Work Work Work

No time for a creative blog today. I had two parent teacher conferences this week and lots of dedicated programming hours outside of the work day. Our 12/2 delivery deadline for the project we've been working on since July is approaching fast and our Development Team is tired but our hard work is paying off. The site is top notch. We are really proud of it and for once Dev is signing off on the product before delivery. The addition of a project manager has really been key. Who would of thought that organization would assist the way it has.

Lolita Fashion

I know what it sounds like but Wikipedia explains it well http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolita_fashion.

B has been obsessed with the Japanese culture and anime for quite a while and it has now evolved into the Sweet Lolita look. She has been shopping online for a dress for weeks. "Look Mom, this one is only $65."

OK first, that is still expensive for a dress for a girl her age but a novelty dress. Plus, we haven't been successful in finding a dress here in the States. She and I looked through a few patterns over the weekend and began constructing a dress that would be as close as we could get it to something that we both agreed on. Here is the type of dress she likes and is considered "Sweet Lolita".

Here is what we came up with...

I still have to cut and hem the bottom and cinch the front seam since it's a bit too big there. The patter called for the zipper to be in front. We put it in the back where it should go. 

Anyway, she loves it. See her smile.

A Little Unbalanced

I've been slaving over computers this week. We have a launch of a new site for quoting and managing general liability accounts on Dec. 2. Our Dev team is tired and I'm determined to get us there with a little wiggle room by helping as much as I can. I've actually taken on another project that a client already paid 20k for back in August so it is just as important as the Dec. 2nd launch but I can't NOT assist with business workflows and functionality bugs on the quoting tool. It will be our best product yet and we've all learned so much, especially how to handle clients trying to drive the project.

With all this pressure of trying to meet deadlines, I haven't had the chance to craft. You can count the weekend out too. We have ballet lessons, play dates, friends over, grocery shopping, base boards to install (hopefully, please, please, please!), bathrooms to clean and at least 4 hours of work to dedicate. This won't end in November though. December is right around the corner. I do have a craft workshop for church that I'm looking forward to with 25-30 ladies on the 4th but obviously December is a busy time with 4 kids.

Oh January is looking pretty sweet right now... 

I shouldn't be wishing for time to speed up. Anyway, I'm off to work.

Correction: Tonight = Business Plan

I'm not sure if I have yet written about my inability to pay attention to detail. 

The Business Plan business is tonight so I'm still looking forward to it. My Auntie has begun her search for the storefront as a Realtor for me so that's good because I have the hardest time trying to write down or dial a number on a For Lease sign while driving.

Good news, I've decided on a name for the studio. Just after I published my post yesterday, I got on to myself for making excuses and being indecisive on this name thing. So I decided to give it another go. I scoured the internet for clues, searching for similar businesses and stopped. There aren't many businesses that I could find on the web that are here in the US like the one I want to start but in the UK there are many. 

I backed away from the keyboard and I sat here, in this same spot, at the dining room table brainstorming...

Brainstorming question: "How did all this come about?"

My answer: "I needed space to do my thing. I need a bigger craft room... I need a Craft Room!"

I checked on the domain availability and purchased it right away. I'll file the name on the state of FL businesses registration site on Friday as:

The Craft Room Cafe

and the site is

TheCraftRoomCafe.com

Don't try to go there. There's nothing there. Yet.

Tonight = Business Plan Workshop

I'm taking my spreadsheet with me to the Seminole Co. Library tonight. That spreadsheet contains several columns of projected dollar amounts. There is a part 2 workshop tonight for new businesses. Part one was a couple of weeks back which was very informative for someone who knows nothing about starting a business. I was planning on skipping part 2 because I'm not taking out a loan and I don't think I'll need an official one to sign a lease for 1 year. However, I'm probably just being stubborn and W mentioned that the workshop was to be held at a different location and he asked me if I wanted to go. I thought that I'd better go so that he, especially, thinks I'm taking this whole thing seriously. 

I still have to settle on a name. The name must reflect me. It should be somewhat descriptive of the business and it should ring. Like when you say, "I'm going down to Lowes", I want people to say, "I'm heading over to *blank*" and others are like, "really!, I was just gonna stop by there too." I guess that's not because Lowe's is a great name. Its branding and it will take some time to gain that but I will never know if I don't get started and if I don't settle on a name then I can't get started! This is really killing me because it took me 8-9 months to name each of my children and the only reason I finally settled on a name then was because of the  daunting guilt of delivering a child and not having a name to give to her. This is different...but the same...but a little different.

I will be discussing the wire frames of my site today with the designer and putting getting some tips for my business plan. This is exciting! 

No Time Today

I spent too much time this morning commenting on my favorite blogs so I'm totally out of time today. Plus I have a 9:00 meeting with our new project manager and an 11:00 meeting with a third party user experience group to ask them if they can help our development group cross the finish line on a piece of software we've been developing since July 22nd. The roll out date is Dec. 2nd and we will be overly relieved on the 3rd.

I forgot to mention, which was the reason I mentioned parts of my schedule in the first place, that the kids have dental cleanings at 10:30 and 10:45. This is going to be a weird day so I need to get started now.

Copper Tubing Bracelet

I wanted to take a metal working class this past weekend but I couldn't justify being away from my family for 3-4 hrs and spending $75 so I went YouTube and then to Lowe's and bought a few basic materials to try it myself. I now know that I need to find tutorial videos with women of my size because I have a few limitations when it comes to muscles. Therefore, I need a different set of tools than the big burly blacksmith in the video.

I originally purchased a copper plumbing tube and an awesome pair of tin snips and a $3 pipe cutter that allowed me to easily cut 6 1/2 in. of the pipe off. But as far as cutting down the length of the pipe, I had a bit more trouble with just the tin snips like the tutorial. My small arms would not allow me to pull apart the two pieces of cut tubing to allow the snips into the cut area in order to make a snip longer than the bill of the tool. I wondered if my pipe was a heavier gauge than his in the video. It must have been because it was not budging. I ended up busting out the Dremel which worked like a charm. I put the little circular saw on the end and went to town. Right down the pipe. I don't want to say like a hot knife through butter but it was close. Once the pipe was cut I still had the problem of not being able to "open" the pipe to hammer flat. I finally decided to make another cut to work with a smaller section rather than the whole 2 inches. I ended up with a quarter inch wide piece that widened a bit more after hammering anyway.

I hammered the copper flat and sanded down the edges of cut and snipped the corners off so that it was not sharp and then hammered it into a bracelet. There is a conveniently placed old sprinkler system in our back yard that served as an anvil. It is metal piping much like an old metal fence that comes straight out of the ground and then bends at an elbow. I'd say that was a selling point for me when considering this house. I forged the metal slightly to allow it to curve gracefully. I really feel like annealing the next bracelet would be even better since this style is a cuff and there will be some opening and closing of the cuff for the wearer. Heating the metal with a torch and then pickling it will give it flexibility so that the metal does not crack when it bends. I will just need to find another tutorial to figure out how to make a pickle bath for the copper.

The second cuff I made was after I went back to Lowe's to purchase a pair of sturdy gloves. I was afraid that I would slit my wrists on the sharp edges. Again, I couldn't find a pair of leather gloves that fit my hands so I bought a cheap pair of stretchy reinforced rubber ones that were OK. I also picked up a set of metal files to even out the edges. Sanding the edges could only get me so far but the file smoothed them down to a straighter line then I sanded the edges with the Dremel. The miracle tool. After hammering the metal you have to bust out the Dremel again with a wire brush on the end for polishing. It gives the piece a "finished" look.

The class I wanted to take was one for putting a hinge on a copper bracelet. Which I still want to do (by my self) but I think I needed to get the basics down first anyway. I would show you all the pictures I took with my new camera except I don't have a bay in my laptop to fit the storage card in the camera. I have got to get a new computer. I don't even have any photo editing software on this laptop. I will share the images as soon as I can get them off the camera.

New Camera

I finally have a digital SLR camera. I've coveted one for years. I happened on one yesterday while browsing Craigslist for $100. Of course, I don't meet up with Craigslisters if I don't have to. My husband does this deed for me. 

Its an older model: Olympus Evolt E-410. No manual though but a couple of lenses and super flash. Several reviews say that although it is intended for newbies, the "Auto" functions and controls are not exactly up to snuff but with a little manual manipulation the Olympus quality can be achieved.

Actually, I've wanted another Olympus for many many years. My first digital camera was an Olympus that I spent hours researching online and waited for the right moment for it to go on sale. Unfortunately, it was discontinued and I bought one the remaining models. Anyway, point and shoot was all I did and the images were astounding (to me). The lens was crisp, the flash was spot on and it was very easy to navigate. That was 2002 or so. The camera was stolen and I just wasn't able to replace it with anything that came close to the happiness it brought me. 

Then there was a Nikon in there somewhere, where the flash made everyone look waxy and a Kodak that must have absorbed some moisture inside because it stopped working after one Halloween night when we took it trick-or-treating and it was drizzling out. I tried contacting Kodak but I was 2 months out of warranty and they did not authorize dealers so my only option was to ship it to Kadak with $40 for a diagnosis. Then pay what it would cost to repair it or they generously offered me 10% off another unit. No thanks. The $40 was more than 10% of another purchase! That was a shame to because I really liked the auto focus and shutter. They seemed to be snappy. That's when I bought a $30 Canon from the pawn shop and started using my phone eventually because of convenience.

I have high hopes for my little Olympus. Her sole purpose in life is to record my crafts for my website. If I get family memories out of her then I will consider it a plus. Wish me luck!

Second Storefront Selection is OUT

I texted the guy I spoke with recently about the empty store front in front of the high school and he said that a non-profit organization was pursuing it and that he would let me know if it fell through. There are so many "ministries" shoved into offices right here where we live that it's really unbelievable. I can count 7 within a quarter mile strip on SR 427.

Nooooooo! 

Then I asked the property manager about his lease term and he said preferably 5 years. Unfortunately, the whole thing is out and this is another set back for me emotionally. Five years is not in the cards for this girl. I have to keep hoping that the perfect storm will come together just like it did when we bought our house. I won't have to force it but I might have to fight for it.

Website Under Construction

As a part of my software development team, I found a Web Designer to assist with "look and feel". Even though the team has brought him over to the dark side of development lately with Microsoft tools and code, he is utterly fantastic when comes to branding. I was showing off a garment I made last week, in the office, and he piped up, "You need a site and we should get started!" I thought about this for a bit and concluded that it may never be too soon to start a website. 

Once I have a lease signed I will definitely need to get up and running fast. I won't need an all together elaborate site. A place to put pretty pictures and a calendar for events. The rest will be regular stuff, contact us, about us, information on our show casing program for local artists. Maybe somewhere down the line I can add an inventory but I will probably brand my line of products under a different name. Speaking of names, I need a name for the studio. I also have to choose colors but the rest will be up to the designer. 

Things are getting serious here. Fear is starting to set in. Small voices are starting to tell me that this is a bad thing to do. The main one that I hear constantly is, "How will you have time?" Another nagging one is, "What if it isn't as awesome as you think it is?" Jon Acuff says in his book START subtitled: Punch Fear in the Face and Escape Average, that this is normal and that the voice of "reason" will tell you lies. If I listen to the lies of fear then I will always be safe in the land of average.

I choose to move forward and plan carefully, not recklessly, to bring my dream into a reality. And it's OK if it fails. I will learn what NOT to do the next time and my family will not be mad at me for trying (which is another voice I hear occasionally.)

Shoes and Promises

I've noticed that I'm actually thinking about completing my projects just so I have some ammo to blog about it. I am notorious for starting a project and when it gets too complicated or cumbersome, I put it down, for a year or so. I typically go back to it but not without a purpose. Just like that corset I started way back. I didn't have a sewing machine at the time but I loved the teal sateen fabric with an Asian embroidered print on it. I made half (one side) and was so proud that I showed everyone and never even started the other side because I was so satisfied that I could do it that I didn't care to actually wear it. It wasn't until G's pageant last year that I decided to finish it so that she could have a glamorous one of a kind gown. She picked out the fabric and designed the lower portion of the dress with an early 1900's century flair. She was gorgeous and I was happier once the piece was finished. The entire piece was hand stitched.

Blogging has motivated me to finish my shoe project from this past weekend. Although it's not finished yet, it will be within the next couple of days because I'm telling everyone in writing that it will. This blog is my written form of project promises. It would be embarrassing if I dug back through my posts a year from now and realized that none of my great ideas/project were ever finished. 

BALLET FLATS PROJECT 85% COMPLETE:

 Notice the toe on the right flat. I still have to hand stitch it down because I can't figure out how to attach it to the sole with the machine. I obviously can't get the machines foot in there. All the DIY tutes use glue. Once the toe is completed, the last and final 2% of the project will be the red tabs. The red tabs on the left flat are for lacing because the shoes are too big and I'll need to tie them on. I realize now that the fabric will stretch while sewing a little so next time they will need to be smaller and I will have to allow them to stretch on my foot even though I use upholstery (which came from my "I'm going to make purses to sell!" days). I also read an article that suggests putting grosgrain ribbon between the two layers of fabric to avoid any stretch. That's a novel idea for lots of projects. The sole is 4 layers of up-cycled denim and batting.

I'm undecided on whether I should wear them to work once they are completed. It seems a little silly to wear homemade shoes - even for me.

Girls Night With Cyndi

I took my two biggest girls and brought my sis to see Cyndi Lauper last night. We had a great time singing and dancing and being goofy. Cyndi came out with long hot pink hair and B almost died. "Oh Mommy, can I dye my hair that color?!" She also wore leather pants and combat boots. So cute. Of course she's always had the mouth of sailor but who cares it's Cyndi! She is the 80's pop artist legend who never changed and never sold her soul to the devil. 

My kids appeared to have a good time until they got tired around 9:30 - we don't stay up late - and they wanted to sit. We found a little corner until Cyn - that's what I call her - brought out her little harpsichord thingy to sing True Colors and just like that, it was over.

The glamorous wide range vocalist and songwriter, that helped pave the road for pop music decades ago, left the stage. Her hits still play on many radio stations and she is remembered as one of the first MTV music video artists. The most important part was that I had a fabulous time spending the evening with my girls.

Hello Fall Hello Faux

Our pool sits under a HUGE oak tree and a screen enclosure to protect it from the tree's debris. Oak is undoubtedly big with branches that stretch from one yard to another providing endless shade from the hot Florida sun. It also provides a lovely dense species of wood but the living tree is messy. Without a screen enclosure around the pool we would spend countless hours pulling out the small leaves, acorns and pollen. The downside is that the pool is 15 degrees cooler year round then one would expect it to be. 

This summer has come and gone we have gotten very little use of the expensive amenity. The temperature of the pool has been below 75 degrees since August and no one has dared to get in because it resides in the shade without a singel warm sun ray to heat your body when you are not submerged. The last week or two has brought the water down into the 60's so I know there is no chance of swimming until the spring.

That means Fall is officially here in the Sunshine State and as promised I spent 1 hour sewing my Fall faux leather skirt last night. Once I pulled out the vinyl for its official use immediately after dinner, I realized that the last ten years have played a very important part in its demise. The folds of the vinyl have permanent creases and it smelled kinda like mildew. I wiped it down with a Lysol wipe and tried to lay it flat to cut but the creases are there to stay. 

I used an already fabricated skirt as the guide, laying it on top of the black vinyl and starting to make my cuts. All the while trying to figure out the real shape of the White House Black Market skirt. The clothing from that store fits sooooo well that there is definitely something different and special there. 

I cut the front and back pieces but decided since I wasn't planning on making a lining that it would need a waist band for support. The waistband was also determined by the length of the zipper. I only had a super large metal zipper in stock because B wanted to make a "Zipper Face" for Halloween with it and scar wax. Instead she went with a Care Bear costume. The front and back pieces were not long enough because there just wasn't enough vinyl in my remnant without making a waistband and since I spent nothing on this project because I used items from other projects, I needed to improvise. 

The vinyl was surprisingly easy to sew with my 1976 Bernina 830 and a fresh sturdy needle. I only had needles that I purchased for denim but I think they are specifically for HEAVY fabrics, though I can't be 100% sure. I'm also proud to say that I didn't break the needle until the very last stitch. Conveniently. The zipper was easy too since the two pieces came apart completely. I do not have a zipper foot so I always struggle while working around the functional piece. I will be sure to pick one up this weekend. I get by without one but I feel like I can't get a good "bite" on the zipper with the standard 00 foot.

After about an hour and several fittings because the curves have to be just right, I found out, when it comes to vinyl. There is no give or forgiveness in this medium. And Voila, a cute black faux leather skirt with side zipper. The perma-creases make it look worn and I like it. I plan to pair it with a soft layered top and 3/4 sleeve loose knit sweater - it's still in the 80's here even though it's officially Fall.

The Created By Tag inside is my favorite part. I received a stack of them from a very special and thoughtful Mother. Thank you B. Ha look my my stitches. They look like a computer geek made them.

Tonight's Faux Leather Skirt Project

I have an antique dresser that holds my fabric and scraps in my dinning room which is just around the corner from my craft area. I've recently made a connection with the newest trends and a lump of fabric I come across every time I dig through those drawers that hold my most precious possessions. I have to first take you back several years to illustrate the sentimental value.

It was the year 1998 and I was pregnant with G. I was driving a gifted station wagon without a muffler that was so loud and I was ready for my own car. G's dad and grandpa were building dune buggy's at the time in our garage so VW's were their thing. It only seemed right for us to purchase a 1973 super beetle together as our family car. And that's what we did. We found a woman who just wanted us to take the white Bug off her hands and she would gladly take $250 for it. We towed it home and replaced the battery. It would start but it wouldn't stay running. It turned out to be a clogged gas line which is a common problem with older cars. The problem would only cost us an additional $150 to repair but we didn't have it so G's dad bi-passed the fuel line to run directly into a 5 gallon gas tank. We were driving that thing around in style. 

The previous owner began restoring the car by starting with the interior. The back seat was removed and in it's place was a wooden box covered with black and blue auto carpeting. They installed a cooler into the box that was a secret compartment because someone needed to carry their insulin around everywhere they went. I would put G's bottles of milk in there. 

Anyway, I wanted to continue the restore so I bought $30 in black vinyl and took off the door panels to cover them. It looked really good in my opinion but I realized quickly that I had bought way too much vinyl. 

I see that lump of vinyl down in the bottom of my fabric dresser all the time thinking someday I'll cover something else with that. Yesterday, though, my thought was to cover me with it! I'm going to start a faux-leather skirt tonight. Leather is big this fall and I love working with different mediums so WHY NOT. I might even find a VW Beetle patch to stick on it...

Alterations

Last night I sat down for an hour with the girls watching New Moon. E just kept asking, "Is he a vampire too?" Its a little violent during a couple of fight scenes with some fast movements and a couple of body slams but no blood during fights or anything that I thought would make it too scary for such a young viewer. 

Just prior to putting on movie, I pulled from my craft closet, a double breasted purple wool dress I found at a Good Will last year for $6.99. It was too big and I shoved it in with my stuff so I would see it frequently and do something about it. This tactic did not work considering I ignored the dress for a year.

The tag says XS but if an article is not made for a 5'4" tall chick then it will never fit. I put it on prior to sitting down and pinched and pulled everywhere trying to figure out the best place to start on the alteration. Seams on the side? Seams over the bust? Maybe just move the buttons over to tighten it up. I finally grabbed the shoulders and pulled up. Amazingly, the whole thing fell into place. The only alteration I needed to do was take the shoulder seam in about 2 inches. 

While I watched the terrible acting in the movie with the kids I ripped out the seam on the shoulder one at a time. I cut a half inch off of either side (front and back shoulder area). Folded both sides down inside between the wool and the lining and pinned it near the top to hold the hem in place while I completed a whip stitch bringing lining to lining and wool to wool (front and back shoulder pieces).

I was really impressed with how easy the alteration was and how such a small cut transformed the whole dress. I'm very happy with it and plan to wear it as the weather gets cooler. It may be a little while longer before the tropics experience weather cool enough for wool but its been a year since I bought the dress anyway. I'm pretty sure I can wait another month or two.

Kwik Sew #3694

Two tops in 2 days. I'm on a roll. This pattern is so versatile that I made a floral short sleeved A-symmetrical top on Sunday as previously posted and wore it to work yesterday with a lovely wine colored knit drawstring skirt, 2 1/2 " brown heels and a soft brown cardigan. It was a comfy professional combo and last night I made the hot pink and navy blue long sleeve (A) top for G. Except I brought the sides in tighter at waist (omitting the A-symmetrical cuts) and chose not to do the binding around the neck because the knit was woven too loosely and it was tricky to work with. Not to mention the hem could be seen through the fabric so I sure you would be able to see through the binding which would've defeated the purpose. 

I had G try it on twice and the second time she said she loved it. I noticed the stripes didn't match up exactly in the seems but that was due to my cutting. Cutting is my least favorite part of sewing and I will cut corners every time. The fabric slid around and rolled up on the edges. It unraveled quickly and snagged on everything because the knitting was so loose. It was heavy too so once the shirt was assembled I noticed it was 2 sizes bigger than the floral shirt but it was from the same x-small lines on the pattern. Here's why http://afewthreadsloose.blogspot.com/2013/11/adventures-in-sewing-part-6.html . One of my favorite blogs found a McCall Style News booklet from May of 1948. I love how it reads with phrases like "dress making families."

Two tops in two days. Two very different outcomes. The more I sew, the more I realize the things I don't know. As with any skill, experience is vital. I'm sure the more practice I get the more notes (mentally) I will take. This way I can walk into a hobby store and truly know which projects are the quick and easy projects vs. ones I should not cut corners on and which fabrics are truly best and not just one of the 17 types mentioned on the pattern that I will have to alter every time because of my petite torso and shoulder area. There is so much to learn and I'm considering taking on a challenge to crunch in some experience. Just 1 to 1.5 hours a day will do I think. I'll keep thinking this through and let you know what I come up with.

Stitch-in-the-ditch If you Dare

This weekend is over and we accomplished a lot in my opinion.

I starting helping G and E (G's best friend) to get ready starting at 2:00 on Saturday afternoon for Homecoming while W went to study. E (my E) watched TV for 3 hours straight while snacking on Halloween candy, piece after piece. I told her to stop but she yelled back, "I can't!" I couldn't stop her either because I had 2 teenagers pulling at me to dress, paint, brush & style all their appendages. I admit, I had a great time but my right arm was too tired to open and close scissors yesterday because of the hot spiral iron and two hours of my life gone trying to perfect every inch of E's hair. Her hair is massive! I thought B had a lot but by comparison I'd say B has the perfect amount. A LOT of fine hair is perfect. Anyway, the girls were stunning until G starting whining when we discovered a stain on her gown. I have no idea how it got there but we washed and blow dried the area twice about 15 min. before we were scheduled to meet up with the boys. The stain was minimized and the sun was going down so I didn't think anyone was going to see it. Once the tears dried up she was beautiful again.

Now I want to share with you what I was trying to cut when my right wrist seized. I found a lovely floral knit remnant on Friday afternoon for a couple of bucks. The only problem was, I didn't bother to check how much fabric there was in the remnant and I assumed it would be enough for a top. Yesterday during E's nap time, I unrolled the remnant to discover that the 58" wide fabric was only about 3/8 of a yard. I trimmed the pattern where I could and made it fit but not on the stretch. Bleh. It's an A-symmetrical top with cap sleeves but it doesn't move with me. I guess I shouldn't ignore words like grain and stretch written all over the pattern. I'm learning and I promise to be more observant when selecting fabric. I am glad that I had the opportunity to stitch-in-the-ditch around the neck when I added binding. It's not an all too tricky procedure but it will take a bit of practice. Remember, shorter stitches on the curves like a car taking a curve (slower).

I bought a second loose knit of navy and hot pink stripes for G on my trip to the fabric store on Friday. She wants a loosely fitted top like a sweater so I plan to use the same pattern as I did for the floral remnant with a little extra on the sides to loosen things up and I'll make sure to implement the stretch in the right direction. I'm not so sure about the binding though. I plan to serge most of the fabric with navy blue thread since it's loosely woven. I may not need to finish the edges depending on G's preference. We'll play it by ear. It won't be a Joanie original if there isn't any impromptu. 

Uneventful Halloween

Trick-Or-Treating just doesn't have any luster anymore. There were less than a 20 kids out in our neighborhood last night. 50% of that number were between the ages of 12 and 17. We put a bowl yummy treats out in front of our door while we walked the block and many people participated in the delivery of the candy but there just weren't enough kids walking door to door to call it an event. We had one child knock on our door around 9:00 PM and that was it.

The whole holiday has morphed into more of a reason for adults to throw parties than it is for kids to Trick-Or-Treat. Adults can have parties anytime of the year. We don't have to wait for a particular week out of the year to plan a costume party. Kids too. Have a random costume party in June. That would be so much fun. You wouldn't blow a bunch of money at a pricey seasonal store. You would be more resourceful. You'd find things around the house to piece together or shop around for a signature piece. I'm thinking we take this used up Holiday that marketing and the local news has destroyed and spread it around a little. Make it last. Oct. 31st 2013 seemed anti-climactic and I hate that.