Retail fads

It's probably a sign of my age that I've begun to notice the fads that sweep through towns, stores and shelves around me. And I'm not even going to talk about clothes. Really. Don't get me started.

I think I really started noticing it with the scrap booking market. Suddenly, people that had dutifully recorded every step little Johnny took were encouraged to turn those each blurry 4 x 6 into a work of art that little Johnny would treasure for ever. FYI, I recorded the steps. But the blurry photos are in a box somewhere. And there's another box of blurry negatives that I just can't bring myself to deal with. Papers, trimmers, albums with posts, albums without posts, stencils, glitter, glue, corner mounts, punches, oh my! Little boutique shops popped up with racks after skinny rack of scrapbook supplies. My favorite craft store (and it's not small) devoted a full 1/4 of their store to scrapbooking. Now as an artist I appreciate that the scrapbooking industry made archival supplies incredibly affordable, but as a mom, the guilt factor became a little overwhelming. "My children won't have tastefully arranged 12-inch thick albums of every grade and every day at the beach!" I watched weekend conventions of scrapbooking women haul in their LUGGAGE of supplies (with slots and compartments to safely store 12 x 12 papers and sorted brads and double-sided tape at $129.99 a pop) and shuddered.

Then came the beading industry. At the risk of sounding a little crusty, I've been making my own jewelry since I was 7. Suddenly, every magazine cover, craft store and hardware store sprouted shelves and shelves of beaded creations and supplies. Even the sporting section was not immune as crafters raided the fish line racks for their creations. Another quarter of the craft store disappeared under rows and rows of glittering cards sporting every type of rock and stone that could be safely mined for the purpose. More little shops popped up around town, with the express intent of helping you create masterpieces of wire and seed beads. (While the other little shops started to fade away like nonarchival newsprint images.)

And now it's cupcakes. I find it ironic (and a little unfair) that in a nation besieged with weight issues and messages of healthy living, the latest fad is edible. I also find it a little puzzling. It's like the Food Network reached in and has infiltrated the minds of my little town. People buy mini cupcake makers and cupcake trees. Little bakeries devoted entirely to cupcakes are appearing. My church women's group is even planning a "cupcake paloosa". (I did realize that if I get on this bandwagon, I won't have boxes and boxes of supplies sitting around in my closet for the next decade. Just the extra sitting under my back pockets to carry around for the next decade.) What's the deal with cupcakes?





Oh.

(Woolen) Hats off!

I realized I haven't done a "Hat's off!" blog for far, far too long. Probably because I've been a bad blogger lately. I envy people that can be consistently funny or interesting or irritating or whatever it is they regularly share with their readers. (Hats off to you.)

And hats off to these guys for making me feel better about how I spend my time ...



(Is that fantastic, or what!?)

Driving a rental

Several weeks ago, my computer died a horrible death. The kind of horrible death that has me screaming like the guy in the Apple spoof. (Don't know it? I'll try to track it down by the end of the post. But be warned - he swears a bit about his computer. Like I was SO tempted to do at mine.)

So SG stepped up (or stepped in) and over many laborious evenings, got it working again. I couldn't even tell you everything that was involved because it all takes the shape of a Victor Frankenstein effort to me. All I know is that the monster lived again.

But not quite like it was. Certain things are in different places, the icons have changed and even some of the sounds are different. It's like driving a rental car and reaching for the headlight switch - only to realize you don't actually know where it is. Or figuring out how the radio works. Or if there even is a radio.

Some things, I will admit, work better. But some still leave me baffled, wondering if it's really supposed to be that way or can we get it back? And I'll keep wondering as I get on with the business at hand. And flick my windshield wipers at the occasional passerby.

Thumb envy

Okay - it's two videos in a row - but this one is TOO funny!

Something (very) different

I played flute in junior high. I'm not sure if my fascination with this guy is musical, creative or technical. Haven't figured out how he does it yet but in the meantime, see what you think.

I've been doodled!

I got some exceptionally fun gifts this year for Christmas but none more so than the totally out of the blue gift SG gave me this year. He's getting better at hiding his surprises.

An on-line friend of mine has a talent for what he calls "doodles". And my sneaky husband got in touch with him behind my proverbial back and arranged for Rick to do a doodle of me. Check this out!


I'm not sure which I enjoy more - the caricature, or the idea of these two guys sneaking messages back and forth, and planning generic envelopes to get this done and under our tree without giving away the surprise. Either way, it was a great surprise and SG gets mega points for this one!! And thanks to Rick, too!


(You can see more of Rick's work over at Organized Doodles.)

Coffee list

I managed to "drop in" on a friend's time at a local coffeehouse this week, and was once again blessed beyond measure at the friends I have. It's probably no surprise that we don't see each other as often as we'd like but when we do manage, it always ends too soon with these words:

"We need to do this more often."

It still doesn't happen often enough, but just like my coat carries the scent of roasting coffee and lets me stretch out that cozy conversation just a little longer, I can linger over the sense of connection even those brief moments bring.

There are a lot of extra people that I'd love to have the chance to sit down with and just have a chat for a few hours. Sometimes out of curiosity, sometimes for purely selfish reasons and sometimes because I think there would be much to be learned. Here's my short list:

My dad. It's been a fairly longstanding tradition now that when we visit with my parents, no matter what town we're in, my dad and I find a local donut shop and get to talk for a time. I love my donuts, but I love those conversations with my dad even more. They don't happen as often as we live farther apart, but they're just as important to me.

Patti the Awesome Cousin. Like all the women in our family, she is smart, talented, funny and beautiful. Unlike all the women in our family, she has what some may call an non-traditional life and does it with flair and style and graciousness and a tolerance for stupidity that I could never achieve. I am so thankful for her and for the ways we have to stay connected across a continent. But the in-person moments are definitely the best.

Lisa Leonard. I don't know Lisa except through her blog and her creative work, but she, too, strikes me as a woman that is facing life with style and enthusiasm and a perspective that is fresh and unique and totally charming. I'm sure she faces challenges the rest of us will never face, but she also faces some that I have faced and I think we'd either be fast friends or else be too much alike to really ever get along well :). (And I harbor a secret hope that her studio isn't really usually that clean.)

Jay Williams. So this one might be tricky because he's dead. But Jay Williams is among my top three favorite ever writers for children. I think just some time to pick his brains would be fascinating. It also might confirm a few suspicions that maybe we'd disagree on some pretty big issues, but who knows? I think it'd take at least two hot chocolates to figure that out.

Wendy Lawton. Okay, so I've already had one mocha with this remarkable lady, but another one would be a real treat. She is a fabulous blend of creativity and clearsightedness that gives her a delightful perspective on a variety of topics. I strongly suspect that conversation with Wendy is very rarely dull.

Then there's Queen Latifah, Beatrix Potter, and Ken Dryden. Edith Head, Carol Burnett, and the guy that ran the snake and gator show at Reptile Gardens. But I'm afraid they'll have to wait for another time.

Who's on your list?