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Post by michelle on Aug 20, 2024 3:33:05 GMT
Z, The barn is so interesting!!! Love the flowers! Great job getting your walking in. Not much to chat about today. We made and appointment for one of the fencing companies estimator to come out on 9/3. Asking questions yielded that they are possibly three months out but can install etc if the ground is frozen. It looks like both projects may be done mid November or sooner if we can get all the particulars ironed out. DH does not like my selection for fencing but knows that basically it is the only one that will work. This is kind of..... Words escape me. Clair's vet appointment is tomorrow morning. Hopefully she will get xrays because I certainly don't want her to have another relapse and THEN do the xrays. After we get done with the Vet I will call PT to get an appointment ASAP since those ladies are the real brains in regard to this situation. She is already scheduled for 9/4 but possibly I can get her in sooner. Today, of course, she is not exhibiting any symptoms but they can look like everything is perfectly all right and still have a signficant problem. I am just going to keep being very positive about it.I did look at dog strollers to see if I can get her one in case she is sidelined again for an extended period. Currently a few small dogs are using these at events and they do work quite nicely for the dogs to be able to socialize with the people. The lightest one that will work is 26 pounds, adding her 55 pounds on it is 81 pounds I would have to push up hill at the Stay Pawsitive events at the university and then be careful that I don't loose control when we go back down that hill. Hmmm..... The one that weighs 30 pounds has brakes on the front and back wheels which seems to make more sense. I better break out the free weights and start pumping iron. We will overcome!!!
Hope you are having a wonderful evening!!!
Onward>>>>>
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Post by zenamidievel on Aug 20, 2024 20:13:34 GMT
Good Afternoon,
The fence selection process sounds similar to my showing DH pieces or art to potentially hang places which led me to paint that picture. Yes, that stroller situation sounds a bit heavy!
My evenig was fine, I'm not sure what I did.
Creative:
-I realized I had 4 errors corrections to make on different things. This means correcting the chart, resaving, reimporting, resaving the photo, ditto, and also resaving the letter with the photo that accompanies a sale. So I've fixed them, but now I need to reimport all and swap the files.
Advertising: I've decided to dabble with this and see what happens. Apparently I can turn it on/off at will, decide on the daily amount to spend, edit that at will also. What does this do? If a buyer puts in anywords that relate to patterns along with some of my other tag/title terms, a photo of one my listings should come up on their screen as one of the first things they see. The software will tell me how many times one of listings is simply "seen" from this process. Then if a customer actually clicks on the listing then I pay some cents for that, and that happpens each day until I've spent my daily budget. So the goal is really to increase visibility. I do think I have a different offering, not necessarily better, in that my designs really fill up the whole thing, which is what I like. I might dabble in future on larger designs or larger canvases, but for now, I as always lately I just need to get painting. Now, I'm not sure I like this, because one thing is I think items crop up possibly well enough without an add. Also there is a negative physchological angle to this in that...do I really want to know that 1000 people saw my add and only three people actually clicked on it? Hmmmmm....oh well, it's a an experiment.
Other: I did think with paper/ chipboard type, but not chipboard, type coasters. I got some printed from one source on sale and I did like how those turned out. I ordered a single set of another type, those are just "meh" but good to see what like. There is another custom type, like the first, at much lower print rate, that had mixed reviews from buyers. So I'm trying that, fingers crossed, cause if they come out decent, their super cute to group in sets of 6 or 8, and sell that way. After I get these back though, if they're good, I think I'm done dabbling in that situation for the time being.
I'm supposed to walk this afternoon, I got some shoes I needed to wear for upcoming trip to visit my sister in Brooklyn, I leave on Sunday and will pack VERY lightly as to be able to manage with ribs. DD leaves tomorrow and hasn't packed a thing, I'm trying not to notice this. This too shall pass.
Not much else hopeyour day is going well.
Z.
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Post by michelle on Aug 21, 2024 20:52:32 GMT
Today and yesterday were basically all about Clair's leg. We settled on that she has strained her iliopsoas muscle which is a big deal but not near as big deal as having to have the surgery redone. She is going to do 6-10 laser treatments for that situation and then we will see where we are at. This strain diagnosis came from the PT who immediately located the problem. The Vet went off on a whole different tangent but I know who has the brains and that is the PTs in Rehab since they take everything into account including the xrays on and on. This is extremely good news!!! The second matter is her other leg that might have the same problem developing which caused Clair's surgery. It may need a PT plan but right now I am still dealing with the Vet, the radiologists report to come and the Vet checking with the Surgeon in regard to the xrays of Clair's other leg. Lots to deal with but I have remained calm and serene throughout except for one minor glitch due to the Vet hospitals inability to get the xrays emailed to the other vet hospital that has the rehab department. I overcame without acting crazy to get this accomplished. Hooray for me!
Z, The Etsy advertising is very interesting. It will be interesting to see what the outcome is. I hope the rib situation resolves itself so you can better enjoy your trip!!!
Onward>>>>>
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Post by zenamidievel on Aug 22, 2024 18:18:40 GMT
Good Morning,
Hoping the PT can resolve all that is going on with Clair!
Ribs: Tomorrow is the three week mark from this happened. I am able to do more movements without thinking about it so much and without much discomfort. The first injury took almost exactly 4 weeks for all seem to normal again, so I'm guessing the same with this. I should be able to do what I need for the trip an enjoy without much problem. Goal for trip...don't fall down!....lol
Learning: So now that I'm wanting to stitch an actuall design of mine, this got me looking at and trying to shop for the threads from different sources. I'm not sure I mentioned I bought a large thread card from a supplier that shows a sample of most. In combination of looking at this, looking on line, I have learned some things. There are different size thread for different size projects which I realized already, but I didn't realize my software doesn't differentiate/show the number of strands type thread I'm grabbing from for colors....meaning some could be 3, 5 or 6 strand type. I already have a lot of designs done not realizing this fully. Hopefully most people are using threads from their current stashes and doing their own color matching anyway. But....it would probably be good moving forward to use mainly the 5 strand size for my 18 mesh grid as it doesn't require special steps to seperate strands. Does this mean I'm gonna redo everthing? No, I guess if I got a complaint, I could rework things as needed. Many people have their thread preferances, so they're color matching what I show to whatever brand is their prefereance anyway....so I don't think this is a huge deal. The color card I ordered has a chart at the stop what shows how many strand types that color comes in. SO I could use a hiliter and hilite the 5 strand column for future reference. Then I "could" go back through designs and examine this situation as time permits. Thanks for listening.
Stitching: I ordered threads for the first project I'm going to try when I'm at my sister's house and she will help me with the learning curve. I'm having them shipped there directly and will work on it while there during down time.
House: Kitchen is reclaimed, DW running, counters swiped made more Zuchini bread for DH to take to inlaws when he goes to visit them while I'm gone and got that cleaned up as well. Yesterday after DD left, I went down and examined situation, it was not horrific and I'm "letting it go". I moved some things so they were more consolidated in both the family room and the bedroom. THere's a bit more to move this way but I was getting sore so I stopped with that. On this note, DD did a great job ultimately getting herself packed, I was amazed actually and complimented her. I also addressed another communication problem we were having, and I think that went fine, we'll see if there can be less of some of this nonsense moving forward.
The scale seems to be chinking downward, I need to go get my walk in and then handle some head in sand situations this afternoon and run the bedding from the guestroom downstairs.
Advertising Campaign: Well....it's hard to say, I think this format can create an "addiction to activity" type of mental state for sellers. So I'll leave the add thing on till Saturday night, then I'm turning it off. It does seem to generate more visibility, but is also costs money.
I hope your day is goin well and I'm sorry about the extra stress surrounding Clair.
Z.
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Post by zenamidievel on Aug 24, 2024 3:25:16 GMT
Today I got some more things if DD shifted to better locations, bed put back together, boxed her stuff left on vanity, kitchen reclaimed and swept. Not much else done.
Z
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Post by michelle on Aug 24, 2024 4:24:23 GMT
Z, I am always so impressed at your dedication to learning new things! Embroidery thread used to be six strands and probably still is. Your post reminded me of taking the thread and dividing it in to three or sometimes two strands for use in sewing. The six strands usually was to bulky. My DM had me start embroidering when I was about five years old and I still have some of those little things that I tried to do---of course the backs are an incredible mess but I did get the idea. I had this interest all the way through school and remember how to do such things as french knots. Today I reorganized my stash and dash closet so that I could fit some other storage items in there. This took far longer than can be imagined. Also got the six bags of dog food out of the garage into the house so that it is in cooler temps. All food items must be stored in closed containers since we live in a rural area. I am meticulous about not leaving any crumbs or food on the counters and also getting all items stored properly. Absolutely no food in the cars ever. I did get my Declutter Wednesday items taken care of again this week. I love this habit which is making me deal with questionable items right away instead of two years from now. Also vac'd most of the floor. It seems that this job is slowly devolving to me which is not much of a bother to me since I already do the hard room which is the K. I had to basically cover the floor so that Clair cannot slip. These rugs are very difficult to get completely clean. However my new Furbuster works amazingly well which is helpful.
It was unbelievably cold here today! At noon I still had to have my winter gear on. I can't remember it ever being this cold at the end of August. Tonight I was sitting on the deck with my winter coat and hat on. Brrr..... Not complaining at all since I am overjoyed that the intense heat is probably done for the year. Fingers crossed.
Tomorrow Paws4Love has our semi-annual business meeting. I have only been to one of these in over four years but I thought I would go to this one. Not sure they need any of us there since the Board makes all the decisions and doesn't consult us. Maybe we will be asked to contribute at some point but in the meantime I am totally happy being one of the troops while the Generals get to do all of the work and all Clair and I have to do is the fun stuff.
Clair is doing fine! Just need to keep her from running amok for a couple of weeks and get her laser treatments done every week. I found a YouTube video that is over an hour long about this particular type of muscle strain which can be very serious as it can reoccur and worsen. So I will watch it this weekend and learn all I need to know. If not I will just search for more information. I am totally positive about all of this which had me on Planet Zog for a while. I seem to have landed back on planet Earth today. Hooray for that!
Saturday - The meeting was actually interesting. I volunteered to do Paws 2 Read events at another library, explaining that I had Sept, Nov and Dec available so she put me on her active list. This event is on the second Saturday of each month for all the libraries and will fill in nicely since my other library event is only scheduling me once every three months. Also picked up a couple of shirts with the logo on them. Talked to the lady that does Crisis so that I can get on that list. They pick randomly so over listing is more helpful since I am not going to be selected all that often. Sort of a strange system.... One last attempt is to get on the organizers substitute lists so that I will be asked to go when teams decide they cannot attend. Possibly the system should be revamped LOL.
Hope you are having a pleasant evening!!!
Onward>>>>
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Post by zenamidievel on Aug 25, 2024 3:41:08 GMT
Good Evening,
I have heard tales of striving for "neat backs" on this whole needlepoint thing! I love hearing your reminiscing on these things from childhood. Clair's situation sounds positive and you are "on it" as usual! Hope things continue to improve. Great work with keeping up with CB Wednesdays and banging my drum for you on the re-org of the stash and dash closet! I heard it SNOWED in Tahoe!!!! IT must be cold!
Needlepoint: Good News! I phoned older sister, had discussion about threads, told her I'd gotten the "Cadillac" version of the DMC thread catalog lol! She gave me some education, a couple of tips and told me where to go...Michaels. So I did that and AMAZING! I do not need to worry about my charts, all the colors match what's on the shelving and it's all appropriate! It was so fun to look at those in IRL and pick them out based on my color key! So I got them, printed my chart, packed a canvas, and my sister is going to teach me. So this was all somewhat of a relief and fun.
CB: I forgot to say that I addressed several containers, small ones, in the garage, throwing their contents into the trash the other day, as they set next to my car. I will do the same with what remains there, it's yard waste technically speaking, as there are about 4 more I think to address. Then I consolidated and stacked the empties.
DD: OMG....most of my day today has been managing a situation with DD who is in her study abroad in Australia. This was very mentally and emotionally taxing for me, and for her. Many texts, many phone calls, anxiety through the roof....but now...14 hours later...things seem to be resolving themselves. She was feeling quite ill, obviously jet lagged, and this all spiraled terribly. A lot of long distance hand holding, advice, checking in, what to do, what not to do, what did you do, what have you eaten, what have you not eaten, crying, etc......on and on....thanks for listening, but this was a pretty big time suck for me, plus stressful, so I pretty much got nothing done today, except I did get my walk in and made the quick trip to Michaels.
I have been using this Habit Builder App with a friend, all centered on healhty eating and activity. THe scale is finally moving down again in big way after a pretty big stall from my fall in June, so I am pleased. ALso I was able to walk really good today with little to zero jarring discomfort in my ribs. THis has been hurting every step when I walk, so this is great. I feel encouraged that by mid September I will back to where I was in June.
I'm going to visit my twin sister in Brooklyn, we will go to the early rounds of the US tennis Open for two afternoons. That will be fun, she will teach me to stitch and I don't know what else, we'll just hang out together. Oh, we might go visit my cousin who also lives in NYC. I will be back on the first but I will check in from the road.
I turned off my advertising campaign. It cost me about $15.00 for I think 4-5 days. I might turn it on in future, I did get a lot more favoriting of items, probably through that, but I'm only gonna turn that on a few days each month at most, if not every couple of months. One goal I have, I'm taking a tablet with me, is to make a list of my best things I will have in shop when I re-open it with the physical listings when I get back. I want everyting to be the best of what I have, not just stuff that's been setting and never gets looked at. Maybe I'll have a garage sale?
Okay, I need to get a few things cleaned up and start packing my bag!
Z
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Post by zenamidievel on Aug 27, 2024 13:53:45 GMT
I’m in Brooklyn. I’ve started a stitch project, sis is helping. We met up with cousin for dinner an saw her apartment. Was so fun, we are a year apart in age. Tomorrow we go to afternoon at Tennis US Open. Hope things are goin well there. Z
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Post by michelle on Aug 28, 2024 3:59:19 GMT
Z, So glad you are having a good time!!! I took Clair today for her laser treatment and some progress has been made with the muscle strain. The PT and I are very close so it is always wonderful to spend time with her. Lots of laughter and positivity! I got a notice that we have been accepted by the school district to do therapy events at the schools. With that came a totally incomprehendable speel about what is supposed to be going on when we do go to the schools. I think that possibly it is more geared to teams that have already spent time in these places. I am baffled and not sure I will be able to overcome, however I will try. Possibly I have found a landscaping company to help me with some of the yard work. For sure I would like them to trim that incredibly huge bush since I would have to get up on a ladder and also manage the trimmer at the same time--not seeing that as viable. It would be such a treat to have someone do some of the upcoming raking as it is a gigantic job. I got three bags of pine needles the other day even though they haven't actually started dropping. However, I am into raking! and have lots of technique when it comes to those pine needles. Plus they don't move around like leaves of which there are also plenty of them. The joys of raking! LOL
I decluttered a roll of fencing that was laying around for some years and now I need it. Sam the Collie will not stay in the yard around the house instead insisting on jumping over the four foot fence to wonder around chasing a coyote that likes to get in the big yard. This is not a good idea! So we will have to make a temporary dog run type of thing and go over the situation with the fencing estimator so Sam can have his own special enclosed safety yard. It will not be like putting him in a cage since he will still be able to access the house and also the girls (Clair and Buttercup) would be able to be in there with him. Right now we have this area that we call the side yard and it is used at night when they go out since it is smaller, well lite etc. --just needs a higher fence that he cannot jump. At any moment that one coyote can turn into a pack which has happened before so it is a very stressful situation. DH will go into town to get the fencing tomorrow morning and we will solve the problem by putting in the temporary fence right away.
Declutter Wednesday was another rousing success! Also I have been trying to stay on top of the pile up so that no more chores go into the "left over" category to languish for months on end. Today I set a stopwatch to try to figure out where the time goes. Some of these household chores take an amazing amount of time. I finally gave up on this stopwatch project as it was making me slightly crazy.
Hope you have fun watching tennis! I took tennis lessons as a child and because of that got a farily good grade in my Tennis class when I was in college and also I enjoyed it.
Wednesday - I finished all of my sewing projects today and helped DH put up the temporary higher fence that will keep Sam in the safety of the yard around the house. Tomorrow Clair and I have a therapy event.
Onward>>>>
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Post by zenamidievel on Sept 2, 2024 2:13:20 GMT
Oh yes, he coyote problem is a real problem! I hope your steps can keep the dogs safe till you work out more permanent solutions. I'm home now, Sis and I went to tennis for two days. Wednesday was INCREDIBLY hot, we had to come home early it was so bad. Thursday, it was between 25-30 degrees cooler, so that was GREAT! We got to watch some fun matches, wanter around, what an amazing complex! Then her husband got some tickets for their corporate suite so we were able to go one more time and sit in that, free food and drink, and had a chance to set 8 rows up from court side, center court for about one set of a mens match. All of this was very fun, but also very busy. I'm glad I'm home. The needle project is going well, but I had to undo my canvas from her frame, etc. to bring it home and now I have to get some of these supplies so I can mount it at home and finish it. So it will need to set aside for about a week but It's coming together and I'm happy with it and plan to do some more in future!
TOday was a long travel day, been up since 4:00 AM, so, i'm just being lazy now.
Z.
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Post by michelle on Sept 2, 2024 4:25:30 GMT
Glad you had a good time! What does the needle point project look like?
The last couple of days: Took Clair to the university for her first therapy event of the year which I enjoyed so much. Managed to get everything for AA to work on for next Saturday. Today I went over the plan for the new fence and entry gates with DH to get everything firmed up so that we don't end up endlessly discussing things when the fencing contractor's estimator comes on Tuesday afternoon. Started working on getting the bushes & trees cut back so that the new fencing can be installed since I doubt they plan on doing that in addition to removing the existing fencing. Also I need to know what they expect in regard to this in case I have to hire a landscaping company to come in and remove items. I don't intend on digging up anything myself. Then I spent hours reading outside. The first part of this marathon the temps were kind of off the graph but I stuck it out. Just love being outside!
Hope you are enjoying your evening!!!
Onward>>>>
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