And ... The Saga Continues *sigh*

So, my ideal scenario was doomed to disappointment. My oven installer arrived, took one look at where he would be putting our new 24" oven, and refused to install it saying it would "look like shit". DH managed to keep his temper, but barely. The oven was taken away, the installer left, and I still have no oven. I'll be heading over to the appliance store today to speak to the sales manager and see what we can do about getting a 27" oven instead of the 24" one that, apparently, won't fit properly into our space. 

This Frigidaire 27" oven is an inch too deep for our 
space. We need no more than 24" deep, this one is 
24-3/4". Current best delivery date - December 1st. 

The major problem with this is the fact that the 24" oven was actually in stock at the GE warehouse. The 27" oven, unfortunately, is not. It is backordered indefinitely, and it could be next year before I actually have a working oven again (which would totally piss me off - I want an oven for Thanksgiving turkey). 

The 27" General Electric oven has exactly the cut-out depth 
we need, although it's a bit wider than we really want. We 
can deal with that, if necessary. The standard delivery 
estimate is : "Temporarily on backorder with the
manufacturer. Items will be fulfilled in the
order in which they were purchased."  In other 
words ... "your guess is as good as ours". 

Nonetheless, if a 27" is what we must have, I'll try my best to get one, and I'll see what magic I can make happen. It's hard to work magic when the world seems short on chips and when electronic items are gathered at ports of call waiting for available shipping containers. I'm not sure if a good attitude, determination, and a way with words will go as far as I need. However, since the smaller oven is a no-go, I at least want a full refund on the cost of that oven, or 100% of that applied to a new one of the proper dimensions. 

The 27" Whirlpool at Home Depot requires a 24" cutout 
depth, 1/2" deeper than what we have available. That's 
a no-go, even if I don't want to buy an appliance from 
Home Depot. 

*Sigh* it's something I really didn't need, but it seems as if the hoops just got a bit higher and more numerous. I applaud DH, who held on to his temper when he wanted to let loose on my installer. Jim K may be difficult, but he's the best, and when he installs something, it's a beautiful job. I really didn't need DH alienating the guy I want to install the "proper" oven. It's like we wasted the past few weeks, though. We could have been ahead of the game if we had a better handle on sizing, or had been steered better by our sales person. I'll be speaking to the Sales Manager, for sure. I think we were misled on our initial order. 

There is this Whirlpool, which is more than I want because
it also has a microwave feature. I don't mind having
convection options, but I really don't need a second
microwave. The depth needed, once again, is a little too
much for the cutout that we have. So ... no. This one won't
work either. 

So ... on that note, I'm out of here. I have a lot to get done if I'm going to spend an hour or so at the appliance store before phoning Aearwen for our weekly chat. I might actually treat myself to a drink of hot tea and rum late this afternoon. I think I need it - LOL. Have a wonderful day, think bright thoughts to lighten up your surroundings, and I'll be back tomorrow. *hugs* 

I'm Behind and It's Only January 4th!

I finally caught up on the several days of backlogged messages and wonderful "Happy New Year" e-cards sent to me by many friends across the world. Of course, catching up on those things means I'm running behind on today's post. All of the great plans I had, well, they are already running behind. Snowflake? I'm behind. Art challenge? Yeah - behind again. 

A friend joined this challenge and I decided it would be fun.
Today's challenge is puppets, and I'm not fond of those, so I'm
skipping today. I might catch up with two days ago - create a
piece of art in ten minutes that you leave for someone else to find.
Interested in the challenge? Here's a link. 

Tonight's "empty" schedule will be filled with cooking meatballs ... but perhaps I can push that off until tomorrow, since we won't need to be at my nephew's house for the annual family get-together until 3:00 pm. I've actually got all of the ingredients to do crock-pot sweet and sour meatballs, so I'm probably going to push it off until morning and do it really quickly then. Or not. Are you getting an idea why I'm already behind schedule and it's only the 4th of January? 

I was only going to make one pound of meatballs, but
DH told me to double the recipe because it is for a lot
of people. So, I'll do that. I bought the extra ingredients
on my way home from the gym yesterday, so I'm set. 

At the shop, I had all good intentions of de-Christmasing the store. Although that's probably not an official word, it basically means pulling down all of the holiday garlands and decorations, stripping the tree of any remaining ornaments (which I'll put on 50% off savings), and taking the tree back downstairs. I'm not really sure why I'm holding onto the tree right now, but we'll see. Plans are to be closed in late summer/early fall, but I've learned over the years that plans can change. 

It's time to turn off the holiday lights. I'm going to be on a ladder pulling
down the tinsel garland and the fake evergreen garland, I've already
pulled the wreaths from the door and front cabinet. I want my store back
to normal once again. 

I think I might be caught up with most of my emails pending and my various "real" things I had to do like renewing website licenses, etc. The beginning of a new year is always rather exhausting. I need to evaluate whether or not to renew the store's website. I wanted to let it die last year - I can't update it (software is outdated) and it's basically an expensive placeholder right now. Yet another decision to be made. 

I'm running just to catch up and it's only the 4th of January! Oy! Maybe
I'll catch up a little bit today ... or not LOL. 

But, it's only the 4th of January and I have a little bit of breathing space. I'm going to take that opportunity and take a few deep breaths. Have a wonderful Saturday and a great weekend. I'll be back on Monday. 

Shipping Woes and ET Phone Home

It's been a bad week for shipments. One major shipment I've been expecting was due on Thursday. It didn't arrive. I went onto the UPS website for tracking information, the only information they had was "delayed". Wow! I probably could have guessed that on my own *sigh*. It didn't arrive on Friday either, and my UPS man said there were tons of delayed shipments throughout the nation. That they had been overwhelmed by Cyber Monday. Checking the UPS update again a few minutes ago, it looks like what was due to be delivered on Thursday will actually be delivered today - two days late for items I really need in stock at the store. 

UPS is normally pretty reliable. I guess they got overwhelmed by
Cyber Monday. According to the tracking information update, I
should finally be receiving my package today, more than 48 hours late. 

A second order is even more messed up. First, their website wouldn't allow me to enter my credit card information, although it did finally accept the order. Two days later I was finally able to get in touch with them and provide the credit card information. But now, in today's update, it seems that they ended up shipping the package to my home address instead of the shop, and it's due for delivery at home tomorrow. Normally a Sunday delivery wouldn't be a big deal, but I'll be working at the shop for the first of my three working Sundays in December so nobody will be available to accept the package. It wouldn't surprise me if my package was stolen by the time I get home. SO NOT HAPPY! 

I'll be pulling up the hood of my parka over double-hats and
wearing my snow boots and gloves early next week. The temps
may end up less gnarly than the original forecast, but it's
still going to be crispy-cold early next week. 

I'm trying to stay calm and on-track but things like that don't make it easy. I'm looking at the positive, like the weather - LOL. It's Saturday and we're not supposed to get our next snow until late Sunday night into Monday. The original 4"-8" that was forecast has been dropped down to 1"-3" instead. But (and it's a BIG but), we'll be in the deep freeze next week. Our overnight temps on Tuesday are estimated at -13F (-25C), and a during-the-day HIGH estimated at -3F (-19.4C). I'll be bundling up and my utility bills will start their climb to 2-3 times the summer amounts. *sigh* Life in the Frozen Northlands is starting the frozen part really early this season. 

Yes, it's a commercial. But it's a joy to see a grown-up Elliot and his
family interacting with ET on a short, return trip. I'm ignoring the
commercial and enjoying the short film. 

On the fun side, Xfinity has had an ad on TV lately featuring ET returning to earth to visit a grown-up Elliott and his family. They have a tag of "see the whole story" with a website "Xfinity.com/ET" (just click on the link to view). Since I had a little time this morning, and adore ET, I decided to take a look this morning. I loved it. It's maybe a five minute commercial clip, and it's funny and poignant and left me in tears as ET leaves to go home once again. If you want to take a look, click on the link above. I recommend it. 

The best part about the short film is that the Dad is actually played
by Henry Thomas, the original kid ET bonded with in the film almost
forty years ago. 

So, that's it for another blog post. People wonder what I have to write about each day and I have no answers for them. I sit at the keyboard, and I start writing. Sometimes it's good, sometimes not so much, but the important thing is that I'm writing - something - every day. Have a great weekend and keep positive thoughts that my Sunday shipment will be on my front stoop when I return home from working tomorrow. I'll be back on Monday. 

Counting Down the Days Until Thursday and Swimming

I'm counting the days. Yes - I know it's silly - the days will progress at their own pace and proceed towards the weekend without any prodding from me. Nonetheless, I'm looking at my calendar and my personal schedule and doing a few quiet "squees" as Thursday approaches. It's been a very long haul. 

Apparently there is a character named "Squee the Immortal" in Magic: The
Gathering card game. This goblin seems delightfully happy. Probably not
for good reasons, but heck - a happy goblin is a good goblin, right? 

Why Thursday? Because that's the first day I'll be able to be in the swimming pool for more than two months. For a person who was in the water six-days-a-week without fail for years, to have had to switch over completely to the floor machines in the gym instead was a total shift in perspective. It's been difficult, but it's also been rewarding. I think I'll keep the majority of my gym days swimming, but I'll also do at least two days a week on the floor. I have been getting some benefits from the elliptical and the recumbent bicycle that I don't get in the pool. But the water is still, and will always be, my primary love. 

When I was a kid, goggles didn't exist and I would spend up to
eight hours in the pool. My eyes were almost always red and
angry, but I was happy because I loved the water. I can't wait
to get back to swimming later this week! 

Goggles are the key for me on Thursday. The final tattoos are still healing, although the scabs are 99% gone and my eyes look great. I'm pretty darned happy. I'll try and take a photo within the next day or two - but eyebrows and now eyeliner, are totally complete and I feel (and look) much more human. If I was going to have to "rock the bald", I was going to do it in style - LOL. Now I can do that successfully, and I'm very happy with the results. 

I go through several sets of goggles and underwater headphones
in an average calendar year. I've started buying some of them
in multiples when I order, just to have spares available. 

So as I try to catch up on things today, as well as welcome a new reader over on DW, I'm celebrating the fact that after more than two months, I'll finally be able to swim again in two more days. You might not be able to see me, but I'm jumping up and down with joy. 

Enjoy your day! 

Have a wonderful Tuesday, I'm heading out for yet another battle with the exercise equipment. My fellow "5:00 AM Lemmings" are waiting for me to join them. Soon ... just two more days until Thursday! Yippee. Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow! 

Dirt, Scheduling and Juggling

One thing that was over the top on our landscaping bid was the fill dirt. The landscaper quoted $1000 for 10 cubic yards of dirt. With that exception, his bid came in at a great rate, so DH decided to handle the dirt himself. On Thursday, I returned home from work to find 2 tons of sand on tarps at the side of my driveway. The pile stands approx five feet tall and is as long as it is high. It's a LOT of sand that DH is transporting to the back yard one wheelbarrow at a time.

The huge pile of sand now sits to the side of my driveway on
my front lawn. DH has the tarp weighted down with some of
the old patio blocks that we're pulling out. We might end up
needing a second shipment, but we'll have a much better idea
after meeting with the landscaper a second time. 

Next week he'll have the Xcel Energy guy over to take a look at moving the anchoring guy line to the backyard utility pole on Tuesday, and a second meeting with the landscaping service hopefully later in the week, then we can sign a contract and get the landscaper onto the calendar for sometime in September. We want the whole thing wrapped up by October and still have to arrange for the Tuff Shed to be erected on the pad that the landscaper will make as part of the backyard.

From the front, looking from the house toward the street. When I
got home from work the next day, an appreciable part of this
pile had already been moved down to the patio level, one wheelbarrow
at a time. What a job! 

So that's one hand of juggling. The other hand - my hand - is juggling the fact that Renaissance Festival begins the weekend of the 19th of August, the State Fair is coming up quickly, and I'm narrowing down my choices for my holiday card image/format. I need to get my paper materials ordered - the cards and envelopes, as soon as possible and get to work on these. I know it's only early August, but they take time and rushing is NOT acceptable. I want to hand color each card - I have to build that time into my schedule.

We're juggling a lot of things right now to make
everything fall into place. It's turning out to be
easier to plan than to do, and there are some parts
of our plans that require two people. We'll make
it work, but it's not coming easy. 

So, it's still cold out, but the outdoor pool is my goal this morning - cold or not. The water will be warm and I treated us to Pad Thai for dinner last night, so I have one pound to work back off. It was worth the price - the food was delicious. Have a great weekend!

I'm Not A Patient Person

I'm in the stage where I have to wait for everything and it's driving me crazy.

I'm waiting for the mail. Things needed for my holiday cards, wall
paper samples, and other items ordered just have to arrive. Until
they are here, I'm stuck in stasis. 

I can't go farther on my holiday cards until I've received the items I ordered earlier in the week. I could cut metal, but I still have to make sure that my concept will work and the exact sizing - metal isn't free, after all, and mistakes cost me out of pocket. I have an array of tasks lined up for me at work, but the major ones - the computer glitches caused earlier in the week, can only be handled before hours, not during the sales day, so I'm limited there.

My muses seem to be liking the closet. Sometimes
I wonder if they will ever come out and play again. 

My muses are still hiding. They disappeared in mid-May when I was fighting bronchitis. I suspect they were frightened of catching my illness, ran for the nearest closet, and closed the door. I see them peeking out every now and again, but they hurriedly pull back and close the door to their safe, dark asylum. I hope that eventually they will come out again, but until then I'll have to concentrate on physical creativity instead of stories and tales.

I have made one decision. This year I won't participate in NaNoWriMo. I've enjoyed it over the past few years and have completed the challenge each year I've signed up, but I don't think I could successfully balance NaNo with the gym and the on-going remodeling with any skill this year. I don't want my stress levels to go completely ballistic, so I'll pass for 2015.

Still - some things are going well. Renaissance Faire opens Saturday and we'll be there on Sunday. It goes through the first weekend of October, so this may be one of those years where I have at least one stifling hot day but end the fest with snowflakes coming down. It will be wonderful to be back outside for these days.

Today is a guppy day - always a fun thing. Have a wonderful Friday and I'll be back tomorrow.

Many Hands and a Long Week Ahead

Sunday we tackled my deceased father-by-marriage's house. The sale of goods was now over and it was time to clean and get rid of whatever remained. DH had been patching the foundation with concrete for the past few days and he needed to clean the rain gutters that were packed solid. While he got on a ladder, I started the main clean in the attic. There was SO much to do. But then people started showing up.

The house is clean enough to show to the Realtor. I'll
be calling then today to get them scheduled.

My nephew John was the first to arrive. I handed him a broom and started him working alongside me. Other nephews and nieces showed up shortly afterward and I was able to spend my time collecting garbage, assigning tasks, and gathering a small pile of things for donating to our local Goodwill. Running to the store for appropriate cleaning supplies and my buckets, I ended up the day several hours later with a clean house and it was absolutely amazing! Every surface had been washed, even the walls! The trash has all been gathered in the garage and a large dumpster is arriving today for us to toss the trash into. The kids worked really hard and I don't think we could have done without their help.

Many hands make light work, but we all worked
REALLY hard!

We were exhausted when we left, so I ordered a pizza for dinner and we called it an early night, going to sleep after watching "The Amazing Race". We'll have to stop on the way home from work tonight to start throwing things into the dumpster, but that's OK. I'll throw things in like a crazy woman. I want this to be done!. But from attic to basement storage, the house is cleaned except for one small area that my DH wants to work on Sunday. We have the dumpster for the week, so whatever he decides to toss on Sunday we'll at least have a place to put it.

Chickie and her friends will be taking the extended tour of the Glensheen
Mansion in Duluth, MN. This haunted mansion, also sometimes called the
Congdon mansion has a sordid history of money and murder. Fun!

Chickie is on vacation this week, so I have a six-day shift ahead of me along with cat care in the mornings for three days. I don't mind taking care of Sasha - she's a wonderful black and white cat and caring for her doesn't take a lot of time. But it is one more thing to add to an already crowded schedule. With her off for the week, my manager has to work for her and that means I'll be working twice as hard and getting half of what I need actually finished.

Chickie and her friends are staying at the Northern Rain Traincar Inn.
Here's a link.   Each room is in a renovated boxcar. The doors are
sliding rail car doors and the accommodations are luxe. Too kewl!

This is also the final week of the Bead Shop Hop. The first few days went very well. We had a few people who just got their stamp and charm and left, but most people spent time to explore the store and purchase something. We had one of our better sales weeks last week, but it will take some work this week to equal last week's sales and my manager is not as good with people as Chickie is. (For that matter, I'm not as patient with people as she is either.)

Patience - I'll have mine pulled, prodded, and tested over the next
six days. I hate working a six-day shift without a day off!

So I hope all of you have a wonderful Monday. I'll be wearing my Denver Broncos jacket proudly as we managed to win yesterday and now have a 5-0 record. Yippee!

Quarantined? Maybe We Should Be...

Today is my studio day and I'm hoping that I actually get it. But that may not be the case. DH is still sick and he works for me on Wednesdays. I may well get a phone call in the afternoon to come into the shop and work the rest of the day. That would mess up my laundry, working on my final pic for Binky, and my weekly phone call with Marlyn. All things that I was looking forward to (well, to be truthful, I usually don't look forward to laundry, just to the results of having clean towels and clothes). But, if I have to, I'll go in and try to work on my laptop instead of at home. I won't be happy though.

Even though DH is horribly sick with this cold/flu, he still managed to pull off an amazing Valentine's Day for me. When I arrived home there was a vase with a single red rose at my place on our eating table with three cards and a note propped up against the vase. Opening the refrigerator, he had purchased sushi and shrimp for our dinner and lemon cake for dessert later on that evening. It was really wonderful. I know I'll be up on the scale this morning - all that rice always makes me put on a pound or so. But that will be off in a couple of days and it was SO worth it.

Today he was up early (really messing up my morning schedule, but I'm trying to work through it) and gathered the trash together for me. I'll still have to check and make sure he got it all, but if so, he saved me a little bit of time. Why he's up this early? I guess his cough just wouldn't let him sleep, but instead of trying to get back to sleep, he's been roaming around, coming in to talk, then leaving again, etc. *sigh* I hope he gets better soon. Thanks to the many of you who sent positive wishes to him, I'm sure they are helping.

My Christmas - A Mixed Bag

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.

Tilting at Windmills

Sometimes I feel as if I am Don Quixote, tilting against the windmills of beaurocracy time and time again. On my current agenda has been monthly charges assessed to my company bank account since 2006 (yes, that's not a typo, 2006) from a firm that we never really accepted doing business with in the first place.

 Over the years we have used several different credit card processing firms. Back in the early 2000's we were using US Bank as our processor. Apparently they subcontracted out to this firm called Elavon . When we ceased using US Bank for our processing in mid-2006, we thought we had submitted all of the appropriate paperwork necessary to close their processing and start our next one. Apparently Elavon wasn't notified. BUT the account was inactive - not used from that point only.

Unknown to us, they were assessing us a $5/month charge to our account for year, after year, after year. Then they increased their amount to $30 per month in mid 2009. At that time I tried, along with the bank, to find out what was causing this monthly charge on our account. I got nowhere. But then, in June this year, that fee increased to $85/month. The proverbial S__T hit the fan.

I started calling people - many people. I called everyone I could think of. Finally I found out that it was Elavon putting this charge on our account and that, unknown to us, the original contract with them stated that they could charge our account forever until we formally notified them that they could no longer do so.

I mean - shouldn't this be illegal? To charge on an inactive account for five F___King years????

The day I found out who was charging us I had them fax me the appropriate paperwork which I filled out, signed, faxed back to them that day, and waited for their confirmation response by fax which I was supposed to receive between five and seven days. After giving them eight days, I still hadn't heard from them, so after phoning them yesterday and talking to a supervisor because I was getting nowhere with standard customer service, I finally got my fax confirmation from them that the account is officially closed. Now I'll meet with my bank this morning to inform them that additional charges from that number is not permitted and maybe I'll be through paying money through a hole in the floor. What a PAIN! There should be a law......

Is there a website where I can post this crap?  To let other people know that these are BAD people who take advantage of their customers?  I'm more than ticked off that we lost hundreds of dollars to these crooks and that we have no recourse to recover any of it. 

Wednesday - Not Very Productive :-(

So the insurance adjuster is due at my Father-by-Marriage's garage sometime between 9am and noon today.  My DH is NOT looking forward to spending up to three hours there with nothing to do.  I'm grateful that I have to be at work. 

DH had cut up trees at the small house, trees that had fallen on communication lines.  He bundled the brush and left them behind the garage.  So yesterday, among my errands, I took each bundle into Grape and drove them over to the county compost area which is quite near to the house, but still a trip.  The bundles were heavy and long, I had to flip all of the seats down and some of the bundles were close to 7 feet long.  But, I persevered and it took more than an hour, but I got them all loaded and dropped off.  I also got new flourescent bulbs for my two kitchen fixtures, changed the filter in the furnace/A/C at the shop, grocery shopped and did two loads of laundry.  After DH got home from work, we loaded the lawn mower and were back at the small house to mow the lawn. 

I was too tired to clean, so I'm even more behind schedule now.  But I did work on my H-U story and got the first chapter posted for my writing board to crit out.  I have such difficulty with Point Of View.  Arghhhhh.  So frustrating.  I'll get this nailed, though.  It's getting better all the time :-)  Have a creative day, stay cool! 

Comcast and Cleaning

So today I have Comcast scheduled to come by this afternoon.  They will put in the new boxes and assemble things so that we can get their new signals properly.  Our area switches to all digital in a week, so we are running a deadline here.  But we had attemped to do this on our own and it was a temper disaster.  After talking with my friend who works for customer service at Comcast, we are getting slightly different equipment and I will happily pay the $15 they are asking to get all of the boxes installed and working properly.  It's a headache and I'll be happy to have it over with. 

It might be a scam, but I want WORKING TVs.

While they are installing, I will be cleaning.  I need my crafting area to be put back into condition to work, and I need the den cleaned up from the detrius of my box.  I want to work on other projects and I can't work in a messy area - at least not for long.  I have hit my wall.  What about you?  What does your crafting area look like?  If you spend more than 5 minutes looking for items that you need but can't find, it's probably time to clean or reorganize.  Once you have done that...make something fabulous.  It will be your reward. 

Clean-Up

Although I did get some copper cut out to play with enamel, my weekend was spent on clean-up - cleaning up our small house.  We have a small house - the house that we lived in originally when we moved up to Minnesota, that is located 1/2 block from the State Fairgrounds.  I really love this little house, but it is WAY too small for the two of us.  We mowed the grass on Friday night, and went back over there on Saturday night to start weed whipping and getting rid of some "weed trees".  Weed trees is what my DH calls them.  I think they are trees and deserve respect, but they can't be allowed to grow right next to my foundation because they'll crack it and weaken the structure.  So, they had to go.  We were back over there again on Sunday to take the brush to the compost yard and work on some concrete work.  It was a lot of physical labor, but the house looks "Fair Ready" now and I'm much happier.  I do need to finish the interior work - painting several rooms and replacing the kitchen floor.  When I have all of that complete, then we can put the house up for sale.  Having that house sold is a critical part of our retirement plans, so I really do have to get to work on it. 

A nice representation of pulling weeds, isn't it?  Not my drawing, but very nice. 

So where does that leave my jewelry and experiments with enamel?  It doesn't leave a lot of time for them, but that's normal.  My studio day, Wednesday, will be taken up with getting Comcast to install some equipment and cleaning up the den so that it is back to clean.  Then I can think about my next project (I might run to the hardware store and buy some MAAP gas for my enamel pieces).  I'll still play - just have to focus on the immediate while not losing sight of the future.  And isn't that normal for those of us who create in our "off time"?  Real life can get in the way so very easily. 

Planning the Next Project

So, as I mentioned yesterday, I completed my Beading For A Cure project and now am thinking about what project to do next.  I need to work with my Art Clay Copper to make charms for the PMC Conference at the end of the month, and to try the material out and see what I think.  I usually enamel my charms so I need to think of something quick, simple, and attractive for that which will go quickly since my time is quite limited.  I only have two studio days before I leave because of scheduling around Chickie's vacation time, and I could maybe squeeze in a Sunday although I try and reserve Sundays for my DH. 

Crash in the peloton

Le Tour de France is turning into a crash-fest so far.  Major crashes on Stage 1 and Stage 2 have really affected the peloton.  Yesterday's crash pulled so many riders out of contention that they gathered together and all rode through the finish line in a group as a protest, instead of individually racing for position.  Today they will hit cobblestones...THAT should be interesting - LOL. 

And I have to attend a baby shower for one of my nieces this evening.  Social events like this are really not my forte - I would much rather be home watching my episode of Dangerous Catch for the week.  But no, I need to be social and a good Aunt.  I got an item from her Target baby registry on Sunday, it is wrapped and ready to go.  The card has been signed, the gift receipt has been enclosed, and I've tried to find on-line directions to the house.  I've been at the house once before, but it is a bit tricky to find and everything starts at 6:30 this evening.  I'll be there closer to 7:00 - I can't close the shop early just because I have a baby shower to attend.  She's due to deliver a baby girl on the 15th - I'm actually very happy for her and Nick, she'll be a fantastic Mom. 

Review

It's been a long and crazy ride this year. Some of my high points were:

My Beading For A Cure challenge piece this year was a challenge, but I was pleased with how it turned out.

Bead & Button Show and reunion with my friend Seth was one of the true high points to a year of swings. That we have kept in touch and will continue to stay in touch strengthens my spirit. I couldn't be happier about this.

Metal Clay World Conference and spending a day working with Alan Revere was a wonderful and creative experience. I loved my roomate, Shruti. The hotel was amazing. I actually had some friends there - people who recognized me and welcomed my joining them at lunches, etc. And I won a prize in the Mystery Bag contest. I was thrilled. An altogether fantastic experience!

And the year ended on a poisitive with one of my BronzClay pieces being accepted for Yvonne Padilla's upcoming book on BronzClay - due for publication very soon.

On a more down point...

The economy really sucked. It hurt my day job business, and it hurt my personal finances. This was a tight year and that is passing into 2010 as well. Money will be tight for me, but I think I'll still be able to pull it off.

Breaking my elbow at Bead & Button made the last two days very difficult. I was grateful that I didn't have a class scheduled for those days, but it was NOT one of the better times of my life. Of course, interspersed with the pain was the love of people that carried me through it - my roomie Pam, a constant help and long-time friend. My dinner companions Huib and Nancy who kept me sane through the first few hours of the injury. And my friend Seth who was with me the next night. The bartenders who have become my friends over the years who made me an awesome ice pack and kept me plied with alcohol to help the pain. This was ALL good.

And, finally, I light three candles for friends who have left the circles of this world this year. My friend Steve who passed in the fall - a friend since the mid-70's, he was a constant that we thought would always be there. We were wrong, and we miss him. My friend Lora who passed just before Winter Solstice. Lora and I met in person several times over the years, and had been internet friends since the late 1990's. A dear person, and a light that will be missed. And finally, my Auntie Sadie who passed in August. I had not heard about her until quite recently and even though she lived a long and full life, my heart is still filled with sorrow for the fact that I will no longer see her, and joy that she shared her life with me. For these three, I light memorial candles and I invite all of you to also light candles on this last day of the year to the memory of those who are close to you.

I hope that all who read this have a safe New Year's Eve and a wonderfully creative 2010. Keep those who you love close to your hearts, and open your soul and bodies to the wonders of the world around you. By allowing that wonder to enter into your art, you will inspire the world. Mitakuye oyasin (we are all related).

Sleep???

Sometimes I wonder what sleep is. Although I usually fall asleep very quickly when I go to bed, I have not been sleeping as long as usual - even though I don't get a lot of sleep altogether. Today/tonight/last night I went to sleep shortly after 10:00 pm, but awakened at 2:30 am, thinking it was 3:30 am. I did a small bit of work on Sharon's box, and started up my computer. At that time I realized it was an hour earlier than I had expected. So....instead of doing the sensible thing and getting another hour of sleep on the couch, I loaded up the current story that I am reading in Tolkien fan-fic, and read for 45 minutes. It may not have been sensible, but the story has pulled me in. Four-and-a-half-hours of sleep is simply not enough for this 50+ year old artist, though. I will have to try to increase that a bit this coming week or I will totally crash and burn.

I found the perfect lining cloth for Sharon's box, and I will start work on the interior item this week. I'm quickly running out of time and I still don't have holiday cards either purchased, written, or mailed. They may well go out on the last day, but they will get there. I need another week....but I have no chance at all for that :-) Perhaps if I wasn't such a perfectionist, but I am and there it is. I wanted this to be a really special gift for my dearest friend, and it will be. But it may be slightly late because it takes longer to wait for glue to dry than I had anticipated - LOL.

Balancing Act

Every woman knows the difficulty in balancing the many tasks and roles she must perform on a daily basis. Men know this also, but they don't multi-task as much as simply shift from one lane to another on the freeway of daily life. But women DO multitask. So, between being a good wife, an amazing Mom, the reliable worker and the chief cook and bottlewasher, you also need to exercise your creative muse. When are you supposed to be able to do that!?

There is a reason why I get up at 3:30 am. The primary reason is because I can get work done and some creative activities done before I need to leave the house at either 6am or 7am (depending on my schedule for the day). That creativity can continue when I get to the shop for another hour, sometimes two. So I can at least get some concept drawings done, work at the bench, or simply redecorate my habitat for my pet on Facebook. Even something that silly is still creative and still has my own stamp on it - a vision that is not shared by others but is mine, uniquely.

And after all, isn't that what we are all striving for? Unique creativity? The media in which you work is your own choice. Over my life I have worked in beads, embroidery, fabric, beads, leather, fabric, beads, metal, beads, more metal and now, enamel and more fabric. Throughout all of these varied media, my vision - my voice has become stronger. And now that I've lived a creative live for more than 50 years, I feel confident enough in my own vision that I do what I want artistically with a sidelong glance towards possibly selling some items in the future. My goal, however, is to satisfy my design muse and scratch my creative itch, and I am sure many others share that goal. So continue to multitask to pay the bills, but allow your own creativity to shine forth and proclaim your vision to the world. It will enrich the world's music with your own harmony woven within.

Word for the Year

I am very fortunate because I have the opportunity to meet so many artists in my daily life. One whom I've met several times over many years is Tonya Davidson. Tonya runs a small store, just like I do, and she is an artist who also wants to establish her own personal identity away from her store, just like I do. She's younger than I am, and very pretty, and sharp as a tack. It's always a joy to learn something from her, even if it is something that I don't want to take to my personal life. Today she gave me a great gift - a word.

Tonya posts a blog http://tonyadavidson.com/ (not regularly, but perhaps that will now improve). On that blog she makes commentary and personal/business growth ideas and methodology. I subscribed to her blog many months ago in the hopes that reading her suggestions might help my store and my personal business grow. Her postings have been irregular, even non-existant. But over the past few days, she's been posting like crazy. And it's been goo. Today she posted about resolutions. How making New Year's Resolutions usually lead to failure, but that she read about making a resolution for a word of the year instead of a list of resolutions. She read about this on another blog by Christine Kane http://christinekane.com/blog/resolution-revolution-a-better-way-to-start-your-year/ . She resolved to use the word consistency (perhaps that is why she has been posting more often). I seem to have that word fully anchored in my life. But I know what I need.

PATIENCE

So, my goal is Patience. My word is Patience. I seem to have no problem addressing this in my art, but in my daily life?.....Well, let's just say it needs a bit of work. What word will you choose? Check out Christine's list, maybe add a few of your own, and choose one to conquer in '09.