Wildfires are raging in Northern California and all of the smoke from the fires has filled up our central valley with horribly polluted air. We are being advised to 'limit your outdoor activities-the air is unhealthful for EVERYONE.' Usually the smog alerts will say unhealthful for the very young, elderly, and those with lung problems. Not this time, everyone should stay inside these days.
Keith works outside and has been coming home with sore throats and coughing from being outside in this crap all day. ( I've been nagging him to wear a respirator.)
With the 4th of July coming up, our Governor Arnold has asked that cities not sell fireworks this year and cancel the fireworks shows that are planned in an effort to not add any more smoke to the already existing pollution.
Do you think the rednecks in central California will go along with what Arnold is asking and cancel those fireworks sales and shows? HELL, no!! It's the 4th of July, and we have a right to bear arms in the form of fireworks, and damn those who may be coughing up blood by the end of the night from the low lying fireworks smoke so thick that you could literally cut it with a knife!
It's America! We have a right to our fireworks!! Who cares that our skies are brown, not blue!!!
So, anyway, we are planning a very low key 4th-we're not buying any fireworks or going to any shows or barbecuing or much of anything. We have spent the last 5 or 6 Independence Days doing the Ventura Street Fair, but after such dismal sales at the last one, no more street fairs for us. It will be strange being at home for the 4th-and having to stay inside because the air is unbreathable and the temps are in the 100's.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
The Amazing Unfinished House Tour Part Three
The Living Room.
Is almost finished but work has come to a standstill. Keith likes to start multiple projects, get distracted, and start more multiple projects. Oh well, at least it keeps him out of the strip clubs. Ha ha.
So, the living room got painted six months ago. Looks pretty good, doesn't it? Notice the coordinating cat condo in the corner. We have two condos and Keith was talking about getting one more. No!
Here's the view of the other corner of our very tiny 'great room'. Can you guess what's wrong with this picture?
You got it-we have no blinds for the big huge sliding glass door. It's summertime now and the sun beats in through that sliding glass door all day long. We are running our air conditioner all day long too.
So, today's job for Keith is to go to Home Depot and get some blinds for that sliding glass door so that I don't have apoplexy when I open the electric bill this month.
See the nice beams on the ceiling? Keith built those to cover up huge cracks in the ceiling-works great, doesn't it? No patch jobs for him!
This is the entryway of the living room. It used to be just a plain entryway, but Keith decided to build the arch thing and is going to paint it to match the arch thing over the kitchen divider/breakfast counter that he made. I am also waiting on the shelf unit to be finished. Both of these will be painted the dark brown like the beams.
Some day....
Is almost finished but work has come to a standstill. Keith likes to start multiple projects, get distracted, and start more multiple projects. Oh well, at least it keeps him out of the strip clubs. Ha ha.
So, the living room got painted six months ago. Looks pretty good, doesn't it? Notice the coordinating cat condo in the corner. We have two condos and Keith was talking about getting one more. No!
Here's the view of the other corner of our very tiny 'great room'. Can you guess what's wrong with this picture?
You got it-we have no blinds for the big huge sliding glass door. It's summertime now and the sun beats in through that sliding glass door all day long. We are running our air conditioner all day long too.So, today's job for Keith is to go to Home Depot and get some blinds for that sliding glass door so that I don't have apoplexy when I open the electric bill this month.
See the nice beams on the ceiling? Keith built those to cover up huge cracks in the ceiling-works great, doesn't it? No patch jobs for him!
This is the entryway of the living room. It used to be just a plain entryway, but Keith decided to build the arch thing and is going to paint it to match the arch thing over the kitchen divider/breakfast counter that he made. I am also waiting on the shelf unit to be finished. Both of these will be painted the dark brown like the beams.Some day....
Thursday, June 26, 2008
What to Blog About Today?
I have nothing interesting to blog about today, not that I blog about anything that interesting to begin with, so today I think I'll share some of my etsy favorites with you.
I don't do a lot of shopping on etsy mainly because I'm trying not to spend money on non-necessities, but I see a lot of etsy sellers with some really nice things, so I 'heart' them and save them in my favorites so I can go back and look at their shops later. It's kind of like browsing through the Speigel catalog-do they still print that?-looking but never actually buying.
So, here are a few of my favorites:
This collage is made on an old flash card and is from http://lanisvintage.etsy.com. I don't know how to make those clickable thingies where you just click on the words and it links you so for now I'm just going to put the whole shop address in. I'm too lazy to figure out how to do much on this blog. Bear with me.
These are vintage bird pencil sharpeners from http://shop66.etsy.com. I love anything retroey fifties and sixties and also little bird things, so I may have to get one of these.
And this funny bunny necklace is from http://polkadotthunder.etsy.com. Plastic! My favorite material!
Shop etsy.com!!!
I don't do a lot of shopping on etsy mainly because I'm trying not to spend money on non-necessities, but I see a lot of etsy sellers with some really nice things, so I 'heart' them and save them in my favorites so I can go back and look at their shops later. It's kind of like browsing through the Speigel catalog-do they still print that?-looking but never actually buying.
So, here are a few of my favorites:
This collage is made on an old flash card and is from http://lanisvintage.etsy.com. I don't know how to make those clickable thingies where you just click on the words and it links you so for now I'm just going to put the whole shop address in. I'm too lazy to figure out how to do much on this blog. Bear with me.
These are vintage bird pencil sharpeners from http://shop66.etsy.com. I love anything retroey fifties and sixties and also little bird things, so I may have to get one of these.
And this funny bunny necklace is from http://polkadotthunder.etsy.com. Plastic! My favorite material!Shop etsy.com!!!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Safety Patrol
My post about summertime brought back memories of how much I wanted to be a safety patrol at my elementary school. The safety patrol did just what it sounds like, patrolled to make sure all the boys at girls got to school safely and behaved in a safe manner during school hours.
The safety patrol girls and boys were all big sixth graders-this was long before middle schools and all that, you went to elementary school until sixth grade, then on to junior high school-none of this middle school nonsense back then. They all got to wear a white belt that had a bandolier type strap that went over one shoulder, and if you saw someone wearing that white safety patrol belt they had almost as much authority as a police officer. You did what they said, no questions asked. Come to think of it, there might have even been a little police officer style badge that went on that white belt.
We went to school in a very safe suburban neighborhood-no crack houses or gangs or major intersections, just a nice neighborhood with mostly middle class white kids-maybe a few hillbillies in the mix there somewhere. I don't think there was a single black kid in the whole school, no hispanics that I can remember, but there was one asian boy named Fred Dong that was in my class. And, no, we didn't make fun of his name. We were innocent back in the 60's and didn't know how much fun we could have had with a name like Dong.
So, the main duty of the safety patrol boys and girls was to make sure that you crossed those suburban streets safely on your way to school. They were our crossing guards and they would hold back the hordes of children from crossing the street by spreading their arms out to the sides and only let them cross when they deemed it safe.
And I wanted to be a safety patrol.
Every year at the end of school the safety patrol was hand picked by our p.e. teacher from the fifth grade classes-yes, schools back in the 60's had lots more money than now and we had p.e. teachers, art teachers, music teachers, french language teachers-unbelievable, huh? So, on our last day of fifth grade here comes the p.e. teacher with the list of the chosen ones, and guess what? I WAS ON THE LIST!!
But, we were moving to California that summer so I wouldn't be going to sixth grade at that school and I wouldn't get to be a safety patrol. Not that I didn't want to move to the land of sunshine and surfers but couldn't we have waited until after I got to be a safety patroller?
The safety patrol girls and boys were all big sixth graders-this was long before middle schools and all that, you went to elementary school until sixth grade, then on to junior high school-none of this middle school nonsense back then. They all got to wear a white belt that had a bandolier type strap that went over one shoulder, and if you saw someone wearing that white safety patrol belt they had almost as much authority as a police officer. You did what they said, no questions asked. Come to think of it, there might have even been a little police officer style badge that went on that white belt.
We went to school in a very safe suburban neighborhood-no crack houses or gangs or major intersections, just a nice neighborhood with mostly middle class white kids-maybe a few hillbillies in the mix there somewhere. I don't think there was a single black kid in the whole school, no hispanics that I can remember, but there was one asian boy named Fred Dong that was in my class. And, no, we didn't make fun of his name. We were innocent back in the 60's and didn't know how much fun we could have had with a name like Dong.
So, the main duty of the safety patrol boys and girls was to make sure that you crossed those suburban streets safely on your way to school. They were our crossing guards and they would hold back the hordes of children from crossing the street by spreading their arms out to the sides and only let them cross when they deemed it safe.
And I wanted to be a safety patrol.
Every year at the end of school the safety patrol was hand picked by our p.e. teacher from the fifth grade classes-yes, schools back in the 60's had lots more money than now and we had p.e. teachers, art teachers, music teachers, french language teachers-unbelievable, huh? So, on our last day of fifth grade here comes the p.e. teacher with the list of the chosen ones, and guess what? I WAS ON THE LIST!!
But, we were moving to California that summer so I wouldn't be going to sixth grade at that school and I wouldn't get to be a safety patrol. Not that I didn't want to move to the land of sunshine and surfers but couldn't we have waited until after I got to be a safety patroller?
Monday, June 23, 2008
Summertime
It's officially summer now, but here in Bakersfield summer started early with a few days in May of extra hot temps and has been going full strength ever since.
I think summer is much more enjoyable when you are a kid. Long lazy days of no school, running through the sprinklers (wishing you had an actual pool in your yard), eating popsicles, wearing shorts and flip flops, and waiting for the sound of the ice cream truck. It's not so much fun when you are an adult and watching your electric meter spinning around like a roulette wheel because you've had the a/c cranked up full blast.
Most of my summer memories are from the grade school days when we lived in Maryland. I know it gets hot and humid there but I just don't remember being sweaty and uncomfortable, I remember getting your first pair of dime store flip flops and having the space in between the piggy that went to the market and the one that stayed home being rubbed raw by the new unyielding flip flop plastic. Or how about the first time you run in those new flip flops and you trip and the front folds under and you scrape your big toe on the sidewalk concrete? Or you're riding your bike and scrape that same big toe on the street as you're furiously pedaling to catch up with your friends. I think the first month of summer was spent with huge oozing sores in between our toes and on the tip of our big toes.
Then there were swimming lessons at the big pool-can't remember if this was a community pool or a 'member's only' country club type pool, but I do remember how big the pool seemed to me with it's acres of cool cool sparkling water, the hundreds of lounge chairs with those big plastic stretchy strappy things that you sat on-put your towel down first so you don't burn yourself on that hot plastic-the acres of green lawn and trees that surrounded the pool, and that peculiar smell in the locker rooms. After swimming lessons it seemed like we spent days and days at that pool, all calling 'mom mom watch me watch me!' as we showed off our new swimming lesson skills to our mom.
Then there were the diving boards-the equivalent of a thrill ride to a kid that's just learned to swim. Did you really want to try the high dive this year? My friend and I climbed up there many times only to climb back down again after seeing the waters of the pool miles and miles down there in the distance.
And the best part was the snack bar where if you were good you could get an ice cream bar or ice cream sandwich, but you had to wait an hour after eating before going back in the pool! (So you wouldn't get stomach cramps and drown.)
Our yard was one of the best yards for playing in. Directly behind our back yard-no fences or anything-was The Woods. Again, I remember the woods as being hundreds and hundreds of acres of primeval forest that you could get lost in if you strayed too far. I have a feeling that these woods were not quite as large as I remember, but they were so much fun for playing secret agent or cowboys and Indians-oh, excuse me, I mean cowpersons and native Americans-in. There was one big huge tree right outside the woods that was the best place for a rope swing or climbing or just digging in the bank under the tree. I remember creating an entire little Flintstones town under that tree by digging little cave houses into the hard dirt and finding rocks to make little roads and fences with, humming the theme song to the TV show the entire time.
We lived in a corner house, which meant that we had the hugest side yard ever-again, probably much much smaller than I remember, but it was a great place to run through the sprinkler, or when summer started getting boring, to have a carnival. I think we had a carnival every summer, inviting the neighborhood kids to come play games like 'knock over the bottles' for a penny.
And then there was the Mr. Softee ice cream truck. This was not one of those trucks that sells the pre-packaged ice cream bars that you see today-usually converted from an old mail truck like the one that roams our neighborhood here every day-no, this truck sold real soft ice cream dispensed from a machine that would swirl it down into a real ice cream cone and you could even get sprinkles on top. The Mr. Softee man even wore a paper hat just like a real soda counter ice cream man. I think he even had a white uniform on.
Summer evenings were the best, playing hide and seek with our friends, only going home when the streetlights came on. That was the signal for all the neighborhood kids, you knew Mom or Dad would come looking for you if you didn't get your butt home when those lights came on. Or, in our case, Dad would whistle for us to come home, like we were a pack of wild dogs. Some moms would call for their kids, and if you ever got tired of playing with someone, all you had to do was say 'I think your mom is calling you!' and off they'd go. It worked well with some of the 'slower' kids but sometimes it would backfire and they'd come back to play, saying 'No, my mom wasn't calling me!'
The best part of our summers on the East coast was getting to fly to the West coast to visit all of our 'California' cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents. Everybody else in our family lived in the magical land of California. Our beach cousins lived in a house in a small beach town near San Diego in a house on a hill with an ocean view. They got to go to the beach EVERY DAY and their house was a kid's heaven with the most wondrous toys and games and an older boy cousin who even DROVE A CAR!!
Then, after visiting them we would drive up to our grandparents and cousins houses in Ventura where they LIVED ON RANCHES AND EVEN HAD HORSES!. Grandma and Grandpa's house was also a kid paradise with closets full of games to play with, a dollhouse, and my favorite of all, the fish ponds. Grandma's front yard had four goldfish ponds that were just the most amazing thing to me-imagine, having goldfish ponds in your front yard!
Flying across the country back in the 60's was a lot different than flying today. It was an event to get on a plane and you dressed nicely and tried to behave in a manner becoming a world traveler. I had a Barbie doll that had a stewardess outfit and would make sure she dressed correctly for the trip too. It was okay to call your 'flight attendant' a stewardess back then, and to us, it was a glamorous job for a woman to have. No male stewardesses that I can remember either, the boys were all busy flying the plane. If you were really good you might even get to meet the pilot and he would give you a little metal captain's wings pin to put on your shirt to show that you were a junior captain! I think they even let kids come into the cockpit and look around back in those days. Terrorism was a thing yet to come.
So, summer is just not as magical a time when you are a grownup and have to pay the huge electric bills that result from cranking up that a/c all summer long, but it's fun to watch our neighborhood kids out there enjoying their sprinklers and flip flops and ice cream!
I think summer is much more enjoyable when you are a kid. Long lazy days of no school, running through the sprinklers (wishing you had an actual pool in your yard), eating popsicles, wearing shorts and flip flops, and waiting for the sound of the ice cream truck. It's not so much fun when you are an adult and watching your electric meter spinning around like a roulette wheel because you've had the a/c cranked up full blast.
Most of my summer memories are from the grade school days when we lived in Maryland. I know it gets hot and humid there but I just don't remember being sweaty and uncomfortable, I remember getting your first pair of dime store flip flops and having the space in between the piggy that went to the market and the one that stayed home being rubbed raw by the new unyielding flip flop plastic. Or how about the first time you run in those new flip flops and you trip and the front folds under and you scrape your big toe on the sidewalk concrete? Or you're riding your bike and scrape that same big toe on the street as you're furiously pedaling to catch up with your friends. I think the first month of summer was spent with huge oozing sores in between our toes and on the tip of our big toes.
Then there were swimming lessons at the big pool-can't remember if this was a community pool or a 'member's only' country club type pool, but I do remember how big the pool seemed to me with it's acres of cool cool sparkling water, the hundreds of lounge chairs with those big plastic stretchy strappy things that you sat on-put your towel down first so you don't burn yourself on that hot plastic-the acres of green lawn and trees that surrounded the pool, and that peculiar smell in the locker rooms. After swimming lessons it seemed like we spent days and days at that pool, all calling 'mom mom watch me watch me!' as we showed off our new swimming lesson skills to our mom.
Then there were the diving boards-the equivalent of a thrill ride to a kid that's just learned to swim. Did you really want to try the high dive this year? My friend and I climbed up there many times only to climb back down again after seeing the waters of the pool miles and miles down there in the distance.
And the best part was the snack bar where if you were good you could get an ice cream bar or ice cream sandwich, but you had to wait an hour after eating before going back in the pool! (So you wouldn't get stomach cramps and drown.)
Our yard was one of the best yards for playing in. Directly behind our back yard-no fences or anything-was The Woods. Again, I remember the woods as being hundreds and hundreds of acres of primeval forest that you could get lost in if you strayed too far. I have a feeling that these woods were not quite as large as I remember, but they were so much fun for playing secret agent or cowboys and Indians-oh, excuse me, I mean cowpersons and native Americans-in. There was one big huge tree right outside the woods that was the best place for a rope swing or climbing or just digging in the bank under the tree. I remember creating an entire little Flintstones town under that tree by digging little cave houses into the hard dirt and finding rocks to make little roads and fences with, humming the theme song to the TV show the entire time.
We lived in a corner house, which meant that we had the hugest side yard ever-again, probably much much smaller than I remember, but it was a great place to run through the sprinkler, or when summer started getting boring, to have a carnival. I think we had a carnival every summer, inviting the neighborhood kids to come play games like 'knock over the bottles' for a penny.
And then there was the Mr. Softee ice cream truck. This was not one of those trucks that sells the pre-packaged ice cream bars that you see today-usually converted from an old mail truck like the one that roams our neighborhood here every day-no, this truck sold real soft ice cream dispensed from a machine that would swirl it down into a real ice cream cone and you could even get sprinkles on top. The Mr. Softee man even wore a paper hat just like a real soda counter ice cream man. I think he even had a white uniform on.
Summer evenings were the best, playing hide and seek with our friends, only going home when the streetlights came on. That was the signal for all the neighborhood kids, you knew Mom or Dad would come looking for you if you didn't get your butt home when those lights came on. Or, in our case, Dad would whistle for us to come home, like we were a pack of wild dogs. Some moms would call for their kids, and if you ever got tired of playing with someone, all you had to do was say 'I think your mom is calling you!' and off they'd go. It worked well with some of the 'slower' kids but sometimes it would backfire and they'd come back to play, saying 'No, my mom wasn't calling me!'
The best part of our summers on the East coast was getting to fly to the West coast to visit all of our 'California' cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents. Everybody else in our family lived in the magical land of California. Our beach cousins lived in a house in a small beach town near San Diego in a house on a hill with an ocean view. They got to go to the beach EVERY DAY and their house was a kid's heaven with the most wondrous toys and games and an older boy cousin who even DROVE A CAR!!
Then, after visiting them we would drive up to our grandparents and cousins houses in Ventura where they LIVED ON RANCHES AND EVEN HAD HORSES!. Grandma and Grandpa's house was also a kid paradise with closets full of games to play with, a dollhouse, and my favorite of all, the fish ponds. Grandma's front yard had four goldfish ponds that were just the most amazing thing to me-imagine, having goldfish ponds in your front yard!
Flying across the country back in the 60's was a lot different than flying today. It was an event to get on a plane and you dressed nicely and tried to behave in a manner becoming a world traveler. I had a Barbie doll that had a stewardess outfit and would make sure she dressed correctly for the trip too. It was okay to call your 'flight attendant' a stewardess back then, and to us, it was a glamorous job for a woman to have. No male stewardesses that I can remember either, the boys were all busy flying the plane. If you were really good you might even get to meet the pilot and he would give you a little metal captain's wings pin to put on your shirt to show that you were a junior captain! I think they even let kids come into the cockpit and look around back in those days. Terrorism was a thing yet to come.
So, summer is just not as magical a time when you are a grownup and have to pay the huge electric bills that result from cranking up that a/c all summer long, but it's fun to watch our neighborhood kids out there enjoying their sprinklers and flip flops and ice cream!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
I Thought I Was in Hell For a Minute There
I went to wal-mart very early this morning to get some packing boxes-yes, you are in hell when you step foot into wal-mart but the total wal-mart experience was made even more hellish for me when I heard this over the loud speaker:
ATTENTION OVERNIGHT ASSOCIATES!! IF YOU ARE JUST STANDING BY THE SIDELINES GET ON OVER TO THE BOYS DEPT AND START ZONING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As many of you may know, I worked for wal-mart for 3 years, the last year on the overnight shift-10 pm to 7am-part time in the cash office and part time as a stocker, which are the only overnight positions in this walmart since it's not open 24 hrs. Overnight stocking is the absolute worst job in the world as far as I'm concerned. I would rather clean out porta potties or flip hamburgers at McDonalds or clean fish guts than ever ever work the overnight shift at wal-mart ever ever again!
The overnight part is bad to begin with-humans are not nocturnal and it just goes against Mother Nature to have to be awake when it is the middle of the night. Humans do not do well trying to sleep in the daytime, especially when the rest of the country is outside your door using leaf blowers and gas mowers.
No, the sleeping is the least of the bad parts of working the overnight shift. The bad parts are being treated as a little less than human because you are working the overnight shift at wal-mart and you must be a little sub-human to have taken this job in the first place, so it's okay to treat you as you would someone who just isn't the sharpest crayon in the box. Besides the hard physical labor of slinging heavy boxes around and pulling 5000 pound pallets of freight around all night, there is last straw of being LOUDLY TOLD to go help clean up a department that isn't even yours at 6:30 am when you are exhausted and have had just about enough of the overnight shift at wal-mart and just want to hide behind an end cap somewhere until the magical hour of 7am when you can finally get the f**k out of there and go home!
What was really disheartening was seeing one of my old co-workers from the overnight shift looking about 10 years older than he did when I left wal-mart a little over a year ago-his hair had turned completely grey too.
ATTENTION OVERNIGHT ASSOCIATES!! IF YOU ARE JUST STANDING BY THE SIDELINES GET ON OVER TO THE BOYS DEPT AND START ZONING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As many of you may know, I worked for wal-mart for 3 years, the last year on the overnight shift-10 pm to 7am-part time in the cash office and part time as a stocker, which are the only overnight positions in this walmart since it's not open 24 hrs. Overnight stocking is the absolute worst job in the world as far as I'm concerned. I would rather clean out porta potties or flip hamburgers at McDonalds or clean fish guts than ever ever work the overnight shift at wal-mart ever ever again!
The overnight part is bad to begin with-humans are not nocturnal and it just goes against Mother Nature to have to be awake when it is the middle of the night. Humans do not do well trying to sleep in the daytime, especially when the rest of the country is outside your door using leaf blowers and gas mowers.
No, the sleeping is the least of the bad parts of working the overnight shift. The bad parts are being treated as a little less than human because you are working the overnight shift at wal-mart and you must be a little sub-human to have taken this job in the first place, so it's okay to treat you as you would someone who just isn't the sharpest crayon in the box. Besides the hard physical labor of slinging heavy boxes around and pulling 5000 pound pallets of freight around all night, there is last straw of being LOUDLY TOLD to go help clean up a department that isn't even yours at 6:30 am when you are exhausted and have had just about enough of the overnight shift at wal-mart and just want to hide behind an end cap somewhere until the magical hour of 7am when you can finally get the f**k out of there and go home!
What was really disheartening was seeing one of my old co-workers from the overnight shift looking about 10 years older than he did when I left wal-mart a little over a year ago-his hair had turned completely grey too.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Effing Hot!!
It's 106 outside according to yahoo's weather, but it says it only feels like 101. That's nice to know, because to me if feels like it's about 150 or so.
A Little Bit Un-PC
So, I was working on some new pendants yesterday made with puzzle pieces from a vintage US puzzle. They're coming out pretty cute but I don't think I can use THIS piece, it's just a little bit too politically incorrect!
Don't think the little black kid eating watermelon would quite cut it!
I'm putting these on black faux suede cords with heart charm dangles.
And I made a whole bunch of them yesterday!
Don't think the little black kid eating watermelon would quite cut it!
I'm putting these on black faux suede cords with heart charm dangles.
And I made a whole bunch of them yesterday!
Friday, June 20, 2008
New Blog
I thought it might be fun to have a 2nd blog just for cat stuff so today I started my Festival O' Felines blog at:
http://festivalofelines.blogspot.com/
Warning, this blog will not mince words about life with six cats, and there may be some words like sh*t and mother f**cker thrown around in there, so if those words bug you, don't read this blog.
http://festivalofelines.blogspot.com/
Warning, this blog will not mince words about life with six cats, and there may be some words like sh*t and mother f**cker thrown around in there, so if those words bug you, don't read this blog.
Yes, It's Tacky
From the Etsy forums:
Thursday, June 19, 2008
5000
Items sold in my supply shop. In less than a year. Not bad, if I do say so myself, but when you consider the profit margin on 2.00 packets of flowers, it's not like I'm getting filthy rich, but it sure helps!
Yay!
Yay!
Truck Stop Diners
You know how people always say that if you want to find a good place to eat while on the road to look for a truck stop since truckers are 'in the know'?
Umm, not.
We stopped in Castaic on our way home from Ventura on Sunday to get some breakfast and chose this little 24 hour trucker's diner:
I do like the neon breakfast lunch and dinner sign and the funky counter stools, but this had to be one of the junkiest diners ever, tables were just kind of crammed in there together with chairs reminiscent of the 50's formica topped dinette sets. The food was blah, service so-so, and the coffee was in little tiny cups-I like a big big cup of coffee, and if restaurants were smart, they'd use big cups which equal less fill-ups.
Umm, not.
We stopped in Castaic on our way home from Ventura on Sunday to get some breakfast and chose this little 24 hour trucker's diner:
I do like the neon breakfast lunch and dinner sign and the funky counter stools, but this had to be one of the junkiest diners ever, tables were just kind of crammed in there together with chairs reminiscent of the 50's formica topped dinette sets. The food was blah, service so-so, and the coffee was in little tiny cups-I like a big big cup of coffee, and if restaurants were smart, they'd use big cups which equal less fill-ups.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
We've Tried
To get Mimi to give up her gambling addiction, but she just won't. I think she is hoping she will hit it big so she can buy new humans and a kitty condo on the Riviera.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Weekend O' Fun Recap
So, here's how our weekend of family festivities went:
We left Bakersfield at about 5 pm on Friday, leaving an almost clean house-didn't do the bathroom, and still haven't done it-with cat bowls filled with food and water all over the house. We were hungry but wanted to get down the road by at least 30 miles before stopping to eat. We stopped to get gas in the little town of Pumpkin Center and went into the gas station for something to drink. I figured I'd better use the restroom since I have conditioned my body to always always take advantage of any restrooms when traveling, whether I need to go or not. So, I opened the door to the restroom and was assaulted by the smell of urine, glanced inside and realized I had opened the door to the men's room when I saw the urinal on the wall, quickly went to the appropriate ladies room, furtively looking around hoping nobody saw me open the wrong door, and went to the ladies' where at least it didn't smell like pee.
There are no restaurants in Pumpkin Center except for the Subway and the Jack in the Box, so we went further up the road to the huge travel center where we decided to try the Iron Skillet, which was definitely nothing to write home about but better than McDonalds. We didn't get the All You Can Eat Steak Buffet for 10.99- I got a patty melt but it came on wheat bread instead of rye so it just didn't taste right, and Keith got a bacon burger.
So, back on the road, driving driving driving, getting to our hotel in Oxnard about 9 or so. We checked out the lobby and pool area, watched a little TV, and then went to bed.
The next morning we were all supposed to meet at Marie Callenders to surprise Keith's mom, which in hindsight could have been a disaster. Surprising someone who is turning 80 could result in a heart attack which would have ruined the surprise for sure. She was totally shocked when her middle son Brad and his wife Wendy came walking in, they live in Idaho, and they were the last people she expected to see at breakfast at Marie Callenders.
Here's the b-day girl in her tiara with the grandkids.
Here's Keith on the left with Brad in the middle and Bruce on the right. Keith is the baby of the family, Brad is 7 years older, and Bruce is way old at 10 years older. I guess they tortured Keith when he was little. There's no family resemblance either, you'd never know they were brothers by looking at them.
Keith's brother Bruce and his wife Carolyn were hosting a barbecue that evening, so everyone was kind of on their own after breakfast to do whatever they wanted. Keith opted to go back to the hotel for a nap and I read for a while. It was foggy like usual on the coast, Ventura is well known for it's 'June Gloom'-every day you wake up to chilly damp fog. So weird after leaving 100 degree Bakersfield. Then when Keith woke up from his nap we went to downtown Ventura to wander around for a while.
I love the new sign for Ventura except for the 'for lease' part of it!
The barbecue was fun, Carolyn is a great hostess and had asked me to invite my Mom and my kids, so they came too. Bruce cooked up a huge amount of tri-tip, bread, beans, and scalloped potatoes. Then of course, birthday cake and ice cream!
CAKE!!!
Everyone wanted us to stay on Sunday to do something for Keith's birthday, but with him sick and not feeling well-see previous post about getting sick 25 minutes from home with a cold or sinus or whatever it is-and our cats being 'home alone', we just wanted to get up and go home in the morning, so that's what we did. And came home to confused kitties-where WERE you-and huge huge amounts of poop in the cat boxes.
And now, we are done with traveling anywhere for the rest of the summer. Gas prices too high, hotels incredibly expensive, and that road to and from Bakersfield will just about bore you to death!
We left Bakersfield at about 5 pm on Friday, leaving an almost clean house-didn't do the bathroom, and still haven't done it-with cat bowls filled with food and water all over the house. We were hungry but wanted to get down the road by at least 30 miles before stopping to eat. We stopped to get gas in the little town of Pumpkin Center and went into the gas station for something to drink. I figured I'd better use the restroom since I have conditioned my body to always always take advantage of any restrooms when traveling, whether I need to go or not. So, I opened the door to the restroom and was assaulted by the smell of urine, glanced inside and realized I had opened the door to the men's room when I saw the urinal on the wall, quickly went to the appropriate ladies room, furtively looking around hoping nobody saw me open the wrong door, and went to the ladies' where at least it didn't smell like pee.
There are no restaurants in Pumpkin Center except for the Subway and the Jack in the Box, so we went further up the road to the huge travel center where we decided to try the Iron Skillet, which was definitely nothing to write home about but better than McDonalds. We didn't get the All You Can Eat Steak Buffet for 10.99- I got a patty melt but it came on wheat bread instead of rye so it just didn't taste right, and Keith got a bacon burger.
So, back on the road, driving driving driving, getting to our hotel in Oxnard about 9 or so. We checked out the lobby and pool area, watched a little TV, and then went to bed.
The next morning we were all supposed to meet at Marie Callenders to surprise Keith's mom, which in hindsight could have been a disaster. Surprising someone who is turning 80 could result in a heart attack which would have ruined the surprise for sure. She was totally shocked when her middle son Brad and his wife Wendy came walking in, they live in Idaho, and they were the last people she expected to see at breakfast at Marie Callenders.
Here's the b-day girl in her tiara with the grandkids.
Here's Keith on the left with Brad in the middle and Bruce on the right. Keith is the baby of the family, Brad is 7 years older, and Bruce is way old at 10 years older. I guess they tortured Keith when he was little. There's no family resemblance either, you'd never know they were brothers by looking at them.Keith's brother Bruce and his wife Carolyn were hosting a barbecue that evening, so everyone was kind of on their own after breakfast to do whatever they wanted. Keith opted to go back to the hotel for a nap and I read for a while. It was foggy like usual on the coast, Ventura is well known for it's 'June Gloom'-every day you wake up to chilly damp fog. So weird after leaving 100 degree Bakersfield. Then when Keith woke up from his nap we went to downtown Ventura to wander around for a while.
I love the new sign for Ventura except for the 'for lease' part of it!The barbecue was fun, Carolyn is a great hostess and had asked me to invite my Mom and my kids, so they came too. Bruce cooked up a huge amount of tri-tip, bread, beans, and scalloped potatoes. Then of course, birthday cake and ice cream!
CAKE!!!Everyone wanted us to stay on Sunday to do something for Keith's birthday, but with him sick and not feeling well-see previous post about getting sick 25 minutes from home with a cold or sinus or whatever it is-and our cats being 'home alone', we just wanted to get up and go home in the morning, so that's what we did. And came home to confused kitties-where WERE you-and huge huge amounts of poop in the cat boxes.
And now, we are done with traveling anywhere for the rest of the summer. Gas prices too high, hotels incredibly expensive, and that road to and from Bakersfield will just about bore you to death!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Fifty!
Today was Keith's 50th birthday and this is what his mom got him for his birthday:
No, not the cocktail, the handy dandy radio hat!! The picture is blurry because I was laughing so hard that I almost wet my pants! It's the thought that counts, right?
We left Bakersfield for Ventura Friday afternoon and before we had gone 25 miles, Keith knew he was coming down with a sinus infection, flu, cold or a combination of all three. So, today, his birthday, was mostly spent with lots of kleenex and sleep. We did go to the bookstore so he could buy his birthday present, and we did go out to dinner tonight, but it's not much fun feeling sick on your vacation/family reunion/birthday weekend. More to come tomorrow.
No, not the cocktail, the handy dandy radio hat!! The picture is blurry because I was laughing so hard that I almost wet my pants! It's the thought that counts, right?We left Bakersfield for Ventura Friday afternoon and before we had gone 25 miles, Keith knew he was coming down with a sinus infection, flu, cold or a combination of all three. So, today, his birthday, was mostly spent with lots of kleenex and sleep. We did go to the bookstore so he could buy his birthday present, and we did go out to dinner tonight, but it's not much fun feeling sick on your vacation/family reunion/birthday weekend. More to come tomorrow.
Friday, June 13, 2008
You Heard it Here First!
I'm going to actually DO SOME HOUSE CLEANING today. Maybe. If I get my fat butt up out of this chair and get started!
We're heading down to the coast this afternoon for a weekend o' fun. A family reunion/graduation/80th birthday/father's day/Keith's birthday extravaganza. Not really sure how much fun it will be, family reunions can get messy sometimes, but we're going. I thought it might be nice if we come home to a halfway clean house. Not that it's easy to get the house looking halfway clean-we STILL don't have kitchen or hallway floors, just glue stained concrete and remnants of linoleum, so even if you mop those floors, vacuum the carpet, and dust all the knick knacky stuff, it still feels dirty and messy. But, I'll do my best. Maybe. If I can just get my fat butt up off of this chair.
I have been meaning to get this cupboard cleaned up, too, those lunchboxes are from my studio, we had brought all the junk from in there out to the living room when Keith was putting the carpet tile in, and these have just somehow never found their way back to where they belong. Maybe I should just start packing Keith's lunches in them. Then all the other kids at work could make fun of him.
All of the rest of that stuff needs a good dusting, too. Okay, I'm going to go start cleaning now. In just a minute. Maybe.
Kitty pictures of the day-the girls are ready for their close-ups, Mr. Demille!
Little Miss Mimi
And Little Miss Lucy. These two are just the sweetest little girls!
We're heading down to the coast this afternoon for a weekend o' fun. A family reunion/graduation/80th birthday/father's day/Keith's birthday extravaganza. Not really sure how much fun it will be, family reunions can get messy sometimes, but we're going. I thought it might be nice if we come home to a halfway clean house. Not that it's easy to get the house looking halfway clean-we STILL don't have kitchen or hallway floors, just glue stained concrete and remnants of linoleum, so even if you mop those floors, vacuum the carpet, and dust all the knick knacky stuff, it still feels dirty and messy. But, I'll do my best. Maybe. If I can just get my fat butt up off of this chair.
I have been meaning to get this cupboard cleaned up, too, those lunchboxes are from my studio, we had brought all the junk from in there out to the living room when Keith was putting the carpet tile in, and these have just somehow never found their way back to where they belong. Maybe I should just start packing Keith's lunches in them. Then all the other kids at work could make fun of him.
All of the rest of that stuff needs a good dusting, too. Okay, I'm going to go start cleaning now. In just a minute. Maybe.Kitty pictures of the day-the girls are ready for their close-ups, Mr. Demille!
Little Miss Mimi
And Little Miss Lucy. These two are just the sweetest little girls!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
This Is Why
We got the 'hefty pet' cat door for our house!
That could have been our own personal hefty cat Pepper if we hadn't bought the door expressly designed for your 'plus size' pets. We put it in the door to the garage so that they could all go out and play in the wilds of the garage. The little cats love it but the big cats are hesitant about going through it-they will sit there looking at it until you go swing it open for them.
Here Pepper is just hoping this can of cat food will magically open itself-oh if only I had a thumb!
Pepper is quite chubby and we've been trying to help her lose some weight by only putting food down twice a day instead of leaving food out for the cats to 'self feed'. Bear and Little Bit are very timid and won't eat with all the other cats, so we have to put some food in the bedroom for them so they're not all stressed out while trying to eat. Lucy will only eat dry food, Mimi is still too skinny so I want her to eat more, and Buddy will eat off of every plate and bowl, thinking that the next bowl over has better food than his bowl, even though it's the same stuff.
Pepper started getting fat when we stopped letting the cats go outside after they kept getting parasites and getting knocked around by the stray cats in the neighborhood. Then last summer when we were raising the kittens, she would always get into their kitten chow which is higher calorie food for those growing kids, so she really packed on the pounds. She's so fat that I have to clean her bottom because she can't reach it anymore. Bear's pretty rotund, too, but at least she keeps her own bottom clean.
Here's little round Bear taking one of her many many naps.
She's so funny when she runs, these little short legs going as fast as they can and this big bowling ball belly jiggling away!
That could have been our own personal hefty cat Pepper if we hadn't bought the door expressly designed for your 'plus size' pets. We put it in the door to the garage so that they could all go out and play in the wilds of the garage. The little cats love it but the big cats are hesitant about going through it-they will sit there looking at it until you go swing it open for them.Here Pepper is just hoping this can of cat food will magically open itself-oh if only I had a thumb!
Pepper is quite chubby and we've been trying to help her lose some weight by only putting food down twice a day instead of leaving food out for the cats to 'self feed'. Bear and Little Bit are very timid and won't eat with all the other cats, so we have to put some food in the bedroom for them so they're not all stressed out while trying to eat. Lucy will only eat dry food, Mimi is still too skinny so I want her to eat more, and Buddy will eat off of every plate and bowl, thinking that the next bowl over has better food than his bowl, even though it's the same stuff.
Pepper started getting fat when we stopped letting the cats go outside after they kept getting parasites and getting knocked around by the stray cats in the neighborhood. Then last summer when we were raising the kittens, she would always get into their kitten chow which is higher calorie food for those growing kids, so she really packed on the pounds. She's so fat that I have to clean her bottom because she can't reach it anymore. Bear's pretty rotund, too, but at least she keeps her own bottom clean.
Here's little round Bear taking one of her many many naps.
She's so funny when she runs, these little short legs going as fast as they can and this big bowling ball belly jiggling away!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Tired
This morning we drove down to brother in law John's and nieces Caitlin and Evann's house in Castaic for an early Father's Day brunch. Other niece Meghan, who recently moved to Tahoe arranged the whole thing since she was going to be in town for a wedding. She decided on brunch because she and her boyfriend Ryan had to drive back to Tahoe today-a long long drive from Castaic. It's only about an hour and a half drive from our house to Castaic but it's an incredibly boring drive-thirty miles of straight flat freeway, then up up up into the mountains, most of which are bare and brown this time of year, then lots of mountain driving, then down down down into Castaic. There are only two little towns and a rest stop up in the mountains, so not much to look at. The signs say you are in the Angeles National Forest, but there are no trees along the freeway, I guess the tree part of the National Forest is up higher in the mountains where you can't see them. I've always thought it odd to see forest signs when there are no trees near the forest signs.
So, we brought a huge amount of pastries from a local bakery, sister Linda brought croissants, Meghan brought bagels, Mom brought fruit plates, Jennifer brought bacon, eggs were scrambled, coffee made, juice poured, and we all ate too much. Do you think we had enough bread products or what?
Then, time to drive back to Bakersfield, a reverse of the boring drive, looking at the same brown treeless mountains, and the same straight boring thirty miles of freeway before getting back home. What is it about driving that makes you so tired? It's not like you're exerting yourself or anything, you're just sitting there. We were both just exhausted when we got home, Keith went to take a nap with Buddy, and I tried to get a little work done, but just didn't feel like doing much.
It was nice to see everyone, we don't see each other that often, even though we really don't live that far away -guess it's that boring drive plus the 4.00 a gallon gas prices that keep us from driving down on a regular basis. Either that or we are just too too busy with our glamorous lives here in the lovely smoggy hot Bakersfield.
So, we brought a huge amount of pastries from a local bakery, sister Linda brought croissants, Meghan brought bagels, Mom brought fruit plates, Jennifer brought bacon, eggs were scrambled, coffee made, juice poured, and we all ate too much. Do you think we had enough bread products or what?
Then, time to drive back to Bakersfield, a reverse of the boring drive, looking at the same brown treeless mountains, and the same straight boring thirty miles of freeway before getting back home. What is it about driving that makes you so tired? It's not like you're exerting yourself or anything, you're just sitting there. We were both just exhausted when we got home, Keith went to take a nap with Buddy, and I tried to get a little work done, but just didn't feel like doing much.
It was nice to see everyone, we don't see each other that often, even though we really don't live that far away -guess it's that boring drive plus the 4.00 a gallon gas prices that keep us from driving down on a regular basis. Either that or we are just too too busy with our glamorous lives here in the lovely smoggy hot Bakersfield.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Busy Yesterday and Yard Sale Score
I spent hours yesterday filling all the orders that came in from the link to the trashy books website. It was really kind of scary! I had over $400.00 in sales just from that link. Yikes!
I woke up early this morning and went outside to see a huge yard sale across the street and one down the street. We aren't much of yard sale type people, I really don't like buying other people's junk, I have enough junk of my own, thank you very much. But, when you can check out other people's junk just by crossing the street, then what the heck, right? So we grabbed our coffee and checked out the junk, then went down to the other junk down the street. And...a loveseat and chair for $40.00!!
We have been wanting to get a new sofa or something for our living room-the old one is totally worn out, where you need a crane to get you back out of it because our fat asses have sat on it so much that there is no support to the cushions anymore. The cats have shredded the upholstery and the new slipcover looks like its ten years old already from little cat claws snagging it. We also managed to get some black greasy stuff all over it-who knows where that came from.
The new (used) loveseat and chair are a little scratched up but they are comfortable and the cats are so happy that we bought them new scratching posts, so now we can wait another year or so before buying something brand new. And in the meantime saving that $1000 or so that a nice new scratching post, er, sofa, would cost.
I woke up early this morning and went outside to see a huge yard sale across the street and one down the street. We aren't much of yard sale type people, I really don't like buying other people's junk, I have enough junk of my own, thank you very much. But, when you can check out other people's junk just by crossing the street, then what the heck, right? So we grabbed our coffee and checked out the junk, then went down to the other junk down the street. And...a loveseat and chair for $40.00!!
We have been wanting to get a new sofa or something for our living room-the old one is totally worn out, where you need a crane to get you back out of it because our fat asses have sat on it so much that there is no support to the cushions anymore. The cats have shredded the upholstery and the new slipcover looks like its ten years old already from little cat claws snagging it. We also managed to get some black greasy stuff all over it-who knows where that came from.
The new (used) loveseat and chair are a little scratched up but they are comfortable and the cats are so happy that we bought them new scratching posts, so now we can wait another year or so before buying something brand new. And in the meantime saving that $1000 or so that a nice new scratching post, er, sofa, would cost.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Wowza!
Yesterday afternoon I got a bunch of orders all in a row and was kind of like 'what the heck? where'd these come from?'
Turns out my naughty romance novel glass pendants were featured in 'smartbitchestrashybooks.com' a website for romance novel enthusiasts, complete with a link directly to my shop. So, the orders kept coming in last night and this morning and now I'm all in a rush to get more of these pendants made and in my shop before the Playgirl mag comes out in a few weeks. I'm just overwhelmed by how much attention I got from that blog feature, guess it's a very popular blog! I know most women who read romances won't admit to it because, well, it's not 'real' literature and they're a little embarrassed to admit how much they enjoy them. Nothing better than sitting by the pool with iced tea or a frosty margarita and a good hot romance novel on a summer's day, though!
So, thanks to all the romance novel readers out there who want a little piece of romance (or hot sexy stuff) around their necks, you've made my day!
Here's a link to the site, it looks like a lot of fun!
http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com
Turns out my naughty romance novel glass pendants were featured in 'smartbitchestrashybooks.com' a website for romance novel enthusiasts, complete with a link directly to my shop. So, the orders kept coming in last night and this morning and now I'm all in a rush to get more of these pendants made and in my shop before the Playgirl mag comes out in a few weeks. I'm just overwhelmed by how much attention I got from that blog feature, guess it's a very popular blog! I know most women who read romances won't admit to it because, well, it's not 'real' literature and they're a little embarrassed to admit how much they enjoy them. Nothing better than sitting by the pool with iced tea or a frosty margarita and a good hot romance novel on a summer's day, though!
So, thanks to all the romance novel readers out there who want a little piece of romance (or hot sexy stuff) around their necks, you've made my day!
Here's a link to the site, it looks like a lot of fun!
http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com
Thursday, June 5, 2008
What Part of Do Not Call do you Not Understand?
Okay, we rarely get phone calls and when the phone rings after say 8 pm, my first thought is death or destruction, so...
Scene: the kitchen, 8:45 pm last night.
'ring ring' 'ring ring'
'hello?'
nothing
'hello?'
'hello, Elizabeth blah blah- last name not repeated to protect the privacy of the individual'
'yes?'
'This is so and so from the Police blah blah children's blah blah group'-(obviously a solicitor)
'yes, can you please take this number off of your calling list?' note that I politely said please.
'oh, but we are not soliciting blah blah blah'
'oh, then why are you calling? can you please take this number off of your calling list?' again, very politely saying please.
'well, we don't buy or sell calling lists, we use the phone book, blah blah blah.'
'okay, well then can you please PUT me on your do not call list?' again, please and I'm not getting angry quite yet.
'well, can I ask you why this seems to disturb you so much?'
okay, now I'm angry! 'YES BECAUSE IT IS QUARTER TO NINE AND YOU WOKE UP MY HUSBAND WHO HAS TO GET UP AT 4:30 AM TO GO TO WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'
'oh-click'
Keith comes stumbling out of the bedroom where he was indeed sleeping, also thinking death or destruction when the phone rings and wakes him up out of a sound sleep. Some poor phone solicitor's death or destruction.
Okay, kitty destruction and mischief photo of the day-we don't have toddlers and I know I didn't do this:
Although I do remember Jennifer as a toddler running gleefully out of the bathroom holding the end of the toilet paper while the roll unfurled behind her throughout the whole house.
Scene: the kitchen, 8:45 pm last night.
'ring ring' 'ring ring'
'hello?'
nothing
'hello?'
'hello, Elizabeth blah blah- last name not repeated to protect the privacy of the individual'
'yes?'
'This is so and so from the Police blah blah children's blah blah group'-(obviously a solicitor)
'yes, can you please take this number off of your calling list?' note that I politely said please.
'oh, but we are not soliciting blah blah blah'
'oh, then why are you calling? can you please take this number off of your calling list?' again, very politely saying please.
'well, we don't buy or sell calling lists, we use the phone book, blah blah blah.'
'okay, well then can you please PUT me on your do not call list?' again, please and I'm not getting angry quite yet.
'well, can I ask you why this seems to disturb you so much?'
okay, now I'm angry! 'YES BECAUSE IT IS QUARTER TO NINE AND YOU WOKE UP MY HUSBAND WHO HAS TO GET UP AT 4:30 AM TO GO TO WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'
'oh-click'
Keith comes stumbling out of the bedroom where he was indeed sleeping, also thinking death or destruction when the phone rings and wakes him up out of a sound sleep. Some poor phone solicitor's death or destruction.
Okay, kitty destruction and mischief photo of the day-we don't have toddlers and I know I didn't do this:
Although I do remember Jennifer as a toddler running gleefully out of the bathroom holding the end of the toilet paper while the roll unfurled behind her throughout the whole house.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
I'm in Playgirl magazine!!
No, not ME you sillies-nobody wants to see this roly poly middle aged body in Playgirl. My 'naughty' pendants!
Playgirl did a feature on...ahem...sex and crafting, and picked etsy sellers to be in the magazine. And my pendants made it in! I got my copy of the magazine in the mail yesterday, in a nice plain brown wrapper but with the Playgirl logo on the mailing label-what must my sweet mail lady think of me now?-and opening up that magazine and seeing MY pendant in print in a major magazine was a huge thrill! I'm hoping that the feature will bring added sales to my shop, so the next few weeks are going to be spent making lots and lots of my 'naughty glass pendants'. I cut text from romance novels with the naughty parts circled and then put them under glass and solder around the edges. Like this one:
And here I am in the magazine: WARNING MATURE CONTENT!!!-that'll get EVERYONE to take a look, won't it?
Top right corner, that's me!
Oh, it's the July/August 2008 issue which should be out in a few weeks if anyone wants to run to the newsstand and furtively rifle through the sex magazines while wearing your trench coat, hat, and dark glasses!
Playgirl did a feature on...ahem...sex and crafting, and picked etsy sellers to be in the magazine. And my pendants made it in! I got my copy of the magazine in the mail yesterday, in a nice plain brown wrapper but with the Playgirl logo on the mailing label-what must my sweet mail lady think of me now?-and opening up that magazine and seeing MY pendant in print in a major magazine was a huge thrill! I'm hoping that the feature will bring added sales to my shop, so the next few weeks are going to be spent making lots and lots of my 'naughty glass pendants'. I cut text from romance novels with the naughty parts circled and then put them under glass and solder around the edges. Like this one:
And here I am in the magazine: WARNING MATURE CONTENT!!!-that'll get EVERYONE to take a look, won't it?
Top right corner, that's me!Oh, it's the July/August 2008 issue which should be out in a few weeks if anyone wants to run to the newsstand and furtively rifle through the sex magazines while wearing your trench coat, hat, and dark glasses!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Question
If you are walking down the street and see a penny on the sidewalk do you bend over to pick it up?
I saw a penny on the sidewalk while walking to the mailbox today and didn't pick it up. Now, if it had been a nickel, I would have.
I saw a penny on the sidewalk while walking to the mailbox today and didn't pick it up. Now, if it had been a nickel, I would have.
Sad
We were watching the news last night, which doesn't happen that often since I kind of forget to keep up with what's going on in the world and tend to get my news from yahoo's home page, and the saddest story came on about the effect that home foreclosures have on dogs and cats.
Here in Bakersfield and in lots and lots of other cities across the country, people are losing their homes to foreclosures because of the 'creative financing' that got them those homes in the first place. People who bought new homes recently are living in neighborhoods with half finished abandoned houses all around them and have bought a home that is currently worth about half the price that they paid for said home. I've never thought about what happens to the family dog or cat when these people have to find alternative housing-moving in with relatives or finding a rental-where the family pets are not welcome.
These family pets are being abandoned at the foreclosed upon home.
Keith was telling me about a realtor that went to a foreclosed upon house and found a mama dog and her four puppies that were just left in the back yard-no food, no water. She gave the dogs some water and had to call animal control to come pick up those dogs and take them to the pound where they will unfortunately end up being put down. According to the news story, this is becoming a huge problem in a city that already has a huge problem with stray animals. People are just moving out and leaving their pets behind-in the back yard and in some cases even inside the house.
Why don't these people take the animals to the pound or the spca where they might have a chance at being adopted or at the very least will be put down rather than starving to death? The spca here in town is packed with animals and just can't take any more, and unless you are bringing in a stray or lie about the animal not being yours, there is a fee to drop your animal at the pound. People whose houses are being foreclosed upon probably don't have the extra money to pay the pound fees, so they just leave the animals behind.
We've often wondered what we would do with all of our cats should something like this happen to us where we just couldn't take care of them anymore-whether due to having to move out of our house, or losing a job, or sickness, or death, and it is kind of heartbreaking to think of having to find a place for them or have to take them to the pound. I just don't know what we would do, but leaving them to fend for themselves is just out of the question.
Here in Bakersfield and in lots and lots of other cities across the country, people are losing their homes to foreclosures because of the 'creative financing' that got them those homes in the first place. People who bought new homes recently are living in neighborhoods with half finished abandoned houses all around them and have bought a home that is currently worth about half the price that they paid for said home. I've never thought about what happens to the family dog or cat when these people have to find alternative housing-moving in with relatives or finding a rental-where the family pets are not welcome.
These family pets are being abandoned at the foreclosed upon home.
Keith was telling me about a realtor that went to a foreclosed upon house and found a mama dog and her four puppies that were just left in the back yard-no food, no water. She gave the dogs some water and had to call animal control to come pick up those dogs and take them to the pound where they will unfortunately end up being put down. According to the news story, this is becoming a huge problem in a city that already has a huge problem with stray animals. People are just moving out and leaving their pets behind-in the back yard and in some cases even inside the house.
Why don't these people take the animals to the pound or the spca where they might have a chance at being adopted or at the very least will be put down rather than starving to death? The spca here in town is packed with animals and just can't take any more, and unless you are bringing in a stray or lie about the animal not being yours, there is a fee to drop your animal at the pound. People whose houses are being foreclosed upon probably don't have the extra money to pay the pound fees, so they just leave the animals behind.
We've often wondered what we would do with all of our cats should something like this happen to us where we just couldn't take care of them anymore-whether due to having to move out of our house, or losing a job, or sickness, or death, and it is kind of heartbreaking to think of having to find a place for them or have to take them to the pound. I just don't know what we would do, but leaving them to fend for themselves is just out of the question.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Too Busy for ME to Nap!
I've been busy the past two days redoing my etsy jewelry shop. Every few months I need to get in there and do a cleaning and retaking of pictures so everything looks fresh. So, I'm in the process of retaking all the pictures, getting rid of some old stuff, and relisting everything so my shop will hopefully look a little more put together. And I'll make some money. Ka-ching!
We went and got some new sheets and pillows on Saturday so of course Keith had to make sure they worked.
They do.
Everybody else was napping this afternoon, too:
Mimi-she likes to lay right in the entryway to the living room. Right in the middle.
Must be a little too bright for Buddy.
Lucy's hind end hanging out of the kitty condo.
The rest of her is inside the condo.
We went and got some new sheets and pillows on Saturday so of course Keith had to make sure they worked.
They do.Everybody else was napping this afternoon, too:
Mimi-she likes to lay right in the entryway to the living room. Right in the middle.
Must be a little too bright for Buddy.
Lucy's hind end hanging out of the kitty condo.
The rest of her is inside the condo.
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