Unpacking and Tagging - My Life Today

DH finally gets a day off today, and since we received a large shipment at the shop yesterday, my day will be spent getting price tags entered and starting to get loose product packaged up for sale. I suspect my computer time today will be extremely limited, but this should be the last, or at least next-to-last shipment before the holidays. 

To tell the truth, I was a bit relieved that the shipment 
arrived on a day I wasn't in the shop. I didn't have to 
deal with it, and can just handle the final stages of 
check-in now. Part 2 (my part) is slower, but
we can't sell it if it isn't priced and packed for sale. 

I went to a different craft store in my neighborhood yesterday for the one missing paper I couldn't get at my local store. Fortunately their alternative location did have it, so I grabbed it and was wandering the shelves (one never knows what wondrous things can be found at a craft store - LOL) when a conversation behind me abruptly stopped and a woman moved from the aisle towards me, stating that she just had to see "that tattoo". LOL Her friends were also exclaiming over it, and I thanked them, allowed them to look, then they went back to what they were doing, as did I. Khepri made another conquest. 

With the exception of the actual folded cards and envelopes 
(which have been ordered), everything else I need for this 
year's holiday cards I was able to get from my local Michaels 
crafts store. Now I have to start cutting things down to 
the correct size and make sure I have templates for 
the cutwork. I have no room for error on this project. I have 
exactly enough paper for the run of 50 cards and don't 
want to have to purchase additional stock. 

It's both amusing, and gratifying every time my Khepri gets noticed and acknowledged. I suspect my dear scarab beetle preens a bit overnight from all of the attention, while it escorts the barge of Amon Ra back to the event horizon of sunrise. I have had a few pinched faces and the occasional sniff, but generally people seem to enjoy the tattoo. Of course, I love it - no regrets here. It's exactly what I wanted, and I couldn't be much happier. I'll be sad to have to cover it up in the winter, but that's reality when living in sub-zero temperatures for a season. 

My days of looking like this will come. I live in the 
Frozen Northlands - it's a fact of my reality. On the 
cold days, my head will be covered for warmth. 
I usually wear a knit hat at the shop too, because 
it gets cold there also. My lovely Khepri will be 
covered for most of three months. 

I had a great swim yesterday with my older earbuds and my iPod. I think I clocked in at 2/3 to 3/4 of a mile, but what was more important to me was I wasn't taking breaks at each end of the pool to catch my breath. I'm getting back into the rhythm again and soon I'll start doing a standard workout again. I had a routine that would give me a true mile with variances in the strokes, and I suspect I'll be back to that routine no later than the end of next week. I'm already looking forward to tomorrow's pool time, and will continue listening to my current book because that worked quite well. 

In the past, having lap swims this crowded has been very 
rare. Now, with reservations required and COVID restrictions 
in place, it simply can't happen. Our indoor pool has a total of 
five lanes, and each lane is restricted to no more than 2 
people. That means a total of 10 reservations per time 
slot (some people get two continuous reservations, like 
Jeannie who usually swims for two hours at a time). 
Me? I just enjoy my 5 am - 6 am time slot when possible, 
but will swim the 6 am - 7 am slot when I must. 

So ... I'm off to plug in some pictures and catch up on my email - it's a rare day when I'm not getting several hundred emails to deal with throughout the day and overnight. I have to keep up with it - it's hard to play catch-up. Have a truly excellent Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow. Be kind, stay safe, and please try to do a random act of kindness today. I think a little kindness can go a long way. 

We Spent Sunday Watching the Olympics, and Khepri Released at Last!

We spent most of Sunday with the TV turned into the Olympics. DH is an Olympics addict. It's not uncommon for him to stay up until the wee hours of the morning watching the games (unless he has to work the next day). He's channel flipping from one station to the next, catching bits of this event and bits of that. He's happy and I'm at least catching some of the games, so all is good. It's driving him a bit crazy that he can't get everything, but I'm not sure I'm willing to dive into streaming - it would be the logical next step, but it's more money outlay. Even though we can afford it, he's addicted to TV and I suspect that having increased choices would hook him even harder into that addiction, and not in a good way. 

One of the events we watched was the Street Skateboarding 
event for men. Yuto Horigome of Japan pulled out the 
win with this final run down the 12-step challenge. There 
were some really excellent runs, and some fantastic face 
plants as well. I'm looking forward to park-style 
skateboarding too - that one will be the curved walls 
and obstacles I'm used to seeing in skateboard parks. 

So I'm holding off on streaming services for the time being. I'll use Peacock on my phone, but I'm unwilling to look into Roku, Fire, or other services/methods to download shows from the web. I'll probably break down at some point, but I am not a TV addict, although I readily admit to being tied to my computers. 

It's not the best shot, but it's the best I can do from a 
mirror. You can get a good idea at the little bit of 
color I approved for the body of the Khepri. Rodney 
suggested pulling that deep green over into the 
wings as well, but I tabled that for the time being. 
I'll be going back within a year or so to get some 
hieroglyphics added, and I'll reconsider color in 
the wings at that time. He also wants me to come 
back for a photo shoot after everything has healed. 
I'll set that up within a month. 

Today I removed the burn tape from my Khepri, exposing the tattoo to the air for the first time since it was applied last Wednesday. Now it's a matter of keeping it conditioned, and germ-free while it's healing completely. The initial healing is finished so now it's fine tuning. After at least a month, I might feel comfortable putting something other than a soft scarf over the inkwork when needed. I took a mirror photo of the final tattoo to share with all of you. I'm very happy. DH hasn't seen it yet, so today will be a bit of an eye-opener for him - LOL. 

I was unsure about surfing at the Olympics. I adore the 
sport and follow it, but I'm more into the big waves, not the 
2-4 foot waves they have here at Tokyo. Still, I was impressed 
by the little bit I did see. There's some good board handling 
here - more similar to skateboarding than fighting to get free 
of a curl that will pound you to bits. Here's a stunning photo 
of USA's John John Florence on the waves of Tokyo Bay. 

I'm trying to get caught up on a few things this morning, so I'm signing off here. Have a wonderful Monday. Be safe, stay kind, and I'll be back tomorrow.