Appreciation

Summer Opportunities

by CZeitler

Summer tends to lend itself to a wide variety of opportunities. To spend time outside, gardening, visiting the beach, and so much more. There are also a wide variety of learning opportunities available, some of which are free online. I am not affiliated with, nor do I endorse any of these courses. There are opportunities to ‘upgrade’ these courses for a fee, which I am not affiliated with, nor do I endorse.

From August 10th to the 18th there will be a Craft Discovery Summit, https://masteryroute.com/crafts/

September 21st-28th will be a Quilter’s Paradise Summit that you can register to be notified about: https://masteryroute.com/quilters-paradise-waitlist/

November 9-16 there will be a Needlework Paradise Summit that you can register to be notified about: https://masteryroute.com/needlework-waitlist/

HobbyScool also has a lineup of seminars and retreats, all digital, that you can find here: https://www.hobbyscool.com/

The upcoming classes are:

August 18-20 Back to Creativity Summit

September 15-17 Art of Handmade

October 15-17 Festive Fall Workshop Series

November 10-12 Elves’ Workshop Summit

December 15-17 Create and Reflect Retreat

Get Organized HQ does also tend to have a free fall event that I have found worth attending in the past.

If you are looking to ‘up’ your skills with paid courses there are too many for me to mention in this blog post. I will attempt to add some into future posts.

Learning opportunities can take many different forms, borrowing a book from your local library or guild, finding free online courses or youtube videos, attending a retreat or major conference, or taking time to talk with friends that share your passion. Not all learning has to be expensive if you are open to it! That being said, do not take those with experience for granted either. Attending a conference with world renowned artists is well worth the $3-5,000 it costs for room, board, other opportunities, and the chance to learn in person from an expert teacher is an opportunity not to be missed. In addition if you have the option to learn from an individual instructor then they should be compensated fairly. No matter your level, skill, and financial means you should be able to find learning opportunities for you!

Remember to Live Life a Little More Abstract!

Too Much, Too Soon

by CZeitler

This past weekend was busy, though it could have gone much worse. Friday I missed half of staff development day, with the directors approval, and my sister and I made the 11 hour drive to where my cousin and uncle live. We got there about midnight, and were up the next morning to attend the funeral, graveside service, and memorial lunch. We did a little bit of shopping and were back in time to get invited to a family pizza fest. We ducked out of that a little early and crashed hard. The next morning we woke early to catch a cousin we had not seen in a long time, then crashed a bit more before we had to pack up, check out, and attend a lovely brunch to commemorate the family. Much was made of the little banner things I made, I hope they truly enjoyed them. There were so many people I only got a few minutes with my uncle and cousin, however I did get to spend time with family I had not seen in a while.

I also found out that another cousin was engaged to be married, I have never seen him happier than he is with his fiance. I am looking forward to seeing the family again in June for (yet another) cousin’s wedding. I love being a part of a large family, I do need to save up a bit to give them a wedding present.

We drove home on Sunday, getting there about 1am Monday. I had an appointment to get a tooth pulled at 9:30 am, which we made. It was fascinating as I swear I was only out for five minutes, but it turns out the procedure took 30 minutes. I did spend the rest of the day sleeping instead of the shopping trip my sister thought we would be taking. My supervisor had scheduled me to come back on Wednesday since I am going to be working this Saturday. I really appreciate that since I was not up to much on Tuesday.

Today is Wednesday, I am not sure if I am reacting to the surgery and antibiotics or if I have the cold that was going around work last week. Either way I seem to have a runny nose, and a slightly dry/sore throat. Plans are always shifting here. Originally I was going to attend Maryland Sheep and Wool festival, then go on to H&H Americas. Then I chose to do a car shuffle with my cousin, sister, and myself. That meant that longer trips were off the table for a bit. After that I cut my vacation in half, however, I was going to go south east to help my cousin, that I did the car shuffle with, because her dad was having a procedure. The procedure was pushed back a week, so I am not needed, and I feel slightly like garbage so I do not know if it is a good idea for me to take the trip for a visit.

My cousin who lost her mom asked for me to distract her with a quilt I will be making her, I sent and email and hope to make progress on that. At present, if I am feeling better by next Tuesday I plan on visiting my cousin for Wednesday through Friday, leave early Saturday so I can swing by and change cars with my sister, then sleep on Sunday. I think that this would be the easiest way to not feel like I am missing out on anything and still give myself a little time to figure things out. On the other hand, if I still feel like something ran me over I will probably skip everything and sleep my time off away.

Until next time remember to Live Life a Little More Abstract!

Living for the Day

by CZeitler

I am very lucky. I make sure to remind myself of that frequently as it is too easy to take things for granted. I have a paycheck that covers my bills with a little left over for things like food, gas, and crafting materials. I am not rolling in it, if I want to do a big weaving project I will need to save up and the same if I want to take a bigger trip.

I was thinking today that I should start creating materials to sell online for Pride in June. I tend to stick too close to the actual holidays to create for them, for example I tend to start making for Halloween in September, when I should be creating in April. December crafts should be started in June, etc. Right now I want to make things for spring, however they would likely not be finished until summer. That caused me to come to a realization. I do not need to.

My online store, which almost never has anything in it because etsy takes such a huge chunk out of any profits, was started when I was in a really tight financial bind. I have taken appropriate steps since then and no longer find myself in that immediate situation. Since I work in a non-profit field I am still living paycheck to paycheck, however I am not living off of rice, beans, and chicken 20 out of 31 days a month. This caused me to realize that I can, once more, create items that I would like to create instead of thinking about what might sell. Admittedly I did not have much success with that anyway, but the thought is there.

I do have some family members that commission me for different projects, and I have the opportunity to teach two classes later this spring, however I can use the profits for those to support my creative journey and/or pay down some things like my car and mortgage.

I am going to take the rest of this year to remind myself that I can enjoy my life, I do not have to spend money all the time, I do not have to worry about my roof, transportation, or food, so I am very lucky. This spring and summer I will concentrate on my creativity, garden, family, and going to the beach when I can. My life is so full, I am so lucky, and I get to help people every day I work in one way or another. Being a librarian sounds like a dull job, I understand that.

Every time we have a new security guard, yes a public library needs a security guard, they are surprised at how much work they have. Since we allow everyone in, no matter their history, and they can stay as long as they follow our expected behaviors. We have computers, so there are people searching for jobs and apartments, trying to create or update their resumes, searching for information, genealogical history, and so much more. People are learning how to use a 3-d printer or getting items printed. Sometimes they are trying to search out medical information, how to build things, wire things, repair cars, garden, take Civil Service Tests and so much more. We have fiction books on all different topics, a robust e-book and e-audio book collections, Young Adult, and periodicals (magazines). I need to have a working knowledge of our collection, the programs we offer, and all different aspects of the library. I am in charge of most of the collection development so I need to know what our patrons are looking for and what is currently hot, I do some programming, and I spend about half of my time on one of the service desks. I love my job, I love every aspect, even the problematic patrons, and staying busy. I cannot imagine working in a different field. Hopefully I can get back to reading, as I do not spend enough time reading and enjoying getting lost in a story.

I need to remember to Live Life in a way that is A Little More Abstract. Don’t take myself too seriously, and enjoy each day as it comes.

Expensive Lessons Cont.

by CZeitler

So I have an update on my expensive lesson. I did some checking on the website that the package is supposed to be delivered from and found another story that is almost identical to mine. https://www.scampulse.com/out-of-country-order-not-delivered-reviews

Due to this, I have reported the company to the Better Business Bureau, asked Venmo to mark the charge as a scam and refund me the money if at all possible. I have sent a warning out to the guild that I received the email through, as well as messaging the Handweaver’s guild of America, Craft industry alliance, and putting a post on Facebook. One of the guild members I emailed let me know that another guild had been emailed the offer so I asked her to pass on the message that it was a scam. I cannot find a single positive review of this company other than the ones on their own website. I also cannot find other people stating that they were scammed by this company other than the one above. From what I can tell that likely means that few people are falling for this, or few people are reporting them. I hope that this can get resolved in my favor, more than that I hope that no one else falls for a scheme like this.

I am not going to let this bring my day down, I had a lovely time with my cousins this weekend and look forward to my next visit.

Remember to Live Life a Little More Abstract!

Totally Off The Wall

by CZeitler

In response to absolutely nothing, I decided that I want to try the new Starbucks Snacks. I will confess that this is a rare luxury for me, they are often too expensive for me to justify. But with a coupon I was able to try all of the treats I wanted and get a strawberry shortcake frappuchino for under $20. I am so happy that I decided to try these, this way I do not feel as though I am missing out on anything. The Frappuchino was nothing too special, I prefer the strawberry frosty from wendy’s.

I tried the Cinnamon Apple Pull Apart Muffin next. If you are looking for something like a pull-apart bread in a smaller form…with just a hint of sweetness…and no apple that I could find, then this might be a good choice for you. I was especially excited to try the Dubai Chocolate Bite, since I have seen the bar everywhere for about $20.

This pastry was a strong chocolate flavor with a very pretty green cream inside. I enjoyed the slight crunch of the filling. I tried, but I was not able to taste much of the pistachio that made up the filling, for a crunchy chocolaty treat with a little something extra this is a good buy.

Admittedly I was surprised by the Cookie Croissant Swirl. It is everything that you want from a croissant with just a little hint of sweetness and the occasional crunch of the cookie topping. I am so happy that I tried this, if I was craving a croissant this would get me about 85% of the way there.

Yuzu Citrus Blossom is something that I was really looking forward to trying since I love Ponzu Sauce with Yuzu in it. This was just amazing! The pastry was delightfully crispy and flakey with a lovely citrus filling. I don’t know how to describe Ponzu to someone that has not tried it, it is something like the sweetness of mandarin with a tiny bit of lemon/lime sour. If I were to get another pastry this is one that I would seriously consider.

The Strawberry Matcha Loaf is so exciting! The beautiful green and pink swirls in the cake with a lovely pink frosting on top. This may be worth getting just because it is so pretty. The taste was just lovely! More strawberry than matcha for sure, the strawberry frosting was very strong in strawberry flavor and bites with that overwhelmed everything. The pound cake like base was lovely, a good crumb, buttery, and not at all dry.

There are two in the lineup that I did not try, the berry blondie and the chocolate pistachio loaf. They both look good, again I think that the chocolate would overwhelm the pistachio, and blondies to not often appeal to me.

Expensive Lessons

by CZeitler

I postponed my trip to visit my cousin so that I could be home to receive the delivery of the ‘new to me’ loom. I had emailed the delivery company to check when it would be delivered so that I could figure out whether I would leave a day late or come back a little early. I paid a particular fee to have this item shipped. There was no indication that anything additional would be required. Now that the item is in my town, they are saying: “Okay, we will deliver the item once you pay this surcharge of almost the same as what you paid the first time.”

My response to this is, I do not have the funds, I was not told that this is a requirement, and if push comes to shove, I did not sign anything saying that I would pay you any money. At this point I am very saddened that I have lost the money, the loom is likely to be destroyed, and I feel as if this moving company is operating under false pretenses. I am going to try to look on the bright side of things, I was still able to pay for my mortgage this month, my next paycheck will cover my car loan payment, and I am lucky all around. I used this time to clean the floor of my room off, I hid the threads on my aunt’s quilt, I also managed to get my sink plunged so I can do dishes.

I am going to not purchase items that require shipping from individual sellers from now on, at least if they are very large items. The widow is trying to help out, but I cannot meet her half-way as I would prefer. I’m going to take this as a sign that this is not the time for me to be adding to my loom family, but to use up much of what I have.

I hope that everyone has a good weekend, and remembers 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!

Everything for a Reason

by CZeitler

Talk about being blessed by my family and friends. Friday after the library closed I dropped a colleague off at home, it was an ice storm, and went home. While curling up for bed I was surprised I did not hear my very loud heater, I checked the temperature of the house…it was 10 degrees below where it was set to. I called in a company for emergency service, they were very nice. It turns out I need a new heater, the current one is over 20 years old and they will not fix it. I had just been denied a credit consolidation loan on Friday, and I do not meet the age requirements for HERR or HEAP heating assistance. I put up a go fund me, and within an hour one of my family members had donated and another used their credit card to pay for my new heater. Since I used the last of my money to pay for the emergency visit my sister forwarded me the money to pay for a small space heater, 1500 watts does not heat very far so it is helping by keeping my house at about 50 degrees. I have had several family members checking on me, making sure I have the water running so my pipes don’t freeze, and I am so blessed by the support I have around me. It is fascinating that in the spring 50 is toasty, in December it is too cold to do much around the house. I turn my stove on a couple of times a day to add some extra heat to the house, and my heater is supposed to be installed Monday or Tuesday. I have to get through today and tonight, mostly curled up and napping truthfully to stay warm, then Monday I either stay home to get my furnace installed or bring the space heater upstairs while I shower for work.

I am very blessed, while I am not starting 2026 how I thought, I will have a new heater, ability to pay off a couple of my cards, catch up on bills, and tangible knowledge that I have people and deities looking out for me. His plans might not be what I desire, however they are always what I need. I wanted to get more presents ready to go this weekend, instead I am napping and appreciating the family and friends I have around me.

Remember to Live Life a Little More Abstract, and count on Him and His Blessings.

Happy Holidays

by CZeitler

I hope that everyone has a very Happy Holiday Season whatever you celebrate. I’m still packing up presents for family, however I wanted to share some of the ornaments I decided to make this year. I love how quick and fun the jingle bell ornaments are, the bells can also be said to scare away evil spirits. The gingerbread people were so much fun to add faces to, and the trees have such fun sequins and sparkle. I hope that your holidays are full of light, love, life, magic, and fun.

Live Life a Little More Abstract!