Being stuck at home continues to wear on the entire household. Being semi-snowed in really shouldn't have made a difference to that vibe but, well, it did.

I got two lessons into the first drawing class I bought at udemy and realised it was *not* what I needed, and then was pleased that the $125 course I decided to take instead went on sale right after I made that decision.  It's still pencil and therefore not remotely intuitive, but has a lot more specific exercises, and I will suck it up and deal. (How to draw from beginning to master)  So far I'm making value scales and practicing blending techniques, which isn't exactly fun but *is* necessary, and feels like learning scales for piano.

Am I actually going to use this in my art business? (Am I going to re-open my art business?)  I don't know. Fanart is a strong possibility because fandom has been such a source of comfort and I like the idea of giving back. Whether I use the same pseud I make bookmarks with IDK, because I don't think I want anyone to be able to connect some of what I read back to my real life parent-ness. Or have the kids be able to make the connection, but if I make anything good I want to be able to share it here/instagram/ao3.

I've also been mostly managing to keep up with the cardio portion of my attempt at establishing better habits, which is awesome because I can already feel the difference in that it takes me longer to get out of breath, and I've been able to slowly bump up the speed (the treadmill we bought 15 or so years ago is finally getting really consistent usage between me and the kids PT.

I finally figured out one thing to do with lemon curd that doesn't require baking (I put it on a waffle) but I'm still kind of floundering. I know it's basically jam, but putting it on regular toast just seems wrong, and I really don't think it would pair well with any of my normal sandwich fixing. (chicken and jam or turkey and jam, with or without cream cheese, rocks.)

I guess that isn't entirely sameness after all. Nice.

GlassesUSA did IDEK what with my order, so now after waiting since late May for glasses that will not arrive (they finally gave me a refund) I have placed a new order with someone else, at a higher price but hopefully that means I'll actually get glasses of the proper prescription before, you know, Christmas. (Did I mention the eye surgery I already had this year? I can't remember. I've never hit my out of pocket maximum before, and this year I did it in June.)

And I put in billable hours again today and helped Sean with taxes which is a good run of adulting on a day that started with cramps and general weepiness. I really want menopause like, now. And what's fun is that there is going to be a drug regimen in my whole anti-cancer thing that is guaranteed to induce it, but they are making me wait until I am done with chemo AND radiation to take it with the reasonable excuse that they don't want to stack negative side effect symptoms, but I don't have that many, and I want it now. *whining intensifies*

I resorted to a can and a half of Monster energy drink to make it though the Pancakes and Booze show (we tore down at 1 am) and was basically completely wrecked for two days following. My body appears to be almost entirely done with bubbly caffeinated drinks, so I need to come up with a new strategy before the next late night show, and frankly, a new strategy for handling the regular shows as well -- I won't be up past my bedtime when I vend at GeekGirlCon (table #804! Near the back!) but they are pretty much 12-14 hour days with no real breaks.

As long as I am talking shows, the rest of my schedule after GeekGirlCon (still waiting to hear back from one more show) for in-person shows is:
November 24-25 - GeekCraftExpo, Seattle [FREE but only if you register for tickets in advance]
December 1:- Cascade Winterfest, Shoreline (free)

December 15: Georgetown Holiday Market, Seattle (free)

Instagram cross-posting continues to fail, so here are the new pretty things in general and new designs in specific:

 

( cut for bigness )

I can tell I'm getting way more serious about the jewelry because I've started to get really frustrated with the limitations of my materials and fine detailing that 99.5% of the population won't notice.
But I have a large new crop of pendants made, am about to finish a batch of rings and bracelets, and then I should have enough stock to definitely make it through Winterfest (in Shoreline this Saturday! Come! There will be baked goods!) and probably Arisia as well. And maybe Radcon. (I can only fit ~20 on a panel and I now have ... many panels worth. I might need to stop making any for a while.) It depends on how many pieces (hopefully don't) come back from Chessiecon.

The new pieces incorporating alchol inks in a watercolor style are pretty sweet, although some came out more abstract than space-y. And once again, I have chosen to work in a medium that is really hard to photograph (very small! iridescence! glitter! curved glass!)



In the non-sparkly parts of my life, I have sent all my Christmas orders off to the book binders, and while I have a couple of album designs still on my plate, they are on the normal schedule, not rush. The cats are punks, a tree got cut down before it fell down in our backyard, which means a bit more light in my room (well, when I don't have the heat-retaining blackout curtains closed) and my hair is bright blue again, which for some reason makes me feel more secure. I think I feel best when I look like a somewhat androgynous and brightly colored muppet; I keep forgetting I look like a weirdo to normal people, though, since I continue to only leave the house for school stuff and errands.

I am running out of excuses to not clean my office/studio on a major scale, since the important projects on the horizon (video!) will be really much easier to do when that happens.