The End of the World?

Howdy!  One of my customers reminded me this morning that some doomesdayer predicted that today would be the last day for us all and so far it's been pretty much the same as any other Saturday for me, how about you? 

However, I keep seeing a bit of continued moral decline in our culture.  On some days I want to take down my gift box display behind the counter and list the 10 Commandments.  I don't care what religion anyone is, it's just that if we all followed those 10 (come on people, you can do anything else just not those 10 things) and we would all be able to live happily together as they are actually more like laws of "getting along" if you think about it.  Here's a couple of things that have happened recently here where my shop is:

What we found when we came back after the New Year's weekend.  Some gang members tagged our van that was sitting in our back parking lot.  We used some special remover on it but it took some of the gray paint off, too.  Someone also tried to remove the van's registration tag but I cut into it with an exacto knife when I put it on month's earlier so if someone ever tried to steal it it won't come off in one piece and then they can't use it.  So ha, ha on them!

When I opened the front door of the shop this past Monday, I saw that someone (that is crazy) stole the 15 year old dirty mats from in front of the Acupuncture's doorway as well as mine.  Two door mats??  Really?  Of course,  I called the Sheriff's Dept. on both of these incidents so they would know what is going on in the neighborhood.

On another note, I've been bra shopping and it has been horrid.  Even at Nordstrom, there isn't a bra that fits right.  I tried on every bra they had in my new size and came home twice with bras that I eventually returned.  So until I can fit into my other bras, I'm going to continue to wear my soft ones and lose more weight.  I've been doing good on my diet.  It consists of eating less carbs, more protein and basically eating everything I want except eating less of it.  I have tremendous will power when I put it into action.  So mid section menopause chubbiness, watch out, you are going to disappear! 

This afternoon and tomorrow will consist of continuing the garden planting and to de-clutter the kitchen and refinish the floor board and maybe I'll get to sewing the little curtain that will go above the sink.

 
Here's a couple pics of the rose tree my mom and I planted about 19 years ago.  Every now and then I cut off a couple buds and they fill my backroom with a heavenly scent!



Wherever you are, I hope you have lovely weather and can get outdoors and enjoy some fresh air!

Cell Phones

Good Evening,
I hadn't slept well last night and kept waking up; dreaming weird things and then got to thinking about the recovery efforts of the Japanese and then rolled out of bed earlier than usual. Yesterday, I viewed a picture of a flood victim in TIME magazine. I think that image stayed with me all night long. Then on my commute I learned they had another earthquake/aftershock with a tsunami warning. OMG, please!! Enough already.

Yesterday, I decided that I'd had it with rude people on their cell phones coming in and taking calls in the middle of my servicing them.  I've put up with it for far too long.  I didn't get a thumbprint in the notary journal for a fellow because he was on his darn cell phone and paying more attention to that than to me.  I will now demand that they don't take any calls or make calls in my store unless it has to do with needing a shipping address or phone number or having to do with a document that is in question that needs to be notarized.  I have now posted a sign on the front door that looks like this:

 

 I put a smaller sign at the counter, too.  Hopefully this will reduce this problem and create smoother transactions with customers.  I could go on with all the dangers of cell phone use but I will just say this:  They give off harmful radiation and cause cell damage and that is really bad for children whose bodies are having rapid cell reproduction.  There are also studies that show the use of all our electronic devices are having negative effects on our wonderful BEES that we need to pollinate our foods.  HELLO PEOPLE!  Ya like to eat don't cha?  If ya can't live without your devices at least cut back on their use as it will be healthier for every living thing that shares our planet!  

Here's my other problem with their use.  Humans can do one thing at a time really well esp. if they've had practice at it and now enter talking on the phone and doing other things.  Whatever they are doing is now getting divided up and so can't do either one as well.  People on their devices are not in communication with their immediate surroundings and other people in their vicinity.  It is rude not to acknowledge the existence of others as well as making them listen to your conversations:

Or maybe we all need one of these:

Go here to read about it.

I like this one:

Call me old fashioned, but I prefer these:

Go here to buy the table.

Remember those?  We never had a phone table at our house when I was growing up but some of my friends did and I thought they were cool.  There was always a pen and paper plus the yellow pages fit neatly on the shelf or in the drawer.  My family had strict rules about using the phone.  How about your family?  

We can't stop change and who would want to?  Change isn't always better but WE have to be the one's to decide that.  One thing about the youth today, when they see others making out, kissing, etc. on let's say...a park bench, they yell, "GET A ROOM".  Now there is truth in that!

Bye!

Who Makes Your Clothes?

Have you ever wondered who makes the clothes you buy/wear?

While I was dismantling a wool jacket several weeks ago to someday make into a braided wool rug or other project and I began to wonder who or how many people were involved in making this garment.  It was time consuming to rip out the stitching and as I went along realized how much skill went into it.  Tailoring.  My maternal Grandmother knew how to tailor.  That was the kind of work a woman could do in her era to make a little extra money.  I've done a ton of sewing but never learned the art of tailoring.  I could tell the shoulder pads were hand made and the marks inside the fabric for the darts and placement of the stabilizer were done by hand.  Then there was the lining, too. 

A Liz Claiborne jacket made in Korea.  I kept finding these little pieces of paper with the numbers 331 on them.  How long did it take for them to make it?  What were their working conditions?  What pay did they receive?

So, Mr. or Ms. 331 you did a fantastic job on the jacket, I'm impressed.  I'm sorry the moths got to it and ruined it.

I did up a gift basket for a customer yesterday that she's donating to the "City of Hope" cancer center fundraiser.  It's one of those Keurig coffee makers, 3 packs of coffee singles and some bottles of different jam.  She brought in the goodies & basket, then I did the rest.  Nice for a change.  Haven't done a gift basket for awhile.

Oh man, it's time to go and a customer just brought in pictures, some china pieces, cups and saucers to ship to 3 different places and I thought I might get outta here on time tonite!   UUggg!

The Found Package

Howdy, first I just wanta say that I hated the feeling of looking at my different customers as suspects in the, "Case of the missing package".

Here's what happened:
On that Saturday after the pkg. got delivered and I had called K, while I was busy helping a customer, one of my other mailbox customers came in with a whole armful of lightly used bubble wrap and asked me if I wanted it and I said sure, "Go put it in the back room, thanks".  Well, he put it right on top of the box we thought was later lost or stolen.  Now, I hadn't put that box on the pile of other boxes like I thought I had...no, I kept it out thinking that K would come and get it that day since he was anxious to get it.  That is why it was still on the counter and then got covered up with the pile of bubble wrap.  

That was the same Sat. the landlord and his crazy buddies gerry-rigged the ladder to go on the roof, BTW, they got off the roof without injury!  But they made me nervous all day.  

Since Monday was a holiday my DH decided to come to work with me on that following Tuesday.  When we got in the shop that morning, we got busy packing a large shipment.  I needed the counter space so I asked him to put all that bubble wrap that was on the counter to the storeroom and so he scooped it up took it to the back and put it on a pile of other packing materials.  Since the box was lightweight (of course it only had a small ipod touch in it) and only about 10" x 6" x 3" all that darn bubble wrap covered up the box totally and he never felt the box under all the wrap.  So there it sat....hidden....until this morning when my wonderful son found it.  He and DH came in with me to do some errands and also to help organize the storeroom since it's been messy from the Christmas rush.  I had looked back there briefly for the missing pkg but we only put really large pkgs back there and I knew I didn't put it back there.  This was such a relief, I tell ya.  I thought I had lost my mind and gave it mistakenly to another mailbox customer, that I wasn't doing my job, that I 'd let someone down who was counting on me.  

I have to make changes so this doesn't ever happen again.  Also I'm doing up a letter making a new policy that people need to let me know if they are having stuff delivered that is of high value and enforcing our current contract with them which says to pick up their pkgs within 24 hrs of delivery.  I know sometimes people can't make it in but every effort should be made when it is of high value.  In other words, I LIKE TO SLEEP AT NIGHT and this past week has been nuts.  K didn't come get his package today after we left him the msg. this morn.  In fact he didn't even call.  Maybe he's been working all day which is why he can afford a $300.00 ipod!  I swear I feel like sleeping with the damn pkg under my pillow tonite!  But, it is safe so now I will sign off and jump into bed and sleep soundly and I hope you do the same.  

Take care and have a prosperous week!

Where is K's Package?, Trees and Dan's Cap

Worst week in a long time.


One of my mailbox renter's packages from the backroom is missing.  This hasn't ever happened...not in 18+ years we've been in business.  No pkg has gone missing, EVER.  I've not slept well for the past 2 nights.  I can't believe it.  I'm sad, then mad, then sad, then mad.  Uuugghh.

Scenario:

My customer, I'll call him K, a longtime customer, very shy, mild mannered man, ordered something from Amazon and he told me that the first one they sent got lost in the mail and Amazon was gonna send another one to him and they did.  It was sent overnight and arrived last Sat. by Federal Express.  I called  K right away and left him a msg. that it was delivered and he could come get it.  He didn't come for it until this past Thurs. morning.  When he arrived, I was helping another customer but I got his pkgs for him but I couldn't locate that one.  I told him I'd find it and I'd call later.  Then very softly he says, "It's worth $300.00" and I say, reassuringly, we'll find it.  He looked so concerned..  I got searching for the pkg.  NOWHERE!! damn,  slowly the pit of my stomach got a wrenching feeling.  I tried to remember all that had happened from Sat. to present time running it thru my mind.  Did I give someone his pkg by mistake?  If I did, my customers would surely bring it back...but...hmm, they hadn't brought it back or called me to tell me they had it.  I got worried.  I called everyone that had picked up pkgs that week and asked them, "No" they had only got their pkgs.  I didn't even know what was in the pkg. just that is was worth $300.00.  At the end of the day, I was realizing that it was GONE.  What happened??  I got the sick feeling again.  Then at the end of the work day I left K a msg. saying that I was still looking into it, terribly sorry, but that he should come in ASAP and bring the invoice from his purchase from Amazon and assured him that I would pay him for the item.  He came first thing Fri. morning and I found out that it was an iPod Touch, a 32 gig one.  If one of my customers got it by mistake and opened it, there would be a temptation to keep it.  Damn, why couldn't it have been a stupid book, or something not worth so much...something only K would want so the person would bring it back.

I'm having a hard time thinking that a customer esp. if it was a mailbox customer, would keep it.  Where is it???  Sure, I have insurance but if I put in a claim my insurance would go up next year.  SO, I am now looking into scanning software and getting a (frickin') bar code scanner to log the pkgs in and out for people and now I'm wearing this as part of my wardrobe everyday:

That's my elbow and dang my arm sure looks fat!

This is the key to the backroom where the pkgs are kept.  This is the same room my computer is in.  I'm in there when I'm not at the front counter.  It will be locked every time I leave it and I'm making my mailbox customers wait until I'm finished with a customer before I get their pkgs for them.


Now on to other things.  We decided to trim the trees about halfway instead of taking them out completely.  The gardeners are there today trimming away at the trees as I write.  I don't want to go home until the chainsaw noise is over.  Here's a few pics that I had fun editing to see how the house might look with trees trimmed or removed.  The trees rose above the house by about 16 feet and you can't tell that in the pic.  I didn't do a perfect job on the editing but I learned more techniques with the software that I've had for years!

Orig. pic showing the tall tree

We chose to cut them about this low

This is what it would look like removed

Here is what I have been working on.  It went pretty fast.  My friend Danny had asked me to wash his fav hat and then it got funky-discolored and I thought about dyeing it or using dye markers in a pattern on it and then I got the bright idea to crochet over it!!  He likes it!  It will keep his head warmer now, too.

I just made the pattern up as I went.  I started out with a chain long enough to go around the insignia on the front and then did single crochet around that.  Pinned it in place around, cut the yarn and then began at the top making a circle large enough to fit around the button and continued to dc in the round until I came to the circle that was pinned down.  Then I went back and forth each time hooking into the sc of the circle until I got to the bottom.  Then on the brim, I started at the center back and then dc back and forth adding and decreasing stitches to make it fit.  Then I sewed it onto the hat with a needle and regular thread along the bottom and a few stitches around the button at the top and ta-da, finished.  I got more yarn and plan to make him a scarf to match.  The yarn is soft and is called Naturally Caron Country a washable wool (wool and acrylic) in charcoal.

I'm off to continue to work on the kitchen cabinets.  I made some progress last weekend and I just have to keep at it.  DH just called me and the gardeners are done with the trees.  Safe to go home now. It's a nice wknd again and I just wanta be outside.

This post is a long one.  All week in one post.  Thanks for reading to the end. 

Geez, I get to buy an iPod for K.  Think how much yarn $300.00 would buy!

Hope you're enjoying yourself and doing whatever blows your hair back!!!!

Edited to say:  The trees do look better now.

Gorgeous Day!

Just took this pic looking north outside of my shop right now

Wow, it is so nice out right now.  Just how I like it, very little moisture in the air, blue sky and warm.  Days like this are the reason I have stayed in my birth state of California.  Now, if I could just feel as good as the day is pretty.  I awoke with a small headache hurting behind my eyes.  So I am taking this stuff.  I like it for those minor aches and pains and I love the name "END PAIN" isn't that what we are trying to do?  I don't like taking drugs of any kind but if I have to take something stronger to get thru the day then so be it.


I'm gonna take the M.L. King holiday off on Monday and get more of the kitchen refinished.  That is why I can't be gettin' sick or anything darn it. When I get home today I will start to wash down the cupboards since they have to thoroughly dry before using the finish stuff on 'em.  I haven't worked on them since early November.  Perfect weekend since it will dry fast.  No cooking this wknd! 

This is the snow capped mountains east of us that you can see out my shop's back door this morning.  

Landlord and his buddies have gone up on the roof to go about fixing some of the leaks.  He asked to borrow the ladder I keep at the shop and LOOK what they have concocted.  I just snuck these pics of them while I had the camera taking pics of the mountains.  Geez, guys for heaven's sake get a real ladder made for going up that high.  It's this activity that keeps hospitals in business.  Totally scary and stupid.  I can't wait for 2pm today so I can get the he** outta here.  

Does that look dangerous or what? 

On a lighter note...some of you don't know I have Cinderella feet, hee, hee.  I buy kids shoes when I find something I like.  I got these while Christmas shopping.  They are comfortable and perfect for no rain days.

That's all I got for today.  Hope you have a fantastic weekend and make something beautiful!

Holidays Revisited

I snapped some photos of our neighbor's house last night; quick before she starts to dismantle it this weekend.  She always does it up big and her front yard sparkles every year.  I will miss her displays; if all goes well, this will be our last holiday season at this home. 

We've been real busy this week at the shop.  Hope this is a sign of the economy recovering.  We had to do some last minute changes to our phone book ads.  They are throwing in a webpage for us this year.  Hmm, I don't know about that but we'll see.  I'm always leery about things being "free".  I know nothing in this world is actually free, soooo time will tell on this.  

I felt kinda crappy last weekend.  I had 3 days and didn't accomplish much.  I slept more than usual and it was cold by our SoCal standards and I sat and crocheted, read, browsed the web for crochet patterns and made food.  Our oven is officially broken.  Maybe all the cookies finally did the damn thing in.  Crock pot and stove top food until it gets fixed (if ever).   

Here is a picture of my chauffeur for the last couple months.  Now I'm back to working solo again.

My wonderful son driving us to work in the morning.

Our commute along the foothills in the early morning just days before Christmas.  Well, here's to a lovely first week into the new year!  Thanks for stopping by...

Shopping and Shop

Howdy!  I finished my holiday shopping last Sunday; 7 hours from leaving the driveway to arriving home.  Tired? Yes.  Glad I was DONE? Yes-siree!  Now I can concentrate on helping bring the holidays under control for others with gift wrapping, packing and shipping.  We haven't been super busy at least not yet, which is a sign of this economy right now.

While out shopping on Sunday about midday I grabbed a cup of coffee and I sat down on a bench outside next to a lady that was not social at all.  As I was sipping my coffee it went down the wrong way and I started to cough and choke...eyes bulging out and tearing up and so glad that I didn't ya know, upchuck...luckily it was just a small amount but I kept having to cough and then she got up and left, like in a huff.  She didn't even ask me if I was ok.  After I got my composure back I was walking past a lady that had left the store and had 3 boxes stacked above the cart and she was headed down the small ramp so I asked if I could help her and while doing so I just did by reaching out to keep the boxes steady.  She acted like I might, heck I don't know, mug her or something?  Then when I didn't seem too threatening, she thanked me.  I was trying to be friendly and in the holiday spirit and most people were not, a few were.  I did have a nice/happy sales cashier lady at Michaels.  Los Angeles used to be more friendly, what happened???

Here is a pic of our shop tree with the couple of new items I got from Target that I wrote about a couple of posts ago.  The star on top is actually a hanging ornament with glitter and rhinestones held on with a twist tie and then I purchased a string of iridescent light bulbs instead of using the mini-lights.  I should have bought two strands but I was thinking it would be enough, either that or I'm cheap!  The stockings you see on the tree can hold a gift card.

Here's a couple shots of the shop all ready for Christmas.

I got a couple of gifts for the shop from Michaels since I had a couple of coupons that were burning a hole in my pocket.  Really these are for me but I got them to make fancy edges on the signs that I make for the shop but I'll also use them for card making.  While I was at Michaels I also picked up some of Vanna's tinsel yarn to make the crochet snowflakes that Clara was showing us on her blog.  They are easy and fun to make and I'll post some pix soon.

Hope your holiday shopping and baking is going well for you and you are getting in the spirit of the season!  Take care and I hope to post soon!

Desk Chair Arm Covers

I started these a few months ago.  I got a remnant piece of fabric, a patterned cotton denim to make covers for my poor desk chair at work.  Lord knows that I sit too much in the darn thing and I'm wearing it out.  I finally finished 'em the other day.  Just have so many projects to finish up it felt good to get this one outta the way!

It's amazing what light does to picture taking.  The fabric is more true to it's color taken in the first and second photos above.  The last pic is taken in florescent light.  It isn't that bright blue and there isn't as much contrast to the chair fabric in the last pic, weird.

I wrapped up a few wedding gifts for a customer yesterday.  Mickey Mouse popcorn maker, how cute!  I hand make almost all the bows here at my shop.

I haven't made that much progress on my crochet scarf with all the garden and refinishing love that's been going on in my free time.

If you wanta see a cute crocheted cozy go to the crochet along here.  It's amazing what people can do with yarn.  Hope you're having a sunny warm (not hot) summer day, enjoy!

Rain, New Year Amaryllis, Rain, Organizing and more Rain

Yup, I've been away from my blog writing and January is almost over already.  I've been thinking of writing and coming up with ideas and even taking photos thinking I'd post about this and than and then, nope, I didn't get to posting that day and that went on for days.  Well today, it's been much slower in the shop since it is our 4th day of rain (we don't get much rain!!!) and it has been raining most of today, not a speck of sunshine peeking through the clouds...nope, none at all.  I didn't have any reason not to post, so here I am.

Here is our holiday gift from one of my long time customers, a beautiful Amaryllis that just got through blooming.  This one has huge blooms and is a really pretty deep red.  My others are white and red striped.
































Soon it will be going outside to be with my other Amaryllis.  They won't bloom until mid-spring so it was a treat to enjoy one indoors!

WOW!  We're having a torrential downpour right now.  I just stood up and looked outside and if this keeps up there will be flooding in some areas of  Los Angeles for sure.  OH! there's a bit of sunshine, my son just went out back, came running in and said a rainbow, so I grabbed my camera and look, we have a rainbow!



We've been busy rearranging the back room supplies here at the shop.  We bought some shelving to organize everything better.  Here are some pictures to make you happy that this is not your mess and some pix of what it looks like today, still in need of final organizing!  The important thing about organizing is that it just not look neat but rather you can easily find what you need when you need it!  AND we're not quite there yet.

Well, that's what I've been up to.  Now, I sure hope it's not raining when I have to drive home!

Still Workin' On It But It's Coming Along...

I ONLY LIKE THE BUBBLES SCREEN SAVER!

The new Vista computer didn't want to see the weight scale.  Because of this, we had to manually enter the weight into the program.  Below is my son and Danny talking about how to fix a few of the issues we are still having with it.  I haven't tried to install some of the older software I have yet.  Vista may not allow any of it.  Time will tell. 

 

Here is the mess with all the cords everywhere.  Right now it is a tad more organized than this but it is still a mess since we have to keep working with it.

 

Last Friday we seemed to get it to work and see the scale, YEAH!!  Working today as well, YEAH!  Now to get to know Vista.  A different animal than XP.  I'll get to tackling the cords this week.

I spent my Sunday, taking lotsa pics of stuff I'm gonna sell on ebay.  I have all the shipping capabilities anyone could want, so to take advantage of that, I sell stuff when I get inclined to do so now and then.  Check out my stuff on ebay (click here)

Hope your computer is having a good day and that you are having a great one!