|
|
|
December 6, 2007, from Jill As everyone knows, time and life marches on...we miss Kirby terribly. The first two weeks were the worst, but it's getting more "normal" that he's not here. I think about him every day, though, and I know Mom does too. We're such animal people that I knew from the start we'd end up getting another dog, but Mom didn't think so - at first. Our remaining dog, Maggie, is a social girl, though and we started to see how lonely she was. She's always had a lot of energy (poodles!) and wanted to play, but Kirby had gotten old enough that he wasn't the best companion for her in the last few years. So Thanksgiving night, Mom finally says to me, "Well, I might consider getting another dog for Maggie's sake." Consider, right? But I told her that I wasn't ready yet - the grief was too fresh. But the very next day, I awake from a nap around 5pm to find Mom on the phone with a woman, making arrangements to go meet a 5 month old puppy!!?? Her "story" is that she was just looking around on Craigslist to see if it might be a good spot for us to find a dog when she ran across a photo that was impossible to resist. Needless to say, we came home with a new little fur face that very night. Please meet Winston Wiseman (aka, Winston Wiggles, aka, Monster). He's 75% Shih Tzu and 25% poodle, and runs just 12 pounds. He's a handful, that's for sure! I had a couple of days where I thought we'd made a terrible mistake, getting a puppy. Man! They're work! But after almost two weeks with us he's calming down now and settling into a routine. He and Maggie LOVE each other and play chew-face like crazy - it's a better match than we'd dared to dream! Now if we can just get him and the cats to co-exist. Right now the two cats pretty much hide from him in Mom's bedroom all day.
On the beading front, it's so nice to have some down time between shows. I spent the whole day today in my jammies, and it was GREAT!!! I'm working on getting all the new stuff beaded up, supplies ordered, instructions written, etc. I'm teaching at most of the major bead shows in 2008 - Bead Fest Miami, Bead Expo Phoenix, Bead & Button Milwaukee, and Bead Best Philadelphia. I updated the class page with all that info tonight too. November 15, 2007, from June We told everyone at the Houston Quilt Show that we would have the website updated with our new items within a week. We apologize that it's taken so long. When we got back from Houston, we found that our dog, Kirby, was ill. When I picked him up, we seemed to be just skin and bones. Later, I found out he had lost nearly 1/3 his body weight (from 15.5 pounds down to 11 pounds.) He was 13 years old, and had lived for years with an enlarged heart. The last couple of months, he's had more problems breathing, and had recently started having what we thought were seizures, where he would collapse and lose control of his bladder. It seemed to happen mostly when he got excited - when someone came to to door, or when I came home from work. While we were gone, he started getting worse, and began wetting the bed at night. (My bed.) His seizures became more frequent, and happened several times a day. Jill took him in to our vet, who ran a bunch of tests and referred him to a cardiac specialists. I didn't even know there were doggie cardiac specialists. More tests, and several hundred dollars later, the doctor said his seizures were actually fainting spells caused by Kirby's inability to pump blood through his enlarged heart. We were given two medicines that were to help Kirby pump blood harder. Unfortunately, the medicine didn't seem to help, and Kirby just got worse and worse. Several days ago, he stopped eating, and was too weak to do much buy lay on the floor and try to breath. Yesterday, after many tears, Jill and I decided it wasn't fair to Kirby to put him through any more. The vets were wonderful, and helped all of us through the afternoon.
Needless to say, we have not had much focus, except on Kirby. But, since I couldn't sleep, I got up early this morning and started updating the website. October 15, 2007, from Jill Gosh, is my calendar full for the next few months! We just finished working out the teaching schedule at Nomadic Notions, here in Austin, and somehow I managed to sign myself up to doing 11 classes in Nov, Dec, and Jan. LOL! So much for my free time! And it's not just Austin - I was notified today that I'll be teaching two classes at the Miami Bead Fest in April. Still awaiting word on Bead Fest class selections for Phoenix and Philadelphia, but we should be hearing about those before too long. So now I'm focused on writing the instructions for the three new classes I added at Nomadic Notions, then getting ready for my last show of the year - the Houston International Quilt Festival. After that, I'm going to be ordering a ton of beads to make kits for all my new projects. I have quite a backlog!! A special wave "Hello" to Margaret, who started taking classes a few weeks ago. Get this - she's always been a quilter, and actually has been doing the round of quilt shows with a booth for the last 15 years. She's going to retire at the end of this year. Anyway, she picked up a Bead & Button magazine not so long ago and fell in love with the "Pillars of Strength" bracelet, and decided to try making it. She got bit by the seed beading bug, and then signed up for a few of my classes. But she didn't even know that that first project of hers was my design until I mentioned it in class! What a very small world we live in. :-) October 1, 2007, from Jill There's finally some settling in going on around Casa de Tapestry Beads....now, don't think that means all the boxes are unpacked, furniture is put together, walls are painted....because they're not! But on the other hand, it's starting to feel like home and the dogs and cats aren't as freaked out any longer. Big sigh of relief. I can't wait until it's all ready for the bead garage sale and open house party I plan to throw. When, exactly, that will happen is a mystery, though. I had originally planned October in my mind, but here it is - October! - and I'm not near ready. So stay tuned. I got some GREAT news in my email today that I had to share. After holding my breath for two months, I found out today that I've had two classes accepted for the Bead & Button Show 2008. I can exhale now! They mentioned they had 1400 projects submitted. Can you imagine?? So I feel very grateful to have two of my classes make it in. I'll be teach Happy Trails Bracelet there, as well as my Russian Splendor Necklace (a project I don't have a kit for yet, but will very VERY soon.) I've been on a major creative roll lately which is exciting and sometimes frustrating all at the same time. There are days when I spend a whole day beading, only to not have anything work out the way I want. Then there are nights like last night where I was up until 4am because the mojo was WORKING and I'm so thrilled with the new project. I have at least five in the works that need instructions written, color choices made, and beads ordered. More good news is that I'm mainly HOME for the rest of the year so I'll be able to do all that work! One last show in Houston in November, then I'm home for good until February. I'll be doing lots of teaching in Austin while I'm here so much, and splitting the rest of the time between house stuff, Tapestry Beads stuff, and hopefully, a little catching up with friends and family! My niece is already 5 months old now, and changing every day, just the way she should. Now that Mom and I are closer to her home, we get to see her much more often which is the way we like it. There was a photograph catastrophe in my brother's household this weekend though. He's a part-time professional photographer so he has a LOT of photos on his computer at home, both business and personal. So you can understand the pain when his hard drive crashed yesterday. And he hasn't backed things up in a while. He may have lost all of Alexis' photos since she was born, but he's taking his computer to a specialist to see if there's any way they can recover them. On the business front, he's got all the wedding shots from his various wedding jobs backed up, so those are safe. Which reminds me. Guess who else needs to back up today??? September 4, 2007, from June Woo hoo! We are moved! Poor Jill came back from Philadelphia in time to throw her stuff into boxes; we moved last Thursday, and she left this morning for Tucson. She didn't have a chance to settle in. Because, of course, we had to go SHOPPING on Saturday. We found a fabulous kitchen table, and I can hardly wait to get it. We had a LOT of stuff. The poor movers actually made two trips over two days to get it all moved. But it's here now, mostly in the garage. We decided we weren't going to stress about getting unpacked, especially with Jill traveling. Of course, we've had a few setbacks: Jill took her desk apart and put the fasteners in a very safe place. Wherever they are, I'm sure they are safe - we just have no idea where that safe place is. And the cats have had some adjustment issues. We didn't see either Piper or Josie for the first few days. Piper broke first, and came out to explore. She's pretty much back to normal, wanting attention and drinking water from the bathroom faucet as I'm getting ready in the morning. But poor Josie has had a time. There is no doggie door here, and I put off installing one until the cats understand this is their new home. Josie wants to go outside in the worst way. Every night she paces and meows most of the night. It was kind of funny the first night, but I went back to work today, and last night wasn't so funny. And then there's Maggie. She has gotten abnormally attached to me. She shadows my every move, and now when I try to get Kirby and Maggie to go outside, Maggie won't go unless I go into the yard also. We need a visit from the Dog Whisperer! But, the new house is great! We'll be able to do some great stuff here. August 1, 2007, from Jill I'm shocked to look at the date and realize that it's been a whole month since I updated the site. I'll have you guys know that I write completely awesome updates all the time in my head. It's the getting it typed out on the computer part where it all falls apart. We've got a lot of news! We've got a contract on the Bastrop house, and today was the house inspection. We're still waiting to hear what the outcome of that is - it's the one thing that could make the deal fall apart yet, so it's pins and needles tonight while we wait to hear from the buyers. In the meantime, Mom and I found a fabulous house in Pflugerville, which is about 5 miles north of Austin (about 45 miles NW of where we are now.) It's funny because we didn't think we really wanted to consider Pflugerville - for one thing, we'll be spelling that city name for the rest of our lives! But also because it's less of a planned community than Round Rock or Cedar Park or Leander, which were all the main spots we looked at. But we lucked into working with this great realtor who really does an amazing job of previewing houses for us, and educating us on everything, and she found this house that she told us we had to see. And thank goodness we listened to her! We'll be moving around August 30 which will be a juggling act. I fly back from Philadelphia on Sunday, we move on Thursday, and I have to leave on Tues for Tucson for The Best Bead Show! Sheesh! Luckily, I thrive on deadlines, so it will all work out. I just KNOW it will! July 4, 2007, from Jill Another day, another rain storm...I'm growing mold between my toes, I think. Actually, I had a horrible headache all day today that I'm attributing to the constantly wet weather. Doesn't look like we'll have much relief for a few more days, but after that, maybe...just maybe... Why do all the deadlines converge at the same time? To drive me insane? Because I can tell them, I really don't need any help in that area. Insanity I've got covered. All the 2008 submissions for the Bead & Button show, 2008 Bead Expo show, and samples going on display at Nomadic Notions here in Austin, all are due July 15. So I'm frantically beading like crazy while trying to play with new techniques. Fast and new techniques and designs don't often go hand in hand. I can sometimes spend a whole day beading and trying things out and have it come to nothing. But I feel like it's starting to come together now. I need to bead faster though. And then there's been the Showing The House interruptions. We've shown it 4 times in the week it's been on the market, which is pretty good considering that it's a fairly remote area, I think. Each time requires the herding of the two dogs into the car and a long, random drive to nowhere for an hour or so. I finally got smart and I've been taking them down to a park. We go for a walk, and then sit in the car for a while before heading home. And Kirby and Maggie take turns on my lap - well, truth be told, Maggie is a secret lap hog. I have to move her off me and then get Kirby up there quick to take the spot before Maggie can figure it out. It's quite the clown show for anyone around. For those folks here in the Austin area, the Nomadic Notions classes for the Aug-Oct. quarter will be ready for signups at noon on Sunday, July 15. Make note of that date and time if you plan on getting in to either one of my two new classes, Romance Necklace, or Bubbles and Bumps (which can be made as a bracelet or necklace, your choice.) Last quarter, my new classes filled in about 24 hours. I'm updating the class schedule here on my website with this update too. I've also made the tough decision to stop teaching classes in San Antonio, at least temporarily. I'm totally overloaded with great projects and opportunities at the moment, and something has to go for me to find time to concentrate on the big picture for a while. Especially while we've got the distraction of the house selling, buying, and moving going on. Mom's home tomorrow for July 4th. I'll bet she makes me work on cleaning in the garage where all the bead chaos is at the moment. Meanie lady. June 29, 2007, from Jill Rain, rain...go away! Since it's on the national news everywhere, you've probably heard about how Central Texas is just up and floating away downstream. While we haven't been hit as hard as those communities west of Austin, we get all their runoff down the Colorado River here in Bastrop, and the river levels continue to rise impressively. A number of trees in the forest in our neighborhood have fallen over from their root systems giving way in the muddy, water soaked ground. At my brother's house last night, they got over five inches of rain in about 2 hours and when the water couldn't soak in the ground, it came within an inch or so of flooding the first floor of their house. And there's rain the forecast as far out as another 10 days now... Tonight I should be working on a bunch of things, but instead I'm consumed by making one of Julia Pretl's Tiny Boxes. They are SO cool, and I'm about half-way through one. I sense an all-night beading session coming on. And then I have to buckle down and make a Romance sample for Nomadic Notions which needs to be delivered to the store on Saturday when I go to teach Cornucopia. That's what I really should be knocking out tonight....but the tiny box is so cute...and I keep telling myself just one more row.... I'll work on updating the class schedule page this weekend sometime as I now have the classes scheduled in San Antonio and Austin through October. June 26, 2007, from Jill By the time you read this, it will finally be done. The house will be on the market. (At least I'm assuming no one out there is really reading this at 2am other than Kathryn.) It's scary for it to be a done deal in that sense. I actually had a bit of a panic attack today while I was thinking about what it will be like to live with people around. Not that Bastrop doesn't have people, but we live on two acres of heavily forested land on a dead end, gravel road. Not a lot of traffic around here! But Mom assures me it will be okay, and since our family rule is that only one of us is allowed to freak out in a crisis at any given time, it was her job to talk me down. And when she freaks out, I'll do the same for her. We get to finally go look at some properties to BUY on Sunday, so that will be helpful. At least knowing there are some options out there that won't have us living in a broken down, rusted, rat infested hovel. That would be good. I'm making good progress on my "big" designer pieces that I'll be submitting for Bead & Button classes next year - I can't wait to unveil them - but I need to wait until they're all properly finished for ooos and ahhhhs. My class last Tuesday night got a sneak peak, and they were all very thrilled with them, so that's a good start! Bead Expo is going to be in Oregon next year, which is a heck of a haul for me, but assuming I get accepted as an instructor, I'll just fly in and not do a booth for 2008. I'm happy to discover they'll be moving back to the Santa Fe location in 2009 because that's just a long day's drive over the Texas desert from here and then I'll be able to be there with the full booth too. I just haven't been brave enough yet to deal with the whole shipping the booth set up across country yet, so I drive everywhere. I'd better trot off to bed since I'm setting my alarm for 8am (if you can believe it) so I can do some last minute cleaning and straightening and general picking up. There are still a few doors missing their door handles. Night night! June 18, 2007, from Jill There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home. That's the mantra I repeated to myself as I drove from Milwaukee to Bastrop, and I was right! There's no place like home! It's hard to be away from your loved ones, both furry and human, for weeks at a time. But, hey, if you're gonna make the sacrifice, then going to Bead & Button is the appropriate inducement! The trip actually started off with a weekend in Stafford, Texas - just on the outskirts of Houston - for the Stafford Bead Market show, which was great, as usual. Lots of happy folks came by to thank us for our great kits and buy more. And hey! I've got some good news for the Houston gang - Glynna White, the owner of the two Beadaholique stores in that area has convinced me to come spend some time teaching there. We haven't set the dates or the classes yet, but we will soon. It looks as though October will be the first chance since my teaching and show schedule pretty much has every weekend between now and then booked. Oh, and we're supposed to move sometime between now and then too. HAHAHA! Insanity. That's all that can explain it. The house goes on the market next Monday, June 25th. Gulp. Mom tried to kill me today. She convinced me to spend the day working on the Garage of Horrors, trying to make it organized and semi-normal looking. Let me tell ya', when you run a business from home, your garage is not normal. But on the other hand, it had gotten so bad that we literally couldn't walk through it. So hours and hours later, two trips to storage and a trip to the donation center, we called it quits. Or maybe our bodies did because Mom and I both came into the house, showered, and dropped dead to the world in naps. The other critical part of this clean up was that I needed to be able to get to the bead kits because there are several folks who have been waiting for their orders to ship while I was tied up at the shows and now I can finally mail those out on Monday. So the report on Bead & Button. I tell you what - nothing is more inspiring or fun than being in a place for a whole week where everyone else is as crazy about beads as you are. Getting close up looks at the Bead Dreams entries each year is humbling. Seeing all my bead friends from across the country gives me such joy. And ohmigosh, the beads! I got some good shopping in for new kits I'll be rolling out later this year, and I even had a wee bit of design time in the hotel room at night. I'm totally thrilled with the new stuff I'm creating to submit to teach at B&B next year. When I have them finished with good photos, I'll give ya'll a preview. It's going to be some more advanced stuff, but don't worry - we won't abandon our beginners! They decided to throw me a curve ball for my first Bead & Button teaching gig, but I think I managed to hit the ball anyway. So it's 5:30 Friday night, and my class starts at 6pm in the Manager's Suite in the Hyatt hotel. So I walk over to the room, but the last one out of the class before me had closed the door to the room, and it was locked, so I had to find someone to open it up for me. When the employee came and opened the door, a strong odor of smoke was coming from the room. I went inside, and there was a smoke haze through the room which got worse as you got further in the room. The next thing you know, there are hotel folks running all over, looking for the source of the smoke, and I'm thinking, great, we're going to have to evacuate the hotel and we won't get to do the class. AGH! Well, after a while, they finally discovered that the class that was in the room before me had used soldering irons in the room, which they weren't supposed to do there. If any classes use soldering or torches, etc, they're scheduled in the convention hall because of ventilation issues. Now we know why! And what's worse, this particular room at the hotel attached directly to the main ventilation shaft that vented into the huge atrium area, so all that area had filled with smoky haze and smell too! We clearly couldn't have the class in that room, but the atrium, while smoky smelling, wasn't nearly as bad, so we camped out in what's called "The Gathering Place" which is an open area set up with tables and chairs for beady people to sit around and informally gather and bead. Once the hotel personnel had the problem identified, they were able to work on getting fresh air in the hotel and it substantially cleared within 30 or so minutes. We ended up having a great time, and a great story, so all is well. But I'd really appreciate it if classes there in the future aren't quite so eventful! I have other news - some dear friends of mine are going to plan a FABULOUS Hill Country Bead Retreat for February, so keep that in mind for your plans. I'll pass along many more details as they become available, but trust me - these ladies are go-getters and this is going to be worth the trip!!! For those of you going to BeadFest in Philly in August, or the Fall Tucson shows in Sept, there are still some spots available in my classes there. I'm toast, so it's time for bed. I'll update again soon! June 12, 2007, from June I just got back from Bead and Button in Milwaukee yesterday. I had so much fun talking to people and making new beading friends. Aren't beaders just the most interesting and amazing people? Some of the jewelry that was being worn was just awesome and inspiring. We were in a different location in the Marketplace, so we have a new neighbor, Dolly Ahles, of Flamedancer Beads. She makes the most gorgeous lampwork beads - check out her website at www.flamedancerbeads.com. Anyway, Dolly tolerated us well, so I think we'll be happy in our new location. Poor Jill has to drive all the way home, and by herself. I haven't talked to her today yet, but last night she was wide awake and driving, hoping to make it home in two days. She is so nice, she even is bringing my luggage, so all I had to take on the plane was the stuff I needed to get ready for work tomorrow. No checked bags. Yeah! I know Jill will write when she gets home. Right now I think she is all talked out, and is looking forward to a couple of days with not having to say anything but "Diet Coke, please." April 19, 2007, from Jill Goodness, ya'll! I think you've set a new record for filling my classes in Austin. At Nomadic Notions, we schedule classes in three month quarters. We opened registration on April 15 for the May, June, and July classes, and by April 16th, almost all my new classes were already full! Sniff. Sniff. You like me. You REALLY like me! Those new classes are destined to become new kits too as soon as I have time to pick colors, write instructions, and make new samples. It was an exciting weekend for us Wiseman folk - I became an aunt for the first time on Saturday, April 14 at 5:26pm. My niece is Alexis Brooke Wiseman, and get this - she was 9 lbs, 12 oz!! 22" long! What a whopper! She had her first pediatrician appt today and he said that if he didn't know any better, he'd think she was a month old already. She's in the 95th percentile on the growth charts. Of course, her daddy is 6' and her mom is 5' 9", so we know where it's coming from. Other than that, Mom and I have been dutifully working on the endless house tasks. Every time we complete something, three more things pop up, it seems. But we're making discernible progress and we've decided that come hell or high water, the house goes on the market May 1. We're picking out new carpet and tile on Saturday so I'll have the excitement of a couple of days with contractors soon. On Monday we played our own little version of Clean Sweep (one of my favorite shows!) and pulled everything from the studio room (aka, JUNK room) out on the driveway. Mom even taped off squares and market them Keep, Donate, and Store (in our storage locker) for me. It was amazing how much easier it was to tackle that way rather than trying to dance around piles in the room. April 6, 2007, from Jill I got some good news today - I'll be teaching three classes at the Philadelphia Bead Fest show at the end of August. I've never been to the east coast before, so I'm really looking forward to the excuse. I totally love that I'm finally getting to do a lot of traveling for teaching - I'm at Bead & Button in Milwaukee, Bead Fest in Philly, and The Best Bead Show in Tucson this year. Mom and I are on baby watch right now - the first baby of the Wiseman's next generation is going to come join us soon. It's a girl - Alexis - and Mom and I were already plotting tonight about how we have the opportunity to help raise a master beader. Tee hee! My sister-in-law's due date is April 16, but the doctor says the baby will be coming at least a week early. Work on getting the house ready for sale continues. Who knew there was going to be SO MUCH TO DO?? Agh! We're going to try to finish the painting (pleasing, neutral colors, a la "Designed to Sell") this weekend. But then there's a host of boxing things up and taking them off to the storage shed. Other things are being donated. And then there's the four boxes of books to go to the used book store for future credit. It's been good to go through all my beads though too. And I'm setting a lot of stuff aside for a giant bead garage sale later this year, hopefully at the new house. I've been dreaming of what our new studio will look like. We're hoping to have room to teach classes at the house, as well as have a large seed bead and Delica stock for people to come shop a few days a week. But we'll see. That dream might be a good year away. In the meantime, I'm slowly stockpiling Delicas, though. March 12, 2007, from Jill again Another thunderstorm is brewing in our area tonight. Last night we had a massive wave of storms come through the Bastrop region and got over 6" of rain in a few hours. A very impressive hail storm too that left dents on our cars, and our back deck looking like a chopped salad from all the shredded leaves on it. I'm hoping it won't be as dramatic tonight. I realized there were a few updates on life things I should write about. First, I'm back to living with Mom in Bastrop. I broke the engagement off with George in late December and happily, Mom took me back. I feel very confident that it was what needed to happen, but it was hard, none the less. On the positive side, Mom and I won't have to have custody fights over any beads, and we still plan on moving her (and now me) closer to the Austin area this year. If we can muster up enough energy, we're going to try to have her house in Bastrop on the market by the end of March. Gulp. You've also heard a lot over the years about our little group of fur babies. Three dogs and two cats...and the doggie door that makes it livable. A few weeks ago, I was stunned to find our Pomeranian, Duncan, had passed away in his doggie bed in my room. He hadn't been sick at all and was only 7 or so years old, but I was aware he had sleep apnea and he was overweight which doesn't help. He looked very peaceful - as though he'd just taken a nap and never woke up. I couldn't ask for a better way to go for him, but I'm still grieving. I won't pretend he was the best dog in the world - he had a very dominant personality and did cause problems in the household. But he was also my constant companion. I literally couldn't move into another room in the house without him following me. So it's felt very quiet and lonely these first few weeks. The dynamics in the house are changing now that he's gone. The cats are both spending a lot more time with me and the other two dogs are much calmer too. We've decided not to add any other animals to the house given how difficult it gets finding good pet sitters during the couple of shows a year where Mom and I both have to be traveling. Okay - got that bad news stuff off my chest. And check me out! Two journal entries back to back! Mom and I went to see Wild Hogs at the movies, and we really enjoyed it. Maybe we were just tired enough to be silly because it was full of clichés and not all that original in plotline, but Mom loves pretty close to anything where she can stare at Johnny T for a few hours, and William Macy is so versatile in his performances. And we got the BEST buttered popcorn. March 10, 2007, from Jill You guys have all been sitting by your computers, holding your breath to find out what I got Mom for her birthday, haven't you? I'm so proud of myself - I did good! My entire life, Mom has wanted one of those large amethyst geodes and in Tucson they were everywhere! I shopped around to make sure I got a really good one - nicely flowing lines, a lot of deep purple crystals, and the bonus on the one I purchased was that there's a small line of green stone along the outside edge that sets off the amethyst nicely. It's about two feet tall, and weighs about 50 pounds. And you should have seen me trying to find room for it in the car to bring home! Mom's going to do her magic and post a photo we took of it. Silly Jilly doesn't know how. And as for that can of Rotel in the photo - I swear we're not white trash, storing our canned goods on the fireplace mantel! We put that there for a size comparison, but students in my classes have been giving me a hard time. HA! I just updated the classes schedule with more classes in San Antonio, and I'll have the May, June, July class schedule for Austin coming up in the next few weeks. It's been an odd month for me, sitting at home and beading sample after sample after sample. Auntie's Beads (with stores in Houston, Dallas, Kansas City, and Florida) have picked up some of our kits for their stores and they need samples of each kit for each of their stores. That's 32 samples! AGH! So basically, that's all Mom and I have been doing. We're going to reward ourselves tonight for being close to the end by going out to see a movie. Popcorn for dinner....yummm!!
February 5, 2006, from June Jill and I have been communication primarily by text message and e-mail while she's been in Tucson to keep the cell phone roaming fees down. I got her a used laptop for Christmas, and the place where she is staying has wireless, so it's worked out pretty well. We had a great show, and exceeded our goals due to a large wholesale order. Now it's over, and Jill has been turned loose to shop. She is totally overwhelmed by the scope of what's available. I told her she will never again go to Houston Intergem without having an attitude. I don't know what all she has purchased, but I do know there will be at least two "special edition" bracelets. I also know I am going to get a birthday present! I can hardly wait for a full report. January 28, 2006, from June Waaahhhh! Jill is off to Tucson without me! We weren't able to find anyone to come and stay with our dogs and cats, so I have to stay home. I'm not sure who is getting the worst end of the deal: Jill having to work the booth for so long alone, or me feeling sorry for myself because I didn't get to go. I guess I'll get over it, but golly gee, next Wednesday is my birthday, and I'm supposed to be in Tucson. Sob. As you can see from the home page, we've finally gotten some of the new kits posted! Jill has really been working on these hard. (I won't mention that she was still writing instructions an hour before she left for Tucson.) I'll let you know what I hear from Jill as the week progresses. December 28, 2006, from Jill Hi guys! I just updated the 2007 Shows schedule, as well as the Classes schedule, so check them out. Mom and I have been creating SO much new stuff that we can't wait to show you. We're mostly beading new samples of them now, and then comes the pain and suffering that is writing directions. Ordering beads, putting the kits together, and ohmigosh, how will we have time before Tucson??? I'm doing a lot of teaching again in the upcoming quarter after having very few classes the last few months for personal reasons. The good part about it is that I realized how much I missed the friendships and social outlet that comes from the classes and I can't WAIT to start up again! Have you guys heard that Ellen & Sue from And The Bead Goes On in San Antonio are moving into a larger location this week? It's still in adorable Bracken Village, but one of the bigger houses, and they're going to have lots of room to do expansion. I'm having a day surgery thingie on Friday, Dec. 29th - YUCK. But it's important, so I've got to do it. I've got about 20 beading projects lined up for my couple of days recovery time afterward, which is about 19 more than I can realistically expect to work on, but how can I know what I'll be in the mood to do???? I also have Mom close at hand for pampering. Very important part of recovery. November 12, 2006, from June I know, I know. Jill promised people she saw at the Houston Quilt Festival that she was going to update the journal. But did she? No, she and George ran off to Playa del Carmen for a week in the sun. Priorities, eh? Tapestry Beads is growing nicely. Jill has another project being published by Bead and Button Magazine, and has been selected to teach at Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee in June 2007. We had a blast at the Houston Quilt Festival, seeing some old friends and meeting lots of new ones. Thanks to everyone who stopped by, especially our new friend who was so excited when she saw Midas Touch across the aisle that she came running and couldn't put her brakes on fast enough to stop before knocking over part of our display. I don't know your name, but I love you! I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. It makes me laugh right now, just thinking about it. The Houston Quilt show was our last show for 2006. We want to come out with a bunch of new designs for 2007 and we'll spend the fall designing and writing instructions. Jill says we'll put some of them up on the website as we finish them, so stay tuned. She is just glad that she is done traveling for a while. My son, Rich, who is a Special Operations firefighter in Austin, and his wife, Becky, are expecting their first child in April. I got to go with them last week to see the sonogram live, and it was just amazing. Back when I was pregnant they didn't routinely do sonograms so this was the first live one I've ever seen. And in addition to all that, Jill, Rich and Becky, have talked me into selling the house here in Bastrop and moving closer to them in Austin or Round Rock. Now that he kids are pregnant, it's probably time. I am also facing double knee replacements within the next few years. My knees are bone-on-bone, and hurting a lot. I'm going to try the shots in the knees and am waiting for authorization from the insurance company. Anyway, with the house, we've gotten some remodeling construction done and now have to paint the whole interior, a job I am seriously not looking forward to. And then keeping it clean all the time to be ready to show. Just shoot me now.. August 24, 2006, from Jill
Jill's home! It's a miracle! I've been
doing a lot of traveling this summer, but really enjoying it. Well.
Most of it. There was a thunderstorm in Atlanta I would have
preferred not to have to drive through. And a rest stop area in
Louisiana that scared the tar out of me. I've learned some good
traveling tips along the way though. Useful stuff like: Cracker
Barrel restrooms are the best, and Race Trac gas stations are useful
for a large variety of food options. And they've got the best drink
machines. XM Satellite radio saves the day. And one should always
have at least one pillow in the car for quick cat naps on the side
of the road when you get those dreaded sleepy eyes that make you a
danger on the highway.
I'm sitting here feeling very lonely. Jill is in Shreveport, Louisiana, doing her first show alone. We're such joined-at-the-hip show partners, its' very weird not being there. I didn't go because, with the out-of-Texas show schedule we have the next year, I'm using up my entire 3 weeks of vacation.. She had to leave on Friday, I had to work. This is the first show where we didn't pack everything we needed. Jill was setting up yesterday when she realized she didn't have all of our mini-poster things for the display. Luckily, we live in a world of technology. I was able to upload the files to the Kinko's site in Shreveport, and they printed them. Jill found a Michaels, and was able to buy the plexi-glass frames. So it was a good thing I was home after all. We're going to start carrying back-up files with us from now on. I trying to work on some kind of organization at home. We have boxes of extra patterns and kits all over the house. I finally broke down, went to The Container Store, and got boxes all the same size. Tomorrow I'll go by Home Depot and get some shelves to set up in the garage. The garage, where some people actually park their cars. I'm working on a new lariat necklace, and have a bunch of ideas. I just need more, more, more time. June 24, 2006 - from June We're back from a very successful Bead and Button Show. We met some amazing people and made some new friends. We even met the son of the owner of the Miyuki bead company! We did have the worst hotel experience of our lives! The Howard Johnson in downtown Milwaukee is being renovated. Ohmigosh. No name on the building; the temporary entrance shrouded in scaffolding; a tiny, filthy, graffiti-filled elevator to get to the floors; no restaurant; no room service; no amenities of any kind. We did finally find the only working vending machine on another floor. Thankfully, though, the beds were fairly comfortable. Thanks to all of you who stopped by to see us in Milwaukee. I had so much fun talking to everyone. Keep on beading! June 12, 2006 - from June It's been a while since either of us has posted. It's been because we've been too busy! - lots has happened since the last post. The biggest thing is that we unexpectedly got a booth at Bead and Button due to a cancellation. We thought we'd be there NEXT year. We've had about three weeks to get ready. With a loan from my son (thank you, thank you, my bead angel) we have been working like mad to get ready. Jill handled ordering all the supplies and putting the kits together. Some nights when I got home from work, it looked like Christmas on our front doorstep. All the delivery people know our road intimately now. DHS, FedX, UPS - you name it, we've gotten packages from them. One of the nice delivery people always leaves 3 dog biscuits for the dogs. I've been in charge of printing. Ohmigosh! We had gotten a color laser printer just last year, but it suddenly started making lines across the paper. The lines don't match any of the troubleshooting scenarios, and we didn't have time to mess with it. So what did we do? Bought another color laser, of course. (VBG) The new printer is faster than the old one, but it eats toner like you wouldn't believe. We've gone through probably 10-12 black toner cartridges, and quite a few of the other colors. At $70-something for the black, and $80-something for the others, it's been painful. Jill has worked some incredible hours, as I have I, I guess. For me, that means staying up until 11:00 or so, then getting up at 5:00 to go to my other job. Does anyone realize I'm an old lady in this house??? I am so proud of Jill for handling all the ordering and assembly of kits. She has worked her little tail off and has had little sleep in the last few weeks. We've added some exciting new shows, including the Houston Quilt Show. Don't have the dates on our schedule yet, but we'll update it when we get back from B&B. Hope to see you in Milwaukee! Be sure to stop by our booth and say "hi." April 24, 2006 - from Jill Officially busted! And actually, I discovered Mom's devious game yesterday, but didn't have time to come post. And it's a mighty brilliant plan too, considering she's shamed me into posting something myself! But don't tell her I said that part. I got the advance copy of the June/July 2006 Bead & Button issue, and wow, is it weird to see my own project in there! You guys should be able to get your hands on it in a few weeks. Next up will be seeing Mom's project in the August/Sept. issue. Wheeeee! We've been busy, getting ready for a spurt of shows in upcoming weeks. I spent about 10 hours today weighing and bagging beads, writing instructions, and cleaning up some photos. My back is barking at me from all the stooping over, and I'm really glad I have a massage scheduled for tomorrow. Oh, I also made plans to teach at the Shreveport Bead Retreat the first weekend in August. We haven't decided which project yet, so if you have a preference, email me and let me know. April 22, 2006, from June I've been house and cat sitting for my son and his wife. They went off to New York City to have fun. Unfortunately, all was not well while they've been gone. We've had some really strong storms in central Texas the last week. I've never actually seen 2-inch hail before. My son has a van that he parks outside. Yup, dented up and broken windshield. Then, I think his 2nd floor A.C. is going on the fritz. It sounds really, really funny. To top everything off, a couple of days after the van got hit, I got caught in hail leaving work. My new car!!! It's not bad - just 3 dings that I can find in the hood. But darn! I had a request to tell the story of the pet sitter and the popcorn. So Jill and I were doing a show in Fort Worth, and my son and his wife couldn't sit for us. We've never left the animals with a stranger before, so we were a little nervous about it. Jill made arrangements with a co-worker at Nomadic Notions. So we're off to Fort Worth, everything is fine. One night we called home to see how the four-footed family was doing, and our sitter mentioned that she had burned some popcorn in the microwave. We laughed - who hasn't done that? We get home, walk in the front door, and the smell hits you. Ohmigosh, it's been two days since the popcorn was burned! I open the microwave. The inside is kind of a dark yellow color, and the whole thin reeks of burned popcorn. How long could this popcorn have been in there??!! Our sitter says she just went into the living room for a minute to change the channel on the TV. I've burned popcorn, but never like this. I got on the internet and found a bunch of advise on how to get rid of the yellow and the smell. I tried bleach, boiling vanilla extract, baking soda, and fingernail polish remover, among other things. Actually the polish remover seemed to work the best. It's still yellow, but not as yellow as it was. And the smell? Well, it's gone from the house, but a faint smell still lingers in the microwave. Jill's co-worker is so embarrassed (notice we have kept her nameless). She said she even mopped the kitchen floor to try to get the smell out. Yes, she'll be asked to house/pet sit again, but next time before we leave, we'll just run on down to the movie theater and buy a large popcorn to leave for her. April 15, 2006, from June Well, Jill has not been exactly good at keeping this up to date, has she? I think I'll just take over. Did I ask her permission? Heck no. So it'll be our little secret. We'll see how long it takes her to notice! After all, what's she gonna do, fire me? Jill has been working hard, getting kits put together for the upcoming shows. And me? Well, I slog off to work every day. But, I get to do it in my new car. The only problem is the gas. Can you believe the prices? I commute about 100 miles a day for work, and the car I traded in got 37 miles a gallon. Leave it to me to trade that in for an SUV just as gas prices are going up. Again. The other day I was looking at the classes being given at the Memphis Beadfest and wow! I wish I could sneak away from our booth long enough to take a class. This is a new show, but it looks like its going to be great, so if you live anywhere around there, plan to check it out. We'll be driving to Memphis. This will be the longest time I've been away from my 3 dogs and 2 cats. I'm not sure who will suffer the most, me or them. Or the house/dog sitter. Remind me to tell you next time about the house/dog sitter Popcorn Incident. June March 7, 2006 Hi guys - miss me? A big special hello to all the new friends I made at the Austin Stitchery Guild Show a few weeks ago - what a fun show! I'll definitely be seeking out more like that. And goodness knows, I'm working like crazy to build up that show schedule. I'm adding Beadfest in Memphis in May to the calendar, and I'm going to do the Austin Quilt Show in October too. Mom and I had to break down and buy a new car for her/Tapestry Beads last week. We've been trying to cart our stuff in two small sports cars and after some of the vendors hurt themselves laughing at us trying to fit everything into the car in San Antonio, Mom and I looked at each other and said, "it's time." So we got a way cool Honda Element. Boxy, but man, does it have storage space!! We've got a bunch of new kits around the corner too, so stay posted. Don't forget that you can sign up to get update emails from me. I swear I hardly ever send anything out. Maybe every other month - although it hasn't been even that yet. But we found a new database that I think will do exactly what I need it to do and as soon as I get everything entered in, sending emails will be much easier. Bead on! January 24, 2006 I've finally got the journal back and working! You may not see it on your end that much, but we've completely rewritten and revamped our website over the last two months. We suddenly discovered that our old provider was changing their service dramatically in a way that tanked our website. AGH! So we had to scramble to find another way...and we're still having some pains, I know. All you Netscape users aren't able to use our fancy side bar navigation buttons - we added some plain Jane navigation buttons on the bottom of the page for you to be able to get around while we try to figure out the problem. Or more likely, HIRE someone to figure out the problem! After all, my webmaster is also my mother - and she has this pesky day job that keeps getting in the way. But she did teach me how to do some basic things on the site tonight, and now I can at least get some journal entries made so Kathryn won't be sending me reminder emails. :-) Enough of that - let's talk about beads! I have the coolest news to announce. I found out last week that I'm going to have my first project published in the June/August issue of Bead & Button Magazine! I've been so excited, especially since it's the very first thing I ever submitted to them for consideration. I'm probably spoiled now and will expect them to publish EVERYTHING I send them. It's a nice and simple tubular herringbone necklace using Delicas and size 1 bugle beads and it looks like a million dollars. I'm going to be teaching it for the first time at Nomadic Notions in Austin on Feb 1 & 8, but the class is already full. I'm going to be adding it to the website soon too. Have you checked out all the new things we've added to the site recently? And there's more coming soon! Turns out that December is great "down time" (is there such a thing when you're self employed?) and I spent the month designing and beading like crazy to get some new and fun kits together. Now that's the life! Sit around and bead and eat all day.... |
