Wednesday, January 11, 2012

It’s raining. January 11, yesterday it was in the 50s in the cities, no snow, and now rain. It’s just unsettling.

Monday, January 09, 2012

Meanderings all over the place today!

Did you know that you can have your bank account closed down if you make more than six withdrawals from your savings in a month (or statement period)? I thought at first it was some kind of scam when my credit union called me and warned me (when my check goes into the bank I transfer most of it into the savings, and then it automatically puts money into the checking if needed), but after I got off the phone, I searched on the Internet, and yes, it’s a federal law that was made after the bank collapses prior to the Depression. For whatever reason, the government has decided to start enforcing it.

Our non-existent winter continues. It’s like we’ve gone from October to March, no snow, and in the 40s. I went shopping with my sister Friday, and there was a tree in a parking lot that was starting to bud. Just crazy, crazy weather. It’s contrary to my nature, but I’m actually hoping for snow. We really need it. The birds are enjoying the warm weather, though. Here’s a couple of photos of one of my favorite visitors,
IMG_5410-2012-01-9-08-48.JPG
IMG_5411-2012-01-9-08-48.JPG
Believe it or not, I’m keeping my eye out for another puppy. Suka is over a year old now, and he is such a playful dog, so he picks on the cats and the little dogs. We’ve been having problems with Pip, the long hair chihuahua mix, attacking the other chihuahua, Squeak. Poor Squeak! She’s at the bottom of the totem pole. The other day, while they were outside, Pip tried going after Squeak, and the only reason Squeak didn’t get beat up was because Suka grabbed Pip’s tail, so Pip went after Suka instead. Well, he just loves teasing her until she chases him! I brushed up on a few Dog Whisperer episodes and have been putting Pip on her back and holding her down when she tries going after Squeak, and that is really helping. Just have to stay consistent with it. But we’ve decided we need to find another big breed dog so Suka has someone more his size to play with him. I’ve got my name in at Petfinder for a Newfoundland, Pyrenees or Great Dane cross.

I’ve been bringing my amaryllis bulbs up from the basement to join the ones that I’ve bought (like I really need more! I’ve only got a couple dozen of them already.) As much as I like amaryllis, my favorite indoor plant has to be the orchid. The flowers on them last so long! Here’s one that’s blooming right now, and a couple of Christmas cactus,
IMG_5424-2012-01-9-08-48.JPG
IMG_5414-2012-01-9-08-48.JPG
IMG_5419-2012-01-9-08-48.JPG
I’ve opened a shop on Zibbet. It’s another online market place like Etsy and Artfire. Artfire has been very disappointing. Last year, they closed down all of their basic shops, so between that and the sellers who left because of the way it was handled, they went down from 80,000 to 15,000 shops. Traffic to Artfire (and my sales there) has fallen drastically, and now they’re setting up a new policy, the Artfire Assurance program (which they will be charging another $12 a year), where they will guarantee a product for 60 days. That may be OK for Amazon (whose return policy they likened it to), but that doesn’t translate too well to a handmade venue whose sellers carry things like soap, candles, custom made jewelry and clothes, not to mention bakery and food items. As one person put it, she would hate to see her fudge after 60 days (they originally were going to offer 90 days). They’re losing more sellers because of this policy.

My favorites out of the last batch of listed beads,
IMG_5461-2012-01-9-08-48.JPGIMG_5397-2012-01-9-08-48.JPGIMG_5386%25252414-2012-01-9-08-48.JPG