Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Tuesday-8am

Karma got a big thrill last night. Was in the 40s and not very windy or raining, so I stuck her blue suede cat bed on the porch right outside the door. She loved it! Spent hours and hours out there in the dark. (Anything new, of course--and that was a first.)
Here's a shot with the flash--which just annoyed Karma, all settled cozily in the dark.
Me--last night I took the floppy worn leather handles off of this wooden box...
...cut down a piece of felt for the bottom, and laid all my fountain pens inside.
Even had room for the three empty preppy pens (in the center) that I am saving for new future inks. ;)
The pens were just all piled up on each other in that smaller box and there wasn't much room left for any additional pens. At least they are all lying flat for now--hehe!
****
One thing I did notice is that the Noodler's Piston Pen that I bought...
...well, the ink had all but evaporated!!??
This pen was filled at the same time as the rest of my new ones--and I had only used it once! Not good.
****
I spent a long time trying to empty and clean it out. They don't come apart that I could see, so it is a tedious, repetitive process of filling with water and shaking and emptying. I had Noodler's Bernanke Blue in it and that is the fast drying ink--so I wondered if it was the ink and not the pen. I refilled it with Private Reserve Plum and we'll see if that ink evaporates.
****
In the meantime, Leah asked if they could switch Craft Night to Wednesday because she is taking a golf lesson tonight. No problem. I may be tired because my days and nights are flipped, but I wouldn't pass on our first Craft Night this year for anything! :) :)
****
I have spent days here on the McLap cleaning up and deleting pictures and documents. A huge project I have been putting off since I got the McLap over a year ago and transferred the Windows/MS brain contents into the McLap/Safari thought processes. I am not finished, but I have made tremendous progress! I can say I am halfways organized on the McLap. Whoohoo! Or, shall we say, probably as organized as I am ever going to get trying to adapt my old MS storage ways into the Apple system. Much better than it was, that's for sure.
****
What got me started was that I went into my documents to find the list I had copied of all the ladies for that new Circle Letter so that I could print it off. This prodded a desire to clean up my documents so I could more easily find what the heck I was looking for. So, I decided it was finally time to at least begin the process.
****
Then while I was sorting my documents I came across my goal list for 2011. Sadly, I had practically nothing I could check off, was way too general with so many of them, had things I wanted to add, and had written up the list before I realized how much I was going to be invested in a daily spiritual practice. So I revamped it a little. I really, really will be lucky if I get half of them this year since it is nearly May already! Oh well. ;)
****
Revised Goals for 2011
  1. YouTube--buy taller tripod
  2. Calligraphy--practice and try new alphabets
  3. Keep up with various online audio classes
  4. New spiritual journal
  5. Read the Angel Books
  6. Angel Books--make notations
  7. Read the Dream Journals
  8. Read Morning Pages notebooks
  9. Read TBR book stack
  10. Bookbinding--make a journal with the 90 lb. paper
  11. CBP--finish bird and flower paintings
  12. Watercolors--wildflowers and botanicals
  13. Watercolors--paint paper for journal and bookcard covers
  14. Sketchbooks--EDM
  15. Sketchbooks--Ink and watercolor
  16. Handmade Paper--set of red Christmas cards with white snowflakes
  17. Handmade Paper--try new techniques
  18. Cards--set of birthday cards
  19. Cards--set of Christmas cards
  20. Cards--new techniques
  21. Bookcards--handmade paper covers
  22. Bookcards--painted watercolor paper covers
  23. Bookcards--regular covers
  24. Soulcomfort/Meditation--establish a regular practice
  25. Sacred Circle--once a month
  26. Organize craft bookcases (buy shelves and corner shelf)
  27. Clean and organize desk and files
  28. Clean and organize pictures and documents on McLap
****
Finding the goal list gave me the motivation to stay on task with number 28--ROFL! And now I am winding down and will be heading for bed shortly. Was a gorgeous day in the 60s yesterday, but I slept thru most of it...with the window open, tho. Today--50s, cloudy and rainy--and the window will be open. ;)
****
"Happiest are the people who give the most happiness to others."
Denis Diderot

11 comments:

giddy up said...

Wow! That is quite a list of goals for the year... I hope you make it thru them...

Desiree said...

good to see your goals for this year! :D keep smiling! :D

Toriz said...

Well, at least you've made a start on some of the things on the list. Hopefully you can check off at least most of them by the time the year is out! :)

hopefully it was just the ink and not the pen, that way you just need to make sure not to leave any of that ink in something for extended periods. Mind you, if it is the pen, you could just use that pen for when you want to experiment with small amounts of inks, and not actually fill it. Just a thought.

Good luck with everything on your list... Hope craft night goes ahead and is a success tonight! :)

Serena Lewis said...

Hi Rita,

Gosh, it seems like ages since I've managed to pop over and visit. Michelle has been moving house and I've been helping them pack, move, clean house and unpack...also watched baby Mikayla here and there while Michelle got other things done. I'm all aches and pains with all the extra work but things should start to settle down a bit after tomorrow. Their move has reminded me why I HATE moving house. lol

Anywhoo, what a neat storage idea for your fountain pens! GEEZ, I hope the piston pen isn't faulty.

Awwwww....Karma seemed quite content out there on the porch.

Btw, re. your goals - You did set yourself A LOT of things to do so try not to be too hard on yourself. Well done in making a start on sorting your McLap files. I hear it's quite different to a Windows operating system.

Have a lovely day!
Serena xo

Rita said...

Karen--I'm always hoping to maybe be able to check off half of my list. I make a pretty extensive list--more for motivation--LOL! ;)

Desi--You keep smiling, too!!! :)

Tori--I really would be happy with half. My lists are always biting off more than I can chew, as they say. But I like having the push. ;)
Yes, I had thought of that, too--using the pen for samples if it evaporates. We think alike--hehe!

Serena--Sounds like you have been really busy! I wish you felt better, but Mikayla brings a smile, I'm know that. :)
Yes, the Apple and MS systems are different. Not that I know a lot about computers, but the shifts from MS updated versions were nothing like the shift from MS to Apple. I think I am finally getting more used to how the McLap works, tho. Whew!

You have a lovely day, too, and I hope you feel lots better. :):)

Donna @ The House on the Corner said...

That's quiet the to do list!!

I love the new pen storage. Stuff like that makes me happy. I love great storage and having everything organized. You couldn't tell it by looking at my craft area, but I can tell you - looking at my craft area makes me anxious every day!

Anonymous said...

Karma is so silly lol I just love what you did with the box that is just so handy. I would not do well with a list like that LOL hope your week is going well :o)

Rita said...

Donna--That's why it is more of a motivational list for the year--hehe!
Aha! Another lady who is made happy by storage--LOL! My craft areas have been "on hold" for organization most all winter. I will be glad when we finally get the new shelving and we can actually reorganize and clean things up around here. Other people don't understand how the slight chaos can actually generate anxiety. ;)

Lynn--Thanks! If I believed I had to get everything done on my yearly lists they would be much shorter--LOLOL!! ;)

Intense Guy said...

Hmm... now I've heard of invisible ink... but never seen it before... err... well... ummm....

Scratches his head...

AliceKay said...

LOL @ Iggy

I'll try this again since my comment last night was eaten by the cyberspace monster. LOL

Karma looks like she's enjoying being outside, and yep, she looks a bit annoyed at the picture taking. LOL

That wooden box works great for your pens. Great idea. I hope you figure out why that ink evaporated in the pen. I'm sure it isn't cheap by any means.

Cleaning out and deleting pictures and files is very tedious. I've been doing a little of that myself. You have quite a list of goals for 2011.

*copies and saves this comment in case the cyberspace monster is hungry again*

Rita said...

Iggy--You are such a card! I love that! Invisible ink. :)

AliceKay--I have really had enough of that cyberspace monster. Is it never full!? ;)
Good thing she enjoyed herself out on the porch while she could. Yesterday (Fri) was so windy-loud it scared her and tonight it is raining and colder again. Thank goodness no tornadoes up here yet. They have been monstrous this year! :(