Ahhh... The Joys of Being a One Dragon Show....
It’s almost 1 am here on Friday the 13th and I just got all my updates sent over for my website. Entering all the addresses of the shops that ordered from me in Nashville (so that stitchers know where to get their claws on our two special sample designs) has made me almost cross-eyed, but it was fun to also put up the picture of me with a SWORD!! It was so COOL to wear one all weekend, even if it was heavy enough to give me a new appreciation of what real warriors had to lug around.
Nick and I decided to switch our “date night” to tomorrow night anyway, so I slogged on with my HTML code and got the first one in my Generosity/Elemental dragons up on the site. After getting so much feedback from stitchers all over the world, I figured that the honour system would work best rather than forcing people to give to just one charity. I tried to also include some ideas of how people could help/contribute in non-financial ways... so we shall see what stitchers think.
Earlier tonight we had some friends of ours over for pizza and so that all our kids (and the Big Kids too) could watch Lion King 1 1/2 to see if it was worth buying. After being SO disappointed with STITCH when it came out directly to DVD, I vowed we’d always rent one first to see. I laughed harder than I did at some of the antics in Nashville!! The DVD was HILARIOUS!!! Watching Nick twitch when Timone started to hum “It’s a Small World” was priceless. He and I got stuck for over 25 minutes in the finale of that ride when we went together about 10 years ago and the song is a joke/form of torture for him. I also thought that a Riverdancing warthog was worth anything they might charge for my own copy, so the girls have decided that would make a much better Valentine’s present for me than roses which “go all mushy after days and days”! Such thoughtful children!
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!!!
Saturday, February 14, 2004
Thursday, February 12, 2004
Back and getting into the swing of things...
Well, this is actually the first quiet moment I have had since leaving for the show in Nashville to gather my thoughts together.... sorry to my friends and even my sister who called to find out if I had actually made it back in one piece... since there was no blog to check!!
The show itself was SUCH fun!! I had a local seamstress make up a grey leather/suede vest for me to wear with my long black jeans and high black boots. An absolute angel in the USA (thanks Jeffery/Mr. Tink!) brought me a sword that he uses when teaching theater combat. It weighs as much as a real sword, but it isn’t edged. Many of the actors have to wear it on their backs and draw it that way... but I have such long legs that I wore it at my hip! It was SOOOOoooooo Cool to swagger around with a sword all weekend and raise a few eyebrows. I think some shop owners were even worried that my 2 Dollar Store tattoos were real!! I am definitely more cut out to be a warrior than a princess!!
I taught a class to shops on how to teach Illustrative Blackwork to stitchers, which was great fun, and spent the rest of the weekend either selling designs or hanging out with some of the zaniest people in the industry. One of the things that makes attending market so special is the fact that I get to build friendships with the stores who carry my designs instead of just business relationships. 18 of us taking over a traditional room at a sushi restaurant was a lot of fun too. I did discover that my legs just don’t collapse that far under the itty-bitty, low tables. I just stuck my feet straight out and tickled Connor’s armpits all evening. This was also the first time I really had a chance to see a bit of Nashville, including the Country Music Hall of Fame and “the Mother Church of Country”.
Standing for most of the weekend and then a long layover in Toronto before getting squished by the passenger in front of me putting the chair back certainly took its toll. I got home to feet that had almost no ankles left showing on the inside of my feet and strange bruising which have luckily returned to normal now.
The girls had a wonderful time getting stranded at their Grammy and Papa’s in the snowstorm that hit Moncton Friday night after Nick ran them down. His training session on the Saturday was canceled, but the roads were so tricky down near where his Mom lives that she just told him to stay put and kept them a second night. They had a blast!! Bethany and Erin pounced on me as soon as they woke up on Tuesday morning and I think they have been my shadows every waking moment since then. At least the next trip we do is as a family!!
Now that I am back, the Milk Maritime cows will keep me busy with 2 big projects while I get the extra orders shipped out and the last 2 of the new designs to my distributors. I was SO nervous about the reaction to the Runekeeper Saga, since it is the first mix of story and stitching that I know of on this scale, but the reaction was very positive. Most shops told me that they really appreciated my efforts to produce a quality product and still keep the price reasonable.
We had SO much fun, that I am already planning some more magic and mayhem for the Nashville show next year, but right now I need to pay attention to closer deadlines such as getting my Dragon of Fire up on the website tomorrow and getting things done before I teach in Myrtle Beach on the 27th!!
It IS good to be back in my own bed and have my “cave” to hide it to get stuff done!
Well, this is actually the first quiet moment I have had since leaving for the show in Nashville to gather my thoughts together.... sorry to my friends and even my sister who called to find out if I had actually made it back in one piece... since there was no blog to check!!
The show itself was SUCH fun!! I had a local seamstress make up a grey leather/suede vest for me to wear with my long black jeans and high black boots. An absolute angel in the USA (thanks Jeffery/Mr. Tink!) brought me a sword that he uses when teaching theater combat. It weighs as much as a real sword, but it isn’t edged. Many of the actors have to wear it on their backs and draw it that way... but I have such long legs that I wore it at my hip! It was SOOOOoooooo Cool to swagger around with a sword all weekend and raise a few eyebrows. I think some shop owners were even worried that my 2 Dollar Store tattoos were real!! I am definitely more cut out to be a warrior than a princess!!
I taught a class to shops on how to teach Illustrative Blackwork to stitchers, which was great fun, and spent the rest of the weekend either selling designs or hanging out with some of the zaniest people in the industry. One of the things that makes attending market so special is the fact that I get to build friendships with the stores who carry my designs instead of just business relationships. 18 of us taking over a traditional room at a sushi restaurant was a lot of fun too. I did discover that my legs just don’t collapse that far under the itty-bitty, low tables. I just stuck my feet straight out and tickled Connor’s armpits all evening. This was also the first time I really had a chance to see a bit of Nashville, including the Country Music Hall of Fame and “the Mother Church of Country”.
Standing for most of the weekend and then a long layover in Toronto before getting squished by the passenger in front of me putting the chair back certainly took its toll. I got home to feet that had almost no ankles left showing on the inside of my feet and strange bruising which have luckily returned to normal now.
The girls had a wonderful time getting stranded at their Grammy and Papa’s in the snowstorm that hit Moncton Friday night after Nick ran them down. His training session on the Saturday was canceled, but the roads were so tricky down near where his Mom lives that she just told him to stay put and kept them a second night. They had a blast!! Bethany and Erin pounced on me as soon as they woke up on Tuesday morning and I think they have been my shadows every waking moment since then. At least the next trip we do is as a family!!
Now that I am back, the Milk Maritime cows will keep me busy with 2 big projects while I get the extra orders shipped out and the last 2 of the new designs to my distributors. I was SO nervous about the reaction to the Runekeeper Saga, since it is the first mix of story and stitching that I know of on this scale, but the reaction was very positive. Most shops told me that they really appreciated my efforts to produce a quality product and still keep the price reasonable.
We had SO much fun, that I am already planning some more magic and mayhem for the Nashville show next year, but right now I need to pay attention to closer deadlines such as getting my Dragon of Fire up on the website tomorrow and getting things done before I teach in Myrtle Beach on the 27th!!
It IS good to be back in my own bed and have my “cave” to hide it to get stuff done!
Wednesday, February 04, 2004
Ready or Not.....
Actually, I do feel ready for the show in Nashville, but the leaving is always hard. I worry that I will have forgotten or misplaced something important... I have a hard time when my oldest child goes to be in tears saying “But Mommy... what if something happens to you?” ... I know I will miss my husband and worry for him, even though he is SO capable when it comes to taking care of our daughters.
Mingled with all of this is also the excitement of knowing that I will be with colleagues and friends whom I admire... showing off designs that I have worked very hard to bring to life... and getting inspired by new colours, new ideas, new trends and just plain being away.
I thought I would have time for something much more lucid... but I want to check over everything and then spend some time with Nick!
Actually, I do feel ready for the show in Nashville, but the leaving is always hard. I worry that I will have forgotten or misplaced something important... I have a hard time when my oldest child goes to be in tears saying “But Mommy... what if something happens to you?” ... I know I will miss my husband and worry for him, even though he is SO capable when it comes to taking care of our daughters.
Mingled with all of this is also the excitement of knowing that I will be with colleagues and friends whom I admire... showing off designs that I have worked very hard to bring to life... and getting inspired by new colours, new ideas, new trends and just plain being away.
I thought I would have time for something much more lucid... but I want to check over everything and then spend some time with Nick!
Monday, February 02, 2004
What a Difference A Few Degrees Make!!!
For the first time since Christmas, the weather outside was actually bearable today. Bethany’s daycare took the kids outside twice because, with the sun out and very little wind, it was a perfect day to let them play in the snow! Of course all of her stuff came home soaked, but she fell asleep early!!
I am more or less under control for Nashville, though my printer ran out of a colour ink cartridge last night and Nick had the van today. I just hunkered down and got my last bits of computer stuff done as well as rough packing the totes to see how I will balance out the weight. The hardest part of this show in Nashville is trying to make sure you have enough stuff to sell. I can’t always tell which design with sell better than others or what you might run out of... yet I can’t bring everything but the kitchen sink. Weight restrictions play havoc going down, so I try to make sure all the leaflets and chartpacks are spread out between the 3 cases. Thank goodness Jo from X’s & Oh’s is driving down! She is going to bring along 2 boxes that I shipped to her earlier this month.
Tomorrow is the last fitting for my costume for Nashville too, as well as my “run around and pick up all those last minute things” day. I am pretty notorious about losing tickets and passports (there is a pair of expired passports hidden somewhere in our house that we “tucked somewhere safe” 8 years ago and still haven’t found!) so I leave them with the travel agent until the last possible moment. Thank goodness e-tickets are making it easier for people like me to just show up with their ID!
I spoke to a few shops down in that area who are driving in on Thursday and the forecast may be iffy... I think it is still to far out to tell if there will be “weather” playing havoc, but as Europe learned last week, you just can’t plan for some things. My Mom had to spend and extra day in Switzerland with my brother and his family when the Geneva airport closed due to severe snow!
It’s funny how, in this modern era, we try to overcome the weather and make it adapt to our “business as usual” instead of being more flexible the way our ancestors were. Winter storms or blazing summer heat were a signal to slow down or rest a bit... now we just turn up the heat or the air conditioner and keep on going!
I am always so nervous and excited before a show like this. It is partly because I am putting things I have created on display... and no matter how confident you may feel about something, I think that anyone who is creative (or becomes a parent... or falls in love... or faces a great challenge) understands that there may be risk or rejection. It is also a very exciting time because I get to meet my “colleagues” and talk shop. So much of my designing or daily work is done without people here in town who really understand what I do... so it is great fun to have others to share, brainstorm and just plain goof around with.
I’d better go over my lists for tomorrow and make sure they are up to date!
For the first time since Christmas, the weather outside was actually bearable today. Bethany’s daycare took the kids outside twice because, with the sun out and very little wind, it was a perfect day to let them play in the snow! Of course all of her stuff came home soaked, but she fell asleep early!!
I am more or less under control for Nashville, though my printer ran out of a colour ink cartridge last night and Nick had the van today. I just hunkered down and got my last bits of computer stuff done as well as rough packing the totes to see how I will balance out the weight. The hardest part of this show in Nashville is trying to make sure you have enough stuff to sell. I can’t always tell which design with sell better than others or what you might run out of... yet I can’t bring everything but the kitchen sink. Weight restrictions play havoc going down, so I try to make sure all the leaflets and chartpacks are spread out between the 3 cases. Thank goodness Jo from X’s & Oh’s is driving down! She is going to bring along 2 boxes that I shipped to her earlier this month.
Tomorrow is the last fitting for my costume for Nashville too, as well as my “run around and pick up all those last minute things” day. I am pretty notorious about losing tickets and passports (there is a pair of expired passports hidden somewhere in our house that we “tucked somewhere safe” 8 years ago and still haven’t found!) so I leave them with the travel agent until the last possible moment. Thank goodness e-tickets are making it easier for people like me to just show up with their ID!
I spoke to a few shops down in that area who are driving in on Thursday and the forecast may be iffy... I think it is still to far out to tell if there will be “weather” playing havoc, but as Europe learned last week, you just can’t plan for some things. My Mom had to spend and extra day in Switzerland with my brother and his family when the Geneva airport closed due to severe snow!
It’s funny how, in this modern era, we try to overcome the weather and make it adapt to our “business as usual” instead of being more flexible the way our ancestors were. Winter storms or blazing summer heat were a signal to slow down or rest a bit... now we just turn up the heat or the air conditioner and keep on going!
I am always so nervous and excited before a show like this. It is partly because I am putting things I have created on display... and no matter how confident you may feel about something, I think that anyone who is creative (or becomes a parent... or falls in love... or faces a great challenge) understands that there may be risk or rejection. It is also a very exciting time because I get to meet my “colleagues” and talk shop. So much of my designing or daily work is done without people here in town who really understand what I do... so it is great fun to have others to share, brainstorm and just plain goof around with.
I’d better go over my lists for tomorrow and make sure they are up to date!
Saturday, January 31, 2004
Where We Choose To Stitch....
I’m probably not the only one that has a “nest” to stitch in... that comfy spot where I like to curl up with all of my tools and stash close at hand... my throne of stitching, so to speak. Yet in the past week, I have had bits of stitching along with me at various meetings and events since I am trying to cram every possible moment before Nashville into being as productive as possible. (It also ensures that I might show up with some fingernails too... if I don’t keep shattering them when I lug boxes around.)
The Illustrative Blackwork is attracting the most attention... partly because it is a cool way of making pictures with just backstitching. Using braid also seems to get people asking questions about how to stitch with the sparkly stuff.
It made me stop and think. How often have I seen people knitting on the bus or train?? At meetings and events where parents are waiting for their kids to finish up activities?? This fall, it was seeing stitchers who had taken classes from me stitching with something called “Boa” that got me re-hooked on knitting. Instead of making those cotton dishcloths on car trips, I was suddenly taking one evening a week to make up scarves as Christmas presents. Each time I saw a new colour combination in the Boa, Eyelash or Fun Fur wool, I had to pick up a ball or two just to make another scarf. I hope they are still in vogue next year, because I still have a few left to knit and two in reserve all ready to go.
Many of us get together with other stitchers... but it is when we take out stitching out to other places that someone else might see what we are doing and decide to try it themselves. I remember reading about Wayne Brady actually knitting on his show a few months ago, or how it made the news that Survivor Winner Ethan’s mom owned a knitting shop.... and I wonder if sometimes that is why one craft becomes more trendy than another. People SEE others doing it and realize that it’s not that hard!!
Just this week, a friend of mine who had introduced a colleague to cross stitch, took her new convert to the local LNS here in town. Do you remember when you first discovered that there could be a shop JUST for needlework??? I remember feeling like a kid in a candy store!!!
One of the things that I still love MOST about any type of craft... at the end of my time (be it a meeting or just watching some TV to unwind) I have something to SHOW for my time.... something I have been able to create.
If I have time.... amid all the preparations for Nashville, I am going to go out and buy a design by some OTHER designer... so that I can have fun stitching something that ISN’T mine! Maybe along the way, I will inspire someone else to pick up a needle and have this much fun!
I’m probably not the only one that has a “nest” to stitch in... that comfy spot where I like to curl up with all of my tools and stash close at hand... my throne of stitching, so to speak. Yet in the past week, I have had bits of stitching along with me at various meetings and events since I am trying to cram every possible moment before Nashville into being as productive as possible. (It also ensures that I might show up with some fingernails too... if I don’t keep shattering them when I lug boxes around.)
The Illustrative Blackwork is attracting the most attention... partly because it is a cool way of making pictures with just backstitching. Using braid also seems to get people asking questions about how to stitch with the sparkly stuff.
It made me stop and think. How often have I seen people knitting on the bus or train?? At meetings and events where parents are waiting for their kids to finish up activities?? This fall, it was seeing stitchers who had taken classes from me stitching with something called “Boa” that got me re-hooked on knitting. Instead of making those cotton dishcloths on car trips, I was suddenly taking one evening a week to make up scarves as Christmas presents. Each time I saw a new colour combination in the Boa, Eyelash or Fun Fur wool, I had to pick up a ball or two just to make another scarf. I hope they are still in vogue next year, because I still have a few left to knit and two in reserve all ready to go.
Many of us get together with other stitchers... but it is when we take out stitching out to other places that someone else might see what we are doing and decide to try it themselves. I remember reading about Wayne Brady actually knitting on his show a few months ago, or how it made the news that Survivor Winner Ethan’s mom owned a knitting shop.... and I wonder if sometimes that is why one craft becomes more trendy than another. People SEE others doing it and realize that it’s not that hard!!
Just this week, a friend of mine who had introduced a colleague to cross stitch, took her new convert to the local LNS here in town. Do you remember when you first discovered that there could be a shop JUST for needlework??? I remember feeling like a kid in a candy store!!!
One of the things that I still love MOST about any type of craft... at the end of my time (be it a meeting or just watching some TV to unwind) I have something to SHOW for my time.... something I have been able to create.
If I have time.... amid all the preparations for Nashville, I am going to go out and buy a design by some OTHER designer... so that I can have fun stitching something that ISN’T mine! Maybe along the way, I will inspire someone else to pick up a needle and have this much fun!
Thursday, January 29, 2004
A Week Until Nashville... and the Panic is Under Control...
I should be careful about saying that, especially since I had a crazy Nashville dream last night. Remember in high school when you would dream that you showed up to the wrong room for an exam... or showed up after the test was over etc.? Last night I dreamt that I was in the hotel down in Nashville, looking around my suite, only to realize that not only had I not brought one of my trunks full of models... but I’d somehow flown all the way down without noticing that my second trunk... and my helper from Moncton, Terri, weren’t there either!! LOL! Like I would EVER have left the airport in Moncton without her or my stuff. In the dream however, I was racing around trying to find a phone to see if Nick could put the trunks on a bus....
Other than crazy dreams, I am actually feeling further ahead than I expected to be. I am running the roads today now that Erin is back at school and Bethany is at daycare today. I have to pick up all the photo paper to print off my covers for 2 design (and ink cartridges too), get my order form in so that they can make NCRs and save me from fumbling with messy sheets of carbon paper all weekend, shoot one more photo outside in the not as bitter cold as earlier in the week, develop that film, scan in the photo and print those covers before my helpers arrive tomorrow night for a massive “batching” party once the girls are in bed. My Nanny was right. “Many hands make light work!”
I should be careful about saying that, especially since I had a crazy Nashville dream last night. Remember in high school when you would dream that you showed up to the wrong room for an exam... or showed up after the test was over etc.? Last night I dreamt that I was in the hotel down in Nashville, looking around my suite, only to realize that not only had I not brought one of my trunks full of models... but I’d somehow flown all the way down without noticing that my second trunk... and my helper from Moncton, Terri, weren’t there either!! LOL! Like I would EVER have left the airport in Moncton without her or my stuff. In the dream however, I was racing around trying to find a phone to see if Nick could put the trunks on a bus....
Other than crazy dreams, I am actually feeling further ahead than I expected to be. I am running the roads today now that Erin is back at school and Bethany is at daycare today. I have to pick up all the photo paper to print off my covers for 2 design (and ink cartridges too), get my order form in so that they can make NCRs and save me from fumbling with messy sheets of carbon paper all weekend, shoot one more photo outside in the not as bitter cold as earlier in the week, develop that film, scan in the photo and print those covers before my helpers arrive tomorrow night for a massive “batching” party once the girls are in bed. My Nanny was right. “Many hands make light work!”
Monday, January 26, 2004
Another One Bites The Dust... OR Of Weekends and Wind Chills...
Take your pick. Either of these titles could have applied to my blog today. The weekend was fun but bitterly cold. I got outside for one more photo shoot and took the kids out for a much needed run around the yard. Erin even helped balance the still slightly mangled box against a leveled off snowdrift since, after the last dump of 30 cm of snow, there wasn’t really enough space to set up a chair and sit the box on it as I usually do.
Sunday afternoon we took the girls to their first hockey game as the Moncton Wildcats played the PEI Rockets. One of our best friends has a son who has just started hockey and all of the players from the Timbits tournament (this is going to take some explaining to those who don’t know Tim Horton donuts... they sell a little round bit that looks like the bit from the hole of the donut... They are very small, just like most of these 7 to 9 year old hockey players... so the name has that “Cute” factor going for it) got to parade around the ice between the 2nd and 3rd periods. So off we went to show our support. We actually ended up having a lot of fun!! I did notice that Hockey has gotten a bit more aggressive since the days when I used to watch the Montreal Canadian at the Forum. My dad delivered the babies of Guy Lafleur and Larry Robinson, so we got some pretty good tickets every now and then. Nick also pointed out that at the level we were watching, the players are still developing their skills and trying to catch the eyes of any scouts who happened to be watching.... but we were right behind the boards and all of us jumped a bit when the players would get smashed into the Plexiglas right in front of you!!
This morning, we woke to a wind chill warning of -41... lay there waiting for them to cancel school again... but exams are on at the highschool level and so the “powers that be” must have decided that, although the safety of the students was a priority for 3 days two weeks ago, it wasn’t today. Why they didn’t just close the K-8 schools and let the older kids still write their exams is beyond me, but a nice neighbour drove Erin up to the bus along with their own kids so that she and I didn’t have to freeze. Nick had left early with the van and dropped Bethany off at daycare. Such are the occasional trials of being a one car family in subzero weather.
I got down to work and motored through some of the charting/layout/proofing I still had to do for Nashville with my CDs blazing away in the background. Sometimes I like to work to the purr of the computers, but this was a “blast the tunes” kind of day... perhaps because I am warmer when I tap my toes.
But.... the phone rang at 11:30 and a very tearful Erin on the phone told me that her tummy was REALLY hurting. I asked her to be brave until dismissal time and bring home her work, but when Nick called 10 minutes later and told me that he had no lunch duty, we decided that he’d pick her up and swing her home.
She was pretty pale by the time she made it home, so I have cleared my meetings from tomorrow morning’s schedule. I think the poor thing has Nick’s flu.... and I am going to keep washing my entire body with antibacterial soap or Detol!!
I HATE GERMS!!!!!
Take your pick. Either of these titles could have applied to my blog today. The weekend was fun but bitterly cold. I got outside for one more photo shoot and took the kids out for a much needed run around the yard. Erin even helped balance the still slightly mangled box against a leveled off snowdrift since, after the last dump of 30 cm of snow, there wasn’t really enough space to set up a chair and sit the box on it as I usually do.
Sunday afternoon we took the girls to their first hockey game as the Moncton Wildcats played the PEI Rockets. One of our best friends has a son who has just started hockey and all of the players from the Timbits tournament (this is going to take some explaining to those who don’t know Tim Horton donuts... they sell a little round bit that looks like the bit from the hole of the donut... They are very small, just like most of these 7 to 9 year old hockey players... so the name has that “Cute” factor going for it) got to parade around the ice between the 2nd and 3rd periods. So off we went to show our support. We actually ended up having a lot of fun!! I did notice that Hockey has gotten a bit more aggressive since the days when I used to watch the Montreal Canadian at the Forum. My dad delivered the babies of Guy Lafleur and Larry Robinson, so we got some pretty good tickets every now and then. Nick also pointed out that at the level we were watching, the players are still developing their skills and trying to catch the eyes of any scouts who happened to be watching.... but we were right behind the boards and all of us jumped a bit when the players would get smashed into the Plexiglas right in front of you!!
This morning, we woke to a wind chill warning of -41... lay there waiting for them to cancel school again... but exams are on at the highschool level and so the “powers that be” must have decided that, although the safety of the students was a priority for 3 days two weeks ago, it wasn’t today. Why they didn’t just close the K-8 schools and let the older kids still write their exams is beyond me, but a nice neighbour drove Erin up to the bus along with their own kids so that she and I didn’t have to freeze. Nick had left early with the van and dropped Bethany off at daycare. Such are the occasional trials of being a one car family in subzero weather.
I got down to work and motored through some of the charting/layout/proofing I still had to do for Nashville with my CDs blazing away in the background. Sometimes I like to work to the purr of the computers, but this was a “blast the tunes” kind of day... perhaps because I am warmer when I tap my toes.
But.... the phone rang at 11:30 and a very tearful Erin on the phone told me that her tummy was REALLY hurting. I asked her to be brave until dismissal time and bring home her work, but when Nick called 10 minutes later and told me that he had no lunch duty, we decided that he’d pick her up and swing her home.
She was pretty pale by the time she made it home, so I have cleared my meetings from tomorrow morning’s schedule. I think the poor thing has Nick’s flu.... and I am going to keep washing my entire body with antibacterial soap or Detol!!
I HATE GERMS!!!!!
Thursday, January 22, 2004
Panic Attacks and Husbands with Flu...
Tigger doesn’t look good green! Poor Nick came home from his meetings at lunch looking very washed out and feeling icky, so I made him some hot soup and tucked him into bed for a nap.... then Barb called (You know I’d mention you sooner or later!!!) to see how everything was. She’ll be one of my two helpers at the show in Nashville, trying to keep this bouncy dragon sane!! I was fine until she mentioned that 2 weeks from today, we’d be setting up in the hotel room and then I just felt half of my brain cells try to turn to mush!
Where has the time gone??? It seemed like only yesterday, I was getting back from the show in Toronto and the Nashville deadlines were months away!! Actually, when I take a deep breath and look around me, things are actually further ahead than this time last year... but the perfectionist in me keeps measuring things by some impossible scale of wanting to have my trunks already packed in the basement ready to go with all the right items and leaflets and models safely tucked inside!
Hah!
The one thing I can say is that I really like all of the designs that I am taking.... that I can’t wait to see reactions to the RuneKeeper model and book (just like the fun of seeing people react to “Not Forgotten” this time last year) and that I will get to hang around with some of my favourite people in the industry. At least that is what I keep telling myself every time my brain tries to turn to mush and I think “Remind me... WHY am I doing this???”
Because even with all the panic attacks, to-do-lists and late nights that the next 14 days may hold, I still like what I do!
Tigger doesn’t look good green! Poor Nick came home from his meetings at lunch looking very washed out and feeling icky, so I made him some hot soup and tucked him into bed for a nap.... then Barb called (You know I’d mention you sooner or later!!!) to see how everything was. She’ll be one of my two helpers at the show in Nashville, trying to keep this bouncy dragon sane!! I was fine until she mentioned that 2 weeks from today, we’d be setting up in the hotel room and then I just felt half of my brain cells try to turn to mush!
Where has the time gone??? It seemed like only yesterday, I was getting back from the show in Toronto and the Nashville deadlines were months away!! Actually, when I take a deep breath and look around me, things are actually further ahead than this time last year... but the perfectionist in me keeps measuring things by some impossible scale of wanting to have my trunks already packed in the basement ready to go with all the right items and leaflets and models safely tucked inside!
Hah!
The one thing I can say is that I really like all of the designs that I am taking.... that I can’t wait to see reactions to the RuneKeeper model and book (just like the fun of seeing people react to “Not Forgotten” this time last year) and that I will get to hang around with some of my favourite people in the industry. At least that is what I keep telling myself every time my brain tries to turn to mush and I think “Remind me... WHY am I doing this???”
Because even with all the panic attacks, to-do-lists and late nights that the next 14 days may hold, I still like what I do!
Wednesday, January 21, 2004
Where is January Going??
I can’t believe that it is Wednesday already. Actually, I can! Monday was indeed a snowstorm and there was this one little circle of the province where Mother Nature dumped more than 30 cm of snow... can you guess where?? Moncton!! It was so funny to see our city shown as this little circle on the Weather Channel while the announcer was talking about one city getting double the snow of anywhere else in the storm!! So the kids and Nick were home for a 4th day!!
This time, having finished RuneKeeper in the wee hours of the morning, I called a courier company and got THEM to drive the horrible roads to get the CD to the printer... then I played with my kids and took it easy. The only problem was that our snow blower decided to conk out, so when a neighbour came to help, we decided to team up for supper and let our kids play... It was fun, but Tuesday I was very glad to have a quiet house again.
I got the Iris proofs (colour proofs) of RuneKeeper yesterday and went in to colour calibrate the front image. My monitor is not as accurate as the ones the printers use and I found the cover photo looked a little too Magenta for my tastes, so we played with that and now I am getting really excited about seeing the final product. The “bluelines” (prints made from the actual negatives) are home with me to proof tonight, and then it is a go. Wheee!!
I had meetings and errands all day until Nick called me on the cellphone to say he wasn’t feeling well. I think he’s getting a brush of the flu that has been going through his school and wiping out all the teachers that didn’t get their flu shots. Nick got his, so I am sure he won’t be down and out for long... but since he is in meetings all tomorrow, he wanted to get some rest tonight.
I checked e-mail and found 3 orders that have to ship out tomorrow, so it is off to Staples to get the charts that I don’t have in stock copied for batching.... I can’t believe it is the 21st already???!!!
I can’t believe that it is Wednesday already. Actually, I can! Monday was indeed a snowstorm and there was this one little circle of the province where Mother Nature dumped more than 30 cm of snow... can you guess where?? Moncton!! It was so funny to see our city shown as this little circle on the Weather Channel while the announcer was talking about one city getting double the snow of anywhere else in the storm!! So the kids and Nick were home for a 4th day!!
This time, having finished RuneKeeper in the wee hours of the morning, I called a courier company and got THEM to drive the horrible roads to get the CD to the printer... then I played with my kids and took it easy. The only problem was that our snow blower decided to conk out, so when a neighbour came to help, we decided to team up for supper and let our kids play... It was fun, but Tuesday I was very glad to have a quiet house again.
I got the Iris proofs (colour proofs) of RuneKeeper yesterday and went in to colour calibrate the front image. My monitor is not as accurate as the ones the printers use and I found the cover photo looked a little too Magenta for my tastes, so we played with that and now I am getting really excited about seeing the final product. The “bluelines” (prints made from the actual negatives) are home with me to proof tonight, and then it is a go. Wheee!!
I had meetings and errands all day until Nick called me on the cellphone to say he wasn’t feeling well. I think he’s getting a brush of the flu that has been going through his school and wiping out all the teachers that didn’t get their flu shots. Nick got his, so I am sure he won’t be down and out for long... but since he is in meetings all tomorrow, he wanted to get some rest tonight.
I checked e-mail and found 3 orders that have to ship out tomorrow, so it is off to Staples to get the charts that I don’t have in stock copied for batching.... I can’t believe it is the 21st already???!!!
Monday, January 19, 2004
Half a world away doesn’t seem so far tonight...
I guess, since the clock struck midnight here over half an hour ago, that I should say this morning instead of tonight... but I am far to giddy with the fact that everything is now burned to CD for the RuneKeeper Saga and ready to go off to the printer’s in about 7 hours.
The snow for the snowstorm that is supposed to hit us overnight and into the day has already started and the three Aries in the household were performing various forms of the snow dance before bed. Schools have been closed since last Wednesday morning due to the extreme cold... so will snow be the cause of yet another cancellation?? Time will tell. At least this time I won’t be hiding in the basement while my saint of a husband plays with the kids on the other floor like Friday!
One of the real reasons that I feel so giddy and finally confidant about getting RuneKeeper off to be printed is that my sister Laurie, a far more talented writer herself, has done an amazingly deft and thorough job of sifting through the .pdf files that I sent to her over the weekend... and even called me from Japan to go through the corrections! Just hearing her voice as we tweaked a few things and caught a whole bunch of typos was reassuring and made it feel as if she were far closer than half a world away. One of the many blessings I count in my life is the fact that my relationships with both my siblings have that ability to transcend time and distance. After hanging up with her, I felt as close as if we had been sitting together chatting over a mug of tea. I only hope that Erin and Bethany know the joys of having a sister become a true friend. (See... I did warn you that I might write about you in my blog, Laurie!)
So as the snow falls quietly outside my office window and I gather my papers together as well as my thoughts, Tokyo and my sister’s smile don’t seem so far away. Thank you, Laurie!!
I guess, since the clock struck midnight here over half an hour ago, that I should say this morning instead of tonight... but I am far to giddy with the fact that everything is now burned to CD for the RuneKeeper Saga and ready to go off to the printer’s in about 7 hours.
The snow for the snowstorm that is supposed to hit us overnight and into the day has already started and the three Aries in the household were performing various forms of the snow dance before bed. Schools have been closed since last Wednesday morning due to the extreme cold... so will snow be the cause of yet another cancellation?? Time will tell. At least this time I won’t be hiding in the basement while my saint of a husband plays with the kids on the other floor like Friday!
One of the real reasons that I feel so giddy and finally confidant about getting RuneKeeper off to be printed is that my sister Laurie, a far more talented writer herself, has done an amazingly deft and thorough job of sifting through the .pdf files that I sent to her over the weekend... and even called me from Japan to go through the corrections! Just hearing her voice as we tweaked a few things and caught a whole bunch of typos was reassuring and made it feel as if she were far closer than half a world away. One of the many blessings I count in my life is the fact that my relationships with both my siblings have that ability to transcend time and distance. After hanging up with her, I felt as close as if we had been sitting together chatting over a mug of tea. I only hope that Erin and Bethany know the joys of having a sister become a true friend. (See... I did warn you that I might write about you in my blog, Laurie!)
So as the snow falls quietly outside my office window and I gather my papers together as well as my thoughts, Tokyo and my sister’s smile don’t seem so far away. Thank you, Laurie!!
Friday, January 16, 2004
An End In Sight???
We woke up to the news that schools in all of New Brunswick, and many businesses too, were closed due to -44 degree temperatures with the wind chill. So Nick and I went back to sleep. Unfortunately when Bethany woke up and crawled into join us, she was burning up with a fever. We got an appointment with our doctor as soon as her office opened and bundled the whole family out into the cold. It looks like it is either Strep Throat or a bad case of Tonsillitis, so she is on medication now but still feeling very “sooky”. We got one piece to the framers and the negatives to Black’s then “mall ratted” until they were ready.
We got home to discover that we’d missed the redelivery of the banding I needed from Purolator by about 6 minutes (it had slipped my mind in the rush to get Bethy to the doctor) so poor Nick braved the cold later to fetch it from the depot across town once the truck reported back in.
It looks as if it will warm up by tomorrow (or should I say this morning???) and that schools may reopen. I’m not sure that having Bethany home sick while I try to meet my printer deadline will be easy... which is why I am still not in bed yet, but we shall just see. If tomorrow is dreadful, or she needs me more, then the files will have to wait until first thing Monday morning. You just do what you gotta do.
I’d better get myself to bed now... so that I can proof check all the inside materials with some sleep behind me. The alarm goes off in about 6 hours.....
We woke up to the news that schools in all of New Brunswick, and many businesses too, were closed due to -44 degree temperatures with the wind chill. So Nick and I went back to sleep. Unfortunately when Bethany woke up and crawled into join us, she was burning up with a fever. We got an appointment with our doctor as soon as her office opened and bundled the whole family out into the cold. It looks like it is either Strep Throat or a bad case of Tonsillitis, so she is on medication now but still feeling very “sooky”. We got one piece to the framers and the negatives to Black’s then “mall ratted” until they were ready.
We got home to discover that we’d missed the redelivery of the banding I needed from Purolator by about 6 minutes (it had slipped my mind in the rush to get Bethy to the doctor) so poor Nick braved the cold later to fetch it from the depot across town once the truck reported back in.
It looks as if it will warm up by tomorrow (or should I say this morning???) and that schools may reopen. I’m not sure that having Bethany home sick while I try to meet my printer deadline will be easy... which is why I am still not in bed yet, but we shall just see. If tomorrow is dreadful, or she needs me more, then the files will have to wait until first thing Monday morning. You just do what you gotta do.
I’d better get myself to bed now... so that I can proof check all the inside materials with some sleep behind me. The alarm goes off in about 6 hours.....
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
Trapped...but relatively warm...
Nick and I woke up when the alarm went off to realize how much the wind was howling outside and how cold it felt beyond the confines of our duvet. Sure enough, the radio announced that schools in much of the province were closed today... not so much for the paltry snow we received overnight.. but because with the high winds, the temperature was the equivalent of -41 degrees!
Nick was the only one who ventured out at all for a brief foray to the grocery store to pick up some essentials. I found various activities from play dough to Polly Pockets and Harry Potter Lego to amuse the girls while I got some work done on the computer. I didn’t even bother to try going across town to Black’s with my Runekeeper negatives. That will have to wait until Friday now since Nick needs the car tomorrow for a Vice-Principal’s meeting. If the outer cover files have to wait until Monday for the printer, so be it. They won’t be doing much with the other files on Friday unless I have them there when they open!
Brrrr! It has gotten even colder outside and the wind is howling beyond the office window. I am so glad to be in a relatively new and well insulated house!! Nick has been making dinner upstairs and it smells heavenly, so this dragon is going to crawl out of her computer cave and see what is on the menu!
Nick and I woke up when the alarm went off to realize how much the wind was howling outside and how cold it felt beyond the confines of our duvet. Sure enough, the radio announced that schools in much of the province were closed today... not so much for the paltry snow we received overnight.. but because with the high winds, the temperature was the equivalent of -41 degrees!
Nick was the only one who ventured out at all for a brief foray to the grocery store to pick up some essentials. I found various activities from play dough to Polly Pockets and Harry Potter Lego to amuse the girls while I got some work done on the computer. I didn’t even bother to try going across town to Black’s with my Runekeeper negatives. That will have to wait until Friday now since Nick needs the car tomorrow for a Vice-Principal’s meeting. If the outer cover files have to wait until Monday for the printer, so be it. They won’t be doing much with the other files on Friday unless I have them there when they open!
Brrrr! It has gotten even colder outside and the wind is howling beyond the office window. I am so glad to be in a relatively new and well insulated house!! Nick has been making dinner upstairs and it smells heavenly, so this dragon is going to crawl out of her computer cave and see what is on the menu!
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Sometimes I HATE making decisions!!!!!
Well, I’d love to say that after all of the torture shooting Runekeeper in the bitter cold yesterday that the photos knocked my socks off... but I can’t. I was using the tail end of a roll of film from indoor holiday shots. When a film is processed, the machine usually takes an average reading and exposure for the roll, then some can calibrate each image a bit from there.
It’s not that they are bad... I just need to go in and spend some time with the girls at the photo lab to alter the image ( a bit more magenta... a bit less density....) The real problem is in how much of the model I am going to show. I love the framing and matting on this piece. I know that when shop owners see it “in person” they are going to say “Wow”...but none of the photos that show the full frame really do it justice yet (I may change my mind when I play with the colour a bit and have them print it as a 5 x 7)! The one exposure that really draws me tonight (under my horrid kitchen lighting) is the one where I zoomed into the piece and shot a “close-up” that just covers the stitching and the cut edges of the mat around it... but ignores the frame and our DD fabric.
So, I did the really mature thing and indulged in a 5 minute pity party where I had my little rant “I wish it hadn’t been so cold out! I wish I’d been making these decisions 3 weeks ago because now I feel like my back is against the wall and I hate to settle for anything less than being thrilled with something.... I wish I had people to delegate stuff to....”
Then, I picked myself up off the couch and made some toast and a warm mug of tea to curl my claws around. I always try to eat the elephant one bite at a time.... I will play with the image at Black’s tomorrow to see if I can come up with a version that I really like.... and if not, then I will decide from there. After all, the files don’t have to be to the printer for 36 hours... and Nashville is only 23 days away...
Deep Breath.... Think of a Happy Place..... (I just want to go claw something!!!!)
Well, I’d love to say that after all of the torture shooting Runekeeper in the bitter cold yesterday that the photos knocked my socks off... but I can’t. I was using the tail end of a roll of film from indoor holiday shots. When a film is processed, the machine usually takes an average reading and exposure for the roll, then some can calibrate each image a bit from there.
It’s not that they are bad... I just need to go in and spend some time with the girls at the photo lab to alter the image ( a bit more magenta... a bit less density....) The real problem is in how much of the model I am going to show. I love the framing and matting on this piece. I know that when shop owners see it “in person” they are going to say “Wow”...but none of the photos that show the full frame really do it justice yet (I may change my mind when I play with the colour a bit and have them print it as a 5 x 7)! The one exposure that really draws me tonight (under my horrid kitchen lighting) is the one where I zoomed into the piece and shot a “close-up” that just covers the stitching and the cut edges of the mat around it... but ignores the frame and our DD fabric.
So, I did the really mature thing and indulged in a 5 minute pity party where I had my little rant “I wish it hadn’t been so cold out! I wish I’d been making these decisions 3 weeks ago because now I feel like my back is against the wall and I hate to settle for anything less than being thrilled with something.... I wish I had people to delegate stuff to....”
Then, I picked myself up off the couch and made some toast and a warm mug of tea to curl my claws around. I always try to eat the elephant one bite at a time.... I will play with the image at Black’s tomorrow to see if I can come up with a version that I really like.... and if not, then I will decide from there. After all, the files don’t have to be to the printer for 36 hours... and Nashville is only 23 days away...
Deep Breath.... Think of a Happy Place..... (I just want to go claw something!!!!)
Monday, January 12, 2004
You Do What Has To Be Done...
I will ALWAYS LOVE my husband.... but right now I HATE him!! He called around 9 am to let me know that the sun was indeed out (my basement office doesn’t have very big windows... but I had already guessed that) and that the temperature was holding steady at -18 degrees Celsius. For the first time in just over a week, there was NO wind to kick the -33 degree wind chill into effect. So, I bundled up in my winter woolies and headed out to our little shed to find my photo shoot box. This is a large cardboard box that once held the “Excersaucer” we bought for Erin when she was a baby... so that tells you I’ve had it for at least 8 years.... but it is big enough and sturdy enough cardboard to pin my fabric to and then put the models up for a photo shoot on one of our kitchen chairs out on the back deck.
This time, however, there was a problem getting to the box. Not only were all the recently removed Christmas decoration and artificial tree boxes between me and my goal. the giant Mickey shaped wading pool, a wicker basket of empty plastic storage containers, the screens from the windows and the patio furniture had been piled up around the box in the farthest, darkest corner of the shed. With a sigh, I began to move boxes. Have you ever played Jenga or Pickup sticks?? Have you ever spent time trying to untangle a skein or Rayon or Flower Thread?? It seemed that somehow most of the summer stuff had shifted in the cold, sliding down to trap my poor box against the back wall. In order to even get to it and move it in any way, I had to first clear through the debris field. I’d forgotten that I still knew some Greek swear words..... but they all came back to me. After almost half an hour, I finally got a path cleared to my box and managed to wrestle it free (by now I had lost the feeling in my fingertips and toes) only to discover that it had been severely crushed on the side I liked to use by the weight of all the stuff!
I came in to the house to thaw a tiny bit, box and tripod in tow. I stumbled down to the basement to iron the Dragon Fabric (just peek at any of our model shots and you’ll know which one I mean) since I keep it folded in a cupboard when not in use. I was so cold that I even contemplated ironing some warmth back into my fingers! Not really, but the warm fabric sure felt good under my fingertips. Then, grabbing the model and fabric, I raced back upstairs.... only to discover that the sun was now hidden behind cloud cover!!!!!
I could have cried. Nick chose that minute to call about a file I had e-mailed to him and I was almost in tears of frustration. He took the brunt of it VERY well (poor guy!) and told me that perhaps things would clear up soon since it was still sunny over at his school. I hung up and then remembered that he works in the direction the clouds seemed to be moving towards... so maybe they hadn’t reached him yet??
With a deep breath, I pinned the fabric to the one remaining side of the box that was intact, put my winter woolies back on and headed out onto our back deck. Taking a deep breath in the shed hadn’t been too bad. Out in the open, you could feel the air trying to freeze you on the way in until body heat won... I set everything up to start taking my pictures, cloud covered sun or not. While sunlight makes the braid sparkle nicely, any full spectrum light is much better than indoor light for colours anyway... and all the white snow reflecting around should help to brighten the piece anyway. So I began to shoot the last 9 pictures on my roll of film from the holidays. The story does have a happy ending after all. The sun came out briefly for the last 3 frames... just enough to add a bit of sparkle, I hope.
So I will run these over to our photo place tonight (or as soon as Nick gets home with the car) and see if any of them are crisp enough to scan in once I get a 5 x 7 made. Since Runekeeper is being printed as a book, I want the cover image to be as crisp and clear as possible... which would normally mean shooting an image on a larger format or high end digital camera. I have called a few studios and know what kind of money I am in for if these don’t turn out, but at least this way I will have TRIED....
After a warm mug of tea and some toast, my fingers and toes have thawed enough to type this. Being a designer means sometimes doing whatever it takes to get a quality product out to stitchers... and I am sure that many of my fellow designers have their own collection of horror stories. I’m just glad that today’s had a happy ending!!
I will ALWAYS LOVE my husband.... but right now I HATE him!! He called around 9 am to let me know that the sun was indeed out (my basement office doesn’t have very big windows... but I had already guessed that) and that the temperature was holding steady at -18 degrees Celsius. For the first time in just over a week, there was NO wind to kick the -33 degree wind chill into effect. So, I bundled up in my winter woolies and headed out to our little shed to find my photo shoot box. This is a large cardboard box that once held the “Excersaucer” we bought for Erin when she was a baby... so that tells you I’ve had it for at least 8 years.... but it is big enough and sturdy enough cardboard to pin my fabric to and then put the models up for a photo shoot on one of our kitchen chairs out on the back deck.
This time, however, there was a problem getting to the box. Not only were all the recently removed Christmas decoration and artificial tree boxes between me and my goal. the giant Mickey shaped wading pool, a wicker basket of empty plastic storage containers, the screens from the windows and the patio furniture had been piled up around the box in the farthest, darkest corner of the shed. With a sigh, I began to move boxes. Have you ever played Jenga or Pickup sticks?? Have you ever spent time trying to untangle a skein or Rayon or Flower Thread?? It seemed that somehow most of the summer stuff had shifted in the cold, sliding down to trap my poor box against the back wall. In order to even get to it and move it in any way, I had to first clear through the debris field. I’d forgotten that I still knew some Greek swear words..... but they all came back to me. After almost half an hour, I finally got a path cleared to my box and managed to wrestle it free (by now I had lost the feeling in my fingertips and toes) only to discover that it had been severely crushed on the side I liked to use by the weight of all the stuff!
I came in to the house to thaw a tiny bit, box and tripod in tow. I stumbled down to the basement to iron the Dragon Fabric (just peek at any of our model shots and you’ll know which one I mean) since I keep it folded in a cupboard when not in use. I was so cold that I even contemplated ironing some warmth back into my fingers! Not really, but the warm fabric sure felt good under my fingertips. Then, grabbing the model and fabric, I raced back upstairs.... only to discover that the sun was now hidden behind cloud cover!!!!!
I could have cried. Nick chose that minute to call about a file I had e-mailed to him and I was almost in tears of frustration. He took the brunt of it VERY well (poor guy!) and told me that perhaps things would clear up soon since it was still sunny over at his school. I hung up and then remembered that he works in the direction the clouds seemed to be moving towards... so maybe they hadn’t reached him yet??
With a deep breath, I pinned the fabric to the one remaining side of the box that was intact, put my winter woolies back on and headed out onto our back deck. Taking a deep breath in the shed hadn’t been too bad. Out in the open, you could feel the air trying to freeze you on the way in until body heat won... I set everything up to start taking my pictures, cloud covered sun or not. While sunlight makes the braid sparkle nicely, any full spectrum light is much better than indoor light for colours anyway... and all the white snow reflecting around should help to brighten the piece anyway. So I began to shoot the last 9 pictures on my roll of film from the holidays. The story does have a happy ending after all. The sun came out briefly for the last 3 frames... just enough to add a bit of sparkle, I hope.
So I will run these over to our photo place tonight (or as soon as Nick gets home with the car) and see if any of them are crisp enough to scan in once I get a 5 x 7 made. Since Runekeeper is being printed as a book, I want the cover image to be as crisp and clear as possible... which would normally mean shooting an image on a larger format or high end digital camera. I have called a few studios and know what kind of money I am in for if these don’t turn out, but at least this way I will have TRIED....
After a warm mug of tea and some toast, my fingers and toes have thawed enough to type this. Being a designer means sometimes doing whatever it takes to get a quality product out to stitchers... and I am sure that many of my fellow designers have their own collection of horror stories. I’m just glad that today’s had a happy ending!!
Saturday, January 10, 2004
Back in the swing of things...
This morning was the first Saturday morning back in our usual routine of getting up and out the door by 8:15 to head for Saint Pat’s Family Center. I wasn’t teaching the Circuit Training class this week, so I got my workout in first while Nick waited with the girls until they headed into the pool at 9:00 am. Bethany came out at 9:30 and showered with me and we managed to get the hair partly fluffed dry with the blow dryer before Erin came out at 9:45. They both headed into gymnastics at 10 for an hour while Nick went up to take the circuit class from Denise while I watched the girls in the gym and worked on some stitching. By 11:30, everyone in the family had had at least one workout and everyone’s hair was clean too!!
The only thing is... it is FREEEEEEEEZING out. I don’t think my fingers have been warm at all this week unless I have them wrapped around a mug of tea! Even my stitching feels slower than usual.. thank GOODNESS for quick model stitchers like Dani, Beth and Juls... or I would be in a TOTAL panic!!
I’m off to speak with a seamstress this afternoon because I have decided to get a little help with my costume for Nashville... My sewing machine is being a bit temperamental and as Nick said the other day “how much is your time and sanity worth??” Sometimes trying to do everything yourself just isn’t worth it.... so we’ll see what she quotes and then I can decide
This morning was the first Saturday morning back in our usual routine of getting up and out the door by 8:15 to head for Saint Pat’s Family Center. I wasn’t teaching the Circuit Training class this week, so I got my workout in first while Nick waited with the girls until they headed into the pool at 9:00 am. Bethany came out at 9:30 and showered with me and we managed to get the hair partly fluffed dry with the blow dryer before Erin came out at 9:45. They both headed into gymnastics at 10 for an hour while Nick went up to take the circuit class from Denise while I watched the girls in the gym and worked on some stitching. By 11:30, everyone in the family had had at least one workout and everyone’s hair was clean too!!
The only thing is... it is FREEEEEEEEZING out. I don’t think my fingers have been warm at all this week unless I have them wrapped around a mug of tea! Even my stitching feels slower than usual.. thank GOODNESS for quick model stitchers like Dani, Beth and Juls... or I would be in a TOTAL panic!!
I’m off to speak with a seamstress this afternoon because I have decided to get a little help with my costume for Nashville... My sewing machine is being a bit temperamental and as Nick said the other day “how much is your time and sanity worth??” Sometimes trying to do everything yourself just isn’t worth it.... so we’ll see what she quotes and then I can decide
Wednesday, January 07, 2004
Fire and Ice...
It is SO ironic that as I am putting the finishing touches on the first of my elemental dragons... Fire... and have been looking at ways to use these charts to help others around the world, that a disaster should hit so close to home. Late Monday afternoon, one of my fellow “bus stop moms” came home to find her parents herding her boys out of the house as flames began to burst from the roof line. Somehow something smoldered in their chimney and, despite the fire department coming once to check the house, burst into flames later in the day. Most of the upper floor and attic are totally destroyed, and there is quite a bit of water damage elsewhere. Since all 5 of them moved in with her brother’s family, whose home is even closer to ours than hers, many of us took up food, spare clothing etc. What else can you do when tragedy hits but respond as a community? Isn’t this what I hope my neighbours would do for me if something happened at our house?
Today, the temperatures have plunged into Wind Chill warnings and bitter cold. I don’t think that I have had warm hands or toes since I first crawled out of bed. Tomorrow is supposed to be even more bitterly cold, but after that... I hope things warm up a bit for a photo shoot... If not, I will be finding a studio space to rent or hiring a professional to shoot the Runekeeper model..
I’ve enjoyed the feedback from stitchers about how to best use the Elemental Dragons for charity purposes. I really feel the need to somehow encourage people to not only enjoy what they are stitching, but also think about how they could also help others in tiny ways. Imagine that each one of us helping one another is like one more tiny X added to a design that makes the world a better place instead of an X that has to be “frogged” (Rip-it,-Rip-it).
Since so many stitchers outside North America pointed out how hard it is to find truly International organizations (like the Red Cross), I think I have come up with a solution that works for me. When each elemental dragon is posted, I will put a list of ideas for places to donate on the website... but then let each stitchers decide for themselves. I’m not going to try to “force” people to be generous. I also know that there will be some stitchers who choose not to donate anything to any cause, but I think that will be better than making it a chart which can only be obtained with a contribution. Somehow that will make the chart even more tempting to those who continue to abuse copyrights and share or post patterns illegally. I’m working on the wording that will appear on the chart itself, but I think there will be room in there to put down some ideas of causes.
I can remember looking at a campfire this summer and thinking just how beautiful and terrible Fire can be.... that something to bring warmth, cook food, act as a beacon in the darkness (that scene in Return of the King where the beacon fires were being lit game me goosebumps!!) and much more can also destroy...
It is SO ironic that as I am putting the finishing touches on the first of my elemental dragons... Fire... and have been looking at ways to use these charts to help others around the world, that a disaster should hit so close to home. Late Monday afternoon, one of my fellow “bus stop moms” came home to find her parents herding her boys out of the house as flames began to burst from the roof line. Somehow something smoldered in their chimney and, despite the fire department coming once to check the house, burst into flames later in the day. Most of the upper floor and attic are totally destroyed, and there is quite a bit of water damage elsewhere. Since all 5 of them moved in with her brother’s family, whose home is even closer to ours than hers, many of us took up food, spare clothing etc. What else can you do when tragedy hits but respond as a community? Isn’t this what I hope my neighbours would do for me if something happened at our house?
Today, the temperatures have plunged into Wind Chill warnings and bitter cold. I don’t think that I have had warm hands or toes since I first crawled out of bed. Tomorrow is supposed to be even more bitterly cold, but after that... I hope things warm up a bit for a photo shoot... If not, I will be finding a studio space to rent or hiring a professional to shoot the Runekeeper model..
I’ve enjoyed the feedback from stitchers about how to best use the Elemental Dragons for charity purposes. I really feel the need to somehow encourage people to not only enjoy what they are stitching, but also think about how they could also help others in tiny ways. Imagine that each one of us helping one another is like one more tiny X added to a design that makes the world a better place instead of an X that has to be “frogged” (Rip-it,-Rip-it).
Since so many stitchers outside North America pointed out how hard it is to find truly International organizations (like the Red Cross), I think I have come up with a solution that works for me. When each elemental dragon is posted, I will put a list of ideas for places to donate on the website... but then let each stitchers decide for themselves. I’m not going to try to “force” people to be generous. I also know that there will be some stitchers who choose not to donate anything to any cause, but I think that will be better than making it a chart which can only be obtained with a contribution. Somehow that will make the chart even more tempting to those who continue to abuse copyrights and share or post patterns illegally. I’m working on the wording that will appear on the chart itself, but I think there will be room in there to put down some ideas of causes.
I can remember looking at a campfire this summer and thinking just how beautiful and terrible Fire can be.... that something to bring warmth, cook food, act as a beacon in the darkness (that scene in Return of the King where the beacon fires were being lit game me goosebumps!!) and much more can also destroy...
Monday, January 05, 2004
Ahhh.....Back To Just Me and My Thoughts...
It was a wonderful and relaxing holiday season... which is probably why I posted so few blogs... I was just too busy having fun with my family! But as much fun as it was not to wake up to an alarm clock or be tied to much of a schedule, I am still glad to have the house back to being quiet and getting some work done.
I really wonder if I could work in an office anymore. I have become accustomed to the silence behind the clatter of keyboard and mouse, the soft tunes I might tuck on in the background when I am designing and just being able to get lost in my work.
With Nashville only a month away, it is hard not to give in to panic as my “to do” list grows, but I learned long ago to eat that elephant in small bites... so I just concentrate on getting things done one at a time!!
Today I am printing out covers for A Dragon’s Tea Party on one Mac while I polish up the final layout for our Runekeeper Saga on the main computer. Even though the press bill on this one is going to be on the edge of my comfort zone, putting together a beautiful book with story and stitching is quite fun. The framed piece looks so wonderful and I can’t wait to have a sunny, non-windy day (without the -22 wind chill today) to photograph the piece on our back deck. Sunlight really does bring out the sparkle in the braid the way you can’t do unless you have LOTS of studio lights. Photos never really do the model justice, but at least you can try to make it as close as possible. One of the thrills that I had stitching other designers patterns was that it always looked SO much better in real life than in the photo, so you had that joy of falling in love with the design that your fingers were itching to stitch all over again!
It was a wonderful and relaxing holiday season... which is probably why I posted so few blogs... I was just too busy having fun with my family! But as much fun as it was not to wake up to an alarm clock or be tied to much of a schedule, I am still glad to have the house back to being quiet and getting some work done.
I really wonder if I could work in an office anymore. I have become accustomed to the silence behind the clatter of keyboard and mouse, the soft tunes I might tuck on in the background when I am designing and just being able to get lost in my work.
With Nashville only a month away, it is hard not to give in to panic as my “to do” list grows, but I learned long ago to eat that elephant in small bites... so I just concentrate on getting things done one at a time!!
Today I am printing out covers for A Dragon’s Tea Party on one Mac while I polish up the final layout for our Runekeeper Saga on the main computer. Even though the press bill on this one is going to be on the edge of my comfort zone, putting together a beautiful book with story and stitching is quite fun. The framed piece looks so wonderful and I can’t wait to have a sunny, non-windy day (without the -22 wind chill today) to photograph the piece on our back deck. Sunlight really does bring out the sparkle in the braid the way you can’t do unless you have LOTS of studio lights. Photos never really do the model justice, but at least you can try to make it as close as possible. One of the thrills that I had stitching other designers patterns was that it always looked SO much better in real life than in the photo, so you had that joy of falling in love with the design that your fingers were itching to stitch all over again!
Thursday, January 01, 2004
REFLECTIONS RATHER THAN RESOLUTIONS...
Having my Mom and Stepfather, John, here for the tail end of the Christmas Holidays has been wonderful!! I thought that Bethany was going to explode on Tuesday as she kept asking (from about 11 am onwards) “Is it night yet? Are we getting closer to supper when they come here? Is it soon?”
Last night, spending New Year’s Eve in our own home surrounded by board games, great food and good music was also heavenly. Both my mother and I took time to write down our thoughts. She makes up a list of the highs and lows of the year that has just been while pouring through her date book. Being FAR less organized than she is, I love to spend my New Year’s Eve journal entry writing down my thoughts on the year that is coming to a close.... what things I have enjoyed most, what I am thankful for... and then the entry always seems to turn towards what my hopes and dreams are for the year ahead. Not RESOLUTIONS ... those always seem to be a checklist of tasks that most of us cannot keep without a lot of hard work. I like to think of dreams and goals to strive for rather than a list of tasks to do. While they may often have the same end results (staying healthy, getting regular physical exercise etc.) I am far more comfortable with this way of setting them out.
Today has been a busy one getting the website ready for 2004, including reactivating the samples page which has been black for an entire year. I find writing code VERY hard on the head... but at least Mom and John have been a wonderful source of distraction!!! Best of all, I heard from both my Brother and Sister by phone/e-mail despite each of them being on opposite sides of the world from me... one in Switzerland and the other in Tokyo! What a nice treat!!
Happy New Year everyone... may you have fun thinking about your own dreams and goals for the year ahead!!
Having my Mom and Stepfather, John, here for the tail end of the Christmas Holidays has been wonderful!! I thought that Bethany was going to explode on Tuesday as she kept asking (from about 11 am onwards) “Is it night yet? Are we getting closer to supper when they come here? Is it soon?”
Last night, spending New Year’s Eve in our own home surrounded by board games, great food and good music was also heavenly. Both my mother and I took time to write down our thoughts. She makes up a list of the highs and lows of the year that has just been while pouring through her date book. Being FAR less organized than she is, I love to spend my New Year’s Eve journal entry writing down my thoughts on the year that is coming to a close.... what things I have enjoyed most, what I am thankful for... and then the entry always seems to turn towards what my hopes and dreams are for the year ahead. Not RESOLUTIONS ... those always seem to be a checklist of tasks that most of us cannot keep without a lot of hard work. I like to think of dreams and goals to strive for rather than a list of tasks to do. While they may often have the same end results (staying healthy, getting regular physical exercise etc.) I am far more comfortable with this way of setting them out.
Today has been a busy one getting the website ready for 2004, including reactivating the samples page which has been black for an entire year. I find writing code VERY hard on the head... but at least Mom and John have been a wonderful source of distraction!!! Best of all, I heard from both my Brother and Sister by phone/e-mail despite each of them being on opposite sides of the world from me... one in Switzerland and the other in Tokyo! What a nice treat!!
Happy New Year everyone... may you have fun thinking about your own dreams and goals for the year ahead!!
Monday, December 29, 2003
The Joy of Getting Lost in Something...
Vacations are all about not watching the clock... right? I guess today counted... sort of. There were still work related things to take care of, a run to the post office in hopes of finding some fabric that is still lost in transit from the USA (no luck) and mailing out one piece that got lost in the mess of my office when we cleaned up the kitchen... There was also the hilarious scene of filling out an International waybill for the courier on my knees in the kitchen right as the fish sticks needed to come out of the oven and my kids were fighting over a new toy...
The courier guy was very patient. I’d run out of International waybills and only discovered it as I tried to get my 2 box shipment of that nice distributor order ready to go off tonight. (Isn’t that always the way... you find out that you are missing something when you need it most... like halfway through a recipe??) So here I was filling out the waybill from him... only to discover that it was one of the older type without the secondary labels for multiple box shipments! Down I run to the fax machine and put the waybill through on “copy” which we then stuff into another sticky pouch for the second box. Nick was racing around saving the fish sticks from certain cremation and trying to negotiate a cessation of the hostilities between our two daughters that did not require the establishment of a Neutral Zone....
Sometimes, I wish that I did have a loading dock, a shipping department and a cute guy Friday (actually... I DO have that last one...but he has his own career too!) until I have to do a late night commute from work that only involves walking up two flights of stairs.
Amid all this chaos... there were two fun escapes. The first was a good Nora Roberts book, the first in a new trilogy, which I inhaled today between e-mail downloads, bathroom breaks and a nice, hot bath this morning... (being a speed reader helps, except that it means the fun is over sooner) and also the Animal Crossing game that our kids got for Christmas has turned out to be quite addictive for Mommy and Daddy too! LOL!
Getting lost in something totally fun and unjustifiable really does make me feel like I am taking time off... even in little spurts!
Vacations are all about not watching the clock... right? I guess today counted... sort of. There were still work related things to take care of, a run to the post office in hopes of finding some fabric that is still lost in transit from the USA (no luck) and mailing out one piece that got lost in the mess of my office when we cleaned up the kitchen... There was also the hilarious scene of filling out an International waybill for the courier on my knees in the kitchen right as the fish sticks needed to come out of the oven and my kids were fighting over a new toy...
The courier guy was very patient. I’d run out of International waybills and only discovered it as I tried to get my 2 box shipment of that nice distributor order ready to go off tonight. (Isn’t that always the way... you find out that you are missing something when you need it most... like halfway through a recipe??) So here I was filling out the waybill from him... only to discover that it was one of the older type without the secondary labels for multiple box shipments! Down I run to the fax machine and put the waybill through on “copy” which we then stuff into another sticky pouch for the second box. Nick was racing around saving the fish sticks from certain cremation and trying to negotiate a cessation of the hostilities between our two daughters that did not require the establishment of a Neutral Zone....
Sometimes, I wish that I did have a loading dock, a shipping department and a cute guy Friday (actually... I DO have that last one...but he has his own career too!) until I have to do a late night commute from work that only involves walking up two flights of stairs.
Amid all this chaos... there were two fun escapes. The first was a good Nora Roberts book, the first in a new trilogy, which I inhaled today between e-mail downloads, bathroom breaks and a nice, hot bath this morning... (being a speed reader helps, except that it means the fun is over sooner) and also the Animal Crossing game that our kids got for Christmas has turned out to be quite addictive for Mommy and Daddy too! LOL!
Getting lost in something totally fun and unjustifiable really does make me feel like I am taking time off... even in little spurts!
Saturday, December 27, 2003
Happy Holiday Thoughts...
Here’s what I tried to post on Christmas Eve....
Well... the blog and website are updated... my duet at church tonight went well and neither of my kids self-destructed during the family service. Many of us burst into giggles during the children’s moment when one little girl insisted that there were elephants and giraffes in the manger because her story book said so...
We have to be up early to get the turkey in the oven... so this dragon is heading off to bed. I hope that peace prevails... that generosity outweighs commercialism... that compassion exceeds judgment... and that we never forget to have that flicker of hope in the dark of the night.
Merry Christmas!
Hiding from Boxing Day Sales.....
It was magical just spending Christmas in our own home at our own pace this year! We had fun and even some giggles when Nick found THREE lumps of pretend coal that Erin had stuffed in his stocking. The poor guy just kept saying...”I haven’t been THAT bad!!” We had some very dear friends for the holiday meal since their family has jumped from 2 kids to 4 with the additions of twins. They are 9 months old now and often crawling in opposite directions, so we invited the whole family to join us for a turkey feast. It was merry chaos indeed for all of us.
Yesterday we went down to Nick’s Mother and Step-Father’s Bed and Breakfast (closed now for the season) for another wonderful meal. We had a great time and left in the evening amid big, fat, fluffy flakes of snow falling from the sky. This morning there is just a dusting of new snow... which my kids love a lot more than the rain, so we are going to go for a walk in the nearby woods this afternoon. We had a quiet morning that was spent at HOME rather than fighting crowds at the malls. I didn’t see anything I wanted badly enough to play “body hockey” with total strangers over!
Tonight we are having a friend of the girls over for a sleep over, so the only message we will do is to head out for some snacks and maybe movies or Nintendo games to play tonight....
I’m going to put off working until Monday, except for folding some leaflets. I am enjoying this break!
Here’s what I tried to post on Christmas Eve....
Well... the blog and website are updated... my duet at church tonight went well and neither of my kids self-destructed during the family service. Many of us burst into giggles during the children’s moment when one little girl insisted that there were elephants and giraffes in the manger because her story book said so...
We have to be up early to get the turkey in the oven... so this dragon is heading off to bed. I hope that peace prevails... that generosity outweighs commercialism... that compassion exceeds judgment... and that we never forget to have that flicker of hope in the dark of the night.
Merry Christmas!
Hiding from Boxing Day Sales.....
It was magical just spending Christmas in our own home at our own pace this year! We had fun and even some giggles when Nick found THREE lumps of pretend coal that Erin had stuffed in his stocking. The poor guy just kept saying...”I haven’t been THAT bad!!” We had some very dear friends for the holiday meal since their family has jumped from 2 kids to 4 with the additions of twins. They are 9 months old now and often crawling in opposite directions, so we invited the whole family to join us for a turkey feast. It was merry chaos indeed for all of us.
Yesterday we went down to Nick’s Mother and Step-Father’s Bed and Breakfast (closed now for the season) for another wonderful meal. We had a great time and left in the evening amid big, fat, fluffy flakes of snow falling from the sky. This morning there is just a dusting of new snow... which my kids love a lot more than the rain, so we are going to go for a walk in the nearby woods this afternoon. We had a quiet morning that was spent at HOME rather than fighting crowds at the malls. I didn’t see anything I wanted badly enough to play “body hockey” with total strangers over!
Tonight we are having a friend of the girls over for a sleep over, so the only message we will do is to head out for some snacks and maybe movies or Nintendo games to play tonight....
I’m going to put off working until Monday, except for folding some leaflets. I am enjoying this break!
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