Trip to St. Lukes

Had my first visit back to St. Luke's this morning since the ASD closure. I had three tests, all in different hospital locations! ( I felt like all I did was ride up and down in the elevator all morning and take off and put my clothes over and over again)

I was to meet with my doctor at 11:30 but due to some emergency he was running over an hour behind. Since Jeff needed to get to work I rescheduled for next week BUT IN THE MEANTIME his nurse has emailed me several times. The tests taken this morning show no shunt of blood across the septum! Hurrah! If you recall I still had a small shunt immediately after the closure, so the heart tissue must be growing just dandy over the occluder device.

I also picked up my first payment of $100 for being in the test study of the occluder device. ( I think after this I only get $25 a visit) Will come in handy as the bills are arriving by the mailbox full.

News from St. John

Emily arrived in St. Thomas several hours before Jeff and Rachel. The hotel Jeff chose for the one night stay was a bit sketchy but Emily said the owner was VERY nice and recommended a bar down the street (with a female bartender) that would be a good choice for dinner as the other close choice was a very expensive restaurant. Emily phoned me both walking to and from the bar. Going, she was apprehensive, on her way back she told me she was never going to a bar alone again. The bar was filled with about 8 men but the bartender told her not to worry about them, " They would protect her". Of course Emily wanted to know WHAT there WAS that she needed protecting FROM.

Then when she got back to the room some kind of lizard was right by the door sill. When she approached the door, it went under the door sill. Emily waited and rattled the door hoping it would run away but it didn't . So when she opened the door it ran into the hotel room. She ignored my suggestion of picking it up and throwing it out the door....

Outside view of tent cottage ( I grabbed the photos from Moho  Bay's website)

I guess the first lizard was good practice as Rachel called on Tuesday to say they have a lizard living in their tent. I don't know the details but I guess they had quite the time on the ferry ride to St. John. Jeff reports the roads are in terrible condition; narrow, unpaved, steep with hairpin turns. I worry about Jeff learning to drive on the left.

Emily and Rachel took a batik class this morning. Emily said it was kind of hard but she thinks her fabrics will look nice.

Jeff loves it there and seems to have regressed into a 8 year old boy. He saw his first iguana today and Rachel reported that he chased it a long distance trying to get a photo. (that is also what he did in Montana when he saw his first herd of mountain goats). Rachel found a hermit crab in a shell the size of a tennis ball.

Inside of Tent Cottage

Short version of St. John impressions: VERY beautiful, VERY hot. They were getting ready to go snorkeling when I said goodbye.

Cute Idea

This is very old news but I thought a very clever idea and I finally got the photo on the computer today. Rachel and I arrived home about a month ago to find a very large white box on our back porch addressed to Rachel. It was so light when I picked it up I was slightly suspicious.

When Rachel opened it out floated a bright blue Marian University balloon attached to a large bag of yummy "penny candy".  By the time I took this photo Rachel had already taken out about half of the candy. (I am so pleased Rachel is allergic to peanuts as I was able to help her dispose of the candy containing nuts) Anyway I thought the whole thing was pretty fun and we now know what scholarship committees REALLY do - bag up candy, attach the bag to helium balloons and ship them out!

Andrew's New Job

I'm sure most of you know by now, but I was recently hired full-time as the Assistant Editor at American Craft magazine, the official publication of the American Craft Council. This is a different magazine than American Woodworker; American Craft focuses on Craft as a whole, whereas American Woodworker is wood-based craft. Confusing, right?

The American Craft Council moved their headquarters to Minneapolis about six months ago from New York. As a result, the magazine got a brand-new staff, including yours truly.

The job involves a lot of administrative tasks (sending out contracts, managing contacts, collecting images), but I also get to do my fair share of writing and editing. And, the magazine is very dedicated to expanding their online presence and exploring other media opportunities, including audio and video. I'm working on a podcast right now, and helping them get up to speed on basic video production. All in all, it's a very exciting time to be part of the magazine.

The American Craft Council also puts on a handful of craft shows. The first one of the year was in Baltimore this past weekend. And there's another one coming up in April in St. Paul. If you like crafty things as much as I think you do, perhaps you should consider going. In addition to getting the print magazine every two months, American Craft Council members get into the shows for free. That's right, you get six issues of a high-quality magazine with great pictures and excellent writing, and you get access to some of the biggest Craft shows in the country. How's that for a pitch?

The other really cool thing about this job is that the American Craft Council is a non-profit organization. That means my parent company isn't a profit-driven media conglomerate. I don't want to say we're immune from the job insecurity that most journalists face, but we're definitely insulated. First and foremost, the quality of the magazine takes precedence over increasing profits. With that said, the magazine is thriving right now, due to a reinvigorated staff and new dialogue about the future of craft.

All of the new articles will be available on the website, but if you're one of those people who loves holding a high-quality print publication in their hands, you might want to think about becoming a member.

And, if any of you crafty people have any hot tips or interesting things you've noticed about any crafts, be sure to drop me line.

Project!

A while ago, my parents gave us a gift certificate to the Shaker Workshop as a Christmas present. Last weekend, we decided we were finally ready for a project. We got the kit for a No. 5 Shawl-back Shaker side chair, sanded and finished all the pieces over the last week, glued them together on Friday, and today, wove the seat - the chair is done!

It was pretty easy skills-wise, but we did learn a few things along the way. The humidity in our house is fairly low; all the tenons got smaller between the time we sanded and test-fit all the pieces (the day we brought the kit home), and the day we glued everything. Next time, we won't test-fit until the kit has been in the house a few days. We used the "Shaker Oil" finish with beeswax; it contains turpentine and smells awful. Next time, we'll use just the beeswax and some mineral oil.

The biggest lesson was in the weaving. The directions say to warp the middle of the seat, weave about halfway toward the front, and then go back and add pieces of warp to fill in the triangles at the edges of the seat. I weave very tightly, so this is really hard. For us, it would have been better to add the additional warp pieces as we were weaving each row - much easier to tack the ends that way.

You'll notice I did say "next time". I think the plan is that we'll just keep making chairs until we have enough for eight (or more?) dinner guests. We're also thinking about a bench for the foot of the bed - that would be really easy weaving!

We're planning to put this chair in the bedroom for the time being, so Bryan has a place to sit when he puts on his socks.

From Other Crafts

From Other Crafts

Personal Mobiltiy Device

Andrea Bartelt posted a link on facebook for a lightweight, small "thing" one could sit on that moves around like an electric scooter, so I put it here for those without facebook. I wonder if I could balance on one of them. I think I could often use one. I needed it at DisneyWorld to get from my hotel room to the bus stop. I wonder if it would work on gravel like at a flea market.

Click HERE for the link. If the ad doesn't start on its own, click the arrow.

Darleen Whines Again

I got a pneumonia shot on Tuesday in my right arm and the nurse warned me it would be sore. Although I was and continue to be diligent to keep that arm moving, "Sore" is a HUGE understatement. I was unable to pull up the blankets to cover myself last night with the "sore" arm. That's Nuts!

Blog Post!

Hi Everyone!

It was a very exciting weekend because Emily came to visit. She brought a lot of tasty Maine shrimp with her, so we made lots of tasty food. On Saturday night, we made paella (delicious), and then we made abelskiver. No raisins, so we used fresh cranberries. They were also delicious. Since I have two pans, we did a side-by-side comparison: we used canola oil in one pan, and butter in the other. The butter was better. (Is anyone surprised by this?) I recommend it for the next time you make some. We did make just 2/5 of a batch, and that was plenty for the three of us, for dessert, bedtime snack, and breakfast.

On Sunday morning, we made shrimp scramble, with a bunch of eggs and veggies and cajun spices. Then, we went cross-country skiing. It was Bryan's second time skiing, and Emily's fourth (?). They both did very well and have way more energy than I do. We all had afternoon naps. For dinner, we made shrimp chowder (delicious again), and some pumpkin bread for dessert.

Emily left after we went to work this morning, so I assume she is safely back in Maine at this point, since she didn't call to say otherwise.

Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Nothing in Particular

Snow, snow, snow, snow, snow.

GO PACK GO!!!!

They better win, I need a new sweatshirt.

I really need to post some pictures of something.

Christmas stuff

Christmas was just odd this year. People kept leaving and coming. It just went by too fast. I have a picture of the basket I made for Deanna as part of her laundry themed gift. She also got a clothespin apron and homemade laundry detergent and powdered soap.

I also made a few sheep by felting roving around styrofoam for the fireplace mantle. Their little legs are cinnamon sticks with black painted on hoofs. I broke 2 felting needles putting on heads and tails. I found it very difficult to make them sleeping as then they tend to look a bit like rabbits. Several have eyes. I added eyes until the girls told me they then looked like cartoon characters. I am trying to raise a flock so look for more next year or changes to the current flock. 

The sheep on the far right has eyes and I think quite a personality.