Mole or Mole Cricket? & Etc.

Something has been messing up our lawn for the past couple of weeks. I'm not sure if it's a mole or a mole cricket. Donald thinks it's a cricket, and he may be right, but I wouldn't have thought an insect would make such large, extensive tunnels.

I seem to remember thinking as a kid that these little raised trails in the ground were fun to follow, smushing the grass back into place as I went. (Yes, it just may be possible that I was a weird kid. For a certain amount of time, I had a weekly dusting ritual, and I thought it was fun to clear the holes in our salt shaker with a toothpick. . . For better or worse, "clean freak" behaviors subsided with age. Come visit my house now, if you don't believe me. Then again, no. Please don't come visiting without prior notice. The clutter has nearly reached catastrophic level, and it'll probably take a couple of days just to get it decent again.)

As an adult, I find the tunneling simply irritating. Smushing grass and soil back down somehow doesn't hold the same fascination as it once did, and I'm preoccupied by thoughts of turf damage. Ha. "Turf". That almost makes it sound like I'm one of those poor sod-obsessed souls who trim the lawn one blade at a time with specialty shears. Trust me, I'm not. I probably ought to care more about the lawn than I do, in fact, but even I feel the good old burn of groundskeeper's ire when I see that crazy network of ridges pop up across the yard.

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In other news--
The patio-ing continues apace! Maybe it's technically already taken too long for "apace" to apply. It's picking up steam, anyway.

Weekend before last, we set the posts (as you may recall). This weekend, Donald filled in the gaps around the posts, getting the pavers in there all nice and snug. He also cut the decorative (curvy) edge of the whatever-you-call-'em boards that will eventually support the shade cloth. Now I need to get started painting those boards and the lumber that we'll use to build a little railing around parts of the patio. It's starting to look like something, now. (Something other than a pile of supplies just outside our fence, that is.) I'm looking forward to getting it "done" enough that I can decorate in it and around it. (Silly me. As if there's not plenty enough to decorate inside the house!) I'm not looking forward quite so much to getting up on the ladder to paint, but it'll have to be done, as there are high-up spots needing another coat.

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Today, I talked about polymer clay (and showed some samples. . . and guided a little bead-making) at a local home-maker's club that my paternal grandmother is a member of. I saw a couple of family members I haven't seen in a while-- as well as the lady who was secretary when I was in elementary school-- so that was nice. :o)

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I came home this afternoon to find that a magazine had been delivered for me. Months ago, someone from this new magazine contacted me via my polymer clay button shop (on Etsy), wondering if I would be interested in sending them some of my buttons for possible inclusion in this new publication (Stitch, a "quilting arts" magazine). Of course I was interested-- but so much time had passed without feedback that I thought they might have decided against including my buttons. But here it is-- a photo of some of my little buttons in a magazine right next to a handful of other button-makers' works! Very exciting! (Maybe it's time I started paying more attention to my Etsy shops, again. . . I've been feeling guilty about neglecting them, anyway, but even more so now!)

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I'm still not used to this time change (and the still shortening days). Already the very last vestiges of twilight are fading away, and it's only 5:15! Enough blogging for now, I guess. Hope your week's off to a pleasant start!

Your Name in Print

There was a time-- starting back around seventh or eighth grade, I guess-- when I thought that seeing my name in print (in something more than a school-level publication) would be the pinnacle of success. I didn't expect to ever write anything that would make me world-famous, but even the humbler hope of simply being published and seeing my name in print gave me thrills.

Though other interests have since taken hold of me and I'm now much less given to literary daydream, the thought still has its appeal. However, if someone has serious hopes of publication, she probably ought to write more than the occasional slap-dash blog post or polymer clay tutorial, and as of yet, I haven't devoted the required time or effort to those old ambitions.

But--
Despite my lack of "stick-to-itiveness" (can you believe that's an actual word in the dictionary?) in the writing department, I have been granted the pleasure of seeing my name in print in a real, "live" book! It's not quite the same as being The Author, of course, but it's still plenty thrilling to be mentioned at all!

Here I am credited as one of the "participating artists", in the back of the book:


This opportunity pretty much fell into my lap one day when one of the authors, Ruth Rae, wrote to ask if I'd be interested in contributing some polymer clay mini food charms for inclusion in the book. She'd seen my photos on Flickr and thought they'd work nicely in a charm bracelet or two. (Thank you, Flickr! (g))

It's been a while since that happened (this book-making business seems to take a lot longer than you might think), but earlier this month my complimentary copy arrived-- A Charming Exchange: 25 Jewelry Projects to Create & Share, by Kelly Snelling & Ruth Rae.


In amongst so many lovely jewelry-making projects and glossy photos, you'll see my miniature cupcakes, Pop-Tarts, and cookies. And my name (in a few different places)! (g) It really is a neat thing to have happen just when you're least expecting it. :o)

Chit-Chat

Donald's taking tomorrow off, so this is another "Friday" for us. :o) (He's taking a day here and there, this summer, to use up a reserve of off-time that would otherwise expire soon.)

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Tuesday evening, right before going to bed, I measured a hot dog pendant (sounds weird, I know (g)) so I could send all the information to the person who ordered it. Yesterday, when I woke in the morning, pretty much my first thought was, "I made a mistake when I measured that hot dog!" I checked, and I was right; just as I "knew" when I woke, I'd been off by a quarter of an inch.

I've always heard that when you sleep-- or just leave something for a while and return to it later-- you allow your brain time to work things out. Things like this have happened to me before, of course-- suddenly understanding how to do a math problem, for instance-- or waking up and realizing that I'd used the wrong spelling or even the wrong word in something I'd been writing-- but it's always a strange sensation.

These brains of ours are mysterious things!

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Still need to do something about those ground wasps. . . Maybe over the weekend.

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Molly has some weird little scabby things on her back. I'm not sure what they are. You don't see them so much as feel them when you pet her in that one spot. It's hard to get a good look at them, because she doesn't want to sit still when you start focusing on the area you really need to see. They're also difficult to see because they're kind of "under" her hair-- or her hair's growing through them. Since her hair is all still there, I don't think they're regular scabs. Maybe some type of skin problem-- excessive dandruff or even psoriasis. . .

(sigh) Even researching doggy maladies online depresses and worries me! I know better than to use the Internet to research my own aches, pains, and other physical complaints. Now I know I shouldn't research Molly's issues, either! (g) I'll just keep an eye on it for the time being. She is a cocker spaniel, after all, and I think they tend to have skin problems.

Today's Tidbits

1. Twitter has eaten my last two tweets! Or at least it looks that way. Maybe they just got temporarily lost in some sort of Internet wormhole, and they'll pop up in the middle of the night. . .

2. Today we've had low humidity. (Low for this area.) However, 90 degrees (F) with 35-40% humidity still feels pretty hot to me!

3. The stamps I ordered (via the orange envelopes that you leave for your mail carrier) yesterday were in our mailbox this afternoon. I think it may be a bit sad that I'm excited to get new stamps. I obviously don't get enough fun mail. . . ;o)

4. I've been putting off making some things "to order", today. I've come to the conclusion that I don't enjoy making custom orders. I'll do them, but I worry that they're not going to come out right, whereas if I'm just making something to list independently, I'm not worried at all. Silly of me, but I imagine it's a common problem. (Maybe?)

5. Yay! Donald has tomorrow off, so today is Our Friday! ;o) (That's Thursday for the rest of you. . . Sorry. (g))

Old pickle relish, anyone? ;o)

Snippets are on the menu today. . .

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I cleaned out the fridge a few days ago. (Anyone want some old pickle relish or past-its-prime ranch dressing? ;o) Okay, not seriously. It's already in the trash. . . . Of course, some of you may be freegans. . .)

It was a long time coming, because (brace yourselves-- a real shocker's comin'!) it's not one of my favorite things to do. All those nooks and crannies-- having to take out drawers and shelves to wash them-- said drawers and shelves all being too big to fit in the sink and therefore taking much more effort to wash without getting the whole room wet-- and all this under a certain time limit, since I don't want to leave the food without refrigeration for too long. Whew! It's a job, but it sure does look nice and fresh, now! (Next up, the freezer!)

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Potential button-makers (and/or liaisons with other potential button-makers), I've been researching and making polymer clay buttons over the past couple of weeks. (Since I was researching it, anyway, I put up some related links on my other blog, if you're interested.)

I've put a handful of my buttons through the washer and dryer a few times, and so far, the results are promising. No broken buttons-- not yet, anyway. :o) Next up (I guess?)-- figuring out when's a good time for everyone to get together, if anyone would still like to have a polymer clay/button day.

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The other day, I started cleaning the guest room, which had turned into a storage area. We're going to a have a guest for a while, sometime soon, and I thought the bed might be more comfortable if it wasn't covered in picture frames, "raw" quilt batting, artificial flowers, etc. ;o)

I had only the best of intentions, but the flowers, which I bought on a super-duper sale back before Christmas, grabbed my attention. Because I had many other, more pressing issues to attend to, I of course ended up reworking our existing floral arrangements.

I'm making an effort to keep only the flowers and arrangements that I like best, which means that I'm going to have some left over bits and pieces. Actually, while cleaning lately, I've found several things that I want to get out of the house. See if anyone else in the family wants them-- sell them in a yard sale-- donate them to charity-- something. I'm tired of keeping things I no longer want or need. There's more than enough to keep clean without that extra burden.

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I recently spied a small green lizard drinking from Molly's water bowl on the porch. I don't know why I'm telling you all this, though. It just struck me as funny. . .

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Spring is in such full swing here that it's hard for me to comprehend that elsewhere in the country (not to mention the world) there are people still longing for the first daffodil. The lawn, which was fine a week ago, is now showing signs that it needs to be mown. Ah, the joys of the growing season!! :oP

Of course, on the plus side, the days are growing longer again, and there are new things to photograph, here and there around the yard.

Back to the negative side-- I somehow managed to let the whole lovely cool season pass without doing much yard work at all. This means that I now will have to do it in the warmer weather. For another month or so that shouldn't be too bad, but I know those sweltering summer days will be here all too soon. . .

Back to the positive side (to end on a brighter note)-- at least a little outside work will be good exercise. Maybe my waistline can even be persuaded to shrink an inch or two.

Clay Sale

No, I haven't accidentally posted this here instead of at my clay blog. Don't worry. It's just one entry. ;o)

At least a couple of family members have expressed an interest in trying out polymer clay. If you're still interested, now is a great time to pick up some clay on sale. Michaels will have 2-ounce blocks of polymer clay on sale for 99 cents each, starting today and running through Saturday. Two ounces may not sound like much, but it can go a pretty long way-- especially if you're making beads or putting the clay on top of a wooden or aluminum foil base (armature).

I suggest Premo brand. (Kato brand is supposed to be at least as good as Premo, but they don't stock that at Michaels.) Fimo can be ok, too, if the Premo stock is low. I would avoid Sculpey III, as it is the weakest of the major brands-- much more likely to break than Premo.

It's easy to mix just about any color you want, so if you can't find the exact shade you want, keep that in mind. If I were just starting out, I would buy at least one of each of these colors: black, white, fuchsia, turquoise, and a lemony yellow. (Of course, that's just a suggestion. (g)) If you know that you want a specific color-- red, brown, green, golden yellow, purple-- then it can save you some trouble if you go ahead and get that, too. (You can still tweak it to get just the right red, etc.)

It's also fun to play around with the translucent and metallic clays. Common metallics are pearl, gold, silver, and copper. There are sometimes also "green pearl", "blue pearl", etc. I think I like pearl the best of the bunch. It's easy to get pearly pastels by mixing a pinch of any color with pearl. Translucent clay is a must if you want to make "faux stones" from clay. Mixed with glitter, spices, dried flowers and other things, it can take on some really neat looks.

I'll be happy to tell you what I know about the clay, if you like-- and there are lots of websites and books (several in the local library system) that can help, too. If you'd like someone to walk you through the basic process, I'd be glad to host a clay party sometime, as well. Just let me know what you think. I know that we're coming up on a busy time of the year, but there's no reason we can't plan ahead. ;o)