Peggy's Jibber-Jabber: A Crafty Week

This week was a crafty kinda week in my house — not that I’m complaining, mind you. We’re sticking close to home to save money. It seems like every time we go out it’s a hundred-dollar minimum! It’s the time of year when all kinds of taxes will be coming due and they’re never cheap! Then let’s say that one of the elements goes out in your electric furnace. Yeah, let’s say that. And let’s say you live in a part of the country where very few people use electric furnaces. Yeah, let’s say that, too. And top all of that off with no one in that part of the country works on electric furnaces. And finally, let’s say that happened to Mike and me — because it did!

We called every place in a fifty-mile radius.

“Are you a customer of ours?” one lady asked.

“No,” Mike said.

“Let me check,” and she put him on hold. “We have to take care of our customers first. It might be three weeks until I can get someone out there.”

It was only the first place he’d called, so Mike said, “Thanks. I’ll see if I can find someone sooner.”

Little did he know there was no one else! He tried three or four more places and they all said, “Sorry. We don’t work on electric furnaces.”

“Do you know anyplace I might try?” Mike asked.

“Call an electrician.”

Mike called the first lady back and this time she flat out told him they weren’t interested. “But let me call around and see if I can find someone for you. If I don’t call you back today, I’ll call you tomorrow.”

She never called back.

Mike resigned himself to having to do the job himself. He called his old crony in Missouri and Gary told him how to check the elements.

Mike didn’t have the right tester but an order to Amazon shows up at our door a couple of days later. Together we tested the elements and there was one out.

“See, Peg,” Mike said. “I told you it wasn’t putting out heat like it should.”

Okay, okay! He was right, this time.

My handsome mountain man can do lots of things. Build a house from the ground up. Plumbing, electric, drywall, paint, windows, he’s not so hot on doors but eventually we get ‘em working. And a furnace man he is not.

“Why don’t you call a few places this time,” Mike suggested. “Sometimes they’re more willing to help a woman.”

I called the first place Mike had tried. “Do you work on electric furnaces?”

“Are you a customer of ours?” she wanted to know.

“I could be,” I replied.

“Sorry, we can’t help you.”

Alrighty, then.

I used my phone to Google search furnace repair and got a different list than Mike had.

“Do you work on electric furnaces?” I asked the next place I called.

“Yes, I do.”

I was shocked! “We think we have an element out. Can you fix it?”

“I can’t come today and I’m sure you don’t have any heat…”

“Yes, we do. The electric furnace is our back-up heat.”

“Good. I can be there tomorrow.”

Tomorrow came and the repair guy did not. Mike was fretting.

“I hate waiting on people!” he said.

“So don’t wait on him. Just do what you’d normally do,” practical me says. But Mike was already doing what he’d’ve been doing anyway. Namely, watching TV.

When the guy was three hours late, he called. “Sorry. I was in an area where I didn’t have cell service. Will nine o’clock tomorrow morning work for you?”

“Yes,” I agreed.

The next morning, he showed up a half hour ahead of schedule.

His name is Mike also. “I can’t just replace the element. It’ll take a whole new unit.”

And now, on top of blowing our budget last month and taxes coming up, we have a six hundred seventy-five-dollar furnace repair bill.

Aye-yi-yi! Now we’ll have to stay home for two more months!

And that is okey-dokey by me! It gives me more time to craft but less to talk about in my letter blogs.

So, this week was a crafty kinda week.

I was so nervous about painting Sweet Dreams that I put it off, opting instead to do another test piece. I have lots of pieces left from making stencils so I wondered if they could be used. Would they take paint?

I pulled a few pieces from the scrap bin, got a piece of cardboard, and threw this together. I’m not happy with the paint job but this piece served its purpose. The stencil plastic will take — and keep — paint. And I can always repaint it.

I’ve been meaning to make more snowflake window clings and since I was procrastinating working on Sweet Dreams, I plugged the glue gun in and made six. I was thinking that if they came out good, I’d gift them to someone.

When I made them before I’d used a clear plastic sheet and stuck them in the freezer so the glue would release from the plastic. And that’s what I did this time. I took my time tracing the pattern wanting them to be as pretty as they could be. But if you’ve ever worked with hot glue, you know it produces little strings. That’s all right. I could snip them off later with scissors. I tossed ‘em in the freezer. When I went to take them off the plastic, they wouldn’t come off. I can’t figure out why. The only thing different this time was I used new glue instead of the twenty-year-old stuff I used before. Maybe it’s got more sticking power?

If cold won’t work, maybe heat will, I thought. I used my hair dryer and warmed the plastic sheet. Then I was able to get the snowflakes off — mostly. I tore a couple. They could be edge ones, I thought and cut ‘em in half, discarding the half with the broken tips.

I stuck them on my window. Oh, wait. I tried to stick them on my window. They wouldn’t stick. I know from past experience that water is not the answer. That just makes them slide to the floor instead of falling. Now I’m thinking, maybe heat? I held the snowflake in my hand but my body heat wasn’t enough. About that time the microwave dings. My coffee water was hot. Inspiration strikes! I put the snowflake on the side of my cup and after a few seconds I notice it’s taking on the color of my cup.

What an interesting illusion, I think and as soon as I touch it, I realize the heat re-melted it! I’ve just glued the snowflake to my cup. Aye-yi-yi!

Wipe it off? I wondered and imagined what a smeary mess that would be. It might be better to let it cool and peel it off. One thing is for sure. The next cup of water I make will just re-melt the glue again if I don’t get it off there.

Once my coffee was gone, I peeled it off. I was hoping it would still be useable but he’s not so pretty anymore.

Rather than heating the snowflakes, what if I warmed the window?

I got the hairdryer and warmed the window and it worked like a charm!

I couldn’t put it off any longer. I set to work on Sweet Dreams. I know the giftee likes blue so I used it where I could, including the page edges. While painting this piece I learned a new painting technique. Finger painting! I used my finger to highlight the whole thing and all in all, I’m pretty pleased with the effect.

The back was a challenge for me, too. I wasn’t crazy about the arrowheads in the corners, so I pried ‘em off and replaced ‘em with something else. I’m just not in love with the back but I’m at a loss as to what to do about it. I went on and painted it. Once you set it down you won’t see the back anyway.

The spine.

Two of the arrowheads didn’t break and they were sitting on the table, staring accusingly at me.

You made us for this box and now you’re not even going to use us!

Okay! Okay! That was when I got the idea to ‘hide’ them on the inside of the box. I put them in a front corner and you might not even notice them.

Then, just to be sure you didn’t see them, I added a distraction. The feather I painted with ink. I glued it to the inside lid. You’ll be so mesmerized by all that fabulous color that you won’t even look for anything else.

Something else I played with this week was my letter stamps. I bought these when I was making copper bracelets and wondered if they could be used on clay.

Guess what?

They can! As long as you don’t press them in too hard. Now to think of a way to incorporate this into my creations.

A tester for the furnace wasn’t the only thing that came from Amazon this week either.

Sometimes, when I’m working on stuff, like say those little gnomes I just finished for Valentine’s Day, I need to make a thin little line for the eyes or the date.

A brush, even the smallest of my brushes, leaves me with a fatter line than I want. I suppose with enough practice I could become proficient. I took a toothpick and was cleaning up the edges when I realized I was making thin lines with the toothpick.

I discovered this trick a long, long time ago and that’s how I’ve been making thin lines ever since. The only problem is it doesn’t hold much paint and I have to dip it often. Not the end of the world but it got me to thinking. There was a tool I’d used when I was taking tole art classes a hundred years ago. It was a little stick with a metal point and a little ball on the end. You used it to make dots with. The ball helps hold the paint.

I searched through all of my old art supplies when I first thought of it and couldn’t find it. I’ve made the same search several more times since then and I still can’t find it. I have all my old paints and brushes and spatulas, just no pointy thing.

Making the Valentine gnomes, I searched again. I still couldn't find it.

“Mike, do you know what I need?” I asked.

“What?”

“I don’t remember what it’s called…” and I described it to him.

The next thing I know, Mike’s on the computer. He really is a good husband. It was then and only then that the name of the tool came to me. “A stippler!”

“What?” Mike asked confused.

“A stippler! It’s called a stippler!” I am no less shocked than you are that the name came to me. I bet it’s been more than 30 years since I’ve used one or even thought about it.

Mike found a set with varying sizes and a couple of clay tools to boot.

Besides being dot makers, you can use them to make indents in your clay, like say for an eyeball socket. That’s how I saw one used. But I bet you’re only limited by your imagination.

Before I move on from the craft section of my letter blog, I have one more related item.

Do you remember all my troubles with my Cricut, a cutting machine? In an effort to gain me as a satisfied customer they offered me fifty dollars towards a new Cricut. Many months after that first offer, I finally took them up on it.

When I started to make my stencils, I was poking around in my Cricut account and see the fifty-dollar credit they gave me and where I spent the fifty on my new machine. Then I see two more fifty-dollar credits and only one removed.

“I’ve still got fifty dollars in my Cricut account!” I told Mike. I was surprised.

“So?”

“I think it’s a mistake.”

“Just spend it,” he says but I know he doesn’t really mean it. No more than he means it when Bondi’s been bad and he tells me to put her outside and leave her out there all night.

“I can’t,” I told him. “It’s not mine — and I know you wouldn’t either.”

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been tempted to just order new cutting mats or new blades. I never even checked how much they cost. If I’d’ve gone that far I might’ve just broken down and spent the money that was erroneously credited me.

I tried to live chat with someone at Cricut but after answering a few basic questions about why I wanted to chat, it never connected me with a rep.

The day after Valentine’s Day I called Cricut and talked with a very nice gal named Olivia. I explained my issue and after putting me on hold she came back on the line. “It looks like they gave you fifty dollars towards a new Cricut,” she said.

“Yes, and I spent that and there's still fifty in there that I don’t think I’m entitled to — although I wouldn’t have any trouble spending it.”

Olivia put me on hold again, came back on briefly to tell me she was still researching it, and put me on hold again.

At some point in our conversation, she was asking what I was making with my Cricut. I told her about the stencils for my book boxes.

“That sounds interesting,” Olivia said.

“I can send you a couple of pictures if you send me an email address,” I offered.

“I’ll send you an email. You can attach them to that and send it back to me.”

“Okay. I’ll do that.”

“As for the fifty dollars, consider it gift. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“Thank you!” Now I can legitimately spend it.

After our call ended, I sent her pictures of my favorite book boxes. Steampunk, Treasures, Copper Dreams, and my latest one, Sweet Dreams.

“Oh, my stars, Peg! Those are incredible! I can't imagine the time and dedication you've put into those. Bravo! Very impressive!”

I think she liked ‘em.

And I’ve picked up another commissioned job.

Something else we got in the mail this week was our vanity plate.

“Hold it up so I can take a picture,” I told Mike. He did.

“Smart ass. Now hold it so I can see that handsome face.”

His Tammy died in 2014 and my Kat died in 2015.

Not all of my ideas turn out to be good ones.

We had spaghetti this week. When I make spaghetti, I make two pounds and freeze it in portions for easy meals later on. And speaking of easy, I always break the long noodles into pieces to make them easier (and less messy) to eat.

Normally, I’ll do this over the pot of boiling water. This time I thought to get the job done ahead of time and rather than get a bowl down, I got the bright idea to use the strainer.

Yeah. Don’t laugh. I know I should’ve known. It didn’t occur to me until I started hearing the little plink, plink, as they hit the counter. We won’t do that again.

You know something?

Sometimes I can be so smart! Other times I can be confoundingly dumb! How can such paradoxically different things live together in the same head?

On to critter news of the week.

Jenn Kipp, oldest of the Kipp girls, sent me a video of her taking her black cat Circa to the vet. I was surprised when I saw Blackie first watching...

... then trying to interact with her cat.

And Bondi!

Bondi! Bondi! Bondi!

She’s been a stinker this week!

First, she learned she can jump up onto the chairs. I’m not especially a fan of cats on tables but I can’t feed them on the floor and leave or Bondi would get it all — and cat food’s not good for her. I give them their nighttime treat then head out to care for the outside girls while they’re eating.

And you can guess that it wasn’t long until I actually caught Bondi on the table.

“Git down!” I told her and she obeyed.

Friday, I caught her on the dining room table, rummaging around in a basket of dried stuff. Pinecones, little gourds. She knew she wasn’t supposed to be up there and as soon as she knew she was caught she got down without being told to.

Saturday, I was writing and not paying attention. Next thing I know, Bondi is sitting here on the floor munching on a dried Chinese lantern pod. It was in the basket on the table. Stinker. I got it away from her before she could eat the seed in the center.

Stinker, stinker, double — no, triple stinker!

She found the charging cable for my little spot shampooer.

I think I can wire it back together.

Boy! She sure is a different dog than Itsy and Ginger were. We were spoiled with them. Now I know what it’s like to have a real dog!

We had snow.

Then we had an ice storm.

Then warmer and rain and freeze.

I bet you can imagine what that led to, can’t you?

Everywhere was a hard sheen of ice-encrusted snow.

Mike took the golf cart to get the mail but almost didn’t make it back up our driveway.

I went to church the next day and almost slid right out into the road.

The next day wasn’t any better, so I volunteered to go get the mail.

“I’ll get the garbage pick-up pole that Kevin made for me,” I said. It has a sharp point on the end and I thought I could poke it through the ice and it’d give me stability.

The rock-hard white icy snow was slippery enough, the paths Mike made were nothing but ice and way more slippery. I stuck to the icy snow and didn’t have any problems.

Coming back, I caught sight of my shadow. I look like a spear-totin’ Eskimo! I thought. And it was every bit as cold as Alaska, too!

Our weather turned warm again and rain! Boy did it rain! All of us, me, Mike, the neighbors, are all glad for the help in melting the ice. It rained all day and in the middle of the night the wind kicked up so hard it woke me up. I laid there and listened to the wind driving the rain against the house and I thought for sure we were going to lose a roof. We didn’t though. We came through it just fine. The power went out several times but didn’t stay out for long. We were lucky. I heard there were over a thousand people in our area without power.

The rain and melting snows did cause some flooding and warnings of ice jams where the river turns.

We had to make a trip out for milk and apples.

The Susquehanna left its bed.

Chunks of ice heading for Scranton.

Our pretty little creek was muddy and raging. This is by the Kipps’ house. The creek is over its banks and flooding their yard.

“When Lamar takes Tux out to play ball, Tux will sometimes drop the ball at the top of the hill and let it roll down towards the creek before he chases it,” Miss Rosie told me. “But Lamar can’t let him do that now. His ball would end up right in the creek.”

“Yeah, and Tux would end up down in the river!” I added to her story.

“Peg, where’s the Kipps’ house from there?” you wanna know.

We’ve seen the water up to their driveway before, the time it came up over our old single-lane open-grate bridge. The house sits up higher on a little hill and it’s never gotten that high.

Saturday, we got weather alerts on our phones for snow squalls. I looked out and it didn’t look bad. After a while I got up to make coffee and see we were in the midst of one of those snow squalls. I went out to take a few pictures.