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June Update

Friday, June 28, 2024 0 Garden, Living in Michigan, Misc. Blatherings, Sew Cool!, Zines No tags Permalink

It’s time for a June update, since we only have three days left in June. I don’t know whether I’m coming or going these days. Things at work have been stressful, and honestly I’m just not feeling very well physically. I need a week where I can catch up on house cleaning, a week to fix the issues in the garden, a week to catch up on my various side hustle projects, and then a week or more to sleep. But instead I get two days here and there, sometimes over the actual weekend, sometimes not.

June Update Mutt Market prep

Mutt Market Prep

The Mutt Market is coming up August 17 and I’m working away on market prep. Once again, Mom and I have a booth in addition to my running the whole event. Right now I’m planning on selling the following:
– Swivel Snap Wristlets (8, have not made one yet)
– Slow Stitch Shopping Totes (6, have not made one yet)
– Slow Stitch Keychains (10, have made just one so far)
– Slow Stitch Brooches (maybe up to 20? I have completed 6)
– Slow Stitch Lavender Sachets (10, have not made one yet)
– Slow Stitch Meditation Roll Kits (5, have not made one yet)
– Whichever zines I have completed and have copies of, an assortment
– Leftover crochet hair scrunchies from last year
– Leftover crochet leggy froggies from last year

I had an idea and patterns for some beach towel bags, but I doubt very much I will get any of those done. As always, I have so many more ideas than I have time to work on them. I have some ideas for tshirts and more totes, but maybe I can work on those over the winter? I’m working on social media posts for all of my accounts for the side hustles, and I’m pulling together the actual set up for the Mutt Market. I got new lights for the canopy. I am planning on making watermelon and strawberry bunting as a decoration. I have a few new displays coming as well. Looking back at the photos from last year, I am not super pleased with how the table looked. Fingers crossed for this year.

Storm Damage

We had some storm damage a few weeks ago. Our big maple tree was hit by lightning. Bob did a great job cleaning everything up and is working on roof repairs. As you can see, part of the tree came right through the ceiling of the back porch and destroyed the cat tree.

June Update back porch
June Update tree

Zines

I continue to make and sell zines on Etsy. I’ve had a total of 36 sales since January 1. I also just put together a zine for the presentation I’m doing at the Marshall District Library July 9. My next zine, whenever I get back to it, is on the religion of Spiritualism. I found some old copies of TNS publications from the 1990s. I played the piano one summer for the Memorial Spiritualist Church many years ago.

June Update zines

Garden and Health

Maxy’s garden here is looking pretty good. The rest of the flower borders are not. I haven’t taken a video since May, and I really need to just so you can see the problems. We’ve had more slugs this year than I’ve ever seen in my life, and they decimated all of the annuals. I’ve tried beer traps and egg shells. Then there’s the problem with deer. They’ve eaten the ferns, all of the violas, the dianthus, and all of the coneflowers. There aren’t many flowers in the flower gardens this year. I just haven’t had the time or energy to get out and spray to keep the deer out. Thankfully the fencing is keeping the vegetable garden going though it would be better if I could get it watered. I’m really hoping for rain tonight as I have an event after work again. I just haven’t been feeling well. Lots of headaches, quite a few migraines, intense exhaustion and joint pain. I need to get some answers, as this is no way to live.

Summer Heat in May

Tuesday, May 21, 2024 0 Living in Michigan, Misc. Blatherings No tags Permalink

Yesterday was 88 degrees, and today may be hotter. Summer heat in May, climate change. Last night I tossed and turned in bed. The Whisker Mixer is over, and it turned out ok. Greenhouse Day is tomorrow, and Cemetery Day is Friday.

summer heat in May

Tonight I have the strategic planning meeting, and I’m not in the right mindset for it. Sometimes I think that people who ‘support’ the shelter do so because they like the idea of helping homeless pets. But they buy from breeders, and in many cases don’t really support the mission and vision. Some of them, including folks in rescue, believe that any home is better than a shelter. I’m more of an animal rights supporter and I believe we have a duty to represent what is truly best for the pets.

Sometimes, I think of what I’d do if I wasn’t at the shelter. You know, the thing that really gets you excited. When I was young, our parents took us to Niagara Falls. Mom took us to a haunted house and a wax museum. That’s what I’d like to do. Run a haunted house and a horror wax museum. And I have a theme for the first round of wax exhibits! Horrors of the Bible! Imagine, a man being eaten by locusts (Book of Exodus, Chapter 10, Verses 4–12). King Herod’s men killing babies with pitchforks (Gospel of Matthew, Verses 2:16–18)! I suspect there’s a learning curve in making wax bodies, unless you’re going to do the Vincent Price thing from the movie and just use a little wax cover up. And with the summer heat in May, you’re going to have to air condition the heck out of the museum year-round going forward.

Summer Heat in May

Zines

I have two ideas for zines, but haven’t had the time to work on either. I’m pretty excited about them, if I could just get the time together. I’ve only sold three zines in May, compared to ten in April. I need new content in my Etsy store.

Slow Stitch

I finished my second slow stitch meditation roll and have started on a slow stitch needle book cover with fabric from my Aunt Gini. Again, the thing about slow stitch is that it is really slow. I’ll be lucky to get much done before the Mutt Market in August, unless I can get a bit more time.

Rucking

I completed my first rucking hike last week. It seems to be a good way to burn extra calories and build strength, and for some reason it completely stops the intense pain in my lower back when I hike. But good lord, if the summer heat in May increases to the hot humid heat of hell in June, rucking will be a challenge!

Garden

The garden is looking alive. I think, with the summer heat in May, we’re about two weeks ahead of schedule. The chives, nepeta, siberian iris, and salvia are all blooming purple. The pond is going, and I’ve got most of the mulching done. This year I pulled the Joe Pye weed as it always turns out deformed for some reason. We’ve got plenty of orioles, I finally saw a hummingbird, and we even had a rose breasted grosbeak visit the jelly feeder last weekend.

Misc. March

Tuesday, March 19, 2024 0 Crochet/Knitting, ephemera, gouache, Misc. Blatherings, Painting, Zines No tags Permalink
misc. march butterfly

Even though I haven’t been feeling up to it, time does move on and so it’s time for a Misc. March post. Today is actually the first day of spring, but this week is very cold. Yesterday we had snow and likely will again throughout the week. Mom and I went to Meijer Gardens to see the butterfly exhibit a week ago (photo above) and it was lovely and warm in the greenhouses.

misc. march altered playing card

I’ve been spending some time collaging altered playing cards and making Artist Trading Cards again. There’s something about collaging that is therapeutic when you just…can’t even. It’s fiddly and relaxing, selecting colors, ripping things, cutting them, gluing them, and then coating the whole thing with mod podge. I’ve had some sales of my zines on my Etsy, and I’ve been enclosing a card in the mailing. Because why not? Also, what I am going to do with them when I’m done?

misc. march star trek zine

I did work on a zine that I had blocked out in February. I painted each half-page panel in gouache. It’s currently at the printer, as I kept trying to get it to copy right and I just couldn’t make it happen. I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out, actually. Unless I get inspired though, that’s only one for the month out of two as a goal.

misc. march cup cozy

I crocheted eight cup cozies for the coffee pull for the upcoming May Whisker Mixer. This is a variegated yarn that striped so nicely and was delightful to work with. I could finish a cozy just about each evening.

Have you ever felt like you’ve died inside and you’re just waiting for your body to catch up already? See you in April.

Misc. Snowy Day Thoughts

Thursday, February 15, 2024 0 Animals, Crochet/Knitting, Living in Michigan, Misc. Blatherings No tags Permalink
Misc. Snowy Day Thoughts

Time for some Misc. Snowy Day Thoughts as winter has returned with a rainy/snowy mix of misery.

I just used a little roller therapy thing that is supposed to help headaches. Now I smell like the sawdust used in elementary schools for puke. Also, I still have a headache.

Misc. Snowy Day Thoughts

I used the puke-sawdust-roller as I’m getting ready to have a colonoscopy next week and I can’t take my regular Aleve or ibuprofen. I’m all ready for the procedure prep. I have my Miralax, Ducolax, and two bottles of Gatorade (green and yellow, no reds or blues).

I recently had AI perform some avatar creations on photos from my phone. Every single image gave me a bright red nose and cheeks. Thanks, AI, for showing me that the world indeed only sees my rosacea. Fantastic for the old self-confidence.

I finished one SugarBlush Shawl with Arcane Fibre Works yarn (Just Breathe) and started another SugarBlush Shawl with Arcane Fibre Works yarn (Crashing Waves, pictured with Cass, above).

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day, and I did get little Valentine bags ready for all of the staff members. I try to always do that for Valentine’s Day and Halloween. I also sent out Twin Peaks Day gifts through the mail. I’m not doing InCoWriMo this year, but I’m behind on my letter writing so it seems I am doing InCoWriMo after all. We have 33 days until the official start of spring.

February Update

Thursday, February 8, 2024 0 Animals, Art Projects, gouache, Misc. Blatherings, Painting, Weather Update No tags Permalink
February Update weather

Today’s high is supposed to be 57 degrees. That’s unusual for the first week of February in Michigan. In fact, today’s normal high/low should be 34/16. It will drop back down and there’s word of a potential winter storm for Valentine’s Day. With 40 days left until the official start of spring, we do have a fair amount of time remaining for cold and snow. Even though it has been a very, very mild winter so far, and we’ve had more sunshine in the first few days of February than in the entire month of January combined, I admit I’m growing weary of winter.

February Update painting

I did complete one painting for January. One of the folks who signed up to do the Humane Society pet portrait punked out, so I painted these two parakeets in gouache. I’m working on a zine now for February also painted with gouache. Hopefully it will turn out well and will be completed this month.

February Update cats

January was a bad month for cats. Cass, above, had a health emergency and spent 48 hours at the vet with IV antibiotics. I really thought we were going to lose him. Bob went with me to take Cass, which really made a big difference to me. I went the next day to visit him at the vet as well, so he knew I didn’t abandon him. Cass is also featured in my Cats zine I created last month. That little cat has my heart, and I don’t know what I’d do without him. We also have ringworm in our kitten population at the shelter, and two different illegal cat drops. The first one included a FIV+ cat which thankfully we were able to transfer to a sanctuary, and the second one involved the police.

Welcome 2024

Tuesday, January 2, 2024 0 Bullet Journal, Living in Michigan, Misc. Blatherings, Painting, Zines No tags Permalink
welcome 2024

Can you believe it? It’s time to welcome 2024! The holidays always go so fast. There’s just something about a fresh new year, though. Full of possibilities! You’ll see my bullet journal vision page spread above. I’ve selected my word of the year, Creativity. I let go of things I cannot control by finding peace. I find peace through my creativity. I also plan on continuing to improve my health, and getting better control of my finances. My yearly bullet journal is where I track my daily activities, as well as my progress on goals of the year. By the end of 2024, I will have increased financial security, health, peace, and creativity.

2024 Goals

Health

I made some good progress on my health in 2023. However, the older I get, the more work seems to be required to maintain. This year, I need to lower my A1C and get my LDL Calculated and Non HDL lower.

Finances

This year, I am going to track every purchase I make and see if I can’t do a better job of planning or stopping the frivolous purchases. I’m going to review my IRA and see if I can’t have a plan for better growth as well.

Creativity

In 2024, I want to get back to regular painting. I find great peace while painting. I already have a project I need to start on right away, so that will be a great start. I plan to paint one piece each month. After taking the prose poetry class last year, I have not made time to keep up with regular writing. It is important to me, and I want to place greater emphasis on it this year. In 2024, I will write four prose poems and month. By the end of the year, I will have one prose poem published. I love zines, and would like to work on creating and sharing more this year. In 2024, I will create two zines per month.

Social Media

I maintain a number of social media pages and groups. In 2024, I want to keep a regular schedule of when things get published and make sure I’m keeping up. I’d like to grow my YouTube channel specifically. Want to help? Here are the links:

Youtube

Instagram

Website

What are you doing for your 2024 goals?

Mid July

Tuesday, July 18, 2023 0 Crochet/Knitting, Garden, Living in Michigan, Misc. Blatherings No tags Permalink

How quickly the summer is going! It’s already past mid July. We’ve finished our first two of three summer events for the shelter, attended the Battle Creek Garden Tour, and had a lovely visit with Aunt Suzie, Gail, and Sydney.

mid July

This year’s garden tour was amazing. This is our third year attending. It’s hard to pick which garden was my favorite. The weather was lovely, not too hot, with a glorious breeze. I think this year’s theme was whimsy. Each garden had a number of really fun little touches.

mid July

My garden at home is also entering its stride mid July. We are now starting to get some sungold cherry tomatoes and some green beans.

Aunt Suzie, Gail and Sydney came for a visit, and we had a great time. Lots of laughs, and we worked on crocheting! Sydney is learning and doing a great job. I continue to make progress on my items for the craft fair at the Canine Carnival in August. Hoping I can have quite a bit up for sale. I’ve been making leggy froggies in a rainbow of colors.

As I’m kind of going freehand with them, so far each one is a little different. Hopefully as I keep making them, I wind up with some kind of standardization. The green one was first and yellow second. I’m also making some little ones to put on the ferris wheel.

I have read a couple of books, and will do a summer reads short update soon. I’ve had a bad round of headaches this summer. Is it stress? Smoke from the wildfires? Who knows, but it’s wearing me down.

Fourth of July

Monday, July 3, 2023 0 Crochet/Knitting, Garden, Living in Michigan, Misc. Blatherings No tags Permalink

Tomorrow is the Fourth of July. I know, how fast is this summer going?! In June I did a garden update as well as a crochet update. We finally had a day of rain yesterday, and I need to get some more photos and a video as the garden is looking really great. We aren’t getting much veg as of yet; a couple of sugar snap peas, one sweet banana pepper, and some rainbow chard is all.

Fourth of July
Fourth of July
Fourth of July

I’ve been crocheting hair scrunchies for the upcoming booth at the Canine Carnival. I hope to have about 30 of them ready for it, plus some other various projects. I know it will come up sooner than I expect. The Strut for the Strays is already this weekend.

crochet hair scrunchie

It seems like I’ve booked myself into a too-busy July and August. It’s a bit stressful overall I think. I need to take extra time to relax after each extrovert event or meeting, so it doesn’t build up too much. I’m envisioning a world and a life where I’m not constantly doing extrovert things that deplete my energy. Mom is making dinner for the Fourth of July, complete with a strawberry rhubarb pie which is my favorite. It will be nice to spend some time with her and Fanny. I’ve had a little time to read as well lately, so later this month I might even have a summer reads update. Reading glasses seem to make the difference in being able to concentrate and not get a really bad headache.

Hope you are having a great summer so far.

Summer in April

Wednesday, April 12, 2023 0 Battle Creek, Living in Michigan, Misc. Blatherings, Weather Update No tags Permalink
summer in April

This week feels like summer in April! The temperatures have been near 80 degrees. The violets and forsythia are in bloom, and there are little leaves on the invasive honeysuckle and willows. The birds are all singing a merry song, and the air just feels different. Now, April 19th is next week and we always have snow right around then. And sure enough, snow is predicted for next Monday. But you know it won’t last. It will be too early to plant for awhile, but it’s time enough to start getting excited!

Mom is going in for knee replacement surgery coming up. I’ll be taking a week off to stay with her. I haven’t had that much time off straight in awhile now.

The new location for Horrocks opened at the mall. Honestly, it’s a nice store than Battle Creek deserves. We don’t deserve good things here. I expect someone will be shot in the parking lot there, as that is what Battle Creek represents. If you live here, you know.

I finished the prose poetry class, and have started up a private facebook group for our class. I hope to keep the interaction going. I’m working on a little side project for prose poetry as well.

I’m starting to get in a panic about the Whisker Mixer event. I’ve really screwed myself this time with what I said I’d do and the time left to do it in. Maybe the world will end before the event?

March Update

Thursday, March 16, 2023 0 Crochet/Knitting, Living in Michigan, Misc. Blatherings, Typewriter, Weather Update No tags Permalink
March Update Cass in a Hat

It’s mid-month already, and time for a March Update. I would have to look back at previous bullet journals, but I suspect that perhaps my feelings of ennui are normal for the time before the official start of spring. It doesn’t feel or look like spring yet. There’s still snow on the ground, with more on the way. It doesn’t even really feel like there is the promise of spring, and yet the calendar shows otherwise. There’s more grayness than sunshine, and everyone seems a bit unhappy. Another two weeks or a month, and everything will feel different.

I’ve been typing letters on the 1965 Olympia SM9. It is delightful to work on. I continue to struggle with creativity, but letter writing always feels good. I’m taking an online class on writing prose poetry. It is a four-week class. If you haven’t heard of prose poetry, check out Charles Simic’s work. Some of his poems are included in the bottom of that article. My Grandma wrote and enjoyed poetry. I wish I could discuss this class with her.

I’ve been crocheting a lot of infinity scarves. Nothing is selling on Etsy, but maybe they will sell at the craft booth for the Canine Carnival in August. I have two baby blankets and a special comfort blanket to make, with yarn due in today to get started.