailed or PM'd your addy to me, please do so. Also, I post this blog in three different places, so if you responded to one of the earlier call-outs I made on different hosting services, don't despair. I have those addys, it's the 2010 ones I'm missing.

I wake up each morning with a look at the Astronomy Picture of the Day and thought I'd share Saturday's pic with all of you just for the beauty of it. The pic, entitled "Light Echoes from V838 Mon" is a Hubble photo from February 2004. Isn't it just stunning? It's views like this that make me think the universe has to have a much greater mind than my own puny one behind it. Whatever name I put to it, I believe in the power of the Song and the Love, and isn't that all that's important?

What Constitutes Creativity?

2011-12-03T05:15:00.000-06:00

My DH and I love watching creative competitive TV shows - Project Runway, Project Accessory, Work of Art, etc. The entire idea of having to produce something meeting specific parameters within a limited time frame and, sometimes, utilizing specific materials really appeals to me because I am a deadline-driven person and operate best with due dates hanging in front of me. But I have also, lately, become aware of the different ways that personal creativity can be expressed.

I have an LJ 'friend' who is a member of another LJ group (etc., etc., etc.) who is doing a fundraiser for another 'friend'...my goodness. How very convoluted. The focus here is the people who have banded together to offer products for auction to benefit Person A. These are all creative people - authors for the most part, but also other craftspeople. And reading through the posts offering their various donations, I am thrilled with the variety of creativity that I'm seeing there. Authors are donating their books, crits, or face-to-face meetings. Artists are offering prints, paintings, books in which their artwork appears, etc. Craftspeople are offering weavings, glasswork and knitted items. The variety of items that are now being offered for the benefit of this one specific individual is wonderful, and is increasing hourly. Humanity is so VERY creative.

Buttons are SO not my media, but why is art like this considered craft instead of art? It could be used as a wall installation in aggregate...just a thought...

Yesterday my DH and I spoke about which TV creativity challenge show we would want to appear on if we had a choice. I suspect I would either do Project Accessory or Work of Art, and I'm tempted to focus more on Work of Art. My DH immediately asked me what I had ever done that would be considered art instead of craft. I had no real answer for him because I am a crafter who thinks that my choice of media shouldn't eliminate me from the "art" world. I have confidence in my work, but it obviously isn't shared by my DH. *sigh* Sometimes I feel as if I'm rowing against the current all of the time - it's exhausting. Then creativity takes me by the horns again, shows me my next project, and I'm swimming above the flow caught in the stream of air and floating above the waters once again. I just wish there were more of the floating times, and less of the rowing ones :-)

Desperate Yet?

2011-12-02T05:06:00.000-06:00

I don't think I've ever gone into a holiday season quite so disorganized. I'm happily writing along here, and my cards are 33% made, my address list is not assembled, and what am I doing? I'm listening to Swordspoint on audio book (wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!!! and highly recommended) and writing two stories that are a bit out of my box. I have a repair sitting next to me that was due last week and that I'm promising for next week, and I have so much still to do. Do I not care?

I just love these lighted Christmas icicle ornaments. How kewl is this?

I'm not really sure why I'm so lethargic right now. I feel as if the wheels within wheels that we all live in are just spinning wildly now and I'm just running along the outside of them. Not really participating, just experiencing.

So, my cards may be late. Well, I can live with that - it's not the end of the world and they will be mailed, not sit in a drawer the way that friends of mine have done in years past. But, as I get older, I'm finding that I need to sometimes pay attention to me and I guess that's what I'm doing right now. Silly me! I must be calender challenged :-)

I Braved the Mall and World AIDS Day

2011-12-01T05:10:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a bit crazy. We only had a single car because DH had to keep his car at the service station for an oil change and tire rotation. So I had my breakfast and did a few errands, then came back home, picked him up and dropped him at work, then I was free until I had to fetch him after work that night to get his car retrieved.

Even though I love my new Nano mini, I really miss my older green machine and am happy that I will have it again :-)

One of my errands was seeing how much it would cost to get my old iPod Nano repaired/replaced. The screen died on it over the Thanksgiving Holiday and even though I purchased a new, smaller Nano on sale for Black Friday, I still wanted to have a back-up. So I braved the mall. I parked quite near the correct entrance (had no desire to wander the mall at all) and headed to the Apple store. My goodness. They easily had more than 20 employees on duty, and there were at least that many people "shopping" in the store. They were at the Genius Bar getting help with broken machines, they were shopping the walls of stuff for their iPhones, they were looking a the iMacs and iPads. It was a zoo. But, after I got my information and ordered a replacement at a very good price, I left the shop and realized that at least three kiosks outside of the store were also Apple. Hard to believe the castle that Jobs built.

Today is World AIDS Day. The Sydney, Australia Opera House was bathed in red lights and the Empire State Building in New York City will also be lighted in red this evening. I remember when AIDS was first diagnosed and the fear that accompanied it. The hell that some of my gay friends had to go through because of the generalized finger-pointing was truly sad. But medicines have gotten better, general knowledge has increased, and many times the disease, as bad as it is, can be controlled if watched carefully. I'm grateful for that fact because it means that some friends of mine who have had AIDS for many years are still with us today. Sometimes modern medicine can be wonderful.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

2011-11-30T05:11:00.000-06:00

Have you ever wondered where I spend my days? I own and operate a craft store specializing in supplies for beading, leather working, and jewelry making. I finally got around to updating my Google Maps entry and Google also sent their own photographer through. So, there are finally photos of the shop available for people to see. If you would be interested in taking a look at what takes up my non-free time, feel free to click and view.

I finally received a shipping confirmation for Game of Thrones, Season One that I had pre-ordered. Of course, it won't ship until early March! But, at least I finally have a date and my order was placed months ago, so I am assured that it will come to me. I am deliriously happy about that, and thought that this might be their timeframe since Season 2 is scheduled to start in April 2012.

And please continue sending prayers and Light to my friends "G" and "I". "I" had surgery yesterday and will be recovering for the next week to ten days, so she's on the mend. "G", however, had confirmation that something very bad is coming down for her husband, and she's understandably terrified, angry, weepy, and all of the other things that any of us would be. She needs all of the positive thoughts sent to her as possible, so please think of her during your day today.

Now I'm off to try and be creative with at least three scheduled interruptions messing up my rhythm today *sigh*. Have a creative and wonderful "hump" day.

Santa Claus Exists...Doesn't He?

2011-11-29T04:44:00.000-06:00

Of all the things I love best about Solstice time, I love Santa Claus. He has gotten a bit too tied up with the commercial aspect of the holiday, but who can turn their back on this jolly, immortal being with the infectious laugh and the bright smile? Even though children often freak out when they are finally close to him to tell him their holiday wishes, as an adult, I wish I had that opportunity again. Just to sit on the lap of someone who actually knows everything and has an arm around you buffering you from the world at large, it sounds so wonderful.

Another thing that I love about the Holiday season are all of the holiday television specials. Last night I laughed along with "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and the Shrek Christmas special, both of which are delightful. My husband called it a green Christmas night. Tonight I'll get "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (Go Bumble!) and then at 9pm, the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show (hey, I can admire beauty and those wings...oh my!!).

I have stories to write, presents to make, specials to watch, cookies to eat. So far this Holiday Season is truly bright. Oh...and my glass saw arrived yesterday at the shop and is now in my living room, boxed up, waiting for Christmas morning before I open it. Then I'll have to find space for it in my glass area which is quite crowded as it is. I'll figure something out, but I'm not quite sure what at this time. I'll make a home for it though.

Focus...Focus...

2011-11-28T04:48:00.000-06:00

I finally have decided what I am making for smaller holiday gifts. They aren't as elaborate as last year's beaded holiday stars, but still are taking longer to make than I had originally intended. I wanted something that would take about an hour, maybe two hours to make, but these are closer to 3-4 hours. But, that's still better than the 8+ hours that last year's stars took. Now I just need to fit some beading time into my writing and editing time.

I have a friend (fellow author) going in for surgery tomorrow, and another friend who has a dear family member going in for some tests today, so any thoughts that could be spared for these two people would be appreciated.

And I think I'll continue working with my pens and my computerized image machine for the interior sentiment on my cards on Wednesday. I'll work on that and get that going, because I want to spend the next times working on the decorating. I have all sorts of new equipment I purchased this summer that I want to be able to use on my cards. We'll see what actually will happen...it's a crap shoot. I'll toss ideas in the air and see what comes down as viable. At least I'm playing with creativity...just not with my glasswork :-) Have a wonderfully creative week ahead of you!

Holiday Thoughts - Final Call-out

2011-11-26T05:04:00.000-06:00

So the holidays are creeping up. Heck...they're not creeping up, they are rushing up. My bag of goodies purchased for DH is growing. I've been getting things for him over the past few months, and have one more gift to get at the hardware store when I get some time next week. We are now solidly into our holiday season, with the store now open seven days a week, so my mid-week day off becomes even more important to me.

Isn't this just the most wonderful bow?

I'm into the next-to-final stage of my holiday cards, then I can start working on whatever I want to include within them. So...this is my final call out to all of my f-list friends and others. If you want a Solstice Card from me, email me or send me a PM and I'll add you to my list. Don't assume that since you got a card last year you'll get one this year. It doesn't work that way. You actually need to make the call out :-)

The clock is ticking, people. We're running out of time! Ack! I can't imagine how I can be this far behind when I started working on holiday things so early, but I am. At least most of my holiday gifts are already purchased.

Black Friday

2011-11-25T04:46:00.000-06:00

In the US, today, the Friday following Thanksgiving, is known as Black Friday. It's the day when the shopping season for Christmas kicks off. I was on-line this morning buying a replacement Apple iPod Nano - mine kicked the dust yesterday. I didn't save a lot, but Apple products are rarely reduced at all, so a small savings was a plus. I have to have my tunes.

We're running the first day of three days of targeted sales at the shop today. Today we're doing 20% off Swarovski Crystals. Tomorrow we are focusing on Japanese Seed Beads and on Sunday, we're spotlighting Czech Republic Pressed Glass. I'm hoping that we will get some good sales as a result of this sale, but you can never tell. We rarely do sales at all, so at least this is more unusual than having a sale at Target or Wal-Mart.

I qualify as exhausted today - I only got four hours of sleep, and have to be sure I'm in the shop by 7am today to finish the decorating before I have to unlock for the day. I managed to begin my reviews for the Middle Earth Fan Fiction Awards yesterday, my goal is to review one story from each author and I decided to start from the back of the alphabet, just for kicks. I hope that all of you have a wonderful and savings-filled Friday.

Thanksgiving - It's Not Just One Day

2011-11-23T05:38:00.000-06:00

We all could use some Thanks giving in our lives. Because it never hurts to look back over the blessings that we have received and the kindnesses that we have been able to pass on to others.

I am Thankful for many things, but primary among them must be my friends, headed by my DH - my best friend, and my BFF Sharon. I do tend to use the word "friend" with a looser definition than many, because I look upon everyone as a potential long-term contact and...yes...friend. So I feel fortunate with the many f-list friends that I have made over the last few years. Each and every one of you have helped me to grow, both in my writing skills and in my personal growth. I've had the chance to talk with some of you, and exchange many personal Emails with others, and these times have meant so very much to me.

And finally, I must give thanks for returned friends, Seth primarily. Looking at the past always is looking through golden glasses - you gloss over the pain and angst and see the good times without the emotional baggage. Perhaps it's better that way. But since rediscovering each other a few years ago, I know that I have a friend in my corner who is wholly supportive and that means the world to me. So travel safely, my friend, and know that you are thought of fondly at this Thanksgiving Day.

Celebrate your own Thanksgiving Day, whether you are "officially" celebrating it as we will do here in the USA tomorrow, or "unofficially" celebrating it through the words of others. Think about what you are thankful for, and send those positive thoughts into the aether. We need some positive thoughts to overcome the negative ones that are all too prevelant in today's world.

Searching for Green Beans and Holiday Cheer

2011-11-22T04:54:00.000-06:00

I have no idea how many people will be showing up at my sister-in-law's for Turkey Day dinner. The maximum number could be: (1) my sister-in-law (2&3) my DH and myself (4) my father-in-law (5 6 7&8) my oldest niece Catie, her DH Jet and their two kids (9 10&11) my middle niece Mary, her hubby Nick and their daughter Izzy (12 13&14) my youngest niece Annie, her hubby Joe and daughter Delaney (15 16&17) my youngest nephew Joe, his wife Holly and their son Ian (19&20) one of my middle nephews David and his live-in GF (21 22&23) my oldest nephew Michael, his wife Mary and their youngest daughter Emma. So, missing two nephews that we never see, Michael's two oldest children who are usually with their own father for holidays, and my own sanity which flew out the window the minute I said "sure, we'd love to come", I may be facing 22 other people over a small living room floor on Thursday.

I'm bringing veggies. So...how much to make? Well, that's the question. In the past, we've started out with a smaller number with more dropping by throughout the afternoon between going to my sister-in-law's home and their other in-law's homes. It's a bit of a rotating door, but only a few of us actually consider this meal the only one for the day. Whatever happens, it's a crazy scene. I'll bring a large electric skillet-full divided in half with half being corn and the other half being green beans with almonds. Now...how many beans to buy????

I started work on a small project that I would love to include in some of my Solstice cards. Of course, that's assuming I actually will have time to (1) complete the cards (2) address them and (3) make the project. I think everything will come together, but some of the cards may be late. Life is rough...but good wishes are always welcome, no matter when they arrive, so I'm not going to sweat it. We'll make it work. I hope all of your holiday plans are settling out nicely and that you are starting to look forward to mulled cider, the scent of cinnamon and fresh pine, and the sound of clinking glasses and warm conversation. Yes...I can be a bloomin' optimist even though I know the reality rarely meets the mind movie.

Clock is Ticking...

2011-11-21T05:08:00.000-06:00

So this week is Thanksgiving Week in the US. Thursday is Thanksgiving Day, a day when many of us will gather together with family members to overeat on turkey, sundry vegetables, fresh baked rolls (if we are lucky) and pie for dessert. We will then roll our numb bodies back to our assorted domiciles and collapse in heaps of overly-stuffed participants. My DH and I will join this endless procession by going to my sister-in-law's home for our dinner and then trundling back home as soon as we feel we can get away with it. I'm bringing a vegetable dish. I should probably stop by the store tonight and buy the veggies.

Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the high-effort holiday shopping season. It is followed by Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and the first of my working Sundays. I will be sending an Email letter to my customers on Wednesday and hope that we will have good sales over the holiday weekend and the remainder of the year. I don't feel ready for this at all.

I'm just behind this year - I'm fighting depression (so far I'm winning) and all that I really want to do is crawl into a dark hole until Spring. I love writing, but even writing is not inspiring me. I have two story items due by mid-week and I haven't even started them - VERY unlike me. I'm sure I'll break out of this funk soon, but right now...well, my normal optimism seems to have taken a small vacation. Ick!

Winter Is Coming...

2011-11-19T06:10:00.000-06:00

We are expected to get our first snow today, and I am SO not ready. I don't want to replace the snow shovel and sweepers into my car again. I don't want to face pulling snow off the roof for another winter. Can I move to a nice warm climate for the winter? No...I'll diminish and return to my life and remain Sandra.....(with apologies to Tolkien for the paraphrasing).

I am running so late today, and I'm trying to be positive about the winter to come, so I thought I would find some lovely snowfall pictures to share with all of you today and just leave my post short and sweet. Because to me, snowy days are incredibly inspirational. I want to go into the studio and make art. I want to play with the kiln. I want to form metal. I want to melt glass. So, if this truly is the start to winter for me, I guess I'm OK with it.

Finally Friday

2011-11-18T05:38:00.000-06:00

It's been a very busy week at the shop and after hours. That's great, but I'm a bit behind on my beta. I'll finish the latest chapter for Iris tonight and get it sent off to her. But I should have had it done a couple of days ago :-( I did get a story posted for Game of Thrones, have another couple in the works, am continuing to work on drabbles, and when I can find the time and inspiration, work on my H-verse. I am tempted to go back - seriously back - and do some major editing on this.

Thursday nights we reserve for Project Accessory. Yesterday's show was all about handbags. They said that the average woman has six handbags. Six! I adore handbags. I can count six just sitting on ledges around me right now. If I open my closet to see my handbag shelf, I'll have more than 30 more. I adore handbags. I guess I'm not the norm :-) I wanted to put a pic of the winning bag - it was truly beautiful, but their website really sucks and I couldn't grab an image.

However, I did grab an image of the winning shoes from the shoe challenge two weeks ago. Now, many women who may not be that crazy about handbags are bonkers over shoes. Shoes don't do a thing for me - they are something I wear to keep my feet away from broken glass and icky stuff, and because of my orthotics, they also keep me free from pain. But I'm no fashionista when it comes to shoes. These shoes, however, were really wonderfully made and very colorful. Sassy! Enjoy a creative Friday and carry that creativity through into your weekend.

Early Solstice Gift and Art

2011-11-17T05:28:00.000-06:00

I should actually head this as early Christmas gift, since it is from my DH and he celebrates Christmas. But he will buy me the glass saw that I've been wanting, the one piece of equipment that I found, while working on my projects this year, that I really needed. So, he told me to go ahead and order it and he woud pay for it. I happily agreed, telling him that the only thing I had on my holiday list was Barnes & Noble gift cards for more e-books, so it will be really nice to have a gift under the tree. I suppose I could also add some iPod gift cards to my holiday wish list since I'm starting to buy some of the classical music that I so love.

The newest version not only has a light by the blade, but the entire blade can be removed and used free-hand. Sweet!

I did get some work done on my repair yesterday, and two loads of laundry, but I didn't get around to my beta work. I'm slapping myself on the hand and will do it tonight. I did treat myself with a trip to Penco Graphic Supply. A few weeks ago Groupon had an offer from them for $40 worth of art supplies for $20 and I grabbed that quickly. I never have a problem finding art materials that I want :-)

I want to be able to draw items like this on my colored background paper.

So I happily wandered their aisles for an hour. I picked up some wonderful tinted charcoals to play with, some ultra-fine colored gel pens and a nice inexpensive rolling cloth pencil holder that had enough slots for the charcoals as well as my watercolor pencils and those gel pens. Now they are all wrapped up in a nice, compact bundle calling my name. The one thing I was very very happy about was finding a good assorted colors Pastel tablet by Canson. Twenty-four sheets, 98 pound, six colors of four sheets each. I've been looking for a good multi-colored drawing pad for YEARS! Every art store I wander into, I look for one. They actually had several choices from a couple of manufacturers but this one was what I picked. I am so looking forward to playing with my new media on my new backgrounds. Now I can finally use my white pencils and charcoals. So, even if I didn't get quite as much done as I wanted, it was a very successful day.

To Forget is to Repeat...Never Forget

2011-11-16T05:44:00.001-06:00

Last night the History Channel broadcast a show called "Engineering Evil" last night, that went into the history of the human engineering behind the Holocaust. I'm not going to go into the personal reasons of why the Holocaust is important to me, if you want to know you can read my LJ post of last night. But I did see some things that I had not been aware of. That was rather amazing to me, because I am a long-time scholar of this part of history because of personal inclinations and family history.

If you saw this perspective, you were already inside the death camp portion of Auschwitz - Birkenau. The tracks are cleaned up now to the more traditionally shown single track leading to the landing ramp (not built until late in the war). But in the old photos, there were several merging train tracks that met at the ramp, then separated out again.

I am always amazed by the clinical distance that people took while engineering and documenting the most amazing atrocities. One thing that nailed me to the core was a scene where some metal address/name tags were taken from a drawer. These were factory "slave" laborers. This particular person was 17 years of age when she was there, and her birthdate was my birthdate - 26 years before I was born, but my own birthdate. It was freaky.

Arbeit macht frei - Work will make you free. In a macabre way of thinking, that was true, because the fatality rate of the slave laborers was also very high. And don't lose sight of the fact that the Jews, although the largest proportion of victims, were only a portion. The persecution extended to homosexuals and Gypsies as well as smaller ethnic groups and some of the conquered territory's inhabitants. The killing machine of WWII extended far and wide.

If you want to read a bit more about the show, the NY Times had a great review here. Take a read, and if it gets rebroadcast, take a look. It is well done with new information and pictures, and was quite comprehensive without being maudlin. Probably the best thing I've seen on the Holocaust in many years, perhaps since Shoah so many years ago. Remember your ancestors on this cold and blustery Minnesota day. Remember them and honor them - they are a part of you.

Winter is Coming...

2011-11-15T05:01:00.000-06:00

Even though George RR Martin's "Game of Thrones" books are peppered with the phrase "winter is coming", it really is coming here in Minnesota. The temps will drop quite a bit tomorrow and we should see some snow here in the Twin Cities by the weekend. That gives my DH a couple of days to get the rest of the leaves taken care of and I'll have to rake and do some quick siding repairs to the old house tomorrow, in the cold snap (can you hear me say - very sarcastically - "Oh, Joy")?

I've been busy on the writing front, but have to get back to my repairs (I promised them by Thanksgiving and I need the money I'll get for doing them) and my Solstice cards. I never worry too much about personal deadlines, but those that are set from outside do tend to be important for me - one way or another. One of the things that I've been busy with has been my Game of Thrones challenge board. A friend of mine was a member and I liked what she was coming up with, so I joined also. One of the latest was to do two cards from the Major Arcana of Tarot cards, featuring characters from the books/show. I did Melisandre as the High Priestess (above) but then decided to make a rather unusual card for The Lovers. Since almost every couple in the books ends up with one or both of them dead, I took Jean-Marc Laroches "The Lovers" as the pic, added a poem below, and voila! I share both cards with you on this cold day that is the beginning of Winter.

Looking Forward to a Non-eventful Week...

2011-11-14T05:26:00.000-06:00

I always start the week out optimistically, this is no exception. Last week my DH was sick for two days and that really threw a wrench into my schedule. But this week I should be back onto a normal schedule and that will make me happy.

We raked leaves in the front yard yesterday. He used the leaf blower and I raked the areas that he couldn't reach and added them to the compost pile. We have lived in our house since the late 1980's and to keep erosion in check, we deposit grass clippings and leaves into the bad areas to stabilize the area. We had a nice large contribution yesterday. We still need to rake/blow the upper back yard and the lower back yard, hopefully the weather will be condusive to his blowing them this week, then we just need to load the leaves onto a tarp and pull them to the compost.

He had wanted to take us out for a nice dinner, but is still feeling a bit touchy, so I picked up Chipotle Burrito Bowls for us while he went to the store for sour cream, guacamole and cupcakes for dessert (yum!). We had tortillas in the fridge, they are a staple for my kitchen, so we added our own fixings, and he made burritos with his, I ate mine in tortilla pieces like I would have back in Mexico. Either way, it was quite tasty. A good ending to a busy but productive day. I hope your Monday is filled with color and wonder.

Weekend...What Weekend???

2011-11-12T05:35:00.000-06:00

I was very busy yesterday, and still didn't get to Target to buy Harry Potter Deathly Hallows part 2. Hopefully tomorrow after we are done raking leaves we'll drop by and pick it up then. I'm sure I'll want to do something other than deal with the blisters I'll be bound to have.

My solstice cards are slowly getting cut, but it's working very slowly. The company changed their blade and the new one doesn't work well for what I need at all. But I have alternatives. I do have quite a few that have been successfully cut, but I have other means of decoration and I still have time. Things are not dire yet - LOL.

I'm almost finished reading the Steve Jobs biography. It's been a long time since I've read a biography, I prefer novels. But I remember reading tons of bios when I was a kid and I loved them then. This one has been really good - well written and not sugarcoating the fact that Jobs was a difficult personality. But what a genius. I was inspired enough to grab my iPod Nano and purchase some classical music that I had been wanting to load on it. So, there you go Apple, you got some more of my money - LOL.

A Day of Remembrance and Words of Writing Wisdom

2011-11-11T05:01:00.000-06:00

Today is many things, but at the top of that list are three.

It is a unique day - shortened in our shorthand of date writing to six identical digits in a row, i.e. 11-11-11. This is something that happens extremely rarely - in fact it won't happen again until 12-12-12 and then it will be another century before it occurs again. One more reason to think about today as being one-of-a-kind.

Of course it is also Veteran's Day (Remembrance Day in the UK). On November 11th 1918, bells rang out throughout the world celebrating the end of hostilities in World War I, the first industrialized war. It was hoped that it would be the last major war ever. That was a false hope. There is something within mankind that seems unable to live peacefully with others. I see that as the major tragedy of our race.

And it is also the birthday of Kurt Vonnegut. Now, you may ask, "Why should I care? Author's birthdates populate the calendar - why is he so important?" Although I love his writings, it is what he said about writing that causes me to put him here in my blog for the day. As said in "The Writer's Almanac": In 1999, Vonnegut wrote a piece called "How To Write With Style." He ended his essay by summing up his seven most important points: Find a subject you care about; do not ramble, though; keep it simple; have guts to cut; sound like yourself; say what you mean; and pity the readers. He wrote: "I myself grew up in Indianapolis, where common speech sounds like a band saw cutting galvanized tin, and employs a vocabulary as unornamental as a monkey wrench. In some of the more remote hollows of Appalachia, children still grow up hearing songs and locutions of Elizabethan times. Yes, and many Americans grow up hearing a language other than English, or an English dialect a majority of Americans cannot understand. All these varieties of speech are beautiful, just as the varieties of butterflies are beautiful. No matter what your first language, you should treasure it all your life. If it happens to not be standard English, and if it shows itself when your write standard English, the result is usually delightful, like a very pretty girl with one eye that is green and one that is blue. I myself find that I trust my own writing most, and others seem to trust it most, too, when I sound most like a person from Indianapolis, which is what I am. What alternatives do I have? The one most vehemently recommended by teachers has no doubt been pressed on you, as well: to write like cultivated Englishmen of a century or more ago."

Rabbit Redoux - I Need Pretty Pictures

2011-11-10T05:19:00.000-06:00

Well, yesterday certainly didn't go as planned. Instead of a day off, my Manager phoned me at 8:30 am telling me he was up all night vomiting and was running a fever. So, he got the day off and I worked for him. I'll be working for him again today and will hopefully get my day off on Friday. It was a fun day though, we had some really interesting customers come through the door and some great projects to help people with. And I did get some of the early morning errands taken care of, so it wasn't a total loss. But I didn't get to do laundry, work on my repair, do Solstice cards, or any of the other computer work that I needed to do.

A beautiful twin waterfall in Yosemite National Park.

This incredible waterfall array is in China. Love it!

Yesterday was a national test of the Nationwide Emergency System. What a joke! For weeks we have been warned on our radio and televisions that broadcasting would be interrupted at X time for this test. On TV, I heard the strident tones, but then the broadcast on CNBC went on as normal. On the radio, I got the tones and silence. But many stations had nothing happen at all, and apparently one of the satillite companies ended up with a Lady Gaga song playing instead of the "emergency" instructions. I call it a total failure.

The marble cave above is in Puerto Rico. Maybe it's time for a vacation?

And finally, I offer some Arctic Ice Caves. Beautiful but too cold!

So, since my schedule was totally messed up, I decided to find some wonderful eye candy for all of you. I hope you enjoy the pictures, and that I end up with my studio day on Friday instead.

Studio Day and Groupons

2011-11-09T04:50:00.000-06:00

So today is my studio day. I'll be working on my Solstice cards (again, if you want one and haven't sent me a private message with your addy, please do so. I send them all over the world.) I have errands today that will take me all over town, but most of them will be rather fun. I have a Groupon for breakfast, and I'll have enough left over with it to get a couple of muffins for my co-workers, so that will be fun. I also want to turn in another Groupon that I have to a local baker - they make WONDERFUL things. So good!

There is a craft show going on near my house. I went to it last year and they had some very nice things that were reasonably priced, so I want to check them out again. And I have a third Groupon to an artist's supply warehouse that I want to use either today or next week. I can't resist a bargain for something that brings me such joy - watercolor paints, brushes, maybe the colored sketchbook that I've been looking for...the possibilities are endless. And the deal was excellent!

But it is very important that I get back home and work on my cards as well as my repair and I need to get Iris' next chapter betaed out. I have a quick icon project to pull together for my Game of Thrones Challenge group in other words, it will be a usual day off - no sitting around for me - LOL. Enjoy your Wednesday!

Pie and Schedules

2011-11-08T05:01:00.000-06:00

The movie last night was great fun, and we followed that up with dinner at Baker's Square (Asian Chicken Salad for me) and we all brought home pie for dessert. I paid for Chickie's dinner as part of her birthday gift, and because it was her birthday, her pie was free! Score!

I worked hard on "Exile" yesterday and think I've almost got it nailed. Just in time for my next prompt which is starting to coalesce in my little brain :-) I'm seriously debating calling my sister-in-law and begging off on Turkey Day with the family. I know my DH really wanted a day for ourselves, and I also agree that getting together with the family is a total zoo (too many nieces and nephews and their assorted spouses and children running around - but cute - but a zoo). I'll discuss it again with him later and see. I'm kindof leaning towards being anti-social and cooking a turkey of our own. We always enjoy a quiet day before our holiday season kicks into high gear.

We decided that this year we would do a sale on Black Friday, a different sale on the following Saturday and start working Sundays beginning right after Thanksgiving. At least that means I'll only have to work six-days a week for four weeks, but it still sucks. I have a lot of Email addresses to get entered for my mailing list, so I'll be keyboarding like crazy. Darn! It's going to cut into my writing time! I wish you a day filled with Light and Creativity.

Psyched for the Week Ahead

2011-11-07T04:57:00.000-06:00

I like starting my week on a high note, and I'm very up for the upcoming week because I got a lot done yesterday and already this morning. And I'll have a chance to see the sunrise again because we're back onto standard time. It's hard to argue with a positive attitude - LOL.

took full advantage of my extra hour on Sunday and slept almost 12 hours - VERY unusual for me. But I guess I needed it :-) Then I worked on my latest story for a bit, put some graphics together for my latest Game of Thrones Challenge piece that was due today, and then played LOTRO for several hours. (Those of you that I usually play with on Imladris server won't see me for quite a while because we're working on our main characters on Firefoot since the cap has finally been raised to 75.) After finally succeeding in the goal of getting one more trait that I can slot, we decided on Broasted Chicken for dinner, along with cole slaw and lemon cake. Heavenly.

And tonight Chickie and I will go to see Puss 'N Boots. I'm really looking forward to a nice, fun night with Chickie and Chickie Mama. We'll probably grab a quick dinner after the movie and then return home. Fun! Have a wonderful Monday!!!!

Fall Back...Daylight Saving Time Ends for the Season

2011-11-05T05:24:00.000-05:00

Spring Ahead, Fall Back. It's the way that those of us in the USA remember whether we will have to lose an hour of sleep (Spring ahead) or gain an hour (Fall back). Sunday morning at 2:00 am, Daylight Saving Time will end and won't return again until March. This basically means two things to me. 1) I will be able to see the sun rise again - it was getting to rise so late that I was already at my laptop working on my writing by the time it finally peeped over the horizon. Since sunrise is my favorite time of day, it was a sad thing for me to miss it. And, 2) I will be leaving work at the end of the day in total darkness instead of the last gloaming. Indeed, before Solstice finally happens in late December, it will be dark as early as 4:00 - 4:30 pm. Ick. But that's my tradeoff for my sunrise and it starts coming back so quickly after Solstice that it is a joy to watch.

The history of Daylight Saving Time is actually rather interesting. I wasn't aware that the US didn't even have standard time zones until 1918! Wow, what a confusion it must have been for travelers prior to that time. Daylight Saving Time became optional and done state-by-state until WWII when it was continuous from 1942 until 1945. Then its use returned to state laws and was optional. A national Daylight Saving Time Act was passed in 1966, but local exemptions could still apply. This set the dates from April through October. There were some variations in the start dates of Daylight Saving Time during the Energy Crises of 1974-75 but then the dates reverted back to April-October. The latest law of 2007 changed the dates, expanding from March-early November.

There are still areas of the nation that do not follow Daylight Saving Time. Hawaii, the territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands and American Samoa and the state of Arizona (except for the lands of the Navajo Indian Nation) do not use Daylight Saving Time. Everywhere else in the USA do. If an area decides to follow Daylight Saving Time, they are required by Federal Law to use the mandated dates set by Congress. What a mess! All I know is that I will get an "extra" hour of sleep tomorrow and I'm looking forward to it. Have a fantastic weekend!

Finally Friday!

2011-11-04T05:12:00.000-05:00

Although my Saturdays are actually my Friday....OK, let me digress and explain a bit here. I work on Saturdays, therefore they are actually what most people would call their Friday. Now...back on track. So, even though my Saturdays are actually my Friday, I plan to enjoy today. Of course, I plan the same thing every day, waking up in the morning and being amazed and pleased that I can spend another day writing, talking with people, meeting creative minds in my shop, and generally talking either in person or through printed words to people throughout the world. What a wonderful thing! I love it. So, I am going to embrace today, because I think a Friday in early November should be embraced and enjoyed.

I have a story in the works that is undergoing it's umpteenth "comb it with fine teeth" look-through. I'm a tinkerer, and I've learned a lot over the months of putting stories up to be looked at by my friends and acquaintences at my writers board (waving to my LC friends here). I have started learning what to look for in a good story and have tried to incorporate that into my writing. I have revised this one several times already, and thought I had it ready to pass on last night, but started reading it again. *sigh*. No, it's not ready to pass on yet. It still needs some more red pen (or use of the delete key in my case). So I will continue to edit it tonight and it will be the stronger for it. I'm very grateful for all of the lessons, LC friends. Very grateful indeed!

What will you do to bring a smile to someone today? It could be as easy as giving someone a hug, or maybe a piece of chocolate, or maybe carrying a bag for them, opening a door for them, or telling them that their dress/shirt/jewelry is lovely. But do it. Bring a smile to someone today because each smile brightens our all-too-dark universe :-)

Solstice Cards...Do You Want One?

2011-11-03T05:04:00.001-05:00

I actually got a lot done yesterday. I finished up my "Feast" story, now I need to get a quick beta on it, but that's not a problem. I did get some work done on my repair, although not as much as I had hoped. I got a chapter done for my writing friend in Germany, and did my errands, etc.

I cut quite a few cards with the new blades that I had received. I'm having all sorts of problems with the design I chose, though. It is very detailed, and it just isn't cutting through well. The blades get micro-pieces of paper kicked up into them and get filled with impacted paper fragments. These used to be cleaned out by unscrewing a collet around the blade. The new blades, however, are permanently sealed into an adjustable housing which is ratcheted from one depth to another. These can't be unscrewed to dump the paper buildup. I got 10 cuts from one blade and then switched to another which I had to spend a huge amount of time cleaning after each cut. My goal was 50 cards. I have made less than 20 in three studio days of trying. I can cut some at work because the program is also on my laptop, but I'm not very happy with the progress of my cards right now. I'll solve this, and my cards will be sent out on time (or close to). Each card will be sent with something special - I have several things that I've been planning throughout the year for my cards this year.

SO....Here's the deal. If you want a Solstice Card from me this year, and you're a member of my F-List, send me a personal message with your mailing address and I'll put you onto my mailing list. When I reach the max that I either can make or have time to make, I'll switch to store-purchased cards, but those are usually pretty nice too. Long-time friends and family members don't have to worry about contacting me...I know who you are amd I know where you live - LOL.

All Souls Day

2011-11-02T05:01:00.000-05:00

Finishing up the triad of days that celebrate the dead, today is All Souls Day. The Catholic Church, in it's heavy-handed way, had decided to move All Saints Day (which was celebrated yesterday with Dia de la Muerte) from March to the beginning of November to help offset the pagan celebration of Samhain. But the church was always focused on the high, and rarely acknowledged those teeming masses that allowed them to celebrate mass in a filled church, collect lots of great stuff and allowed them to build some of the most marvelous architectural structures in the world. They began to allow cracks in their armour when they established All Souls Day. Today is a celebration for ALL of the dead - all of them, not just the Saints or highly placed people. So, today, think back on those who made a difference in your life and acknowledge their actions. You are a better person because of their influence and perhaps they were also enriched by you.

Today is also my studio day. As usual, I will be starting out with breakfast and a list of errands. But when I get home, I'll set up my Silhouette with a new blade, and continue making my Solstice Cards. Hopefully I'll get some good results today, I need some increased speed in the making of these... I will also try to continue working on a repair that I promised by Thanksgiving because I have one more repair hanging in the wings, and with my "spare" time I also have one story to beta and three others to write... I guess I'll be busy trying to be creative. Life could be SO much worse.

So, hug your children today, talk to an elder, phone your parents and tell them how important they were in your life. Touch another person in some way. Both of you will be enriched by the interaction. Goddess bless!

A Season of Celebration Continues

2011-11-01T05:02:00.001-05:00

So yesterday was Samhain (and thank you to the many friends who sent me greetings for the holiday). Today is the beginning of Dia de los Muertos. People will visit their beloved dead, building altars at the graves of deceased family members and leaving food offerings, flowers, and the beautifully decorated sugar skulls that the holiday is known for. Unfortunately, my dead are several states away from me, and we have never celebrated at the grave of my mother-in-law whose plot is actually quite close to us. So any sugar skulls I might have available to me are ungifted except for the one I give to all of you below.

We had a lot of trick-or-treaters last night - more than we have ever had in the past. I began getting them around 7pm and turned my lights out at 9pm. I must have had at least 50 college students, all appropriately costumed out. I think the camel was my favorite, there was an "arab" woman who led her "camel" via a leash. The two of them were very cute. There were lots of great zombies, a witch or two, and just general good times concocted by active imaginations. I loved the creativity they were showing. I had a lot more guys this year, I'd say a 2:1 ratio of women to men. The students go around in packs of three to more than a dozen and I give two pieces of good candy to each, so we went through a lot of candy. That made me very happy because I would rather see it on other people's hips instead of my own :-).

A story of mine, "Harvester of the Dead" actually tied for First Place in the ALEC contest for September. I am enjoying my 15 seconds of very transitory joy to the max. But I do feel that I should be writing "Thank You" notes to my friends Aearwen and Fiondil for having not entered stories in that month. Their skills are far above mine and I always lose to one or both of them - justly so. But still, I am pretty stoked that I actually got a win after not even getting an honorable mention the prior month. Enjoy All Saints Day.

Good Samhain to You

2011-10-31T05:03:00.000-05:00

Today is All Hallow's Eve, or Halloween. The East Coast has gotten buried by an unseasonal snow storm (so happy that it is over there instead of here in the Midwest) and some towns are postponing Halloweed celebrations until Friday! Wow. I can visualize some very cold covens celebrating in the woods tonight.

Samhain is a time when the lines blur between the living and the dead. Probably NOT a good time to go and see Paranormal Activity 3, which I've heard is extremely scary. I've always wondered why spirits would want to be bothered staying around here. There is a whole universe to explore after death, it's got to be a real trip!

So, as you eat your Halloween candy and watch Ghost Hunters Live tonight between answering the door bells in your homes to costumed folk of all ages, remember those who have walked before us. They still have lessons to teach us and if we learn them, then maybe they can continue on into the Light. Good Samhain to all of you.

A Sunny Fall Day

2011-10-29T05:33:00.000-05:00

I don't want to go to work today. I'm involved in trying to wrap up my "Feast" story which finally got legs and started running well. I also have my nose glued to my NookColor reading "The Enchantment of Flesh and Spirit: The First Book of the Wraeththu Chronicles" which I am absolutely devouring.

Yesterday I got to spend some time with a really interesting artist. We've been helping him by designing and making some equipment for his installation at Harvard University. He'll be flying out to Boston on Monday to begin the work. It features slumped glass suspended independently from the ceiling and the difficulties of getting each piece suspended kept us occupied. It sounds like a great installation, I wish I was closer to be able to look at it. I'm still chasing some supplies down for him, I'll be talking with him on Monday when I've managed to source the last items.

It's customers like this that make running this business worthwhile for us. The challenges from out of the field, the brilliance in some of our customers, we feed off that and it makes all of us enjoy what we are doing. The more creativity that walks through our doors, the better. I hope you have a creative weekend so that the world gets fed with a bit more joy.

Remembering Summer

2011-10-28T04:52:00.000-05:00

Today, on a gloomy, cloudy, and cold Autumn day, my thoughts were pulled back to mid-August and the fun times we had at Irish Faire. Irish Faire is an annual three-day event put on in Saint Paul. Admission is free, the vendors are marvelous, and the activities and musical groups are the best. It seems hard to believe that we were sweltering out there, looking at Celtic harps and dancing and listening to the High Kings. So I submit two different you-tube videos for your watching enjoyment. The first one is of Irish Faire in general, the second one is a performance of Step It Out Mary by the High Kings of Ireland (if you are interested in a recording, the song is on their first album). I love Irish Faire...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuvsNVoAWpM&feature=share

And the video of the High Kings in performance...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UczX5cgLC8&feature=related

Hopefully these transferred correctly and you can all enjoy a nice, hot and wonderful Summer day with me.

TV Fun

2011-10-27T05:10:00.000-05:00

OK, I admit that I am a reality show junkie since the first season of Survivor. But the type of reality show I watch is NOT the Housewives-style of crap, nor the dancing/singing competitions. I like fun ones. And as an artist, I'm delighted that "Work of Art" has started its second season. I started watching this last year and fell in love. Every challenge I would try and think about how I would approach it, what I would make. If you're interested in watching this one, it's on Wednesday nights (I watch it later in the week with on-demand because of a schedule conflict). Give it a try, it's fun.

Other reality shows that I love to watch are "Top Shot" which just wrapped up on Tuesday and "Project Runway" which concludes its current competition tonight. It will be followed by a half-hour new show called "Project Accessory". I'm looking forward to this one because it focuses on products that I carry in my shop - beads, leather, metalworking supplies and equipment - so my clientelle may get excited by the show and want to make some of the items that will be made by the competitors. It's new, so I have no idea how much I will like it, but I'm sure I will. Then, Project Runway will begin their "All Stars" competition soon and I'm REALLY looking forward to that one - some great competitors that I remember fondly from previous seasons. Yeah - I'm a reality TV junkie, and happy!

I was able to spend some quality time yesterday working on my Solstice cards. I have a lot of work still to do, but it's a start. I'll have to see if I can update my laptop with the software and maybe get some of the cutting done at the shop also. The only problem is that it is a memory hog and I can't write while I am cutting. Bummer!

Diwali Continued

2011-10-26T05:08:00.000-05:00

As promised, I now continue my celebration of Diwali, the Hindu New Year. Today is the New Moon, Diwali. Decorate your cows and calves, if you run a business, close your accounts for the year and make ready to start your next year. Have a big breakfast or lunch. Tonight, offer prayers to the panchayatan, the five dieties who will bring prosperity into the new year. Ganesha for auspicious results and Lakshmi, goddess of wealth and happiness were the dieties discussed on Monday's post. The other three dieties are Sarasvati, the goddess of learning and the fine arts (one of my top favorites), Durga or Kali for protection, and Sri Kubera the treasurer of the gods. Who knew that the gods needed an accountant? In any case, after honoring the gods and eating a feast for the evening, gambling and card playing ensue because Lakshmi smiles on those who gamble today.

Thursday is known as Govardhan. Husbands give gifts to wives and wives pray for their husbands' health and prosperity. The celebration continues with parades, street fairs and parties.

Friday is called Bhaiduj. Brothers and sisters meet and exchange gifts. Friends and families gather for feasts. Talent contests and art displays often occur.

Since the New Year isn't celebrated in Western culture for a few months yet, take this golden opportunity to make and practice your new year's resolutions and see if they will be good ones to make permanent when the calendar flips from 2011 to 2012. I offer pictures of Sarasvati, Kali and Sri Kubera for your viewing. Celebrate wisely.

Progress and Thoughts

2011-10-25T05:13:00.000-05:00

So last week I wrote about the difficulty of choosing a recipie for a story that dealt with food and how trying that could be to someone like me - someone who doesn't cook. But I persevered, and with the help of friends, found some recipies that would work, going on to try and write the story. That resulted in dead end after dead end. Finally I shifted area, time, characters and situation and came up with something that I think will be a lot of fun. At least I'm having fun writing it. And, thank the Powers, it is not turning out to be long like my murder mystery was.

Last night I got the prompt for this week's drabble, Rapture, and I'll have fun with this one. I already see the scene in my mind, and I can easily continue on in my Exploration of the Dark Side with this prompt. I love it when things work smoothly. (Not intending to insult anyone's personal beliefs with the pic, just thought it was funny.)

So I should be able to finish my first draft of my "Feast" story this morning after my breakfast oatmeal and reading time, and work on my drabble. Today will be a fun writing day. Yee-haw!

A Week of Diwali

2011-10-24T05:39:00.000-05:00

This week is Diwali, also known as Deepavali. It is the Hindu New Year and begins two days before the new moon, sometime between October 14 and November 13.

Ganesh always looks so happy. Let him cheer you today

Today is Dhanteras, two days before the New Moon. Today homes and businesses are cleaned and renovated. Doors are adorned with torans, entryways are decorated with rangoli and it is a lucky day to purchase dhan - gold, jewelry and new kitchen utensils.

Lakshmi is beautiful. Notice the elephants in the background.

Tuesday will be Choti Diwali. The home is cleaned thoroughly and the broom placed near the alter. Lakshmi visits the cleanest homes first (she wouldn't be visiting mine, that's for sure!). Her small footprints are patterned onto the floor with a mix of rice flower and vermillion powder, or rice paper and a red pen can mark footprints to be taped onto the floor. Bathe in fragrent oils and purchase new clothes. Food for the alter include sweets made from coconut, almonds, pistachios, nutmeg, ginger, sesame and poppy seeds.

I'll revisit Diwali on Wednesday, my favorite of the five days, but here are some pictures of Ganesh and Lakshmi for you to enjoy. Happy Diwali to my friends in India.

Catch Up and Thanks

2011-10-22T05:16:00.001-05:00

First of all, thanks to so many of my friends who came through with website suggestions for my menu issues that I was talking about yesterday. Many of the sites suggested are quite amazing and I know I'll find the perfect one. The story, however, is expanding in my head and that's something I really need to nip in the bud quickly. I can allow expansion, but this one is acting more like a bad batch of bread - it is overflowing the bowl. I need to get things under control and figure out a structure that will allow some of the important points to come through in the story, still allowing the basic premise to be realized. I'm getting out my writing whip and preparing to whip those words back into shape - LOL.

Today is Saturday and, for a change, I don't have any specific plans for tomorrow. If we stick to the schedule we have had in previous years, I will only have this Sunday and next week's Sunday before I am on a seven-day-a-week schedule of work until Christmas. We might start our open Sundays a bit later, but I suspect not much. There are some museum exhibits I want to go to, but the fallen leaves are also calling me to rake and get things prepped for the winter that will be coming before I know it. Whatever happens, though, it will be very nice to have a day off. I hope you have a glorious weekend!

Hmmmm, What To Do.....?

2011-10-21T04:48:00.000-05:00

I don't cook. I can microwave very well, and I exist on salads, frozen meals, tortillas with cheese or other lovely things inside them, and oatmeal for breakfast. But I don't cook. This coming month's challenge story is a recipie story. I was assigned an element to have appear in the story, but that's easy. But I have to include a recipie as part of the story and also give the full recipie. I know what I'm looking for, but I have spent far too long on a variety of on-line recipie websites searching for the perfect one that will have the ingredients I am looking for. I am rather astonished at how many recipies call for prepared materials - Worcester sauce, cornstarch, ketchup, tabasco sauce, bouillon cubes. For goodness sakes, my characters can't just go to the corner store and pick up some Wyler's Boullion Cubes to put into their soup, sauce or stew. It's turning into an interesting hunt and I think I'll be able to figure out a good recipie soon. Then I just need to figure out a story to build around it.

I mentioned yesterday how amazed I was at the gift my LC friends gave me by giving me constructive criticism on my latest drabble, "A Prize Catch". I began a major revision of my H-verse novel yesterday with their commentary in mind. I hope to make it a more dymanic tale and tighten it up. It still is nowhere close to seeing the light of day, and it may never be more than a personal story that I want to write about a character that I dearly love, but I'll keep working at it. I would love to tell Helyanwe's tale someday. So, on this Friday, have a wonderfully creative day and a perfectly beautiful Autumn weekend.

A Day of Accomplishment

2011-10-20T04:52:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a busy, busy day. But in the main, I accomplished everything on my list. I even found cards that will work well for my holiday cards and began cutting them out on my Silhouette. But I wasn't able to get clean cuts on more than just a few. I'll order some new blades today (they are SO slow on shipping that I'd better get that going as quickly as possible). The cards themselves will be very pretty, though. I just need a successful afternoon where the cutter is actually working properly *sigh*.

I investigated a wholesale only kitchen supply store that had been recommended to me. I wanted some gold/silver colored aluminun foil and a steak weight that was not crosshatched. They didn't have either of those things, but they did have some excellent pricing on my charge machine and my sales register tapes. I'll be dropping by there next week to get my first restock supply. It was a fun place to walk through - so many items! I now have my membership card though - I'm in!

Finally, thanks go out to all of my LC friends who took so much of their time and effort focused towards helping me to improve my writing. What all of you did yesterday amazes and humbles me. It was so much information and it will take a while to percolate through, but that you would take that time during your busy lives to help improve a short drabble...I can't express how very, very grateful I am to each of you. I give you a bouquet and a promise that I'll try to continue to improve with each story I write.

Studio Day, Busy Day

2011-10-19T05:36:00.000-05:00

I'm always happy to have my studio day, a day when I can work on my own projects. Today, however, will be an extremely busy one. I have a list of errands that will take me all over town, the repair I started last week still has hours of work remaining on it, and I want to get my Solstice cards designed. Come to think of it...I've wanted to do that for the past two weeks so it has to move a bit higher on the list, I'm running out of time.

I probably won't get back home to start the home portion of my work until noon, often I'm home by 9:30am or 10:00am, so I will most certainly be "out and about". I hope I remember to grab some gas for the car, I have to be careful about that now. I leave in the dark of the morning and return as it's getting darker now. The light over my gas gauge in the car is burned out, so unless I check my gas during the day or use a flashlight, I can't tell how much/little gas I have left. Gas is life during our winters, so I need to keep a tight eye out.

A person in Ohio (a central US state for those readers of mine away from the US) apparently kept exotic animals. He was arrested on Federal firearms issues, but released to care for his animals until his trial date. Instead, he released all of them and then was found dead (I assume he was a suicide, but didn't hear the circumstances). So now the Ohio police are trying to find black bears, grizzly bears, cheetas, and other wild animals roaming the Ohio countryside. I feel sorry for everyone in this situation. The animals are lose in an area they don't know and must be frightened and hungry, and the people involved I'm quite sure are also frightened because they are more used to going against wild humans, not wild animals. What a crazy world I live in.

Dreams of Equipment

2011-10-18T04:57:00.000-05:00

So, DH and I went to that little Gem & Mineral show on Sunday and dreams of equipment have once again sprouted in DH's head. He has wanted to play with rocks for a long time. So yesterday morning during a break from work, he pulled out the catalog and started looking at equipment. It's rather like looking at the Montgomery Wards catalog was at the turn of last century - a "wish book". He wants a six-wheel grinder/polisher, a flat-lap shaper, and a slab saw. The slab saw is the high-dollar item in the group. I'm beginning to think I'm pretty inexpensive - all I want is a glass saw and a new, larger kiln. Oh well, there's no harm in dreams. And who knows what the future will hold? We may be able to swing these at some point in the future. Where to put them....? Well, that's another problem - LOL.

We're into more seasonal temps now. We're pretty cold this morning 34F (1C) and will warm up to 48F (almost 9C). These are more typical for our autumn days as we approach the end of October. But remember last week? We were 10-15 degrees above average with temps in the 70's and even a few 80's. When that left, we waved good-bye to summer and hello to winter. We'll see a few snowflakes this week, although they won't stick. My winter coat is ready and my closet has been re-arranged. I'm ready, but I'm already looking forward to Spring - LOL. So here's a nice Spring pic of reflecting raindrops for all of you.

Rocks, Pizza and Friends

2011-10-17T05:46:00.000-05:00

I had a wonderful Sunday. We woke up early and got ready to go to the little Gem & Mineral Show put on by the Minnesota Mineral Club. We had been watching "The Shining" the night before, but couldn't stay awake for the final 45 minutes. Fortunately, I caught them this morning, so I still got to see Jack Nickleson with the axe getting tricked by his kid in the maze and freezing to death. And all of the wonderful ghosts. I've been to the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, where some of the movie was filmed. It also is haunted. Too much fun!

Anyway, we drove south to the show and met Chickie and Chickie-Mama there. I wanted to hear the noon lecture on tools and procedures in lapidary work and it was wonderful. Then DH and I continued wandering around and I turned around and there was my niece-in-law, Mary. I rarely see her and just enjoy her so much. It was great to run into her. She, her husband (my oldest nephew, Michael) and their youngest daughter Emma attended. Michael and Emma are usually at the show every year, but Mary rarely goes to this one. We stayed with them for an hour, watching a presentation on fossiling in Morocco (pretty cool) with them. We finally left about 3:30 pm. Deciding that we wanted dinner (actually linner - a combo of lunch and dinner) and still having money since we didn't spend much at the show, we went to Old Chicago for some awesome pizza.

On the downside, I've had a eye infection since Friday night. Although it hurts less today, my eye is swollen and icky. Call me not happy about this one.

On the upside, Sunday was the birthday anniversary of Eugene O'Neill. Which, of course, pulls my thoughts to Seth. Seth and I met in college in a Theatre course. O'Neill's play "Desire Under the Elms" was one of the first plays that we presented together in the class. Kisses of remembrance out to you today, my dear friend.

Writing Progress and Woes

2011-10-15T06:10:00.000-05:00

My DH normally is not fond of my taking on additional crafts. He admitted the other day, however, that he isn't minding the fact that I am writing now, even though it is taking a great chunk of my time. He said "at least writing is cheap". I fully admit that I have a habit of switching from interest to interest and most of them do cost money, sometimes a fair amount of money, for supplies. At least my writing and my computer work only costs me the money for the computer, and that's been an essential in our individual lives since the mid-1990's - it's just another household appliance.

I've been tied up in my challenge board lately, though, instead of writing about Tolkien-universe subjects. My "Game of Thrones" challenge board is currently running a 20/20 challenge. Twenty drabbles (stories of 100 words - they allow more than 100 but the true definition is 100 words and that's what I stick to) and/or 20 graphics in 20 days. I've been writing drabbles since I find them quite easy to pound out. I think I'll write a total of 10 drabbles and then make graphics for each of them. Piece of cake. I should be finished early-mid next week.

DH and I will attend the Minnesota Mineral Society's annual lapidary show tomorrow. We always enjoy this small show. We buy slabs of rock to play with and look at, we attend lectures if there are interesting ones, often we run into my sister-in-law, oldest nephew and his youngest daughter because he also loves coming out to the show. It's just a fun time looking at pretty things and we've been looking forward to it all week!

So...on this grey Saturday, turning to wonderful fall sunshine, have a beautifully creative day. If you're off work, take a walk through nature for a while. Remind yourself that you are not the only being on the planet and that the other ones - trees, squirrels, crows, etc - deserve respect as well. Happy weekend!

The Forces are Against Us sigh

2011-10-14T05:53:00.000-05:00

So, the major cross-street south of us is torn up because they are building a light rail system on it. That has made our street, the street that is in front of my store, single lane and backed up most of the time. That's south of us, but the north used to be OK, so often we would send people down to us from the north instead of up from the south.

Now, in the infinite wisdom of the "let's get it done quickly before the snows fly", the overpass north of us, still on our street (which carries the heaviest traffic in the entire city) ... anyway, the overpass is getting patch-ups on the bridges and it is also closed down to a single lane. *sigh* I just can't win.

So...not only are my customer numbers down dollars-wisem, because, after all, we are in a really SUCKY econony now-a-days, BUT, those customer who actually WANT to get to the shop have to deal with long lines of traffic and delays to get to us for another week! The Gods of commerce really have it in for me :-(

An Abridgement of Human Rights

2011-10-13T05:05:00.000-05:00

Now, I'm well aware of the arguments, both pro and con, on abortion. And I'm also aware of the school of thought that a zygote is a person. But I firmly believe in a right to choose. And I firmly believe in human rights. When rights are dictated by the state or nation, and those rights infringe on personal freedoms that do not affect others either positively or negatively, then those rights are wrong. Get it? Wrong. I haven't worked for more than 40 years to emancipate women and then watch the law build the cages back up again. Please read and consider the post below. Just consider it. Think about it. That's all I ask.

And pass this message on to as many people as you can.

Originally posted by old_blueeyes at Mississippi Personhood Amendment
Originally posted by twbasketcase at Mississippi Personhood Amendment
Originally posted by gabrielleabelle at Mississippi Personhood Amendment
Okay, so I don't usually do this, but this is an issue near and dear to me and this is getting very little no attention in the mainstream media.

Mississippi is voting on November 8th on whether to pass Amendment 26, the "Personhood Amendment". This amendment would grant fertilized eggs and fetuses personhood status.

Putting aside the contentious issue of abortion, this would effectively outlaw birth control and criminalize women who have miscarriages. This is not a good thing.

Jackson Women's Health Organization is the only place women can get abortions in the entire state, and they are trying to launch a grassroots movement against this amendment. This doesn't just apply to Mississippi, though, as Personhood USA, the group that introduced this amendment, is trying to introduce identical amendments in all 50 states.

What's more, in Mississippi, this amendment is expected to pass. It even has Mississippi Democrats, including the Attorney General, Jim Hood, backing it.

The reason I'm posting this here is because I made a meager donation to the Jackson Women's Health Organization this morning, and I received a personal email back hours later - on a Sunday - thanking me and noting that I'm one of the first "outside" people to contribute.

So if you sometimes pass on political action because you figure that enough other people will do something to make a difference, make an exception on this one. My RSS reader is near silent on this amendment. I only found out about it through a feminist blog. The mainstream media is not reporting on it.

If there is ever a time to donate or send a letter in protest, this would be it.

What to do?

- Read up on it. Wake Up, Mississippi is the home of the grassroots effort to fight this amendment. Daily Kos also has a thorough story on it.

- If you can afford it, you can donate at the site's link.

- You can contact the Democratic National Committee to see why more of our representatives aren't speaking out against this.

- Like this Facebook page to help spread awareness.

Want Something Done? Ask a Busy Person...

2011-10-12T05:04:00.000-05:00

I accepted a repair yesterday. I don't accept a lot of repairs any more - most of them are really boring and something that could be done by the person with minimal work. I would rather teach the person how to do the repair and make them a long-time customer than just fix it for them. But this piece is more complicated than that, is older using vintage beads and colors that aren't generally available, and actually will require a bit of thought. I couldn't resist. I'll try to get a good start on it today after I take some time to photograph it well so that I have a line-by-line record of what it used to look like before I begin the deconstruction. The owner told me that she added some parts and used some glue in some others - sigh. Glue - NOT a beader's best friend when needing to repair a piece.

I want to begin work on my Holiday cards. I need to do a quick post to my f-list and ask who wants one, but I can at least work on the designing today so that I have a plan of action and know what I want to buy for it. I have some materials that I bought in the spring, and some funky sparkly stuff that I also purchased this summer, now to get everything straight in my head and check out the cuts. With luck, it should be a very creative day today.

And finally, congratulations to the Minnesota Lynx for wining the WNBA (that's the Women's National Basketball Association) Championship for 2010. Way to go! It's nice to have a championship team in town again!

Writing Progress Graphic Challenges

2011-10-11T05:04:00.000-05:00

I was caught up on my writing yesterday, had one possible pending that I hadn't made my mind up about yet, and was idle. So I returned to my H-verse and began taking a critical look at what I had written in a mad spate of activity in July/August. It's actually not bad! I was quite surprised, although I have read and re-read many of the chapters multiple times, I am fairly happy with them. I was revisiting some of the later chapters I have written to determine how to alter one aspect to fit my personal comfort level. And I think I can be successful in the slight changes that I want to make. I'm eager to get back to work on this novel. I like the characters, I like the history that I see for them, and I think there is a story there to be told.

I belong to an on-line group of people, most of whom are probably young enough to be my children or even my grandchildren, assigning challenges based on A Game of Thrones. George RR Martin's five (eventually scheduled for seven) novels are cumbersome, bloody, dark, anoying, need a good editor, and still very readable. This group issues challenges, usually either graphic or writing based, and each of three teams gets points by what its team members submit. I am on Team Stark, my friend who originally got me involved is on Team Lannister. Yesterday's graphic was easy - three pics to post, piece of cake. Now they have a 20 in 20 challenge going - twenty separate pieces of our choice, written or graphic or mixed, in 20 days. I wrote the first piece yesterday - fun! This shouldn't be a problem unless time compresses on me, so keeping up will be the important thing.

Be creative today!

Relaxing Sunday

2011-10-10T05:12:00.000-05:00

We had a relaxing Sunday. I did a bit of editing and reading, played LOTRO with DH for several hours, and we had Subway for dinner (love the price and the food - hard to beat). In fact, I can't think of anything earthshaking that I did at all. I think that's nice for a change :-)

Do you remember how much fun it was when you learned how to read?

On Saturday night I finally got all of my stories updated to their various archives and I also submitted my 10,000 word murder mystery to the appropriate monitors. It won't be released to the general public until the 16th, so all of you will have to wait a bit before I put that into my archives also. I did notice a few new chapters in stories I have been following, and had some fun reading my friend Oshun's latest piece. I'm skipping ALEC for October but there is one more challenge piece I might write that would be due on the 25th. I'm not sure about it yet, I have other tasks pending that I need to do so larger writing may have to take a back burner for a few weeks. Happy Monday!

Ready for the Weekend

2011-10-08T05:46:00.000-05:00

I have a feeling DH will want me to play LOTRO this weekend and I have to get my character up to date with her weaponry first. *sigh* Every time they do an update, you have to reassign things to the Legendary Weapons and it is a PITA! But, I do want to play in the new area, so I have to do it.

I finished my long story yesterday and began the hard edit last night. I'm about 1/3 of the way through now and have the other 2/3 still pending. I like the premise, the characters and the plot, I only hope I wrapped up all of the loose ends properly and that people won't be too disappointed. I'm not sure I'm cut out for writing mysteries, but that's what my muse told me to write. I'll probably skip ALEC this month. I've been thinking about the October prompt for several days now and nothing has really come clear to me. I still have two weeks for that if I change my mind, but...there are other things I can work with my writing.

Thie Frank Gehry building in Dusseldorf is amazing!

Have a creative weekend enjoying your fall/spring (depending on where in the world you are). Waves go out to my friend Hans in Dusseldorf who has been working so very hard to remodel and reopen his jewelry store. He's pretty brave - it was a major move for him and his lovely wife and I know things will go very well for him, but it's been an intense six months. Things are getting close now and I just felt like sending him some positive karma.

Weekend is Looming

2011-10-07T05:02:00.000-05:00

Today is Friday. What? You didn't realize that the week is progressing towards its end? Well, allow me to inform you. You're running out of time!

I am hopeful that I will finish the long story this morning. I have a couple of loose ends to wrap up and then I can start the revisions...many, many revisions. The due date is Friday next week, so I have a little time, but there are other contests and prompts that I would like to do and this one story has been eating up WAY too much time.

At least I was a good girl and got the edit of Chapter 3 off to the author that I beta for. I was only a day late on that one (sigh). Oh well, I tried to be more timely. I'm already looking forward to my coffee and oatmeal at Caribou on my way in to work this morning. It's my only chance to just read for a half hour or so and I'm into GRRM's A Dance with Dragons right now, so it's a good read, as much as he drives me crazy!

Storm Warning

2011-10-06T04:27:00.000-05:00

I worked at the computer for most of the day yesterday. I have come much closer to wrapping up my larger story (oy! It's still TOO large) and on the third re-write, I finally ended up with a good drabble for the week. The thing that I'm running a huge deadline with is my Original Character for my A Story of Ice and Fire challenge board. And LiveJournal is doing server updates and is SLOW...SLOW... This is NOT good because there is a FIRM deadline of before I leave work today. I still have to get everything lined up for posting - numerous photos, a biography and a short story, and then get everything uploaded into a post. If the server is being molasses, that won't happen with any ease! What a PITA!

Steve Jobs died yesterday. I'm not an Apple fanatic, although I own several versions of iPod, but no phone, no computer, and I don't own their stock. I have to admire Jobs as a visionary who had an amazing work ethic and the ability to inspire people to push their boundaries. His visions completely reworked the world in his image, and even though I might not own all of the products, I love them, they are just more dollars than I ever had available. So here's to you, Steve Jobs. You were a giant in a time of history that is overcrowded with people seeking fame. You didn't seek fame, you sought perfection. You came damn close!

Studio Day - How Busy Can I Be?

2011-10-05T05:18:00.000-05:00

So I have a new accountant after the fiasco that occurred in March of this year. The first thing I hired him to do was 5500's for us which were extended to be due on October 15th. I picked the folder up from him last week and looked over it yesterday. Problems - misspelled names, and a bill that I think is way too high. I left him a phone message telling him to phone me today. We need to talk.

My Assistant Manager is working through the end of the year, and then we have to let her go. It's a cash savings thing for us that has become necessary on many fronts. She posted to her FB page yesterday on the order of dollars are down so she's being let go, and we're retiring so we're letting her go. Immediately one of her relatives bounced in with a snarky comment about how I should have a more updated website and maybe I would get more business. For goodness sake - I'm a retail store! The website is a convenience for my customers, not where I make my money. I jumped all over her. The last time people thought I was retiring, it took months to get that quashed and it really affected my bottom line. Chickie said she'd pull the post. I'll check later and make sure she did.

I'm grateful that I have today off. My latest story needs to get wrapped up today and I have a drabble that just isn't quite hitting right. I need impact and I'm just not getting that punch that a drabble really needs. So I'll be working at my computer even though the day will be glorious and the fall foliage will be magnificant. Maybe I'll take a drive to Stillwater to look at the river bluffs and the turning leaves. I wonder if I can squeeze some beauty into the day and get my equilibrium back because right now I'm feeling a bit rocky and it's reflecting in my writing. Here's a nice relaxing tropical beach - I wish I was here :-)

Writing Worms...

2011-10-04T05:20:00.000-05:00

I am writing for a challenge called "Outside the Box". I hadn't planned on writing a GD novel, but it's getting far larger than ever anticipated. I wonder if anyone will actually be interested in reading it? But the muse is whipping me and the plot won't let me go. So, they get a much longer than usual story and I have to put other stories on the back burner because this one is taking longer than anticipated. Argh!!!

We're in the midst of a warm snap - 10-20 degrees warmer than usual for this time of the year. I'm NOT objecting, it's a wonderful October gift. But it is difficult to plan for because we are still getting cold nights, it's just the days that are getting so nice and warm. I'm running so late today that I'll leave things there, but I gave you nice eye candy above. Have a creative day!

Autumn is Finally Here

2011-10-03T05:19:00.000-05:00

I never really count Autumn as actually here until Ren Faire ends. Ren Faire is my bridge between summer and fall and when it concludes, it is time to move into the colder time of the year. We had a spectacular last weekend at the Fest - warm (really warm summer temps) temperatures in the upper 70's and lower 80's (that's between 21 and 26 degrees C for my European friends). So it was actually hot except for the early morning which was quite cold. The dragon in this pic is typical of the more outre costumes that appear on closing weekend. The fact that we were not freezing to death was wonderful and quite rare!

The pics are from the fire that happened on the fest grounds early Friday morning. It was pure luck that the propane tank in the background didn't blow - that would have been VERY bad. Six booths were destroyed. At least one of the owners who had two of those booths did not have fire insurance, so he's out a ton of money. Next year we'll have nice, new booths there because it's prime real estate. But I have no idea what foods will be featured.

It was Irish Weekend and we had been looking forward to it because our favorite New Zealand Meat Pies food truck would be there for the second time this year. Their food is simply amazing. Similar to Cornish Pasties for those familiar with the flaky-crusted enclosed pies, they offer a breakfast and a meat pie version. I'm totally addicted to both. And their banana cake, with home-made sour-cream frosting and drizzled dark chocolate - OMG!!! I had one of their breakfast pies and returned later for one of their meat pies for lunch. My DH had two of the breakfast pies and one of the meat pies. I had one piece of banana cake, and DH had two. I didn't eat anything else, although I had iced tea to drink.

DH was very exhausted, and I was really tired also. After some discussion, we decided that we would leave early, even though it was last weekend and we usually close the show down. It's always very sad to do that though, it means saying goodbye to many people that we won't see again for another year. But we were tired - maybe we're just getting old. So we bought our munchies for the coming week(s) and left about 4:15 pm. We both agreed later that we were happy we had made that decision, and we went to sleep early - about 8:30 pm.

Writing and the Weekend

2011-10-01T06:25:00.001-05:00

So, when I arrived at the shop yesterday I was determined to rework my "Out of the Box" story completely and spent the day thinking about it and reading the wonderful link that a friend had sent to me on writing murder mysteries (much of which I already knew, but some of which was a wonderful relevation). Last night I began the actual re-write and, although I'm only three pages in to what had already been nine pages, I'm feeling much better about where the story is going.

This is the final weekend of Renaissance Festival. It seems like yesterday when I was posting that the season was just beginning. It's looking like we'll have beautiful, warm weather. Cloak weather for the first hour or so, but then not needed until the sun goes down. Yesterday morning there was a fire at the Fest grounds. It started in one of the food vendors at 6am or so, and spread to six other stalls before finally being brought under control. Five different fire departments were involved because there are no fire hydrants or large-pipe water up there, they had to truck in all of the water needed to fight the blaze. The fest opened yesterday slightly late, but no-one was hurt, and that's the most important thing.

I'm looking forward to my fall activities - a small gem and lapidary show in two weeks, and maybe a visit or two to an art exhibit before I have to start my holiday hours. I still want pretty things to look at, though, so I present the pic above for your eye candy for the day. The pic is aspen trees in the fall near Marble, Colorado. I grew up nearby and we visited Marble several times while I was growing up. It was a beautiful area. Marble's quarries supplied most of the marble used in the Federal buildings in Washington DC and many other amazing structures. I loved our rare trips out there and remember them with great fondness.