Whitney Street Studio

November 29, 2007

Today I'd planned to make beads. I heated up the kiln, fired up my torch, and lo and behold, I am out of oxygen! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Bill has the truck today so I couldn't pick up another tank so I hope he can grab a tank for me Saturday morning so I can torch on Sunday. I had an all around crappy day so I'm just going to be petty and blame him for using up the oxy...lol. Well, he did make beads last so clearly he emptied the tank. Really, that's the truth. Although, it wouldn't bode well to blame him for real though because he can retaliate and refuse to pick up the tank of oxy for me and then I'd really be bummed.

Instead of making beads today I cooked and cooked and cooked. Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration...I just cooked and cooked. I made a curried chicken salad and Coq au Reisling for tomorrow nights dinner. Bill gets home from work earlier than me tomorrow so he can just reheat that and all he has to worry about is making a veggie and potatoes. The chicken salad is for sandwiches for lunch. I peeled some clementines too. He won't take fruit that requires any work so I felt if I peeled them for him he'd be more likely to eat them.

I am in search of a soft gingerbread cookie recipe. If you know of one, please let me know. While you have your recipe box out, I'd also be interested in a soft lemon poppyseed cookie recipe. Last lemon poppyseed cookies I made were a bit crunchier than I like as a rule. So if you have any ideas, let me know.

November 3, 2007

Some of you may have realized by now that I have had a smidgen more time on my hands lately and have managed to get some torch time in. Right now I have some beads soaking, waiting to be cleaned so they can be posted for you to see. I haven't decided if these beads will become one fairly big set or a series of smaller sets. I'll wait to see how they all look together and go from there.

Looks like snow out there today. I'm in between a rock and a hard place because of my feelings towards snow. I love snow and all, but I loved it much better when I was self-employed and could walk everywhere I needed to go. Now, being employed elsewhere, at a company that relies on snow through the winter months, I must do my part and wish for snow...however, as most of you may recall, I drive a Mustang, which is damn near useless in the snow. The road to work is winding and twisty. My Mustang surely won't cut it.

I have been looking at cars but that's as far as I get. Dang things are so 'spensive, Lucy! I better start saving my pennies. And it's going to take an awful lot of pennies to buy me a new chariot!

I have to run. Have to head to work today. I'll try to get those beads cleaned and posted over the next couple of days. I don't think I will bother doing the bulk mail list to let you know. I just did that the last couple of times since I hadn't made beads in such a very long time. I knew you'd all need a reminder that I am alive and well.

Hope you have a great day today!

August 9, 2007

Starting next week I should begin to have a little time on my hands. I have a nice full tank of oxy ready to go. I am hoping to find time to sit at the torch tomorrow. We shall see. I have a doctors appointment out of town midday so I'm not sure if I'll manage to get any torch time or not. Next week my boss only has me on the schedule for 40 hours so that frees up a lot of my time working so few hours. Of course, I will let you know ASAP when I have some beads to list.

Nothing new and exciting going on around here. We've just been working a lot trying to get caught up on bills and such. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, I do have something new to tell you. Bill and I have gone whitewater rafting twice. Those of you who know me fairly well may recall I don't know how to swim and I am deathly afraid of drowning so going rafting has been a tremendous feat on my part. The first trip down the river was uneventful. Actually, I was fairly terrified since I didn't quite know what to expect. The second trip started out much better because I was more relaxed and could enjoy the day. I ended up falling out of the raft at one point when we tipped ever so slightly onto our left side. Thankfully, I lived to tell the tale! Thank God for PFDs - personal floatation devices!!!

Of course, it was an exciting summer with the release of Order of the Phoenix and the last of the Harry Potter books. I didn't think Deathly Hallows was her best book in the series but it tied up loose ends well enough. Surely you've all had a chance to read the book and see the movie by now too. Now I'm looking forward to seeing The Simpsons movie.

It's awfully late here so I won't chat long. Just wanted to leave you with a quick update on life in Podunk, Maine! Hope you're all enjoying your summer!

June 29, 2007

Yumm...Lobster!

June 20, 2007

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update the daily journal page. Clearly, since I began working outside the studio in January I have far less time on my hands to keep this updated. I also have far less time on my hands for glassworking as well. I haven't sat at the torch for perhaps a month or so but hope to find some time before long. A few things have changed since my last entry. I have accepted a new job with a particularly fun company to work for. There is no set schedule so it's difficult for me to map out things ahead of time, but it's been quite fun just going with the flow. The people I work for and with are all very nice and most are particularly laid back making most days enjoyable. The best part of it is, they had a spot they needed to fill and they hired Bill for it. Ohh, I cannot even tell you how relieved I am knowing that in two weeks there will be two paychecks to pay our bills. Whew! Now I just hope he likes it! They made no commitment as to whether it would be a summer only position or year round, but since most folks there are seasonal, the president said it particularly interested him that Bill is local and available year round because they oftentimes find themselves in need of a new year rounder come fall or so. Now let's keep our fingers crossed that he likes the job and that they like him.

I guess this means you will also see fewer beads from Bill as well. Anytime we have something especially new that I want all of you to see, I will plan on sending out an email newsletter so you won't miss out on it. How's that sound?

Shania underwent some additional surgery last week but pulled through with flying colors. I'm expecting an A+ report from her vet next Friday when they see her to remove the sutures. She just bounces back...so different from Daicey. Anytime Daicey underwent even a minor procedure, she never healed particularly well, or ended up with some sort of medicinal side effects or some sort of complications. Shania is just the opposite. When we brought her home last Friday they suggested she would be inactive, groggy and to watch for signs of depression and lethargy. The moment she got home she grabbed a ball, tossed it into the air and attempted to catch it. So much for being inactive. I'm glad she's pulled through so well. She's no spring chicken. She'll be 11 in August!

I'm home sick today. Actually, it's my day off so it worked out perfectly that I didn't have to call out sick. I got sick Monday evening...sore throat and just a bit achy. Yesterday I woke up terribly achy and went to work. They let me leave an hour early and by the time I was halfway home I was burning up. By the time I reached my front door, I had to stop to take a break because I was too exhausted to walk. I was feverish all night and spent most of today sleeping too. I have to work at 10am tomorrow so I hope I am up for it. Alrighty, enough of my incessant ramblings. Hope you're all having a fantastic summer so far!

May 14, 2007

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday. We headed down river to spend the day with the in-laws. They took us out to a new restaurant...well, not a new restaurant, but new to us and fairly new to them. They'd eaten there a couple of times and said we'd really like it. We did. The place itself was quite pretty...warm colors on the walls, lots of beautiful artwork. The food was excellent...and for around here, it was quite avante garde. We'll definitely go back. After that we went back to their house and just chatted all afternoon. Bill helped his dad set up the router so that both Abbey and Kattie could use their laptops on the internet at the same time. They were pleased. They proceeded to IM each other while sitting a mere 15 feet apart. It was quite funny.

Bill took down 3 fairly large trees on the back corner of the yard last week. They weren't the huge 100+ year old trees, more like 30-40 year old trees. Two other neighbors followed suit and took down trees in their yard as well. We're so heavily wooded that he pulls down a couple of trees each year to brighten and lighten it. The yard looks fantastic with these 3 trees gone. He's going to put our fire pit there and perhaps set up a picnic table or lawn chairs. I need new lawn chairs though because he took them out when he downed the first tree. Landed smack dab on my new lawn chairs. Grrrrrr! Actually, had the tree been just a couple of feet shorter it would have missed the chairs, but it was just tall enough for the uppermost limbs to graze them. Our largest and oldest two trees are going to need to come down in the coming years. Our street is lined with these 100+ year old trees and slowly but surely, they are all coming down. It will be sad when they're gone. Several in other people's yards look nice and healthy still...maybe those will stick around for many more years.

Okay, I'm running pretty far behind on my to-do list today. Hope everyone has a great week!

May 10, 2007

We had a nice visit with family in Rhode Island. Pandora looked so pretty in her white dress and veil for her 1st Holy Communion. She also wore dainty white gloves, white bobby socks and a cute pair of white shoes. She looked like a miniature bride....so cute. The veil she wore was the same veil my sisters and I wore for our 1st Holy Communion oh so many years ago. It was chilly and windy that day but everyone had a great time at the cookout my sister and her husband held afterwards. He's from a large family - most of his nieces and nephews are grown and are having kids of their own. All together I counted 17 kids under 10 years old. My oh my, that's a lotta kids. That's not counting all the teenagers there too. I wish we had that...big family get togethers. In my family there is just Pandora and Michael for niece and nephew. Michael is now married with kids of his own, Emily and Dillon. So all together there is just 3 children.

Saturday night we went to Jackie and Bobs. Dad and Bill helped Bob finish laying the stones for the patio, while Mom and I helped Jackie prepare the food. Sunday morning we had breakfast at Chelsea's, which is owned by one of my high school friends. My folks have breakfast there every Sunday after church. All their friends go there too...same familiar faces each week. It's sort of a local diner and they serve many of the Portuguese foods no other restaurant serves. For example, Dad had Johnny Cakes for breakfast and Bill had chourico and eggs. Then we went to Jackie's to help Pandora get ready. Spent most of the day there and that night went to my sister Christine's house to see her new kitchen. Monday spent the day with Mom, Pandora, and Bill. We went shopping...Marshall's, TJ Maxx, etc. At one point I just had to comment about Bill driving the 3 Miss Daisy's -- Mom had country music on (Bill hates country music) and Pandora was in the backseat reading the Stations of the Cross from her new prayer book (Bill's not religious at all). I broke out in hysterics because here is my wonderful husband carting around the in-laws, listening to country music, while an 8 year old is reading aloud about the Stations of the Cross. Poor guy! LOL!!! That evening all my sisters and their SO's came back to Mom's for dinner, then after dinner we watched Pandora practice for her derby this weekend. Then off to the Registry of Motor Vehicles where they have a steeper hill for her to practice some more, then Bill and I spent the rest of the evening at Chris and Jim's. I'm always sad to come back home after a trip like this. It's a stark reminder of what we don't have here in Maine.

This weekend we have plans with Bill's Dad. I'm so thrilled because after a whirlwind weekend with my family last weekend, it would make me sad to sit home this weekend. We're going to go down for Mother's Day. He made reservations for the six of us: Bill and I, FIL and step-MIL, and Bill's sisters Abbey and Kattie. I ordered a new pair of shoes to go with a skirt I want to wear. I hope the shoes come in on time, but I won't hold my breath for that!

I'm sick today....nauseous. No, I'm not pregnant so don't ask...lol! I woke up feeling sick and just when I think I'm feeling better a wave of nausea kicks in. I'm thinking it might be chicken noodle soup for dinner tonight. Bill's filling the kiln since I don't feel well and I will work on cleaning beads, packing packages to go into the mail, and doing the dishes. It's another scorcher out there today so maybe I'll read outside this afternoon. Okay gotta run. Hope you have a great day!

May 5, 2007

Holy guacamole (it is Cinco de Mayo, after all!) Bill scared the bajeezus out of me Thursday night. We went to bed late and sometime in the middle of the night I woke hearing someone talking. I didn't recognize the voice. Scared the ever loving you know what outta me! Once I got my bearings I realized it was just Bill talking in his sleep. When I met him he used to talk in his sleep nightly but over a couple of years time it sort of went away. It's some sort of anxiety thing. Once in a while something triggers it, and he'll talk in his sleep again. It hasn't happened in quite some time so I damn near forgot that he is a sleep talker. Dang...took 10 years off my life being that freaked out in the middle of the night...lol! Luckily it only lasted one night so I had a peaceful nights rest last night.

We're up early today because we're heading out of town. It's Pandora's 1st Holy Communion tomorrow, which as most of you know, is a big ordeal in the life of a Catholic child. I still have to wrap her gifts but I will wait till I get to RI since I had Mom pick up something at the religious store for me to give her and I'd like all of her gifts to be wrapped in the same paper. I won't tell you what I got her in case the sneaky little Princess is reading this, which is unlikely since she prefers to be outdoors rather than inside on the computer.

We'll be gone for 3 nights so we'll be back on Tuesday evening sometime. I will try to check my email once a day if possible, but won't make any promises. I'll catch up on emails Wednesday and I'll list some new beads then too. Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

April 30, 2007

The fun new glass I ordered from Bill has arrived. It came on Saturday and wouldn't you know, the first words out his mouth were: "This wasn't the expensive glass, was it?" Why yes it was sweetie-pie! He tried to give me that look (you know that look) for having spent too much money, but immediately that stern look turned into a smile because he's really wanted this glass! I can hardly wait to see what he is able to to do with it. Give him some time though, I've noticed on the glass forums that some people are having some trouble with it getting it to do what they want it to do. Bill's patient at the torch so I thought he might do well with this glass, yet he works with a fairly cool flame and this glass really blooms with a hotter flame.

He gave me that "look" over the glass, but just you wait till my other orders start coming in...what kind of a look will I get then? I ordered a pretty notebook skin for my computer, an eyeliner, blush, eyeshadow and nude lipstick from Giorgio Armani and a shimmer brick and palette from Bobbi Brown. Eeeek, I'll really get the look when all those goodies arrive. Luckily, they'll be spaced out and I won't get them all at the same time so he won't be too awfully alarmed. I joke, he doesn't *really* care what I buy yet he'll still give me that look like do you really need those things...lol! Of course I do, honey!

This will be of little interest to non-Catholics and may be of little interest to Catholics, either...I got a book last week at Barnes and Noble I really have to rave about. It was on the bargain aisle for $9.99. I picked it up just to glance in it but it really captured my attention so I carried it around with me until I had time to sit and flip through it. I intended to flip through it while I was there and place it back on the shelf and leave there without it...but after giving it another glance I couldn't put it down. The book is: John Paul II 1920-2005 by Gianni Giansanti. Some of the pictures are sad, one at the end made me cry, but so many others are inspirational and awe inspiring. I haven't begun to read it so I can't comment on that. The pictures are truly amazing and beautiful. If this sort of thing interests you, run out and get this lovely book. You will be pleased you did.

Alrighty, I'm running a bit late. Gotta run. Hope you have a great day today.

April 24, 2007

I can't help that the journal has been so boring lately. We haven't done anything too exciting lately that warrants discussion. I've been impressed with the direction Bill's work has been going in lately. Shhhh....it's a secret....I ordered him some nifty (aka expensive) glass to try. He's mentioned wanting to try it for weeks now but when he saw the price he cringed. Let's just say it's approximately 11 times more expensive than the Italian Effetre (Moretti) glass he uses. I only bought him a little bit to try out but I'm willing to bet he does wonders with it.

I'm happy to report Shania is feeling much better. She's still taking antibiotics and steroids (which I hate to give her but she needed them this time) but I'm starting to see she is getting back to normal. She'll be 11 this year. She's a playful dog so nobody ever believes me when I tell them her age. She is starting to gray more now so she's beginning to look a tad bit older.

We almost really had no spring this year. It went from winter straight into summer...lol! Up till last week, we still had winter weather - heck, wasn't it less than 2 weeks ago we got a foot and a half of snow, the following week a Nor'easter was in the forecast...and mere days later it was 83 degrees. Yes Ma'am, 83 degrees! It had dropped to 57 by the time I went to bed so I closed the windows -- that was a mistake. I was so hot last night I kept waking up and had trouble staying asleep.

I have a minor dilemma. Bill and I have kick-ass phones since I got a discount on them at work. They were still pricey, in fact, I still owe on one of the phones. We get no service in our area despite the big ass cell tower I can see from the top of my street just about. The thing is, the new tower that was built last summer or so was built by US Cellular, which uses cdma technology, while all the other major players (Cingular, T-Mobile, Verizon, etc) all use gsm. Our new overpriced phones are gsm phones so despite the fact that we can switch carriers, we cannot use them to switch to a cdma carrier. So we can keep our beautiful phones and only use them once we head a bit out of town (service kicks in about 8 miles down river) or we can get rid of these phones and switch to the other carrier that does have service here. That means giving up my beloved Blackberry Pearl and Bill giving up his swanky MDA. I checked to see what phones US Cellular offers and they don't have anything that compares. Sure, they carry Blackberry's, but only the larger sized models, which I didn't want. And they certainly don't carry anything that remotely compares to the MDA.

The MDA has wi-fi so Bill can still use some features on it at home. The Pearl does not. In all honesty, we've never had a need to use a phone this close to home, but surely we'd get more use out of them if they had service in this area. I know several new sites are going up in towns nearby so service will improve in our area, but how soon is the question. If I end up finding a job close to home, I think I'm going to have to give up my beloved Pearl. We'll see. Okay, gotta run. Hope you have a great day today!

April 18, 2007

Oh - my - God...wait till you see the set Bill has today! It be gawjuss!!!(How's that for proper English...hahahaha!) Most of you know he normally uses Effetre/Moretti but earlier this week he started dabbling in the 96 coe glass and reactive frits. He's gotten reactions I never knew existed. You'll have to check them out later today. I have one small set to post, but in all honesty, it pales in comparison to his set.

The rain has finally stopped. Thank goodness...I was starting to feel like a mushroom! The yard is mushy, icky, mud. There's still a lot of snow on the ground, but I hope spring is finally here in full force. We've had a ton of birds this spring. Bill got into the habit of throwing the ends of bread out in the yard crumbled up and they've been coming to eat that. We've had blue jays, finches, and chickadees. I think we'll buy a couple of bird feeders to keep them coming.

Nothing too exciting to report. Bill's had a migraine for this past week. He has chronic migraines and has to take daily meds twice a day for them - the meds are to prevent the migraines from coming on but they aren't meant to help once a migraine actually does come on. If it persists I might have to drag him to the doctors office. He hates going to the doctors. Speaking of doctors, Shania needs to go back to the vet. She has an appointment Friday. I was hoping they could fit her in today but they couldn't.

Alrighty, I have a lot to do today so I better get going. Be sure to check the auctions out later today. And have a great day!

April 13, 2007

Woke up with a splitting headache today...sinus I think. It's certainly not a migraine, yet it's centered in one spot right around my left eye. So who wants to talk about the weather? Hmmm...isn't it supposed to be spring? We got about 8" of new snow again last night. It's heavy, wet snow...perfect for making snowmen! Enough about the danged weather...

Let's talk beads! Definitely be sure to check the auctions later today. We'll have a couple of really, really stunning things and perhaps a few others as well. One set didn't turn out quite how I'd hoped - in yellow with frits in raku, pink, and purple - pretty, but not "Wow!" as I'd hoped. I'd made that early in the week but with Shania being sick and all, I just never got around to listing that set. Bill's got a stunning pink set and I forget what else. And lastly, I have an earthy set in silver green, antique aqua, honey and gold. Yummers!

I'm running late today so I better run. Be sure to check out the auctions later today! Have a great weekend.

April 10, 2007

'Tis one of those days I guess. I'm not motivated at all. Bill figured he'd make beads first - my studio space works best if only one of us works at a time, plus, I like to listen to the radio while I work and he likes it to be silent. So I ramped up the kiln, dipped mandrels and Bill started making beads. No sooner did he make one bead and he ran out of oxygen....grrrrr! I'll take that as a sign. He turned the kiln off and we'll do something else today instead. I need to make an appointment for Shania to see the vet. I hope they can see her this week. Minor stuff. Nothing to worry about.

There's a new Tim Gunn book coming out soon...May 1st. It's called,Tim Gunn: A Guide to Quality, Taste and Style on Amazon and can be pre-ordered. I love pre-ordering through Amazon. I'm antsy for the next season of Project Runway too. I checked the site and it appears they are still casting so I can't imagine a new season will be starting anytime too soon.

I don't think I'll post new beads today, but keep an eye out for them tomorrow. Hope you're having a great day today!

April 5, 2007

Springtime in Maine....thus far, approximately 18" of fresh snow since yesterday! So much for all those peep toe pumps I was trying on at the store yesterday!

Yesterday I had an appointment with a new primary care physician. We had been going to the same doctor for a very long time, but about a year and a half ago she took a position at Duke University Medical. We like the staff there so we stayed when they hired a new doctor in. We both disliked the new doctor for numerous reasons so I started asking friends who they go to. I finally made the switch. I'm happy with our choice. I hope Bill likes him too - it's convenient if we both go to the same office. The funny thing is, in talking to him, he asked where in RI I lived but in such a manner that led me to believe he was familiar with the area. Normally I tell people I'm from Newport because everyone knows where that is, yet nobody knows where Middletown is. It's all the same island but people recognize Newport. So anyway, I got the feeling he knew the area so this time instead of saying I was from Newport, I said Middletown. He grinned and said he went to high school in Portsmouth (also on the island). He didn't say he "lived" in Portsmouth - he said he went to high school in Portsmouth, Portsmouth Abbey, which is a boarding school. What a small world. We reminisced about what the island *was* like and what's it's like now. He hasn't been there since the early 90's and was amazed at how developed it got since the 70's - even from then till now, it's even more developed or shall I say over developed. It's the same island I grew up on. My rural Maine town is much more like where I grew up now.

I won't chat long today. Just wanted to tell you I have a gorgeous new set to post later today. Think a walk on the beach...and collectible Japanese floats! Be sure to check the auctions later today to see the new listings. Have a great day!

April 3, 2007

A quick little vent about magazine advertisements...
You see something in a magazine...you like it and want to buy it...but you cannot find it anywhere. Last year this happened with a J.Crew bag. It was shown in one of the magazines, perhaps Lucky, but despite my best efforts, I never found that bag. I checked the website obsessively since I don't have any J.Crew stores nearby - that bag never made it onto the website despite the fact that the caption mentioned purchasing it at jcrew.com. Flash forward to today...just picked up the April issue of Lucky at the bookstore yesterday. I see a bag I like and would like to know how much it is. The ad is a Guess by Marciano ad. I have checked the Guess website, the Marciano website, and all the likely stores that carry the brand. Nope...that bag is nowhere. I'm quite certain the bag would have been out of my price range anyway - you can just tell. It just irritates me when you can't locate something that is advertised. That's all.

It's spring here in Maine...we had the sunny, warm days that turned everything to mud, then for two days straight it has been snowing non-stop. Yes, as I look out the window in front of me, it is a winter wonderland. Not much in terms of accumulation...perhaps an inch or so thus far but the forecast calls for this all week. What happened to spring?

We have a few sets to list today...probably midday or so. I think I only have one set to list and maybe a handful of Bill's sets. I had two more interviews yesterday. In fact, I had perhaps the best day I've had in months. I had been fairly unhappy over my job and making the decision to leave, especially since I was doing so well there...I wasn't depressed...just fairly unhappy. Yesterday I had one of those days that went so smoothly and so perfectly that by the time I got home I was just elated. Interview number one went well - this was my second interview with this company. The office manager did all the interviews then narrowed it down to three candidates and had each of us come back to interview with the owner. After that interview was done I went to one of the wireless carriers to inquire about opening an account and porting our existing numbers over to this company since I don't have wireless service in my area with the company I was working for, despite the fact that there is a brand new big-ass cell tower that I can see from the top of my street. I was pleased with their plans, the coverage, etc...in some ways they were better that what we currently have! I left there happy.

I ran some errands to kill time before my next interview. I was kind of dreading that one because the company sells an uninteresting product. I had in the back of my mind that the job wouldn't be enjoyable if the product was ho-hum. Much to my surprise, as I walked through the door I felt a weight lift...as I looked around the lobby, I just felt like I was in the right place. I had to fill out some paperwork before they had me come in to the interview - after speaking with them for about an hour, I was so excited about the possibility of this job. I went in there thinking there was no way I'd be the right fit there yet left there hoping out of all the candidates interviewed, that I might be the right person for the job. I feel like I am the right person for the job...I just hope they agree. It wasn't till I left there that I realized we didn't discuss money - I have no idea what the job pays and at the moment I'm not overly concerned about it. I left there feeling happy...truly happy. I got to my car, saw I had a missed call, checked it and it was some good news from a friend. Perfect ending to a busy day. I swung by to pick up Chinese take out on the way home, came home and had a nice dinner with the husband. Was happy all evening long.

One last thing to mention...I don't think I told you Shania had fallen down the stairs perhaps a month or two ago. It was in the middle of the night. I had woken up because I heard her walking around. I heard her take a couple of steps then lose her footing and she slid down the remainder of the stairs. She was fine...just shaken up, but it broke my heart. I couldn't sleep after that. Every time I started to doze off, I'd dream about Daicey falling down the stairs, which was the final straw before we lost her. Her cancer had taken much of her mobility in one of her back legs - after she fell down the stairs, she deteriorated quickly. We had to let her go a few days later. Shania, fortunately, was completely unharmed by the fall...except that she is afraid to do the stairs alone now. She won't go up or down them in the dark unless you turn a light on for her. If it's not quite light or dark out...you know, early evening or early morning, she will stand by the stairs and whimper until you come to the stairs. Once you're by the stairs she will go up or down. It's a psychological thing...she somehow feels safer if one of us is by the stairs to witness her on them. Little does she know I was right there at the stairs the moment Daicey fell, and it all happened so quickly, there was nothing I could do to help my little angel. At any rate, Shania seems to avoid the stairs unless one of us is present. Poor little thing!

March 26, 2007

Believe it or not, I will have a new set listed today. At this point I don't know if Bill will list it, or if I will list it. If you haven't noticed, he does descriptions that are short and to the point (i.e. green beads measuring 4x6mm) while I leave overly wordy descriptions (i.e. Beautiful beads in lush shades of the rolling Vermont green mountains. These dainty beads measure in at just 4x6mm each.) Technically, we're both saying the same exact thing, just a little differently! In addition to listing the new set I have, our other plans are resumes and cover letters. Yes, we both still need to find jobs. He just needs a job in general...he's going crazy being unemployed. And I just need a job closer to home.

Oh, I got sidetracked...back to the beads: they are encased in thick crystal, they are done in beautiful shades of steel blue and caramel with some earthy frits. Soooo pretty! It's a big set too. Be sure to check it out. I have to run...just wanted to give you a quick update. Hope you have a great week. Send us lots of great vibes in our job hunting!

March 24, 2007

I haven't had much time for beads lately...well, I haven't had much time for anything. I'm hunting for a new job closer to home so hopefully I'll have some more free time. It's not that I work too many hours...it's the commute that's killing me. I leave my house at 10:30 in the morning and arrive home at 12:10 in the morning on my new schedule. I know other jobs around here won't pay as well or have as good of benefits, but that's alright. I need to compromise on something in order to be closer to home. I had 2 interviews lined up for Thursday but only one seems promising. If I got this job I would be gone from 7:30am to 5:30pm - I would have weekends off and wouldn't ever have to do nights. She still had one more interview after mine, then she and the owner will narrow down to the final choices and call us back for another interview. I'm optimistic even though the benefits don't even compare to my current job. Oh well, there's a price to pay for happiness, isn't there and I haven't honestly been happy at this job for a long time now. On the plus side about my job, I'm rocking it out on my scores, which means if I had decided to stay, I might have been getting generous quarterly bonuses - even that still isn't worth it to me. I'll keep you posted on my job hunt...keep your fingers crossed because a job closer to home means more time for beads!

I think it's finally spring here. It's been nearly 50 for several days now. I'm so over winter, so I hope spring is here to stay! This is what we call Mud Season around here. Spring isn't a season for Mainer's...it's officially called Mud Season and one look at my driveway and you'll know why. Of course, a true Mainer (which most of you know, I am not) would have said one look at my door yard and you'll know why.

If you haven't checked it out yet, Amazon is having somewhat of a book sale. I just got the email. I haven't ventured over to see if there's anything that interests me. I'll check it out shortly. There's nothing I'd enjoy more on a Saturday morning than buying more books! As if I need more books, but that's beside the point.

One last thing to tell you...I made a set of beads yesterday. I'll try to get them posted on eBay today. Hope you have something fun planned for the weekend!

February 17, 2007

I completely forgot to do the journal last weekend and a couple of you were a tad upset over it...lol...sorry about that! Here's a quick update: Bill is still searching for a job, I am still working the crazy schedule and will switch to a more reasonable one in March, and last but not least, Shania is still cute as a button. We got about a ton of snow this week -- under 3' of snow, but more than 2' of snow. This is the most snow we've gotten in the 5 years we've lived in this town. Bill had to snowblow a path for Shania to run in, otherwise her only option is to run in the road and we won't have that with the maniacs that fly up and down this street.

I have a nice long 3 day weekend so I will definitely be making some beads this weekend. Bill made a bunch too. I will try to get some beads listed either tomorrow or Monday. I'll try to get the specials page updated as well. Other than that, there's nothing too exciting on my weekend agenda...finish up taxes, do some laundry, finish reading a book I started eons ago and never finished. Speaking of books, surely you have all pre-ordered your copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, the final installment in the Harry Potter series! If you haven't, go to Amazon.com to preorder it. I've done that for the last few books and the great thing is that the book will be delivered to you one the very day of release so you don't have to stand in lines at bookstores -- it's so convenient. Plus, it's discounted so it costs much less than if you purchased it at a local bookstore.

I'm considering buying a new car in the spring sometime. I juggled between two unreliable vehicles all winter and need something more reliable to get back and forth to work in. This was never an issue when I was home and could walk everywhere all winter, but now that I commute 45 miles each way, it's a real issue. I have never had a new car before and to be entirely honest, have no idea what type of options I have. Of course, I'd love a sexy fast car, like a new Mustang or a Jaguar, but that's completely out of the question...and out of the budget of course...lol. I'm going to be looking for a 4 door vehicle with front wheel drive that gets fairly decent gas mileage. Any of you know of a make of car that meets my needs? I'm hoping I can hold off on looking at cars till perhaps May or so. I'm going to use one of our cars as a trade in and still need to save more money for a downpayment. Oh yeah, and the biggest issue is I cannot take on a vehicle payment until Bill has found a job. Please send lots of good vibes his way...he really needs a job. He's been out of work for 3 months now and is running out of options lest we consider moving. It's all very discouraging...and stressful.

His birthday is coming up and the gift I ordered him hasn't come in yet. Eeeek...it's getting close. I may need to have a backup plan. Any ideas? Alrighty, I have lots to do on my long weekend so I'm going to get to it. Hope you have a great weekend.

January 27, 2007

I hope everyone had a great week. I had a busy one and I'm exhausted today. I'm still sitting here in pj's slacking off as best as possible. Well, alright, not really slacking: doing bills, taxes, emailing customers, etc...then when that's done, doing laundry and running out to do errands. Yikes, there's just not enough time in the week! I only have a few more weeks of this busy schedule before I start my new schedule -- at that point it won't be quite as hectic.

I'm supposed to go out to a show tonight -- my friend is playing at a club but he doesn't go on until about midnight. I'm not sure if Bill and I can stay awake that late...hahahaha! No, really -- that is just late to go out for us. We'll see.

So my idea about the puppies fell through. My sister's in-laws won't have a litter anytime soon so it's back to the drawing board. I have another birthday idea for him. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime I'll still keep an eye out for the right puppy for him.

I don't have anything too awfully exciting to tell you about. Heck, I don't really have anything exciting to tell you about. Monday = work, Tuesday = work, Wednesday = work + out to dinner with Bill, Thursday = work + appointment after work, Friday = work. Wednesday while we were out to dinner we ran into the Canadian contractor that trains the position Bill had at his previous job. He was down here training the people the mill hired to replace Bill. Notice I said people not person. Yes. They hired THREE people to replace Bill. Of those three people, two have quit already and the third one is not working out. Serves them right for being such jerks to Bill.

Bill had an interview this week. Please send tons of good vibes that he gets this job. It's one he really wants. He left the interview feeling confident so I really hope it pans out for him. He's been out of work for a good long time now so we're getting really antsy for him to find something. Mom called today to see if we needed money -- I'd just gone through all our bills and we're in good shape, but we certainly can't afford for him to be out of work for too much longer! Yikes...it's been a long time. He's beginning to go stir crazy! So please send good vibes his way!

Okay, off to get some other stuff done. Have a great weekend!

January 21, 2007

Another week has flown by and I think I'm doing pretty well squeezing in time to make beads and list them on eBay! I have one new set posted and a couple sets of Bill's too. I have some relists up with nice low prices so be sure to check those out too. I made beads yesterday but those are for a SOMC so you won't get to see them. It's all I can do to keep up for now, so no new SOMC subscribers for a while. Once my new schedule kicks in in March I might have the time but not right now.

We almost got a new puppy, against my will. I'm not ready for a new dog yet. Bill is. We have known for a number of years now that we will get a jack russell when the time comes. Wouldn't you know it, the girl I have been catching a ride with on snowy days has 2 jack russell puppies she's selling. Strangely enough, we got our Daicey and Shania from her husband years ago, in fact, Shania was his dog originally but he took ill and had to get rid of her -- she went from family to family until we found her. So now it is 7 years after we got Shania and we have come full circle and run into Randy again since he's married to someone I work with! So anyway, they have the two puppies. One is a tiny little short haired bugger...the other is a bit bigger and he is long haired. I love the little tiny short haired guy, while Bill loves the long haired guy. So anyway, Friday it snowed so Bill was dropping me off at their house to catch a ride in to work. On the way there we discussed it and I said I wasn't ready for a puppy yet and that I don't think we can afford it. Bill has been out of work for 8 weeks now (and unable to collect unemployment due to his lying, cheating employer) and so money is very tight right now. Plus, we have my car in the shop and that's going to be a hefty bill when we finally get to pick it up so financially, buying a puppy right now is out of the question. But they said we could borrow a puppy overnight if we wanted to help our decision along. Again, I say no puppy, but Bill really wanted one. So I head out to work Friday morning while Bill stays behind to discuss it with Randy. Apparently he leaves with a puppy. I know Bill...I was certain he'd not just left with a puppy that day, I was certain he'd left with the little short haired guy I liked so much. How else was he going to sway my nay to yay?! Yup, sure enough, that's what happened. Want to see the cute little guy:

Pretty cute, eh?! So I'm sure you're thinking we are the proud new owners of a little puppy by now. We are not. Apparently, the little guy was far too much work for Bill alone all day Friday while I was at work. The little guy got into everything since we weren't planning to get a puppy yet we hadn't puppy-proofed at all. Shania wasn't crazy about him and played too rough with him. And in the end, I think Bill knew we couldn't afford the price of the puppy at this moment. So the puppy went back to Randy when Bill picked me up Friday evening. I must admit, I was sad he had to go.

But I'm not entirely a big meany! I have a plan. Bill doesn't read the journal so I'll just tell you. (Note to Bill: if you have happened to read this far for some strange reason, go away...stop reading...I have something private to say to everyone else. It's a girl thing ;-) LOL...that's sure to scare you away!)

Okay, now that I'm sure he's not reading, I am going to see about getting him a jack russell for his birthday, which is coming up at the end of February. (PS don't mention this in any emails to me either -- he sometimes loads my email for me midweek!) My sister has an in-law that is a jack russell breeder. We may not be able to get a dog in time for his birthday but he could get an IOU. At any rate, we would know the dogs background and history and it would buy me some time to be able to afford the things a little doggy needs: a crate, shots, neutering, etc. I think right now the timing was just off. I'm sure Shania would adjust to a new dog, but we weren't ready to make the transition with her just yet. At the end of February I will be approaching the time when I go to my new schedule at work where I will have more time on my hands to spend at home with the doggies. Mom said she go in half with me on the cost of a new doggy for Bill's birthday. I'll keep you posted on this of course. For now I'll leave you with another picture of the little guy. They call him Uno because he has only one spot. He sure is a cutey-pie, but I'm relieved we don't have a new pooch just yet! So here's another picture of him...I'll post another one on the Home page as well. Have a great week!

January 13, 2007

Whew...what a busy week. Monday was horrible weather -- sleet, slush and snow on the commute to work...coming home it was, honest to God, glare ice almost the entire trip home. The drive was the most treacherous drive ever (keeping in mind I lived at a ski resort for 7 years where it was no big deal to get 3' regularly -- this was far worse than that as far as driving is concerned). That was day one. By Wednesday, the commute was a breeze. Actually, this is the exact route I take to get to the hair salon and the big grocery store so it's by no means, out of the way but day one I had thought I'd tire of it quickly yet instead it seems to go by much quicker. Day one was long and drawn out because it was all the boring HR policies. Yaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnnn! Oh, did I mention that day three my car broke down. Har! Actually, I was pulling into the driveway after work when it died. It won't be fixed for 2-3 weeks because they don't sell the part -- the computer needs to come out of the vehicle and go back to Ford, they'll replace a chip in it and send it back, then the mechanic said it just takes a few minutes to install. So anyway, in the meantime I've been driving the Mustang, so Monday I'm catching a ride in with someone else since the Mustang is useless in the snow and the forecast calls for a decent snowstorm. Heck, I wouldn't make it off my own street in the Mustang in the snow.

For now, on the nice days I'll take the 'Stang and on the crappy days I'll either catch a ride in with Brandi, or if she isn't going in the same day as me I can either have Bill drive me in or I can spend the night before at my FIL's house or my nephew's house. It's only for a few weeks till my car is fixed -- how many days can it snow in the coming weeks? Hopefully very few!

Oh so, the job -- are you hoping to hear I hate it and intend to quit? Sorry, but I love it so far! I only work this hectic schedule until March and then I move to a better schedule where I'll have a tad bit more time for all things beady! I like the people I've met so far and the company truly seems like a great place to work.

So about beads...
I have just listed 3 new sets on the specials page and I'm going to list a couple of new things on eBay as well. I'll try to list a few new sets of Bill's either Tuesday or Thursday. He has a gorgeous set waiting to be photographed and listed but I doubt I will get to that today. So be sure to check out the new stuff this weekend or early in the week or so. I'll chat with you again next weekend! Have a great week!

January 5, 2007

This is it guys...my last journal entry until next weekend...unless Bill decides to update it midweek some time. I just can't commit to updating midweek because it will be 7:30pm or later by the time I get home (depending upon the weather of course) and by the time I have dinner it will be quite late to sit down to the computer to work on the journal so I'm planning to only update it on the weekends for the next 8 weeks while I'm in the training process at work. After the 8 weeks is up I'll likely get a schedule that frees me up one or more of the weekdays. I'll keep you posted of course!

As for beads, I have one amazing, fantastic set to post today. My favorite set in a very long time! Don't miss it. I'll post it later this afternoon. I have about a zillion things to do today, but I promise to get to posting that set. I'd hoped to do it yesterday but it was late by the time I got home.

Over the weekend, my grand plan is to pair up outfits for the week and line them up in my closet. I'm never that organized, but it's been so long since I had to get out of the house and to work at a given time that I just don't want to take any chances with it on the first week. Even my last job before this one, when I was a Conference Sales Manager at a resort, I didn't have to be there at a certain time. If nothing pressing was going on that day, I strolled in around 8am or if there was a specific event going on I would get in earlier for that. I suppose since I worked 7 days a week and normally over 12 hours a day I wasn't too worried about what time I got there. I was essentially there for almost every waking hour...lol. I kid you not! It was nothing for me to stay in the office till midnight, go home with a stack of files, work at home for a few hours, go to bed in the hopes of getting 3 hours of sleep, get up, go back to work. Keep in mind I was in my 20's then and at that age I could handle working those ridiculous hours...not anymore! Luckily I won't be able to do that with this new job. Then Sunday I'm heading out of town to Rome (Rome, Maine) for a baby shower -- my nephew's wife is having another baby. One of my sister's is coming up from RI for it -- Mike's mom. I might drag Bill along since Diane will have her beau with her -- he has family in Maine too so they're going to the shower first, then heading east to the Bangor area to see his family. But the poor guy will be there with a bunch of women so I'm trying to drag Bill along to hang out with Steve. Rome is close to Augusta, so they can head down to Home Depot or Circuit City or some other store that appeals to men...lol!

I haven't checked email since yesterday morning so if you're waiting for a response from me I will get to it in a little bit. With Bill home I kind of have to duke it out with him to get a chance to use the computer. Alrighty, time is flying by and I have lots to do today! Check the auctions later today for the new set. Have a great weekend. I'll tell you all about my new job next weekend!

January 3, 2007

Sorry I'm so late in getting the journal up. I completely forgot about it. I have been a bit preoccupied over Bill's unemployment hearing, which took place yesterday, and the excitement/nervousness of getting ready for a new job. As for Bill, he won't know anything further for several more weeks -- and he's not getting his hopes up because we all know that crooked, dirty employers can outscam all the honest joe's like Bill. I'm stumped over what to plan for dinner tonight and a tiny bit stumped over what to make at the torch today. I feel like my head is going to burst...hahahaha!

I do have one nice set to post today...and I think I might even have some spacers or something of Bill's to post. He made some beads yesterday just to get into the swing of things...but I assure you, he wasn't making complex beads like Moroccan's! Give him a week or so, then he'll be back into the groove of things!

I don't think I'll do a journal tomorrow. I have an appointment in the morning so I probably won't have the time to do the journal. Bill told me that he'll probably want to update the journal once or twice midweek for me -- and I can update it once a week or so to let you know how I'm doing in my new job and keep you up to date on when I have new beads. I sorted out my studio so things weren't so haphazard when Bill sits down to the torch. It's unbelievable how many fun glass goodies I have amassed over time. I hadn't realized how many colors of frits and shards I have collected! Some I don't think I've ever even used! Eeeek!

Alrighty, it's getting late and I really need to get to the torch! Hope you have a great day. Sorry for being so scatterbrained so far this morning. Perhaps a nice walk on this sunny day will help clear my head!

January 2, 2007

Happy New Year! Wow, what an eventful few days. The Saddam execution, the UFO sighting at O'Hare (okay, so it's news from November, but it's just making CNN.com now) and the New Year....an eventful couple of days I'll say. Of course we didn't do anything for the New Year. In fact, Bill sat on this computer playing his games and I sat on the ancient computer, quite possibly playing Minesweeper, or I could have been in the living room reading. I'm rereading Pride and Prejudice. I'm rereading it because maybe last weekend or so I'd watched the movie (the newest version with Kiera Knightly) several times and you can only rewatch a movie so many times so I grabbed the book and started rereading it. Of course I have several other Jane Austen books in my library that I haven't read yet, but no, I end up picking up one I've already read. I've always enjoyed Sense and Sensibility more than Pride and Prejudice. It's kind of funny to me -- anytime anyone makes a movie based on an Austen novel, they are always serious love stories, but I always think of her books more as romantic comedies. Who's going to make a movie with Ben Stiller, Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler in it? Okay, maybe not that much comedy...perhaps Debra Messing and ummm, I can't think of a good funny guy who's not so SNL-over the top.

Yesterday we ventured out for oxy but the shop wasn't opened so we planned to run up again later but later never came. Somehow, we both got involved in projects and before you know it, it was 3 o'clock. We got a lot accomplished though...just no beads. I worked in the library. He worked in the kitchen. Kids seem to love our library. There is a big bay window and this is where I hide the toys. We have no children and have no need for toys, yet somehow, we end up with toys (Emily's) -- strangely, any time a child comes into this house, they make their way to the library and discover the toys. Other than that, we hardly use this room except to store books. The other day a friend came over and her son went straight to the library to play. It was when his Mom went in there to scoop him up to leave that I realized I had really neglected this room. I had a pile of fabric in one spot, piles of books in another, and some random plastic army men on the floor from kids playing. So I reamed the room out. I'm so thrilled I did because it looks awesome now. I used to have a coffee table in the bay window with a bunch of plants on it, but since that room is drafty in the winter, I had Bill moved the table and plants into one of the living room bay windows a few weeks ago so this spot was entirely empty. I moved the bench into the window, which makes for a quaint window seat now. Now I will just need to sew up a cushion for the bench. It's one of those storage benches. I store stuff like photo albums, scrapbooks and yearbooks in there, so I sorted that out a bit to make room for all the toys. Yippeee...finally out of sight! I moved one of the shelves and other furniture in there around, had Bill hang some frames I'd been meaning to hang and the room looks great now. I have one more thing going on the wall for now but we don't have the brackets we need for it. When my grandmother sold her house we'd all gone and cleaned out her basement and in there were a pair of wooden skiis of Grandpa's. He couldn't have used them but a couple of times -- they are in almost pristine condition and they are gorgeous. Seeing that Bill and I met while we worked at a ski resort, it didn't seem right to let these go into a dumpster so they came to Maine where they will hang on a wall in my library. Aside from the skiis, there is generally a Mexican/Religious type of theme going on in this room. I suppose this room doesn't really stick to the old farmhouse style of the house but I have a real fondness for religious icons, Kahlo-esque, and Day of the Dead so when we started working on the library, I decided I'd do the room with these things. So far so good.

Bill worked in the kitchen...not on the kitchen. As most of you know, we're in the midst of a kitchen remodel, but with him out of work, that's taken a back burner. He's still puttering on things that don't require a trip to Home Depot but any major expenses need to wait for a while. So anyway, I wanted the hutch and the baker's rack put back into the kitchen so he worked on that and hung some undercounter gadgets I'd wanted hung. With these 2 pieces of furniture in place I am finally starting to see how the room will look when it's done. Of course, the moment it's done I'll be posting pictures.

Well, I better get a move on. I'll be back later to post a new set on eBay. Have a great day!

December 29, 2006

Mom and Dad gave me a book for Christmas -- it was tagged as being from Mom and Dad, but surely as in every home in America, Mom does the shopping and Dad has no clue what he gave as gifts. Anyway....I got this book by Steve Doocy, the guy on Fox and Friends. The title of the book is: The Mr & Mrs Happy Handbook - Everything I know About Love and Marriage. I hadn't heard of the book so I wasn't sure if it was going to be a self-help type of thing or not. I never really thought Bill and I needed a self-help book on marriage because in all honesty, we are great together. Counting the years we lived together before getting married, we have been together for just a smidgen over 12 years. In 12 years time we have had exactly one fight. Actually, Bill was unaware we had even one fight. I do vaguely recall what we argued over, which seems silly in retrospect...but anyway, we couldn't agree and I snapped at him. Shortly after he left the house. It was our first official "fight" and I was sure I'd gone too far and he was leaving me -- where else could he have gone to? I was in tears when he arrived back home with an armful of mail from the post office and a couple of bags of groceries. Apparently he wasn't leaving me, he was running errands. He sees I'm in tears and asks why. I tell him it's because of our fight and I thought he was leaving. He burst into a fit of laughter. He said, "You call that a fight? That's not a fight."

Doocy's book is really just a series of his opinions on marriage and opinions of his friends on marriage, some of which are celebrity friends. The book is hysterically funny -- I couldn't put it down and managed to breeze through it in two evenings. Embedded within the humor there are plenty of morsels of info on how to have the perfect marriage.

It's funny how everyone has an opinion about what makes a marriage work. I have discovered that there is no right or wrong way to do it -- you have to ignore what everyone else says and do what works for you and your mate. The reason I say this is because some of the most well known nuggets of info aren't always true. Before Bill and I got married, I was out for brunch with a couple of girlfriends in the city. We were talking relationships and the topic of politics and religion and how they affect a relationship came up....oh, the topic of money and relationships came up too. Both of them insisted that if you don't agree on politics and religion, your relationship won't work. In the past I might have agreed with them, but having lived with Bill for perhaps 6 years or so at that point in time, I knew with complete certainty that we had made it thus far even though we disagreed on politics and religion. We like talking politics and world news. We don't see eye to eye on many aspects, but it doesn't affect our relationship in any way. For us, I think the key is respect -- when his opinion differs from mine, I can respect his opinion. I don't have to agree with it. I can debate him on it but in the end, he still doesn't need to see it my way. Same with religion -- he's not really a believer in organized religion mostly because he thinks a church service is boring. Despite that, he has agreed that if we have children, he will attend Mass with us and will help to raise them Catholic. He also attends Mass on holidays just like any other good cafeteria Catholic does (myself included).

Another one of those commonly known "facts" that isn't always true for all people is this: Don't Sweat the Small Stuff. I am a firm believe in Don't Sweat the Small Stuff. But a good friend of mine who is happily married believes in DO Sweat the Small Stuff. She says if it bugs you early on, it won't get better. I can see her point of view in a way. My point is, just because it works for someone else, doesn't mean it will work for you and your mate. I am no expert...I have only been married 5 1/2 years, but I figure we're doing something right since we have made it through 12 years together so far. I figure we're doing something right because we never fight/argue (although we do bicker over petty things that end up in laughter -- I'll tell you more about this in a minute). I figure we're doing something right because we basically spend all of our time together -- remember that for several years he worked with me so we were together 24 hours a day, every day and we still enjoyed being together. We are, in many ways, like an old married couple.

Oh, so about the bickering. To an untrained eye, it would seem we do "fight". My mother finds it humorous that Bill can get me riled with no effort whatsoever, all the while he sits back smirking knowing he will get a reaction out of me. For example, he will wait till company is here and he'll comment that he's stuck eating take out because I never cook. You all know I love to cook -- I cook every day. He makes these comments for the sake of laughter but my reflexes kick in and I get defensive -- just the reaction he was hoping for that ends up with both of us laughing. Another example, again, when company is here -- if we're planning to order out pizza or something, I'll ask Bill what he wants and he will toy with me until I end up rolling my eyes and mumbling under my breath about his indecisiveness, which is the precise response he was waiting for. He ends up laughing, but surely our company thinks we bicker too much. LOL!

This novella all began because I wanted to tell you about the book I read and my opinions about marriage since that's what the book is about. It's a good, quick read. Oh, my last comment (aka opinion) about marriage is this: some people say marriage is a lot of work...I do believe that to be true for most people, but have been fortunate to be blessed with a spouse who makes marriage no work at all. (Although I'm sure I am a lot of work from his point of view. You'll have to ask him!) But really, I rarely find marriage any work at all. Somehow we just click with little to no effort at all. In many ways, I think I am blessed with the perfect spouse. Hooray for me!

Unfortunately, my perfect spouse is unemployed at the moment so I can't sit here chit chatting any longer. It's off to work I go! Be sure to check back later for the new listing! I'll try to post it on eBay early afternoon. Have a great weekend!

December 28, 2006

(If you haven't read my journal in a bit, it's very important that you read the entry for December 19th.)

I won't have any new beads to list today, but will have some to list tomorrow. By the time I got back from my appointment yesterday, packed packages, ran to the post office and bank, it was so late in the day I didn't quite have time to make beads. So instead I did photos of the beads to be listed, got them listed, then it was time to make dinner. We had an easy dinner of pancakes, sausage and eggs. I'd roamed the grocery store and nothing appealed to me so that's how we ended up with pancakes. Actually, I lie. There were some beautiful cuts of beef that appealed to me but were way out of my price range. I'm not a big beef eater, but we had prime rib at Mom's for Christmas that was so delicious that I'd love to have just a little bit more, but alas, the leftovers are in RI and I am here in Maine...LOL!

My new dinnerware set was loaded into the dishwasher yesterday and now I am eager to use them. They look so pretty. I'm working on talking Mom into choosing a Noritake pattern for herself. She has a set of antique Noritake dinnerware that belonged to Grandma, but there is some headaches associated with it as one family member insists they are hers and not Mom's. Each and every holiday it takes all the joy out of using them. I told Mom to pick out a new pattern and we could all chip in and buy her pieces for each holiday until her set is complete. It would be her very own set that she could someday pass on to her only granddaughter, Pandora. It would also alleviate a few of the headaches associated with using the set from Grandma. I just hope she lets me tag along to help her choose her pattern since I just love shopping for dinnerware. If it wouldn't entail dealing with Bridezilla's, I would have made a great wedding registry associate at some upscale store! Long before Bill and I got married, I had my china pattern picked out -- it too was a Noritake pattern: Montbello. We had a small wedding but many of our guests had to travel quite a way to get there, then there is the cost of staying in Newport, RI in the middle of the busy tourist season, so I chose not to register for gifts since many of our guests were already shelling out a good deal of money just to attend, which was more important to us to begin with! So anyway, I figured that I would begin picking up pieces of my chosen pattern then in a few years time I would have my set. Well surely you can imagine what direction this story goes in...time passed and I never began collecting my pattern...and by the time we were settled well enough to afford it, they'd retired it. Ah well, it wasn't meant to be. Sure, I could watch Replacements.com and complete the set that way, but I just think it will be easier to pick a new pattern someday and go from there. At the moment, my new floral dinnerware will fit the bill anytime we need fancy dinnerware. Plus I think Bill would freak out if I started another dinnerware collection anytime too soon. If he had his way we'd be eating on chipped, mismatched plates every day of the year!

Alrighty, time is flying by and I really ought to get to work. Counting today, only 7 workdays left before I leave this job and start my new one! Eeeeek! On that note, have a good day!