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?

Surrounded by Sparklies

It's been an eventful week. Smashed in between was Mother's Day. As a childless, single person, I felt I had to call all my childless, single friends and wish them a Happy Mother's Day. (Oh, and I also called my mother, who got my card so I'm still in the will...just kidding.) I think this may become a tradition for me. It costs very little to call someone on the phone and we all got a giggle about getting a mother's day call when we aren't.

It's not that we don't appreciate what those of our friends who have become mothers have done, will do and are, it's just we chose a different way and are fine with it. I guess it's hard to explain if you're not someone of "a certain age" who has made that choice. I used to regret it, but I find the older I get, the more I don't. Weird, huh?

Enough sermonizing....on to the jewels.

We went to InterGem on Friday. I should say we spent ALL DAY at InterGem on Friday. I don't think we've ever spent that long or that much at a show. Every muscle in my body hurt (and I couldn't help thanking my lucky stars that Brimfield in NEXT week.)

Yes, you read that right, I was totally done in at the end, but it was fun. First we went to the "wholesale" side where you have to have a resale license to get in (or sneak in...but we have a resale license, so we got in legitimately.)

Peggy's new "thing" is facetted gemstones, so we were looking for nice stuff at a good price and we did find that...unfortunately, a "good price" is still more than semi-precious beads, and I think we spent more than we did at our first three bead shows, combined!

We struck the mother lode early on  when we bought some really nice apatite, aquamarine, kyanite (a really nice stone which is a dark blue, like sapphire, but a little purpler) and Ametrine (which is different colors all mixed up in the same stone...very nice.) Later we shopped several vendor's "bargain bins", and ended up with some very sweet little rubies (probably about 3mm round), some heart-shaped green topaz, the london blue topaz we kept trying to order from Fire Mountain (but they were always out of stock), and, yes, some sapphires...FINALLY.

Where we struck out was the settings and the chain. I only found one nice delicate, thin chain in sterling, and one interesting, heavy one in copper. Of course, we ended up with the usual headpins and bits and bobs we pick up when we see them because we can always use them. I can see I'll have to go back to the catalogues after I've been "economically stimulated."

Elated and depressed, how can that happen?

Luckily, our order from Fire Mountain came today (Tuesday) with the settings we didn't find at Intergem. It took four hours to process everything, check it off the order and put it in it's little baggie or box cell. I'm almost as tired as when I went to InterGem.

The other fun thing that happened last week is that my sister and brother-in-law are starting a web site for their business, and I'm working on it. I may be in over my head, but I figure with the three of us, we'll probably be able to make it work.

Right now, it's just a temporary page, but you can check it out at Sport and Spool Antiques. One of their pictures is over to the left.

I wouldn't expect it to be up and functioning for a bit. They will be at Brimfield this week and off and on the road for a while. I will be visiting my parents at the end of the month for my birthday. Getting an ecommerce site up and off the ground when we're all going hither and yon like that will be a challenge. In the meantime, if you're in New England, visit them at J&J during Brimfield. (Unfortunately, I don't have their booth number, but you'll know them when you see them.)