Ah, More Origami. And ACT Qualification!

That’s right,  We qualified!  I know,  to those who are not members of the ACT family,  that means little to nothing.  However, every time we begin a new project, there is a little stress that happens over the qualification sets.   Even as we are now “seasoned” veteran scorers,  there is still that “uncertainty”  on how fast you can pick something up.   So, bottom line, we are on the project for the next 6 weeks at least.   YEAH!

Peacock VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

vIn other news, I have been folding, but not posting as regularly as I would like.  I feel bad whenever I neglect the blog.  It is my own personal record of things as they happen.   And whenever there are gaps, I’m left wondering what we did during those months.  Even now,  it is late at night, I have cats on my lap, and I an rushing an entry so I do not let another day pass without a post.  Does that make sense?  

Draft Horse VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Anyway,  Some origami at the very least so I can have a limited record of what I have folded whenever I delete the pictures off my computer. Enjoy!

Monkey VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Origami Turkey, Yoshizawa style!

It started off as a peacock,  but ended up being a turkey.  I’m ok with it because I still think it turned out ok.  And now all I have to do is adjust the proportions a little,  and perhaps change the color a bit.  In the mean time,  I just wanted to post something really  quick before I call it a night.  Enjoy!

Origami Turkey VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Snakes make Great Snacks for Cats.

So the Poyo episode title goes.  For those in the know,  Poyo is a cat Anime on Crunchyroll.  Anyway,  the other day, Rasha discovered a cute little snake in the front yard.  I was struck by how yellow the stipe was.   I actually like snakes.  Most of them are NOT poisonous.  Most are harmless and cute…or pretty and colorful.  they are not slimy, although they will secrete a smelly substance when they are scared.  Luckily, this little guy did not do that and allowed me to pick him up and pose for a picture.  Afterwards, I let him go while the cats looked on.   They were interested for a few moments, but remained a safe distance away from him.  I hear that some cats eat snakes, but our cats are not related to one of those breeds apparently. 

Anyway, the countdown continues for the ACT clock in.   Just a few more days and it will be back to the grind stone.  In the mean time, we are still sewing stockings.  hope everyone is having a great week so far.   And avoid the sun.  Cheryl and I got too much of the stuff today.   Bad sun! BAD!

Happy Fire in Wellman Iowa! With Cats and Horseshoe Crabs!

Just when I thought it was boring in Wellman, (and it IS by the way!)  A very cool fire broke out, leveling some poor farmer’s barn.   And Cheryl and I had a front row seat, so to say,  while we were on our usual afternoon stroll down a country road.  I guess the first thing was the HUGE black cloud of smoke I noticed from one of the farms we pass regularly.   It was like a mushroom cloud!  Now,  That didn’t really bug me, as people burn garbage here in Iowa all the time.  And even large clouds of smoke is not uncommon.  However,  the black smoke continued and before we got back to town,  the fire trucks finally were mobilized.   There were no hydrants there, so they had to bring this large tanker truck.

 

The funny thing about it was that the entire town suddenly came out to drive down this little dirt road we take our walk on.  It usually does not have any traffic.  However,  as the fire raged, the road was so packed, the fire trucks had to weave through the “auto obstacles” that were parked along the road.  I guess in a town as boring as this, a local fire is a form of entertainment. 

The entire thing was under control after about an hour.  It took about 20 minutes for the fire guys to arrive!   I guess that is impressive, as everyone here is a volunteer firefighter. But then again, all you had to do was look out your window to see the huge cloud!   I remember a few days ago,  One of the Casies clerks was talking about how “if the clouds of smoke aren’t black, then it probably is not a house fire”.  Reassuring living in a town where house fires are almost as common as bear mauling's in Alaska.  ( about one or two a year!)

In other news, since it has been so long since I have blogged.  The cats have been enjoying the summer.  Hiro wakes us up every morning by pulling several of Cheryl’s books off the shelves.  We usually end up putting the “thunder jacket” on him to settle him down.  He actually likes it!

 

 

And then there are the horseshoe crabs.  I thought they turned out pretty good with the cardstock wet-folded.  I have actually been selling a few things out of my Etsy shop as of late.   Very cool!  And, in case I don’t get to blog again,  we are starting another project at ACT next week.

Origami Horseshoe Crabs VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

  Back to work it seems.   At the very least we have been working on stockings these days trying to fill in the gaps in our supply.  If everything goes well, we should remain employed until the Christmas season kicks off and our stocking stock will be at capacity.  in the mean time, I’ll try to keep folding things and perhaps make a sale or two on Etsy.  We shall see. 

What to do in Iowa?

It has been a while since my last post, so I decided to take a stab at soething other than origami.   Well,   a little anyway.  What do you do in Iowa when you have lots of time and no job.   Oh!  And money is “limited” let’s say.  Well,  there really is not much to do here, other than look at the corn grow.   When we first came here,  I remember walks down these country roads and drives to “near by” small towns.  That took about a day!   Since then,  Cheryl and I have been wracking our brains trying to come up with new and exiting things to do here..   With little success.

It is true, we took a trip to St Louis.  But that was not as fulfilling as we had hoped.  Oh!  IT was fun!   We enjoyed the butterflies and high-rise hotel.  But that seemed brief at best.  

So here we are.  The Summer is drifting by like a steady river and we are lazily watching from the bank.  I never thought I would be looking forward to our next project at ACT as much as I am.   Cheryl even more so.   I keep bugging her to get the stocking production line up and running again,  but that relies on some serious motivation.  Being “self employed “ is one of those things that Cheryl might be running out of excitement for.  I can’t really blame her.  We have had that rollercoaster ride for 10 years! 

Random Origami VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

So now, it is late.  The cat is sleeping on my arm and I have very little thoughts about the meaning of life or living in Iowa.   I just wanted to post something.   Oh!  And I have been working on some origami.   Take a look!

Retro-Cool Horse! With Red Hair! How cool is That?!

So I struggled to finish this horse today.  Was it because it was difficult to fold?  Nah,  I mean, it was a bit of a challenge.  But the reason I struggled was because it is Cheryl’s birthday tomorrow.  I know you might be thinking,” Why should that effect your  folding?”  Well…. you see,   Cheryl is my wife.  And she is gets a little fidgety when we have free time during the day.  And that fidgety-ness  is compounded exponentially when it comes to her Birthday.

 

Now how does that uneasy tension happen to influence the folding process?   Well,  when you wet fold cardstock.   You dampen the paper to make it pliable.  If, at any given time,  Your wife decides she wants to “do something” that may require an hour or more,  the paper will dry out and the model will be ruined!

 

 

So I had to plan my day anticipating Cheryl’s “Random Acts Of Boredom”.  Luckily, the walk around the block only took about 20 minutes.  And the “I’m Hungry! When are you going to feed me?”  moment happened right at the end when I could take a break from the finishing touches.   So, After all that,  I managed to get it listed in my shop and I now have a little time to post it on the blog.  

Origami Rabbits, ACT, Unemployment. YEAH!

Ok,  Perhaps the unemployment is a little harsh.   In truth, the project is coming to a close and for the next three weeks we will have new found time to chase other “hobbies” .   But it was a fun three weeks at ACT.  We got to catch up with some acquaintances.  We got to get paid.  And we got paid.   It’s a great concept.  You see,  They give you money to come to their place and score papers for 8 hours.  FANTASTIC!   Our method of business seems flawed in comparison.  Ah well,  nothing lasts forever…especially jobs!  As Cheryl and I are both very familiar with. 

Other than that,  I have been feeding the Etsy store with more of my foldings.   Some Origami Bunnies.   Enjoy!

Origami Rabbits VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL