Still No Certificates and Working on Fridays

Instead of a day off yesterday, I worked for most of the day in the basement shrink-wrapping artwork to put out onto the sales floor. We have a massive amount of artwork and a lot of it can be backed and shrink wrapped and easily put out for sale. It's not necessary to frame them - that just adds to the cost for the customer. This way we can keep costs under control for everyone. 

My shrink wrapping equipment is almost identical to 
this set-up. The wrap is on the large roll, it actually 
threads onto the shorter black post which separates the 
two layers of the wrap. The larger hinged item with 
the large black handle is a heat sealer/cutter. When 
you've pulled off the right length of wrap, you depress 
the long heat bar which seals and separates the 
sealing material from the roll so that you can then 
use the heat gun (standing on top of the very back 
of the equipment) to actually shrink the wrapping around 
the artwork and to coax any wrinkles out of it. 

Still no luck with finding the certificates, so I'm going to have to "fess up" to DH and admit that I managed to lose them. He won't be pleased, but I'm hoping he'll still buy my new set of Nike running shoes, in spite of my not having the proper certificate from hin. The other ones, I really don't remember as clearly, so they're a bit less of a serious loss at this time. I need new running shoes desperately, though. My old pair are on their last legs, so to speak. 

I need a new set of Nike running shoes. I've tried other 
brands in the past and they just ended up hurting my 
feet. I use my shoes every time I'm on the treadmill. 
But they're VERY expensive and I have to actually try 
them on to see what set feels right on my feet. *sigh* 
I'm doomed. 

I rather enjoyed the quiet, yesterday. I spent almost all day in the basement framing room dealing with the shrink wrapping equipment and the vertical cutter that is used for mats and glass. I enjoyed the solitude and not having to deal with customers. I love our customers, but sometimes it's nice to not have to assist people with their particular projects or what they're looking for. 

My Fletcher vertical cutter is mounted to the wall 
of my small framing room at the shop. It's what I use 
to cut cardboard backing for the pictures I was 
shrink-wrapping. 

I suspect that working on Fridays will be a constant from this point onward until we've managed to close the store, so my Wednesdays will be VERY full and I'll be doing all of my kitchen work either Wednesdays or, maybe a little bit on Sundays. I haven't heard from Travis (I really thought I would be getting a call from him by now) so I'll have to phone him to make sure we're on track and he's on track as well. 

So, time to wrap this up and start my Saturday. Have an excellent weekend and I'll be back on Monday morning. Slava Ukraini. 

Fighting With My Equipment - But It's Actually a Lot of Fun (Most Of the Time)

Happy July 3rd to all of my on-line friends and readers. I'm warning you that you'll get a 4th of July "Splash Page" tomorrow, but not a full post. It's a holiday and I'm going to enjoy it. I'll probably still work out on the treadmill, but no absolute guarantee. I might allow myself a bit of a sleep-in instead since there will be no more holidays until Labor Day in September. 

I had the black metal edges of each side above removed for 
cleaning and adjustment. Getting them off was easy. Getting 
them back on was another matter entirely. But I persevered, 
and after more than 30 minutes, finally succeeded in getting 
everything reassembled perfectly. Now to test the actual cut 
and whether the blade track will need adjustment at all. 

I started a serious cleaning of my horizontal mat cutter yesterday afternoon. It needs a good clean, the blades need to be aligned, and everything needs to be totally square up. At the time I chatted with Aearwen a bit later, I had the placement blocks at the top and bottom of the cutter unscrewed. That was easy. It turned out that the hard part was getting them back together properly. I discovered a great deal about a specific set screw, but putzed  with it for the full hour I was chatting with Aearwen. Then, within 10 minutes of hanging up with her, I finally managed to get the equipment properly reassembled. "Whew"! That was a bit of a job. I changed one of the blades in the head, but the other blade is a total ARGH. It's next to impossible to get out of the blade holder. I don't have a replacement blade of that shape either (that I could find), so I may have to order a packet, then take EVERYTHING apart once again. I'll do that on a day when DH is working and I'm home since it's obviously picky. 

The mat cutter is a precision piece of equipment. It's factory 
adjusted, but things can happen over time to knock the cuts 
out of true. I'll be testing the settings on Friday. I got everything 
thoroughly cleaned yesterday and managed to get everything 
back together again (eventually). THAT was a challenge - LOL. 

But on something like a machine like this, it has to be precise. Even 1/16th of a inch off will show in a larger piece. If all I'm doing are small pieces of artwork, it's not as major. But if I'm doing something that requires an opening of anywhere from 24 x 36 or similar ... that small 1/16th inch difference really can play in and make the end product trash. DH brought home two pieces of matboard for me, though. I need one piece to cut and one for the "scrap" piece that is put below it. When cutting a mat, you always have a "scrap" or "slip" piece underneath. It allows for a clean cut through the actual mat. 

A mat cutter, when properly aligned, will allow the framer 
to cut precise 90 degree angle corners in mat boards, 
allowing the artwork to look great on any wall. Even a small 
amount out of alignment will show, and it won't be a good 
thing for any customer. 

So, now that I've bored all of you, I think I'll wrap this up and head over to the swimming pool for my final swim of the day. Yesterday was crowded. I ended up with three in my lane, so we circled. Ruth swims slower than I do, and the young lady who joined us a bit later swam faster than us, but we managed quite well. It was a boring swim for me, though. I had managed to forget my underwater headphones at home, so I had no book to listen to while swimming. *sigh*. I can manage (and did manage), but I really prefer to listen to my audio books while in the water. It makes the time go faster. Have an excellent 3rd of July. I'll be back with a full post on the 5th. Slava Ukraini! 

Equipment and Television - Pretty Much My Sunday - LOL

We actually had a really nice Sunday. The weather was perfect - slight breeze, not super hot temps. We sat on our chairs on the patio and soaked in the warmth, then looked at our various plants, I pulled some weeds, and then we sat and soaked again. It was a semi-lazy day. 

My Fletcher 2000 mat cutting machine is a lot 
more expensive these days than when I purchased it 
many years ago. It's a great piece of equipment, and 
works like a dream. I need to give it a good cleaning 
and pop in a new blade and I'll be good to go. 

DH got my table set up in the den, and put my mat cutter on it, so I'm one step closer to being able to mat and frame our artwork. We're also thinking about taking the glass cutter from the store basement room where it's been mounted to the wall for 20+ years, and mounting it on our back porch wall at home instead. I'd love that in a lot of aspects. It would make things a lot easier for me when I'm framing prints and other items that need glazing. But it will deposit a very fine collection of glass shards below it, and that might be a problem since we're accessing our cars through that room several times each day. I don't want glass shards traveling into my home if I can avoid it. We're also not 100% sure we'll have enough access there. But, it's actually a good place for it. 

My Fletcher 3000 vertical cutter is used for glass as well 
as mats, backing boards, and other items. It has a blade, 
but also a glass cutting wheel. It's finicky - getting it mounted 
and adjusted to be a true 90 degrees is the challenge with 
this equipment. But once it's set, it's pretty much ready to 
go for anything I toss at it. 

DH said his secondary location would be in the garage, where he currently stocks his lumber. He'd put a lot of the lumber into the eaves, and that's fine, but it's not super convenient for him when he needs access for a project or something that needs a fix. So, plusses and minuses. But, it's looking like I'll be able to work on framing at home, and that pulls our artwork out of "immediate" and into "a bit more time" on our calendar. It means that I don't have to have everything framed before we leave. We're bringing one of our print drawer sets home (it was always our intention to do this), and we can keep unframed art that needs framing in that and then sell them at auction when they're framed. 

I have two sets of 12 drawers each of these - they're 
usually called "print drawers" and they're used in 
industrial applications for blueprints, as well as in artistic 
applications for storing artwork flat. We'll take one of 
the sets home. We've always planned on putting them 
in the sub-basement. It'll be a struggle getting them 
into the location, but they'll fit really well once it's there. 

I haven't checked out auction numbers for the current batch which we shipped to Santa Fe. I know DH was complaining about one item, but I pointed out that anything we got was better than having it sit in a case or on our shelving, unsold at all. Point taken! LOL

"Patience" is a new series this season, for our PBS 
station. DH and I have really been enjoying it. 
There are plenty of synopsis out in the web for it, 
so check them out for a description of the series and 
the characters. But it's really well done and it's very 
quickly made its' way onto our MUST SEE list. 

Finally, last night was a delightful TV night with "Patience" and "Grantchester" following. I've loved "Grantchester" for years. It's fun to have a new season with new challenges. "Patience" is new for us - she's almost like a female "Professor T" in many aspects. I like the character, and I'm enjoying the interactions between her and the police people she's been assisting. Each side is broadening their understanding one step at a time and it's ringing true. 

So, I'm out of here. We'll have the 4th of July off, of course, to celebrate Independence Day, and I might even let myself sleep in that day. Who knows. All I know is I get a mid-week day off this week, and I'm already celebrating - LOL. Have an excellent Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

It's Catch-up Time - Cooking and New Stuff

It's catch-up time, and I'm going to try to catch up with all of your last week's posts over the next few days. I might not get to all of the posts, but I'm going to give it my very best. I know, from prior years, that I sometimes miss something. If something really important happened, please message me and let me know I should check out a specific posting that you made over the past week. I care about you, my friends, and I want to know about your lives so that I can be supportive if needed, or merely cheer you on from the sidelines. 

I loved this recipe (link at the bottom of the following 
paragraph). It was quick and easy, the flavors were 
wonderful, and it made a nice portion that will feed me 
for several days. Highly recommended! 

I got my house back in order yesterday, putting all of the last items from Sharon's visit into their proper locations, and doing general cleanup. Most of all, though, I cooked! I had really missed having meals prepared in the refrigerator, so it was a relief to decide on a meal and get it made once again. I decided to make chicken fajitas and they turned out wonderfully. It was a really easy recipe, and I used some of my New Mexican Hatch Chili powder and flakes, so it has a nice mild bite to it. I just spent almost 15 minutes trying to find the exact recipe I used, and wasn't able to. I'll take a deeper look over the next few days, because this easy and flavorful recipe might be one you might enjoy for yourself and your family too. Found it! Here's your link - https://lifemadesimplebakes.com/sheet-pan-chicken-fajitas/#wprm-recipe-container-31577

This is the mini food dehydrator that I ordered 
and that should be arriving next week. It fit 
my criteria - small, efficient, and relatively 
inexpensive. There was one other I was looking 
at, but the reviews weren't as good for it, so I 
chose this. I think it will do just fine for what 
I need and want to make. 

I also picked more banana peppers and got them into the brine, and picked the first of my Tabasco peppers. I did order a small food dehydrator from Amazon which will arrive next week, and I'll work on the Tabasco peppers when that arrives. I was quite determined to not bring anything into this house that I don't have the room for, but I determined with a little bit of re-organization, that I could accommodate the food dehydrator in a bottom kitchen cupboard. I'm pretty much out of space now, though, so I guess that's the end of my kitchen tools - LOL. It's approximately 11 x 11 inches, so nice and tiny, but it will do what I need a dehydrator to do. I almost bought a different brand, but there were too many bad reviews, so I continued to hunt and ended up with this one. 

I've been buying my eyeglasses from the Spectacle 
Shoppe for decades. They have unique frames I've 
never seen anywhere else, and their level of customer 
service is excellent. After having had several sets 
from Zenni and EyeGlassesDirect, I returned to my 
standby because I know I'll get a quality set of glasses 
that I'll be able to wear for decades. 

I also got a phone call in the middle of the afternoon from my Optical company. While at the State Fair, I had purchased three different pairs of eyeglass frames to have done for me. The frames were inexpensive - it's their annual sale of All Frames for $59, and there are some awesome frames that they offer - hundreds of sets. I narrowed my choices to three, but simply couldn't choose between them, so ended up purchasing all three of them. They have now been properly lensed (and no - the lenses were extra $, of course). I've got an appointment at 10:00 am on Wednesday at one of their shops to pick up the glasses and make sure they are properly fitted to my face. I can hardly wait. I'm really looking forward to the new eyeglasses, and this is very fast turnaround, so I'm very appreciative. 

We always start the football season full of hope for 
a successful season. *sigh* That hope is rarely 
held at the end of the season - LOL. Still, it's 
football, and I love the sport. Since I can't usually 
see Denver Broncos games in my area of the 
country, I have my Minnesota games to keep me 
entertained. 

We're possibly going to have a rainy weekend, and it's the season opener for our football team (that's American football, not soccer as it would be anywhere else in the world - LOL). DH was making sounds about skipping Ren Fest and watching the game instead, and I'm totally on board with that, if it's his decision. I don't really enjoy Ren in the rain, and I'd love to watch the game, so that's what we may end up doing. But whatever we decide, I'll be back on Monday so I wish all of you a wonderful and fantastic weekend and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

It Was a Day of Cooking - I Still LOVE My Blender - LOL

I'm getting a slow start to my day today, although I got in my meditation, worked up the energy to do my 2-1/4 miles on the treadmill, took my shower, made my cups of tea and had a fruit smoothie. So now I'm settling down for a few minutes to write my blog, then I'll eat a quick breakfast and head out to the shop. If all goes well, I can get started on the envelopes for my holiday cards early today since I received the supplies I was waiting for in an Amazon package on Thursday afternoon. 

I really love my 13-bean Chili recipe. It's hearty and warm 
and perfect for our colder (and cooler) temperatures. I 
enjoy a hearty soup that can be a complete meal. 

Yesterday I worked my blender to the max and it performed like a dream. I started by working on my chili - it takes an hour of soaking/simmering the beans before everything else can be added to them, so I got those soaking, then started the meat portion in another pan. After those were done and had a chance to breathe, I brought the blender out and settled down to make another batch of the Roasted Red Peppers and Tomato Soup recipe I had made earlier in the week. 

This time I flattened out the peppers so that 
more of the skin was exposed to the broiler. It worked 
out really well, and the skin peeled off pretty easily. 
The soup, which has quickly turned into one of my 
favorites, tastes amazing! 

I decided to change it slightly - flattening the red peppers as much as I could. They took more room on the baking sheet that way, but I devoted one sheet to the peppers and used a different, smaller one for the tomatoes and onion. I increased the number of tomatoes because I had four that had to be used before they went bad. After broiling the peppers, I put the tomatoes and onion pan into the broiler and worked on the chili until they were also ready. By that time I had the chili in a single pan simmering for an hour, and the red peppers had cooled enough that I wasn't going to crisp my fingers peeling them. 

I've ended up using the last two setting on the right 
far more than I'd ever thought I would. I use Puree 
quite often, and the Soup setting is getting quite a 
lot of use lately as I've been exploring blender soup 
recipes. I also use Manual a lot for my normal 
everyday use. I do LOVE my Wolf blender.  

The tomatoes cooled while I worked on the peppers, tossing them into the base I had already prepared in the blender. After the peppers, I added the peeled tomatoes (which peeled like a dream) and the onion and put the blender onto "soup" setting. That's an automatic 6+ minute cycle so I had a chance to clean up and put that set of cookware away before starting the next item. The soup finished, I put it into containers and washed and dried the blender. 

Alkagizer recipes include a BUNCH of green things (but 
I've never had it come out of the blender looking as 
green as the bowl in the center here. I suspect that's 
some photoshopping and maybe some green dye as well. 

The second task was a batch of my alkagizers for my upcoming week. Back to the blender with a bunch of assorted veggies, odds and ends, different spices and flavors, shredded garlic, chopped green onions and, for a change, some cinnamon and a large dollop of raw honey. I haven't added any sweet to my alkagizers in the past, but it seemed like it would be a nice change. After a puree, it filled the four storage containers I have reserved for this mix, and they were in the fridge. 

I bought a fresh pineapple before my last 
Orthodontic appointment, not realizing that 
spacers would be put between my back 
teeth and that I would have my eating patterns 
altered for two weeks. I wasn't going to waste 
a good pineapple, so I whipped it into a smoothie, 
along with two apples that were nearing 
their "eat by" date. 

Looking at my kitchen, I realized I had a pineapple that needed to be cut up and used, I also had two apples that were on their last legs. So, I cut all of those up, put them in the cleaned blender, and made a batch of fruit smoothies. I just had one of these for a quick liquid breakfast and it's excellent. It does separate a bit in the refrigerator, so I did a quick whip with my immersion blender's whip attachment and it was perfect!. 

I haven't used my immersion blender very much, but 
it's a handy tool to have in my kitchen. I've mostly 
been using the whisk attachment. It moves at a 
much greater velocity than I can produce by 
hand-whipping. 

By the time DH came home, the kitchen was pristine, the soups and chili were in containers in the refrigerator, everything was back in its appropriate location, and I had a feeling of accomplishment which lasted for about five minutes - but at least I had a good day, so I was pleased. I hope your Friday was a good one, and that your Saturday is also great. I'll be back on Monday, so be good, stay safe and spread kindness. Slava Ukraini. 

A Tale of Two Blenders - The Old and the New

I had a lovely time wandering the produce aisle of my grocery store yesterday. I wanted vegetables and some fruit for my daily veggie smoothies that I eat/drink for breakfast. I had a few veggies left from my previous batch, but wanted to broaden out my choices and live dangerously. So I picked up broccoli and kale, spinach and arugula, cucumber and Italian flat-leafed parsley, apples and pears. When I got home, I washed and prepped the veggies until I had a large bowl of them, added the celery I had leftover from an earlier batch and mixed it well by hand. Then I put a good portion into my blender, added some water, and pushed the button. 

I ended up with a Ninja 1100 Professional model 
blender. It was on sale for $99, and I could 
handle that. It took one look at my veggies and 
said "No problem", then proceeded to make 
literal mincemeat of everything I threw into it. 
I'm in love - LOL. 

My blender did its best, but it simply wasn't up to the task of these heftier veggies. I tried, and a little bit got blended. I stirred, I poked, and I tried and tried. Finally, shortly before 3:00 pm I gave up. My blender just wasn't up to the task and I needed one that had more power. I texted DH that I was off to Target to get a different blender - he was NOT happy, he thinks we have more blenders in the storage space that would have been able to handle the job. I didn't have the time to spare, though, so off I went. By 3:30 pm I had my new Ninja 1100 Professional Blender washed and ready to go. By 3:50 pm I had all of my smoothies made and in glasses or in the freezer, and was starting to clean up my kitchen. I love my new blender - it's a total BEAST! 

Just some of the various veggies I purchased to have in 
my smoothies and for my salads. There a lot of green 
there - LOL. 

In the ongoing "Saga of the Dryer", the appliance repair department called me. The part has been received and they will be over to fix the dryer next Wednesday. I may push off the laundry until after it has been fixed, or just leave the laundry wet until afterwards. I really don't want to take another trip over to the laundromat. It's NOT one of my favorite places to hang out. It's not uncomfortable - it's clean, well-maintained and very suburban - but it's not home. I want to have a load drying while I have the next load washing. It's more efficient and my "spare" time for my "day off" has been eaten up with lugging my wet laundry over to the laundromat, then lugging the dried clothing back home again. 

The other half of the veggies. The Italian flat-leaf parsley 
is on the right. It's really tasty. I'm enjoying my smoothies 
for the next few days, and the best part is I won't have to 
worry about my blender any more. It can handle almost 
anything I toss at it. 

So all in all, although I didn't quite have the day I had planned, it was successful. I went to bed on clean sheets, with smoothies waiting for the next day, a clean kitchen, and a new blender which will be getting a work-out over the next few months/years. I have a date for my dryer repair and I had a great night's sleep and a good meditation session this morning before hitting the treadmill. I have a wonderful salad for lunch waiting for me in the fridge and I'm pretty happy, in general. Life is good. Now to actually accomplish something today - LOL. 

Have an excellent day. I'll be back tomorrow with another episode of "Days of My Life". In the meantime, please be kind, stay safe, and please wear your mask. 

We Went For Stone and Bought Equipment

DH and I went to the annual Minnesota Mineral Club show and sale yesterday. We've been there in the rain, in the snow and in the heat in prior years, but this year turned out just about perfect. It was cold when we got there, but had warmed up to shirt-sleeve weather by the time we left, and there was bright sunshine which brought out the people. All of the vendors we spoke to said they had a dynamite Saturday and Sunday was looking to be just as busy. 

We wanted to clean "The Machine" thoroughly before
bringing it into the house, so we set it onto the patio
table and started work. Here it is from the front. The
right side houses either a blade or a grinding wheel, and
a polishing pad or sanding wheel is housed across the
left side. 

I hadn't intended to buy any rocks (I have drawers and drawers full of them), but did end up with some Blue Lace Agate, several pieces of Selenite and two stunning pieces of Calcite which I'm hoping will cleave into windowpane slices without difficulty. I didn't spend a lot, so if it doesn't work, I'll live with it. DH bought quite a lot of varied stone, and bought some things for me as well. 

Here's the left side showing the polishing pad disk. This side needs
a bushing and we need to figure out what we would like to put onto
the pad, but we're thinking some fine-grip polishing papers for the
disc, for final shaping. 

The best find was the last one of the day. While we were looking at some Picasso Jasper and settling up with the vendor, I looked over his shelving unit of old tools, finding one of interest. I called DH over and he was intrigued also. It's small, it uses a 4-inch wheel, but what really attracted us is that it also accommodates a trim saw - it has a blade guard that gets attached for sawing - and it's a water-cooled blade. The owner fired up his generator and we plugged it in. It worked. We bought it. We figured we couldn't go too wrong for $25. 

The right side houses the blade or grinder. It came with a grinding
stone, but we're looking for a good 4" trim saw to use
instead. It's a water-lube, getting the water for cooling and
lubricating the blade from the pan at the bottom. It was
worth the $25 gamble. Small trim saws cost $400 new. 

We brought our findings home to bag and label the stone and clean "The Machine" as we're currently calling it. We spent a while getting everything cleaned up using water, WD-40 and a few tools. It's now free of built-up mud and dirt and we're searching for a trim saw for a 1/2" arbor. The Skil-craft Gem Maker Model 940 dates from the 1950's-1960's and is typical of the higher-end children's toys of that era. I remember chemistry sets that would set the house on fire or send caustic smoke through a house, and rock tumblers that did what they still do today. Toys of that era taught adult skills, sized down for small hands. This is one more example of what children were allowed to play with. I assume there were some cut or abraded fingers because of this equipment, but for us it's a nice addition to our workroom. It will be able to handle small pieces of stone without having to fire up the bigger trim saw. We're looking forward to using our $25 bargain. 

On that note, I'm out of here. It's a busy day today and I can't laze around - LOL. Have an excellent Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. 

The Guppy Is On Dry Land!

I'm banned from the pool! Only for two weeks, but it's going to push me to the gym instead of the water and I'm NOT looking forward to working out on the elliptical and the bikes. I know how (even though they've got new equipment, so I may not know enough to get going again), but I prefer the water so much more than pounding the miles away. I'm not a runner - never have been. 

Since I'm in the middle of an audio book, I'll probably continue
to listen to it. Tears, however, can be hidden in a pool, not
so much on an elliptical, so I may switch over to music and
one of my other players for the rest of the two weeks. Ot maybe
I'll use my bluetooth headphones and pull in my Spotify playlists. 

Why am I banned from the pool? I saw my dermatologist yesterday and she's busy analyzing my lab work (lots of blood given to the Lab Vampires yesterday) and a biopsy that she took. The darned biopsy is small - only 4mm or so, but it has stitches and I'm not allowed into the water until they are removed in two weeks. Argh! So not happy! But, I have to roll with the punches. Looking through my labwork results (so far) on my e-chart, I seem to be in normal ranges for almost everything. I know there are a few tests results still pending, so I'll probably hear from her later this week. 

It's a killer. I'm far from a Gym Newbie, but
they replaced all of the equipment a few months
ago and I'm not familiar with the new stuff. Ugh! 

It's been so long since I've exercised in the gym, I'm going to feel like a "beginning" newbie all over again. Damn. It messes with my routine, and I had to really dig to find exercise clothing. I'll need to pick up a new set of exercise pants, all I have is shorts and I prefer longer pants. The ones I used to wear were WAY too big and I got rid of those years ago. I'll have to add Target to my shopping tomorrow and get a set. 

I really don't like being cranky. Hopefully I'll fall
into a gym routine easily for the next two weeks,
and then I'll be able to return to the water. 

She's also got me on a steroid for six weeks - I'm not exactly sure why, but she orders and I obey. It's got me a bit cranky, can't you tell? I'm not even sure what pictures are best for my mood today. I guess I'll see what I can find, and wish all of you a great Tuesday. The plan is to be back tomorrow, if the gym machines don't kill me first. LOLOL

They're On Their Way!

Success! By mid-day yesterday I had a large stack of cards sealed and with postage attached and was heading to the Post Office to get them mailed as well as purchase postage for my international cards. Shortly afterward, my cards had been delivered to the appropriate official personage and I was cardless! They are on their way! Please let me know if they arrive in one piece - envelopes sealed, etc. I used a new envelope supplier this year and even though I think they are good quality, I never know until they've survived the mail. 

I don't use this particular brand of embossing
powder, but have used this brand in the past with
success. The little grains of silver color sparkle
in the light and right now, I have small
grains throughout the carpet of my workspace. 

My study looked like a sparkle bomb went off in it by the end of the session. I was embossing the back of the envelopes and those were large areas covered with a tinsel-colored powder. Everywhere I look now I see the tiny gleams of escaped tinsel embossing powder flecks. It's pretty amusing. I ended up sending out 45 cards and have one in reserve in case of an emergency, but after another week, I'll put everything away in my craft room and begin thinking about next year's card. 

The Tim Holtz Stamp Platform by Tonic is smartly designed and
very study. The gridded clear lid allows for precise placement
of your stamp, the interior has a raised corner into which to
place your media, the two rare earth magnents are SUPER
strong, and the lid can easily be switched depending on
the type of stamp used. Highly recommended! 

This year's effort would have been impossible to achieve without a new tool which allowed me to replicate positioning on card after card flawlessly. The "Tim Holtz Stamping Platform by Tonic" was the single best investment I've made in my papercrafts in years. Designed to work with both clear and wooden stamps (after the wood backing has been removed), the stamps pressure-adhere to the clear, gridded lid and after inking can be applied identically to page after page. The pressure is even, so both large and small stamps were crisp and clean. If you do papercrafts using stamps, get one of these! 

Thank goodness for online shopping. I don't know how
I managed to get anything before the internet! With
DH being a Christmas-time baby, getting things
for the holidays doubles and I work six-day weeks
at the same time. NOT conducive to shopping! 

So now my life returns to normal - shopping for holiday gifts for DH and a few friends and figuring out what classes I might want to take at next year's Bead & Button Show. The catalog for classes is in my hands ... I can go broke really fast! 

Here's hoping you have a tremendous Thursday. Happy Holiday season to all! 

Updates and Experiments

First, the dreaded AOL upgrade actually went smoothly. There are some new appearances, etc that I have to get used to, but it didn't take an enormous amount of time to download and get operational, so generally, I'm happy. From comments on yesterday's posts, I'm guessing not all of you have had AOL breathing down your throats to upgrade. I was using a much earlier version of the software because later versions weren't playing nicely for me. Maybe they just got anxious to get me back into a more modern version? Or not. One way or the other, though, at least it worked.

At times, upgrading has seemed quite similar to this. I hated
Windows 10 so much that I reverted back to an earlier version
within 48 hours of trying it out on my laptop. I suppose eventually
I'll have to upgrade the operating systems too, but fortunately I
haven't had to think about that lately. 

I'm trying a new thing for my holiday cards this year - cutting out copper sheeting into a rather elaborate shape, then embossing and coloring it. I'm not 100% sure it will make it into everyone's holiday card envelopes, but I'm hopeful. It's hell on my equipment, but I love to test the edges of creative cliffs. I'll have to buy some new cutting plates today, though. I toasted a new one yesterday in less than a dozen passes because the pressure I'm using to cut the copper is so intense.

Of course lightweight copper can be easily embossed with a stylus,
but I am using a heavier weight copper and wanted the shape to
be cut out without having to hand-cut each image. It's working out,
but it's really tough on my equipment. Still, I'm having fun
experimenting and pushing my creative boundaries once again. 

We're having erosion problems, and DH has only today to get some of those resolved. We've got the shed arriving at the end of the month (I just got the building permit for it yesterday morning) and one major point of erosion is the northeastern corner of the pad where we want it erected. That's a serious issue and since we'll have rain again on Friday and Saturday, he's got today to see what he can do. Unfortunately, on this one, I don't think he has much of a clue. The soil was moved and repacked when we landscaped, so it certainly doesn't have the hardpack stability of many years of sitting and shifting into itself. *sigh*

We're getting erosion at the creek edge and around one part of the castle steps
and new patio. That has the potential to be a serious problem and DH has
one day to see what he can do before the rains come again. Autumn is a
wet season, but if we can make it through into November, we'll be dealing
with less rain and more light snow - a better alternative at this point. 

Tonight, however, is Project Runway and the episode starts the night out with the sew-off between the two Terrible Twins, Claire and Shawn. I can hardly wait! I'll be trying for my usual schedule of posting a general synopsis in my Friday morning blog and the spoiler review and episode reveal in Saturday's posting.

The Twins never actually listen to critique and just go ahead and do
what they want. That didn't work so well in the last episode. Shawn,
on the left, has some design skills, and Claire, in the center, has
construction skills, but they both aren't as talented as they think they are. 

We're finally into autumn cool temperatures here and sleeping is easy and deep. That means I'm actually getting my 6 hours or so and being awakened by my alarm. It also means I'm sleepy earlier, so I'll be fighting to stay awake for the final 30 minutes of Runway tonight. The pool will wake me up in a little while - can't sleep when I'm doing laps and listening to an audio book. Here's hoping all of you have a tremendous Thursday. Be good, be kind, and cuddle your pets today.

Yesterday Was HARD!

It's not that I was sitting all day (although on my class days, that's exactly what I was doing). But working a full day yesterday, on my feet for nine hours with very little time to sit, was effin' exhausting! I'm not used to this any more. One lousy week and my stamina for work has gone to the crapper. Sheesh!

I like the look of this wall paper, although it's hard to say for sure
just looking at the computer monitor or a printout. I'm hoping to get a
sample of it so that I can see how it works with the other aspects
of the room. 

On the positive side, DH decided that wallcoverings for the living room and hallway can be done this year, so I've started looking through on-line wallpaper samples and I'll try and drop by my local wallpaper decorator store tomorrow. We would like to get it finished before we move everything back into the living room after the carpeting is done.

Getting DH to make a decision is so hard! 

DH thinks the room will be quite light with the carpet we chose, so he wants a darker wallpaper that will bring out some of the darker bits of the drapery. I think that will look fantastic, so that's the direction I'm heading too. Time for samples so that we can see what things look like. Oh Geez! That means forcing him into making another decision! Oy!

Something similar to these mixes by White Fox Beads might work
well for us. I have plenty of containers that we can recycle from
other products. I'll see what Chickie thinks today as well as check
out what we would need to sell them for. 

The store was the disaster I thought it would be when I returned. I'll be checking out empty hooks for quite a while. We've been gathering discontinued and short-stock beads together for a month or so and I have a few ideas about how to market these that I'll run by Chickie today. I also will need her help to get my wonderful six-wheel lapidary equipment moved into the basement from the trunk of my car.

The wheels are used progressively from far left to far right. There is
one additional wheel that can be mounted at the far right. Each
wheel is a higher grit to obtain a higher polish on the stone.
It's a great piece of equipment and I'm really pleased that we have it. 

Oh - didn't know about the lapidary set? Well, my first class (a two-day class) was the inlay hollow form ring. We had three sets of these wheels in the class and the teacher was selling them (at a substantial savings) when class was over. DH had been looking at getting one for several years now, so I phoned him and told him about the price. He jumped at it and so we now have a lovely Diamond Pacific Genie - six-wheel lapidary polishing and shaping unit. Since DH doesn't currently have room in his studio, I'm setting it up at the shop for a while so that I can finish the class project which is 98% done but needs the final polish and shaping. Fun!

Just substitute "she" for "he" and you've about got my life.
I doubt I'll have anyone as famous as Clarence Darrow
speaking about me after I'm dead, however. 

So there we are - back to the gym on a regular schedule now, carpeting and laminate install scheduled for next week Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and now with new equipment and new wall covering on my horizon. Life is never dull around my house! Happy Tuesday ... it's good to be back!