Saturday, August 08, 2009

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.

Thursday, August 06, 2009

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 :(

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

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.

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

8/4/09

Nothing new from the Wacko from Waco, other than her rehashing old victims. Either she's up to more deviltry or more likely, the law is starting to catch up with her.

(Edited to add: Whoops, the Wacko was quite busy today. She added 4 more victims to her hit list:
Gina of GMC Lampwork
Candice of Beadgoodies and Beadgoodies on Etsy
Charity of Sophiecls and Subearthcottage
Stephanie Kay of Stephaniek on Etsy and Stephanie K Naturals

Where does Wacky get all of this time? Oh well, the more she posts, the more evidence against her.)

So today I'm posting more bird photos. The Baltimore Orioles have been gobbling down the grape jelly. I was down to 2 jars of my homemade jelly and had to have Christian pick up a big jar at the grocery store. I really liked this photo, just the pose, and the bad hair day :)
And when I saw this bird, I had to grab the bird book. It is a female Rose-Breasted Grosbeak.
Well, off to make some more beads...

Sunday, August 02, 2009

8/2/09

The Wacko from Waco strikes again, Peaches4me and daisydog7, both with shops on Etsy. She still blasts out in caps and bold letters that these people have no business Paypal account. So what? A lot of businesses don't even HAVE a Paypal account. She continues to think that you need a business Paypal account to sell online. Duh!!

I find it interesting that Wacky seems to be concentrating on people from Texas. She must have gotten too frustrated trying to file false reports in states that don't have the same laws as Texas.

Friday, July 31, 2009

7/31/09

This is great! Someone set up a blog that looks exactly like her's,
http://artisantruthreport.blogspot.com/

Whoever took the time to set this up, THANK YOU!!

7/31/09

ROFLOL, I found the archived ArtFire thread that Wacky started with all of her posts, which were taken out of the active thread when ArtFire closed her account.

What is SOOOO hilarious, she posted "before you write something and show the world what you are about, make sure what you are talking about or heard of is %100 REAL!" She really should take her own advice. I especially like where she said "(oh by the way, if you would like to find out who these people are...anyone out there who has ever used MY NAME with words of FRAUD associated with it without EVER having in their hands ANY LEGAL GOVERNMENTAL PROOF about my business in the past and present, is one heck of moral character and is now in GOOGLE FOREVER for people to see...LOL!" Yup, she's in Google forever now.

ETA: Ah, darn it, the link is gone! I should have copied the whole thing.

7/31/09

Latest update from Waco, "We have reported over 100 home-based studios of online sellers to their COUNTY TAX ASSESSORS."

We're in a recession, with government agencies laying off people and cutting hours, and this woman is filing false reports!?!

In Sherburne County, you don't pay business property taxes unless you are a commercial business, which I sure am not. There are certain requirements to qualify as commercial, and I don't see hiring people to clean my half dozen beads a day, or putting a big sign up on the end of the driveway advertising that I am a beadmaker (which about 3 people would see, since we're off a dead end road which ends in a cul-de-sac), and my studio sure doesn't take 25% of my home (good heavens, hubby would have something to say about that!), I don't have items for sale that can be seen from the street (same reason, oh, did I mention my house is set on the backside of 45 acres) nor do I have customers coming to my home (sorry, I like my privacy, which is why I LOVE the Internet, and besides, I don't feel like having to rescue people from my dogs), I don't have any equipment that would be noisy and disturb the neighbors (the roosters crowing at 5 a.m. might, but since they're not part of my beadmaking, we'll let them pass, or we will until fall when they're going into the freezer) and a half dozen other things.

OK, done with the rant. It just shows that she is willing to do anything to damage people who are successful in the area where she failed: making our own lovely beads (and from the tags on her blog, candlemakers, knitters and crocheters, jewelers, purse makers, quilters, and soapmakers.) and doing so honestly!

Well, I filed a report on her last night with the FBI's Internet Crime Division. With a hundred victims, somebody from the government is going to start noticing pretty soon.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

7/30/09

OK, back to the Wacko from Waco, another talented artist on her hit list, Sandy. This woman creates the most amazing wirewrapped insects. You have to see her spider, oh my gosh!

And Wacko is still making a big deal out of not having a business Paypal account. What part of 'You don't need a business Paypal account to sell online' does she not understand? And she makes a huge deal out of Sandra not having it posted on her website that she needs to collect sales tax from Texas residents. Hmmm, I don't see anything on Wacko's website about collecting sales tax. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black...

7/30/09

Taking a quick break from the Wacky from Waco drama, I had 4 young Baltimore Orioles at my feeder this morning, squabbling over the grape jelly like little kids. Here's one of the young ones drinking from the hummingbird feeder, and then there's a photo of a male, in all his beautiful color.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

7/29/09

Latest victim of the Wacko from Waco/Woodway, Anne of AMR Glassworks, a very nice, very talented beadmaker. U seems to be mostly picking on fellow Texans, probably because the laws vary from state to state, and she's getting frustrated by getting brushed off by the government agencies of the other states she's been trying to report to. U continues to make a big deal out of people not having a business Paypal account. She just doesn't seem to understand that you don't even NEED a Paypal account to sell online.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

7/28/09

Oh, my goodness, the little witch did call our county tax assessor's office. I talked to the first lady she talked to. What a hoot!! She tried telling U that our county didn't have the same law that she was trying to get me into trouble for, but she just wouldn't take no for an answer. She said U asked if they didn't care that I was selling online out of my home, and she told U they weren't concerned with it as long as I pay my property taxes. U was insistent on talking with the assessor (she just didn't think that was right!), so I've got a call into her voice mail to see if U talked to her. Can you imagine someone calling a out-of-state government agency telling them they need to follow the rules from HER state?

U lives in her own little world, where everyone else needs to live by HER rules, whether they're lawful or not.

Oh, and here are a couple of more links to look at. Please notice the dates of the sale and ask yourself how she could be in Milano, Italy making beads, Etsy bead store, and making cookies in Waco, Texas, Etsy cookie shop.

And welcome, Aimee of Lakeside Lampworkwork and Traci of Tracidawn78, talented beadmakers, and Laura of ladedacreations to U's victim list.

Monday, July 27, 2009

7/27/09

More articles about U:
Ebay Power Sellers acticle
Consumer Reports article

Also, her twitter account, TaxEvaderWatch have been shut down.

She's gone after another talented lampworker, Ginny at www.ginnovations.com and ginnovations.etsy.com. I feel very honored to be in a group of such talented beadmakers.

And this is SOOOOO hilarious!! She's reporting us to our county tax assessors for not paying business property taxes. What world does she live in? My house is not zoned as a business so I don't HAVE to pay business property taxes!

I'm curious as to why she tried buying a bead from my Etsy shop today, under the name 'concerned.' I cancel the sale and refunded her money. She's been doing this to other beadmakers too.

7/27/09

Update on the wacko, http://www.handmadeartisanfraud.blogspot.com/
Her new blog, http://handmadelampworkartistfraudinvestigation.wordpress.com/ has been shut down for violations of their terms of service. Awwww, U, so many lies catch up with a person.

I find her very puzzling. She was making and selling enough of her own beads, why did she have to buy other people's beads and sell them as her own? Was she so stupid to think that she could pass such distinctive beads off as her own and not have someone notice? And then when confronted with proof, she attacked the beadmakers. As a result of her fraud, her Etsy shop was closed down and she was banned from Etsy, and her unlicensed bakery in Waco, Texas was shut down. At that point, I actually felt sorry for her. When she opened her ArtFire shop, I figured she deserved a second chance. But then when she started her thread on ArtFire, https://www.artfire.com/modules.php?mop=modload&name=Chatterbox&file=viewtopic&topic=14749&forum=1 (all of her comments have been taken out by ArtFire), she again went on the offensive when people started questioning her. Now that ArtFire has closed her shop and banned her from ArtFire, she has become rather pathetic, attacking beadmakers and people who spoke out on ArtFire.

Twitters from U: "what ever u do, at the end YOU will pay $, not me..hahahah"

"uh oh, FRAUD Lydia Muell got so scared, she is not selling on Etsy nor her website, FINALLY the reality kicks in, she will be audited soon"

"its not important to be on google(good or bad), each business move you make in the future, will be watched by IRS"

"continue trying to shut the blogs and waste your time like, we are off to reporting your FRAUD business to the IRS and authorities"

"Being audited by IRS will cost you lots of $$$, instead of trying to desperately get a GOOD name in google, get a attorney for ur tax audit"

The last one is such a laugh!! Good name?!? That's the kettle calling the pot black. Lydia Muell is one of the most talented, nicest bead artists you can find, http://www.lampworktreasures.com/home.html

In one of her Twitter posts, she ends it with God help you. Well, my God has helped me to forgive her. I feel sorry for her, with her life of lies, deceit, spite and anger.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

7/26/09

Latest on the Wacko from Waco (actually, her mailing address is Woodway, TX), she is buying beads from beadmakers on Etsy by opening up sockpuppet accounts. There's conjecture on why she is doing this, from being able to leaving negative feedback to getting Paypal information on the seller.

Friday, July 24, 2009

7/24/09

OK, I am REALLY pissed! I've become the target for the Wacko from Waco.

She got into trouble last year on Etsy because she 'allegedly' (I've been advised to use the word allegedly to protect myself legally) was buying other people's beads, and then selling them as made by her. Here are links about that:

http://etsynews.com/698/allegations-of-fraud-on-etsy/

http://www.skyisland.com/blog/2008/june/international_criminal_my_own_backyard

http://moreglassmusings.blogspot.com/2008/06/ulljas-lampwork-blog-about-beads.html

http://pussdaddyblogs.blogspot.com/2009/07/bitter-party-of-one.html

http://themermaidtale.blogspot.com/2008/06/merlot-and-email.html

http://dancingwinddesigns.wordpress.com/2008/06/10/lampwork-fraud-on-etsy-and-ebay/

http://etsybitch.blogspot.com/2008/06/dont-let-door-hit-you-in-ass-on-way-out_15.html

Recently she opened a shop on ArtFire selling beads, and then started a thread that she was starting to bake again. That's when people started asking her questions about her past practices, and she went on the attack, claiming mobs of people were after her. ArtFire closed her shop and all of her posts were removed, which is why the next link seems to be disjointed. All it consists of is questions to her and replies to her comments.

https://www.artfire.com/modules.php?mop=modload&name=Chatterbox&file=viewtopic&topic=14749&forum=1

So in revenge, she has been gathering people's names from that thread and lampworkers on LampworkEtc., which I belong to, and reporting them to the local authorities as not being licensed (which I am). And she also claims I don't have a business Paypal account. I don't. I have a Premier account. Why she thinks I have to have a business account, I'm not sure.

Here are some of the people she's attacked (I'm in good company).

Ashton Jewels and here's her Etsy shop

Vanilla Bean Baker

cctexan

Double Dipped Sweets

Goatmountainarts

She is such a stinker!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

7/23/09

I love this time of the year. I have birds all over the place, swallows, bluebirds, woodpeckers, house finches, goldfinches, blue jays, chickadees and my favorite, Baltimore Orioles. I had 5 young Baltimore Orioles at the feeder this morning. Here's three of them:

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

7/22/09

I see it's been a while since I posted! Just been busy. Last week it was to St. Paul to Gillette for Lukas' annual neurologist visit. He was concerned about Lukas' seizures starting up after almost 3 years without one, even though the last one was in April about a week after he increased the meds again, and it was just a breakthough seizure. So today I took Lukas down to Minneapolis, where they did an MRI and an EEG. The MRI was the worst; they needed to inject a dye, and the first tech was digging in his arm with the needle until I told her to stop. So she put hot packs on his hand and let that sit for a half hour, then another tech came in and got the needle in without too much digging. I hate it when they have to put IVs in him, his veins are so hard to find. The EEG went fine; he fell asleep during it. Now it's waiting until the results come back...

Long day! I just did the bills and we have a little over $500 to last until the end of next month, so I'm off to make some beads.

Friday, July 10, 2009

7/10/09

And here's another one of my favorites:

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

7/8/09

And here's another couple of my beads that I really like:


And here's a bead from one of my favorite lampworkers, Lydia Muell, http://www.lampworktreasures.com/home.html. She makes such BEAUTIFUL beads!!

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

7/7/09

OK, here's the best I could get of the male Baltimore Oriole. He wasn't very cooperative!



And here's a set of Aurae beads that I'm going to put on eBay this weekend. Every once in a while, I'll get a green tinge instead of the pink-violet. It all depends on how much oxygen it gets in relationship to the propane and how cool it gets before flashing it back into the flame. And this set has a lot of striations in it too. Very, very tricky!



Tuesday, June 30, 2009

6/30/09

OK, I'm not complaining, because this weather is better than 97°, but it feels like October. It's cold and windy and dark already.

The weather this year is just crazy! I've never had Baltimore Orioles this time of the year before. I am enjoying them though. I've been trying to get a photo of the male. He is such a bright color. Maybe tomorrow...

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

6/24/09

I saw a Indigo Bunting at the feeder this morning. This bird looks black until the sun hits the feathers at the right angle, then it's a beautiful blue.

It's a pleasant 70° right now. We had a thunderstorm come through and it cooled things down a bit. The last two days have been just miserable, in the upper 90s. My tomatoes are finally starting to perk up, though.

On a more somber note, I've been watching the events in Iran, and how ever much we complain about our government and politicians, we can at least complain. Right now they can't even do that. Here's a sample of the twitters coming out of Iran this morning:
phone line was cut and we lost internet - #Iranelection - getting more difficult to log into net -

reports of street fighting in Vanak Sq, Tajrish sq, Azadi Sq - now

in Baharestan we saw militia with axe choping ppl like meat - blood everywhere - like butcher

they catch ppl with mobile - so many killed today - so many injured - Allah Akbar - they take one of us

Lalezar Sq is same as Baharestan - unbelevable - ppls murdered everywhere

they pull away the dead into trucks - like factory - no human can do this - we beg Allah for save us

we must go - dont know when we can get internet - they take 1 of us, they will torture and get names - now we must move fast

Thursday, June 18, 2009

6/18/09

Hot and muggy, headache and earache. Can you tell I'm miserable? Finally gave in and turned on the AC.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

6/17/09

I just have to show off some beads I just finished cleaning:





IMHO, I think they turned out rather nice. Unfortunately, the photos just don't show the metallic shimmers that make them so luscious.

6/17/09

We got almost 1 1/2" of rain yesterday. We really needed it, as we live in sand country, and the drought hits us harder. Birds are really active this morning. I just saw an Eastern Phoebe. I had to look it up in the bird book as I don't think I've ever seen one before.


I just had to show these beads that I just pulled out of the kiln. I LOVE Aurae glass!


Monday, June 15, 2009

6/15/09

On NBC Nightly News, talking about Pres. Obama's health care reform, a politician said Americans don't want rationed health care, beaurocrats making health care decisions, people having to wait for appointments, etc.

Excuse me, but what do we have now? Last time I made an appointment, it took over 2 weeks to get in to see the doctor, and that was just to get a prescription refilled. And then the prescription, which I had been on for a couple of years, was no longer covered by my health insurance, so I had to call the doctor and get a different prescription. But then, congressmen live in an entirely different world than I. They don't have to pay $1341 a month in health insurance, and I'm sure they don't have my deductible or 20% co-pay on everything. If we all had the health care that the members of the US Congress have, I could afford to go to the doctor for the headaches, earaches, stomachaches, a Pap test, mammogram and the 5-year check-up the health insurance company says I should have, which I can't afford, since the visit to the doctor to get the prescription renewed cost $177.

OK, end of rant!

It's been warm here! Yesterday it was 85° and today it got up to 84°. No wonder I feel like puking!

That's right! I was going to quit complaining and be happy.

My irises are blooming. They are just lovely.



Well, I'm going to go out and see if the lawnmower will start. It's been on the battery charger for a couple of hours (needs a new battery). The lawn REALLY needs mowing, even though the grass is all dead from lack of rain, the weeds are certainly growing.

Friday, June 12, 2009

6/12/09

Just some photos to share tonight. I did a couple of beads this morning that I really like (I LOVE blue).


And I got a couple of nice photos of a hummer. Can you find it in the bush? It's sitting smack dab in the middle of the photo.

And here he is at the feeder,

Monday, June 08, 2009

6/8/09

Got the call from the bank with the new appraisal. Our property has lost about $100,000 value in the last two years, almost a third of the value. We're still going to go through with the refinancing. It'll be at a lower interest rate, and we'll get enough money to get the land surveyed so we know where to put the fence line, and to get the fence posts and barbed wire, and to get the RV in and get some work done on it, and hopefully enough to go on a little fishing trip this summer.

We got another stretch of fence almost done tonight. I HATE working with barbed wire, especially when I have to stretch it, with the creaking and pinging wire I just get visions of something letting loose and it going flying. It's wicked stuff, but it keeps the cows in.

We finally got the stray mama cat caught. She's a beautiful cat, black, white and orange calico, but very wild. She showed up in our garage about 4 years ago, and has a batch of kittens every year. Whiskers, the black and white cat I've posted pictures of here, is last year's kitten. Well, she had 4 kittens this year, and they're just starting to eat solid food, so we were able to catch them and get them in the mud room. Then by opening the door so she could get in with her kittens, and sneaking into the garage and closing the door, I was able to lock her into there. She's settling down a little bit, we've been able to touch her at least. I'm hoping to tame her down enough to get her into the vet and get her fixed. DON'T need any more cats!!

Interesting article on the news tonight about flea and tick drops causing reactions in dogs and cats, allergic reactions, seizures and death. I won't use them on the little dogs anymore. I bought some and put it on Pip (and yes, it was the dose for under 15 lbs.), and within a half hour she was whirling around and trying to lick and bite her back. I put her in the shower and washed it off, but she didn't settle down until the next day.

I posted some more beads on Etsy and ArtFire. Here's my favorite:

Friday, June 05, 2009

6/5/09

All right, I've read my email and the news, there's a cool breeze, and there's supposed to be rain on the way (which we desperately need!), everyone else is still asleep, so it's nice and quiet. I have a lady who wants lots of Troll beads, so I'm off to the torch.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

5/31/09

It's a good thing that I had an artistic bent and was able to make a living that way, because I sure don't have any luck as a farmer. Frosted pumpkins and melons last night, chickens are jumping up into the stock tank and eating my tomato plants, and the calf got into the garden and pulled up half my sweet corn.

And this is what gets me through the winter???

Well, at least my hummingbirds and orioles like me.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

5/25/09

I'm watching a Baltimore Oriole flashing his wings and chattering at the female Oriole. She's just interested in the grape jelly on the orange.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

5/23/09

Long, long day. We got the living room and half of a bedroom cleaned out. Stupid jerks who broke in to Mom's house just trashed it, threw things down on the floor, tore the door off the pump house. What is the sense in that?

I hope I NEVER get to the point of saving every receipt, every magazine bill or every magazine I get. One of my goals has been to simplify and de-clutter. I can see now I haven't pursued it nearly far enough! I'm afraid too much of Mom has rubbed off on me. I need to be more ruthless in getting rid of things.

So next weekend we're going to be doing the same thing. There is furniture that needs to gotten out of there. I'm afraid the next thing the vandals will think of is to torch the place.

5/23/09

Going down to the farm today to try to get some stuff out of Mom's house. My brother said someone broke into it again and really trashed it. Stupid, senseless people!

Friday, May 22, 2009

5/22/09

Spent the morning doing bills. What a waste of time!! I'd rather have been making beads or being outside. The Baltimore orioles are sucking up the grape jelly off the orange I put out, and they are so bright!

But I've got two more doctor bills paid completely off. Next month another one will be done with. Yippee!!!

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

5/20/09

Minnesota, from freezing to 94° in a couple of days.

Monday, May 18, 2009

5/18/09

Why do we need health care reform in this country?

Last month Lukas' seizure medication's price was $377.73, of which the insurance paid $302.18, and we paid $75.55. This month's price is $527.99, of which the insurance paid $422.39 and we paid $105.60. The drug company raised the price over $150!!!!

Friday, May 15, 2009

5/15/09

And so the battle continues...

Background, in 1990 we bought 45 acres to build a house on. The bank wouldn't finance a house on more than 10 acres, so we went to the assessor's office and had 7+ acres partitioned off into a separate parcel for the house.

I received a letter from the assessor's office yesterday and called them this a.m. to find out what it meant. Seems that it's illegal to partition off a parcel for mortgage purposes. What the heck!?! This is the assessor's office, they're the ones who did it, and have been sending me tax statements for the two separate parcels for the last 20 years, and they didn't know it was illegal?!?

So what this is going to do to the refinancing, I'm not sure. At 9:00, I'll call the bank and find out (and hopefully I'll get an answer yet today).

Maybe people who bungee jump do it because they're so overwhelmed with everyday life.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

5/12/09

Farewell to a dear companion

She was such a goofball, and loved to play:

And one of my favorite pictures, Lukas and Tynha:

I miss her.

5/12/09

Made an appt. to have Tyhna put down. She can't get up at all now. I was hoping to have the vet make a farm call, but neither of them can until next week. So now we have to try to get her on a blanket and loaded into the back of the van. This is so horrible. There has just been too much pain. I am so tired of it all. And I thought last year was bad. This year has it beat hands down.

Monday, May 11, 2009

5/11/09

Did you know that you can give hydrogen pyroxide to a dog to make it throw up? Just saved a trip to the vet.

5/11/09

Will it never end?!!?

Now my tiller won't start, won't even turn over. I just used it last week!

After chores, I went to the garden to work. Had to come in because the cows were bawling and the horses whinneying so much. They're not used to seeing me down by the barn other than at chores time, so they equate seeing me with food. Well, they already got fed!! Sheesh, so much for the peace and quiet of the countryside!

I'm going to go make some beads. Maybe in a while they'll all go out into the pasture and I can sneak back into the garden.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

5/10/09

This has truly been the year from hell.

Friday I started the kiln to anneal a batch of beads, a week and a half's worth of work. I forgot to put the kiln controller's temp probe in the kiln. I wanted to go see Star Trek, so I asked Christian to check on the kiln. I reminded him several times before I left. He checked once. If he had done as I asked, he would have noticed the temperature not moving, and hopefully would have had the sense to turn it off and call me.

When I got home, I asked him if he remembered to watch it, and he looked at it and said it was at 780°. Actually, it was at 78°. I told him to turn it off. Saturday morning when I opened it, it was black on the bottom. All of the beads had melted off the mandrels and onto the kiln floor. And then when I plugged it in, and the elements didn't heat up, I realized the elements had burned out.

I didn't quite cry, yet...

I looked online to find a replacement, and ended up deciding to go down to St. Paul to J. Rings to buy a replacement. I got Lukas up and dressed, since I seem to be the only one who can do that around here. He handed me his remote, and I set it down, and promptly forgot where I set it down. At that point, I really was ready to sit down and cry.

David found it on my computer desk. I don't even remember going in there!

So I met Elaine at J. Rings and bought a kiln with a built in controller so I could never again forget to put the temp probe in. $600 later...

So today, after Lukas and I got home from meeting, I had a quick lunch and went to lay down because I had another headache. Opened the bedroom door, and there's water everywhere. The washing machine was overflowing, and it flowed into my bedroom!!!!

An hour later, Christian and I had it all mopped up. We've done 2 loads since then, and it seems to be working properly. But you can bet the first $500 that I have floating around, I'm buying a new washing machine! As Christian said, it may be 5 or 10 years before that happens, but I sure hope not!

I would love to be so bored with life that I wanted to go bungee jumping.

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

5/5/09

Got a new shipment of glass today, stocking up on some stuff, and a couple of different TAG glasses, not that I can get it to do much. I just can't get the colors to come out in the TAG glass. I don't know why I keep buying the stuff.

Here's a photo I took this afternoon:

That's Honey. She slept in the box all afternoon, until Christian came in and tickled her ears to tease her.

I've been trying to attract woodpeckers with suet blocks for years now, but haven't had much luck, until last fall when I was at Menards, I saw a suet feeder that was round and had 1" holes drilled to insert plugs of suet. I got to thinking and went home, cut a foot section of an old tree limb, took a spade drill bit and drilled holes through it and filled them with suet. Success! I've had downy or hairy woodpeckers (can't tell the difference) and nuthatches come to eat from it.



A beautiful day today, except for the wind. We do need rain though. It's getting quite dry.

Monday, May 04, 2009

5/4/09

Ready for a laugh? I grabbed a bottle of cherry syrup to put some flavoring in my smoothie and set it down by my computer, right next to my bottle of hand lotion. Nice red, sticky syrup. Are you laughing yet?

Yup, I grabbed the syrup thinking it was the hand lotion. Red, red syrup on my desk (thankfully not on my keyboard!) and all over my hands. I have RED hands! Even after scrubbing with hot water and soap. Nice red hands.

5/4/09

I have a conundrum. When I first started bringing my beads to work to show, and then to sell, they started to refer to them as 'betsybeads.' So when I started selling them online, I decided to use that name, even though my website is Greyhaven Art. I had the idea of separating my beads from my drawing and painting. My banner at Etsy and ArtFire says betsybeads, and when I sell on ebay, it's under betsybeads.

When I opened my Etsy shop a couple of years ago, I opened it under the name betsymn, which is my signature in my email and on online forums. Now, the conundrum: last year someone opened a shop on Etsy under the name of betsybeads. She's not a lampworker, just a bead reseller. So what do I do? Some people suggested opening a new shop under the name Greyhaven Art. But I LIKE betsybeads. It's easy to remember and it just kind of flows off the tongue. And I've sold beads under the name for quite a few years.

Well, fortunately, ArtFire allows changing shop names, so now my ArtFire shop name is betsybeads.ArtFire.com. Now I'm going to go to Indiepublic and BeadArtists to see if I can change my name there too.

Should have been thinking ahead, huh?

A busy day today, 3 orders of beads packaged and shipped, made a few beads, took my nap, and this evening I made 26 newspaper pots and got all of my trees transplanted into them. I'll give them a couple of weeks to get established, and then start planting them out in the field.

Now I'm off to take photos and get more beads posted.

Sunday, May 03, 2009

5/3/09

I had a very nice day today. Lukas and I went to meeting and enjoyed an encouraging talk. Then I dropped him off at home and I went to pick up my sister and we went to the Green Expo at the state fairgrounds. I wasn't too impressed with the exhibits. The few alternative energy exhibits were contractors looking to sell whole systems installed. Target and Walmart were passing out grocery bags made of recycled plastic. I told the Walmart man they would be better off passing out the cloth bags that I bought at the Walmart in Florida, instead of using plastic. The plastic bags aren't as durable as the cloth ones. I got one from Target a couple of months ago, and it ripped open after the 2nd time using it. So where's the advantage of using one of those? It's plastic and it's flimsy!

I did find out that I can use electrical wiring from Home Depot or Menards (as long as it's rated for outside use) to wire my solar panel to the charge controller. So the next time I get down to Elk River, I'll stop in and pick some up and get my system wired and up and running, instead of sitting in the basement doing nothing.

The best part was going through the landscaping section at the expo. I don't even remember the exhibit's name, but they were selling trees 12 for $10. I bought 2 dozen birch, red cedar, norway pine and white pine. Tomorrow I'll get them planted in some newspaper pots and put them in the greenhouse to harden off. Oh, and my upside-down tomato has a baby tomato on it!

After dropping Elaine off, I went to Menards and bought a couple of fruit trees. They have them on sale for $20. I bought a Rainier cherry tree and a pear tree. Yummy! I do hope the Rainier cherries are better than Montgomery cherries, which is the cherry tree I bought last year. They were quite sour.

My cherry bushes are starting to blossom. If you want a good tasting sweet sour cherry, get Nankin cherry bushes. They are delicious!

This is truly the best time of the year. The bugs haven't really started yet, so I can work outside without being swarmed. Ah, yes, spring time... I live for the month of May.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

4/21/09

Brrrrr! There's a cold NW wind blowing, and even though it's sunny, it's COLD out there (and in here). Warmer days coming, it's going to be close to 80° by Thursday. I don't like the heat either, but right now I welcome it!

Cindy and Jill stopped off yesterday to check in on Lukas. They're willing to take care of Lukas if he has a seizure at the Kingdom Hall and I'm not there (I'm just a wimp about driving after dark, so I don't get to Thursday night meetings much). And they've lined up several other people who can give him Diastat to stop a seizure, which is not the most pleasant thing to do, since it has to be given rectally. What wonderful, supportive friends we have!

My beads have been just ripping off the shelf the last couple of days, and I love it!!! It's a nice feeling to have people willing to pay you for something that you enjoy making.

Here's some more Aurae beads:

Sunday, April 19, 2009

4/19/09

Lukas had another seizure this morning, not even 2 weeks since the last one. The good thing about it was that it was just a break though seizure, he didn't go into full convulsions. He was able to talk throughout the whole thing, so I didn't give him Diastat to stop it. Hopefully this is a sign that the increased meds are starting to build up in his body and will work to prevent any more seizures for a while.

I was really looking forward to going to meeting this morning. He had called Jim and Cindy to tell them that we were bring Scottie, my 8 yr. old grand nephew, along with. Lukas had really been thinking ahead. Last night he said we needed to explain to Scottie that he wouldn't be able to get up and wander around during the meeting, and we needed to bring an extra magazine along with for him, and an extra song book, and something to draw on in case he got bored. Very disappointing.

Scott and Garin came up yesterday to work on my deck greenhouse. They're going to come back today to finish it up (yippee!!!). I was really surprised last night when they were ready to leave, that Scottie wanted to stay overnight. He is such a cute little boy, I just love the dickens out of him. So he got to sleep on the air mattress in the living room, and all night Pip was up and down on my bed because she wanted to go visit him. You could say they grew up together, because it was on our first trip out west in the RV that we got Pip, as a little puppy at a rest stop in Montana.

Since I'm stuck at home, I'm going to go make some more Aurae beads. I listed a set on Etsy last night and it was snapped up. So here's another one on ArtFire: