The Beginning of Fall Means the End of FlipFlops!

It has been a while since I ranted against flip flops. As a matter of fact, I can't remember if I ever have on this blog. To those who do not know, Flip flops, ( or shower shoes) are my pet peeve when it comes to fashion. I know that people choose their clothes to say something about themselves, But flip flops represent the absolute LACK of caring. What they tell me is," I jumped out of bed and was forced to put SOMETHING on my feet or else they would not let me into the convenience store!" Lets Break it down: Foot Protection, The flip flop offers NONE! Ever walk on a gravel road in flip flops? Or dusty, muddy, puddly? If you want dirty feet, then you will enjoy the flip flop. Second: Style. NO ONE wants to see your big hairy toes! I have cute feet and I do not want to show the public. I swear that most of the men around here are related to BIG FOOT or a HOBBIT! As mentioned before, Dirty feet are not very classy. And unless you get a pedicure, you're yellow toenails are not going to be attractive. Some people wear white socks with flip flops. WHY? IF you are going to be a sloth, don't try to half do it. It's like wearing shorts with a suit! Third, Comfort. Flip flops are NOT comfortable! Sorry people, but you have to be Honest with yourself. My shoes do not require me to hold on to them with my toes or else they will slip off. I can run in my shoes. Ever see someone run with flip flops? It's like watching someone with swimming flippers! There is a reason why ducks don't run, and people do not have wings. I can only imagine that the shoe makers at Nike are scratching their heads wondering where they went wrong. They spend millions of dollars in research and athlete adds to get people to buy their most advanced shoes, Only to find out that if they had taken 10 cents of foam and cut it to shape with a leather strap, that they could have saved themselves billions! I know, The major foot manufacturers are not getting on board and offering "designer" flip flops! Designer is the way they get already ( think of a nice word here) people to spend MORE on a CHEAP shoe. How can you make a flip flop DESIGNER? Fancy foam? Genuine leather straps? ( notice the RACING STRIPE! AND NAME) Anyway, I guess my rant is complete. I wasn't even going to blog today, but these Iowa people motivate me from time to time. Next to flip flops is the leg cast, arm cast, and Full Body Tattoo....but those topics will have to wait for a later date.

The Last of the Prototypes, With the Shop cat's Approval

Well, Cheryl sewed up the last of the prototype stockings ( i.e. NEW designs) And we took their picture yesterday. I like them and I'm hoping that the rest of America ( and the world) like them as well. And who knows? Perhaps some inspiration will hit us later and Cheryl will designs another new one in a different color. In the mean time, Hiro is working hard to replace the old shop cat. I'm not sure he is doing the best he can. Mostly he gets in the way and knocks stuff on the floor. He also Meows way too much! It's almost ( ALMOST) as bad as having a crying kid in the room. Whenever he meows, All I hear is "Look at me! Pay attention to me! I want to go outside!" Rasha has handed over the shop cat title since we moved to Iowa. She used to come over and hang out while I was painting seats. Now she would rather sleep in the cushy bed or stylish couch. Hiro has his moments of cuddliness. But he has a long way to go to become a lap cat full fledged shop cat. There is much more training!

Remember Bluegill Aquaculture?

It has been a while since I posted anything about farm raising bluegills. It's rather sad for me as a former fisheries Biologist, to put your dream of bringing bluegills to the masses on hold as you pursue another business venture. However, I still can get excited from time to time whenever I hear someone talk about them. It might be true that I may never be in a position to chase down that dream, Or that I may have lost the passion that is required to follow a rainbow to that pot of gold. But I thought I would at least keep it up front to those people who check in from time to time. I tracked down a restaurant that has bluegill in the name but not on the menu. Symbolic of the up hill battle that the bluegill farmers face. However, there is still research being done to find the economic value here: In the mean time, Cheryl and I have been making stockings and more tags. I finally finished the 150 tags that I was working on, and came to the conclusion that they will not work out as a full time option. But that is why I can experiment and make more. I'm sure I'll find something that is good looking AND easier to make. Those last ones took way too long to put into full time production. Hope everyone has a great week!

Cards, Moths, and Horse Chestnuts.

I forgot to mention this in the past blogs, ( probably because it just slipped my mind,) But Cheryl and I found the remains of a Luna Moth! It is the first one we have ever seen in the wild. Unfortunately, the lawnmower at ACT cut it up pretty good. Either way, Cheryl suggested we take ( what was left of it) home so we could at least say we saw one. It is still on our wall. This picture is much nicer, as ours is missing it's long elegant tails. Anyway, inter resting find on our walks around the neighborhood is the Horse Chestnut. It is a pretty cool nut, with this bumpy husk and three buckeyes inside. I was very excited thinking that they might be American Chestnuts, But alas, They are toxic ( slightly) and will make you sick if you eat them. ( Even horses!) Only deer are able to break them down properly. I'm not even sure if the squirrels will eat them. They are used for medicines though, so apparently the pharmaceutical companies are able to get rid of the bad and keep the good. Other than that, we have been working on tags. I may have to rethink my tag design because the glitter does not like staying on the card very well. I do think it look cool though, and Cheryl says that I will have many more designs that I can experiment with. I still have not abandoned this design, I just have to rethink the "A" either with embossing or just red ink. The red ink would be the fastest design for assembly. Cheryl's snowflake tags are all done for the moment. She likes them as well and we have many more of those felt snowflakes to use up. She likes the color combinations. And they DO match the stockings well. Let's see what we come up with next!

Stamping tags for Stockings.

I know, what was all that stamping for in the previous posts? Well, you see, those where 'thank you's' that go with each order. However, Each stocking that we sell has to get a tag. In the past, I just printed out a bunch and punched them out. Not very much thought went into them. However, this year Cheryl wants to jazz things up a bit. We have over 100 stockings going to a Gallery and we felt there should be a tag that matches the elegance of the shop. So Cheryl and I sat down yesterday and tried to come up with some concepts. I won't post all the "ugly" ones we messed with, But we eventually settled on two designs that are what we have in mind. The first one is Cheryl's design: Simple, Cute, Color Matching, with a felt Snowflake on the back that matches the ones on some of the stockings. I set up a stamp and punched out a few. Cheryl is in charge of the cutting out part, so we each have our roles. And then there is mine. It's true, it might be a little over the top, but Cheryl ultimately likes it and is going to allow me to make a few. My plan is to make as many as we can, Hopefully over 2000! So it will be our biggest year in sales ever! Wish us luck!

New Carpeting for the Workshop...

Well Yesterday was rather unproductive because we had to move all of our stuff out of our shop so the new carpet could be installed. Cheryl is bummed, mostly because she is feeling the pressure of trying to get at least a little stuff done each and every day. You might remember the flood that destroyed the carpet about 4 months ago. Well, FINALLY, The landlords are installing the new one and hopefully they will be done by the end of today. In the mean time, Cheryl took a few pictures of the latest stockings and the empty shop, with all the furniture removed. I also took this opportunity to put up some of my origami that had been wasting away in some drawer. I am surprised how little Origami I actually have In my possession. Ah well, I enjoy giving it away. Hopefully, tomorrow we will have new pics with a new shop that is reward for action!

Full Metal Alchemist Final Set...is Ours!

That is right, we finally own the entire set of Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood. The last 6 episodes are defiantly worth the wait. Much more action than the first series, ( still my favorite though) And it seems to wrap things up a little nicer in the final episode, but that is just my opinion. See the series online for free here: At Funimation.com.

Enjoy!

Latest Claymore Chapter is OUT! Does Phantom Miria AWAKEN?

That is right friends, The September chapter of Claymore ( the manga) is out and ready for you to satisfy your craving for more. I read the thing so fast, I'll probably have to reread it to I can enjoy it again. Phantom Miria is having a tough time fighting a Former ranked #1 who was recently brought back to life. She Fights with the same skill as the Phantom. Find out what Miria will do to WIN! I recently re read all of the book I have ( 1- 18) And they only take you to the part where Clare fights Precilla, then has to be rescued. But I don't mean to confuse you....instead, read it yourself! And become a fan like me! Read the latest chapter here: At Animefreak.tv