Still Damp

The subfloor under the bathroom and the bathroom walls were still damp, so we're just waiting at this point. Dehumidifiers, fans and heaters are still going.

More on the Flood...

The toilet tank overflowed. Monday night, the contractor who built my addition, my plumber and the insurance adjuster all met me at the house. And when I opened my garage - yup, it was happening again. The good news is that the plumber and contractor were able to determine the cause right away. The toilet tank was overflowing, and they were each glad to have a witness because they both said that unless they had seen it, the wouldn't have believed it. See, toilets are designed with an overflow pipe to make sure this very thing doesn't happen, but apparently the pipe was overwhelmed by the volume of water coming into the tank.

The plumber fixed the toilet and the insurance guy called in a cleanup crew who immediately started drying things out (huge dehumidifiers and fans shaped like snails) and pulling up carpets. They took out some of the padding in the bedroom itself and set up a fan to blow under the carpet (it's kind of like walking on the moon). The drywall and insulation have been torn out and they are waiting for the subfloor to dry before replacing it. My garage is cleaner than it's ever been and they've sheeted off the back part and are heating it so the pipes that are now exposed don't freeze. The guy from the cleanup company thinks they can start drywalling tomorrow or Friday.

Wet & Wild

Nope, not what you think! I pulled into my driveway last night and hit the garage door opener. The sight that greeted my eyes was far from merry - cascades of water were puring from the light fixtures in the ceiling, gouts of water were running down the back wall and lakes of water filled the back half of the garage. I was stunned. And I had no idea where the shutoff for the house was.

My hubby came home soon afterward and shut off the water to the house. A little while later we could hear the sump pump working (phew! I was afraid it was dead!) There was a lake in our bathroom and the carpet in the nearby closet is damp. The water is cleaned up now, and we were able to turn the water back on and everything looks OK. Best news of all, the contractor who built our addition, our plumber and the insurance adjuster can all meet me at the house this afternoon - at the same time!

Back from My Trip

We're back from our trip to California to see relatives. We had a lovely time and even had a chance to tour around gorgeous Santa Barbara. While we were at Stearns Wharf, we bought a CD with photos from all around the region. We figured the photos would be better than those we could take and it freed us to concentrate on seeing the sights. At one stop we had the tour driver in training take a photo of the three of us in front of the mission. Later I joked to the guys that I should crop out the background and paste the three of us into the photos in the CD! I was kidding, but they loved the idea. I guess I'll be playing with Photoshop. Here's the three of us in front of the mission...here we are on the wharf...here we are at the museum...

What Are We Listening To?

I have XM Radio in my home and car and love it, so I was very excited to hear that they had a package for businesses. Being in the intellectual property business myself (paper designs etc, are the intellectual property of the designer and/or manufacturer,) I wanted to make sure that we were respecting the rules associated with playing music in public.

We have several favorite channels and change what we listen do nearly every day.

Sundays, Lisa and I listen to American Top 40 on the 80's on 8.
We have Country Western Wednesdays where we listen to Highway 16.
Thursdays are Blues Days with Bluesville on XM 74.

Other days we like to listen to Classic Album Rock with Top Tracks on XM 46, and Flight 26 for today's hits.

Recent Layouts

We've been scrapping.

Some of these layouts are using the latest papers and embellishments fromt he store and some are from my stash.

"with this ring" uses paper and stickers from Reminisce. The "Wedded Bliss" line has gorgeous pearlescent papers in paper and cardstock weights. Included in the line are envelopes, rubons and stickers for invitation making. The silk ribbon is from May Arts.

"Big Boy Bed" uses older K&Co paper.

"Fifth Grade" was made with Scrappin' Sports & More's new Academics line. With papers, cardstock stickers and rubons from Pre-school to Graduation, this line is perfect for a shool years album.

"Strength" celebrates the inspiration we got from meeting Cheryl Mazzetti at our Scrap Pink festivities. Creative Imaginations' "Awareness" line was the perfect way to express how we felt after spending time with this amazing woman.

Everything old is new again! I decided to try paper piecing again and I love the way "Blue" turned out. Expect to see her soon, adorning a layout celebrating a little boy's obsession with a blue puppy.

Speaking of puppies, "best friend" celebrates Dumbledore, our friendly mascot. Using SEI's "Park Buddies" line of lively papers and embellishments, combined with a sketch, made putting this layout together a snap.

The rest of the layouts were made from my stash.

Same Drive, Different Day

Both yesterday and today, I had occasion to drive from Howe Avenue in Shelton to the store. My journey took me along River Road from Shelton into Stratford. And although the path I took both days was identical, the two trips couldn't have been more different.

Yesterday, I was coming back from the vet, with Dumbledore and a clean bill of health. The weather was nice and the trees were in their full New England Fall glory. With the river at my left, I was singing along with the radio and smiling all the while.

Today was gloomy and rainy, and it matched my mood. I was heading back to the store after renting my eldest a moving truck so he can move his stuff into his new apartment in Massachusetts. I'm busting with pride that he's going out on his own, but I'm sad as well. Can twenty years have really have passed since he was a newborn? He's changed so much from the sunny, happy boy to the quiet young man.

Alex, I wish you health, happiness and love, a warm place to sleep and good food to eat. I wish you dreams, drive and contentment.

Be careful. Have fun. Be safe.

And call your Mother every now and then, OK?

Doggie Pictures!

Here are the latest photos of Dumbledore. He was recently groomed, so you can see his eyes!

Dumbledore is a pure-bred Yorkshire Terrier. I bought him from a breeder in East Windsor, CT. He weighs 5 1/2 pounds and will be two years old in January.

People often ask if he's a "teacup" Yorkie. This link explains about teacup Yorkies. This link describes the difference between "puppy mill" and a responsible dog breeder. To find a breeder who has signed the Yorkshire Terrier Club of America's Code of Ethics, click here. For more information on Yorkies see the Clubs website.

Scrap Pink!

Our ScrapPink weekend was a roaring success! Cheryl Mazzetti is a wonderful and inspiring teacher. Her creativity and personality had the room buzzing with happy activity.

We still have a limited number of class kits available: one haunted wizard's castle, several Rock Star brag books, and some lovely autumn box kits.

The Lazy Girl's Guide to Altered Books

Have you got an old book that you bought for altering, but never got around to doing? Me, too. It was making me feel guilty, so I decided to work on it.


So I sat down at my workstation and looked at the book, flipped through the pages, and looked at it some more. No wonder I'd never tackled a book like this before (although I've altered a couple of board books - much less intimidating, fewer pages!) This was scary!


After a couple of days staring at the darn thing, I was starting to get frustrated.

"This is ridiculous," I thought, "do something."

So I cut some 12x12 papers into 6x6 squares and started adhering them randomly throughout the book. "Ah ha!" I realized, "I could just keep on like this, slapping stuff I like into the book, until I think I'm done!"

So I've been using up all those HOTP cut out books I bought because they turned me on - but had never used. And I've been doing techniques - stamping, heat embossing, painting, decoupage. I've looked up song lyrics in the web, and scribbled them in the book - on the empty pages behind illustrations, in the margins, and over the text of the book. And I've distressed a CD with Staz-on and alcohol inks.

One thing I recommend is to make your niches first. I decided late in the project to add another one, and couldn't find a large hunk of un-altered pages to cut and stick together. So my second niche is a little small - niches in other books make fun of it. Don't forget to look at the cut-out parts of the pages - they had great pictures I tore out and decopaged back into the book.

Another caveat - vellum doesn't decoupage well. Although it looks kinda cool all crinkly and bubbly with all the corners sticking up.

Something I didn't find out until later is that you should rip out whole sections of the book before you start, so the book doesn't end up too fat to close when you're done.

So if you have an old book that's making you feel guilty - just go for it. Throw things into the book randomly. I promise, eventually it'll look really cool.

First Day of Middle School

Dan had trouble sleeping Sunday night and wanted us to take him into school yesterday morning. He was very nervous about middle school even though it's attached to the magnet school he's been at since preschool. There was a mob of parents in the lobby having bagels and muffins and chatting, so we weren't the only parents dropping off. We met a nice lady who directed us to the cafeteria where the students were having breakfast. I was allowed (by Daniel) to walk him down and he went in without a backward look.

I'm pulling him out of aftercare (which is in the neighborhood school he'd be going to if he weren't in the magnet school) because Dan didn't enjoy it much this summer (this after having adored the science camp at his magnet school.) He doesn't like the way the bigger kids pick on the others, or the attitudes of the "teachers". The head teacher had the nerve to ask Dan if he understood English when he was a little slow getting off the computer one day when I was there to pick him up. (This from the partly deaf, speech impaired teacher who apparently hadn't even considered the possibility that he'd responded and she might not have heard him?)

Any way, I'm working on someone to pick him up at the magnet school, and bring him to my store (two towns away.) For sure it'll be cheaper than the aftercare. Unfortunately the teachers aren't allowed to give kids rides, but I'm looking for a Mom's taxi kind of thing.

In the meantime, I picked him up from school yesterday afternoon and he just about talked my ears off. He was happy and excited, read me his ENTIRE schedule, told me all his teacher's names, told me who he hung out with. He's also excited about the afterschool activities he can get involved with - we'll learn about those soon. I'm so pleased and excited and proud of him - yay Dan!!

Ack! My Baby!

My little one started middle school today.

He had trouble sleeping last night. He goes to a small magnet school in Bridgeport and we tried to reassure him that he's going to know a lot of the teachers and most of the students. Even though the middle school is in a separate wing of the school, he's been going there since preschool, and so have most of the others.

He wanted us to drive him in, and walk him to (but not into) the cafeteria where the kids were gathering and having breakfast. I hadn't anticipated any problems on my part, but there they were - small butterflies like the ones I felt when he started pre-school and first grade.

When time came to go, he walked into the cafeteria without a backwards glance.

On Shyness

Are we born shy or do we learn it?

At some point I must have been fearless. Mom tells the store of my stage debut as Snow White. Having taken a bite of the poisoned apple, I was laying across several small chairs (which were standing in for dwarvish beds,) when I happened to fall off. Eyes still closed, I climbed back into my "bed," dignity intact.

But by the time I'd reached 4th or 5th grade, I was shy. I was also introverted, gaining energy by time spent on my own, uncomfortable in crowds, preferring a good book to any outdoor activity. Who's to say which is chicken and which egg, but at the time I also became the target of bullies. After that sort of thing, it's difficult to trust. Any overture of friendship may be a trap, a set up for a joke where you are the punchline.

I'm less wary now, more open to forming new friendships, but still prefer solitude or small groups to crowds. I knew this would be something I'd need to deal with in my new adventure, but hoped that being the hostess as it were would increase my comfort level. But there's still a part of me that feels the outsider, who doesn't want to intrude on a group having fun. How silly it is to still have these fears at 45. When does the fearless older woman appear who isn't intimidated by anything, who speaks her mind and enjoys herself - damn the torpedoes and full steam ahead?

Well, she did go to graduate school and take voice and ballroom dancing lessons, and leave her former career behind to dive into unfamiliar waters. Maybe she's here already and I just haven't noticed yet?

Bluefish Fun

The three of us love to go to Bluefish games at Bridgeport's Harbor Yard. There's food, prizes, between inning entertainment, and of course, baseball. I usually bring a book to read because the fun part for me is being with my guys.

Scientific Summer

Daniel went to a science camp this summer. They studied rocketry with folks from the Discovery Museum and marine science with folks from the Maritime Center. He had a great time exploring wetlands and performing experiments. For the science fair, he and his buddy Peter compared the absorbency of various brands of paper towels. Don't you wishlearning was always this fun!

The Creative Studio is Full!

We have a full house tonight, enjoying yummy snacks and scrapping!

Lassie's Over !!!!

(Note: this post contains discussion of, but no spoilers for, the latest Harry Potter book.)

When we were very small, one of our regular things was to watch Lassie on Sunday nights. Without fail, my littlest sister would cry at the end of each episode, "wahhh, Laasie's over!"

I'm sure part of it was that the end of Lassie meant bedtime, and the end of the weekend, but the other part was that we'd have to wait another whole week to see Lassie again.

Well, I finished Harry Potter last night, and it was a very emotional experience. I had told the Lassie story to my son a couple of weeks ago. And after I finished the book, I went down the hall to his room, where his Dad was tucking him in. They heard me coming, and my hubby asked did you finish it? I replied a watery, "yes."

I entered the room and my son and I said in unison "Lassie's overrrrr!"

Customer Service

My cell phone rang this morning.

I said, "Hello?"

The voice on the line said, "All of our representatives are busy now, but if you stay on the line ..."

I hung up. Are they kidding? They called me. I have no idea who they are, yet they expect me to hold?

I'm beginning to think companies don't even think of customer service anymore, let alone decide whether it's important.

A professor showed an MBA class a diagram of a business' cash flow. He asked us all where the money came from. Most of us answered along the lines of "sales" or "receivables." We were all wrong.

The money comes from the customers. It's their money and they choose where to spend it. It's a simple fact, and more businesses should remember that.

I am incredibly grateful for anyone who decides to come to MOMENTO and spend their time and money there.

Beauty Shots

I am so proud of how beautifully the store turned out. The first 4 photos are of the retail space and the last two are our Creative Studio. As you can see, Lisa and I have been making use of the space to work on our projects.