Friday, November 20, 2009
Cider Pressing: Part I: The Concept
((or, where I talk... a lot... by way of introduction))
About a month ago, I got this... brain-type thing in my head. You see, I'm a survivalist. That means I see this country NOT recovering, and am making plans to NOT go under, if at all possible. It means I keep goats for milk in case of consumer inflation, deep well hand pump for water come should electricity become scarce or too expensive, jugs of h2o in the meantime in case of complete power outage (for flushing/washing purposes... just to name a few. ((If we go the way of Argentina or Iceland, will YOU be able to afford $20 toilet paper?)) But when you're an American and used to everything being just a jaunt to the store away, finding yourself suddenly only having goat milk and water and... erm, goat milk and water, that's kind of a harsh transition. Okay, you can brew dandelion/marigold tea, or make a vitamin-C rich tea out of pine needles, but... I mean, we're Pepsi lovers. Coke drinkers. Do YOU order milk, pine needle tea or water every time you stop at Burger King? C'mon.
Anyhow, I happen to love cider. I freeze cider in the fall so's I have some for in the bleak mid-winter, too.  And my boys LOVE apple juice, so we REALLY go thru the apple juice here at the homestead, too. ((Store-bought; that's where the jugs for the h2o come from! But again, if on-demand shopping goes south due to gas/shipping costs...)) So anyhow, I got to thinking... if you know of an orchard nearby (or have one) and have apples for SHTF... wouldn't it be nice to be able to make cider, too? It's easy to say "oh, if I had apples I'd can applesauce and apple slices and candied apples and make cider, too"... but HOW? Do you have cans? A canner? Extra lids and rings? An apple peeler? ((I thought I'd just use a handheld one - you don't KNOW how having a REAL peeler changes THAT view!)) An apple slicer/corer? And even if you do, how the heck would you squeeze/collect cider or juice? And as if that wasn't enough... if SHTF (shit hits the fan), will you have TIME to mess around getting this stuff together - IF you can find the supplies at that point? Will you have TIME to research how to make a press cheaply and efficiently, and then actually BUILD the thing? Or will necessities (heating your home/chopping wood, finding water, etc.) take too much of your time and energy?
Best to think these things thru ahead of time. During the LAST depression (1930's), most Americans lived on farms with crops, gardens, livestock, and hand tools. This depression? Only 3% of Americans live on farms, and all of their crops and livestock are handled with power equipment -  there ARE no hand tools and people will knowledge. That means 97% of the people are utterly dependent on the economy/government... and won't make it because of a lack of foresight. If the city water is shut off, where will YOU go? What will you do? If you can't afford your water bill or heating costs, will you find yourself up shit creek without a paddle?
But back to cider-making... I got to thinking. I mean, really, how hard can it be? There HAS to be a way to do it that isn't difficult. We'd gone to a big historical mill last fall (as our harvest outing) and watched them feed apples into this HUGE conveyor, use a water wheel's power to crush the apples and send the mash down a giant chute to a big rubber-matted vat, and then the water power also drove down this press the size of my van to squish out the cider. Obviously that's the old-fashioned way to do it, but it has to be able to be done on a smaller scale, right?
 That's when I did an on-line search. I found a dude who calls himself "Whizbang" and came up with a cider press that's compact, easy to build, moveable, and efficient for the home cider-er...er. And I liked his wit and spunk and ideas... but I didn't want to mess around with some of the things he had going. They seemed a little expensive - like a custom made plastic plunger and catch pan with grating cut into the heavy-duty plastic... I don't have the wherewithal for that stuff. Slatted barrel-type press... it was purty, but not cheap (and you ALLLL know how durn cheap I can be!) Besides, for his plans, you had to fork out money for an e-book. ((I don't think so!)) Cheap people don't DO that kind of thing. They take an idea and wing it. Or find a similar alternative.
 So there's this other guy, Kevin Something-or-other, and he took Whizbang's idea and not only applied it to cider-making but as a cheese press and grape juice squeezer. Frankly, you can press just about anything in this baby. AND he did it up for $35 for the press. And I thought, "WoW! That's the price tag...! Er, ticket!" His involved a 5-gallon food grade pail (which I have), an old automobile scissor jack ($4 at U-Wrench-It), and some heavy-ass wood. WAY more up my alley. But the K-ster admitted his idea didn't work - he had a whole 'nother blog entry explaining what he did wrong and why it didn't work out. So taking some of Whizbang's ideas (which included an apple grinder made of a garbage disposal and a pressing cloth made of a sheer curtain panel) and some of Kev-Som-Other's ideas (including the bucket, jack and cheapness)... we set to work.
Now, I have to explain something to you. I'm the hair-brained one in our little couple-ish unit. Brian's slow and steady, monotonous, predictable, and I'm the freakazoid who comes up with THE weirdest ideas. And of course he thinks I'm a complete lunatic that needs supression... until he gets some time to mull over the idea (<<hey, that's punny! Cider? Mull over the idea? Nevermind.))  When he gets to thinking how it might work, he gets interested. The same thing happened with the bees... he was DEAD-SET about putting up a hive. Until he thought about it, read my papers on top-bar hives, started thinking about how the supers work on a Langstrom hive... and now the man is obsessive about our bees. He has a little smoker thing, a little netty-head thing... he even has 'Beekeeping for Dummies'. Like that. Only this time, it involved moving parts. He was already fantasizing about hooking the jack up to his cordless and running the press that way. ((!! Men !!))
So we went to Menards for some heavy-ass wood, carriage bolts that would hold a semi and trailer together, and brought them home to begin the building process...
((Next: Part II: Building Our Cider Press!))
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Testing, Testing, 1-2-3
Okay, here's the skinny. I've opened a Wordpress account for the sole purpose of allowing you to comment... with moderated commenting. It's a pain in the ass, I know it. I'm TRYING to work it out so that you have a voice, that's all. I don't want to blog over there, I can't customize without paying for premium, and I already pay for premium here.
So here's what I've done: I opened an "AnnaMatrix Comments" blog, and everyday I'll post here, and at the bottom of the post I've programmed in a link to commenting at the other place. When you click on the link, it will bring you to the commenting 'site', and it should allow you to comment.
HOWEVER, being that I'm signed in and tweaking, I don't know if this actually works. In theory, it should. Theories are just theories until proven. ((And have I mentioned I'm ANGRY at Xanga for making me resort to this 'jump-thru-hoops-to-get-what-I-need' BS?)) So what I'm hoping is that you'll try it. Somebody just follow the link, see if you can post, please. Maybe it's defaultingly set to Wordpress members only - I'd have to have you tell me that. Hrm.
Let's see if we can work out the bugs and get SOMETHING set up that'll give you voice, eh?
Tids N' Tads
G'morning! I'm having a MUCH better day, already. It's stopped raining, Lydia found my clear embossing powder, we had blueberry pancakes for breakfast, the sun is trying to peek out, I got the pots all returned to the tree farm, my kitchen counters are clean and clear, and it's grocery day.
X-Mess Cards. Embossing powder? you ask. Yup. I misplaced it, and spent a long time last night looking for it, before giving up and going with the white-w/silver-glitter embossing powder, instead. ((Messier, but it worked.)) Y'see, not being on Facebook has freed up a TON of my time. Not to mention NOT having to un-virus every thirty minutes. So I got out my 'Stampin' Up' catalog (1998 edition), and started browsing the card ideas. We tried a few, just roughly, to see what worked/didn't, and decided on what to do this year. Last night I did all the measuring/calculating and cutting. Today we work on assembling them!
Birth Announcements. That's not to say I have the birth announcements done. Contraire, mes amis. But I have the design picked out for that, too, and can whip that up on Adobe today, too. Of course I don't have the picture (baby's still residing within, you know) or the information, but I can plug in other info and a different pic and swap it out later, right? At least it'll be ready and waiting!
Flouride-Free! I... can't think like medical 'professionals'. Two weeks ago I was at K-mart, looking for toothpaste with no flouride in it. Try that, sometime - it's IMPOSSIBLE to find. So I went to the pharmacist and said, "Do you know what is offered in the way of flouride-less toothpaste?" I already know they have xylitol as an all-natural replacement for it, but I didn't know if there were other alternatives. He said, "They don't make toothpaste without flouride - that's what prevents cavities." I said, "It also causes cancer in laboratory animals. But hey, at least your corpse'll have pearly whites, eh?" And walked away. Idiot. ((We went to Walgreens directly after, and they had Tom's of Maine flouride-free toothpaste (with xylitol) on sale (reg $5.49, marked down to $4.99 - AND buy one, get one half price!). And yes, I tried making my own. Anything with oil in it (olive oil, coconut oil) was a MESS - my hand slid off the toothbrush, it was so oily. Tom's'll do the trick.
Medical 'Professionals'. At my OB yesterday, the nurse said, "We have the H1N1 vaccination..." and I said, "Hell, no!" She looked startled. "Why not?" I said, "Well, it contains mercury in the form of Thimerisol, three carcinogens, and formeldehyde, among other poisonous toxins, for a start, and causes more side effects and health problems than the flu, itself." She smiled patronizingly and said, "Oh, well, that doesn't sound good, now does it?" (((!!!!!))) I... can't think like that. Then I met the new doctor, was told about the new VBAC policies and given the forms to sign "if I agree to the stipulations" (I don't, but I don't have a choice, now do I?), and I said, "It's too bad there's only one midwife in Grand Rapids that does home births (he was a little Earth Motherly and made us uncomfortable), or I'd be so out of here" and she smiled (!!) and said, "Well, now, midwifes don't do VBACs, do they?" And I said, "She surely does." I shit you not, the OB said, "Oh, she does them? That's nice!" WHERE ARE THEIR BRAINS?!
Hello, is this the Hospital? Brian wants me to call other hospitals today. He suggested three other hospitals within 30 minutes of my house. ((There are actually FIVE hospitals in that radius, believe it or not.)) It's getting a little late in the game, but he is really riled that they've put so many restrictions on patients, treating them like products instead of people. We're with a medical group that has progressively gotten less interested in people and more interested in rules. Recall I dropped our pediatrician completely, because they refused to make my kids' appointments back-to-back for me (if you cancel, there'd be too big a block of free space - nevermind I've NEVER cancelled an appointment). Among other reasons. It got ridiculous. Same medical group. I'm thinking it's time to back AWAY from this group, too. But calling hospitals...? Aiyeee.
Big Boy Bedroom! Last night Brian moved Aaron's crib to the boy's room. Aaron now gets to sleep in with the BIG boys. He's very geeked, by the way. I was hoping that would be the case, and that if we did it now, he'd adjust to it BEFORE baby came home. That he wouldn't associate the move with the new baby. I want it to be a positive thing, not a 'usurpage' that would cause him to feel jealous or 'replaced'. So this is a good thing. There's a HUGE blank spot in our room, though! ((We have to put up the infant crib, yet.)) Looks and feels REALLY weird, to say the least!
Lydia's New Computer... isn't working. I'm frustrated to DEATH with it. Apparently there's a system administrator set up on it that we can't access. But everytime we try to upload one of her games, or Adobe or something from our disks, it says "You need an administrator to do this. Please sign out and log on as administrator." We don't know who/what that is. We do know that you can't access the machine at all without typing in the user as "Pat" and his password of '123456'. I don't know how to get rid of Pat. And since he's who we use, and he doesn't have access, he's obviously not the administrator. I... can't help her. I hate it. It pisses me off. Computers in general tend to piss me off. Mostly because they're more complicated than I can handle, and NOTHING is standard. It drives me crazy. You buy a sewing machine, and they pretty much all run the same, thread the same... you buy a PC, and you're just plain screwed. Poor Lydia. All she wants to do is play Barbie Fashion Show or edit pictures on Adobe. Neither will work.
Blog Blither. I've been reading a lot about blog hosting options. From what I read, Blogger/Blogspot is Google run (meaning government involvement), so I want to steer clear of THAT. LiveJournal costs alot and offers little by way of options. The two everyone seems to like are Wordpress (.com or .org) and Typepad. Wordpress.com is for less savvy bloggers, while Wordpress.org is for programmer-level peeps. Typepad is supposedly comparable to Wordpress.com, but less flexible. From what I understand, you can import from another bloghost to Wordpress.com... very interesting to note. But I just haven't decided what route I want to go, yet. Which is okay - I'm busy with card-making and birth prep. AFTER the birth when sitting still and healing is high on my list, moving from Xanga will make me feel like I'm accomplishing while recovering. Still haven't heard from a single Xanga god. Nice service, that. Every day that passes, I get a little more upset with them.
Busy Weekend! New Moon comes out tomorrow night!! But tomorrow is bill day and tomorrow night is Shabbat and Town Day. So we're taking Lydia on Saturday - just Brian and I. My mom said she'd watch the boys for us. Lydia and I are pretty geeked - Brian's just along for the ride. My bedspreads are also in. ((They boys don't have bedcoverings, they sleep under two fleece throws, each, since they wash easier. But now that they're night-trained, I need to get them something warm to sleep under. The cheapest in the JCPenny catalog was $30 plus shipping, e-Bay has nothing that matches for any reasonable price, BUT... you can get nice new comforters from Wal-Mart on-line for $17/twin, and it's FREE SHIPPING to the nearest Wal-Mart! For a brand-new, nice looking comforter!)) I have to go pick those up, too.
Woman's Bone. Tammy Tyree says that man was made from the dust of the ground, but woman was made from bone, so she could sweep up the dust he leaves behind. I swear, it's true. Last night, Brian was irked with the kids for not taking care of something the way they should've after they used it. POT-KETTLE-BLACK!! I went down last night to get ingredients from our stash for homemade chicken pot pie stew, and he's been stacking the food prep purchases PELL-MELL all over the place. I had to dig out the mixed veggies from under chili and big cans of tomato sauce and bags of popcorn... what the heck?!?!?!? I'm STILL peeved that it's been four days and he hasn't rinsed out the cider making tubs - they're sticky and piled in the tiny bathroom. ((I'd asked him to put them in the tub after we were done with the press, and I'd spray them out while they were wet. He ignored me and stacked them in the mudroom to dry/cake overnight, and the ONLY reason they ended up in the bathroom is cuz I lugged them there as a HINT to him that it was now HIS job since he didn't listen)). Bah. Half the messes in this house are instigated by THAT man...!! How he manages, I don't know - he's hardly here! He must set to work on screwing shit up the moment he walks in the door. Drives me crazy.
The Man's M.O. Well, it's all clear now how he's going to play this overtime thing, now, too. It's "oh, I've WORKED all DAY and I just can't GET off the SOFA!" when he gets home. The kids missed you, could you be with them? Oh, they can come see me over here. You could come help Lydia and I cut squares for these cards and be with us... I've WORKED all DAY... I couldn't POSSIBLY count squares or heave myself up... Bah. I should've known this was going to be how he'd play it. Home two hours before their bedtime (half hour of that being supper), and he's got to head into the shitter for 20 minutes... I'm mad just thinking about it.
Tub Turn-off. A week ago I gave up the hot (warm) tub - I think I lost part of my plug, and don't want to hurt the baby. But I promised the kids Daddy would take them in the hot tub before we turned it down. ((We won't use it til January or so, so he was going to just turn it down to 50-ish for that time, save electricity.)) Well, he hasn't bothered, so yesterday I opened it up to check the water level and prep it for him to go in (even if I had to SHOVE him in the tub with them), and it was EMPTY. ((!!)) So Lydia and I got the hose in it and started filling it, and water was just pouring out the back. So either a hose came loose or there's a leak - a big one. I turned off the power at the breaker box. Secretly? I'm kind of glad it's 'broke' and empty. Not heating it at all is WAY cheaper than keeping it filtering/warm while not using it. OTOH, broken things aren't kewl, either.
PhotoShopping! Oh, y'know what else I've been up to...? ((Aside from catching up on reading your blogs?)) I FINALLY got around to editing some pictures. This means I can do my cider press post coming up here in a few days! I've been editing by event: putting up the tree, leave-pile jumping, etc. Smaller chunks to work on at a time, that way. You know what they say about how you eat an elephant.
ANYHOO... I've talked a lot. Got things to do. Places to go, stuff to accomplish. So I'll let you go. If anyone knows anything about Typepad or Wordpress, would you message me? I'd love to hear your take on things. I know SoNOTCool uses Typepad and Xanga, both, but I don't know of anyone who uses WordPress...
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Changes, Changes...
... always with the changes.
I have decided to completely stop accessing my Facebook account. As of yesterday, I stopped reading the feed and posting on my profile, and this morning I spent an hour deleting pictures, fan listings, applications (DVD, Books, Notes, Photos, Inbox, Subscriptions, etc.). I have even removed the shortcut from my toolbar - I'm not going back. So please don't 'friend' me, don't leave messages there.. I won't get them. Yesterday alone FaceBook redirected me THREE times to adware sites against my will, and I contracted two viruses. I've NEVER had the virus trouble I've had since my one-year experiment with having a FaceBook account. It took two hours to get rid of the bugs, and I don't have the time for that. And it's been a non-stop MESS for the entire year I've been there. Not something I want or need to deal with. So it's over.
I was trying to be patient with Xanga and wait until they responded to me, first. You see, I *need* moderated commenting here. It's not a matter of want. I know that FaceBook was how you were able to talk to me, and now that I've closed that venue, there's no communication line. Because I cannot open comments up again here at Xanga. Not even just to users, because the christian bitches just create Xanga accounts as fast as I can block them. I don't WANT to go private - that's not how I operate - this site has always been available for everyone to read/access, and that's not going to change. I just want control over what is seen here - including comment content. There's no reason I'm paying for service and have no control. I'm angry about this.
And because Xanga isn't communicating with me one way or another, this is fast becoming a problem for me, too. It really sucks, because I've been loyal ten years. I know it's unfair that you're silenced, but there's Xanga messaging - you can leave messages whenever you'd like... but I'm the only one who can read them, so it's of no benefit to anyone else. At this point, it's all I can offer. Thank the christian bitches. And thank Xanga. Or better, bug them to death until they facilitate moderated commenting. Because until I find a new blog-host site or hear from a Xanga god, no one will be able to talk to me. I can't help that. I wish I could.
I... am having some extreme issues right now in other areas, too. I had an OB appointment this morning, and was told that there are new regulations for VBAC deliveries, for 'the protection of the hospital, doctors, and patients'. We must have as many rules as possible, restrict the patient as much as possible, right? So the news is that you have to sign a waiver in order to have a VBAC delivery. This waiver states that - upon admission to the hospital - you WILL have your bag of water broken and they will immediately insert internal monitoring 'for your safety'. ((It's control, plain and simple.)) In other words, you will NOT be allowed to walk. You will NOT be allowed in a jacuzzi tub to relax the muscles. You will - in essence - be strapped down to a bed like a turtle on its back for the duration, hooked permanently to monitors. Lovely, isn't it? And if you do not sign the waiver, you will not be allowed to deliver vaginally. The only other option is cesearian surgery. Which, of course, requires another waiver form (not to mention costs three times as much).
I'm REALLY angry about this. But 'that's the new policy', they don't 'have a choice' (or so they tell you. They're liars... corporate policy is something the doctors would be included in when the decisions were made.) Anyhow, I've delivered VBAC three times with no complications (that weren't doctor/nurse induced), so I don't see why there's a need for these 'regulations', but I don't have a choice, now do I? Aside from the Mother-Earth Midwife we weren't comfortable with.
OTOH, there's ALWAYS a way around it. Simply put, I have NO intention of going into the hospital until the baby's crowning, quite frankly. They can't stop me from being up and moving, from soaking in warm water, from walking to help move along the contractions if I'm not there. Heck, I can just do laps around the parking lot, if I so choose, as long as I'm not admitted. And I have NO intention of admitting myself until I'm good and ready. They can have control ONLY WHEN I GIVE IT TO THEM. And there's not a damn thing they can do about it.
In other news, Brian's bosses have made some very bad decisions and took on more work than they can handle with deadlines they can't meet. The customers aren't happy. And the owners are asking Brian (and everyone else) to work as many hours as possible. People are - as a result - working 14 hours a day at his shop... and he isn't. And I'm afraid of that. We can't have him lose his job, and he's not being flexible because he feels guilty about not being here for me and the kids.
Yes, somehow I've become the excuse for him not pulling his weight with overtime. It doesn't seem to be a problem for the other guys - they don't appear to have real familial relationships (or at least give a shit about them, anyhow). And Brian says their wives are spendthrifts that they have to keep up with... for example his co-worker Rick's wife just called a plumber and paid $900 for a new water heater that Rick could've fixed with replacement parts for a fraction of that cost... so Rick has to keep up with her expenditures. But the excuses don't change the fact that they asked him to work as many hours as possible, and he's digging in against it. That's not a good thing. They're talking full day Saturdays and possibly Sundays, too. It's not forever. And yes, it's a terrible time - it's the holidays, it's two weeks from my childbirth... which I think the bosses have just realized, and are VERY upset about. (Not having Brian there is tantamount to catastrophe). But the baby, the kids and I can't be the excuse for him not complying. We can't - the job is too important. If the economy were any different, if things were any different, if it were even three years ago I would've been glad to have Brian wanting to be here instead of working... I would've danced for joy. He's NEVER put us ahead of work before now. And now, the irony...! But it's not a good time to develop a chivalrous, familial streak. Yes, I've been griping for one for over a decade, but now is bad timing. You don't bite the hand that feeds you.
And... okay, I'm wrestling with myself, because yes it would be nice to have him here to help me more instead of less. But I have a terribly bad feeling about it. Something's wrong, and I'm not sure what. And it's putting me in panic mode. On top of that, he got a call last night from someone outside the shop who'd heard rumors that things aren't going as smoothly as they're putting across. ((And considering the late-job/over-extended issue, that's not good.)) So I'm a little worried. Not a LOT - the owner is incredibly brilliant, just over-eager, and he can turn things around easily and quickly, but still...
Anyhow... just stuff. Not fun stuff. Stuff that's troubling and restrictive and not working out the way I need it to. And I just needed to vent a little about it all.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Birth Announcements
According to Miss Manner's book of... erm, manners (or something like that), it's protocol for people to throw you showers when you have your first baby - to prepare you for life with a child in it. I really appreciated it when my workplace threw us a shower and pitched in for the pack-n-play portable crib... we've used it ten years, running - when camping, at Great Wolf Lodge, even out in the yard to keep baby nearby and up off the ground/dry/clean/safe. I really appreciated it when the church I was pianist for threw us a shower and pitched in for a high chair - That thing has stuck in there with us thru thick and thin, and has been in constant daily use for a decade!
But after that first baby, the showers are over. And the way you let people know about your blossoming family is by sending out announcements every time you have another child. EVERYONE knows when the first baby comes. Lydia was showered and showered and showered (my side, his side, work, church, theatre, country dance gang, etc.). But how would anyone know about the other babies? My theatre group has a quarterly newsletter with a "Grapevine" column for announcements, but the past THREE babies, they've botched the information. (That's if they bothered to include it at all.) I'm of the mind that this is not the way to go, anymore, and don't plan on submitting the information this time. I'd rather do announcements to those I care about.
And of course me being me, I make my own announcements. The local paper store where we used to live had 'scrap' colored paper squares for 10-cents a piece (about forty squares!), so I bought some, and saved them over the years. Here are the boys' announcements (so far!):
 For those of you who've stamped before, you'll know what I mean when I say I 'VersaMarked' the footprints on the background card. ((For those of you who don't, VersaMark is a clear colored stamping ink... it simply makes whatever you're stamping show up a little darker by 'wetting' the paper.)) I also used vellum for the top layer - BAD idea, the adhesive showed thru. Names blanked out, of course.  Plain black cardstock pieces, and I use MS Word to do the picture/info that gets taped atop the cardstock. This year it was classic, clean lines, no fuss, very nice, but kind of boring, too, eh?  The last time, I wanted something a little different. So I went to an on-line announcement site, found one that I liked, and copied the announcement with 'Save As'. Then I took it to Adobe, plugged in my picture over theirs, plugged in my data with the text feature where theirs had been, and then mounted it on the remaining black cards I had leftover from Ethan's announcements. Still black n' white (because I don't buy color cartridges for my printer)... but a little cuter and more appealing to the eye, don't you agree? So in the next six weeks, a LOT of things are happening. There's thanksgiving, family X-mess pictures, the birth of the baby, Brian's surgery, X-mess shopping, the 8-crazy nights of Hannukah, X-mess, holiday cookie baking, card making for X-mess, writing up the annual family newsletter, Santa Claus parade, working on our family craft (presents to be given away), follow-up doctor appointment, a craft show (since we're not doing Bronner's, Rockford, or Crossroad Village this year), and New Years. All in six weeks!! And did I mention adjusting to the new baby in the midst of all this? It's going to be just jam-packed, insane, amazingly busy! And note that I didn't mention baby announcements in that. ((wink!)) That's be cause ' the time is here, the time is now'! I don't have time to waste between projects. And now that the kids' annual birthday party is done (that was THIS weekend's crazy endeavor!), I'm on to the next thing: baby announcements. Ironically (haha), discomfort in bed has me getting up at about 4am every day, now. That is the perfect time to get on-line and browse baby announcement sites for ideas. But I'm limited... I'm down to caramel colored (or light grey marbled) cardstock squares. And I don't want something ink-intensive... and whatever I do, it has to be compatible with a black-n-white photo and information, since (again) I don't buy colored ink. So here are the five ideas I'm considering (found at www.tinyprints.com): Unlike the previous ones I've done, this first one is off-center, which is kewl. I can stamp a design along the sides and it'd be kewl, but the inset would still have to be either light grey or white with black writing. Still, it's eye-catching. Or I could opt for centered like this pink one, still do the stamping on the cardstock, and have the information in the middle. Hrm... thinking, thinking...   These two are different - I'd do little pictures of feet/hands on the bottom and a larger rectangular picture of the baby on top (instead of four squares, two squares n' a rectangle). Then cut them all out, mount them... I don't know, it would be different and fun and kewl looking, but a little more work intensive. But I think I like this idea best - the 'pistachio'. OTOH, another very different idea is 'Timothy' - where I'd take the baby picture to PhotoDeluxe, make an oval... no, y'know, there's not much room in the blurb for information... Hrm.  This is the other one I REALLY like... but the drawback is that it's ink-intensive. Dat's a lotta black, y'know? OTOH, I really like black. And I could make the writing bigger. And it's not like I'm sending out a bumper-crop of these, anyhow. My list of family to send them to is miniscule, and I just post it on my website/Facebook for everyone else. I don't know... I think for me, it's between 'Pistachio' and 'Avery'... What do you think? (Click to enlarge, btw.) ((commenting at FaceBook.)) ((Until I can get moderated commenting here.)) ((Which might be a complete impossibility.)) ((But I don't know - Xanga won't tell me.)) (( I NEED OFF FACEBOOK NOW!!!)) Anyhow, I'm working on figuring out birth announcements...
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