All Souls Day

Finishing up the triad of days that celebrate the dead, today is All Souls Day. The Catholic Church, in it's heavy-handed way, had decided to move All Saints Day (which was celebrated yesterday with Dia de la Muerte) from March to the beginning of November to help offset the pagan celebration of Samhain. But the church was always focused on the high, and rarely acknowledged those teeming masses that allowed them to celebrate mass in a filled church, collect lots of great stuff and allowed them to build some of the most marvelous architectural structures in the world. They began to allow cracks in their armour when they established All Souls Day. Today is a celebration for ALL of the dead - all of them, not just the Saints or highly placed people. So, today, think back on those who made a difference in your life and acknowledge their actions. You are a better person because of their influence and perhaps they were also enriched by you.

Today is also my studio day. As usual, I will be starting out with breakfast and a list of errands. But when I get home, I'll set up my Silhouette with a new blade, and continue making my Solstice Cards. Hopefully I'll get some good results today, I need some increased speed in the making of these... I will also try to continue working on a repair that I promised by Thanksgiving because I have one more repair hanging in the wings, and with my "spare" time I also have one story to beta and three others to write... I guess I'll be busy trying to be creative. Life could be SO much worse.

So, hug your children today, talk to an elder, phone your parents and tell them how important they were in your life. Touch another person in some way. Both of you will be enriched by the interaction. Goddess bless!

A Day of Accomplishment

Yesterday was a busy, busy day. But in the main, I accomplished everything on my list. I even found cards that will work well for my holiday cards and began cutting them out on my Silhouette. But I wasn't able to get clean cuts on more than just a few. I'll order some new blades today (they are SO slow on shipping that I'd better get that going as quickly as possible). The cards themselves will be very pretty, though. I just need a successful afternoon where the cutter is actually working properly *sigh*.

I investigated a wholesale only kitchen supply store that had been recommended to me. I wanted some gold/silver colored aluminun foil and a steak weight that was not crosshatched. They didn't have either of those things, but they did have some excellent pricing on my charge machine and my sales register tapes. I'll be dropping by there next week to get my first restock supply. It was a fun place to walk through - so many items! I now have my membership card though - I'm in!

Finally, thanks go out to all of my LC friends who took so much of their time and effort focused towards helping me to improve my writing. What all of you did yesterday amazes and humbles me. It was so much information and it will take a while to percolate through, but that you would take that time during your busy lives to help improve a short drabble...I can't express how very, very grateful I am to each of you. I give you a bouquet and a promise that I'll try to continue to improve with each story I write.

Working? Hardly!

Doing a variety of signage for my shop has been at the top of my professional "to do" list for a week.  I have the vinyl pre-cut and ready to place for my exterior windows and I'll try and get that applied late this morning when the sun has warmed the window up to its maximum.  This is an experiment for me, but I think it will work well.  At least I learned a lot about my new toy - my Silhouette - and what I can and cannot do with it, how it operates, and what materials work or don't work well for cutting in it.  I also need to make new signage for my holiday kits and for my aluminum jump rings.  It was on my list to do those last night, but I ended up with other things that I had to do on the computer instead.  I need to get these done, so I may end up working on them at the shop today on my laptop instead of at home.  That's not what I wanted to do, since I prefer to work the sales floor (our sales dollars also reflect when I am out on the floor instead of in the back room), but I think we're caught up enough that I could work in the back for an hour or two. 

This dress is one of Mondo's strongest
designs for Fashion Week.  Looking
through other offerings, I think he has a
good chance of winning this.

Last night on Project Runway, Michael C was the last designer to be eliminated before Fashion Week - the final episode - occurs next week.  The final three for Fashion Week are Mondo, Andy and Gretchen.  Of the mini-show presented last night, I actually thought that Gretchen's collection was rather weak and if the remainder of what she will walk down the runway next week is as weak as these, she won't win.  Andy's outfits were not very strong either - I think he has done better work during the competitions earlier in the season.  And Mondo's outfits were clearly his style, but borderlined to circus - a bit too costume instead of couture.  I can hardly wait until next week's finale and I hope that Mondo manages to pull this off and win this season. 

Number 600

Jeepers!  (Isn't that a quaint expression from the past?)  When I first started this blog I had little hope of keeping it up.  But I have kept it up as a journal of my personal journey through life and as a creative being, and here I am, at post #600.  I was never able to keep a diary or journal with any consistency, but I have managed to keep this E-journal going - at least one thing is going well. 

These 33 miners were trapped more
than 2000 feet below ground for more
than two months!  They are above-ground now.

Yesterday I accomplished a lot, but not as much as I had wanted to.  I have looked high and low in every room of the house for my stripper solution.  I had it last week (obviously) when I stripped two of my boxes.  I prepped six boxes and purchased a large roll of aluminum foil so that I could strip them, but then couldn't find my three cans of solution and brushes.  I really can't afford to purchase new supplies, so I'll keep looking.  I won't have a chance to do more on these until either Sunday or next studio day now, so I'll have a few days to keep looking.  I progressed in my plans for Chickie's birthday party and purchased cutting images for my Silhouette.  I cleaned at least two stacks of books from the den and I'll bring DH's pants with me to the shop today and draft the pattern for his pants from my large roll of brown paper that I have there.  I think I'll bring my Silhouette machine to the shop on Friday and test-cut some things.  I have the software on my laptop also so I can work with the machine away from home. 

What a dramatic rescue.  Above ground
after more than two months. 
Well Done!

And congratulations to Chile for their exemplary work in rescuing their 33 trapped miners.  It was an incredible effort, but they managed to get a rescue shaft sunk in record time and bring them back to the surface two months before the original estimate.  I had to smile at the one minor who was greeted by his mistress, his wife having found out about his affair while he was entrapped.  I have a great fear of enclosed spaces and tunnels, even large spaces underground like Carlsbad Caverns are difficult for me (although I was able to view the Caverns and they were amazing).  The thought of being that far underground and then having to get into that narrow capsule...I would have been a raving idiot by the time I would have made it to the surface.  Yeah.....(shaking off the bad feeling)...a raving idiot.  Congratulations, Chile!