Sena's DW :: Purple Ponies

So the last few years, since I started making jam/jelly/sauces/preserves/whatever, each fall around this time Mom takes some sample jars in to her work and takes orders from the people in her department. The last couple of years went okay, but THIS YEAR?

The last two days I've made $200 worth of sales. X3!!

I'm doing things a little differently this year, though. Mom took in the sample jars as usual, but then I put together a list of products that are available, rather than kinds that I happen to have on hand atm. Before, people paid and basically got their jam a day or two later, since it was coming out of current stock. This time they make their orders and pay, and their orders are delivered two weeks later.

All this means is that they can order things that I don't currently have stock of, or even make special requests for flavours/bulk orders/etc. And it's worked out very well, so I think I'm going to do it like this from now on. ♥

$200 (35 jars) isn't a TON, but it will completely cover having Ves and Lily spayed and Nio neutered (assuming his missing testicle makes an appearance, if not then I have to have him done via my regular vet. :P) Then I just have to put out the money for their shots, which is about $90 assuming all three of them get in; $30/cat. (If Nio has to be neutered later, then the jam money will cover Ves and Lily's spays AND their shots, yay!)

Anyhoo, I've got some jam to make over the next couple weeks!

Crab Apple Jelly
Lime-Zucchini Marmalade
Mixed Berry Jam
Pumpkin Sauce
Peach-Cranberry Jam
Apple Butter
Cranberry & Mixed Fruit Sauce (with Walnuts)

Aaaaaand I'm making a test batch of Pineapple-Plum Marmalade to see how it turns out. :3

One of the comments I often get from people who order from me is that I make very unique flavours. This is true of some of my stuff, like the Lime-Zucchini, Peach-Cranberry, Lychee or Pineapple-Plum, but I also do classic things like the Crab Apple, Apple Butter or Cranberry Sauce. I guess I just like to try new mixes, and having some different kind of products is working out very well for me. :)

Oh, and I'm also going to make a foray into the world of pickles and preserves this time; I have beets to make pickles out of (a special request from my Dad and Lois), and I want to try to make Crab Apple preserves, similar to something my Grandma on Dad's side apparently made when Dad was a kid. We'll see how it goes~

Which reminds me, I need to go back down and pick more of the tiny crab apples before they all go bad on the tree. Maybe tomorrow or the next day, if it's not pouring rain...

Alrighty! Today was grocery day, as is every Wednesday. Woo-hoo. /sarcasm lol.

I didn't have much to get for actual groceries, but I did have to get cat food at the vet's (prescription weight management/urinary tract care food that Neko and Loki are on) and there were Sena-prescriptions I had to pick up too.

At the grocery store I mostly picked up some dumplings and wontons (they have these frozen ones that you steam and they come out DELICIOUS and taste JUST LIKE RESTAURANT GYOUZA/WONTONS ASDGH! X3), canned cat food for Tri and fresh cranberries for making home made cranberry sauce. ♥ I also actually found some eye-of-round steaks that were 90% fat free. Finding steaks with a low enough fat content that I'm willing to eat them is rare, and they were ON SALE OMG so I got a pack of two. :3 I might cook one tomorrow night!

And since Lee was driving and I wouldn't have to actually try hauling them home, I got another set of shelves at Walmart to complete my movie wall in the living room. 8D I spent an hour tonight putting them together and reorganizing everything and now they look awesome and I looooove it. X3!! Haha, I have room next to them for a small cabinet too, so I might pick one up at some point. Right now I have a stand there that I built out of DIY cubes.

At Walmart we also stopped to have dinner at McD's, and ran into Sarah and her fiancé, so we sat with them while we ate and had a nice conversation. The more time I spend with Arthur the more I like him... he has a very grounding effect on Sarah, and her complete bullshit has gone down a lot since she ended up with him. Just for that I approve of him, though he's also a really nice guy. :)

Oh, and this afternoon (before we ran into them) I got a message from Sarah about the wedding; her mother found out I was doing the bridal jewelry and wanted to know if I could design a piece for her as well, to match a set of earrings she wants to wear. I told Sarah I could probably manage it, but I couldn't say for sure either way until I had a look at the earrings. Basically, her Mom wants a large snowflake broach, which I think I can manage. I even have a basic idea in my head using fire-polished crackle beads and swarovski crystals, but like I said I won't know 100% until I see what I'm trying to match. And Sarah's Mom is like rich, so she's offered to "generously compensate" me for doing the project. I LOVE MONEYS. \o/

What else...

Well, yesterday I was out and about and picking up a few things. I needed rats for Aya-- my baby has graduated from fuzzies to pups!-- and a couple of other items.

I got some cookie cutters from Mariposa Market, as well as a bottle of sparkling cider to take to the Christmas get together in like a month and a half. I'm way the hell ahead of myself. xD;; And while I was there I taste-tested some eggnog-fudge which was just ahguisldfghuiadfgarngvu *DROOL* *A* I am so getting some of it to take to the get together as well. :3

And while I was out I got Lee a gift card to the music equipment store downtown, since his birthday is Friday. ♥

Anyhoo! I started working on some new recipes for dog and kitty treats for Christmas presents, and right now I'm in the middle of a decent maple-and-brown-sugar one. Just a little tiny bit of sugar and mostly maple extract for flavouring. They're pretty tasty. I still want to do one more, I think maybe liver flavour and bacon bits for "sprinkles". We'll see.

Oh, and today other than Squall arriving I also got the books I ordered the other day; two of them are for Dad for Christmas (Dragongirl by Todd McCaffrey and Legends of Shannara: Bearers of the Black Staff by Terry Brooks) and the other one was a discount book I stumbled upon, Beyond The Body Farm by Dr. Bill Bass & Jon Jefferson. It's by the same people who did Death's Acre, which is one of my favourite anthropology/criminology books of all time. Which I lent to C.A. way the hell back in 2004 and still haven't gotten back from her. *facepalm* She's horrible about remembering stuff like that. I might just break down and buy another copy and let her keep the first one lol. So I'm really looking forward to reading the new one~!

I also got a little package from Maddie and Chloe today! Or, rather, from "Rufus and Reno Shinra"! To "Roxas". I LOLED SO HARD WHEN I SAW THAT. It was epically awesome. ILU GUYS, DID YOU KNOW THAT? It had a couple of buttons and some cute stickers in it. And caramels! And a pretty glass star pendant which I put on right away and am still wearing now. =3 Hehe.

And I guess the only other thing is the cats.

First; 'Dion scared the SHIT out of me today. This morning he was sleeping under the desk in the back room, which he does all the time because it's right in front of the baseboard heater. I went to sit down to check something on the computer, and reached down to move him... and he kind of flopped around and looked at me like he was half out of it, but not in a sleepy!kitty sort of way. His fur was also puffed up, which cats tend to do if they're not feeling well. This concerned me, and I took him back to the living room and laid down to cuddle up with him some-- which was when I noticed he was shivering. Not in an "I'm cold" kind of way, but in an "I'm in pain" kind of way. I cuddled him close and fretted over him and tried really hard not to panic while I decided if I should rush him to the vet or not.

Finally, he fell asleep and so did I. A couple hours later when I woke up he wasn't there, and when I went looking for him I found him playing and looking as if nothing was wrong. I don't know what the problem was, but DAMN, 'DION. PLEASE DON'T PULL THAT KIND OF STUFF. YOU NEARLY SCARED YOUR MOM TO DEATH. D8

I'm going to keep an eye on him for the next couple of days, just in case. But now he's acting completely fine, so...

Second; Got a call from the Barrie SPCA today, finally! Way back when I first brought Tia home, I called them and got on the wait list for having her spayed and Juna neutered. They were still too young at the time, but the wait list was about four months long so by the time they got around to me they'd be the right age. Sounded like a plan to me!

So on Friday I'm taking Juna and Tia to Barrie to be fixed, for $50 per cat. Let me say that again; $50 PER CAT. Instead of the $350/cat it would cost me to take them to the vet in town and have it done. They also say they can give them all their vaccines and etc. at the same time. I AM HAPPY WITH THIS PLAN AND THE COST INVOLVED. ^___^

I couldn't book 'Dion at the same time since he's still too young, but tomorrow I can call and get him on the wait list and in a few months when they get to me again he'll be old enough.

I'm really, really hoping that having Juna neutered will calm Neko down a bit; Neko is NOT Juna's biggest fan right now and keeps kissing and spitting and snarling at him, which I keep trying to dissuade of course, but it's not working. Neko seems to think that Juna is vying for Top Cat in the pride, which Juna really isn't. He just avoids Neko and defers to him, acts submissive, but Neko doesn't take that for what it is and beats the hell out of him whenever they cross paths. Luckily no real injuries have happened, just one or two tiny scratches and a lot of flying fur. Still. Hopefully once Juna is neutered things will settle down...

And now I think I'm done rambling. For now. And I have the munchies. So Imma go find something to eat. OMNOMNOM and all that.

*salute*

My GST came in today, so I spent a while downtown picking up odds-and-ends that I needed.

I got frames so I could hang the Zelda prints I got at Otakon, then when I got home I set about doing just that... and dropped the Midna one, so the glass broke. I had to clean it up and then go back downtown to get another frame to replace it. ~_~;; At least they had the right size at the dollar store, so they each only cost me $5, whereas getting them at Walmart or Zellers or wherever would have been more like $15-$20. =/ Frames are expensive.

Anyway, I also got some reptile bark for cleaning Aya's terrarium. And a couple odds-and-ends for P.O.S.es (just one more thing I want to pick up and then I can start boxing everything.) And I got a few more things for Maddie and Chloe's Christmas/Yule present, so now I'm almost done that. Then it can be boxed up too and mailed so it'll get there, yanno, by Christmas. xD;;

Oh! And today Air Canada finally called about the rebate ticket I mailed in way the hell back in July! ...turns out I forgot to put in the ticket info when I mailed it, which was why it took so long. So they got all the info from me over the phone (thank God for me writing everything down on the calendar!) and are going to set about processing it, so the money should go onto my credit card in two or three weeks. WHOO!!

Hm. A few days ago I downloaded a short anime series called Dai Mahou Touge ("Magical Witch Punie-chan") and it was... um, in a word? CRACK. It was really amusing, violent as hell and perfectly cheerful about it. Haha, I might look into getting it on DVD at some point.

And right now I'm working on downloading Angel Beats! because it sounds interesting and I'm an absolute sucker for the kind of art style it's done in. :D I'll let you know how it is once I've watched some of it~

...

...and now I should really stop procrastinating and clean the bunny and rattie cages out, since it's garbage night. >___>

Okay, so I've been looking at rates for travelling down to Otakon in August. The general plan (unless Chloe objects, lawl, Maddie and I just kinna decided) is that I'm going to go to Dayton and then take the train with them to Baltimore. :3

I looked up the bus schedules and prices and then checked out the flight schedules and rates as well just in case, since sometimes flights are randomly cheaper. O__o; lol. Basically, it boiled down to about $91 each way (just under $200 all together) for the bus, and $500-ish return-trip for the plane. Less than half price for the bus, so BUS IT IS. =D;

Man, the bus ride to Dayton is almost 15 hours though. xD; I'm going to DIE. Must remember to pack lots of stuff to keep me entertained! My mp3 player and books and printed RY smut omg stuff like that! Maybe my sketchbook. Also, snacks. The bus line recommends snacks. *nodnod*

Also, between now and then I need to buy new headphones, and a portable charger for my mp3 player, since right now I can just charge it from my PC...

YAY!note: I have almost $200 ($195 lawl) saved up already! X3 I usually fail at saving munny, so this time I took an old pickle jaw (clean of course), and exacto-knived a hole in the lid, then super-glued the lid on so that once the money's in it I can't get it out without smashing the jar. HAH SPENDING TENDENCIES I WIN. >D

Okie... I have a favour to ask of all ye on my f-list; could you pretty pretty please pimp this post anywhere you can think of? I really need money, and I really need to get rid of these to make space, and since ebay didn't work I'm going to try here. Also, if you know anyone who might want to commission a pony, by all means send them my way. You will get [virtual] cookies! And possibly a pony of your own at Christmas/your birthday~~

So! These are the ones I brought back from AN with me, who still need homes. Normally, the quoted price would not include the shipping, but as an incentive, I'm not going to charge shipping to anywhere in the US or Canada. (Basically that means about $5 to $8 off.)

If you're interested in any of these, or want to talk about a commission, email me at obsidian.equine [at] gmail.com. I generally take Paypal, and would really prefer that, but I can take a cheque or bank money order if you really really can't do Paypal.

Prices are in US Dollars.

( Magic Knight Rayearth; Ryuuzaki Umi ($30) )

( Fruits Basket; Sohma Akito ($30) )

( Fruits Basket; Sohma Isuzu 'Rin' ($30) )

( Fruits Basket; Sohma Kureno ($30) )

( Fruits Basket; Sohma Kagura ($30) )

( Fruits Basket; Hanajima Saki ($30) )

( Fruits Basket; Uotani Arisa ($30) )

( Ouran High School Host Club; Suoh Tamaki ($35) )

( Ouran High School Host Club; Ootori Kyouya ($35) )

( Ouran High School Host Club; Fujioka Haruhi ($35) )

( Sailormoon Stars; Taiki Kou ($30) )

( Sailormoon Stars; Yaten Kou ($30) )

If you want more pics, just ask, or if you want pics of other ponies I've done. You can also look at my DevART page (link to the left on my main journal page), though not all of my ponies have been posted there yet.

If you're interested in commission, I'll do pretty much any character, and the price will depend on the level of detail and whether you want "real" or clay hair, or if you want accessories~

I HAVE 6 COMMISSIONS RIGHT NOW AND IT GIVES ME MAJOR GLEE~

Yey Anime North. *___*

At this rate I'll have enough money for Rie in no time! X3

Anyone else want a pony~?

EDIT:: I'll have enough money for Rie if I stop buying Ouran stuff, that is. >>;;

I'm gonna get money tomorrow. YAY. Honestly, the whole thing with the money for any given month going through on the very last day of said month is a pretty stupid idea... but who am I to complain? Money is money, I guess.

The last few days I've been very tired, just like usual, but I've been trying to get some things done around here-- cleaning and organizing a bit at a time, with the hopes of getting this place back to the way it should be relatively soon.

Yesterday I went through my Pony Cupboard (aka: where I keep my craft stuff for ponies and other projects) and organized it, so now I can find stuff in it. ^_^; I also cleaned out the animal cages, but that's part of my regular duties anyway. Today I collected all the various pieces of cardboard that I tend to just stick in out-of-the-way places, so that it could all be recycled. Also went to Mom's and did my laundry, which needs to be put away now...

Tomorrow I need to go through the boxes in my alcove and organize them. It'll be a BIG job. |_|;;

I also need to do some dishes. And organize my medicine shelf. And maybe go through the huge box of random papers that has been MOCKING ME from it's hidey-hole between the couch and the wall pretty much ever since I moved in here.

Murr... I'm tired already. =.=;;

I went to the bank today to pay my cable/Internet bill, since it's hooked up to my Interac card. First I had to deposit $80, though. =_=;; Given to me by my Mom, of course, since I'm flat broke as always.

Anyway, once I deposited the money, I should have had about $80.03 in the bank... and when the machine spit out the reciept, I had $157.90 instead. @_@;; I was a little confused, but paid my bill and figured I'd work it out once I was out of the bank.

The only thing I can figure is that my GST rebate came through in the last couple of days.

Any way you look at it, I'm not complaining. Extra $70? I can use that, yeah!