New Punch

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Yikes - how did I not see that was scanned crooked until now? No time to re-do now. That dark green scallop is from a new punch. I bought it and another punch from the wife of a guy at work who is a new Stampin' Up distributor. (Her, not him.) Somehow I keep getting lucky that each punch I buy is just slightly different from my others. The punches from Stampin' Up are a bit pricey but they are very good quality, I think. Compares well to the quality of a Martha Stewart punch (like the very center of the above design.)

The stitched part is a Stefani original but because it's just a hair bigger than other designs for the Sticky Notes, I have to make the cover slightly bigger. So I was going to shrink it or reconfigure it or something. But now that I see this scalloped circle fits perfectly in the center, I think I'll keep it.

I'm off to work now, stopping at the post office to ship an order. (Hi Nancy!)

May 1, 10:00-7:00
Casa Larga Vineyard
2887 Turk Hill Road
Fairport, NY 14450

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Paper Quilts

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5" x 5" Card
Before posting this on Etsy this morning, I counted the individual pieces that make up this card. EIGHTY-SEVEN. I was shocked, I have to admit.

Sticky Notes

This notepad only has 44 pieces - MUCH more reasonable. :-)

I feel uncharacteristically calm about Thursday's show. I worked my butt off this weekend but I think one of the key factors is that I also started organizing my show paraphernalia against my checklist, got my cash box ready, etc. Wherever possible I keep stuff permanently packed & ready to go. That's sometimes deceiving though because I've known to check my signage the morning of the show and realize I need to print a new this or that.

Of course, now that I'm feeling so prepared, the other half of my brain worries that this can't possibly be, I must have overlooked something.

May 1, 10:00-7:00
Casa Larga Vineyard
2887 Turk Hill Road
Fairport, NY 14450

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Improv Everywhere

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It's fun to hit the links below and read the background on these performances.

Frozen Grand Central

Food Court Musical

Best Game Ever
(This one almost made me tear up, so happy for these little kids!)

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Turquoise Beads

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Card for a birthday at work yesterday.

For my fellow crafters, Luann Udell's blog is a must read. I learn so much from her. Keeping in step with my environmental post from yesterday, I want to share a new packaging system she alerted us to yesterday. I'm not quite ready for it myself, but I hope I am someday because I think it's very cool. It's by Geami. It's made from Kraft paper - it's recyclable, renewable, compostable & way less messy than evil Styrofoam peanuts. There's a video on their site you can watch. For now, I'm good with reusing the free packing material that I receive with my orders.

I had my first order through Etsy from A Perfect Stranger the other day. (The rest have been through family & friends.) I received another order today. I think things are starting to pick up steam over there. I may not be ready for that cool packing material mentioned above but I think I'm ready to buy a scale and print my own postage at home. I love, love, love the automated postage machines available at post offices now but I might be ready to take it one step further. I need to look into it a bit further. I thought when I looked into stamps.com before there was a $15/month fee. Oh, I just looked, it's now $17.99/month. Too much for me.

I just started to look at usps.com - but I hear Steve making his own sandwich for lunch so I better go. If he makes my sandwich, he never gets the Miracle Whip all the way to the edges!

If anyone has any experience with printing postage - leave it in the comments please? Thanks!

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Junk Mail

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These women are my fellow Green Team members sorting junk mail at lunch yesterday. When we started up last fall, I set a blue recycling box in the mail room just for catalogs and junk mail so I could have the names removed from the mailing list. It's mostly mail addressed to former employees. I tried to do a little bit each week but quickly fell behind. So yesterday we sorted it all out by company and each took a stack to work on over time.

I did the same thing with our home mail last year. Just a quick email and it's done. I saved each email in it's own company folder so I'd know whether I'd already contacted them or not. Even I was shocked at how many different mailing lists just the two of us were on. Since we get a lot of our bills and statements electronically, my goal was to see if we could ever have a "no mail day". So far it's happened twice! Walking back from the mailbox empty handed is kind of weird. Used to be years ago where that would make me sad. Now it makes me super happy.

Since we started our Green Team at work, we have been happily shocked at the reception by fellow employees. We expected some good natured teasing and resistance. Not so much. One of the things we've done is set up recycling bins for glass, metal and 1 & 2 plastics. They have been filling up routinely. Every time we send out a newsletter to employees, we get some "way to go" enthusiastic comments. I guess on one hand, I shouldn't be surprised since "green" is such a huge topic these days - everywhere you look.

I remember the first Earth Day in 1970 vividly. I went to school at Mendon Center Junior High and a ton of us walked to the high school and back to honor Earth Day. I felt like that was my first public protest. Maybe my only public protest. I prefer to lead by example, having learned that from my parents. I remember separating colors of glass and metal in our house with my mom and taking it to the town garage for recycling - must have been around that time, so like 40 years ago. Wow. That number shocks my system.

In my own home, I can barely remember not recycling, using cloth napkins, buying products based on packaging, etc. Simon will tell you as a kid he used to beg for individual juice containers (juice boxes and the like) but I wouldn't buy them because they aren't "environmentally responsible". He used to hate that. (Juice boxes are now recyclable here - too late for Simon though!) Steve will tell you that I'm responsible for teaching him to recycle. I can't walk by a wastebasket at work that contains paper, without pulling it out and putting it in the blue recycle baskets.

Next up: I've been wanting to check into solar panels for our home. I'm pretty sure they are out of our budget, but it will be interesting to research. Someday they will be part of every home, I'm sure.

It's nice to know I'm not alone in this. This is one "fad" I'm happy to see happening.

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Ladybug

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Happy Earth Day!!!

Sticky Notes, $4.50. I love the different textures of these papers.

Remember last week I set up a table of my leftover buy/sell stuff in the break room at work? I made $66 in sales! That's a lot of items at 50 cents and 1 dollar! I'm quite pleased. Still not sure what to do with those leftovers but something will come up.

After Reggi's recent back problems and the break in weather, we've gotten serious about helping her lose weight. We've walked her 4 days in a row. She definitely wears out faster than she used to but I know we can build up her stamina again. It's not exactly aerobic exercise for us but overall, it's good. And it's certainly nice being out in the fresh air. This morning she went but she was definitely not into it. So we've decided to let her rest tomorrow. Poor thing about had me in tears today. I know it will get better. I love that dog.

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Presidential Art

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For all I know, these paintings might be akin to Elvis on velvet or dogs playing poker, but I think they're cool! I saw these in an ad in a magazine in the blood lab's waiting room the other day. (Just routine blood gathering, no concerns at all.)

Interestingly, check the price differential, all unframed:

20" x 30"
Republicans = $249
Democrats = $149

24" x 36"
Republicans = $750
Democrafts = $650

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Danny Federici, RIP

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Danny Federici, January 23, 1950 – April 17, 2008

Anyone who is a fan already knows this news and has probably read this article. I still feel compelled to post it anyway. I was kind of shocked to read of Danny's death actually. So many people survive cancer these days, I guess I figured he would. At the March concert, Bruce said they hoped he would be back with them soon. Of course he said that, what else would he say? But I was wanting to believe it. So I've been feeling a little sad for the band, grieving for their loved one.

Confession: I am able to think of almost all celebrities as regular people with regular lives outside their celebrity-dom. Except Bruce. I can't get him out of Rock Star status in my head. I'm trying. He's a man, a husband, a father of teenagers who just happens to have this big visible job. This is something I realized about myself the other day and thought it a little weird on my part. But there you have it.

NEW YORK (AP) — Danny Federici, the longtime keyboard player for Bruce Springsteen whose stylish work helped define the E Street Band's sound on hits from "Hungry Heart" through "The Rising," died Thursday. He was 58.

Federici, who had battled melanoma for three years, died at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. News of his death was posted late Thursday on Springsteen's official Web site.

He last performed with Springsteen and the band last month, appearing during portions of a March 20 show in Indianapolis.

"Danny and I worked together for 40 years — he was the most wonderfully fluid keyboard player and a pure natural musician. I loved him very much ... we grew up together," Springsteen said in a statement posted on his Web site.

Springsteen concerts scheduled for Friday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Saturday in Orlando were postponed.

Federici was born in Flemington, N.J., a long car ride from the Jersey shore haunts where he first met kindred musical spirit Springsteen in the late 1960s. The pair often jammed at the Upstage Club in Asbury Park, N.J., a now-defunct after-hours club that hosted the best musicians in the state.

It was Federici, along with original E Street Band drummer Vini Lopez, who first invited Springsteen to join their band.

By 1969, the self-effacing Federici — often introduced in concert by Springsteen as "Phantom Dan" — was playing with the Boss in a band called Child. Over the years, Federici joined his friend in acclaimed shore bands Steel Mill, Dr. Zoom and the Sonic Boom and the Bruce Springsteen Band.

Federici became a stalwart in the E Street Band as Springsteen rocketed from the boardwalk to international stardom. Springsteen split from the E Streeters in the late '80s, but they reunited for a hugely successful tour in 1999.

"Bruce has been supportive throughout my life," Federici said in a recent interview with Backstreets magazine. "I've had my ups and downs, and I've certainly given him a run for his money, and he's always been there for me."

Federici played accordion on the wistful "4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" from Springsteen's second album, and his organ solo was a highlight of Springsteen's first top 10 hit, "Hungry Heart." His organ coda on the 9/11-inspired Springsteen song "You're Missing" provided one of the more heart-wrenching moments on "The Rising" in 2002.

In a band with larger-than-life characters such as saxophonist Clarence Clemons and bandana-wrapped guitarist "Little" Steven Van Zandt, Federici was content to play in his familiar position to the side of the stage. But his playing was as vital to Springsteen's live show as any instrument in the band.

Federici released a pair of solo albums that veered from the E Street sound and into soft jazz. Bandmates Nils Lofgren on guitar and Garry Tallent on bass joined Federici on his 1997 debut, "Flemington." In 2005, Federici released its follow-up, "Out of a Dream."

Federici had taken a leave of absence during the band's tour in November 2007 to pursue treatment for melanoma, and was temporarily replaced by veteran musician Charles Giordano.

At the time, Springsteen described Federici as "one of the pillars of our sound and has played beside me as a great friend for more than 40 years. We all eagerly await his healthy and speedy return."

Besides his work with Springsteen, Federici played on albums by an impressive roster of other artists: Van Zandt, Joan Armatrading, Graham Parker, Gary U.S. Bonds and Garland Jeffreys.

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Friends

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German photographer Tanja Askani.

In researching these photographs I found a fascinating blog, Dark Roasted Blend by Avi & Rachel Abrams. Scoot over there and see more of these photos and be sure to scroll down to Allison's comment for an update. (It's not sad.) And check out some of the other weird & wonderful photos they've posted. It took me hours to write this short post, I kept getting lost over there!

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20 Years Ago Today

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Harvest Moon by Hand

Isn't my latest Etsy purchase beautiful? $12 plus shipping. I plan to hang it on my studio window. Here's what the artist says about it:

I make the window stars by hand-folding small squares of paper, overlaying the folded paper, and then gluing them together to create different patterns.

Each point on the star is folded 19 times. With 8 points on the star, that's 152 folds!

This star measures approximately 9 1/2 inches in diameter.

The star can be kept on your window all year round since the paper doesn’t fade.

~ ~ ~

Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of my favorite day of my entire life, the day we picked up Simon at the airport, fresh from Korea. Steve will tell you I can't say that sentence without a quiver in my voice and he's right. I love that kid so much.

But. Yeah, there's a but. This parental thing we do of attempting to balance enabling and support in the right proportions, is a bitch sometimes. This week has been full of tough love for me. Simon and 3 buds went to Myrtle Beach for Spring Break, very spur of the moment. Simon couldn't afford to go but he's making do somehow. He calls me every day or so, with wild stories. He would swear he's not asking me for money but sounds to me like he's laying the ground work for me to offer. Not gonna happen. It feels good actually, doing the right thing. I'd gotten a wee bit out of balance in recent weeks and realized I was depriving him of the opportunity to make his own success and be proud of himself.

I know I was the only one concerned about it, but Simon got through his five days of jury duty availability without having to report to court at all. He was in Myrtle Beach for the last 2 days of that 5 day period so don't ask me how that was going to work if he had to report. I don't know how that kid hit the lottery but his jury pool appeared to only be 200 people strong with only the first 50 or so having to report to court. Most pools are 900, I believe. His number was 161 so in the beginning I was certain he'd have to report. As the days wore on, it looked more and more like he wouldn't have to report, especially when they started pulling the next pool of 900 into court. So I wasn't overly concerned but it was on my mind.

Anyway, I really do love that kid to pieces. Besides less money to him, means more money I can spend on me in Etsy shops!

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Designed by Jane

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Designed by Jane

I'm definitely a pin person. Can you imagine any non-paper jewelry being more up my alley than these??

So I bought two! They arrived from England in no time at all. They are as perfect in person as they are pictured here, including the back.

Now I know how my customers feel at shows - hard to pick a favorite. I wear a lot of red, purple and turquoise, so this one was a no brainer. The top one, though, might require a purchase of a new shirt on which to wear it. Lime green is my new favorite color (witness my phone and iPod) so I'll definitely start poking around online for a new lime green shirt.

Jane's blog is here. Oh crap. Look what I just found there - my perfect colors - red, purple and turquoise! See what I mean about the difficulty of choosing just one?

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Clearance Sale & Celebrity Dreams

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Setting myself a ridiculously high sales goal for Pine Tree Designs 2008 has really got me thinking, (I-hate-this-phrase-except-it's-perfect), outside the box. Also known as desperate. Seriously, counting my dead inventory this past weekend has renewed my desire to get rid of it. This is stuff I bought wholesale to resell when I was in that store in Fairport 2 or 3 years ago. Some of the shows I participate in do allow buy-sell stuff but I think I've said before, I want to be known as an artist first & foremost. I don't want to dilute my "brand". (Sorry, there's another over-used word.)

So I decided to have a clearance sale at work. I made 3 signs to post at strategic locations around the building. Everything is 50 cents or 1 dollar. I spread it on the table in the Break Room with a cash box. No pesky emails - just leave it up for a week and see what happens. I've invested nothing but a little time making the signs. As I said to Steve, "I stand to make TENS of dollars here!" I set my expectations rather low and have been quite pleasantly surprised. Because I put one of the signs by the coffee area, people started shopping right away Monday morning.

I'm finding myself happier about finding good homes for this stuff than making money. I think that's funny/weird. I just didn't want it to go to waste.

I've been having celebrity dreams almost every night lately. I'm just hanging out with these people where they work, because they are my friends. Recent nights have included Wease, my favorite local DJ, Christopher Meloni (from Oz and L&O SVU), Rosie O'Donnell (on the set of Password) - and last night I hung out with Bruce Springsteen and his wife Patti Scialfa. I got to go to a concert with them and watch from backstage - and the alarm went off just as they were about to go on. I hate when that happens!

I have no idea what's up with this run of celebrity dreams but I can't wait to go to sleep tonight. (After watching Numb3rs the other night, I tried to put in an order for a Rob Morrow dream but it didn't happen. So much for positive thinking.)

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Private Sessions

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Just the other day I learned about a show I had not heard about, Private Sessions on A&E. I immediately Tivoed it because I love interview shows. In this one the artist performs as well. I've just watched the Ringo Starr episode so far - Queen Latifah is next in the queue. No one will ever accuse Ringo of being a great musician, but he's such an icon, it was thrilling to watch. He performed 4 songs, I think it was - with Dave Stewart - and a bunch of kids young enough to be his grandchildren. They had tiny video tape pieces where people ask him questions - I assume these are always famous people because in Ringo's case Yoko Ono and Max Weinberg asked questions.

Lynn Hoffman is the interviewer and she seems just right, knowledgeable*, sincerely interested - not too anything. Check it out.

*except for the fact that she says Ringo has been called "the world's greatest drummer"

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Jennifer Maestre

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Jennifer Maestre

I wish I could figure out how to make a living surfing Etsy shops. I'm sure I'm going to buy one of Jennifer's pendants a bit later. I'm trying to make sure my Etsy outgo is not bigger than my Etsy income. Also - check out Jennifer's larger sculptures. And read an interview with her here.
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Unlikely Friends

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My friend Sherry sent me this. It's about 7-1/2 minutes long but very sweet. Enjoy.

~ ~ ~

It's Saturday afternoon and I finished my taxes. I've never cut it this close to the deadline. I usually shoot for February and get it done in March. I had to pay both federal and state but not too much, so I guess I would not have paid until now, even if I did file earlier. I file electronically even though it annoys the living snot out of me that there's a charge for that. I used to boycott electronic filing but finally succumbed.

With all the Pine Tree Designs information required for my return, it's pretty tedious, but I keep good records so it's not difficult. Still, I'm feeling a big relief that it's over.

I finally made it to the Enchanted Rose Garden this morning. I dropped off a dozen of these Garden Flower Pins. I also took a box full of Sticky Notes - which turned out to be just the right amount. Looks like I've had some decent sales there in the last couple of weeks. Next I want to hang some framed pieces down the side of the black bookshelf.

So tomorrow shall be busy, busy - need to get inventory figured out for the May 1 show - not that far away. I'll have just two full weekends after this one. I have a ton of stitched components ready - I really need to start assembling them now.

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Peaceful Desert

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For some reason my fingers keep wanting to type Peaceful Dessert instead of Peaceful Desert for this Sticky Notes pad.

Simon has not had to report for jury duty but I think he will this afternoon. He thinks this checking online every day thing is a pain in the neck, even though I explained, in the old days, one would have to go downtown and sit and wait and waste a whole day or more.

Reggi's back continues to heal.

My flower pins are not quite done yet. I'll deliver them to the Enchanted Rose Garden Saturday morning instead of the intended Thursday night. Stuff happens.

I found a really cool notepad at Michael's the other night that I want to cover with one of my designs. They were actually on the clearance shelf. I only bought one, wanting to make sure I could make my idea work but I'm thinking I should go back and buy them all, while they are still available.

I received an application to a craft show at the Pieters Family Life Center, run by Family Advocates Heritage Christian Services in September. It doesn't say the Xth annual, so I think it's new. The contact lives in Webster and I know at the February show in Webster, the woman in the booth next to mine and I gave a couple a whole lot of information about how to run a craft show from a vendor's perspective. I introduced her to the organizer of that show too. The application looks very complete and thorough. I definitely want to participate - I have nothing else going on in September. That was one of the things we told this woman that there are a bazillion shows in November and December.

I was telling Steve that I love it that people are seeking me out, rather than how it is when one starts - begging to find shows to get into. Craft shows need vendors as much as vendors need craft shows.

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Garden Flowers

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Here are the parts for 22 flower pins I wanted to take to the Enchanted Rose Garden on my way home from work tonight. I was half glad that Steve wanted to sleep in this morning because he worked so late last night. It's bad because we didn't exercise - but good that I have time to possibly get these assembled before work.

No time for chit-chat today!

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Simon & Reggi

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This is a 7" framed piece I made a while ago but I need to reframe and rephotograph it before I post it for sale. I'm not happy with the quality of this frame.

I'm hauling out the old stuff to post because I'm on the verge of finishing new stuff. I did finish a framed piece for an order from my friend Pam but didn't have time to scan or photograph it. I'm making another one very similar which I'll post in the next few days I think.

Poor Simon is sick. I did his laundry for him the other night and delivered it to him last night. He's usually one to power through colds but this one has him down and out. I think it's because he doesn't have many hours at work this week, so he can take the time to be sick. The thing is he's up for jury duty this week. He has to look online today after 5:30 to see if his presence is required. He has a relatively low number so I'm sure he'll have to go tomorrow. I'm guessing he won't be picked to serve, but you never know.

Reggi continues to improve. Yesterday and today, she's been stuck to me like glue, following me from room to room. I love her.

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Reggi is Better!

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Reggi's new dog toy arrived today just in time to cheer her up! I bought it from Janet at Bentleys Bones, a shop on, where else, Etsy.

The vet thinks what we think - that Reggi hurt her back somehow, by either a mishap on the stairs or maybe just a muscle spasm even. She shot her with some anti-inflammatory, prescribed medicine of some sort and told us to not let her jump or move around too much for a week. By the time I paid and got out to the car where Steve and Reggi were waiting, we could tell she was feeling better already. The vet said that shot would make her feel better right away - she wasn't exaggerating!

Last night we could tell she felt better and she could tell we felt better that she felt better. Seriously! I told Steve one of things that made me sad about her being in pain was that I knew she felt like she was disappointing us by not being herself. She loves us as much as we love her.

Today she's a whole new dog. Whew!

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Crimson & Pine

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I started to post this in my Etsy shop this morning but the scanned image looked blurry but I'm not sure why that would be. I've always felt inferior about my scanned images in my shop - seems like every other seller has beautifully photographed items. (Most stuff sold there is 3 dimensional so it can't be nicely scanned, but still.) So yesterday I built myself a light box. I need to get a piece of white paper for inside on my way home from work today.

Also sellers have the ability to post 5 photos of each piece, but it seems to me, some people put extra pictures, just because they can - they don't add any informational value. But I think I need to step up that part of my game too, which I can do easily if I photograph my pieces. I can show the back, the notepad in the open position. I'll have to fiddle around. All this will be more time consuming than slapping a piece on the scanner, but worth it in the long run I think.

Reggi is no better, no worse today so we're going to take her to the vet. I'll call as soon as they open at 8:00. Something is clearly hurting her in her back end, back legs region. We still can't figure out specifically what. I can move her legs, but she's clearly weak there, has trouble making it up stairs and can't jump up on the couch. It's breaking our hearts and if I let go of this tight grip of my emotions and start thinking bad thoughts, I'll be a goner. So tight grip it is. No point in getting ahead of ourselves. (She's 7 years old, in case you're wondering. They live to be 12-15.)

That's enough of that.

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Tower of Power

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I really couldn't find a photo I liked of Tower of Power, so this will have to do. We had a lot of fun on our little 24 hour outing - felt like a real mini vacation.

Because we'd been to this venue last fall, I knew to buy seats on the left side of the tables so we were more easily facing the stage. We were exactly one table over from where we sat when we saw Kathy Griffin. But seeing a comedian is a whole lot different from seeing a loud band. We were just a few feet away from the speakers carrying the bass sounds and the music vibrated in our chests. The first note from those speakers, the woman next to me and I literally jumped. I was afraid my heart would never beat in a normal rhythm again. Sometimes the vibration made me cough, like it was tickling my lungs or something. Next time, I'll try to get seats a bit further away. It's such a small, nicely elevated room that there really isn't a bad seat in the house. But boy, other than the bass vibrations - I do love being close to the stage!

We enjoyed Average White Band; we loved Tower of Power, Steve especially did. We'd go see them again in a minute. There were a few members of each band that were original members - been together 40 years, some of them. Impressive.

Spending the night at the casino resort was really fun, although expensive. (We don't gamble, I mean the price of the room is ridiculous. Steve's an extremely generous man, I'd never part with that much money for a room.) We found the perfect restaurant for us - sit-down, middle of the road. We ate dinner early in case it got crowded, then went back to our room - I even napped a wee bit. It was nice walking downstairs to the concert, just a few minutes before it started. Then afterwards, bang-zoom, we were back in our room in no time. Love that.

We ate breakfast in the same restaurant - but were seated right next to the smoking section. At one point I was this close to asking for another table but I knew that would embarrass Steve so I cowgirled up and kept my bitching between us. I figured it was an after breakfast cigarette that would soon be over. Then a new party would sit down and I'd have a nice window of opportunity to finish my meal. Which is exactly what happened. (We're totally spoiled - Monroe County has been smoke-free in public buildings for years.)

I remarked to Steve that it's funny that we're about as far from being "Casino People" as I can imagine, yet we loved Vegas last year and have been to 2 shows at Turning Stone now. We'll probably check out Mohegan Sun in Connecticut at some point. Steve played the slots a tiny bit in Vegas but we really don't gamble. I think we like the big fanciness of the places because it's so polar opposite of our real lives. As we walked by the casino areas yesterday I said to Steve, "What a perfectly good waste of space! They could fill all these areas with craft stores and art galleries!"

This weekend I was thinking of something Mom said last year when we showed her the Hotel Bethlehem website, where we stayed when Nick & Jill got married. "Oh that place is too fancy for us." Gretchen and I both feel, there ain't no place too fancy for us - bring it on! Turned out that Mom and Dad both liked the Hotel Bethlehem very much - we all did. It was a nice, clean historic hotel in a cute little village. And surprisingly it's pet friendly so even Reggi was happy.

Speaking of my best girl, Reggi - we had Steve's daughter Lizz and Simon lined up to care for Reggi while we were gone. When Simon came over Saturday morning to let her out, Reggi was downstairs in the basement and had trouble walking up the stairs. The few times Reggi has had to go to the bathroom and no one is home, she'll go downstairs and go in the basement - but she's never liked the open backed wood stairs. Ever since we got home, she's been oddly lethargic and yelps if we try to move her. We're thinking maybe she fell down the stairs and is feeling bruised and banged up. I've touched and moved every part - nothing in particular seems to hurt. We'll take her to the vet tomorrow if she doesn't improve. But she seems so sad, it's breaking our hearts, especially if she's in pain. I wish she could talk to us! I love that girl.

The only black spot - actually just gray - on the getaway was that we couldn't find our car to leave. Yep, we did the Doofus Walk of Shame, rolling our luggage behind us in the parking garage. After a short while, I waited with the luggage by the door and Steve walked around by himself. Then he came back and I told him we must be on the wrong level, even though we both swore it was Level Two and everything looked familiarly correct. I went back inside, took the elevator down a floor and presto - there was the car, right where we thought it was. So I drove up a level and picked up Steve. We swore we'd never speak of this again - - - good thing he never reads my blog.

(Not finding my car in a parking lot is a personal pet peeve of mine. I always park in the same area of stores and places I frequent, just to play it safe. When I can't do that I try really hard to remember the floor/level/color I park on and notice landmarks around me. I would have bet a week's pay that we were on the right level the first time. Crap. Guess I need to write that shit down now.)

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Spirelli Designs

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Two new cards for sale, $5.00 each.

~ ~ ~

Woo-hoo - I'm feeling normal again! I love drugs.

~ ~ ~

Remember the bully at work? He's someone in another office who I have to deal with very little but he's just a rude, nasty man - to everyone, not just me. He used to totally get to me until I told myself to snap out of it.

Yesterday I arrived at work to find an email from him, attempting to berate me for something he perceived as ineptitude on my part. But I refused delivery of his attitude - ha! In spite of the fact that the drugs hadn't quite kicked in yet, I was cool as a cucumber. I replied, explained what I did, when and why. I made a phone call to HIS bank to find a solution that HE has to set up and spelled out the details to him. Naturally he had copied 3 other people on the email, my boss being one of them. I work very well with all 3 of them, they know me and my work and they know him, so honestly, that didn't bother me in the least. My boss was out of the office most of the day but when he came back, he said to me, "I saw your email to Mark. What a piece of work that guy is."

I've yet to hear back from Mark so it probably ain't over, but who cares? I'm soooo glad I quit giving him any power over me. Wish I had done it the moment he came into my life, but at least it's done now. So there.

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Steve called me from work last night telling me to go ahead and eat dinner without him, he was going to be late. So I did. And I sat with him and stitched while he ate and we watched TV. End of story. :-)

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Steve's taking today off and I'm leaving work at noon because we're heading to Turning Stone Casino this afternoon, about 2 hours away. We're going to see Tower of Power and Average White Band. Steve plays trombone, played in bands growing up so he has a real affinity for horn sections. We've been joking that this is the first time we're seeing someone that he wants to see. Usually it's me who finds shows and concerts to see. He is always 100% fine with that, always enjoys everything we do, for sure. I liked Average White Band back in the day, owned an album and everything, so this really isn't much of a stretch for me. It's not like we're going to a monster truck rally, for cryin' out loud.

He downloaded a bunch of songs from iTunes the other day, burned to a CD. As I was trimming the cover to fit the jewel case, I remarked it was a change - a concert I didn't have to study for. For a couple of weeks leading up to the March Springsteen concert, I listened to the Magic CD non-stop, memorizing lyrics, reading lots of reviews online of this tour. Tonight, I'll just go, be in the moment and have fun.

We're staying overnight at the resort this time. When we went to see Kathy Griffin last fall, there were no rooms available - and they have 5 hotels on the grounds, I think it is. We stayed in that Super Stinky Super Smoky Super 8 down the road.

And tonight we'll have dinner before the show. I think we have it narrowed down to the buffet place. I'm usually kind of anti-buffet, only because I want to be waited on, thankyouverymuch and I don't want to overeat. But this place looks good and most of the other restaurants are pretty high end, as we found out last time. We just want an Applebees kind of place - something for everyone.

Steve's daughter is going to let Reggi out today/tonight and Simon will take care of her in the morning. I'm going to tell him to set his alarm on his phone or something so he doesn't forget. He's always come through in the pet care department, but I can't help but worry a tiny bit. Heck, we'll be home around noon tomorrow. She'll be fine, no matter what. And the cats probably won't even notice we're not here. That's not true - Verona sleeps with us every night so about 9:30 she'll walk around trying to find me, like she always does. Sometimes I have Verona and Reggi both hanging around my studio, tapping their little feet, clearing their throats, making sure I know it's bedtime.

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Navajo Web

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5" x 5" card, for an order.

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What a long, strange week it's been.

I think I mentioned Monday that I felt off on Sunday, very non-specific. I took a 2-1/2 hour nap after breakfast so I chalked it up to it being one of my periodic recharging days.

Then I had a little crying jag late in the day, that I thought was just a stress-reliever, even though I really didn't feel very stressed. But sometimes you never know what your body is trying to tell you.

It happened again Monday, much worse. Thank God it was after work. Tuesday I called the doctor, because it felt like my dosage of Effexor needed to be increased after, I think - 7 years maybe. I'm on the lowest effective dose. I saw him on Wednesday and that was exactly what he said. So I just took my new higher dose this morning and can't wait to feel better, filled up again. Besides having to keep a tight grip on myself so as to not cry at the drop of a hat, I've felt very blah, not happy & perky, like I normally do. And after eating healthy last week, even dropping a few pounds, this week I'm self-medicating with food. I hate when I do that.

I'm telling you this but I want to list the things that made me cry this week, because I think they are funny. I even thought they were funny at the time, but it didn't stop me from crying. (I just reread what I wrote above about keeping a tight grip on myself so as to not cry. Read on - this is not crying?? Oy vey.)

1. On the way to the grocery store in the car I heard an old Eagles song, Wasted Time, that used to make me cry 16 years ago when I was leaving my husband.

2. That made me want to call my 20 year old son Simon and tell him how much I love him. But I didn't want to weird him out by sobbing, out of the blue, about how much I love him.

3. That was immediately followed by one of my favorite Jackson Browne songs. I can't even remember which one now but he's one of my all-time favorite singers. It didn't make me cry, per se, but it was a bit of a nostalgic trigger - and allowed me time to get my shit together in the parking lot before entering the grocery store.

4. I almost cried when the cashier told me to leave my dog food underneath my cart. First I wanted to lash out at her that it was "cat food anyway, you stupid moron, and no shit, I wasn't planning on moving it anyway so mind your own damn business". Then I felt like crying, but I concentrated on pretending I was normal. I think I pulled it off - and/or I completely overcompensated by being extra nice & friendly to the cashier so she wouldn't know I was a loon.

5. I got in the car after grocery shopping and an Eagles song is followed by a Jackson Browne song again! I shit you not. I even looked at my radio to see if maybe I was listening to one of my mix CDs. The songs didn't trigger the crying but I did sob most of the way home. Because I could.

6. I cried because Marlee Matlin danced so well on Dancing with the Stars even though she's deaf.

7. I cried because I overbaked a batch of cookies because I set the alarm but didn't push the button. I dropped a few F-bombs, then . . .

8. Yelled at Reggi because she was taking too long to walk through the deck door that I opened for her because she had scratched that she wanted to go out. I felt so bad about yelling at my sweet Reggi, that I cried.

9. I cried because I told Steve I would wait to eat dinner with him, because apparently it's a really big thing for him, even though it often means I eat much later than I want to. It's a well known fact that it's not healthy to eat less than 2 hours before you go to bed - and I go to bed relatively early.

It's been an ongoing thing between us for years. It sort of came to a head the other night when we were discussing something else, he said that no matter how late I came home he would always wait to eat dinner with me. That's stooopid, because before we lived together, he routinely ate dinner at 9:00 every night. I'm a 6:00 kind of girl, at the latest, so it's a much bigger stretch for me, or at least that's how it feels. To me. Anyway, I decided once and for all that I would suck it up and always wait for him. Honestly, I'm not 100% on board with this in my heart, but I thought I'd try Dr. Phil's "behave your way to success".

Last night he said he was leaving work at his usual 6:30, but was going to stop at his mom's on the way home. I said I'd wait. Turns out he left work at 7:15, stopped at his mom's, stopped at the place she has her taxes done and made a phone call to his brother when he got home. We didn't eat until 8:30 and all I could think was he took advantage of my kindness and if he really loved me, he wouldn't have made me wait so long. And then Marlee Matlin danced really well - see #6.

(I suppose in fairness to him, I should tell you that he called me a few times during the above mentioned trip and told me I didn't have to wait, but at that point, I had already waited so long, how much longer could it be? If I'd known it would turn out to be 8:30, I would have eaten long ago and possibly cut out at least one crying bit. Except something else would have taken it's place so I could reach my crying quota.)

By the way - all day yesterday I was not feeling like I was going to cry at all. As I sat in the room at the doctor's office, I planned what I was going to say to describe how I felt. I was feeling pretty together. Dr. Bressler walked into the room and tears immediately filled my eyes. "Well, that was right on cue!" I said to him.

So that's been my life this week. Pass the Kleenex.

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Sandy Beach

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I just posted this new card in my Etsy shop. This is so easy - wish I'd done it long ago, just like people told me to. I even launched my new Pine Tree Designs website yesterday. Even though I have more stuff to post in my Etsy shop, I decided to just do it, it was time.