Weekend Recap

Well, we had a pretty busy weekend around here. We hosted a birthday gathering for the oldest child and that of course meant cleaning and preparing food and then cleaning again. I was also quite fortunate to get another order in my etsy shop just after I wrote on Friday. This was for another pair of barefoot sandals, but a much more complex design. I worked on remaking the pair off an on throughout the weekend. Luckily due to the postal holiday I had a couple of extra days to use the existing pair as a template to get the new pair made.

On Sunday we headed out to Monterey Bay Aquarium for the day. It was the last bit of birthday celebrations and it was quite lovely out there. The weather here inland is already too hot, but the coast was a cool 60º. We also met up with my brother who lives near there and had some family time and catching up.

We had a few errands to run on our day off yesterday, but I also got another order in my shop. This time it was for a simple cuff bracelet. I happily went to work remaking that as well. I got both pieces remade by the end of the day yesterday and we're just starting our third to last week of homeschooling. There are a few more projects and tests to worry about as well as other family events coming up, more birthdays and a graduation. So I'm still pretty busy, but since some of that busy is tatting, I made time to write. I'm not sure what I'll get done this week yet, but I'm feeling a little more focused already.

The Coast

I don't think I mentioned that we were going out of town for the weekend. We always head out to Monterey for our anniversary, this time it fell on a weekend which is good and bad. Good because I didn't have to worry about my shop as much, but bad because it's a bit more crowded everywhere we go. It was quite a bit more sunny than usual as well. In fact I got a bit burnt the first day out. I think it was the hiking at Point Lobos that did it, but the rest of the day was outside too, so it really doesn't matter what bot of sun got me.

I didn't take any tatting with me, but our hotel is right next to an antique mall, so there was plenty of lace. I can't help but identify every piece I see, though most of it was crochet there was some tatting, and a tiny bit of bobbin lace. I was on a bit of a hunt for the bobbins themselves though. I found a few in terrible condition and while I might have been able to rehabilitate them, they were also nine dollars a piece and that is far too much for a fixer upper.

Then I ran into this jar. It was chock full of bobbins in pretty good shape. They were still five dollar a piece so I couldn't justify getting more than a couple of them. I guess that puts me up to 13 pairs of bobbins so I might have a couple more patterns I can try out soon. These are the times that I wish I was one of those people who got left their grandmother's lace tools. No such luck. The closet thing I got was a handkerchief with a tatted edging from a great grandmother given to me by my grandmother when she passed.

I still have some tatting to get back to before I'm back to the bobbins though. I got a couple of small orders over the weekend, so I need to take care of those first. I also think I might just need to rest a bit after a weekend of so much walking. I do miss the cool coastal air already though.

I'm Back

I'm back and thoroughly exhausted. Also, I'm hot and I really do miss the weather at the coast which is currently 30º cooler than it is here. There's no use dwelling on it though, we all love the places we got to vacation or it wouldn't be worth all the effort. All the packing, unpacking, and laundry, not to mention all crazy the kids throw at us once they're home and instantly bored.Yes, it is a joy, but it's worth it.

I didn't put my shop in vacation mode, but I might as well have. There were no sales in it the entire time we were gone. On one hand that's great because I didn't have to get straight to work upon returning, on the other hand I do like getting back to routine. Luckily while we spent a last lazy Sunday yesterday a couple of orders came in. One gave me something to remake yesterday and will be in the mail this morning. The other has a custom sized piece in it, so that is today's task. Custom sizing slave bracelets can be tricky business. They usually require small adjustments to stitch counts rather than the addition of repeats like a regular bracelet would. This means I'll likely stare at it for quite some time before I work out what needs to be done. That's probably a good thing too, my brain has been on vacation as well and a solid problem to solve should shake it back into service.

I've got no tatting to show you, there wasn't even any at the Antique mall, so I shall leave you will a few more pictures from our trip.

 

Monterey

Well, this is my first attempt using my phone to blog and I'm certain it will be a short one. My thumb typing skills still leave much to be desired, but I promised that I would write.

We got to the coast a little later that I personally like, but it was a gorgeous day. The sun was out, all the kids had fun and we ended the day sufficiently exhausted. We'll be spending much of today here as well and then once we're back home it's onto cleaning and the holiday adventures.

I did actually tat in the car on the way to the coast, but just to pass the time and I'm sure to do so again on the way back. Sure, I could just sit in the car, but the sheer boredom. So I guess that's it for me today. I hope everyone who celebrates has a wonderful Christmas and that everyone else has a nice weekend. I talk at you again Monday.