Crazy Cat Lady

I love cats. I understand that there are some fairly unlovable kitties out there and that perhaps the people who DON'T like cats have only had the misfortune of running into those few cats that have had bad kittenhoods.

My teenaged son gave me this magnet with the crazy cat lady on it and lots of little metal kitties to climb up and over her. I think he was trying to tell me something.

We don't often see all of our cats in the same room at the same time, but i caught the moment on film today as they feasted and lounged in the sunroom. All boys. They were all strays that popped up at various times over the past ten years and needed us. I really did triy to say no to the last one, but there he sits in the forefront, a testament to my weakness. Obviously i'm a sucker for a whiskery face.

Snow Day ==> Ice Day

Re-read

If you know me, you know i like to read. My readings favor fiction novels where the main player is a strong woman. I have a feeling that this is a common reading choice particularly amongst women of a certain age... Closing in on 5o, but i can't bring myself to use the term "middle-aged". lol

One of my fave book series that i enjoyed in 2009 was the Amelia Peabody adventures by Elizabeth Peters. Amelia Peabody is a very opinionated, intelligent, turn of the last century egyptologist, who loves her gloriously (to hear her descriptions) dashing and manly husband, while subtly manipulating him, and disclaims maternal feelings for her unusually loquacious son. When the situation gets tough and dirty, she is in the lead, brandishing her reinforced parasol and her cutting wit.

Last night i tucked into bed and cracked an Amelia Peabody book that i didn't think i had read. I was thoroughly enjoying it, when i began to get suspicions that i had read this one before. I argued with myself for a while:

...since i'm enjoying the writing so much, shouldn't i just keep reading even if i have read it before? but i have another book that i can read, it isn't Amelia, but it's supposed to be good, and life is too short to re-read books...

I fell asleep at about that point, wondering what other experiences this "woman of a certain age" no longer remembers with certainty.

snow day

We are having a rare Snow Day here in eastern New Mexico. And they have extended it through tomorrow as well. Sweet! We sure do appreciate the precipitation, and except for the hazardous road conditions, snow beats out rain any day for picturesqueness and outdoor fun possibilities.

I say outdoor fun possibilities, but so far i have enjoyed the snow from the windows and the door stoop. But i have used my break from work to complete a bead order. This Raz Topaz set is heading to England. And i've got a start on some Love Spike beads that will be a must-have for the romantics among us. Pics in the next posting!

A couple of recommendations

A nice lady promoted my BirthBones on her nice and crafty blog, thank you very much! And she gets deals from etsy sellers to pass on to her blog followers, so if you like that kind of thing... :-)

The kids and i went to see the movie Avatar this evening. That's the best movie i've seen in a long time! I felt a little uncomfortable with the level of violence, seeing as my youngest is only 11. But there was virtually no blood, so except for the in-your-face dimensionality of the movie, it probably was similar to the video games they play. But the planet Pandora's environment of phosphorescent flora and fantastic creatures is just breath taking. Oh, and the messages (Don't mess with the Mother, Blue would be a really cool skin color) were worthy, as well. Go see it.

My etsy Treasury

Those of you who are etsy.com users will be familiar with the Treasuries--a neat feature where your average person can make a selection of etsy offerings and upload it to show to the etsy community. At least that's the theory. I can't seem to catch the website at the fleeting moment when they are accepting new treasuries, despite watching the countdown and hitting the refresh button. So rather than trying to submit mine again, i thought i would save myself the time and frustration by just showing it here. (I think it's a particularly nice collection of images and i want someone to see it!)

I would have called it Dream Ennui. :-)

And as to my inferno of yesterday, all but three beads were salvageable. Semi whew!

Fire and Brimstone

I swear. I've got to develop a healthier fear of the furnace.

Three out of the last 4 bead firings, i've forgotten to monitor my kiln temperature. I don't have one of those nice modern programmable instruments. I have to watch my temperature gauge and turn dials this way and that so that the temp climbs at a reasonable rate, stays at a certain temp for just the right length of time and then cools down in a controlled manner. Uh huh.

I've been watching a movie or "working" on the computer for an hour or more, when i suddenly realize that i just meant to sit down for a couple of minutes and then go back out to the shop and check the kiln temp. I run out to the workshop, note that the temp has climbed 160000 F or so. I open the door and everything inside is a throbbing brilliant yellow inferno with little fire imps and demons zipping about and laughing at me. Crap. I did it again.

I've got a handful of beads that look nice on one side, but the other side is covered with embedded grit they pealed from the kiln floor that they almost melted into. What a waste. Smarten up, Lisa.

Decked Out Dogs In Texas

At least the dogs in the Katy, TX area (that's just west of Houston). This is the shipment for The Pawty Palace doggie boutique (drop in if you're ever in the neighbourhood), all ready for shipping tomorrow.

The kids are back to school tomorrow. As a family, we have been dreading this day all weekend. The kids because they have to go, and me because i don't like packing lunches (hubby says i try to get too creative and there's nothing wrong with a sandwich and an apple and a cookie every day...), i hate the junk and mystery of backpacks, and i get a sinking feeling when i ask the youngest one if he has homework, he says no, and i don't quite believe him. *snort.

And i'm back to my part time nanny gig tomorrow. I've missed my little charge (it's been just over a week!) But he's only just 7 months old, so i guess he won't be walking or talking yet. Still, he'll have changed!

And if the sun cooperates in the afternoon, i will be taking BirthBones photos for a Houston, TX pet magazine.

Birth of a BirthBone©

I keep checking the weather forecast and getting hopeful when i see that three days down the line it's going to be much nicer. But then when the day comes, the prediction has been revised to the actual, colder temps. So i'm still working in the kitchen. It's very convenient and i could get used to it, but i've already got so much of my miscellaneous, half-finished projects crap piled up in our living spaces. DH hasn't said anything yet, but i know it bugs him. I figure when the temps climb back into the upper 40's (F) i'll head back to the workshop and the nice spaceheater DH purchased for me.

A very nice lady that i have been doing some BirthBones© dealings with, told me i should be using the copyright symbol. I'm going to use it here just for fun©. (Ooo, i wonder if anyone has the copyright on fun!)

I got a nice wholesale order i'm filling for a boutique owner in Texas. Forty-eight BirthBones© coming up!

Also, since my last posting, i've designed a new business card and have ordered 250 of them. I used vistaprint.com again. The website is really easy to use, they offer tons of options, and are very affordable. You just have to make sure you don't click on all the other advertisings offered through their website, and you can get away clean©!