New Mask

Yes, that's right, I made a new mask. It was actually designed and completed on Friday. This time around I started with a much simpler motif. It was tatted directing onto the eye wires and after much fiddling, I worked out a modified center, edge and wrapped the wire. I still have one more idea for another mask, but as I actually made a couple of sales this Sunday after a week long drought, Ill be working on remaking sold pieces first.

This weekend also saw us working on weeding and maintaining the front lawn. It's amazing what just a couple of weeks of neglect can do to a plant bed...the morning glories were seriously taking over. Of course as far as weeds go, they're at least pretty. We pulled out a plant that had perished long ago and bought a tropical canna plant to put in its place. We also received a very large sago palm from one of my husbands coworkers that we'll need to find a home for. We know so little of plants since we really couldn't plant any in the rental. It's been interesting looking these thing up and trying to act like homeowners. We also bought some curtains that I got up and a few ceiling fans...that will get put up by someone else with more manly hands than mine.

Much to my husbands delight, we have also finally gotten the entertainment center completely set up. All the game systems, programed new remotes and got everything in the right places instead of sitting on boxes in front of the television. They even busted out the street fighter game sticks, oh the button mashing.

Now, we just have two more rooms to really get cleaned up and it won't look so obvious that we just moved in and yes, I did all this stuff with my broken toe. Yes, it still hurts, though it would be much better if not for every member of my family stepping on it at least once. So, it was an eventful if slightly painful weekend and I'm sure I missed a few details, but I've written enough as it is.

The Creative Calm

I've always been a creative person. I've been a dancer, actor, singer, artist, knitter and, well, a general fiber artisan. Every phase has brought me a kind of calm for a spell and then it would become work. I would often then move on to the next thing. Now, I still love all those things and would gladly return again should the opportunity present itself, but tatting has me in its grasp. It has become not only my calm but also my work. This dichotomy is at times more stress than I'd like, but yesterday, I found that calm again.

I sat down in the afternoon with no laundry or dishes to do. My foot prevented me from gathering and unpacking boxes so I had time to tat. I retreated to our 'guest' room, sat on the bed, looked out the window and started tatting. At first it was the familiar, 'I must get this done' feeling, but the rhythm set in, my mind began to drift and soon I was calm. I imagined new pieces, thought about all sorts of random things and was truly relaxed. When that set in I remembered why I really love to make things. Sure, designing is mentally satisfying and making a bit of money is sweet, but it is all about that feeling. That time that is just for me, but isn't wasted. It has been awhile since I got that feeling and I certainly missed it.

As I mentioned, new ideas are brewing, specifically new mask ideas. There were a few of them floating around and today I'm going to see whether any of them are practical. One has already been dismissed as far too big and not in a good way, but there are a few others to work on. I do still have a couple of pieces waiting for their photos to be listed, but...and go ahead and laugh here, I haven't dyed my hair in far too long to take a picture with myself in it. Perhaps this weekend, I'll get some bleach and color on there and then I'll feel better about getting a picture taken. So off to calming work I go.

Before The Sun Comes Up

I am an early riser. Up at like 5 every morning. Even on weekends I rarely sleep later than 6. So it is no surprise that I get to learn things even before the sun comes up. This morning, I took on the challenge of the sprinkler system. No, it's not complex, but this neighborhood is full of well manicured lawns and I do not want to be 'that' neighbor. Okay, with the hair and tattoos, I'm probably already 'that' neighbor, but I don't want to stand out for those kind of reasons. Still working out the line that's suppose to water the shrubberies. I think I need another set of eyes for that one...oh and a little light might help too.

Yes, the war of the ant wages on, though I think I might be winning at this point. I even turned back the tide originating from a window 15 feet up on our vaulted living room. This is not to say that they are not putting up a formidable fight. Keeping my foot elevated is nearly impossible with the constant bombardment of the new ant fronts...oh crap, there they are again.

Anyway, I did get some tatting done again yesterday finishing up a Portrait necklace. Now, I am completely caught up on sold items. I will probably get to work on more masks just to get some more stock ready for the upcoming Halloween season. I did also run across some clearance necklace wires, you know the ones that create the floating pendant, that I'd like to create a new piece or two with. I don't know if I've got a lot of creative energy right now, so I might not get around to those for a while. Of course since I can't work on more unpacking with the broken toe, so sitting on my arse tatting is really my best bet.

I did take a couple of house pictures yesterday, but I haven't uploaded them yet. I think I know where the cable is...maybe. Yeah, I'll get around to sharing those sooner or later.

Things I Learned Yesterday

I am certainly trying to get into the swing of things around here, but something is sure trying to keep things more interesting than that. Yesterday included a series of little lessons and disasters. I discovered that while cleaning up cat fur ball/puke on tile is technically easier than on carpet, it's gag factor is increased ten fold. I discovered that even if your broken toe feels better and your limp is almost gone, walking through Target for a half an hour is in fact a bad idea. I learned that one complete with random shooting pains through my foot.

Between those two lessons there was one minor disaster. While I was quelling yet another ant invasion, my 5 year old runs into the room to confess that she put a hole in the wall with her knee. She was rolling around on an exercise ball and fell in apparently the perfect weak spot. Now, it's more of a cracked dent than a full blown hole, but it is in a curved portion of the wall making repair a bit daunting. We really need to get the backyard done here, so these kids can get outside before they destroy the house.

I did get a little tatting done, though I didn't finish anything. I also dug out my camera intending to try to take pictures of a couple of pieces I had sent to the magazine shoot that didn't get shot. Didn't get around to that, but now that the camera is out, it might get done this week...maybe. Still no new sales in the etsy shop. I even contemplated having a sale, but changed my mind. They just take too much babysitting to make work and I'm constantly being thrown in twenty directions lately, so perhaps it's a bad idea. I'll just wait patiently.

I wonder now, what lessons today has in store for me...please be pleasant, please be pleasant.

Light

The ant attacks yesterday were minimal, but not nonexistent. They have great resources behind these walls. Though, I thank you all for your poison free options. My amazing in-laws popped by yesterday and fixed the washer leak and we also finally received paperwork with our official close date on the house. Things were so odd toward the end, we weren't honestly sure that everything was finalized yet at all. It didn't really matter as we're in the house and no one is getting us out at this point.

And for the first time in about a week, I pulled out my tatting. The light in this living room, even in the late afternoon is fabulous. I got so used to working in a little dungeonous corner that I forgot what natural light can do. I actually managed to finish up a pair of ankle corsets, though only because I discovered that I had already made one before the move. I had completely forgotten what I was working on at all really. Now I just need the etsy store to start selling again.

If you're curious, my foot looks a lot better and the hobbling is slightly reduced. I actually wish that I had taken a picture of it yesterday as the blue shade was striking and it's mostly faded at this point. I figure I'll be walking like a normal person by weeks end, if the kids let me rest the thing for a couple more days. They don't seem to get it at all.

I'll get some more tatting done today with the foot up. All those boxes in the garage can wait until I feel better, right?

...oh crap the ants are back.

My Poor Toe

And so begins another week. Hopefully this one will have a few less of the slightly annoying and seemingly constant little setbacks. As you might well guess, I am exhausted both physically and emotionally from the house move and while a good percentage of our things are unpacked and settled, there is still a mountain of chores awaiting and that isn't counting the things that just keep cropping up...you know, the setbacks.

Let's see. we'll just outline the newest of those. We are under attack from ants that apparently live within the walls. They pop out in random locations and once I have quelled the tide, they reemerge elsewhere... I am at war. Then there's the small hole in the washers water line catch. This caused it to not catch the slight leak from a less than completely tightened water line and well it ran down the inside of the wall. I am no expert, but fear this means we must replace the drywall before the potential mold sets in. The last little fun surprise this weekend occurred while my husband was setting up the surround sound speakers. You see, he moved the couch out and I misjudged the distance and slammed my foot into the corner of the couch. I thought I was just being dramatic as I cursed and hopped over to rest and coddle my foot. It soon became clear, however, that my small toe done broke. It quickly swelled and took on a lovely shade of purple...fun.

Life must resume this Monday morning, so the etsy shop is live and my tatting supplies are out. It's been over a week, so I hope I'm not too rusty. Of course I can spend only a minimal amount of time tatting as the house is still calling me and the ant war is unlikely to end anytime soon. The house is big and beautiful and the neighborhood is nice, so I hope that these little things are the biggest things to worry about and then everything should be fine.

A New House

Well...I am here, in a new house. It seems like it took forever and a day to get here and the things that are still up in the air are many. Even after we got the keys, there were escrow issues to fix and now that we are here the tiny things that must be taken care of seem almost overwhelming, but we are here in our very own home. That really hasn't sunk in yet, as if feels more like we're staying a hotel right now, albeit one with craptastic service.

We have no air conditioning right now and we're still trying to figure out if that's covered by the warranty. The back yard is off limits due to the enormous amount of weeds and those evil little goats head spur things. There is also a minor ant invasion that we appear to arrived in the final throes of...we hope. Boxes seems stacked to the ceiling in the garage and furniture that ought to be up the stairs lies in the front of the house, but again, we're here.

I fear that I will be less than conversational for at least another week, so forget about tatting. I want to get out of these boxes as quickly as possible so I shall attempt to stay off the computer. Before I seem to disappear again, go enter the Wunderkammer Giveaway. It's the last day and we're still 5 entrants shy of unlocking the last prize. Every name counts now, so I would love it if everyone would head over there and enter. It'll only take a few minutes, I swear!

Alright, I'm off for more unpacking and cleaning and settling in. Hopefully next week will be slightly less chaotic and I promise eventually to share pictures of my new digs, but I want them box less first.

*sigh*

No, we did not get the keys on Monday. I sit in a half empty house with a completely full u-haul in the driveway. We're told we should fund this morning and possibly get the keys...should,possibly. We'll keep cleaning and packing and hoping that we get moved today because tomorrow is the last day we can be here in our rental. Sure we can extend the time here, but I foolishly scheduled the power and phone to shut off. Speaking of power, we were informed just yesterday that even though our new house is mere block from our current residence their power is through another company. We had to rush downtown to set up the account before they closed for the day only to discover that the order to shut off the power there had already gone through for today and they can not turn the power back on until the next day. Yep, that means we get to potentially spend our first night in the new house free from the bonds of electricity...fun.

We also won't have phone or Internet until at least Thursday supposing of course that nothing else goes awry. So, if I appear to have completely disappeared for the rest of the week, at least you'll know why. I hope that when I can write again, the cosmic joke that is this house purchase will have given us its last punchline and I can speak with a much less jaded tone. It is after all a beautiful home, that we vaguely remember thinking it would be nice to spend the rest of our lives in barring a sudden millionaire status. I want to also say thanks for all of the wonderful birthday sentiments you guys have expressed as well as the wishes regarding the move. Honestly, I've decided that I didn't have a birthday yet this year, maybe I'll find some time on the flip side of all this to celebrate. Well, here's to hoping.

Happy Birthday To Me

This is a rare Saturday post because its my birthday and I'll whine if I want to. Plus, I'm not certain when I'll get a chance to post again. Things did not go according to the best case scenario yesterday and we did not receive the keys to the new house. I am of course annoyed although a relatively good nights sleep has taken the edge off of the rage. This means that the earliest we will get them is Monday, I imagine afternoon as they must still fund the loan and get it recorded. I have no idea why those tasks should take many hours but I have learned the art of pessimism throughout the home buying process.

On a good note, I woke to a few more Wunderkammer entrants which unlocked the sixth prize. This means that within the next week, we only need 23 more people to enter and we get the last prize unlocked. I however will most likely be offline until Wednesday or Thursday, so I won't be of much help in that regard. I went and scheduled Wunderkammer posts all the way through Thursday so I don't have to worry about that, there will be fresh finds all week.

Normally, I'd have a sale or something on my birthday, but with the move looming, I have closed the store. So, sorry about that, but it really couldn't be helped. Perhaps, I'll have a blog reader special after I get up and running again, but no guarantees. Alright, that's it for me. I'll be packing and getting ready for the move on Monday. Cross our fingers that everything goes smoothly from this point further, 'cause I really can't take many more setbacks.

Still Waiting

Still, we wait. I know, I know all this is probably getting tiresome to read. There is nothing new to report except the single statement by one of out mortgage people, 'It looks like we have everything to me so I am hoping for tomorrow.' I sure hope that her hope is not misplaced. We spent yesterday evening doing the lawn for the last time and really getting down to the brass with the packing. My husband even started working on his computer room.

Whether we get the keys or not, my etsy store will be closing today around noon. I figure the last thing I want to be worried about tomorrow is shipping something out. I'm going to keep trying to pimp the wunderkammer giveaway, but I doubt I'll have much twitter time either. So if you're so inclined, I'd appreciate the occasional tweet or post on the giveaway. The entries have slowed dramatically with about 10 left to open the sixth prize and another 25 after that to get that final prize unlocked. I know several people are coveting that bustle skirt, so I really want them all unlocked. Hopefully even without my attention another week should bring the needed entries.

Just one more little thing before I sign off for the day. Guess what I managed this morning? I cinched my new corset closed. Okay, you might not think this is an achievement, but it hasn't even been a month yet and I'm proud of myself. Once this is comfortable, I'll have taken my waist down 6 inches. Yes, I know it mostly goes back when I leave the corset off too long, but a couple of those inches are really gone and more importantly, my stomach muscles are closer together and the pooch is slowly shrinking. I might get one more smaller corset in the coming months just to really get the best long term benefit. We'll see though, I've only been lacing for a few months and I do kind of like it so I might just keep going...of course I've no intention of going sideshow with this so don't worry too much.

Signed

Well, the deed is done. We have signed all the paperwork, handed over the ridiculously large check and now we wait...again. With the sellers hundreds of miles away we are uncertain as to when they will get their half done so we can get the keys to the house. Regardless, we've been assured it will be in time to move before we need to be out of here. We're crossing our fingers for Friday so we can move this weekend when all our family can actually help. I imagine whichever way this plays out, I will disappear over the weekend only to reemerge midweek in time for the conclusion of the Wunderkammer giveaway.

I'd be lying if I said there was really anything else on my mind. Sure a few things have flitted in and out. I'm babysitting the giveaway, tatting on and off and oh yeah, my birthday is Saturday. Everything keeps coming back to what needs to be done for the move. Address changes, moving services, not to mention the actual carrying of the boxes and our immense amount of stuff. Yeah, we love our stuff and it all need to come with us.

So I've got a few of those on the plate for today, plus an attempt to schedule Wunderkammer posts for the next four days or so, though every time I've done that in the past, things sell in advance of the post. It's either that or let it slumber in the middle of a giveaway and that just seems like a bad idea. My brain is starting to hurt trying work all this out. Hopefully a week from today I'll be in a much calmer, better place, but who really knows.

Ow & Wow

Interesting day yesterday. First my two year old decided to attempt the surgical removal of the wart on my back with my tatting scissors. Yeah, I thought she was just playing with my back as she does often, when the pain hit. Actually it's just too bad she didn't actually take the bad boy off. Now it itches something fierce.

Then I got a message forwarded to me from our loan guy saying that he was getting the loan docs anytime now, so be ready for the call. Only much later in the afternoon were we informed that while he had the loan docs, he had to request more papers from the title company so it would be another day. The time between these two events had me antsy and relatively unproductive as well.

A bit of good news however, I had gotten a blog contest entry from one of the gals that does the Haute Macbre site. Now, for me, this was like having the cool kids, no the cool, famous kids talk to me. I was elated and yesterday, the site posted about the Wunderkammer giveaway. To say the plug increased traffic would be a dramatic understatement. So not only was prize 3 unlocked, but prize 4 needs just 2 more entries to be on the table. The Wunderkammer has also increased its blogger followers way past my humble personal blog. Yep, I think this was just the ticket to getting a little notice for my baby blog.

Back to the house buying business, hopefully we will in fact get those papers signed and can have the keys to the house in our hands by the weekend. Of course if that does happen, look for me to disappear over the weekend and perhaps not return until the middle of next week. If it doesn't, look for me to keep complaining loudly until it does. I will let you all know when I know...which I hope to be soon. I'll keep on tatting as long as I can. All my supplies have been ported into plastic tub for easy moving and access. I figured that might keep my down time to a minimum, Internet connection not withstanding. Well, onto the unknown for the day.

Well, That's A Relief

Well, the first day of the Wunderkammer giveaway was a rousing success. The second prize has already been unlocked and if we maintain even half that momentum, all the prizes will have homes in the end. The site traffic also more than doubled yesterday and it added a handful of blogger followers as well. My hopes for the event are of course to gain lasting exposure for the blog and all those featured. What I didn't expect was the information I've been receiving in the entry comments. Already. I've heard tale of purchases made after features, which is awesome. Everyone also seems to have wildly different favorites, which tells me that I should keep bouncing all over the place as I'm filling several different niches with my themes. So one day in and I'm glad I decided to do this...of course ask me again and I might just say I'm exhausted from plugging the thing relentlessly.

Speaking of exhausted, (great segue right?) here's the latest on the house buying. We were told yesterday that we may be receiving 'docs' today. This, I'm told may result in us closing by Friday. I've learned to take everything with a grain of salt here, but I did start up with the final packing anyway, hoping to get our move on this weekend. What's funny is my birthday is Saturday and I've barely given it a thought. I assume that I'll be spending the day with carpet cleaners and boxes so woohoo, right? Of course at this point, I actually hope that is what I'm doing. As you're fully aware, we're all exhausted from this process.

I have been trying my hardest to keep up with tatting orders by immediately remaking everything that sells. This would be easier if folks were buying smaller pieces, but I won't complain. If anything, this situation has made me very money conscious and every dollar counts. Again, my tatting is another thing held up by the move. I do actually have a few new pieces sitting about waiting for their photo shoots. I also want to make some masks in new colors, but why bother until I'm moved and can get photos of them. I guess what I'm trying to say is, can I be moved already?

Wunderkammer Giveaway

I know that this is just so much self promoting cross posting, but I'm doing it anyway. Please stop by the Wunderkammer and checkout the amazing giveaway going on there. The redesign is done and seven amazing artisans donated prizes to be given away to readers new and old. Each and every one of them deserves a great home, so the Wunderkammer needs your entries, your plugs and recommendations. Of course if the theme of the blog isn't your bag, that's fine too, just pass it along to anyone you think might enjoy it.

In other news, we did a walk through in the new house while the owners were in the process of moving. We were a little taken back to learn that not only were they taking the porch brick by brick, but also two trees in the backyard. Wasn't shocked to see them taking the blinds, but we hadn't really thought about that. Since this house is window heavy we've got to replace those pretty fast and get the backyard put back together so the kids can have their place to play. Oh, and the carpets were quite a bit more stained than we remember so they need a good cleaning too. Of course all this is contingent upon us actually closing on time. We got the most recent paperwork, but no one seems to have a solid answer about the closing date. Seeing the owners moving out has us in a better mood though as it represents good forward momentum.

Also this weekend, I picked up some bamboo crochet size 10 thread at JoAnns. I don't really shop there, but made a trip with my Mother-in-law. I went ahead and tatted up a quadra bracelet with it as a trial. It's much softer and tats a bit smaller than the size 10 cotton. The resulting bracelet has a much looser drape, if that makes sense. I can't imagine making a mask with it as I think it would just collapse upon itself without a lot of stiffening. It would probalby be great for the frilly cuffs I make though. Of course the bigger issue for me is color selection. Right now it seems they only do a few pastels...and no black. I'm glad I gave it a go though and I might work up some pieces after the move to sell, whenever that turns out to be.

Here I Go Again

Okay, it wasn't so bad...the pre move out inspection, that is. As I had hoped nothing looks bad enough to warrant taking funds out of our deposit save for a couple of window screen ripped up by neighborhood cats, trying to get in the house. I do, however, have to clean, well, everything. We've decided at this point to try and wait until we're actually moving and/or moved to do the rest of the cleaning though. At this point the house is so full of boxes that we'd probably have to do it all again anyway. We are still waiting for the new paperwork too...you know the ones that require a seven day waiting period before the loan can close. Our lender says he's trying to get an addendum from the sellers bank so he can proceed and it has not been forthcoming. I swear, someone is losing an eye if we can't get this all wrapped up before we need to be out of this house. I know, we can ask for an extension here if we need one, but I don't want to have to do that.

Alright, enough house stuff. Yesterday the task was completed. All the pieces listed in my etsy store are now made and ready to ship. No waiting period on anything. I feel very accomplished. Of course I also sat for a bit wondering what to do next. I decided to go ahead and get on another mask. This time, I'm remaking the Valentine Evening mask, which is just my avatar mask, but in burgundy with garnet colored crystals. That ought to keep me busy for a bit.

Oh, and one small rant this morning. Someone is trying to sell a piece made with the necklace pattern I shared on Instructables. Again, I am annoyed. This time on Artfire, where I have no presence and they have renamed it, but it is clearly my necklace. I know, the minute I started to share my patterns I opened myself up for this, but it still ticks me off. No mention of me as the designer at all and again it is someone I am acquainted with. The whole reason I began using only vintage patterns and designing my own pieces was to never infringe on another persons work. Anyway, rant over. I haven't even complained to them yet & honestly...I hope that they read this and are guilted into fixing it themselves. I know that's very passive aggressive of me, but I'm not in the mood for direct confrontation, so there. Feel free to tell me I'm being petty, it's cool.

So more tatting and a little cleaning today. We also get to do a walk through and sign some more paperwork with the sellers. So we might have more information to share come Monday. Hopefully, everything gets sorted for the Wunderkammer over the weekend as well so the giveaway will proceed over there. All in all, gonna be a crazy weekend.

Oye

I was going to start out with the phrase, 'you won't believe what happened', but it occurs to me that at this point in the house buying experience that everything that can go wrong will. Without going into particulars, the sellers bank has chosen at this point in the game to change the deal a bit, costing us more money. Now that's not the biggest deal as we went into this assuming that we needed a certain amount of money as a worst case scenario, so we're fine there. The problem is that this amendment requires our lender to do more work and there has to be a 7 day waiting period and this pushes back our close date. Lucky for us they were apparently on track to close at the beginning of next week, so with the added time, we should hopefully still make it before the 14th and at least before our 19th move out date.

I got stressed out for a bit over the extra money needed and the time issues, but honestly I calmed down pretty fast. I suppose I could have put up a big stink about it, but that likely would have only put me under more stress and aggravated the situation. I know that there are a lot of people working in the background on this that would suffer more if we got all crazy like over it, so I'll just play the duck and let the water roll off my back.

I got right back to tatting and finished up the mask I was working on. Now I've just the second in a pair of ankle corsets to finish and everything in the shop is ready to ship. No custom pieces means I should have to keep the store closed for long at all during the move, just as long as I'm knocked out of Internet access. Since every dollar into the household counts extra now, this is a very good thing.

We also have our move out inspection this morning. Hopefully, she doesn't see too much that needs to be done to the house before we leave. Seriously all this deep cleaning crap is really beginning to take its toll on my hands. The greater lesson I'm taking away from this is to clean more frequently in the new digs. Less more often does really sound like a really good idea after all this scrubbing. Though just having a new house with unmarred surfaces to begin with sounds like a dream. All the aged nicks in the linoleum floor here make cleaning them an exercise in futility. I'm sure I'll have a bunch to complain about tomorrow as well. I know you just can't wait huh?

Look What I Discovered

So just recently I've been noticing a new surge in Instructable visits to my etsy store as well as new subscribers to my page there. Needless to say, I had no idea why. I haven't made a new on in a while, though I have one on deck for after I move. So this morning I went be there and started to look around a bit. Wasn't featured on the craft page and I couldn't find my face anywhere, until maybe the third time I landed on the front page. There in the top right corner is a large rotating block which was now full of my masked face...ahhh, that would explain it. So, thank you folks at Instructables for once again giving me a bit more exposure. I continue to be awed and humbled by the attention that mask has gotten. And to think, I only entered the Halloween contest that started on on a whim since I had coincidentally created the mask that season.I have to say this discovery was a lovely way to wake up and here's hoping that it carries on throughout the day. I didn't get all that much done yesterday as I was not only called upon to puppy sit, but I also had a visit from my Grandfather and my brother at the same time. This ate up most of the morning and since I spent the kids nap time scrubbing the bathroom floor, I didn't finish the ankle corsets as I had hoped I would. I did get two bracelets made in the morning though. I am started to yearn for creation again, but I shall try to stave off the desire for a bit. I've packed away all my photo stuff, so anything I make would lie undiscovered for weeks anyway and you know me, I like attention. Hard to create something and not immediately play show and tell with it.

I am starting to reach an impasse with the cleaning now as well. Until I am told by the property management what must be done, I think I'll sit on my hands a bit, 'cause there's no way I'm touching that garage. It is absolutely the last frontier in cleaning. Spider webs, mystery boxes and, well so much crap I wouldn't even know where to begin, so I won't. I'll try for more tatting today, maybe a bit of packing and that, my friends, is about it.

A New Day

First, I want to say thanks for the 'there, there's' and reminding me that I was lucky just to have my pieces chosen to be in a magazine. I know that really, but I think I blew it out of proportion in my head which is of course a sure sign that one will be disappointed in the end.

So that disappointed started a chain reaction of annoyances probably fueled by house buying stress, that made my morning miserable. No matter how much I got done, I didn't feel accomplished at all. I managed to finish two mask, do laundry, dishes and scrub the kitchen floor, yet I was looking for the next thing that needed to be done. I got happier when the mailman arrived. I got my crystal order which I didn't expect yet and a pair of free Coraline t-shirts from a twitter friend. So' yay!' for the mailman.

We also got a call from out real estate agent in the afternoon. We had been hoping the current home owners would sell us their refrigerator because it matched the steel appliances unlike out blindingly white one, but no...they decided against it, though they did try to sell us a pair of beds for $2200. Yeah, we're cool without those. Anyway, the second bank did finally produce a written approval and now everyone is working to get this thing closed as quickly as possible. I don't mind telling you that I'm weirded out by all the things happening without us. Banks talking to agents talking to other banks and the loan guys and we're just sitting here waiting for someone to actually ask us for money and our signatures. Meanwhile, I'm cleaning in anticipation of our move out inspection and worrying about who needs an address change and when do I actually get to do that.

Now that I have my crystals, I can start working on the embellished masks. Though I've got a pair of ankle corsets on the needle right now and a couple of quadra bracelets to remake as well. I do find it odd that I seem to have more work now than I did when I had more orders. Well, back to it then.

Magazine

I got all excited when I got an email this morning telling me that the magazine for which I sent my jewelry for was up online...then I saw the photo shoot. Now, I'm a little sad. Really I should be grateful that I have another piece in print, but I had sent three necklaces including one made specifically for them and all they used was one, barely seen in the picture. I understand that they had things from many designers and perhaps mine didn't match the hats they wanted to use or maybe they did take pictures of the other pieces, but they didn't make the cut in the end. Either way my excitement at being in an alternative fashion magazine has waned considerably. Just in case you *do* want to see it, a digital copy is free to download here: Auxiliary Magazine and print copies will be available in a week I'm told.

Let's see, the rest of the weekend was spent getting this house back into shape in an effort to ensure that we get our deposit back when we move. When we left the apartment we lived in for 7 years, the property management not only kept our deposit, but sent us a bill for additional repairs over six months later. The carpet needed replacing and even though it was not new when we moved and was past its lifespan, we were forced to pay for it. You have no idea how pissed I was...livid really, but you can't go back, you must move forward. So, we did the yard, I pulled up misbehaving grass and weeds until my hands hurt and my back ached. You might imagine that this meant the rest of the weekend was unproductive and it was.

There has been a slight lull in sales again and this has afforded me the opportunity to get more pieces off the custom list. I worked on a couple of masks and I ordered up some crystals to get a few more knocked out before we move...theoretically, on the weekend of the 14th. I say theoretically because I am no longer assuming anything when it comes to this house purchase. I also started getting the wunderkammer giveaway set up and once I hear back from everyone I contacted, I'll get the post set and ready to run for the 10th. I really hope this is the jump start the blog needs to really move beyond its loyal, but small audience and get some real exposure for the artisans and their work.