Deer Mountain Wood Art

I was so shocked to see that I've not posted anything since Jan 01!! Wow, time sure flies - wished I could've said it was from 'having fun'! lol

A little bit after Xmas I found myself landing 3 jobs for work@home companies!? I ended up taking just one so far; it seems to be all I can handle and still do my woodworking - but I'm so grateful that I get to try to be more productive and a better care-taker for my family!

I'm the one you talk to when you call about the infomercials you see all day and night. It could be a fun job if it weren't for all of the required 'upsells' that they make you read to the customer! After about the 7th offer, I usually end up with a frustrated and disgruntled person - it's definitely a skill to be able to do this job! lol Just a note; please be gentle with us! :) Just say "no" twice and we'll process your order and shut up! lol
It has caused me to get a little behind on everything while I attempt to work out a compatible schedule, but I'm starting to come to the surface for a much-needed breath of air! I'm only making minimum wage, but hope it picks up soon as I learn the ropes better...

Have had a few strange things happen that caused me to have flash backs of 2008; one of which was a good friend died suddenly from a heart attack. He was only 58 and he'd told his buddy the day before that he was having pains, but thought it was just something he ate... the next day he was found under the car he'd been working on, passed on... he'd been there for quite a while and it appears that he didn't suffer, but we're all still in shock over it. It definitely has caused Roger to look at himself and try to do better to stay here for his little boy! We're all walking a little softer these days.

Seems like I never have good news, but I do have one that is REALLY awesome! My nephew, Randy, and his wife Claudia, just had a beautiful little boy and my sis is a very proud, first-time, grandma!!! Our mom is there also, so they have all of the generations that are left to celebrate this amazing blessing =D Here's a pic of mr. 'Gonzo' on his first birthday -

Ain't he CUTE!!! {{{sigh}}} Hurry up boys and give ME one!!!!!! LOL

What a great way to bring in the new year, and I couldn't be prouder of Claudia for going thru a very trying labor - it was worth it wasn't it!!?! I bet you're already planning your next!lol =D Love is a great pain mitigator!! lol

So, you see, I'm not all downer and darkness! lol

I'm working on custom orders right now but I'm hoping to get some new things in the shop soon! When I finally get this one project done I'll be sure to post it here first :)

The boys are in school, Ryan's back in college, and Roger's in Aspen working on new construction with Jim, so it's pretty quiet - I took the day off the phones so that I can get one of my orders done but thought I'd drop a quick post to let you know I'm still kickin'! :)

Oh, and how could I forget!!?!? My little cockatiels have proven themselves and are sitting on four beautiful little eggs! (Roger was sure that they must be gay!? hah!) Petey didn't have any trouble with binding and Cherry is a very proud and protective papa and loving husband :) Even though it's cemented that Petey will never be my bird (she's taken up hissing at me now!), like Roo was, it's a beautiful thing and I surely hope that all will come out okay. Although they are young, they seem to know exactly what to do? It's so funny to hear Petey rolling the eggs around in her box - I call it 'bowling for babies'! teehee
In a couple of weeks we should know if I'm to be a new avian grandma and I'm prepared to take over if necessary - wish us luck on this one! =0) I will post pics soon - if they ever get out of the box at the same time!! lol

I hope everyone is well and happy - it's time for a New Year "Happy Post" and hope you all enjoy the picture of my new great-nephew! =D

Thanks for "stopping by the shop!"
Freida

Well the girl accepted his words, to my utter surprise he came home that night with a muttered, "everything's fine, why?" Maybe I don't know the heart, like I thought I knew the heart?!?lol I'm glad though - she makes him so happy, and what mother wouldn't want her boy to be happy?
It's been a while since I've written - my toes are so cold from sitting here at the computer for the last 3 hours that I don't know if it's worth trying to write a decent blog post right now or not! lol
The length of time has been well-spent though, trying to catch up on all of the EFA things I needed to do but haven't had the chance to yet; I wrote in about the Treasury I curated - though it's not getting much in the way of views. It was planned a long time ago and though I started to change my mind on the theme, but I didn't. So "Birds of a Feather" it is - when it expires I will put a screen shot up - I think I'll plan another for a little further in the future.
In regards to the folks that seem to have a treasury up all of the time I used to think, "Dang, they must think they've got the corner on believing they have such great taste that we all just want to see what they pick..." but I know better now, it's ADDICTING darn it! and I know my taste is not to everyone's liking, but I've been exposed to so many talents that I would've never known about had I not done a few of these, and besides promoting my fellow EFA members, I just want to share what I've found! =D
Also, I'm in another Treasury and it's a really beautifully rendered collection - it's soon to expire so I will post the screen shot that includes the current listing, but after today it will not be clickable... enjoy! I'm hoping it make front page as it's 3rd from the top in activity, so who knows!?!
I'm also working on my new website - the old deermountainwoodart.com has been moved to a new domain host as well as a new website host, so it's been keeping me a little busy - new systems are so hard to learn as I grow older!lol and I have been trying to finish the Intarsia book, but my contributors have not gotten in all of their items, so we're kind of 'on hold' - doesn't look like a Aug 31st publishing date anymore :( but it really doesn't matter as long as we get it done before September is over!
I went to the little yardsale/art sale at the firestation this last weekend and it was just a mess - but I did manage to get to know a little about a couple that wants quite a bit of pieces done, so all was not lost. I did go home early as it just didn't look like much was going to happen. But I didn't expect much, just wanted my neighbors to know that I am still here and still working the wood. They were duely impressed I think?lol =D
So, in the title I wrote "Orders and Order" - I will sum that up here;
"Orders" - have a few orders from this last couple of weeks that I'm working on:

• Dolphin Helmet - for Kay
• Bronco's Helmet - for Kay
• Keepsake Pet Portrait Box - for Leanne
• Dragon Treasure Box - for eBay buyer, Greg
• City Scape - for lady at firestation
• Timberwolf on Burl - for guy at firestation
• "Art Block" - Wolves, number 3, using a painting done by a fellow Etsian
• and finally, a 'game cock' Intarsia piece for Nathan

So I've gotten busy, but I need to get these orders out before the Xmas orders get really started!

"Order" - working on getting my life, websites, blogs, and home in order. Through the summer, things have gotten quite out of control - my wood is everywhere as well as 'pieces in progress', so I'm trying to spend a share of my time getting my life, in general, in order.
I'll also be catching up my personal blog, "Three boys and a dog", and writing all of my 'personal' things there instead of letting them sneak over to here and vice' versa! So if you are interested at all, click on the link and prepare to be astounded by the chaos that is my real life! lol
Well, that's it for now - I was planning on getting busy at 9am but I see it's crept to 9:18 and I really have to get going! It's been so much more fruitful with the boys in school. I miss them, but it's so quiet right now that I would be remiss to not get a lot done while they're gone!!
Thanks for stopping by the shop! I always hope you enjoy, even just a little, my ramblings :0) and will come back often!
Freida

This is another beautiful treasury that I got to be a part of! I love birds and this one has some artists that I've not had the pleasure of viewing before =D Definitely take a look! This link will expire in a couple of days so here's a snapshot of what was in it in case you didn't get to it in time -



Thank you LeatherSculpture for letting me know about my inclusion in your beautiful treasury! It's an honor to be amongst these amazing creations! =D If you love beautiful leather art then you should definitely check LeatherSculpture out!

Thanks for "stopping by the shop!"
Freida