Yes, it is almost that time again.  The rush begins the very second Halloween ends.  My daughter asked me this morning on our (30 minute) ride to school, ‘Mommy, why does nobody care about Thanksgiving? How come everyone is already talking about Christmas?’  What great questions.  Eight-year-olds really can bring clarity to our hectic lives.

With that said, as a freshly minted retailer (having been open a whopping 4 months now), I’ve been thinking about the gift-giving  holidays practically since opening day.  It’s really quite astounding how the normal retail cycle works for the season.  A typical gift shop orders for Christmas in July. July! But mine is not a typical shop. I don’t order stuff made in other countries, to be shipped here in advance of the season.  I only sell what is made from the hands of people who live right in our midst – most in Middle Tennessee, but a few in Kentucky, too.  (Everyone can drive to Over the Moon in about an hour – I guess that’s my definition of local.)

So being new to retail, and being committed to this nifty business model of mine, I’ve had quite the time preparing for the gift-giving season.  Coaxing beautiful, purposeful and hand-made pieces from my artists is not something to be rushed.  It can’t be handled in a single email or phone call.  It takes time.  Time for conversation, for exploring the realm of what the artist and I would LOVE to share with our customers, and tempering this fantastical day-dreaming with a dose of reality.  Reality:  hand-made things take time to hand make.  So speed of production and mass quantities are by definition excluded from our reality.

So what does this mean for those who visit Over the Moon this holiday season?  It means something quite wonderful, actually.  It means that you’ll find an edited but exquisite collection of some of the finest gift items available anywhere.  Everything we sell is art, and by definition is one-of-a-kind.  Most of it can’t be found anywhere else on Earth. Really.

To introduce the world to some of these wonderful things, I’ll soon be hosting a series of intimate drop-in events.  Each will feature two or three of our talented artists, who’ll bring in extra work for you to enjoy.  We’ll also have some yummy goodies . . . perhaps some Cremant (sparkling wine from Burgandy – my current fav), Brie and hand-made chocolates . . . or hot cider, sinful homemade brownies and Oreo truffles?  Yes, definitely the truffles. And they would pair so nicely with the Cremant, too . . . don’t you think?

Okay, I stray from my task at hand.  Apologies – I’m hungry.  Here are the details, thus far:

Thursday, November 19:  Beth Hart Designs will feature all the wonderful personalized Christmas photo cards available this season, along with lovely personal stationery designs (think note cards, enclosure cards, correspondence cards).  Each design is exquisitely unique, and her entire ‘Robin’ line is available only through Over the Moon. AND it’s all printed on tree-free or 100% recycled stock. Beth herself will join us (and she’s bringing her fabulous sausage pinwheels!), to assist our guests in creating the perfect Christmas card to share with friends and family. And for some extra motivation to drop in:  all orders of quantities less than 100 cards placed during the event will receive a discount of 10%, and all orders placed in quatities of greater than 100 cards will receive a 20% discount.  How great is that?

Tuesday, December 1:  Sorellina Designs and Lovely Nest will be with us to showcase their incredibly purposeful and lovely pieces.  Leigh McGinty of Sorellina Designs is an artist of vast talent, which she shares with us through her paintings depicting architecturally-inspired crosses and fleur-de-lis, along with bucolic landscapes and some wonderful floral pieces.  Come discover some of her new work!  And Jamie Burton of Lovely Nest stole our hearts when she shared her repurposed clothes, felted wreaths and baby items with us – her ability to make incredible new pieces of clothing from the pre-loved is brilliant.  Jamie is new to Over the Moon and we can’t wait to share her work with you.

Tuesday, December 8:  LouLou and 2SweetThings will be with us – quite a dynamite combination.  Lee Anne Hagan (Lou Lou herself!) will showcase her funky and fabulous hand-made jewelry – lariats are her most popular pieces, but I simply adore them all. Please come buy some so that I don’t end up taking it all home.  And Mandy Pfeiffer, creator of 2SweetThings, will join us to share her irresistable pieces for babies and wee ones.  Trust me when I say that, when you see her crib shoes for baby, you will want a pair even if you have no baby.  My children are 5 and 8, so no baby. What did I do? I bought a pair for the 8-year-old’s doll. I simply had to have them.  Irresistable.  I must also mention that she sews the shoes, along with the precious knot dresses, skirts, bibs and burp clothes by hand from yummy and fantastic fabrics. You must see to believe!

Thursday, December 10:  Margo and More Better will be at OTM showcasing the finest in hand-made jewelry (that would be Margo) and hand-made aprons and baby items (that would be More Better).  An odd combination, you say?  Not at all!  Margo’s pieces are perfect for the holidays – they are festive, bold and made from the finest stones and precious metals available.  Her work is the definition of a ’special gift’ – for one’s self, or if you’re feeling especially nice, your mom, too.  And More Better’s pieces are the perfect complement – the hand-sewn aprons for itty bitty, middle-sized and big girls (aka Mom) are sweet, sassy and THE must-have wardrobe accessory for holiday preparations.  More Better also makes (BY HAND) beautiful bibs and burp clothes from the same delicious fabrics.  The eight-year-old’s doll is also currently wearing one of the bibs, by the way.

Okay, that’s the plan for now.  We may add another drop-in or two, so keep an eye on our blog, the website – www.overthemooncollection.com – or your inbox if you’re on the OTM e-list.

Cheers!

Cat

Formosa Fun Waterpark for KIAH the Amazing Intern’s birthday celebrations!

Sunday, September 20th, 2009

Birthday Crew:

Pictured here from left: Alison, Cool Guy #1, Margo, me, Kiah, and Cool Guy #2.

(If you know those dude’s names, please tell me!)

Swim Suit – Top Shop (Siam Mall Bangkok)

shades – the only ones I have left! (Bang-On, Calgary)

Sunday, Septeber 20th, 2009 (2)

Van Crew::

Pictured here from left: Justin, Harry, me, Rob, Danny, Amy, Colleen and Mark & Lottie in the front

Playsuit: WuFanPu

Fabulous, awesomely tiring day. My muscles are sore. But it was totally worth hauling my ass outta bed on Sunday morning at 8:30 to go to!

Breaking Bad : Season 2 : Episode 4: “Down”

Jesse reaches the end of his tether.

As Walt’s attempts to regain his family fail to cut the mustard, Jesse loses all and ends up blue. In this post, I’ll be talking about chemical toilets.

You can read more about this episode at AMC, IMDb and the A.V. Club.

Amphetamine

Jesse’s address comes out in the meeting with his parents’ lawyer, but (at least according to Google Maps) Margo Road ends in the 2400s. His father also mistakenly identifies him as a “speed” manufacturer – speed is another name for amphetamine, which is similar to the methamphetamine he has been manufacturing but different enough for his to technically deny it without lying.

Chemical toilets

Kicked out of his house, let down by his friends and relieved of all his worldly possessions, things simply cannot get any worse for Jesse. Until he manages to fall into a chemical toilet, that is. The bright blue liquid that everyone remarks upon is probably Anotec blue, a deodorising additive commonly used in portable units. It could have been worse, though – older toilets used chemicals like formaldehyde (H₂CO) and glutaraldehyde (OC(CH₂)₃CO) to disinfect wastes, but modern ones use less-harmful nitrates to speed up the natural breakdown processes and remove faecal odours (the chemical odour is another matter – it’s there to cover up any natural odours that get slip out). One of Anotec’s mottoes is “We stick our nose in your business.”

Skatole

Human (and animal) faeces contain digested and undigested food, and the distinctive smell is due to the by-products of bacterial action in the gut. The principal culprits are indole, skatole (named from the Greek skato-, meaning “dung”) and sulfur-containing compounds such as hydrogen sulfide (H₂S; this is also responsible for the smell of rotten eggs). Methane, contrary to popular belief, is odourless.

Elements in the credits

I’m not sure why Michael Slovis wasn’t assigned iodine (I), carbon (C), hydrogen (H), sulfur (S), oxygen (O) or vanadium (V).

Terveim között volt, hogy írok egy rövid ismertetőt Nógrádi Gábor Ide nekem a címlapot is! című művéről, de a Margó megelőzött.  Ettől függetlenül van egy-két dolog, amit szeretnék hozzáfűzni, de előbb  fussa át mindenki, hogy a szerző mit szándékozott elérni művével: “Könyvemben, remélhetőleg, semmi olyasmit nem írok, amit az olvasó már ne sejtene, ne tudna ismeretei és tapasztalatai alapján. Legfeljebb eddig nem tudta, hogy tudja. Egy felnőtt ember élete – jó esetben – abból áll, hogy tudatosítja, értelmezi, kiegészíti rejtőzködő tapasztalatait, ismereteit, képességeit. Ezt az örök tanulási folyamatot szeretné könyvem meggyorsítani a publicitás, azaz a médiakapcsolatok témakörében.” Visszatérve Margóhoz: Nógrádi hozzászólt a könyvét ismertető bejegyzéshez és jelezte, hogy könyvéről nem sok ismertető jelent meg. Véleményem szerint ennek csupán az az oka, hogy bátran leírta amit gondolt, tapasztalt munkája során. Így a mű könnyen érthető, bár a szokásos szakkönyveknél jóval nyersebbre sikeredett (- ami nem von le semmit az értékéből). Vannak akik ezt nem veszik jó néven, és a könyv témáját tekintve előfordulhat, hogy azok a személyek akadályozták meg, hogy a könyv megkapja azt a publicitást amit megérdemel. Természetesen ez csupán az én véleményem…Mindenesetre a könyv ajánlott (és mint láttam egyes szakokon kötelező) minden pr hallgatónak!

Natasha Marsha Elliot and Nina

What an excitement loaded morning….designs, sharing, laughter and baby Elliot came with his mother Natasha. Once again….you’d think we’d never seen a baby….so many oohs and aahs! And he really is a lovely baby and so glad that Natasha can be with us. Some of the other highlights: Eleanor shared her Sock Summit experience (you might also want to check the Yarn Harlot’s blog), Terry shared another one of her creations, Cathy – a truly left-handed continental knitter – shared her latest translation of cable instructions as well as a baby sweater for her grandchild, Rebecca just completed a hat, Maurie is working on her adult surprise sweater, Susanne is finishing a cape stole, Diane has finished her Moderne Baby Blanket and is now working on the completion of her top-down sweater, Marsha is working on an adult Moderne Blanket, and yes…Natasha can still knit – she is working on an Feather Ripple Afghan using deep rich red and rust colors, Katie is knitting away with her gift scarves, Nina is on her rendition of MaggiKnits La Alhambra design, and Margo is making progress on her blue sweater…a lace design.

Margo was having a problem reading which row she should be on as she shapes the curves on the neckline. She thought she was on row 9 and I finally discerned that she wass on row 11….and that the first shaping on the right side of the neck was off….but I said “It’s not obvious so I might let it go.” Where upon Margo says looking at the rest of the group, “If she doesn’t care, then I don’t! (She usually does!) Let’s move on.” It’s hard to express Margo’s wonderful delivery of words and expression…but it is great and she makes us all laugh.

And a knitting tip from Cathy…as you are trying to remember names…use word association. This came up because Terry was trying to remember the name of the stitch pattern…you know the one where you just keep knitting…well it was garter. And here is Cathy’s tip: Gunsmoke – Miss Kitty wore garters! Another round of laughter.

One more tip from Eleanor which came from Charlene Schurch, instructor at Socks Summit and author of Sensational Knitted Socks….when you are swatching and changing needles in the same swatch (which is what I recommend that you do rather than casting off and starting a new swatch..simply change needles) use yo’s as separation between needle size swatches….this will control the tension between the different needle sizes used within the same swatch.

And now some more photos! Enjoy!

Coming next: works from Tues, Thurs and Friday.

This is a great time to be me. I’m on my second adoption and starting my second year of teaching. There is something nice about having done it all before. I have more confidence in both subjects (adoption and teaching) and I have more brain space to use for creativity and higher level thinking about these things (as opposed to using all brain power for survival as in first year of teaching and first adoption).

Even though this adoption has been different, I have schema (background knowledge) of the adoption process and so I can make better decisions and predictions about the future. Even though I’m teaching 4th this year instead of 5th, I know the basic stuff about my campus, how to use all the systems and work all machines so I’m able to focus on creative and deep lessons instead of how to work the copier.

Yes, it surely is a great time to be me.

ps- this is what i might look like if one of those kiddos tries to get away!