Tuesday, December 30, 2008

The Snow Is Going......

Slowly but surely the snow is disappearing. The route is almost back to normal but a few back roads are still pretty icy and slushy. Even the kids want it gone. I'm wondering if we are going to see another storm or two before the end of Winter, since technically, Winter wasn't here when this one started. The kids already have 3 days to make up for school, of course, at the time they think it's great, until the end of the year when they want to be on Summer vacation.

Oh, and yes the back deck did cave in under the weight of the snow. The house is fine (it's a rambler), although we are discovering a couple of roof leaks. No broken pipes from the cold and thankfully we are back up into the "balmy" 30 and 40 degree range.


I have been designing and crocheting headbands and a bracelet. I'll have a picture of one of the headbands this week along with some lampwork Goddess rings that I made awhile back and just got around to cleaning yesterday. I just started listing Goddess pendants on Etsy along with re-listing some of my rings. I have a new ring design in mind for a very cool adjustable ring that I've done a couple of prototypes and really liked how they came out. More of those to come! My new moto for Etsy is "Goddess's, Rings & Crocheted Things". I will be slowly adding to Etsy and really working on promoting it.

I told you I applied for an online position around Thanksgiving, well I didn't get it, sooooooo I'm going to give it another shot and a little different approach. I noticed that they still haven't filled the position and I still think it would be a perfect fit.

Off to start dinner. Enjoy your evening!

Saturday, December 27, 2008

There Really Is A Santa


Did you have a good Christmas? Ours was nice and surprising. When we got up to do the route and I opened the front door there was a surprise on our deck (see photo), a motorized mini bike for the boys with a helmet and a letter from Santa. We had no idea it was going to be there and a sneaking suspicion of who left it. The boys are thrilled but won't be able to try it out until the snow is gone.
Speaking of snow we had a good 15-18" if not more. Our back deck is up past my knees which puts it around 20". It started melting yesterday and the roads are a bumpy, slippery mess! It took me 4 hours to do a two hour route this morning.

About the route, after a bunch of BS which basically tells us that the the newspaper really could care less about it's carriers (explains the high turnover), the weather, the fact that everything is suffering (the kids, the house and my art) because I'm tired all of the time and that Jim will be working out of town again, it looks like I will be giving notice.

Add to that we have one more new family member. His name is Shadow. Thankfully Sheba and him get along great except when Sheba is trying to steal whatever Shadow happens to be playing with.

Gotta run, it looks like our back deck has collapsed from the weight of the melting snow.......

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Stop Snowing Already!

It's slowed down but hasn't quite stopped yet. I can hardly believe the weather! Jimmy helped me on my route last night and we discussed whether it was worth it for me to continue. First I have to work towards something else to fill the $ void that it will leave. For what I'm being paid I don't think that should be too difficult. It's also eating into other areas of my life with the family. This, I (and everyone else) do not like in the least. Lately I'm in a perpetual state of tiredness and the days seem to slip away because I rarely feel like doing what I want to be doing, such as creating and selling.

For now I must continue. It requires 30 days written notice to call it quits.

Tomorrow I will get some more pictures of the snow. The power never went out which is a good thing but it sure blew last night. Yesterday, I ran out to the store and when I tried to come home there was a tree down on one of the roads which made me have to back track and take the long way around.

Time to go finish up some crochet projects and then it will be time to hit the sack for another night of paper delivery in the snow, yeah......

I just heard round 3 is on the way......aaaak!!!!

Saturday, December 20, 2008

The Big One.....






We are already covered in snow. In fact it looks a lot like Alaska. The weather people are saying that we are going to be hit with more snow and high winds tonight so we could lose power for a bit. I'm being optimistic and hoping it will blow "gently" over.

My route has certainly been an adventure and I've learned a few things about myself. At this time last year you wouldn't have caught me dead driving around in this kind of weather. Now I know that I "can" drive (slowly) in it. If I had to live in Alaska (not that I want to) I could. Chevy Colorado's handle like a dream in the snow. And I will not be doing this route by this time next year!

I applied for an online position around Thanksgiving. They just informed me that they are considering other candidates at the moment but that my application is in a pool if these others don't work out, darn!

I lost my internet connection for about 3 days this week and not having a connection drives me a little bonkers. As you can see I'm back up and running but may be out of the loop again if the power goes out. Of course, this would be the perfect opportunity to spend some time creating, by lantern or candle light.

Justbeads is still down, bummer! This is the worst time for them to be off line but I'm pulling for em! In the meantime I will be trying to list on Etsy if time allows.

A few pics of Goddess's (the red one is sold) and the snow that's hanging around.

Off to try and finish up some shopping before the "storm" blows in.

Have a great weekend!

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

It's Freezing Here!!!




The middle of the night is in the teens and the days are in the 20's......personal opinion......it sucks!!!

Along with the cold we have snow on the ground and more to come. Doing the route, I have now learned to drive in it. All the carriers got threat letters before the snow hit, reminding us that we have a contract to carry out and if we don't deliver during the snow we are in breach. I knew this already and figured that I would just muscle through. Turns out that our little Colorado is a dream in the snow!! I haven't missed a day yet! The forcast is saying we are going to get another 6" tonight, so far there isn't a cloud in the sky, but the big storm is predicted to start between midnight and 4am. Personally I'm ready for 45 and rain. What can I say, I'm a warm weather kind of girl but I just happen to reside in Washington, of course our Winters don't normally get this cold!

I'm putting up a couple of pictures of the Goddess's I've done but nothing is up yet. JustBeads seems to be down. I'm not sure what's up but I haven't been able to access it in a couple of days. I've been playing with some raku and lustre glass but Connor has been home the last couple of days because school has had a late start (due to icy roads) and they canceled all of the half day kindergarten classes, so lampwork isn't really an option. I've been doing some crochet and working on some jewelry but to be honest the house went to Hell over the last couple of weeks and I've been trying to play the catch up and keep up games of laundry, dishes and vacuuming up dog hair. Sheba is working out wonderfully, by the way. She is truly a dream and settling in more and more every day.

Now is the time that I should have loads of things listed and it just didn't quite work out that way. Next year will be the year for that!!! I'm just going to continue to plug along. Everything will work out as it should! I'm concentrating on the simpler things right now with Christmas just around the corner. However with 8 days until the big day my stress level is climbing slightly. I'll get pictures of the big storm if it blows in.

Enjoy your evening......

Friday, December 12, 2008

Meet Sheba



The newest member of our family. I told you we were going to adopt a dog from the local pound, well that wasn't quite what happened. I belong to an online group called freecycle, I believe they are nationwide. You can post things that you don't want anymore (no garbage) but they must be free. I saw a post last week for a two year old white shepard female, to good home only. The post had been up for about 5-6 hours when I saw it. I love shepards!! Had one when we were kids and have always been partial to them. They really are my favorite breed of dog. Well assuming, and this is what usually happens with freecycle, is that if you don't reply the second you see the item go up, it's usually gone. I'm not kidding! Most of the time I don't even pay attention to what's offered and have been contemplating canceling my membership because the emails can quickly fill your mailbox, especially on the weekends, so this was kind of a fluke that I even noticed. I assumed she was gone already but decided to reply anyway and mentioned that we had recently lost a dog and that I had 3 boys who love dogs and was she good with kids and both indoor and outdoor? I didn't hear anything back for about 3 days..........see! I knew it! She was gone! Then all of a sudden I got an email saying they still had her and yes she had been raised with kids and was both indoor and out. WOW! But I needed to pick her up right away. I replied with, that I wanted to at least bring a couple of the boys out to see her (make sure she really is friendly with kids) and then I would decide........no answer.........another 3-4 days goes by and I email again. This time she says come and get her or she's gone! Now I'm leary...........what the heck! Ok?? I call the woman and she says that she has cancer and 4 kids to take care of and that Sheba is just too much work. I tell her I'll come out the next day. I end up bringing both older boys and the woman says she won't be home but her daughter's there and we can get Sheba from her. We show up and the house is dark. I ring the doorbell 3 times and I can hear the dog come to the door (no barking though), I peek through a little side window and there she is! What a pretty girl! No barking or growling, either. I go back to the car and tell the boys we are going to wait because it appears that no one is there. We wait about 10 minutes and I decide to go ring the doorbell again. This time I can hear footsteps and by now it's dark enough that I can see the light of a TV on. I get on my cellphone to call the woman and as her # starts to ring the girl opens the door. Sheba comes out and meets us and I tell the girl we'll take her. She isn't crying (that's a good thing) and she goes and gets a lease and collar for her. She jumps into the car with no hesitation (was it meant to be??).

We are on our second day with her and she is absolutely wonderful!! The kids shower her with attention and she hasn't even growled or looked cross eyed at them. Honestly........I'm trying to figure out why they got rid of her. She's well behaved (they had a Pomeranian also, that belonged to the woman, that they were going to keep), house trained and beautiful, but she's on the skinny side though, seems to be perfectly healthy otherwise. The money that we saved by not going to the shelter will go towards a check-up for her. Interesting, eh? We couldn't be happier and hope that she has many years ahead of her.

I have some lampwork Goddess's done. Not many, because I got the throat/cold thing that was going around. Kind of like a cold but with a raspy throat. It still put me out of it for a couple of days and I'm not completely recovered yet.

I should have some new stuff up on both JustBeads and Etsy within the next couple of days.

Off to get a little more rest and crochet for a bit.

Have a great day!

Saturday, December 06, 2008

More Gloves






Now all of the boys have fingerless gloves. Plus, I believe there is another pair hanging around somewhere. Add to that a cowl (still needs a button) and a headband that still needs to be braided and assembled. I'm trying to resist buying more yarn right now and just using up what I have. It's not as bad as I thought. I think I went through my stash about a year and a half ago and thinned it through Ebay. Am I regretting that now......maybe a little. Of course that just leaves room for more cool yarns, Right!!

I'm still working with the glass too! Do you like my Christmasy Goddess's? I have more waiting to be cleaned. Not all Christmas ones. Are the weeks flying by now? I know I will be running out at the last minute to pick stuff up. Today I'm hoping to get a few things too. The stores don't seem as busy these days, do they? I think most people are trying to conserve a bit. I myself am trying to be a bit more decisive so I don't freak at the last minute about whether I have "enough" for each kid. I do look forward to Christmas, in general, but I REALLY look forward to the day after! And no matter what the kids always have a great time!

Maybe we'll get a tree today.

Enjoy your day!

Monday, December 01, 2008

Have You Started Shopping Yet?

I envy the people who do their shopping all year long and are done before Thanksgiving, much less Christmas. One of these years I'm going to do that!

After having a wonderful, relaxing Thanksgiving at the In-Laws (Thanks Al & Marlene!), we are now heading into the Christmas Season. At our house it's showing already in barely contained excitement at how close Christmas is, though not close enough for their taste. This coming weekend we will see about getting a tree. Jimmy thinks we should make our ornaments this year so we are ALL going to contribute to that project. I'll take pictures of what everyone comes up with. On a crafting note. While we were at the Al & Marlene's we started discussing craft shows. Can someone tell me what happened to all the ones that were on DIY & HGTV??? They used to show all sorts of different ones but on the rare occasion that they do now, it's usually in the middle of the night. What happened to the "Creative Spirit" of both those channels. Now a days they seem to be oriented to home improvement and the like. Can anyone afford to improve their home these days??? Anyway we were just wondering.......

On my creative front I have 3 pairs of fingerless gloves done and one cowl (pictures this week). A few glass creations waiting to be cleaned and a hankering to get lots more of everything done! In between I'm back to organizing again.

My oldest, and only, Darling Daughter turned 20 yesterday. Boy do I feel old! Her, I and my Mom headed out to lunch (a very cool sushi bar) and then a little shopping (Old Navy) for her day. She didn't think that turning 20 was that big of a deal. She said it just means that she's out of her teens, though most people have thought she was in her 20's for the last couple of years. She's a good kid and for her 21st Birthday we are planning on heading to a winery in California. That will be here soon enough!

Enjoy your day!