March 27

Snowy Sunday, a week after the first day of spring... a good day to stay home, clean the house, do laundry, read a book, bake, and work on job applications.
Of course, the snow sticks to my side of the street more than the other, which means I get to shovel snow more. If the glass is half full, then shoveling is good exercise, and I get more of it.
Or I can stay inside and look out, watching the snow flurry around, and hope it melts soon so I don't have to shovel.
And while I'm inside, I can fill the house with the smell of baking pumpkin bread (and small honey wheat breads).
And Callie can sleep through it all, snoozing cozy in the chair, waiting for me to join her.

Catching Up

Oh poor neglected blog. Oddly enough, my problem has been that I have had too much to say, so I haven't been saying anything. Much of what I could have said would have been tentative. Things have felt very tentative in my life for awhile. I have been seriously considering my life and my plans for the future.

I have also been following the "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything" philosophy. I have been trying not to be negative about my work situation. While I love my job duties themselves, the work atmosphere is still full of all kinds of crazy. I have been trying to step away and not get pulled into the downward spiral.

My birthday present from Nancy - a shoebox full of freshly dug potatoes and carrots!

So, life goes on. I spent my birthday weekend in Missoula. It was a wonderful weekend. Not only did I get to see friends, but I felt like I could actually be me, and talk, and be listened to. I've missed that so much. During my birthday weekend, I did a phone interview for a job in the midwest. While the people seemed nice enough, I turned down the chance to interview for the job. Once I realized that I was falling into the - this could be my only chance to escape - mode, and started to listen to my instincts, I realized that the job seemed like an okay thing, but not something that made me excited, not something I really WANTED. I don't want a job that's okay. I want a job that's great. And this job made me question some of the people dynamics - it showed signs of having it's own kinds of crazy. Turning down the interview made me feel both sad and strong. But ultimately, I deserve a great job, and since I am employed now, I am going to hold out for one.

This means that my previous post about leaving was premature. In soul searching, I realized that I really like the library field. I really like my current job duties. If I could pick up my job and plunk it down elsewhere, I would be dancing in the streets - everyday - on my way to work. Which means that I am still looking for other jobs, but that I am holding out for a library job. A great library job.

Meanwhile, I am moving from my apartment to a little house (see photo above). It's the top part of a little house, actually. Someone I work with owns it, and it is finally getting hooked up to water/sewer lines so she can rent it out. Since I will move in with the funky carpeted kitchen and old appliances and little gas heater, she will make it cheap. Eventually, much work will be done, but for now, cheap and small works for me, and that makes funky okay. And it's much better insulated and has storm windows, which going into winter here is a very good thing. I'll be out of this apartment by November 10th, so much cleaning and packing will be ensuing.

I am going to be doing a few fun things. I'm going to the Bannack ghost tour this Friday night after work. Saturday I'm helping make teacup cupcakes for a Sunday birthday party. As part of this, I've been experimenting with putting food color into sugar cookies. If you use the paste stuff, it works. I'm invited to the birthday party, too. Next Saturday after work I'm doing the Butte ghost tour. I guess if I get too scared and can't sleep, I can always pack or clean. (Callie says, "moving? again?")

November 1st starts National Novel Writing Month. I'm going to be working on the novel I started last year. I haven't done much with it since that point, and I ended up cutting at least half of what I wrote. I just won't count what I've already done (and kept). Let the insanity begin!

Baking in PJs

Other than the hazards of getting flour all over the sleeves, I can highly recommend baking in PJs. That just means having to change the shirt before going back to bed, so, hey, I can live with that.

It's been colder here, and windy. As my door and door frame are warped from the leaky roof (which now can't be replaced until warmer weather, fine, okay), air doesn't just leak in, it blows. I have two lighter blankets tacked up and they billow out like sails. This probably also explains that exponentially increasing electic bill. Baking, however, warms things up nicely. Added bonus, the apartment smells great.

I now have two loaves of wheat bread, hot pepper brownies (Heather's recipe), sugar cookies (the thin kind from my family's recipe), and several calzones leftover from dinner. All made while still in PJs. All I need is some coffee to go with those cookies.

(the pointy wooden things are the size 13 double pointed knitting needles made from a dowel)

A Series of Unfortunate Events Catalogue

Catalogue of Services






Beading

Choose from something simple, like a strung necklace or bracelet.






Loomed pieces can also be created to fit your taste and budget. These range from small bracelets with lettering (names, school names, etc) to more elaborate cuffs. Larger loomed pieces can become bags or wall hangings.





















Is there something you’d like to see embellished with beads? I can add bead fringe or other embellishment to scarves, bags, etc. The picture below is not my work, but I could do something similar.



















Writing, Editing and Design

Proofreading or editing of any documents can be done relatively simply through email. This can be as simple as a quick check for spelling and grammar, or a more look at organization and content.

Have you always wanted to be a literary character? You, or someone you know, can be the main character in a short story. Choose your genre – western, romance, science fiction, suspense, etc.

Need your resume updated? I can help you organize, write, design and edit your way to a new job.

Simple web pages can be created for business or personal needs. These are links to some of the ones I’ve created for a class.

http://ella.slis.indiana.edu/~plpierso/resume.html

http://ella.slis.indiana.edu/~plpierso/healingbyexample.html

Have your favorite quote done in calligraphy.



Research and Summarizing
Do you have a burning desire to know the answer to a question? Have you always wanted to know how pencils are made, or what the causes of the American Civil War were? I have the technology and training to find your answer effectively and quickly. I can also find resources for academic papers.

For those with busy schedules, I can read and summarize articles or books for you, sort of your own personal Cliff Notes service.


Baking
Cupcakes are a specialty. Choose a shape, and I can probably figure out a way to make them.















Pets

For cats, I can make felted catnip toys. Choose from balls, mice, or a mystery shape.

For dogs, choose from a knitted tug of war toy, home baked dog biscuits, a dog scarf or sweater.