Mountain Girl Silver - Hand-Stamped Customized Silver Jewelry - Portland, Oregon

Oh my Heavens to the Betsy’s!! It’s like a million degrees outside right now……   the kids are out there… frolicking in the heat….  I just don’t get it…   Here, in Oregon, we bitch about the rain rain rain all winter long… and then here it is like in the 90’s and I’m bitching about the heat…… Good grief.

Well… this is the first official blog post sitting in the seat at the new office at the new house. Just some last minute things still need to be brought over here from the other place. We really busted ass this weekend getting all the stuff over here. The picture here to the right, of Rusty and Mobee, I took while we were making quite a ruckus…  and they just continued to slumber and not even notice everything that was going on. I just brought Mobee and Rusty over here to the new house this afternoon. And you read all that stuff about how when you move a cat, you’ve got to lock em in a room with their food and water and litter box for days before you let them outside at their new house. What a bunch of garbage. Maybe I have really lax cats…..   both of them don’t seem to mind.  Now, that being said, I still have to bring over Rocket Man and Trotter. Neither of them were around when I had the gumption to bring over these two. Maybe tonight. I can see both of them bugging out and well…. Trotter will inevitably piss everywhere…   I’m half inclined to just leave Trotter over there……    (i can’t believe I just said that)….

So we slept here at the new place last night for the first time. I slept like dog doo doo. First thing I said to myself this morning was…  GOING TO GET SOME CURTAINS!!.. yah… that didn’t happen.. so I guess I need to dig out some dark sheets and blankets to tack up on the windows. Maggie was up bright and early at 5:45….   nice…   she’s been a real peach all day long too….  The shower tile guy is still working on the shower. And there are boxes and boxes and boxes strewn out all over the place. Moving just makes you feel so … so…… I dunno… just icky and non-definite…  weird… I don’t like it at all..  Hopefully soon, we will start to feel at home and this week will be a thing of the past.  I have however, been able to really catch up on stamping. I’m liking my new space. Just need to get some more powerful lighting in there and I’ll be all set. The office situation is a little strange. I’m so used to having my little organza pouches and polishing cloths and pens and scissors and stuff like that on the left side of my body/desk… but in this house…. it’s all shifted to the right. Old dog new tricks I guess…. With time, I’ll get into a groove. I’m really really embarassed that you can see my office off to the right , right as you walk in. Anyone who knows me, knows that I keep all kinds of shit. I have my L O S T figurines proudly displayed on my paper shelf,, I’ve got my VW beetle collection on top of my desk, papers and stuff all over the place, my fish tank….     From right where I’m sitting…. I can see and grab just about anything I need.    I’ve had three customers come over and pick up their orders w/in the last couple of days…….    It’s like clockwork… the first thing out of my mouth is .. “sorry about the mess and chaos”…   as Loosha is barking right in their faces and sniffing their crotch… kids flying by playing “box head man” and Eric coming around the corner like the sweaty beast that he is.  Not to mention I haven’t showered since Friday….. mmmmmm  can we say “ripe” ???

But close to our last load yesterday, I was fixing to head over to the other house to get last minute things, and the neighbors, Mike and Margaret were out in their driveway, and they said,, “Hey,, howbout coming over for dinner tonight?”….    It’s amazing that people know what it’s like when you’re moving. She totally knew that the LAST thing I wanted to do last night was cook a meal. And honest to God… I couldn’t handle another fast food or take out meal……    It was like divine intervention…    They made us feel so welcome to the neighborhood…..     Yah,,, I’m going to miss some of our neighbors at the old place, and probably won’t get to know too many over here because the houses aren’t as close together as they are over there……    but Mike and Margaret right next door…..     good eggs….    good peeps…..  I look forward to getting to know them better. They have a 15 year old daughter too….. S C O R E on babysitting indeed…..      When you’re neighbors…..   you hear the yelling,,, you see each other in your pajamas, you see the way someone lives. It’s priceless to have good neighbors. What’s that one saying??  You can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your neighbors?? Something like that..    We’re lucky to have them next door.

On that note,,, I better get my butt up and go unpack a box or two.  But I don’t quite know yet where I want to put everything…… know what I mean???   ugh…

Ummmm I honestly can’t sit here and recall a time in my life that I felt so out of place and confused and bewildered and lost and unorganized as I do this very moment.  1/2 my workshop is over at house A…  1/2 my office is over at house A. I’m calling the new house “House A” and this house here, where I sit, House B. It’s been hard to fathom moving from a place I love so well, but we’ve been working on house A so hard lately, that I’m in love with it, I admit it, but won’t be able to exhale until I get to wake up over there one morning and get to cook breakfast, take a shower, receive faxed orders from retailers, get online and be able to print my website orders, STAMP, assemble, ship, cook dinner and R E L A X…   My fish tanks still need to be moved over there as well…. supposedly thats supposed to happen tomorrow or Thursday.  Fax line, phone line, internet, cable etc is supposedly supposed to be hooked up tomorrow afternoon. So then I can at least move the rest of my office out. The workshop is a work in progress in itself. When you just alter one minute detail in the technique in which you stamp, it throws you for a loop. I’m going to have to get used to new lighting, new noises, just a new space in general, and that is very scary. Especially since I started this business here at house B, and have been doing it here at house B for over 5 years now..    House A has a lot going for it though, and potentially could be better than this house B, but that’s only going to take time.

My dad is currently in town, preparing to leave on Thursday to head up north/east near Idaho somewheres to go fishing with his buddy Bill.  He has only been here 24 hours and has already……   unhooked and removed the 2nd 50 gallon water heater in house B (and let me tell you how much of a pain in the ASS THAT was!!!  He’s hooked up the gas stove and new microwave at house A. Tonight he’ll be fixing the botch job on the current water heater here at house B…….    The guy blows my mind. How he knows how to do all this crap is just mind blowing. He’s got to be one of the most handiest people I’ve ever known. I can only hope to have rubbed some of my knowledge from him…. he’s a stellar guy…  and I hope he catches TONS of fish on his trip. Rusty here is “trying” to catch some fish…  he is sitting here as I type this, just glued to the fish tank next to my desk. A kitten’s head is so jolty and jerky… and just full of curiosity. He is always where I am. If I got up right now and walked out of my office, he’d follow me. I don’t know what kind of bullcrap I read about a MANX being a “man’s cat”…  he is MY cat… and I’ll admit I’m not the most feminine woman, but I’m still a woman,, and he is MY cat.  That’s ANOTHER thing I’m totally stressed about. The guy who installed the shower pan for our slate shower is also going to be cutting a nice 12″ by 12″ hole in our dining room wall over at house A so that we can install the pimped out cat door for all my babies. Rusty is just NOW getting the hang of the cat door here at house B. No more catbox. If you are a cat owner, then you know really well how FREAKED out and TWEAKED they get when you move. If one of them runs away…… oh dear me…  I’ll be devistated, and the move wouldn’t have been worth it. I’m trying to make it as easy as possible, have the entire house set up over there before we put them in the van and cart them to their new pride home. At least they’ll have a HUGE backyard to piss and shit in over there. ….   pardon my french…  but not only that,,, but they won’t have to meander around with ghetto cats. New neighborhood is wayyyyy nicer. It’s our 2nd home. We are keeping this one to rent out to some folk who are relocating here from Alabama. I think I probably mentioned that in a past blog. Who knows…  So not only are we moving…. BAMMMMM we are becoming landlords too…  I’ve always HATED that term…. “landlord”… I immediately get this vision in my head of a wizard holding a key..  swaying it back and forth….   and, quite frankly, every landlord I’ve had in my youth were totally assholes,,, so I’m trying to learn from those experiences and I’m going to try and be a good one. Maybe a wizard with a set of keys AND some flowers or something….

So daddy is downstairs napping. There are a zillion things I could be doing right now besides blogging. I’ve got a babysitter here now, watching the kids. Both kids are in camp this week. A whole whopping 4 hours of camp for Maggie everyday, and a 2 hour camp for Anders. He’s in an art camp, she’s in a treasure camp. Whatever happened to the camps where you see in the movies that you drive hours and hours and drop em off and they stay like 4 weeks??  Do they even have those anymore? I tell you what…. the minute we find one, Anders is IN LIKE FLINT!!  He’s getting on my every last nerve these last few days. And I realize that there are so many things going on in our lives that are chaotic, and he’s probably feeling a little out of place in all of the moving crap,, but man…. his mouth…  his 8 year old mouth ….  I seriously wanted to punch him in the mouth this morning. And why….. WHY???? Why do I sit there and tell him to do something and he just sits there and gives me a blank stare………….. like actually waiting for me to physically make him do something. I’ve grabbed his arms more than I’d like to admit this past week…..  and said things that I regret… right to his face. I just don’t recall being as disrespectful as he is now when I was 8. I knew there was consequence when I didn’t do what I was told…..   and while I’d like to “think” I’m consistent with punishment, so many things have been just let go this past few weeks because of the mass confusion we are all suffering from.

Funny story…. well.. not so funny.  Around the 4th…  I had a gal order a necklace like… around…. the 25th or so of June.. and she said she needed it by the 4th of July for a birthday. No biggie… I told her she would have it in plenty of time, because she lived like less that 20 miles from me. Maybe, at most, 2 postal days.  Same day, had a customer call me and request that I send her order to a gal in Las Vegas, NV as it was a rush for a birthday……   I got the two mixed up, and sent the local womans order to Las Vegas, and sent the other one to the other chick……     L A M E mistake. So today., I dug out the necessary tools to make it all better. Managed to get that squared away, along with an order for some dude in Eugene who wants to take a necklace with him to Alaska on Saturday.  I had to have my media team put a blurb on the homepage that I’m currently moving and to give me a few extra days on orders…….    I just feel like I’m going in circles. But I’ve always had a real problem in my head when I don’t get orders out w/in 3 days of receiving them …  It makes me feel dirty or something… like I’m hoarding people’s money and not doing anything about it. It states on my my website to allow 2 weeks for delivery, and I know with my moving situation, that I’ll be pegging that two week mark ,, and I just need to let it go….  I mean… I”m MOVING for cryin’ outloud….    Thank the heavens above us all that I have Neen onboard…  she’s doing all the east coasters that would inevitably take another few days….   I sent her quite a few today, because I just feel like I have no hands. My head isn’t in it.. I’m not on my A game…  too  much crap going on..     AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH bleepity bleep bleep!!!  and another thing… I didn’t re-read this one bit, and didn’t edit any spelling errors or bad sentences…..     no time….    b-(

Ahhhhhhhhhh July 4th weekend…….  life is good.  Spent most of the day yesterday between this house and the new house schlupping all of our camping crap back over here so that we can get packed. I KNOW something will be forgotten, and I’m prepared for the disappointment. When you go camping, it’s a given that you will inevitably forget something. Last year, camping with the Rich’s…. I.. um…. forgot the hamburger for the burgers AND forgot the oil for the fries. So I walked around the campground with a $20 bill in my pocket, just crossing my fingers that some prepared camper had brought extra oil… afterall… you can’t go camping and not make homemade french fries with your burgers.  Ended up paying the campground host the said 20 for her last remaining 2 cups of oil, and then proceeded to watch the old hag laugh on the way to the bank.. They weren’t very nice hosts anyway..  So we are leaving today… thru Sunday….  Camping is one of those things that I didn’t get to do at ALL as a kid, as I grew up right by a campground. I mean,,, why go camping when you pretty much live in a campground. My dad was a campground foreman for 20 years for the southern California Edison company and ran a very nice campground in the central Sierras. Yep,,, that was me and my little sister… the two toe-heads, cruising around on our banana seats taking candy from the hosts……   Everybody loved the Rosander girls ;c)  Anyways,,, back to my original thought,,, heading up the mountain with the Rich Family. Except this year, we are in the same site. Years past, we’ve always been a couple sites away from each other and the walking through others’ campsites has gotten old, so this year we are in the same lakefront site. And then…  our friend Naomi and her family are already up there at a different campground, but they’ve extended their stay and will be moving camp to be right across from us for tonight. Our other friend, Rebecca… lol….. (who has never camped before you see) will be near us as well for tonight and tomorrow night I think. She’s petrified…  says she’s going to need therapy after this weekend. Her idea of camping is camping her ass on a chaise lounge, poolside, with someone rubbing her feet.  Boy is she in for it!!  Typically we only go for two nights. And on that third day we always say,, “Okay, next year we’re booking it for three!!” and so we did this time. Camping is so much work though. Good thing, because you sleep like crap, so to be exhausted gives you that one little bit of push to just pass out.. Excited!!!

Got our house rented!!!  Boy has this been a disaster….  we had it rented to a friend of ours, who wasn’t able to afford the rent, so he found some friends (a married couple with three kids) to move in with him and cover half the rent. We were totally fine with the situation, until we discovered that the couple had been late on their rent EIGHT TIMES IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS….  no bueno..  So we had to disappoint our friend. I should’ve known better than to even think of renting to a friend…. stuff like this always turns sour,, then the friendship is in jeopardy…. ;c(  …  sucks…  he’s mad… I know he is… but we need to take care of our assets. I put it on Craigslist at about 3pm last Sunday, and had it rented by 5 pm. Craigslist is a wonderful thing…  found a nice family relocating here from Alabama. Little do they know, but they have just committed to moving into the one  house in Oregon with the best view…..  Lucky them ;c)  Nice family, and they are landlords themselves down in Alabama, maybe they can teach us a thing or two. ;c)

Pictured is Rusty…… perched atop our fish tank. He likes it up there…  it’s HIS spot. Sometimes I like to leave the hood open so that he can sit his cute butt right on the glass and watch the fish swim under him. Oh how I love my Rusty… He’s still pooping in the cat box… and that makes me sick. He’s starting to get the swing of the cat door,,, but he can’t figure out how to get back in. Which reminds me,…. we’ve still gotta figure out how the cats are going to get in n’ out at the new house…  Not looking forward to relocating my cats. They get all wigged out..    

Happy 4th of July my friends!!!  I’m off to the store to get the things that I’m sure I’ll forget…