Happy Anniversary to us

Twelve years ago today I went on my first date with my husband.

The other night we were sitting on the tailgate of The Uncle Jesse (what the name of the truck is that Shannon got this spring) and I looked down at my feet.
"I got toe jam".
Without missing a beat he said, "Well I got some toe crackers to go with that".

If that ain't love, I don't know what is.


Yesterday I busted ass and cleaned the outside of the house. I cleaned the gutters, washed the siding, washed the windows, washed the screens, and when I was done with all that, I washed the dog. Husband helped with washing the siding and screens. So today I just wanted to relax and play with my craft glue and altered books stuff. I'm working on a Chicago book. It's all the stuff I like to see when I'm there. I had a good time with that, for a few hours I didn't worry about anything. It was nice. The squalor inside the house can wait 'til tomorrow.

cross off 'veterinary assistant' off the list

Today I went to put the cat brush away in the closet, and the door wouldn't close. I figured it was just the throw rug by the door. I wasn't paying any attention, I was looking across the yard to the next door business. Darn door still wouldn't close, so I pushed harder, and I was still looking out the window while doing this. Why won't this darn door close?
It was the cat.

holy reprieve from the heat Batman!

The temp dropped at least 20 degress yesterday, I'm in heaven. We could finally open the windows. I've had the air on pretty much all summer. Our house got too much stuff on one circuit, we can't run the microwave and toaster when the air is on. Or just the coffeepot. Husband is getting sick of running downstairs to re-set the circuit. It's like the frontroom lights, the outlet that we have the tv, satellite receiver, stereo receiver, entire kitchen with the lights and appliances, and the a.c. is on one circuit. Pain in the ass. None of that other stuff is on when we aren't home, so I'm not too worried about fires. We have the old-school fusebox, but that circuit has a re-settable fuse with a button on it that pops out when it's tripped. Kinda like a turkey themometer. Weird thing is there is two circuits like that, and in the winter when the heat is on, the other one pops out when we use two heat-making appliances like the toaster oven and coffee pot. I think it's a little harder to trip that one for some reason. Doesn't seem like we are running downstairs as often. So today with the air off, I'm going to go nuts and make some coffee and make some toast. At the same time! Gasp.
Well, I don't think the soap is a total flop. It's hardening with exposure to air. I just think the properties of soap made with corn oil result in a very soft soap.
Today I'm going to take cans back to get some money for the dog's flea stuff. I don't need to go and get bit on the ass again and go through that whole ordeal and not have a job to pay for it all. Good news is, my deductable was paid in January.
Later today I'm going to an informal altered book meeting. The lady who does it does not take money. It's a place where ideas are shared and a little instruction is taught. If you have something to exchange it's cool, like materials that you might incorporate into your book, or to stockpile. If you don't, it's alright too, you aren't going to be turned away. Today we are going to learn about using beeswax over pictures. Painting it on over photos gives them an aged look, plus the brushstrokes really add to the picture. I've been to a honey/beekeeping store that sells the wax. I bought a block of it earlier this spring and used part of it in the soap. I just love the smell of beeswax. I leave that block out where I can see and take a good whiff now and then.
Yeah, I'm weird.

Pictures today!

Sharkie and Mantis. 

apply base color and let it dry. 

apply snotty crackle-medium in cross-hatch pattern 

top color applied and it starts to crack instantly. 

starting to look like something... 

paint is pulling apart... 

finished product 

measuring lye. noticed I cropped the surround clutter! lol. 

measuring water 

Measuring oil. Photos not taken: Oil being heated in the microwave, lye being added to water, lye and water mixture being addded to heated oil. 

measuring beeswax.  

mixing! 

signs of soap trace 

double-boiling beeswax 

mixing in beeswax at trace 

one pic soft soap loaf! 

finished product drying 

must...stay....inside...not...spend...money

Bah. I don't know if the soap was a flop or not. It's solid, kinda. I cut it up in slices to dry, and it's kinda the consistancy of Crisco slices. That's bad. It didn't burn my hands, either. That's bad too. But it did wash off and not leave a greasy residue, so that's good. I took what pictures I could remember of the different steps. I also painted my cabinet doors too. Pictures galore!

Anyway today I'm writing a scathing letter to a music warehouse that sends me crap that I don't want. I might go to the library to work on my resume. Shoulda done that at work when I had the chance.

Karry, you were correct! Right now it's just a teacher-assistant opportunity, but after that, the possibilities are endless. A few teaching classes down the road, who knows. Summers off. I scrambled around this summer making sure money is in the bank when the utility companys come to take it, I can do it again. We're pretty crafty that way, eh?

happy hottest day of the year

Today is the the hottest predicted day of the year. It's in the high 90's with a heat index in the 100's. Shade does not provide any relief. And it's windy! Hot wind. Yuck. I'm staying inside today. I'm trying to finish the rest of my cabinets that I started four years ago. They are crackle finish process, I'm taking pictures of all the steps to show here. While the paint dries I'm looking up soap recipes for what I have on hand. I'm pretty sure it's going to be corn or olive oil with beeswax. This is the perfect weather, it has to be warm the first 24 hours while the soap sets up. The fumes stay outside also. You can't mix it outside and bring it into the air conditioning, you can chill it and stop the process of the lye eating the oil. If I actually do that today, I'll take pictures of that too. Maybe in the evening. From what I'm reading so far, I'll have to be out there mixing for an hour, and right now ten minutes is my limit. Blah!

Good news. I have a very good lead on a job that takes into consideration my schooling. Karry, I think you predicted this path for me in high school, and I told you that you were nuts. Any guesses on this career path?

Art Fair in Ann Arbor

I'm going to write myself a motivational sign that says "Must Keep Employment to Buy Art". That said, Sherry and I went to the Ann Arbor art fair. It's actually three art fairs in one, each has it's own name, and they are all connected on the campus of University of Michigan. Last year Sherry's main goal was to not barf. This year it was my turn. I just got my period the day before and almost didn't go. But this is our summer thing to do, so with much supplies and medications at hand, I made it through. There were two photographic prints that I wanted but restrained myself not to buy. Maybe when I get a job and things pick up, I'll look up the artists online and buy these prints:
1. The first one was of African tribesmen complete with porcupine quill under the nose and colorful feathered headresses playing billiards. One was leaning down to take a shot while two others looked on.
2. The second one I wanted was from a photgrapher that took pictures of the Amish. A lot of moving photographs, especially of a barn-raising. But the one I wanted was of round-faced school kids complete with bonnets and round wide brimmed hats and lunch buckets, giving the photographer the finger. I guess they're sick of asking people not to take their picture, so they think they will ruin it by flipping the bird. Wrong. There was a similar picture, only the kids were high-school aged, but with the hair and beards, they just looked like a bunch of punks. The little kids had more impact.
So knowing I had no business spending money, I took every business card and takeaway card I could get my sweaty hands on to make an art fair scrapbook/altered book. What bums me out is a majority of the artists didn't have anything that they displayed on their cards. Usually the cards have an artwork on them that represents the look of all of their artwork.
There were a lot of dogs there. Poor things. One lady had a cute chihuahua, and two little girls approached her and asked her if they could pet the dog. The dog immediately crawled on her lap and growled at the girls. Then a lady walked by with a cocoa colored mini poodle. I thought, oh man, there's gonna be a dog fight for sure. The chihuahua and poodle started to frolick and play. It was too cute. Then later we saw a lady with a pomeranian. A cute little girl walked up to it, and leaned down, and the dog kissed her all over her face. I wish I brought my camera. The girl and her mommy went on their way, and the lady with the dog had to pick it up because another dog was being walked past, and that pomeranian wanted to kick ass!
I managed not to hurl and not get sunburn (that Neutrogenia Sport spf 45 stuff works awesome!) and Sherry bought a much sought after jewelry box and a teapot with cockroaches painted all over it. You have to see it to appreciate it. It ended up being a good day.

Need some help here

I'm making a photo montage with a few short video clips of our friend's baby. I originally wanted to put it to Ozzy's Crazy Babies, but the song is much longer than I have pictures. The parents are into metal.

Any ideas of a good songs to put it to?

Venetian weekend

This past weekend was our famed Venetian Festival. Friday we were invited to a party across the river from the concert pavilion, but some evening rain and then some unexpected guests kept us from going. Sorry, K! Then I spent the rest of the night with my craft paints. Hot diggity. Saturday night my friend Sherry came in from Battle Creek with her new man Tom. We cruised the festival and got our food and settled in for fireworks. Seems like the cops are handling traffic better year to year, and we got home pretty quickly. Tom is Shannon's lost brother who he can talk hours on end about cars. Yesterday I went out to the lake in Vandalia after I went grocery shopping at Wal-Mart. It wasn't half-bad, usually shopping at our Wal-Mart is nothing short of painful. Today is weed-pulling day. Done that and planted my hens and chicks that don't look too good. I think I overwatered them, they are kinda pale. So I separated them, and added fresh dirt to the dish-pot that I had them in, and the rest I put in the sandy ground. Maybe I need to let them dry out a little. Nothing much else new here. Husband finally got the propane tank refilled, so we are eating good again. Sweet corn is for sale at our favorite stand. The corn here has done well if it was irrigated. The rest of it looks really bad. Really short with leaves pointing up and twisted dry. Driving around here is pretty aromatic with the smell of corn pollen.

A new niche

I've been intoduced to altered books. Basically, in laymans terms, is scrapbooking in an old hardcover book. In art student terms, its the Dada of scrapbooking. All this junk I've been saving is going to end up in one of these books. I've been collecting pictures, articles, and little junky things because they intrigued me in some way. Lately I've been on a document shredding rampage. I really don't think I need my paystubs from '93, each and every one having sensitive material on them. During this shred-fest, I've come across two documents that will eventually end up in a book:
-An appointment card from a dermotologist where I had a mole removed. Real soon after my appointment, that doctor closed shop in the middle of the night and stole all of the equipment that belonged to medical center where he practiced.
-A bill from a foot doctor that died in a car accident in a snow storm the winter after I had a hairline fracture in one of my foot bones. She urged me to take calcium because I had "freakishly small foot bones". They built and named a child bereavement center after her for those children who lost a parent.
The books can have themes, or you can make them up on the fly. You can glue your stuff to the pages, paint the pages, make pockets for interaction or pop-ups, cut out niches and put something in there, or even cut out little sections in a bunch of pages and make little drawers. The more obscure, the better. Now I look at everything at something potential to put in these books. I can see already it's going to be so easy for me to let this collecting get out of hand.

Sharkie's toupee' ala Trump 

Sunset colors over Donnell Lake in Vandalia, MI. 

As promised! Freaky Cat Ornaments! 

It was nothing, really!

I met my cousin D in South Bend for lunch and shopping today. Mostly craft stores. Her brother, my cousin, B died earlier this year, and he took care of everything in the house and vehicles. They have a summer place two doors down from my uncle's in Vandalia. Anyway I helped her get the satellite connected in the living room again so my aunt and uncle can watch Emeril. Then a few days ago she needed to get the John Deere Gator out from behind the truck, because they needed to take the truck to get it's leaking transmission fixed. Brand new Chevy truck and the tranny's leaking, go figure. GM crap. Anyway she couldn't get the Gator to start, and she knew I knew all the safety stuff needed to be disengaged before it could be started, to I described what I remember. So she wanted to take me to lunch. We met at Michael's in Mishawaka, went in there, Linen's and Things, Hobby Lobby, and Bed Bath and Beyond. Then we went to Bob's 19th Hole. Little bit out of the way, but she loved it. I bought an instruction book about altered books, and some scrapbooking stuff for an altered book I'm going to make. She bought a scrapbook doll that she's going to make a pin out of and paint the school's colors of where she works on the doll's clothes. Oh yeah, I'm a sick freak and bought some Christmas ornaments. They were so goofy, I had to get them. One's a chef with a mixing bowl, only it has a cat's head on it. The other's a waiter with a pepper grinder, that has a cat head on it too. I'll post a picture later. We had a good time, and she had an extra 40% off coupon for me for Michael's. I bought the altered book guide with it. 40% coupons rule!

Adventures in Unemployment

Today was the first day to call into the automated system to get my checks. Seems like the whole phone call goes a heck of a lot faster than they used to. Anyway I got a call from the area agency responsible for making all of this possible. Ends up I'm eligible to go into the Displaced Workers Program to receive job training and skills. The woman kept emphasizing that it's a commitment, and training lasts a very long time. You can only get it once you start getting your checks. So here I have this opportunity that wouldn't have become available to me had I just quit. Now I can get training and skills payed for by the state, I don't have to go to college. I believe employers get state incentives for hiring people trained in this. A chance for regular pay raises and vacation and advancement? OH MY. Otherwise, it would have been, "So what did you do at your last job?" Duh, make copies. "So what skills do you have?" Duh, make copies. "So how much do you want to be paid?" Duh, $XX an hour. "Um, you are fucking nuts. They pay $6.50 at Office Max to make copies, and we aren't going to pay you any more either!!! By the way, what skills have you picked up in the last few years?" Duh, make copies.
Doors have opened now that wouldn't have had I just walked away. I got into the temp-job trap before I even went to college, and had to settle for those jobs because that is where I spent my time, not learning any job skills. Employers want a little more than someone who could just show up. I've wasted the last five years at that place. No pay raises (because starting wage is so generous, no increase in vacation time, and no real job skills! Getting fired was the best kick in the pants at this time in my life was the best thing that could happen to me.

Happy Birthday little Sharkie!

My oldest child, who I raised from a pup, is 11 years old today. I took him to one of the pet stores that you can take your pet in. I really wanted to do this for him for his tenth last year, but it was a hectic time for me so it never happened. Anyway, I walked him to the open stock of raw hides and pig ears. I held different things in front of him, and whatever he gave a little lick, that's what we took home. So he ended up choosing a paper-thin raw hide strip, a pig ear, and a pig snout. I also bought some glucosomine dog treats and a food oil supplement you add once a day to food. It's supposed to add needed oil to hair and skin. His skin is so dry and flaky because his food is not oily at all. Once home I gave him the snout which he hid in my husband's bedsheets that were hanging off the bed. My parent's are suprised that he lived this long. So am I. He's had diabetes for 9 of his 11 years, and had more than enough incidents where his blood-sugar tanked that I want to remember. He was rather decrepit a few years ago, then we got the cat. He chases Kitty constantly. It used to be if he jumped off the couch he'd be limping for a week. Now he leaps off and keeps running. All that rabble-rousing does a chihuahua good! He's not in the business of biting anyone anymore. Everyone has learned not to ring the doorbell (except parents-in-law), it sets him off. If someone does come in for a visit, he has to say his piece, then I'll tell him to go into the bathroom, he got a dirty butt. Then he'll run to the bathroom and wait for his butt to be wiped, and continue barking from there. He's had a bunch of teeth pulled. Years of eating soft food for diabetics caused really bad gingivitis. He still dislikes my husband. When my husband leaves a room abruptly, the dog will watch him. I'll tell him "go get him" and he'll tear after him barking. Then Shannon will turn around really quick, and the dog will stop in his tracks. Hubby grins and says, "Sharkie, you have to ask yourself, do you have four teeth left, or three. Are you feeling lucky, punk?"

Damned regardless what I do

Yesterday was a recovery day for me. The hotel by Six Flags air conditioning froze me through, so when I got home I indulged in a nap with my dog. My husband came home from work while I was still sleeping. The doorbell rang, which makes the dog go absolutely apeshit. So I ran to the door still asleep and his mother was standing there. Where's Shannon? He's in the shower. How long will he be? Five or ten minutes, Do you want to stay or should I have him call you? I don't know, let me ask his dad. Let me go see if he's getting out soon. I go run and see if he's anywhere done, and he wasn't, so I went back to the door and they were gone. I went to visit him at work today to see if the casters I bought him were the right ones. I get an earfull that his mother called him at work whining I was rude to them, I didn't ask them in, squak squawk squawk. Any more, I'm supposed to ask them in, give them beer, and kiss ass. Um, no. Next time I'm not even bothering going to the door. They don't have the courtesy to call first, and back in the day when they let themselves in, all he heard about was how dirty the house was. He told her I was doing the best I could, and that both of us worked. She said she kept the house clean when SHE worked. She worked for 3-4 hours a day for 4 months at a bakery counter. That's the only job she's ever had since my husband was born. So opening the door is opening the floodgate of scrutiny. Um, no. Now what the hell would I have to talk about with her? She ends every sentence with "with this diet I'm on". She's Nicole Richie sick looking already. Well, I do have a few things I could mention, like, since my husband was never been able to have fun and play in the dirt because god forbid he track dirt into her immaculate house, I have a grown adult male on my hands that screams like a little bitch because he's afraid of bugs. Or better yet, this adult male is scared shitless of water because his mom wouldn't buy him a kiddy-pool or take him to the beach, so now he can't swim. I married her son who has a few objectionable vices, and now I know why. A big chunk of his childhood is missing. So when I do end up getting in a conversation with her, she always got her twisted ways of getting gossip or info out of me. How much does he smoke, how much does he drink. Well, first line of business tomorrow is taking down that damn doorbell.

Fun filled 4th festivities and then some!

Saturday I went to my uncle's house in the big bustling town of Vandalia. My husband came with me and I met my parents there and my sister and her boyfriend came in from Grand Rapids also. From two houses down was my aunt (mom's sister) and uncle, and my cousin. We had a really nice picnic lunch/dinner and hung out and visited. My husband and I rode around on a John Deere Gator, pretty much a glorified golf cart with a box in back the dumps dirt and whatnot. That was fun tearing up and down the hills. We watched as officials set up the night's fireworks display from the yard next door. My sister and her boyfriend went with my dad in a rowboat along the shore. Her big galoot German Shepherd came along for the ride also. He's such a good dog. He layed in the bottom of the boat, and when either my dad or the boyfriend caught a fish, they just threw it in the bottom of the boat. The fish would be all fipping around in front of the dog, and he would just watch it. I got a real good mpeg movie of them rowing up and the dog getting anxious when the boat came to shore and he started yipping. When they got in and put the boat ang Gator away we watched fireworks. We had the best place to watch. They looked like they were right over us even though they were over the lake.

Sunday we went to Jeff and Christy's and hung out outside until the mosquitoes were attacking. Then we hung out in the breezeway and watched trucks go buy filled with cherries or green beans, depending on which direction the trucks were going.

Monday we went to Sarah and Chip's. I missed out on a lot of whatever went on, probably drinking and visiting. We brought spicey sausages from Vitale's to grill, but since the grill was broke I boiled them in beer. Dang sausages took every bit of an hour to cook all the way though! So when they were done everyone ate sausages and hamburgers until it got dark. Chip set off a small display of fireworks before it started to rain. Later we all huddled under a small overhang and a dude named Ian lit off the rest of the fireworks. Seems like the minute we ran to the car was the worst of the rainstorm, and by the time we got home it mostly quit raining.

Tuesday I went with my friend Linda and her daughter to the new Hurricane Harbor at Six Flags Great America. That was really fun. The wave pool was really cool until there were too many bodies in there. When the waves get going it's just you slamming into other people. It was fun earlier in the day when the inner tubes were allowed because the pool wasn't at capacity. There was this other part called Castaway Creek or something like that you just sit in your tube and the currents just let you float along, and you can pretty much navigate wheter or not you are going to get splashed. Not until near the end. Then you get sprayed one way or another. There was a really cool part called Skull Island where there's stairs take you to different platforms, and there's all kinds of activites with the water. You can pull on cords and water will fill buckets that you can dump below, or water cannons you can shoot passer-bys. The water is constantly flowing. If you aren't there to mess with it, it keeps going. The best part was these really huge buckets on the top of the towers fill with water, then they tip on the people on the platforms waiting to get on the water slides. Oh yes, the water slides. There were many of them, just on this particular attraction. The height of the slide depends on which stairs and platforms you go up. I have a serious case of "water slide ankle" today. Anyone who's been on water slides know what I'm talking about. Any of my friends out there reading got any questions about the park and the accomodations, email me, I'll give you the scoop.
We stayed at Comfort Suites and I had a really nice room to myself. We ate at Denny's and went back to the hotel and Linda's daughter went swimming for a little bit. I had enough water for one day, but I watched her swim. Then it was time for bed. The hotel had a really nice continental breakfast (waffles and bisquits and gravy too!). I was home by 1pm today. I picked my dog up from my parent's, and I'm ready for a nap. I didn't get any sunburn, I had some really good sunblock on. That's what I was dreading the most was the sunburn. Crisis diverted. It was a really good, long, fun weekend!