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Elena

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Viewing 15 posts - 16 through 30 (of 2,114 total)
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  • in reply to: New visitors #915527
    Elena
    Participant

      Lovely! Look forward to more pics! I especially love the picture of the Red Breasted Nuthatch, that position looks like it shouldn’t be anatomically possible :p

      I live in what is considered the inner city area of a city of 1.2 million people but we still get wildlife! In my area we have the usual Robins, Sparrows, Chickadees, Crows & Magpies (that taunt the dog from the telephone wires) but I’ve also seen a Flicker around, it never stays long enough to get a pic, a Woodpecker of some sort and the occasional Whiskey Jack and Blue Jay. I’ve also seen Red Tail Hawks, Peregrine Falcons and Owls in the area. There is also a whole flock (counted 14 of them one day) of some sort of ground bird in the area, we think they are Prairie Chickens of some sort. They’re way to big to be quail and don’t have the long tail feathers like pheasants.

      We also have Jack Rabbits everywhere (which the dog loves), skunks, porcupines, coyotes & deer (that eat my plants in the spring). I know there are Black Bears, the occasional Grizzly, Ospreys, Cougars, Lynx and Moose up by the reservoir.

      Our City has a network of Parks and Pathways along both rivers so at least once a year or so something, usually a young moose but have seen bears, wanders into downtown and they have to shut down areas until Fish and Wildlife can catch it and take it back to where it belongs πŸ™‚

      in reply to: Blue Morpho Fledgies #913256
      Elena
      Participant

        Please! Please! Please! *sad kitten eyes*
        I stuck working when the came out!

        in reply to: Heat guns and PYO's #913002
        Elena
        Participant

          I would recommend against using a heat gun.
          Heat guns are more effective at removing paint (they cause latex and acrylic to bubble up from the surface they are painted on). While a little heat might be okay, its hard to judge at what point its too much heat and sometimes in my experience the settings aren’t all that accurate.
          If you have an electric fan I would try that or the cool setting on a hairdryer rather than a heat gun.

          in reply to: Anyone Else On Deviantart.com? #910832
          Elena
          Participant

            I am, haven’t done much but I’m there πŸ˜‰
            http://ladyleyn.deviantart.com/

            in reply to: Jobs Windstone Collectors Have? Career Advice? #910830
            Elena
            Participant

              Hey Dragoneer,

              Career wise, from experience the big thing that you have to determine first is what you want and what you can live with and be aware that this will change over the course of the years and that you need to be ready and willing to change as your needs and wants change.

              Nowadays, people are changing careers more often, I think the average is around 3 different careers over the course of your lifetime or something like that. So even if this one doesn’t work out, no learning or experience is EVER wasted!

              I have a fairly large collection, but I’ve also been collecting for 20+ years.
              I’ve found that you don’t need to have a super high paying job to afford these pretties, its more about what you are willing to compromise on to have them. As a teenager when I first started collecting, I saved my babysitting money and worked pretty much every weekend, even when I really didn’t want to, because I had an end goal in mind. Once I became an adult I had other things to deal with (bills, rent, school fees, etc) and have had to consciously decide how much I have available for extras or do things like not buy coffee or lunch and either take or make my own etc and put that $5 in a jar that is reserved for buying pretties. I will admit to having splurged on a piece that I really, really wanted and really couldn’t afford and been ok with eating ramen noodles for a month to make up for it, but that was a conscious choice that I was willing to live with. I’ve also had to sell some of my pretties, even though I really didn’t want to, in order to make ends meet.

              Currently, I’m on career number 3, first was child care, second theatre (stage manager, costumer, props builder) and now I’m doing law (not a lawyer or law enforcement) and I’m hoping that this is the last change I need to make πŸ˜›

              The first two didn’t leave much for pretties, which is where the jar thing came in handy and several years ago, LIFE happened which forced me from the job/career I really loved into something different. I do enjoy what I do now, but deeply miss theatre. I’m ok with that (most days), its a choice I had to make in order to survive. I figure once I’m a bit more settled I will see about doing stuff with a community theatre group or something. Right now, I work what is considered a really good job pay wise, but the city that I live in is expensive and I have loans and am trying to save for a down payment on a place of my own. I actually work 2 jobs (1 full, 1 part time) in order to make ends meet, put something in savings (which everyone should be doing) and have a little bit left for fun stuff. It sucks when you don’t get a day off for weeks, but again it is a choice I’m making so I can get where I want to be.

              I’ve still got friends in the art/theatre world and some can do nothing but what they love and survive, others pick up odd jobs or have a second job. A lot of people I know who are in the arts have said that you should always have a fall back plan. I also know people who work a part time job just so they can cover their bills and do other stuff that makes them happy the rest of the time and people who work high paying jobs and aren’t happy because they aren’t where they think they should be. *shrug*

              Again, its what’s right for YOU. No one else can determine that. Ignore the people who tell you that you should be doing X for any reason that doesn’t apply to you and your situation. You have to be happy and content with what and where you are in life or willing to make the changes and choices to get there!

              Hope I’ve made sense and Sorry for the ramble πŸ˜›

              in reply to: Jobs Windstone Collectors Have? Career Advice? #910831
              Elena
              Participant

                Oh and Jennifer has her own website with her work
                http://featherdust.critter.net/

                in reply to: Grab Bag Mini Keeper Photo Thread #910024
                Elena
                Participant

                  They are all soooooo gorgeous!
                  I’m hoping for a full class picture!

                  in reply to: Name suggestions #909580
                  Elena
                  Participant

                    Hmmm……..
                    Brancher (used for young birds)
                    Hoarder (I like this aren’t dragons supposed to hoard things? πŸ˜‰ )
                    Pirate (they steal things LOL)
                    Looter
                    Collector (we have a keeper why not a collector?)
                    Robber
                    Trinket
                    Prowler
                    Guilty (he has that look)
                    Contrite
                    Culpable
                    Delinquent
                    Two Year Old (he’s got that look that little kids have when they’ve done something but won’t admit to it…..)
                    Mischief
                    Rascal
                    Rogue
                    Filcher

                    in reply to: WHINE is served #909073
                    Elena
                    Participant

                      Blah, I’m going to whine…..

                      I slipped on some Ice and caught myself before I fell back before Christmas, but hey, I can’t count how many times I’ve slipped and caught myself (winter in Canada) and my feet were a bit sore when I got home but I had been on them for 15hrs so didn’t think anything of it. Woke up the next morning and the left was painfully sore but didn’t think anything of it, thought I’d probably sprained it or something. Nothing I haven’t done dozens of times over the years. Seemed to get a bit better over Christmas but it was slow at one job and I was off for 3 weeks from the other.

                      Into January and went back to the second job and the first picked up again and bam. Woke up one morning and couldn’t put any weight on my left foot without screaming pain for several hours. Finally decided to go to the doctor. 3 hrs waiting at a walk in clinic later, the doctor sent me for test, thought it was 1 of 3 things, Muscle pull, I broke something or gout. few days later got a call to go in to the clinic and different doc told me I had slightly high Uric Acid levels and it *might* mean gout and when I asked what I do about it she replied literally *google it*. 😐 So I did and next to nothing matches what I was feeling.

                      Anyhoo, not convinced that was the problem I made an appointment with a specialist and a month wait later I walk in and the specialist looks at it and now I’m in a grey boot cast and scheduled for an MRI on Monday and no allowed to go to my second job until he tells me I can and to stay off my feet as much as possible at my first job. He also told me emphatically and with a WTF look on his face that I did not have gout. He thinks I’ve done something to the ligaments but we won’t know what and how bad until the MRI results come back. :~

                      I’m whining because this is not going to be cheap (bye bye grab bag dragons hopes) and I’ve been hobbling around in pain for the last 2 months and just when I *thought* the roller coaster of the last several years was over. I just want a period of significant time in my life where nothing goes drastically wrong πŸ™

                      I’m going to curl up with cartoons, tea and cookies tonight

                      in reply to: Washing Machines–UPDATE–GOT IT!! ON PAGE 1 #907261
                      Elena
                      Participant

                        front loader! front loader! front loader!

                        You do need to get laundry soap that is made for the high efficiency washers (less sudsy or something) but it costs about the same and since the high efficiency ones use less soap it equals less money in the long run. Same thing for energy and water bills!

                        They have larger capacity, I can get my queen sized duvet in mine, no more trips to the laundromat to use the big washers to wash my quilts and stuff! They are MUCH gentler on clothing, I throw a lot of things marked delicate and hand wash only in on the delicate cycle and they’re fine. Also no more stockings and underthings wrapped in a stranglehold around the agitator! Plus they spin faster and I find that some of my clothes are barely damp when they come out so they dry faster!

                        They can sour, but if you leave the door open after a load it should be fine. I also run an empty cycle with just some bleach once every few weeks and it seems to help as well. And they are now making a ‘wash’ that is supposed to keep them from getting sour

                        I think they are definitely worth the extra price!

                        Elena
                        Participant

                          Yay! So glad you like it! :bigsmile:
                          I was starting to get worried, all tracking would say was that it was in your area…. durn post office πŸ˜›

                          Elena
                          Participant

                            My ornament came!
                            I got a lovely Ukrainian style egg from siberahk1 with foxes and snowflakes! It’s gorgeous Thank you sooo much! :bigsmile: I will try and get pics in the next day or so to show it off!

                            Elena
                            Participant

                              Merry Christmas Everyone! :santa:

                              By my calculations, there are still a few people who haven’t received their ornaments, If you have please post that you have received it, even if you don’t have pictures, so that your swapee (and me) know the post hasn’t lost it πŸ˜‰

                              If you haven’t received your ornament, please PM me so we can try and track it down. We want everyone to get a goodie!

                              Elena
                              Participant

                                And time to let those Ornaments fly away to their new homes! :santa:

                                Elena
                                Participant

                                  Addresses Sent! :bigsmile:

                                  Shipping Date is December 10!

                                Viewing 15 posts - 16 through 30 (of 2,114 total)