Pass the Coffee dudes.....

7:30 am this morning....awake.

I managed to get a 15 minute nap. After that it was very clear, there wasn't any going back to sleep.  Oh well.

The to-do list for today includes working on streamlining and cleaning up the facebook page for Jade Rose Zen, which also got a slight name change.  Jade Rose Zen ThreadWorks.

Someone finally went, hey the name doesn't really say much besides being catchy.  *head desk*

Never fails, either people won't give any advice or give too much.  Thankfully my friend Erin knows where to draw the line when it comes to advice.  Lovely gal that she is.

Though last night she asked me, what the heck it was that going on with JRZT.  Etsy brings in half of my orders but zero traffic.  Zibbet brings almost all of my traffic, but no orders.  Half of my orders come from Facebook, but maybe ten percent of traffic.

*head desk; head desk; head desk*

I do plan on building a website that is my store and independent of the crapp shoots that all these sellers.  Whether or not it work out..... well, that's another ball game and one that I'm not going to address until after the move.

And of course, Jade Rose Zen Threadworks even without the spaces is too long for Etsy, but the title can have it....

*rubs temples*

How one manages to stay sane while attempting to maneuver all this shit is beyond me.   So what's on tap for new stuff coming to the Facebook page?  Hopefully by the end of today, I'll have things organized better.  I am not an ads person.  Hell, I can barely write descriptions for the stuff I make that is outside of what the measurements are.  That's all folks need right?  Along with a good two or three pics....

Seriously how the hell do some of these folks come up with this prattle that is in their items listings?

Adding four new albums to the Facebook page, including a available for custom order catalog, knitting, crocheting and a paracord catalog.

Also, I call bullshit on anyone who says the economy is getting better.  PTUI!

Go fuck a duck.  Seriously.  Last year, I was getting several big orders.  This year, I had one big one and everything is small things.  Even small things are great though, but folks just aren't spending their money.  They're holding onto it tightly because they don't know when things are going to suddenly break on their cars that they've duct taping and wishing along as pieces start rattling that really shouldn't rattle.

Hell, I know folks who are trading quarts of food they canned two years ago to shade tree mechanics to get their brakes fixed, oil changed, etc.  People are trading goods for services.   Which is a time-honored tradition by the way.  One that I fully practice whenever able.  To be honest, things are not going to be better economy wise.  There's too many bubbles, there's too many head in the sand and there's coming up probably a few years where you're going to want armed guards on the fields protecting crops.

Won't last for several years though, probably 3-6 at the most.  Americans are bred from incredibly hardy stock, from all over the world.  There's a very unique spirit there that after a time will shake itself clean and look around and go, "Oh hell.  This needs fixed, and this needs fixed...."  So they start fixing stuff in their own lives, which produces this gorgeous ripple effect.  It starts inspiring other folks to get off their asses and get work done.

Oops, there I go another tangent again... what was I talking about... oh yeah, the shop.   I'll be taking a decent number of pictures today of the paracord stuff.  There so much of it, they can literally be broken down by color.  Heck, I'll throw up a second post late today with everything in it.  Sound good?

Well, I'm done rambling for today.  Time for coffee and breakfast.  Ya'll have a great weekend okay?

Hey there...

....glad you stopped by. Come on in.  Hot Water on the stove if you'd like some tea.

There's been something rolling around in the back of my head for awhile now.  Let's talk about it.

Either late last year or early this year, I don't remember which, my mother told me about one of her residents at the nursing home she works at.  A doll of a lady.  Literally.  Apparently she was maybe 95 pounds. Maybe 5 foot.

She brought with her her organ, and was a mistress at playing it.  The thing that stuck out in my mind though was a small bit from one of the meals she had come down for, she was wearing according to my mother a very beautiful skirt.  When queried, she told my mother it was her depression skirt.

I just see the puzzled look my mother gave her.

"It's the skirt I made in the Depression."

...yes.... THE Depression.  The blessed woman was, IIRC, over 100.  Think about that for a few minutes.

A skirt she had made, probably in the early 30's.  That puts that skirt between 75 and 85 years old.  She probably hand sewed it.

It was still a beautiful skirt.  Can you just imagine what that looked like?

She was only the home for about a year I think.  She passed away this fall.  A few weeks after I had asked my mom if she could get a picture of her and her skirt.  (And yes, *THAT* thought did fly through my head, being the slightly superstitious wench that I am.  It didn't stay for long, but long enough to make me wince.)

This skirt and woman have been on my mind a lot.

She lived through an era where:

1. Money was practically worthless.
2. Material goods were of high value.
3. Everyone had gardens or knew someone who had a garden and they bartered with them, skills for goods.
4. Things were made to last.  Fabric wasn't as cheaply made, etc.

Folks survived the Depression because they innovated.

They relied on their skills.

They made due.

They were stubborn.

With each passing day, individuals who have decades of experience are slipping through our fingers.  Folks who were there for the Depression.  A treasure trove of a walking library.  One that preppers and survivalists are missing out on.

And their stories! Dear Gods can you imagine their stories!  All back before we were wired in like we are now.  

I really wish I could have might the Skirt Lady and shared a cup of tea with her.