If it walks like a duck

Not that I am some financial analyst or anything, but, I blogged a while ago about the empty business's all around this area. Not to mention big companies with big names. Then we have the huge companies that Americans have stood behind for just that reason, threatening to move out of the Country HD comes to mind and Miller always were threatening it's workers. I and all small business's have been taking the hit. Thanks to Knit picks where you can buy lots of cheap stuff from India, a Country where labor is cheap and they don't care if a 6 year old is working 12 hours or not, hey but it's cheap. Or you can go a less concious less route and buy off of someone on the Internet that is doing the same thing but you don't hear about it, so it makes it easier.
I had a woman come into the shop and pick up a yarn and say "I found this online for this price, I want to come to you first...what can you do for me?" 1. I can thank you for the generous insult 2. Tell you this isn't rummagarama 3. Tell you I have overhead to pay and they will look at me like so????
I am not alone, this is happening all over the Country. We will be sorry when the little business's are gone. Remember full service gas stations, you pull up a person comes out fills your tank with gas, washes your windows, checks your oil. You pay and pull away. Lots of us didn't know how to use a gas pump, but the big companies offered cheaper gas if you went to them and look where we are now. I do not know of any full service stations.
Now you can buy yarn on line, well you can go to your LYS and visit to see if it is what you like, then go home, and order on line. If you get stuck on a project you can go to "you tube" they will help you. You don't need us? The yarners that will miss us will be the ones that buy yarn from Big Box stores and come in and ask for help on that yarn....so what does that mean? Those big box stores do not have a "service".
It's like buying a part from Menards, those people have little to no clue, but go to an independent hardware store and they will cut it grind it and glue it for you. Wake up America.....we are in a depression....look around....how many people are out of work? Oh I love this one, the unemployment rate is down.....no it isn't.....the people are out of unemployment....!!!! Soon we will be like India, your kids and grandkids will be working to help out the family....to make ends almost meet. Parents are working two jobs because no one pays enough to be able to live off of one job. Who are raising our children? I know things locally can be more expensive, it is only because we are used to importing from third world countries that is seems more expensive. If you read this you are more than likely some kind of fiber person, you know the work entailed in making something, should you just give it away?? Or sell if for just above your cost?? How long will you last doing that??? How long could you pay the rent/mortgage selling a couple of dollars over cost? I am by no means a wealthy person, I am rich in many ways but money has never been one of them, it isn't a priority for me, but paying my bills is.
A trucking company here in Milwaukee, let go of their billing staff and sent it overseas, because they work cheaper. We use these trucks to ship across America, in America and they let go of Americans to use a Foreign company to do the billing. We as Americans should not use this company or any other company that is doing this. We should also let them know why, we won't use them. One of the telephone companies did that with their service calls or maybe it was a computer company anyway, people couldn't understand them and they complained bitterly that they were not getting proper service and were going to switch plans, and the company switched back.....!!! We have the power to change things!!! You have the power to change things, it starts with you and me. Next time you got to click "Check out" on your computer think about the fact the next job loss may be you or your spouse. We need to think that Americans that wave flags are true Americans, anyone can be a flag waver, but to be a true American we need to support Americans!!!! We need to pay that extra dollar to keep America working. We are in a recession/depression....just look around...if it walks like a duck...it is a duck.

The times they are a changin.....

So, I will be closed from Thursday to Thursday this week coming up, for the Holiday, for sanity, for fun, for awhile. I am going up north to my brother and SILs place, they will leave and I will stay for a little longer, unless of course the bugs are so bad. I am looking forward to some spinning. You will begin to see some changes coming in the shop, the loom is coming up. I will never weave in the basement, weaving needs light and energy. The loom is coming up, I am going into my Artist mode, a feeling I have been missing for a long time. I want to start creating, using my gift, I am not one to write patterns and keep track of what I do, it is very hard for me to do that, it is pigeon holing me, I am spontaneous, a free spirit and I have been craving creativity....oozing, it has become overbearing and like a dragon inside me it is not content sleeping any more. I want to do something. So I am going to bring up the loom, I have a bunch of weaving ideas, freeing the dragon....I also am spinning more, my love, my fiber love. So if you see changes know that I am feeding the dragon...I am smiling just thinking about it.

Storm runner

Yes I am a runner, I run away from storms...I am a certified freak. I spend pretty much of my time in the Summer in the little shelter I have made for me and Iggy. If you are in the shop I will cram you in there too. I do not take chances when it comes to storms. It is under a beam, and below the steps. Last night Eagle Wi got hit by a tornado and the sirens didn't go off, luckily no one was hurt. I can't believe it when i hear about people that stand outside daring it to come their way!!!! When I was a kid we didn't have a basement, this was a very major concern for me, we also had no rooms with out windows, another thing against this house. I also had no idea what direction we were supposed to hide in, I kept forgetting. We had a laundry area when you walked in the back door which was on the east side of the house that we would go to, not that I remember ever going there. My dad was one of those that would stand outside and keep a lookout, he was a tornado expert, or so I thought, he wouldn't let anything happen to us. False hope? One time when I was visiting over there with my baby, the sirens went off, I took Mikey and wrapped him in a wool afghan and sat by the washer and dryer, my thinking was I would protect him from flying glass. My dad was outside as usual and I was pleading for him to come in to safety, so the washer/dryer and refrigerator could fall on us for a quick and sudden death as opposed to becoming a flying person torpedo. He walked into the house and almost stumbled over Mikey and I huddled on the floor, Mike was wrapped up and sweating profusely and dad says "What the hell are you doing? " taking cover, "I mean with that baby, he is suffocating, it 's hot, take that crap off of him?" But, but...you'll be OK, he could see my freak coming out and he said, "Keep it close but don't put it on him right now, it's too hot"
I am still a freak, I have two rechargeable lanterns, a small battery TV, a crank radio, flashlight, comfy chair, knitting, and a jug of water, because we all know how long I would be down there??? Last night I went down as soon as I heard the sirens, I figure earshot is close enough to me, but I didn't stop to pee before I got down there, then it hit me?? I started looking for a place to go, against my better judgement, I went back upstairs to get rid of some nervous water. She's a very freaky girl...

Father's Day

My dad has been gone for over 20 years, but let me tell you something about him. He was the best father ever....I know you are saying you had a great dad, but my dad was better. He was a teacher, he was an inventor, he loved to play, he always loved his family and we did things together all the time. He was an explorer, a woodsmen, he was smart. He was gentle and had a big heart, he was slow to anger, but when he did it was over, he held no grudges. I loved him so much and thought if anything happened to him, my life would end, he died and my life went on. He would have wanted it that way. He was proud of us kids, and we were proud of him. Did I mention I miss him. He loved getting together on Sundays for dinner, watching movies and coffee, pie and a smoke. I have no regrets with my dad, I loved him, he knew it, we were never afraid to say it. When I see other dad's I know how lucky I was, my own son's dad was a absentee father, my dad stepped in and helped raise Mike, did the man things with him, I am glad Mike got to know him. So on this day, I want to let you know I had the best dad ever!!!! It's hard for me to think of him without smiling. Love you dad!!!

It's here!!!

The lusted after machine has come.....first off, I worked up a sweat just trying to get the blasted and those aren't the words that I was using machine out of the box. I am now covered with the tiniest little styrofoam balls, that are attached to my sweating brow/head/neck. I threw the boxes out instantly because that is a bad omen right from the start. First off when I was reading the reviews, I was laughing at some dope that cut his finger on the blender blade....duh no kidding. So as I was getting all of the foam paper, duct tape, insulation tape, scotch tape, surgical tape and every other darn tape out of this machine, I reached into the cutting blades to remove paper that was in there and sliced my finger wide open....I'm not laughing at that guy anymore. I open the directions which are 160 pages long and written in every language but where is the English?? Ok so I find the English and do what it says, but, no I am an expert at drink mixing, I am going to use Watermelon that I have to eat to make a slushy....so I clean all of the food parts, quickly, how badly can you get sick from blood on the blade and oil?? I place a bunch of watermelon in the holder, ice in the hopper, after a little coercing I got the blender properly seated into the machine and turn it on....shaved ice is shooting out of the top, oh baby this is gonna be sweet!! Then like it is supposed to do the blender kicks on and nothing is moving???? Hey TV shows it moves????? No blending action going on here. So I stop it, what now??? I am still sweating profusely and in dire need of this smoothy. I shake it up a bit and while I am trying to once again persuade it to sit properly onto the machine , unbeknown to me I am unscrewing the bottom and now watermelon juice is flowing out of it. I am a pipefitter and we all know righty tighty, but this is a left handed thread, see where this is going?? I now am wringing wet and have sticky stinky watermelon juice cascading down my counter front onto the floor. I am grabbing paper towel to wipe me and the counter off. The machine has a death grip on the now leaking blender and I can't get it out.....Please no don't have a fit right now, you have waited two years to get this machine, don't break it now.....relax, wipe the stinging sweat out of your eyes and be gentle. all I needed was for the phone to ring. Ok we got it out and threw it all out, let's start over, let's look for a recipe that they give you...hhhmmmm one, tequilla, margerita mix and lime juice. there is adding involved it comes to 13 oz. total. I grab lime juice, gingerale and look for the mint?? no mint, oh well this will be just a wet iced drink!!!! Voila, now I wish I had tequilla!!! So I guess you need to buy the special 4,000 drinks book to make the rest of them....I need a shower and a drink!!!!!

Pretty Sad State...

I have been doing some serious shop watching. Not sure how the areas where you live are but around here there are lots of empty shops and business's. I was on Layton Ave a busy area and right by the airport here in Milwaukee, there were lots of empty business's. It looks rundown and depleted. You go further east and into areas that are well established communities and there are storefronts with Lease signs in them. Faded Lease signs. You pass strip malls and they are empty. Small business's are shutting down at a rapid pace. We need "Change" that change that was the key word in the last election. I listened to Our President say he was going to help the business's in Florida that the tourists are staying away from on the gulf. Business's all over the Country are in need of help. We are all in competition with the internet. We have to compete with prices from someone that sits in their basement or garage and sells over the web. Minimum overhead zero service calls. I remember a nice yarn shop in the area selling yarn that the big box stores sell, every color and it was a unique idea, she sold a service. If you needed help she could help you. She didn't have 40% off coupons, but she taught how to make a project and fix things and if you had a question you could ask? Who do you ask at the 40% off shops??? She had open project nights and had a great following, but service just didn't keep her in business? It is hard for small business's. Look around there are no small little candy shops, ceramic shops, the little shop that was a dream of someone, the shops we grew up with. Quality Candies are closing shops around the area, (that may kill me) So when you go to hit the Check out button on your computer, rethink that decision, can you get that product closer to home??? I am comparing this to the Superhighways that went through our Country. On my last trip to Yarn School we took all back roads through the Midwest. We were disappointed in the lack of sightseeing tourist traps and how many rundown empty business's, we did see what Real America is about. On our way home we took the Freeway, it makes sense I guess, there were all the signs of a tourist haven and trap all along the Superhighway.....sounds like small business's, the Internet is coming through and gone will be all of the quaint little business's that knew your name when you walked in. That when you showed them a broken part on an old piece of equipment, they would go in the back room and come out with another one just like it, but not broken!!! Where you can sit and chat about your kids, life and feel a personal connection. I know you maybe paying a little more for this service but let me tell you something, "you're gonna miss it when it's gone" .

Weirdest thing happened on the way to ....

I went out to dinner tonight, I had a hunger for Mexican food, this after vowing to never eat again only this morning. Hey I ate a walnut burger on the grill for lunch and that was it. So I thought I would give this one Mexican restaurant another try. It is huge and runs like a well oiled machine. The workers are all polite and know very little English. So I am eating the chips they serve and watching them clean off tables. As I was watching I quickly removed my eating utensils from the table and put them on my napkin. They were washing off the tables...fine....then they washed off the seats of the chairs, I was impressed and then they went back and wiped off the table again...Oh no you didn't!!!! I am not a germaphobe but come on, they say they find the most fecal matter on seats in a movie theater, what about a restaurant??? Well it get's better, I am eating and the guy next to me but across the table from me is looking at me and I looked and he said, Sorry I am looking at the desserts....now at one time I would have said "just call me sugar" but that was once upon a time and now I was confused when all of a sudden Broomhilda his wife says, why do you keep looking at her, you don' t have to talk to her. Now I look over my shoulder and the huge dessert display is right there and he HAD to look past me to see it and I wanted to shove a tamale in that witches mouth. So she gets louder, "Instead of looking at her, go walk over there and look, you idiot!!!" wow, and mind you this is loud. I wanted to just back hand her but she was bigger than me, and really scary!!! She carried on for what seemed like a long time and I was embarrassed for him, why is beyond me but I was. So her little girl starts dancing right next to me staring at me. It wasn't her fault her mom was an inbred beast, so I say, "Oh what pretty shoes you have on!!!" Have you ever heard of nursemaids elbow where people grab their kids by the hands and dislocate the elbow from a yank....well this poor little girl got yanked off of her feet while Mama Cass started dragging her out. Good bye and go take a chill pill, so I too pay my check and leave thinking they would be long gone....au contraire, she is right ahead of me walking while the little child is dawdling behind her, I cut across the parking lot and I hear the most fowl mouthed language coming from Broomhilda way across the parking lot. She was hollering at her dear hubby for something, not sure what but about that time I would have put the car in reverse and used her for a speedbump.

I ate my way through Monday?

It all started with breakfast and while I was eating breakfast, I read on FB that the Miller's Ladie's retirement lunch was at 11:00am, Oh I want to see everyone. I did some stuff in the morning and had to repair some stuff in the morning and then got gussied up and went to lunch, of course I was there early. I found these ladies are all late, except two....so we sat and waited till 12:30...Ok I did have a list of thing to do, nothing serious. We finally ordered and I got some shrimp Maison swimming in grease, not Oil slick grease but it could have been..I looked at the plate with great hesitation. I was to have dinner later that evening with my cousins and family for their 35th anniversary, I had cake and decorations and this didn't look good. Sometimes when you look at something you know it just may not be the best choice, if you want to be able to leave home??? In a few hours or days??? I looked for a napkin to soak up some of the grease, I actually thought of calling BP and seeing what would work most effectively but obviously they wouldn't know either. I ate it, it was OK tasting, I ate the shrimp first and picked at the soggy sliced potatoes. Round two, it didn't make me sick but now I have to go to dinner again six hours later, I looked at the menu and nothing looked good, but salad and rattlesnake bites???? Then we had cake....ugh, I am toast, I am done, I drank a cup of coffee this morning and have vowed to never eat again. I am excited because my Aunt from Michigan and cousins are coming to see the shop today. Iggy and I had our usual battle with the vacuum cleaner, I vacuum he barks and bites at it and he just never gets used to it...I am sure my neighbors enjoyed the barking and vacuuming going on in the wee morning hours. I am getting hungry from all of this work....did I just say that???

Are you serious???

I am one of those people that loves to walk on the beach and collect smooth or odd stones. Honestly I have a fetish for sea glass, but on Lake Michigan it is not always an easy find. I also have had an eye out for Witch rocks, all my looking for most of my adult years has been to find a Witch rock. So after WWKIP day, Angela and I took Iggy to the lakefront thinking we may catch a glimpse of the Air show going on downtown. There was no airshow because of a low hanging ceiling of fog/clouds so we walked along the beach. I said to her outloud, "oh I hope to find a Witch rock!!" I always have hopes of finding a witch rock and she bends over and says "Hey look this rock it has a hole in it" Seriously????? She found a Witch rock?? 2 minutes of walking and SHE didn't even know what a witch rock was??? I was supposed to find it!!! I am looking for one...how come she found it??? I am going to the beach today and looking till I find one!!!!

Graduation sadness

Is it me or have you noticed, every year at Graduation time, there are about 3 or more deaths of young students that either are or are going to graduate? Is it that they are preoccupied with the parties or the grades or what is it? We just lost an Oak Creek high school student yesterday, he was to graduate tomorrow. I don't know if he was at fault or the other guy and it was at noonish so I hardly think alcohol played a part on either side. Not saying it couldn't have but not likely. How sad it is any time for this to happen but then add the graduation to it. "yes we have to cancel the party, we lost our child yesterday" Yes we are planning a funeral instead, so keep your gifts and send flowers. I can't imagine the terrible ripping out of your heart and soul when you lose a child. How awful it must be, no matter what the tragedy of how they were taken, a loss is a loss. I guess in the pecking order of things we don't want to lose anyone but we know our grandparents are old, our parents are old, it is the "normal" progress. But when we loose a young life and of course it is always the good kid, it isn't the serial killer to be...not that that would make any difference to a parent, it is still their child. How would you cope with this? I don't want to experience it, my heart goes out to anyone that has. Are these parents of this young man going to attend graduation? Will his friends stop by and sooth the parents or will this cause a hint of jealousy that it was him and not you. What do you say to someone? I worked with a guy on third shift and he got THE call. Your son has been in an accident, we are here to take you to the hospital. Not a good sign when the cops pick you up at work. His son died and I believe he had just graduated. It shook us all to the core. I remember my own son was in Jr. high, at that moment, I so wanted to hold him in my arms to know he was alright. We were all scared, it could have been one of us, it could have been our child. And then the sigh of relief, it wasn't....is that mean??? Is that wrong to think you dodged the bullet? I feel so bad for these parents and the kids friends, it is a hard lesson in life. We have to remember to give our kids a hug when we can. My mother used to say "always kiss each other goodbye you never know if it the last time you'll see someone?" sounds gruesome but the last time I saw my dad, I kissed him goodbye and was walking them to the car, when I turned and said "Hey where's my kiss?" he said "you already kissed me!" I kissed his other cheek and said "Oh this is to even it out!!" he died a day later, but I remember my kissing him on both cheeks, to even it out!!!

I wanted to add that there was another victim in this accident, it was a 53 year old man. I wasn't being unsympathetic in his families loss. It was just the fact that this young life was lost on his graduation. My heart goes out to both families.

Revenge of the Hot Flashes

Never speak too soon. I should know this, you go on a diet and say "I will never gain that weight back again" and poof, you get zapped with the fat stick and an extra 10# to boot. Never laugh at someone that has a pimple, "snap" you will have one twice as ugly. Never ever say you are over menopause....hear me never NEVER!!!!
I have a theory, if you went through life getting your period and never having any issues, menopause is going to kick your butt. I have had every and I mean every symptom or whatever of menopause that was ever written on paper. I never had a problem with my period, I got it and that was it, I had friends that would wince in pain for days before and days after, not me, I breezed through it. I was the commercial of swimming, running, riding horses, I didn't miss a beat, then came menopause. At first I laughed at it, it was kind of funny I could feel the heat rise up in me like a cartoon thermometer, whoosh up it came and just as fast it receded. Then I was working under a brew kettle the size of a room, did I mention it was at boiling temp, and then it came the hot flash from hell, that almost killed me, hot outside and hot inside, I almost passed out. I sat on the grating and thought to myself I am not going to die here. I went asap to the Dr and Premarin became my friend, I loved it, I worshipped it, I felt great!!! But when I got a bad batch from Caremark, a batch that didn't even look right, I decided it was time to quit taking fake third World pills. Cold Turkey I went through the withdrawels the red face flushes, the being hot all the time, I also got a streak of curly hair in the back of my head, lovely. I thought last Fall i was pretty much done....Winter is a woman in menopauses friend. The only symptom I didn't get was night sweats, well now I can add that to my list. I wake up hot, not sweating but so darn hot I can't breath. My hot flashes by the way were dibilitating, I could throw up hot, pass out hot, weak in the knees hot, and now they are back. Chocolate is not my friend in this situation, it causes hot flashes. I want Winter back, cold on my face. I think this may be my 5th year without Premarin. Like the little train that could, I will do this I will do this...when you are going through hell keep going.

Attack of the box

So this morning started out like any other Monday morning, I took Iggy to daycare, stopped for a cup of great Panera coffee, came home. I went right to the basement/studio that I am in the endless process of cleaning and organizing and straightening. Of course I dug out my easel and paints because now that shiny thing ran past and I am a painter.....so on my way up from the basement to do some Monday Money runs, this is where I spend money like water, the whole day!!! Money here, there and just a little but it sure adds up. Some of you may know I am a tad clostaphobic, not real bad but if I get stuck in a situation I panic and start throwing a fit, fist flying kicking fits. This happens so rarely, but it happens, once I got stuck in an elevator at work, it was shortly after 9 11 and I was with another worker and he could see the panic rising on my face. I said we have to get out of here...NOW!!! He said calmly we'll be OK, I said NO WE WON"T and starting to have darting eyes looking for an escape route. I said use your screwdriver and pry the door open I saw it on TV and hurry....so he does and my mind goes to being caught between floors and as I am halfway through the door the elevator starts up and cuts me in half and he prys open the door and lo and behold it never left the floor. Ok color me red, but back to my little fit. I am leaving the basement and have a garbage bag in hand and huge empty box that is as tall as I am and as square. Instead of taking two trips, I would rather struggle and juggle this whole mess. So I get to the top of the stairs and the box is stuck in the door, mind you the ONLY way out of the basement, well the only easy way..so this is now a perfect storm for a fit. I push it a little it pushes back, my hand is on the garbage bag and I can see light on the other side but I am stuck and I will die down here and the air is thin and I push again and it won't move, something is pushing back from the other side (not really) Something is going to push me down the steps, I am going to die....da ta da daaaaa on goes the red cape and I start gritting my teeth and push the box through the hole and almost out the front door. I can breath, I can also see it was a large staple hooked on the rug that is now ripped that made me panic. Was it really that horrible that I couldn't put the garbage bag down and just analyze the situation???? Hell to the NO!!!!! Panic Panic red button panic...

What a concept?

Did you know if you don't pay your phone bill they cut it off??? Isn't that a new concept?? I have apparantly everything on auto pay but my shop phone....guess I never got around to putting it on auto pay. I guess a few months ago I knew to pay the bill but suddenly I had a brain fart. Indeed I got a bill which I somehow thought odd, because I was sure I had autopay, so just ignore them and they will...yes shut off your phone, overnight, no dial tone, and the phone doesn't ring, just the answering comes on. My punishment was also to crawl under the counter in the shop and find the modem and reboot it. 20 times, before it dawned on me to call and maybe I am not on autopay???? Did you know your account is overdue???? Well I do now!!! Sometimes I just get hit with the stupid stick one too many times. I am now paid and up and running. I think I have some phone calls to make to get on real auto pay not just "in my mind" and it was working so well, till today.

As the sands of time....fill in...

Why is it when I clean, I get more stuff? i am once again organizing the basement and instead of opening up a dance hall area, I have managed to create little pathways. I have my tornado shelter all fixed neatly under the stairwell. I need to get some fresh water, in case I get stuck under there for days?? don't ask. So with new shelving units and more shelving all I did was move stuff from one area to another on wheels???? I need some young legs down there with me to haul stuff out to the car and then to the dump!!!! Goodwill or somewhere....other than my basement. It is like moving sand, it just fills in around and it never seems to be cleaned up??? I did get the wash almost done, not that I will carry it upstairs anytime soon. By the way I did this all in about 2 hours....I took Iggy to daycare this morning because it was closed yesterday and got this all done. I think I use him for an excuse why I can't do stuff down there, when in fact he could care less!!! Oh Oh I friend told me that at Blockbuster they had lifesize cutouts of the Mad Hatter, which I am going to go get in a minute. So guess what I have, but this has a function, for my birthday this year I am having a teaparty, with the Mad Hatter and we will all wear knit hats or wristlets and socks too. Zany ones and we will party in the Village area, but no walking on the table...sorry!!!