I'm Overtime and Have to Get Going RIGHT NOW

After having finally rescued my Dremel from the shop, I'm taking it back with me today because I actually need it in the framing area. I'll be taking it back and forth with me, however. I don't trust DH to not grab it and use it and have it disappear for a month or two, and I can't take that chance. I need it at hand while I'm framing items. 

This is a bit more modern than my Dremel and case, but it's 
similar enough. The tool changes over the years, but the 
accessories pretty much stay the same, and the case is 
super convenient to keep everything together. 

I also have an attack of sciatica down my right side. I've never had this before, and I'm NOT very happy about it now. Sitting is painful, lying down is painful, and standing isn't too great either. *sigh* I don't have a lot of choice - it is what it is. My clock keeps on running down and time is most definitely NOT my friend. 

I have never had sciatica pain before, and have no idea 
why it suddenly decided to crop up now. I suppose I might 
be leaning differently while working on framing, but that's 
really the only different thing that's going on in my life right 
now. It hurts, and I don't recommend it to any of you! 

But, I'm off to the swimming pool today, and hopeful that I can get my usual workout. Yesterday's treadmill didn't happen because of pain, and I can't stand not exercising. It makes me feel like a bump on a log if I'm not active. 

I have a lot of picture frame chops that I purchased for artwork 
many years ago, but didn't use. When I find a piece that will work 
with what I already have, it's great! It saves us some $, and I 
can work on it without having to drive back and forth to my 
picture supply company. 

I have one frame in the process of being assembled at the shop. I got two sides glued properly yesterday and I'll drill and nail them today, then I'll glue the other two sides and get those drilled and nailed on Thursday (or maybe I'll take a quick run to the shop before opening on Wednesday to wrap up the frame and bring it home for mats and assembly). It's going to be on my King Kuka original gouche, which is a stunning piece and retails for a LOT of money. He was a good friend, and I was happy to support his artistic skills. 

Again, this isn't the piece I'm framing, but it's 
actually close in viewpoint. I adore his work. 

So, I'm off to the pool. Hopefully I can swim without issue and get a good workout in. I need it - when I'm in pain, I actually feel my age and I have NO intention of giving in to that myth! LOL Have an excellent day and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Framing Continues, and a Super Glue Saga

Yesterday was one of those semi-frustrating days - a lot of wasted mats while trying to frame several pieces, and a few tossed razor blades which were causing the wasted mats. But, I also had myself to blame - sometimes my measuring skills just aren't up to the job. I did finally get a smaller piece done to my satisfaction, only two mats instead of the three I had wanted, but I'm happy with the piece. I also wanted to get the mats cut for a very expensive original artwork by an old friend - King Kuka. 

King Kuka was a Blackfoot artist working in watercolors 
and acrylics, as well as handmade paper. His wife, Sandra, 
was from the Twin Cities, so he was familiar with my area 
of the Cities. We always got along really well. I love this 
larger piece of his and want to frame it properly so that 
it really sparks the love. 

King was a Blackfoot artist, who actually lived in the Twin Cities for quite a while. His wife, Sandra, was from the Cities. I loved his smaller works of softly colored pressed paper pieces, but I have a large gouache of his that retails for $1200, and I want to get it properly matted and framed. That didn't turn out well - I couldn't seem to cut a straight cut, or measure properly, for anything. I finally gave up for the day, took a quick run to Michael's for a frame for the smaller piece, stopped by Chipotle to pick up our dinner, and called it a day. One of those "OK Great/Not OK Ick" days. 

King's bread and butter items were these smaller 
pressed paper, hand painted pieces, just flat matted, 
or framed. I sold a BUNCH of these, as did other 
dealers I knew. They were priced right, really attractive, 
and very distinct. King used heavy watercolor paper 
for the base on these. They were marvelous. 

Between everything in the framing area, DH came up to me mid-afternoon with his tube of super glue attached to his finger. We hunted for a small can of acetone, but only had half-gallon tins. So, off we went to the garden with a huge amount of acetone to get the glue and DH separated. Fortunately the acetone did exactly what was needed, and the tube of glue was separated from his finger quite quickly. He's been working on a lot of small repairs for various items that we sell at the shop. It's already the end of March, and it's not very much longer before we start our official Going Out of Business Sale. I'm petrified. 

Super Glue is great stuff, but it can be touchy to use on 
very small items. I guess DH was working on gluing at 
his workbench yesterday afternoon, with an almost empty 
tube of glue. He managed to glue his finger to the tube. 
NOT good. Acetone removed the two, but a new tube 
of glue was purchased while I was getting a picture frame 
at Michael's. After all of that stress, we decided on 
Chipotle's for dinner. 

On that note, I'm wrapping this up. My largest challenge over the next months will be keeping my stress levels under control. I just need to reach the finish line and close the door behind me. But until I can get there, there is SO much that still needs to fall into place. I just keep reminding myself to stay positive and trust in the system and the people that I've hired to help us. Our signs should arrive this week, and we'll be one step closer to removing my wrought iron gratings and locking the doors behind me. Scary! 

It Was a Here and There, This and That Kind of Day

I had two prints to frame yesterday morning, The first one was no problem and looks great with a triple nested mat around the print. But, the second one required a quick trip to my mat supply store around 10:30 am because I had completely miscut the twin mats for this one. OOPS. So, $26 later, I had two new matboards in the same colors in my car, heading homeward again. I had worked out a schedule with DH where I could work on my framing in the morning, and come into the shop about 2:00 pm when he could go home and work on his repairs. 

The first piece, which I chose a triple mat for, turned out 
great. 

It actually worked out pretty well, except he stayed at the shop until about 4:00 pm. But I was in the framing room in the basement, and we weren't very busy, so Chickie didn't need to call me upstairs. I put one piece together and it's stunning. I'm very pleased. The second piece, however, I had cut too short on the width opening. The actual full size of the mats was perfect, but the cutout was incorrect. *sigh* I was back at my detail cutter at home at 6:00 am this morning, and by 6:30 am I had those mat cutouts lengthened, smoothed, and the completed items back in their bag ready for transport to the shop. I'll assemble them today, get the frame onto them, and I'll be ready to put in the nails and attach the hanging wires. 

The first picture, that turned out great, was this one - "Evening 
on the Washita" by Donald Vann. I chose a triple mat with a 
gradience from the peach to the light blue, and then black  
for the mats. The frame is almost a driftwood color/feel. I really 
like how this one turned out. 
 

The clock, of course, is ticking towards our big sale. On one hand I'm grateful that we're on a schedule, on the other hand I'm frightened to death. It's rather like "What if we hold a sale and nobody comes?" on the right hand, while the left hand is screaming "What if we have too many people to actually be able to handle things on our end?" It's the same nightmares I had when we ran our big Swarovski crystal sell-down sale last year. That ended up manageable (barely), but this one ... well, we've never had a sale like this before, and won't have one again. It's virgin territory for us and we're all petrified in our own ways. 

I have to keep reminding myself of this, even though we 
are actually on a rather strict time schedule. But, there are 
times, like now, when we're just hanging in there until 
the next surge. 

So I'm going to end this here and hope that maybe I'll get a "day off" tomorrow (although I doubt that - there's still a LOT that has to get done at the shop, so I'm sure I'll be there for a few hours, no matter what). Have an excellent weekend and I'll be back on Monday morning. Be kind and enjoy life. It's the only one you get, after all. Slava Ukraini. 

Catching Up a Bit - Full Steam Ahead

Remember that huge snow storm we had a couple of weeks ago? The one where I was shoveling the driveway for almost 90 minutes until I finally got to the point where my wonderful next door neighbor had snow blown the bottom quarter section out for me? I totally tore up my upper right thigh muscle moving the snow that morning, and it STILL hurts. Today was the first day I was brave enough to use the treadmill, and I only made it for 30 minutes. Still, that's better than nothing. But I'm achy, and can't believe that my thigh is still in a lot of pain after almost two weeks. 

Basically, that middle red spot is pretty much 
where I'm hurting. The rest of it has nothing 
happening, and the front of the leg is also fine. 
I just really tore that muscle while shoveling the 
snow a bit more than a week ago. 

Although I'm supposed to be at the shop today, I'm probably going to stay home for a lot of the day, working on two pictures I'm in the middle of framing. I got the glass cut for them at the shop yesterday morning. I have the triple mat for one cut out on the exterior. I still have to do the cut outs for each piece, then get everything assembled. The second one hasn't had the mats cut at all for it, but that one is only a double mat, so not quite as complex or time-consuming. It's inconvenient working from two different locations, but that's how it is right now. A lot of back and forth. 

Our various store signage is on its way to us. We 
are required to return these when we're finished 
using them, so we'll have to unpack carefully so that 
we can repack things properly. 

Our store signage for "Going Out of Business" is on its' way. Travis emailed the dimensions of the exterior sign to me because we need to get a license for that one. I'll be sending DH downtown early next week to get that taken care of. Then I need to double-check and triple-check the dates he's got our sale scheduled for and make sure I have them written on the main calendar that we all refer to. It'll be "All Hands on Deck" once that starts. 

It'll be "All Hands on Deck" for us once the sale 
actually starts. We're not quite there yet, but it's 
getting closer and closer. 

So, that's about all I have for news and chit-chat today. I'm going to have breakfast and plan how I can most efficiently use my day. I have frames that I need to match up with artwork so that I don't waste either one. That takes more time than you would suspect since the frames were made for different pieces, so they're all playing substitutes in a square dance that's becoming a bit crazy. Have a great Friday and I'll be back tomorrow to wrap up the week. Slava Ukraini. 

Etsy, Framing and Cooking - It's a Wednesday, So It's a Busy Day

Yesterday was crickets at the shop. The weather was beautiful, and I guess people just didn't want to think about indoor activities, so we had minimal sales. It allowed me to get a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff done, but not everything I needed. One of the things we wanted to do was pull all of the African trade beads from our Etsy listings. I tried at the shop with the laptop, but since the laptop doesn't talk with Etsy on my shop name, only my personal name, I gave up and quickly did it this morning before starting this post. I didn't have a lot of trade beads still listed, but we'd rather have them at the shop for final sale instead of on-line. Etsy, as an experiment, has been OK, but nothing spectacular. 

These are NOT the trade beads I had listed, but I've had 
this type in the shop. DH had quite a while there where he 
was a bit crazy about them, and bought them whenever he 
saw them. We had African traders coming in to the shop 
to unload their vans and show us some truly marvelous 
things. They're gorgeous, they're antique, and they're 
copied these days, so buyers do need to be careful. 

I awakened about an hour early before my 3:00 am alarm, and decided I might just as well be relaxed and not in a rush today, so I took time for an extra long meditation, got the first load of laundry started, pulled those items off the Etsy listing, and got a few other things managed. I'm right on time for my daily blog, and ahead of the game in other aspects. Hopefully I can get some framing done today. I have two prints that need their mats cut and fit into their frames. I can't cut the glass until I'm at the shop, but I can do everything else, so they'll be almost complete by the end of today if I can get this done. 

I've got two pieces that I need to get into their frames. I've 
got the mats (at least for one of them, I do), so I just need 
to make sure I set aside an hour or two to get them cut and 
fitted. 

It's also a cooking day and I need Ogre Juice. I've pretty much given up on getting any time for lunch at the shop - it's not that we don't have the time, it's that DH NEVER thinks about me getting any time off the sales floor for my lunch. He never forgets Chickie's lunch - will even come to the sales floor to remind her that it's time for her meal. He just never thinks about me. So, I started eating my Ogre Juice with my breakfast (since I find if I don't eat it, I really feel that lack). That's been working out quite well, so I might just stick to that schedule. As I recall, when I first started WildFit so many years ago, it was two alkagizers a day (although I might be mistaken about that). My body most definitely is happier if I have one a day for most days - at least four a week. 

I find when I don't have my alkagizers, I simply don't feel 
on my game. I don't have one every day, but I do have 
them four days a week. When I first started the WildFit 
program, it was a minimum of one alkagizer a day, sometimes 
more. I've learned how to make them pretty tasty over 
the years - LOL. 

So, I'll take a quick run across the street from the YMCA to pick up vegetables at my local store before returning home today. It's so convenient, and even though they're not 24/7 any more, they open at 6:00 am and I'm usually not out of the gym until 6:15 am or so. It works out very well. So, have an excellent day and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

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. 

A Day of Starts and Stops - *sigh*

Yesterday was a day of start and stop and start again. I got a lot of work done in the kitchen - cooked my baked fruit and baked four BBQ pork chops for my dinners this week. Then I settled down to see if I could finish framing a painting. Actually three paintings. The two smaller ones just needed hangers attached and that was quick and easy. The third, I had cut a piece of glass for and wanted to assemble it. *sigh* I cut the piece of glass 1/2 inch too short. I'll be recutting it when I get to the shop today. 

Damn! I was certain I had read the ruler correctly, but ... 
obviously I had not. *sigh*

In the midst of all of this I decided to take a quick run over to my framing supplier and see what they suggested for side attachments on frames these days. When I learned framing, we used eye screws either into the frame from the side, or actually into the frame from the back where it stuck out, but minimally. I was never super happy with the choices, but there really weren't any alternatives. 

This isn't the system I'm using, but you get the idea. It 
fits across the back of the picture and doesn't intrude 
into either the wall or the frame. 

So I drove over to my frame supplier - in the middle of "rush hour". What was I thinking!? I finally got over there - it's normally an easy 15 minute drive, but it was at least double that. I hopped in and talked to Rook about new hardware for attaching the back hanger onto frames. I ended up buying a single set for the piece I wanted to wrap up that evening, fought a massive rainstorm on my way home, but finally arrived. Screwing the new findings into the frame was a breeze and I think I'm going to like them. 

Of course, I wanted to assemble everything after I had the hangers attached, which is when I discovered the glass I had cut was too short. So ... everything is in my car now, and I'll be cutting a new piece of glass before I can finish that piece. But ... it's almost 100% done and I should be able to wrap it up at the shop without taking it back home to work on. 

This weekend is "Love and Romance" weekend, and we'll 
have one weekend after this that we'll attend. We have a 
conflict for the final weekend. Fall and Fest - always a good time. 

Tomorrow is Renaissance Festival. We'll attend tomorrow and one week more, but we'll have to miss the final week because of a conflict in schedule. We'll be at the MN Gem & Mineral Show instead of taking in the final day at Ren Fest. So, I've prattled on long enough today. I'm heading up for a cup of tea and breakfast, then heading to the shop to recut that glass and finalize that artwork. Have an excellent Saturday and I'll be back on Monday. Slava Ukraini. 

It Was a Day of Semi-Accomplishments - LOL

I actually got quite a lot done yesterday, driving here and there and then over yonder. I did get my salmon cooked, and it looks lovely. I'll enjoy having those for my next two dinners. I also went on a hunt for a screw which was semi-successful. I finally found one tiny enough to fit the holes in the item I need to mount, but they're about 1/2" too long, so I'll have to clip them down before I can use them. So that project returns to the back burner for another few days until I have time to take it out, clip the screws, and see if my idea will work at all. 

I basically need these. These are from Rockler, and 
I think they have a local store, so I might hop over there 
next week. This is EXACTLY what I need - the right 
type of screw and the right hanger. 

My health insurance had decided to send me a home kit for colonoscopy - ColoGuard. I had one of these last year as well. I know it's not quite as thorough as the more intensive procedure, but my insurance company has decided it's sufficient for them, so great. I got that done and sent back off yesterday, so one more thing off my "To Do" list. 

The hard part about ColoGuard is that it must be 
shipped within 24 hours and they use UPS only. 
But I took my box to my local shipper late yesterday 
afternoon and it's only going to a lab in Wisconsin. 
They should be receiving it today. 

Somewhere I have a baggie of assorted sawtooth hangers. It's supposed to be in my framing area, but it's MIA. I'm not seeing it on my computer desktop (although it could use a good tidy to be sure) and it's not in the drawer in the workshop area where we keep it. DH will be VERY pissed if I've lost it. I doubt I've truly lost it, but it's definitely taken a bit of a walk-about. *sigh* I'll try for a deep hunt tomorrow because I'd like to get these two smaller artworks finally completed. The larger piece will require eye screws and wire for hanging - totally different. 

I'm relieved that I finally got my email out to Kate, at 
Lady of the Lakes silks. She does such amazing work. 
I already own several of her pieces (not as many as my 
friend Melissa who owns more than 80 of her scarves). 
She does incredible work - beautiful, durable and perfect 
for Ren Faire as well as everyday use. 

I did get my email sent out to Kate at "Lady of the Lake" silk scarves. At least I managed to accomplish one more thing on my "To Do" list for yesterday. Apparently DH and Chickie were at odds yesterday, though, so I'll have to sooth Chickie a bit when I get in today. DH doesn't mean to be a bully, but he's under a lot of stress, and we've asked her about this particular issue a LOT and nothing's really been done about it. So ... time for a chat. We'll manage to make things work out again, but sometimes it's rather like herding cats. *sigh* Have an excellent Thursday, I'm off to the swimming pool. Slava Ukraini. 

Framing, Family and Peppers - It Was a Full 24 Hours

I spent most of yesterday working with the mat cutter. I wasn't happy with the cuts I was getting, and the blade wasn't inserting properly, so I tore it apart (again), cleaned and greased the bar along which the cutting heads move, and took the blade holder completely apart to find out what I was doing wrong. I don't know how to explain it, but I did figure it out, got the blades re-inserted (properly this time), and got it threaded back onto the guide rod. Then I adjusted that rod to give me a completely straight cut, and voila! I'm back in business. 

The mat cutter is a fairly simple piece of equipment, and when 
it is adjusted properly, it gives beautiful cuts. It was slightly 
off, so I took it apart and readjusted things. Now it's giving 
me the perfect cuts I demand. 

Today I'm cutting two pieces of glass at the shop. One of them is fairly large, so I'll need to be careful getting that one home. The other one is much smaller, so not as much of a transportation headache. We'll stop by the house on our way out to my oldest Niece's home. Her son is the hockey goalie I've spoken of before. He'll be a high school freshman this Fall, but he's going to be going to school in Wisconsin, while he's joined the feeder hockey club that has recruited him as a potential professional player. This is a HUGE step for him, and we're all very proud of what he's accomplished to this point. We're all considering this a graduation celebration, although it would still be 3-4 years before his real High School graduation would occur. He might not ever have that High School graduation, however. If he continues to excel in hockey, he'll be drafted by a professional team, work in their feeder clubs while honing his skills to a higher level, and (perhaps) be moved up to their top tier team eventually. Yeah ... he's that good! 

Flynn would normally be starting school at Centennial 
High School this Fall, and of course be on their 
hockey team. But he's being snatched up to be on a 
feeder professional team instead, and will be going 
to high school in Wisconsin, staying with a host family 
for the season. It's a BIG step upward towards his 
goal of being in the National Hockey League. 

I'm totally focused on the State Fair now. It opens Thursday, the 21st, and Chickie will be taking the day off to attend the Fair on that day, as she usually does. Sharon will fly in on the 28th and we'll be at the Fair on the 29th, 30 & 31st, and on to Ren Faire on the 1st. I'll drop Sharon back at the airport on the 2nd. 

Not everyone is into the MN State Fair, but I adore it and 
Sharon does also, as does Chickie. Jim tags along on 
one Saturday night, and all day the following Sunday. He 
loves it too, just not as much as the three of us do. We're 
admitted State Fair addicts. 

Speaking of Renaissance Festival, it opens today. We'll be heading out to the grounds tomorrow to collect our tickets and medallions for the year, say "Hello" to various friends, wander the grounds, listen to some music, and then head home early. It's been a hard week for DH and he'd rather spend his time sitting in the back yard than wandering the Fest grounds. I can get on board with that. 

There's something magical about Renaissance Festival, 
even though it's not as much fun as it used to be. It's still 
a good time with good friends, beer and music. All well 
worth my time and effort. 

So, I need to empty my dehydrator and start getting ready for work. I put a bunch of different hot peppers into the dehydrator yesterday and they should be done. If not, I'll turn the dehydrator on again for another few hours. I put in habanero, jalapeno, serrano and that large ristra red that I showed all of you last week. I'm hoping they dried well overnight and are ready for storage jars until I put them through the chopper. 

That's it for now, have an excellent Saturday and I'll be back on Monday. Slava Ukraini. 

It's Friday - I'm Trying for a Good Day!

It's Friday, I have what seems like a billion things on my mental agenda for the day, and DH has been up since about 3:00 am when, apparently, we got a call on the land line from a company we sometimes do business with. It was a robo call, though, and why he (1) answered it, and (2) really gave a shit about who was calling because it would be caught by the answering machine anyway, is totally beyond me. He attempted to get back to sleep, but no go. So, he'll be operating on 3-4 hours of sleep at the shop today. Poor Chickie! 

Sometimes my life seems like it has an agenda. It's not as 
comprehensive as these are, though. 1) No Poverty, 2) Zero 
Hunger, 3) Good Health and Wellbeing, 4) Quality Education, 
5) Gender Equality, 6) Clean Water and Sanitation, 
7) Affordable and Clean Energy, 8) Decent Work and 
Economic Growth, 9) Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, 
10), Reduced Inequalities, 11) Sustainable Cities and Communities, 
12) Responsible Consumption and Production, 13) Climate Action, 
14) Life Below Water, 15), Life on Land, 16) Peace and 
Justice, and 17) Partnerships for the Goals

I, on the other hand, will be going here and there, and working on housecleaning when I'm not in the car. I need to purchase some black wood putty. I accidentally drilled through the side of the frame yesterday when setting the brads along the backside. (OOPS!) In the past I would have had a black putty to fill in the hole because that's how we assembled frames - glue, drill, nail and fill in the nail holes. That hasn't been necessary in the past decade or so because of different wedges that are used in the corners instead, leaving the frames pristine. Anyway, I have no putty available so it's off to Home Depot to pick up a small jar.  

There are several different brands. The only 
thing I care about is that it's black and that 
I can apply it easily. I'm so annoyed at myself 
for doing something so stupid as to drill 
through the frame! GRRRR

I'm impressed with the frames I've been getting from my frame supplier. They're some really solid wood - hard to drill into and almost impossible to shoot staples into. As much of a PITA as that might be, it's actually a really good thing. You want a frame to be sturdy. And, while working out on the treadmill this morning, I had a brilliant idea of how to work with the artwork on my double mats to make sure my borders are identical from side to side. I've been having a problem with that, but I think I can resolve it and I'll be trying my new system out today. . 

I'd better check out my refrigerator. I suspect 
I have one Ogre Juice for tomorrow's lunch, but 
not a lot else in it right now. Time to get something 
cooked and ready for my dinners (and another 
batch of Ogre Juice for next week's lunches). 

So, it'll be a day of reframing things to my satisfaction, cleaning house, and probably doing some cooking. I suspect I'm almost out of a lot of things. I can't just live on pesto and Gilbert's Sausages forever (although they're both very tasty). At the least, I need more of my avocado tortillas - I used those all the time and I only have two left. 

I love the tortillas I use. Ole Xtreme Wellness Spinach 
and Herbs tortilla wraps are very tasty and totally 
Keto. I recommend them to you (because I'm really
too lazy to make my own tortillas - LOL). 

I'm calling this quits here. As you can tell, it'll be a busy "day off" today. The Fair starts on Thursday and Sharon will be here the week following. Whoot! Have an excellent Friday and I'll be back tomorrow to wrap up the week. Slava Ukraini. 

Tools and Software - A Busy Weekend Moving Into a Busy Monday

Happy Monday to all. After my run this morning, I grabbed my point driver and set about anchoring the small kachina paintings I've been framing into their frames. I cut the glass on Saturday, so I was ready to finish things up. EXCEPT ... *sigh* ... the Framedriver tool I'm using doesn't have enough power to penetrate the frame. *sigh* I'm picking up my next frame on Wednesday. I'll have to ask Rook if he has any suggestions for me. It might just need a tension adjustment, but I'd like to get the pieces finished and ready to sell. 

I know there is a tension adjustment knob at the back 
of the point driver. I may have to adjust that to get 
enough power for the points to insert into my frame. 

DH was in a "Clean this house" mood yesterday, and we did get a lot accomplished in the small bathroom as well as the living room. There's still a lot of clening remaining, but I feel better about Sharon's visit at month-end now. Of course when DH "helps", it often leads to more mess than had originally been there, but in the long run it's beneficial. 

We've been playing "Lord of the Rings Online" since the 
original Beta, so many, many years now. DH still plays 
regularly. I simply don't have the time to play these days. 
But, that doesn't mean I'm abandoning my characters. 
My world is being eliminated, so I had to move my 
characters over to a different world. That was accomplished 
yesterday afternoon. 

DH also spent most of yesterday getting characters moved from the "worlds" we had been playing in over to a different platform. The software company is eliminating several worlds from play at the end of the month (or maybe even a bit sooner), so we had to get our characters moved over. I haven't played LOTRO for quite a while, but DH still plays almost every day. But the transfer went fairly smoothly after some minor panic about our houses (we own several houses each, spread over Middle Earth). I think everything is now resolved, but I'll have to check later this week to make sure. 

So, I'm going to sit back, drink my tea, have a small breakfast, and head to the shop. I hope all of you have a great Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Thunder in the Kitchen and This and That

I started my morning up by getting up at 3:00 am instead of the 4:00 am I usually use on Saturdays. I harvested a bunch of my herbs from the garden yesterday and the first batch was due to come out of the dehydrator early this morning, to be replaced by Batch #2 while I processed Batch #1. I wanted that extra hour to be able to get everything processed quickly. Well, I got everything processed, but Thyme is my usual bad child - it's SO time consuming. It's worth it for the freshly dehydrated herbs over the winter months, but it took 90 minutes instead of 60 and I gave up on the treadmill this morning. 

Rosemary is an herb that is a joy to process. It strips off 
the central branch with ease. It also pulverizes in my 
grinder very well. I love rosemary. 

To accompany my endless stripping of thyme, I listened to a lot of thunderstorm on the other side of my kitchen window. We were under a thunderstorm watch, and it was quite intense there for a while, even causing my lights to flicker on and off several times. The worst of it is now headed towards Wisconsin, and the thunder is a low growl in the East. But when it was overhead, it was gnarly. 

Thyme, on the other hand, is my bad child. It's a 
lot of curled and clustered stems with VERY small 
leaves. It takes FOREVER to get the leaves off 
from their stems and into the grinder. I think it 
took me almost an hour to get my thyme stripped, 
ground and put away. But it'w a lovely taste! 

I now have my second batch of herbs in the dehydrator. I'll pull those out tonight and get them processed either tonight or tomorrow. This batch is Lemon Thyme (which will be every bit as time consuming, I'm sure), and Oregano. It's the first time I've had Oregano in the garden and I'm looking forward to seeing the differences between freshly harvested and dried vs store bought. 

I've never had oregano in my garden before, and since we 
didn't have a pot for it, it never grew very large. But it did 
bush out, and I got a nice first crop. We'll see how well 
it releases from the stem tonight when I'm dealing with 
today's dehydrator load. 

I ordered a frame for a larger water color yesterday. It's a black frame which will suit the picture, and this time I'll be doing the assembly on my own with a couple of new pieces of joining hardware that I've never used before. In days past, I drilled holes and used nails that were then disguised with colored pastes. Rook will give me a quick tutorial when I pick the chopped frame up next week. The proper frame can make or break a piece of artwork, so I'm picky about my frame choices. Cost is one factor, but appearance is just as important. 

I'll be using something similar to these to stabilize the 
corners of my frames. They chop the frame for me 
(which I could do, but it's worth the extra cost to have 
one less thing to do). They also make any cuts in the 
corners necessary for the type of hardware I've chosen. 
I've never used the fastening style Rook advised for 
me, but I'm willing to learn. He'll teach me how to use 
the pins properly. 

So, the storm has passed, the dehydrator is dehydrating, and I've showered and dressed for work. I guess I should grab some breakfast and see what the day has to offer today. I hope all of you have a great weekend and I'll be back on Monday morning. Slava Ukraini. 

Shifting Into Housecleaning Mode - Sharon Arrives at the End of the Month!

It's Friday, which is great! I get a "day off" to clean house - Sharon arrives at the end of the month, and I want a clean shower room, clean bathrooms, a clean kitchen (which I'm always cleaning anyway), and I want to get her bedroom vacuumed and dusted. I won't set her bed up for another couple of weeks, but I can get the preliminary work done. 

It's time to get into gear for Sharon's visit. I don't want 
to be pushed into a corner with housecleaning, I'd rather 
take the necessary time and just leave the bathrooms for 
the final sprint. 

I have two small pieces in their frames, ready to get the glass installed and the backs put on. I think we brought some brown paper from the shop, and if we did, I can do the final backing also. That will leave putting on a hanger, and they're small enough that sawtooth hangers would be best. Those are easy to put on. 

For small artwork like these, any of the above 
hangers would be fine. I tend to choose the 
second one - the sawtooth - it's the easiest to put 
on and it's easy for the customer to use, also. I have 
to remember to get some clear bumpers at Dick 
Blick, too. I am out of bumpers. 

While I'm in that room, I also need to lube the treadmill. I do this once a month. When I first started, Jake taught me how to loosen the belt enough to get lube under it. And, of course, I screwed it up and he had to come back out and get things back together once again. I figured there should be an easier way to do things, and after a lot of computer surfing, I found a bar-style lubrication device. I put lube onto the velcro-like fabric, push the bar underneath the treadmill belt and the platform, move it up and down a little bit, then turn the treadmill on and let the belt self-lubricate. It doesn't put quite as much lubrication on as the standard method, so I try to do this once a month. 

I'm quite happy with the treadmill lubrication system 
I found on Amazon. I don't have to loosen the belt 
at all, and can still get it lubed efficiently. I do it more 
frequently because it's a much lesser amount of lube, 
but it's so easy, doing it once a month is not an 
issue. 

I also have to decide on a frame for a larger piece I finished matting this past week. I had this one done, but didn't like what I had, so I started again and I'm much happier now. If I have a chance, I'll take a quick drive up to see Rook at the framing place and get a frame chosen and in the works. I want something minimal for this piece. 

While I'm working in the kitchen today, I think 
I'll make another batch of pesto. I'm harvesting 
herbs today, and the basil is huge once again. Time 
to harvest and pulverize. I do love my vegan pesto. 

So, lots on my agenda today, not including a serious shop at the grocery store and making a new batch of "Ogre Juice" for next week's lunches. Of course, there's always housecleaning too. Sharon arrives at the end of the month, and I need the cobwebs taken down and the light allowed back into my home. LOL Have an excellent Friday and I'll be back on Saturday. Slava Ukraini.