I’m calling my own snow day today. The snow is blowing sideways and it looks just miserable out there, so I’m going to hibernate and not go anywhere. The author proofs I was expecting to receive yesterday didn’t arrive — not sure if UPS gave up after the snow started yesterday afternoon or if they were just delayed, so there’s no editing work that can’t wait until Monday. I’m still fighting the headache from yesterday, and I think I slept wrong, since my neck is really stiff. I’m declaring today a day for puttering and flitting from this to that as the whim strikes.
I started out with catching up on the women’s figure skating from last night. The winner totally blew the others out of the water — just gorgeous! My husband will be thrilled that the skating is over, though, if only because it will stop me from yelling “Shut up, Scott Hamilton!” at the TV until 2014. (Seriously, someone get to work on the technology whereby one can turn off the inane and negative commentary and hear only the music. You’ve got four years: GO!)
The rest of the day, who knows?
Our little white friend over there walked right by my office window the other day. I grabbed the camera, opened the front door, and took that shot a split second after he started to take off. His coloring is called skewbald, and it is caused by a genetic variation. Originally, I thought we had three different skewbald deer, but in looking at earlier photos, this one, which I thought was a female, has the same exact pattern as a one-antlered male I photographed a few weeks ago. (I didn’t know until today that deer lose their antlers over the winter and grow new ones in the spring.) I can’t lay my hands on the photos we took of the one with the huge rack of antlers soon after we moved in, but now I’m curious if it’s the same one after all.
I’ve been a bit challenged for material to write about here lately, so when I stumbled across Gwen Bell’s Best of 2009 Blog Challenge, I thought it was just the thing to give me a nudge. No promises that I’ll be able to chime in every single day, but I’m going to give it a try.
Today’s topic: What was your best trip in 2009?
We took only one big trip this year, which was to my cousin’s wedding in Las Vegas in May. We were happy to be there, and had a nice time, but both of us are pretty much over Vegas after having been there several times before. We’re not into nightclubs or spectacle, neither of us gambles or shops for recreation, and the party-party-party atmosphere gets old fast. The trip came in the middle of crunch time for both of us, too, so while it was good to get away for a couple of days, it was still a little stressful, even before dealing with plane travel and airports and fisticuffs in the hallway outside our hotel room at 3 a.m.
While I wouldn’t call it a trip per se, we took a wonderful drive back in October on a Sunday afternoon to see the changing leaves. We’ve both had a completely crazy busy year with work projects and other stuff, and it was nice to take a few hours on a sunny afternoon and just get out into the world, away from the computers and the papers, and take it all in. I’d have to say that that nontrip was the best trip of 2009.
Yeah, I’m still working on the entry about how much I love my iPhone. It’s taken off in a direction of its own however, and it will not be rushed. I’ll get to it eventually.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It’s about the company and the food, without the crazy consumer pressure of Christmas. We had a nice, low-key Thanksgiving yesterday at Mom’s. We hosted the whole extended family gang here last year, which was fun, but we just couldn’t do it this year, what with the mid-renovation state of the house.
Considering how friendly I’ve become with the wild turkeys that wander about our neighborhood, I thought I’d have a very difficult time this year feasting on the bird. I didn’t. I enjoyed my share last night, then had some again this morning with my bacon and toast. I saved the stuffing for lunch.
I’ve got another couple of crazy weekends in front of me. Tomorrow is the Summer Market — for the Holidays at Bar Symon in Avon Lake. Next Friday through Sunday is the Laurel School Artisan Bazaar. The first is a holiday incarnation of my favorite show each year, and the second is a great show that I’ll be doing for the first time. I have high hopes for both.
Thanksgiving might be a little difficult for me this year.
I took a little break from a book I’m working on to take some photos of the changing leaves for a friend who lives in Hawaii but misses the fall colors on the mainland. (The colors are just spectacular in the rain.) I was working my way around the back of the house when I turned the corner and found my turkey friends in the herb garden, snacking on some worms or bugs or something in the freshly turned soil. I was almost on top of them before I noticed them (see how they’ve got that sneaky dirt-colored camouflage thing happening?), and one of them actually started to approach me. I snapped a few pictures, then switched to the movie setting and followed them around the yard for a few moments. You can hear the low sounds they make in the video, something between a gurgle and a bark.
They weren’t quite sure what to make of the fence; the other end of the fence by the gazebo isn’t quite so low to the ground, and they’re able to easily duck underneath down there. And it occurs to me with Halloween approaching that the clip of them near the playhouse might make a good horror film — the scale makes them look ten feet tall.
The herb garden is right up against the kitchen window, which now that I think about it explains the mysterious knocks I’ve heard a couple times today when there’s been no one at the door. At the last office job I had, the turkeys would come right up to the window and peck at their reflections, and it sounded like someone knocking. Mystery solved.
In other news, I have a nice stream of projects coming in, a good mix of scholarly and fun, light and bring-on-the-machetes, quick and long term. I really am a project person; I thrive on being able to work on something and then put it away as done. I don’t do so well in environments where you have to do the same thing over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. Or I have to work really hard to find some way to make each iteration different somehow.
I had a great time with the Cloth•Paper•Scissors Studio Tour last weekend. I visited every one of the stops on the tour and found something interesting or cool or beautiful or inspiring or otherwise worth my time at every one. And I found some intriguing new blogs in the process, too. (If you didn’t get a chance to take my studio tour, it’s the October 2, 2009, entry.)
And speaking of new blogs, Chris of Copper Leaf Studios is doing a wonderful job with her new-ish blog. She has such a wonderful sense of humor and writing style, and her personality shines right through. Give her a visit if you haven’t yet.
It’s started to get really chilly in the evenings here in Northeast Ohio. I’ve dragged out the extra blankets, and I have to admit that I really enjoy sleeping with the windows open to the chill as long as I have all those weighty blankets on me. It really does make it even more difficult to get out of bed in the morning, though.
I’ve been accepted to the Rocky River Fall Arts Festival, which will be happening two weeks from tomorrow in the Old Detroit Road shopping district. This is a brand new show, and I’m hoping it ends up being a good one for everyone. A number of Cleveland Handmade artists will be there, and there are some really good restaurants within a couple of blocks; check it out if you’re in the area.
Work has been incredibly busy. I had hoped to coast through August, but a long-awaited BIG project finally came in and morphed into a super-rush project. I’ve been nose-to-grindstone for the past two weeks, and will probably be so into next week. Thankfully, we have a very low-key holiday weekend ahead with no major plans, so I’ll be able to make some progress over the weekend and take next weekend as my very own holiday.
Earlier this week I got notice that the Cat Lover’s Daily Companion has had such strong orders that it’s going into a second printing before it’s even out in the stores. That makes me happy. And Kristen and I talked about doing some local signings before the holidays; I’ll post info here if we get something together.
This time of year always makes me nostalgic for the return to school. Yes, I was one of those uber-geeky kids who loved school so much that I begged to go to summer school. I was a little sad to learn that my elementary school is in the process of being torn down. It was built in the forties and just two blocks from the house I grew up in. They’re replacing it with one large elementary school that will serve the entire town. Kind of a weird concept for me to wrap my head around, as someone who walked to school most of her life.
So, anyway, back to school. I have the urge to buy new pens and notebooks and other supplies. Which I did this past week, stocking up on my beloved multicolored Uni-Ball Vision Elite Micros and my new favorite, Sasquatch Ideal Books. I broke down and bought a new laser printer to replace my rapidly failing HP LaserJet 1200; it’s supposed to be here next week. I was briefly tempted to splurge on a color laser or one that would automatically duplex, but I just couldn’t justify the extra $250 or more. I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of the 2010 Moleskine Weekly Notebooks (my calendar of choice) at the bookstore. Yes, I am one of those uber-geeky adults who is already scheduling stuff into 2010.
I still indulge my love for school with taking classes and workshops. Sunday I’ll be taking a class in stone drilling, something I’ve been wanting to learn for a long time. I just heard that Keith Lo Bue will be teaching here in Cleveland sometime next year, so I asked to be added to the info list for that so I can sign up when it’s officially announced. I’m stalking the Bead Paradise site, waiting for their fall class listings, and I’m still on the search for enameling classes.
Wednesday the FedEx man suprised me and brought me the advance copy of my book nearly two months earlier than I was expecting to receive it. I’ve been walking around with a really stupid grin on my face ever since.
I say “my” book, but it was a huge team effort, and I was most definitely the junior author on this one. Kristen and Iris both have loads of book-writing experience; I have loads of book-making experience, but not a lot of writing-for-publication experience. It was a really weird exercise to put on a completely different hat and sit in the writer’s chair, but it was also energizing. I hope to do it again someday.
And I have to say that everyone I’ve dealt with at Quarry has been a joy to work with, and they’re putting out some really beautiful books (I had to go peek at some of the others in the series at the bookstore yesterday).
Ah, coolness. I’m so happy to have the windows open again after a few days of blasting the air conditioning. I’m not a big fan of the A/C most of the time — I much prefer fresh air, and my body is happier just acclimating to whatever the temp is than being super hot one minute and super cold the next — but wow, we needed it the past few days.
Of course Sunday, the hottest and humidest and nastiest day of the year, I had an outdoor show. Now I can’t complain too much, since the show before that had rain in the morning and the one before that one was unseasonably cold, but I’m sure the heat kept quite a few people away. Still, those who were there were buyers, and I had a couple of nice sales and even more compliments, all of which I am grateful for. I was even a little surprised when I got back home and counted up my earnings, and it was more than I thought it would be.
This week I’m the Spotlight feature over at Lillyella; go check it out. (Pssst: You can enter to win one of my etched pendants!) I’ve been a fan of hers for a long time, so it was an honor to be invited to be featured. I love the feedback and inspiration I’m getting over there.
To prepare for the feature, I listed a TON of new stuff on my Etsy shop this past Saturday. There’s still more to come, too. I’d love to hear what you think in the comments.
TV was fun. Jodie and I had a great time Kickin’ It with Kenny, who is a really, really nice person and easy to work with. We got a great couple of minutes of publicity for Cleveland Handmade and a great excuse to take a nap later that day. (I do not mesh well with 5 a.m. wakeup calls.) The video has not been posted to the site yet, and I’m not 100% sure that it ever will be. But we have it on DVR and will attempt to figure out how to transfer it to DVD and thence to YouTube sometime this week.
And holy hell that camera does add a few pounds.
I had grand plans for getting lots done over the weekend, but my mind and body revolted against that idea and insisted that I just chill. So, I caught up on some reading and watched some movies and spent time hanging out with my sweetie. Time well spent.
I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that it’s August already. I was trying to keep to a relatively relaxed schedule this summer, but a few interesting new projects I couldn’t pass up and a few favors for regular clients kind of got in the way of that, and I ended up packing more into my schedule that I had planned. Still, I’m grateful for the work and for the confidence my clients have in me. I have a few things to clean off my plate this week, then I am definitely taking it easy the rest of the month. I need some time to wander and contemplate and enjoy some of those things that make summertime in Cleveland so great.
And speaking of, I managed to sneak out to the Cleveland Museum of Art last Wednesday to see the reopened East Wing and the Sherman Lee exhibit. Just wonderful. The Lee exhibit closes later this month, so get over to see it if you love Asian art. And even if you don’t, it’s still a wonderful collection.
Lots going on this week and next, between editing work and the Summer Market and outings with friends and other obligations and appointments, so just a quick check-in to say hey, I’m still here.
My work projects this week are taking me on a tour ranging from the brain crunching (a journal article on history and philosophy that’s about two and a half feet over my head; good thing I need worry only about the spelling and grammar) to the light and funny (Bigfoot and UFOs, anyone?). I’m alternating chapters to keep me sane.
In the studio, I’ve been working on some fun new stacked pendants for the Summer Market (and soon to follow North Olmsted show), in addition to my regular line. I managed to get my customer newsletter out earlier this week; the signup form link is over there to the right if you want to get in on it.
I’m still trying to figure out what I’m going to wear on TV next week. Jodie of la petite libellule and I will be representing Cleveland Handmade on Fox 8’s Kickin’ It with Kenny sometime next Friday morning. No time to shop, really, so it will have to be something the exists in my wardrobe already.
I’m calling my own snow day today. The snow is blowing sideways and it looks just miserable out there, so I’m going to hibernate and not go anywhere. The author proofs I was expecting to receive yesterday didn’t arrive — not sure if UPS gave up after the snow started yesterday afternoon or if they were just delayed, so there’s no editing work that can’t wait until Monday. I’m still fighting the headache from yesterday, and I think I slept wrong, since my neck is really stiff. I’m declaring today a day for puttering and flitting from this to that as the whim strikes. 
