Prairie Dog Inc.

Two Steps Forward . . .

2011-12-10T21:51:00.001-05:00

So, this is my first blog post in over a year. I've been wanting to blog again for a long time because it provides a nice catharsis for me and I also find myself extremely amusing on re-reading, but I haven't been able to do it again until now.
It's like when you know you should call your aunt or grandmother or old friend(all of which are things I actually should do) but you wait longer and longer and the way the conversation will go in your head gets more and more awkward and guilt-ridden until you've scared yourself out of it. I'm not the only one whose social anxiety extends to this level, right?
Anyway, it's like that. I kept thinking, "How will I explain my extended absence from my legions of adoring followers who surely, by now, have turned a cold and disgruntled shoulder toward my ever-increasingly out-dated and irrelevant musings?" And then I thought, "Oh, wait, I was describing someone else entirely in that thought process and none of those concerns apply to me so there's nothing stopping me from starting up again without anyone having realized that I'd ever been away at all".

So, here I am! A force to be reckoned with. A juggernaut of incisive thoughts and hilarious anecdotes that will surely encapsulate the feelings of generation and go down in history as one of the pointedly honest journals of our time!

Here's a cat . . .

Wait . . . . It's Cold Outside?

2010-10-18T16:34:00.000-04:00

Well, not quite, but after a summer that seemed to last forever, it certainly FEELS cold. Sorry I haven't added a new post in a long time. Lots of things going on. Captain # 1 has a new album coming out in the next few weeks and I've been working on the album art. I've also been running around like a chicken with her head cut off trying to figure out wedding stuff. Tim has barricaded himself in the music room in order to finish the album before our big tour in a couple of weeks, and I've been making scarves like crazy.

Here are some scarves . . .

Notice how in most of the pictures I'm looking wistfully out the window? That's just how I look all the time.

Pictures of Mushrooms!

2010-08-24T18:08:00.002-04:00

Literally, this is just a bunch of pictures of the mushrooms I found in my front yard before I mowed them over and destroyed most of them. They were pretty cool looking before I did that. Also, I found a blue jay feather. Why am I so attracted to very normal natural occurrences?

2 Things I've been making . . .

2010-08-14T21:58:00.002-04:00

Pom Poms! I've always thought these were pretty and thought about having them for our wedding so I figured I would try to make some myself. I think they turned out pretty cute.

And . . . t-shirts for our softball team! I think the design turned out pretty well. I especially love the little Turducken logo underneath. We're thinking of getting hats made too.

Okay, those are the two things I've been making. Here's a cat. I guess she was hot. I told her it wasn't ladylike but she just glared at me.

You Should Be Jealous of All My Shiny New Things

2010-08-10T15:40:00.001-04:00

You really should. Okay, let's get started here . . .

First, my engagement ring. It's totally an owl. Like, a giant rhinestone owl head. You may think I'm lying but you can see it in the picture right there. And that's my hand, completely unlike any other hand so now you must know I'm telling the truth. At first I was skeptical, but the more I thought about it and wore the ring around the more I realized how perfect it is. He looks kind of fierce but I think he's just protecting my honor in case Tim isn't around. Also, if you angle his head up he looks really sweet. I won't tell you what Tim paid for him but in Barnes and Noble paycheck terms after taxes it equals out to about 3 months salary.

I also like him because he matches the white tiger t-shirt I found at the Goodwill today. $2!! I think Rilke-cat was jealous because I've been wearing it for about 2 hours and it already has black cat hair all over it.

And on to . . .

Okay, this isn't quite "new". I've had it for about a month but I can't believe I haven't blogged about yet because it's super awesome. Gaze upon the amazing vintage table I found on Craigslist for $30. $30!!!!! I know that's a lot of exclamation marks but we saw basically the same table at a vintage store for $200!! It's got a very 50s red and white painted tin top and a cute little drawer which I haven't decided what to put in yet.

I've tried to accessorize it with complementary colors like turquoise and yellow. I've made myself a bright little cozy spot in the kitchen. It's a great little spot to use the laptop because I'm not tempted to watch an entire season of "Say Yes to the Dress" on Netflix.

I also put my Rilke painting up there because the colors match so well with those cute Target canisters my Mom got on clearance for like $3. Aside: (Kathleen Thompson, if you're reading this, that glass juicer in the middle is for you so you better not have one already!)

Lastly, a big shiny thing . . .

We bought a new car! Exciting and scary at the same time! Monthly payments=Scary. Operating vehicle excellent for scavenger hunting=Exciting! Thanks to my Uncle Rick who bled the salesman dry and squeezed every last bit of profit from that car to get us a better deal. I think it's so cute. It's a Kia Rondo. I just used Wikipedia to look up the word "Rondo" and it turns out its a musical term which is appropriate since we'll mostly be towing instruments in its spacious back seat/trunk. Amazingly it seat like 7 or 8 people if you squeeze in real close and I'm pretty sure my Mom plans on every inch of that space being filled with screaming grandchildren. We were thinking more of vintage furniture and guitar amps.

Okay, that's all for now. Try not to be too envious of all my great stuff. I know it's hard.

And the Winner Is . . .

2010-08-09T09:23:00.001-04:00

Missy!

I thought yours was the cutest/most hilarious suggestion. I just keep picturing Rilke (our cat) licking her way out of all that frosting and her black fur getting all covered. I'll drop off the book sometime in the next week.

Also, Sara, yours was a runner up. I almost went with it, but decided that it might fall under the category of torturing both the cat and the guests. Besides, all of my bridesmaid's are in lifetime relationships. Or can anyone catch the bouquet? Hm, I need to brush up on my wedding etiquette.

Thanks to everyone who posted an idea. I'll be back soon to show off my awesome engagement ring and hopefully (keep your fingers crossed) our new car!

PS I totally missed that that postcard above said "A Happy Christmas" but it makes me love it even more.

What?! and Seriously?! and Another Contest

2010-08-03T20:14:00.002-04:00

Big news, big news people. This has nothing to do with crafting really but it's such big news I have to share it. I'm engaged! Like, getting married engaged. I've felt all butterfly-y and girl-like since Tim proposed on Friday. Yep, the old man even got down on one knee. Who knew my life would become a Rob Reiner movie from the mid- 1980s? I don't know, but I'm feeling pretty good right now.

And yes, this is definitely the wedding dress I will be wearing. Definitely. I do like those Christmas lights. Plus, I think the lace top really adds to the whole effect. Plus, I like the idea of the train incorporating either a battery pack or a green power chord trailing off the back. Classy.

Okay, onto the contest which I'm completely making up as I write this. I'll start by telling you about the prize to give myself more time to think about it. My friend Kathleen at Lark Books sent me this awesome volume called Craft Corps by Vickie Howell. If you're involved in the crafting community, whether you buy or sell crafts online, tour regional craft fairs, or just have a local quilting group that you love, you should definitely check out this book. It's a really fascinating view into the lives and techniques of other crafters as well as the crafting community as a whole. And I'm giving you the opportunity to get a copy for FREE. FREE, I tell you!

Here's the thing I thought up in the last 3 minutes:

Think of the most creative and non-tortuous way we can use our cat (pictured) in our wedding. Whoever has the best idea will get a FREE, FREE I say, copy of this book. And by FREE I mean that I will send you this book without you having to pay a dime, even for shipping. I'm including shipping! Or, I could just hand it to you when I see you because if you're reading this I probably know you. I will decide whose is the most creative because as you know, I am an authority on such things. Okay, go be creative. Go!

Minor Works of Art

2010-07-18T00:35:00.001-04:00

Okay, so I'm not sure beauty like this needs an explanation, but if you insist, these are the results of Tim and I doing "blind" portraits of each other while manning the Prairie Dog Inc. booth at The Big Crafty in Asheville, NC. I have to say, I think there's a kind of ridiculous awesome-ness about these portraits that I can't put into words. Also, I think Tim's hair is perfect.

In other beyond really nerdy news, I did a portrait of my cat to hang up in the kitchen. Let me say though, Tim requested this portrait. It was NOT my idea. And our friend Jesse says that doing a portrait of your cat is only worrisome if you're single, although I think that's kind of unfair. Single people should be able to enjoy the thrill and sense of accomplishment that comes from painting a larger-than-life-sized portrait of your pet(s).

Lastly, here's a fourth of July fireworks picture I took. Getting on top of the roof to watch the fireworks at the park nearby= good idea. Giving out roman candles to everyone on the roof to shoot out before instructing them NOT to point them at trees and/or people= bad idea. So, in short, don't do that.

Small Harvest

2010-06-20T18:37:00.002-04:00

As you may know from previous blogs Tim and I are VERY amateur gardeners. For the past couple of years we've tried our hand at growing our own veggies in a little box garden in the backyard with mixed success. For some reason we can only seem to get large amounts of the things Tim likes. Hmmm. It feels pretty good to go outside and pick your own food and then cook it up yourself. It's cheap and environmentally friendly too! Yeah, we're pretty much saving the planet with our backyard garden. Maybe we can use our compost to plug up the oil leak in the Gulf.

We've been trying to be a lot more home-made these days. Recently Tim has endeavored to make his own beer, a venture that's been a lot more successful than I ever expected it to be. He looks like a some sort of warlock in the kitchen with his giant pot of hops and whatnot. Oh, and it stinks something awful in process, but if he's happy, I'm happy, and he's brewed enough beer to keep him happy for a long time.

Tomatoes! Aren't they pretty?

These little guys have been breeding like crazy all over Athens, and they seem to be centered in our backyard. They're cool to look at but bad for a little fledgling garden.

Not to worry! Our trusty garden guarding cat will keep them away! Tally ho, yard cat!

Roger Ebert: Please Review My Life as if it Were a Movie

2010-05-13T16:44:00.000-04:00

Dear Roger Ebert,

I have respected you as film critic for many years now. I used to buy your Movie Yearbook every year and read pretty much every review, but since Al Gore invented the internet I find it much more convenient to access your archives via the search engine on your site, www.rogerebert.com. Something about reading your reviews is soothing to me. Maybe it is your tone, your hints of knowing superiority, your I-don't-give-a-shit-what-other-people-think attitude, or a quality that's completely elusive to the human mind. Whatever the reason, I find a comfort in reading your words, even though I disagree with you an estimated 18.3% of the time.

I want to say I am very sorry about all of your health troubles of late. I find it a tragedy that a man with so much to say should lose his voice. I can only rejoice that your preferred medium of criticism is the written word and not the spoken one. I hope you live a long and fulfilling life. However, before you get on with your long and assuredly fulfilling life, I would like you to consider taking on a project somewhat different from though not unrelated to your typical critic's work (not to say your work is typical. If anyone could take criticism to an art, it would be you). I would like you to review my life as if it were a movie. Yes, this is the depth of my self-absorption.

I often review my own life as if it were a movie, but I find that I lack objectivity and am prone bursts of self-loathing/self-congratulations that make it impossible to know if my reviews are accurate or not.

Here is what I propose: you and Chaz fly down to Georgia for a few weeks. You follow me around as I live my life in typical fashion, all the while taking notes and making inward observations for later use in the official review. You would probably need to stay at a hotel as I don't think my couch would be at all comfortable for you or up to your usual standards. Plus, my roommates are moving out soon and there might be a lot of coming and going of furniture. In your review you might include, but should not be limited to, critiques of my personality, relationship advice, thoughts on my intelligence, a scolding of my unsuccessful working life, encouragements on how you know how much better I can be, learned references to other literary/film/historical characters whose lives or incidences in them mirror my own, and if you like, a fair review of my level of prettiness

The observation period would end whenever you felt you had a good grasp on the entirety of my life as it is now and are ready to write the review. It need not be any longer than an average to long review of yours and should read as if my life were actually a movie. For example, feel free to refer to me as "our heroine" or "the central figure in the plot". Also, please go ahead and post the review on your website. Although I don't want my life to actually be made into a movie starring whoever, I would like it if my ACTUAL life were regarded by all of your readers as a movie, thus allowing them to comment on your review of it. The only drawback is that, since no one else besides you, me, and the people who know me will have seen this "movie" you'd be writing to a very small audience and a lot of confused readers who would spend hours Googling "the life of jenny winchell" to no avail. There's just nothing I can do about this as I'm not willing to give all of your readers the same privilege of examining my life as I'd give to you.

After all is written and posted I will be free to read the review at my leisure, probably at home by myself to avoid embarrassment. I will then gain significant insight from your thoughtful and well-placed words and will no doubt then be able to alter my life in just the right amount of ways to assure as much happiness in the finite amount of time I have on this earth as possible.

If you are interested in this unique opportunity, which might make a good book, please respond to this blog post so we can arrange the details.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely Yours,
Jenny Winchell

PS I will not be able to pay any of your expenses. I'm sorry for any inconvenience.
PPS I disagreed with your review of the movie "Kick Ass". I rather liked it. Please do not let this influence your decision.

The Triceratops is Sean's Favorite Dinosaur. Now you Know.

2010-04-29T19:19:00.001-04:00

Meh. Tim has my camera. The pictures I take are usually the inspiration for my blog so I'm feeling in a bit of a rut. Sure, I could just pull something off the internet but where's the fun in that? Where's the creativity? I mean, I'm not scrapbooking over here! I think I can muster up a little creative energy of my own without the help of a Google search. Okay, I'll just find something funny on the internet, like a video of a hedgehog playing the piano. I just made that up, but hold on, let me see if I can find one . . .

Okay, I'm back. No luck. Come on! This is the INTERNET. I thought you could find anything. "Hamster on a Piano" was closest/cutest thing I found, plus a lot of videos of nerdy teenagers playing the Sonic the Hedgehog theme song. I also found this print from boygirlparty I knew other people shared my interest in spiny mammals performing for the amusement of their friends.

This week my friend Sean is going away, very far away. Not to jail or heaven or anything, just to Alaska. Still, that's pretty far and I'm pretty sure they've never heard of things like cell phones and email up in Palin country so who knows when I'll talk to him again. By then he might have gone from being a vegetarian to shooting wolves from helicopters while fighting off Russian spies.

Sean is having a dinosaur themed going away party this weekend so I thought I'd kick things off a little early with an exhibition of some of the finest dinosaur-themed wares the internet has to offer . . .

First, a robot riding a triceratops, which happens to be Sean's favorite dinosaur. Get it in t-shirt form from Happy Family. They have a lot of non-dinosaur-related awesome-ness as well. Wow, that's a lot of hyphens.

Okay, now imagine that you're back in prehistoric times and dinosaurs are roaming the earth, but instead of actually roaming, they're ROLLING because now they have wheels for legs. The creator of these toys imagined this scenario and then MADE IT HAPPEN! Now that's positive thinking. You can find these guys at Happy Squash Toys.

Sean, I hope you ordered enough Chocolate Dinosaurs for the party. If not, you can find these here. Maybe you can get her to overnight them to you. Kentucky's not that far away.

And check out these dinosaur buttons! They're, well, you know, cute and colorful and stuff.

And last but maybe the best, a freakin' dinosaur chair! I might buy this for myself if it weren't for the fact that it's sized for a child, and you know my butt isn't fitting into that. Maybe I can just find the fabric somewhere and reupholster a thrift store chair.

You can find this chair in a bunch of places online, including here. Let me know if you buy it so I can come over and try it out/probably break it.

Good luck in Alaska, Sean! May all your dinosaur dreams come true!

Back from the Brink

2010-04-18T15:02:00.001-04:00

So, yeah, ok. I haven't posted in a while. Sorry about that. My excuse is that I've been in bed trying to breath through 6 inches of mucus in my lungs which caused me to miss work for a week. I know, being in bed for a week sounds like the perfect opportunity for me to blog about my slightly creepy obsession with having a zoo full of miniature animals. But listen, I was completely focused on trying not to swallow my own lungs so give me a break. Anyway, here's what's been going on . . .

A couple of weekends ago, before Influenza 2010© Tim and I headed up to the north Georgia mountains with a bunch of folks to celebrate our friend Blake's birthday. It was a great weekend, but I have to say my favorite part was exploring the abandoned grounds of an old cabin resort which we discovered tucked away off the highway. I don't know, maybe I just want to be Nancy Drew, but when I see this I kind of thing I freak out. I mean, there was an old piano. A PIANO. I feel like I'm in an alternate version of "The Shining". There was a piano in that movie, right?

And then, THEN came the bamboo forest. So, here's what I figured happened to this place. The owners decided to add a little exotic flavor by bringing in some bamboo. But then, slowly, the bamboo started to take over. Then the owners mysteriously disappeared. No doubt the bamboo took over their bodies as evidenced by these partially disintegrated shoes I found. That's my theory anyway.

We also found this old oven. At least, I think it's an oven. Maybe they made pizzas in it. Or maybe there's a much creepier explanation for it which I'll let you use your imaginations for. Hint: psychopathic owners, unsuspecting tourists.

We made our way through the bamboo and came across the only cabin remaining on the grounds. Whoever was living there must have really loved Texas Pete because we found four bottles of it. As we walked the grounds we came full circle to the other side of the main building and realized that the bamboo was so dense that without realizing it we had been standing about five feet from the pool. I'm guessing this was the source of the bamboo, the owner's wanting to creating a "tropical" atmosphere with tiki torches and the like.

We left soon after. I think everyone had a bit of the creeps. The whole trip was a lot of fun but I can shake the feel that someone was watching us. OOOOOOOOOOO!

And the Winner is . . .

2010-04-05T16:30:00.001-04:00

Mickensey!

Tina Ann Merriweather
Brunswick, GA
Hair Stylist and (recently promoted to) Colorist at the LA Hairport of Hwy 163.

I loved it, especially the "LA Hairport" part. Is that a real place?

Mickensey, I can either mail you the cards or just give them to you next time I see you. Trivia night, maybe?

Thanks to everyone for commenting. I love having these contests so you'll definitely see them popping up in my blog periodically. Tune in next blog in which I explore an abandoned cabin retreat with friends and head up to the mountains,

Orphans and Oddities and Another Contest

2010-03-29T19:30:00.003-04:00

Now that Tim and I have decided to open our vintage/handmade store in some yet to be determined city (did I tell you guys this?), I've been sharpening my eye for those one-of-a-kind vintage finds. Here are some recent finds, some of which weren't really found so much as unwillingly thrust upon us, and others that aren't worth the paper they were printed on except as a hilarious reminder of the collective foibles of our society, i.e. Glamour Shots.

We found the little man to the right and his sheep/dog in an antique store in a small town in South Georgia. The man who owned the store was very kind and gave it to us for the excellent price of $10. Not a bad deal for the adoption of a creepy child AND what looks like a genetically mutated dog. What really gets me are the shoulders, or lack thereof. My question is, at what point in history did this type of portraiture seem normal. Whatever. I'll gladly hang it on my dining room wall to freak out and amuse our guests.

I found this odd little chair at a Goodwill last year and for the longest time I thought it was a sewing chair because it had this little compartment underneath the seat. Only recently did I find out that it's actually a valet or butler's chair that's missing it's hanger which would normally be screwed to the back, under the little wooden tray. This type of chair was originally designed in 1953 by a Danish man named Hans Wegner to serve as an all-in-one caddy for a man's personal items. I'm only sharing this knowledge with you because I just learned it on Wikipedia and I'm feeling super well-informed. I doubt this chair is worth anything because it was made in the early 70s by a Michigan company that apparently now specializes in wooden hangers, but I thought it was a pretty cool show piece. I've almost gotten rid of it a few times but something makes me hang on to it. What can I say, I just like the weird thing.

Alright, let me just come out and say it, I'm officially obsessed with 1950s and 60s Pyrex. I mean, it's just so cute and you can find quite a lot of it for pretty cheap. I realize that I'm kind of jumping on a vintage bandwagon here but every time I go thrifting now I have my eye out for that unmistakable milk glass/brightly colored pattern. Just this weekend I found this lid to a baking dish. I didn't find the dish, but I had to get it because, well, look at the thing. Look at those colors! Come on! After doing a little research I've only been able to find this particular pattern on a website called Pyrex Love which shows you all the Pyrex patterns. Even on that site it's listed as an "unknown" pattern, but I think it's pretty awesome. I'm just waiting for the day I stumble upon it's brother. That will be a good day.

These "things" have kind of been creeping me out ever since they came into our house. We got them in, what else, a secret santa exchange. I believe they're bull horns carved to look like peacocks and made into bookends? Whatever, the orange eyes are scary. Plus, they seem to be slowly decaying. Weird. Tim wouldn't let me sell them at the yard sale we had this weekend, so here they remain staring down at me from the bookshelf as I type this. One of them is missing an eye. Eek.

Last but not least, an item totally out of place in this blog which I try to keep completely devoid of any glamour of any kind. Especially glamour spelled with a "u". We found this sitting on the shelf of one of the scuzzier local thrift stores and it was calling out to us. What a throwback. I don't exactly long for the days when there was a Glamour Shots studio in every mall in the country, but how can you not get a kick out of this. Even back then it was ridiculous but now I feel like it offers us some sort of insight into the psyche of the average American circa 1993, which is when this picture was taken. So, I'm having another blog contest. Here's the scoop:

Come withe a name, hometown, and occupation for this lovely lady and leave a comment on my blog.
I pick the winner based completely on my own preference.
Winner gets a free pack of funny animal cards from my store, pictured here.
Now go out and be funny and poignant and don't disappoint me!

Growth, Decay, and Rock n' Roll Marching Bands

2010-03-19T20:04:00.003-04:00

Many, many things going on of late. I'm just going to bunch them all together here and hope it doesn't sound too rambling.

Last week we trekked my little car down to Florida for the second annual Harvest of Hope Festival. I'm happy to report that there was a noticeable drop in the number of gutter punks roving the fairgrounds this year. Much less smelly, even with the addition of the muddy ground. Harvest of Hope is a great organization that raises money for the families of migrant workers. We saw some great bands this time around, including The Mountain Goats, Billy Bragg, and Broken Social Scene. One of the best acts we saw was a band from Chicago called Mucca Pazza, a sort of rag tag punk rock marching band. They were awesome and amazingly well-arranged for having about 20 members dancing around the stage with horns, pom-poms, and guitars. You should check out their music but don't miss a live show if you can catch it.

On the seven hour car ride back to Athens we drove the back-roads and meandered around some old Southern towns. It was a bit sad to see the downtowns with all the empty buildings. Tim and I are planning on moving in the next year and opening our own store in some unknown place. All the empty storefronts made me feel both nervous and excited to get started. It's like when you begin a big project and the task seems insurmountable but you can see a glimmer of the ultimate results.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch . . . we've started once again planting our little garden. I'm afraid we're not very attentive gardeners, but I'm determined that this year we'll get more than just a handful of beans and tomatoes from our harvest. I spent the day digging up the soil, planting seeds, and redesigning our compost so we don't lose so much to little scavengers. As I was digging through the compost I came upon a big colony of earth worms. I love those little guys. They're so simple and singular.

Cat in a basket . . .

Sometimes People Suck.

2010-03-17T17:23:00.003-04:00

Not all the time, but sometimes. I'll give you a good long blog about all the scrambling about I've been doing over the past week, but for now I just want to vent a little. That's what the internet is for, right? Right.

Now that we're all on the same page let me start by saying that I'm sure none of you people suck. In fact, I'm pretty sure I know most of you reading this and I don't purposely associate myself with suckiness, lameness, fakery, egotism, or jerk-titude. And yes, according to spell-check I made up 60% of those words.

Don't get me wrong, we all have our days. I can be downright unpleasant to be around sometimes, but I don't think I'm mean, or at least I don't try to be.

If you're wondering if I'm just babbling, let me explain. As most of you know, I work in retail bookstore as a necessary side project to keep me in yarn and felt. Working retail comes with the understanding that sometimes the people you run into are having bad days and don't want to talk to you. Fine with me. I've been in the same boat. These aren't the people that concern me. Usually they say "No thanks" and are on their way.

However, there's a special place in hell for the small percentage of the population who feel it's their God-given right to treat people like crap and expect to be rewarded for it. The truly awful part is that they very often are. Everyone's heard the saying, "The customer's always right." Oh, how that saying is the bane of my working life. If that phrase comes into play it usually means the exact opposite: the customer is completely wrong but wants what they want and thinks that screaming at enough peons will do the job, and it usually does.

Let me tell you why I'm ranting about this. Today I had a woman accuse me/the company I work for of emailing customers coupons that don't work just to get them into the store to buy something. When I explained to her that the coupon would work if she could just give me the proper phone number associated with the account so the register would accept the coupon she told me to stop talking and to "wipe that look off [my] face". I'm assuming the look she meant was me biting my lip to stop myself from saying something I'd regret.

Let's pause here for a minute to evaluate the situation from this woman's point of view. You're in a store, talking to a complete stranger, you're getting a little frustrated, and before pausing to even think that the person you're talking to has no control over the policies of a huge corporation, you start verbally bitch-slapping them.

Okay, let's pick it back up. It's at this point in the conversation that I've decided to stop trying to placate this person and start defending myself. I say in a very direct, firm tone, "please don't speak to me like that." I'm not screaming at her, I'm not accusing her of anything, I just want her to treat me like a human being and not the grime under her finger-nails. In my experience, the direct honest approach works about 75% of the time. Perhaps the customer is taken aback by your bluntness and obvious unwilling-ness to take crap from them. Perhaps they even realize that they've been a total ass and are only making themselves look bad. Whatever the reasons, it did not work in this case.

While violently slamming her credit card on the counter she screams, "I told you to stop talking. Now just ring up the damn book".

I repeat, "Ma'am, there's no reason to speak to me that way."

Then, here it comes, the inevitable, "What's the name of your supervisor, JENNY?!" As if my daring to ask her to speak in the tone, volume, and level of sanity of a normal human being were breaking some unspoken retail barrier where you, the worker, are meant to assume that every word out of their, the shopper's, mouth was ordained by God and must be obeyed accordingly lest you be smote by the molten fires of His wrath.

What most people don't know is that it's almost impossible for a customer to get an employee fired or even reprimanded beyond a light, "Maybe next time you should just pass it off to a manager." I've never seen anyone lose a job this way. A manager/supervisor has likely been working in retail for quite a while and has seen their share of crazies. They know it's part of the business and are far more likely to believe an employee they've known for a while than stranger whose raving like a banshee at them.

Anyway, you have to take it in stride, and it won't have any long-term effects. I just felt like getting it out of my system. Also, although I know none of you are jerks, if you're ever in a situation at a retail store where you can feel yourself becoming frustrated about something, stop and think about what you're doing and who you're talking to. More likely than not the store clerk has no power and yelling at them for something beyond their control will only make you look like an ass. If you feel strongly enough about the situation, politely ask to see a manager who will probably give you what you want because that's what they're paid to do.

That's my rant.

Tip your servers.

Vintage Delights

2010-03-06T17:24:00.008-05:00

I love shopping handmade on Etsy, but there's also another equally awesome group of sellers who devote their lives to hunting down those dusty gems and bringing them to light. Here are some treasures I found . . .

I've become somewhat obsessed with these vintage pyrex Cinderella bowls. My sister and I bought a set for my mom for Christmas in a different pattern. This is probably my favorite pattern/color combination. The pattern is called Amish Butterprint and is super adorable. You can get this set for yourself (or me) at Jen's Closet.

I love these little yellow kitchen containers. If I had any counter space I would get them for myself. Find them at the Art Deco
Dame's shop.

Come on, this is adoorbale, right? It might even fit me. Maybe. Even a size 13from the 60s might be bit snug. I tried on my grandmother's gorgeous wedding dress which was labeled a size 8 or 10 I think. I couldn't even get a leg in it. It's a dress. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but you get the idea. Find this awesome dress here.

I think this little jacket would look amazing on the right person. It's pretty Victorian, but I think you could turn it really modern with the right look. Find it here.

Okay, that's it for now. I hope you enjoy my picks. I'll be back blogging soon with some original stuff and some pics of my new "studio".

Among the Bearded Ones

2010-02-23T19:05:00.007-05:00

Probably not many of you will ever get to experience hair growth to the level of obsession, but I'm one of the lucky ones. For the last four months my lovely Tim has participated in what can best be described as a social networking site for beard growers (Whiskerino.org). The challenge: shave your face clean at the end of October and let it grow. The goal: No trimming, shaving, or cutting for four months while posting a photo of your progressive beard growth at least once a week.

At last the saga is almost over, and somehow I was conned into to accompanying said boyfriend to the ultimate beard party of the century. It was definitely an interesting time filled with lots of eating and drinking, lots of beard admiring, some good music, ridiculous amounts of photography, and a stuffed sheep named Roy who came home with us when Tim insisted on buying him for me after an excessive amount of "celebrating".

The last day was relatively beard free although there were two amazing and unplanned beard run-ins throughout the city. We hung around Nashville for a while and ate some awesome brunch at a place called Marche which I'd highly recommend if you're ever in the area. I tried to drink a cup of the house-made hot chocolate but it was way too thick and rich to finish after having gorged myself on some delicious pastries followed by scrumptious french toast.

Good times were had by all.

Thanks for the memories, Nashville.

Felt-Up #2

2010-02-11T20:14:00.008-05:00

Success! Sort of. Ok, maybe not success per se, but better than last time, right? Right. I knew you'd agree with me. I actually think the gray looks rather sophisticated. And, although the lace pattern didn't show up as visibly as maybe I was planning, I think it adds a nice textural flare. Blah blah blah.

Anyway, I sent it to Detroit so you Detroiters should go to City Bird and buy it. All of you buy it!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the hilarious train of badly felted items is chugging along and some pretty awful things are beginning to accumulate around my house. For example, this "hat" which resembles something like a tea cozy and I didn't even use a pattern for, thank you very much! I think I'd better just toss it, but if growing up during the great depression taught me anything, it was to eat anything I can find and don't throw anything away. So, any suggestions for what I should do with this?

Here's what I've come up with: pillow, cat saddle. Okay, that's it.

I've actually started to enjoy getting ideas from other people and using them as my own, so anything you guys could come up with would be much appreciated.

Cat stare:

And the Winner is . . .

2010-02-01T01:09:00.004-05:00

MIKE!

I thought there were a lot of awesomely hilarious suggestions, but I really liked the idea of this crab being in a business meeting, maybe wearing a suit, especially with the way his arms (claws) are folded.

I'll probably have more contests in the future so visit often to see what's new and what you could win.

Mike, I'll get your crab drawing to you very shortly.

Crab Say What?

2010-01-26T17:54:00.007-05:00

Ok, this is all you, readers. And by readers I mean my sister and my boyfriend if I tell him to. You've gotta help me out here. As you probably know if you're one of the two people previously mentioned, I've been working on a series of animal drawings in which the animal depicted is saying something completely out of context and thus hilarious. The hippo and bear are some examples of what I've done in the past.

So here's the deal. I've got this crab here and he's drawings a blank. Please leave a comment with the funny thing you think the crab should be saying. If I pick you, I'll send you the original drawing with your saying added. I will also be making these into cards and prints so you're saying will be famous! FAMOUS! Here's the crab so get going being hilarious and get back to me soon. I'll give you until Thursday at midnight to submit something. Ok, go!

Felt-Up #1

2010-01-24T21:30:00.005-05:00

So I believe I mentioned in a previous blog that I was planning on experimenting with some felting techniques. Well, the results have started filing in and let me tell you, I'm far more capable of making something truly ugly than I ever thought possible.

I mean, let's be truthful, I've made some ugly things in my life. I have some art school horrors hiding out in a box in my closet, hiding from the light of day. However, I'm not sure if I've ever worked so hard to make something that's trying itself so hard to be cute, but falls short so drastically. This is what an awesome felted scarf is supposed to look like . . .

This is what the turd that I came up with looks like, keeping in mind that I tried to photograph it in as pleasing a light as possible . . .

I know what you're thinking. That doesn't look that bad. I might wear that on a day that I'm not going to see anyone I know. Here are some things to note: it's too short. It shrunk much more than I thought it would so it won't even fit around your neck a few times. Also, the little bobbles aren't really evenly placed so there's a sort of pattern but not really. Plus, it's brown, which I usually like, but in this case increases the turd factor by a degree of at least 17.5.

Don't pity me though. This useless swath of thick wool gives me a glimmer of hope for the future. It's strengthened my resolve to move ahead pig-headedly, despite all signs that I will fail miserably and waste lots of yarn.

If you can think of anything I can do with this please comment and let me know. Possibilities have thus far included; lining for cat bed, firewood carrier, abstract wall art, loin cloth, "fashion sling".

Cat:

Um, Yes Please.

2010-01-18T21:53:00.005-05:00

So, here's some cute stuff. I decided I was too lazy to be creatively bloggy today so I'm just going to post some things I found on Etsy that are awesome and deserve some notice. This, for example is an adorable bag by Deadworry. I bought a t-shirt of this same design for Tim for Christmas. Who can resist Mr. Fancy Rabbit? Nobody, I say, nobody! Go and buy this, and buy one for me while you're at it.

These adorable illustrations by Matteart remind me of old Disney movies, especially 101 Dalmatians. Don't you want to live in one of these little townhouses? Can't you imagine taking your groceries up in brown bags?

Um, if you consider yourself an adorable person, as I'm sure you are, you're probably going to want to get one of these adorable hair clips and wear it every day. They're from Modernbean and they have a bunch of other cute things as well. Check it out!

Okay, I don't wear belts myself, but my boyfriend does and I'm pretty sure he would love this one. This is from Buncombe Buckles.

Okay, that's all for this edition of things you should buy me. See you next time!

Some Helpful Advice

2010-01-09T18:15:00.002-05:00

I noticed these books at work the other day and had to take a peek at them. The language is hilariously uptight, although that's not too surprising for the time period. At one point she refers to sex as "overtures". She must had been a satisfied woman.

Anyway, here are some quotes I thought you might find amusing. These books were written by Blanche Ebbutt in 1913 and while most of her advice is absurdly archaic some of it is rather timeless.

For Wives:

Don't manage your husband too visibly. Of course he may require the most careful management but you don't want your friends to think of him as a hen pecked husband. Above all, never let him think you manage him.

Don't say it's a waste of time to make marmalade at home when you can get it better made from the stores. Your husband and children never like any so well as yours, and it is worth the trouble of making it to see how they enjoy eating it.

Don’t let your husband think it is a matter of indifference to you if he wears his socks wrong side out, or odd boots on his feet. Some men are absent-minded enough even for this; and if they can’t keep a valet, their wives should see that they are dressed properly.

Don't be satisfied to let your husband work overtime to earn money for frocks for you. Manage with fewer frocks.

Don't interpret too literally the 'obey' of the Marriage Service. Your husband has no right to control your individuality.

For Husbands:

Don’t be afraid of lending a hand in the house during a temporary servant difficulty.

Don't be conceited about your good looks. It is more than probable that no one but yourself is aware of them Don't try to be a Sultan. This is the West and you can't shut your wife away from all the other men.

Don't be too exacting about your food. If you can't afford an accomplished cook, don't demand accomplished dishes.

New Year, New Blog, New Unnecessary Pictures of My Cat

2010-01-07T23:28:00.006-05:00

Well, what can I say? I've made blogging my New Year's resolution and already it's taken me until almost midnight at the end of the first week of the year to even BEGIN accomplishing my goal of posting regularly. But you know, I feel good. This is gonna happen.

I'm like one of those plucky heroines in movies who leads a listlessly dull life until something sparks her to become ambitious and confident, and then she moves to New York or Paris or something and becomes a top pastry chef or frees someone wrongfully imprisoned or finds the cure for a rare disease. Ok, actually I'm not that person at all. I'm just blogging and crafting over here, there's no reason to get carried away. But, still, I'm confident that I'll cure Lupus by the end of the year.Also, I'm going to create some really awesome felted things. I got this book for free because they were throwing it away at day job (Barnes and Noble) and have now become fascinated with the idea of putting nuts or marbles into wool, rubber-banding them securely and felting the heck out of it. It sounds insane but this book makes it seem like a REALLY good idea. I'm not finished with the scarf I'm going to try it on and I have to be sure it's still long enough to be a scarf after I felt it so I have to make it extra long. If it turns out well I think I'll send it to Detroit where I'm selling some things at City Bird. So, if you live in Detroit you may one day have the opportunity to BUY one of these crazy experiments of mine.

I think I also may try to knit an actual garment, like a little sweater or something. This idea terrifies me. I'm imagining spending hours and days and weeks sweating over this project only to end up with a useless mass of knotted yarn only suitable for a toddler to suck on. But I feel it's a challenge I must take on if I'm to call myself a knitter.

Ok, here's the picture of my cat as promised. I got a light box for Christmas to photograph crafts to put up in the shop. I unfolded the structure and went into the other room to get the camera. I came back to find Rilke(cat) looking at me curiously from inside the tent. She loves things like this. Every time I do laundry she ends up pulling the basket over herself. Anyway, when she would sit still I got some pretty cute shots. Here's one:
Rilke says Happy New Year and demands adoration for her photogenic adorable-ness.

Hey You! Sit down and Listen!

2009-10-01T23:19:00.004-04:00

Over the last few years (specifically, the exact amount of time Tim and I have been together) I have found myself thrust into an environment that I would have never guessed I would be around, let alone a part of. I have always loved music, but I loved it for it's comforts, for it's familiar words and tunes, for it's reminder of love and family and car trips I might have otherwise forgotten.

I never felt that devoted to KNOWING music or knowing and hearing lots of bands. In fact, whenever I went to a concert I mostly just felt bored. I mean, really bored. Not necessarily because the music was bad, but something about that environment just couldn't capture me.

Well, needless to say I've had to get over a lot of that. There's a lot of waiting involved with being in a band. A lot of waiting and then hurrying up. It's taken me a while but I think I've finally learned that the secret to enjoying music and enjoying playing music and simply to allow yourself to enjoy it. So often, I get caught up in the hurried details of having to do this or that or forgetting something or thinking we forgot something, or forgetting the words or the keys or the chords.

This week we enjoyed a house show at our friend Jesse's house, featuring the extremely talented Chris Bell. There's just nothing like enjoying the music of your friends with your friends.

Last Breath of Summer

2009-09-28T16:50:00.004-04:00

I think today is the day. It feels like it anyway. This afternoon I went outside to read and that's when I noticed it. The light had changed. It was warm but there was a strong breeze weaving through the overgrown grass of our front lawn.

I walked around. Sure enough, a spider clung to it's dare-devil web while light glinted off of the strands. Our garden stood, blooming and lush, almost bursting, but not quite. Objects stood transfixed by the warm light shining down on them. Even our cat was itching to get out and laze in the heat of it's rays.

What does it mean? Fall is coming. In fact, on the brink of already being here. It makes me want to stretch my muscles and yawn. It makes me want to smell grass and taste apples. It makes me long for picnic blankets, or just any blankets. I always forget how much the seasons affect my mood until one I actually enjoy rolls around. I actually feel relaxed. I actually feel ok about speeding tickets, and love drama, and longing for home, and wanting run away from home, and hating my job, and loving my other job.

So, I reccomend everyone take a moment and take a step outside they're house and just take one breath. Fall is here.

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like . . .

2009-09-26T21:24:00.006-04:00

Okay, in all honesty it looks nothing like Christmas. In fact, at the moment, it look s alot like April with all of the rain we've been getting. However, I've been told that this isn't so in other/most parts of the country. In fact, I hear it's rather chilly up there in the Northern regions of the country, and perhaps quite cold in other countries as well. Thus begins my yearly ritual known as the knitting season.

I just can't bring myself to knit during the warmer months, so during spring and summer I focus on other things like felt, which is also quite warm, but I don't make things to wear with it so it's okay.

Actually, this year it was a customer who reminded me to start knitting again, when she came back to purchase more hats and I only had one in the store.

So, for all of you folks who are gettin' cold, I'm looking out for you!

I Have a Dreamcast (And so Should You)

2009-09-08T18:17:00.002-04:00

Okay, so there's no denying that me and most of the people I like are overwhelmingly nerdy, and I love that. Well, in order to confirm this nerdy-ness they decided to celebrate the underrated and underplayed gaming system, the Sega Dreamcast.

Tomorrow (9/9/09) is the 10th anniversary of the day the Dreamcast was released in the U.S. In celebration of this we're throwing a party and a show at Go Bar. There will, of course be birthday cake. There will be Dreamcast playing. There will be a raffle to win a Dreamcast. If you are a nerd, and I suspect you are, you should come down and celebrate with us. There will also be lots of good music, including songs about the Dreamcast and other awesome gaming systems.

If you do not come I will assume you are not a nerd and be very suspicious of you.

Animals say the Darndest Things

2009-08-19T16:29:00.005-04:00

All of our temporary animals friends have gone to loving and more spacious homes now, which leaves me feeling a little lonesome for their contribution of a little additional daily cuteness. I guess that's part of the reason I started doing these drawings. Also I cribbed the idea from some awesome business cards from the folks over at Berkley Illustration who I met while visitng Portland. Don't worry, the drawings and words are all my own. I've been flipping through my big animal encyclopedia with my eyes closed and drawing whatever my finger lands on. I have to admit, I think these are pretty cute.

I have these and more for sale in my shop and some notecards and things are in the works for them as well.

Fuzz Part 3

2009-07-26T18:26:00.003-04:00

Ok, she's definitely cuter than I thought she would be, and much tinier too!

Fuzz Part 2

2009-07-23T22:59:00.002-04:00

So, you know about our new friend Rabbit (we haven't decided what to name it yet) but the cute animal finding and collecting doesn't end there.

I am in Portland visiting my friend Emily and apparently Tim is lonely without me because stray animals seem to sense this and flock to him. He called me last night to tell me that a kitten had come knocking/meowing at our door late last night, and when the door was opened he hopped over all the feet blocking the way and made himself at home. Our cat Rilke is going to be pissed. She had just come to accept and live with the rabbit, I don't know if she'll be able to handle another cat in her territory. We're going to try to find it a home because unfortunately we really can't keep this one.

Tim described him as being around a month old, and brown with dark markings. This is what I picture him to look like . . .

I'll post again with a real picture to show you how close I came. The cute animal saga continues . . .

Fuzz

2009-07-03T18:18:00.003-04:00

As Tim was scooting home last night he glimpsed this adorable little rabbit on the side of the road. The poor dear seemed very lost and afraid. He was obviously abandoned by someone. I drove over with our cat carrier to pick up the little guy. He's now comfortably at home in our roommates bathroom (they're gone for the summer).

Tim and would like to keep him but we just don't think it's possible at the moment, so some friends of ours, with rabbits of their own, may be taking him. I just had to show this adorable little guy. He's so small!

Things and Other Things

2009-06-26T17:21:00.003-04:00

Ok, so I've done about 3 billion things since the lasted time I posted. Mostly I've been rolling around the East coast up and down. Tim and I, posing as our band Captain #1 went on tour for a little over two weeks. It was my first real experince on a semi-long band outing and it went better than expected. Tim and I were still together when it was all over so I think that says something good about our relationship.

There are many stories to tell, but I most want to mention the one where we had to (got to?) hear a guy throw up on his girlfriend in bed. I don't think I need to say anything more than that. Also we had some great shows, and some horrible ones. After a venue in Detroit canceled the show on us after we had been there for an hour, my sister and her boyfriend Greg were forced to accompany us as we followed around some teenagers trying to save the show, and wondered whether one of their Moms was going to call the cops on us (Sorry, guys!).

After we got back from tour we drove down to Florida for Tim's birthday because you can get into Disneyworld for free. That was fun, although pretty expensive for me because I had to pay my way in. We actually went Disney Hollywood Studios, aka MGM. I secretly wanted to ride the Tower of Terror all day, but it was Tim's birthday so I followed his lead. At the ticket booth they gave him a birthday button with his name on it so every single Disney staffer that we passed yelled out, "Happy Birthday, Tim!" It was kind of awesome, and all but one seemed to really mean it. We also volunteered for one of those stunt shows where they blow up things and pour water on you.

This weekend is Athfest. We'll be playing at Nucci's space on Saturday night around 11!

This has been and will continue to be a very busy summer. July means a craft show in Asheville and then a trip to the west coast to visit Miss Emaline!

Crasftstravaganzaa 2009 (Spring Edition)

2009-05-06T21:40:00.006-04:00

This past weekend was the annual Craftstravaganzaa Craft Fair in our lovely city. It took place downtown, where I shared a booth with my friend, fellow crafter, and bookstore coworker Christy Wooke. It was a two day event this year and although we got lashed by the rain pretty good on the first day, it ended up being a pretty successful and fun weekend.

I've been making some new wall art using embroidery hoops and they were a big hit! I really enjoy making them and got a few done while I was manning our booth at the craft fair. My pillows were also a favorite. All of this makes me very happy. I tend to doubt myself when it comes to new things it art and crafts.

Christy also did well with her adorable hand-drawn magnets and pins. Unfortunately her magnets were a little worse for wear after the hurricane conditions of the first day. On the second day we came equipped with shower curtains to put up around our tent but of course it didn't rain at all THAT day.

Our booth was right next to our friends Missy and Raoul so we got to chat with them all weekend. I managed to limit my purchases to one adorable stuffed elephant which I'm sure will feature heavily in some upcoming blogs. I'll keep him under wraps for now and just leave a hint: traveling circus. Now go and figure it out.

PS Happy 30th Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Winter Clearance Sale!

2009-04-24T14:12:00.005-04:00

Hello all!

Just wanted to drop a note to tell you that I'm having my annual winter sale over in my Etsy shop. This is the time of year when people are shucking off the vestiges of winter and donning flip flops and shorts. We're especially feeling the hit right now in Athens, where it has gone from a mild 65 degrees to a sweltering 90 in a matter of a few days.

Soooooo, I decided it would be the perfect time to start my clearance sale. I'm offering a 30% discount on most of my winter knitted items, and some of them were already VERY inexpensive. For example, this hat is now only $16.80 . . .

I mostly have scarves, and there are some very nice selections if I don't say so myself. This "Cosby Sweater Scarf is going for the low low price of $21! CRAZINESS! Ok, not craziness, but still a pretty good deal. So, if you're in the nirghborhood please stop by the shop to see if there's something you like, in or out of the sale section.

On another note, if anyone is going to be in Athens next weekend (May 2-3) I'm participating for the second year in Athens Indie Craftstravanganzaa, where I'll be selling my wares alongside my friend Chrsity, whose awesomely cute items you can also find on her Etsy shop, Wooke. The craft fair will be on Saturday from 11am to 7pm and on Sunday from 12pm to 5pm. It will be in the parking lot next to Agora and the Caledonia Lounge, behing the 40 Watt Club. Please stop by and buy something from somebody, even if it's not me!

Things I love!

2009-04-16T17:09:00.008-04:00

I have too much trouble trying to think of things to write about that will be interesting so this post will just be about objects and things that I like.

This seller is really awesome! Not only has she been kind enough to feature my own shop in some of her superb treasuries, but her jewelry is just gorgeous and very affordable! She also has Surprise items that you can buy if you're more adventurous. I'll definitely be partaking in that. It reminds me of buying those brown paper bags at the toy store for a dollar and hoping you'd get something good, but not really caring because half the fun was in the mystery. You can find her stuff at her shop on Etsy, called 3dots.

Okay, I'm not usually a big fan of the pink, though I admit that it definitely has its merits, including looking like some delicious cupcake frosting in this big, cute bag from Morelle.

Um, can you say cute? If not, this brooch pretty much spells it out for you. Check out these Craftyfolk on Etsy.

Let's face it, pillows are nice to lay on so why not get one that's also nice to look at. If you're in the market check out Olive's shop.

I just wanted a short refreshing post so I hope you liked what you saw. If so, please take a look at these creative people and buy something from them.

A Parade of Creatures

2009-03-24T21:19:00.004-04:00

Recently I've been exploring a new craft; embroidery. I've always kind of thought of this as an old lady craft until I picked up a book called "Doodle-Stitching" which made it look very fun and cute. Sooooo . . . . I went out and bought my first embroidery hoop ( a cheap wooden one) and then soon went out and bought my second embroidery hoop(a much better, plastic one) and began stitching away. So far I only know how to do one real stitch but it seems to be working for my current purposes.

I've been working my way back and forth through my encyclopedia of animals trying to capture the ones that are both embroidery friendly and cute. My first attempts were an owl, a fox, and a narwhal. Yes, I said it, a narwhal. I'm going to reveal my stupidity here, but until about a year ago I thought narwhals were mythological creatures akin to a unicorn or a hobbit, but they're real. This fact blew my mind. It would seriously be like if someone told you that of course unicorns are real, haven't you ever watched the Discovery Channel?! I just had to try my hand at creating one of these guys and embroidering him on a pillow seemed the most practical way.

We're also preparing for an upcoming tour of our band, Captain #1. We'll be traveling up the East Coast and then toward Michigan where my sister lives. Tim's an old hand at this tramping around the country thing, while I'm relatively new to it. I am looking forward to seeing new places.

Well, that's all for now. I'm going back to eating popcorn and watching bad TV.

The Long Wait Part 2

2009-03-05T22:49:00.008-05:00

So, you don't have to tell me that it's been a ridiculously long time since I updated my blog, though some of you already have. The good news is that when I wait this long I usually have more to say and more pictures to show you. I'll start with the more recent . . .

This past Sunday we awoke (in the early afternoon) to find gobs of snow on the ground and still more spilling from the sky. A week earlier we were in Detroit for my lovely sister's birthday and saw snow there, but any snow at all is a rare sight in Georgia and this was a positive blanket. Being from the Midwest (El Kansas, to be precise) I've seen my share of snow, but Tim (the bf) and basically everyone I know down here is from the South. Tim didn't get to see snow until he was 17! He just kept walking around saying, "This is blowing my mind!" To the left you'll see the slightly retarded but endearingly lovable snowman we made.

All in all, I'd say we got about a foot of snow. In the north this wouldn't be such a great big deal and people would pretty much go about their normal lives. But this is the South, meaning two things: 1) No snow plows or salt trucks, and 2) No one realizes the importance of cutting down dead trees. We were most effected by the latter, as our street became strewn with fallen limbs, and one especially monstrous tree that fell across the entire road and took out the electricity on our block. We survived by candlelight for about 36 hours until about midnight on the second day, when I had just finished a candlelit shower (luckily our hot water heater is gas) and flipped the wall switch out of habit, only to find that our electricity had miraculously been restored. I definitely don't think I could have survived before the late 1800s without complaining a lot.

Though the snow was a bit inconvenient, I think overall it was a nice change from the routine.

In other news, I have been a total bum about my Etsy shop which I guess isn't really news so much as lack of news. I have all these new ideas for really cute pillows with some embroidery, but I can't get myself motivated. So, I've decided that today is the day. I finally posted my first new item in a while. It's a cute lacy little scarf. I love this goldish mustard color a lot. I think because it looks kind of vintage. Also, it makes me want to wear shirts with poofy sleeves. Don't ask me why. This me trying to look all fashion-y and stuff. That's not what I really look like though.

Tomorrow we'll be heading down to Florida for the Harvest of H ope Music Festival. We'll only be spectating, not participating so hopefully it will be a stress-free weekend with some good music. We'll also be camping which is always both fun and irritating. Like I said, I like modern conveniences. I like to think I can be a little rough and tumble when I need to be though.

Thanks to anyone who has been willing to wait for months to read a new blog post. I hope you weren't holding your breath.

This is our cat Rilke, looking positively pissed that we've decided to let here experience snow.

The Long Wait Part One

2008-11-25T23:07:00.006-05:00

It's been a while since I blogged last. That's partly because I'm still getting used to blogging, and partly because we've just been super busy. In a mostly good way.

Some awesomeness came our way when we (a group of us from work(Barnes and Noble)) went to see John Hodgeman in Atlanta. He was talking about his new book, "More Information than You Require", which is a follow-up to his first tome, "The Areas of My Expertise". For those of you who don't know John Hodgeman you may recognize him from such pop culture icons as "The Daily Show", or more begrudgingly, those Apple Mac commercials where he plays "PC".
His books are great and are full of totally useless and desperately needed information, such as which presidents had hooks for hands, and what that 51st state is all about. I encourage you to read them.

We also took a trip down to Florida this weekend to play a few shows( did you know that my boyfriend and I are in a band called Captain #1?) and visit Tim's parents since he won't be seeing them for Thanksgiving.
We stopped on the way and got this great picture of me hugging a stuffed tiger in a Walgreens. We were trying to replicate the amazing image we found of Alan Thicke hugging a stuffed tiger. I guess it was a head shot or something, but it's just ridiculous and great.

Well, I'll have much more to look at in the next week, but there's so much to be done, with packing and crafting, and flying on jet planes, and eating turkey!

Happy Thanksgiving, Alan Thicke!

Hello Fall, Goodbye Fall

2008-11-07T18:58:00.007-05:00

Here in Georgia it always seems that as soon as you welcome fall with pumpkins and apples and Halloween, you're waving goodbye to it and saying hello to winter. This year fall has been a bit up and down. A few weeks ago it got REALLY cold for Georgia. Down in the forties and such. But today it was almost eighty degrees, and that's just not right. So, here's a little homage to fall, in case you miss it.

Tim was smart enough to nab some photos of our spooky (and silly) jack-o-lanterns before they completely rotted. I made the spooky one on the right. Tim thought it was too scary , but it's right up my alley. I love scary movies (not gory ones) and with this pumpkin I was going for a sort of bucked-tooth vampire look. Tim leaned toward goofy, but we decided that his pumpkin looked most like Dick Cheney, and that's scarier than anything I've ever made.

Today I took some pictures of the changing leaves in our yard. The colors that nature can produce are truly amazing. There's one tree, which I haven't got a picture of, that is so large and bursting with bright yellow leaves, they look like canary feathers. A tree of canaries! What an image. Our yard is pretty too, especially this pretty red and orange number in the back.

One last fallish thing . . . I got this picture of the sky clouding over into evening. I'm not sure why it's so dark in one corner. I'm pretty sure I didn't put my thumb in it. Maybe the camera picked up something I didn't.

Well, I'll give one last sigh for fall and hope it will last a few more days, but I don't have my hopes up. No doubt in a week, it will be bitterly cold and I'll have to wear three pairs of socks to bed. You'd think if it were going to be cold we could at least get some snow, but that's a rarity as well.

Oh! Oh! Oh! It's Magic . . .

2008-11-06T14:18:00.005-05:00

I have to say, I am so so happy and relieved that Barack Obama is going to be our next president. I really feel that he has the power to lift our country out of the mire that we're in. I was a little nervous on election day, even though I was confident that he would win. I loved that basically as soon as the polls in California closed they called the election for Obama. I hope that those who voted for McCain aren't too disappointed. I think that John McCain is truly a good man, and would not have done bad by our country. However, I do feel that he allowed his desire to win the election and the opinions of those in his campaign to skew his judgment to such an extent that he became almost unrecognizable. Given his erudite and humble concession speech, it seems that he recognizes this himself and has gone back to the real John McCain. I really do hope that Obama's presidency will open up a new era of cooperation and open-mindedness in our country.

I really wanted an Obama t-shirt for most of the election but either couldn't find one I liked, or didn't have the money for it. However, ironically enough, just a few days after the election I found just what I wanted right in my home town of Athens. I thought this one was A for awesome. Find it at Satisfctory on Etsy. My manager at work was so happy about the results of the election that she bought everyone breakfast and lunch.

I work at Barnes and Noble, and I when I came in on Wednesday I thought I'd get some newspapers to save for the headlines. I was lucky to get to work early because we only got 3 copies of the New York Times and people asked about them all day, and a few today as well.

The only thing that made me really sad this election season was to see that Proposition 8 passed in California. I'm not sure how it will actually play out legally, but this seems to be a devastating blow to civil rights. In 1967 the Supreme Court, in a case involving an interracial couple, declared that "marriage is one of the basic civil rights for man" and now that right is being threatened. Our country was founded with the idea of a separation of church and state. The only reason to not allow gay couples to marry is because you have religious moral objections to it. The fact is, two people being married, whether gay or not, does not infringe on anyone else's rights or well-being, and therefore should be legal. The only thing Prop 8 does is force a specific religious belief onto the whole of the population of California and it's citizens. Since we're a country that allows freedom of religion, and therefore the right to not practice religion at all, this is a clear violation of our consitution that I find very disheartening. Being gay should not infringe on your basic rights.

I feel that one day we'll look back on this decision and shake our heads with shame. And it is a shame, that on the day we elect our first black president, people are still battling for their rights as citizens of this country and as human beings.

Go Vote!

2008-11-04T15:19:00.000-05:00

Do it. NOW! If you don't, you'll regret it.

Spooky and Not So Spooky

2008-11-02T13:09:00.001-05:00

Happy Halloween Weekend!

I had a devil of a time figuring out a good costume and ultimately went with just sort of a sixties look, which Tim said looked like Rhoda from Mary Tyler Moore. Tim went as Teen Wolf with great success, although he did get a few "Geico Caveman" which made him greatly disappointed and want to say, "Kids these days".
We went downtown to see all the costumes and there were some pretty good ones. We only saw one Sarah Palin, thank god! There was a guy dressed up as The Monarch from Venture Bros. which was great. We saw a Carmen San Diego, but only for a second. She was too elusive for us to nab a picture of. And, we saw QualiMan from "Doug". Quailman! Can you believe it?! Sometimes I love people.
We've been trying to eat a little better, and we managed to keep the candy to a minimum on Halloween. Tim is trying to make me into some sort of domestic cook person. Apparently the ability to cook in my family skipped a generation because, although my mother was quite good at it, I just don't have the natural talent. Therefore, when we cook I end up asking Tim what goes where and how much, and eventually he just does it himself. This week we (he) made sausage and broccoli pitas with spinach. It sounds a little strange but it was SO good. We used kielbasa which had a lot of flavor and mixed well with the greens. I do love food. Maybe I'll be a chef someday, but not today.
In Etsy news, I've been working on a big order of custom monogrammed ornaments. I believe they're going to be handed out as party favors at a child's birthday party. They're surprisingly fun to make, especially with all the different colors. When I came up with the idea of doing custom ornaments I wasn't sure how well they'd go over or if they'd sell at all. But, if this order is any indication it wasn't such a bad idea after all! Well, that's all from Georgia for now. The weather has warmed up a little bit. Maybe our poor garden will have a chance!

Here's a picture of Rilke disguised as a chicken. She's not very happy about it.

The Trappings of Cold(er) Weather

2008-10-28T21:47:00.000-04:00

Back blogging again. It's been a while now and the weather is getting colder. Our new house seems to have drafts in all the appropriate places, inlcuding our bedroom. We've been keeping warm by drinking lots of hot chocolate, playing music, and listening to our friends play music. Not to mention, of course, a whole lot of knitting.
I've become rather addicted to Lion Brand Thick and Quick yarn because it's so big and fluffy, and I love the bright solid colors. I feel like this may be a habit I need to grow out of, as most of my recent knitting projects revolve around this yarn, and I'm afraid the effect will get old. Neverless, I've used it to create some new items for the shop, some which I'll show here . . .

I just posted this hat today. It came out looking a lot more boy-ish than I had anticipated, but that's all right since boyish-ness isn't exactly prevalent in my shop, except of course for the adorable beardie men who are really more for lover's of beards than beards themselves. The ornaments are back, and the pins are always available.

People don't seem to be in much of a buying mood these days (hmm, I wonder why?) and the vibe over at Etsy has been decidedly down-hearted. I'm coping by trying to wear out my knitting needles and use every scrap of yarn and fiber I have in the house before buying new supplies.
Despite somewhat desperate times the changing seasons puts me in the mood to be productive and not to whine too much. Whine a little, just not too much.

We've been enjoying our weekend with our friends from the band "The Accident that Led Me to the World". They have beautiful harmonies and a very melodic acoustic sound. Check them out. They had some unfortunate luck with their van breaking down . . . twice. I'm sure they could use some encouragement, and some CD sales to help them get back home. They played a great show in our living room while we ate caramel apples with our friends. All lovely cold weather activities. Not that it has to be cold outside to do any of things, but it's probably better if it is. There's too much to write about to cover it all in one post so I'll just leave you with a few more pictures.

This is an example of a new kind of neck warmer I've been working on. The lace-up kind. They haven't sold yet, but we'll see how it goes closer to Christmas.

And this is my cat, Rilke.

Cotton and Wool

2008-04-18T18:00:00.000-04:00

The weather is getting warmer and that only means one thing for knitters: cotton. Beautiful, soft, reliable, pure cotton. It's almost impossible to make a hat or mittens out of cotton because of it's notorious lack of stretchability. Also, you really wouldn't want to because it's not all that warm. However, it's perfect for spring and summer shawls, cardigans, loose sweater, and especially bags. I'm knitting this one with some beautiful Egyptian cotton hand-dyed by this lovely company in Chile. Only most of one side is done, but hopefully it will be as beautiful as the yarn itself.

Also, in light of the sad but undeniable fact that it is no longer winter, I must put my creative efforts toward something other than knitting. So, I've started making some felted necklaces and stuff. I started out by knitting things out of wool, but then started adding needle felted elements as well. Needle felting is very fun if you remember not to stab yourself too much. The way it works is almost like magic. You don't really fell like you're doing anything, and then, poof, you have a necklace, or a pendant, or a full grown koala bear (this can really happen!). It's pretty great.

In other crafty news, Prairie Dog Inc (www.prairiedog.etsy.com) will be selling her wares (okay, I'LL be selling MY wares) at the Athens Indie Craftstravaganzaa in Athens, GA on May 10. So, if you're in Athens, or near Athens you should come and check out all of our awesome local crafty people and their oodles of talent.

Oh, and here's a picture of my cat Rilke just because . . .