Ellen Illustrates And More

Technologically Deprived

2008-11-11T10:48:00.003-06:00

It's funny how we get accustomed to, even dependent upon, technology that perhaps we didn't even know existed a few years ago.

Our home server has crashed. The hard drive is ka-put. This server runs our Myth TV and my scanner, both of which I'm missing very much at the moment. For those of you who are Linux impaired, Myth TV is basically an opensource (i.e. free) version of TiVo or Direct TV. I've lost all the shows that I'd recorded and lined up to watch in my "free" time. And now while I'm stuck with daytime TV, I can't even capture whatever creations I might art up because my scanner is incapacitated too!

Etsy

2008-11-03T10:57:00.002-06:00

So this isn't a very interesting, personal life story, illustrated sort of post....but I've been thinking a lot about Etsy lately. I'm absolutely going to open a shop there. Actually, I've already set up a shop, but I haven't listed anything for sale yet.

It's kind of funny really that I've developed such an interest in the site. When I sold my ACEOs on Ebay and was active in the ATC/ACEO groups there, I saw several references to Etsy, especially as Ebay fees increased (again and again). I remember looking it up and being completely unimpressed and a little confused. Now that I've revisited it, I've purchased a few things, considered opening a shop, and my favorite things list keeps growing and growing! I can spend an hour browsing around without even noticing the time....

JournalPals

2008-10-14T16:03:00.003-05:00

One of the things I'm recently "in to" is journaling. Duh! I suppose that's obvious since I've started blogging again.

Anyway, it was swap-bot that got me started writing again. That silly place is addicting! But I've enjoyed joining journaling swaps with writing prompts for entries, and I've found that I'm more encouraged to write and keep writing knowing that I'll be sending the journal to someone else.

Today I discovered JournalPals. It's just a series of swaps that the hostess decided to name JournalPals, not some big movement or entity. The idea is to write one journal entry on a predetermined topic and send it to your swapping partner. Yay! That's like writing a letter with a prompt. I can choose to as many entries as I want and stop whenever I want instead of committing to a 20+ entry journal!

I've signed up to participate in "A View From My Window" and "Streaming Thoughts/Images," but I missed a couple before I discovered this series. So, I thought I'd just blog about the other topics that interested me. "Autumn Reflections" to be posted soon...

Just a Cotton Pickin' Minute

2008-10-12T13:43:00.004-05:00

Yesterday we went to the Fall Roundup at Nash Farm in Grapevine. Yes, the kids really did get to go into the field (small garden really) and pick real, live cotton. They thought it was great! We brought it home in little plastic bags, and I have no idea what we'll do with it.

The Recycling Gene?

2008-10-11T18:47:00.009-05:00

She most likely learned to create new stuff from trash by watching me rescue treasures headed to the landfill and transforming them into who-knows-what. But when my 4 year old daughter hauled an empty apple juice bottle in to find me and asked if she could make something out of it, I had to wonder if there was something inherent there. She even knew what she wanted to make -- a bat. And with Aunt Sarah's help, that's exactly what she did (the white bit on the front are his fangs).

"The Paper Bottle Bat"

Some of our previous recycled creations include the Oatmeal Container Power Ranger hats. My idea to create something with the empty container (doll cradle??). Her idea to make it into a Power Ranger hat, and of course, each subsequent empty container in the different colors. Here you see the beloved Aunt Sarah modeling the green Power Ranger hat, and Evelyn, herself, being the ever-popular red Power Ranger (in her fancy flamenco dress that Gran sent from Spain, no less!).

My Favorite Kitchen Appliance

2008-10-09T12:38:00.002-05:00

For my October Wishlist on swap-bot.com, I wished for some blogging prompts. I've already received some good ideas, and this is one of them. Actually, I think "My Favorite Kitchen Appliance" is the most interesting and unique one. You may see others coming up in between "Corner of My Clutters" because I think it's great fun to share my mess with you (whoever you might be).

My favorite kitchen appliance is by far my electric kettle! I like an occasional cup of tea, but I usually make myself a couple mugs of instant coffee a day. It was really an underappreciated appliance until last week though. The lime scale nastiness started flaking off in my drink, so I had to stop using the kettle while I figured out how to clean it. Unfortunately, it doesn't open so you can get in an scrub or anything, so I had to look up solutions. Boiling a lemon juice and water mixture worked quite well, but in the meantime, I was resigned to boiling my coffee water in the microwave. I don't think I even own a stovetop kettle anymore. I'm ever so glad to have my electric kettle back in service and am going to make good use of it now with a cup of Cafe Vienna!

A Corner of My Clutter - Tub Toys

2008-10-08T13:32:00.003-05:00

Who needs bathtub toys? We have a whole tub of them, squirty toys, squishy toys, floating toys, sinking toys, fill toys, spill toys... So, last night, the kids took an extra long bath with nothing but a plastic measuring cup that has all the markings worn off it and an empty shampoo bottle. They quite happily played together but separately and periodically traded the two not-toys, leaving the entire tub of bathtime toys untouched.

Standing Up in the Bathtub

2008-10-06T13:24:00.002-05:00

Never a good idea, especially if you're only 15 months old, and even if there are anti-slide doodads stuck to the bottom of the tub and your mom is only a couple feet away.

Just ask Stephen. This morning he busted his lip (yes, I'm from TEXAS, and I said busted...just like I said doodads previously) and he even chipped a tooth! At least he's not stuck with it; permanent teeth will be here in a few years... Until then his smile will look like mine.

This happened just before naptime, so he's sleeping now. He'll probably have a swollen mouth when he wakes up, but I think otherwise he'll be fine. Probably won't even learn a lesson from it and will be up dancing next bathtime.

Since he is OK, I'll just go ahead and satisfy your curiosity because I'm sure you're just dying to know how I chipped an incisor. It's not really that interesting of a story, I'm afraid. I just bit into a big bite at breakfast one morning and misjudged where my fork was. Ouch! I bit right into the fork and chipped my front tooth leaving my smile with a little extra bit of character.

Starting off on the Left Foot

2008-09-28T11:11:00.003-05:00

What?

Well, I thought "starting off on the right foot" was a little too cliché, so I went with something a little different for the first title post of my new blog. Of course, "starting off on the left foot" might be a little too silly. But that's ok, maybe silly will set the tone for the blog. I guess we'll just have to see what emerges.

So fix your favorite hot drink, pull up a chair, and enjoy my ramblings.