The Hole Story

While living in South Korea, a little friend came to live at our house, a woodpecker. He pecked a rather large hole in a post on our front porch and made himself at home. When I would go out to get the mail, he would fly out of the hole and wait on a nearby tree for me to return to the house.

Sometimes it would startle me when he flew out of the hole.

We have been home now for over a year and I've been asking Rocketman (a mechanical engineer by degree) to fill the hole. I told him that we need to do it in the fall when the woodpecker has gone south for the winter and he would always shake his head in agreement.

But now another fall is almost gone and the hole is still there. The problem is that Rocketman doesn't really know how to fix the hole. He's not a carpenter but an engineer. I thought that since he is an engineer he can fix anything. We'll see if he comes up with a solution.

Maedeup Monday!

I now have 5 yard bundles of 1.5mm Korean cording available in my Etsy store. They are $5.00 a bundle so you can now use the same cording that I use. It's my favorite not only because it was what I was taught with but because it works so well for maedeup.

Now is a good time to be thinking about Christmas presents. When the kids were younger, I would always try to make their teachers something and maedeup makes a wonderful gift for your family and friends. It's also pretty inexpensive which helps a lot these days.

Kim Bum Soo's 7th CD is Out

Just released Kim Bum Soo's 7th CD called Solista Part 1. It's fantastic! His voice is amazing. This time he teamed up with JY Park who produced the CD. He's the genius behind The Wonder Girls and Rain.

This first video is the first official video from the CD. No sign of Kim Bum Soo anywhere in the video.



This second video is mostly of JY Park producing with some glimpses of Kim Bum Soo. They still seem to try to hide his face.

It's Serious Business!

Duck hunting in Minnesota. I see this camouflaged boat in a neighbor's driveway this time of year and I know it's duck hunting season. I used to work with a gal who took duck and deer hunting very seriously. She doesn't use perfumed detergent or deodorant. Nothing in their house has an odor. She would complain about how she would have to untangle the decoys as they put the 50-100 into the water to attract the ducks. All the meat that they ate was meat that they had hunted. It was not surprising during deer hunting season to see a deer hanging in their garage waiting to be taken to the butcher.

Maedeup Monday!

Join me on November 14th, 1:30-3:30pm to learn garakji maedeup. The class will be at the White Bear Center for the Arts. This knot is a classic way to end your maedeup jewelry project. It also makes beautiful earrings.

Rocketman returned on Saturday from a three week stay in Asia. He again had to pick up some things for me at the maedeup shop in Seoul but luckily Hannah, my Korean girlfriend, was able to have the order shipped to his hotel room so he didn't need to take a trip into Seoul. I'm restocked now with loop turners.

Today we go to the retina center for a visit with the brother of Dr. NBM (no bedside manner). Luckily, he is not like his brother and is very nice especially with the questions I tend to ask. I'm somewhat of a worrywart since this whole detached retina thing started. Rocketman is still having some sight issues and we'll see if he will be having more surgery.

The FaveCrafts Blog Hop

I am participating in The FaveCrafts Blog Hop. Each month I will be sharing a different project. Enjoy!!

Halloween Pumpkins
By Becky Meverden

Materials:
Polymer clay: orange, white, black, brown and green
Round toothpick
Small paintbrush
Stylus
Plastic straw, optional
Circle template, optional for measuring ball sizes

Instructions:

1. Condition clay according to manufacturer’s instructions.

2. Pumpkin: Roll a 7/8” orange ball. Use a toothpick to indent lines around the entire ball. Stem: Use the blunt end of a paintbrush to make a hole in the top of the pumpkin. Roll a ¼” brown ball into a teardrop. Press the widest end of the teardrop against a flat surface to flatten. Use a toothpick to indent lines randomly around and on top of the stem. Press stem into the hole. Leaves: Flatten two 5/32” green balls into teardrops. Indent veins onto each leaf and press leaves onto both sides of the stem. Vine: Roll a 1/8” green ball into a 1/16” diameter log. Use your fingers to coil and press onto pumpkin.

3. Eyes: Flatten two 5/32” white balls into teardrops. Press the narrowest ends together slightly and press onto the pumpkin. Pupils: Roll two 1/16” black balls and press onto each eye. Nose: Roll a 5/32” orange ball into an oval and press onto the head below the eyes. Eyebrows: Use a toothpick to indent. Mouth: Press half of a straw end just under the nose and remove. It leaves a great smile. A toothpick can also be used to indent the mouth. Use a stylus (or toothpick) to indent both ends of the smile.

4. Bake in a preheated 265 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Books, Books, Books!

Once a year Half Price Books has a gigantic sale at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. Hardcover books are $2.00 and paperback are $1.00. Last year was my first time and poor Rocketman had to carry bags of books to the car three times. This year I was going alone since Rocketman was in Asia. I brought a big bag and filled it to the rim with books. The total was around $41.00.


If Rocketman had been there, I know I would have bought more. I love books! When I got home and was putting my books into my closet, I noticed I still had a huge stack from last year that I hadn't read yet. So I am vowing to not buy another book until I read most of my stash.

I was surprised to see a police cars ticketing cars that were parked illegally like in a handicap zone or by a yellow curb. The fairgrounds are closed to the public except for the state fair and other events. So some people were going to be really surprised when they returned to their car. I parked legally although it was over 2 blocks away. I can't wait for the next sale.