Philadelphia

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I found the above picture on my camera. I took it in the gift shop at the museum where I bought my lamp. The stars were very cool too - 5 pointed and 8 pointed.

We got a fairly early start to Philadelphia from Virginia Beach. Good thing because there were major delays in Delaware due to - I guess we're not sure what because the actual cause took place in a different direction from where we finally got to go. But it easily added an hour or more to our trip. We arrived in Philadelphia around 4:00, by the time we got to our room at the Marriott. And look! Triple towel origami!

We walked down to the Reading Terminal Market just to get the lay of the land, because it closed at 6:00. Very cool place - a big ol' hustly bustly farmers market. The majority of vendors were food vendors. Based on what I'd read about it, I was hoping for more craft type vendors but I still enjoyed it.

We then went to the Field House for a refreshing beverage. That would be cranberry juice for me and light beer for Steve. We're wild like that.

We intended to go back there for dinner but after vegetating in our room for a bit, decided to eat dinner downstairs in the hotel restaurant. We just wanted to be still and relax.

We each ordered the classic Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich. When in Philly, right? I even took a photo of mine with my camera phone but I'm such a doofus, I rarely use the thing, so I neglected to save it. Duh. So this one is courtesy Google Images. (Our sandwiches weren't as big as this one appears to be!) I also took a photo of the little tiny tray of little tiny hermetically sealed condiments. Two each: ketchup, mayo and Grey Poupon. Perhaps not the best idea, environmentally speaking (too much packaging), but really, cute as hell. (Again, didn't save the photo.)

Our room was fantastic in this grand old hotel. Mom asked me recently if I really liked staying in hotels. Absolutely! And I really like staying in nice hotels, historic if possible.

These photos were taken through our window so they are really quite crummy but maybe you can see some of the architecture of some of these buildings. Great stuff!

We woke up around 7:00, showered, got dressed and packed and hit the road. Our original intention was to go back to the Reading Terminal Market to spend more time there but it didn't open until 9:00. I decided that I'd seen enough yesterday to satisfy my curiosity. Besides the Pennsylvania Dutch wouldn't be there on Sunday and if anything, I wanted to buy some of their baked goods, for our breakfast maybe. We were both eager to get home to our furry friends so like I said, we hit the road. We arrived home today around 2:00.

If you can take your eyes off those glaringly white gams for a while (yes, I just spent a week at a beach, yay for sunscreen) - please note 2 cats and a dog, all sitting near me on the couch.
Yeah, they missed us.

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Every 3 Years

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Venus (back) and Verona in a very rare moment of togetherness. Steve happened up on this scene yesterday and quietly called me in to see it. Venus is 7 and Verona is 3 or so. Venus is snuggled inside her cat case. Besides taking her to the vet in that case, we take her out on the deck with us, so she has way more pleasant memories than unpleasant ones of it. They are on top of Reggi's crate as you can probably tell. That's where we feed them so Reggi doesn't snarf up their food. (We leave the crate door open all the time so Reggi does still sleep in there from time to time. Had she been in the crate at this moment, it would have been the first time ever to get them all 3 in one photograph.)

From the moment Verona arrived, Venus turned into a growling drama queen whenever Verona is around. Verona does tease Venus once in a great while but really, all she has to do is come within 100 feet of Venus to get her growling.

This nonsense has caused Verona to every so often mark her territory around the house. Yes, she's been spayed for years. We've tried all sorts of things to prevent and treat the problem. (She did have crystals in her urine once upon a time.) We're so glad we rarely have company because we feel like we live in a kennel sometimes. I can't believe I'm writing about this on the Internet, it's such a big embarrassment to us. Verona mostly urinates around me and my things, like she's marking me as all hers. She's definitely my cat and Venus is Steve's cat. We didn't plan that, just worked out. Even Steve said the other day, other than occasionally peeing on things, Verona is really a model cat - very loving and snuggly.

In filing the top picture I found this other one of them together, dated January 2005. I think that's when we first got Verona (from Steve's brother & sister-in-law). She was formerly a barn cat. Even if this photo wasn't dated, I can tell by Verona's size that she's quite a bit younger. She's now a hefty cat whose body spills over the edges of that platform of our giant "kitty condo". It was such a monumental event, seeing them in such close proximity, even 3 years ago I found it photo-worthy!

Thanks for indulging me. We love Reggi and our cats.

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Paint it Black

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I bought this painted wood plate at the May 1 Casa Larga craft show. It's 8-1/2" in diameter. Isn't it gorgeous? I have it sitting in a plate stand on the mantle, next to another painted piece I bought at the Mercy High School craft sale. I'll show you that tomorrow.

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Meanwhile I used my light box for the first time and took photos of new product to put in my Etsy shop. And I photographed every existing piece in the shop, except for the framed art. That's next but I have to take the glass out so it will be quite a project. I've been wanting to do this for so long. I hope it will help my sales. Based on the number of views I get, I would think my sales would be higher. I think these photos from different angles will give a better idea about the product than the flat scan does. I still need a little more practice. I think I need different paper on my light box. In some cases, because the lighting is so soft, I think the product looks blurry. Oh well, it's my first effort. Practice makes perfect.

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We took Reggi for two long walks this weekend. Saturday we went to Ellison Park, where Steve and I both remarked it has been decades since either of us had been there. It's such a beautiful park, we'll surely return there regularly.

Sunday, we walked along the canal from Schoen Place, not towards Fairport, the other way. (I don't know what to call that direction.) They've done a very nice job of improving that area - wide sidewalks, landscaping. Reggi's back is so totally healed, we had forgotten about it. Her allergies are really acting up so she does a lot of what the vet calls "inverted sneezing". Sounds like she's coughing to death. We give her Benedryl twice a day during allergy season, which we're thick in the middle of here. I told Steve if I was "coughing" like she was, I'd be curled up in a ball in bed. Reggi just keeps coughing and keeps walking. Poor thing. But she's been a very happy dog this weekend, spending time with her peeps in the car and walking outside.

I got my studio cleaned up pretty good. I swear, this time, I'm going to keep it this way. :-)

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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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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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Venus

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Does this look comfy to you?? Venus has jumped into my giant paper recycling box in my studio before but never snuggled down like this. I think she only did it this time because it's so darn full, she can still keep a keen eye on the door, always on the watch for her nemesis, that pesky black cat, Verona.

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I attended a seminar for work yesterday, Excel - Beyond the Basics. Steve is Mr. Excel so he said he'd like to see any materials they gave me, out of curiosity. I told him someone at work that attended this same presentation earlier in the year bought the DVDs that go with it so maybe I could borrow them and we could have Date Night, watching Excel tutorials on the big screen TV.

I was kidding!!

He wants to do it! Geeks of a feather flock together, I guess. Pass the popcorn.

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And a big hello to my new Stalker/Friend, Cheryl. She emailed me this long funny email gushing over my art, blah, blah, blah. I replied; she replied - that she has finished looking at every entry on this blog - mostly looking at pictures. I can't exactly tease her for doing that because I did the exact same thing with the very first online journal I read. (Hi Willa!) I was blown away by this new medium - online journals back then, way before blogs. And Willa writes in a way about her every day, ordinary life that makes it so real. Biographies and autobiographies have always been my most favorite genre - book or movie, even fiction that reads like a biography works for me. Everyone has a story.

So I would spend every lunch hour, reading Willa's archives, starting at the very beginning. Only later did I learn that people kept stats and could see how long people were on their site, etc. I read so much that I started having dreams that Gretchen and I visited Willa in Kansas, meeting her at the bagel place she talks about.

I emailed her a few times over the years and when she answered, or even better, mentioned me in her journal, I felt like a celebrity had noticed me. Finally, on September 4, 2001, I started my own journal. And now I know that Willa stops by here sometimes. Small world.

This, is why I love the Internet so much. It absolutely brings people together. I love that.

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