Trees, Cards and the Hop

The trees will be expensive! I knew they would be - we have two trees needing major trims and six additional trees that need to be taken down. Yeah ... they'll be expensive. The guy who looked the job over yesterday was rather floored by how much work the job will be. I have two more companies scheduled for estimates coming up, one on each of the next two Wednesdays, so I'll have a decision made by the end of the month. We could take them down ourselves, but I'm NOT letting my 60+ year-old hubby climb tall trees with saws, ropes and ... well, you get the idea. No, just NO. We'll just end up writing a very large check.

Although DH knows what he's doing when he's cutting down a tree
(unlike this man here), I'm still not allowing him to climb that high
at his age. No - we'll just write a large check and live to see another day. 

I tried out my ideas for this year's holiday card and I'm quite happy with how it might come together. I'm going for simplicity, but simple can be wonderful. Last year's card was a little over the top, but I really wanted to use a particular image and made the card to work with it. This year I'm rushed, but that doesn't mean I'm going to put something sub-standard out there. They'll be really cute but, hopefully, much less time intensive to pull together.

Here's another really cute holiday card that is simple and
effective. I love the interleaved holiday tree motif lending
a three-dimensional feel to the final product. 

I only have three days of this year's "Bead Shop Hop" remaining and I can't wait for my life to return to normal (if my life can EVER be called normal). It's been a lot of fun and we've seen a lot of people, both returning customers and new beaders. We've given away a lot of charms and put our sticker on a lot of game boards. We'll have a customer pull a door prize winner early next week and wrap the whole thing up.

We usually put our door prize entries into a large box and have a
customer reach in blindly to pull the winning entry. We're giving
away a really nice prize this year featuring books and magazines,
tools and supplies. I want to wrap this up, though. Enough "Hop" is enough. 

One thing that comes out of the "Hop" is gossip from one place to another as customers go through the stores. Apparently one of the stores closest to me will be closing by the end of the year, quite unexpectedly. I'll be sorry to see them go - they are a wonderful resource for sheet glass used in stained glass as well as glass rods used in lampwork beads. I have bought sheet glass from them in years past and they have a wonderful selection. They moved to their current location about ten years ago and started adding beads into their stock. It's not the major focus of their business. But their sheet glass suppliers have changed and they've lost two of their major sources. Thus - another business will bite the dust. If I was younger, I might consider moving into their space. It's a lovely, well lit and large space with private classrooms and an upstairs office. I could do a lot with a space like that.

It's a really nice building that extends all the way through the loading dock
doorway at the far left. Moving here is a temptation, but I have great
rent where I'm at now, with a landlord I've known since the early 1990's.
I'd be a total fool to move, although it is very tempting. 

But no - I'm not going to move. We wouldn't get a space like that for anywhere close to the rent we currently pay, and we're closer to retirement than to those heady days when we first started our business. Moving always sucks, and I usually seem to do it on the coldest days of the year and right in the middle of winter. No. I'll stay put, keep to my usual schedule, stay right on the bus line where I am with a landlord I know well, and be happy. Have a great Thursday all - I plan on having a great one!

It's Saturday - OMG!

How did this week slip aside so quickly? Maybe it's the Bead Shops Hop which is taking a lot of my time. I just composed and sent another email blast last night to my store subscribers, reminding them that only nine days remain in the Hop. It's been going really well, though. We've had lots of Hoppers through our door and a lot of first-time people also who are falling in love with our product selections and are spending the time to shop! Happy me ...

We're participating in the Fourth Annual Bead Shops Hop
of Minnesota. This year twelve shops are taking part in
the Hop, a drop from last year, but several stores have
closed between last year and this. 

It's getting cold now, and DH is trying to finish the last on the castle walls. He's moving the dirt piles that are remaining to areas where they will do more good, but it's cold work. Yesterday he only worked half the afternoon at it before giving up and going inside to get warm. The walls are pretty much done for the season, though. We'll be doing a bit more work on Sunday and I'll try to take a photo to show you on Monday if the weather cooperates.

Isn't this a cute card? I'm thinking simplicity may be just
the right way to go for this year's cards. 

We're coming in to soup season, checking out turkeys for Thanksgiving dinner, and OMG, I haven't even thought about my holiday cards, just what I want to include in them this year. Time has just whooshed by me this year. Guess I'd better figure out what I want to do and whether I'll be able to pull a hand-made card off this year or not. Have a great Saturday, I'll be back on Monday.

September Song

Can you believe how quickly September is passing? We only have two more days of pre-Fall before diving into October, one of my favorite months. I'm already waiting for the gym doors to unlock while wearing a fall jacket and a hoodie. By the end of October I might be in snow boots and my long down parka - or not. Our end of October temperatures can range from very comfortable to below freezing. Longer-time residents will never forget our Halloween blizzard of 1991.

The Halloween Blizzard is famous, but it wasn't the first time we had been
hit with a major snow at the end of October. October can be a tricky month
here in the Frozen Northlands. 

I'm going to enjoy these final two days of September, though. DH will be working on the castle, the weather will be getting better and better as we approach the final weekend of Renaissance Festival, and the Ryder Cup golf tournament is in town, playing at Hazeltine Golf Course in Chaska, a suburb southwest of Minneapolis and very close to our Renaissance Festival grounds. Traffic on Sunday might be a nightmare, but we'll get to the Fest despite possible delays.

The Ryder Cup is one of DH's favorite golf competitions. We won't
be out there watching, but he'll have it on the TV when he can.
It's select teams from the US vs Europe and always is entertaining. 

I had a day off yesterday and it was a joy. I shopped for groceries, did laundry, swept and washed my kitchen floor (so desperately needed!) and diagnosed and fixed a problem with my washer. The washer decided to toss a computer code at me that I hadn't seen before, but I keep the owner manual handy and looked it up. It had something to do with the water having problems draining from the system. There was a fix - emptying and cleaning the drain filter - and it didn't seem too complicated, so after a lovely chat with Aearwen, I got dinner into the oven and then proceeded to dissect the drain filter.

I love wearing these short sport socks in the summer months. They're
light-weight, so not too hot. I switch to knee-high socks in the
colder months. Color is a MUST! No white socks for me! 

Voila! Success! I got the swing door open, drained the residual water into a bowl, and then unscrewed and pulled out the drain filter. Hmmmm - it looked a bit unusual, not quite like the drawing in the manual. On closer inspection, one of my short sport socks had managed to be eaten by my washer and had ended up caught in the drain filter. Wow! I've had the mate for that sock waiting for its' companion for most of the summer. The sock was rescued and will go into next week's main laundry, and my washer is now happy again. The rumors of washing machines requiring sacrifices of socks appears to have been true!

Two designers have already been eliminated from Season 15's
Project Runway competition, but familiar faces are still here. Mentor
Tim Gunn, Producer and Judge Heidi Klum, and Judges
Nina Garcia and Zac Posen (l-r) are back for another season of design
flops coming down the shortened runway. Oh - the DRAMA! LOLOL. 

Tonight I will watch Project Runway while putting the finishing touches on my promotional email for the Bead Shop Hop which begins on Saturday. One of my favorite vendors was kind enough to send me a door prize donation again, so I can promote that, as well as other items which we will add to it, making our door prize a lovely gift. Last year we had sixteen stores participating in the Hop, this year it's down to twelve. Such is the state of my industry. Have a wonderful Thursday!

Life Returning To Normal

Chickie arrived back home late yesterday and my life can now switch into the next phase - getting ready for Fall and the annual Minnesota Bead Stop Hops event. I'll be straight here - it's not my favorite event. Last year we had eighteen shops participating from all over the state, this year we're down to twelve shops. I usually have our cards with charms prepared and ready to go. I usually have the door prizes chosen and ready to display. I usually have the store cleaned and ready to go. This year I'm SO NOT READY! With Chickie on vacation for the past 1-1/2 weeks, nothing is ready at all. Half of what she was supposed to get ready before she left is still pending. She'll be back at work on Wednesday, my own day off, so Thursday will be our first shared day at work in two weeks. Time to crack that whip, for sure!

It's time to crack the whip. We'll only have two days to get the store ready
for this year's Bead Shops Hop. 

I want the windows and the floor washed. I want clutter cleared away and the display cabinets cleaned from the outside as well as the inside. I want jewelry polished and the front window cleaned up. In general, I want a clean store and I'll have two days in which to do it. Yeah ... right! I'll be lucky if the outside of the cases get washed. I'll be working on composing and getting our publicity email together and sent. It's going to be a busy week and tempers will probably flare.

We'll be cleaning everything we can, from the cases to the
floor. It all needs a serious clean and we're almost out
of time. 

Aside from that, I'm very happy to have kitty care complete. I did wear a mask on the final three days and that helped quite a bit. I was extremely happy to return her house key to the compartment where I keep it and say good-bye to the cats yesterday morning. They are sweet and adorable, but I just can't be around them without feeling horrid for the rest of the day. The next time any kitty care would even come up would be next year sometime, so I'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Could it have possibly been worse? I'll hear all of the important
sound bites today, but I'm not happy with either candidate. 

I suppose I should mention the debate. I didn't watch it. At this point, both candidates just turn my stomach and I felt it was going to be rhetoric piled upon steaming piles of rhetoric. I know that some of my friends and relatives will be upset that I consider this election to be a choice between bad and worse, but that's how I feel. I'll vote for bad, but don't need to listen to it. Ick ... just ick! What do I want? I want strict term limits of one term for offices with four-year or more election cycles, and I want two term maximums for offices with less than a four-year term. I think something is horribly wrong in a system when the re-election campaign begins the day after the candidate is elected, even before they are sworn into office. It seems that all politicians care about is getting re-elected, not the job they are supposed to perform. Politics - "I hates it," I hiss ...

Another One Bites the Dust

The week is almost over. We've gone from temps in the low 70's on Tuesday afternoon, to what promises to be below freezing tomorrow morning while I await the unlocking of the gym doors for my morning workout. This is the time of year when people are sniffling and snorting and coming down with head colds because their bodies aren't adjusting well to the changes in temperatures. It's been a busy week, but the weekend is looming and it'll be a fun one this time.

This isn't altogether wrong. I usually end up having to be very
patient while DH looks through buckets of rough stone
for the perfect ones to bring home with us. 

Our annual Minnesota Lapidary Show takes place this weekend. Of course, we work on Saturday, but we always go there on Sunday to spend several enjoyable hours looking at stone, buying this and that for our own lapidary work, and dreaming of the time when we can just work on our equipment instead of having to go into the shop to work. I know we'll have a great Sunday (even if we might be cold) and it will also be a joy seeing the colors of autumn trees as we drive out there and back.

Lake Superior agates are popular stones in this area. I must
admit, though, that I prefer jaspers to agates. Still, they are
quite lovely in their banding and colors. 

Saturday will be the final day of the Bead Shops Hop and I, for one, will be happy to see it come to an end. It's been good, no question, but if our numbers will come close to the prior two years, then we'll be inundated with Hoppers over these next two days. We're running about 20 below where we should be and my vote will be saying that the short extension of time didn't do anything at all to increase the numbers of Hoppers coming through my door.

Eighteen stores throughout the state participated in this
year's Bead Shops Hop. As you can tell, most are
centered around the Twin Cities. But there are some
far away such as the northernmost shop in Grand Rapids. 

Of course, I should also look at the Hop as having provided an opportunity for new beaders to find us and fall in love. Several new people have come by and shopped, and of course we've also had some nice sales from the Hoppers. We're always happy to have new customers find us, especially when we're sometimes a bit harder to get to as we have been during this construction season. On balance, the Hop was probably successful, but I'm not sure if the extended time frame was a positive or negative thing.

Going from June (upper left) through July 2016 on
the lower right, this is the Minneapolis School Calendar.
Look at all of those light blue days. Those are days
when the students are not in school. Wow! Even
pulling the summer out of there, that's a lot of
vacation time. 

Today is an MEA day - (Minnesota Educational Association or something similar to that) - when the teachers are encouraged to attend a variety of workshops put on by their union and the kids are out of school. In fact, this actually started yesterday. So the kids were out of school on Monday, Thursday and Friday of this week. Tell me - how the heck are kids expected to learn if they are in and out of the classroom so often? School has only been in session for five weeks, and here we had almost an entire week off. Crazy! I don't remember so many days off when I was a student in the Dark Ages.

Have a fabulous and fantastic Friday and congrats to two friends with new dogs in their households - Dawn with a new Golden Retriever, and Helen with a new Afghan. Such lovely dogs!

It Was A Relaxed Sunday

We had a "no plans" day yesterday, which meant DH was working on figuring out the next item he needs to build to help us get organized, while I cleaned and vacuumed. What a wonderful thing! The house needed a good vacuuming, and I was really happy to get going on it. We took a quick trip to one of the lumber supply stores, but only as a scouting mission. DH then went down and redesigned what he wanted to make. Hopefully it will be even better now. I, in the meantime, went ahead and 'Swiffered' and mopped the kitchen floor. Heaven for a clean house!

Vacuuming finished, now to clean the kitchen floor. 

Around 3:30 pm DH came and asked if I would rather celebrate our anniversary with dinner out instead of waiting until next Sunday as we had originally planned. Next week has turned into a problem because I have a colonoscopy exam scheduled for Wednesday and my food restrictions begin on Sunday. We had originally planned on a nice day at our favorite small rock show, followed by a meal out to celebrate, but if I was going to have food restrictions, it made ... well, it kind of ruined that idea. So he thought having dinner a week earlier might be better. He was right.

The Garlic Shrimp Scampi is always one of our favorites. Because we only
had shrimp, no lobster or crab, the meal was very affordable too. 

So I changed clothing and we went to Red Lobster for their "Endless Shrimp" promotion. It was quite yummy, and we both ate too much. The weight I gained will be off by mid-week, and it was very worth it. It was a wonderful and relaxed meal and we both enjoyed the many flavors of shrimps that we ate. We both think that their garlic shrimp scampi is still their best variety, but others that we tried were quite tasty too.

So today it's back to the pool and a quick trip to the Chiropractor for my every two weeks adjustment. We'll enter the final week of the Beads Shops Hop today, and it's been a great experience. I think the number of "Hoppers" will ramp up this week, and that Saturday, the final day of the Hop, will be quite busy. Have a wonderful Monday!

Wrapping Up A Season

Tomorrow is the final day of this season's Renaissance Festival and it will be the only cold day we've had since opening weekend. Of course, it is now autumn and the leaves are turning quickly. We'll see much more color on our trip out and back than we did in August. I'm thinking through my wardrobe choices - what do I have that's warm? I know I'll be grabbing my heavier cloak, but do I have anything else warm? We'll start the day at about 40 F (4.4 C) and end with the high at 60 F (15.5 C). At least we won't have wind, but we'll still be outside for the day.

The northern part of the state should be nearing peak color right around now.
Here is Split Rock Lighthouse on the north shore of Lake Superior in the
northern part of the state past Duluth. It'll be very cold there in a few weeks. 

Next year is the final year in our current Festival grounds. The owners have been looking for land they can buy for Fest and other activities they do every year. I don't know if they've found anything yet. For years the court has been talking about burning down the opening gates structure on last day at the grounds. Guess we'll have to attend the shut-down ceremony next year to find out if those threats will be carried out.

Our opening gates are old. Although they are still structurally
sound (given that they have people above the gates for each
opening show, having it structurally sound is wise). I'd love to
see them in flames, though. Fire bug? - Yup! 

Yesterday was more active with Bead Shop Hoppers, but we're still below count. It has pulled a couple of customers out of the woodwork who I haven't seen for a year or two. I think that's one of the best things about the Bead Shops Hop - the opportunity to make new friends and customers and catch up with old ones.

Here's hoping your weekend is stellar!

Catching Up? Maybe ...

I'm hoping to catch up a little bit today - comments and replies for LJ and DW and general tasks as well.

I was trying a new doctor this time, and I really liked her. I hope she
sticks around for a while. It would be nice to have a primary physician
again. 

Yesterday's doctor appointment actually was good. I'm not sporting a huge bruise from the labwork, my tetanus shot was given by a nurse who actually was great with a needle and barely hurt at all, and I really like my new doctor. My BP was 102/72, and lab results were already on my e-chart last night - all levels are good. Next week I'll have a mammogram and bone density test and that should round me out. Then my doctor and I can figure out the best course for a healthy future. (A colon exam is also in the future, but that's handled by a sister clinic.)

Today is Day 1 of the 17 days of Bead Shops Hop Minnesota. I didn't get as much done for it yesterday as I had planned, and most importantly, didn't get my email newsletter done to send out to my customers reminding them of the Hop (as well as one more bridge closure and a new product line we're launching along with the Hop). That will be my work today, after I've changed light bulbs this morning to illuminate our cozy little messy and colorful shop.

I'm delighted to have my underwater iPod again. I wear it just
like she does and it's comfortable and the tunes spur me on
to better effort. Rock on, Underwater Audio! 

I received my replacement underwater iPod yesterday - personalized and still in the blue color I love having for my water gear. That was exceptional customer service - I had only shipped the original malfunctioning unit to them on Monday. I charged it up last night and loaded my playlist onto it, tested the sound this morning, and I'm good to go for my water workouts tomorrow. Although I'm tempted to wear it while on the elliptical and bicycle this morning, I'll wait. But if you're looking for an iPod that can handle the water and is sold by an excellent firm, I recommend Underwater Audio. Great people, great service.

So I'm cutting this short. Like I said - trying to catch up! Happy Thursday to all!

Late at 4:00 AM

How can I be late at 4:00 am? Actually, I was already late at 3:15 am but whose counting? All I know is I have to be at my new doctor's at 8:00 am for a physical and they'll be sticking needles in me for blood draws and a tetanus shot so I'm majorly stressed. Needles and I don't get along well - in fact, unless it's attached to my sewing machine or a strand of beads, I don't want needles anywhere near me. Voluntarily walking through the door to be checked over is unusual for me, but probably necessary since I'm not getting younger.

My blood pressure is usually pretty good, although I'll be stressed
so it may be a bit higher than usual. 

Tomorrow is the first day of the Bead Shops Hop and I'm also majorly stressed about that. I've got a lot of it complete, but there's a lot still to do and I won't be in the shop today (see above paragraph). I have a huge number of printouts that I did last night for Chickie to work with, and I'm very grateful that the Hop doesn't start until Thursday. I can still pick up new light bulbs for my 8-foot fluorescent fixtures and get some dead bulbs changed in the early morning tomorrow. Washing the floor might not happen, though.

I know I need a tetanus booster and I hate those intramuscular shots.
But, I work with metals and pointy things. It's necessary. 

I finally got the one wallpaper sample I had been awaiting in yesterday's mail. I haven't even had time to open the envelope and look at it once more *sigh*. I hope I catch up a bit today because I really need some quality time as well as all of this "other" stuff.

I'll have to get lab work too. These tests usually leave me bruised
for more than a week. My body really doesn't like invasion by sharp
metal pieces. 

On a positive note, my new underwater iPod is on its way to me. Maybe, if I'm really lucky, I'll even have it for Friday's swim. I hope so - silent swims are still wonderful because I'm in the water, but they're much more boring without my tunes.

Happy Wednesday to all of you. Be good and don't do anything I wouldn't do (which leaves you open for much mischief).

I Actually Have A Real Job

I actually have a real job - an eight-to-five (well, closer to a 7:30 am to 6:15 pm) job and it keeps me busy, puts food on the table, and does all of the other important things that a job is supposed to do. Since I own my own business (see previous sentence), I usually can count on myself for deadlines, activities, store ideas, product placement and packaging. But not right now and it's driving me a bit crazy.

At least I knew what charm I wanted to give out this year. We were
able to use a charm we had in stock instead of ordering something
in specifically for the Hop. 

In two days, the third annual Minnesota Bead Shops Hop will begin. This little walk on the wild side began a little more than two years ago when one of the local stores decided to convince a group of us to join together in a fall challenge for our customers. We would provide game boards, stickers, each store would give a charm to each "hopper", and we would each contribute money towards supplies and a winner's package, and promote the affair through our own social media and mailings. It actually went rather well, for a first year, and we had more than 100 people come through our doors for the "Hop" within the two weeks that it ran.

I had a large number of matched hands charms that I had ordered
for a religious organization several years ago. The person ordering
them no longer is living, so I have an overstock of these. They're
rather cute, actually. 

Last year was a similar time frame, but more stores joined us, so we had a total of 18 stores for the two weeks. The stores themselves were located throughout the state and apparently the organizers got feedback that it was too far and the "hoppers" didn't have enough time to get to all of the stores.

The game board (page two is here with my store in the middle)
gets presented at each shop. Each shop puts a sticker on their
store's square and presents the "hopper" with their charm and
any additional 'prizes' they may be giving out. We'll have
a bag of goodies for each hopper, at least for the first 100. 

So this year, they extended the Hop for an additional weekend. I'm less than pleased about that, but was outvoted. The entire event starts on Thursday and I'm still waiting to get final approval on this year's game board, put together my store's door prizes, and get the store organized and clean - well ... cleaner at any rate.

I still have to mop the floor. I hate doing that! The windows
probably won't get done because I'm running out of time. 

Argh. Just ... argh! What a mess! Have a great Tuesday - I'll be scrambling to get all of the associated things finished on time. *sigh*

Romance and the Moon

Yesterday was "Wine, Chocolate and Romance" weekend at the Renaissance Festival, and the weather couldn't have been better. Although the wind was high in the parking lot, in the Fest grounds it died down and was filtered by the trees. It was an abnormally hot autumn day, the sun was shining from a blue sky and it was just about perfect! We had a great time stocking up on chocolate from our favorite chocolate purveyor, watching his team win their game, and wandering the grounds. One weekend is left and the trees are turning. Fall is here and I'm hoping we get one more exceptional Sunday.

One of the big draws at our Fest is the armored jousting. We usually don't
watch it (it's in the sun and I'm sun sensitive), but it can be quite exciting. 

We purchased our Season Tickets for next year yesterday, so we're set for another year of fresh air and costumes. We both love going to Ren Fest, so we always make sure to get our tickets at the lowest possible rate as soon as they go on sale.

We also have a very popular mermaid exhibit with
several mermaids in a watery grove (that's GROVE,
not GRAVE). The little girls go crazy for them. 

Last night we stood in the back yard for more than an hour, watching as the moon of the century was eaten by the dragon of the earth. It was a clear sky, a super moon and a full lunar eclipse, and it was all visible from our back yard. This late in the season, mosquitoes aren't a problem, so we stood outside and watched as the shadow of the earth covered the full moon. So wonderful!

It was a beautiful eclipse last night and I'm very happy we were
able to see most of it. I had to eventually give up on seeing the
re-emergence because I had to go to sleep, but I saw the moon
get eaten and that was wonderful. 

All in all, Sunday couldn't have been much better. Additionally, my football team won its game while I was watching the eclipse, so that put a perfect cap on the day. It's rather sad to have to get back to a "normal" schedule today. Here's hoping everyone has a great Monday. I'll be continuing to work towards having the shop ready to go for the Bead Shop Hop which starts on Thursday! ACK!!!!

Going Nowhere Fast - SIGH!

It's the 22nd day of the month, and I'm at exactly the same weight I was when the month started. That's frustrating me. I fully understand that I have made some poor food choices that has put me into a small swing back and forth, but really! Nothing? Nothing up - nothing down - nothing? I'm frustrated this morning and I'm venting because - well - because I can!

I have to remind myself of this every now and then, as well as reiterate
how much I enjoy going to the gym every morning.
It hasn't even been a year yet - I've got a ways still to go. 

I am swamped at work, have two repairs pending, one of which is almost overdue, and have the Minnesota Bead Shop Hop starting on October 1st. I'm usually much more prepared for the Hop, but not this year. This year I seem to be letting things slide until they meet the ground, then paying attention to them as I step over the pile of to-be-done detritus blocking my path forward. Once again - frustrating. I'll be ready to go on time, but it will cut into my holiday card time which I can ill afford.

I'd better get myself in gear. October is coming up fast and I am not
prepared for the Hop yet! 

I'd much rather be playing with my own artwork instead of labeling packages, cleaning the store, and doing the other assortment of things necessary for the Hop. But I'm hopeful that it will actually bring people through the door and up our sales for the month of October - that's one of the goals, after all. So I'll assemble door prizes, make charm cards to be given to each Hopper who visits, and in between all of that, I'll get the other work I have to do finished, because that's what I do.

*sigh*

Have a wonderful Tuesday. I think I'll pound out some of my frustration on the elliptical this morning.

Rambling Friday Thoughts and Pie

I'm running really late today, so just a few thoughts.

I started with a concept and now I'm starting to see the reality. I love creating
my annual cards!

I'm very happy with my Solstice cards, they're coming together extremely well, just falling into place. I printed the interiors out this morning so I can get started on that part of the project in my early mornings. I'm starting to get excited about them, and be warned, I'll do my first call-out for addresses soon.

I actually love to edit, but sometimes carving out the time to do work
other than my own can be difficult. 

I finally got the chance to get a bit of beta work done yesterday. Very necessary since I was running over a week behind schedule for her work. My bad! But I pushed through an entire chapter last night and sent it onward. I'll get it back for a final look-over and then it will be on to Chapter 3.

Sheesh! Korina. Deal with it, put on your big girl panties and just DEAL! 

Project Runway wasn't really any surprise, and Korina's horrific attitude made for good TV. Unfortunately for her, her entire melt-down and rude responses were televised. That probably won't serve her really well in the future. What employer would want to hire someone with such a poisonous attitude?

Hoppers are coming through the door in increasing numbers. We only have
five more days for them to visit my store. 

The Bead Shops Hop is keeping us very busy. It's getting down to the last few days (Wednesday is the final day) and I sent an email to my customers on Tuesday to remind them about the Hop. We've been getting a lot of new people as well as customers we've known and loved for years, and (thank goodness) they're also spending money, not just collecting their charm and store sticker. I'm starting to see game cards which are almost completed now, so people have been busy Hopping.

He wasn't happy with how they turned out, but I thought they were quite tasty. 

It's Friday. That should be worth a celebration just on its own. So ... celebrate! Maybe a piece of cake or pie? I think I'll grab one of the white chocolate macadamia nut and dried cranberry cookies that DH baked yesterday. A cookie should make a nice addition to my breakfast...

Maybe I'll treat myself to a piece of pie. This is a piece of apple raspberry
pie with a crust of almond streusel. It looks so good!  

Happy Friday to all!

Hiding From Myself - Catching Up with Miscellaneous Topics

Is there a handy hole I can hide in? I'm still not anywhere ready for Bead Shops Hop, but time moves on and the event starts today - ready or not. I have more beads to put out onto display, I haven't photographed the door prizes yet, and I need to compose and send an email of the Hop to my email customers along with pictures - like one of the door prizes. *sigh*  But, the day will progress whether I wish it or not, so I'm going to dive in, do what I can, and then hide at home - because despite the Hop, it's my day off and I'll be doing laundry, grocery shopping, and talking with Aearwen.

Resurrecting Richard III

Full Episode

September 24, 2014 | 0:54:41

Find out what the bones of King Richard III reveal about his fitness for battle. When a group of amateur historians set out to find the bones of Richard III under a parking lot in England, everyone thought they were mad. Until, a skeleton — hunchbacked and with an arrow in its spine — emerged. University of Leichester scientists ultimately confirmed the identity of the reviled king through DNA. A series of fascinating, new experiments are now underway, including startling new DNA matches, revelations about his fitness going into battle…and a lucky accident when scientists discover a War of the Roses re-enactor—with matching scoliosis — answering the question, could a king with such a deformed body fight ferociously in battle as the heroic accounts suggest?

Many of you commented on my Richard III post of yesterday. A few of you asked for more information about what show it was on so that you can try and find the episode on-line. It was an episode of Public Televisions's (TPT) "Secrets of the Dead" and was entitled "Resurrecting Richard III". In the US, you can watch on-line (follow the link) but I'm not sure if the download will work for my friends in other countries. Give it a try, though. It was a fascinating examination of this very controversial historical figure.

These wonderful retro cats-eye glasses were perfect for Sharon. Thanks
to her sister Cathy for taking such a great photo. 

As my regular readers know, my BFF Sharon came for her annual State Fair/Renaissance Festival trip near the end of August and we spent four very exhausting but wonderful days wandering these two venues. One of the many things we did at the State Fair was visit my favorite glasses shop who have a stand on the second floor of the Grandstand (as well as four actual locations around town). The Spectacle Shoppe is where I purchased my own custom glasses many years ago. Sharon was having contact lens issues so came with glasses for the trip and she was seeking new ones. She found the perfect pair and sent me this truly wonderful photo of her wearing her new frames. I highly approve! They are wonderful and so much fun!

Football stadiums today are massive buildings that seat 50,000 or more people
for each game. It's a far cry from the smaller stadiums that were in place
when the blackout rule was first instituted. 

For many years the National Football League has had a rule in place with the Federal Communications Commission called the Blackout Rule. Basically stated, if the home team does not sell a certain proportion of their seats for a game within a set number of hours before the game is played, the game will not be broadcast in the local area. This was meant as an incentive to get fans to buy tickets and watch the games in person instead of going to their local sports bar or their nearest TV. The FCC eliminated the Black-out Law yesterday and I'm delighted. As stadiums become larger and larger, accommodating 50,000+ people, not all games will be that popular. And not all of us enjoy the crowds and traffic, not to mention the expense, of seeing the game in person. Now we can watch the game on our own televisions without worrying about ticket sales. Freedom!

It's now October and you know what that means - ghosts and
ghouls and things that go bump in the night. Look at this lovely
carved pumpkin. Are you ready for your own carving party? It's not
too many days away now. Stock up on the candy and start
decorating the house. Halloween is only 30 days away!

Finally, after a wonderfully warm weekend, fall temperatures are back again. We're in the 40's-50's overnight and in the upper 50's to lower 70's for the days. This is the autumn I'm used to, and even though I loved indulging in the hot temps we had over the weekend, I'm just fine with allowing the seasons to move through their annual, cyclic dance.

Time to get hopping...

Well - I've got to get going. I have a Hop to finish the preparations for. (This is me, hopping away - LOL.) Have a wonderful Wednesday.

Getting Down to Business

Yesterday was the final day of this year's Renaissance Festival and we had a fabulous HOT day, an unusual way to end fest. We left early, something we usually never do on last day, but we (read I) didn't want to walk down the long pathway in the dark and then be in a long line of cars trying to exit the grounds and return to the cities. Se after catching up with friends at the Fest, we headed for the car. I had DH home in time to watch his football game and all was well. We were both so exhausted that we called it an early night.

I've always had a thing for amazing guitar players. Slash
has been a favorite since his Guns N Roses days. 

This morning I'm grooving to fabulous music while reading and catching up on my email and writing this blog. I've been reading the biography of Slash, the lead guitarist for Guns & Roses and was very curious about what he had done after that group broke up. Searching, I found the albums for Velvet Revolver, his next group, as well as his solo album and a variety of things he had done on his own fronting different singers and musicians. After reviewing, I finally decided to buy one because I've loved his work on the guitar for many years. So I've been rocking out to "Slash, Made in Stoke" this morning. He said something in his autobiography that resonated with me and helped make my choice. When he had a choice of what to listen to, a studio recording or a live one, he always chose the live recording because it was a much clearer truth to what the band actually sounded like. So true. Loving this album.

Slash toured with singer Myles Kennedy for a few years. It seems to have
been a good partnership. Kennedy has a lot of range that Axyl Rose had, but
a deeper resonance and less innocence coming through the vocals. Still, a good choice. 

The Bead Shops Hop starts Wednesday and I'm nowhere near ready. We got a huge shipment of new product on Thursday and have been busy trying to get as much processed and on the sales floor as possible, but a lot of that won't hit the floor until late this week or even next week. I'm spending as much time as possible sprucing up the store, and the door prize contributions by my various vendors have been totally OUTSTANDING, but I still have to wash the floor and the windows, clean all of the countertops, and put out more product and more product! I need a clone for 72 hours.

I need a clone. I'd even accept a semi-clone at this point. 

But it's Monday and I can't worry about the week ahead, I only have to worry about one day at a time. Today I need to fight with my laptop again (time to call Dale, I think, and have him take a look at it - I'm desperate), get an email out to my customers to tell them about the Hop and all of the new things we have for them. My laptop has been really messed up and I'm hoping Dale can bring it back to a much cleaner, swifter life.

My laptop isn't broken, but it's SLOOOOOOOOOOOOW! I need
my computer guru to see what he can do to get
me back up to speed. 

So there's my Monday. Too much to do, to little time in which to do it. Immersed in great guitar work and frenetic music. Yeah - the music is making everything so much better....