Just a blah blah update....

Almost finished with the special orders. Realized I had run out of one color of glass that I needed, so had to make that reorder. And of course that one color turned into $150 worth of glass! LOL I’m also working on one order that requires a special-sized mandrel, and rather than buy one (or two) more at a whopping $15 each, I’m just making one a weekend. Beth said she wasn’t in any hurry, so I’m taking my time (and taking her at her word).

So, Saturday was spent torching, Sunday was spent with my arms above my head, taping and floating the ceiling. To say I ran out of energy quickly would be an understatement. And it wasn’t even that hot. I think that what did me in was climbing up and down (and up and down and up and down) the ladder. I could only do a small area at a time without climbing down, moving the ladder, climbing back up, etc. Ugh. Too old for this shit. Oh well. The ceiling will look clean and pretty good, if not perfect. Although I will say that we hired a guy to do the dining room ceiling, and mine looks at good as his – and MUCH cheaper!

More home moanership woes

Got to work on the torch Saturday – special orders almost finished up. I had run out of a specific color of glass for one of them, so now I have to wait for that to come in. That’s okay – I LOVE getting packages in the mail.

Sunday was spent tearing down more sheetrock/putting up new sheetrock. Joy joy. I’m aiming for the end of August (hopefully) middle of September (conservatively) for me to have a living room to walk into where I don’t immediately shudder. The sheetrock probably won’t be taped/floated by that time, but it will be clean. Wish me luck!

Poblano mashed potatoes

I’ve been cooking a lot more lately, mostly because Tony has taken over most of the weekday cooking chores. Well, okay, I can see in re-reading that sentence that it doesn’t make a lot of sense. What I mean is that I’m cooking more real food when I DO cook. I actually make pork loin last weekend, with poblano mashed potatoes. Would you believe I had to go out and buy a roasting rack because I didn’t have one? See – told ya I didn’t cook much! And, yes, it was yummy.

Poblano Mashed Potatoes

2 1/2 lb baking potatoes; peeled and cut into 1" cubes
1 1/2 tb salt (for water)
1 c sour cream
1/2 c olive oil
4 poblano chiles, roasted and seeded, diced about 1/4"
Salt; to taste
Freshly-ground black pepper

Place potatoes in a sauce pan, generously covered with salted water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook, uncovered until soft, about 20 to 30 minutes. Drain well and while potatoes are still warm mash with a potato masher or food mill. In another pot heat sour cream, olive oil and chiles; fold into potatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately. Yields 4 to 6 servings.

It's almost August?!

Holy moly almost the end of July. On the one hand I’m glad – only 3 more months until it cools off. On the other hand, UT starts back in just a few weeks. When I started there, summers were slow (I’m on a 12-month contract). No more. I think there’s so much to do while the kids are here that piles of stuff get pushed back to the summer. Over time the piles that accumulate have become higher and higher. No complaints, though – I have a good job with health insurance.

Real live lampwork beads on Etsy

Woo hoo! I’ve actually got stuff up for sale on Etsy! Truthfully, for me making the beads – even cleaning the beads – is preferable to photographing the beads and writing descriptions. I guess if you don’t make beads and don’t have a huge stash, that seems funny. But at some point I just want to name them Bead 1, Bead 2, Bead 3, you get the idea. I mean, it’s a BEAD! What more can be said? If I start that yada yada yada crap about artistic vision, just shoot me, okay? I remember a long time ago working one day at Nomadic Notions…this woman comes in with an ugly rock and says, “this stone told me it wants to be wrapped in silver.” I didn’t know whether to laugh or call Shoal Creek (the local mental facility for you outside of Austin). And, yes, I digress….Just realize I didn't do a link thingy - my seller name is yellowdogbeads....

It's hot....(said with a whiny voice)

I did manage to get torch time this weekend, and whittle down the special order pile. Whew. Unfortunately, it’s just too hot to torch after about 3pm. Even with the AC running full blast, the house gets HOT. (And, I have NO IDEA how we’re going to pay our electric bill this month – if I set up a PayPal account, would y’all donate?) I’m absolutely a morning person, but as it’s the weekend, and I’m a work-a-day girl, I sometimes need to use Saturday mornings to run a couple of errands. It would be easier if stores opened at a reasonable hour – like 7am – instead of letting their employees sleep half the day and not open until 10! It takes the kiln about an hour to heat up once I’m home (I ramp it up pretty slowly, as it’s easier on the heat-thingy). Do the math – it might be noon before I get on the torch. I worked Saturdays AND Sundays when I was getting ready for the trunk show, but now I’m back to working on the house on Sundays. Someday I’d like to have a house that’s livable rather than craptastic, and that not-so-small feat is pretty much going to be up to me. I wish I had taken action when I was 30, not at the age I’m at now. Oh, well. They say that those who keep learning stay young, and I guess hanging and taping/floating sheetrock counts.

Don't drop dead

but there's stuff up on Etsy – at least a bit. I took a bunch of bead photos last weekend, and they all turned out looking like c-r-a-p. Probably because I was in a huge hurry, as usual….so I had to re-take them all.