As you will notice to your left, under the lovely azure coloured buttons that lead you to listings of other sites that I read or think are important, you will see a new button. This button is brown to make it different from the others. Why is it important to be different from the others? Because that’s the link to my Esty store. That’s right, my store is up, though not running as yet. I have a few things I want to do to the place before I open for business.
Oy! Getting up for work today was pure torture. I so much didn’t to get out of bed. I so much didn’t want to get out of bed that I reset my alarm. Sadly, all too soon the darned thing was making obnoxious noises at me so I got out of bed.
I am ever so glad that I don’t have to do 12 hour shifts on a regular basis. I have only two more to be tormented with and there should be new staff trained and working on their own. I can hardly wait for that. Tomorrow I work my regular shift times but alone instead of with someone, as is usual for me. I also get to work on the stat (July 1) so that means time and a half. As Christine said, “Yay, for overtime!”
Today was a relatively easy day cooking. Lunch was mostly cold stuff, from a macaroni salad, garlic sausage (or as the guys apparently call behind the walls, “gar”) vegetables to dip and fresh baked biscuits. The instructions for the biscuits was not quite right. Since they came from the fridge they were dead cold. That meant that they had to heat up and then bake. They weren’t even close to browning when the time allotted by the cook had said. So I cranked the heat up another 100 degrees (Fahrenheit) and baked them another 8 or so minutes. That did the trick. They came out of the oven browned on the outside and beautifully soft, moist and delicious inside.
Supper was much, much easier. All I had to do on my own was boil potatoes. I can do that easily enough though the quantity is somewhat daunting, as was the weight of the pot. I think it weighed in at a heft 20 pounds with the potatoes and water together. Of course, I could be over estimating somewhat, but still, it was bitching heavy. I got one of the guys to bring the stew out from the fridge. Not only was it heavy, it’s an awkward size for me. I was very grateful for all the help I got. Anyway, I mashed the potatoes, put out the stew after it had been heated through and that was it. Tomorrow is the guys’ favourite, chicken fingers and fries. Those things go faster than hot cakes could hope to. The neatest thing is that I get thanks for a “great supper” even when all I did was heat and serve.
I made a bracelet today, this one of picture jasper and tiger’s eye. I gave it to my co-worker as a going away present. This weekend is her final one working there. I also worked on a couple of necklaces but haven’t finished them. One is white quartz with snowflake obsidian and the other one has 4 strands, thus far one is of picture jasper and carnelian and the other is moss agate and glass beads. I haven’t decided what the other two strands will be. I might try and see if I can make one wind around the other. I tried with the white quartz one, but it wouldn’t stay wrapped and just became two separate strands regardless of how I tried to get them to not do that.
The weather has greatly changed in the past week. We went from a comfortable 20 or so degrees (room temperature) to 30 (too hot for me). Tomorrow is supposed to be 34…37 is body temperature. Yuck. I’m so glad that we have air conditioning at home and at work. Hey! Speaking of air conditioning at work. I don’t know why, but no one figured out that if you adjust the thermostat the temperature change. They had the air conditioner set under 50F! Can you believe that? It’s no small wonder that they were always freezing there. Good grief! I set the thermostat to a reasonable 72 degrees. Granted that’s considerably cooler than the outside air, the kitchen adds to the general heat of the front end and the dining room area. Making it any warmer would be like not having it at all.
To save the guys from being squawked at by the conure, (Bodey) I had the bird up front with me. There’s a roosting set up there for him/her and he was quite content there so long as I was at front as well. As soon as I walked away he/she would squawk and complain until I came back. Then he/she would get all excited when I came back. I spent some time with him/her on my finger just talking to it. The poor thing doesn’t get to be with people much, at least as a “flock” so when he/she gets it, it’s a very exciting thing. I think the bird was somewhat tired when I put it back in its cage. Bodey didn’t squawk a whole lot when I locked the cage closed and didn’t make any noise after that. I suspect the excitement of being around someone who would talk back for 10 hours was somewhat tiring.
So now I’m back home and I’m exhausted. My back hurts and I don’t want to move for a week. Needless to say that week is going to be mighty short since I’m working tomorrow afternoon and evening. At least that’s only an 8 hour shift. After these two 12 hour shifts I feel like I could do that standing on my head (and that would be very entertaining for the people there).
These twelve hour shifts are killers. It’s not so much that I have to cook two meals (ok, I just either set out or heat up and set out, but still) or that I’m actually there for 12 hours. It’s the 8 trips up and down the stairs to do the building and room checks. Holy Toledo! On the last building check my back was very much unhappy. I was very relieved to see the end of the shift come along.
Bran picked me up and we headed out to McNally Robinson to check out books. I found two. The first is called Tarot Made Easy. I got it for only $7. The second is The Book of Stones. I got that one to help me pair up stones for the crystal lovers of the world. There are those who believe in the healing properties of stones and crystals and that’s the market I’m aiming for because that’s the market segment that tend to have money. However, that doesn’t mean my jewelry isn’t pretty, it is, quite. The tarot book is because I find that the tarot instruction books I have are somewhat too complicated for my peanut sized brain.
I have done more jewelry. Several more pairs of earrings and two small bracelets. I think I’m going to have to redo one though. It doesn’t seem to want to hold together properly. We’ll see. I have to get some kind of container to store my work in. Right now it’s here on my table, but that can’t last. It’ll fall off and possibly scatter. That isn’t something I want to have happen. I hate crawling around on the floor looking for things.
Anyway, work was ok. I found out today that one of the people I was sure wouldn’t run, who had worked so hard to stay out and follow his program and stay sober and all that, went UAL (unlawfully at large) the night before last. That just sucks. However, as with all things, the life of a halfway house is fluid and there was a new resident today to fill that space.
Christine, you asked about Esty. I haven’t gotten a page there. While I’m sure it’s possible, I’m unsure as to how to set it up (though it’s probably fairly user friendly). There isn’t a Canadian version that I can find, just the .com one. Anyway, I have to build up a bit of an inventory first. I’ll certainly announce when I’ve got something ready and how to get it and all that when I manage to get that far.
I’m now sleepy tired and have to be up again at 6:30 to shower and get ready for work.
I couldn’t write about this earlier because it involved a surprise for Bran. I’d ordered a handmade book from Comfortable Shoes Studio. I’ve been reading the artist’s blog for some time and always wished that I could get something from her. It’s absolutely lovely, well made and Bran likes it. What more could a person ask for? I don’t know if she does it on every order, but she sent along a couple of her machine stitched booklets too, so now I have a lovely booklet in my bag for notes and things.
We went to Michaels and Staples today for me. I got business cards, magnetic sheets (but can’t use them on a laser printer, they’re for ink jet only), a tray to put my beads into, some neat little boxes, labels, earring backs so the earrings don’t fall off the cards, a hole punch of a frog and some natural cotton batting. You see, I’ve just started up my jewelry company…Wicked Witch Jewelry is online (wicked.witch.jewelry@gmail.com) with production and will soon have earrings (for pierced ears only), bracelets, anklets and necklaces for sale. They’ll all be made from semi-precious gems. Thus far I have 6 pairs of earrings made. It’s taking a little bit of extra time because I’m still learning about what works and what doesn’t.
That’s about it for now. I have things I need to do tonight.
First off, my Fire Mountain Beads showed up. They’re marvelous! I’ll take pictures of them when I get a chance. I’m going to have some serious fun with them. Bran got me up to use my credit card to pay for the Fed-Ex delivery (duty and GST). My hair had a serious tiff with bed head and lost. I look like, well, I can’t quite describe how I look because I’m pretty indescribable. Let’s just say that the curls appear to have become somewhat contagious.
Second, I saw this at David’s place and had to put it here. I think it really needs to spread it around. I think my favourite was when he was in the demilitarized zone in Korea. This guy does some serious travelling.
Now I have to finish the blog reading I couldn’t do last night because I was too gosh darned tired.
I didn’t really want to think much tonight. There’s been a fooferah at work with the new employees with the end result of the bosses being down two new workers. I’m having Bran make up a resume for me to take in. He’ll probably only get 24-28 hours every couple of weeks but it’s better than nothing. Besides, I think he’d be good at it. Because of the fooferah my schedule has been all changed so I have to edit my calendars.
Anyway, back to easy. Here’s a meme I got from one of the “not for public consumption” blogs that I read.
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read
3) Underline the books you LOVE.
4) Reprint this list in your own LJ so we can try and track down these people who’ve read 6 and force books upon them.
1 Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien I liked the movies better.
3 Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series – JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
11 Little Women – Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 – Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch – George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House – Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis – I loved the first three. Not so much the rest.
34 Emma – Jane Austen
35 Persuasion – Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – C.S. Lewis
37 The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne
41 Animal Farm – George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney – John Irving
45 The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding
50 Atonement – Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi – Yann Martel
52 Dune – Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
62 Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History – Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road – Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’ Diary – Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens
72 Dracula – Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island – Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses – James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons – Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal – Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession – AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple – Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web – EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection – Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks
94 Watership Down – Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet – William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo
I don’t know what’s been happening there, but today I got a call from one of my supervisors asking me if I’ll work next Monday and Tuesday because of some kind of staffing issues (it sounds like one of the weekend staff quit – or something like that). Of course I said I would. This means that one of the days I’ll be getting time and a half because it’s a stat (July 1st is Canada Day – what used to be called Confederation Day) and I think I’ll have some overtime clocked in besides that. Yay!
Yesterday Bran and I picked up a pile of flavours (Crystal Light, Nestea (sugar free) and President’s Choice sugar free individual drink crystal packets) for our water bottles. Because it’s healthy to drink more water, I prefer to have flavours in with mine. It encourages me to drink more. I can down 3-4 litres of water in a day if I have flavour. Cut that in half if I’m drinking plain old tap water.
Boy’s finished school. As predicted he failed the math class, but today he went in and organized his schedule to include the regular math class. He’s even happier now because he gets a last period spare that wasn’t there before. So he’s taking biology, chemistry, physics, math, english and drama. Oh, somewhere in there is also creative writing. He’s content.
It’s been an interesting couple of days. I’ve done a lot of sleeping in stages. Today I’ve clocked more time out of bed than I have for the past two. I would be awake, nap, be awake, nap, etc. I did that last night too, but around 8 or so I got up for the day. Boy went off with Bran to do the class schedule rearrangement and they came back with one of Boy’s friends.
For lunch we sent Boy and his friend to Great Buffet. It’s the one place we can be assured that both boys will get enough to eat. Boy’s friend can be a little bit on the picky side (and is sometimes too polite to say no) and the buffet virtually guarantees that he’s going to get at least one thing he likes. Bran and I went for Dim Sum at the Genesis. During the week they don’t push carts around, you have to order from a menu. Because you can’t just stop taking things off a cart it’s really easy to over order. That’s what we did. We had pan fried shrimp dumplings, stuffed green peppers, chicken wraps, stir fried vegetables, steamed pork dumplings, steamed shrimp dumplings, crab rangoon and jasmine tea. It was all very delicious and too much so there are leftovers for supper for me and Bran. Boy can have leftover chicken, fries and gravy.
After lunch Bran and I headed to Preston Crossing. There we went to Michael’s and I got some beads to make a bracelet for a friend. I didn’t have any red beads, well, not enough anyway. I also got some nice large white shells that will act as frog closers like the large green rock on the one I made for me. We also got a strand of natural shell and enamelled wood beads. Now all I have to do is figure out a pattern.
On Friday I got a $35 gift certificate from Fire Mountain so I spent a pile of money there. I bought form their promotional beads because they sell 10 16 inch strands per rather than one 16 inch strand per. I ordered tree agate (or moss agate, I can’t remember for sure), snowflake obsidian, dalmatian jasper, picture jasper (I think) and I think one more, but I can’t remember for certain. I’ll find out when it arrives. Anyway, the beads are 4mm and 6mm and will go a long way to getting me on my way to making money. I made the order and they’ve confirmed that it’s been shipped. I can’t find a place that shows me where the order is. I paid via credit card on recommendation from Bran because that offers additional protection against fraud.
Here’s one of the handfasting photos (click on it to see the right size):
We got a couple more of those Table Mate things but they’re now called “Tilt-a-Table” and have a slightly different construction. They appear to have more structural support to keep the tray from warping (which is what happened to Bran’s and mine) as well as a locking mechanism that keeps the table from suddenly dropping away if it’s grabbed and lifted from the front (thus dropping the metal support bar and dumping everything off the table to the floor).
After going to Canadian Tire we went to Westgate Books, a used book store and I got a few books including one by Thomson Highway, Rez Sisters. I’ve heard so much about his writing and now I’m going to get to read it. There are two more books there. I’m hoping they stay there until I can get my paws on it. As it is I’ve used up the entire credit that Bran had built up and went over that. It’s so nice to have books to read that don’t involve some kind of essay or exam at the end.
I think that’s about it. I’m doing dishes again. Right now there are some drip-drying in the rack. I need more dish detergent though. However, progress is being made even if it is very slow.
Yes, you too can learn the art of ensuring that people will rush to open the email advertisements from you. Just put one of these selected texts into the subject lines and people will rush to your products:
what a stupid face you have here *insert name here*
You look really stupid *insert name here*
and don’t forget the concept of exploding and dangerous genitalia:
Heavy armor for your organism
Fire up your love life!
Yeah, it’s early morning and I think I need some coffee.
