A rant, renovations, and a review.

Well it looks like the situation I posted about yesterday has been resolved. It's sad that we have to stay so vigilant to protect ourselves on the Internet. I think this technological age we live in has produced an attitude of general disrespect. People have become so isolated by this impersonal world of technology that we assume we can do whatever we like to people because we are "anonymous" so to speak. I am so grateful for our online tatting community. There is an unspoken respect we have for one another and we also "have each other's back". That's cool!

O.k. enough of that.

I wanted to share something I uncovered while unpacking today. When my beloved parrotlet (and constant companion) "Monkers" died in 2003 I was devastated. (I have a tendency to get overly attached to my pets..) So I painted this picture of him as a kind of memorial. This was back before I ever had any painting courses.

Anyway, I still miss him even after all these years. Birds are really special; there are no other pets like them. Their intelligence, humor and love are so human like. Unlike dogs, a bird's love is conditional (which can be hilarious and/or annoying), if you make them angry they will hold a grudge for years.

Anyhow, I completely love my dog and cat too....but sometimes they can be....hmmmm....well....I guess "dumb" is the only word I can think of..LOL! Mostly I am referring to my cat.

Moving on...

I thought I would show an update of my tatting room. It's really coming along. Now I just need to decorate and fill it with my crafting supplies.
Hubby was so funny when he saw it yesterday, he said "Hmmm, it is not what I expected at all. When you described it, I thought it was going to look like a little old ladies room....but there are only hints of little old lady in here."
Ha ha! He calls me "little old lady" all the time. I am an "old soul". What can I say?



Here is just a small fraction of the boxes I have unpacked. Let me tell you what a nightmare moving all the time can be. I have no idea what our movers thought they were doing. I think it must be some kind a big practical joke! I literally unpacked a box that had two items in it...TWO..., the rest was just packing paper. I also unloaded a box that contained bathroom toiletries, a huge ceramic bowl, and a hot sauce collection...?!?!?!?! That means they packed items from three different rooms into one box.

I am starting to find broken, dented and scratched items. That is to be expected and is pretty standard for us military folk. I haven't found anything "missing"....YET. The last time we moved our brand new BBQ Grill and Lawnmower came up "missing".

And that is precisely why we don't own anything nice.

When we retire we'll get that nice furniture that comfy homes have. I'll probably just go "hog wild" from all these years of restraint.



To wrap it up, I would like to review the "OttLite". I'm sure many of you have seen, heard or maybe even own one....But if you haven't....well you will now! I give this product 5 out of 5 stars! There are all different sizes and types of lamps. They are a bit spendy but often Joanne's and Michael's craft stores run sales on them. The one pictured above is the Craft Plus Floor Lamp. It is every crafter's dream come true. I also purchased the craft tray accessory to hold all my tatting tools.

Here is some information on their product taken from their website (with their permission, of course.)

Make every piece a masterpiece with HD Lighting

You love expressing yourself through your creativity.

You love color. You love details. You love LIFE!

No matter your passion-from sewing to scrapbooking and painting to photography-OttLite enhances your creative and life experiences so you can not only do what you love, you can do it longer!

OttLite invigorates your creative process by providing a precise blend of contrast and brightness with our 508 Technology™ to help you see clearly, work more comfortably, reduce eye strain and do what you love to do!

•Work longer with less strain on your eyes
•Colors are vibrant
•Details are incredibly clear
•Life is better!

Check out these incredible offers and start Enjoying Life in HD Today!

The main reason I wanted to review this company and their product is:
A.) Because I think every tatter/crocheter, knitter, embroiderer, needlecrafter should have one, even if only to take the strain off of one's eyes.
B.) Because this company has excellent customer service.

I had a problem with an ottlite I found at one of those discount stores. I had wanted one for a long time and I thought it was a great opportunity to snag one. After the second use it totally died on me. I contacted the company and explained what happened (even though mine was not under warranty because of where it was purchased). They were prompt and gracious in their response and they fixed me up with a new OttLite right away.
I thought they should deserve a kudos...even if it is just little ol' me. I have decided to give credit where credit is due from here on out. Yes, I plan to be one of those people who will tell your boss what a great job you've done!

...until next time....

GEEZ Louise!

Right then!

I hadn't realized so much time has passed since my last post. My household items FINALLY arrived this past Friday which means I have frantically been trying to unpack and settle in. Why frantically? Would you believe I am expecting family to visit any day now? I am up to my armpits in boxes...(truthfully the pile is actually over my head). Anyhow, I am looking around and I realize being settled in this week is NOT GOING TO HAPPEN; especially with this 105-110 degree heat we are having... and have I failed to mention that I have a terrible case of bronchitis???

OH mercy me!

My hubby is home for a few days and I am sooooo happy to have him. This being apart all the time is killing me. I mean seriously why the heck did I get married in the first place if I never get to see hubby. It's like I have all the responsibilities of being married but none of the privileges..LOL!

Hubs is my best friend in all the world and we have made it 13 years together so I suppose I could hang on a little longer.

I wish I had some tatting to share...but current circumstances have put the stopper on any of my creative activities for awhile.

Even with all of these troubles, I am still so very happy and thankful to be home. I love my home...I LOVE IT, I LOVE IT, I LOVE IT, I LOVE IT!!!

I will be even happier when I get settled in and get my pottery studio running. Until then, I apologize for the lack of posties here.

The future is snow bright!

There we so many good guesses to where we are going...and some of them I wish we WERE going to....like Switzerland and New Zealand! I've been to both countries and they are as gorgeous as you would imagine.

Jeff was the first to guess correctly. We are going to Alaska which is considered an overseas assignment. We were not expecting it because we didn't know it was an option for us. We are the world's biggest snow lovers and Alaska is a snowboarders paradise. Since English is the spoken language I will be able to understand what is going on around me...(something I have missed whilst living in Korea)....and I'll need to watch out for the bears and the moose, moose's, ....or is it meese?

I am leaving Korea in two weeks so I have a LOT of work ahead of me. I apologize in advance for missing out on blogs and leaving comments and such. Life is going to be in an uproar for me for the next few months...living out of suitcases and wandering from one couch to another. I will be closing the Etsy shop in a few days and it will be closed until after Shuttlebirds. If there is anything you want, now is the time.

I am looking forward to better health and getting my pottery studio back. Korea has not been good for me health wise. I think the only thing I will really miss is my tatting girls. I hope that maybe they can visit me someday in the U.S.

It's been an interesting year and I thank you all for sticking with me on this journey.

...to brighter days....

It's December already????

Ushering in the new month with Ruth Perry's Celtic Snowflake:
Tatted in hand dyed tatting silk "Marina" size 20.

I cannot believe how fast this year has gone by! Before you know it I'll be moving again. I heard that the stress of moving is on the same level as going through a divorce or someone close to you dyeing. At first I thought, "Man! How can that be true?" But after moving 48 times and getting geared up for number 49 I realize that it is true. Moving is a bereavement of everything familiar; a loss of stability, routine, friends, family, etc. And for me it's always just as I start to adjust to a new place that I get uprooted again.
I am just finding a rhythm here in Korea; it has been 8 months and we have only four more to go. We don't know what our future holds; we have no clue where we will be living 6 months from now and we won't find out at least until February.
One would think that moving gets easier when you do it so often, but that isn't true, each move gets more and more difficult. But as always I will try my best to keep my chin up!