Parking conflicts and shiny red balloons...

So there I was, sitting in my van on the shopping center lot Friday, addressing an envelope. I had made a last minute run to pick up Valentine's Day cards for my two elderly aunts and needed to get them in the mail - pronto. I was mailing them at their local post office so I had faith they would arrive the next day. "Wump". The car door next to me rammed against the passenger side of my van. I sighed deeply but decided not to react. "Wump". "Wump". Twice more! Okay, time to fire up .



I was formulating what I intended to say and reaching for the window button when I looked over and realized there was a very small girl struggling in a stiff wind to get her bright, shiny heart balloon into the back seat as she climbed in. She was so excited. I melted. She really didn't know any better. The wind was blowing at like 35 mph and she was so focused on keeping that balloon safe. Dad was busy arranging things in the trunk and hadn't noticed. I could have said something to him but chose to just suck it up and let it go. After all, Daddy had just bought her a balloon. A shiny red balloon at that!


Of course, as he climbed into the front seat of his car, I heard yet another "Wump"! Kids do learn what they see.


So why do they design parking lots the way they do? Good thing so many vehicles come with sun roofs, or perhaps we should call them "escape hatches." The spaces seem to be designed to the exact measurements of the average car without any allowance for opening the doors. The operative word here is "average." While I do drive a minivan, it is actually narrower than my friend's Honda Accord, an "average" sized car. It is merely higher and longer than the Accord. They (the parking lot engineers) also assume folks will take the time and effort to exactly center their vehicles in those spaces. How many people do this?



I came out the other day to find a Hummer parked next to me on the driver's side. It's a wide vehicle so the driver, needing room to open the door, allowed space on the driver's side when they pulled in. This meant their passenger side cleared my side view mirror by about 2 inches. I couldn't even walk between the cars let alone open the door. Obviously, they assumed I'd simply crawl in from another door - maybe the backseat - after all, the sliding doors don't need any room to open out. My guess is, they never gave me any consideration at all. Everyone seems to just be concerned with their own comfort and convenience these days. I got in on the passenger side and climbed over the console. I'm really getting too old for such acrobatic maneuvers.



It's not all the drivers' faults. Our state code actually does specify the number and size of marked parking spaces on commercial lots which, as written, would be sufficient. However, every new shopping center that is built or expanded around here requests "exceptions" to the parking requirements. There are almost always two requests made. The first is to alter the size of the spaces by "just a few inches" so as to get an extra space or two into each parking lane. (These are apparently those few inches we need to open our doors.) Once they've added those extra couple of spaces, they then request an exception to have fewer spaces than recommended. (Recommendations are based on the type of business and the square footage of the establishment.) After all, by adding two extra spaces on each row, they come "fairly close" to the suggested number. They've made a good faith effort. I've never seen any of these developers get turned down for such requests.



It almost makes me understand those folks who purposely take up two spaces on the lot. After all, they are special and unique people. Rules don't apply to them. I know this because I've seen them at the grocery store, the dry cleaners and the pizza shop. They're the ones that pull up at the curb and park in the fire lane or the loading zone. You know, the ones blocking the cart ramp in front of the grocery store door. They can do this as they are "just running in" to get a few dozen items and, after all, they did put their flashers on. I have nothing against drivers stopping to drop someone off in front of the door but why do they then need to sit there and wait at the curb. Can't they pull down into the parking area while they wait? They could then watch and pull back up there when their shopper actually came out of the store. This way, those who wish to load their vehicle at the curb could do so without double parking and blocking the traffic lane. But then those other people probably aren't as "entitled", are they?



Don't even get me started on the handicapped spaces!"



Incidentally, my van has a sturdy vinyl bumper strip down the side that absorbed all those bumps by balloon girl and her dad. I'm glad I didn't ruin her joy in that balloon. She did seem awfully happy! (Did I mention one of my favorite childhood reads was "The Big Red Balloon"?)

So, the next time you're out shopping, please think about the driver of the vehicle in the next car and give them an inch or two. Oh, and try not to slam your door into theirs. It really is the considerate thing to do.

"One Stroking" with Donna

This is actually yesterday’s post that I had “technical difficulties” with and simply couldn’t get it posted. I definitely will never be referred to as a “Techie!” Thanks for bearing with me. I hope to post again later today with “today’s” posting. We’ll see.


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Donna Dewberry


Did any of you catch Donna Dewberry on HSN this past weekend? I don’t normally watch HSN, QVC, etc. (Although, I have done quite a bit of shopping at the QVC Outlet store in Rockvale!) but in flipping channels I saw her name and tuned in for a few minutes. For those who aren’t familiar with Donna, she developed the “One Stroke” painting technique that is taught in so many craft stores. I don’t use her method but it does fascinate me and I enjoy watching her. She can definitely produce some great results with what looks like very little effort. It’s kind of a “painting for dummies” approach!



Donna, I believe we’d be on a first name basis if we ever met in person, was pushing some new products and doing some demos to encourage folks to buy these items. (Why else would she have been on the Home Shopping Network, DUH!)That’s why I REALLY like to watch these shows. You never know when you’ll learn something! I did, too. She was using one of the standard plastic paint pallets and covered it with plastic wrap before putting her paints in the little indentations. Makes clean-up a breeze! WOW! So simple, I can’t believe I never came up with this one.


If you’ve always wanted to try decorative painting but were hesitant to just jump in, this may be the technique for you. Donna has written dozens of books and produced almost as many videos and tutorials on the subject. She gives clear, concise, step-by-step instructions. Her newest guide features clear, wipeable practice sheets that you place over her picture of the stroke and practice your own. You then wipe it clean and try again and again until you can get it right. Another one of those “wish I’d thought of that” things!


Donna is also one of those “Mom made good” success stories. She was home with seven kids and just wanted to make her home a little more attractive, grabbed some paint and thirty years later has become a craft-world icon!!


Check out Donna and her painting supplies on her site at http://www.dewberrycrafts.com/ or for a quick, thumbnail glimpse, jump on Plaid’s website at www.plaidonline,com/Designers/donna-dewberry. For those of you lucky enough to have the new PBS channel called CREATE, I understand she is on twice a day M-F with a general how-to show. I’ve also heard she’s now trying to revolutionize the sewing world with a “One Stitch” technique. Haven’t actually seen that yet though.


So go out there and be creative today! Enjoy!

Technical Hiccup

It seems this blog is having some sort of technical difficulty at the moment. I'm trying to figure out the problem and will post today's write up as soon as I can get it working. For whatever reason, this space has been coming up blank but you can pull others from the archive list. Yesterday's comments come up without a problem when you pull from the index of past posts. I'm definitely not very savvy when it comes to technical things so I may need to go in search of help. Maybe I'll find a 14-year-old who can fix it. We all know the kids are much more up on this stuff than us old folks.

Hopefully, this little message will post and overcome that big empty space that kept coming up. I will try to post again later. Keep your fingers crossed for me!!

Check out www.Byhand.me

Hope you all had a great Valentine’s Day/Weekend! The Big Guy and I spent a laid back weekend “doing nothing special.” We’ve been together long enough that “just hangin’ out” without anything scheduled feels good. Years from now, we will look back and laugh at this as the year we had “breakfast for dinner” as our romantic meal. Let’s just say, we didn’t plan well. Oh, and the apple juice really did look like wine. (If only I’d thought to use the wine glasses!)

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After a fairly non-productive week, I need to buckle down and work this week. Under the guise of doing some “online promotional efforts” I ended up doing more web browsing than promotions and I didn’t produce a heck of a lot of new merchandise either. I did get some items made up to fill a few orders and renewed a few items in my shop at http://www.splashin.etsy.com/.
Please check them out now that they’ve moved back to the top of the list


Some of my computer time over the last two weeks was actually business related. I got involved in two new craft business sites. Both are very promising and growing quickly.

Byhand,me

Recently, T. Adam Kendall, also known on etsy and artfire as infivision, decided he wanted a better social community to promote handmade. While ning offers this to some extent, he felt it was too generic and has a poor user interface. In a quest for something better he developed http://www.byhand.me/. Designed and created in under a week, ByHand serves as a free social network for those who make handmade and those who buy handmade. Adam is assisted by his wife, Rebecca, known to many of you as "Soapdeli", the lady behind Rebecca's Soap Delicatessen products. Here's a run down of what you can currently expect from the site: (new features seem to be added daily)

*Artisan Directory
*Forums
*Member Blogs
*Social Networking
*Chat
*Private Messaging
*RSS Feeds


Rebecca put together this great description of these features. The best way to get to know each aspect, however, is to stop by the site and check it out for yourself.

The Artisan Directory is for artists and crafters with a business. Artisans can add their business along with where they sell online, social network profiles, and more. Members can rate and review these shops which helps shops further build their reputation online.

The Forums are where users can chat about handmade, ask for advice, promote shops, or just kick it! Have a question about a new technique you heard about? Are you a buyer looking for a handmade craft? This is the place!

All members also receive their own blog. Member Blog entries are placed in the Community Blog for crafters and buyers alike to read and enjoy. Buyers can review products or make recommendations on their blogs or share artist interviews, while artists can promote their craft, selling tips, tutorials, run contests, and more. Members can also choose to have their blog entries posted to the front page of ByHand. Everyone can help promote handmade by taking part in this vital section of the community.

The social networking features of this site allow you to connect with other members of ByHand through all the various sections of the site. Any time you see a profile that you would like to connect with, just click on them. Members choose the type of connection they want to make, whether they be a customer, a favorite artisan, or a favorite supplier. Members can even make notes on connections to help remind them that they want to shop with artisan A for a gift for dad or reconnect with artisan B later for future, joint promotion!


Chat allows members to communicate in real time with other members of the ByHand community.The private messaging function allows members to send messages back and forth to other community members. Safer than giving out an email address for making those first time connectionsThis is great for buyers and sellers to connect on custom projects and more.

Additionally, RSS feeds can be added to all member profiles. Add up to five feeds. Include the feed for personal or favorite blogs or an online shop! For example, sellers can add their Etsy shop feed to the RSS feeds in their profiles and other users will see their latest product photos and content just by mousing over the feed!


All members also receive their very own memorable URL. This URL can be viewed from the profile page. Sellers can utilize this URL to promote their businesses! A byhand.me URL is much more professional than a simple blogspot.com or ning.com address, giving users who aren't technically savy a great way to direct folks to ALL their online selling venues without having to buy their own domain.


Interested? Just go to http://byhand.me/ to register today. It's free!


I’ve spent a number of hours checking this site out for myself and am slowly getting involved in as many aspects as work for my particular business. I hope to tell you more about each area as I settle in.


In the next few days, I’ll also tell you about another relatively new site run by Timothy Adam known to many craft folk from his many helpful tutorials and other informative posts, http://www.handmadeology.com/.


So, let's all go out there and get creative this week!

Hearts and Smiles to Y'all !!!

This cute little guy is our family’s very own cupid! (This was taken last Valentine’s Day.) My s-i-l has always decorated to the hilt for every holiday and continues the tradition by “decorating” and photographing the first grandchild for every little occasion. We now look forward to interesting pics celebrating every holiday in full garb!

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Since I don’t always get a chance to chat with you on the weekends, I thought I’d make a point of wishing you a Happy Valentine’s Day today. I hope you have big plans - time spent with your loved ones, special treats, lots of fun. Don’t forget to share lots of hugs, cuddles and smiles.

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Here’s some more love laughs and smiles I found to share:



*Sales ad at a store: “You are my one and only” Valentine’s cards, now on sale 4 for $5.” -- Unknown
*”I wanted to make it really special on Valentine’s Day, so I tied my boyfriend up. And for three solid hours I watched whatever I wanted on TV.” -- Tracy Smith
*I don’t understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine’s Day. When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon. -- Author Unknown
*”Before I met my husband, I’d never fallen in love. I’d stepped in it a few times.” -- Rita Rudner
*Love is an ocean of emotions entirely surrounded by expenses. -- Thomas Robert Dewar


And my personal favorite:


*Love is the thing that enables a woman to sing while she mops up the floor after her husband has walked across it in his barn boots. -- A Hoosier Farmer



And a serious thought or two on the subject:


*Love may not make the world go round, but I must admit that it makes the ride worthwhile. -- Sean Connery
*All you need is love. -- John Lennon

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Feeling creative?
Complete the following verse with two lines of your own:
Roses are red,
Violets are blue...
Go ahead and share your version with us in the comments section!


Have a terrific Valentine’s Day, everybody!!

Thinkin' Jambalaya

I’ve been busy planning meals that can be cooked without my oven. Many of my friends and readers have shared ideas. I’ve got a whole list to try. Jennifer suggested jambalaya as it cooks on top of the stove and makes a great meal. I agree. In fact, the night the oven blew up, that’s what we had instead of the meal I had planned. We love Cajun food and I’m known for it. I make jambalaya frequently and I only know how to make it for a crowd so we almost always have some in the freezer. That evening, I quick thawed a container in the microwave and threw it in a pot. By the time the smoke cleared, dinner was late but we enjoyed it anyhow.

Most years, we host a Mardi Gras party with lots of food and decorations. My guests object to wearing costumes but they will usually try some hats, small masks and lots of beads just to humor me. (People will do most anything for a good meal!) This year, Mardi Gras is Tuesday, February 24, and our schedule just isn’t working out so we’re not doing the party. I guess, ultimately, it’s a good thing. Normally, I would be getting started on stockpiling the food by now and would probably miss my oven big time.

Since it will most likely just be us for dinner, we’ll probably just pull more jambalaya out of the freezer or I might make a batch of gumbo or shrimp creole or chicken. Normally, there’d be some of each and a King Cake, too. As just one couple, we’ll have to choose just one meal. I’ll still decorate and I’ll beg The Big Guy to wear some beads but it won’t be the same. Since we won’t be using them, I thought I’d share some of my recipes. You know, in case you’d like to party for me. To do it up right, you need to get started. These dishes usually taste best when they’ve had time to sit and let their flavors develop for a couple of days. They also take some time to make, so plan ahead.

Jamabalaya

Tonight’s recipe is jambalaya, possibly the best known Cajun dish. The origin of the dish is controversial. I’ve heard many versions (almost as many as there are kinds of jambalaya!) The one I like best is a story of a regular customer coming into a New Orleans tavern late one evening after the kitchen had begun to clean up for the night. He supposedly asked the owner if there wasn’t something they could serve up for him to eat. The Cajun cook was told to throw whatever he had into a bowl and mix it up. The dish was christened with the Cajun word “jambalay,” meaning to “clean up the kitchen” and the name stuck. I like the gist of this explanation better than any others I’ve heard.

1 - 1 ½ lbs. andouille sausage, sliced crosswise in ¼” thick rounds
(Any hot or spicy sausage will work - I have used kielbasa, chorizo and other hot sausages.)
¾ lb. cooked ham - chopped into ½”-¾” chunks (I have even used a can of Spam for this!)
1 - 1 ½ lbs. cooked chicken
2 lbs. shrimp
3 cups chopped onions
3 cups chopped peppers
3 cups chopped celery
2-3 jalapeno peppers - partially cleaned
7 (14.5-15 oz.) cans of diced tomatoes with green chilies or flavored with onion, garlic, basil, etc.
1 (24 oz.) jar salsa (medium or hot)
3-4 Tbsp. Cajun or Creole seasoning
2 Tbsp. cayenne
6-8 cups cooked rice

· I like to brown the sausage but it is not necessary as smoked sausage has already been cooked. I just think the browning adds a little extra flavor.
· Saute the onions, peppers and celery together over medium heat in a large heavy pot until they are tender. This combination is known as “Trinity” and is the basis of most Cajun dishes.)
· Add the salsa, tomatoes, meats and seasonings to the pot. Stir to mix well.
· Allow the pot to brew on medium low heat for approximately 90 minutes. Add the cooked rice. Mix thoroughly.
· At that point, check the flavor. If you think it needs more heat, add a little extra cayenne and some black pepper. If you really like it hot, add additional jalapenos or don’t clean the original three. If when you taste it, it’s too hot, add more tomatoes.
*** Remember, the spices will expand with time. If you’re not sure you want to add more heat, leave it alone and serve it with a bottle of hot sauce!

This will make a tremendous volume - but freezes fantastically !! We almost always have a container full in the freezer. We also entertain with it frequently. What an easy party! Pull it out of the freezer, thaw and heat. Add corn bread and we’re ready for a crowd.

Enjoy!!

I know what I'm getting for Valentine's Day!

Let me start by saying this will be the 22nd Valentine’s Day I have spent with The Big Guy. I have long since given up on thinking I’ll get candy, flowers, or jewelry. Sometimes, he does come up with a card but only if he finds something humorous and sort of off the wall. He’s not your run-of-the-mill romantic. We usually eat at home on Valentine’s Day as we prefer not to fight the crowds. I usually do prepare something special. Generally, we do go out for a nice meal the weekend before or after and refer to it as our Valentine’s dinner.

This year, I am getting a big present. It’s something I really need and actually, as of today, want. We picked it out tonight but it won’t be delivered for two weeks. I can wait. My new stove will arrive on the 26th! Maybe before, if we’re lucky. (Since I do love to cook it’s not quite like the standard “vacuum cleaner for Christmas thing.”)

Yes, there is a background story.

I added excitement to my life yesterday by blowing up the oven. (No real fire!) The Big Guy worked late and called to tell me when he was heading home so I could start dinner. I immediately turned the oven on to preheat. The kitchen and dining room were dark and I was in the living room working on the computer. Suddenly, I heard some strange sounds coming from the kitchen. It sounded like someone banging around empty cookie sheets. (I make similar sounds when getting them in and out of the cabinet.) Then there was some sizzling sounds and the entire kitchen seemed to glow. The glow rose and fell in degrees! It looked like aliens were taking over!

I rushed out and turned the oven off. The oven was full of thick dark smoke. I left it closed and self-contained. I didn’t need to deal with the smoke detectors going off. I assumed (and turned out to be right) the electric coil heating element died. I couldn’t get to the plug to unplug it so I just kept a close watch on it and kept checking the cabinets on either side and feeling the wall to be sure the fire wasn’t in the electrical wiring in the wall or something.

By the time The Big Guy got home in an hour, the smoke had dissipated and you could clearly see where the coil had burned and melted right through. We pronounced it dead!!

Which brings us to going out for dinner tonight with stove shopping afterwards. I know we can’t eat out every night for the next two weeks, so I’m taking suggestions for creative meals made in the microwave, crock pot and on the Forman or my electric indoor grill. Maybe a gal can have too many appliances. Without them, we’d have to eat out more this week !