9/12/09

Hmmm, I wonder what's going on with the Wacko. She's only posted two people this week. Well, Paypal is starting to respond to the complaints. A seller on Etsy was purchased from the end of last month by the Wacko. The seller sent off the package, which was then refused by the Wacko. The seller refused to give a refund, and today she was notified by Paypal that they had decided in her favor. She doesn't need to refund Wacko's money.

Nice to know that Paypal is starting to listen to all of the complaints about harassment and phishing.

I had to take some photos of my flowers. I should have taken them earlier or later in the day so I could have gotten the 4 o'clocks when they were blooming. I love 4 o'clocks, they smell so lovely in the evening. This year I was smart and planted some right underneath my bedroom window.

9/6/09

Slow day for the Wacko. No posts tonight. That hasn't happened since the 22nd of August.
So it's catch-up from the last couple of days.
Christine of Rapunsel's Tower, a lampworker and jeweler
and Patricia of Sacred Art Beads, a lampworker and supplier

Well, that's done! It was a quiet day today, which after yesterday, I needed. My sister, brother and I went down to the family farm to do more cleaning in Mom's house. We found a wedding photo of Mom's parents from 1917 (they look so serious) and a aerial photo of the farm the year after Dad died, 1954-55.

Lukas wasn't feeling good last night. When I got home he had circles under his eyes and was complaining of itchy eyes. Allergies? He went to bed early too. Today he's feeling a bit better, but still sniffling.

Oh, I have to tell my cow story. Talk about stupid ideas!!! This morning the cows were out and in the apple orchard. Christian had forgotten to lock the gate. Well, we got them back in without too much trouble, so I had the bright idea of letting them out this afternoon to clean up more of the downed apples. Stupid, stupid idea! Can I repeat that?

I let the cows out, but they didn't want to stay and eat the apples, except for Sally. So I got a rope around her horns and after letting her clean up a few apples, started trying to get her back to the pasture (forgetting that I had opened the gate in the barn to make it easier to get them back in). Well she would take a few hops and hit the end of the rope, bend her head and fall down. Stupid cow!! So she got up and I dragged her to the pasture, with her running and hopping and stopping and refusing to move. Finally got her to the pasture. By now the other 3 are down the rise eating grass, among the poison ivy. I tell Christian to go get the dogs. STUPID IDEA!! While he's doing that, the cow goes through the barn's open gate and heads back to the apple tree. I get the rope around her horns again and start tussling with her. She hops and falls down on my flower garden fence (it's only woven wire and two feet tall to keep the chickens out). She gets up, hops and goes down on another section of the fence. Then she tries to eat my glads, I pull, she goes down on another section of the fence. In the meantime, Christian has the dogs and is trying to get the others up to the apple orchard. I get Sally to the barn, where she hops, and bounces into the garden tractor cart, which goes up on one side, which causes the tire to shift off the rim and go flat. I'm REALLY getting tired of all of this by this time. Get her into the barn and close the gate.

Meanwhile, Christian has the cows up by the house. We get them headed to the pasture and Chester, the big dog, decides to help by chasing them the opposite way! ARRRGGGGHHHH! So we get them headed around the house toward the barn, and Pip, the small dog, starts chasing them down the driveway. Can you just imagine me with steam coming out of my ears by then? I go put the dogs in the house, grab a bucket of corn, and between the corn and Christian behind them with the bat (2 of them are yearling bulls, and they all have horns), we finally manage to get them back into the barn. Remind me to never, ever, ever let the cows out again.

9/4/09

OK, my sister and I were laughing about this, so I decided to post it here. It might provide a chuckle.

I went to the eye doctor yesterday to get new glasses ($500 later, and that was using my old frames!!) and to try to make him understand what I've been complaining about for the last 3 years, that I'm seeing double. Well, this time he did some measurements. My left eyeball is pulling to the left, and he said the only thing that will fix it is surgery. Yah, right, like I can afford that. Well, my sight is so bad on that side anyway, and then when he told me that, I made the comment that my left eye was getting pretty much useless. He said it was a good thing that we have two eyes. Huh?!?! I should have asked him how he would feel if he only had one testicle. Sheesh, a lot of empathy there.

I like the suggestion that a very funny lady on LE had for me. Her husband has a repair facility and by laying me out on the alignment machine and giving me a good yank and pull that might fix it. And he'd give me a good rate too. I laughed so hard I was crying!

9/4/09

Honestly, the Wacko is just that, a Wacko. She posted me on her fraud blog again last night. I was laughing so hard I had tears coming from my eyes.

Here's what she posted:
FRAUD ELIZABETH WAIT OF BETSYMN has acquired her MN State Sales Tax permit beginning of 2009.

She has been selling on Ebay since 2001 with Ebay id name betsymn.

Selling on Etsy http://www.betsymn.etsy.com/ since Nov 2006
Selling on Artfire http://www.betsybeads.artfire.com/ since 2009

When somebody sells online for EIGHT years, but decides to get the Sales Tax permit beginning of 2009, this IS multi-year TAX FRAUD!

She has also NEVER paid her business property tax for her home-based studio, and the Sherburne county tax auditor has informed the tax assessor about this local multi-year tax evasion.

WHAT A FRAUD!!!!

Hence, reported to the MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.

FRAUD ELIZABETH WAIT is also reported to the IRS (Fresno, California) for them to check if she has filed all her online business income since 2002 made through her paypal account.

We have provided authorities with all our info, the outcome of this case is between the authorities and this seller, ELIZABETH WAIT.When the authorities finish their case, we wont know details about it, but they THANK US, and in some states, we even get rewarded.

Hey, silly, I had a sales tax license when I was selling my cards and prints, but when I quit selling them I let it lapse. When I sold beads to someone in Minnesota this year, I renewed it. And in case you haven't figured it out, if I don't sell to someone in Minnesota, I don't need a MN sales tax license. And as far as the IRS goes, according to them, I don't need to file until I sell $17,900 worth of beads. I WISH!!!

And did you forget the call you made to the tax assessor in July? They told you the laws here were different, I don't need a business permit because I don't meet the qualifications for one, and as long as I paid my property taxes (which I do, twice a year, dear), they didn't care what I did in my house. Aren't you getting tired of being thought as a crackpot?

Here's her About Me:
We have researched hundreds of Ebay, Etsy and Artfire sellers in the past 2 years and majority of these online sellers DO NOT have either their State Sales Tax permit, occupational license (if required by their city/county),any other permits needed by law to do their business legitimately or don't collect tax for their state.EVERYONE who sells and collects money online AND offline is REQUIRED by the government to follow the rules on operating a business. We are here to teach and warn the consumers about these fraudulent online businesses. We accept ALL hot tips and will be more than happy to research your suspicions about a business, so keep reporting to us. Everyone has a right to know the REAL TRUTH! We will NEVER post or list any business unless we feel they are pursueing fraudulent online business practices. Our investigations might take months, weeks, or days, but we WILL get to the bottom of it and DO our civil duty as citizens to protect our government from frauds.

You know, if someone is going to represent themselves as investigators, she should at least investigate, not just make it up as she goes along.

Joining me on the blog last night were Laura and Randy of Sunrise Beads. Aren't they lucky to be with famous me, who's been posted on the Wacko's fraud blog THREE times? Yah, right, I'm sure they would have been happy to decline the honor. Well, so would I have, if I had a choice.

9/2/09

Well, that was interesting! Was outside for the last 20 minutes watching a guy in a biplane pushing it to the limit. He was quite considerate, when you think about it. He was over the wildlife refuge in case the plane crashed. He was flying upside down, going in loops, twirling, cutting his engine and going into freefall. There was a couple of times I was holding my breath until the engine came back on. Wow!








What was really funny, I grabbed the camera and was snapping away like crazy. Only problem? I forgot to put a memory card in it, LOL. Luckily I noticed before he flew away.

09/01/09

Fun or the Wacko first? OK, we'll do the fun. My sister, her grandson Scottie, my son Christian and I went to the state fair today. When you have a 9 yr. old along with, you do things at the fair that you wouldn't do otherwise. Like watching piglets being born and walking the midway. Pigs are not my favorite animal, not since one killed my pet lamb and ate it when I was a kid, and then 3 of them chased me up a tree, most likely with the same intentions. Even so, I dislike seeing the way modern farm animals are treated. The sows are kept in iron barred containers that are about 3' wide for 3 weeks after they give birth, so they don't accidentally lay on the piglets. I'm sure there's a better way to prevent that, but it's probably more expensive.

OK, OK, on to the fun. Walking the Midway is fun? Not at my age! When did they decide that blaring music from huge speakers would make people enjoy themselves more? Oh, the sacrifices one makes. :) If Scottie weren't such a cute little squirt... but he is, so there we were, up and down the Midway trying to find the Mouse ride. Never did find it, but we found the bumper cars.
See, I told you he was cute!

I quite like this young man (he's been on several RV trips with us). He is polite, generous and kind. We stopped at a rock shop in the Grandstand, and he was browsing through all of the rocks and fossils, and not once did he say 'I want this' or 'Can I have this?' He got to pick out a nice chunk of amethyst as a reward.

OK, now to the complete opposite of human nature, the Wacko. This woman needs to get a life and do something constructive instead of spending all of her time defaming people just because they're in the same fields that she was. I love the way she ends each post, "When the Authorities finish their case, we won't know details about it, but they THANK US, and in some states, we even get rewarded." What a hoot!!

OK, now to catch up. She was quite busy Sunday, very Christian of her to work overtime on a Sunday (she once posted something about God helping us. People like her are why there are atheists).

Christina of TheFetchingHound, a baker
Laurie of LaurieGeller, a lampworker
Coren of Elephannie, a decal maker who has collaborated with Farrah
Farrah of SweetPaperie, a rubber stamp designer
Sarah of SaricaBeads, a lampworker
Rebecca of Firamarina, a lampworker

8/29/09

OK, time to catch up on the Wacko. In case you're just jumping in now, you should go back to the July 24th posting to start at the beginning of this saga.

She's slowing down a bit, posting rehashes or single targets, instead of her usual 2 or 3 a day. Getting tired of all those phone calls to file false reports?

Lacie of A Sugar Affair, a baker
Robin, a lampworker, of SomethingNew4U
and Catherine, another lampworker, of Catherine Howard Beads

OK, the dirty stuff is done for tonight.

It's cold and gloomy here tonight, cloudy and a north wind reminding us that summer is ending. Usually this time of the year the cicadas are singing, but I've heard just one so far, and my garden was a horrible failure this year. The tomatoes are just now starting to ripen, even the cherry tomatoes. The only things that grew well were the weeds. At least my flower garden did better. The nicotania and 4 o-clocks are blooming and smelling lovely, and the dahlias and hibiscus are just gorgeous! Tomorrow I really need to get out and take photos.

8/28/09

I wanted to try a different web design program because I'm trying to put all the old family photos on my website, and iWeb is getting slow to open the albums to put more photos in. RapidWeaver was part of a package that I bought, so I figured I'd try that. What a lousy manual!! I couldn't even figure out how to lay type over an image! So it's back to iWeb.

We've been cleaning out my Mom's house, and have been finding more old photos. Here's one of my grandparents on my Dad's side, their wedding day, June 13, 1914. Snicker, I can see where my son, Christian, gets his receding hairline from.
And here's a photo of my dad (he was killed in a farming accident when I was a baby).

8/27/09

OK, I give up! Time to catch up with the Wacko's fraud blog. Boy, is she picking on some talented lampworkers!

Helen of HelensHarvest, beautiful flower beads and jewelry made with them
Kim of Bluff Road Art Glass
Diane of diane7923
Lisa of Lisa New Design
and last but not least, not by far! Barb of River of Glass

Truly a master of glass, which is probably why the Wacko is picking on her.

08/25/09

Taking a break from the Wacko for a while. It's early yet, she doesn't start picking on people until evening.

I've got some cute photos. I have 4 ferrets. Ferrets are like 2 year olds, go go go and then crash. And when ferrets crash, they sleep like the dead! The first photo is Fang. She fell asleep with her head in the food dish. The second is Canuke, my oldest girl. I have cardboard boxes stuffed with packing peanuts, hay and herbs and I cut holes cut in the sides for them to go in to and sleep. Canuke only got half way in before she fell asleep, LOL.

And here's a finch. He was so bright red I had to grab the camera. I had a hawk out in the front of the house yesterday, and the stupid cat tried stalking it. It flew away before I could get a photo. What did the cat think he was going to do if he caught it? It was nearly as big as him!
And here's my Stupid Cat Photo of the day. Kittens are so funny, why oh why do they have to grow up?!

8/23/09

Oh my gosh, you want to see eye candy, go to Lydia's website. I am so totally in awe of her creative abilities and skill.

8/23/09

The Wacko is really targeting some talented lampworkers! Must be pure envy. If you want to look at some eye candy, check out these websites. As you can see, she's been a busy bee, too, spending all of her time researching people's private information and filing false reports to various government agencies. It's even worse that this harassement isn't illegal. I find her a very puzzling person. Why is she doing this? Pathological liar? Delusional? The biggest thing she's accomplished is to ruin her name and reputation with all of this.

Kaye and Dan of Koregon Beads
Ruth of Hillside Gardens Art Studio
Kristan and Julio of Redside Designs (lovely boro floral beads)

Melissa of abeadisborn (more gorgeous florals
Pam of River of Glass
Yee of The Glass Turtle (lots of lovely silver cored beads)
Sarah of Z-Beads
Brother and sister lampworkers, Scott and Trudi of Tanner Studios and After Dark Designs
Patricia of Beads by TLC
and Mary of MaryLockwood

8/19/09

Back to the Wacko from Waco. She opened a new Twitter account, Kendrasshop. Does she even realize how crazy her posts makes her sound?

1. you can get a new license, sales tax permit issued today, start selling BUT the past you can NEVER NEVER NEVER erase from IRS $$$$$$$$$$$$$$
   
   
2. we wish you good luck and hope that from now on YOU will learn to abide the laws when u do online business!!!
   
   
3. let me enlighten you about the power of the IRS: with your full name, they know every single hair in your tax evading ass!
   
   
4. dont even think that they will listen to such bullshit of an excuse!!! who do u think the IRS is????????????????
   
   
5. u know why?? u tell IRS, "but Sir, i have done this as a hobby for so many years and oops i had no idea i had to file my $$$$$$$"
   
   
6. let me give u a friendly advise: when u being audited by IRS, dont even show yourself to the audit, send your representative!!
   
   
7. hobbyist? =cashing in thousands of $/year thru paypal accounts, transferred to their personal bank accounts, and not filing as income??????
   
   
8. but oops, the gang of 3000 lampwork bead artist call themselves "HOBBYIST"
   
   
9. when u receive your penalty/fines/audits from the government, believe me..it will be all over the net...u might even make it to the IRS site
   
   
10. but of course, you wouldnt believe what we say...keep on worrying about your website/names being up on googles first page...hahahahahh
    
    
11. of course not just paying HUGE $$$$ FINES...some of YOU might be even imprisoned!! would u like the link to criminal IRS penalty page??
    
    
12. you ALL are in deep shit! just wait 2-3 weeks...you will be suffocated from audits and fines...hahahahahh$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
    
    
13. ...this DANCE is of course, federal level....dont forget the STATE and the LOCAL $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Makes her sound pretty crazy, IMHO.

Here's the latest targets on her website,
Teresa, Eric & Penny from Enchanted Dreams Jewelry
Reenie from FlameKissedGlass
Darleen from DarleenMB
Amber from Naos Glass
Donna from CG Beads

And I'm happy to announce that MamaPainter reopened her Etsy shop in spite of the Wacko's threats.

8/18/09

Well that was interesting! Usually I quit Firefox before I go to bed, but last night I didn't. This morning when I woke up the computer there was a box in the forefront that said Firefox 3.2 was ready to be downloaded, but some of my extensions wouldn't work until they were updated. Then there were 4 buttons to click on, one for checking the list of extensions that wouldn't work, then a button for upgrading, one for not now, and one for never. I didn't want to mess with losing my extensions, so I clicked not now. Then I got to thinking, I've never seen that box before. I wonder if it was legit? So I quit Firefox and started over.

Nope, I just checked and it wasn't. The latest version is 3.5. See? That's why I'm an artist and not a computer tech. :)

8/16/09

I am really angry about the pain this Wacko from Waco/Woodway is causing. There are people who are scared that they will lose their SS or disability because they made a few bucks. It's not true, but there's that initial panic when they see that post saying they've been reported to the IRS as a tax evader. The sad part, most people don't know how phony the Wacko is, and how false her claims are. That's one of the reasons I'm blogging about her, to get the word out about her and the unreasonable fear she is causing.

Her latest targets:
Agate58, a rarity in our lampworking world, a man who makes beads
SydneysDesigns, a crafter who works in fabrics and yarns
ACelticgirl2, a jeweler
SisterBeads, a pair of lampworkers who make the most gorgeous beads (which is why the Wacko chose them)
and EvolvingCreations, a talented lampworker who works in boro.

OK, I can't leave feeling so disgusted with the state of the world, so here's some more bird pictures:
I love chickadees, they're such cheerful, sprightly birds.

And here are some House Finches, nice and bright. Reminds me I need to get out tomorrow and refill that feeder!

8/14/09

Well, the Wacko from Waco got her Twitter account shut down for spamming people with fake posts about her fraud blog. That's two Twitter accounts shut down now.

This woman is really doing despicable things, namely going after elderly people and disabled people who are just trying to supplement their incomes (which is NOT against the law). It's a sick system that allows this to continue.

Her latest targets,
Cover Girl Beads
Mojo Glass
Rufus and Roxy
and MamaPainter (who closed her Etsy shop because of the harassment from U).

This person has hurt so many people.

8/12/09

The Wacko is slowing down a bit. Hmmmm... pressure increasing?

Her latest targets:
Designs by K. Urato, this is a low blow since Kathie injured herself and has her shop closed.
LuxBeads, Aug. 11th
Aug. 10th was a repeat of her post on SueBeads, who she targeted on the 7th.
Stoney Marie Designs and Java Beads, Aug. 9th.

There is a new blog spoofing hers, http://handmadeartisanfraud2.blogspot.com/. It is hilarious!!! I love it!

And I just have to show this screen shot of USA Today's post about her:

Must be rough to be famous.

I have a feral mama kitty that I was finally able to lure into the house when she had kittens this year. I have an appointment next month with a vet who does feral cats for half price. So I have mama kitty and 4 feisty, energetic kittens roaming the house (besides my own cats). The kittens are big enough now that they can jump over the half doors to get into my studio, where I have my ferrets. Two of the kittens have already met Fang, my white ferret, and have been chased by her, so now when they see her loose, they know enough to stay out of her reach. That is what the photo shows, the kittens on the table, and below them, Fang, wishing with all her heart that she could get to them.

8/8/09

Jeepers, I can't keep up with Wacky! She's added 5 more people to her blog since my last post about her, and she's going after victims willy nilly now.

Heidi of Jamn Glass, Sue of SueBeads, Judith of Icarus Beads, Lynn of LaffingGull, and Kandice of Air & Earth Designs, all very talented beadmakers.

Wacky is taking up WAYYYY too much of my time! I just yesterday cleaned up my last batch of beads, and to be honest, there weren't all that many that screamed 'oh, neat!!' at me. But here's one that I kind of like, with the striations and the metallic copper layer under it. Monday when I get back to the torch, I have got to try this color combination again.
I've been working with a nice blue glass that never turns out the same. All three of the following beads are from the same blue glass, but it can change depending on how much propane in relationship to oxygen it gets, how long it's in the flame, how much I let it cool and reheat, do you get the picture? There's no way of getting the same results even in all 4 bubbles of a single bead. If it gets reduced too much it turns a yucky grey brown instead of the blue, and if it's not reduced enough those lovely patterns don't develop. It can get frustrating, but when it turns out good, it's really neat.


The boys are re-tiling my entry way. We adopted Lukas' dog, Squeak, from a dog shelter in Texas, and she never was housetrained. I'll put the little stinker out on the line when I let the others out, and when I bring them back in, 5 minutes later there's a little present in the entry way. So they're putting in 20" tiles with very thin grout lines to make it easier to keep clean.

8/6/09

Called the neurologist's office about Lukas' MRI and EEG, they've got the test results back but they have to have someone call me back to tell me the results. Sheesh, so now I get to wait and try not to think about it. No wonder my stomach hurts.

UPDATE: Ok, now I can settle down a little. The nurse called, the EEG came back normal and the MRI showed no new findings. So there's no reason they can see that Lukas' seizures started up again. So on we go, and I've got to get back to making beads and make some money so we can pay for those tests :(

8/5/09

We'll start with the feel-good part of my blog first, bird photos!!, and then we'll get the dirty part, updates on the Wacko from Waco (actually Woodway).

Here's a young male Baltimore Oriole, like a little kid with a messy face, he has grape jelly smeared on his beak :) I love watching these birds, they squabble like little kids and when a bumblebee is on the jelly, they just pick it up with their beak and fling it off! They are such a hoot.
And now to the latest news from the (snicker, snicker) 'online fraud investigation' blog:
Unique Gemstones by Nora, a Texan again, who sells gemstones. Oh, I was drooling looking at some of her faceted briolettes, barbarian at heart that I am.
And Danielle of Live Laugh Love Soap, a soapmaker from Florida. She makes some interesting sounding soap, go check out her shop.

The snickering came from reading on her blog, "Everyone has a right to know the REAL TRUTH! We will NEVER post or list any business unless we feel they are pursueing fraudulent online business practices. Our investigations might take months, weeks, or days, but we WILL get to the bottom of it!" Dang, talk about living a lie! (She also needs to learn how to spell.)

UPDATE: Wow! Look at this website. Dang! It's all out in the open there. Honestly, I really shouldn't be smirking, because I still do feel a bit sorry for her. I can't imagine living such a mean, spiteful life. But she's hurt so many people, not because they were doing anything wrong, simply for her idea of revenge.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Oh this is hilarious!! Someone just pointed it out to me, Danielle opened her Etsy shop in April 2009, and this is what the Wacko posted on her fraud blog, "We have informed the IRS about this Fraud online business, livelaughlovesoap, Danielle W.. for her upcoming 2009 filing." She's wasting government money on reporting people for possibly not reporting their taxes in 2010.