{ no place like it }

Staying up this late paid off! I managed to snag an Etsy Treasury!!

See it HERE! If you click on each item or comment you will be my new friend!

Spider Beside Her

Our apartment is situated so we only get direct sunlight through a few windows, as we are located so far north of the equator. Also our place is about 5 feet from the neighboring fire-engine-red-painted house next door and it blocks most of our sunlight. My hunny likes plants but they do not like this apartment. They press themselves up against the glass trying to get as much as they can from what we get. It makes for an interesting study in phototropism.

This is my late grandfather's mint from his yard straining to get to the light.



However, the spider plants will grow anywhere… and everywhere. They are reaching out to grab us as we walk by. They are fighting amongst themselves for room. The spider plant babies are having babies. So if you happen to head over to our dining room hutch cabinet, watch your tootsies. They might trip you up.


Mr. M is taking advantage of this and growing a topiary ivy plant. He poked a few stakes in the dirt and is training ivy vines to grow around them and up in a tall column. Due to the lighting situation, all he has to do is turn the pot a quarter turn everyday and the vines grow toward the light and in a spiral around and around. They chase after the sun! I stenciled and painted the pot the ivy is living in.

Cartoon Driver

My car just has a tape player and a radio so no CDs for me while driving. But that’s OK because we have the best radio station in the world here. WBER is a totally indie music station that operates out of the Monroe County BOCES program. It has been around since 1985. I love it because they play great alternative music AND have no 10 minute long commercial breaks. Check out the website and listen if you’re into indie music. And check it out even if you aren't. You might like it!

Lately though, in an effort to calm my rattled brain, I have been listening to classical in the car. The station is one hop up from WBER so it’s also convenient. But it leaves me feeling like I’m driving around in a Looney Tunes cartoon! (Listen to this link with your eyes closed!) Do you know what I’m talking about? I have to remind myself I’m in the real world and laws of physics apply to me. But I want to say to my hunny, “Hey, buckle your seat belt. I saw this in a cartoon, but I think we can make it.”

The Crazy Thing I Did Today

This Saturday is the big garage sale event at the Dome Center. I went ahead and signed up for it today to set up my jewelry table. The crazy part is I only have 15 pendants in stock because I filled two consignment orders this week. Yikes. I guess we all know what I will be doing 24 hours a day for the next two days. I might run out of glass!

To Greener Pastures

My (second) best friend is moving to Texas today. Boo hoo! I’m very sad about this. She is such a wonderful and beautiful woman, mother, and friend. I met her at my old job helping people with mental illnesses. She has the biggest heart for helping people. We just really clicked as friends at a dark time when I thought any new friends were never going to happen for me. It feels like I have known her all my life. Yes, we are that kind of friends. I’m so lucky.

They are packing the truck as I write this. She called earlier today to ask if we wanted a couch and loveseat because they cannot fit them in the truck. I said “sure” without thinking about how I could get them to my house. The last hour was spent wrangling people and trucks to get this furniture so my friend does not have to worry about one more thing today. She sounded a bit frazzled on the phone.

Now I’m going to have a couch and loveseat that will remind me of her everyday. It is probably going to make me miss her more and more but the constant reminder of her will be good for me. I’m more likely to keep in constant touch with her this way. It might be painful at first, but I know she is going to be happier where she is moving to and away from these cold, endless winters.

Good luck, my dear good friend! I miss you already! Sniff.

Bye Bye, Renting!

I’m trying not to be that annoying person who has nothing to talk about except house buying. I know it can be boring for those of you who have either already gone through it or have no idea of the stress I’m talking about. But I have more exciting news! We put a bid on a house and it was accepted after a little counter-offering banter. The inspections were today. So barring any complications there, we have bought a house! We bought a house after only being in it for about 30 minutes. Seems a little hasty to me, but I guess this is how it’s done. I am in looooove with it!

I am both exhilarated and terrified. Did we do enough looking? Can we afford this? Are we going to be happily-ever-after in this house? Will I ever be able to sleep again due to the excitement?

I do know one thing for certain… we are finished with renting. We had a pipe under the kitchen sink literally crumble in my hands last week and were without the use of our sink for three days until our landlord could come replace the pipe. If it were OUR house, it would have been fixed the next day. I’ve never seen metal crumble in that way. It had leaked so much the downstairs neighbors called with a question I have dreaded since we moved into a second floor apartment. She asked, “Do you have something leaking in the kitchen?” Panic stricken, I went to check, and everything was soaked under the sink. It was dripping down into their sink through the ceiling. I am so glad it wasn’t worse and the ceiling did not cave in. All is back to normal though I doubt the landlord fixed anything in the floor or ceiling. Not my problem after June!

Working Under Stress

We didn’t get the house we wanted. Oh, well. Wasn’t meant to be. I think we got outbid. We’re looking at three more houses today.

This entire house buying business has put my work motivation into overtime. I need something to do to keep my mind busy. I bought three skeins of yarn to knit my way through this. I am making another felted bowl on circular needles in red and deep purple. In two days I have glassed, taped and soldered 9 pendants, made proofs for a custom order, and painted up some new art designs for pendants. That is getting a lot done for me these days.

Pendants waiting for solder.
I am happy with the pendant art I’ve been doing. Painting and drawing is a different way to make them for me. Now they are more like miniature works of art behind glass! I challenged myself to make five designs very quickly just to see what would happen. They turned out to be my favorites of the bunch! They are mostly just torn paper and some line drawings. Leaves and floral designs are popping through my head all the time now that spring is poking its head up.

Hurry up, Spring! I have missed you!