Are You Creative? Are You Human? Then Of Course You're Creative

It's not often that I'm not easily grasping a theme when I sit down at the keyboard. But today is one of those days when themes and subjects flit through my mind, only to be dismissed. Nah - boring. Nope - mentioned that not too long ago. Nope - you don't want to harp on a subject. OMG No! - Politics don't belong in anyone's blog in the early morning. So ... what to discuss today? 

Ideas - some people chase them down, others drown in 
the wave of them that is always striking down onto 
their shores. Ideas are out there, many are not feasible, 
or your talents may not allow you to play with them, but 
ideas are everywhere! 

Well, how about - "Where do you get your ideas from?" Do you write, paint, make mosaics, work with pencils or wood? Are you a person who creates? I'm not talking a "creative" person, I'm talking about a person who creates. They're not the same. A creative person is someone I associate with actually being able to make a living (although it might be scant) from their art or writing or music. A person who creates is someone who is living, breathing, and moving on the surface of this world. Because we ALL create. 

A creative person. Sometimes people tell me that they aren't 
a creative person. I call BS on that. We are ALL creative 
people, just not necessarily in a way that is immediately 
recognized by others as "creative". But as a race - humanity - 
we are ALL creative, for good or for bad. 

In one way or another - whether it be at the stove or oven, at a pad of paper with a pencil, at a potter's wheel or in a stained glass studio - we all create. If you change a recipe and make it your own, you're creative. If you colored between the lines (or outside of them) when you were a child, you're creative. If you write a single paragraph or a poem and think to yourself. "Hmmm, this is good!", you're creative. 

All human beings are creative, just not necessarily in an 
artistic manner. There are LOTS of ways to be creative, 
and few of them are acknowledged as being such. Maybe 
we should open our eyes a bit more and acknowledge that 
we, as a race, are creative. It's probably the only reason 
we've survived this long (since some people's creativity 
seem to lean towards destruction instead of creation). 

Occasionally I'll have people come up to me or text or email me telling me that they aren't creative. I call BS on that! Everyone is creative, but the field of your creativity might not be mine. And areas of creativity can change over time - art forms I delved into years ago might rarely be touched these days. It doesn't negate the creativity, the creative urge just switched to a different venue. So, I don't write any more (except for my daily blog). It doesn't mean I'm not creative in that venue, just pushing my energies in different directions. Is anyone out there creatively cleaning? If so, my house could really use your tender loving care! LOL But seriously, think about it. You Are A Human Being Therefore, You Are Creative. You can choose the venue, but you can never truly stop the flow. Have an excellent Tuesday, I'm off to the pool, and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל. 

A Quick Blog Today - Lots To Get Done So No Time to Waste

I have to be very conscious of time today. I have a bank deposit to make first thing in the morning, and I want to complete the first page of this year's cards later this morning. I won't get to the rest of the leaves, but I'd at least like to get the first one somewhat completed. I tested out a couple of things yesterday morning, and with the exception of a momentary "Oh crap! Did I miss my measurements THIS badly?" panic attack, everything actually went rather well. The panic was assuaged when I realized I had put the 4th blank in the envelope for the 2nd one. Switching them back to their correct envelopes resolved the issue. 

In some ways, my cards are a micro-look at life. There is 
a starting point and an ending point, and many decisions 
that need to be made to get from here to there. 

I did have to make one design decision on the fly, but I think it will work fine. I'm going to sandwich in the printing I need to get done this morning, if at all possible. Getting the printing done and taken to the shop will get me one more step ahead. I have plenty still to do, but I'm comfortable with my decisions and happy with the eventual success of the project. It's going to be different than any other card I've sent, which also makes me quite pleased. I don't like repetition - I'll repeat techniques, but don't want to repeat themes or designs. 

The pajamas I'm ordering aren't getting great 
reviews, but they'll do what I want. Of course, 
I have errands at Target tomorrow, and if I 
see something there, I might just buy there and 
pull these out of my Amazon cart. It's always 
helpful to actually be able to feel fabric and 
look at seams before buying clothing. 

I'm ordering a new set of pajamas from Amazon later this week. I have a relatively new set I purchased from Target in the spring, and I like them. But, I'm finding that in the winter, having the legs creep up above my knee (coupled with my dislike of having my feet covered) lends itself to cold legs and waking up. I think with cuffed pants so that they can't get above my knees while I sleep, that problem might be resolved. That's the hope, at any rate, and the price of less than $20 also helps. 

When it comes to my projects, I have to reign in my 
normal "Look, a squirrel" tendencies and concentrate 
on the project at hand and the steps needed to bring 
it to a successful conclusion. It's good for me to be 
disciplined every now and then - LOL. 

I want to get an early start, so I'm calling this blog done for the day. Have an excellent Tuesday, and I'll be back tomorrow for a very busy "day off". Please remember to be kind. The ripples of unrest and anger can be overcome by our contrary ripples of love and respect. 

The Seasons Are Turning - Time To Start Design Work!

Autumn is most definitely in the air. My mornings are crisp - low 50's (10-14 C) and getting colder. My days stretch into the 70's (21-26 C), but not the oppressively-hot upper 80's and mid-90's (26-35 C) of summer. I'm seeing strawberries, raspberries and grapes in the store as featured fruits, along with the last of the summer's peaches. I'm looking through my wardrobe and choosing mid-weight clothing -  long-sleeved T-shirts, and long leggings instead of the shorter ones I wear in the warm months, and my daily run isn't a sweat-fest (at least, not nearly as much). 

Because of my osteopenia, I'm not allowed to do 
impact on my treadmill - so no running. I do, however, 
do fast walking - currently doing two miles in 
slightly more than 20 minutes. It gets my heart 
going in the mornings. After I meditate, I put on 
my exercise clothes and go into the den and work 
out for 30 minutes, then take my shower, grab 
my breakfast, and settle down at my computer to 
clear my emails and post my blog. Done, no later 
than 7:00 am. Now I'm trying to figure out how to 
envelope swimming back into my schedule. I miss 
my swimming pool time. 

Autumn is a comfortable season for me. It's a season of color and buoyant celebration - harvest time, canning time (although I do NOT do that at all), and time to wrap things up before the snows of winter shut everything down for a few months. I still have time before the end of Autumn and beginning of Winter, but that clock is ticking. 

Another photo from my neighborhood last 
year. I always love this tree. The one on the 
left, always turns bi-color. It turns 1/2 orange 
and stays 1/2 green/yellow. Every year it has 
this incredible duality. The forecasters are 
saying we'll have a very short Autumn this 
year because of our summer drought. I'll 
be sad to see the colors leave us so soon. 

It occurred to me yesterday, that aside from having chosen the centerpiece for this year's Solstice cards, I haven't done a darned thing to actually begin working on them. I'd better get in gear. It's September, and I want them in the mail by Thanksgiving (ideally), but absolutely no later than Winter Solstice. Some supplies might be harder to get, and I still haven't really made up my mind on design - only the central element. I think I'll have to take it along with me to work and do some serious contemplation. I can't go too complicated this year - I didn't start in July (I actually have started a couple of the designs I've done in the past in the early summer months!). 

I wish I could make something this lovely 
for my Winter Solstice cards, but this would 
require a lot of equipment I don't own and 
am not comfortable learning how to use. 
I can admire the design, though. It's a 
simply scrumptious card. 

I'm almost reluctant to get going on my Solstice cards, because it signifies the end of another year, and beginning of the next year. That's always a bit of a traumatic time - I don't like endings very much. However, I adore beginnings, so I have that to look forward to. 

I do a lot of work with stones and gemstones, and own a 
LOT of raw stone, as well as faceted gemstones of varying 
qualities. I love working with stone - it resonates with 
people and their eyes light up when they see one that 
calls to them. 

So, I am going to switch to a different set of earrings today (I tend to wear a pair for weeks, if they're comfortable), gather my card supplies up to take to the shop with me, and start some serious creative contemplation. I may not be able to design them quite the way I have been thinking, but they'll be wonderfully fun to work on nonetheless. Have an excellent, productive and creative day filled with happiness and love. I'll be at the Rock and Mineral Show tomorrow, and might have some photos to share on Monday (no guarantees - not all stone is worth photographs). I'm also going to look through some possible winter sweater patterns - I feel a need to take my knitting machine back out and play some more, now that I've lost so much weight, I don't fit into last year's sweaters very well any more. Have a great weekend, I'll be back on Monday. 

I Might Be Ancient But I Still Work

While replacing a spray can on the bathroom shelf this morning, a thought crossed my mind - "It's ancient, but it still works." Although I was referring to the can, I kept thinking about that phrase - it can apply to so much in my life. DH and I are ancient - along with my sister-in-law, we're the old ones in the family now. The kids I watched grow up and took to the circus and to Sesame Street performances are grown up with children of their own now. My own older generation is long gone - buried or burned, thought of often, but not constantly, and remembered with the bloom of distance instead of the knife-edge of daily interaction. 

My father raised me on Greek Mythology. To honor 
him, I've chosen this Greek owl. Ancient but still 
beautiful. 

"It's ancient, but it still works," applies to my business, my house, and in so many ways, my life. As I learn new skills and hone older ones, I'm trying to keep active, to keep my mind alert and creative, and to not fall into ruts. Ruts are boring and non-productive. In many ways I envy people who found one thing they loved and concentrated on that one thing to the exclusion of other temptations. 

My mother was a bit more modern than Dad was, 
she would have been more comfortable in Ancient 
Rome, working with fabric, I'm sure, since fabric 
was her constant throughout her life. She was like 
me, though. She had a lot of interests through her 
life and was always creative and artistic. 

I'm not like that. I find one thing, dive in, swim into the deep end, and explore it as much as possible. Then I find another thing and repeat the process. Then my thoughts turn to "Can I combine these two things?" and I'm off and running on a third parameter, the line that will pull the two things into a geometric form. But then I see another thing and I'm off once again. I flit, as my husband calls it. I flit from one thing to another. But what he doesn't understand is my deep love for the variety of skills I've developed. 

My father-in-law would probably have been at home with 
Medieval warfare and siege mentality. He was a hunter and 
fisherman, a woodsman who taught his sons how to shoot 
and fish. He pretty much ignored the women in his life. 
His wife tolerated it, his daughter never forgave him. 

I call myself a multi-media artist, and in so many ways I am. When I'm working on fiber or fabric, I'm thinking about how I could present the finished items in one of my customized boxes. When I think about my boxes, I think about how I can decorate the tops of them with metalwork and enamel, beads and threads, and painted silks. I'm happiest when I can combine things into amazing creations, but it's the actual making of each segment that thrills me. 

I suspect my mother-in-law would have fit well into 
a Medieval nunnery. That quiet life of semi-solitude, 
prayer and contemplation would have suited her well. 
I adored her, she was a remarkable woman with quiet 
strength who rarely raised her voice. My husband 
worshiped her and visited her every day. 

So, I'm watching video after video on my new knitting machine and hoping to actually play with some yarn next Wednesday. I'm weaving row after row on my shawl and hoping to finish it sometime next year, and maybe make a box for it. I'm thinking about my enameling space and materials, my etching chemicals and materials, and my jewelry making studio in the breezeway. I'm looking forward to the time next year when I can close the door to the shop for the final time, breathe a sigh of relief, and start a new section of my life. I might be ancient, but I still work. 

Have an excellent weekend and I'll be back on Monday. As always, stay safe, be well, and please wear your mask. 

Runway Delayed, So Let's Talk About Owls

Once again Runway pictures are running late, so my Runway Recap will be tomorrow morning and I'm diving into today's blog as unknown territory. That's OK, that's the majority of my mornings anyway. The whole idea of my daily blog is to write a little bit, wake up my brain at a horrific time of the day (or an equally horrific time of the night) and exercise those little brain cells a bit before returning to numbing mediocrity. 

I adore owls and their wide-eyed tufted appearance
has fascinated people through the Ages. 

I'm cold, my brain is cold, and I'm still sitting in front of a computer desk that is hidden by paperwork, memos and miscellaneous crap. Damn. It's like I look out over my tiny little empire and realize that in the years I've been working, I've generated a lot of nothing. It's upsetting, and I'm quite sure it's really the cold talking. 

Owls fly almost silently. Their feathers are made differently
than any other bird, and they barely disturb the air as
they pass through it. Here's an article that explains how
they fly so silently. 

But there's a project that came my way yesterday that really excited me, so I'm possibly setting off on a creative tangent. I love challenge projects - probably one more reason why I love reality TV challenges like Project Runway. But, back to my own reality. The Upper Midwest Bead Society and the International Owl Center (just follow the link if you're interested in more info on the Center) are teaming together for a competition challenge featuring owls. Chosen projects will be on exhibit at the Center's headquarters in August and most will be available for sale. I'm very tempted. 

The Great Horned Owl is one of the largest of
the group and lives in my state. We actually
have a nice variety of owls here in the
Frozen Northlands. 

I've always had a thing for owls since I was a small child. Looking around my study I have an owl wind-chime on my left and an enameled Chinese-made owl on my right. That's just in one small room. I actually think I have at least one owl item in every room of the house. Like I said, I've always loved the bird. When I read the publicity flyer I remembered a hand-carved bone barn owl in flight element I purchased several years ago. It's quite stunning, and I've had it pinned to the front of my shelving in my studio so that it wouldn't break or chip. I carefully packed in into a small container last night, and I'm bringing it to the shop with me today. Time to choose some beads. I want to make this into a finished project for the challenge. 

I'm not sure about the breed of this tiny owl, it wasn't identified
on the photo or accompanying article. It's about the right
size to be a burrow owl, but the Burrow Owls I'm familiar
with live in the desert of the Southwest. That branch isn't
from any desert environment. 

So I'm excited, creatively, once again. I have a pretty good idea of what I want to make, I'm just unsure about whether I have the materials already on hand. I'm really trying to use my own stock at this point in time. The LAST thing I need is to bring additional beads into my studio. I'm not sure if the project will work the way I see it in my head, but I want to try. For the owls. 

Burrowing Owls that I'm familiar with look more like this
little guy. They used to live in small irregular patches
of the desert alongside the rattlesnakes and prairie dogs. 

On that note, I'm plugging in pictures of owls and heading out to the gym. I meet with one of their personal trainers today for instruction on some of their gym equipment, and I'm looking forward to a better understanding of their machines. After five-plus years of looking at the equipment, maybe it's time to dip my toes into the metal waters. Have a great Friday and I'll have Runway photos for you to look at tomorrow morning instead of today. 

My Day Off - Busy, Busy, Busy

It's my day off. Sure it is - LOL. I took the load of laundry I did last night and put it into the dryer shortly after 3:00 am, took my shower and scrubbed more walls in the shower stall, started working my way through my emails, and now I'm progressing on to my daily blog. Of course, one of the articles in my email in-basket was how many people make mega-bucks from writing blogs. That's so TOTALLY not me. I write for no other reason that to get my thoughts organized for the day and touch base with friends and readers. No money exchanging hands here, unless it's money leaving my hands to pay for my website and blogspot bytes.

Despite the fact that I rarely buy things for myself, money still
seems to fly away. *sigh*

Today is busy, busy, busy! The clock is ticking down and Sharon arrives next Thursday. I will get her room completed today - it's number one on my priority list. Then I'll dive into working on the guest bathroom and general cleaning and dusting throughout the house. The carpets need a serious vacuuming, the corners of rooms and tops of picture frames could use a good dusting, and let's not forget the other loads of laundry I need to do today as well as the grocery shopping.

They open at 9:00 am, and I plan to be there with my four
boxes of books as soon after opening as I can get there. 

Number one on my away list is getting four boxes of books to Half Price shortly after they open this morning. These are the same four I wanted to drop off last week, but they were too swamped and it would have been a wait of an hour or more. So I brought my boxes back home and told myself that I would be there today shortly after they open.

At least I don't have Physical Therapy until next week. My PT shifted me over to a three-week schedule from the two-week schedule of earlier. It's taking a bit of time to get used to, but I think it will work out well. He insists on that extra day of rest for me during the week, though, thus no gym on Wednesdays. That's still driving me a bit crazy, but it's also nice to not be so rushed at 4:00 am.

What's with all of the surfing books? you might ask. I
live in a land-locked state, and although we have
11,000+ lakes, there's no ocean anywhere nearby.
But I have this story floating in my head, and surfing
plays into it. (I'm also rather amazed by those
who ride down waves this tall.) 

Yesterday I mentioned "Hound of the Sea" by Garret Mcnamara, as a surfing book I really enjoyed. Today I'm busy reading the next one of four surfing books I'm delving into; I'm deeply into "Big Juice: Tales of Big Wave Surfing" by John Long and Sam George. This one is interesting because it is capsule chapters of some of the greats of the sport, along with amazing, wonderful photographs. I wish I had this one as a coffee-table book instead of an e-book. The photos are triggering thoughts of "How could I do that in glass?" Damn - I wish I had some studio time available.

On that note, I'm off and running. Tempus fugit! Have a wonderful Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow.

My Trip to Bead & Button Show - Part 2

To continue from yesterday's post, after our introductory dinner on Tuesday and a day of bouncing ideas back and forth on Wednesday, we got to work with torches and metal and projects. Our assigned project for the morning was to make a pin with a simple closure. That got us used to the torches they used at MATC as well as introduced us to the pin catch Andy prefers. It was a good exercise, but it was time to move on. We shared our projects at the roundtable I discussed yesterday and started work on them. The evening was spent at the "Meet the Teachers" event, getting lots of hugs from friends, old and new. It's my "feel good" event of the show every year, a chance to catch up a bit with the many creative minds I have enjoyed for decades. 

The convention center at dawn from my hotel room. It was holding
its breath for the shoppers and incredible people who would be
wandering the hallways and event rooms. 

Day 2 was spent with my lens and I drilled into it trying to discover the best way to make it happen. I wanted to set an eye at the bottom of the lens, but of course since the lens was plastic, I couldn't solder. I needed wire, and some sheet metal (both of which were sitting at my workbench at home because I forgot to add them to my luggage *sigh*. In the afternoon I switched over to the owl in yesterday's picture and fussed with that a bit. The Marketplace was scheduled to open at 4:00 pm, and even though Andy was going to hold class until the shut-down time of 5:00 p,m, I was stuck without supplies. I quit early and went shopping, ending up with two different thicknesses of copper wire and two different thicknesses of copper sheet. I looked at other booths, of course, but I only bought what I really needed. I met Karen and Paulette for Thai food that night, and was happy that I could continue work on my lens the next day. 

My finished lens. The eye at the bottom is wired in, then
there is a spiral of square copper wire moving up the side and
across the top which is held in place by a second layer
of wire wrapping. I started making a sheath for the outside,
but I think I'll change the design I had started and make it
more interesting. 

Day 3 dawned and I realized I needed to have a bit more help with angles to make this work. The bus would be there in 30 minutes and I needed a protractor. A quick power walk up a few blocks brought me to the downtown Walgreens drug store where a protractor and a pair of small scissors were purchased. Power walking back, I was in plenty of time for the bus. By the end of Day 3 I had soldered a stand and bezel for my eye, wired the eye into place, added a spiral up the lens with a wired top to hold that into shape, and I was happy. We all shared our projects at the end of the day. What a great class and so many innovative projects from everyone. Paulette was leaving right after class to drive back to Minnesota, but I joined Karen and an old friend, Lisel, for a wonderful Italian dinner and had a wonderful time. Things were moving to an end, and I'd miss the undercurrent of creativity, but I still had one more day to soak it all in. 

My bracelet and two bracelet blanks from Eva Sherman's quick
evening class. I'm pretty happy with this. I want to play more
with this technique. 

My final day, Day 4, was spent on the sales floor during the morning. I purchased a few excellent stones (and an amazing stalactite slice) from Gary - my "stone whisperer", then took a quick nap before my evening class. Eva Sherman was teaching a quick 3-hour class in "Painting on Copper". I ended up with a really nice bracelet and two other bracelet blanks ready to be set if I want. I'll be playing with this technique again. It was such fun! 

My final walk on the skyway from the Convention Center to my hotel had
this blazing sky over the western Milwaukee skyline. It was simply
exquisite. The show has changed in the 20+ years I've been attending
it - changes that are both good and bad. But more than anything else,
it is the opportunity to see old friends and be with creative people
that pulls me here year after year. 

I packed and finally got to sleep around 11:00 or so at night, and was on the road early the next morning, pulling into my driveway at home about 1:30 pm or so. What a great trip! Tomorrow, I'll try to give all of you last week's Project Runway summary. I didn't catch it all, but caught the final 2/3, and the final episode of Season 17 is Thursday, so I want to bring all of you up to speed. 

Possibilities I'm Bringing to the Table

My Workshop teacher, Andy Cooperman, sent a class-wide email of general "welcome" and minimal "instructions" out to those of us taking his class next week. I finally had a chance to read it in-depth a few days ago and one of the things he mentioned was a desire to have some photos of the items we were thinking about using in our project. So, I took photos of things I'm bringing along to use in my project (or not use, which often seems to be the end result), and I thought I might share them with you too. What we'll get in class are some basic materials - sheet metal of various types of metal including bronze - the larger equipment items like our torches, and bits of this and that. So, here's what I'm bringing to the table. 

This is a selection of items that I'm bringing along to my workshop.
Faceted cubic zirconia stones for setting, 2 differently sized
diameters of copper tubing, a carved face with an owl headdress
made from fossilized ivory (I'm a bit uncomfortable about using
any ivory, even though this is ancient), colored disks (yellow, white and
olive green) of Capiz shell, an old camera lens from an old digital
computer camera, irridescent abalone shell pieces, and two amber
 colored stone beads. 

Here is a photo of the entire array of things I'm bringing to play with. It's not really a lot of stuff. If I bring a bunch of stuff along, I'll spend my three days trying to decide what to work wish instead of just making a decision and rolling with it. I'll probably work with several of these, but many might travel there and back again unused. Let's look at some details, ok? 

Here's a close-up on some of the abalone shell pieces I'm thinking about
using. The left-hand pieces remind me of eyes, eyebrows or tears,
the right-hand piece evokes a nose or a beak. Possibilities exist and I
have a good selection of pieces in my bag. 

Here's some of the abalone pieces I'm bringing along. Abalone is a univalve sea shell with an iridescent nacre cushioning the interior of the shell. Think of it as the inside of an oyster shell, but larger than oysters usually grow. In many Native American cultures, abalone shells are used as vessels for burning sage to smudge rooms for purification. I've been using and selling abalone half-shells, buttons and odd pieces for many years. 

Just look at this piece of abalone shell. Doesn't it have the look of
a dog or wolf? I could quite easily make this into a
representation of the Egyptian god Annubis. 

This one piece of abalone I'm bringing along keeps tugging at me. Doesn't it look like a wolf or a dog to you? I'm seeing this as a side view of the god, Anubis, if I add ears. Fans of "Game of Thrones" might see it at a Stark wolf. It would certainly work for that image and world-view too. Whether I work with this one piece over the next few weeks or within the next few years, this one will be used - it's too amazing to waste in a drawer. 

I disassembled an old camera that was supposed to sit on top of a
computer monitor for using Skype or other interactive communications.
Cameras tend to come built-in now, and with much better graphics
capabilities, so I was going to donate this to my local Tech Dump. But
the depth and rings of the lens really intrigued me, so I tore it
apart for the lens. I would love to play with this. 

I am totally intrigued by the possibilities presented by this old camera lens. It has depth and texture. It's role could be an ever-hungry mouth or a symbol of a journey to inner peace - so many possibilities. I really want to play with this component and by choosing this, figure out the best ways to entrap items that can't handle the heat when combined with metals that require torches. 

These two stone beads aren't super large, and if I'm working on copper,
they might get lost because they could blend too much, but they're coming
along for the ride, because you never know what I might end up
using when push comes to shove. 

Finally, I have these two stone beads, because I am a beader and beads are usually incorporated in much of my work. They are quite different - one a flat, thin tab, the other a rounded cylinder. I love the color and entrapping beads is usually pretty easy - some wire through the hole, secure to a base plate, voila! 

So there you have it - my workshop possibilities. Along with a small carry-all of my tools, I think I'm ready for my classes. Now to actually pack clothing - the idea of no clothes just doesn't appeal to me. I have a few days to toss clothes into my suitcases, so I'm not really worried ... yet! Have a wonderful weekend and I'll be back on Monday. I might start getting intense about packing on Monday night - LOL. 

Moving, Shredding, Packing and Helping - A Busy Saturday

MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU! 

Yesterday morning DH arrived to remove a four-drawer filing cabinet and a large wooden bookshelf. These were going to be taken home and put into new locations in our house. It was a serious CHORE in every sense of the word. By the time Chickie arrived for work, she wasn't allowed to put anything into her little cubbyhole because the space was already occupied by two file cabinets, full and empty file cabinet drawers, and lots of boxes. 

We have several four-drawer and a few
stacked two-drawer file cabinets at
the shop. We keep a lot of paperwork
in them - sales records, artist biographies,
and financial/tax records. We needed
a new empty one for home, so
consolidated so we could bring the
best one from the shop to the
house instead. 

We moved things from File Cabinet #1 to File Cabinet #2, shifted the location of #2 to where #1 had been, culled through the paperwork in the drawers to shred some, boxed financial stuff for the commercial shredding company we'll hire later this year, and boxed up a bunch for our own recycling bin at the shop (gets emptied late on Fridays, so I was able to grab some of the newly opened space late in the day). Generally, it was a mess - and it wrapped up DH and myself pretty tightly, so Chickie had the sales floor. 

I've been in business since the late 1980's, and DH's business
was originally his father's, so we have some records dating
back into the 1950's. All of that has to be culled through and
stacked into "throw out", "destroy on-site", or "pack for
commercial shredding". It's a serious chore. 

In the early afternoon, DH and I loaded the chosen file cabinet into his truck bed along with the four file cabinet drawers, the bookcase and the shelves. After securing the load, he was on his way and my life settled down enough for me to eat my oranges for lunch. Then we got busy - a group of bead knitters needing beads for a project they were all doing, a long-time customer who was seeking beads to help her through a difficult pregnancy, a new beader wanting beads to start a new project and practice a stitch she had recently learned, and others. We were flooded with people for a while - no rest at all. 

We have a large bin like this for garbage, shared by the four stores
in our little strip. We also have a large recycling bin and several
additional smaller recycling bins for our use. The garbage is
picked up every two days or so. The recycling only is picked
up once a week. We really need it more often. The bin is
usually filled by two-three days after pick-up. 

But, at the end of the day, as I brought the last of the recycling out to the newly emptied bin, I was pretty happy. It had been a good day - busy, but everyone had been respectful and helpful, interacting and offering suggestions. Even though we were stretched to make sure everyone was helped and got exactly what they needed, there were no frayed tempers and people were happy. That's what I want in my store - happy people. 

The four bead knitters we were helping were all going to knit this
"Celestarium" pattern that they had purchased from Ravelry. I'm
not sure they were changing the yarn colors, but the beads they
each ended up with will be lovely in it. Each of the women
had chosen very different colors of yarn, so each shawl will
be distinctly different. Fun! Want the pattern for
yourself? I've attached a link for you here. 

It's Saturday, and I have to get photos into the blog and head out to the gym. One more full week of exercise on the machines and then, finally, I can get back into the pool again. All of my fellow swimmers, male and female, have told me that they missed me in the water, and I absolutely miss it too. May 13th can't come soon enough - LOL. Enjoy your day and your weekend (Happy Cinco de Mayo!) and I'll be back on Monday! 

Moving Toward My Happy Place

I started out with an extra 30 minutes of time this morning because I awakened early. That disappeared when I saw a listing by Keiless about a new story she had posted (at least a new chapter to a story I hadn't read). As usual, I got caught up in her words and characterization. Great fun - a wonderful read - and (darn it all), now I'm running tight on time. Destiny, so to speak. 

My nose is always in a book. Reading is almost more important
to me than anything else. 

We're fully into another schizophrenic season right now. Autumn in the Frozen Northlands is as changeable as watching a bird fly from one tree to another and then back again. It's dizzying. Yesterday started in the 40's and got into the 60's by the time I left work. Today we're starting in the 40's again, but dropping down into the mid-thirties and crouching closely to the borders of snowfall. Tomorrow we'll start below freezing but warm into the 50's. It won't be as comfortable as other times when we've gone to the rock show, but I don't think we'll have snow this time and the sun should be out which will help too. 

It's a windy, cool, autumn day today. I expect with the wind I hear
howling outside, most of the remainder of the leaves will
be off the trees by the end of the day. 

Fall, however, is progressing without stopping for us to enjoy each and every day. Where I park at work features a tree in front of my parking space. It's been deluging me with golden leaves for the past week, but yesterday when I parked, I noted that the tree seems quite barren and lacy now. It might be the end of digging leaves from my front window well, and time to grab my window and car clearing gear from the storage room and put them into my car. Despite the Game of Thrones reference, it's indisputable - Winter Is Coming! 

What a lovely photo of falling autumn leaves. Our trees will
look like this soon. There are still green trees out there - some
of the oaks hang on a long time - but many of our trees are
already bare, ready for their long winter sleep. 

Still, the pool is there every morning, my friends still greet me as we're waiting outdoors in the weather of the day for the gym doors to be unlocked, and life progresses. I got the initial image onto the first 15 of my cards yesterday and I'm VERY happy.These will be a lot of fun to make and to send. I'm still uncertain about whether I'll include anything extra in the envelopes, but the project is finally underway. I'm totally doing the happy dance. 

Just doing the happy dance. I'll be cold, I'll be blown from
one side to the other today, but it's OK. Things are underway
and I'm getting things done. I'm creating again and that's
my happy space. 

Time to get my act together and get moving. Fall Harvest Festival is on again in LOTRO, so who knows - I may pass some of you in costume as I travel to pick up Tricks and Treats from doormats in Falathorn. Enjoy your day, have an excellent weekend, and I'll be back on Monday morning.