Preparations

I have the stamps,

the colorful tape,

the type set and then printed

and jobs in three printshops (this was the first thing I printed at Painted Tongue Press, a rainbow roll on the Vandercook for one of their cards). Then Moveable Type visited and I was all showing off my letterpress lifestyle in Oakland and I couldn't even remember the combination to the printshop at our house. No, I have not used the lovely lonely Vandercook in our garage. Sure, I've been working, biking to the beach and tired from the sneaky uphills that demoralize my ride to work---turns out I'm not so outta shape or tired or sick or so so slow, but that it is actually a long slow hill. A tricky kind of uphill that makes you feel like you're doing something all wrong since it LOOKS flat and everybody passes me. In Louisiana, it would be a hill. More postcards in the works. And I have been trying to adapt business tools to a more flexible economy, to blend better my love of making and sharing stuff and the financial reality of rent. I added an option to renew on etsy, if you have a postcard subscription or if you have been receiving cards and want to pay a little for postage but $15 is too much for you. I can't make it outright sliding scale without more programming knowledge, but I can refund you the difference. Slowly closing the gaps between some of the things I would like to do and the things I am doing.

Day Off

Luckily I have a smart sweetie who knows a good opportunity and convinces me to go to the country with our friends instead of trying to print next month's postcard when the printshop is closed anyway. So off we go, somehow only 70 miles from Oakland, there are levees and endless farmland where our friend has a small farm. She invited us there with a bunch of others for pumpkin picking and food and pie tasting and music. I helped sell squash and pumpkin and, in return, came home with a giant soup pumpkin, a jack-o-lantern-to-be and a belly full of pie. Who knew acorn squash pie is so good?

Andy wandered around the farm and took these great photos. As the sun went down, tired and wine-happy, we reluctantly got back in the car to drive to the city to our house which is finally officially well-stocked with food. Now if only I wasn't too tired to cook all week. Though I have 3 part-time jobs, they equal full-time work plus commuting. And this sinus sickness won't let go. But I have my three favorite postcards cheering me on and tonight, we might try and run the Vandercook in our garage.

Weekend Update

Yeah! Before the new year and before my personal datebook ran out, here are three more for the store with three more on the way. I opted against a 4th job so I could work on this stuff on the weekends but somehow there is always more to do than I have time for. Well, and I made chocolate chop cookies this morning. And yesterday Andy and I biked around the Bay. He took these photos that I edited a little. It was so nice to ride, look at the water, eat, and not do too much else. Now, back to work and "work".

Postcard Collection

I've been home sick for three days and have been too tired to do much. I am tempted, with all this time, to bind books, organize shelves, bake cookies, got o the store. Then I fall asleep instead. Today I sat on the floor and sorted through postcards, mostly stuff I brought back from Europe, though also from friends and things I've had for a while. I but a bunch of things together but now I am too tired to hang it on the wall. But here is a glimpse of images that inspire me.