Our last natural gas bill was just under $200 and I’m guessing that it’s not because I’m cooking *so much* on our gas range (actually we do heat up frozen Costco food in the oven a lot). Therefore we are keeping the thermostat even lower now. Sometimes I worry that Riley is cold when she curls up into a ball to nap, so now I cover her in a blanket. I think she is the cutest dog ever.
Category: Blog
New stuff
It has been unseasonably warm for the past month or so here in Delaware. So warm that I enjoyed being outside–in January. I was secretly hoping for a snowstorm so I could hunker down at home and get some work done. Well, after being 60 degrees and sunny last week, it was gusty and freezing this weekend and we did have some snow blowing around. The result? I spent yesterday in my pajamas scanning the rest of my jewelry and updating the website. (e.g. the tornado-bead bracelet pictured here). This morning I did leave the house for church, but spent the better part of the day making samples for new classes and cleaning up my work area. I excavated a gorgeous strand of sapphires and a few half-finished projects, so that’s what I’ll be thinking about as I fall asleep tonight…
Finished
The picture to the right shows the bathroom how it looked during our home inspection, before the previous owners moved out. Tan walls, red trim (next to teal in the adjacent room). Notice the cabinet doors, which are melamine laminate and don’t hang evenly.
The picture to the left is how the bathroom looks now with the ledge added above the tile. The trim is all off-white now, and the walls are Coke-bottle aqua. There’s a collection of coral we found washed up on the beach on Grand Cayman, along with some sea glass and other beachy things. I’d like to make a single door for the sink cabinet and do a mosaic inlay with sea glass to go with my shore theme. Not this week, though. I gotta get back to my studio!
‘Nuf said
How many DIYers does it take to change a lightbulb?
One, but it takes two weeks and four trips to Home Depot.
Mr. Ken!
Riley has a love affair with our neighbor, Ken. At the first sight of his van she launches into an ardent round of whining until I let her outside so she can play. Other people play with her regularly, but she’s so much more excited to see Ken. He’s asked before if he can bring her doggie treats, but Steve thinks he gives her pieces of filet (Ken’s a chef). Notice in the photo her right ear is airborne; I need to put in (( wiggle lines )) to show the animation.
The bathroom is coming along… I walked this morning (brr!) and decided it wasn’t worth it to start painting and then have to clean up for my dentist appointment, so I’m catching up on paperwork today. I haven’t really been in the studio mood lately, if you haven’t noticed. Part of that is my increasing obsession with learning to lampwork, so I keep calling the school we’ve chosen to bug them into getting some classes on the schedule. Steve and I watched a how-to lampworking video over the weekend and it was neat to actually see the consistency of molten glass and the timing of things instead of just imagining how it works based on a book. I have a tendency to research things a lot before I jump in, so while we wait for a class I’m reading what I can on lampworking forums so I’ll be more prepared for setting up shop.
As a PSA, I’d like to mention that propane tanks (like the extra one for your gas grill)are not rated for indoor use and should NEVER be in your house. If they leak, the propane sinks and pools in the lowest level of your house (often the basement with little way to remove it). With the tiniest of sparks it explodes or burns invisibly until it catches something else on fire. I would venture to say that any damage caused by a propane tank indoors would not be covered by insurance. Fair warning!
Getting white-haired
Steve and I are working on our powder room. On Saturday we cut wood to install a decorative ledge above the tile. Yesterday and today I’ve been painting the trim and upper wall (and my hair, hands, & clothes) and my arms feel like they’re going to fall off. I’ll post photos when we’re finished.
Happy Birthday to Me
I’m 28 today and my husband gave me flowers and made a cookie cake. Isn’t he sweet? His birthday is on Tuesday, so I’ll get him back.
I’ve noticed a lot more Canadian geese than I have in years past. Some days thousands of them will stretch across the sky. Another thing I noticed this year is that they are flying in all different directions, not just south. I actually saw one V fly directly into another V, apparently at the same altitude because the birds all scrambled like they were in combat. It finally occurred to me today that maybe we are The South. Geese don’t care about the Mason-Dixon line, and being “Canadian” I guess they think Delaware is relatively warm. The geese have been encamped at Battery Park, and when Riley and I get close they slooooowly move out into the river (just in case I drop the leash). They do this nervous quacking thing, as if to tell one another, “Dog… dog… dog…” like the seagulls in Finding Nemo.
Fresh sea glass
Yesterday morning I took Riley for a walk along the Delaware River. She pulls on the leash, which makes my hand hurt and prevents me from pumping my arms to get my heart rate up, so I tied it around my waist. This apparently appears to other walkers to be cheating (they 
chide me in passing); my response is that I’m not wearing roller blades so it’s not cheating.
The trail ends at a beach, so I let Riley take a sip (but not a dip) in the water. Meanwhile I found a few choice pieces of sea glass and, having no pockets, I made the decision to use her empty poop bag to collect it and hoped that nature wouldn’t call. I’ve been running low on cobalt blue, which is both the rarest and most popular, and found several pieces of it before I got cold and had to start back. Riley was back in the yard maybe a minute before nature called – whew! The photo is of yesterday’s bounty. That one piece is brown, not red, and you may notice several pieces of lavender. For more info about sea glass, click here.
Airline Blues
I grew up in a pilot family; my dad retired from United Airlines in 1995 when it was still doing well. It was great being able to fly standby and be spontaneous, but it also meant my dad was gone a lot.
Since terrorists decided to use jets as bombs in 2001 the airline industry has never been the same. There are many other reasons for that, which I’m not going to delve into right now. My pilot brother, Tom, got hired by Comair (a regional carrier for Delta) just after 9/11. He was blessed to get an offer since a lot of pilots couldn’t find jobs then. Tom and his wife, Jen, could take off together for a weekend or go see her family in Florida for free – how cool. But, now he’s worried about his job. He and another Comair friend of ours, Dave, are commuting from where they live to their base in another part of the country, which is even harder on the family life. Actually none of the dozen or so pilots that I know actually have a decent schedule or even like their job right now. They love the actual flying, but not all the junk that comes with it.
I guess my point is that I’m really feeling the strain of pilot life on my friends and family and that’s what’s on my mind today. Jet-setting is glamourous, but I think airline benefits are outweighed by the stress that the industry is facing.
Ancient Order of Two-Headed Turtles
The Procrastinator’s Creed is something I have followed somewhat subconsiously since my brother had the poster in his bedroom during high school. I understand there is a fine line between procrastination and laziness, so another one of my new year’s resolutions is to procrastinate less. To demonstrate my new enthusiasm to accomplish goals, I have begun the first of about 7 loads of laundry. During the holidays I totally let housework go because I was filling orders and preparing for events. Now I have a break, so I’m out of excuses. I’m a compulsive list-maker, so hopefully my new list of goals for the year doesn’t get filed away with my list of chores to be done…