The Ice House

It was time again this week for our yearly days long power outage. We were long overdue for one. Usually they start sometime in December. The storm Thursday night felt like a hurricane. I really thought the roof might let go at one point and I sleep directly under the roof so that would not have been good. We held out pretty well until about 11pm when we finally went dark. By some miracle, the kids didn't wake up when it happened like they normally do. They did wake up and notice at around 4am and that's when the terrified crying began. Good morning!

Here is the thermostat by Friday-It wasn't even registering anymore and I think the house was somewhere in the 40's. You see, when we lose power, we lose electricity, heat and our telephone. We also lose the sump pump in the basement but luckily it didn't get too wet down there. We just put more clothes on and carried on.
I think Peter barely noticed. I don't think he ever gets cold under that coat of fur. He might have noticed if his water dish iced over.
He is a very good heat source for others though. Grace has power outage hair.
When you can't see what's going on in your house because it's so dark, your house starts to look like this...
And you feed your children breakfast from Dunkin Donuts....
On Saturday morning, Tim and I started having our yearly debate/argument over finally going to a hotel or sticking it out. We didn't come to a decision and then not 10 minutes later the power trucks showed up. This was a big and welcome surprise because it's usually at least 3 days before we get power back. Why is this when we live in the middle(Okay, more the very edge) of the biggest city in the state and the power station is 2 miles from our house? Anyway, they showed up, cleaned up the neighbors tree that had caused the problem and we had power back 20 minutes later. I think the solution to this is to cut down every tree in the neighborhood but no one will agree to it.

My New Obsession

So, I have a new craft. Big surprise right? I wanted to learn to make glass tile pendents and turns out they are very easy to do. Of course, I had to buy myself some supplies first. I love my new red storage box especially since it was on sale and I had a coupon.

Basically, you just need a few things to start and its not very labor intensive. You can even do this while your kids are driving you crazy.
I bought the glass tiles off Etsy. I have never seen these in the stores. I have about 50 of them now.
Then you have to pick out some sturdy paper. The glaze used in this really soaks the paper so you want something that is a heavier card stock. I have less than zero interest in scrap booking but I could spend hours in the scrap booking aisle picking out these papers. Plus, they all fit in my cute new red box that looks like it came from Pottery Barn.
Hopefully you own a square paper punch because it makes it easier but you can cut the squares out by hand if needed.
You spread glaze on the back of the tile and press it down on the paper. You should move it around to make sure it covers everything and any bubbles disappear. Then, you let them sit for a few hours to dry.
Eat some jellybeans to pass the time.
Once dry, you need to trim the edges. Here's where the dangerous tool comes in. I've tried using an exacto knife but this fabric cutter does the job better and you have better control over it. I keep this locked away from the kids and myself. I think it could take your finger off if you aren't careful. You trim all 4 edges and I cut the corners too.
After, you apply another coat of glaze to the back of them to seal them. Once that's dry, you take a good look at what you have and decide which ones are good enough to continue with. Then, you glue a metal bail to the back and wait for them to dry.
You also end up with some rejects that you can give to the kids to play with.
Once everything is dry, you have some new necklaces made with very little effort. Next I think I'm going to try metal stamped jewelry.

Peter's Cured!

Finally some good news from the vet. I brought Peter in for his follow up blood glucose test and they decided he wasn't "insulin dependent" anymore so we could take him off it! We have to watch him closely because it could suddenly reverse itself but hopefully not. I wish it was a happier time while we were there though. Another family was there to put there golden retriever to sleep and it was horribly sad. The dog was very old and the parents and their adult children were there crying and I had horrible flashbacks to my golden Tara and I started crying. But I digress...

Peter was very mad that he had to get in his crate and go. He prefers to spend most of his day sleeping in his bed.
Owen also wonders why we never talk about him. It's mostly because he's outside all day. I decided that Peter deserved a little outside time after healing himself.
Here he is totally freaked out. He is never allowed outside. When he does manage to sneak outside, his first instinct is to take off running as fast as possible. The only problem is he has no idea where he is or where he is going. I am keeping him trapped on the stairs here and he was not happy with me.
Of course, Owen had to come over and say hi in his own special way. He loves to lord over Peter about being an outside cat.
His trip outside only lasted a few minutes and ended with hissing and yowling but it was very exciting for him. I wonder if he will notice that he no longer gets 2 shots a day? After I feed him tonight, he sort of hung around the kitchen staring at me and waiting for it.

Maine Days Designs

So I finally did it. After talking about it for 2 years, my Etsy shop is finally off the ground. Let me tell you, it was sort of a pain in the butt to set up but I'm so glad I finally did it. And not a moment too soon since my 10% pay cut goes into effect tomorrow. The pay cut was what really got me off my duff to do this. I'm not looking to make millions on this, just replace the 10% I was told I was overpaid. Oh yeah, my pay cut has nothing to do with the economy. They actually just lifted a 2 year wage freeze. I just happen to be in a union which the Company despises and I was told I just make too much money. I don't agree since I still find myself choosing between buying groceries and paying the electricity bill every month but what do I know? I do know that I will find myself working 10% less starting tomorrow-they will get what they pay for. "Did I forget to tell you about that murder that every other station lead with? Sorry, must have slipped my mind."

Anyway, got way off track there but bitterness will do that to you. Back to jewelry. I have posted all my earrings, pendants and rings. This week I have to get my necklaces and bracelets up. I also sorted through my bead stash and will be selling off loose beads that I don't really use anymore. If you want to visit and you know you do just head here.

What Happens When Mommy Takes A Nap

Declan was very excited that the 100th day of school was coming up and he decided to celebrate. This is a prime example of needing to check on your children when they get too quiet. Usually they are up to something. Luckily, he used washable marker.

The "I'm Getting Old" Notebook

Do you have an "I'm getting old"notebook? You see, the problem is, after a certain age, you forget almost every thought that comes into your head unless you write it down. Mine is saving my life. I think anyone who can remember as far back as the 1970's needs to have their own notebook.
To begin with, it's so cute. I found it at Wal-Mart a while ago and have had it with me ever since. On a side note to Wal-Mart-you need to stop hiding cute merchandise like this behind all the vats of cheese balls and Hannah Montana stuff. You could be as good as Target if you tried.

Even the back is cute in a totally different way. I love that it has stripes and polka dots-2 of my favorite things. I especially love the elastic band that holds it shut. It reminds me of my old diaries with those cheap locks that anyone could break open.

I can flip through the older pages and see what was going on with me then. See this note to myself to vote? Do you actually think, in my line of work, that I wasn't aware there was a presidential vote? At least I remembered to put it down first and I actually went and did it.
Here, I had been talking to someone about the books we read when we were young and I started looking up old titles. I am planning to find these at the library someday soon-when I remember to do it.

Here is one of my lists for packing for Rangeley. You can see my priorities are in the right place when I list the stuff for the cat before the kids. I wonder how much I wouldn't get done if I didn't have this notebook?