Perhaps it's time

Hello People!
That's right! It's been forever since I have posted a blog on here. It's my loss, not keeping up this "diary" of sorts of my life and business.

It seems like forever since I've just plugging away hoping that things will turn around for the SooBoo business. Granted, I haven't been making a whole lot of new items to sell. My wreaths did pretty well during the holidays and that was a lot of fun. But this year, it's a different story. People claim, "it's the economy" and perhaps that's what it is for me(that's why I haven't been buying like I used to)... yet a bought a new printer that has gorgeous color and doesn't curl the paper like my last one did. I bought it in hopes that IF I bought it, business would come. It did, for a bit, then slacked off again. I'm now in the slack time again. So here I sit, writing about it instead of changing my work habits. Perhaps, if I write about it, it will change on its own? I don't think so, but I have a desire to scratch my writing itch.. if not just for the purpose of the diary thing.

I did a lot of research on the printer purchase. I made a decision to buy an EPSON R1900. I bought it over the phone with Epson realizing that it was an inkjet, BUT it took very heavy stock. I was sooo excited! All the reviews seems pretty promising and the cartridges weren't the expensive laser cartridges that I had been looking into or had with my former HP laser all in one. The HP had great color, but the paper curling was really grating on my nerves. My notepads were having issues and I did not want to put out another notepad like that. Anyhow, I received the inkjet, installed the software easily and then printed.. and I swear...the printing was saaaaallllloooooooowwwwww!! I thought, WTF? and the color? ickola! What were these people who rated this thing talking about? After a couple of days, I knew this was not the answer to my printing woes. So, I looked again at what I needed to do. Laser is the only way to go for me.. well, I wound up with an OKIDATA C6150. It's much smaller than the bulky slow inkjet. I learned so much about all this when I did my research.. if you want to know any particulars just contact me... I called Epson and let them know about the color and slowness of this printer. This CS chick desperately tried to get me to check the things on this inkjet to make sure it was set right. OH COME ON! She kept saying, "Perhaps" perhaps you can check this, perhaps you don't have this set correctly, perhaps you're not using the right paper.. so I perhapsed her back.. "PERHAPS I don't want this lousy product and perhaps you need to get me someone who can give me an RA# so I can send this thing back to you because I am under warranty and I know I don't want this thing in my house anymore!" Perhaps I got her attention then.. because I was quickly sent over to some guy who perhaps had been through this return process before.. ya think? sigh..

I had been in contact with some other stationery website woman who was completely fun to talk to about printers. Although, for some reason, nobody wants to say what their printer is. I can find out if it's laser, or inkjet and more recently solid ink printer, but NEVER the brand or model number. Guess if they had to do the research, so did I! Anyhow, I had told this colleague about this printer and when I emailed her about the slow printing and the color she said, hey! I think I have that one in my garage because it was so bad I couldn't use it! I was out of warranty on it so I couldn't return it.. GET RID OF IT! IT SUCKS! Sure enough, she checked her garage and it was the same Epson. Who knew?

So longer story a bit shorter, I went to my local office supply store and bought the OKI. It's actually not laser but digital. The cartridges are extraordinarily pricey, but I will choke on that when the time comes to change them out.

Meanwhile, I bought a CHEAP Lexmark injet for scanning purposes and to use for proofs and for the rest of the family to use for simple black white text prints. Perhaps it's cheaper to do that than to use the ink from the OKI..

Another big change in my life came when a stray meowed his way into my life.

A lot of you know that our beloved Rommel died a year ago May 7. I visited his grave in our backyard the day after for about 10 seconds. I brushed off his brick marker with his name and dates on it that I painted the day he died. Tootsie was by my side standing atop his grave as she usually does... and I, all choked up, breathless with the thought of him being underneath there and sadly recalling what he went through that last night of his life. I had to leave. I still cannot take it. I miss him so. But one day, God brought us a stray cat. He came from the fence right where Rommel is buried one day. Tootsie and I were out on the back deck and this fierce meowing got more and more prominent from the fence area. Then, this sickly thin kitty came slowly walking up, over the rail tie, across the yard and up the stairs to the deck. He was meowing uncontrollably. So thin and wasn't scared of Toots at all.. and Toots accepted him as a sorry sickly patient. I had NOTHING to offer this kitty except a little dog kibble. So I went inside and grabbed a small handful of dog food and laid it on the deck floor. He meowed THROUGH his eating. It was the sorriest thing I ever heard in my life. Pathetic.

I am allergic to cats.. but I was a goner now! I gave him water but he didn't want it..so I gave him milk. He lapped it up easily. Couple weeks went by and he was getting no heavier or healthier looking. My husband strongly suggested I take him to the vet to get him checked for worms. I did, he did, and after shots, tests and all that first time vet stuff, he was certainly ours.

We didn't let him in the house due to my allergies. But I started to hold him while walking through the house. My husband did NOT like this idea but suddenly, he started doing it as well and then before I knew it, GUS the Cat was in and out like a dog. He slept nights inside and came to wake us when he was ready to go out. We have no kitty litter box anymore after he used it in the screened in porch when we nursed his broken leg after perhaps being hit by a car.

The stories coinciding with that are hilarious, but maybe another time. He was ours! He took the sting out of Rommel's passing and he was fun to watch.. like a newborn baby a Mom cannot take her eyes off of... this is what it was like for me. I wanted to learn his signals, his cries, his likes and dislikes...but Gus is different because his habits change so much.. He is NOT routined.. and doesn't like routine. That is, perhaps, his routine. LOL! When he does come in to show what a freeloader he is, he STRUTS his front shoulder muscles as he walks over to his food. He is THE SEXIEST cat!. Those front muscles RIPPLE! He's strong, loving and healthy now. Rommel would have loved him...perhaps.

NOW, I need to go tend to my websites. Yes, that is a good idea...perhaps..