I'm going to be at Atlantian Crown, with my kitty, and all my Stuff. Hopefully I will have fixed the leak in the roof of the EZ-up, and found something more cushioned than a pile of blankets to sleep on.

I was all 'out of kingdom event, won't know anyone, will be own my own, sad' because apparently my BRAIN WAS NOT WORKING because LIKE HALF OF YOU WILL PROBABLY BE THERE. Including a lot of you who I haven't seen in WAY THE HELL TOO LONG.

So if you're gonna be there too, sing out! It'll be good to see folks.

…of why I never mention what I do during the day to my mother. Because no matter how much I’ve actually gotten _done_, she focuses on anything I mention that isn’t work. Was I reading when she got home? Am I daring to play a bit of a computer day tonight? ‘So you had a leisurely day, did you?’.

She’s ‘kidding’. Only she’s not. You know the thing. ‘I am giving you shit because this behaviour is inappropriate, but if you call me on what I said, I was only joking!’

I’m tired of her trying to enforce her ‘way things should be’ on me. I get four times what she does done in any given day...and I get a nice long lunch and the evening off while I’m at it. But because I don’t put in a 9-5 day every weekday like people with ‘real jobs’, because I don’t get up at seven in the morning like people with ‘real jobs’, none of it counts.

My mother will never approve of me, and...I’m slowly coming to peace with that. But I wish she didn’t shove it in my face quite so often.

Don't remember where I left off and can't be arsed to check, frankly.

Wednesday I had a whole list of stuff to do, got up, looked at it, chucked it all and took a long walk with Loiosh. Then a nap.

Thursday I got the whole list done, plus a bunch of other stuff.

Friday I wrapped a pile of soap and otherwise got packed for the farmer's market today, and then my car died. Got it towed, got my mom to pick me up, shoved all the show stuff in her car, and resolved not to think about mine until Monday, when they'll have a chance to look at it. Hoping it's not too expensive -- I have some money saved up, but I'd rather spend it on an RV.

The farmer's market today went well -- I didn't sell quite as much as last week, but the lady who runs the store where the market's being held over the winter asked me about my wholesale prices, and then when I got home I had an email from _another_ shop asking about consignment. So it's looking pretty likely that my stuff will be available in two local stores soon. Plus, my first wholesale contract!

My mom, of course, saw the bad in everything. My car's gonna be really expensive, and what am I gonna do if they want more money than I have? And I won't sell anything at the farmer's market, because anyone who was gonna buy anything from me got it last week. She didn't say anything _bad_ about the wholesale and consignment possibilities, but she wasn't impressed, either.

...I'm really glad I don't buy into her 'everything's awful' philosophy. I'm glad I let myself be _happy_.

...I'm only gonna be able to stay here so long before it starts wearing off...or before I shout at her for it. Neither of which would be productive.

But hey, two more places selling my stuff? That's two more steps towards living on the road. And hey, I'll take that.

Yesterday being the seventh day, I rested*.

* Okay, some, anyway. And played with my nephew. And helped my mom and sister clean up from the party. And napped.

Today:

1) Three-count-them-three batches of soap, which will _start_ replacing what I sold on Saturday.
2) Bought more soap base, and also two more soap molds, cos soap and also soap.
3) Wrote this week's newsletter, and
4) started on next week's.
5) Hauled some more crap in from the old garage, and reorganized my toolbox while I was at it (is that two?).
6) Poked at making labels for a new lip balm flavour -- chocolate. (What's not to love?)
7) Started on Goddess Leonie's 2012 Creating Your Goddess Year Workbook -- the 2012 part, that is, having already finished the 2011 review part.
8) And wrote down 41 or so of my '100 things I'm going to do this year', which, if anyone is interested, I might post some excerpts from.
9) I wrote up the text for an ad I'm going to be running next month, and speaking of advertising...
10) I also checked my Project Wonderful ads, to see if they're getting enough clicks to be worth it.

Company Christmas party. Thirty or so loud, occasionally drunk people in my house. Now, I like em all, but still.

...so I hung out as long as I could stand it, and now I'm back in My Space, which is (thankfully) pretty private. I can still hear everyone, but I know they'll leave me alone.

1) My first appearance at the Collegeville Farmers' Market -- they have a winter market, inside, which is a rare and beautiful thing. I made a goodly wad of money in just a few hours, and traded a bar of soap for a jar of REALLY nommy mango strawberry jam.
2) And that would have been plenty for the day, but with the party here...I made the baked beans, and
3) vacuumed,
4) helped Mom wrap Christmas presents for a couple of the guys,
5) finished up the straightening, and
6) actually got Mom to sit down for half an hour or so before everyone showed up, instead of fluttering around finding Even More To Clean.

I am definitely buying more soap-making equipment, cos I sold another pile today, and at the rate things are going, I am _not_ going to be able to keep up the way I'm doing things now. But that can wait until Monday.

And now, I am p00ped.

It takes 30-ish days to make a habit, or so they say. So I'm 1/10th of the way in. Yay! And thing.

1) I didn't make any soap, but I did wrap some.
2) Then I took Loiosh into my mom's store (as we try to do every week) so that he and I can keep my nephew Riley occupied for a while. He's a year and a half old now, and my sister still brings him to work with her every day, which is AWESOME.
3) Played Knockdown with Riley, in which he knocks me down (or, well, I pretend to let him) and then I hurt my back. The hurting my back part isn't _usually_ involved, fortunately.
4) But it did curtail my plans for the day. So instead of hauling more stuff in from the old garage, I took a Flexeril and a couple of Advil.
5) Think that doesn't count as a 'thing I got done'? File it under "routine maintenance for Om Shanti Naturals' most valuable business asset", which is _me_.
6) Anyway, it was the only way I was gonna get that gift basket packed up...
7)...and shipped, and I also had to
8) get the car packed for the farmers' market tomorrow.
9) At which point I took a nap (see #5, above).
10) Since the company Christmas party is tomorrow (that's the Frank Jones Trophies/Sporting Goods Christmas party, not the Om Shanti Naturals one,and yes, we know it's January) I did some straightening up around the house
11) And cooked dinner.
12) and possibly most important, I got a shower, so I'm all fresh and clean tomorrow, and can sleep as late as humanly possible before hauling myself out of bed to get to the farmers' market.

Does it still sound kinda self-indulgent? But I've gotta take care of myself first. Selfish? It's hard to fill others' cups, though, when you've let yours run out.

I can't take care of the cats if I'm too sick to get out of bed, I can't go to 12th Night and sell soap when I've got the Titanian Two-Step, and I can't play Knockdown with my nephew when my back is busted.

So I'm taking care of me, so there's enough of me to go around. And if that sounds selfish, well, I hope you don't run out right when someone else really needs you.

--

(...possibly I'm having this argument with my mother. Without actually involving her in it. Cos believe me, it's easier this way.)

Not as many as yesterday...but yanno? I'm cool with that.

1) I did make soap.
2) And advised someone on the best soap for her situation, which
3) led to a sale, which is
4) already packed up.
5) Plus, I poured some body wash, since I was short a bottle or two for the show this weekend, and
6) Put new labels on all of them, including relabeling some of them -- the old labels had gotten dampish on the trip north, and wrinkled. Which led to...
7) ...more printing of labels I'll be needing soon
8) and spraying them with hairspray (cos otherwise the ink will smear) and setting them under something heavy-but-pourous for a couple of days to dry.
9) And then wrapping up a bunch of soap, because holy crap, the soap. THE SOAP.
10 Oh, and I bought and listened to SARK's 'SARK in your pocket' mp3 (as background for some of the rest), which was AWESOME and thought-provoking and also AWESOME.

...listed out, I guess it's more than I thought. Which is kinda the point of this, isn't it?

I've been having trouble keeping up with soap production (I haven't had it fully stocked up since before Christmas, even though I missed Kingdom 12th Night), and I think the solution is gonna involve bigger batches, which in turn involves more equipment. Which, given how well the soap is selling, it's probably time for.

So yay! That's a goodness.

One feature of my life over the last several years is that there's always been _someone_ there with whom, at the end of the day, I could share what I'd gotten done, grouch about what didn't go well, and celebrate what did.

What with one thing and another, right now, that's my mom.

Who has this lovely combination of Catholic guilt and the Protestant work ethic (of the 'you haven't ever done enough' variety). So yeah, no matter what I've done, it's not enough. There's always 'I hope X that you did works' (said in that 'I bet it won't' tone) and 'It's a shame that X didn't happen, too' and all sorts of well-meaning-but-really-not-filled-with-love sort of things.

And I don't need to be resting my feeling of self-worth on that. Well, I don't need to be resting my feeling of self-worth on anyone approving of what I've gotten done, but one step at a time, yanno?

So here's what I got done yesterday.

1) Dug my toolbox out of the pile of crap it's been living in in the old garage, and used my newly-available tools to:
2) Get my favourite Ikea chair put together, complete with the new cushions my Mom got me for my birthday, and;
3) Fix the front bumper on my car, which has been hanging down. I also:
4) Bagged (and boxed) up most of the recyclage piled in the bottom of the pantry, and got it ready to go out to the curb, along with
5) the styrofoam in the garage, which is now boxed up and ready to go to the recycling place.
6) I got two _big_ orders from the website, and got them mostly put together to ship.
7) I made two batches of (badly needed) soap, and also
8) a batch of Ma Cobb's Joint Liniment, since one of the orders wants one of the _big_ bottles, yay!
9) While I was thinking of it, I went through Catherine Caine's Radiant Work mini-course (go to her blog and there'll be a signup thing on the right, if'n you want), and found out that yes, making my bath and body stuff _is_ what I want to be doing right now, and yes, it pays me enough for how long it takes me to make. Clarity is GOOD. Just need to get sales up.
10) I also spent some time noting down ideas for making my newsletter far more AWESOME. Plus!
11) I printed soap labels (always necessary) on my awesome new laser printer.
12) Dug out a bunch of my kitchen stuff that had been languishing in the old garage and _washed_ it, so I can store it properly in here. And!
13) Made dinner.

...I got a lot done!

I might keep this up. I might not. Who knows?

This is more for me than for you. So if you don't care, that's cool. But hey, if it's fascinating, who am I to say 'don't read it'?

I know, I know, I've been posting everywhere but here. But this is big, guys.

I plan to move into an RV pretty soon and travel the country. BECAUSE I LOVE YOU ALL. And cannot visit you often enough. (Yes, I know this doesn't solve the problem of visiting Australia or Sweden. ONE THING AT A TIME.)

In order to move into an RV, first, I need an RV.

I have found the PERFECT ONE.



Seriously, guys. SERIOUSLY. THIS IS MY RV I WANTS IT.

So, uh. I need a money. Buying things would be awesome. Lending me a large wad of cash would be awesome. Heck, I'm shameless. You're rich? Give me money. For my beautiful RV.

I wants it. I want this to go viral so I can sell 95,6777,35 bars of soap so I can buy it. I am considering putting on a short short skirt and wandering the unpleasant part of town. I DO NOT KNOW WHAT I WOULD DO TO GET THIS RV TO BE MINE. But I'm pretty sure that it would kinda scare me to find out.

So let's save me from a death worse than fate. Spread the word. Buy soap. Win me the lottery. Somethin. As long as it works, I'll be a happy Kate.

BECAUSE HOLY GOD THIS RV. THIS RV.

It was less than a week ago, I think, that I posted that I wasn't keeping any of the kittens.

...y'all stop laughing.

I mean, look at this face.



( Look at the sleepy eyes! )

I admit it -- I've fallen madly in love with Agate (now Emily), and she'll be staying here. STOP LAUGHING. But Jet still needs a home, because holy crap, I don't need two of Loiosh.

I found a place nearby that has a fund to cover getting pets spayed and neutered for cheap, so good news -- he'll be fixed before he goes to his Forever Home! I'm still hoping to raise some money to cover his shots, so if you can't take him but want to help, I sure wouldn't object.

(Any extra funds will go to the place that's generously doing the spay/neuter for me, cos they're a good cause!)

So the NEW rules:

1) He always has a place here. If the new owners cannot keep him for any reason, I will not ask questions, I will not judge, I will not grouse on my blog. I will just come get him and bring him back home.

2) Between me and various friends I’m pretty sure we can get transportation to cover goodly chunks of the central East Coast — I will deliver Jet to anywhere within a couple hours of Knoxville, at the very least.

3) He must be an indoor kitty. He's lived the outdoor life and now deserves to be safe in a climate-controlled environment with soft beds and lots of toys. (If you manage to leash-train him, of course he may go outside -- with you, on the leash! But not by himself!)

4) No declawing. It’s mean. Just no.

5) Yes, he's adorable. But you know what? Surprise kittens make crap gifts, y’all. Therefore I will need to be in contact with the actual person with whom he'll be living. I do not care how well you know your friend/roomie/spouse/partner/parent/sibling/dentist. Kittens are not a good present.

6) As of right now I have no idea how Jet does with other critters, because he's still in quarantine. Look for more info after his check-up and FIV/FeLV testing!

7) He's been treated for fleas, he'll be tested for FIV/FeLV, and he'll be going in to get fixed Sept. 12. Jet will be ready for a home a few days after that -- I want to make sure he's recovered okay.

And now, kitten pics!

I did manage to get one picture of him without a goofy look on his face, but only one:



( Moar kitteh pics here! )

These beautiful babies were born in my back yard, and I've been trying to catch them for a couple weeks now. Jet (the black one) has been inside for almost a week, and though he's still kinda skittish until I pick him up, once I've got him he's the purrinest, lovinest kitten you'd ever want. He sits right below my chin and loves on me and refuses to leave -- if I try to put him on my lap he'll climb right back up. GIEF ME LOVE THUMB MONKEY LOVE I NEEDS IT

He also loves cheese. To the point that after his very first piece he tried to climb into my mouth to look for more.

Agate has only been in for a few days, but I got a purr out of her this morning. She is much quieter than her brother, and will sit calmly on my lap, and even let me turn her over and rub her belly. She is...solemn, calm, a quiet joy. Plus, her nose is ADORABLE.

Yes, they're up for adoption -- I'm pretty well full up these days. I am stealing my friend Andrea's rules (with slight modifications):

1) They always has a place here. If the new owners cannot keep them for any reason, I will not ask questions, I will not judge, I will not grouse on my blog. I will just come get the cats and bring them back home.

2) Between me and various friends I'm pretty sure we can get transportation to cover goodly chunks of the central East Coast -- I will deliver them to anywhere within a couple hours of Knoxville, at the very least.

3) They must be indoor kitties. They have lived the outdoor life and now deserve to be safe in a climate-controlled environment with soft beds and lots of toys.

4) No declawing. It’s mean. Just no.

5) Yes, they are adorable. But you know what? Surprise kittens make crap gifts, y’all. Therefore I will need to be in contact with the actual person with whom they will be living. I do not care how well you know your friend/roomie/spouse/partner/parent/sibling/dentist. Kittens are not a good present.

6) As of right now I have no idea how they do with other critters, because they’re still in quarantine. Look for more info after their check-up and FIV/FeLV testing!

7) They've been treated for fleas, and I'll be able to get them tested for FIV/FeLV, but I likely won't have the money to do more than that. You must PROMISE ME (and prove with vet records) that they'll get the appropriate shots, and that, once they weight enough (which they likely will by the time they're ready for homes), they will be fixed. The whole purpose of this is to have fewer feral cats running around without homes!

If I wind up with sufficiently ridiculous amounts of money, I'll take care of #7 myself, but I don't want to guarantee anything. (Donations towards catfixing happily accepted, however!)

I will have better pictures of them soon -- I keep forgetting to bring my camera in with me! -- and please, please boost the signal, and let me know if you have room in your heart and home for a tiny kitty!

On to more kitty pics!

( On to more kitty pics! )

My Loiosh is three years old today. Can we get a rousing Happy Birthday?

He's chowing down on gooshyfood, and I'll be getting him salmon later today, too.



I'm having a one-day sale in honour of his birthday -- enter coupon code LoioshBirthday and you'll save 25% off. Just for today though!

I can't believe it's been three years. I hope we're together for a long, long time.

I never did post about him much, because he just wasn't as photogenic as Loiosh or as loving as Chocolate. In fact, he hated all humanity and barely tolerated me. But I loved him, and he was as sweet as his nature allowed him to be.

I let Samson go today. It wouldn't have been a kindness to make him stay longer and he wasn't getting any better. But I don't want to talk about his death; I want to talk about his life.

I called him Samson Hatesyouall because, well, he did. He didn't get enough exposure to humans while he was young enough to be socialized and he never decided to change his mind later on, as some cats do. He tolerated me, though, put up with me occasionally petting him and even demanding snuggles. With ill grace, but he never did actually kill me.



But he loved the other cats. He loved Chocolate, who's his brother, and as unlike a brother as you can get. Chocolate weighs barely half of what Samson did at his prime.



But they were always close, snuggling up together, fighting like, well, brothers.



And he loved Loiosh.



Oh, did he love that kitten.



Loiosh stole his heart within days. I'd worried about bringing him home and Samson was most of what I was worried about -- earlier attempts to introduce him to other cats had always failed and done so spectacularly. But Loiosh? Samson snuggled him, washed him, raised him.

Even when Loiosh had reached his full growth of holy-hell-how-big-are-you-NOW he'd still slink up to Samson, eyes squeezed shut, ears and whiskers tucked back, and weasel his head in underneath Samson's chin, demanding kisses. And Samson would half-close his eyes and wash Loiosh, and wash him and wash him.

And soon enough they'd be beating the crap out of each other, but that's the ways of cats.

While I can't say he ever liked me he did want to stay...not close, but usually in the same room I was in. I'd find him on the shelves that held my boxes, in my lightbox (repeatedly), or, memorably, enjoying a catnip toy nearly at my feet.







He spent a lot of the last couple days under my desk. I left him mostly alone under there -- didn't want to stress him more than he already was -- but it was good to know he found some comfort in being near me...even if not too near.

He had the chance to say goodbye to both Loiosh and Chocolate before it was time to take him in, and I'm glad. They're going to miss their brother...and despite the part where he hated me, so will I.

A friend in need is selling a bunch of her BPAL. Parfum and a good cause: What, indeed, is not to love?

Bananaphone.

...I now (finally!) have the lip balms available in tubes. Find em here (along with the new jars).

I'm also having a sale at both shops, what with it being Christmas and all, so folks might want to head over even if they're not into the lip balms.

25% off everything. Y'all know the drill. Om Shanti Handcrafts or if you prefer here's my Etsy shop.