some random Friday thoughts

We have discussed how I talk to myself even more now that I spend so much time alone in the studio. It has escalated to arguments.
This morning I was choosing a purple tank top to wear under my cardigan (how AWESOME is it that it is cool enough for a cardigan?). Obviously I have more than one -because, purple- and I said out loud Do you want sequins today?

At which point I responded -out loud-
Of course I want sequins. What kind of stupid question was that?
The scariest part?
I was actually indignant with myself.
Do you think I need to get out of the studio a wee bit more often?







Do you remember that i was putting together a silent auction for the Soroptomist Anniversary and Awards Dinner?
Wait, did i even tell you that?
Well, i had the opportunity to organize and stage a silent auction for the first time.
It was quite the experience.
There were 30 items, many of which were baskets or vignettes that i designed. It was a very different way to utilize my creativity. I liked doing it, but am glad it is only once a year.

Last month I was having a conversation about dreams -no, not with myself; I just can't remember with whom I was speaking- because I remember my dreams every day, which is sometimes very cool and sometimes not so much.
Anyhoo, during this conversation I realized that I have never had one of the most common dreams: that I can fly. Everyone else in the room had, but as hard as I tried I couldn't remember even one time that I had dreamed about flying without mechanical help.
So last week I dreamed that I was at a museum/movie theater/mall/science center/school and if I needed to get quickly from one place to another i'd fly instead of running. A few other people were flying too, with wing suits or special capes, but I could just naturally fly.
Oddly, i can still remember exactly how it felt to fly -kind of like swimming, but different- so i have caught myself a few times recently  thinking I should just fly up to the library.

A few random posts ago i posited that a true football fanatic would drive an RV with goal posts on the front.
I'd like to add that if you turn your trucklette into a giant purple shark, you also qualify.





I recently had KFC and the colon box is no longer being used.
 Do you think someone finally realized?

My stove has been a source of deep consternation since i moved 7.5 years ago. Yes, it is an apartment stove, but it is from like the Korean War Era and is an odd size -19 inches- that they don't even make anymore. The oven is so small i use quarter cookie sheets and 8X8 casseroles. Cooking, which i love to do, is a chore.
In May i finally asked my landlord for a new one because the oven has started to act up, but no new stove yet. A few weeks ago it simply would not heat up. The pilot light was going fine and i could hear the gas turn on, but nothing was catching so i banged on the center fire pipe in frustration with the closest metal implement i could find (a ladle in case you were wondering).
Good news: i didn't blow up.
PSA: don't bang on the center fire pipe of a gas stove that is turned on because that is simply dangerously dumb.
So after not blowing up i asked my landlord again for a new stove and it seems that there is a small chance that i might actually get one.
For those of you who have listened to me whine for years about my stove, but haven't seen it and think that mayhaps i am exaggerating about the suckage, here:

Hereford Fall Festival

Well hello there friends.
No, I was not kidnapped by aliens; I have been crazy at work in the studio getting ready for this weekend's Hereford Fall Festival in scenic northern Baltimore County.
Do you like wine tasting, cool farm equipment, hay rides, festival food, crafts, chain saw carving, helicopter rides and/or baby pigs? Then this is the event for you.
Taking place on Mt Carmel Rd, off of I-83 the festival runs both days.
Come say hi at the NikCo booth!

because you need to know

If I had a unicorn, i'd call him Eddie.

chicken, chicken, cow

My BFF is having a farm-tastic giveaway over on her blog.
Jump over and leave a comment on this post and you could win one of these fabulous Quirkees:

and some yummy homemade peach salsa.
If you convince a friend to enter you get another chance.
Contest closes at midnight EDT on Saturday, October 12th.
Good Luck!

Quick Quotes 10

This morning, on the phone with Rea, The best defense is a strong offense if you're a near-sighted rhino.
I dare you to try to come up with the conversation we were having to illicit that little gem.
Here is a helpful hint: she had mishearing something i said as "a hot hippopotomus".

GO!

Indian Summer

ahhhhhhh, Maryland...
Just when i am excited about getting out my fuzzy blanket you throw a week of sweltering temperatures at me.

Nice, then way too hot.

But today was just lovely.

I like October.

teal for TN (warning: not a happy post) (though it is at least clown-free)

Trigeminal neuralgia [also prosopalgia or Fothergill's disease] is a disorder in which the largest cranial nerve -responsible for the motor function of chewing and facial sensations- is damaged, often but not exclusively from swollen blood vessels scraping the protective sheath of the nerve.

Because the trigeminal nerve runs from the temple to the jaw and across the cheek in three branches the pain associated with TN can strike almost anywhere in the face leading to frequent misdiagnoses. Some patients experience symptoms for years, often undergoing unnecessary dental work before receiving the proper diagnosis.

Symptoms include sharp, intense pain described as "stabbing electric shocks, burning, pressing, crushing, exploding or shooting pain that becomes intractable" and has been called one of the worst pains known to medicine.
Sometimes attacks are triggered by talking, eating, brushing your teeth, wind, loud noises, touch or high pitched sounds; however, sometimes there is no apparent cause.
Episodes can last anywhere from a few seconds to hours and sometimes occur in clusters of up to a hundred attacks in a day.
All of this cheerfulness has led to TN being nicknamed the suicide disease because, well, okay, that's self-explanatory.

If you've made it this far in the post you're wondering what in the world this has to do with The Nikiverse.
In January of 2012 my beloved BFF was finally diagnosed with TN after having pain so bad that it would incapacitate her and she'd fall down repeatedly at work for several months. Of course first she was treated for sinus infections, ear infections, some other stuff that has all blurred together and checked for seizure disorders and brain tumors.

My soul's twin, the one I have loved since we were toddlers, has the suicide disease.
That isn't the kind of thing that could keep a girl up at night; nope, not at all.

Treatment is a combo of anticonvulsants and pain management. In some patients with  specific blood vessel swelling there is a medical procedure that can be up to 70% successful. There is also current research being done on using healthy nerve cells to repair the damaged ones.
However, in many patients it is a chronic condition that often worsens over time as the nerve degenerates.

I haven't shared Rea's condition until now because it is her story and her decision about who knows.
Today is finally the right time to share the information with all of you because Monday, October 7, 2013 is the first internationally recognized Trigeminal Neuralgia Awareness Day.
Here is an article about how awareness is being raised around the world, as well as a PSA.
I'm not gonna ask for contributions or anything like that; I know we all have limited resources and causes that are already dear to our hearts.
I just wanted to do my part to spread the word that this disease exists and strikes 1 in 15-20,000 people (hard to pinpoint the exact # as it is so often misdiagnosed).

On Monday I will wear teal -the designated TN ribbon color- for my Rickki; that and prayer are the only things I can do to help her.
        It would make my heart happy if you would too.
You could also drop by her blog on Monday to let her know that she isn't alone.

[I will share her email privately, if you ask]

can corn salsa?

No, this is not a food post.
Yesterday I went out to lunch with Diane B and after dropping her off back at the museum I was behind this truck on Key Highway.

Do you see it?

Look at the ear of corn.

Is it just me?





Okay.
Here, let me enlarge that for you:

It looks like that corn is dancing, right?
As soon as I stopped at the red light behind the truck I started laughing at how all the other produce was just sitting there, but the corn, oh the corn was gettin' down.
In fact, it took a few seconds to realize that those green arms and leg aren't actually supposed to BE arms and a leg, just artfully peeled husks.
You see it right?
I'm not nuts, right?
Right?
Okay, maybe I am projecting because I love corn and music, but I swear that ear of corn is doing a happy jig.
And why wouldn't it be happy?
I'm sure it is on its way to a party with great music, food and friends and lavishly decorated with balloons, streamers and corn-fetti.

Feeling So Random

Went to see Thirty Seconds to Mars last night and ended up on stage this close to the drums.

Will share the story, but realize that I need to tell a story of a story to get to that story because.. well.. i'm me. Keep an eye out; mayhaps all 3 stories will get posted by New Year's.

Sitting here working on another Etsy update - Pink Ribbon earrings for October. They are a mix of cute ones from last year and awesome new ones so there both new and old pictures to go through, but I am really distracted by the fact that my chest smells like tacos from a wee lunch incident.

Had dinner Saturday at fTM Miriam's new apartment; she lives in an actual Baltimore rowhouse.

It is beautiful.

She made Lydia's Stuffed Squash, so named because Miss Lydia had it last year and loved it so much that she has been asking Miriam to make it again.

Stuffing of quinoa, onions garlic, carrots, cranberries, apples and walnuts is cooked inside of a roasted acorn squash.

It is autumn on a plate.

As my first experience with acorn squash like this I am delighted to report it was yummy.

And yes, Lydia joined us for dinner because how can you have Lydia's Stuffed Squash without her?

Last week the hardwood floors in the foyer of my building and the steps going to the upstairs apartments were stripped and sealed. We couldn't use the front door for several days, but they do look incredible.
The down side?
It smelled like varnish and decay, with an under note of natural gas.
I slept with the windows open, fans on and several extra blankets but I think there might have been some long-term brain damage. I mean, nothing that smells that bad can possibly be good for you. Plus, I spent so much time around flammable chemicals  the last 20 years that I was in a state of heightened awareness on the lookout for a non-existent chemical leak.
For three days.
 It was exhausting.

At the Parisian Flea one day I saw this box -Beaver Finger Ring Cutter- and was like what?
Those words make no sense in that order.
Opening the box I found a truly alarming looking instrument:

Beaver. Finger. Ring. Cutter.

Pointy, circular bladed, sharp hooked, wicked looking thing.
Does it cut fingers?
Where does the beaver come into the picture?
I ask Andrew and he told me that it is for when someone has a ring stuck on their finger.
WHAT?
MENTAL MORSEL:
It cuts the shank of the stuck ring so that it can come off of the finger and it is made by a guy whose last name is beaver.
Even knowing the answer I am still a bit confounded every time I see the box.

Earlier I was on the phone with fTM Erin arranging to go visit tomorrow when she uttered, No Collin, you can't be naked in that rocket. I just imagine her 3 year old being like, Well which rocket can I be naked in? because that was my first thought. When I stopped laughing that is.

Jewelry Roundup 7

Yes, a year has indeed past since the last jewelry roundup.
Working alone in my studio doesn't really inspire me to wear a lot of jewelry, but I recently rediscovered a full set of jewelry pictures from the picture kerfluffle so it seemed like a good idea to get back in the habit.
But as with all things you gotta be sure to stretch and start slowly so as to not pull anything so i'm gonna do commentary in the photo captions:

adding a little peep of blue sparkle with a 50 cent clip-on

speaking of clip-ons, I found a way to use clip-on hoops
by clipping around a rolled layer of whimsy hair
 

on Opening Day even Niki will wear orange and black
highlighted with a heart bought in New Orleans
made of recycled costumes and electronics

giant enamel/metal flowers are a must even in shorter hair
the white flower was worn a few days after the first hair cut

Trying to get back in the habit of wearing jewelry even if I was staying in the studio I'd challenge myself to pick non-matching pieces.
This day I picked the wee double heart scatter pin and the fabulous $4 thrift store earrings.
To bring them together I wore a gold chain belt fastened at my hip with a larger heart. I jingled all day; you can imagine how much joy that brought me!

one of my favorite rings because of the shape
discounted to $4 because it is missing some of the seed pearls
but that is what I think gives it character



plenty of character in this pin worn in my hair

this pin was bought for $5 specifically to be worn in my hair;
in fact, as soon as I saw it I imagined its swirls
against the swirls of an upsweep just like this

this Monet butterfly was a bit expensive for me at $10,
but it makes me smile and reminds me of Gma Craig

brooches on V-neck sweaters appeared on a regular basis
after my hair was cut;
all bought in the last 4-5 years, each for $5 or less

this day was a personal matching triumph for me
I bought the pastel multi-stone heart pin years ago
my stepmom bought me the wee pastel multi-stone earrings for Christmas 2 years ago
finally I had a pale pink button down with which to wear them
highlighted against the black  cardigan
I was happy all day because of the matchey-matching 

a hanging brooch from the 80's that belonged to me, then Rea, then me again
look at that amazing whimsy hair
some days I really miss my hair