Monday, January 13, 2014

Monday-8:45am

It was a gorgeous, sunny, spring-like day on Friday.
I saw 33 degrees on a bank sign! 
I made it to Federal Housing, met my new worker, and am all set for another year. 
You may not believe me when I say that as soon as it hits above freezing up here you will see people with shorts on.  Can you see this guy getting into his car?  And that was on Saturday when we only got up to 26--but the lingering memory of lovely-melty Friday must have inspired his Saturday wardrobe. 
This big box arrived.  Whoohoo!  
What is it, you ask? 
It's an over the door paper drying rack!
I have to wait for my tool girl to arrive on Wednesday--LOL!  But how exciting!!  I have so little surface space here and a cat who will walk or lie upon anything you set on the floor...if I hang this over the porch door we will have a place to dry lots of handmade paper, gelli plate papers, art papers...ahhh!  If it's too obtrusive to hang there all the time I can hang it behind my bedroom door when it is not in use.  We'll probably have to find some kind of sheeting to put down when we are drying handmade paper so it doesn't fall through when it is damp or get wire groove marks on them, but I am thrilled to have this contraption, I tell you!  This was my special Christmas purchase.  Thanks, Mom and Dad!!  :):)
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 A smaller box arrived from Amazon, too.  I finally got a Corner Chomper!
I wanted one because it says it can cut chipboard and leather, etc...for book binding. 
I've kept hearing about Daddy Van's Furniture Polish.  If you have pages of an art journal that stick together because of mediums you've used--well, apparently you can rub some of this on the page and they won't stick?  And if that doesn't actually work...well, I can always use it on my furniture--LOL! 
And nail polish!  Neutral, very plain nail polish.  My kind of nail polish.  Sheers.  Barely look like you have anything but clear on--LOL!  I love them!!  Left to right they are called:Barre My Soul, Rosy Future, You Callin' Me A Lyre?, and Hearts & Tarts.
 I can get rid of the rest of my thick, old polishes--whoohoo!  I'm all set now and have high hopes that I can be inspired to put on lotions and cuticle oils more often and stop picking at my poor, dry fingers.
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Oh!!  And I found out that glitter polish pretty much requires a jackhammer to remove.  It laughed at nail polish remover and held its ground violently...for a long time.  I had to quite literally scrape it off--awk!  Is there some secret removal system I don't know about?  Good grief!  I had a similar problem with the dark red nail polish (but nowhere near as bad as with the glitter stuff)--took forever to get that off, too.  And I even had a base coat on both the red and the glitter polish.  Funny.  I have endless patience for many things, but not nail polish removal--LOL!  ;)
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Well, I finally got the art table cleared off again.  
 I am "done" in the living room...
...but have to confess... 
...that I cheated.  I didn't go through every shelf and am not actually done reorganizing, but that's because...
...I wanted the craft table cleared off...
...so I could do this. 
I needed to be able to get out the big paper boxes to organize those.  I grouped up all the 140 and 300 pound watercolor paper into one box and all the other assorted papers (mixed media, drawing, and the 90 pound watercolor paper) in the other box.  I took out one sheet of all the new papers and a few of my older papers for my planned paper torture--LOL!  That's the next step on my bookbinding path for 2014.  ;)  Whew!  Done!
Karma had to smell my new slipper socks, of course. 
They were officially approved for foot petting.  Miss Karma does love her foot pets.  
Oh-oh!  Heard somebody in the hallway. 
They went past.  I'm safe.  Now--back to some foot petting.
Since I am going to need my porch door for the new drying rack...that was incentive to get the wreath ready for a trip to the dumpster.  Which meant wire cutters and saving the bow, leaves & berries, and pine cones to recycle for some kind of door hanging for next year.  Looks pretty naked, doesn't it?  You didn't think I wasn't going to recycle parts, did you?
Today is laundry, hauling things to the dumpster & garage...and that might well do me in for today...never know.  Tomorrow is Caroline and Wednesday Dagan and Leah are coming over after work and I plan to make a potato/corn/ham chowder and fresh bread.  All this activity is why I have basically not been around much online--or should I say still!  But that means I'm feeling pretty decent so I'm counting on you all to forgive me when you don't hear from me for stretches of time.  I'll be sure to blog, though, so you know what I'm up to and that Karma and I are okay.  :):)
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It's 16 degrees and we might hit 20 today.  Feels quite warm, comparatively speaking.  Well, I'm off to switch loads of clothes and take a trip into the great outdoors.  ;)
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"Wherever your heart is, that is where you'll find your treasure."
Paulo Coelho 

17 comments:

Dee said...

Dear Rita, your "studio" is so impressive. Throughout the weeks and months and years, you have collected--by dint I believe of much budgeting--the tools you need to produce the art work that reflects your creative soul. I'm so glad that your parents gave you the drying apparatus. Isn't it wonderful to start a new year and to look forward with eagerness and joy? Such a gift. Peace.

Deb J. in Utah said...

That paper drying rack is awesome and will sure come in handy for you. I love your nice neat organized work space. Glad the appointment at the housing office went well. Have a good week.

Friko said...

Everything looks totally tidy and neat in your place and your storage areas. I know you’ve just been reorganising things but I never manage to get anything as beautifully sorted as you.

I am glad you are well; sometimes its necessary to concentrate on being physically busy rather than typing away at the computer. It also means that you can actually see what you’ve done!

Which helps in the satisfaction stakes.

Have a lovely week, Rita.

GrandmaG said...

Glad to hear you've been having fun :)

Have to say that wreath still looks pretty healthy!

Anonymous said...

Your home looks like a very well supplied arts & crafts store!!

Janie Junebug said...

I remember when we lived in Maryland that we would see people in shorts as soon as it shot up to 30 degrees or so. When I take off my polish, I soak a cotton ball with the remover and then hold the cotton ball against a nail for about 30 seconds or so before I rub off the polish. Getting the remover on the nail for a little while makes it easier to take off. If I don't wear polish, I fool with my cuticles, too. You might want an orange stick (very cheap) to push the cuticles into place and then use cream on them. Occasionally I wear cotton gloves to bed to keep in the moisture, but I always wake up after a while to take them off. They get annoying.

Love,
Janie

Mersad said...

I think you organized everything beautifully. It looks neat!

Jenny Woolf said...

I'm glad you are feeling a lot better Rita, that you got out and that you have such cool stuff. Sorry about the nail varnish though - I love that glittery stuff myself and I don't find it too hard to get off. Yours obviously had a different formula.
Enjoy your week!

Hilary said...

Furniture AND nail polish! ;) And that beautiful Karma. What else could you ask for. The drying rack is interesting and I really like your desk lamps.

DJan said...

Since I only wear nail polish on my toes (when somebody gets a pedicure), I don't have to worry about taking it off. But now that I know that glitter is hard to remove, I'll not make that mistake. Everything looks so well organized, Rita! Except for Karma, of course. :-)

Serena Lewis said...

I love the idea of a paper drying rack...cool!

I can't even remember the last time I wore nail polish. I used to love painting my nails. I went through a phase in my young adulthood where it was pearly greens and blues. My favourite colours were soft, brownish pinks. Now, it's just bare, naked nails all the way.

Glad to hear all went well with your appointment.

It looks like you're well and truly organised for 2014! YAY!

Have a lovely week! xo

Darla said...

Your mail has contained some wonderful things lately. Mine has been mostly junk. That paper dryer is amazing. Who would have thought?

Darla

Intense Guy said...

I'm glad your trip to town went well - and it was on such a "balmy" day too!!!

Desiree said...

I love this over the door hanging rack, where did they find that??

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

Yes you do have an impressive work area, I also have an over the door hanging hook to hang Tim's motorbike jacket as it is very heavy

Far Side of Fifty said...

You have been busy, I am certain that the paper hanger will work great. You are organized and ready to create now! :)

AliceKay said...

Somehow I missed this post and am just now reading it.

I'm glad the trip to the housing went okay for you. Their office looks nice and bright and very cheery. :)

The drying rack looks cool. Hope it works out okay for you.

I wish I was as organized as you. I've been having a hard time doing much of anything lately.

We have bitter cold weather returning this week. Morning lows near or below zero for Tuesday and Wednesday. (that's bitter cold for us)