Dear Neighbors To The North:

Dear Kickity Ass Kick Ass Canadians,

I realize a few of you were upset over my post a few days ago, where I had posted a Canadian fashion designer (a gorgeous Canadian fashion designer) and then poked a bit of fun at your people.

I did not mean to be...well, mean. I often post with a bit of self-deprecation and tongue-in-cheek, but beating up on myself gets old sometimes and I occasionally have to move on to other targets. It is only fair, I feel, to unleash of my innocent rankling on to other groups of people.

For the record, I would like to state- I meant absolutely no harm by my post. I simply wanted to showcase an awesome designer that I had found. I love Canadians! I met my first Canadian last year, a real live Canadian that said house like "hoose" and out like "oot". He was a nice guy, old in his years and a retired professor. He thought I was funny. Hence, all the rest of the Canadians should think I'm funny, too. Duh.

If you took offense to my post, then I'm not quite sure what to say except consider the source. I'm a freakishly pale, scrawny white girl that can't climb up a set of stairs normally and is going bald. I grew up in South Dakota, for pete's sake. I feel slightly flattered that a few people were so irritated by my innocent ribbing, but I meant absolutely no harm. Absolutely none.

In all honesty- if you ever take offense to what I have to say, then perhaps this isn't the blog for you. I post only in good humor and nothing more. One of the great things about living in the United States (or Canada) is that our web browsers have a little "x" in the upper right hand corner that you can click and voila! Just like that, I'm gone. I don't want you to click that little "x", but if you're being insulted by my incessant babbling, then perhaps it's only for the best.

If you want me to stop poking fun, if you want me to start being PC- I sure can. But it's going to make for one heckuva boring blog.

Love and Lots of Maple Do(ugh)nuts,
Chloe




PS- And to the poster that seemed quite upset that the recession hasn't left me homeless in a shanty, I would like to say this. Husband's business has picked back up again over the recent months, hallelujah. Husband puts in long hours at his business, oftentimes working 12, 13 hour days 5 to 6 to 7 days a week. As the saying goes- you don't own a business. The business owns you.

I also have parents that have, in the past, put in 12 hour days, 5 days a week of hard work to keep food on the table and a roof over our heads. I also understand that just because you're a good, hard, dedicated worker doesn't mean you always come out on top in this world. Morally, perhaps- my parents are great people. Perhaps even the best people you could ever know. But they have worked hard their entire lives and will continue to work hard while not always reaping the financial benefits due of their hard work. I realize how fortunate Darling Husband and I are for our situation in life and everything we have and I think about it almost daily.

This recent upturn with Husband's business has allowed us to hire 40 people back. Forty people that we had laid off earlier this year! So if you want the recession to really impact me, if you want my husband to close up his small business (that gives FREE HEALTHCARE TO ALL OF THEIR EMPLOYEES- find another small business that does that!) and lay those 40 people off again, we sure can. If you want me to stop spending money (again, stimulating the economy in the most simplest of ways), I sure can. If you want me and Husband to stop donating to charities (again, spreading the little wealth we have), we sure can.

But I'm pretty sure that isn't going to help the recession, I'm pretty sure that wouldn't make you very happy either, and I'm pretty sure that's what they call cutting off one's nose to spite one's face. Not sure if you've ever heard of that little phrase in London, Ontario- but think about it.

So. Please go spite your own face, you big baby. I don't often resort to childish name-calling or addressing snarky commenters, but I have never read a more asinine or poorly thought-out post in my comments in my life. Did you really think about what you were saying there? Really?? Obviously not?

But thanks for taking the time to type it all out anyway. It gave me a bit of a good chuckle and really made my day. I mean it. ?

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Title: Dear Neighbors

A plea to the neighbors.

Title: Dear Neighbors...

Thanks for throwing a party 12 feet from my bedroom window 4-5 nights a week...gotta love the singing and stories i get to hear. Just a few tips for you though...

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Stash-o-rama!

When I sat down to do my taxes this past spring, it occurred to me that my bookkeeping systems needs a lot of work. One of the things that needs the most improvement is my materials inventory, which is inaccurate at best. I know that if I want to fix things, I’m going to need to start by taking stock of my entire bead stash from top to bottom. The concept is horrifying!

Before I can even fathom such a task, I will need to clear out a lot of older beads, particularly those that I’ve had since long before beading became more of a business than a hobby. My ultimate goal is to have only items in my stash that also have invoices to go with them. This could take awhile.

I have a lot of good reasons for never using all these beads that I’ve been carrying around. Some of them only have tiny quantities; there aren’t enough to commit to a project, so they wait until they can be used as the occasional accent color.

Others just keep getting passed over, and I tell myself “I’ll probably need them some day”. This is, of course, ridiculous. I don’t worry about saving beads that I really, really like, because I love using them. And if I’m ever in need of a certain bead color, I have no trouble ordering them. There is no reason to hang on to these beads until the end of time.

The Inspiration:

I am starting my big destash project by using up all of my old Czech seed beads. The first thing I did was pull out all of my bead boxes and removed everything that I haven’t used in months. I sorted the seeds by color, then created an assortment of bead soups. They instantly became ten times more appealing.

The Beads:

The first bead mixture that I wanted to use was a combination of all my pinks and purples. I liked the sweetness of the colors, and I wanted to put it to good use. I grabbed some more must-go beads - a 4/o mixture of magenta and baby blue. With the dash of blue thrown in, the bead soup was now the color of cotton candy.

The Beadwork:

The most exciting thing about a bead soup that absolutely must be used up is that there are no rules or boundaries. You can make any design, any size! It’s been awhile since I made a clasp free chain necklace, so I decided to make loops of right angle weave until I ran out of beads.

Cotton Candy Swirl Necklace

I created a pattern of accent beads in groups of four: magenta, pink, blue, pink. To make it a little more interesting, I alternated which side of the chain the accent beads were on, but in groups of three. At first glance, there doesn’t appear to be a pattern at all, but there is a lack of chaos that sort of soothes the eye.

I wish I had staggered the pattern a little more, because I ran out of pale pink accents long before everything else. Still, the necklace turned out to be a whopping 70 inches. I think this is the longest necklace I’ve ever made. I’m going to enjoy this destash mission.

Copyright 2010 Inspirational Beading and The Sage's Cupboard

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Title: Krishna Awareness

http://www.krishnasmercy.org "I bow down to Damodara, the form of full joy, eternity and wisdom, within Vrindavana. Whose shining earrings swung as he so swiftly ran from mother Yashoda who caught that naughty boy." (Sri Damodarastakam)

Title: Wall Street Wail

Thanks to Stashorama, this tune now has it's correct title. Thanks Stash. This was Dougie's red waistcoat band on a tour of Europe and Scandinavia. These sides were recorded in a Copenhagen cinema around lunchtime, the band was playing a few nights at the Black Cat Club. Lineup was Dougie clt, Dick Tattum tpt, Bill Hales (that's me) tbn and vcls, Mookie Herman bass, Paul Sealey bjo and gtr, Colin Bowden dms. If anyone has any pics of Dougie's red waistcoat band I would be very grateful to receive them.

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Fall Bowling Leagues .. We Have Suzi Q Ladies Bowling Shirts .. So Retro

New in our shop ... Suzi Q Ladies Bowling shirts. So retro. So cool. This new shirt has a luxurious feel due to the brushed finish of its new modern polyester material. We traveled far to find this material in the Silk Market of Guangchou, China. It is called Escada and it feels like silk against your body at less than half the cost. It is completely wash and wear and will NEVER SHRINK. Wash in a gentle cycle and put in the dryer on low heat. No need for ironing.

Here are a few of our styles!

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I think she celebrated way too early

Title: Bowling fall and recovery

Practicing bowling one day, I went to slide and stuck, and went down hard. Two minutes later, after washing the lane oil off (and putting a bandage on my pride), I put on a brave face and confronted my enemy...

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A Necklace a Day - Nine

Today’s necklace design features one of my favorite materials - tagua ivory. I have a very small stash of slice pendants, and I thought it was about time that I made use of one. I like to give these beauties lots of room to stand out, so I decided on a simple spiral rope necklace.

I was searching through my bead stash for suitable colors to use, and came across a few packets of pastel colored peanut seed beads. I’ve used them in spiral ropes before, as accent beads, but I didn’t want to do the same old pattern again. Then it occurred to me that they might look nice as the main beads in the spiral rows, so I grabbed all three colors - purple and green Ceylon, and pink lined crystal.

Pastel Pink Pendant

Along with cream and white round seed beads, I made a spiral rope with three peanuts at the center of each row. I was so thrilled with the way the beadwork took shape! The peanuts lock together perfectly, sometimes alternating their position from vertical to horizontal. Because they’re just slightly larger than the round seed beads, they add a bit of bulk to the spiral rows, making them tighter and a little puffy-looking.

With the peanut seed beads in the rows, the spiral has a nice bubbly texture, but has the same drape and flexibility as a regular rope. I added a simple looped bail to the tagua slice, and that’s one more necklace down - only 21 more to go!

Copyright 2010 Inspirational Beading

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Title: The Necklace [Part 4]

Qaa-di Abu Bakr Muhammad bin Abdul Baqi Ansari is an illustrious personality of Islamic History... perhaps the most pious person of his time. Even after the lapse of nine centuries, his exemplary life is a source of guidance to Muslims. His biographers tell a number of tales of his honesty and reliability but the one that affected his whole life is full of strange and unique events. This is a tale that parallels the true life story of Imam Abu Bakr Muhammad...

Title: How to Make Hemp Necklaces : How to Determine Hemp Necklace Length

Learn about how to determine the length of hemp necklaces and other jewelry with expert tips in this free craft video clip. Expert: Jessica Goodrich Bio: Jessica began making Hemp Jewelry over 10 years ago. She enjoys making hemp bracelets, key chains, and necklaces. Filmmaker: Drew Noah

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& Questions Answered Regarding My Latest Purchases:

1. Both items from Forever 21 are smalls. I've found that Forever 21 has lately joined the ranks in vanity sizing- a few years back, a small would be laughable (and I'd rip a few seams trying to wiggle into whatever I had purchased) but now a small is almost too big. I really wish they'd introduce an XS in more of their clothing items.

To give you guys an idea- I'm 5'2", typically a size 0-2 in Nanette Lepore and a size 0-2 in J Crew. I don't have any boobs. I'm both an apple shape (I carry my weight around my middle) and I have a big rib cage, which is fun. It was amusing when I got measured for my wedding dress- most women are big, small, big (hips, waist, chest). I was small, big, small. It's like I'm fucking built backwards. Awesome.

And you know, I have to love the vanity sizing; it totally negates that I've gained about 10 pounds over the past year. YAY VANITY SIZING.

Which reminds me. A co-worker and I were discussing shapes one night and I pointed out my appleness to her. She said, "Well, but you're little. You're like a mini apple. You're a...um...uh...it's like...you're...you're a crab apple!"

Thanks co-worker. A crab apple. *bares fangs*

2. Here is the pattern on the F21 coat:

There is a slight floral pattern to it, which I love. It gives the coat texture without being obnoxious.

3. Yes, those jeans are totally from Target. I actually snagged them a while back when they were on sale for $19.99 (!), but even at $27.99 they're a steal. I'm guessing the inseam is around 33". I washed them as soon as I got home (and even after washing, they retain that nice faded grayish blue color) and they shrunk up to where I can wear them perfectly with a pair of 3" heels. My inseam is typically around 29". They make my pancake-flat butt look...well, good. Or at least better than it normally looks. Awwwwesome.

4. Pictures of me and Petunia:

Oh wait, that's right. Nobody asked for pictures of Petunia. Well, SOMETHING is wrong with that. Wrong! Wrong wrong wrong! And you guys are getting them anyway. Peets is usually frolicking in the background (or foreground, or any ground) of my photo shoots, so I decided to grab her and snap a few pics. She is totally my baby. And almost a year old! I love chihuahua squints, even if it's probably burning holes into her retina. Enjoy!

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