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.

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.

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.

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!

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:

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.

7/10/09

And here's another one of my favorites:

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!!

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!

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...

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

6/18/09

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

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!

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.

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,

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:

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.

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.