Tuesday, June 29, 2010

No - no - say it ain't so!

Downloaded Jim Butcher's latest Harry Dresden "Changes" to my Kindle and started reading.  Went through it like a little whirlwind ... and then I got to the ending.  Went forward ... no, that was the end.  Went back a couple of pages ... still the same ending. Dave had been impatiently waiting for me to get through it .. I deliberately didn't tell him I had it downloaded until I'd started reading .. he would have laid claim to the book device before I got to it!  So when I announced I'd finished it, he pounced!
He was nearly through it this morning and couldn't stop reading!  I took a look-see and saw he'd be through in a little while, so stayed home waiting for him to finish.  I wanted to see his face when he got to the ending.  Needless to say, Debbie beat me to the shop this morning!  Dave felt the same way I did ... ".. Butcher had better come out with another book within the next week or so - we can't wait!  This had better NOT be the end of the series!"  I'm sure we'll be discussing this further when I get home tonight.
Ok .. now I have a phew and a not-so-phew.
Not So Phew:  Just found out Changes is NOT The end of the series!
Phew:  Next edition isn't due out till March 2011.

Monday, June 21, 2010

New Stuffs!

   New Stuffs just poured through the door of the shop today ... Pine Mountain Designs, Samsarah Designs, Just Another Button Company, Rosewood Manor, and .. Lizzie Kate!
   Now I'm in trouble .. I HAVE to stitch her new Christmas Rules series .. I must stitch it! And, upon looking at her Giggle Boxer - All You Need Is Love And Chocolate - have decided that I must stitch that one too.  I'm going to turn it into a 'wedding/anniversary' design by putting (or trying to put) mine and Dave's name where the squiggles are at the very bottom.  We're both such huge chocoholics ... we hide chocolate on each other.  He puts his stash on the top shelf in the pantry .. I'd have to haul a chair over and stand on tippy-toes to get to that shelf.  Don't tell him .. I hide mine in the bathroom linen closet.   hee hee hee
And I got a good look at "Eek Boo Hiss" and that CAT is just too too funny!  Dare I say it .. another addition to the stash pile?

And got a brochure catalog today from Shepherd's Bush of all their new kits .. will have to scan those tomorrow and add them to the website so you can see too!  I love SB - always have since even before they were 'SB' and were designing for Vanessa Ann!
    And .. I want to FELT Samsarah's Hip Hop Moo ... with the cow jumping over the moon!  That would be a stitch (so to speak) in wool!
   That's what I did today .. brought in a huge box of felted sculptures to the shop where the light is good and there's a flat table with no cats strolling around to get in the way.  I took pictures of each one .. from 4 different angles.  Have decided to put them up on my Etsy shop FIRST to see if they sell there .. and if they don't, they're going to the Art Show anyway .. and if they do sell, I'll just have to make more!  Now to find the time to reduce the images, check the brightness/contrast of each, get the text written and put in all the keywords and then upload them to DebFeltIt on Etsy.  After I figure out pricing of course.

You should see the lump/bruise/slight break in skin by my knee where that dratted pony kicked me!!!
Have no idea IF they were found or are still running free .. hope they're fine though wherever they are! 

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Wild Reading Too!

A friend (Thanks Cathy!!) turned me on to an author's (J. A. Konrath) series (Jack Daniels mysteries).  I LOVE them!  A bit too 'gorey' for late night in bed reading, but so far I've not had any nightmares where the story continues in my brain.  (read them in order to have them make the most sense!)  The problem with a series is ... when you get to the last one, you have to WAIT for the next to come out!  Someone should do something about that!!

I DO have a book to start tonight .. a real live paper turn the page book,  not on my Kindle.  When I was in Columbus for the Trade Show Market, Theresa and I took an afternoon cab ride to this really cool book store - The Book Loft In German Village - that is located in a former 'house' and is nearly a block long!   32 ROOMS of books .. each room a different section; each room having different music playing in it.  You'd think there would be a cacophony of sound, but you only heard "BOTH" musics as you were leaving one room and entering another.  I guess the 'books' absorbed the sound ... pretty cool!
Anyway ... the book I had to buy for myself is "Three Bags Full" .. A Sheep Detective Story!  I read the first paragraph and broke out laughing .. all alone in a room full of books and laughing till I nearly cried!  I'd try to read a piece of the book to Theresa and don't think she could understand me through my giggling!
Here's the 'review':  In this refreshingly original detective story from debut German author Swann, a flock of sheep investigates the murder of their beloved shepherd, George Glenn. Leading the effort is Miss Maple, considered the cleverest sheep in the Irish seaside village of Glennkill. She slyly "pretends" to graze while eavesdropping on suspects who come to search George's caravan for something he may have died for. When a long-lost ram recounts an incident that occurred upon his departure years earlier, Miss Maple uncovers the catalyst for George's death. The wooly troupe reveals the crime's solution in a near-Shakespearean mime at the annual "Smartest Sheep in Glennkill" contest. The author's sheep's-eye view and the animals' literal translation of the strange words and deeds of the human species not only create laugh-out-loud humor but also allow the animals occasional flashes of accidental brilliance.
I LOVE BOOKS!

Welcome to my WILD Life!

First off, you'll be amazed to know that last night, after I wrote my Friday update Newsletter and after 5 days of hysterically searching for that lost tote of 'stuff' .. I found it!  In a large SEE-THRU tote bag I'd brought back from Market with me, under several skeins of wool yarn and some felting batt. Dave just covered his face with one hand and didn't make eye contact with me (without giggling) for about 20 minutes.
sigh

This morning started off with my being forced off my country dirt road by three wayward ponies. Called 911 and got Genesee County- they forwarded me to Oakland county's 911 because that was the cross road. After 20 minutes of holding the only one who had a halter on, and being kicked (slightly), turned him loose to rejoin his 2 other buddies (it was a glorious reunion!!). Since we're out in the 'boonies', the State Police are the ones who will be coming .. and it 'could' take them the better part of a day to come out on that call.
Last I saw, they were gleefully trotting across a 30 acre tree/field area ... going who knows where.
Did call local police when I got to the shop .. was told it wasn't their jurisdiction.  sigh   They forwarded me back to 911 again!  We had quite the windstorm last night and I'll bet you that's when they must have gotten loose.
I told 'everyone' that I just wanted to notify them the threesome were heading out of one county into another in case someone called looking for them.
At least the ponies didn't head for my garage to bunk with the squirrels!!

Then, once I turned onto the main pavement which is 45 mph but everyone tries to go 55 mph, I put the brakes on as there was a HUGE snapping turtle right in the middle of my lane heading toward the lake.  The cars coming up behind me did not appreciate my caring about nature and it's critters (I was NOT getting out of the car and picking up a snapper that had a shell wider than a basketball who was intent on getting to where he was going!).  After oncoming traffic cleared, I was able to cross over the center lane to avoid Mr. Yurtle The Turtle .. and as the car behind me swung out and passed me AT THAT TIME and gave me a 'salute' of one kind .. I waved and gave him a HUGE smile!
Now .. at the shop. No sign of wildlife here today!