Tuesday, September 30, 2008

More Christmas items

Haven't posted for nearly a week because I've been creative, taken us to several doctors(oh the joy of middle age!) and really interested in Yahoo!Answers.

I've about decided to let Y!A go. It's nice to meet some intelligent people there, but one is also troubled by the ignorant and rude.

I'm working on a couple of products, simultaneously, in the sewing room, ah the studio. So nothing there is finished.

I did post one thing today in the etsy shop. I had already posted a picture here, but have changed my mind several times since then about how to ultimately present it. It turned out to be a Christmas ornament or a wall hanging,

The Glorious Cross, in vaguely rainbow colors


Then another bit of hyperbolic space, a pseudosphere, in traditional Christmas colors.




Then one in magenta

I hope to find other engineers. like the one to whom I sold a set of these, or math teachers, or simple geeks(that's a nice word now.)


Molly, our most prolific doe in the past, had bunnies today. About a year ago she had litters of 12 and 13. She actually missed a couple of opportunities two and three months ago. When last I checked, there were only four babies, but she could still be producing, as I write. Anyway, all this has made me wonder if she knows the joys of middle age too.

Edit: Yep, just four, but they're BIG and had fur within 24 hours.

Yours for creativity and productivity.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

A Mostly Good Day

The Christian forum really restored me yesterday. Among many other reasons, here is a video that moved me deeply.

This video reminded me of a small thing. When Nephew was three, Uncle died after struggling to breathe with emphysema. I told Nephew, "Uncle got tired and took his body off to go rest."

I carried in laundry from the back yard about 6 pm and cat evidently went out then. Since she's been sleeping a lot recently in different hidey holes, I didn't miss her until about 11 pm. She was an indoor/outdoor kitten, but I've kept her inside for seven years or so. When I finally opened the door and called, she rushed in, telling me all about her great adventure, She was a little cold, and after she had eaten, we settled in for a happy purr fest. AHHH

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Rude Awakening

I've been living in a fairly small town for several years, and while we've had our share of encounters with shady figures here, I've lost my general wariness of humankind that I had developed in big cities. Also, not working 0ut of the home, I've been fairly well protected from wider society with all its various forms of deceit.

In the last two days I have encountered two deceitful characters on the internet and for some reason it has affected me deeply. We have known people who got stung by deceit on singles sites, but I didn't go there, and somehow felt safe.

I have been fairly often participating in a Christian forum. We have been very open with each other, and I trust those women.

I want to keep this blog rated G, but the next paragraphs might be GP.

On Sunday someone briefly visited the forum, purporting to be a Christian woman. However, the id included a word that, from my big city days, I knew to be a code word for illicit behavior, even illegal behavior. I went to her web site,from there to her blog, and from there to her profile. There, gender was stated "Male."

I have compassion on the physically ambiguous, who must choose a gender identity. I have compassion on those who society won't let be themselves. Not all guys are sportsmen. Not all girls frilly. From there, our current society forces questions of gender identity. In college, I had friends who struggled very hard with this.

Later, I had Christian friends who, knowing their gender identity, struggled for celibacy. I salute them. Sure of my own gender, I too struggled with celibacy. God helped us.

That said, I felt somehow cheated that the person on the Christian forum would present herself as a woman, then leave a backtrail as a male. I do not know that person's story. I just feel I have been deceived. She doesn't have to present her story to the public view, but I'd feel better if she were consistent, and chose an id without the illicit codeword.

That one, however, did not trouble me as much as as an encounter on Mon evening on Yahoo!Answers. I've been feeling very pleased with myself, using my knowledge in music, biology, and the Bible to answer questions there. The Religion and Spirituality category had recently attracted me. It's obviously a battleground in the great spiritual warfare that's going on.

There are several who answer there who are better equipped than I, and who compassionately, calmly quote chapter and verse. I like to go through the list of answers and click my approval on the ones I like.

Last night we got a question from one who appeared to be a young Christian with a crippled sister. He even blessed us in the Holy Name. Many compassionate answers were given. Then one person cast doubt on the young man's authenticity. I checked his list of previous answers.
He had responded previously as an atheist and used *** language.

There again, perhaps he is really searching, was mad at God for his family's problem, then had a change of heart and meekly asked our opinion. Experience in the wider world makes me doubt it. It really freaked me out and I almost decided to stay off the internet.

This morning, however, I've recovered some of my trust of people.

God bless us, everyone.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Urban Victorian

A wonderful new category was discussed today in a cast forum. A beautiful cowl was described a urban Victorian.

Is this mask urban Victorian? It's in http://pandpvintage.etsy.com

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Auction for Carol

I want to just leave you the link without comment, but you should be forewarned. It's not a pretty story.

http://auctionforcarol.blogspot.com/

Ok, this is mostly politics

I was despairing of the pseudospheres ever selling. They did. Mr. P says he's amazed. I'm more and more of the opinion that my interests and humor are simply not those of the average bear.

Now, to politics. I've been Dem, I've been Rep. I just realized last night that I have decided on a candidate for what are possibly superficial reasons. Then I defend my decision, mostly to myself, though sometimes a little with Mr. P. He tries to stay aloof from it all, to protect his b.p. Though I try to read a lot about the issues, I may indeed be a one or few issue(s) voter. That's a terrible thing for me to recognize, but it's part of being a quick decider.

I think that a whole lot of us just seize on one candidate for personal reasons, of which we may not even be aware. Then we find reasons to support our decision.

I think the reality is that candidates say whatever it takes to get elected, then become aware of what's best for the nation. There's evidence W didn't change his mind when he should have, saying something like, I don't negotiate with myself.

At the time that Reagan was elected, I happened to be Dem. Some friends and I were convinced that he was going to throw the entire world into war. I think it was on his inauguration day that I had an intuitive insight, or thought from God, which calmed me down. "It will be all right. He's played this role before."

Tangentially, I heard one pastor say that while he didn't think it was his place to discuss politics from the pulpit, he didn't see how anyone could believe in the principles of the Kingdom of God and not be a Democrat. And of course, a little while later I heard exactly the opposite from a different pastor, who was Republican. They used, as much as I can remember, exactly the same words.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Clarification

We're happy bears at our house today because last night's scare about Venezuela was needless. The buyer is in the USA.

However, it did alert me to legalities. As it turns out, the kind of things I sell are easily exported to Australia, Canada and Japan. Even the UK seems to require import licenses for the buyer, unless it's used(ah, vintage) clothing.

So, we have a somewhat international business.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Customs Fees and Duties

I finally found the import/export regulations I've been worried about. USPS .com has the rules for each country. They are really hard to find, because they seem to be accessible only from the "Customs Forms" page and then you must scroll down to find the link to "Prohibitions and Restrictions."

The consequences for breaking the law are considerable.

You know how excited I get when I have an international sale. I may rethink my policies. I've already edited shop policies to say that buyers are responsible for duties and knowing the laws of their own countries for import. That disclaimer probably isn't enough.

There was a very strange order tonight. The etsy order and the paypal invoice gave an American address, but etsy said it was in Venezuela. Perhaps the buyer is currently in Venezuela but wants the item shipped to the US address. In that case, no laws are being violated. I await clarification.

Americans in Venezuela might want to repatriate. Chavez is kicking out the American ambassador.

Obviously, we're not anywhere near a global economy.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Rude Awakening

I've been living in a fairly small town for several years, and while we've had our share of encounters with shady figures here, I've lost my general wariness of humankind that I had developed in big cities. Also, not working 0ut of the home, I've been fairly well protected from wider society with all its various forms of deceit.

In the last two days I have encountered two deceitful characters on the internet and for some reason it has affected me deeply. We have known people who got stung by deceit on singles sites, but I didn't go there, and somehow felt safe.

I have been fairly often participating in a Christian forum. We have been very open with each other, and I trust those women.

I want to keep this blog rated G, but the next paragraphs might be GP.

On Sunday someone briefly visited the forum, purporting to be a Christian woman. However, the id included a word that, from my big city days, I knew to be a code word for illicit behavior, even illegal behavior. I went to her web site,from there to her blog, and from there to her profile. There, gender was stated "Male."

I have compassion on the physically ambiguous, who must choose a gender identity. I have compassion on those who society won't let be themselves. Not all guys are sportsmen. Not all girls frilly. From there, our current society forces questions of gender identity. In college, I had friends who struggled very hard with this.

Later, I had Christian friends who, knowing their gender identity, struggled for celibacy. I salute them. Sure of my own gender, I too struggled with celibacy. God helped us.

That said, I felt somehow cheated that the person on the Christian forum would present herself as a woman, then leave a backtrail as a male. I do not know that person's story. I just feel I have been deceived. She doesn't have to present her story to the public view, but I'd feel better if she were consistent, and chose an id without the illicit codeword.

That one, however, did not trouble me as much as as an encounter on Mon evening on Yahoo!Answers. I've been feeling very pleased with myself, using my knowledge in music, biology, and the Bible to answer questions there. The Religion and Spirituality category had recently attracted me. It's obviously a battleground in the great spiritual warfare that's going on.

There are several who answer there who are better equipped than I, and who compassionately, calmly quote chapter and verse. I like to go through the list of answers and click my approval on the ones I like.

Last night we got a question from one who appeared to be a young Christian with a crippled sister. He even blessed us in the Holy Name. Many compassionate answers were given. Then one person cast doubt on the young man's authenticity. I checked his list of previous answers.
He had responded previously as an atheist and used *** language.

There again, perhaps he is really searching, was mad at God for his family's problem, then had a change of heart and meekly asked our opinion. Experience in the wider world makes me doubt it. It really freaked me out and I almost decided to stay off the internet.

This morning, however, I've recovered some of my trust of people.

God bless us, everyone.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Urban Victorian

A wonderful new category was discussed today in a cast forum. A beautiful cowl was described a urban Victorian.

Is this mask urban Victorian? It's in http://pandpvintage.etsy.com

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Auction for Carol

I want to just leave you the link without comment, but you should be forewarned. It's not a pretty story.

http://auctionforcarol.blogspot.com/

Ok, this is mostly politics

I was despairing of the pseudospheres ever selling. They did. Mr. P says he's amazed. I'm more and more of the opinion that my interests and humor are simply not those of the average bear.

Now, to politics. I've been Dem, I've been Rep. I just realized last night that I have decided on a candidate for what are possibly superficial reasons. Then I defend my decision, mostly to myself, though sometimes a little with Mr. P. He tries to stay aloof from it all, to protect his b.p. Though I try to read a lot about the issues, I may indeed be a one or few issue(s) voter. That's a terrible thing for me to recognize, but it's part of being a quick decider.

I think that a whole lot of us just seize on one candidate for personal reasons, of which we may not even be aware. Then we find reasons to support our decision.

I think the reality is that candidates say whatever it takes to get elected, then become aware of what's best for the nation. There's evidence W didn't change his mind when he should have, saying something like, I don't negotiate with myself.

At the time that Reagan was elected, I happened to be Dem. Some friends and I were convinced that he was going to throw the entire world into war. I think it was on his inauguration day that I had an intuitive insight, or thought from God, which calmed me down. "It will be all right. He's played this role before."

Tangentially, I heard one pastor say that while he didn't think it was his place to discuss politics from the pulpit, he didn't see how anyone could believe in the principles of the Kingdom of God and not be a Democrat. And of course, a little while later I heard exactly the opposite from a different pastor, who was Republican. They used, as much as I can remember, exactly the same words.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Clarification

We're happy bears at our house today because last night's scare about Venezuela was needless. The buyer is in the USA.

However, it did alert me to legalities. As it turns out, the kind of things I sell are easily exported to Australia, Canada and Japan. Even the UK seems to require import licenses for the buyer, unless it's used(ah, vintage) clothing.

So, we have a somewhat international business.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Customs Fees and Duties

I finally found the import/export regulations I've been worried about. USPS .com has the rules for each country. They are really hard to find, because they seem to be accessible only from the "Customs Forms" page and then you must scroll down to find the link to "Prohibitions and Restrictions."

The consequences for breaking the law are considerable.

You know how excited I get when I have an international sale. I may rethink my policies. I've already edited shop policies to say that buyers are responsible for duties and knowing the laws of their own countries for import. That disclaimer probably isn't enough.

There was a very strange order tonight. The etsy order and the paypal invoice gave an American address, but etsy said it was in Venezuela. Perhaps the buyer is currently in Venezuela but wants the item shipped to the US address. In that case, no laws are being violated. I await clarification.

Americans in Venezuela might want to repatriate. Chavez is kicking out the American ambassador.

Obviously, we're not anywhere near a global economy.

More Creativity


I'm really having fun today. The top photo is of the hand embroidered butterfly to go in the shop. Below that is a better photograph of the embroidered piece,"Neutrophil Engulfing Bacterium", which is also Histology Fantasy 2.

I went thrifting today and had a marvelous find of 4 dark colored skins. They are labeled, "Seal Dyed Coney Skin." They are marvelous, actually better quality than the rabbit skins we have. They are small, so they'll become mittens for a youngster or small woman. Or a small man, I guess.

I knew that coneys are something like rabbits, but looked it up, and am now more uncertain of what I know. Some people call rabbits coneys, I think, but there are other, smaller animals that are a bit different, and called coneys.

In any case, they are fantastic skins.

I've been making mittens with the fur on the inside, which makes them warmer, but these are so beautiful I think I'll leave the fur on the outside, for fashion. I mean, really, if anyone is going to climb K2, they're going to buy scientifically designed gloves, and not rely on animal skins.


Off to make mittens

Primitive Manly Christian Trinket Box

Tonight I machine stitched a little on a piece of leather to embellish a small wooden box. I can easily imagine a Christian man using it for his cufflinks (anyone wear them anymore?), tie tacks, and lapel pins. Class ring?

Now, if I can just get Mr. P to finish the wooden box...

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

India, Dancing 7's and The Glorius Cross



The 7's are ready for the etsy shop.

The Glorious Cross embroidery is finished, but will appear later, as part of a larger whole.

Last night I was rereading some of my older blog posts and wondered if anyone ever read them. To my surprise, I found an email from a student in India, commenting on another blog I had mentioned, about which I had asked for comments.

Wow, the world shrinks. I don't know why I'm so surprised and pleased.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Dancing Circles




These circles were "captured" at the end of the party or worship service, when they were giddy and almost exhausted.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

For New Etsy Sellers

Gratuitous Bunny photo


I was just introduced to the Promotions Forums on Etsy. I think some buyers lurk there, and some sellers say their sales are directly related to how much time they spend in the promo forums. Other sellers say they get views but no sales.

It goes at a fast pace, so I definitely won't go there at bedtime again. I might use it to wake up in the morning.

It's another tool.

We had a sale to Australia! It was the Japanese Kitten Kit, which had crepe fabric, patterns, and all the little details to make two pink and brown kittens. I'm really proud of all my global business.

I really like to buy American, because you should take care of your nearest family first. But...

Before I lived Elsewhere, I knew few people who had been out of N. America. Now I read in my alumni magazines of many, many people in this town who travel for several reasons. Though there may be a McDonald's where they visit, they can see the world through the eyes of people who are very different than they. A couple of excellent results obtain. (1) They widen their thinking. (2) By comparing themselves with people who are very different, they come to know themselves.

I respect global communication. Global economies scare me.

And in terms of respecting other cultures, let me just say that not all social mores are equal.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

A PARTY!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3071/2569486666_9bfe6e591c_o.jpg


Wish I'd been there!