When Life Hands You Lemons...

...make lemonade! Or, in this case...barbecue sauce?!?

I hate it when I do stupid things. Unable to find my favorite barbecue sauce locally, I resorted to ordering it from a food seller on Amazon on Monday, July 4th. When I logged in, I found specifically what I wanted and was thrilled to find it so easily. Six bottles of my favorite sauce for $23.99. Not bad, but then came the $9.99 shipping and handling fee. :/ Sigh. Ok, I can live with that. A little pricey but what the heck. It IS my favorite sauce and it's still cheaper than driving halfway across the state in search of the elusive red stuff.

But WAIT! There on the same page was another food seller offering 12 bottles for only $3.00 more each for the retail price of the sauce and shipping and handling. So, for $6.00 more, I can double my order. What's to think about? Without further ado, I pressed the "purchase with 1-click" button and the sauce was mine!

On Tuesday, I checked in on my order to see if it had shipped yet. It hadn't. But then, I saw it. I had ordered a different flavor than the one I intended to. Same company. Same brand. Different flavor. Ugh. Ok, so I like this one, too, but it's my 2nd favorite, and the local store shelves are brimming over with it. What to do? Aha...there it is. The "email vendor" button (or whatever it is actually called, but you get the idea). When I clicked on the button, it gave me a list of suggested subject lines. Among them was "cancel this order." Yippee! I could see my way out of this. I hurriedly scribbled (typed) a short email outlining my dilemma and sent it off. Within minutes, I had a canned reply stating that they were currently reviewing my email. Uhm, hmmm...sure they were...

On Wednesday morning, I checked both my email and the Web site to see if there was a response. There wasn't. What I found instead was a notice that my order had shipped and will arrive within 3-5 days by FedEx. (You saw this coming, right?) So did I, but the eternal optimist in me kept hoping I was wrong.

So, what to do now? If I return it, I will have lost nearly $20.00 in postage. Better to keep the sauce, methinks, and either learn to love it or, better yet, add my own touches to it so it better suits our tastes.

In retrospect, 12 bottles of ANYTHING seems like a lot. It will probably take us until the day after forever to eat all of it, so I'm thinking I may have to find a creative way to get rid of some of it. Maybe I could include some in gift baskets for Christmas along with some of my crocheted dishcloths, hot pads and other yummy foodie things?

I'm really glad my kids don't read my blog, or they would see the handwriting on the wall and "know" what they are getting for Christmas. Shhhh...don't tell them. :-)

The Hurrieder I Go...

When I moved into my first apartment, I purchased a small sign for my wall that said simply, "The hurrieder I go, the behinder I get..." I thought this nonsensical little sentiment was funny at the time, and seeing those words on the wall in my kitchen always made me smile. But, there is an element of truth in it that has stayed with me all these years.

The little sign is long gone now, but those words spring to mind whenever I'm feeling overwhelmed with work, short deadlines, etc. And, it  pretty much sums up my spring and summer so far. While our move is months behind us, there are still things to unpack and sort out in the basement and remaining storage units. I know we’ll get it all done and sorted out eventually, but it makes me tired just thinking about it. I think we're getting closer and closer to a major donation to GoodWill so we can be done with it. Sounds good to me!

Catching Up

Our epic move was 8 months in the planning and executing--mostly executing--but it's over at last. We are finally housed under one roof. It feels so good not to be making marathon trips between the two houses anymore. There is still a lot of unpacking and sorting to do, but I'll be happy for the moment if I can just find my Christmas decorations and get the car in the garage!

We've taken the last couple of weeks to rest up and take care of some other things that needed doing, but considering what we've been up against in making this move happen, I can't say that I feel guilty at all. Today marked the first snow of the season (although it didn't really amount to much), so we're grateful to have finished before bad weather set in.

Speaking of Christmas decorations, we bought a new tree this year. I've been trying to get it put up for a few days now, but haven't been able to find the timet. It should be a breeze since it doesn't require assembly and came pre-lit. That's on the agenda for later today, so I'll put up some pictures next time. 

In the meantime, Happy December! 

Loss and a New Beginning

Long time, no blog! Did I forget I had a blog? Well, not exactly. It’s just that 2010 has been a challenging year for my family (as I know it has been for many others) and has kept us so busy there has barely been time to breathe. With it, came a major loss as we said goodbye to a beloved family member along with a lot of repetitive travel that kept us on the road for weeks and literally left me wondering some mornings which state I was waking up in. And to tell you the truth, this is one of the hardest blog entries I've ever written, and it's taken me some time to gather the courage to write it.

To make a long story much shorter, we put our house on the market in March and were in the process of moving back home to Illinois to be with my mother and other family members when the unthinkable happened--Mom passed away unexpectedly just as the move was getting underway in late April. So, for obvious reasons, we placed the move on hold for a few weeks while we regrouped and got our bearings.

With so many details to handle and decisions to make with the move and Mom’s passing, two houses to take care of (Mom’s and mine, which are 400 miles apart) and making the move itself...which we’ve had to do in stages and is still ongoing...suffice it to say that life has been crazy-busy. Worked in there somewhere was the building of a new garage at our new house and a brief trip to Virginia in June to see Chelsea and Jessica, two of our beautiful granddaughters, graduate from high school. But, given the circumstances, I’m glad to have been busy to help keep my mind off my mother’s passing.

It was largely because of Mom that I became a crochet designer. When I was a little girl, I loved watching her crochet pretty things for our home. When I finally decided to give it a try myself at the ripe old age of 8, she gave me a hook (which I still have), a ball of bright pink yarn and taught me some basic crochet stitches. And so my fascination for all things fiber was born.

Mom lived for her family. She was always there to lend an ear, offer advice and support, to share the good times and the bad and to help us in whatever way she could. She is sorely missed, but we are doing our best to get on with things, choosing to celebrate her life rather than mourn her death, which is how she would want it. And so, life goes on. 


Following is a poem which Mom and I have always liked. I offer it here in tribute to her. In many ways, it sums up my conviction (and hers) that life is eternal. I’ve seen several versions of this poem, and this may or may not be the original, which was written by A. L. Frink.

The Rose Beyond the Wall

A rose once grew where all could see,
Sheltered beside a garden wall,
And, as the days passed swiftly by,
It spread its branches, straight and tall.

One day, a beam of light shone through
A crevice that had opened wide ~
The rose bent gently toward its warmth,
Then passed beyond to the other side.

Now, you who deeply feel its loss,
Be comforted ~ the rose blooms there still ~
Its beauty even greater now,
Nurtured by God's own loving care.


Elaine Stegall
1928 - 2010

My Rose, My Mother



Love and hugs,

Brenda

NaNoWriMo 2009

Something you may not know about me: I’ve always wanted to write children’s books. But, my writing career took me in other directions, and it is only now that I have time to give it the attention I would like to.

Two weeks ago I embarked on the adventure of a lifetime. I’m taking part in NaNoWriMo 2009, and I intend to win. In case you don’t already know, NaNoWriMo is an abbreviation for National Novel Writing Month. Winning it means completing the first draft of a fifty thousand word novel in only 30 days, which breaks down to about 1667 words a day. Madness, you say? Absolutely! I can’t argue with you there. But, the short deadline is also part of the fun of it, that is, of course, if you don’t mind a month’s worth of little sleep and lots of frozen dinners.

NaNoWriMo is held every November 1-30. Brainchild of author Chris Baty, it started out with him and a few of his close friends. From there, it has skyrocketed in just a few years into a worldwide event that boasts nearly 170,000 participants around the world in 2009.

So, what happens if I don’t complete the novel in the specified amount of time? Well, nothing, really, except that now that I’ve put it “out there” on public notice, I’d have to wipe a lot of egg off my face while trying to explain to friends and family members why I didn’t finish. I think I’d rather be attacked by flesh-eating bacteria. So, barring any cataclysmic events I can’t control, in spite of the short deadline, I intend to finish.

Now, getting said novel published is another matter altogether. It’s a very tough market to breach, and I hold no illusions about it. But at the end of my life, whether it has been published or not, I can at least say that I wrote a novel. I won’t have to say that I didn’t try.

One good thing has come of this. I’ve learned the value of a power nap at my desk. Who needs the lying-down-in-a-real-bed type of sleep, anyway? I can do that after the revisions and editing, say next October sometime.

For more information about NaNoWriMo, check out the Web site at http://www.nanowrimo.org/.

And now, back to work…

Love, children’s novels and NaNoWriMo,

Brenda

Autumn is in the Air!

I really love this time of year. The stifling summer heat and humidity are finally gone, replaced by much cooler and drier fall temperatures. It’s a lot more pleasant to be outdoors now, so I’ve been taking advantage of it whenever I can between work and errands and some rain. My husband and I have been working hard on getting our yard ready for winter, raking leaves, cutting back plants that need cutting back and just generally making things look nice.

Yesterday, I decided the outdoor landscape looked fall-ish enough to dress my front porch for the season. Usually, I do this about the third week in September, but it has been a warm fall and the leaves are just now turning color. Maybe it’s silly, but I don’t like to put my fall decorations out while it still feels like summer because I don’t like rushing the seasons. It reminds me of the retail stores putting the Christmas decorations out at the same time as the Halloween decorations, but that’s a rant for another day.

I snapped these photos while I was arranging the front porch. I have a few more things I’d like to add (including a life-size scarecrow that will sit on the love seat in the photo), so it remains a work in progress for the moment since it’s windy here today. I’ve already had to rescue a few things to keep them from blowing across the yard into the street, but I’ll put out them out again when the wind settles down.

A couple of blog entries ago, I mentioned that I had ordered the yarn to swatch a fall afghan. The yarn has arrived, and I’m busy stitching it up now. What fun!

Love and fall colors,
Brenda

Recycling Unsold Design Swatches

When I swatch a design, whether on request from an editor or for an independent submission, I like to let my imagination and the design process lead me where they will—that is, of course, unless the editor has specific instructions about what she expects from me. Can I work to an editor’s specific instructions or visualize exactly what I want to create and then reproduce it in yarn or thread? Absolutely. But, unleashing my imagination to create whatever it desires when the opportunity permits keeps designing fresh and new for me, even after nearly 27 years in the business.

As most any designer will tell you, the design process is often one of trial and error. Sometimes, I come up with a design element that I like but feel isn’t quite right for my current project. Instead of discarding these swatches, I collect them in a small plastic tote I keep next to my desk. Eventually, I go back through them to see what I can use in another design.

As those of you who follow me on Twitter or Facebook may know, I’ve been on a cleanup, de-clutter campaign in my office over the past week or so. Yesterday just happened to be the day that I decided to go through the aforementioned tote and decide what to do with the contents. While I knew there were quite a few swatches that I would be able to use, even I was surprised to find that I can easily put together at least 12 designs from the cast-offs with the possibility of a half dozen more. Here is an obscure preview (right) of a few of the swatches I am planning to turn into new designs. Sorry I can’t show you more detail. In fact, the parts I’m showing you are actually parts that will change, but that’s how the design business goes. None of my editors would thank me for making public work that I submit to them!

Although I design in most areas of crochet, floral afghans have long been my signature. So, it’s not surprising that most of the cast-off motifs have a floral theme. Because there is this one unifying factor throughout, I have more options regarding what I can do with them. I can easily translate them into a couple of afghan books if I wish. I can also submit them individually to different publications. Or, I can discard the afghan idea completely and make them into something entirely different. I haven’t decided exactly what I’m going to do with them yet, but drawing on this resource of otherwise unused design work pays, both in terms of potential earnings and time that I haven’t actually wasted when I created them in the first place. So remember, hang on to those little doodlings you do with your crochet hook and your fiber of choice. They are almost as good as money in the bank if you happen to be interested in a design career.

Love and recycled designs,

Brenda