Thursday, November 10, 2011

Thursday-3:30pm

Was a sunny day...
...Karma caught her rays.
I tried to sleep in my chair...waiting for the inspection...but I was so overtired that I was afraid I wouldn't hear the knock on the door, I suppose...couldn't sleep for love or money.
****
Turned out the mail lady called me about a package, so I went downstairs and picked that up. Been debating about getting an ATG gun for a long time. Finally decided to go for it...and got a box of two refills, too.
And also got a QuickStik. I've wondered about these for some time, too. They're supposed to help you pick up tiny embellishments for placing. Since we have all these tiny stars to glue down, I figured this was the perfect time to try it out.
They finally came about 2:30pm for the inspection. I guess they want the toilet looked at, too. I have heard that little trickling noise for so long, I completely forgot about it. I told them it is like a little water fountain and has become background noise. ;)
****
Anyways, I emailed Leah and asked if she and Dagan could pick up something for dinner because I was going to lay down and wanted them to wake me up when they got here. They stopped at home first and then over to PitaPit...so they got here a little after 6pm. I got about 3 hours of sleep.
****
We ate. Leah brought the screens for the dehydrator that she found at Creative Kitchen and some grapes. Funny, none of us like raisins, but we thought maybe we would like them if they were made fresh and we could make them drier. ;) They're still drying away today.
****
Next step on the Christmas cards was to stamp all the trees. Then cut the trees down to size.
Dagan was playing Angry Birds on his new tiny laptop.
Here's the tree stamp...just eight of them in a row...a little piece of a pine forest.
I went to take a close-up and, of course, now it worked!?
This is the odd QuickStik tool. The picking up end has this stuff that is like poster tack. You can pull off the old and squeeze out some more as needed. That is what grabs on to the tiny items. Then there's a double ended pick tool that fits into the other end of the QuickStik.
One end is pointed...
...and the other end has more of a blade shape.
You can use the detachable tool to hold on to the embellishment as you pull the poster-tacky end off. Worked pretty nifty on the tiny stars.
****
This is how it was left last night. We still have some more trees to cut out...
...but we decided to experiment with different adhesives to see which one will hold the best. You know how we are--LOL! We wanted to leave it sit for a day and then really give them the stress test...rippling the paper, rubbing with our fingers, etc.
So we wrote down which glues we used on which stars and will test them tonight. Leah is coming back after work tonight (sans Dagan) to work on cards. :)
****
Meanwhile, despite my eyes burning and feeling like a zombie, I couldn't finally sleep until about 3am. But...I didn't get up till 2pm this afternoon!! Totally collapsed! I was only up twice!! Unbelievable! I really needed it. Since fibro, I don't do well without 7-8 hours of sleep. It really caught up with me.
****
I'm glad he didn't come today to work on the toilet--LOL! Or, if he did, I didn't hear him knocking, that's for sure! I don't usually sleep that sound. I didn't even feel Karma come up on the bed, hear people in the hallway...nothing. Ahhh! Silver lining to being overly, overly tired, I guess, eh? :):)
****
Well, the prompt for today:
What's your secret (or not so secret) passion?
Mine (I have many) are of the not so secret variety--LOL! Anything to do with pens, inks, papers...making cards...writing letters...painting...making journals...polymer clay...making handmade paper...writing...animals (especially cats)...movies...books...journaling...
****
Because I love variety, it would be very hard for me to pick one favorite. ;)
****
But, honestly, my one overlying passion all my days would probably be my spiritual path. Top priority is the soul. All those other things I love...they are just food for my soul. :):)
****
Got to go start dinner.
Keep smiling!! :):)

14 comments:

Intense Guy said...

I love those pine trees!!! Those are really cool!!

You got some much needed sleep - for that I'm thankful. What Karma may (or may not) have been up to... perhaps we will never know.

:)

Toriz said...

I wonder if Karma is trying to make herself a darker colour? ;)

Glad your new "toys" came; have fun with them!

I was going to say 3 hours of sleep is better than none, I guess, but then I notice you got more sleep... And plenty of it... Afterwards, which is good! I understand the no sleep thing before though... It's hard to sleep when you're afraid you wont wake in time for something. That's why I never sleep well before I have to go somewhere; I always worry I'll sleep through the alarm, which is funny because I don't on days I am asleep when it goes off. Anyway, at least the inspection is over with now!

"Just food for my soul"... Yes, but everyone - and every thing - needs to eat in some way to survive. Therefore, to keep your soul healthy, you need to keep your crafting and writing passions blazing! :, right?

Rubye Jack said...

Wow! I cannot believe how organized and together you are. I am quite the opposite, but often long for the sanity of knowing where things are. My passion is art and what it tells me about this life.

Beth said...

The Christmas cards are going to be beautiful!

I am glad your inspection is over. Hopefully your sleeping pattern will get straightened out now,

Hugs,
Beth

betty said...

Like the trees!! So glad you got some sleep! I bet that felt good!

betty

Serena Lewis said...

Those QuickStiks sound very useful.

I used to hate waiting around all day for inspections, however, a new tenancy law came in here where Property Managers must give tenants a two hour window e.g. between 2 & 4 PM. It's so much better to work around two hours than a whole day.

I'm not a fan of raisins but I do like sultanas and currants.

Those tree cards look great!

Glad to hear you managed to catch up on some sleep.

Yes, definitely a not so secret passion...hehehe

Have a relaxing day,

Love,
Serena xo

Anonymous said...

OOooo that tree stamp would look cool in metalic silver or gold on black or dark blue... embossed. Or green metallic on gold... Hmmmmm.... all the things you can do! I love rubber stamps! Glad you are having some fun with Leah. Tell her I said HI! And thanks for being a fun soul - mate for my friend Rita! It's always fun to feel the soul with company.

I have to take my hubby to the airport later and I'm going to be wearing a sad puppy face for a week. I will miss him. I really hate being alone... and no, Blue doesn't count.

Rita said...

Iggy--Thanks! We loved that stamp. The trees look a little more realistic.
Karma slept with me most of the time--LOL! But what she gets into the rest of the time I am sleeping, who knows? ;)

Tori--Haha! A cat tan!! ;)
You're so right! To keep my soul healthy I need all those creative passions to be blazin'! ;)

Rubye--Well, my cabinet is organized...now I have a lot to clean and sort in my bedroom and other places in the apartment! I am tremendously slower than I used to be at getting anything done...but it has taught me patience. :)
You must understand art a lot more than I do. That is definitely a passion, too! ;)

Beth--Nope! Still not sleeping at night. But if I can sleep again in the daytime I will be happy. Any time I can get it is good.
I hope you are feeling well. Have a great day! :)

Betty--It did feel so good! I will never understand why I get insomnia. I know it can be a side effect of fibro and it is quite frustrating sometimes. But, it won't kill me--LOL! I'll survive. ;)

Serena--Now that we finally got one, we wish we could think of many times we could have used it in the past--LOL! I think we'll get a lot of use out of it.
I wish we had a two hour window for repairs. That would be awesome!! That's what I have for grocery delivery--and I can pick. Makes all the difference in the world with my crazy sleep patterns. ;)
You have a relaxing day, too. Nice and peaceful!! :)

Donna--Oh yes! The tree stamp could be used in so many ways! We had to stick with what we had enough paper on hand for the 80-some cards. And we still ran out of the black framing paper. So Leah used green for hers (she only needs about 20). I will tell Leah. She is like soul family. :):)
Oh, don't say Blue doesn't count! I can bet she will be trying her best to fill that empty spot and make you smile the best she can. :):)

Dee Ready said...

Dear Rita,
This sleeping problem you have is concerning. I, myself, need around 9 hours of sleep a night. At least 8. If I don't have that, I find myself unable to really sort through my emotions or keep things in perspective or give my full attention to anything.

I think of you there in Fargo getting so little sleep as we move inexorably toward the darkest night of the year, the shortest day, and I could just weep for how tired your body must be.

The cards are going to be lovely.

Peace.

And thank you, so much, for your comment on donning the habit. That line about "cloaking myself in possibility" came as pure gift while I was writing. I'm glad it spoke to you.

Rebag said...

Good Morning Rita!! I love how Karma soaks in rays.....I could too and probably should LOL!

I love the tree you chose....they look so elegant!! Cant wait to see what you make!

As for a passion, I am much like yourself...Nurture the soul... the rest all fall into place...and I have way too much to even begin to say what is my favorite because I like variety.


Blessings to you this day!

Rita said...

Dee--You fully understand how your body can just take over--even moreso than I do. You just have to adapt. But I can see why a lot of people with forms of chronic pain and exhaustion can suffer from depression. It gets to me sometimes, but I have made a choice to focus on the positive and the things I have to be grateful for. If I didn't, I think life would feel very hopeless, you know? But it doesn't. I may have pain and be so tired I am weak as a kitten some days, but I have things to look forward to and great joy in my life. If there wasn't deep darkness one could not see the stars. ;) It's all good.
That line was a pure gift. I love when they arrive like that and are just perfect. :):)

Reba--Hi, lady! Very simple cards this year. But Leah and I loved this minimalistic, simple look. We had this planned from the moment I found the tree stamp--LOL! :)
We sound similar--love lots of different things, but the soul is top on the priority list!! :):) Blessings to you, too! Have a great weekend.

AliceKay said...

Sounds like your apartment's inspection came much later than you had hoped. Glad it's over. I hope your toilet gets fixed soon. The one in my bathroom behind me sometimes sounds like it's trickling after being flushed. It takes some coaxing for it to stop.

Your new gadgets are kinda neat. I can honestly say I've never seen anything like them. (can ya tell I'm not a crafter?) Sounds like the QuickStik works pretty slick. :)

Your Christmas cards are coming right along. I like the pine trees, too.

I'm glad you were able to get some much needed sleep. *hugs*

Desiree said...

The cards are looking great! I pulled out some stuff that I hope to work on when I get back from my trip next week!

I have seen that quick stix tool thingie before but no one has ever really given a good review on it, so i was glad you did and included that it had stuff that comes of of it to help the sticky bitwork, did not know that! :D

Rita said...

AliceKay--Much later than I had hoped--LOL! You used to be able to stop the trickling by jiggling the handle, but that quit working a long time ago. They've tried to fix it twice before, so I just thought I'd wait till it was really bad, actually. Cheap quality in the first place and then they keep jerry-rigging things--LOL!
I hope you are faring well over there, too! :):)

Desi--We were leery about getting one because some people kind of complained about them, but Leah was the one who tried it and she said it worked really slick. I didn't know that there was a removable end piece tool, either. I saw that on a youtube video and that was what decided me on ordering one. These stars are sooo tiny that it would be a pain to get them in place with your fingers. We'll sure know how well it works after putting on 84 stars--LOL!
Have fun on your trip and take pics, of course, of what you work on when you get back. :):)