Elsa Barker

I've had the book "Letters from the Afterlife" by Elsa Barker, but I only recently read it, and it presented a new perspective from other books I've read.

There are actually 3 books that were channeled by Elsa Barker, and I found they've been transcribed at Earthly Pursuits in their original title "Letters from a Living Dead Man" if you'd like to read them. I plan to read the last 2 since they offer views on WWI, and I'm curious about the ideas about war and conflict in general.

Rug Clipping (Part 4)

Here's an update on the rug that I'm making (mainly during Louisville basketball games). It's coming along nicely. Remember that it's 3' x 5' so it's quite large.

It's still a little difficult for me to estimate how many strips of a certain color I'll need to work into the pattern, but it's getting a little easier. Not all my fabric matches, so I want to make sure that I have enough before I start a new section.

I'll post periodically as I add new colors, but I'm quite proud of it.

Making Pill Packs

YAY - I finally found a great way to sort my pills soo I can make my pill packs !! I'm on blood thinners so I can't take a regular multi-vitamin since they usually have Vitamin K in them. As a result, I take quite a few supplements and I make pill packs every 2 weeks.

Sorting them can be a hassle and I've tried ice cube trays, etc, but then tried my silicone baking cups, and they're great. They're the perfect size, plus they bend when I need to pour the pills into the plastic baggies.

Just thought I'd share this since it made my day brighter.

Origami (Part 3)

I was really, really pleased with these 2 origami boxes, and I can't wait to try them in fabric.

The box on the left is a self-sealing box, so the 4 flaps fold together to close the box.

I think the box on the right looks like a popcorn box, but it would make a very cute gift box/bag.

I got these patterns from books, but if I can find them online, I'll post them on my craft blog.

New Contact Lenses

I had my annual vision exam, and I'm trying something new this year. My near vision is getting slightly worse as I'm getting older (ACK !!), enough that it's bothering me when I try to read the newspaper or a magazine while I'm drinking coffee at the table.

I've been using reading glasses, but my vision provider suggested adjusting one contact lens for nearer vision, and leaving the other for distance vision. I've talked with several people that have this and they like it very well,

This is my 2nd day with my trial pair, and it does make vision adjustments much easier. When I'm at the computer or doing close work or reading, it's much clearer. And my distance vision for driving and for tennis doesn't seem to be affected.

FitBit (Part 2)

I got my FitBit on 2/12 (just 4 days ago) and already I love it. It's very small (roughly 2" x 3/4") and easily hidden.

But one of the best features is that it wirelessly uploads your steps to your home page every 15 minutes if you're within range of the tracker.

I think it's more accurate than the pedometer I was wearing which is another best feature.

I've been exploring the FitBit Community and the moderators/staff are VERY responsive. They've added "Friend" features so you can see other's steps which is a motivator. They're also getting input on creating clubs and challenges.

So I'll keep you updated, but this is very cool and I'm excited.

I'm not in any way affiliated with FitBit

Louisville vs Syracuse

The Louisville - Syracuse game had me biting my nails and pacing today, but I'm glad Louisville held on to win. I kept having awful visions of blown leads (as in some key earlier games that Louisville lost).

I DID work on my rag rug during the game, but ran out of fabric strips. So I was cutting more strips for the last 3 or 4 minutes, and I could hardly look at the tv during that time.

Maybe this is the spark that the team needed to carry them through the rest of the season and into the Big East tournament.

And yes, I'll post more pictures of my rug since it's really progressing nicely.

Facebook Fan Pages (Part 2)

Indie Affiliates
As promised, here's the other badge for my fan page at Facebook for Indie-Affiliates. I decided to use this fan page for the coupons and special offers for both IA and FOS, so I have my blog posts fed into it.

This has been fun learning how to do this, and I find myself being on Facebook now much, much more than Twitter.

FitBit

As a birthday present for myself, I ordered a FitBit and I can't wait until it arrives. I've been wearing a pedometer since about 2000-something, and this one looks fantastic.

I started with the SportBrain and I loved the "upload your steps to a website" feature since that REALLY kept me honest as other people could see my steps. But I kept having problems with it not uploading after time and it got frustrating.

Now I'm wearing an Omron from Walking Spree but the website didn't have the features that I wanted. You can upload your steps, but that's about it.

This new FitBit appears to offer what I want and the reviews I've seen have been wonderful. It should be shipping today so I'll post more when I actually have it.

I'm not in any way affiliated with FitBit

Origami (Part 2)

Awhile ago, I posted my first attempt at origami bags and boxes. I finally got some time and tried 3 more designs from books. I'm using 12 x 12 standard scrapbook papers.

My goal is to get "good enough" to try the designs using fabric. I have the fabric stiffener, so I just need to practice the folding techniques more with paper.

The far left is a one-piece box. The middle is a bottom box and top box (lid). The right one is a self-closing box but it was kinda difficult, so I have to keep working on it.

These are SO fun, though, and they're like puzzles. I get rather tenacious (stubborn?) and won't give up until I figure them out.

Phillip DePoy

I just finished "The King James Conspiracy" by Phillip DePoy. This novel is set in the early 1600's while King James is having translators work on the new version of the Bible. I love this time period in history anyway, so it was a fun book to read.

I'm also a huge fan of DePoy's series set in the Smokey Mountains featuring Fever Develin.

Facebook Fan Pages

Favorite Online Shops

I finally took the plunge and created fan pages for my 2 sites/blogs, so if you want to join me, I'd really appreciate it.

This is the badge for (you guessed it) Favorite Online Shops, and I will post the badge for Indie-Affiliates later.

I found out that if you already have a personal account, you can create the fan pages from there. You're not allowed to have more than 1 account on Facebook, so I couldn't have a personal account AND a business account.

And I found out how to import my blog posts so that I don't have to rewrite my posts and updates (which is REALLY nice !!)

Customer Service (Part 2)

I have another very positive customer service interaction to report. We had bought a six-pack of bottles of O'Doul's nonalcoholic beer, and 2 of the bottles were only partially filled, which was very curious.

Since I used to work in a manufacturing plant as a quality engineer, I know that machines can malfunction, and getting that feedback is always important. So I called the Anheuser Busch customer service agent.

The representative was very attentive, apologetic, and made me feel that the company valued my opinion. Without expecting it, I was also offered a refund on the entire six-pack purchase.

It takes very little to really inspire customer loyalty, so hats off for another good experience and satisfied customer.

Photo courtesy of Anheuser-Busch, and I'm not in any way affiliated with them.