So much SNOW

Well it IS that time of year. And this happens to be "about" the time we get all the snow. But in case, 4 inches of snow, with 2 inches of sleet, topped by another 9 inches of snow might be a tad excessive.

Not only that, but it's made me one paranoid driver. Even the public transport has suspended service on certain days till the roads are cleared. It's not good when your city is on a snow emergency (meaning vehicles are supposed to be off the road and in your driveway) but that they are incredibly low on salt already. Christ people it's only February you still have a whole 2 months till Spring!
So there's been alot of sand put down. Which is great for traction and gives the snow a nice brown-grey hue.

Even our next door neighbor needed help plowing out.



And this just in....blizzard like conditions and another possible winter storm is set to roll in around Monday of next week. It's still a bit to early to tell it's exact tract but this doesn't give me much confidence that it'll miss us.

"The next big weather maker will be a winter storm, forecast to develop Sunday night over the Northern Gulf, and track northeast, impacting the Eastern States Monday into Tuesday.
This has the potential to be a strong winter storm, impacting areas from the Gulf Coast, through the New England States. However, the exact track and intensity still remain very uncertain.
For now, the general thinking is that heavy snow and wind could impact parts of the Interior Northeast, Upper Ohio Valley, eastern Tennessee Valley and southern Appalachians.
Wind, rain, and possible flooding could impact eastern areas of the New England States, including the bigger cities. "



Maybe we'll get another snow day like we did on Wednesday :lol:

Inkling

I'm still toying with opening a new shop. I have a name, I'm thinking up banner designs and items to make. My blog will still be here, no worries :) You'll just get to see LOTS of fun things from both shops, hope I can do it! Here's a teaser:


Sew Sweet Pincushion by PinPinn

The Snow is Coming!

I want it to dump on us :) I love snow, not so much the driving part but I really love being holed up in my house with a pile of fabric or felt and just sewing myself under for the day.

Of course it's broken up by trips out to the living room to visit Chris and the cats. Have tea or hot chocolate and the occasional video game stint. If only life were so simple all the time.

Conflicts of Interest

I'll admit I'm getting a bit bored with Tumus' line-up. I can't seem to get a definite theme going. It's not like I'm exclusively felt items or seasonal fare. I don't carry JUST one specific pet item, though I love them. I've got this bizzare ecclectic shop of things that I love to make, but can't seem to find a market for.

Since I've been on Etsy for almost a full year I think it's about time to take my shop in a new direction. I'd like to do more creative sewing. I kind of feel like I limited myself with my current line-up so I think I'm going to have a small sale and see if I can't wipe my remaining inventory and start fresh. If that sounds like a big step, it is. There's no way I can guarantee that my new interest will even have a good customer base despite my research for the past few weeks.

I can tell you that I'll still be working mostly with felt. I'm working on my hand sewing skills ALOT and trying to get better at my embroidery. And that I'll be including more machine stitched finery. It'll all be in keeping with the same sense of humor everyone's come to expect, but I'd like to refine it a bit. Time to grow-up some and see what I can really do.

I like looking at all the "old timers" and going back to their very first few sales and then clicking thru a couple of pages. I think it's an encouragement to see how everyone started off unsure of what the heck to sell or how to make it. Then you get to the middle of their sold section and notice a change in the quality of an item and design changes all this tweaking to get one product right. To see where they started and where they are today is kind of like a trip down ol' memory lane.

So if they can do it, why can't I?

Dear Winston Churchill

You were a profound man.

"If you're going through hell, keep going. "

I think I might just have to take your advice because frankly at this point all I can do is keep my head down and run.

My fiance said tonight that he's pretty sure my nerves are shot at this point. There's barely been a week between my grandfather's passing and my car accident and to put it politely it's hard not to want a drink every night right now.

Somehow it all pulls together. I'm working on a small Valentine's Day listing for Tumusand hope to get some pictures taken tomorrow.
I'll tell you, it feels like someone is trying to keep me busy with all this "bad" so I stop doing so "good" at everything else.

Well it can't ALL be bad, right?

This morning I got rearended pretty good on the highway on my way to work. Traffic around these parts is heavy and often goes thru stop and go cycles for no apparent reason. In any case I had to stop abruptly and got slammed into by a service van who was then in turn hit by another car who knocked the the van back into me.

*sigh*

I'm okay :) It's just the minor details and little annoyances of getting 3 different insurance companies to pay for my damage. The entire back end of my car is either bent, shattered, or just plain missing pieces. I have one tail light and most of my bumper :lol:

Bad stuff happens in three's right? Let's hope this counts for 2 and 3 :)

Here's what I've been working on a set of knitted coasters. Green is my favorite color, but I also knitted some in the rasberry chocolate color too.
Green Coasters

Cupcake Dress

 

My sisters have started this horrid tradition that as we each get married off we have to try on at least ONE super, ridiculously poufy, frou-frou dress. None of us like this kind of dress so it's pretty fun to try it on and act super serious like all the other brides-to-be. I obviously am not that "serious" about the whole deal.

So obviously no crafting took place. Shame on me :lol: This week will prove to be good for Tumus as I will dedicate time specifically for it.

Next weekend, the Caterers.......gasp!

Random Fun Time

Sometimes when I'm especially bogged down by the daily boredom of work I like to make up new shop names. I then put them in Etsy's sellername search bar and search to see if anyone else has claimed the name.

Today's Random Shop Names were:

Rumblestiltskein - this would be a charming name for a handspun yarn shop

The Yodeling Yak

ArtofCraft - say it like the word Artifact


Remarkably none of these are taken. It's pretty amazing what a little creative thinking will do for your shop name!


Random Tea Fact for today:

Tea grows in at least thirty countries on five continents. The best-grade teas are thought to grow in only five countries; Sri Lanka, China, Taiwan, India, and Japan.

All is Well

I've returned from my Grandpa's funeral humbled and a little happy. I know that must seem very weird because who thinks of being "happy" at a funeral. But yesterday I was. I felt content as we laid him to rest yesterday afternoon at the nearby Veterans Cemetery. Almost as if all the crying and sadness could conclude and be buried in the dirt along with the casket. Not that it won't come and go on it's own but it felt peaceful finally.
I know we're only burying a "vessel" as my Grandpa has long since been up in heaven, but that doesn't mean it hasn't hurt any less.

It's made me rethink a bit about my life goals, religion and family. I'm so happy to have such a close knit family. I mean I couldn't imagine trying to cope with this kind of grief alone. Grandma is doing fine, of course still sad, but I think she's pulling thru. 2 of my uncles are keeping with her till this weekend, then one of my sisters will be staying over thru the night on and off to help grandma get used to the house again. In a way I think we all feel better Grandpa has parted after a lifetime of battling diabetes, heart disease, and having only one kidney. He can finally rest and have some fun.

I can just hear him now telling us to stop making such a fuss over him. That it's embarassing him. That's Pop's for you. A quiet, steady presence always there with firm hand on your back pressing you forward.

Miss you Grandpa.

Forgive

My lack of posting has been distant due to family emergencies and now the passing of my dear grandfather.

Tumus will be temporarily closed till Wednesday January 14th so I can help my family and myself get thru this hard time.

Remember it's possible to laugh in every circumstance especially if it helps you remember the good times.

It's the First Week

I'll have my one year Etsy-versary in May. And there are alot of goals I hope to accomplish. Some lofty and some just so-so. One of them I can say came straight from Lupin's Blog. I'm going to try and craft 365 days this year. It's going to be incredibly challenging as some of you may or may not know I'm getting married in October.
So to say I'd like to be crafting 365 days probably isn't the wisest of resolutions , but heck if I'm not going to at least TRY! I think I might refine it a bit to say I will be crafting when I can and working on Tumus when I can't and hopefully this way the 365 days will eventually get covered.

You can't count 2 weeks for my wedding though! Those are mine and my boy's days and even craftiness can't take that away ^_^

I'm a bit afraid to write out my hopeful goals. This seems to be a jam packed year with the wedding starting to take over my spare time. But here are the few I'd like to share:

- Keep a presence in the forums, but less time on Etsy (does that make sense lol)
- Craft 365 when possible
- Learn my Nikon better
- Upload to Flickr more consistently
- Recycle more and learn to work with what I already have (buy less supplies)

That's the jist of it ^_^ Hope you have some good ones too!