So here is the hubby – petting the big blue bear!

Today’s task – Your View Today

After a couple discussions with friends and my mom – i was convinced that i should just pull up my big girl panties and go and have fun.

Not wanting to disrupt the initial friendship that connected me to this gal, i figured i should make the best of it.

My other friend that I was dragging with, was game for whatever I wanted to do – she is such a good sport!

Some emails were exchanged with the gal setting up the event where i asked about bringing a table. See, once i start making cards, i’m like an addict and i hate to put my toys away to just pull them out the next day… So I wanted to bring my 6 foot table, but would settle for my card table, and leave everything out and ready!

Luckily the owner of the home had a card table I could use. Well that was cool!

Then my dear friend that I was dragging into this mess, also indicated that she would need a table. A response came back saying there was a big kitchen table, and a breakfast bar and a coffee table – sounding pretty cool… and then that response ended with…  By the way the condo is on the 3rd floor so you’ll have to schlep whatever you bring up 3 flights…

That was indeed the final straw.

My stuff is mostly based on paper. Paper in a group is heavy. Paper tools in a group are heavy…

I have a 4 draw cubby that my dad had to reinforce years ago with super thick plywood and real casters, non of those crappy black plastic wheels..  When i move this thing by myself i usually take out the draws…  (i have so many toys in this thing, just in case i want something, it’s in there, stamp pads, corner cutters, stickers, fancy special paper, glue, paint, and on and on it goes)

And then i have another little cubby with just paper and a paper cutter and a sticker maker and basically i have a bulky hobby.

I know it. I still love it!

I could surely pare it down for a weekend away, but really if i had the time to pare it down and figure out what i wanted to do for my craft weekend, then i wouldn’t need a craft weekend! I like to have options!

So – long story longer…  I declined that weekend and started my own, at my house!

I have no rules, just come and craft, or chat or whatever (ok, well no kids)

Bring something to eat for dinner Saturday night. I’ll over cook – like i always do, so everyone knows they wont go hungry.

We do mani-pedis if we want, we’ll watch chick flicks, we’ll chat, and snack and eat and enjoy each other’s company!  (oh and drink wine too!)

But, yes, i took my ball and went home!

I think it will be a fun time and hope to get some cool output form 2 full days of crafting!

I used to be a “potter”. I picked up the hobby from a friend i met in spain. I met this friend on a summer spent there during college. This hobby gave us something to do together, brought in another friend from work and she and I are still friends…  That was 1995…

I spent years in community schools doing my thing, creating my stuff.

I finally got my own wheel in 2000. So i could make my stuff when i wanted to, on my own schedule, early morning, late night etc. I would just then transport to community schools to get it fired.

I got my own studio in 2003 – my very own tuff shed with a split door!

I finally got my own kiln in 2004-ish. So then i didn’t have to bother with community school any more – ever!

I moved to colorado in 2005 and hubby and I built out the basement of our home to be my new studio with all my stuff.

We moved to Downtown denver in 2007 and basically i only fired the kiln once to finish up some pieces that were 1/2 done, and i haven’t felt the desire or need or want to do anything with clay since.

So, do i finally after 4 years of dust settling on my supplies get rid of it all and say my hobby has run it’s course?

The other half of the coin, glass or what have you, was what do i do with all the stuff i make. It was terribly hard to make a living at it or even break even. Craft shows just burned my butt cause everyone would say oh- how pretty and walk on to buy a hand painted tea pot …

I couldn’t compete with that and it took a whole weekend away from me to sit and be miserable.

Etsy has just too many items on it to be able to sell… so i just had boxes boxes of my wonderful pottery with nothing to do with it (mom and my sister always look forward to receiving it and still do – there are still about 4 rubber maids filled with stuff)  Every wedding, shower etc would receive my hand picked, hand created item… but not everyone is into that kind of stuff. I would hate to see where some of it ended up… so i don’t ask!

I recently had a friend ask about the kiln, and if i was willing to part with it. She had a friend who is looking to obtain one.

So do i hold onto this relic, hoping some day i’ll feel the desire to create in clay again, or do i let it go, passing on the gift of being able to create at home to another more willing and interested in it, at the moment than I.

I found a neat trick to separating a single column into first name and last name – or basically first word in column from the rest!

I found it on a blog called Excel Hints what a concept eh?  Better subscribe to that blog right quick!

Basic formula:

Example

Cell A1 contains the full name “John Smith”

First Name Formula: =LEFT(A1,FIND(” “,A1)-1) – this will return “John”.

Last Name Formula: =RIGHT(A1,LEN(A1)-FIND(” “,A1)) – this will return “Smith”.

————————

So simple, elegant and totally useful!

Now, i need something as easy to separate a full address…  I’m a noob at macro’s – some day i’ll go to a training class or sit down and learn it… now where is my bucket list – let me add this to it!

Happy Birthday to a wonderful man!

Cheers to many more wonderful years to enjoy!