Samhain, again ...

Apparently word didn't get out this year about me being a witch, and all ... I even parked my broom outside, but the neighborhood children could not be deterred (my candy stash has officially been ransacked).  Good thing I hid a couple pieces to savor as I type this now (always thinking ahead, this one is)!

I don't have any wonderful end-of-harvest tales to share ... Truthfully, after the Summer full of changes I've had, I haven't even caught up with Fall yet, and here we are staring down the barrel of winter already.  I always think this time of year is when people want to read about yummy, gourd-ish recipes, and delightful preserves garnished with photographs of beautiful settings, tablescapes, larders, and pantries stuffed full of a home-canned bounty amassed from our Summer gardens.  That's not going to happen ... along with all of the other blog-promises I've broken this year.  Why stop now?  Ok, that really wasn't the sentiment behind it all.  It just seems the internet presence is the first thing sacrificed when real life (yeah, that thing we do outside of pixels) gets real, and needs real attention. 

Hopefully, I'll get to hang out here a little bit more in the upcoming days, and make somewhat good on all of the intentions I had at the beginning of the year around this joint.  After all, you know what they say about good intentions ... gulp.

All You Need is Tea & Warm Socks ...

The mantra of Fall babies everywhere, I'm convinced.

Double rainbow just for me?!

And so, the witching hour is upon us!  Thirty-two years ago, on a blustery day not so unlike today, my mother was precisely that number in years, and preparing to share her world with me.   As I understand it, I was the most easygoing of all her births (no surprise there).  I was, however, going about things quite at my own leisure, and needed a little nudge (hmm, sounds about right).  Without much ado at all, it seems, I appeared, and said, "Here I am,"  and edged out my little spot in the universe.

And that's how I like to spend each birthday ... just edging out a little spot in the universe to enjoy, pausing long enough to be aware of how wonderful it really is to be here, and remind myself to stop taking things for granted.  This is the one day when the whole world stops (in my house anyway), and I just get to be.  I leave the swinging from chandeliers for the rest of the year.  Today is mine, all mine (and everyone else's, but who's counting?), but I won't be totally selfish, I hope you all enjoyed My day too!

Photo by: Xavier Brown

xoxo

Going Postal

Having one of those days?

You know, I thought I was just being paranoid before when I said my mailman hated me ...

After years of getting everyone else's mail in my mailbox BUT mine, having my packages returned without my knowledge (never mind overbearing office ladies holding them hostage!), and having my own letters returned to me claiming not enough postage I thought I'd seen it all, but this, while being a single, lonely little letter, is a new low.  This gem was post marked yesterday ... yes, you read that correctly, YESTERDAY.  I know ... I know!  I'm stunned too!  I thought, as I'm sure you're thinking as well, that it came directly out of a Civil War era soldier's breast pocket, but surprisingly enough that's not the case. 

Should I be concerned?  I see this person in an uncomfortable uniform doing a job that never ends -- no sense of satisfaction of a task completed -- a job well done, sitting before my mailbox wringing his hands (letter in his clutches) thinking about the fate soon to befall his LEAST favorite customer ... *gulp* ... me!!!  Ok, maybe I take it a little too far in my imagination, but I must say, it's getting more, and more difficult to not take this personally.

But, uhm ... you know, if I happen to go missing ... maybe start by looking in the backs of South Seattle area mail trucks, that is, if I'm not being held, and tortured in the sort facility!

Etsy-Etsy, Regretsy, banana-fana forgetsy, me-mi-Protesty ... Etsy!

Let's do Ebay!

Ok, let's not ...

You may remember an earlier post about a little dust-up concerning Etsy, and alleged resellers (like our old friend Ecologica Malibu) not only allowed, but featured, and most shockingly protected by the powers that be over at ye olde Etsy homestead by a quick shuffle of words, and notifying the Community that, you know, nothing's changed, y'all just misunderstood the entire time.

What is a reseller, you ask?  Well it used to be widely understood that a reseller would be a shop operating as the buyer of previously manufactured goods, and punting them as handmade solely by the shop owner on said shop's Etsy account -- a site made famous through the advertising prowess of its users (since the company began with a firm stance on non-promotion making it the responsibility of its users to spread the word, thus bringing traffic to the site as a whole), and its mission statement touting itself as "... the world’s handmade marketplace." 

Etsy Scandal: Ecologica Malibu

"Etsy is more than a marketplace: we're a community of artists, creators, collectors, thinkers and doers."

Or should that read: CON-artists???

Over the weekend the fraggles (in my opinion) at Etsy, Inc. made the genius decision to slip (alleged) reseller Ecologica Malibu a.allegedly k.a. Bali Ha'i Imports into their coveted Etsy Featured Seller slot.  What's the big deal?  Well, after all ...

"Etsy is the world’s handmade marketplace.  Our mission is to empower people to change the way the global economy works. We see a world in which very-very small businesses have much-much more sway in shaping the economy, local living economies are thriving everywhere, and people value authorship and provenance as much as price and convenience. We are bringing heart to commerce and making the world more fair, more sustainable, and more fun."

... According to them. 

Competition: Friend or Foe?

What does competition mean to you?  Does it have to be a "bad" thing?  Does the end result justify the means when it comes to more than one person achieving at a certain level, task, or career path?  Much like love, and war, is all really fair in chasing down a goal?  Is it ok to throw ethics out the window in order to be on top?

I ask these things, because this notion of competing has been on my mind lately.  I'm learning that it clearly means something different to everyone, and I'm left wondering if many people really believe it's ok to completely forgo ethical practices all in the name of "success," and since we're on the topic, where exactly does that ethical line lie? 

Color Me Happy!

On the heels of this week's lows, came some pretty unexpected highs.  It's funny, they always say when a door closes, a window opens, and so it seemed with the discovery of a new-to-me blog that I can't believe I've lived this long without!  Pugly Pixel now neatly nestled into my sidebar is the brain child of a massively creative chick by the name of Katrina, and let me tell you she is a force, to be sure!  I accidentally stumbled upon her virtual presence by way of another fave brought to us by Victoria Smith, SF Girl By Bay - which, if you're not familiar, you must make yourself.  I've lurked on Victoria's blog for ages now, and always find it a wealth of information, and am hopelessly in love with the gratuitous display of design heavy eye candy.  Whenever I'm down, or find my creativity tapped out, I take a spin around her posts, because nothing kicks my imagination back into high gear like saturating my brain with interesting images, and she delivers, let me tell you.  In fact, don't let me tell you -- Go!  Click!  See for yourself, you won't be disappointed.

Promises, Promises

This week has been a bit of a rollercoaster for me juggling projects old, and new, making changes around the ol' blogstead with even more to come (ooooh, suspense!), replenishing inventory, and drawing from my inspiration-well to get me through the creativity slump.  It was during this virtual inspirational stroll - pail in hand ready to dip into the cool, fresh water of like minded creative chicks (and their blogs I lurk on) when I was met with, I won't say "bitter" disappointment, but more like utter disappointment in the virtual company I'd been keeping.

I'm not really a blog-aholic kind of gal, but I do have a small list of faves I like to check in on now and again.  In an age where you need to be S.C.U.B.A. certified to swim through the ever growing blog deluge for me it's important to narrow it down to a handful of specific blogs speaking to the very things that spark my imagination (lotsa eye candy, a must!), published by creative women whom I respect as people, writers, and as a source of inspiration not just in the neato colors they pick out for their next project or their super-duper blog backgrounds, but as businesswomen in "The Industry."