Work...Work...Work...

Hairatio Burrows

Those of you who know me know that I've been out of work for a while. Right now I'm in the third week of training at my new job and I couldn't be happier.

The trainer, technical support and my classmates are all a super bunch of people. Expectations and performance measures are clearly defined. Feedback and problem resolution are immediate. The commute is fantastic! (I'm working from home.) The virtual classroom is pretty cool too. Reminds me of a few Coursera classrooms.

Today I'm feeling blessed to have such an incredible opportunity with a true performance-based company.

[You can check their website http://www.teletech.com to see if they're hiring any more @Home agents or not. Note: Everyone starts part-time.]

Anyway... After "being lazy" (looking for work, painting, crafting) for a while, I'm having trouble motivating Etsy shop work. Many projects are close to completion and will be photographed and uploaded as time permits. 

Right now I'm off to seize the day on this next-to-last free weekend I'll have for the foreseeable future.

May your day be peaceful and warm.

Petunia Magpie: The shop.

#CY365 Prompt: For Sale

Let me first say: A big thank you to all the friends and family and strangers who have supported my artistic endeavors for the past several years both in-person and online. I couldn't keep going were it not for y'all. The compliments and suggestions are always most appreciated. It's a humbling experience to see the joy on a child's face when they listen to a toy's story and hug a crochet elephant for the first time. [Y'all know all animals I sell tell a story. It's part of their charm.] I am especially grateful to those who have directly encouraged my painting. Thank you all for your kindness.

Putting items online for the first time is a daunting task. There's all those pictures to take/edit/upload, descriptions to write, measurements to note (height, width, weight), shipping costs to assign.

With me there's always the added "Man, I wanna keep this - it really turned out nice." conversation going on in the back of my mind. As a matter of fact, there are two gourds with what I call a "crazy quilt" design that have become part of my private collection. Well.... perhaps only one will be mine.

Some of these gourds took days to paint and selling them for about $20 each is heartbreaking, but a must. Like a long lost friend (Kim) would say "Christmas is coming. Mama needs a new pair of shoes."

With that said, the majority of the birdhouse gourds have been listed in my Etsy shop. Am reviewing inventory and putting the products I pulled from the shop to go to Festivals and Markets back in the shop.

Y'all will be happy to know that after a road trip to Amish country this summer, I DRASTICALLY REDUCED the price of the quilts to the price others in the area are selling comparable products for.

IN THE WORKS: gourd ornaments.... Stay tuned for more info.

Meatless Monday. 6 October 2014 Photo Challenge: Whole.

I must admit to being a bit let down with the food vendors at Alumni Weekend. Not that their food was bad or anything. I had some delicious vegetarian chili and brought home a cinnamon bun that when heated in the microwave was quite good.

I was let down simply because they didn't have any food that was pumpkin flavored. The very next time I hopped on Facebook a friend had posted a link to Pumpkin Pie Overnight Slow Cooker Oatmeal.

With those two prompts, I decided that today's post is going to be all about the Pumpkin! Er... the eating thereof.

Besides thinking of "Uncle Harry" and pumpkin pie, I got to thinking about the delicious pumpkin muffins served at the Country Cupboard downstate in Lewisburg. In all our years of traveling through there on our way to Coudersport from northern New Jersey, I don't think anyone in our family ever had a bad meal. There and back again. Aunts, Uncles, Grandma, Grampa, Mom and Dad. We've all stopped in there a time or three.

What's so great about it? Courteous staff. Rarely a wait for a table. Very reasonably priced. More than ample sized servings. Nope, they're not paying me to say any of this. Simply stating what me and mine have experienced as a guests. If you want to find them on Facebook, they're listed as Country Cupboard Restaurant and Shops.

But to get back to the pumpkin,

Sunday: A Traditional Day of Rest.

Being a vendor yesterday at the University of Pittsburgh's Alumni and Family Weekend was a lot of fun. Was nice to see some familiar faces and speak with some of the students. What a great bunch of students from UPB! Got to see the Pitt Panther (mascot) and lots of little ones getting their faces painted and painting pumpkins. Isn't it great how children brighten our days?

While it was fun, it was also tiring. Loading. Unloading. Not to mention all the prep work that goes into being a vendor.

Today truly is a day of rest for this tired old lady. Right now I'm sipping a cuppa coffee and watching the wood fire flicker and dance.


 As to the #CY365 photo challenges...

Photo Challenge Prompt: Out of Focus

Wasn't quite sure what to do for the "out of focus" prompt. Usually my camera is set to "AUTO" and it takes care of the heavy lifting.  Sometimes the "LIVE" setting takes a better picture. Those are my "go-to" settings. Never had any formal training even though biological-Dad is a professional photographer so all this talk of aperture settings and f*stops never made any sense to me. I guess you could say that until today I was a point-and-click kind of photographer.

Today that all changed.

The other buttons on the camera were experimented with. AFTER - mind you - I couldn't get any of my shots to be out of focus. Isn't that a riot? Even the close-up's I was attempting were crisp and clear as a Blue Ridge Parkway overlook on a cloudless, low-humidity day. lol

Buttons were played with.  More on that when it's not the day before festival (and two cords of wood are on their way here for me to stack).

The picture above was taken using the "fisheye" effect. Turned out rather cool, eh?

October 2, 2014 Photo Challenge. Prompt: Line.

Thought about this photo prompt while running errands this morning.

Considered lines on a parking lot, white "X" lines on a shed, cars lined up at a red traffic light and lines at the grocery store.

Even considered taking a photo of the lines on my face as the 'lines' from that old Eagles song "Life in the Fast Lane" played in my head. You know the one:

There were lines on the mirror.
Lines on her face.
She pretended not to notice she was caught up in the race...

Then during the last 1/2 mile homeward lo and behold: turkeys. A whole line of hens walking across a neighbor's yard headed into the shelter provided by a stand of trees. Luckily the camera was ready and there were no other cars on the road.

October 30-day Photo Challenge

I'm joining a friend in a 30-day photo challenge in hopes that it will inspire a bit more consistency for posting this blog. (So little time, so much to do.) It's the first Photo Challenge I've ever done and looks like a lot of fun.

The photo prompt yesterday was "Signs of Fall" and after going through yesterday's snaps, the picture I chose was taken on the Blaisdell-Emery Trail.

Today's photo challenge is "Lines"... Will post that after errands are run.

Want to join in the fun? Go to Capture Your 365 to view and download (or "Pin") the October 2014 Challenge and tag your photos #CY365.

Two days left before the 2014 Alumni and Family Weekend at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford and I'm scurrying to finish tagging products. Here's a little something to bring with you to the event. Hope to see you there!