That's Better

The sickness is finally starting to leave me. I woke up this morning feeling almost normal, so yay! I also got really busy over the weekend as a former customer who bought things to sell in a store in Australia returned and picked up quite a handful of things again. It was unexpected as I've never had a shop come back for more pieces, but I digress. I just wanted to point out that I have my hands happily full.

That was what I have been working on all weekend save for a few hours spent working on the last custom order I got. I can't do the front panel of the piece until I get my supply order in though. It appears to be due on Tuesday and then I can add the all important center crystal to my thread and get that made up. Then I'll just need to attach it to the already constructed chain and get it in the post.

I still have several pieces left to remake including all the embellished versions of my scrolling necklaces. Yep, they're all headed to Australia and since they were all made with bits from my grab bag purchases the next versions will be at least slightly different. I've got another grab bag coming in this order too, so hopefully I'll get some good bits that inspire the new ones.

I'm also in the process of discussing another custom order that would be a bit of a rush...also to Australia which is a bit odd, but I'll take it. So if that order pulls together today, I'll be busy with that for much of the week and the remaking will have to go on the back burner. Man, it's a good thing I'm feeling better today. A damn good thing.

Uhhh

I almost didn't write today because I have that little to share. You knew I couldn't just not write though, so I'll ramble on for a bit making it up as I go. The cold I've been rocking finally took away my ability to think very clearly, you know the dreaded brain fog. Of course regardless I had schooling to do, a custom order to finish as well as blogs to schedule. No rest for the wicked and all that, but between brief bouts of productivity all I did was play games on my iphone. Well that and take care of various cold related issues.

What I did manage to complete was one of my custom orders and I started to work getting the chains ready for the custom color version of the back drop necklace that was ordered. I have to wait on some of the tatting for it until I get my supply order in, which I'm a bit worried about since I haven't even gotten a ship confirmation yet. I can't control their shipping department, but I can get everything ready for when it arrives so I can whip it all together quickly and efficiently for my customer.

One last bit of information before I leave you this morning. I got just the tiniest bit of information regarding my fashion magazine shoot. I was contacted by their fact check department to confirm on page credit information. Sounds all official huh? Anyway, I was told that this shoot will appear in the their May issue. So, I guess we've got quite some time before it sees the light of day. If I remember correctly from my retail days, magazine typically get released just a couple of weeks before the issue month, so the middle of April will be the big reveal I guess. Though I do feel like I need to burst one bubble now...it's not Vogue. Though I will now admit to having sent pieces to Russian Vogue in the past, though they were not used there...that I'm aware of and it was a horrible experience with my contact person disappearing off the face of the internet and only getting my pieces back months later. So much drama.

Well, I think I've babbled enough. I'm off to hope I feel better today.

Aargh

Man, do I feel like something died in my head and started to rot this morning. I know, pleasant image there, but seriously I feel awful this morning. Luckily for everyone I didn't start feeling this bad until halfway through the train ride home, so yesterday's outing was lovely.

The children were very excited by their first train ride and the school group was large enough that we had a whole car for the lot of us making it entirely comfortable. It was also nice since the train went all the way to Sacramento, we were initially afraid there was going to be some bus time. We then spent some time in Old Town which meant shopping and candy and then it was time to head to the train museum.

The scale of the place is much like going to an Air museum with huge trains everywhere, but with the added bonus of a large selection of toy trains as well. I'd been there as a child because that's what we all do in the four grade around these parts, but I literally remembered nothing. Not so surprising that things would change in nearly thirty years, but I digress. We had a good time. Oh, and just so you don't think the youngest here was playing video games in the museum, was was using the camera in her DS to take pictures...of everything.

On the train ride home, I tatted and was chatted up by some of the other parents curious about what I was doing. I think it's funny how people assume the small scale of the work makes it harder to do. I always end up slowing down to show them that it's just one simple knot, not magic, but I don't think they ever believe me. It was about this point that the cold started to really bother me and despite having just taken something I was miserable the rest of the way home. This of course continued this morning and I'm crossing my fingers that it was train air and I'll be fine after my workout this morning because I have more tatting to do today, much more.

Three

Good day world. I was going to say morning there, but it occurred to me that, while I write this in the morning, that is not necessarily when you are reading and by saying good day, I am more likely to have used an appropriate phrase. Yes, these are the things I think about at 4:40 in the morning whilst sane people still slumber. The cold I acquired is still hanging on, but (knock on wood) it seems to be fairly mild and generally controlled. The one thing it took away from me yesterday was my ability to be social online. Instead I quietly worked on the custom mask, ordered up my supplies and glanced at the computer far less frequently than usual.

I do however have a few bits of good news to share. I got word back from the magazine I lent pieces to recently and the fashion editor let me know that two of my masks were used in the shoot they were sent for and I should be hearing from their fact check department for the on page credit soon. So without getting ahead of myself with information, let me just answer a couple of questions...that never got asked, but I assume you have. No, I don't know when it will be published. I'll let you know when I do and no, I'm not going to name the magazine quite yet, but I will tell you it is a Fashion magazine.

The other bit of nice news was quite an uptick in my shop views yesterday. It took me until late in the day to discover that on the new 'fashion' page at etsy there was a picture and link to my Masquerade mask. It's gone now as it was a Mardi Gras theme and I didn't get a screen shot, so I guess you'll just have to take my word for it. This leads me to one last number obsessive bit of forthcoming news. As you are well aware, I have a slight compulsion to watch for round numbers particularly as they relate to my shop. There's a big one coming and with the extra views yesterday, it's getting very close. It's the number of 'admirers' or people who have marked my shop as a favorite. It's less than 50 away from 10,000. Now you've got to admit that's a pretty number. I swear this is the last time I mention it until it hits that goal, then I'll verbally celebrate and move on. I just thought mentioning three nice things in one post would be, you know...a nice number.

In a few hours I'm off with the family to ride a train, look at trains and then ride a train home. That should be the whole of the day, so the most you can expect tomorrow morning is a train picture, but it should be a good day.

Allergies?

Since yesterday was a holiday, the husband was home and after my normal routine was accomplished in the morning we all went adventuring. Spring weeds are exploding everywhere so when my throat started scratching, I thought allergies. Then when the adventuring was done and we were home and my throat felt worse rather than better, I still hoped for allergies. This morning as I pulled my eyes open, I finally accepted that it's not allergies, I have a cold. Damn.

As is the way of the Universe I have no time to slow down for this nonsense. I have two custom orders in queue, a movie to go see tonight and an all day field trip to Sacramento and the train museum tomorrow. This sick just will not do. So the plan is to get up, walk on the tread climber thingy hoping that I sweat some sick out. That will be immediately followed by a dosing of medications that mask the symptoms of these sort of annoyances. I will repeat until I am allowed to pass out at the end of the day. Oh, and plenty of water too, that is always indicated right?

As far as tatting is concerned, I can start work on one of the custom pieces today and I got asked about another yesterday as well, so once that's purchased I can work on that. I also need to put in a supply order today as well. I always stall on those knowing I will forget something and need to do another in a couple of weeks. It's also almost time to make my annual mass purchase of black thread. Seriously, you guys would freak if you saw how much of that I go through. Except maybe you hand dyers out there, you likely go through as much white, if not more, but at least yours is on cones not in boxes upon boxes of thread balls. So that's it then, I'm off to sweat and hope that this is the shortest lived cold ever and since all this writing is boring, I've left you a cuddling cat picture.