30 November 2006

Xmasthulu Ornaments

Clever hubby has been at it again. He has created these lovely Cthulu Christmas Ornaments from Sculpey; they are for sale, $10 each plus shipping. Two have already sold, but he can make more.

Xmasthulu Figures

tags: crafts, hubby, cthulu

29 November 2006

Wacky Wislist Items....

Ooo, this is neat. Out of my pricerange, but neat:

Shelflife -- off-kilter bookshelf with a chair and footstool that slide right in (or pull right out) by designer Charles Trevelyan.

Hey, I could afford one of these... but I probably don't need one:

6-in-1 Keyring Multi Tool
-- looks like a key, fits on a keyring, includes flat, philips and eyeglass screwdriver tips, straight and serraded knife edges, and a bottle opener. This is my favourite multi-tool yet.

Hmm, I think I could make these. Better add them to the giant ToDo list:

Feltris Blocks -- simple felt construction of Tetris style blocks.

Periodic Table Shower Curtain -- actually I had planned to make one with pockets and flashcards so kiddo could learn how they all fit in to the table.... Hmm.

These are interesting... but not for my wishlist:

Chairs (and other furniture) made from bike parts. Check out the Milano Lounge Chair -- complete with bicycle horn [HONK HONK, "Get me another beer!"]

Giant Swiss Army Knife. 85 tools in one? I don't even know how I would hold this. Someone forgot the "less is more" mantra.

Moon Shoes. Trampolines for your feet! How cool is that? Unfortunately, I exceed the weight limit. Damn.


tags: productplacement, wishlist

Baby, it's cold outside.

All I want to do is curl up, do some knitting, and watch Christmas movies. This is odd for me, I usually like to reign in Christmas themed stuff to December -- preferably about two weeks around Christmas Day. The weather though, seems to make me want to nest in around coloured lights.

Of course I can't put up our tree yet; we got rid of our artificial tree last year and are planning on getting a real cut tree this year (kiddo needs to smell a real tree at least once and I really miss the smell and feel).

With the randomly crappy weather it also looks like we will have to postpone our trip to Vancouver this Friday, which has me very bummed. We were planning on taking in the BodyWorlds 3 exhibit and doing some shopping. Sigh. If the weather suddenly clears up by Thursday night we will likely head over and take our chances with hotels but we aren't booking ahead.

treecicle_2
brrrrrrrrrr.....

tags: frozen, winter, victoriabc, Christmas

27 November 2006

Bowie.

Sigh. Bowie rarely fails to amuse me. Here he is on the show Extras (I wish this aired here.... alas I have only seen clips), making fun of Ricky Gervais [episode 2.2 for those keeping track].


tags: David Bowie, Extras, youtube

Snow Day!

OK, what kind of topsy turvy world is this? We woke up to another 6 inches of snow...

wintery_view

... and my brother, in Ottawa, is "basking" in unseasonably warm temperatures...

UVic was the last educational institution in the region to declare it was closed today, at 7 a.m.; the public schools had already announced by the time I got up at 6. Transit tried going out but ordered all its drivers to stop around 6:40 a.m. after several busses slid into ditches. They were running again at 8:00 but on very reduced service (3 regular routes plus 4 modified routes).

Kiddo was up early and we headed down to the park, which looked beautiful... I took many many photos... and she had fun, especially after her cousins and Nana arrived. We were back inside by 9:00, enjoying some hot chocolate and soon I am going to dig out the Scrabble Junior game.

Unfortunately, Hubby does not get a day off since he works from home. However, he is taking a lunch break to walk up to A&W for some Mozza Burgers. MMMMm.


tags: snow, victoriabc, snowday

26 November 2006

Weather Happened.

So... it snowed here today. Quite a lot, actually, about 4 inches (10 cm):

four_inches_deep

It was enough that they had to close Ring Road around the UVic Campus due to downed trees and subsequently reroute several bus routes. While our lights flickered all afternoon, they stayed on. Other Victorians were not so lucky. I have no idea what the conditions will be tomorrow... or whether I will be able to get to campus. Sigh. At least kiddo got her wish for snow:

my_snow_angel

For fun, have a look at drivers trying to navigate Esquimalt Rd. this morning. There's ice and slush all over the road, and my bet is not one of those vehicles has snowtires.

tags: weather, snow, victoriabc

25 November 2006

snowing1


snowing1
Originally uploaded by triviaqueen.
AAAgh! SNOW. I must actually be in Canada. We rarely get snow out here... and we really didn't believe the forecast (especially when they revised it to say "snow mixed with rain") and yet around 3:30 this afternoon in Nanaimo it started snowing heavily.... thankfully hubby was driving. Thankfully, we called ahead to BC ferries to check the schedule for the Mill Bay - Brentwood bay run. Thankfully we made it on the ferry.

Back on the Peninsula, it was raining -- mixed with snow -- but after returning home, we found out the Malahat (the route we would have had to take if we hadn't detoured to the ferry) had been closed!

PHEW!

24 November 2006

Home, sick, home.

Well, I think I tried to do too much this month. Going in Wednesday was probably a mistake; I dragged myself through the day and people kept asking me, "Are you OK?" -- clearly I was not. So I stayed home yesterday... feeling gross... today I feel a little worse.

I did some sorting yesterday. I needed to blast through a backlog of papers in the office and doing so while sick may have been the best plan ever. I had no patience for sentimentality so stuff that on other days I might have salvaged just went into the big recycle bin. Woo!

sorting junk_shred_recycle

In the end, I managed to eke out enough room to leave my sewing machine set up "permanently" in the office, next to my old desktop computer. It's not a ton of space -- I can't sew a quilt up there, but it's enough room to do crafting.

new_home

I also tidied my bedside table... today though... I think a little less activity. Sigh.

tags: organization, cleaning, sorting

21 November 2006

Long long day.

Hearts and Hands sale went well. Not fantastic... but not a write-off either. I was hoping for higher sales, but at least sales were steady.. and I was happy to have my Mother in Law there for support and sales help. I gotta say though, my face hurts from all the "polite smiling" Ugh. Apparently those muscles don't get a lot of exercise. Heh.

saleday_hands

The fingerpuppets were the surprise hit -- almost everyone smiled at them, and about a third found new homes. Very few pincushions sold, so I am going to set up an online store to sell off the remaining items. But not tonight. Tonight, is vegetation on the sofa night. Ahhhhhh.


tags: craftfair, sellingsomething.

Craft Fair Today

If you're in Victoria, and not stuck behind a desk (or other workplace) today, come by the UVic Centre and say "Hi" -- I'll be selling all my crafty things today at the Hearts and Hands sale.

Raffle tickets are available ($2 or 3 for $5) to win a huge gift basket with goodies from all the fair participants -- all proceeds for the raffle go to the United Way. Thanks!

tags: craftfu, sellingsomething

20 November 2006

If He Did It -- We Won't Know.

I have been following, with some curiosity, the furor over the pending publication of O.J. Simpson's tell-nothing pseudo-confession If I Did It... well apparently today Rupert Murdoch pulled the plug on the deal. I'm guessing there were threats involved.

Murdoch commented: "I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project. We are sorry for any pain this has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson."
The FOX broadcast has been pulled, too.

[quote from Shelf Awareness email newsletter]

19 November 2006

Creative Sprint!


two_huggits
Originally uploaded by triviaqueen.
Hee! Last minute creative burst plus one very orange scarf equals the Huggit family. Here's Milton and Bobby Huggit ready to go!

18 November 2006

Dry-Run

Today, I pulled all my stock together and put it up on a desk not currently in use in the office. At 5'x1'6" it's a bit smaller than what I will have to work with on the day of the fair (6'x2'6") but that's OK as I still have my beanbags to add, and I can spread the rest of the stock out a bit. I will also have a dish of chocolates to entice buyers....

test_setup_office

I am particularly pleased with my plan to use the pasta drying rack to display my CuppaJoe Cozies. They are all hanging with ornament hooks.... and I think they look great!

test_setup_cozies

I'm also pretty happy with the variety of pincushions -- I will be sewing up a few more tonight though. Then maybe tomorrow I can make a few stuffed toys and/or knit some last-minute Cozies!

test_setup_pincushions

Monday, it'll be hard to work... then Monday night I'll be checking my list, and Tuesday, we'll see how it all goes. Fingers crossed.

tags: craftfair, be prepared

17 November 2006

Screw You, Mavis Beacon.

This is the cutest little touch-typing game ever. And by cute I do not mean bunnies and butterflies, but rather diminutive and nifty. Type fast to shoot the little word-toting gangsters before they shoot you. There's even blood-spatters.

Word Shoot: Spell Fast or Die!



tags: typing, education, game, online

16 November 2006

Rob Zombie's Underground

I don't know what it is about Rob Zombie. I really don't enjoy his music... and I suspect I wouldn't be able to have a casual conversation with the man (maybe... who knows?) but damn, if he doesn't know movies. Despite the fact that I am a serious sissy when it comes to horror films, I enjoyed House of 1000 Corpses and I am still trying to find the right time to watch the follow-up.

In the meantime, there is Underground with Rob Zombie. It runs on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) Fridays, "late night" (which is around 2 am on the east coast or 11 pm in my world). The idea is that he hosts a double-feature of cult/underground classics. This weekend it's two from Tod Browning: Freaks and Mark of the Vampire.

Don't know whether I'll be up late enough to catch the second movie... but I will likely be chanting "one of us" for a few days to come.....

tags: movies, cabletv

14 November 2006

Busy Week Ahead....

OK... so... there's one week today until the Hearts and Hands craft fair.... and it is looking more and more like a BIG THING (i.e. we can now take Visa. )

So... this week, I will be finishing whatever stock I can try to get done... then over the weekend I will be gathering all the bits and pieces I will need for the fair (receipt books, bags, price tags...) plus setting up the table (dry run) at home and also making a portfolio -- you know, in case I sell out of everything and want to take special orders (ooh... then I guess I will need an order form, too... hmm).

***

In other news, I have thrown in the virtual towel on NaNoWriMo. I am still writing... but there is no way in the world I will get to 50K by the end of the month -- not with a family, the craft fair, and work -- not to mention "life" in general, and wanting to still have one.

What kind of life have I been having? Hmm. Well, hubby and I went to see The Prestige over the weekend (entertaining, and good eye candy); we are planning to see Bond on Friday night; and we are still keeping up with regular primetime shows.

Kiddo had a mellow weekend, recovering from round two (three?) of tonsilitis.. she was eager to go back to school today. We did let her play in her tent for a couple of days (pop-up living room tent) and more than once she chose to nap in there.

Otherwise... busy busy busy... and I should get back to it.


tags: craftfair, nanowrimo, lifeingeneral

11 November 2006

Sew Sew Sew....

This weekend the focus has been:

pincushion_group

Pincushions!

Lots of em.


Kiddo is sick again... with tonsilitis, again. We should be at a party, but didn't want kiddo to infect anyone else -- especially kids. I'm in the midst of a four day weekend... and I should be writing some amount of my nanowrimo novel.... but I'm making headway on the pincushions and other craft-fair related stuff.... so aside from this brief blogging break and some Flickr puttering yesterday... I'm mostly away from the computer.


tags: craftfu, sewing

09 November 2006

Just around the corner...


hearts_and_hands
Originally uploaded by triviaqueen.
This is the official poster for the Hearts and Hands Craft Fair, where I will be selling my many crafty creations (CuppaJoe Cozies, pincushions, stuffed toys, fingerpuppets and beanbags!) in less than two weeks!

My goal this weekend is 12 large pincushions and 3 sets of beanbags. I should also try to sew a few more large stuffed toys.

My other challenge is figuring out the best way to display everything... then there is stuff like receipt books, bags, tissue, etc... I have much planning to do.


tags: craft-fu, sellingsomething

06 November 2006

Procrastination? Frustration? Avoidance?

Who knows. Either way, I wrote all of about 200 words toward NaNoWriMo this weekend. On the other hand, I did meet my craft goal of making 24 more finger puppets, plus I also knit three PrideCozy CuppaJoe Cozies. I guess sometime on Saturday, I decided that I could most likely sell the bulk of whatever I made at the craft fair (cash=instant feedback) whereas participating in NaNoWriMo would have no immediate outcome aside from bragging rights (which are cool, but don't put money in the bank). So NaNoWriMo gets to be fourth on the priority list. (List = Family, Work, Crafts, NaNoWriMo).

Today, I thought about how to describe my novel's protagonist and came up with "The Bureaucrat with the Heart of Coal." I almost like that as a title. Almost.

tags: nanowrimo, craftfu

02 November 2006

I have chosen the path to insanity.

I signed up for NaNoWriMo:



I have no idea how far I will get, or what the end result might be. I have a character in my head from a previous story (Maureen, the evil bureaucrat from "You Can't Fight City Hall") and when I sat down and opened a document, "she" started talking. I really don't know where this is going right now... but when/if I have something worth sharing, I will let you all know.

Meantime, I will be splitting any "free" time between madly writing and madly crafting this month. Yikes.


tags: nanowrimo, writing, busy