A New Useless Skill?

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I wish I could say I had been out making money, but the truth is, I have been out spending it.

Since the last post, I have been to three bead shows and Brimfield.

Brimfield in July, and, apparently, when the economy is bad, is full of things you want and need, and people are really motivated to deal.  In fact, I, who am the world's worst negotiator, snagged a couple of deals of which I am extremely proud. 

The first of which was a large Amethyst Moderntone Tumbler, which I got for less than $20. The truth is, I've never seen the tumblers, large or small in Amethyst, and the Blue ones go for big bucks.

I bought several other cigar boxes (I now I have enough that if anyone wants me to make them jewelry showcases or jewelry boxes, I can.) I am also looking for a new source since I see this one only three times a year at Brimfield.

I also went to Intergem, the day before Brimfield.  The huge mistake in this was that Intergem is massive (held in a convention center) and they had the tent "extension."  Too much walking for someone who would be walking the next day as well.

But, I got some great deals there, too. These lead-free multistrand bead separators (or whatever they're called) have come in really handy. They've inspired me to try to do more bracelets than just the Edwardian-inspired mesh that I designed in May. This one, the first, seems almost Zuni-inspired.

The other two bead shows were last weekend in Concord and Nashua. They were interesting, too, and I finally broke down and bought a kumihimo disk to learn Japanese braiding. I got off to a bang of a start (see the first image), because I just knew they'd be a great addition to our jewelry.

Unfortunately, I doubt that the casual viewer will even notice that the necklaces are hand-braided. It's fun, but I don't know if it enhances the jewelry enough to make it worth the effort.

Oh well, until I lose interest in it, I have another "useless" skill and another aspect of my "Japanophile" side: I guess anime really is a "gateway drug."

Is the Moon in Cancer?

...cause everyone I've run into in the past three days has been crabby.

I'm sure most people have excuses (some people are naturally cranky, I suppose), but I am usually not. I think it's the Chinese Water Torture 

my building has been afflicting me with for the past three days. (My apologies to anyone who's Chinese...)

Since they rebuilt our porches four years ago, we have had what I call a "roving leak." First it's over the shower in the bathroom. Then it's down the wall by the kitchen. Next, it's in the hall by the linen closet. I've even found evidence of it in my closet! Despite the repeated phone calls to the landlord, no one can seem to trace this leak.

Now, it's back in the bathroom, worse than ever, keeping me up at night, waking me up earlier than I want to be awakened in the morning. 

So, I'm cranky.

Not even the fact that I finished my cigar box display for my sister has been able to bring me back from my cranky state. (Turned out pretty cool, didn't it?  If you go to Brimfield this week you might see it at my sister's booth in J&J.)

In fact, I'm so crabby, I'm afraid to outside.  It's days like this that I tend to swear at people who park "temporarily" blocking the handicap ramps, or who wait in the handicap parking spaces for their passengers who have just gone into the store "for a minute."  Are they going to move their car when someone REALLY handicapped needs that space? No, of course not.  Let's let that poor old guy with the two canes walk an extra ten feet to get to the motorized wheelchair. No problem!

This is the kind of day where I feel like ramming people who used the handicapped parking spaces as cart returns, even though they, themselves are not handicapped and the cart return is actually the same distance from their car.  You do realize those spaces are wider for a reason? You don't? OK, let's see how YOU like being handicapped and not being able to open the doors all the way to fit the wheelchair so you can get out of the car.

Well, I guess this post has helped me to vent, just a little. I'll leave you with a lovely picture of the Miracle Cat, Obi, who has survived for 3 years, even though the vets thought she would only last a "couple of months."  I got to feed and snuggle her last week, and over the holiday.

Hmm. Maybe to get rid of my crabbiness, all I need is a little "cat therapy."  Where's Ru?