Intense

Is everyone else having an intense month riddled with anxiety…..or is it just me? Two eclipses and Mercury going into retrograde is a little much for me….geez!

I dropped my car off Monday night for an oil change and to fix whatever was making my car loud. It turns out it was the pipe that goes from the muffler to the pipe that comes out of the catalytic converter. It wasn’t cheap but it wasn’t horrible either. Negative Nancy took me to my car Tuesday after work. I have never been in a car that smelled so bad. I thought I was going to asphyxiate on the way there. How can you not smell that? You can rescue all of the animals in the world and that’s great…..but clean up after them. Thankfully M took me to work earlier that day.

The owner of the shop was nice enough to let me take my car on Tuesday night and bring back payment the next day. We aren’t related but we have a mutual cousin so we’re almost related. I stopped at my credit union on my way home on half day Wednesday to take out some money and they were closed for training. Thankfully I have more than one savings account. I had to go back to the town I just drove through only to be stuck at my bank for twenty five minutes. I don’t normally go to this branch and now I remember why. It didn’t help any that some guy in front of me was depositing 1,000.00 worth of rolled change. I really had to work to get my money to pay for my car.

That was a lot to handle after working a four and a half  hour shift with three doctors. Two girls checking in 54 people in three hours. Talk about anxiety! Our last patient is scheduled at 11 and we didn’t leave until 12:30. With this new doctor I guess this will be the new norm on half day Wednesday.

Once that long drawn out task at my bank was complete I stopped at home and picked up the girl. I had to take her bank to change her saving account over from custodial to student savings and checking. That went much better and quicker. She successfully paid for her first semester of college today. We can worry about books tomorrow….I am only one person.

We have a mailbox spider problem at our house. I have put peppermint oil in the mailbox. I have repeatedly removed webs and thoroughly doused the mailbox with commercial cleaners. It seems to be impervious to my methods as well as ferociously large. This picture does not do it justice…..it’s huge!

My aunt and my cousin sent me a surprise package today and I strategically removed it from the mailbox with minimal dancing around. I can’t believe what they sent me! I have always wanted to do this….even while be uncertain about throwing my DNA into some genetic bank somewhere. I did it though….my spit is in a vial, it is sealed in the provided envelope and ready to be sent in tomorrows mail. My dad’s side is pretty cut and dry so it’s my mom’s side I am curious about. It’s time to see if my great,great,great grandfather really was a full blooded Native American, or if it was just a tall tale. I will know in 6-8 weeks…I hope. I never found one record to substantiate that claim so I never truly believed it. My Grandmother’s people celebrated the New Year with First Footing so I am guessing there is a touch of Scottish in me as well.What a nice out of the blue surprise.  My cousin said they did it because I was the keeper of family memories. Maybe some of the family really does appreciate the family history presents? It gives me something to look forward to at the moment.

I have been filling some book page pumpkin and witch hat orders and that is taking up a lot of my time. I am almost caught up and that’s a good thing. While I have been making I am listening to a book that I really enjoyed the first time around. They are making it into a television series and Deborah Harkness’s Facebook page is brewing up new excitement. I have forgotten how much I love these characters….

It’s a trilogy so I will have plenty to listen to while I make,make,make…..Zia

 

Glitter Season

Glitter season has begun at my house this week. I can’t believe how popular the witch hats are right now. I am so surprised. I bought the last nine on the shelf at the craft store today. This time when they are all sold, they are sold out! I will send pictures later. I plan on setting up the fold up table in the living after dinner so I can watch Game of Thrones and still be productive. Witch hats (the first 6)  and fairy jars should be done tonight.

Friday night was book club and on my drive there after stopping at a stop sign….all the way I might add…since it was ‘that’ stop sign and my car got really loud when I accelerated. The muffler is new from last year so it’s not that and it seems to be on my side of the car. I must have a hole in the exhaust somewhere. It’s so embarrassing. I’m going to have to drop it off Monday or Tuesday. Son of a Beehive! Oh well, it is what it is and I just have to deal with it. The car needs an oil change anyway.

SB and I made plans for next weekend. We are going the the artisan festival we attend every year and we will have a celebratory birthday breakfast before we go. I can finally give her the poncho and a few other things I made. We also made plans on the holiday weekend to can sauce. I promise to pay more attention to out ingredients this year. 🙂 Pictures will follow on both of those occasions.

Yesterday I went to a bunch of garage sales along a state route with RD. The first stop was the best but we still had fun searching. My favorite buy was this old book from 1951, it cost a dollar.

I found another crocheted  dish cloth for 25 cents. I have become a hoarder of these and I think I may be up to ten now. I never want to run out and be forced to use a store bought wash cloth in the kitchen ever again.

I took a picture of this antique wheel chair, I am pretty sure he said world war one?

If I believed in those step trackers then yesterday would have been over the top steps. We walked  many miles yesterday.

I purchased a few other things, I will post pictures as I fix them up. It wasn’t a crazy amount of stuff. I got home in time to change my clothes and fix my hair because the girl and I were off to Force of Nature Girl’s husbands surprise party. We stayed a couple of hours, it was fun.

I had  a workshop today and only my aunt showed up. I thought about canceling but decided against it and showed her how to make her own laundry detergent. I am taking a break from the work shops for the next three weeks. I’ll start back up after Labor Day. I have been really bad at posting lately, I will try and be better……Zia

 

Finding My Feet

I quit my waitress job on Sunday and dove right in. While I may be on shaky feet right now, I am sure it will settle down. I made a Facebook page but still am not so sure about Etsy. For me this shipping is the scary part….where will I find boxes that will work? I think an Etsy store may be premature at this point. I made two new projects this week. The first are these cute little book page pumpkins, I have sold two of these….

My next little experiment….book page witch hats which seem to be more popular. I have sold five of these….

I thought the pumpkins were cuter….I guess that shows how much I know.

Last night I was on wool overload.  I wasn’t sure that MH would be able to help me work on my ponchos today so I procrastinated on cutting the wool. Big mistake! She was able to help today and I was up until 12:30am this morning. I was not bright eyed and bushy tailed at 5:40 am when my alarm started going off.

It was totally worth it in the end. She is a master wool smith and she helped me make my very own poncho. She charges a lot for these, I can’t remember the price but it’s more than $75.00. I would never spend that on myself for something to wear. The purple one is mine and the fall colored one may end up being the girls…or a gift? I haven’t decided yet. I have three more to cut. These are the ones I did today. I serged everything except the collar. Thankfully she took pity on me and did that part..whew!

I will be more picky with my wool finds this year. My goal for next year is to make a blanket like this. MH has created the most beautiful blankets out of upcycled wool. I would much rather have this than something purchased in a store.  I have a plan this time so my wool container will not be overflowing with anything other than felted cut squares so then all I have to do is piece it together. Fingers crossed I can find the wool, it’s getting harder and harder to find.

While she was talking me through my ponchos MH was working on her own projects. Here are a few little dolls she threw together for an upcoming artisan festival.

They are so stinkin’ cute in their ponchos and yoga pants. MH is a wool genius!

I got home just in time to make dinner for my little buddy for our Outlander night. Next week is “the episode”. She has heard us refer to it but she hasn’t read the books so she has no idea what is coming. I think I need to pick a project to do next week so I can half watch and still be productive while not have to acknowledge certain scenes….Oh boy

I haven’t done much else…well at least nothing exciting, right now it’s just make…make…make…..Zia

I’m Out….

One of the things my mother ingrained in me growing up was that I was never…. no matter how bad it was…. quit a job without having a new one. I’m fairly certain she wasn’t referring to the one day a week job.

I went in tonight and waited on one table and left with $13.00, it is not worth my time. That is becoming the norm. I was already in the thought process of quitting when the new kid manager was talking about the party he worked this morning. A manager who takes parties away from the servers….yep that was the final straw. I’ll text the owner tomorrow and while I would like to borrow a line or two from this song lyric, I won’t. I will still make myself available for big parties and Thanksgiving, maybe Easter?

I made more money selling a book page wreath to a stranger today. I am seriously considering an Etsy store. What do you think? I already have the required vendor’s license. If I could sell two wreaths or four book page trees a week I would be fine. Actually, I think I would be fine anyway. This waitress job has paid for my extras. My tattoo, my Reiki classes, my dinners out with friends, car repairs, and other little things. It was nice little job for a while. I was lucky to be working there when the girl graduated, I couldn’t have pulled off her party without the chef. I just think it’s time to start a new chapter and see where it takes me.

The problem with selling to strangers locally is in the delivery. The guy was very nice today and I didn’t get a creep vibe off of him at all. I did find it strange that he asked my daughter if she was my protection and asked me If I brought her in case he was a serial killer? Even with that comment I still didn’t get a bad vibe. We met at a Barnes and Noble around noon, it was pretty public. I also didn’t go straight home, I had a few errands to run so I zig zagged all over town.

One of the places I went was Ace Hardware to buy paint. I have always used regular paint when painting furniture and usually I don’t have a problem. The Cockroach painted the girls dresser once and the girl painted it the next time. Two of the globbiest painters out there. I also bought her some sandpaper to get rid of those globs. My furniture has held up but when I painted them the armoire was in the living room and is a different color than the others. I have no intention of painting this furniture again…..ever! That goes for the girl’s furniture as well. It was a good thing I made $30.00 for a wreath today because this paint was pricey.

KB just used it on her daughter’s dressers and she can’t say enough about it. I have painted a lot of furniture, I will let you know.

When I came home from work I found this on the counter….

“If that was a bath, I hope you remembered the Epsom salts?” were my words.  The girl made a concoction and used it as a carpet freshener. It always feels so good when they pay attention and retain information. I also mentioned that spiders don’t like peppermint….I’m pretty sure on that? I know mice don’t. The girl went to town in the basement and now when you come in through the side door the basement smells like a candy cane. She has been listening during my workshops the last couple of weeks….and she is now using essential oils on her own…it must be working.

The girl and I are cleaning now…the workshops are a great thing for keeping the house clean. Nobody had said they are coming as of yet but you never know and I want to go to PT’s for breakfast tomorrow so I need it done tonight…..Zia

 

 

Something Different

My Wednesday hair appointment was changed to tonight. She will be out of town next Wednesday and I have book club next Friday so it had to be tonight. I was in one of my changing things up moods so I found a couple pictures. I think she is so afraid to make a mistake that she isn’t really listening. All she was hearing is keep the length and I was getting dead fish hair again. It just lays there with no style and I couldn’t take it anymore. I only lost a little in the length on the front but I lost a lot in the back. It’s one of those inverted bobs only longer.

I have one patch of hair that I struggle with everyday. My hair has always been thin and fine so this patch of course hair is throwing me for a loop. It must be my grayest spot. When she styles it it’s barely noticeable.

The other side is normal….

I guess we’ll see if this satisfies my need for change. I was feeling way too frumpy for my liking.

Today was another weird day at work, it wasn’t a bad weird but it was still weird. We left on time on a Friday when the big doctor was in? That’s crazy talk!  I made sure it was okay with the office manager that I leave at 5:30 because I had a hair appointment because the schedule was so scary. I made it to the studio about ten minutes before the second monsoon hit. Talk about timing. It was one powerful cold front. Tomorrow is only supposed to be 73 degrees, I know it’s Ohio but it’s still August. I am not complaining though, it will be a nice break from the humidity…..Zia

Big Hairy Feet

Today I used this story quite a bit…..to keep things in perspective.  When it comes to raising kids all you can do is hope for the best. Sometimes you win some and sometimes you don’t.

I walked into the university yesterday with both kids to meet with a financial aid officer. We were the equivalent of that patient that walks into the doctor’s office without an insurance card.  Bless that man with the pretty ice blue eyes for his patience. 

I knew something wasn’t right when the girl wasn’t getting more monetary help and that is why I made the appointment. It turns out that my income was reported twice, once as mine and once as hers. I brought my 2016 taxes with me, unfortunately they needed my 2015. Using my phone I retrieved my 2015. That sounds easy doesn’t it? Well it wasn’t! I have a book with my passwords in it and that does me no good when I am in a situation like this. I figured it out but I was frustrated by the time I got there. My part is done thank goodness.

Let’s talk about the boy…..when you have a stubborn mule of a child that never fears you it becomes a problem later in life. I had to rip the Apple watch (that has never worked) out of his hands because he wouldn’t stop flicking it. He made inappropriate comments about big business when I asked him to retrieve a copy of his 2015 from the place he filed with. I won’t mention the part where I gave him a filing box to keep this kind of document in case he needed it. When I asked him about it he said “please mom, I burn that shit.” He didn’t have his social security card and doesn’t have the number memorized. He sat there scrolling through his phone instead of paying attention.  I know it’s wrong to want to punch your child in the face but I really wanted to do just that!  I just want to drop him off at his dad’s and say “you fix him….all of these tendencies are from your family!” Plus he fears his dad, maybe it’s really his dad I want to punch in the face. I say these words like I have actually punched somebody, I never have but I have wished I could have yesterday.

I had noticed that the boy had taken off one of his flip flops and was shaking his big hairy foot on his knee. That I saw. What I didn’t see because I was working so hard to find what I needed in the worst light on a small phone was the part where the boy rubbed his big hairy foot along the desk of blue eyes. Are we kidding here? Who scratches their foot on a strangers desk? There isn’t a big enough rock for me to climb under right now.

While I was in FASFA  the night before trying to find my parent account for the girl I found my old account.  I was tired and frustrated and thought why not? Who knows maybe next year I may head back? It could only help my writing, I guess we will see.

When my little buddy was over last night to watch Outlander I made two wreaths while we were watching. One for my little buddy and one that was commissioned. It was then that I decided to make a Facebook page for my crafts. I did okay at one craft show last year, the rest of my sales were from Facebook friends or family.  Why not? I have found myself saying that more and more lately. That really should have been the title to this post but I need you to all understand the depths of my embarrassment…..Zia

 

Oh, That…..

Sometimes I get so behind that I leave myself little time to blog. I think in the beginning I focused more on my emotions and I’m not sure what I would say now? I try and say as much as I can in a short time and things get neglected and left out.  I have to get back on track.

Here’s a sad story….A patient came in for his six month appointment the other day. When he was in six months ago I thought to myself, “it’s been six months since I really worked on my book, I better get on it.” Now it’s been a year since Staughten became Otter my British bartender. This makes me so sad. At the same time I am thinking this is the worst time to realize this. Craft show season is sneaking up on me and Christmas presents? I am way behind in that department as well, tomorrow is August for Pete’s sake. Why do I have to be the person who makes everything? On one hand I am very proud of the things I make and on the other hand I think “woman you must be mad!” I can’t not “make”, it’s such a huge part of who I am so I don’t know why I am whining. This just highlights once again how bad I am at time management.

Do you remember the blowout with the boy over his behavior last week?  Funny thing about that Apple watch that was locked….the seller refunded his money and didn’t want the watch back. Can we say stolen? He is lucky he didn’t lose his money. The funny part is that the boy is wearing the watch.  It doesn’t turn on, it does nothing and yet he wears it. I don’t get it? I think he inherited the materialistic nature of his father.

The boy has also been pushing my buttons about food. They are at their dad’s tonight so I was going to have a PB&J for dinner. There was a monster size jar of peanut butter last week and now it’s gone? I can fix that! I have been trying to cut back on sugar anyway. Now this is what I am buying….no sugar and you have to stir it. I bet this never disappears…..

The girl had a friend over two Fridays ago and I picked them up pizza for dinner. I also picked up a couple of bags of chips. This particular batch of chips was the perfect combination of salt and vinegar. I had the bag sitting on the table while I was doing something in the kitchen and the boy came out of the bathroom and reached his hand in. “Did you wash your hands?” I asked him as he proceeded to roll his eyes at me and said “ya.” I was freshening up my makeup to go somewhere and I always line the sink with a paper towel when I use any makeup for speedy clean up. So I walked into the bathroom and he didn’t wash his hands. I made him take that bag of chips into his room. How rude! I don’t eat many chips anymore and I am a chip person. The fried foods sit like a rock in my belly these days so I generally just have a taste. This time I feel robbed of the rare tastiness of those chips.

Saturday I tried to go back to my old bigger purse. Sometimes it does bother me that I haven’t been carrying. I couldn’t do it, I am not even sure what to say about it.  Maybe if I could find a wristlet that had every front pocket feature of the Baggellini Everyday then maybe I could make it work? I can’t go back to digging through things I don’t need to pull out a big heavy wallet. I have no idea what I am going to do, maybe I will write to Baggellini themselves?

That is all I have at the moment. I am off to shower before Midnight Texas comes on. Is anyone else watching it? I liked the first episode, I hope it continues to hold my interest…..Zia

Packed Like Sardines….

The old house was 816 square feet, this rental house is 1,000. Still not big enough…better, but not enough. I had my Outlander paint and sip today and there were seven of us packed into my kitchen to paint. I bought one of those Sam’s clubs Lifetime fold up tables because I will use it. I passed up a few craft shows last year because I didn’t have my own table. It was $39.9, it has a handle, and I can carry it with limited struggles. Five out of the seven of us sat at this table. If someone had to pee we had to stop because we all had to get up. It was fun though and here is my painting….

She brought the best hostess present….I will wear the heck out of this apron!

My deodorant 101 had two people this week, my aunt and a girl from work who was staying to paint Craigh Na Dun.  I might get a few orders from my coworker? Last week I had one, this week I had two, I guess that’s progress.

Yesterday afternoon I went to PT’s for a paper flower 101. I found a way to use book pages in mine and I think I will make these to sell this fall at local craft shows. Do you think $12.00 is a fair price?

After I brought it home I added some black glitter, I think it needed it. The base is a 10×10 canvas.

This was my first attempt and it took an hour and a half, maybe it will get faster the more I make? Pt whipped up this birthday card for one of her friends….

We discussed making these for Christmas presents. I thought this flower could work as a poinsettia?

The shape of the petal is right, we just need to research a little. It’s a thought? It’s always fun to work on a holiday project with a friend, this will keep us busy for a while.

That pretty much sums up my weekend, if I wasn’t cleaning then I was making something…..Zia

The Leakest Wink

It wasn’t just me today, even the girl couldn’t talk. She referred to her brother as the leakest wink. She also read a sign in a store that said no cell phones as no phone cells. It was me too….. I think I may have even ran a red light? I was stopped at the red light and I thought it turned green? Maybe I just thought it did because all of the oncoming traffic was through? Well….except for that one car who was turning and he did one of my moves with the arms “what are you doing?”  It wasn’t like I dodged an accident or anything, I was lucky.When I looked in the rear view mirror the car behind me was still stopped. I don’t run red lights all willy nilly so I don’t know what my problem was today?

I got out of work late because we had a patient waiting for transport. We close at noon and the transport didn’t get there until 12:45…fun times. I came home after half of my running around because the boy wanted to go to Sam’s Club. I came home to the boy having a hissy fit. He ordered an Apple watch off of eBay and it came locked so he couldn’t use it. The seller didn’t respond right away so he threw a fit. It was so bad that the girl text her dad. One of us was doing it and it was better coming from her. I stand by my statement that I think he should live with his dad for a while. Of course his dad will weasel his way out of that one. I have had it and this was the second time this week. His behavior is unacceptable and I won’t stand for it. It’s not that he is a bad kid because he is not. I don’t know how much of this is deprogramming him from staying with his grandparents too long and how much is anger issues?

On a happier note I received a surprise package from my brother. Happy 4 month early birthday present. I think it bothers him that I only have one cup of coffee in the morning. Sometimes in the Winter months I may have two, I like coffee, I don’t “need” coffee. My brother drinks it all day.

The girl looked at the directions and thinks we may be able to make some iced herbal teas with this as well. We will have to play.

My little buddy came over for dinner and an Outlander like we have been doing on Wednesday nights. It was her first birthday without her mom this past weekend and I remember how much that sucked. I made cavatelli and meatballs, fried green tomatoes in lieu of a salad, and I bought a ho-ho cake to put candles in. It was a nice night.

Monday we had a patient bring these crazy good donuts from a local farm. Normally I can walk away from a morning snack like this, except when it comes to these blueberry donuts.

It gets worse….later that day we had a rep bring lunch. It was from some taco catering place. Holy salt Batman! I refilled my 20oz Yeti with water five times that afternoon.  I only put rice and chicken on my plate and could barely eat half of it. It bothered my stomach the whole next day. Lesson learned there, I should have had peanut butter toast.

I finished up my deodorant 101 workshop handout for this weekend. Maybe I will get more than one person? I hope I do. The most important part of Sunday is the Craigh Na Dun paint and sip.

The girl asked me to take her and get her permit this Saturday….that is a miracle in it’s self. It will be nice to be off that day. A Saturday with no plans, I like it…..Zia

One Down…..

I had my first workshop today and I had one person show up. I would still say it was a success but I didn’t teach it like I would if there was a bunch of people. I have been friends with NF for more than fifteen years and we did a lot of talking in between. Do you remember those wine glasses I bought last year for SB? NF painted them.

I am on her list to update when she has new designs for this year. You guys know how passionately I feel about supporting small business, especially when it’s a friend. SB really liked them and who knows who will get a set of wine glasses this year? It all depends on the design.

NF did order a few oils and said she is looking forward to more workshops. Baby steps I guess. I’m proud of the presentation and the handout I created, who knows maybe bath salts 101 will come back around again?

I found an interesting salt lamp at Sam’s Club today….

It’s a Himalayan salt lamp with a tiny metal cup to put essential oils. It’s not nearly as strong as a diffuser so I’m not sure how I feel about it? I guess you don’t have to put anything in the cup and it would have the same benefits as every other Himalayan salt lamp on the market…..it’s different.  I have a couple birthdays coming up so I am tossing this idea around….no commitment yet.

The boy and I went at it this afternoon. He was mad because he slept all day. I tried to wake him up numerous times around noon., he answered me when  I talked to him? It is not my job to wake him up. His father was the worst when we were married. I didn’t have to wake up and he did. He would set the alarm and let it ring and ring and act like I was the bad guy when I got pissed…..He’s lucky I didn’t pick it up and throw it out the window like I wanted too.  The boy is the same way and I wont stand for it. He has been a negative Nancy since he came back from his grandparents. “If you don’t like your life then change it but don’t go moping around here, insulting yourself and whining poor me….I don’t want to hear it!” He really had me fired up and he knew it. He even called me from the parking lot at work….he is always twenty minutes early and that gave him time to think. I just don’t know what to do with him….he has seemed to collect all of the bad qualities of his father. This doesn’t fit into my plan of eventual grand babies either, but he has to fix himself. He’s twenty one for Pete’s sake! Okay….enough of that.

Since I was all fired up I went for a ride, to the craft store. MO received a scarf as a gift last Christmas and she let me borrow it as a pattern. I picked two anti pill fleece and a flannel. I need to find big buttons or pins to go on the flap where you tuck the scarf in for a fold.

My thought was….why not? I will have access to a serger and except for the flap it will be easy peasy. I should get five scarves out of each piece of fleece, not as much out of the flannel. I think with the flannel I will double layer it…..maybe? These will be nice, but not as nice as the felted wool. I don’t have a ton of wool let over and what I do have I want to learn to make the fingerless gloves. Just call me crazy!

Last night I made my first batch of friend green tomatoes. Just look at this yummy goodness….

The photo is pre-frying of course. This is one of my favorite Summer dinners. Some people eat them as an appetizer but for me it’s dinner. The girl likes them too, her friend not so much.  She tried them and I give her points for that. The canned sauce that SB and I made last year were the perfect accompaniment to these green beauties. Now that I know they are out there I will be searching for them. Lucky for me I know lots of gardeners.

That has been my day/weekend. I requested off next Saturday from my waitress job. I am tired of going in there and waiting on two or three tables, it’s not worth it. I thought next week I would offer a Saturday and Sunday workshop. I think deodorant 101 will be the workshop plus I have my Outlander paint and sip on Sunday so it will be a full weekend……Zia