Months in Review: October & November

Last time I posted it was election night eve. The pure shock and happiness of that night kind of sent me into a few weeks of being speechless. In my suburban neighborhood the night ended with horns honking, distant 'whooo-hoos', fireworks, and me crying happy tears into a glass of merlot. I'll never forget it. I think I'm recovered now, still a little in shock, but ready to start posting again nevertheless. The last two months have been, well, guess what? Busy. I should really find other words to describe my life, lets see: swamped, up to my neck, busy as a bee? Yes, those sound much more interesting don't they? The great news is that all this busy as a bee-ness got my etsy site up and running (that's one of my cards, above). I'm super proud that I have some cards out in the world, it has been such a long road with so many detours that I'm just pleased as punch to finally be on my way. Here's a recap of the past two months in Flying Pencil land.

Greatest Free Find
Never, ever did I think I'd be singing the praises of the US Postal Service on my blog. I repeat: never. I'm generally, and probably unfairly annoyed with the USPS. Even though I have had a handful of pleasant experiences within many of the post offices in my town, I've had a mail-truck full of irritating ones. Like last time I was in, there was only one clerk open and I got stuck behind a grump wanting to look at ALL the stamp choices before buying theirs, and then complaining that all the choices are "too boring" and getting mad. But things are looking up for me and the USPS, because I found out that they will give you free boxes, and deliver them to your house. I found this little tidbit out while waiting in line behind Mrs. Grumpypants (thank you very much). I came home, went online, and ordered up some free shipping supplies for Pixel & Post. About a week later our very friendly postman delivered a stack for lovely priority mail boxes, and mail tubes to my door. Simple. Free. So cool! Now if mailing them could be as simple....

Flashback Moment
In November I had the chance to go 'teach/college-kid sit' for a silkscreen class at my art skool alma matter. You know that feeling you get if you ever have the chance to visit your grade school as an adult? I found out you get that same feeling when you visit the art studio you spent the majority of your 20's in. The smell of the ink, the creak of the studio door, the sound of one my favorite professors whistling as he walked down the hall, tea from the art school cafe where I used to work (and serve up espresso with complimentary dollups of attitude and sometimes a hand puppet). It all made me feel incredibly happy, completely nostalgic, and just a tad bit old. It was wonderful, and it made me want to make art again just for the heck of it.

In My Ears:
I'm going to break away from the playlist format for this post and tell you about my new time-waster: Mixwit. It is a free online service that allows you to make virtual 'mixed tapes' to email to friends or post to your blog. I think the interface is so darn cute, I just had to use it here and may continue. I love Sufijan Stevens. I wanted to post a newer track here, but this one will have to do "They Are Night Zombies! They Are Neighbors!" reminds me of my weird neighbors who had a zombie head on a stick poking out of their over groomed boxwood during the Halloween season, looming over their praying Madonna statue. Yikes. "The Cedar Room" by Doves starts out sounding like a weird electric train, but then rocks out. I love the sound. "Break Your Mama's Back" has a laid back synthesizer bit that is very danceable. "Revelry" by Sea Ray has been on my favorites list for some time now. And I think "Tendency" by Battle is probably one of the more rockin' songs I've heard in a long, long time. Crank it up!