A truly random thoughts kind of day

I sit right now in bed (yes, it is 1pm on a Monday), catching up on Facebook, other people's blogs, and getting ready to watch some Arrested Development on hulu and do some knitting. Although, after yesterday's fiasco, I might be willing to take a day off! (I made two different hats, and neither one turned out right the first time. Aarrg.)

As I write this, I have a lot of things on my mind. Namely, how on earth I am going to get more business for my shop, how we are going to be able to pay rent in a few weeks, why the State of Oregon hasn't called Todd back regarding his unemployment claim, the mess that is the house (I will probably deal with that tomorrow - not in the mood today), whether or not I'm going to be able to do a craft fair at the end of the month, how my coffee is getting cold right now, and also that it is almost Xavier's nap time and I might have to be vacating my bed so he can take a nap...

Too much for one brain!

On the upside, I did find out that I was accepted to do a contract gig at the Convention Center in a week working a trade show. That will at least pay for phones and our electric bill.

Having been unemployed now for a while is both liberating and degrading. Liberating in the sense that I get to spend time with the kids (both good and bad), I get to shower - or not, as after all, it saves water and electricity - and makeup - whenever I want, I can choose to do laundry today or tomorrow, and I can spend the whole day working on a project and not feel bad about it. Degrading in that no matter what jobs I apply for, I am told I am either over or under qualified... for retail. Seriously? If I'm applying for a professional position, then my experience isn't applicable, even though it could be exactly what they are looking for....

I guess it's time to dust off those typing skills and write that fictionalized memoir I keep talking about... :)

New Year, New Opportunities

This year has started off with a bang... businesswise, anyway. Nothing like three orders on the second day of the year! Hopefully it can keep up. I have some new items up, and am heading out tomorrow to get some new and fun yarn for inspiration for some new projects. Unfortunately, my fingers can't knit quite as quickly as they can type! Hopefully, I will be putting up some original patterns on here soon, as I don't create them very often, and honestly, don't really mind sharing, as long as credit is given.

Hopes for the year include new jobs all the way around our house, as well as for several others that I know of... Xavier's continued speech development, and Ethan to tone down his attitude!!!

Here's to a great year in 2010!

Gnomes

Okay, so I have a thing for gnomes. They are supposed to be good luck when put in a garden, so naturally, I would think they would be good luck when placed around the house as well, right? In response to my partiality to the little dudes, I have several clay gnomes inside, a gnome background I've created ....

.... as well as several others outside, oh, and my flannel gnome pajamas. These are getting slightly threadbare, and Nick & Nora need to come out with another pattern featuring my favourite lawn ornament. Tonight, however, I might have topped myself. I don't know if I'm going to feature these in the shop or not, but I have found (and bought... can't believe I actually paid for this with all the free ones that are out there - no gnomes though) a pattern for a knit gnome dishcloth. YIPPEEEEE!

One of those random things that I am really excited about getting started after I get through the madness that has become Christmas. I have figured that I pretty much need to get a project done every day. Yikes. I also found several free patterns for toy gnomes... uh-oh :)

Keeping Up

I've noticed the better I do on Etsy or on custom orders, the more my house is in disarray. Somehow, I need to come up with a better way to keep things together. I went through this evening and organized the majority of yarn and completed projects... only to get another order - which was a combination of a stock and custom order. I'm not complaining... oh no, not at all... more of a - if anyone should come across this and have any ideas for me... :)

Tonight is Todd's late night at work, and I know I should be in bed so that I can deal with the kids in the morning, and yet, I'm still up watching various shows on PBS online and knitting. I've put the knitting down, and am writing this... looking over at the full sink of dishes, the carpet that needs to be vacuumed, the Christmas lists that need to be written, and the receipts that need to be organized...

I think I'm giving up for tonight. I've done pretty much everything that I can do for today without waking up the neighbors and kids. Good night world... I suppose I will finish the Sinking Atlantis episode tomorrow...

On Thanksgiving...

Coming from a family of immigrants, I understand why people felt the need for expansion, and why those that lived on the East coast wanted to move out West... I've lived everywhere from Portland, Maine to Portland, Oregon. However, having said that, I married into a Native American family from here in Oregon. While my husband isn't necessarily involved with tribal issues, or with any of the local organizations, the rest of his family is very much involved.

I try to look at days like today, or Columbus Day - which he jokes that he doesn't celebrate because "it's all his fault" - from both perspectives. I'm going to have to explain to my youngest why his particular tribe doesn't have an official reservation, and more of the tribal history, since my husband doesn't know a lot of it - and well, I'm kind of a history geek. :) I strive to understand and be able to explain a lot of things to my kids, and this particular issue is a rather important one. I am glad that unlike some, my husband tends to take certain things with a sense of humor... for example, when my 18 year old sister brought up going to a casino and there was a debate about the legal age for gaming, my husband chimes in... "uhhh, why don't you ask the Indian? I should probably know.... "

Would the Native Americans still have their traditional way of life if the pilgrims (or Columbus, for that matter) hadn't arrived on the shores of North America? Probably not, progress is eventual, but I think the more important question is should those people that followed in those settlers footsteps have been a little more concerned with the well-being of all and could they have done things differently? The answer, quite simply, is "Of Course."

That being said, is there anything that we can do now? That answer is a little more tricky. Can we give them back the entirety of their previous land holdings? Unfortunately not, but we can make more of an effort to record the individual tribal histories... talk to the elders, record the languages, save the clothing patterns, baskets, fishing techniques. We can utilize the knowledge of the land that has been passed down for centuries and appreciate what the stories tell us.

Thanksgiving means different things for everyone, and this year, I am simply thankful for having basic necessities, a family that is together (though not without our fair share of arguments... that tends to happen with a two year old in the mix), and for my husband's job, that lets me devote my time to starting a business, that will hopefully turn into something special.

Knitting Texas

Seriously. Last night I knit Texas in the form of a washcloth. :) So cool, I got a few other patterns for states, and a lobster. Gotta hurry to get some of this stuff done for both the trunk show and also for Christmas!!!

In related, okay, well, not so much... something is seriously wrong with my phone. I've removed, installed, removed, reinstalled the BlackBerry software about 6 times and my computer still isn't reading my Curve. According to the other research that I've done online, apparently my USB drive is either going or is already gone. Great. If it isn't one thing, it is 16 others... arrrrg.

Has it really been a month?

Wow. I didn't realize it had been a month since the last time I posted! In the past month, I have tried to kick my knitting into overdrive making almost a project a day, set up an Etsy site, and started doing random marketing in the Portland, and Dallas, TX areas (Thanks Carrie!). Hopefully, I can get this going into something. I have high hopes, but knitting is a time consuming activity and I just have to go faster.... :)

In other news, the car needs work... again. Something is wrong with the alignment and who knows how long it is going to take to fix... or how much it is going to cost. The delay in taking it in lays in that we don't know how much it is going to cost us... so much for sending the Wii in to Nintendo to get it fixed for now.... Adventures in Public Transportation - week one, is drawing to a close, and really, it hasn't been that bad (thanks Trimet!)... certainly have saved money by not being able to just jump in the car, however, it does prove my point that we need to move downtown!