Oh No! I stepped in a pile of what?

I did it again, another pile of (scraps)! LOL! You would think I would learn to shut the trap door and stop letting out the hot air! Once again, I volunteered to (help?) my G-daughter make some nice autograph books for her friends and self for the end of school. It sure looked easy enough on that Internet website instruction page and lord knows I could use another outlet for some albatross (oops, I mean fabric) ( http://fabrichoard.blogspot.com/ ) anywhere it can be appreciated! She has only been at that school for a couple of months, how many close friends can she have? Turns out that 6 was the magic number.



Everyone knows it is never as easy as it looks. Especially when it needs to be dealt with by a menopausal, OCD driven, self monitoring volunteer! I am going to leave the rest of that story to ones own imagination! I will say that I think they all came out quite lovely! My Hunny even tried to score one for himself. I convinced him that even if it was blue, the floral silk was still not really his forte!

Now I have to get it together for the next pile of do! I still have about 4 different pieces on my work table that are NEARLY done, I just have to get'er done!

The very next piece to be finished will be my good friend's BD present that is calling to me with the urgency of an aproaching date!

I will not even mention the OTHER work I volenteered for at my local art league!

LLLL

So Boils The Ink!

It is said that venting helps relieve the pressure of a steaming pot. Well by all means let me vent before I blow!

I am admittedly ignorant to a great degree about computer issues. I am always just poking and prodding my way around, like a fish gasping for air flashes through my mind here. I will also admit that a good deal of this is by choice because it is just difficult and sometimes mental challenges are just too daunting! That said, I have not gone through the whole challenge of learning how to change/refill the ink cartridges in my printer. I may also mention it has been about 9 months or so! I do not do very much printing, I hardly ever use it! If I want pictures I print them at a local shop that deals with and produces wonderful prints at dirt cheap prices! I can't even do it at home with 3 times the hassle! If I am after documents I would simply put it on my flash drive and take it to my Kinko's! No muss - no fuss!

That was before - this is now. Last night I took an urgent trip from my home all the way to same said local friendly printers because of course they are open at all hours and it was after 6 p.m. I probably would have gone somewhere closer if I had only known where I could have done so, because it was a 40 mile trip on top of everything else!

As I walk in I observe a young man at the desk that I always receive wonderful service and I am pleased to see that he is not busy! (He is leaning back in chair with arms behind head, reclining and slightly rocking as he observes all those others around him!) As I approach him I extend my flash drive towards him and begin to stammer a request for prints of a couple of documents, with a little tongue tied blurting I finally got it out that would he pretty please print me a couple of documents from this drive.

First he rolls his eyes in an exaggerated manner, reluctantly and slowly sits forward, heaves an audible sigh, finally takes the flash drive from my hand, inserts into his tower and then announces in a slightly contemptuous tone that there would be an &2.95 access fee for him to open my drive! I am flabbergasted, no one had ever charged me this fee before! I have done this same thing at least 6-8 times over the last few months! Maybe they were all just overly nice? Anyway, when I acted shocked and asked him was there another way, he pointed and told me I could go to the back and pay to use the computer and do it myself. Okay, I have never done this either, how do I do that and how much does that cost? He is now decidedly put out, can I please just leave him alone? Not his words but it was obvious none the less! I snatched my drive from his hand as I retreated to my proper station(?)!

Because the 5 sheets of paper where so important I was forced to figure it out, even though it ended up costing me more than if I had just paid him his extortion fee because it took me 20 minutes to figure out how to access the drive and retrieve my docs! I get my pat on the back though because it was not really that small of a feat for an old cuss like me, but I rolled on out of there with my papers even if not any dignity!

First thing this morning, I whipped out the instruction book for my printer, I'll be headed into the office supply today for sure! Bottom line, I will NEVER, EVER go to that establishment again! I realize that my few cents here and there mean nothing, but my big mouth has been spewing for months about how it was too easy to just go to them instead of dealing with my printer issues and had convinced at least 2 other people of the same thing over the last few months. I even convinced my BF that she was better off just going there instead of trying to print her flyer's at home!

A couple of weeks ago, my G-daughter needed a flyer copied for school, we were right next door to a little place on the old side of town called "PAGES", we popped in there and the people there were sooo nice, trust me, if I ever need another thing I will be there, even if they are a little less conveniently located!

Okay, now I feel better!

What a spectacular day here on my mountain! Wow! What a magnificent place this is to reside! I have been out preening my emerging roses with much glee. Even clipped my first bud and put it in a vase just this morning! How can life be any better? Not even possible! :)

Finally Found Fabric Fan!

Yes! I did it, I found a person to take some of my albotross! (oops) I mean fine fabric!
If you want more on THAT story you can read it at http://fabrichoard.blogspot.com or just take my word that I have been trying to find a taker for awhile now. Since I have been trying to make some room for my G-daughter to have some space it has become quite a bit more urgent! So the last couple of weeks I have been sorting, folding, shifting and fondling so much fabric my eyes are ready to roll around! But I have done pretty good job considering I can only do those things for 15-20 minutes at a time. I cannot hold my arms up and fling them around for much longer than that! Who needs physical therapy?

Also on my agenda has been a full bore onslaught of the gardening! Everything needs groomed and fed! It is like having pets, hahaha! Add onto that some volunteer work I opted into and I must say my plate is mighty full these days! I am not complaining, I am celebrating! I called my sister, she used to call me every day and want to talk for hours. I told her she had too much time on her hands and she needed to go find something else to do! So now she had not called in a very long time, so I was beginning to worry. I call her up and I say why haven't you called lately? She said "You told me to go get a life so I did!" I said are you complaining? She says "No, I love it!" HAHAHA!

Today's Oracle says "Body Movement"! Hmmmmm..... Does that just mean "Get your butt in gear?" LOL

Whew! Catching Up To The Rest Of The World Takes A Lot Of Energy!

My G-daughter is in school now, we managed to get "Dilla" (armadillo) running and I even sold my first painting! Woo-Hoo! I am on a roll! LOL! Now I get to go spend my loot on a tune-up, smog test and registration for aforementioned "Dilla", that is the name of my little grey car, I come from a long line of car namers. I understand this is silly but it does not stop the naming process one bit!

I spent all day yesterday in the studio. It has been awhile since I had a chance to get back to some of the pieces I have been trying to finish. I still did not finish anything but at least I bumped some things ahead! HAHA! I always have so many pieces going at the same time, I work on one for awhile then on another. I am not sure which way to look at this, you can call this wet paint or ADD, either way.

Today is April Fools day! This is the day my Critter Kitty was born, around 1-2 A.M., in the closet at my Daughters home! Happy happy! But then, that very night at around midnight, my old Misty Kitty, she was about 13-14 years old, disappeared forever!

She was semi-wild, she had come into my world out of the field behind my shop at a very young age. She just walked in one day in early summer, scoped out the area, jumped up on a pile of fabric in the corner, cleaned herself and went to sleep! After a couple of weeks, I caught her and took her to the vet, got her all fixed up and she lived in my shop for about 8 years. When I closed my shop, I brought her home to live me and she lived there for another 5-6 years. She was never the domestic, not to be held or coddled. She would let only me and my Hunny any where near her, but she was an exceptional hunter and kept all of her kingdom pest free! We kept a window rigged that she was always free to come and go. Eventually she began to get too old to protect her territory and had gotten to the point of mostly living in and close to home but there were some neighborhood bullies that had even come into the house after her a couple of times. Then, on that fateful night, my Hunny awoke to a horrible cacophonous and ran out to break up a really bad cat fight in our kitchen, involving several cats jumping her in her own home! The whole shebang went out the window, Misty never came back!

Was a very sad event, but I did take it as a sign to accept a couple of the new kitties from my daughters litter! Hence my two original kitties here on my mountain, Critter and Cuddles! But alas, Cuddles met with a tragic demise of her own! No more sad for today!

Here is todays positive energy focus.

I Sure Do (Did) Love Ann Landers! Who You Say?

Yup, I said Ann Landers! I know she is gone now but it doesn't change the wisdom of her words! I would skip everything in the paper on some days and still go back to read her column. Recently during a debate, the subject "maturity" became the center of rounds! A couple of days later low and behold I pull this clipped gem out of an old calender book. It is so yellow I can barely read it, so I am inspired to put it in writing to carry it on! I have no idea who the author is, but kudos to the hammer on that nail!

Maturity

Maturity is the ability to control anger and settle differences without violence.

Maturity is patience, the willingness to pass up immediate pleasure in favor of long term gain.

Maturity is perseverance, the ability to sweat out a project or a situation in spite if heavy opposition and discouraging setbacks.

Maturity is the capacity to face unpleasantness and frustration, discomfort and defeat without complaint or collapse.

Maturity is being big enough to say "I was wrong." And, when right need not experience the satisfaction of saying "I told you so!"

Maturity is the ability to make a decision and stand by it. The immature spend their whole lives exploring endless possibilities and then do nothing.

Maturity means dependability, keeping ones word and coming through in a crisis. The immature are masters of the alibi! They are confused and conflicted. Their lives are a maze of broken promises , former friends, unfinished business and good intentions that never materialize.

Maturity is the art of living in peace with what we cannot change, the courage to change what should be changed and the wisdom to know the difference!

LLLL

Running As Fast As I Can!

My G Daughter came to stay with us for awhile. I have spent the last few days trying to reacquaint myself with the school system. Whew! I feel like I have run a marathon! LOL!

I also have been trying to get some things set to get the garden going. I cannot make up my mind what to put into my little space this year. I do not plant veggies, just plants and flowers, but I am tired of replanting. I am ready for some perennials!

I feel mighty accomplished just by getting all my Easter off in the mail on time to get to it's destinations. Woo-hoo! I even managed to get a little something for MY Hunny Bunny too!

I Just Love Life Out Loud!

Keeps me too busy to whine! What a whirlwind week I have had, I have stretched myself just a smidgen! HAHAHA! Oh well, as I said above, I am LOUD!

I have been looking at a blue screen on our monitor for almost a year now. We have never even seen our vacation pictures in real color! Eventually, the edges of the screen started warping in and out with a flickering reminiscent of an old florescent bulb, I had to admit, we were going to lose our monitor soon. It finally flat lined and stubbornly stayed that way after much cajoling and whining I had to unplug it and have a reserve unit brought up. A very kind friend had given it to me when I mentioned my blue screen. Alas; where the h--l is that freakin cord? Never to be seen again I am sure! So now the quest begins...

After much searching, high and low, a few days without and cost analysis, I ended up with a fine replacement supplied by a local Second Hand shop. I do so love this little spot, I will not divuldge it's identity for fear of others tresspassing on my sacred hunting grounds! HAHAHA! But seriously, strictly need to know okay...

Anyway, I am very happy to be back on the highway again, and yes I am trying to stay out of the way as I chug-a-lug along, but I do so love to cruise around! LOL!

I certainly was not bored during my off line period. I went gonzo in the studio and played with some really cool ideas and tried some new stuff, with some really interesting and fun results. I am going to have a couple of pieces ready for the fair for sure, I even finished a cool piece for one of my friends.

Off I go, I have paint dry and pieces calling me, I will be posting new pictures on my 360.