Give Me Some Light!

It's dark this morning here in northern Connecticut. I have a little candle burning here on the desk but I decided to check out some candles on Etsy.

Here are some that inspire warmth:

These are beautiful! They are from Peace Blossom Candles. Check out the beautiful shaped candles, too!

Here is a yummy coffee-scented candle from Kiran Candle Company.

That really makes me want to curl up on the couch with a cup of coffee!

Help

sigh

I posted this yesterday in my Etsy shop:

It's lovely and would be a nice little Mother's Day gift. However, I 'm having trouble with my photography! I have three more similar items and I don't like the photography much better. Glass is so reflective. I'll have to keep working on it. Maybe I need to make a light box.

Yes, I was thinking about this at about 1 a.m. This and beets and hemp.

???

Let the Creative Juices Flow!

This week I have an assignment from DoodleStar.

So that's got me thinking about the cold winter and how I want to snuggle on the couch in front of a fire. Hmmm. I wonder . . .

I also donated two items to a silent auction to benefit the Submarine Officers' Spouses' Association to raise money for their Dolphin Scholarship Foundation.

I hope they will help!

Cabin Fever

Yesterday I was working on twisting fringes for two shawls when I think I got a case of cabin fever. I tried to tell myself, just keep working, you're almost done. And then I couldn't take it any more. I had to get out of the house. I did a photo shoot at a local site.

The Tower at Fox Hill, Vernon, CT. It was erected in 1939 and is a memorial to all our soldiers.

Here are a couple of shots.

It felt nice, almost balmy at first. But gloves off, taking pictures will put the chill right on. Afterwards I went home to vacuum the truck. On Saturday we took Matt's parents to a couple wineries for wine tasting (change in plans from the snuggle/movie/wine night, but fun!)


Here are Matt's parents and Matt and me at Jonathan Edwards Winery in North Stonington, CT, where we were married last September. And there is Matt and me inside at the tasting.

We also went to Stonington Vineyards in, you guessed it, Stonington, CT.

I have to say I am very partial to Jonathan Edwards. Buttery Merlot . . .

This is all about 10 minutes from beautiful Mystic, where we ate at THE famous, Mystic Pizza - excellent pizza. We also had our rehearsal dinner there.

Prayers

Some prayers for the friends, family and communities of those killed in the plane crash outside Buffalo last night. It once again reminds us of how fragile life is.

Here is the shawl project, making good progress.

Threading the heddles (yesterday):

Weaving!

So tomorrow is Valentine's Day. Matt and I have decided not to exchange gifts. I'm good with that. Actually it was my idea. We are going to cook some food, have some wine, watch some movies . . .

Here's some dessert I thought I would make. It's some kind of pudding cake.

Yes, I made the towel - more shameless self-promotion.

You know, I was making coffee this morning and was just lovin' the beans. The smell, the color. So I took a picture.

Beautiful beans. Coffee in my favorite mug.

From Ireland, a year ago yesterday!

Another Project Begun!

This was the last of the chenille scarves for the season:

Here is one of the finished pieces on Etsy. The other is at Swift Waters. It's a twill. And it has some stripes in it. Forgot to take pictures . . .

I have finally begun two shawls.

Here I have finished measuring the warp and have tied it up. It's ready to go on the loom. I started threading the heddles, but now I pause so I can play on the computer.

I also have to work with these:

That will be fun.


Here is Buffy, just about grown up. She will be 6 months old next month and it will be time to move her out to the shed. I'm getting wool off her when I brush her. Another project: spinning.

So that is what I'm up to today. I'm at the library "working". For all you people out there who blog and sell online, this is work. Networking, blogging, promoting. When I do this "work" from home I am 1) on dial-up (I know, I know, how archaic), 2) on the slowest computer in the world, and 3) getting heat from my husband who cannot call me on the phone (I don't have a cell phone, but I don't really care about that) because I am on dial-up taking a half hour to upload stuff onto Etsy. Yes, I'm a little peeved at him. That's all I'm gonna say now.

Swift Waters

Yesterday I went to put in my monthly hours at Swift Waters.

It was slow, but I b.s.'ed with Deb and later rearranged and hung some pictures on the walls. I didn't bring any of my own projects to work on so I was glad that something came along.

For a virtual walk through the store visit this page.

If you are in Eastern Connecticut this Saturday be sure to go to Willimantic for the annual Chocolate Festival and Downtown Art Stroll. Check here for directions.

I took a couple of new bracelets to the store, as well,Today I am photographing a scarf and I am going to start some shawl projects.

Oh, I was in a Treasury again! They are my hemp placemats!

Hooray!!!

Back to the Routine

Matt is back. On Sunday, we spent four hours e-filing in our taxes. It seems NEVER to end. But it will be done right. I feel like I keep taking these mini trips to hell. I must have done something in a past life . . .

I made a sale on Sunday in my Etsy store! Just got back from the post office and I am here at the library where the computers go at real time, as opposed to The Sloth at home, which is so slow, I think it actually goes back in time.

Anyway, I re-took pictures of my gnomes necklace on Friday night. Had fun with that, as you can see:

Yes, I did drink it - the glass, not the bottle!

Some of my older pieces had such lousy pictures. I re-took another today:

It's amazing what you don't know until you do know.

I know. It sounds worse than some kind of Yogi Berr-ism.

Hustle

Today Matt is coming home from a business trip and it's my time to hustle around like a busy bee and clean up after myself. I wasn't too bad this time. Just a little mess here:

where I work while I'm waiting for pages to load on the computer. I have the typical mess here:


Last night I finished the green wire bracelet. The color is so cool! I need to get some nicer jump rings, though, so a trip to the bead store in on the agenda today.

I want to get on the drill press!

Ok, not LITERALLY! But I keep putting it on my to-do list and it doesn't get done. It's going to be warmer this weekend, so I have to do it!

And I don't want to forget my friend, Squirrely, whom I need to get a picture of. I have salmonella-free peanuts for him/her:

In Motion

I dropped off some scarves, jewelry, slide mailers and two new displays at Swift Waters this morning. Got a check, too!

Deb, the store manager, told me people are looking for shawls. That's excellent. I want input and they have been in the back of my mind. I would like to begin some after I finish the scarves that are currently on the loom. I am also thinking about spring. Colors, styles, something different . . .

And promotion. That takes up time but it had to be done. I love doing it and now I must really finish the postcards I am laying out. I also bought an ad slot in Accessories on Etsy for February 23. Here are my two latest scarves:

The blue one is called Running Away From Home.

And this is Saddleback. I wanted to photograph it with on eof my husband's guns but it wasn't working out too well.

Much Accomplished

Ok, I didn't solve world hunger but I got everything done on my list today. Now I'm listening to "Howie Carr" on the radio. Yes, I love talk radio. Michael Savage will be on at the top of the hour.

So let's look at my newest creations. I knitted two bracelet from wire I beaded. That's fun as long as I don't start getting too anal about how many stitches should be between the stitches, what beads, what color, should I use that size . . .STOP!

I went to Beads East in Manchester this afternoon and picked up these goodies:

Yummy! I love the green - chartreuse. This will be a knitted bracelet or three soon. And not to soon for those wishing for spring already! There are firepolish - I love those! And delicas. And green pottery ones. I'm not very well-versed in the whole bead lingo. I just read the labels.

Finally, I must share with you some exciting beads I received today from Field and Sea

Handmade script beads made of paper! How cool. I took them to the bead store so I could find some beads/findings/spacers for them to play with. I had to show the salesperson. She said, I love Etsy!

I don't know what I will do with them. I keep thinking a necklace. Copper spacers? Tear drop beads? So cool.

Woo woooo wooo

Ha ha. That's me running around the house like a nut. I'm free! I'm here alone for the next four - count 'em - four days!

I'm sorry. I love my husband and he was in a good mood (must have been the , er, ahem, you know) but, if you read my previous post, you know that I was in a HUGE fight (in my head) with him. We did our taxes this weekend and he just made me sooooo, grrrrrrrr!

Ok, back to running around. I'm gonna stay up late, drink coffee at 9 p.m. if I want, watch tv until my head is screaming, bead, knit, glue, weave, cut paper, cut collage pictures, cut old plastic insurance cards, drill checkers, drill inert bullet, watch out, you may be next.

cue scary music

Oh maybe I'll have a beer. But it's kind of lame drinking alone.

Let me take this time to announce the opening of my sister's new store:

GwynevereCreations.etsy.com

Here is one of her lovely creations. I look forward to seeing more!

No Kibbles for a Cat Fight

So, here I am on my computer (aka, The Sloth) this morning and above the tv and the quiet whirrr of the computer I hear, rrraaooowww.

What?

It's coming from outside. I go look out the window and see two cats on the shed porch. Two orange cats, and judging from the sizes of their heads, they are males, (Another subject, ahem.) appear to be vying for a spot on the sunny porch.

Because it's only 12 feet long.

Naturally, I scoop up my own cats and take them down to a prime viewing spot in the window to watch the gladiator-like face off. Strange. I think I was more excited than they were. A fact that is supposed when Winnie jumps off the table and stretches out on the floor.

Suddenly, the cats morph into one spinning ball of orange and are rolling around on the ground, just like in a cartoon! Wow. I'd better put a stop to this. When I open the back door, one cat is gone and the other looks as if he doesn't know what just happened. He has a huge tuft of fur on his ear but otherwise seems ok. Tufts of fur dot the snow around him. I try to approach him because I feel bad that I thought that Nature should take its course and hope the kitty isn't hurt. I consider, for a brief moment, that maybe I should put some kibble under the shed for him but then decide against it, as this will only encourage more whirling dervishes.

Exit stage left for kitty and I go back inside, where, Ironically, Dr. Phil is doing a show on rage.

What does this have to do with anything? I don't know. I only know that my husband and I finished our federal taxes on Saturday and for the rest of the night I was like those two cats, fighting, spitting, pulling fur with him, the IRS, the banking industry, the bailouts, bitch gold diggers, my former boss, Blago-logic, baked beans, telemarketers, gray hair, what else have you got?