It's Already the 13th!

Cruising right along, I'm looking at the calendar and going "Ack!" on the one hand and "Hurrah!" on the other. "Ack" because I only have a short time to get any additional gifts for DH for the holidays, and "Hurrah" because I am half-way through the holiday season of work and only have two more 6-day work weeks to go. I have to look at the optimistic side, because otherwise I really wouldn't be able to stand it at all.

We shred a lot of paper at home. Having our shredder
break in decisive style yesterday was not needed. We'll
need a new one within a few days. 

DH has been housecleaning - a nice and refreshing change of pace. He managed to kill our home shredder yesterday though, so today I'm looking through the office supply company websites to find a new one. We shred a lot, so having one that will stand up to some serious use is essential. Those small little ones that fit under a desk would die within a month around here.

Holiday cards will be delivered by any means necessary,
even by owl mail. 

My holiday cards for domestic delivery in other states will be mailed on my way home from the shop tonight. That will leave my Minnesota cards for the final sprint to the line. I looked through some images yesterday for next year's cards and decided on a few that might work. I'm looking forward to trying some experiments.

It's been a while since I made a hollow form ring, but I love the
variety of possibilities in this form. Since I can't wear rinds
any more, I've let this aspect of my jewelry making lapse. Time to
pick up my saw and repolish my skills. 

I received my catalog for the Bead & Button Show 2015 and I'm contemplating classes. There are several I'm really interested in and once again I won't be beading at the bead show. But, with luck, I'll be working with flame, metal and stones to make wonderful things. I do love working at my jeweler's bench and haven't had a chance to work on serious projects since I last attended Revere Jewelry Academy. If I get into this class, it'll blow my budget so I'll have to skip the Metal Clay Conference scheduled for the summer. As much as I would love to attend that, I'd rather go to Milwaukee.

I only take the one vacation a year and really, it's not that much money
since it is only the one trip, but I don't have a lot of excess funds to finance the trip. 

It's looking like I may just have to make my hotel reservations and hope that something comes through for a roomie. Then again, if I don't get one, I may leave earlier than originally planned just to cut my expenses a bit more. With a roomate I'm looking at approximately $100/day for my hotel, but without it I'm looking at double that. My car also costs - a hotel for the car. I don't want it parked on the street, though. Minion deserves better than that. When I first started attending the Bead & Button Show in the mid-1990's I was looking at approximately $1000 for the week. Now it's closer to $2000 and that's a hefty chunk of change for someone who doesn't get a salary from work. *sigh*

Have a wonderful weekend and a great Saturday.