It's a Busy Time of the Year - I'm Moving a Mountain, One Shovel at a Time

I was too rushed to get much done on my cards yesterday, but I already know I'm running a bit behind schedule. I need one more element for the card interior, and must decide on that today. To that effect, I'm bringing my entire bin of stamps to the shop with me. I'll try to look through them and choose what I need, then bring the bin back home with me tonight - there's no sense to accumulating tools at the shop. The bin has a home in my craft room (even if I still can't move in there because of all we pulled out of the basement storage room when it flooded in late August). I really need to reclaim that room, and I'll try to get started on that no later than the beginning of next year. 

Tasks that are large and multi-faceted are always 
a mountain to be climbed. But to move a mountain 
of dirt, you need to pick up the shovel and start 
moving it, one shovel, and one wheelbarrow at 
a time. I've got my pile of "to-do's" down to 1/4 
size, but there's still a lot to be done before the cards 
get into the mail. 

I'll finalize my mailing list on Thursday and print out the envelopes. My two-day Black Friday and Small Business Saturday sale begins on Friday, so I don't get Friday off, I have Thanksgiving instead. Tomorrow's schedule will be intense - swimming, straight on to grocery shopping, then a 3-hour Zoom call followed by a 1-hour Zoom call. If I get a lot done on the cards before work on Friday and Saturday, I'll be able to start the final assembly on Sunday. It's going to be several days of intensive work from now until Monday. 

My list doesn't comprise good and bad 
children, my list is mailing addresses for 
my Solstice cards. I still have to check 
it every year, making sure addresses are 
current. 

On today's schedule is hanging the garland at the shop. I'm a believer in allowing every holiday it's own time, so I don't put up the Christmas decorations until just before Thanksgiving. DH and Chickie can deal with the Christmas tree tomorrow. I despise putting trees up and hanging ornaments. Decorated trees are lovely, and if they are real (which the one at the shop is NOT), they smell delightful. However, they're a lot of work, a lot of mess, and have to be well-tended else they become a fire hazard. When it comes to Christmas trees, I'm a bit of a Scrooge. 

I like Christmas trees. More 
specifically, I like real Christmas 
trees. I love that pine scent, I love 
the feel of the branches. But we 
haven't put up any trees at home 
in years. I got totally over it while 
I had multiple shops. After getting 
them all decorated, I wasn't in the 
mood for home trees at all. 

So there you go. Busy as usual is my byline for the next few days. I'll still be posting, and I'll still be in the swimming pool on Wednesday and Friday. I'll be working on this and on that, talking with friends throughout the world, reaching out to friends on DW and LJ through my blog and my cards, and generally having a lovely time being busy, because busy isn't always a bad thing. I hope you have a wonderful day and I'll be back tomorrow. In the meantime, please be kind and leave smiles behind you as you pass today. 

And, would you like a special treat? Go to   https://www.yourclassical.org/mpr  (Minnesota Public Ratio) and click on Cantus singing "Simple Gifts". Cantus, a local men's acapella group, has been a favorite of mine for years and years. This was a beautiful way to start my day today. 

Things Are Wrapping Up and Searching Through Stuff - LOL

DH and I tore the craft room and his workshop apart yesterday looking for a staple gun. Now, we were looking specifically for MY staple gun, not one of the four that DH has. His work perfectly, but they're too hard for my hands to operate one-handed. When I'm putting up the garland in the store (today's chore), I need to hold the garland in place with one hand and staple with the other. 

I have a staple gun like this. Unlike the many styles 
of just steel, I find I can compress this one without 
needing two hands. After I've put almost 100 staples 
into the shelving and cabinets at the store, ease of use
and no pain is important to me. 

For years I had kept my staple gun on top of one of my craft bins. I knew exactly where it was, no hunting necessary. BUT ... two years ago or so, DH claimed it was a poor choice of location for my tool and that I should put it somewhere better. Apparently I found a "much better" location, because I couldn't find it when I needed to. 

The garland I use is a red/green mix quite similar 
to this. I purchased it from Frank's many years 
ago before they went out of business. I admit that 
I decorate the same every year. Lack of imagination? 
Not really, just not really "into" decorating the store. 

After unsuccessfully searching for it in the early morning, DH and I returned to the search after dinner last night. Finally, success! After I had tried several of his offered alternatives (including the electric, which actually would have worked, but been very inconvenient), we took a final look at the craft room and there, behind a sorting project and standing on-end next to some labelled boxes, was my staple gun in it's plastic bag labelled with my name. I've got it with my laptop now and it's coming to work with me today. It's time to "Christmas" the store. 

We have a lit Christmas tree similar to this, 
that we place on top of some low display cases 
near the center of the store. It's a haunted 
Christmas tree. The lights aren't blinking 
lights, but every once in a while, it will start 
to blink on and off randomly, then stop, 
then start again. We decided years ago that 
the tree must be haunted. 

We split the chores for holiday decorations (and they're always the same because we hate to decorate). I staple tinsel garland across the top of the library shelves and leather display, and DH handles bringing up our ancient tree and decorating it. I don't like to decorate trees, just love them when they're done and rather magical. So he'll do the tree on Wednesday, but I'll do the garland today. 

Maybe I should have set up a "Chore Chart" for my holiday 
cards, but I've done them for so many years, I'm pretty aware 
of what needs to be done and in what order. Gluing on 
the faceplates actually takes time, because the glue has 
to set properly. But it's not difficult to do. Just takes time. 
The little gifts are a breeze - just cut and twist and done. 

The holiday cards are complete (yippee). Well ... almost. I still need to glue the faceplate onto each card, but that's easy. I'm also working on the finishing touches for the small gift that I'm enclosing with each one. I'll try and take some time on Thanksgiving to get my files together and start printing out the envelopes. Then it'll be a simple matter of assembly, stamps and taking them to the post office. Final stages ... those make me happy. I'm still well ahead of my Solstice cut-off date for getting them to the Post Office. 

Have an excellent Tuesday and please - be well, stay safe and wear your mask. I hope you have a wonderful day. I'll be back tomorrow. 

Time To Shovel, Time To Swim

In an hour I'll be outside shoveling. I'm not sure how much snow we got, but since the forecast was for anywhere from 3"-8", I'm going to have to allocate some serious time to getting the driveway taken care of. If it's a lot, I'll wake DH and have him snow blow, but I could probably use the extra exercise. 

I'll be shoveling snow within 15 minutes or so. We got dumped on
overnight, so it's going to take some time. Still, shoveling burns
calories and can be a wonderful workout. 

In two hours I'll finally be back in the swimming pool. I've really missed it a lot, and I'm looking forward to going back. I found that I enjoyed working out to the machines too, though, so I may work out a schedule where I switch around more often, maybe four days in the pool and two on the machines. It's going to be great to be a drowning guppy once again, though. 

I've used this image for my "Drowning Guppy" for years now. I just
love how happy she seems to be under the water, and her
goggles and swimsuit are great colors against the water. 

With the snow, and diving into massive sub-zero temps for the next few days following, we're probably not going to be super busy at the shop. Chickie spent yesterday and will probably spend today at her old apartment, finishing up the cleaning and moving the last few things over to the new house. She's been working hard at it, but her lease is officially up on the 31st, so time is running out. 

The clock is ticking for Chickie's apartment stint. Her lease is
officially over on February 1st, and she'll probably have a
final walk-through with the landlord on Tuesday or
Wednesday night. She won't get her deposit back, but
she's not counting on it either. 

We spent Sunday continuing to work on our major clean. I tackled the study and he continued working on the studio. New shelving is up and already filled and he's finalizing his plans for the units he'll be building for my other side. We have to get this figured out because we'll have to do a serious move in one section fairly quickly - the carpeting we want to replace comes into the studio in one small place, but it'll be a killer to get access to. I'll have to build looking for new carpeting into my schedule soon. 

We'll use Hamernick's again for our carpeting. It's almost a family
tradition - my father-in-law and sister-in-law used them for
all of their carpeting needs for years and years. They did my
living room carpeting and the lino for my kitchen a few years ago. 

Still, we're cruising right along as best we can given the weather and the fact that a lot of things have to be pushed off until Spring. This coming Sunday is Super Bowl and we're not going to be cleaning then. But next week we'll continue our quest for organization. It's never-ending with the two of us. 

Enjoy your day and be safe, be warm. I'm going to wrap this up, plug in photos and start shoveling. Ick! I'll be back on Tuesday. 

Steps, Trees and Mantle

Good morning all. Are you bleary-eyed from watching last night's final presidential debate? I let DH watch it and I skipped it. I've already voted and really didn't need to get my blood pressure up listening to the two candidates spew. DH is in a fix, though. He's a lifelong Republican who hates Donald Trump and refuses to vote for him, but he hates Hillary and the Clinton Foundation just as much. Fortunately Tuesdays are his normal day off, so if he decides to vote, he can get to the polling center in mid-day when the lines will be much shorter, and he doesn't need to make a final decision about voting until November 8th.

DH spent Tuesday working on the steps. He redid several of
them and then shaped and placed the capstones onto each
one. They're looking good, aren't they? 

In the meanwhile, he's working on the steps for the castle. He spent Tuesday laying out the capstones and cutting them to shape. They're beautiful now, and if things dry out enough by the afternoon, he might try using the adhesive on a few of the steps. Everything has to be dry for that, though, and in our fall temperatures, the morning dew takes a few hours to dry from the stone.

Here's a detail look at the first two steps with their capstones
on top of them. If all goes well today, he'll start gluing
those capstones into position. 

I had John from Monster Tree out yesterday to look over the yard and give us a quote. He was fabulous - extremely professional. He had his tablet computer or iPad with him from the beginning, taking measurements and photos and making notes. He spent almost 45 minutes looking at each tree, finally came up with a number and before his car had left the driveway, I had his quote in my email inbox. He came in more than $1000 less than Twin City Tree, and that included grinding the stumps. If we decide to skip that, it would knock almost another $1000 off the bottom line. I have one more guy scheduled for next week and then we'll decide, but Monster is probably who we'll end up with.

I really love their logo. We will have to be
careful with whoever we hire and watch them
to make sure the right trees are removed and our
castle walls are left intact, but we would have
to do that with anyone. I have one more bid set
up for next week, then we'll make up our minds. 

Finally, an on-line friend of a few years asked for a picture of my mantle. She posted one of hers the other day and I commented that mine was nothing like hers - very true. She's a lovely artist with a flair for color and accent pieces, and I really loved her cozy and warm mantle. My mantle extends the width of my living room and, since I have a vaulted ceiling, goes up pretty high. DH and I have been involved in the Native American art field for more than 30 years, and our artwork reflects that with three masks by Peter Ray James (Navajo), a central acrylic original by William "Bill" Rabbit (Cherokee), and a guache on the far right that we picked up in Santa Fe. This piece changes in different lighting and I love it. So there you go, Kaishin.

Above the mantle are ceramic masks by Peter Ray James, and two
paintings. On top of the mantle are a variety of items - tinwork from
Mexico, Navajo baskets and a Yeibichai processional set, candles
and figurines. The hearth is marble, the fireplace, while having a
working chimney, has never been used for actual flame. 

I'm off to the pool, then on to the shop. I got the next piece for my holiday cards in the mail yesterday, so I want to try some trial runs with my embosser before working on the actual cardstock for the next phase. Have a great Thursday!

Draperies are EXPENSIVE!

Oy! DH and I went to JC Penney's to look at possible draperies for our picture window. The decorator had come through at prices of $1500-$4000 for one window and that was out of the question. So we have now started looking for alternatives.

We have a strict budget that we need to stick to, but that money is
flying away quickly with the carpeting and laminate. 

We can order custom draperies through Penney's in lots of different fabrics, with the fabric cost being the basis. We need a unique length, not a standard one, and we have a pinch-pleated style with a left draw center pull (the terms I am learning - LOL). We actually did find five fabrics that we liked and they will arrange for samples of each to be mailed to us so that we can see them in the room. After looking at them, if we don't like them, they have an in-home option where a consultant will come and meet with us in our home to show us more colors and possibilities. So there are choices. But we do have a strict budget that we're trying to stick to and the carpeting and laminate are eating up most of that amount.

There are so many kinds of drapery fabric, and most of them are not
ready-made for pinch-pleat mounting. The ones we really liked were made for
pocket or sweep rods which are not what we have. But we ended up finding
some fabrics that we liked and if necessary, we can wait until they go
on sale. Our drapes are crappy, but they will hold up until we order new ones. 

I should be getting my new carpet samples this week and I hope DH likes one of the three. Once he's made up his mind on the carpet, I can go ahead and get things scheduled. We finally have made up our minds on laminate, so one step down...many still to go.

Dilly Bars are vanilla ice cream that has been chocolate dipped, all
on a stick for easy eating. At 210 calories, it's not horrible, and it's
quite tasty. 

Yesterday was a picture-perfect day. After returning from drapery shopping, we loaded Minion up with wood to take to compost and after returning, DH settled down to watch the next game of hockey. I couldn't stand still, so I decided on a walk. It's a little over 1-1/2 miles to get to my closest Dairy Queen, so I took a brisk walk down there, treated myself to a Dilly Bar which I ate at Lake Josephine (right across the street from the DQ) and then briskly walked home again. It took a little more than an hour total, and I felt much better at the end for having gotten at least some exercise.

Here I am sitting at Lake Josephine, eating my Dilly Bar. There wasn't
a cloud in the sky, it was just a soft breeze, the temps were cool
enough to wear a light jacket or hoodie. It was just about the perfect day. 

So here it is, Monday again and another week starts. DH is happy because our hockey team won yesterday and is progressing in the quest for Lord Stanley's Cup. I hope each of you has a wonderful day and I'll be back tomorrow.

Toys, Drapes and Shine

I used my newest toy for swimming yesterday. I'm delighted to say that it worked perfectly. My waterproofed iPod Shuffle gave me a good pace, kept me pushing through a few rough periods I had in the water as I did my laps, and generally passed its first trial by water in fine style. I've decided to drop down one size on the earplugs for Friday and see if that improves things even more, and I need to get a bit more familiar with the controls, but it was a good first outing. I suspect I'll get as much use from this iPod as I do from my slightly larger one which I use for my machine days. So far I've lost 25 pounds since the beginning of January and I feel 1000 times better, so the gym is definitely working well for me. In fact, yesterday I wore a pair of jeans that I haven't been able to wear for the past two years! SCORE! LOL.

My new little iPod worked really well in the pool
yesterday. The gals all laughed at me, calling me a
Gadget Geek. Well, I am, but this is also my early
birthday gift to myself and I think I'm going to love it. 

I saw the decorator yesterday with our new colors and samples in hand. She will order some larger carpet samples in for us to look at. They will be mailed directly to me. We also went through their laminates with the smaller sample I had brought along with me and chose two that were quite similar for DH to look at. These are larger 1x2 ft samples, so he can get a very good idea of color range and changes. So far we're divided on which of the two we like better, but they're quite close and we'll get there eventually. There's no major rush on this. I had been shooting for a mid-May install, but because it's taking longer to make up our minds, I'm pushing that back to 2nd or 3rd week of June instead which will give me more time to catalog our paperbacks - all to the good.

I've gotten almost 1000 of our paperback books
scanned and into my Book Catalogue app.
Now they're in boxes, alphabetized by author.
I still have a lot of books to go, but I've made
a very good start. 

But the draperies! DH and I had agreed on a particular fabric, but when I went to talk with Chara about the decorating, she gave me prices for drapes. If I had chosen that fabric, the drapes would have cost as much as the entire carpeting! No, and again NO! Even going with a lesser fabric, the drapes seem unusually expensive to me. I have basic dimensions now, so DH and I will go to JC Penney's on Sunday and see what something comparable would cost if we ordered through them. I'm sure they would still need to come and measure again, and that would be fine.

OK, I want my drapes in a light neutral ice grey and it covers a width
three times this wide, but it's a pretty basic drape. You wouldn't think
I would have to pay THAT much for it. 

I also left a text message for a friend who has been involved in professional sewing for years to find out if she may have any recommendations for me as far as someone who might make custom drapes for a lesser cost. Fabric can always be ordered by the bolt, I've done it before. It's not an unusual drape except it's wide. It's a standard double-draw drape that goes across my large picture window. I want a lined drape with a center pull. It's straight sewing, just a lot of fabric and the seams need to be absolutely straight. But it's basic sewing and if I wasn't so swamped with other things, I could probably sew them myself.

I decided on Sea Glass as the color of my
new MisFit. I was tempted to choose Wine, but
I think I prefer the lighter color. 

So onward to the machines. I'm shipping my defective MisFit Shine to the manufacturer this morning and they will be sending me a Sea Glass colored replacement as soon as they get my old one back. Hopefully by the end of next week I'll be back up and running with a new wrist ornament. Happy Thursday to everyone!

The Week and Weekend - Looking Ahead and Backward

I don't forget, but I don't always have to push either. 

Thursday was Holocaust Remembrance Day in the US. I remembered, I mourned. I spoke in more detail about the Holocaust and my family's experiences earlier this year so my history is generally known; it's not always necessary to make it front and center. Nuff' said. 

I don't want to purchase Home Depot carpeting. Their carpet is
almost all Polyester, but I'm looking at Nylon instead because it's
more durable and feels better. 

So DH and I went to our local Home Depot store after dinner last night. We looked at carpet samples, checked out the sample boards, grabbed free sample squares of a couple of carpets and three stone-look laminates. Then I pushed him over to look at kitchen faucets while I arranged the paperwork for several sample boards so that we could take them home for a few days. 

We rather liked the left-hand sample here. I think I ended
up checking this sample board out for a few days. 

I found it rather funny. Once I put the "No" on his desire for blue carpeting (I'm going for a neutral grey), he started pointing out samples he liked and we ended bringing home samples that were very similar to the samples I brought home from the decorating center on Wednesday. LOL. Guess I knew what I was doing after all. 

I'm looking at laminate for the kitchen similar in appearance to this.
I don't want this brand (in fact, I don't think my decorating center even
carries this brand). I'm sure I'll be able to find a similar look. 

It was really helpful to have the laminate samples from Home Depot, though. We managed to agree on one and I'll go back to the decorating store on Wednesday and we'll see about getting samples similar to what I found at the big box store. I'm sure there will be something. 

I'm looking at this as possible for my new draperies. I think
it will go well with the new grey carpeting. 

Coming home we laid things out, discussed yes/no, and he even went through the fabric sample book I had brought home and stopped at one I had chosen as a possibility. Yeah - I picked good. We'll look at things more over the weekend in different lighting conditions and get a better idea, but I think I'll be much better prepared when I return to the decorating center on Wednesday for my next appointment. 

It's Minnesota, there's no snow on the ground, and the orange signs
and barricades have erupted throughout the area faster than the
leaves have started coming out on the trees. 

On Sunday we'll maneuver around the various road construction projects that are on-going and get to the art museum. We're both looking forward to a fun day spent looking at fabulous artwork. But first, I have to get to the gym, work for the day, and then I can kick back for a full day of fun and eye candy. Fabulous! Happy weekend to all! 

 

This, That and One Spoiler

So tonight DH and I will go look at carpeting and other samples at Home Depot after I get home from work. I'm giving up my "Amazing Race" for this since asking him to give up a hockey game, now that the Stanley Cup Playoffs have started, would be a waste of breath. But I really need to get a better handle on what he wants since the items I brought back from the decorating center didn't seem to meet his criteria. While we're at it, maybe we could pick up a new kitchen faucet too. Our current one is barely functioning and almost ready to break completely.

I want a rather basic kitchen faucet with sprayer,
similar to this,  We may end up having to get a
single knob variety, though. 

My friend Huinare got accepted to grad school for her MA in Anthropology. I'm extremely happy for her and celebrating, (virtual confetti is drifting down from the ceiling), even though I'm several states away from her. I remember the joy and relief I had when I got my acceptance letter for this so many years ago. Even though I didn't get into the school I had really wanted, grad school still turned out to be the single experience that changed my life the most, not least of which was meeting and moving in with DH. I know she'll do a fabulous job and write something outstanding for her thesis.

For those who may be confused about how the
new characters fit in to the Star Wars universe,
here's a handy little family tree put out by
our own evil empire - Disney. If they manage to
mess the franchise up, I'm not sure if the fans
will ever forgive them. And, BTW, Han shot first! 

I'm probably one of the few who has not rushed to the internet to see the new 90-second trailer for the upcoming Star Wars movie. I like the franchise and have hopes for it, and I've heard good things about the trailer so probably will see it sometime today, but yesterday was busy and things just didn't work out for me to be able to watch it. So there you have it - even though I've watched SW since the very beginning, I'm not planning to rush to the theatre to watch another episode in the saga just yet. I guess I'm still smarting from the disaster of Episodes I, II and III.

SPOILER ALERT - FACE OFF

Darla won with her four elemental characters, from left - Fire,
Air, Water and Earth. Each presentation was beautifully
conceived, but her "Air" character stole the show. It was truly
beautiful and innovative. 

We had a chance to see the final episode of this season's "Face Off" on Tuesday night and I was thrilled that the winner was Darla. Aside from her talents as an FX artist, she's from Minnesota, so I was cheering her on all season long. Next season begins in July and I already can hardly wait.

That's it for today. I've got to smack some pics into this and head out to the pool. Have a fabulous Friday!

Relaxing - A Photo Blog

So yesterday I was running around all day and ended up researching laminate for much of the night. I managed to get my laundry done, but that's about all. I have samples of carpeting, drapery material and laminate cluttering up my house, and I don't think I like any of them. I need to relax, because I get to do this all over again next week. ARGH!

These chairs are just waiting for me. The combination of
water and a soft breeze is usually perfect for relaxation. 

A hammock at the beach? Yes please. May I have a lovely
cabana boy bearing drinks with little umbrellas along
with my hammock, please? 

Not all water needs to be the ocean. Here, a lovely mountain
lake beckons us to relax and swing our legs over the bared
roots of the ancient pine. 

A waterfall cascading over a canyon wall brings needed moisture
to the desert climates. This secluded get-away spot is just perfect
for some serious relaxation. 

No water nearby? A comfortable seat in the park may be all
that's needed to help you relax. 

No time for a trip? Put on some good tunes and
relax on your own couch for a while. Music can
be stirring or inspirational, but it can also be relaxing. 

Just relax. Take it easy. Go with the flow. And don't lose
sight of that necessity to take a few minutes for yourself. You'll
be the better for it. 

Now to see if DH and I can ever come to agreement on carpeting, laminate and drapery fabric. *sigh* My exercise time at the gym seems like a vacation compared to getting both of us on the same page.
Have a wonderful Thursday. The week is moving along...