Knotted up - March 24, 2026

Time for a break.

I am trying to make a macrame bracelet with leather cord and hemp string that have lived in my craft stash for upwards of 20 years.  The leather has spent all this time wrapped around a 2" wide cardboard spool, and it is somewhat set in its ways.  The hemp is coming from a ball that came unwound in the drawer and attached itself to a bundle of pipe cleaners; it is somewhat frayed.  I should have cut 2 feet off the end before I started weaving, but I didn't, and I frayed it even more taking stitches out.  But I am pressing on with it and calling it "organic" or "rustic."    Heh..."primitive."

Yesterday, I made two other bracelets (no macrame) out of that leather cord.  They came out rather nice.  I then tried another of a different style, but that one got the better of me.  It uses four 8-inch cords.  The leather wanted to curl, and I could not corral the ends long enough to tie the knots.  I finally just walked away.  It is on the kitchen table, mocking me as I walk by.  Maybe I'll give it another shot tomorrow.

But, regardless, I'm done with this leather cord.  With this macrame bracelet, I have used it all up and have several pieces of jewelry to show for it. Check mark in the "win" column.  

Next, I will tackle the roll of suede leather cord, which will be a whole new ballgame.

@*&!&%! Sweetgum Balls - March 23, 2026

This time of year, our back yard is a wildflower field - henbit, chickweed, dead nettle, wild violets, dandelions, and some unidentified tall yellow things.  We let them grow for a while to feed the bees, until the yard gets too shaggy to stand.  We're almost there.  The blooms are beginning to fade.  Saturday morning, I dragged the wagon around the yard, picking up sticks so we could mow.  We never got to the mowing.

The front yard is a minefield of sweet gum balls.  We'd already raked them up earlier in the spring, but recent storms have littered them again.  After hauling a few loads to the gulley, I gave up and made a burn pile.  Right in the front yard.  As older women are prone to saying these days, "I just don't care" if there's a blackened spot in the yard.  It'll disappear soon. Or not.  I don't care either way.

When I gave out from raking, I cranked the weedeater and chopped down the winter-burned monkey grass and the beebalm stalks I'd left standing for the birds.  Raked leaves off flower beds.  While I was doing around, The Husband showed up to clean off the patio, dispose of a fence panel that had collapsed, and.haul away my weedeating debris.  We worked for several hours, but it doesn't look much different around here.  I'm still waiting on the lawnmower, which The Husband will probably have to boost after it has sat un-cranked all winter.

Not long after we quit the yard, Nanny called to report that her water heater was leaking.  The Husband went to see about it.  They ended up calling a plumber (one that we have not previously used) who said the water heater could not be repaired and we'd have to get a new one.  He said it would be Tuesday before he could install it.  The Husband thought the plumber said it would cost $900, which we thought was a tad high.  Yesterday, Nanny called to say that the water heater was still leaking (well, duh) and that she could not afford $1,900 for a new water heater.  The Husband called the plumber to confirm the price.  Nanny was right.  $1,900.  When I heard this price (I was not privy to the original discussion), I nearly had a stroke.  The big box stores sell them for a fraction of that price.  The Husband told the plumber to hold off on ordering the new heater, planning to check with the local hardware store.  Later that afternoon, when I told Son #1 about the problem, he volunteered to install the water heater.  Son #2 dropped by later and also volunteered his help.  It's good to have folks in the family who know how to do stuff.

Sunday evening, Granddaughters 2 and 3 came over here carrying a formal dress to be altered for Granddaughter #1 who is to attend a black-tie gala this coming weekend.  The neckline of the dress is low and closes with hooks and eyes at the back of the neck, like a halter top.  #1 is rather buxom and is worried about compromising herself at the party.  She wanted me to take off about an inch on either side of the closure.  I did the best I could.  She will be advised to wear her hair down, and hide a couple of safety pins on her person just in case.

While moving around the yard this weekend, I noticed that the wild violets have started to bloom. I picked a few blooms, along with some tiny, unidentified star-shaped white flowers, and put them in silica powder to dry. It'll probably take only a couple of days since they're so tiny. I tried drying some creeping myrtle blooms last week. They turned almost black. I tried another batch and only left them for one day, but they still turned almost black. Some redbud tree blooms turned out nice and are perfect for use in resin jewelry. 

I have not been very ambitious - or at least not very productive - in the jewelry-making department for the past few days. Friday, I tried to do a herringbone weave around a resin cabochon, intending to make a bracelet with it. The "stone" kept slipping around, and I bent the wires all to heck trying to put it back in place. Started over several times, then gave up and moved on to the band part of the bracelet. Made a mess out of that, too. I finally came up with a bracelet that is okay (but not 100% satisfactory to me), but it is not close to what I was hoping to make.

Today, I plan to work on some stalled projects.  I've been trying to transfer laser printer images to air-dry clay, but nothing has worked out well so far.  Some new transfer paper came in the mail last week; I want to see how it works.  And there's a half-finished leather bracelet on the worktable that needs finishing.  Time to get to work!

Yesterday, I spent almost the whole day trying to make a pair of earrings like the one in in the tutorial I was watching.  The whole day.  

When I threw in the towel, I'd assembled ONE PAIR of earrings.  One pair.  And that one resulted from the very first attempt, beginner's luck, I reckon.  

They were wire-twisted earrings - three loops at the top leading to a loose spiral on either side - with a tear-drop dangle at the bottom and a tiny accent bead up near the loops.  I used some "junky" beads since this was just a practice piece.  They came out mostly okay, but I'd scratched the coated wire making the spirals.  I tried again.

Here's the thing about a PAIR of earrings:  they should match.  The goal was to produce two earrings of identical size/shape.

It is very hard.

At the end of the day, I had one scratched-up pair of earrings, and a bowl full of wire loops and spirals, no two of which were the same.

I shall try again.  But maybe not today.

The telephone rang about suppertime last night.  The caller wanted to know if I could draw a catfish standing up, wearing a wig, a bikini top, and a skirt.  "He wants it to look like a hooker," the caller said.

I didn't ask too many questions.

But as soon as I hung up, I grabbed a sketch book and a pencil and started drawing.  

The distinguishing thing about a catfish is its head - the wide, flat shape, the permanent malevolent grin, the lethal whiskers.  Putting a wig on it kind of hides its whole persona.  In the end, it looked like an ugly cartoon mermaid.

Thirty minutes later, I texted the sketch to the caller, with the comment, "She needs big hoop earrings and a tattoo."  

No word yet on what the end "customer" thought about it.  

I do not care.  It was a freebie.  You get what you pay for.  ;)  

Plus, it was kind of fun to pick up a pencil and paper after weeks of pliers and wire.  

And now there's a sketch book and a mug full of colored pencils within reach . . . . 

Maybe I'd rather draw that make earrings.  ;)

Orange Guy - March 18, 2026

High on the east wall of our bathroom is an octagonal window.  A redbird has been flinging himself against this window for the past couple of weeks.  This happened ten years ago, too (though, presumably, not by the same redbird).  It would wake us up at daybreak, fluttering and scratching against the window.  At first, I wondered if the bird could see straight through our bedroom and out the west window and thought he could fly through it, but closing the bathroom door (so he couldn't see straight through) didn't deter him.  

I tried taping scary faces on the window.  Didn't work.

Nothing worked, until Orange Guy took on the job.

Orange Guy was The Grandson's bathtub toy.  I think he came in some "happy meal."  Last week, before we went out of town, I briefly searched the bathroom for Orange Guy but did not find him.  I figured he was in the house, somewhere (for I would never have thrown him away).

When we came home from our trip, there was a rubber snake draped across two small vases that now occupy the sill of the octagonal window.  This snake (one that glows in the dark and will grow to great lengths if you soak it in water for a long time), another bathtub toy, still lives in my tub.  I did not put that snake atop the vases, nor did The Husband.  Only The Grandson, who was home alone while we were gone, could have done it.  

I laughed when I realized what had happened.  While we were gone, The Grandson had heard the noise, investigated, and thought perhaps the snake would scare the bird away.  (It didn't work.)  I've been meaning to ask him about it, but he's been in and out, and I forgot to ask him until last night.

"Yes! That bird nearly drove me crazy," he said.  

His face lit up at the mention of Orange Guy.  When I said that Orange Guy is probably still around, he jumped up and went to the toy closet.  After some rattling and thumping, I heard a shot of joy.  Orange Guy has been found!

The redbird has laid off the window for the past few days (it's been too cold for him to pick fights, I guess) but if he shows up again, Orange Guy will be on the job.

* * * * * * * * 

You'd be proud of me just now if you could've seen what just happened.  I knocked over my coffee cup, and did not try to save the 10% off coupon from a bead store before it got soaked.  This proves my resolve to not buy any more freakin' beads until I use up some of what I already have.

I MEAN IT.

Yesterday, after I came home from the hobby store with a stack of bead boxes (and a few new stands of beads), I forced myself to sit down and sort my beads one last time.  Six boxes, and could use a couple more.  

Now, I have no excuse not to get to work.

Still Cold - March 17, 2026

I was supposed to go to the grocery store yesterday morning, but it was 32 degrees and the wind was whipping like crazy, and I was warm in my jammies and just plain did not want to go.  So I didn't go, even though the refrigerator was virtually empty.  

It's cold again today, but I bucked up and went out.  

Unfortunately, I also went to the hobby store.

Y'all, it's a sickness.

 I spend way too much money on craft stuff.

Recall that just last week, I went to an honest-to-goodness bead store in Chattanooga and spent too much money.  The entire haul fit into a little bag too small to hold two hamburgers.  To top it off, I went to Michael's and spent some more money.

Today, I did it again - bought a stack of bead storage boxes and re-stocked my wire supply.  

If you hear rumors that I've bought more jewelry-making stuff, shame me publicly.

BRRR! - Monday, March 16, 2026

Following a week or more of 70+ degree temps, a storm came through last night and the temperature dropped like a rock.  This morning, it's in the low 30s, and the wind is blowing like crazy.  I'd planned to go to the grocery store today, but I dunno . . . . 

Earlier in the week, The Husband had a work-related trip to Chattanooga.  I went along for the ride.  While there, I went to a bead store and spent way too much money for a little bag of sparkly things.  When we got home Friday afternoon, I spread my haul out on my worktable and wondered what in the world I was going to do with it.  I'd vowed that I was going to USE UP ALL THIS OLD STUFF I'VE HAD FOREVER; the new stuff didn't really go with anything I already had.  

* * * * * * * * 

I found a tick on my butt yesterday morning.  It had probably been latched on since Saturday, when I'd been out in the yard a good bit.  This morning, there's a hard, itchy knot where the tick was.  

Experments - March 9, 2026

I have developed a burning desire to transfer laser-printed images to air-dry clay.  Yesterday, I spent the whole day trying (without success) to do it.

There are several video tutorials about transferring INKJET-printed images to air-dry clay.  Until about two weeks ago, I had an inkjet printer, but Son #2 came over to print something, I gave him the printer since The Husband bought us a new laser printer.  It is not so easy to transfer a laser printer image to air-dry clay.  

I tried all sorts of transfer agents:  water, alcohol, nail polish remover.  Nothing worked.  I'd even bought some printable vinyl sheets, thinking the image might slip off easier than it would on paper.  Nope.  

Supposedly, laser print will slip off the slick side of address label/sticker paper, but I haven't got any.

Anyway, this morning I took one of the images that I'd printed on a vinyl sheet, and instead of trying to transfer the image to clay, I put it in a backless bezel frame and filled the bezel with UV resin.  We'll see how this works.  It will need to be backed with something.  

* * * * * * * * 

After almost a whole week of crawling around on my hands and knees, shining a flashlight in dark places, and turning furniture upside-down, I finally found my bail pliers:

They were right there, sticking up in plain view the whole time.