i think spring is skipping us this year. it snowed last night, it’s snowing this morning, it’ll snow most of today. 6-12 inches predicted. in april. sad face.

…is badly needed in this craft drawer.

did you know that all the stuff you have to make the stuff you sell is considered inventory? i did not know that until last night, when it took about 20 minutes for my accountant to explain the concept to me – and it took that long because while he was trying so hard to explain it in simple words to my work-weary brain i was trying to figure out how my many spools of binding thread and bottles of PVA (glue) and reams of paper/sheets of paper (some a decade old!) and rolls of bookcloth and packages of envelopes and printer cartridges and and and… how could it all be broken down into a price & quantity that is considered “inventory”? i always thought that inventory was the finished product you sell, not the components of the finished product that sit around waiting to be turned into something. but i guess i missed business 101, and i left my accountant’s office feeling sorta stupid and still not knowing how the hell i’d ever be able to track all that stuff.

sorry, government: my numbers for my little business that brings me happiness will probably never accurately reflect what i’ve spent and what i’ve sold. and that’s how it’s gonna be, because i don’t do it for the money (and i do not make much). you take enough out of my day job paycheck. that should cover it.

i have had my fill of winter. i am so fucking done. i risk slipping and falling on ice while walking my dogs twice daily, so running is out of the question and i miss those endorphins. i miss the sun. i miss sitting outside, doing nothing. but winter just doesn’t seem to want to go… we’re in mid-march and temperatures above freezing still look to be a rarity for the next 10 days. screw you, winter.

i try to find things that i can do to make it better. and of course, when i think i’ve finally figured it out, the universe decides to spin me around and give me a completely different direction to take. see my middle finger, universe? that’s me, wishing you’d quit pushing me around. i know, i know, it’s for my own good. but still, see my middle finger?

good things this week:

• happy mail from jackie, which included the fish above, cut from paper by her amazing hands. her package helped me get thru the week.
• i’ve posted in other social media spots about tina roth eisenberg‘s sxsw talk, and i feel like i’ve already over-hyped it. but it’s so logical, so smart, so not-new-agey, and i was emotional numerous times over the course of 54 minutes. it’s worth a watch this weekend. her 11 rules need to be everyone’s rules. i cried when number #10 came up: “if the opportunity scares you, take it.” and then there’s number #11: “be someone’s eccentric aunt” – i’ll have no problem with that one.
• and if you only have 47 seconds, sky + moon + comet.
• lastly:
  

  so proud that i was able to talk about music with a tattooed 27 yo who is in 3 bands & has a 3 inch beard & still sound like i know my shit.

  — painted fish studio (@jenzilla) March 13, 2013

hope spring is approaching where you are….

that is all.

precious polaroid film that got stuck on its way out of the camera*
october 18, 2012
expired polaroid 600 film

. . . . . .

this week i realized i had made a mistake… i had missed something i should have caught, and it’s too late to fix it.

i am a stickler for detail. i very rarely forget to do the steps that need to be done. so when i realized my error, i freaked out. i wanted to cry but i was too tired to cry, and it was too late in the evening to contact anyone to assure me that i am not a fucking idiot and that it’ll be ok. my brain went into overdrive, trying to figure out how i could fix it. i came up with a few ideas, but none would fully erase my mistake. i forced myself to go to bed, doing everything i could to not think about it so i could fall asleep.

the next day i woke up, hit snooze a few times, savored a few more minutes in bed, until i remembered my discovery the night before. and my heart sank. i fucked up, and i still can’t fix it. but i didn’t want to dwell on it all day, so i decided that every time i started to think about it, i would try to forgive myself for the mistake and remind myself i can’t be perfect. maybe one of the fixes i came up with the night before wouldn’t be that bad… it wouldn’t totally ruin the aesthetic i wanted… and really, even though my mistake was epic in my head, few people would probably notice. i worked on forgiving myself, which i have never really done before.

yes, i missed something. it still bothers me a little, but i am not savagely beating myself up for it. it’ll be ok.

*not the mistake i am referring to in this post

like many areas in the US, spring has come to minnesota shockingly early: temperatures 30-40 degrees above normal… trees budding… and green grass. tulips, chives, iris are popping out of the ground, and i worry about a cold snap bringing them to an end. i know we won’t dip to below freezing for an extended period of time until the end of the year, but there’s still a chance of frosty nights and chilly days. while i worry about the tender plants and buds, spring’s early arrival is certainly welcome. there’s no point in worrying about what-if’s.

last night i remembered that in 2009 i documented spring’s arrival by participating in the flickr meme bench monday. i looked back and found a bench monday shot that best matched our current situation (above, with hannah), and it’s dated april 27. here we are, well ahead of schedule.

happy spring!

i think this was taken in 1977, and i do remember those pants: they were corduroy…

this is my last post for the year. i’m going to take a little end-of-the-year break, which is the usual routine here. i wish all of you happy holidays, and the best for the new year. xo

i quit my job, and today is the last day i will be driving to anoka, minnesota.

i’ve been working in anoka since january 2009. it started as a consulting gig, one that i considered very temporary, because i didn’t fit in well (anoka is about 30 minutes north of minneapolis, and is in michele bachmann’s district, and everyone there eats meat and goes to church and wears jeans and fleece sweatshirts to work. all perfectly fine things, but people that do not do all those things are treated with suspicion.) the temporary gig turned into a full-time gig about 8 months later, which was quite a surprise to me. the subject matter that i was beginning to learn and excel at? crop insurance. it’s probably the least glamorous job i’ll ever have, but at the same time, it was one of the most challenging jobs.

i will miss many of the people i work with. and i’ll miss the deli in the co-op that made me yummy sandwiches. and the vietnamese place that makes the best tofu & rice noodle salad.  and that’s about all i’ll miss.

my new job starts on monday. i’m not taking a break in between, and i’m not taking a break over the holidays (which i may regret greatly). i’m just going to jump right in!

happy weekend!

my fall/winter uniform: dress, tights, boots. sometimes people say stuff like: you sure like dresses. or do you ever wear jeans? or you dress up a lot. and sometimes i try to explain that wearing a simple sweater dress with tights that aren’t binding is so, so, so comfy and is just like wearing pajamas all day, but sometimes i just shrug my shoulders and say i like wearing dresses. i wasn’t always this way: i was a jeans girl in my 20′s and the first part of my 30′s. but now i like dresses and tights.

some of what you see here is new, but a few pairs are left over from last season, purchased at deep discount when the weather warmed. target and h&m are my go-to. i can’t wait to wear the yellow pair. tomorrow is the first day of autumn, maybe i’ll wear the yellow tights to celebrate.

i have franken-toes: my second toe, on both the right and left foot, is a full quarter inch longer than my big toe. i usually don’t like drawing attention to my little piggies. but lately? i can’t walk into target without walking out with a new bottle of polish.

last summer, the only polish i used was a pale pink, which gave my toenails a finished look, without drawing attention to the freak show. but meghan turned me on to gold polish over the winter, and i’m hooked on metallics & bright colors. i am celebrating my franken-toes! it’s summer! they want to be out!

it’s the last friday of the month, which means today’s post is a part of merry go round, a group of 11 artists/craftwomen from around the world that gather to share their thoughts on the same topic. this month’s topic: find a photo that affects you in some way.

the photo i’ve chosen is a polaroid that i shot in april when i was in amsterdam. out of all of the photos i took, this one of a bike locked to a canal bridge… this one captures what amsterdam is to me.

see what everyone else has to share:

laura at blue terracotta
monika at red 2 white
ruth at birdland creations
kim at vilt a la kim
sara at crafts of texture
samantha at vintage is for lovers
mariana at florcita
agathe at le bar du vent
mitsy at artmind
bethany at dirksen dabbles

happy weekend, all!

this is my glue brush. i bought it for my first ever bookbinding class, which i took during my last year of college, which was (oohboy) 15 years ago.

my glue brush has held up pretty well. it’s the only brush i use for gluing, and when i have pARTies, i make my friends use the cheap $1 hardware store brushes and i rarely share my brush. the metal around the brush head is rusting a bit, and the head is starting to come loose from the handle… a little super glue might solve that last problem. i will take drastic measures, if necessary, to keep this brush in one piece!

the second in my exploration of odd objects that i have an attachment to… the first object of affection.

these are the “big scissors”, and were my mom’s scissors. they are rusty. they are dull, but they still cut. they are more than 25 years old. but i can still hear my mom say “go get the big scissors in the middle drawer.”. the big scissors are now in a drawer in my kitchen, and they will move with me to future kitchens until i am no more.

. . . . . . . .

my dear friend anna lives in queensland, australia which is under water. her family lives on a hill and so far are unscathed by the flooding, but she has family, friends, and colleagues that have flooded homes. anna is running a raffle for those that donate at least $5 to the premier’s flood relief appeal. visit her queensland flood relief auction post for more details.

i try not to impulse shop. really, i do — i can be pretty frugal. but sometimes, i fail…

when i was in manhattan in early october, i met cindy at kinokuniya, the japanese bookstore. and all logic apparently stayed outside on sixth avenue, because i certainly don’t bring it into the bookstore with me.

i bought a book based on its front cover, but once i had the opportunity to sit down and really go through it, i realized it wasn’t for me. natural handmade goods idea book is beautiful, and comes with a CD that contains photoshop element files that you can use to create the projects featured in the book, and a 2nd CD that appears to have photoshop elements 6.0 for windows.

the projects are super-cute! but not me. also, it’s in japanese, so you’ll need to think a little harder than normal to follow along. but it’ll be worth it!

so, leave me a comment to give this book a good home. and to make it fun, leave me a comment about your worst impulse buy. spill it! i have no social life right now while i prep goods for the holidays, so give me some good stuff to laugh at. i will have my pal, random number generator, pick the winner next wednesday (november 10) morning, around 6:30am central time.

updated 11.10.10: the winner of the natural handmade goods idea book is comment #6, aimee!

that crazy storm that hit the midwest blew most the leaves off the trees this week, and now they’re shivering in the leftover breeze. we had our first official frost this morning, meaning it’s finally time for soups, blankets, and cuddling with your sweetie (which in my case, is a chunky little one-eyed mutt).

happy weekend, and happy, happy halloween!

i’ve always wondered what it would be like to dig up old pottery in the backyard, and yesterday i found out: i was planting new perennials, and found the shard above while digging. i dug a little more to see if there where more pieces, but i didn’t find any.

this one is about an inch long by half inch wide, and needs a good cleaning. and then, i’m going to make a brooch.

happy monday!

i have this photo of my maternal grandfather:

that’s his handwriting on the back:

e.c. stands for eau claire, wisconsin. i drove there last saturday to spend the afternoon with a friend. i brought the picture, and she and i found our way to 420 garfield.

when i pulled up, i knew i was at the right address: the position of the front door had changed, and the house was blue instead of white, but there was no question it was the house my grandfather lived in briefly as a child.

i knocked on the door, and a gentleman with 2 young daughters answered. i explained that my grandfather had lived there, and i showed him the photo. i asked if he minded if i took a few photos of the exterior of the house. he asked if i’d like to come in, but i declined — it felt too intrusive, and my grandfather hadn’t spoken much of the home itself, so there was no emotional tie to the interior for me.

the owner of the home then excused himself for a minute, and came back with the home’s original title, which dated back to the late 1800′s. we searched for my great-grandparent’s names, but could not find them. ithen remembered that my grandfather’s father died in the 1918 spanish flu epidemic, and there was a good chance that my grandfather and his mother were renters in 420. i have a written history of that time period of my grandfather’s life, but it is buried away, somewhere in a box. he died 3 years ago next week, and even a few years have passed, i still think of him daily, thanks to the little reminders (like the photo) that i’ve saved and scattered around my home.

today i am thirty six.

thirty five was a pretty good year: i quit smoking (but promise to start back up when i turn 70). i spent an autumn weekend in new york alone (and think this needs to be an annual event for me). i ran a half marathon (and will do 3 more this year). i gave my liver a good workout in las vegas (dear god, never again). i had my living and dining rooms redone and emptied my savings to make my house me (i still need to show that!). i didn’t go to amsterdam (but will not let anything stop me from going for birthday #37). i drove south to meet aimee, jackie, and melinda; i flew west to meet jen; i flew west again to meet evalynn and martha and visit with chandler (i love that the internet has brought these amazing people into my life). i’ve surrounded myself with a wonderful network of friends (i am so grateful for all of you). i didn’t make much creatively (but i finally learned to not stress out about it).

i’m excited for what year thirty six will bring…

i’m in awe of spring’s early arrival, and still cannot believe it is here. i’m soaking up every little detail, because i’m afraid someone (old man winter!) is going to snatch it away… i’ve never noticed how much my rhubarb leaves look like ruching as they burst from the ground. makes me wanna learn how to sew! (never did get around to doing that — maybe next winter.)