Weekly Mileage #192 and a Virtual Turkey Trot

I love the color of this bucket!

Monday morning Max and I went for a trail run and then I ran some errands. After that was some GlowForge troubleshooting (still trying to get that error message resolved) and working on bucket parts.

Tuesday I went for a hike with Max instead of running. While she prefers running, she's happy to get outside and get exercise in any form. 

After music lessons I finished a blue bucket and then got an order shipped.

I also worked on my pocket prototype. I'm not completely happy with the shape. I think it needs to be a little wider and a little shorter. I've only got the one pocket done, but when I sell them, they'll be in a set of two pockets. I didn't switch sewing machines, but when I'm just sewing through a couple layers, I need to use my regular machine rather than my leather sewing machine.

Sunshine made some ginger cookies and sugar cookies, then she and the boys decorated them. Guess who decorated which cookies? :)

Wednesday I went for a trail run with Max and had my accountability call. I also got my bucket components all finished and ready for assembly. Next steps are sewing the leather to the canvas and attaching the handles.

I also made three pies (pumpkin, apple, and pecan) and red white and blue jello. I had a busy day, but squeezing them in on Wednesday made Thursday a lot less stressful.

Thursday was Thanksgiving. Our annual turkey trot that we've done every year we've lived here went virtual, like so many other races this year. We slept in and then headed out to the paved path that Max and I run on when it's raining. While the flexible start time was nice, we should not have waited to do our run. It was so hot! Around 70*, which is just weird. Most years we're bundled up and trying not to freeze.

After our run (which only River, Max, and I actually did the full distance- everyone else pooped out about halfway through), Jeremy smoked the turkey, Sunshine did the potatoes, and I made some stuffing. Since Jeremy's been team lead we've shared our Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas meals with the guys who have to work those days. This year, instead of stressing about making enough food and having it ready on time, Jeremy got the meal catered by a local bbq joint. It did take up room in the fridge since he had to pick it up on Wednesday, but it was so much less stressful for both of us. He's already looking into whether he can do the same thing for Christmas.

Despite it being a holiday, I snuck downstairs for a bit while the turkey was smoking to work on some buckets. I sewed four, then took new pictures for more shop listings.

Friday we had planned on going on a hike, but we didn't. There was just too much to do. I took the four buckets into the consignment store. The two tall buckets I'd left have both sold (the shorter ones are slow movers), and I wanted to get them there first thing to take advantage of Black Friday/Shop Local Saturday.

they've put together a bundle of other items in one of the short buckets

and this one has a plant in it!

I worked through a to-do list of stuff that hasn't been getting done- emails, etc. I also did the photo editing and listings for the new colors of buckets and updated the photos on the existing listings to try to cut down on confusion. Syncing things up takes time and somewhere along the line when I set things up I screwed something up, so a couple of the listings don't sync properly. One of these days I'll delete them and re-do them, but this weekend is not the time to be messing with shop listings.

I also found out that I need to figure out my Facebook pixel. I don't have it installed correctly, so it's not doing all the things it should. It's so frustrating, as messing with coding and html makes me nervous and is super confusing to my brain damaged self (narcolepsy has not done me any favors when it comes to understanding computer stuff).

I cut two sets of logos and shop names with the Glow Forge for two signs I need to make. I'm having trouble cutting thin leather, but it doesn't mind doing thicker wood. So weird. 

Saturday I went to go for a trail run with Max, but the parking lot was completely full, and cars were parked on the shoulders. I was driving our hybrid Camry, which, while it gets great mileage, is more than a little gutless. Rather than get stuck on a shoulder, I headed to the paved path up the road instead. It was a lot less crowded and there was plenty of parking.

I cleaned the boys room. They destroyed some packing styrofoam in their room, then shoved the pieces under their beds. It was a huge mess, and while they'd cleaned up some of it, they hadn't gotten it all, and it was starting to spread to other parts of the house. I had to vacuum and re-vacuum, but finally got about 98% of the styrofoam bits. 

Sunday I took Max for a hike, then we had church online and I had a YW presidency meeting.

I forgot to record my mileage from my Garmin before it disappeared (it only hangs around for two weeks), so I had to guess on some of this week's mileage. I'm probably a little under, but not by much.

Weekly Mileage
Monday- 2.03 miles run and hiked

Tuesday- 1.50 miles hiked

Wednesday- 1.50 miles run and hiked

Thursday- 3.11 miles run

Saturday- 1.50 miles run and walked

total- 9.64 miles

2020 totals

56 hikes towards #52hikechallenge
0 kayak miles towards #365milechallenge

238.25 outdoor foot miles towards #365milechallenge
22.50 indoor foot miles towards #365milechallenge
310.0 bike miles towards #365milechallenge
570.75 miles total

Sunday Funny

We all love Max's paws. 

Especially the proprietary paw (or paws, as in the first picture right below).

The one I don't have a picture of? Her standing on her hind legs, both front paws on the counter, one stretched out, trying to reach something just out of her reach. We call it "the paw" (very original, yes, but we all know what we're talking about, so that's all that matters). Anytime she's reaching for something on the counter: "the paw, the paw!"

Weekly Mileage #191 and 52 Hikes for the Year

Target toilet paper aisles in 2020

Monday I got groceries and ran errands. Target has two aisles of toilet paper, and only one of them had a couple packages.

I fixed the tote seams I'd messed up on and sewed the matching tote.

sewed and waiting to be turned right side out

Tuesday after music lessons and speech, I had a phone call with my friend. She's an experienced Instagram influencer and we discussed my course and some of my marketing plans. It's good to get advice from someone who's more experienced than me.

It's actually a lot harder than it looks to turn the bags right side out.

I rearranged my shelf to look a little more photogenic, and put my finished totes up on top to stay clean and safe. I'll be standing in front of this shelf in some of my videos for my course.

I broke down and bought a new hand press. I've struggled with installing snaps and rivets without them bending and getting ruined. There's a lot of waste- time and rivets that have to be replaced. I figure the press will earn its keep in saved rivets and snaps pretty quickly. Installs are also a lot quicker. Line everything up, press down, and done. Some rivets I won't even need to punch holes before installing the rivets.

More waxed canvas options for my buckets and other products.

Wednesday I was feeling pretty crummy. The daily exercise is hard on my body, I'm already stressed about all the stuff that needs to get done (and isn't), and I'm still not eating right. Also, getting up and moving every morning is incredibly stressful by itself.

That evening Sunshine and I went to a youth scuba club open house. The scuba shop in town used to sponsor a Scouts BSA crew, but it fell apart this year, so now they're looking at sponsoring a generic youth club. It's in the vary early stages, but it could be fun, and it's something Sunshine is interested. I just wish it didn't cost so much to get certified.

Thursday I didn't take Max for a run, and she was not happy. We have to figure out how to get her exercised on the days that I don't take her for a run. Right now, I have to be able to take a day off here and there. Unfortunately, it's not good for her, even if it is for me.

Instead of a run, I ran some errands before Ocean's speech therapy.

I finally finished all the totes I cut out forever ago. I took pics and wrote the shop listings, but then realized I needed to re-do the pics. I took them vertically instead of landscape, which doesn't work for Etsy listings. By the time I realized the issue, it was too late that night to re-do them.

I paused in the middle of that to take Sunshine to her youth activity. It was a chocolate chip cookie bakeoff with the teachers, but there were only 6 or 7 youth, so easy to maintain distance. Each youth brought cookies they'd baked earlier that day and everyone tasted them and voted on the best. Sunshine had to sit that part out, but she still had fun.

Friday we had park day at the river and we took Max with us, which she was happy about. That brought me to hike #52 for the year, which is by far the earliest I've hit that goal.

horsey ride on a stick

they found, and made larger, a little cave under the logs

Ocean was drumming on the logs with sticks

Ocean made a sandman- it's what you do when there's no snow

River had water and sand in his boots

he couldn't get all the sand out, so he ended up walking back to the car barefoot

After that, I shipped some Christmas presents and an order, then re-did the tote photos and got the listings up. Then I spent some time messing with my integration software (trying to sync my Shopify and Etsy inventory). I didn't quite get it all synced up, but I had to move on to other things.

Saturday morning I went for a hike with my YW class and we did a little geocaching along the way. I had planned on taking Max with me, but when I took her out of her crate she was favoring one foot and not putting any weight on it. I couldn't find any wounds or pain points, she just wouldn't put weight on it. I had to leave her home since I was running late.

Jeremy took the kids to do a dump run, then they drove to an electronics store two hours away to get a new computer screen- he's doing the multiple screen thing since he's been working from home most of the time, and one of the one's he's been using is actually an old tv screen and didn't have great resolution.

While they were gone most of the day, I got busy. I worked a bit more on my integration. I finally figured out how to fix the issues, but I'm not sure why it's an issue in the first place. I did some Glow Forging of new leather tags for buckets, till the GlowForge started giving me error messages. I put in a help desk ticket, but it'll probably be a day or two till I get an answer.

I cut straps, trimmed edges, and oiled them so they'll be ready to use in a day or two.

I used my nice big table and cut out the bodies for 24 (26?) more buckets from rolls of canvas. I then cut up an entire side of leather for the leather portions of the buckets. I was pleasantly surprised to get more pieces out of the side than I'd conservatively estimated, which lowers my cost per bucket. 

Max felt ignored and brought me her squeaky corn to throw for her. (the paw!)

I also cut out the first waxed canvas foraging pockets. When I looked on Etsy, there's only one seller who makes them, that I can see, so I may call them collector's pockets. Mine are a different shape, different fabric (hers are cotton), and different waist- hers tie, mine will have webbing and a buckle. I don't think there's going to be any leather on these, other than maybe a brand tag. 

Sunday we had regional conference via online broadcast for church. Quite neat to be a part of such a large gathering of Saints, especially this year.

Max's foot is doing better, she's still a little hesitant to put a lot of weight on it, but it didn't keep her from making a run for it when she managed to catch a door open for longer than it should have been.

Weekly Mileage
Monday- 2.35 miles run and hiked

Tuesday- 2.17 miles run and hiked

Wednesday- 1.90 miles run and hiked

Friday- 1.80 miles run and hiked

Saturday- 1.70 miles hiked

total- 9.92 miles

2020 totals

53 hikes towards #52hikechallenge
0 kayak miles towards #365milechallenge

228.61 outdoor foot miles towards #365milechallenge
22.50 indoor foot miles towards #365milechallenge
310.0 bike miles towards #365milechallenge
561.11 miles total

Sunday Funny

I caught this picture of River, but didn't realize what I was seeing till I walked around and saw this view:

He's got some good balance (and good problem solving skills)!

Weekly Mileage #190 and My New Work Table

See my buckets in the store?

Monday I went for a trail run with Max. I had to drag myself out of bed, but I felt better once I got moving. Even if I'm feeling exhausted, I usually still feel better for getting outside, getting fresh air and exercise, and some sunshine.

I stopped by the consignment store to drop off the business card holder I made and some more business cards, then went to the dentist to get two fillings replaced. Ugh. I hate how the local anesthesia makes me feel- tired and dragging the rest of the day.

I started sewing a tote, then realized I'd skipped a set of seams that had to be sewn before I sewed the seams that I'd just finished. So that means I would have to undo the stitches and re-do it all. So frustrating. I called it a day and went to bed. I clearly was not thinking clearly enough to be working.

Tuesday I ran a virtual 5k race with Max and wore her out doing hills on the back side of the park. Too bad I don't have the energy for more hills.

After music practice and lessons, I helped Jeremy mix concrete and set the swing set posts. We didn't quite finish though- we'll have to pick up more bags of mix to finish filling the holes. How do we always manage to underestimate how much is needed?

I got the batteries on Jeremy and my phones replaced. It was less than $50 per phone and they'll last a few more years, which is much better than shelling out a lot more money for pricey new phones.

Ocean "helping"

I put together my work table. I got it all done and turned over and decided it was too tall. But it was also too late at night to be doing anything more with, so I left it there for the night.

Wednesday the rains arrived in force, so I took Max to the pet store to get a rain jacket, then went running. We only did a mile and I was completely soaked in the first two minutes. At least it was a warm rain. It's still unseasonably warm for November, but in this case, I'm not complaining. Max tolerated the jacket and the rain, but wasn't thrilled with either.

acting like she's wearing the cone of shame

so, so wet

she's looking at me a little accusingly, don't you think?

I had Jeremy help me tip the table on its side so I could cut 4" off each leg. It was a bit of a pain, but it didn't actually take long to do. Then I glued and attached trim to the edges of the plywood top. A bit of sanding on the corners and then it was time to paint. I rolled one coat, then brushed the second one. I gave it a light sanding and then waxed it all.

Ocean helped me paint 

we took a break to play chess while the first coat of paint dry

second coat of paint going on

The dark wax toned down the bright blue paint. This is the same paint I used on the tall dresser I have next to my desk upstairs. I toned that one down as well, though not as much as this one. 

It looks super dark in some lights, but it looks a lot brighter under other lights.

Thursday we only got sprinkled on while running. After I got home, I put another coat of wax on the table. I'm loving how it turned out. The color, the size... I can roll out almost an entire (larger) side of leather and a roll of waxed canvas. So much better than what I've been trying to do in a much smaller space.

My sister arrived for a short visit and we talked for quite awhile, catching up on everything. That evening we also had a combined youth activity that my class was in charge of. We played a game of gospel trivia via zoom, which went pretty well. I'm not fond of virtual activities, but this is our life right now.

Friday too many late nights and too many carbs caught up to me and I slept in instead of taking Max for a run. She was definitely bouncing off the walls. My sister left in the afternoon (I said it was a short visit), and I cut straps for totes on my nice big table.

Saturday Sunshine and I went to a ropes course with her Scout troop. Instead of the zip line course we were expecting, it was more of a team building course. It wasn't her favorite, but she still had fun.

waiting for their turn to do the high wire, getting ready to arrange themselves by age order, without talking

Sunshine climbing up to the wire

transitioning from the tree to the wire

moving across the wire from one hanging rope to the next

getting ready to rappel down

Sunday I took Max for a run. It felt weird to go for a run on a Sunday, but Max really needed some exercise and she hadn't gotten any for several days. 

Weekly Mileage

Monday- 2.10 miles run and hiked

Tuesday- 3.61 miles run and hiked

Wednesday- 1.06 miles run and walked

Thursday- 1.52 miles run and walked

Sunday- 2.15 miles run and hiked

total- 10.44 miles

2020 totals

48 hikes towards #52hikechallenge
0 kayak miles towards #365milechallenge

218.69 outdoor foot miles towards #365milechallenge
22.50 indoor foot miles towards #365milechallenge
310.0 bike miles towards #365milechallenge
551.19 miles total