chuggin' along

mid-november...nothing exciting going on. making it thru the craft fair season and sliding into the holidays.

did a craft fair this past weekend. excuse me...holistic fair. i'm pretty accepting of all sorts of folks but there were some interesting characters at this one! quite interesting. i'd never met a "Gong Master" before or met people for whom "gaming" is a way of social life.

eh. whatever. different strokes, man.

made new soaps a few weeks back -- including lime margarita, cranberry oats, and a dupe of clarins' tonic, which i renamed "soylent green." added some soybean oil and some soy flour/milk and got a little cheeky. :)

have two more fairs to go and then production for spring/summer starts again. i also need to find a boatload of fairs for the spring.

oh. and yes.we.did.

election day 2008

it's finally here!!!!!!!

get out and vote for barack obama!!! he's the only politician in my lifetime that has provided inspiration and hope. let's change the world today. :)

argh

trying to update and i've gone and mucked it up!

only 18 of 56 squares done...i need to get shaking on that afghan.

new job started nearly a month ago. love the position, love the people, love the company. it could all go tits up in this wacky economy and i'll have to figure out what to do then. but...it's better to be using my brain than as bored as i was at old position. altho having a hard time adjusting to new schedules and finding a rhythm in my daily life!

have been trying to keep up with craft fairs and the like and doing well with the soap biz. it's a little much this fall, what with new job, but i suspect the funds will help pay bills around january or february. it's always been my mad money. kind of depressing it's needed to pay for stuff this year. :(

last weekend we went to the flat track races in brockton, MA, and damn near froze to death. was good to see the gang. :)

have a bunch of craft fairs in november/december and because i've been so busy with other stuff, i'm a little behind in having product ready. i'm going to have to make soap this weekend (i rarely make it in the fall...but that's how crazy i've been!)

my gardens haven't been touched since mid-august. i'm going to have a mess back there and hope to work one or two days (soon) to button them up!

have to get better about updating :)

figure i should post updates on my mundane life. :)

working on finishing a few little projects around the house (like finishing the dining room project i started in february). it was too hot to work in the gardens this past weekend (and honestly, i was too afraid there'd be a snake making it's presence known to me) so i did a little painting, a little housework, a little knitting (five squares done for the afghan i started last weekend...only 58 to go).

have to start thinking about making some soap for the fall and adding some fragrances to the list. i think i pared back a wee bit too much and need some scents that are dazzling! thinking about getting into EO blending but i'm so incompetent with the complex blends i prefer that it might be safer to stay with the lovely fragrances i adore. (call me a scent slut, it's okay...and true).

finally finished...

it's only been a year or so and she's finally off the needles! this is a pretty mercerized cotton sweater with one of the funkiest lace stitches...took me HOURS to figure it out.





i've already started an afghan - two nephews are getting married next year and i need to give them something from the heart. :)

lots and lots of flowers coming from the gardens. life is good!

major life changes

okay...so stable job isn't so stable. :/

position being moved. number of miles doubles, but because we're talking boston, it's about 4.5-5 hours a DAY to commute. :(

so, we're looking for jobs. have sent out more resumes in the past five days than i think i have over my entire career. and the sad part is i think i'm having fun doing this! of course it couldn't come at a worse time as the economy stinks but for hard workers, there's always a place.

(hey, if you know of anyone looking for someone in NH...drop me a line!)

i have several weeks before all of this goes down, so i'm begging for good juju and candles and vibes and mojo and heck, even prayers. not that i can't commute to boston, but it seems like such a waste of resources (ie. gas/oil and me!)

it's been forever since i've updated. in the meantime, i've been to colorado via amtrak (and back, thankfully) and am back at work after over two weeks' vacation. my head is still out to lunch despite being physically present. :)

have to get crackin' on making some soap....have an order for gardener's soap and need to replenish a little stock and prep for fall. it's been a while so it'll feel good to get back in the soapin' saddle, so to speak.

more in a bit. :)

hannah's new toys

our sweet hannah came to live with us in may, 2007. she spent at least the spring and part of the summer living under a bed. she's now got full run of the upstairs, and since christmas has been coming downstairs each night for some kibble and treats. last night she discovered a box in the hallway full of peanuts. she also discovered that the peanuts are amazing toys, and the box is an excellent place to hang out and wait for an unsuspecting cat to waltz right by her. (this is when i feel badly about marshall being blind...altho he's pretty darned tuned in to where any of the other kittehs are!)

here's ms. banana looking rather potato-y...despite being a little six-pound cat. granted, it's six pounds of fury some days!

and here's my sweet ms. banana and the fruits of her labor from last evening.

officially sick of snow

today's winter wonderland of snowfall.
officially tired of shoveling.



.

mid-winter blahs

i feel like being at home and pulling a "bea" today:

cabin fever

have to keep remembering this is JUST around the corner. ;)

i'm getting itchy to weed (which i do precisely once...in the spring when the cabin fever is soooo bad and then i realize how crappy a job it is to do!)

thinking of doing some vegetable gardening this year, tho. last year...not much happened with it 'cept a few tomatoes and a boatload of cayenne peppers.

happy VD

moar humorous pics

pigs and snow

travelled up to the north country over the weekend and amoungst various things, the husband did some sliding (and snow-bank slamming) with his niece and gave some love to the piggies - they love getting back scratches, too!

blah blah blah weather

ice pellets, slush falling from the sky, great puddles of mashed potato "snow."

i love this time of year.

totally discouraged about the soap biz. first time EVER. need to get back on track and makes some sales. don't want to become a doom'n'gloom naysayer. ;) need to find some new outlets and create my gameplan for 2008. i'm behind in my planning for the year so i have to get moving!!!!!!!

but there are so many things i want to do, and so little time.

my first blog post

wow.

jumping right in with both feet.

last weekend i picked up three incredible antique sewing machines - two old singers and a deluxe/imperial. i canNOT find info on this dang machine to save my life. i've spend hours looking.

argh

anyhoo...here are pics of the 3 machines:

this one is a 1926 model 128. works but i need to find a bobbin and shuttle to give it a real workout. really cool machine in outstanding condition.

the one above is a 1956 model 99 and is a real beauty of a machine. holy cow. i just sewed thru four layers of oiled canvas and it didn't put up so much as a squeak. 

the one below is a canadian machine (the deluxe/imperial zig zag). damned if i can find more details on it. just spent 30 minutes cleaning it up and it's gorgeous. sews okay, altho i'm going to have to mess a bit with the tension to get it right.

hope to resell these...altho the model 99 has impressed me incredibly. maybe my featherweight needs company. ;)