Monthly Archives: September 2025

Mostly me

Death and Depression

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I am dealing with a seriously depressed son. First, his sister’s ex-husband who was his friend, died. Then the guy’s mother whom my son met at his niece’s wedding, died of an aneurism on Sunday. Several days later, he received a text that his dad was dead.

Because of his grief for his friend, as well as another argument in a long history of fights with the Not-Wife, he kept calling into his job. Since he was a recent hire, they let him go. The friend’s mother’s death was a surprise to everyone.

The text instead of a phone call, from his snobby Aunt, to let him know his dad died was the final blow. He has been upset. His ex has been helping him deal with some of the loss. They are still close friends who will stop fighting and help each other out, and then resume arguing later.

Later….

I got a text from the Boomerang Child. He had a trip to the ER. He’s trying to stop drinking, but without his gut being numbed by alcohol, his throat and stomach rebelled. I wish him luck, but alcoholism flows through his genetic makeup.

I came close once, but made a conscious decision to control my drinking. Of course, if you look in the wardrobe in my bedroom, you’d find a nice selection of labels. But they’re hidden, but not from me but from my son. Alcohol interferes with my meds so I’d rather use it as flavoring and as a base for tinctures and extracts. I’ll probably toss most of it, including the wine stashed in the basement. I don’t think it’s aged well. I’m not certain I even want to open the bottles.

My son brought me a Mike’s Harder Lemonade as a birthday drink. I sipped about an ounce before my head went funny. It took me 20 minutes to drink that much. The rest got spilled on the floor when my dizzy self tried to stand up. It took at least 10 of my shop rags to blot it all up off the floor. He thought I drank it all because I poured a bottle of lemon water into a glass with ice. It looked the same.

More paintings coming soon.

Crafting

Here I am again

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I initiated hourly fees for use of the most expensive sewing machines in my area of the makerspace. We were the only large area not charging use fees. My hourly fees are only $2 per hour, lower than the $10 per hour of other areas because I get more long term projects on machines requiring less expensive repairs or replacements. The fees will go toward things like needles, bobbins, and replacement machine embroidery hoops or specialty parts for the other sewing machines.

I had a serger disappear from the shop. I’ve ordered a replacement. What I don’t understand is why I still have the scrap bin and the pedal. The new machine, as well as the other more expensive machines are getting trackers. That way if another machine disappears, I’ll have a notification and a time frame to check the cameras.

This past weekend, I took part in Bodgefest — a celebration of 11 years as a makerspace. I had a table featuring various zines and handmade books, plus fancy bookmarks and some leftover wristlet key holders I found in with my displays.

I’ve made a few new zines for the sale this month. One is a new Florida Man adventure based on current events. I have not nentioned any names. Another is a short story that includes a recipe for a hearty soup. I’ve also written a small book on diy book-binding,

My son helped me carry in my table and display items. I didn’t make much money. I don’t think any of us vendors did more than a few sales. My last sale wasn’t actually a sale. A really cute little girl came by with her mom and looked over my books. A tiny coil-bound notebook caught her eye. She picked it up and looked inside but the pink flower on the cover is what caught her eye.

Her mom asked how much it was. I hadn’t put a price sticker on that one, but the others were $2. When I mentioned I hadn’t priced it, the little girl placed the book back on the rack. When her mom asked how much, I told her it was a dollar, or free, her choice. The little girl was so happy to get the little notebook. I didn’t lose any real money by not charging for it. The happy smile was worth more than money.

Here I am, setting up. The little girl’s book is on the third row of the rack below the zines.

The zines are an in-going commentary on various topics. The Florida Man headlines make an entire series. I do a couple of new zines every year. Next year I’m going to set up a table at Zine Fest featuring the Insanity Shuffles* series and some copies of my craft booklets that I make for my classes – paper-making, book-binding, soap making, how to read sewing pattern symbols, and a few others.

That’s it for now.

About me, Crafting

Bye, bye Pizza Oven

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An abandoned Pizza oven.

A corner landmark is gone now – sledgehammered into oblivion. There used to be a fireplace business on the corner that had the pizza oven and a couple of outdoor fireplaces on the corner. They went out of business shortly after I moved into the neighborhood.

The property sat empty for almost ten years. I don’t know if the owners retired or died but the oven remained. The property was bought a couple of years ago, but nothing was done with it until recently. It’s all cleaned up except for the remains of the oven. I’m not certain if the new owners even knew that was a wood-fired pizza oven. As far as I know it was only a display in front of the shop.

Life goes on and I get older. The youngest granddaughter is in college and moving into her first apartment. The parental units are concerned because she’s a full-time student who also works full time. I’m not worried because she’s had a plan since she was 13. She started working at 14 and unlike her parents, I know she has savings. She’s worked as many hours as she legally could and saved more that she spent. She’ll make it.

I signed up for a program of “chair yoga.” It’s okay, but I picked a bad time to start with my sore neck and shoulder. The weird thing is that in spite of the pain and stiffness, I have full range of motion. I guess I’m just peculiar.

The Boomerang Child is back at work after almost three weeks. The company must really like him or they have trouble hiring people. He likes it, so I’m not going to complain. Well, not too much.

I’m about 5 paintings behind on my painting project. I’ve been working on some new inventory for a sale that occurs in a couple of weeks. I always do well at the occasional sale event we put on. Part of the reason is I have my logo on the bags I use.

They’re small brown paper shopping bags with handles that I attach logo stickers too. Even if a customer only buys a $3 zine, they get a bag. It acts as a signal to others. I’ve had so many customers come up and tell me they saw my bags and had to find out what I was selling.

I am at the pricing stage for my newer items. I usually stick a tiny price sticker on each item unless a label won’t fit or stick. Those items get added to my price list.