The Inertia before the Ertia

I - keep - trying - to - get - motivated. 

Since I actually opened my Etsy shop, I've hardly done any crafting/arting. I mostly sit and read or waste time on the web. Lots of time, because my old netbook is soooo slow.

I did make some holiday earrings, but so far only two pairs.

Etsy

Etsy

I've got all this other Christmasy material sitting there unused at the moment.

And people keep dumping giving me tins to transform and make into tiny little worlds.

21-tin tower

I have ideas, but I'm lacking the mojovation, the muse magic, the fire in the belly that has nothing to do with sriracha. My brushes and glue pots are dry.

I've been through these cycles before. I think right now I'm taking advantage of the calm before the storm. Our big move back to the UK is still months away, but early next year we'll need to start sorting and cleaning and deciding what to take and what to throw away, and trying to sell everything else. It's daunting and exciting, leaving behind our home here, where I see my mother and sister frequently,

Hand-painted collage I did a few years ago with an old photo of my mom, who grew up on a ranch

but knowing we'll become reacquainted with our beautiful and talented granddaughters.

"Grandma Val - in a mermaid dress!" drawn by Amelie (she wrote her name backwards)

Living in a lazy limbo, I've been perusing Instagram. Without a smartphone, it's a pain to try to add photos of my own (which I wrote about here, near the end), but I'm enjoying lurking and liking. Once we get moved, I'm going to get a smartphone, and a super-duper state-of-the-art laptop, and maybe a kitten (thanks to Bella and Francis making me want a cat again after 25 cat-free years)!

Val

Brooches and Buttons

Hello, all!

The lovely Kezzie has been sharing some of her funtabulous brooches on her blog, and in a comment on my blog she sort of demanded that I do the same. I do have a few really nice brooches, which I haven't been wearing much lately. Summer clothes can't hold up anything that weighs more than a piece of lint. But now that lapel season is on its way, let me show you some of my pretties.

Before I do, though, I HAVE to mention that I just reopened my Etsy shop - click on the link and bring your credit card! Of course, my "chaos" brooches are listed. Please have a look and give me feedback.

Now, where was I? Oh, yes, brooches. I have posted pics of these before, and I'm probably better off using old pictures than the newer ones. This is what I accomplished taking a selfie today:

The brooch is a beautiful blue butterfly I bought from Bella at Citizen Rosebud. Here's a usable photo with a smug smile.

The butterfly was also seen here. Lovely, n'est-ce pas?

--- edited on Sept. 29, which happens to be TARDIS Tuesday, and I'm wearing blue so I shall link up with My Closet Catalogue.

This is one I made for myself using a sticker of an Edward Hopper painting and putting resin over it.

I've grouped it with some buttonflowers from Megan Gann (who used to have a blog but she seems to have quit the blogging life). The little yellow curves in the buttonflowers match the hat in the picture.

Here's a photo from 2012 with me wearing a brooch I got at a charity shop in England.

This is when Mr. S did some photography for me, before we started bickering each time (Me: Hurry up! You're taking too long! Him: You keep making silly faces!). Ah, memories . . .

And here's a micro-mosaic set that belonged to my grandmother's cousin Naomi, who had no children of her own so my mother got them. And now I have them.

 
I know I mentioned buttons in the title, and I was going to tell you about the buttons I made - yes, made - for this purple velvet jacket, which was a hand-me-over from my niece. But maybe that will wait for another post.

Linking up with the longest running link-up on the webz - Visible Monday at Patti's Not Dead Yet Style. Are you going? I'm bringing a cheese ball (his name is Guido - haha!).

PS - when I added my link, it wanted to shorten the title to Brooches and Butt. 

Val

A Sense of Time Passing

My doctor is retiring. I'm moving away next year, and she decides to retire. I didn't realize she was hanging on just for me.

And now that the word is out that we're moving, a nearby nursery is closing up and their multi-acre parcel will be built on.

Since they're adjacent to a park with woodland, they've always allowed people to walk through their groves. But that walk through the woods will soon become a walk past a retirement community.

Good thing we won't be around or they might think we belong there, like we're dinosaurs or something.

The owners are keeping one corner of the land, where they'll build a new house. I hope they keep the beautiful old trees and rhododendrons.

And I hope the bulldozers don't spark any fires in this hot, dry summer. Even the squirrels are worried about that.

Here's me, although in a different location on my lunch break. I'm wearing the same clothes I wore here, and I'm using the little red gingham bag I got from Bella (seen here) to carry my lunch.

This must be when I turned to watch the minutes running past me, saying "You're going to be late!" I think I sat back and stayed a little longer.

Val

Days of Wine and Roses and Instagram

Ah, the wine...

On our Memorial Day holiday, I went out to one of our favorite wineries with my mom and sister.

A friend of ours, Inoke, was entertaining. This time he wasn't solo - he had two women with him. Inoke is a good performer - deep, soulful voice and an engaging and friendly manner - but these women stole the show!

Teresa Cunningham sang a little, but mostly she rocked the sax.

And Vilma Halstead was totally working the congas.
 

Fortunately, they're playing together a lot this summer, so I hope to see more of them.


Here are the roses - in my top.

I wore this a couple of weeks ago and stockpiled a few photos. I haven't been taking as many selfies lately. I guess I was feeling a little bored with it, so we'll see how things go from here.

 
The necklace is a little locket I was given by my parents when I was about 12. It's brushed gold and engraved with a V, but I've rubbed it so much it's more shiny than brushed!

What AM I looking at?

The skirt is from Christopher and Banks, and you've seen it before, many times. The top and belt are secondhand, so I'm linking up with Secondhand First at Citizen Rosebud.

When I met Bella and Joni in Seattle, they both said I should get on Instagram. You have to have a smart phone, and my phone is not too bright, so I signed up using my husband's phone. Then I went to my PC to see my account, but I could only view - I couldn't comment or add pictures. I did some Googling and found out how to run the Instagram app on my PC, so I asked my personal tech guy (Mr. S) to help me - I knew it wouldn't be straightforward.

Here's what we had to do:

We downloaded and installed Bluestacks, the platform to run apps on a PC. But before we could make it fully functional we had to install NET Frame. But before we could install NET Frame we had to scan for malware. We did that, we installed NET Frame, we installed Bluestacks, but then all we got was a black screen within the Bluestacks frame. Mr. S did some more Googling to find out how to get rid of the black screen and found out we needed to update the video card, NVIDIA. But to do that, first we needed to update Java!

One hour and five different programs later (!) I had Instagram functioning on my PC. I followed a few people and left a few comments, then signed out because, quite frankly, I was tired of being on the computer by that time! I only went back to see Instagram the other day.

I opened Bluestacks to access Instagram, but to use it now they say I have to purchase their App Player Premium (it's only $2, but still) or download their sponsored apps.

To be honest, I don't think I'll be doing Instagram, at least not until I get a smart phone. The weather is good, and I don't want to be spending that much more time online. I'd rather be outside drinking wine!

scarf was a gift from Bella

Are you on Instagram? Do you use it a lot?

Linking up also with Visible Monday. Which picture to use...

Val

Operation SpyGirl: The Western Edge

Here is my report:

My initial communication with Agent AMB was carried out in code to subvert the potential for eavesdropping. We had an arranged meeting place - the large anchor installed as a feature next to Bay Street in Florence, Oregon.

Source

It was a public place, so we could blend in. However, there were risks involved, too, such as coming into contact with tourists in Harley-Davidson T-shirts, women carrying small dogs, and sullen teenagers trying not to be seen with their parents.

Our rendezvous was scheduled for 14:00 hours. I arrived early and carried out a quick sweep of the nearby restroom. There were no listening devices or cameras (I think). As I was leaving, I received an electronic message from Agent AMB saying "I've just parked in Florence and am walking to the anchor." I decoded this and understood it to mean that AMB was in Florence and had just parked her car. She was walking toward our rendezvous location. The code was fairly simple.

I soon spotted her. She was wearing an absolutely adorable hat I had seen in photos taken by our Russian agent, Natalia. This made it easier to recognize her, as well as her trademark glasses and smile. We exchanged the secret password and she slipped me the encoded disk as we embraced. No one suspected that we were anything but tourists with a little more flair than those around us.

I wore a purple scarf that had been given to me by Agent Bella Q. The scarf could be transformed into a jump jet if it was necessary to make a quick getaway. It was not necessary.

AMB and I went to a nearby restaurant, sitting on an enclosed patio where we were sure there were no bugs (ha ha). We discussed our experiences within B.L.O.G. (Blog Ladies' Organization for Good) and our communications with other agents. We talked about our cover work, and she brought me up-to-date on her recent trip to the borders of our territory.

We then decided to survey the coast for invasion by enemy agents. We saw none; all was secure.

Soon AMB was on her way to her next destination, a location I cannot divulge. I found her to be the consummate agent - polite, friendly, and very sweet. She has beautiful eyes and a disarming smile that encourage confidence and candor. She has already won over several agents she has come into contact with, both friendly and hostile, and I'm sure she will continue to do so.

I hope her mission has been successful; I feel honored to have played a small part in it.

In full disclosure I must add that my report has been inspired by AMB's Fake Journaling project.

Agent VS

Visible in Seattle

Look at these beautiful women I met in Seattle!

They're gorgeous, aren't they? They're also really naughty.

I know, I was as shocked as you!

It's not like I was encouraging them or anything.

There's just no taming these women, bless their little cotton socks.

Merci to the lovely French woman who took pictures for us, and I can't wait to see what photos Joni and Bella got!

I had met Bella before, and she is just as bubbly and open and friendly as I remembered. Joni is laid-back, sweet and very cool. I miss her personal style blog, Walking Colors, but at least she can still be found at her art blog.

I can't remember what all we talked about, but I know we had a lovely time sitting outside at Fremont Coffee Company, and I know I didn't allow enough time to really get to know these lovely ladies! I hope there'll be a next time. And very soon in blogland I'll show you the gorgeous shawl/wrap that Bella gave me.

My outfit? Thrifted boots, thrifted slip and thrifted dress by Devawear, so I'll link up with Bella's Secondhand First on Friday NOW.

Saturday update - also linking up with Share-in-Style: Red at Mis Papelicos.

The belt is from my raincoat because I forgot to pack one. Necessity is the mother of invention!

I also saw some other friends in Seattle, Mr. S met one of his online correspondents from Piano Forums...

and we went to see a trapeze show where said correspondent provided some of the music.

It was really hard to get decent pictures, but the show was amazing!

Seattle had sunshine, puffy clouds, its usual Pacific Northwest buzz, funky neighborhoods and street art.

Someone once asked me where my spiritual home was, and I said Seattle. I haven't lived there in 18 years, but I'll always love it - intensely!

Coming in a little late, but definitely linking up with Visible Monday!

Val