I've been pretty busy lately and I haven't really had the time or anything really worthwhile to blog about. I have been reorganizing the storage in the laundry room so I can add a lot of that stuff to the attic. It will give Sio a bit more room for pottery, and I can store food down there. While I really believe that having an Obama presidency is about the best thing that could happen right now to us as a nation, I still think things are going to get worse before they get better so I want to have enough food squirreled away just in case. I think the damage that has been done will not be totally apparent til after the election, or maybe not til after inauguration day. One thing that people don't seem to realize is that oil prices will very shortly start going up again, and it's pretty much a given that they will rather quickly surpass the highest levels they were at just a while ago. So food prices will continue to rise, too. Anyway, while I'm hoping that the changes we need to manage things will happen rather quickly under a new administration, Congress (even with a Democratic majority) is not always as fast as they could be so it's better to be safe than sorry. And if it ends up that we don't need all that food for emergency situations, my grocery bills will be a bit cheaper for a bit while we eat it all up.

I'm not sure, but the economic crisis might be the reason I've had so many sales lately. I've sold 10 things in the last 12 days, 3 were sets of doll clothes I had on E-bay. One was a Chatty Cathy Christmas dress and the other 2 were for Tiny Tears. Then I sold 2 pairs of fingerless gloves, 2 skirts and a top, a purse and a hand dyed fat quarter. I am finishing up another Chatty Cathy dress today, and I am going to list it and a snow suit for Tiny Tears on E-bay. I listed another set of fingerless gloves and 2 patchwork scarves on Etsy, and I have 2 more pairs of the fingerless gloves I'll list pretty soon. They are both made from felted sweaters. I have a pair I was crocheting that have cables too, but I seem to have misplaced my bag so I can't finish them. Anyway, my theory is that people are tired of cheap Chinese stuff that wastes so many resources and are looking for more handmade stuff, and if they are going to spend money they want a better quality product. And I think with the doll clothes it might be because it's cheaper to buy a doll you already own something new to wear than to buy a new doll, especially a vintage or antique one. Whatever the reason, I've been doing fairly well lately so I hope it keeps up. I'm saving the money to go to New York with Melissa after Thanksgiving. It will be a lot of fun, we are going to the Holiday market and we'll do some other stuff too. She'll be here for Thanksgiving and I can't wait, it will be so nice to have her here for a few days.

I Feel Like I Failed Somewhere...

Every one knows what a HUGE Zep fan I am. I encouraged Chris to learn to play guitar because I wanted him to learn to play Over The Hills and Far Away, and The Rain Song.
My kids grew up listening to Zep because I listened to Zep. So words can't express the disappointment I felt last night when Siobhan came in while I was watching "The Song Remains the Same". The concert footage is good, even if the fantasy sequences leave something to be desired. Anyway, Robert Plant was on at the moment she came downstairs, and I said that Plant may have been really hot but Jimmy Page played guitar so fucking good. The movie switched to show Jimmy Page and she said "Who's that?" and I said something else about Page and she said again"Who's that?" I realized she was asking who it was on the screen and I was just floored. I said "Thats Jimmy Page!" and she said "Oh I thought it was the other guy. I get them mixed up" and then she said Plant looked like a girl! I never thought that any of my children would not know the difference between Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. Especially a very young extremely good looking Robert Plant. I am just horribly disappointed. I feel like I failed as a parent somewhere.
Anyway, here they are in their prime taken straight from the movie in 1973:

Winter is Coming!

Siobhan and I were out shopping today, and I realized how close we are to winter. I know that there are all kinds of things going on in the world, but I have to just pause and enjoy this time. I love mid to late fall, it replaced spring as my favorite time of year a long time ago. I love the colors of the changing trees and the crisp smells of autumn; I love the foods; the pumpkin breads and cookies and pie; the hearty soups and stews, and hot coffee and chocolate to warm me up when I come in from the chilliness of out doors. And I especially love the getting ready for Christmas. I can work on gifts and plan meals and all the other things that I do every year. This is a waiting time, an anticipation that I enter into with great joy. This time of year even has it's own music for me; I move from the solidly Irish to more classical and medieval.The pictures are some from the last time we went out fishing; sometime over the weekend I'm going to see if I can get John to walk down the prarie path with me and I'll take some more.

We had dinner at Chris and Richards last night, Chris cooked chicken and nachos. There were no veggies, no salad, or anything like that, just chicken and nachos. It was good chicken, but generally I think of meals as being more balanced. I brought dessert, a berry crisp with whipped cream. Sio and Richard went down in the bar after dinner and played darts, Chris, John, Gary and Joe (who is another bartender) played cards for awhile and I watched. It was a nice evening and I like to get out and have fun now and then.

I have been working on some doll clothes to list, I figure with the economy being as bad as it is someone who collects dolls might not be willing to spend the money to buy a new one but they might be willing to buy an outfit or two for ones they already have. Actually there are a couple of ladies on E-bay who seem to be doing just that; one in particular makes clothes for antique dolls and she is making a lot of money doing it. I'm working on a batiste dress with insertion and embroidery, with a slip and combinations, the pattern dates from the teens or early 20's. It's almost finished and I'll post pics when I'm done.

Funny post

I heard about this blog on Stephanie Miller this morning! I's pretty funny!
http://margaretandhelen.wordpress.com/2008/10/03/bitch-there-i-said-it

Scarf and Doll Sewing

There hasn't been much new lately. I had to stop working on the sock to finish up Carla's birthday present which turned out very nice. She really liked it, but I forgot to get a pic of the finished scarf. At least I can post a pic of the pineapple pattern now and the colors of the yarn. I was really happy with the colors, it turned out really pretty. I dyed a lot of it; 3 skeins which is pretty close to 800 yds. I used just under 2 of the skeins so there is plenty left. I am crocheting an American Girl shawl with what's left of the 2nd skein, I'm not sure what I'll do with the 3rd.

I made a Halloween outfit for my American Girl and listed it on E-bay. It's the first time I've sold anything on E-bay in way over a year. If it doesn't sell there I'll list it in my Etsy store, although doll clothes are not a big seller on Etsy. I also made a little Halloween dress for my p-90 Toni. I've had her for a long time, at least 18 months and this is the first time I've sewn for her. I think I'm going to list her dress and panties too but I need a bit of black velvet ribbon for a belt.

I worked on the other sock over at mom's yesterday, I am to the heel now and will hopefully get the heel turned and be well into the foot before I go to bed tonight. I like to knit while I watch Olbermann and Rachel Maddow in the evening after dinner.

Finished Sock

Ok, here's pics of the first sock after I turned the heel, and then after I was finished with it. I'm working on the second one now. I had to sew up a hole on one side of the heel on the first one and my kitchener stitch isn't that well but I still think it's pretty good for a first effort. I hope it's mate is better.

More on the Bail Out

So in the excitement of making my first pair of socks, I didn't mention the economic news at all. I figure sock knitting is pretty important. If things get really bad maybe knowing how to knit socks will be a necessary skill! Ha-ha; as long as we still buy cheap shit from china, I suppose that isn't a danger.

Anyway, it doesn't seem that we need to pass legislation quite as quickly as Paulson and the Bush administration would have us believe. While the stock market plummeted way over 700 points on Monday, it rebounded some yesterday. I realize that something is going to passed in Congress, but I don't think it has to be a Wall Street bail out. I still really don't see the value of buying up bad debt when there are other things that can be done instead. I really think it makes more sense to buy the mortgages of people who are loosing their homes and renegotiate the loans so those people don't loose them. And I don't trust anyone from this administration; I don't care what kind of oversight there is, this money will end up in the pockets of Wall Street fat cats. I was listening to the radio yesterday and there was a Representative on who voted no on the bail out; I can't remember who it was, but Thom Hartmann pointed out that Paulson looked really worried and frantic on Monday. The rep pointed out it was because he and his Wall Street cronies had been reduced from billionaires to multi-millionaires.

On the other hand, I realize that credit is drying up for those small businesses that run on lines of credit for their payroll and what not and that is important. Again, I may not know much about economics but there has to be a way around that that doesn't involve giving Wall Street 700 billion dollars. We aren't the only country going through this; in Great Britain the government just stepped in and took over one of their banks. Maybe something like that makes more sense. Of course the Republicans would never go for that, but maybe if it was just a temporary measure til they were back on their feet. Whatever is done though, I think Congress needs to take the time to do it carefully and not be pushed into something that may look good at first but is still poison underneath. This is way too important not to get it right.