Worldy Sphere

Nearly every day I am reminded that the world is getting smaller. I think this is because of the amount of information we have available to us either thru newspapers (a dying entity), the news on TV (how partisan can it get?), and of course, the Internet and all it entails. I love the Internet because I can dig a little or a lot to get more information than maybe I even really want. Sometimes I get a big knot in my stomach from all that is available to me but I welcome having the choices. Some people don't have those choices.

"Meeting" all my blogging pals and "visiting" with them on a regular basis has been such a wonderful addition to my life. As I sit here frozen to death (okay, I exaggerate a bit but I am cold! And I am in my jammies at 3PM) I scroll thru my Reader and smile or cry. Some of you are already in a new year-I saw your celebrations on CNN or Bloomberg. We have 9 hours to go until 2009 here in Michigan and it commences another year to make it right or screw up even worse-take your pick and run with it. Just do it with gusto!

This card is kinda ugly-maybe Allison will start a new Uggos file for 2009. But this stamp struck me as looking like a globe or earth orb especially after I applied the glitter glue. (BTW-don't buy that cheapo glitter glue from Joann's for a buck-it's yucky and warps the card stock-stick to Stickles). The more I look at this stamped image, the more I see an earth planet in distress. The white glittered areas are the storms-don't they look like hurricanes or typhoons? I have NOT been drinking, I promise. Below is a little closer look.

This is a weird combination for colors but it's earthy. I do wish I had put Happy Solstice on it instead. Ya see, I am counting the days and the minutes as the time for spring gets closer (even if January seems like the longest time on earth). A minute here and there and soon it adds up to noticeably more daylight each day.

Well, the gym is closed today and I really need to go buy some rutabaga (end of year tradition from my Scot background). Then off to a late night movie as a Michigan tradition. Assuming there isn't crap at 9 bucks a ticket. Yeah, right-we will pick the least crappy of the crap as usual. No downer movies allowed. So have a safe transition to the new year. And a special good vibe is being sent to a reunited family in Calgary and a healthy 2009 for baby.

Free Bird??

Hey peeps! Long time no post. Did ya miss me??

Well a lot of stuff has been going on, not the least (but the most friggin' annoying) is that hubby retired. I was already diving into my normal fall/winter black hole when this came up. I had no say and still feel like a bystander thru the whole process. I have given some serious thought to just becoming a bird and off I go. Maybe like this blue bird? Time will tell-but I have to depend on the economy coming back a bit, too. All my personal savings are in the stock market.

Last week was the first time I bought something just for the heck of it in several months (yup, I tend to be paranoid when I don't know what is happening sometimes). I had two full punch cards to Pages In Time in Lansing and thought I might find something "new" since I had last been there in July. Let's just be nice and let me say,"if you have a punch card for this store",use it now! I have a vibe about scrap stores and I have it about this one with big spidey tingles. I used my two cards and a bit more pocket change, but I don't see myself going back unless I know something is coming into the store in new product.

This card is made with Lasting Impressions card stock run thru an embossing folder. The color is a bit off because it never sun shines anymore so I was using the light off my computer monitor. I am too lazy to go get the lights and backdrop out. And I wanted to see what the new computer would look like as a backdrop. Isn't that wonderful-a new computer? It wasn't a planned purchase by a long byte but the Dell up and died (sucky Dell) . There was a weekend special at Costco, so here I sit with Vista (hate it) but got a lovely wide screen monitor I wasn't planning on as part of the package. All my favorite websites look strangely......wide.

Just so you could see a little more of the detail on this, I tried to get a closeup. But not so great, is it? Why is that, I ask myself??? Because every time I save up to buy a macro lens, somebody needs something. When I had the money this past spring, hub wanted a table saw. It sits in the garage. So I saved up again. Hub needed a laptop (they retained the one from work, along with his cell phone and his car). You read that right, we had to buy him all three. And the bills associated with them, we now have-so how is it HE thinks we can live cheaper with him NOT working? This from a math whiz.

The stamp is from ...brain fart here...I got it at Joann's and Hobby Lobby has it, too. Altho with Christmas over, it might be out of stock. I will have more from this set in the next few days or so. Maybe I will remember it by then.

So I am one year older, not at all wiser and a new cyber Auntie. Welcome Avery ! See ya in a few.

Memory Lane Bay City-Closing

Another one bites it. This store was just purchased this past spring from the original owners. Last month was a blip that the store would no longer have loyalty points. Then an email came saying the store would be great for 3-4 women to purchase together. Never good news-but one BIG problem was no parking. It was slant parking on the main street downtown Bay City and I always had to drive around as Bay City has a decent downtown area with lots of shops.

I will be very surprised should it be sold and re-open. Here is the website.

Store Hours
Sunday-Monday~Tuesday - Closed
Wednesday - Saturday 10:00 AM - 5:30 PM

989-894-7973

The store is currently at 4o-60% off.

Sadly, this was one of my favs, pre-new owners. Lots of unusual items. Then I saw the drift. And the wider aisles with less and less product. I fear that Scrapbook Peddler in Saginaw is not far behind. They are doing the same re-arranging I see whenever a store is slowing to a crawl. There is also a rubber stamp store across the street (formally Rubber Wonderland now Di's Ink-which has no website, so is it still open?).

I believe the scrap/stamp hobby is just as big as it was but has radically changed. And the economy of course, is forcing us to decide how to shop. I always try to find local, but if I really need something and can't find it or the owners can't or won't order for me, I do shop the Internet. Especially for stamps. But I always give first crack at my local stores. There just aren't any close by anymore-even with gas cheap again, I still have to drive an hour.

I will update this if I hear anything else about the store.

Iowa Visits Frankenmuth

See, I didn't forget about you. I know it's been a month and not a whole lot has changed. Sofa slug is still slugging. Still retired. Still on my last nerve. Still with no pension checks-we are now due two. We are down to $16 bucks in my wallet and whatever he has stashed in his (probably lint). Holy crap, I forgot about the pop cans I have been toting around for weeks-that will give up maybe $3.20-enough to drive me to the funny farm!

I made a promise to myself not to touch our "oh my god!" fund. So unless something happens between now and the 2oth, I will have to stab myself and then hub can do whatever he wants. I paid all our bills up to date until Dec. 20th. That is when the credit card we are living on is due. I never pay just a bit-I always paid in full. So Santa, if you have an IN with those people at Fidelity, kick their butts into gear, will ya? And send a piece of coal to Slug Boy, who messed up first.

So look who showed up for Thanksgiving Dinner-Grizzly Adams and this woman he hypnotized and who was crazed enough, she married him. Yup, this is my baby boy. The last time I saw him, he was clean shaven and getting wedded. We were supposed to meet up last year for a weekend in Chicago, but that just didn't happen. So this year, the weather was decent and since the men folk ain't working much right now, Grizzly decided to come to see the "Old Country". Sadly, we never made the midnight trip to downtown Flint for a coney at Angelo's . Probably for the best, as the bullets were flying.

On Friday, as we tried to round everyone up for a trip to "Little Bavaria" (and only 4 of us made it), we hit up Mega Coney and then gassed up the new blue 5 seater, only to have the dippy woman next to us smack the crap out of the left front fender with her car door and not say a word. We sat there frozen. How rude. She looked right in our face, too. And sat behind us at the diner.

Frankenmuth , for the unsuspecting, is gorgeous this time of year. It was the annual candle walk and not too cold. We slubbed thru Bronner's . I never want to hear a call for photo ops with Santa again-I don't care if they are free.

Then we had to find a potty-and shop-and potty-and shop-and play checkers. When we had trolled up and down the street and found the lines had died down, we decided to eat. The Bavarian Inn had a Vegan/Vegetarian menu! Smack me with some lederhosen (preferably worn by Johnny Depp!-or maybe still wearing with nothing else.) So several hours later, we waddled out of the Inn and I took the above photo by a sleigh. We had enough leftovers for another meal-but we bought no fudge. How did that happen?

My 'puter may be on its last breath-acting up and I think the cd-rom drive burned out today because it would not shut off (there was no disc in it either).I will have to wait until the checks come or the stimulus comes from the "man". So it might be a while-should this piece of crap Dell not boot tomorrow. But I have my stuffs backed up. See ya later.