Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Snark Alert!!

A little bit of snarkiness today (don't say I didn't warn you!).

There are not too many things that get my dander up any more, because I've learned over the years how to choose my battles. But, there are still a few that just rankle me no matter how hard I attempt to overlook them.

The background - I've been trying to get my inventory up for the upcoming season - not only for the shops that carry my work, but for a hopeful new account, my own little online Etsy shop and some custom work that's woefully behind.

I have a TV in my work space to keep me company - nothing fancy and no cable, just something to give me some background noise. So, when, a couple weeks ago I heard a Christmas commercial, it made me cringe just a little bit. But then last week, when I heard another company pushing the season early, I cringed a little bit more. Yesterday, however - on the last day of OCTOBER - I start hearing and watching several more commercials from yet one more big company, and it just made me angry.

Now, I know that anyone creating work to sell needs to have the necessary supplies available to them as early as possible - that's what we see in the craft supply stores and catalogs. But, really - really?? Christmas commercials in October? Can we NOT just at least wait until November to start pushing goods? Wouldn't it be nice to simply give some honor and dignity to our holidays? Are these big, well-known companies so hard up that they need to increase the commercialization of one of the most beautiful holidays?

It makes me sad - and, I won't patronize those businesses for my holiday shopping.

So now, let's talk about the decline of 'nice'.

Since I don't have cable or satellite reception in my work shop, I depend on all the local channels - the auxiliary channels are filled with some of the most entertaining court programs. Among them is one that has been around for many years with an announcer that's very outspoken.

Outspoken is OK, but what has happened that we tolerate the decline of a few niceties in our day-to-day speech. Since when has it become OK to state that he'd be 'pissed off, too'? Or, that the defendant is 'pissed off'. Have we become so complacent that we no longer understand the meaning of words such as 'angry', or even attempt to use it instead of resorting to the more commonly used street talk?

I'm not a fan of Judge Judy's program. I am, however, a fan of what she tolerates, but more than that - what she DOESN'T. Have you noticed that she doesn't tolerate street talk? And, that she expects a question to be answered with 'Yes' or 'No' instead of 'yeah' or 'uh-uh'. And, that she has absolutely no qualms about dressing down someone who is not properly attired. No holey jeans for her - and, in at least one instance, has asked a woman where the rest of her outfit was. Yes, for her values, I greatly respect and admire Judge Judy. And, I seriously doubt that she would stand for the speech habits of the aforementioned announcer. Her values are high and she expects others to meet them as well. Nothing wrong with that.

And, since we're on the subject of language, can we at least teach people in commercials to pronounce and use words correctly?

Espresso is NOT expresso - jewelry is NOT joolery - we talk or discuss, NOT conversate. And, lastly - wouldn't it be nice if someone were to send a message instead of INBOXING???

Well, that was fun! And, I feel better for airing my views and thoughts, no matter how silly some may thank they are.

This photo might just apply to my current state of mind.


We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.....

For those who understand you, no explanation is necessary. For those who don't, none is possible.

Monday, October 31, 2011

Waiting, Waiting, Waiting..... (Sung to the theme from Rawhide)

Since I have to wait for the delivery man with my clay order (that may or may not come today), I figured it was a good time to do some updating. For the record, I'm keeping the 'Rainy Day' background, at least for now. I've grown to like the looks of it - and, I enjoy a soft, gentle, day long rain that creates lots of mud puddles for little kids to splash through. Oh, alright, big kids, too.

There's a kiln full of greenware ready to bisque tomorrow - lots of work that I'm claiming for myself so you can finally see something different in my Etsy mini in the sidebar. Wouldn't that be nice? ;-)

So, would you like a sample of what I listen to? This was sent to me by a good friend some time ago and I'm always amazed at the engineering that went into it. Thanks RJ!!

Understand that I have no idea who this belongs to, but if I've offended anyone or made a faux pas by posting this here, I'll take it down with no complaints.

I can't share it on Facebook, so I'll just link back to it from there. But in the meantime, have a listen for yourself and enjoy! (Boy, do I hope this works.)

Music Extraodinaire

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

A New Look?

I'm trying out the new updated Blogger interface with some of the more interesting layouts and templates for this dusty, boring blog. So, if you think it looks a bit different from day to day - well, it just might be.

So, what do you think? I love the rainy day background - but, that might be because it's been raining and storming for the last few days. The kitties are pacing constantly and want attention - does that mean there's more brewing? I would bet it does.

Pictures of the road trip aren't uploaded yet, but I'll get to that in the next few days - it was wonderful! And, I'll leave it at that for now. Except for the fact that there are a couple places that just won't be the same.....

Not quite ready to charge back into work just yet, but hopefully very soon - I'm still a bit weary, but that seems to lessen each day.

That's all for now - see you soon.

"A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour."

~Unknown~

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Road Trip!!!

It's been almost forever, it seems, that my creative drive has allowed me to sit down and do some writing - that drive has been waning steadily for the last several months and I've finally figured out what part of the problem was.

My birthday road trip did not materialize (for several reasons, but they were valid) - I haven't taken anything resembling a vacation for years and my 'Oomph!!' is just gone. And the untimely and expensive kiln repair this summer didn't help matters any.

I have finished work that needs to be photographed and listed/delivered or shipped to shops, glazed bisque waiting to be high-fired, more clay ready to turn into wonderful work, handmade jewelry components to put together, several baskets/boxes/containers of beads and findings that will ultimately become stitch markers and other 'jewelry' for hand workers, piles and bags of fiber that's ready to spin, spun singles anxious to be plied, completed yarns that need to be washed and finished, knitted hats, scarves and handwarmers anxious to have all those loose ends woven in - but, I'm putting that all aside for the weekend.

Why? Because we're going on a weekend road trip! Yes - really!

I've put the finishing touches on all the produce that has found it's way into my kitchen with just two small batches of pickles that can be finished off this morning. A couple loads of laundry are waiting and some 'groceries' need to be gotten for our wonderful neighbor Dan who will be tending to the furkids and then it's time to get ready to leave in the morning.

Am I excited? You bet! It's been 4 years since I started my 'retirement' and I'm ready to go! So ready, in fact, that I'm forgoing a trip to the annual 3-day, very much looked forward to 'Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival'.

And, hopefully, once we're home and re-energized, I can do something about the lack of a good banner and try to finish redesigning this blog! LOL

Be well, everyone and remember -

We are all weird. Some are just better at hiding it.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

"Under Construction!!"

Please excuse the mess while I make a few changes!!

I'm having a bit of a challenge with the new banner, but I WILL overcome the difficulties and conquer the darned thing!

Later!