Kingfisher Cove

Windy in Harstine Land

If this cat was black and white (and less fluffy), this is how Mojo would have looked today.  We were hauling things inside the trailer after we arrived at Harstine this afternoon and Mojo was all hunched down on the deck, his fur going every-which-way.  His tail (which is quite fluffy) looked like a puffed-up bottle brush. He was none too happy about it, either (probably tickled) so he soon Kramered in through the window and hopped up on the bed for a nap. And it was definitely a nap kind of afternoon. John and I both partook.

(So why am I so sleepy this evening?)

I spent much of this week working on stained glass (I sold a 2nd piece!) and I’m “feeling it” in my hands. No, not from glass cuts or shards; but they ache. They tend to ache anyway (some sort of carpal tunnel/tendonitis thing I’ve had for years that especially drives me nuts when the atmospheric pressure drops), but this is rather beyond that. They’ve been busy hands and they are protesting! A weekend’s rest should help. I have another piece I want to make next week, in between my Internet Marketing Writing Course that starts Monday. The course is only supposed to be about 10 hours per week, but I have a hunch it’ll be more than that at first as I get my head wrapped around it and tackle writing assignments. I’m not a Speedy Gonzales writer, and I suspect I’ll need to do some research as well. BUT, combining that with doing some stained glass will be good for me because I tend to “flit.” As in, I can only focus on one thing for so long, then I need to switch gears for a bit. And then switch back again. I wouldn’t be  surprised if I had adult ADD. 

And on that note, I’m going to FLIT to my book! (Until my eyelids droop, and then I’ll FLIT to bed!)

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Technorati Tags: Harstine Island,MojoTheCat,Internet Marketing Writing Course

Simplicity

Darned power lines.

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Technorati Tags: stained glass

Moving Forward

My blogger/Facebook friend, Carol, sent me an email yesterday that her blogger/Facebook friend (now mine, too…hi, Renate!) was interested in purchasing my stained glass garden stake. So…it’s sold! She plans to hang it in her kitchen window, which is kind. That means it won’t weather out in the, well, weather. They do survive just fine outside, but they do dull a bit and the solder needs to be polished now and then to get back the original luster.  I’ve only sold one other stained glass project, and that was a butterfly garden stake to a former coworker’s mom who lived in Hawaii (several years ago). I wonder how it’s holding up? (Hopefully just fine!)

And then in other news, I think I’ve mentioned before that I’m pursuing freelance writing gigs. Nothing has panned out yet, and I suspect the reasons for that are as follows:

1. Many of the freelancers out there bidding/pursuing work have, at the very least, bachelor’s degrees. I don’t have a comet tail of credentials after my name. 
2. Apparently, 30 years’ experience writing marketing proposals, articles, press releases, marketing collateral, personnel profiles, and technical project descriptions, don’t equate with four years of college.
3. Because of the volume of general unemployment, the freelance competition is fierce.
4. Also? The “field” of writing for the internet is a science in itself. You have to understand SEO (search engine optimization), keyword density, affiliate marketing, the backend of social media, and research resources, to name a few.

So…I’m taking an online class to not only learn about these things, but to get some exposure out there so I have examples to refer to. If I can’t brag about my degree in philosophy [which apparently has merit (!)], at least I’ll have a portfolio of writing samples. PLUS a certificate in internet marketing. It’s all about the credentials, baby.

Oh! And at times there is the question of integrity. An Elance (freelance site) job post today was for hiring a writer to write FAKE positive comments on a commercial blog to “improve the online reputation” of the blog. They even specified that each “comment” was to be in a different “voice” to appear realistic. How appalling is that?

Uhm, I’ve also completed another stained glass project (picture tomorrow), and I’ve designed another! (When in the mood, go forth! I guess.)

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Technorati Tags: stained glass,freelance,online internet marketing course

A Step-by-Step Pictorial in Stained Glass

Just in case you might be interested in what all goes into making a stained glass garden stake, I took pictures along the way to illustrate how it evolves. Luckily, there wasn’t any blood this time. (Actually, I’ve been pretty careful lucky over the years).

I tried a different method of transferring the pattern onto the glass. Usually I use sticky-back pattern paper that involves copying the pattern onto it with carbon paper (yes! carbon paper! So 1970s!), then cutting each pattern piece with special pattern shears (icky things), then sticking each piece onto the corresponding glass color. It’s a lot of tedious steps and the sticky-back is a pain in the ass when you grind the glass pieces because it tends to slip and slide in the water (used in the grinder for coolant). You really need a stable pattern edge when you grind (and cut the glass) so the pieces fit together as well as possible. So this time I positioned the pattern underneath the glass and used a Sharpie to trace the pattern piece directly onto the glass. That was pretty easy because all my glass was transparent. Then I applied this wax to the pattern lines to keep the water from washing away the Sharpie ink on the grinder.

 

Time to cut! 

I have two different glass cutters; this hand-held cutter which works well for broad, relatively straight cuts:

 

And my nifty Cutter’s Mate that John gave me for Christmas a few years ago. I love this thing! It’s heavy, so it applies a good solid score on the glass, plus the the handle rotates 360 deg.:

 

Be careful of those glass shards!

 

In fact, just brush them out of the way.

 

I ran into a bit of a hitch once I had all my pattern pieces cut. The original pattern had a piece (circled below) that was notched to accommodate the bevel.

I couldn’t cut or grind it to a corner, and I didn’t want to mess with my band saw, so I re-designed that area into two pieces so I wouldn’t have to deal with a corner. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do to make it easier work.

Time to grind!

 

Did the wax work to keep the lines from washing off? Not really. But I do think this method is faster, as long as the glass is translucent.

So now that all the glass pieces are ground and adjusted and tweaked, it’s time to let your hands un-prune themselves (eh) and foil!

This particular time, my foiler gave me all kinds of grief. Mostly because the glass pieces were various thicknesses and I kept having to adjust the height and the tension on the contraption. It also kept ripping the foil and I was pretty much a Grumpy Gus throughout this process, oh yes I was.

(Please don’t look at my nails. I desperately need a fill…)

 

Then burnish the foil to make it smooth and taught.

Finally…all foiled! (And I managed to not throw the foiler through the window).

 

Time to solder!

 

With Mojo’s help. I had to keep shooing him away from the 700 deg. soldering iron…

 

Front and back sides all soldered!

 

I enjoy doing stained glass because of all the steps. You always feel like you’re moving forward. And because I prefer doing small projects, they go pretty quickly. Certainly no boredom involved. Frustration at times, but no boredom.

I didn’t take any photos of the patina-polishing step because that patina is nasty rot-gut stuff and I didn’t want to smear any on my iPhone. But here is the result:

 

AAAAND….are you ready? Here it is all finished in the wrought iron garden stake frame hanging on the window. I also have a shepherd’s hook to stick in the ground to hang this from.

 

Ta-da!

~~~~~

Technorati Tags: stained glass,garden stake,step-by-step,pictorial

A Project

I visited our super-duper local stained glass shop today and picked up some fun glass. And yes, I do have a project in mind! I saw this online and really liked it:

So once again I thought, “How can I make this a circle to create a garden stake and fit into my round wrought iron frame thingy?” Well. I brought it into my stained glass pattern-making software and after a lot of messing around, I came up with this:

My glass textures differ a bit from this, but I found some fun stuff! (And those middle rectangular pieces will be bevels, like the ones in the top picture).

If this turns out decent, I may try my hand at selling it. That is, unless it turns out decent enough that I don’t want to part with it. Or, if it’s a total bitch to make and I’d have to sell it for a gazillion bucks to make it worth my while.

That scenario is more likely.

~~~~~

Technorati Tags: stained glass

Losing My Mind (Among Other Things)

Remember these? And this? 

I can’t find them anywhere. I thought for sure I knew where they were, but they weren’t. I’ve searched the camping trailer at Harstine and our house with all it’s nooks and crannies, and they might as well have fallen off the face of the earth.

I can’t imagine that I would have been cavalier about just “sticking” them somewhere — I cherished these things!

And while I can remember with absolute clarity how they felt in my hands—their weight; the feel of their silky surfaces—I have absolutely no memory of putting them somewhere. Anywhere.

I’m just sick about it.

~~~~~

Technorati Tags: Alzheimer's,arrowheads,self-disgust

FINALLY! (Blue Sky, Blue Water)

I couldn’t believe it was possible, but it actually did stop raining in time for us to grill steaks and skewered veggies last evening. THEN, we joined our neighbors for a beach fire on their elevated beach berm and imbibed in wine and conversation. It was a lovely evening with calm waters and a smiley moon! (AND NO RAIN). Even Mojo joined us, although he hung out on the fringes and playfully ambushed the neighbors’ adorable little Yorkie. Things got a little dicey when it was time to head up, though. The tide had come in around us much further than we realized, and we  had no flashlight. Our options were to cross over the neighbors’ l-o-n-g, slick (and scary!) logs over cold deep water, or wade through cold deep water to access our own path. Fortunately John scouted another option through some brush and driftwood that kept us dry, although it was a little challenging in the dark, too. Very happy to make it to our path without getting drenched or breaking an ankle. Lessons learned: Always bring a flashlight and check the tides beforehand! (Snort)

And then today!!! Today is beautiful! Of course, it’s the day we have to go home!

Here’s a picture of John’s Harstine House design so far. He’s working on the roof, which is a bear. This is from-the-beach view: (click to enlarge)

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Technorati Tags: Harstine Island,Harstine House

Where’s That Golf Umbrella? Ooops. I Never Had One.

We are trapped inside the camping trailer while the rain is pounding pigs and chickens on the roof. This is what they call a 40% chance of rain: It’s now mid-afternoon and it’s been deluging non-stop since I woke up to the oinking and clucking on that roof. Well, actually, there was one brief reprieve and I slipped outside to s-t-r-e-t-c-h (because I’m seriously cooped up) and I proceeded to step in dog shit. It hasn’t been a great day.

Mojo just now entered through the window (WET) and Bailey (long-haired weenie) is outside in this, pouncing in the rockery because she *thinks* she’s cornered a critter or something (SO WET THAT WATER IS RUNNING IN A STREAM OFF HER SNOUT AND SHE’LL NEED TO BE WRUNG OUT).

Update: Wet Dog Alert!

I’ve been reading. And cooking. And washing dishes. And reading some more. Cooking some more. Can you say “dishpan hands?” John’s been 1,000,000% absorbed on his SketchUp software, working on the design for our eventual (and hopeful) retirement house. I generally have to repeat myself at least twice before I make inroads into his alternate universe. (I’m really not complaining because he has accomplished so much more than either of our now-fired architects have, but it is a little lonely around here).

Yesterday was pretty decent when we arrived (it soon deteriorated), and I took some pictures with this nifty iPhone app called Tilt-Shift Generator that gives things sort of a retro look. I’ve had some fun with it!

And yeahhhh, that’s about as exciting as it gets.

~~~~~

Technorati Tags: Harstine Island,rain,TiltShiftGen

Meh.

Well, it’s Tax Day, what can I say? I take some refuge in this, though. I dunno, maybe we should all head to Turkey or Mexico?

Tax burden for developed nations as a percentage of GDP.

No matter, when you have to pay, it hurts. This year, for the first time in, like, forever, we had to pay Big Time. Why?

Partially because of my unemployment benefits being taxable. And partially because even though Nate was not supposed to claim himself this year (for the last time ever), he went ahead and did it anyway. So we pay two grand, and he gets himself a nice chunk of beer money. Definitely nixed our plans to fly down to San Diego to visit him.

Meh.

On the other hand, if you need a good reason for a hearty chuckle, check this out. (I love me some Jon Stewart!)

~~~~~

Technorati Tags: Taxes

I Am Still Giddy…

...over this beach-walk discovery yesterday at Harstine. I thought this was a lil’ itty bitty leaf, but something about it made me pick it up. (Why? I don’t really know!) Turns out it’s a “bird point” arrowhead, created by a local tribe to hunt small birds w-a-y back when. The point has tumbled off in the tides throughout the years, but what a gem!

 

Between John and I, we have found a few arrowheads on our beach, since purchasing our plot of paradise in late 2003. Some of them are made from agate! The one I found yesterday, John tells me, is made from flint.

Aren’t these agate arrowheads lovely?

Whenever I hold one—and believe me, you can’t help but rub your fingers all over them and soak up their silky texture—I think about how long ago they were carved and shaped, and what stories they could tell! Were they discarded exercises in tool-making, such as a father teaching his son the craft? Or were they used in the hunt, bloodied and ultimately deadly (but also life-sustaining, providing food?) What was the area like during those times? With Harstine, it’s not too difficult to imagine because it’s quite sparsely developed. And the island across from us is owned by the Squaxin Tribe, and it is completely uninhabited.

                                           (Looking across toward Squaxin Island)

I can just picture rough-hewn canoes in the passage, with men spearing fish and eyeing the shoreline trees for birds.

Ahhh, I just love the Pacific Northwest!

~~~~~

Technorati Tags: arrowhead,tribe,Squaxin,agates,Harstine Island