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Misc. Monday

Monday, July 27, 2026 0 Art Projects, Feral Cat Crafts, Garden, Good Reads, Misc. Blatherings, Streaming TV/Movies, Summer Reads No tags Permalink
Misc. Monday

I was going back through old posts here on Catobear, and remembered when I used to do a Misc. Monday post regularly. I also used to do a Feline Friday post. Maybe I should get back into those, for my own sake. I doubt many people come to this site these days. Better things to do with their time, no doubt. I’ve been blogging in one form or another since 2007, nearly twenty years.

My Michigan Garden

If you follow My Michigan Garden on Facebook, you’ve seen photos of all of the gardens from the Marshall Garden Tour and the Battle Creek Garden Tour. Lots of inspiration. Today we had rain for the first time in forever. We’ve had to put the sprinkler on every other day and fill the birdbaths in the off-days. Honestly, we’re not getting much produce this year despite the watering and fertilizing. We pulled two green peppers and have some sungold cherry tomatoes each day. Looks like we have a total of three small-ish green tomatoes and two quite small cucumbers. The green beans put on a good display of growth, but not a single flower or bean. Probably time to dump all of the soil this year and start fresh next year. No frogs have attended the pond, but the flowers are starting to look nice.

Feral Cat Crafts

Yesterday I managed to get some grouting done on the mosaics. I used a pre-mixed grout and one powdered you mix yourself made especially for mosaics. Not surprisingly, the pre-mixed one (white, below) cracked like crazy as drying and yet took so long to dry it was a problem. The gray one you mix yourself was really quite good. The dark gray rock is the winner, and the same grout was used on the heart saucer and cat brick. I like the little rock mosaics, so now I need to see if I can get three of those done, and maybe three bricks, before the Mutt Market. The ones in the photo were just to try things out, and will be hidden somewhere in my own garden.

I have two of three sides painted on the second birdhouse. The third side should go pretty fast, then the first two birdhouses need to be sealed and I still need to come up with a concept and paint the third one.

You can see this one is a water theme, sunset over water on the front side, sailboat on the second, and the third will have palm trees. It’s obviously not fine art, but I think it’s cute enough and will hopefully sell.

I have my keychains and bag charms half packaged at this point, and I had an idea to make some of those cute beaded mini-flowers in vases. With less than a month to go until the Mutt Market, I’m once again pushing it to the very edge of getting everything done. It’s been kind of fun looking back at the last few years of Mutt Market items I’ve made and sold. I think the crochet froggies and scrunchies should have sold better as they were cute AF. Also, the zippered pouches were quite good. The Blind Date with Books should have gone better at the MM but they went to staff members after the event. I don’t really have any expectations that anything will sell well this year, but it has to go somewhere, right?

Wish You Were Here Snail Mail Club

I need to get to work right now on the September 1st Back to School issue. Now. Next week is August.

Reading, Watching, Exploring

I finished This House Will Feed, which I enjoyed. Then I read Kill House from Scott Thomas, which I also enjoyed. I’d say it’s the most “real” horror book I’ve read from the horror genre lately. I’m currently reading Richard Laymon’s Funland, which is actually not much fun. This must have been a print on demand book and not especially well put together as half the pages are still attached to each other at the bottom of the page. The characters are unlikeable as is the plot. I’m half way into it and thinking of just giving up.

The third season of Trigger Point is on Britbox and I’m obsessed. We’ve also been watching every game that’s available for WNBA’s Indiana Fever.

Although I am a huge fan of Mortal Kombat, you wouldn’t really call me a gamer in any other sense. This week, I’m exploring Solo Roleplaying Games in the journaling format. I’ve been watching YouTube videos trying to figure out if it’s something I might enjoy doing. As if I needed another hobby. I sat down and came up with 35 hobbies I’ve tried since roughly 2007, and quite a few I still pull out with regularity or would do so if I had more time.

What are you up to, this last week of July 2026?

My World’s On Fire

Friday, July 17, 2026 0 Battle Creek, Feral Cat Crafts, Garden, Good Reads, Living in Michigan, Michigan, Misc. Blatherings, Summer Reads, Weather Update No tags Permalink

The ice we skate is gettin’ pretty thin. The water’s gettin’ warm so you might as well swim · My world’s on fire, how ’bout yours? – All Star, by Smash Mouth

Michigan has the worst air quality in the world due to Canadian wildfires. We are at the center of a diarrhea parasite outbreak. Temperatures are in the 90s with high humidity as it is time for corn sweat. Also, I have to say I’ve personally had a pretty, um, – shitty – week at work. So I’m ready for autumn.

Summer Reads Update

My choices at the start of the summer for reading:

  • Last One Out by Jane Harper. Harper is one of my favorite authors. Her novels take place in Australia, and often involve mysteries. This book was published April 14, 2026.
  • The World Doesn’t End by Charles Simic. I love prose poetry, and would like to get back to writing some again.
  • On Looking: A Walker’s Guide to the Art of Observation by Alexandra Horowitz. This non-fiction book helps to give one a new perspective on seeing things you miss regularly. It honestly sounds amazing and I can’t wait to read it.
  • The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan, non-fiction. This books shares some stories from the people who survived the American Dust Bowl. It won the 2006 National Book Award for Nonfiction and was featured in a Ken Burns documentary.
  • Waiting on a Friend by Natalie Adler. This new novel won’t be released until the end of May.

And I’ve finished three so far! On Looking was good. It had one of the best sentences I’ve read in a long time:

“A spill of spaghetti, cooked and sauced, formed a sunburst at my feet, attended to by a cluster of pigeons.”

On Looking: A Walker’s Guide to the Art of Observation by Alexandra Horowitz.

After I finished it, I sent it to my friend Lois as I thought she would enjoy it. Next up was The Worst Time, about the dust bowl. It was very interesting! That one I sent to my Uncle Steve. Third, I read Waiting on a Friend by Natalie Alder. I loved how she writes, and her characters. I sent that one on to my friend Holly. After those three, I got sidetracked a bit and read The Saturday Night Ghost Club by Craig Davidson. I loved it so much I didn’t want to part with it, but I bought two copies and sent one to my Mom and one to my sister. It takes place mostly in the 1980s in Niagara Falls, Canada. I’m currently reading This House Will Feed by Maria Tureaud, which takes place during the Irish potato famine. It’s a horror book with some Irish superstition in it, and very enjoyable. When it’s too hot and too smoky to be outside, your next best choice is indoors in the air conditioning on the couch with a book. And a cat, if you have one.

Craft Projects

I’ve sold maybe nine of the Wish You Were Here – Summer Vacation snail mail clubs, and do plan on putting one together for September. I’m getting ready for the Mutt Market, with only five weeks to go. Right now, I have all of the key chains and bag charms made but they need to be packaged up. I have so, so many bag charms I expect it will take a week to get them done.

I have one of three birdhouses painted but it needs to be sealed and the other two painted and sealed.

I plan on selling 3-4 mosaic garden bricks. I have my first three attempts that are just to test the concept, and they need to be grouted and sealed. I am also going to make a few driftwood sun catchers for gardens as well.

As I said, time is running out and I need to get busy. It’s just a challenge to work when it’s been so hot. And did I mention work has been stressful? I’m managing to get up every day, brush my teeth, shower, and get to work and try to get work done. But anything beyond that has been impossible. We haven’t had a salad in over a week, so maybe it’s lack of nutrients?

I did make up a batch of bracelets and bag charms under the Liberal AF design, and donated them to the Calhoun County Democrat Headquarters. I had hoped they would offer them for suggested donation of $10 each and make some money from them.

I did my own linocut block carving and printing on the packaging. It was a bit of an awkward exchange when I took them in, so maybe they pitched them in the dumpster right after I left. Who knows? I honestly thought they were super cute. The bag charms have “eat the rich” and “deport racist” charms on them. The bracelets spell out something like “liberal af”, or “vote dems” and the second of the bracelet duo has a charm that reads “hope”.

My World’s On Fire

As I mentioned, it’s hot and humid and smoky. I haven’t spent much time out in the garden this week, except for turning on and off the sprinkler, and dumping and filling the five birdbaths I have around the gardens at home. It seems as if our vegetable garden has been super slow to produce. The green beans are growing like crazy, but no flowers or beans yet.

I worked the Marshall Garden Tour as a volunteer hostess last weekend, which was a fun experience. The next day, I went to see the rest of the houses on the tour. I think the word of the year for gardens is “whimsy” which maybe would be good for me as a trend if I plan on working on garden mosaic bricks, suncatchers, and birdhouses. The Battle Creek Garden Tour is tomorrow, and Mom and I are going in the morning but will likely have to wear N95 masks.

Yeah, I’m struggling. But who isn’t at this point?

May 2026 Recap

Friday, June 5, 2026 0 Etsy, Feral Cat Crafts, Garden, Living in Michigan, Misc. Blatherings No tags Permalink

We’re almost through the first week of June, so it’s time for a May 2026 recap. The month was busy. We survived the Whisker Mixer. Everyone who attended seemed to have a good time (myself excluded, of course). We netted $2,000 more than I had anticipated. Most importantly, it’s over for another year. On to the Mutt Market!

In happier news, Mom and I went to the greenhouses and planted the cemeteries in Lansing. It’s always one of the best weeks of the year!

I set a limit on my garden spending this year, and held to it. I’ve been working on dividing and moving perennials, so that has filled in some of the space as well. I was just planning on weeding the driveway border bed, but the lily of the valley had gotten so bad, everything had to be pulled, removed, and planted with something else. I’ll be interested to see how it matures as it will be a huge change from previous years.

Mom had minor surgery on her foot, so she has been working on the driveway garden at her house. I did finally get over and start weeding and planting her backyard. The next step is to divide and replant her perennial grasses. I figure it will take about three more sessions to get all of that done. April was the rainiest month on record in our area. May was quite dry and quite cold right up until the end. I suspect June may be hot and humid.

In May, I put together the first Wish You Were Here snail mail club and got it up on my Etsy. I went through my list of sales and sent a postcard I made (above) to the 50 most recent zine customers to let them know about the mail club. So far, I’ve had seven out of 25 total sales. It sure would be nice to get some positive reviews back on the ones I sent, and sell some more. I am still at this point planning on making one in late August for autumn, and maybe a surprise one for Halloween.

Each package, priced at $9.93 plus $2.05 shipping gets you a vintage postcard from my collection, a double-sided newsletter featuring my vacation memories, three stickers, a bookmark, a card with an entry to win a bag charm, and a handwritten letter, all wrapped up in a vellum sleeve and sealed with a wax seal. This snail mail club is a stand-alone; you don’t need to sign up in perpetuity and have to cancel later if you don’t want it. Convenient, right?

Also in May, I finally painted up my most recent zine on tardigrades, and I even made a video of it for my YouTube Channel. It is also for sale on my Etsy page, but no one has purchased a copy.

My plans for June include my Summer Reads, starting with Timothy Egan’s The Worst Hard Time, which is a non-fiction book about the great American Dust Bowl. I sketched out a cute snail mail thing, and I plan to carve it and print it using linocut printing, which I haven’t done in quite awhile but I enjoy. I am also planning on painting with gouache using some vintage postcards as reference images. I haven’t sold any bag charms or beaded items in awhile, so I’m going to step away from that and focus on maybe getting more snail mail club sales, making a few more zines, and just doing art to satisfy myself. I seem to have a plethora of doctor appointments in June, so maybe I can get myself sorted out.

March, April, and Into May

Tuesday, April 28, 2026 0 Etsy, Feral Cat Crafts, Garden, Misc. Blatherings No tags Permalink

My goodness, time flies when you’re having fun. Or if you’re not. Suddenly February was over, and we ran through March, April, and into May later this week. The weather this spring has been crazy. Extreme temperatures, with the first week of May expected to have freeze and frost. We’ve had numerous storms, tornado warnings, and power outages. I can’t say I’ve been in the best mood for any of it.

Feral Cat Crafts

I’ve kept busy with creation and sales for Feral Cat Crafts’ Etsy. I’ve had decent sales for bag charms (bike themed charm, above, realtor themed charm below. I made bag charms and sent them to pen friends and family members as well. It’s nice to share the love, and who knows? Maybe they will share the link to my Etsy store. I had the Nik Kershaw zine printed and it’s up on the store as well.

I am working on a special project now that will hit the shop in May. I’ll be offering a limited-run of snail mail club Wish You Were Here! The first of the quarterly drops will be Summer Vacation. I’m super excited about this project. I haven’t been this excited about something in quite awhile.

I’ve also crocheted a few blankets for friends. You can follow Feral Cat Crafts on Facebook or Instagram by clicking on the links.

My Michigan Garden

Although some days the weather still feels like winter, spring has sprung in Michigan.

The bulbs I planted in the fall actually came up! I always find that to be a bit of a surprise. I plotted out detailed drawings of each garden bed, and plans for what changes I would make in each. Of course, then real life happens and you wind up doing different things. First, we have this ongoing water situation around the front porch, so I dug out and transplanted the hydrangea.

Then I took to cleaning up the driveway border, which has been infiltrated by lily of the valley. I’ve got about five feet done on it so far. It’s nasty, heavy work and I was not planning on having to completely dig it all up. There’s still at least six feet or more to go as well.

I did plan on removing the yuccas from the drive border and transplanting them to the back by the willow stump, which I finished this last weekend. Again, yuccas have deep roots so it was a lot of digging and a sore back, shoulders, arms, and hands. Work on your grip strength as you age, fam.

So, I still need to clean up the rest of the drive border, and I have to dig the hole for the mini pond by the newly transplanted yuccas in the back. Then I can get to work moving and dividing other perennials, all before the end of May and greenhouse day. You can follow the adventures, plus a ton of other fun gardening items on My Michigan Garden’s Facebook and Instagram.

Misc. Blatherings

I am finding people are greeting me with “Wow, you look tired!” I suspect the stress of work (mostly) has finally gotten to me after nearly 18 years. It’s been a not-great few months. Or maybe it’s been the same few months as always, but I can no longer bounce back from it like I used to. I don’t know. I’ve had a headache-into-migraine for the past seven days straight. I’ll take a migraine tab and it will ease back to a strong headache and then ramp up again. Maybe things will feel a bit better after the May 7th event. I need some kindness and grace from everyone, but I am currently unable to offer it in return. I’m reminded of Hugh Grant’s line in Four Weddings and a Funeral, “Excuse me. I think I had better be where other people are not“.

See you in May.

February 2026

Thursday, February 26, 2026 0 Etsy, Feral Cat Crafts, Misc. Blatherings No tags Permalink

Why is February the shortest, yet the longest month ever? February 2026 has dragged on for 1,000 days. We did have two days of thaw, which was nice, but not enough. Either the weather is going to break – and stay nice – or I’m going to break. Seriously. I’ll remember February 2026 as the month of animal hoarding raids, and the worst images I’ve ever seen in my life which documented suffering beyond imagination (and I have a great imagination), and it has affected me. I’m not sure how to work my mind around it still, honestly. And from that, I seem to have developed a whole bunch of physical ailments that match the mental ones.

Anyhow, February 2026 was also surprisingly productive creatively. The top image is something I put together for all of the staff member Valentine baskets this year. I’ve been making the paper/journal clips to include with Etsy packages as well. Etsy sales for my shop were good this month, mostly for purse charms and zines. Bracelets aren’t really selling.

As Valentine’s Day is over, as well as the Super Bowl and football in general, I’ve been working on making some purse charms for Mother’s Day. I also have Cat Mom and Dog Mom, if you’re interested. I received a comment from a customer who had ordered golf stroke bracelets to use to track daily water intake, so I made a couple of bracelets specifically for that purpose. If they sell, I’ll make more in other colors and themes. You take the charm on the lobster hook and move it between the numbered beads after each eight ounce serving of water you drink. I suppose you could use it to track your alcohol, too, in case you happen to lose count regularly.

I’ve had a few zine sales for the Collage for Motivation zine and I always include an original collage artist trading card as a gift with purchase (along with a blank ATC and ephemera to make your own!), and so I needed to make up a few more cards. You can’t really see it, but they are coated with glittery Mod Podge so they shimmer a bit. I have one mini zine completed that needs to go to the printer and two more I need to paint up.

The shelter’s annual Whisker Mixer event is May 7, and I put together two baskets for the silent auction, plus some pins and journal clips for the coffee pull bags in this year’s theme of Alice in Wonderland. One of my baskets is strawberry themed and I think it is cute AF. The other is Alice in Wonderland, and I made this decoupage box to go in the basket. I’m not sure why I thought it would be a good idea to do so, but there it is. The basket is pretty cute, too. I’ll post them on my Instagram when we are closer to the event.

I attended a couple of gardening webinars this month. Michigan State University Extension’s Plant Quest was excellent! Four sessions, three of which I love and two of those I took lots of notes on. I took another webinar on shade gardening which was not great. I have lists and lists of garden projects I’d like to consider and plants I may purchase. If we all make it to spring and planting season, that is.

January 2026

Friday, January 23, 2026 0 Feral Cat Crafts, Garden, Living in Michigan, Misc. Blatherings, Weather Update No tags Permalink

January 2026, as a month, is moving pretty fast. January 2026, each day, is an eternity. The month started out with a bit of a warm thaw, and since then we’ve had lots and lots of snow and terribly cold weather. Today’s high should top out around two degrees. For the high. Not counting wind chill. There’s not an end in sight until sometime at February.

In the meantime, I’ve been busy with projects for Feral Cat Crafts and Etsy. I’ve done well with football themed purse charms, selling one for the Chicago Bears and one for the LA Rams. I made up a few for the upcoming Olympics (pictured above). Over the next few weekends, I’d like to get a couple of mystery trinket boxes up in the store. I’m also working on a trio of mini zines with a music theme. One is done, one is started, and the third I haven’t even put thought into.

You might have seen my garden resolutions post. I’m continuing to watch garden videos and take a few online webinars. I signed up for Michigan State University extension’s Plant Quest, and have one more webinar to go for that. I especially loved the section on gravel gardening, and it gave me a new idea for the “Paw Garden” at the shelter! I’m signed up for Foliage Driven Garden Design in February. I’ve got lists and notes everywhere!

This month I seemed to have a ton of meetings for work. I went and did the teen night at the Marshall District Library, and the generator project at the shelter was FINALLY completed (nearly a year later!). Next project, stray side dog kennel indoor ceiling replacement.

February, just a week away, I’ll be working on finishing up the newsletter at the shelter, continuing to post twice weekly Substacks for the shelter, and getting through the annual audit and animal welfare org groups meeting. I’m working on various projects for Twin Peaks Day and will need to get something together for staff member Valentines. By the end of February, we will have earlier sunrises and later sunsets, and hopefully a return to temperatures at least nearer to freezing.

October Update

Thursday, October 16, 2025 0 Crochet/Knitting, Etsy, Feral Cat Crafts, Misc. Blatherings No tags Permalink

Suddenly, it is mid-October and time for an October Update. We’ve had our first frost, and it is looking and feeling like autumn.

Despite having lots of projects and books lined up for spooky season, it’s half-way through the month and I haven’t done anything spooky except collect stacks of ingredients for projects, and work on a blanket for someone who I don’t personally know but is facing a grave illness and could use a hug.

I am on skein 7, and with the ruffled border it should take 8 total so I am closing in on the end. It is Red Heart Soft Baby Steps, and I’m using an L hook. I will need to put together Halloween bags for the staff members, and I should get another spooky book or two before the end of October.

I have a number of projects waiting for the holidays including some soap-making, crochet washcloths to go with the soap, and simmer pot kits. I made a few Christmas bracelets and some Detroit Lions bracelets, which are up on my Feral Cat Crafts Etsy. I have a Detroit Tigers bracelet set up and ready to go as well. I love making the beaded bracelets, though they aren’t selling well.

Autumn Update

Tuesday, September 23, 2025 0 Etsy, Feral Cat Crafts, Garden, Living in Michigan, Misc. Blatherings, Weather Update, Zines No tags Permalink

Holy cats, I’ve missed so many updates! As of yesterday, it is now officially autumn, so here is my autumn update covering what I did over the summer and what I have coming up.

Crafts

Autumn Update

In my last update, July 7, I was working on items for the August Mutt Market. Mom broke her wrist and was in a brace for the market, and she didn’t get to work on all of the stuff she wanted to. Here’s my market prep video, and my market recap video. I did well with some things (a few purse charms, key rings, Blind Date with Books, and lip gloss key rings, making a total of $200. Other things, like all of the Halloween bracelet stacks, didn’t do well at all. I’ve got them up on my Etsy, and they still aren’t selling.

Autumn Update

Honestly, if none of the Halloween stuff goes, I’ll break down the sets and give them in the staff member Halloween gift bags next month. I love making bracelets in general, and Halloween stuff in particular. I’m not sure why they aren’t selling. If you’re interested in Feral Cat Crafts, and whatever I’m doing with craft projects, the Facebook page for FCC is here.

Family

Autumn Update

In July, Mom and I drove down to Bowling Green to see Aunt Suzie, Gail, and Sydney. I had such a great time! Love them so much. We were also fortunate to have a few coffee sessions with Cyn and Evan. And my monthly video calls with Amy and Kat bring so much joy. Bob and I worked on various small projects around the home, but really just enjoyed spending time together. It was a great summer.

Autumn Update

Mom and I went on the annual Leila Arboretum Society Battle Creek Garden Tour again this year, and had an AMAZING time. You can see the video of the garden tour here. It gave me so many ideas, as well as recharging my soul. I used some of the inspiration to remake an old garden bed (photo of before and after, above). I made a full video as well, in case you want to see how it went. This summer was hot enough, but more than that, it was SO HUMID. The heat index was regularly over 100° and I felt like I was melting every minute. June and July were overly wet, and August was overly dry. The vegetable garden reflected the weirdness of weather, but the flower beds looked fantastic.

Zines and New Projects

Autumn Update

I have been selling a good number of zines on my Etsy, and over the weekend I completed another one. It’s painted in gouache with added photos and hand lettering. I dropped it off at the printer, and should have it back this week and maybe get it up on Etsy over the next weekend. This one is about Halloween costumes, past and present.

Autumn Update

My latest project is a new Etsy, separate from Feral Cat Crafts, called Whiskers & Words Book Club. Mostly, it’s a print on demand (POD) attempt, but there are some things like stickers and book marks. I’ll also make some bracelets (that probably won’t sell) and maybe have some Blind Date with Books or other items up there, too. The Facebook for Whiskers & Words is here, and I share all kinds of book things as well as doing my promotion for the Etsy shop.

Autumn Update

I have a few October craft projects planned, and will hopefully get some YouTube videos up for those, too. It often seems like I’m managing quite a lot online, with multiple Instagrams, Facebook pages, and YouTubes. Any time you look for advice on why stuff on Etsy isn’t selling, it’s because you need to post more on your social media! I’m managing so many different things now, I probably need Chat GPT to put together a schedule for me. It sure would be nice to see some responses from what I’m putting together, at least. Is it all just going out into the nothing of the universe?

June Crafts

Monday, July 7, 2025 0 Feral Cat Crafts, Good Reads, Living in Michigan, Misc. Blatherings, Summer Reads No tags Permalink
June Crafts purse charm

I somehow missed all of June. It was super hot and even when it was in the 80s, the humidity just sucked the life out of everything. I did manage to get some crafts done somehow, so here are the June Crafts update. First, I kept making purse charms (see above). I mostly did a beach or coastal chic theme for them, but this one above is a pink coquette theme. I put them up on my Etsy, and have sold none.

June crafts phone charm

I also made a ton of phone charms. I really like to make them, like the purse charms! I put them up on my Etsy, and again have sold none. I made one and did a tutorial for my YouTube channel (for the love of all that is holy, please please subscribe and if you watch a video, can you just like it? Please?), and put it on my own phone. It did hold up to the wear and tear, but it bugged me so much I took it off after about ten days. How do the young people manage to use phones with charms on them?

June crafts purse charms

Here’s some more purse charms! Only these aren’t for the store. My dear friend Amy came for a short visit to the shelter on her way to vacation, and I made her a cat-themed purse charm and a dog-themed one for her sister Mary (with whom I was on the school paper, The Crystal, back in 1993). Seeing Amy was one of the highlights of my summer for sure.

June crafts bracelet

Bob suggested I try making some bracelets, and so that is the plan for July. I’m making stacking bracelets, sets of threes. I’m also making some Halloween-themed bracelets, as I saw that people start searching Halloween stuff in July on Etsy. Will they sell? I don’t know. I like stackable bracelets, especially surfer or beach themed bracelets, but generally if it’s something I like, it might not sell.

I’m not officially doing a summer reads this year, but I have been reading. Since my last reading update, I’ve completed the following:

  • Hospital Hill by Katherine Anderson (hard copy)
  • The Long Walk by Stephen King (audible)
  • We Are All the Same in the Dark by Julia Heaberlin (audible)
  • Paper Ghosts by Julia Heaberlin (audible)
  • The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods (hard copy)

I’m most of the way through the audible format of Murder at Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd, and I’m getting ready to start Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann. The Long Walk was quite memorable and it’s coming out as a movie September 12. I’ve already forgotten what We Are All the Same in the Dark was about, though I know it was a murder mystery. Her Paper Ghosts was a murder mystery as well, and pretty good, about a woman who takes a suspected serial killer with dementia on her search to find out if he killed her sister, but I wonder if I will remember it in a few months. I felt the same about The Lost Bookshop, which was about 100 pages too long to get to the point it needed to make. Murder at Gulls Nest is about a nun who left her order to solve…you guessed it…a murder mystery! Again, kind of cute but probably will be forgettable after a few weeks. I need to update my reading journal and do a YouTube recording soon.

The Mutt Market is just over four weeks away. What all will I finish? I suppose some of it depends on how hot and humid my art space is. Last night it was over 80 degrees and I had two fans blowing on me. I managed to get a little work done, as it felt cooler in there than it had in the previous several days.

End of May

Wednesday, May 28, 2025 0 Etsy, Feral Cat Crafts, Kitty, Living in Michigan, Misc. Blatherings, Weather Update, Zines No tags Permalink
end of may

Suddenly, it’s the end of May. The month went super fast, as happens this time of year. Why doesn’t February or March go so quickly? Anyhow, the Whisker Mixer is over. My Blind Date with a Book basket (above) was really successful and went well over value. I’ve kept quite busy, working on items for the Mutt Market booth. I had three different varieties of bookmarks created, including this one:

end of may

I’ve been making purse charms of all varieties:

end of may

Charm bracelets and necklaces:

And key chain wristlets of several varieties, including silicone beads and the sewn ones I made last year:

I know, I know. The sewn ones didn’t sell last year. Maybe they will this year? I will be making matching airpod case pouches to go along with them. I also have plans to make larger, quilted pouches. I have yet to start any of those sewing projects as I’ve been busy with beads and charms. My plan is to get these up on Etsy, and maybe sell some before the Mutt Market. I’m back to watching tons of market and studio vlog videos on YouTube which always makes me think I could be successful, except the only thing I’ve been successful at selling are zines.

Speaking of, I did teach a zine class to four middle school students at the Marshall District Library this month. Those kids were so energetic and cute, and you know how I feel about kids in general. I’ve never seen anyone so happy about using old magazines for collage.

Morris came back to us. He was adopted out nine years ago. It’s an unfortunate situation.

Overall, May was more cold that average, with three days well below average. Mom and I did the greenhouses on the 21st and planted the cemeteries on the 23rd as Memorial Day was early this year, on the 26th. I planted our gardens on Memorial Day, and I’m crossing my fingers that we don’t get another frost as this upcoming few days are cold and rainy again.