Grandbabies visiting today

I think I've hidden all of the Christmas stuff. I lent out my tree and won't get it back until Tuesday. I had planned to get everything setup this weekend, but without the tree that isn't going to happen. I was going to get out the Christmas dishes, (putting away the regular ones for a month)and I still might, but DH objects to any sort of fuss disrupting his routines. I've spent time thinking about baking cookies,but, as DH pointed out yesterday, I would be the one eating them, and I really don't need that. I'll talk to DD today and figure out some way we could do something like that with the little ones, and not end up with millions of cookies here. The other Grandma would like to get involved with something like that too, I'm sure.

A couple of days ago, I cut the end of a finger. It's making typing difficult. It's not the pain that is the problem, but the stupid thing keeps bleeding all over the keyboard. I know I'm being a baby about this. Often it is the little hurts that are the most nuisence. So-o-o short notes for a bit.

Studio Time

After tidying the basement-more or less- I was able to spend some time in the studio. I have finished "Mother Earth"--except for hand stitching the binding. I've decided to re-name it "Mother Earth-In the Beginning...". The simpler name just never felt right, and the new name gives reason to the lack of defined shape. But the seams and the organized quilting give hints at a "Plan". So now I'm trying to put something together that will use the beads that I bought for " Mother Earth-In the Beginning..." and never used. I had a small piece all planned out in my head, but after having worked on it for only two hours, several main parts of the plan have been changed. Instead of brown with gold-y accents, I'm looking at a yellow ochre background with green and brown highlights. And rather than having the beads as the focal point, I'm doing some goldwork-based applique. Who knows--maybe I'll fool myself and end up not using the beads--again!

Still searching for myself

Last night I went to the AGM of a local organization Mentoring Artists for Women's Art ( MAWA) A small but obviously, active group. I found them friendly and interesting. I ran into a lady who assured me that she had sorted out all of the membership problems I had run into with the Manitoba Crafts Council, another lady who has agreed to participate in the Sharing Craft sessions I've been helping organize in collaboration with a local book store, and a third lady who just happened to have been involved in a program that I was interested in and could explain it to me. This makes me a little happier about my decision to leave some of the special interest groups that I've been with for many years, and seek out others that might be of more benefit to me. Now I don't join these groups just to benefit. I fully realize that you get out according to what you contribute. But lately I've felt that I 've been contributing a lot more than I benefit.

I'm also realizing that you need to initiate your involvement--they don't seek you out. So I've found two activities within the next week that I plan to attend.

Got to babysit with my two youngest grandchildren yesterday for a couple of hours. This is always a delight, especially for just a couple of hours. The youngest has not been well, and although she is doing better, just wanted to snuggle--not that Grnadma would object ot that!

Bison!??

We were doing more cooking today, and needed a couple of things including hamburger, so DH went to the store ( he really is a dear). When he got home we discoverd that he had bought extra lean ground Bison, instead of hamburger. Now he insists that it was mixed up with the hamburger, and it probably was, but I think I get teasing rights for the next couple of hours. Anyway, now we get to find out what chili tastes like made with Bison.

Kitchen duty

Spent today in the kitchen but not the way I had planned to! Yesterday we cleaned the freezer, and realized how empty it was getting. So today we started to re-fill it. Two hours of grocery shopping and then many hours of "power cooking". We also paid some bills and got the rest of our Christmas shopping done. I found out something nice about Christmas shopping in November. People aren't as cranky. The Christmas spirit is fresh and new, and shopping is a pleasure. Even the clerks in Wal-Mart seemed to be having fun. I know that in a couple of weeks it will be entirely different. We found the gifts we needed for our last two grand children, in exactly the colours they wanted, and at a price we could afford. It doesn't get any better than that.

And--Ta-da--my DS got the best Christmas present--a new job!! This is the one he has been preparing for for a couple of years. He went through an interview process about a month ago, and someone else got the job. Great disappointment, but today he got a call that another position had come up and he starts in January. I'm so pleased for him. He has really been looking for a change. He did a six month term in a similar position awhile back and really loved it. With all that has happened to him in his life, it's great to see something actually come together for him

Searching for inspiration

For some reason I don't want to sew right now. I have a couple of ideas in my brain for projects, but until I get them sorted out, and the process for each planned, I don't want to tempt myself to get started. I've always been one to plunge in and hope for the best, but what I have in mind needs more careful planning, and maybe even a pattern drafted (OMG--what have I got myself into??). So today I did housework. That'll tell you how mixed up and desperate I am. We ( the royal "we") even cleaned out the freezer. I even spent time watching a documentary on crime in Great Britain in the 1970's--with most of the pictures in black and white.

So now I think I need to have a strong drink ( one left in my bottle of brandy) and head for bed. Tomorrow is another day, and I think I need to tackle the Kitchen--and isn't that an exciting idea. I'll get back to you all if I ever actually get to my studio this week.

And how do you get ready for Christmas/

As for me, I make jam! Yes, that's how we spent the day--making jam and jelly. Actually it had nothing to do with Christmas. We needed to clean out our freezer. So all of the out-dated fruit etc had to be used. I made my usual bramble berry jelly ( 27 jars). and a batch each of Rhubarb and pineapple jam and strawberry jam. All of that done, we looked at the two batches worth of Nanking cherry juice, an empty sugar bin, and both of us ready to drop, and decided to throw out the Nanking cherry juice. Neither of us is that fond of the jelly, and we're too broke from Christmas shopping to head out to buy more sugar. I wish I had planned all of this better. Now we have the whole evening ahead of us, no energy, and nothing on tv. One good thing about searching for canning supplies in the basement--we found a bottle of Crown Royal. It was probably a gift a few years back, and had been put away for a special occasion. Now I don't drink whiskey, but DH will certainly enjoy it!

Sales over--

Over all I brought in --gross--just over $500 over the three weeks. So Christmas is more or less paid for. That puts my total income for the year at under $1000--gross. I sure hope I'm having fun, "cause I'm sure not making any money!! But we decided awhile ago that we will consider this to be our entertainment and amusement. I guess we have to look at it that way.

After I got home and made supper yesterday, I was exhausted--probably more of an emotional tiredness than anything else. I spent most of the evening baking savory snacks to give the family at christmas, which is mainly a "hurry up and wait" activity. So I read a book. I can't remember the last time I spent an evening reading. It was a mystery by P. D. James. These are very long very involved stories, and you really have to read a fair bit of the story at a stretch, or you get lost in the people and plot. Certainly not a "bathroom book".

Today I have an afternoon meeting, out of town. The lady selling me the sewing machine lives in the area, and we will get together. Then it's my youngest DGD's birthday celebraton, again out of town. We should be able to get supper there, so I don't have to cook.

For the next week, while I have some computer writing to do for my volunteer work, I've decided that I really can't ignore the housework any longer. Kicking and screaming, I will drag myself into cleaning. Of course, I also know that I'lll be procrastinating as much as possible, so you may find some long messages here.

What a day!

Most of it went as planned. Christmas shopping, and home to drop off the loot by 10:30 am. then off to the other side of the city to drop some receipts off at Blue Cross and head south for silk. I found some silk to match the other colours I'm using ( $$$-Ka-ching!!) but no the pink. so we went to the other embroidery store in the city, and no luck there either. So I had to reconcile myself to using cotton floss instead of the silk. Then I spent most of last evening picking out what I had done so far so I could replace the pink that I had been using. Now I've got the cotton in and I think it was a good decision. Today I have to tag and inventory all of the stuff that has to be delivered for the sale tomorrow. Sounds like a huge job until I realize that I don't have very much to go. I was going to relax tomorrw, but now I'm told that they will need help at the second sale I'm in tomorrow. No sale stuff there, mainly donated goods, as it's for a charity.

Of course , the afternoon was spent returning and replacing a couple of things. One was a cute little doll ( Dream and Glow Pooh)for the youngest, whose birthday celebration is this weekend. It was on the list, and when I saw only one on the shelf, I grabbed it. Got home and discoverd that it didn't work. I would have tested it in the store, if I had any idea of what it was supposed to do! Now I can't stop playing with it. The other is a video. We had to visit a couple of stores to find it When I told my DD that we had it , she told me that it had been a birthday gift last week! So it goes back today.

Finally, just before bedtime, I got an e-mail offering me an unbelievable deal on a sewing machine. I had wanted to get one for my DD for Christmas, but had lost out in an auction. The first deal fell through, and she has now offered it to me, but at a slightly higher price than I had bid. I told DH and he thought for a minute and said "buy it". This puts me wa-a-a-y over budget for Christmas, but DD has a birthday in January, so we'll see. I'll have to spend some time learning to use it, as it's not a brand I'm familiar with, and we know who will have to teach DD. So I sure hope to sell stuff tomorrow, or else we eat KD for the rest of the month!

Christmas Shopping

Today! I hope to get everything I need for my DD and her family. SIL is always a problem, but I have an idea that fits into the budget, and would benefit the whole family. My plan is to hit WalMart early today ( they're open 24 hours) I have a list of "Must-Have" toys, and figure that the prices should be as good there as anywhere. If I can't find what we want there, then we hit Canadian Tire. ToysRUs will be the last resort, as they tend to be pretty pricey. Then comes the biggest decision of the all--Do I buy more wrapping paper? Several years ago I bought a bunch of paper on sale and still haven't managed to get rid of it. I think the family are getting tired of the same paper year after year. I don't think they are thrilled at getting birthday gifts wrapped in red and green paper either.

I've also made a decision to buy a different colour of silk for my"special project". This is a project just for me, --pure self indulgence. Before I retired I bought supplies for several major projects, but now that I have the time to plan and design my own original work, these are just sitting on the shelf. Lots of money tied up in them. My life plan is to slowly work my way through them, but I'm very reluctant to spend any more money on them. But both DH and I looked at what I had done so far last night, and the pink I have just isn't right. I'm also worried about not having enough silk overall to finish it. Guess I didn't plan so well after all.

strange day yesterday

I finally got in to the studio after dinner. There was nothing on tv, so I had the whole evening to myself. Lately I've been working on a special hand stitched project whenever there is a show I want to watch ( not often enough). I finished the bird hanging, and it's not as special as I had wanted. I lost one of the special hand made beads, so compromised the design a bit. The cord that actually holds it together wasn't strong enoug and frayed a bit, so I had to try to reinforce it. Still looks good, but not good enough for me. I had hoped to price it at about $50.00, but looking at it now, $25.00 would be more reasonable.

Then I sat down and started going through magazines, and thinking and dreaming about future projects. I haven't done something like that for months and months. I was trying to come up with something to make with my needlefelter. I spent about an hour doing this and now have a couple fo ideas to think about over the next little while. I would be great to complete some new ideas. I've been thinking that I've been through all of the ideas that I had in my mind from all the years I couldn't do much because of other responsibilities, and that there was nothing new. Scarey!

Supper out

Last evening was a fund raising dinner on behalf of the Manitoba Crafts Museum and Library. It was arranged with a small local restaurant called Muddy Waters Smokehouse. Well, of course, DH couldn't go as he is allergic to smoked food, so my DD and DGD went with me. What a delight the little one was. Her mother took a small colouring book and a set of markers along. Now the little one would only sit at a table with a red tablecloth, which sort of messed up the seating plan, but once she was there she quietly coloured until everyone was seated and had ordered. She told her mother she was hungry ( this was after 7:00 and she had been on the go all day). DD asked the waiter if she could get a small package of crackers. They don't serve soup and there were none, but the manager came over carrying his coat, and offered to go to another nearby restaurant to get some and did!! Talk about service!! We were seated 12 to a table, and a kind gentleman on the other side of DGD took to drawing on the back of the paper menu we had been given, making fierce animals for her to colour.

Now attached to this was a silent auction. Even the waiter and restaurant manager bought tickets. I brought home a sushi set. I hadn't known what it was, but had put my ticket into the draw for what I thought were pretty dishes. This is only funny because DH and I had been talking about sushi earlier in the day, after noticing that there seems to be sushi house opening on every street corner. He won't touch the stuff, so I guess the set will become "pretty dishes" after all.

Today I hope to finish the Christmas stocking for the other DGD. I've started cutting the piping and lining. I also want to finish the needle felted bird garland that I was working on awile ago. I have so little left to take to the sale this weekend, and this will be something very different.

Thank you Linda!

I knew Linda had taken pictures yesterday, and I know how much nicer the blog is when there are pictures, BUT I've mentioned before than I'm picture challenged. It is such a treat to have something like this up. Thank you Linda!

Guild day - Teaching and more

This is Linda uploading a picture for Pat. While at our guild meeting yesterday, I took the liberty of taking some pictures of Pat at her vendor's table since it was "Members Vendor" day as well as during her class which I attended but did not do the project....yet (today hopefully)....

Well here are some pictures. I hope you enjoy them. The first picture is of Pat and you can see some of her creations hanging on the rack as well as on her table.

The second picture we're all listening to her instructions.

On this third picture here she is working on her project showing us just how to incorporate paper with fabric. It looked complicated when you see her beautiful finished projects but in fact it's so easy to make.. The only complicated thing about it is to attempt and make yours look as pretty as hers.... Can you tell that I'm a big fan of her work?

See Pat? The pics went up quite easily....

Linda

Another one bites the dust!

Can you tell I watched a documenary on Freddie Mercury of Queen on Thursday evening? The second sale is over, and I was very pleasantly surprized at how well I did. I sold mainly stuff that I've been making for years, such as wallets, and sewing kits. I was amazed at how many people came up, looked at the stuff and said "Oh, I've got one of those. I bought it years ago". So I made a joke of it, pointing out that my stuff is so well made that you never have to replace it--sort of like that chewing gum commercial you see on tv where the fellow is saying that his customers are still chewing the first stick of gum they ever bought.

The class went well too. Everyone went home with a piece of fabric paper. And they had such very different ideas of how they wanted their work to look! As bit of a hoot when you think about it, because if they actually make something out of it, most fo the surface will be covered. A couple of them said that they were going to trim their work and frame it!?! Of course, now I have 10 bottles of fabric paint that was left over. This will have to be used within the next couple of months, or it will deteriorate. Maybe I need to call on Ravenesque to have a painting day.

I haven't slept well the last couple of nights, and I have the grandbabies coming over for supper tonight, so I'll need to be on mybest game when they while the're here. Too much going on in my head, I guess. My last sale is next Saturday, and while I will send some stock, I don't have an active role to play in the selling part of it. But this week, I have to gather together appropriate stock to send. I don't have much! There are two wall hangings that I have taken to every sale for the last 12 months. If they don't sell next weekend, I think it will be time to retire them.

Endless search

for peer support. I would so much like to find women to whom I can relate on a peer basis, in reference to my art. There aren't many around here. How does one find such people? Maybe I've reached the stage when I need to just get my art out there, and hope that the right people will come to me. The basic problem is that I don't--deep in my heart--believe that my stuff is that great. I don't believe that my skills are, at all, on a par with others who have taken things like Cities and Guilds courses. And yet a well qualified friend is very encouraging, whenever I see her. I would hate to think that I'm just seeking out adulation to satisfy my own ego. However, it's important to me that my work be respected. A-a-argh!

I finished the embroidery on my DGD's Christmas stocking last evening. Now I have to do the beading, and put it together. It would be great if it could be ready for her birthday, which we plan to celebrate on November 23rd. I seem to remember that my children tried to use spoons to eat their first birthday cake, but this little one hasn't yet started to use one. I think her mother dreads the associated laundry.

Bithday Parties

My DGD seems to have had a good day yesterday. Lots of loot. Unfortunately one guest cancelled as she was ill, and a second one didn't, and then went home sick. Since there were only three invited guests, it was rather a quiet party. We arrived after cake--about 3:15. The other Grandma was there and cooked super and generally took over the hostess duties. DH was really not feeling well--two immunization shots the day before--so he was quiet and just sat watching a movie with the smallest DGD, until she went downfor a nap. I've wondered why, after little contact for years, the other grandma has become so involved with them. Yesterday, I realized that she very much enjoys being part of family life. She was a single Mom, who sometimes worked three jobs to support herself and her son, while living with her mother. Now she can take an active role in the family without that role having to be "bread winner".

Birthdays coming up

for two of my grandbabies. So yesterday we went out to Toys R Us, with a list of suggested gifts in hand. What a scarey place! I finally had to get someone to help us find our way around. We only shopped for the two birthdays this month, not yet for Christmas. If the sales go well the next two weekends, I'll do the Christmas shopping. I think that with some of the popular toys, you need to buy them early. So this afternoon we are off to a birthday party for a four year old. The other Grandma is going to be there early, and they are going to have Princess Party. The three little girls will dress up and get tiaras and have make-up put on and then Grandma Judie will do their hair.

Now this all sounds like great fun, and I'm sure the little girls will enjoy themselves. But what does this say about society?? Four year olds spending a party afternoon making themselves into something they aren't --and this means make-up and hair do's and fancy clothes. Four year olds!!! Most ofthe items on the wish list were along the same vein--dress up Barbies, Bratz and Bratz wardrobes. I refuse to buy that sort of thing. She's getting jig saw puzzles and Robert Munsch books. Not that I believe that my small resistance will alter anything.

Life Sucks!

Just heard this morning that a friend has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. This is, at least, the second friend that this has happened to, as well as having been through a bit of a scare myself (benign cyst). I guess I think of that quote of Bette Davis--"getting old ain't for sissies". I think I want to spend the rest of the day sulking.

One Down!

quite a weekend,but one sale is history and now we have to gear up for the one next weekend. We sold a little bit this time, enough to cover expenses and enough to go out for supper last night. The rough part was getting out into the country to the sale site during the first bad storm of the winter. Normally this is a half hour drive but Friday morning it took the best part of an hour and we passed several cars in the ditch (empty--we wouldn't pass a stranded person). My DH is normally a fast driver but we went the whole way with the cruise on 80Km/hr--on divided four lane highway. Saturday we drove out and then I had to turn around and drive back to the city for a class, and then drive back to pick him up. Thank Goodness the roads were much clearer by then.

The class was a little disappointing. I was quite looking forward to it. It was on mixed media collage, which I found out was quite different than multi-media collage. I think the difference comes in the number of human senses that are stimulated, with mixed media remaining basically a visual experience, and multi-media being more associated with vison and hearing--such as video's and concerts etc. In any case, it was the first time the class had been taught, and I think the timing got a little lost. There were three stages to the collage, and we spent 1 1/2 hours of a two hour class doing step one. Once we had the first layer glued down, we were to augment the surface with drawing, or painting or some sort of surface work that would either emphasize the design or alter it. I had great difficulty with this. The class had been advetised as a study in combining textures. During the first stage we weren't allowed to use people, animals or buildings--which was good. I used some very, very textural papers for stage one, but found it very difficult to mask or minimize the edges of the papers, between design elements, for stage two. We were trying to develop some sort of flow and it just wasn't happening. Stage three was to paint over the whole thing, again to either emphasize or mask various elements that had been developed in stages one and two.

Driving back to Beausejour I had a chance to think about the whole experience. What I'm doing in my collages really isn't that different. I build up a surface with paper and fabric, mask it to a certain extent with a final layer of tissue paper, or mulberry paper. I add a wash of paint, let it dry, and then add a third layer of more paper and/or fabric. This third layer may or may not have a lot in common with the first layer. IMHO, my work ends up looking much more controlled and planned (anal??), but I'm much more satisfied with it.

I have taken a few more traditionally "arty" classes. My work is much less mainstream, but much more reflective of me as a person. In the end I have to be true to what satisfies me. But I know that I'll be doing a lot of navel gazing trying to figure out if I'm just rationalizing an unwillingness to stretch myself. I think the answer to that rests with my age. If I was 25, the need to stretch and explore would be paramount, but at my age I've grown more comfortable in my own skin, and with the skills I've spent many years developing. The only area I want/need to explore is in making my designs better. So I think I'll limit further exploration to design principles and elements, but explore it from a perspective specific to fibre arts.

Here is full view

of the piece Rain Forest Retreat. I used sunprints of leaves, free motion quilted the veining, adding some quilting in the background, and then joined them by butting up the edges and using a wide satin stitch. I had a lot of fun, and when I was finished, I had three pieces, not one. Well, two of them are okay but the third is just my monthly contribution to my crap quota.

Again, I've had a very frustrating time loading these to the blog. There was no way I could get them from my Zoombrowser program, and finally, I had to up load them directly from the camera. This is really making me both frustrated and angry. So I doubt there will be many pictures on this blog in the future.

Finally

I've managed to get a picture on here. This is the close-up of my piece Rain Forest Retreat. These are sunprints made from leaves that I brought back from my recent retreat on Vancouver Island.

Calm before the storm

My horoscope today says that I need to find some time for myself, to spend in quiet renewal. Really?? Say what?? You think?? Actually I was thinking the same thing myself before I read the silly paper. The next two days will be busy with the art show in Beausejour, and with me having to drive back into the city Saturday afternoon for my collage class. The weather isn't supposed to be great, ( snow and freezing rain predicted)and I don't get to do enough driving to maintain my skills. There is nothing I can do today in terms of the show. If I'm not ready then I'm not ready. So other than hitting the bank to get a float, my time will be mainly my own.

Yesterday I managed to hand embroider the insert for the lid of a wooden box. I have another box, and I'm tempted to do another insert. I'll probably work on that a bit today, but I also have a Christmas stocking to finish. Neither of these things could be taken along to work on while I'm at the sale, so I may just put together a few simple hand projects to take with me. I would prefer to be busy with cutomers, but I have to be realistic--there will be lots of down time.

Today I'm really going back in time. I'm actually doing some hand embroidery. I'm making a box top insert. I've used a bit of the silk I have--an orange silk carrier rod. It's not a real orange but rather a vermillion type of orange-y red. It matches very well a pink-y orange piece of duipioni silk that I'm using for the background. Add some Rose Quartz chip beads and some overdyed silk thread, and I think I'll end up with a fairly nice piece. It's been so long since I did this type of work that it's almost like learning all over again. A meeting tonight. We are under a storm watch, so I sure hope that it doesn't catch me tonight. More and more I'm having trouble driving at night. Getting old is a b--ch!!

Inspiration!

Last evening my satellite group, Ravenesque met. This is always such an inspiring meeting,as these ladies all have very divergent ideas related to their art quilting. We talked about needlefelting, and fabric altering and retreats--three of the four of us had been to a retreat since our last meeting. We each see a different value to the retreats. Those with family responsibilities see being able to work without worrying about cooking meals etc as an absolute indulgence. One lady loves the chance to take courses without the hassle of travelling etc., while another finds the socialization stimulating. I have to wonder if these benefits would accrue from any sort of retreat from "real life". As always at these meetings, there were books. I finally got my copy of "The Painted Quilt", but I also saw a couple of French magazines with some intriguing pictures in them. I showed off my silks. No-one seemed to see any potential use for silk carrier rods, whereas I'm just starting to see uses for them--and I've owned them for about three years. (LOL)

Today I get my flu shot, and then I think I'm going to spend a bit of time planning my creative activities over the next 6-9 months. I've been so immersed in creating for sales that I haven't really spent any time creating for shows. I have four potential shows in the next year, and i think I would like to be able to enter all of them.

Odd jobs

Got a lot of fiddly odd jobs done yesterday. DH helped by making wooden hangers for those hangings that I plan to take to sales this month. I have more than enough stock, since I don't expect to sell much, but I made tags and priced everything, so that it's ready to go. The sale at the end of the month is supposed to be for embroidered goods, and I don't have a lot of that. I'm going to set up a couple of pieces for inserts of wooden boxes. They can be quickly done and are one-of-a-kind. The boxes are professionally made and I can get a good price for them, if the embroidery is well done. This could be something that I could work on during the sale this weekend.

I did do a bit of housework and discovered that I need to do a lot more. We have an errand to run today that will take a bit of time, and then tonight is the meeting of my satellite group, Ravenesque. So it looks like my time is filled for the next little while.

Nope! Didn't get the housework done

DD called to say that they wouldn't be in for dinner today. She starts back to work tomorrow after 12 months maternity leave, and she wanted a day to just veg out around the house before leaping back into the real world.

So I sort of veg'ed out myself. I put together the sunprints I made from the leaves I brought back from BC. I had hoped for a small hanging but ended up with three of them!! And I still have some prints to use!! Two of the hangings will be okay, but the third one is not really good and will only count toward my "crap quota" for this year. The sunprinted hanging was also supposed to go t0ward fulfilling my commitment to the Fast Friday Challenge for October. I had read the requirements as being a mono-chromatic piece, that was supposed to emphasize value as the main componenet. Well, I missed the second sentance stating that it was also supposed to demonstrate perspective. ( I read the challenge at 4:00, while half asleep) Not much perspective in a sunprint.

I bought some clothes while we were out the other day. I've spent quite a bit buying clothes this fall. It hit me that I needed clothes when an outfit, that I clasified as to be worn at home but otherwise never see the light of day, was actually in better shape than most of the stuff I was wearing out to meetings! The old stuff that I used to wear to work five years ago, is just getting too-o-o "ratty", not to mention dye and paint spotted. A couple of things that aren't in too bad shape, are that way because I don't wear them. They just don't flatter me. So they are being demoted to "wear around the house". Where I'm going with this is that today I have three new pairs of pants to shorten. This is a very simple job, but one I hate and I really tend to procrastinate. One of the pairs of pants was bought last spring! The worst part of all of this is that in gathering clothes together to take to the thrift shop, I realize that quite a few of them aren't good enough to go to the thrift shop!

The sewing machine is back. I evidently did a number on it wth the mono-filament thread I was using. I'm going to have to change a few habits. However, in fixing it up for me, she's done something strange with the upper tension. This means that I'm going to have to learn to use it all over again. That's a real nuisence. We spent most of yesterday running errands--spent lots of money. But I got the matts I needed to finish the few sunprints I needed to. Matts are getting very expensive.
I have three sales over the next three weekends. This means spending a fair bit of time getting ready and making sure that I have the stock I need. I signed up for a short workshop on multi-media collage for next Saturday. This means leaving my DH to manage my booth out of town, while I drive back in, attend my course, and then drive back out into the country to pick him up.
So, today I may actually have to do a little housework.