ZestyBetsy

The Sox aren't off to a very good start, but today is the first Fenway Park game of the season. Yankees are in town. The F14s will fly by around 2 and shake things up.

Other things this weekend?

MFA is opening a kaleidoscopic trippy glass exhibit of Chihuly flowers and forms

Toro y Moi, made a ripple on Etsy not too long ago, is actually a musician (not a tote bag maker) He's playing on Saturday at the Brighton Music Hall. Let me know if you go. Check the local calender for other shows - Neil Young, Cake, Buffalo Tom and Kylie M are all stopping in this month

Final shows at the Huntington of Educating Rita which ends on the 10th

More from New York, the Big Apple Circus in on City Hall Plaza on Sunday. A Dance circus with acrobats and contortionists, for $15 it sounds fun if the weather is nice especially! Can't go wrong with live entertainment for the price of a movie...

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Sadly the Rex Sox didn't show too well on Opening Day...
And alternate side street cleaning starts this week - don't forget to more your car off the odd side.

There are some concerts next door at the house of blues that might be what you need to sweep away the winter cobwebs
Gogol Bordello Russian Gypsy Punk Rock tonight - still tickets for them at the House of Blues. I love the song preview & videos. this is music to get you dancing!

Bizarre Animals 2.0: On the 8th at 7pm the Museum of Natural History at Harvard is having an exhibit and performance. It reads as experimental, and I wonder what the curator thinks of it all

Sucker Punch, Battle of LA are still in theaters...
Did you catch them yet or are you waiting?
Got the kids? Diary of a Wimpy kid is getting good reviews.
Anyway - get out of the house.

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the summer movies are opening this weekend! Are you going to see the ATeam or Karate Kid? give it a thumbs up or down in the comments!

Here's a smaller stranger movie screening of I am Love tonight at the MFA.
It stars the lovely Tilda Swinton.

Emotional and social boundaries crossed; Meet Kismet at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Museum. Or discuss it at H+ Summit at Harvard

Or indulge just a bit more ~ How about a Food Fight!
Saturday take the Chocolate tour around the South End. Then check out the Battle of the Small Plates on Sunday

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Ohhh crap carp crap...

I lost some beads & of course, someone ordered them. It's actually crazy.
Every thing is placed in a bag, labeled ~ numbered with description ~ and placed in a container when I list it. If I relist something in my supply shop. I must have it in my hands prior to relisting,
Just to make sure my numbers didn't get mixed up.

I even asked StAnthony for help looking...Murphy's got them I'm sure. They will turn up right after the customer leaves bad feedback :(

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IF it can make it in my yard, under my lack of care...it will make it anywhere. I'm interested in having pretty plantings, and yummy fruits & veggies. I am, really. It's just too hot for me to be really working out there after Memorial Day.

Anyone interested in DayLilies? Oregano? maybe some maple weeds?

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A little while ago, I wrote about saving stuff, storing it, etc....my little cave office in the city is crammed full of stuff. I can't follow my own advise it seems. Containers, boxes and baskets stacked up and over flowing ~ Even to covering up the window since the sill was so wide. I couldn't open it up and with summer coming I'd roast in there without putting in the AC. I had to do something drastic.

So I went out and purchased some wall mountable shelving. Now I have to look in the boxes before I put them back on a shelf. Shoe boxes are my storage container of choice, some of the clear stacking storage type, some from real shoes, and some boxes just about, but not quite the same size... they are large enough to hold a small project or bias tape cards...Over the next week I'm going to go thru them and list more de-stash on Etsy to clear things out ~ I found a missing book, some clothes pins, and was able to open the window. There is a birds nest out there!

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The footsies don't get quite as much attention in the fall and wintertime ...you're not wearing sandals, or you're standing around all day at craft fairs. And you have the full heavy sock boot treatment to protect them from the cold and wet snow. The temperatures have been pretty spring like over the past week or so ~ Now is the time to get them into shape.

I always thot it peculiar that my mom would soak her feet...seemed old fashioned and a little eww ~feet~ but sometimes old fashioned isn't bad, and they are MY feet & I want them to feel good! so I've concocted a scrub form kitchen ingredients that I love. It smells yummy, scrubs and smoothes my feet and I always have the ingredients on hand...

Spring Foot Bath
find a nice big fluffy towel, perhaps a smaller one to help rinsing, and a both~foot~sized tub/bucket
Fill tub with hot water and add an orange, lemon, or lime peel and rosemary garni
(I dry or freeze the zesty peel for other dishes)
Fill the tub about 1/2 way full, it should cover your feet to the ankle
add the garni and citris peel to the hot water

Mediterranean foot soak scrub
1/2 to 3/4 c regular or kosher salt
about 1/4 c olive oil more or less to dampen salt
pinch of zest if you have any left
mix in a small plastic bowl

Soak your feet
When they feel relaxed and soft
Scoop a generous fingers/palm full of salt scrub and massage into your foot ~ get your toes, heels, ankles
Dip back into the foot bath to rinse
Massage and scrub the other foot.
I don't save any of the scrub; so if there is still some left over I go over heels again.
buff feet with fluffy towel.

Caution reminder! Salt will sting and hurt if you have a new cut.

Posted by Betsy at 02:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Alright. Then there is the other interesting/fun/environmentally responsible stuff you wanted to save to use "someday," things like blank cards, scrap paper, cardboard boxes, gift boxes, jewelry boxes, screws, elastic bands, envelops, free mailing labels, stickers, note paper, stationary sets, calendars, paper bags, tissue paper, gift wrap (new & used), etc, etc, etc.

My suggestion for this stuff ~ give yourself a limit. A drawer of this at your desk and a box, maybe, of that. If you can’t fit it in the box, drawer, by the phone what ever you designate as reasonable ~ bring it to a school, charity, church rummage, or yard sale. Post it to your local FreeCycle, Criag’s List, or open a shop on eBay if you’re really over~run or people keep sending you the same stuff you’ll never have enough time in your lifetime to use.

Posted by Betsy at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Some things I learned this weekend, will make me set some goals for managing details, and simplifying maybe, perhaps even for, well, being more thoughtful...

Organization ~ paperwork specifically.
While important, day to day, for finding items easily & putting things away and keeping the fluttering of receipts from taking over the living room, organizing your things so that OTHER people can tell what is important to you and important to keep legally is super duper ... important - OK some things are easy and many people will save aside…
Papers like: dollar bills, current year financials, last year financials even, an address book ~ even an old one, photos, passport, SS card, official certificates, people will generally know you might like to keep them. And so should you right? arrgh SO WHAT the hell?!? you shouldn't wrap it with elastic & toss it all together in a box.
Really - you want to jet set off to Polynesia for the weekend - you need that passport at your fingertips. It’s no damm fun if you have to spend a couple hours searching for it.... ok, OK so use your desk, buy a file cabinet, boxes or paper tote & put them away. The certified docs, or very sensitive info ~ Get a fire proof box for them ~ leave copies of them with your family or other place that’s not at home, but locking them up is a better way to protect them than "hiding" them in with the other categories (aka TRASH!)

You bet I have more to say about it...

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and the Red Sox are playing tonite; I expect a bit of late nite revelry in the old neighborhood. I may not get much sleep

Found some lovely new textured patterened papers for photo drops so got back to taking new product shots the past couple of nites. I'd been relisting and editing older photos. (Which starts to feel dull. I have to take new photos fairly often to feel like I'm not using old crap, even if I just didn't get to it...)

And here's a something just for funsite link on the first really chilly day of fall.

Posted by Betsy at 03:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Sugar shopping - pour it on!

Planning next years gardening early

Image presentation fun - even use flick!

Zesty Beads - my de-stach shop!

Posted by Betsy at 02:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

After the short busy break gettin my sweet situated and recovering; I'm into the re-org mode

Making lists of things to buy; things to do; dates on the calendar; jewelry sketches to review; data entry & business purchasing tasks; and a grocery list for living alone (I can get goat cheese, and pesto, figs and swisse chard - what ever I want (wonder if I'll lose or gain weight cooking for only myself?))

Things to buy:
more silver stock 1/2 in strip 24-22 ga?
custom stamp with ZB in my fav type face
a small range of chains/necklaces for my pendants
vacuum cleaner (no fun, but too much cat hair is disgusting.)
price out new display ideas
(tax free days this weekend...do I need anything big?)

Maybe I'll take a trip to MetalWerx...

Posted by Betsy at 01:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The love of my life had surgery this past week. I've not done any updates to street teams, blogs, stores, Ack...I wrapped some stones at the hospital - that's it.

Did you know that for some back surgery they go in from the FRONT!!! I guess it's easier to get to some parts after you move your guts around.
And they made him get up an walk the next day! Wow. It's pretty amazing.

Now perhaps I'll have some time to update my line for fall & holiday shows...I've stashed my sweet with Mom for recovery. woo hooo.

Posted by Betsy at 01:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)