More Anonymous Messages

photo copied from
justjoan.joanginsberg.com

I've spoken before about the anonymous comments I get on my blog when the controls are turned off to allow anyone to post a comment here without having to use a capcha code to sign in.  Here's what I had to say on the subject back in March.  These unusual messages continue to appear in my mailbox (although, strangely, many of them aren't actually visible on my blog) but lately they've gotten even more bizarre.  Or maybe "disturbing" is the word I should be using.

Most often, it's a relatively message, often containing compliments about my blog but using somewhat gabbled language, such as:  "I don't even know how I ended up here, however I believed this post used to be great. I don't recognize who you are however definitely you are going to a famous blogger if you happen to aren't already. Cheers!", followed by a link that reads "discount Hermes bags" or "silk sari".  Sometimes I almost want to click on the link, just to see where it takes me but of course, we computer users are constantly reminded NOT to click on links in emails from people we don't know.  That's one way for viruses to attack your computer and I certainly don't want that!

But recently, I've noticed the links are getting a little more ... disturbing.  For example, one I got this week said this:  "Wow, fantastic blog layout! How long have you been blogging for? you made blogging look easy. The overall look of your website is excellent, as well as the content!"  Nice message, right?  Until you notice that the next line says:  "also visit my webpage:  nude*party*girls."  Whaaattt??

Another said:  "Hey are you using Wordpress for your blog platform? I'm new to the blog world but I'm trying to get started and create my own.  Do you require any html coding knowledge to make your own blog? Any help would be greatly appreciated!", followed by a link for "teen p*rn".  (I've added the asterisks because God forbid someone should link to this blog post when they do a Google search using these words!)

Who sends these messages and, more importantly, why??  I always mark these comments as spam and hopefully Blogger is somehow blocking them but still, it's a bit disturbing, isn't it? 

Vintage Number Stamps

I recently obtained these vintage number stamps via eBay and I absolutely love them.  Not only does the set have all the numbers from 0 to 9 (I bought a set once that was only 1 to 9, not realizing that the zero was missing and man, do I wish I had the zero sometimes!), it also has a 1/2 stamp, a bunch of symbols (the dollar sign, cent sign, a period) and, coolest of all, "lb" (for those of you on the metric system, this is a short form for "pound"), "for" and "each".  I'm guessing this was a set intended to be used for mercantile purposes.  The numbers are about 3/4 of an inch in height, not too big, not too small.  All seventeen stamps stash into a little cardboard box that is exactly the right size for the whole set.  Well worth the $10 I paid for the set, I'd say!

My Postcard Reveal

Several of my postcard recipients have received their cards already so it's probably safe to reveal my finished design now.  (I didn't want to show it too soon and spoil the surprise for them!)

Here's the sneak peek photo I posted at the beginning, which shows the postcard template provided by the swap organizer, Hanna.

I covered the front/blank side of the card with vintage music paper and then painted it with blue and green acrylic paint (blue for sky, green for grass).  Once I had decided on "believe in yourself" as my message for the empowerment theme of the swap, I thought of using a pennant design as if it was a clothesline hanging in a summer breeze.  I scraped on a bit of pink paint for contrast as well.

I cut out all the little flags individually, mostly using scrapbook paper but I did some out of fabric, stamped on the letters and arranged them on the card using Mod Podge.

Here's what the finished design looked like:

I made 10 cards altogether.  As you can see from the photo below of 9 of them, I tried one with all the flags hanging from one line (see postcard in bottom right corner, shown without additional lettering) but in the end, I decided I liked the staggered version better.  So that one is extra special, because it's one of a kind!

Regardless of the design, I think the message is a good one:  believe in yourself, even if no one else does. 

December 4th

I looked at my calendar today and realized with a bit of a shock that Christmas is exactly three weeks from today.  Did you know this?  How did this happen?!  I have done nothing to prepare (although in all honesty, I don't have too, too much to do but there are definitely things that will need to be done) and this mild, rainy weather isn't helping me get in the mood to get started.

For example, should I be getting busy taking pictures of my cats in Santa hats? Apparently this is what everyone else on the Internet is doing!!

Photo from puzzlespuzzles.com

All you have to do is Google "cats in Christmas hats", you'll see what I mean.  Many of the pictures are seriously cute though, you must admit!

Photo by Jane Burton, as found on
allposters.com

Although I do feel sorry for some of them.  If you were a cat, would you want to be seen dressed up like this? I don't think so.

Here Comes The Sun

The days may be getting shorter but I can't complain when it comes to the arrival of the sun in the morning, I've been seeing some lovely sunrises lately.  Sometimes I'm lucky enough to catch them on film:

October 12

Nov 19

Nov 29

Seeing sunrises like these makes it worth getting up early!

Just When I Thought I Could Relax

I spent most of the day yesterday cleaning and tidying my studio, a.k.a. the dining room.  Everything was a cluttered mess, with several things in various areas haphazardly stacked on top of each other and looking like they would topple over at any minute.  By the end of the day, everything was more neatly arranged and while it probably looks just as cluttered to the outside eye, I know it's much tidier and I feel better about it.

This morning, the urge to tidy was still with me so I took an hour while watching Coronation Street and emptied the bookcase by my front door.  This is a job that had needed doing for a while.  The back of the bookcase (the Billy brand from Ikea) had detached and bowed out towards the wall, which meant that things would drop off the back of the top shelf and fall behind the books on the shelf below.  It turns out the books were all very dusty and there was a whole bunch of cat hair collected there as well, no doubt because the hallway in which this bookcase is located is the main path from one end of my apartment to the other - definitely a high traffic area.

I had thought that would be the only task I'd have to complete today.  Afterwards, I cheerfully took the garbage out, disposed of all the recyclable materials I had collected yesterday and took the items I had set aside for donation down to my car.  When I came back to my apartment, I hung my car keys up on the key hook above the bookcase ... and promptly dropped them down behind it.

Nooooo!  They only fell part of the way down so I thought it would be an easy thing to get a yard stick and shimmy them up or to one side and pluck them out.  You'd think, right?  Instead, they dropped right down to the carpet and under the back of the bookcase, almost out of sight.  Geez! Can't a girl catch a break here? 

It occurred to me that I could just leave them there for a while and use my extra set of keys instead.  Except that when I went looking for them, I couldn't find them.  I then tried using an unbent coat hanger to reach them but all that did was get the kittens excited that we were playing some new game.  I thought I was making progress until the hanger got stuck and wouldn't budge.

In the end, there was nothing to do but remove all 69 books from the shelves - again - and move the bookcase.  Which I did.  For the second time today.

Then I put them all back in.  Again.

So while I'm feeling pretty good about having that job crossed off my "to do" list, I'm pretty tired at the same time.  Plus I lost about an hour of relaxation time that I could have spent doing something much more fun and creative.  Instead, I think I've earned a nap!

Postcards Are Arriving

Postcards are arriving in my mailbox from the postcard swap I signed up for a couple of weeks ago.  Such a treat to get art in the mail! The theme was "empowerment".

This one is from Amy in Rhode Island - I love the compass.

The next one was from Kathryn in Ottawa, Ontario.  Her message is to give yourself permission to play - physically, mentally and artistically.  I think that is an excellent idea!

And last but not least for this week's mail delivery was from my friend Laurie in Florida, who also signed up for the swap (we sent each other cards as well as to the 5 names we got from the organizer Hanna).  Laurie used a Tim Holtz quote (words to live by!) and Dylusions sprays to make her card.

Can't wait to see what else comes in the mail next week!