Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful today for family and friends, for having a job that might not be easy to do, but puts a roof over my head and food on my table. I am thankful for being able to continue to education. I am thankful for my blessings and for having in my life people that think I do matter as a person. And last, I am thankful for having a long weekend.

I started cooking as soon as I got home from work: the ham is in the oven (someone please tell me why did I grab the spiral sliced one...), the chicken and dumplings (Jim's favorite no matter the occassion... lol...) is simmering... The turkey breasts and all the trimming will be done later on today... It promises to be a busy, busy day :)

Happy and safe Thanksgiving to y'all!

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Pencil Rules

1. Everything you do will always leave a mark.

2. You can always correct the mistakes you make.

3. What is important is what is inside of you.

4. In life, you will undergo painful sharpenings, which will make you a better person.

5. To be the best pencil, you must allow yourself to be held and guided by the hand that holds you.

This was shared with me today by my friend Jules and they will get embellished and printed next week, so they will always inspire me :)

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Happy Sunday!

It was a loooong night at work last night! After the last break, my knee started hurting as much as it did a month ago - it really made that last rotation awfully painful! First thing I did after finishing my workload and cleaning up the machines was to get into my locker and take 2 Tylenols and 4 Ibuprofens. Yeah, I know it's a lot but I would not have made it to the car without them...

But... It's 4:00am on Sunday; I just woke up after a 2hrs nap and got myself some coffee. I've got a few things to do and not enough time, but then it's never enough time! LOL... Plus, I've got to start thinking about Thanksgiving menu...

Well, enough talk - it's Java time! Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

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Christmas Angels cards

In the spirit of Christmas, I've stitched three Christmas Angels last week. Well, they haven't lasted long in the shop... LOL... I will be the first to admit I was not as prepared as I should have been for the holidays. It was my first holiday season with an Etsy shop, so I have a few ideas for next year :)

I will be working overtime tonight - first OT since the recall. There really isn't much work for second shift to do in the plant, not enough to warrant OT anyways. But the whole plant is working an extra day, as we will be getting a paid long weekend next week.

Well, I'm off to finish a couple more winter cards - hopefully, I'll get a chance to post them tonight. Y'all be good now and have a great weekend!

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Weekend comes...

...and goes by too quickly!

I've had a difficult workweek; my bad knee works OK most of the times, for which I am grateful - but when it has had too much... Well, let's just say that trying to walk for few hours on a knee that keeps on "popping" painfully brings tears to my eyes. Not much I can do, but push on through it and hope for the best, at least until I will be forced to have a knee replacement...

I took Jim with me today shopping for new steel-toe workshoes. I've decided to go with the slip-ons this time, instead of the lace-ups. I wonder if I'll be so clumsy that I will walk right out of my shoes, when online... Wouldn't that be something to see...?! LOL

We've got only eight workdays till Thanksgiving, which at my plant is a paid holiday/long weekend. Then, after less than 4 weeks, it's our Christmas shutdown from December 24th to January 4th, for which we get 4 paid days. Not bad working at my plant, is it...?

Well, got to go - Jim got dinner ready! Y'all be good now :)

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Follow up visit :)

Seems that my arthritic knee is doing as well as expected, so Dr. MacLellan did not have to do anything more than poke around a bit. I should have taken some Tylenol before going there, because his probing HURT! I know there was no other way for him to locate where the pain is localized, but boy did that hurt!

So, I'll go take some pills now and have some coffee. I was hoping to finish yesterday's Custom order before heading for work today - but that might not happen now :(

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I often wonder...

... if most people really understand just how much love, energy and time goes into creating any piece of artwork...? Be it jewelry, a card, a painting, or a quilt - a crafter puts a part of themselves into everything they create to sell or give away to loved ones.

Some artisants consider they craft their job, and work at it far longer than the 8.5 or 9 hrs a regular "Joe" or "Jane" put into their "real jobs". We all have bills, rent/mortgage, and food to pay for, so lots of artists work DAILY outside the home as well as on their art - so why would anyone think it is OK to tell a crafter to get a "real job"...? Might be because they understand little of how long it takes to do what we do... It saddens me to see that people I appreciate for the beauty they create get their feelings hurt because a non-crafter carelessly tells them to get a "real job". I happen to work a full-time job and put as much time as possible into my crafting, and I know many artisants that are in the same position. I know people that work 10 to 15 hrs/day on their art... How sad that what we do seems to be so little understood...

Guess I just needed to vent; I'm off my soapbox and off to start on my custom order... Y'all have a great week :)

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Ready or not...

... I might get put back on 3rd shift in the next couple of weeks. Being a night owl, it works better for me - though I am a bit concerned that the higher workload and overtime might work against the slow recovery of my knee... Oh, well, no sense in worrying about it right now, is there...?

I have had a few almost normal nights at work: hardly any pain (though I twisted my knee a couple of times... lol) and - what is better - no more dizzy spells... I still wonder if starting to drink coffee made that happen... Hmmm...

Well, I've got to get going: today will be a pretty long day. We have "Open Enrollment" at the plant, something we do every year. So far, I know they are switching from Blue Cross/ Blue Shield of Tennessee to Cigna for medical, and hopefully our providers and premiums will stay the same. I have not heard anything about changes in the dental or vision plans... I've got to set up some appointments... Oh, joy!

Y'all be good now!

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Custom Order finally finished :)

It is almost 5am, but I am finally done with the larger of two Custom Orders I have to complete! I hope that the recipients will enjoy the cards as much as I did creating them :)

I've learned a lesson this first holiday season as an Etsy seller: I've got to start on my Christmas cards much earlier than October. I had to turn down an order because - between work and trying to deal with other issues - I did not feel I can finish it in timely manner. It really was hard to accept the fact I would be running out of time :(

Today is my daughter's 27th birthday, so "Happy Birthday, Oana". Knowing her, I am 100% positive she will be working and my phone call might not find her at home - though I will be trying to catch her anyway! LOL

Now I really should get some rest, but between the Ghirardelli Hazelnut and Lindt Pecan Pie chocolates Jim bought for me today and the coffee I kept on sipping while cross-stitching, I am not a bit tired... Plus the knee did not bothered me as much today, either! So it was a good Saturday... LOL

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