Month: February 2026

Gifts All Around

by CZeitler

Today’s Temperature is 1, and with windchill it is -19. Tomorrow the high is 10 with a low of -10. It is too cold to snow, which means that I do not have to worry about shoveling for a couple of days. That is not my happy thoughts for the day, though it is good news.

Through my weaver’s guild I was notified of a loom that a woman had from her late husband that she was looking to re-home. She only wanted someone to pick it up, or the fee for shipping it. At first I thought that I would be able to pick it up, however my lovely sister pointed out that 13 hours each way over a day and a half was stupid and would take almost as much gas money as shipping. I thought I would have to pass it by, though I let my aunt know that the quilt she had commissioned me to finish was ready to be shipped out. She paid me much more than I asked, so I had the funds to get the loom shipped to me. This means that I have to get enough room in my first floor cleared out to fit the loom. I have been trying to get my home organized, however this is also helping me face the fact that I may have to destash some of my items to make room for new blessings. The photo of the loom that the widow sent me is below:

This has been the coldest winter since I have moved to this part of Western New York, I grew up about 90 minutes east and it was a very different experience. My low slung hybrid car does not like this much cold and slush, which stinks because she is only a few years old. I am very fortunate that I have a cousin that is purchasing a new car so she wondered if I knew anyone that could use her old one. Originally I said that my sister could use her old one, since she does not have a car at all, however, since then I have noticed how much trouble my car has going the one house-length from my driveway to the main road. I have asked my cousin if I can take her car, my sister can have my car, and we should all have safe transportation. My cousin agreed so we are just waiting for the transfer to happen.

Traditionally February has been a really bad month for me. In 2009 I was supposed to go dress shopping because I was going to stand up in my best friends wedding. We were going to meet my sister, then brother, in a city half way between where they lived and my home, and have a great lunch. Instead my sibling had to make the drive all the way to my home because my dad had passed away without warning. After that year bad things always seemed to happen in February, mom got sick, I wound up in the ICU, our Balcony fell down, etc. This year, that I am approaching with gratefulness for my blessings and family, is going better. I know, it is still early, however, I believe that if I am thankful for what I have, and willing to ask for help when I need it, well, we will see.

All in all, I am healthy, warm, I have a safe place, transportation, food, and blessings coming my way. Tomorrow is the superbowl, which I do not care about at all except that there are some sales that I have the opportunity to take advantage of, and I am almost caught up on my bills.

I hope that you count your blessings and remember to Live Life A Little More Abstract!

Tumbling Along

by CZeitler

Summer of 2024 I discovered within a 30 minute drive of where I am there is a beautiful public beach on Lake Erie. I went down there several times that summer to pick up rocks, float around in the water, and just have so much fun. I usually went in the very early morning to see the sunrise and enjoy the beach before many people arrived since I am very self-conscious and enjoy nature while alone. I did not have too much time in 2025 to go to the beach, too many funerals, visits to family, and other commitments.

One of my pleasures while on the beach is collecting ‘pretty rocks’. I know very little about rocks, geology, and the like. In this one aspect of my hobbies, I have decided to remain oblivious. I can usually recognize quartz and sea glass, the rest are simply pretty rocks. Someone did tell me that the red rocks are likely pieces of brick from structures that have deteriorated. Some of these rocks have been added as decoration to my front garden and others have been sitting in bags on my front porch. I did some tumbling in 2024, however I then let my tumbler sit with sludge and rocks for about a year.

Recently I decided to take a look at the tumbler barrels to see if they were salvageable. After dumping the contents out, I was able to put a couple of spoons of borax in the barrels with water and the stones that had been in there. After running the barrels for 2 weeks I emptied everything out and the stones are ready for stage 1. It is possible that I had them on stage 2-3 last time, however I am setting everything back to stage 1 for this next go. I added in some new rocks, made sure that the barrels are quite full to prevent bruising, 3 teaspoons of 60-90 Silicone Carbide from the Rock Shed, and they are ready to go for a week. This is a tumbler from Harbor Freight, I have not had any problems with it yet.

Remember to Live Life a Little More Abstract!

Starting Something New

by CZeitler

I absolutely love playing with beads, usually I cannot get patterns, designs, colors, or anything else to work together. Yesterday, after I finished what I hoped to get done for the weekend, I decided to put “And That’s Why We Drink” youtube channel streamed onto my TV and play around with some beads that I have on hand. I created some center pieces for necklaces, beaded onto wire, with some wire links on either side to lengthen the necklace. I am debating adding some chain to both sides of the back of the necklace along with a lobster clasps to make an adjustable necklace.

This has been so much fun, I forgot how much fun it can be to just play with color. This was a great reminder that I do not need to complete a whole project in one sitting, I can make pieces and parts to put together in a finished piece later. I did make a bunch of finished pieces over the course of 3 days, however.

I decided that since I wanted to play with crimp beads and flexible wire I would make some hair accessories. All but one of these is made with semi-precious stone chips while the last is made from glass beads. I love how these turned out, from the crown of my head these brush my shoulder. I have thin hair so I will not make a good model, I am debating purchasing a wig and head to show these off, or seeing if someone will wear them for me.

This was the absolute best weekend for me to spend exploring, experimenting, and just enjoying the process. Remember to Live Life a Little More Abstract!