Oct 22, 2012

Marvelous Monday Update 10/22/12

HOMESTEAD CRONICLES
There's been a whirlwind of activity at The Homestead. The past week involved pulling all the plants out of the garden and raking the leaves to the garden area. I then used the mower and mulched up the leaves. In the next few weeks, the leaves will be tilled into the garden.

A new dryer vent was intalled out one of the basement windows. New window well covers were installed. I talked to my "good" neighbor about not blowing snow into the window where the dryer vent was intalled. Guess what I found out? She hires the "backyard breeder" neighbor to clean her driveway! Great... Any bets on whether snow will be blown on that window?


I bought a roll of insulation to put into the perimeter of the rafters in the basement. Two hours later, the roll was used and only one wall was done! A job not finished... *sigh*

Menards (cue music... "Save Big Money at Menards") had a Price Pfister dual shower head on clearance. Since I had been debating getting a new shower head for over a year, I decided to go for it. Sadly, it wasn't meant to be. Despite wrapping the joints with plumbers tape and following all the instructions, all 4 joints leaked! And leaked terribly. It was returned to the store, and I picked up a Waterpik head that didn't require tape or putty... just install and go. So far so good.

TREASURE HUNTING
While out killing time, I found a couple of "treasures" at a thrift store. First up is a vintage sewing box... only 89cents!


There was some kind of adhesive around the panels which leads me to believe someone stuck something over those areas. Why, I'm not sure since I like how they look. A bit of Goo Gone and I have an awesome sewing box.

The other thing I picked up was a complete Daydreams kit featuring a Cardinal. I couldn't believe it was only 54cents when these kits sell for over $10.



STITCHY STUFF
I've been a busy little beaver working on three different projects in the past week.  First up is the BTB Mystery Autumn SAL.  Here's Parts 1-2½:


I had planned on getting Part 3 finished, but I got sidetracked by an ornament I started... and finished. Can't show a pic since it's for the SNS2 Ornament Exchange.

Japanese Garden now has complete bamboo trees!


NEW PHOTO STORAGE SITE
For the past 5+ years, I've been using Multiply to host my photos. When I found out they will be doing away with the social media (i.e. photos and blogs) portion of their business, I scrambled to find a site host my photos. I've tried a LOT of different free sites: jalbum, flickr, photobucket, picassa, myalbum, photoape, flashmint, shutterfly, picturetrail, and on and on.

When I couldn't find a site that I liked, I started to use Webshots since I've had an account there since 2001 but never used it. After uploading about 12 albums worth of photos over the course of a month, I was notified that Webshots was becoming Smile and would be a paid service. Argh!! So, the search was on again.

There were either limits on the number of photos, the total size of all photos, no space for additional information (important to me because that's where I keep the details of my projects), no ability for actual photo albums, or the ability to change the names of photos, ability to rearrange, etc. I wasted spent a lot time signing up for accounts, uploading photos, and trying the sites out.

Enter Ipernity! They allow up to 200MB of photo/video uploads each month for free. I can upload photos into albums and rearrange them. I can also add notes to them. It's very similar to Multiply in that a user can have a network of friends, and people can leave comments to the photos. A user can also set up permissions for the photos limiting who can see what, who can "tag" or add notes. There is also a blog feature like in Multiply. I don't plan on using it so I can't comment on how well it works. The user's "homepage" can be customized and a "web ID" can be entered in order for people to find the albums easier. It's got a light background (unlike webshots). There are no ads like a lot of other photo hosting sites (ahem... Webshots, Shutterfly, etc). You can also upload music files to be connected to slide shows. I haven't used it too much yet, but so far I like what I've seen. My new albums are located HERE: www.meari.ipernity.com

Until next time,


29 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great finds at the thrift store. JG looks amazing. Good luck with new photo site. I don't use a photo site. I upload directly to my blog. I store my photos on my computer.

Cindy M

Berly said...

Wow, you WERE busy! Great thrift store findings as usual! I joined Ipernity as well!

Joyce Clark Frank said...

I love cardinals. Great find on the cardinal kit.

Faith... said...

Thanks again for finding ipernity! :) Your BTB SAL looks great and I LOVE the little sewing box!

Hope we don't get toooo much snow this year for your sake!

Julie M said...

Great finds Meari! I'm glad you were able to find a photo hosting site that you are happy with.

Your stitching looks great! Love the Japanese Garden.

Have a wonderful week!

Anonymous said...

Hello Meari,

Looks like you have been busy with the Homestead. I hope your window stays snow blown free. Great job on finding the right shower head. Why is it that sometimes those things don't work the first time and the second or third they do?

What awesome items you found in your treasure hunting.

Your Autumn Mystery SAL is looking good and so does Japanese Garden looks like those bamboo tree were tedious?

Your link to your photos is not working. Here is the one I found to work. It looks like a really cool site.

http://www.ipernity.com/home/meari

Have a wonderful week!
Carolyn


Anonymous said...

Very, Very cool sewing box Meari. I need to shop thrift stores in your area. Things I have found in thrift stores have not been thrift store priced. Go figure.

Debi M

Emily in NC said...

Nice finds at the thrift store, love that little sewing box, and that daydreams kits was a great buy. The Mystery SAL is looking nice as is JG.

Christina G said...

Nice sewing box. Glad you have found a photo site that you like.

Anonymous said...

You've done a lot of work on the house this weekend! Is there a way to build a little "wall" of some sort to protect the dryer vent?

Karin in CA

cucki said...

Wowwwww, you were busy!
Great thrift store findings ..i love them..
hugs xxx

Denise SA said...

Love the thrift store needle box. Great stitching too

Pam in IL said...

Oh my, you've sure been busy! Maybe you could find some kind of hood to put over the dryer vent to keep the snow from covering it.

As always, your stitching is awesome!

Anne said...

Great finds Meari!! So cheap too!! I hope the snow doesn't get blown at your window either by that backyard breeder person. Glad you found a website to host all your photos for free! YAY!! Lovely stitching too by the way :D

Anonymous said...

You have been busy and am sure your yard looks very clean.

Great finds at the thrift store. Great progress on your WIPs.

Marl

DUSTY said...

Sounds like you have been busy, I like your Thrift Store finds. That box is great. All your stitching is coming along nicely.

Chris said...

Nice thrifting.
I love your By The Bay progress!

SoCal Debbie said...

Great thrift store finds! You are so lucky. The BTB SAL looks very pretty. I also joined Ipernity and added my pics last night. http://www.ipernity.com/home/debbiescrossstitch

Kay said...

You always have the eye for such great finds! Your stitching is beautiful. You are one busy bee with all you do! Thanks for sharing!

CJ said...

Meari -

Hey girl!! Looks like you are doing well. So happy to read you have found some of your threads. Love your thrift store treasure.

Have a great day.

CJ

Anonymous said...

I am seriously jealous of the sewing box - that is just exactly the kind of thing I would love and never see in charity shops here. Congrats also on the Daydreams kit - they are such fun to do and very expensive to buy, so 89 cents is a steal.

Japanese Garden is looking lovely; do you have the threads you need for it now or are you still looking (not that I'm able to help - I only have specialty threads for specific projects that are "on the go," but I'm still vibing for you).

I'm glad you found a photo site that you like. I'm very pleased to pay for the Flickr Pro service, but it doesn't have the extras that you need so it wouldn't be the right fit for you. I'm just glad there's one out there that *does* suit your needs.

Graceann

Joy said...

You always find such neat goodies...I am jealous! LOL Nice progress on your WIPs! Glad to see that you have found almost all of the silk floss you need.

Anonymous said...

Meari -

Great finds! I am also looking for somewhere else to put my pictures! I will have to check them out.

Marge

Carol said...

I am continually amazed at the home improvement projects you tackle each week, Meari!! That insulation project certainly looks exhausting and time-consuming--hang in there!! Hopefully, it will pay off in lower heating bills.

Great finds at the thrift store--amazingly low prices!! And I'm hoping that your latest photo hosting site stays put for you. That must have been very frustrating having to make so many changes in a short time...

Have a great weekend--hope you find some good quality stitching time :)

Karen said...

Love your thrift shop finds!

Anonymous said...

That sewing box is cute!!! Great find. Sorry about the shower head. Good luck with your dryer vent this winter. Maybe you could put something around it that will keep the snow from blocking it up. JG is looking great!!!
Betty in AZ (ILCS)

Akila said...

Very pretty sewing box and that too for so less.
Love the progress on JG and the SAL

glenda said...

Nice finds! You certainly are busy lately.....slow down! :)

Nancy M said...

I thought of you when I heard Webshots was going under too. Glad you found a new home. I'm using Photobucket and it has albums and description options....so far so good for my cross stitch photos.