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Erika Hammerschmidt
Blogs from 2017
Crafting stuff for the craft fair next week
2017/01/15
On Sunday, January 22 from 1 PM - 6 PM, I will be at the Crafty Flea-- a combination craft fair and flea market at the Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association! Address is: 821 E 35th St, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55407
I'm making sparkly jewelry! Here is a crown I made with a big rough citrine, lots of small garnets, and four fossilized mosasaur teeth:
And here's a somewhat messy-looking crown I made with gem-chip-filled glass bottles. It looks better in person, but I'm still hoping to do better with my next attempt.
(Not currently up for sale on my jewelry site at www.theheathersmith.com , but many other shiny things are there!)
Sirius and his fluffy feathers
2017/01/21
Sirius the starling has grown back all his missing feathers!
He still has a few crooked ones, like the feather that sticks up on his head and the one that droops on his tail. But he is very fluffy and pretty today!
More crowns
2017/01/28
Here are a few more sparkly things I made!
A crown with five rough quartz points:
and a crown with one quartz point, a few iridescent blue glass marbles, and lots of pearls!
(Not currently up for sale on my jewelry site at www.theheathersmith.com , but many other shiny things are there!)
Petting Sirius the starling
2017/02/04/
Siri isn't crazy about petting, but it's important to keep him accustomed to the touch of hands in case he needs to be handled for emergency reasons.
And once we start petting, he kind of gets into it and starts enjoying it. Until he's done. Then he lets us know.
Bracelets
2017/02/11
Here are three more shiny things! Bracelets made of garnet, blue goldstone, and a mix of agate and mosasaur teeth.
(Not currently up for sale on my jewelry site at www.theheathersmith.com , but many other shiny things are there!)
Polyamory: John, Sibre and me
2017/02/16
Let's talk about polyamory.
So, some of you have probably noticed my husband John coming out as bisexual on Facebook the other day, and introducing his boyfriend Sibre.
I'm not going to post a lot about this relationship; I'm only posting this to clarify any questions that may have been raised by John's post.
I should probably have posted this sooner, but I've been wrapped up in one of my obsessive craft projects (a set of dioramas of an alien apartment building). Also, it's taken me this long to decide whether my posting about this would actually make things better. I'm still not sure, but I at least want to dispel any wrong ideas people may have about my part in this.
So. Some things I may need to clarify:
First: John and I are still together! We have been living happily in a semi-open relationship ever since John realized his bisexuality years ago. He and Sibre have been together since 2012. John and I are as much in love as ever, and Sibre and I are great friends.
It has been reported to me that there's been a change in Facebook relationship status. Apparently that's just what happens when someone who's already listed as "married" or "in a relationship" adds a new relationship with someone else. It automatically ends the original relationship. Facebook relationship status doesn't accommodate polyamory very well. So don't listen to what it says about us.
Second: I am totally fine with all this!
John asked my permission about every step of this process. He kept double-checking to make sure I was okay with everything, even after I said yes. And seriously, why would I mind, as long as everyone is being responsible?
I mean, I'm jealous of millionaires. I'm jealous of other authors and artists who got more popular than me with less skill. But no, I'm not jealous of Sibre. Why would I be jealous of someone for having something I actually have too?
I don't see why anyone makes a fuss over polyamory? I mean, I haven't lost anything, you know? I've gained a friend. I know people's capacity for love isn't limited to one person. If it was, then you'd have to feel sorry for couples who are having a baby, because the baby will take away some of the love they have for each other.
Not that Sibre's a baby. But, I really don't think romantic love is any more limited than family love. At least not for the people in our relationship. I haven't even noticed a reduction in the amount of time John is able to spend with me.
Then again, I guess I wouldn't notice something like that. I'm so introverted that I'd probably be a hermit in a cave if John wasn't around to get me out of my shell sometimes. (Case in point: this week's obsessive diorama-making seclusion.) I don't need nearly as much social interaction as John does anyway, so I'm actually relieved if Sibre can help out with that.
And maybe you have trouble believing that we can actually be happy with polyamory, because you can't imagine yourself being happy like this.
I get it, really. I get the same thing all the time about stuff like being a vegetarian. "What do you mean you don't even like the taste of meat? How can anyone not like meat? I feel so sorry for you, not being able to enjoy meat!"
But I find it just as hard to understand how you could enjoy eating meat, and not enjoy eating, say, tofu and mock duck. And in Australia, you can bet there are people who feel sorry for you not being able to enjoy eating witchetty grubs. People, everywhere, have a hard time imagining other people liking things they don't like.
And just because you really, really like something, that does not mean that liking it must be universal human nature.
That applies to monogamy, for sure. Societies all over the world have different mating customs, many of which are not heterosexual or monogamous. And, in societies that try to be monogamous, over half the marriages end up having infidelity. The only reason people keep trying is because of so many centuries of ingrained traditions.
Now, this is not to devalue the feelings of people who do have a strong desire for a monogamous relationship. No matter where that desire comes from. Even if it's entirely from societal conditioning... the feeling is still strong. You can't just make it go away, and there's no reason to, if it makes you happy.
But please, try not to assume that everyone has that desire. Try not to feel sorry for people who tell you they prefer polyamory. If you need to feel sorry for someone, there are plenty of people in this world who are actually suffering.
And yeah, I'm not happy every day either. But it's because of stuff like politics and health issues and money troubles, nothing to do with polyamory. If you're concerned about me, all you've got to do is show some support and sympathy whenever I post about something that actually is bothering me. This is not one of those things.
Anyway, many thanks to all those who have been understanding and supportive about all this. Everyone have a great day!
Sirius eating lunch
2017/02/18/
He is a ravenous little dinosaur.
Travel Cage and Vet for Sirius
2017/02/19/
Sirius the starling had his first vet visit today!
Details of the vet visit after the pictures. Basically, Siri was very good and he appears to be in good health too, though there are a few mysteries about his health that couldn't quite be solved (vets don't really know a lot about starlings, since they're so rarely kept as pets).
Here are some pictures of Sirius at the vet, in his travel cage, and some pics of the cage by itself. It's not pretty, but it's the only travel cage we've been able to design that Siri seems comfortable in. He's really comfortable in it, too! He's been on a three-hour car ride in it before, and seemed fine!
It's John's design, but easy enough for me, or probably anyone, to build.
It's made of a plastic bin and some black plastic mesh from the hardware store, held together with zip ties. (We know that dowels don't make the best perches, and we're trying to find actual branches that fit well in the holes of this mesh. His regular cage at home is much bigger and has real branch perches.)
The opening is just three cuts in the mesh, with the cut sides covered with plastic from a heavy-duty trash bag (held in place with zip ties) to protect from any sharp edges. The mesh is bendy enough that we didn't need to create a hinge. A small bungee cord holds it shut when needed.
A bigger bungee cord holds the top of the cage onto the plastic bin bottom, and it can be taken off to replace the paper or rearrange the perches and other accessories.
I made a smaller version of this cage, too, with a shoulder-carrying strap, in case I ever need to get him out of the house extra quickly.
Anyway! Here are the pictures:
And, in our experience so far, Como Park Animal Hospital in St Paul, MN, is a very nice, very reasonable and very accepting veterinary hospital. Very few vets around here will treat birds of any kind, but these people were totally fine examining a captive-raised starling.
Although Siri didn't show any real signs of being sick-- he's still eating healthily, singing and being active in every way-- we'd been concerned about a swelling on his abdomen and a callus and bruise-like mark on his foot.
And we didn't really get that resolved on this visit, but the vet gave us some reassurance.
After the examination, they said that from the location and texture of the abdominal swelling it looked like a gastrointestinal issue... but since his stools are still normal, and a test for parasites didn't turn up anything, they weren't able to give us any conclusive answer. They did give us some options, though.
We could have an x-ray to see if any problems were visible that way. We decided not to, since an x-ray on a bird requires anesthesia, which gets more risky the smaller the bird is, and if something did show up, it would probably be something we couldn't do anything about anyway. The vet explained these things very honestly and reasonably.
He also said that if the problem gets worse, we could give the bird a deworming medicine just to see if there might be any parasites that didn't show up on the standard test. But since that's not so likely, and since Siri still appears to be in good health, we decided not to do that right away either.
As for the foot, he said it didn't look bad enough to be dangerous, but recommended giving him softer perches, maybe by wrapping them with padding material (I think he was talking about this stuff , since I've found some mentions online of people using that to wrap perches.) He also suggested extra vitamins and maybe more sunlight to help with the few overgrown scales that keep coming back on his feet.
And this all did cost some money, about $130, just to have him examined, tested for parasites, and prescribed a vitamin powder. But honestly I was expecting to pay more; I was scared of having to spend thousands on him, because I've heard so many stories of awfully expensive vet procedures. This vet is reasonably-priced by vet standards, as far as I can tell, and didn't push unnecessary expensive procedures on us. (There was no pressure to do the x-ray, for instance, and if we had chosen to, it would only have been about $40 for the anesthesia and $80 for the x-ray itself.)
And it's good to know that there is a vet in town who's willing to see starlings. And it's good to have a clean bill of health regarding parasites. Overall I think this was well worth doing.
New necklace
2017/02/25
Here's a necklace I made with sterling silver, amethyst and citrine.
(Not currently up for sale on my jewelry site at www.theheathersmith.com , but many other shiny things are there!)
Heartbroken
2017/03/15/
It's been a few days but I still don't really want to talk about it. Sirius the Starling has passed away.
When the growth on his belly started, I was preparing myself for the possibility that this could happen, but I did not expect it to get so bad so quickly.
I'm not going to go into all the details because it would make me cry again. Maybe someday. I feel like I failed him, even though there wasn't really anything I could do. I don't think anything that we did caused the problem to start. But we can never know for sure what caused it. The vet said it was probably some kind of tumor.
John and I were crying uncontrollably the first couple days, like lying on the floor sobbing too hard to talk, for half an hour at a time. And everything still feels utterly different without him. There's no way we'll get used to this quickly. He was such a part of everything we did. Everything we can possibly do reminds us of him.
Part of me wants another starling to fill the gaping hole, part of me doesn't ever want a pet again because this could happen and this was so hard to go through.
And part of me realizes that we're not in a good place in life to adopt another bird right now, since we don't know when or where we'll be moving after John graduates, but that once we settle down we will most likely have birds again... because for all the mess and work and eventual heartbreak, birds really are worth it.
Sirius was a wonderful, brilliant, sweet-hearted creature who loved us both in his own beautiful, weird and devoted way, and he was one of the best things to ever be in my life.
Over the next few weeks I will be making a tribute page for him on my website, with all the pictures and recordings and descriptions I have of him. Right now most of this website still looks as if he's still alive, and it's going to be hard for me to change that, but I will when I have the energy.
Things
2017/03/16
In all the bad stuff that's been happening lately, I have been kind of obsessing over making jewelry, and putting it up online, and preparing to sell it at various events, in an attempt to keep my mind feeling sort of okay.
Three events are confirmed for this year, and I'm excited for them, even though I'm anxious about everything else in the future.
They are:
********
MSP Comicon
May 20th and 21st
MN State Fairgrounds Grandstand
1265 Snelling Ave, St Paul, MN 55108
https://www.mcbacomicons.com/
********
Wiscon
May 26-29
Madison Concourse Hotel
1 W Dayton St, Madison, WI 53703
https://wiscon.net/wiscon41/
********
CONvergence
July 6 - July 9
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
7800 Normandale Blvd.
Bloomington, MN 55439
https://www.convergence-con.org/
And there are four new crowns up for sale at www.theheathersmith.com.
Bismuth pendant
2017/03/17
Bismuth pendant wrapped in sterling silver.
Not currently up for sale on my jewelry page at https://www.theheathersmith.com because it's one of the pieces I'm bringing to sell at upcoming craft events.
I have tables at three events this year! They are:
********
MSP Comicon
May 20th and 21st
MN State Fairgrounds Grandstand
1265 Snelling Ave, St Paul, MN 55108
https://www.mcbacomicons.com/
********
Wiscon
May 26-29
Madison Concourse Hotel
1 W Dayton St, Madison, WI 53703
https://wiscon.net/wiscon41/
********
CONvergence
July 6 - July 9
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
7800 Normandale Blvd.
Bloomington, MN 55439
https://www.convergence-con.org/
Opal!
2017/03/18
Geode and Ethiopian opal pendant wrapped in sterling silver.
Not currently up for sale on my jewelry page at https://www.theheathersmith.com because it's one of the pieces I'm bringing to sell at upcoming craft events.
I have tables at three events this year! They are:
MSP Comicon
May 20th and 21st
MN State Fairgrounds Grandstand
1265 Snelling Ave, St Paul, MN 55108
https://www.mcbacomicons.com/
********
Wiscon
May 26-29
Madison Concourse Hotel
1 W Dayton St, Madison, WI 53703
https://wiscon.net/wiscon41/
********
CONvergence
July 6 - July 9
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
7800 Normandale Blvd.
Bloomington, MN 55439
https://www.convergence-con.org/
Pendants and bottles
2017/03/19
A couple brass pendants with geode fragments, glass bottles and garnet.
Not currently up for sale on my jewelry page at https://www.theheathersmith.com because it's one of the pieces I'm bringing to sell at upcoming craft events.
I have tables at three events this year! They are:
********
MSP Comicon
May 20th and 21st
MN State Fairgrounds Grandstand
1265 Snelling Ave, St Paul, MN 55108
https://www.mcbacomicons.com/
********
Wiscon
May 26-29
Madison Concourse Hotel
1 W Dayton St, Madison, WI 53703
https://wiscon.net/wiscon41/
********
CONvergence
July 6 - July 9
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
7800 Normandale Blvd.
Bloomington, MN 55439
https://www.convergence-con.org/
Bracelets
2017/03/20
Assorted sterling bracelets with gemstones.
Not currently up for sale on my jewelry page at https://www.theheathersmith.com because they're among the pieces I'm bringing to sell at upcoming craft events.
I have tables at three events this year! They are:
********
MSP Comicon
May 20th and 21st
MN State Fairgrounds Grandstand
1265 Snelling Ave, St Paul, MN 55108
https://www.mcbacomicons.com/
********
Wiscon
May 26-29
Madison Concourse Hotel
1 W Dayton St, Madison, WI 53703
https://wiscon.net/wiscon41/
********
CONvergence
July 6 - July 9
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
7800 Normandale Blvd.
Bloomington, MN 55439
https://www.convergence-con.org/
Opal pendant
2017/03/21
Rough opal pendant wrapped in sterling silver, with garnet and pearl.
Not currently up for sale on my jewelry page at https://www.theheathersmith.com because it's one of the pieces I'm bringing to sell at upcoming craft events.
I have tables at three events this year! They are:
********
MSP Comicon
May 20th and 21st
MN State Fairgrounds Grandstand
1265 Snelling Ave, St Paul, MN 55108
https://www.mcbacomicons.com/
********
Wiscon
May 26-29
Madison Concourse Hotel
1 W Dayton St, Madison, WI 53703
https://wiscon.net/wiscon41/
********
CONvergence
July 6 - July 9
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
7800 Normandale Blvd.
Bloomington, MN 55439
https://www.convergence-con.org/
Two necklaces
2017/03/22
Bottle necklace wrapped in sterling silver, with pearls,
and
Net choker with sterling and pearls.
Not currently up for sale on my jewelry page at https://www.theheathersmith.com because it's one of the pieces I'm bringing to sell at upcoming craft events.
I have tables at three events this year! They are:
********
MSP Comicon
May 20th and 21st
MN State Fairgrounds Grandstand
1265 Snelling Ave, St Paul, MN 55108
https://www.mcbacomicons.com/
********
Wiscon
May 26-29
Madison Concourse Hotel
1 W Dayton St, Madison, WI 53703
https://wiscon.net/wiscon41/
********
CONvergence
July 6 - July 9
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
7800 Normandale Blvd.
Bloomington, MN 55439
https://www.convergence-con.org/
Two more necklaces
2017/03/23
Opal pendant wrapped in sterling silver, with pearls...
and
Sterling-wrapped glass bottle necklace with pearl, garnet and assorted gemstones.
Not currently up for sale on my jewelry page at https://www.theheathersmith.com because it's one of the pieces I'm bringing to sell at upcoming craft events.
I have tables at three events this year! They are:
********
MSP Comicon
May 20th and 21st
MN State Fairgrounds Grandstand
1265 Snelling Ave, St Paul, MN 55108
https://www.mcbacomicons.com/
********
Wiscon
May 26-29
Madison Concourse Hotel
1 W Dayton St, Madison, WI 53703
https://wiscon.net/wiscon41/
********
CONvergence
July 6 - July 9
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
7800 Normandale Blvd.
Bloomington, MN 55439
https://www.convergence-con.org/
Assorted earrings
2017/03/23
Not currently up for sale on my jewelry page at https://www.theheathersmith.com because they are among the pieces I'm bringing to sell at upcoming craft events.
I have tables at three events this year! They are:
********
MSP Comicon
May 20th and 21st
MN State Fairgrounds Grandstand
1265 Snelling Ave, St Paul, MN 55108
https://www.mcbacomicons.com/
********
Wiscon
May 26-29
Madison Concourse Hotel
1 W Dayton St, Madison, WI 53703
https://wiscon.net/wiscon41/
********
CONvergence
July 6 - July 9
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
7800 Normandale Blvd.
Bloomington, MN 55439
https://www.convergence-con.org/
Alien technology
2017/03/23
Circuit pendant wrapped in brass, with agate, meteorite, and glass bottle.
Not currently up for sale on my jewelry page at https://www.theheathersmith.com because it's one of the pieces I'm bringing to sell at upcoming craft events.
I have tables at three events this year! They are:
********
MSP Comicon
May 20th and 21st
MN State Fairgrounds Grandstand
1265 Snelling Ave, St Paul, MN 55108
https://www.mcbacomicons.com/
********
Wiscon
May 26-29
Madison Concourse Hotel
1 W Dayton St, Madison, WI 53703
https://wiscon.net/wiscon41/
********
CONvergence
July 6 - July 9
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
7800 Normandale Blvd.
Bloomington, MN 55439
https://www.convergence-con.org/
Necklace
2017/03/24
Citrine and pearl necklace wrapped in brass.
Not currently up for sale on my jewelry page at https://www.theheathersmith.com because it's one of the pieces I'm bringing to sell at upcoming craft events.
I have tables at three events this year! They are:
********
MSP Comicon
May 20th and 21st
MN State Fairgrounds Grandstand
1265 Snelling Ave, St Paul, MN 55108
https://www.mcbacomicons.com/
********
Wiscon
May 26-29
Madison Concourse Hotel
1 W Dayton St, Madison, WI 53703
https://wiscon.net/wiscon41/
********
CONvergence
July 6 - July 9
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
7800 Normandale Blvd.
Bloomington, MN 55439
https://www.convergence-con.org/
More sparkly things
2017/03/25
Sterling silver necklace with ruby, citrine, garnet and pearl.
Not currently up for sale on my jewelry page at https://www.theheathersmith.com because it's one of the pieces I'm bringing to sell at upcoming craft events.
I have tables at three events this year! They are:
********
MSP Comicon
May 20th and 21st
MN State Fairgrounds Grandstand
1265 Snelling Ave, St Paul, MN 55108
https://www.mcbacomicons.com/
********
Wiscon
May 26-29
Madison Concourse Hotel
1 W Dayton St, Madison, WI 53703
https://wiscon.net/wiscon41/
********
CONvergence
July 6 - July 9
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
7800 Normandale Blvd.
Bloomington, MN 55439
https://www.convergence-con.org/
Extinction event necklace.
2017/03/26
Brass necklace with peridot, mosasaur teeth, Campo del Cielo meteorite, and black tourmaline.
Not currently up for sale on my jewelry page at https://www.theheathersmith.com because it's one of the pieces I'm bringing to sell at upcoming craft events.
I have tables at three events this year! They are:
********
MSP Comicon
May 20th and 21st
MN State Fairgrounds Grandstand
1265 Snelling Ave, St Paul, MN 55108
https://www.mcbacomicons.com/
********
Wiscon
May 26-29
Madison Concourse Hotel
1 W Dayton St, Madison, WI 53703
https://wiscon.net/wiscon41/
********
CONvergence
July 6 - July 9
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
7800 Normandale Blvd.
Bloomington, MN 55439
https://www.convergence-con.org/
Pendants
2017/03/27
Two quartz pendants with pearls.
Not currently up for sale on my jewelry page at https://www.theheathersmith.com because they're amog the pieces I'm bringing to sell at upcoming craft events.
I have tables at three events this year! They are:
********
MSP Comicon
May 20th and 21st
MN State Fairgrounds Grandstand
1265 Snelling Ave, St Paul, MN 55108
https://www.mcbacomicons.com/
********
Wiscon
May 26-29
Madison Concourse Hotel
1 W Dayton St, Madison, WI 53703
https://wiscon.net/wiscon41/
********
CONvergence
July 6 - July 9
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
7800 Normandale Blvd.
Bloomington, MN 55439
https://www.convergence-con.org/
More ruby stuff
2017/03/28
Sterling silver necklace with ruby, smoky quartz and garnet.
Not currently up for sale on my jewelry page at https://www.theheathersmith.com because it's one of the pieces I'm bringing to sell at upcoming craft events.
I have tables at three events this year! They are:
********
MSP Comicon
May 20th and 21st
MN State Fairgrounds Grandstand
1265 Snelling Ave, St Paul, MN 55108
https://www.mcbacomicons.com/
********
Wiscon
May 26-29
Madison Concourse Hotel
1 W Dayton St, Madison, WI 53703
https://wiscon.net/wiscon41/
********
CONvergence
July 6 - July 9
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
7800 Normandale Blvd.
Bloomington, MN 55439
https://www.convergence-con.org/
Sword in the Stone
2017/03/29
"Sword in the Stone" pendant.
Made with a naturally sword-shaped Campo del Cielo meteorite, and a geode that happened to have a hole just the right size.
Wrapped in sterling silver.
Not currently up for sale on my jewelry page at https://www.theheathersmith.com because it's one of the pieces I'm bringing to sell at upcoming craft events.
I have tables at three events this year! They are:
********
MSP Comicon
May 20th and 21st
MN State Fairgrounds Grandstand
1265 Snelling Ave, St Paul, MN 55108
https://www.mcbacomicons.com/
********
Wiscon
May 26-29
Madison Concourse Hotel
1 W Dayton St, Madison, WI 53703
https://wiscon.net/wiscon41/
********
CONvergence
July 6 - July 9
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
7800 Normandale Blvd.
Bloomington, MN 55439
https://www.convergence-con.org/
Geodes and bottles
Bracelet with geodes and bottles wrapped in sterling silver.
Not currently up for sale on my jewelry page at https://www.theheathersmith.com because it's one of the pieces I'm bringing to sell at upcoming craft events.
I have tables at three events this year! They are:
********
MSP Comicon
May 20th and 21st
MN State Fairgrounds Grandstand
1265 Snelling Ave, St Paul, MN 55108
https://www.mcbacomicons.com/
********
Wiscon
May 26-29
Madison Concourse Hotel
1 W Dayton St, Madison, WI 53703
https://wiscon.net/wiscon41/
********
CONvergence
July 6 - July 9
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
7800 Normandale Blvd.
Bloomington, MN 55439
https://www.convergence-con.org/
(no title)
2017/03/30
Assorted bracelets with gems and pearls wrapped in sterling silver.
Not currently up for sale on my jewelry page at https://www.theheathersmith.com because they're among the pieces I'm bringing to sell at upcoming craft events.
I have tables at three events this year! They are:
MSP Comicon
May 20th and 21st
MN State Fairgrounds Grandstand
1265 Snelling Ave, St Paul, MN 55108
https://www.mcbacomicons.com/
Wiscon
May 26-29
More geodes and bottles.
2017/04/01
Sterling silver geode and bottle bracelet, with rough garnets.
Not currently up for sale on my jewelry page at https://www.theheathersmith.com because it's one of the pieces I'm bringing to sell at upcoming craft events.
I have tables at three events this year! They are:
********
MSP Comicon
May 20th and 21st
MN State Fairgrounds Grandstand
1265 Snelling Ave, St Paul, MN 55108
https://www.mcbacomicons.com/
********
Wiscon
May 26-29
Madison Concourse Hotel
1 W Dayton St, Madison, WI 53703
https://wiscon.net/wiscon41/
********
CONvergence
July 6 - July 9
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
7800 Normandale Blvd.
Bloomington, MN 55439
https://www.convergence-con.org/
Earrings
2017/04/03
Assorted earrings with stones, pearls and bottles.
Not currently up for sale on my jewelry page at https://www.theheathersmith.com because they're among the pieces I'm bringing to sell at upcoming craft events.
I have tables at three events this year! They are:
********
MSP Comicon
May 20th and 21st
MN State Fairgrounds Grandstand
1265 Snelling Ave, St Paul, MN 55108
https://www.mcbacomicons.com/
********
Wiscon
May 26-29
Madison Concourse Hotel
1 W Dayton St, Madison, WI 53703
https://wiscon.net/wiscon41/
********
CONvergence
July 6 - July 9
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
7800 Normandale Blvd.
Bloomington, MN 55439
https://www.convergence-con.org/
Earrings
2017/04/04
Assorted earrings with wrapped stones, fossil mosasaur teeth, and bottles.
Not currently up for sale on my jewelry page at https://www.theheathersmith.com because they're among the pieces I'm bringing to sell at upcoming craft events.
I have tables at three events this year! They are:
********
MSP Comicon
May 20th and 21st
MN State Fairgrounds Grandstand
1265 Snelling Ave, St Paul, MN 55108
https://www.mcbacomicons.com/
********
Wiscon
May 26-29
Madison Concourse Hotel
1 W Dayton St, Madison, WI 53703
https://wiscon.net/wiscon41/
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CONvergence
July 6 - July 9
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
7800 Normandale Blvd.
Bloomington, MN 55439
https://www.convergence-con.org/
Shell pendants
2017/04/05
Two pendants with wrapped fossil shells. One of them has a mosasaur tooth hanging from it.
Reversible. Both sides are pretty in different ways.
Not currently up for sale on my jewelry page at https://www.theheathersmith.com because it's one of the pieces I'm bringing to sell at upcoming craft events.
I have tables at three events this year! They are:
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MSP Comicon
May 20th and 21st
MN State Fairgrounds Grandstand
1265 Snelling Ave, St Paul, MN 55108
https://www.mcbacomicons.com/
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Wiscon
May 26-29
Madison Concourse Hotel
1 W Dayton St, Madison, WI 53703
https://wiscon.net/wiscon41/
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CONvergence
July 6 - July 9
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
7800 Normandale Blvd.
Bloomington, MN 55439
https://www.convergence-con.org/
Shiny things
2017/05/09
John and I did originally have wedding rings, but I'm the only one who regularly wore one-- I enjoy wearing rings, and John's skin gets irritated by them.
Anyway, since the original ring I received in our wedding ceremony somehow got lost years ago, I have cycled through wearing a variety of different rings to signify my married status. And wow, I wish my next set could be these ones. Gorgeous.
(Also perfect for a lesbian couple, I suppose! LGBT rainbow, plus sapphire=sapphic.)
...Yes, the picture is from my Amazon wish list, which has a lot of things on it that I'd love to have! My birthday is June 1st!
Yay in a Box: Apartments for Aliens
2017/05/09
Just finished setting up the web page for our new alien-apartment gallery concept!
Yay in a Box used to be John's site, but he's gravitated toward other branding and I realized the name was perfect for the page I wanted to make.
It includes pictures of the rough-draft demo dioramas I've made, to give you an idea what the finished gallery might look like!
Excerpts from the "About the Aliens" page:
Kit and Sessaris are humanoids from the planet Becca. No one knows why their home world has so much variation in the number of limbs people are born with, but their society excels at accommodating all sorts of body configurations.
Sessaris has only one arm and one leg, and Kit has only arms. Both of them use an assortment of prosthetic limbs, which can be switched out as needed. Kit is a painter, and Sessaris is skilled with the prosthetic violin.
Their shared home consists of two cubes: a dry upstairs and an aquatic downstairs for swimming with fin prostheses.
Tree Mother's real name can't be pronounced, because she doesn't communicate through sound. Her language is based on movements of the feather-like flaps on her chest. When introducing herself, she has her name translated into words of the same meaning in the other language.
Her translator and life companion is a Dian Cliff-bird named Singer, who knows her language and over seventy sound-based ones- thanks to a brilliant linguistic mind, individually controllable feathers, and a vocal tract that can mimic nearly any sound.
On Tree Mother's world, people choose their own names, and hers reflects her passion for gardening. On her potted plants she grows fruit that she sells to chefs like those in the nearby Baking Cooperative.
She feels more need for privacy than most other beings in this sector, so her bed and bath are behind a door. She even has curtains, but she usually keeps them open for the plants.
These aliens are just an example. There's no limit to what kinds of creatures the gallery might someday include! And if it does ever happen, we want all sorts of artists and writers to be part of it.
So please, go check it out!
Health care rant
2017/05/11/
I am sick and tired of people saying "nobody dies from lack of health insurance." I have been hearing this for years from all sorts of people who should know better.
"but even if you have no insurance and no money, doctors HAVE to treat you."
No they don't. Some hospitals have that policy and some don't.
Even emergency rooms will only treat things that are about to kill you right now. They will not treat long-term conditions that are killing you slowly. By the time those conditions are far enough along to be an immediate emergency, it will be too late for the emergency room to do anything about them anyway.
"but... the Hippocratic Oath!"
Doctors are not actually required to take the Hippocratic Oath. The original Hippocratic Oath actually contains a lot of stuff that makes no sense in the present day... like promising never to do surgery, not even for a gallstone... and like having to swear by a bunch of ancient Greek gods, which would violate the religious freedom of, like, any doctor who doesn't worship ancient Greek gods...
Many med schools do have their students swear an oath when they graduate, which may be an altered version of the Hippocratic Oath, but it's mostly ceremonial and it's not like anything can happen to you for breaking it, per se.
I mean, yeah, the oath does include promising to do some stuff that is also required by law, and yes you can be punished for breaking the law, but not because it's in the oath.
And also, even the Hippocratic Oath doesn't say "first do no harm, and also do not allow harm through inaction." I think you're mixing up the first line of the Hippocratic Oath with the first law of Asimovean robotics.
And guess what. Even when a doctor does treat you-- they usually do it by prescribing medicine.
And you get the medicine by going to a pharmacy.
And the pharmacy will not give you the medicine without payment-- not even if you have a prescription that says you'll die without it.
I know. I work in a freaking pharmacy. And so does at least one of the people I have heard spouting that "people never die from lack of insurance" bullcrap.
Like I said-- people who should know better. This is inexcusable.
Sirius memories
2017/05/12
Sirius was an awesome bird.
Here is the tag for all the posts on this site that featured him. Just in case you're like me and want to take the occasional trip down memory lane.
We still miss him so much.
Thoughts on beauty
2017/05/13/
The more I think about the sentence "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," the weirder it seems when people make posts to assure each other that "everyone is beautiful."
Because that sentence, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"... it's talking about where beauty is.
And where it isn't. It's not anywhere on the person or thing that is beautiful.
"Beautiful," that's a misnomer. The beautiful thing isn't actually full of beauty. The beauty is somewhere else entirely.
It's a reaction that someone has to that person or thing. It is in the eye (or more accurately, the mind) of the beholder, the one who's looking.
All the features of my face are on my face, yes... but the idea of whether or not those features are beautiful is not on my face at all. It's in the brain of everyone who looks at them, and it's different in each one of those brains.
So when you say "Everyone is beautiful," what you're explicitly saying is that everyone has somebody who finds them beautiful.
And I guess you have to think carefully about why you're saying that.
Are you saying it because there are such a wide variety of people in the world, and therefore such a wide variety of preferences regarding appearance, so you can be fairly confident that no matter what somebody looks like, there is probably someone else out there who finds that appearance pleasing?
Are you saying it because you, personally, find everyone beautiful regardless of appearance?
Are you saying it because people can find themselves beautiful, even if no one else does?
Are you saying it because people can have inner beauty even if no one finds their exterior beautiful?
Personally, if I were someone who did not consider myself beautiful, I wouldn't be comforted by any of those.
The first two try to comfort me by suggesting that someone who's a total stranger to me, whose opinion I don't really care about, who either has weird tastes in appearance or doesn't care about appearance at all, would call me beautiful.
The third implies that I am beautiful in the eyes of myself, which I am not able to believe if I don't actually find myself beautiful and don't know how to change that perception of myself.
The fourth says I am beautiful by conflating beauty with other traits, like kindness and wisdom, calling them "beauty" because comparing them to an aesthetically pleasing appearance makes them sound better (which can only make me conclude that appearance must really be the most important thing).
I mean, at times when I found myself unattractive, there were things that did make me feel better. Seeing a person who looked similar to me being widely regarded as beautiful, that helped. Having a romantic partner whom I loved and who loved me, who clearly found me beautiful, that helped. Those things actually made me feel beautiful.
But if you're not in a position to provide either of those things, maybe you'd do better to try and focus more on spreading the idea that beauty isn't the most important thing, instead of trying to assure everyone that they're beautiful?
I dunno. Just my mind trying to work some things out.
MSP Comicon
2017/05/13
I've just found out the location of my table at MSP Comicon-- the comic convention on the Minnesota State Fairgrounds on May 20th and 21st!
The con will take place in the Grandstand.
My table is B2E, right across from the Free Game Demos.
So that's where I'll be, unless there are any last-minute changes!
Hope to see some of you there!
MSP COMICON !!
2017/05/19
The con starts tomorrow!
https://www.mcbacomicons.com/what-is-the-mcba
It goes from 10 am to 6 pm Saturday, and 10 am to 5 pm Sunday.
Admission is $14 (that covers the whole day for both days).
$1 off with a canned food donation. Kids under 9 free.
Again, here is where I'll be:
The con will take place on the MN State Fairgrounds.
1265 Snelling Ave North, St Paul, MN 55108
It will be in the Grandstand:
My table is B2E, right across from the Free Game Demos.
So that's where I'll be! Hope to see some of you there!
Renaissance Festival: stop by on August 26 and 27!
2017/08/19
One thing that people have always asked, when they see my jewelry at craft fairs and conventions, is "Do you have a booth at the Renaissance Festival"?
I understand. My stuff looks like something you'd see at a Ren Fest. It would fit in beautifully.
But, until now, I had always considered it out of my reach. The Ren Fest is hard to get into, I always heard.
But, thanks to a serendipitous Ren Fest vendor, this wonderful person who stopped by my CONvergence table... I have found out about theme weekends.
The Minnesota Renaissance Festival has several weekend events where vendors can be there for just one Saturday and one Sunday. It costs less than a permanent booth, and I was able to get into the Once Upon a Time weekend!
SO:
I will be selling my sparkly stuff
at the Renaissance Festival,
from 8 am to 7 pm,
Saturday August 26th
and Sunday, August 27th.
Located here:
12364 Chestnut Blvd.
Shakopee, MN 55379-8944
Please stop by!
Wire Wrapping Class, Sunday Nov 26
2017/11/22
I am teaching a wire-wrapping class at the Goddess of Glass this coming Sunday!
I'm so excited-- it's my first class-- but sadly there are only 2 people signed up for it so far. There's room for 15!
You can sign up at the link:
Price is $39, but I think it doesn't have to be paid when registering, just in person at the time of the class.
And I can get you a deal if you'd like to contact me. The Goddess of Glass has encouraged me to invite friends to fill the class.
Depressing updates
2017/12/07
I want to explain why I have not been very active online lately; why I have stopped posting my comic "Abby and Norma" and gone down to posting almost nothing on Tumblr and Twitter and Facebook.
I am trying to put into words the complexity of my life right now. It's hard because my brain feels constantly fuzzy, and almost anything can distract me. I've tried dozens of times to get online and post something like this, only to end up wasting time scrolling through social media full of news that depresses me and arguments that lower my faith in humanity.
First, our bird died. That was in March of this year. It's hard to describe how much that hurt. When we took the empty cage out of the car, we collapsed crying against the trunk, like John was crying so helplessly that he couldn't do anything about his nose running and his mouth drooling all over the trunk of the car, and I was almost as bad. We had a heartbreaking amount of love for that bird. The pain of that has dulled by now, but it feels like it was the beginning of a very bad time.
John and I are at a strange point in our marriage. (And this is not part of the bad times, this is, overall, a good thing, but it has made us face obstacles that have added to the stress and discomfort of life lately.)
We have been living in a polyamorous relationship since 2012, and his boyfriend Sibre has just become officially his husband. They had to make their marriage official and dissolve mine, because Sibre is the one who has decent insurance. John is trying to live as a self-employed author and editor, so he has to be claimed as a dependent, and claiming him on my useless insurance is a waste of money, and he can't be claimed on Sibre's if he's still legally married to me.
I feel strangely unruffled by the idea of the divorce itself, for the same reasons that I felt fairly little about the wedding itself. John and I felt married before we legally were, and we will continue to feel married after we legally aren't. The paperwork means little to me, emotionally.
But I felt constant, exhausting discomfort with all the steps of going through the divorce. Every person involved in it seemed to be examining and evaluating our personal life, and even if they acted mostly polite and helpful, I still felt like strangers were metaphorically poking through our belongings and asking why we have each thing we have.
I still have my job at the pharmacy, but it takes so much energy and I always feel I have so little time for anything else.
We are getting more and more behind on the condo payments, because we're on just my income, and that's getting eaten up by insurance premiums and bills for doctor visits that the insurance never covers.
We're not in any actual trouble from that, because of our arrangement with Mom and Dad (they bought the condo and we have a contract for deed with them, and they're forgiving about missed payments). We're still privileged and way better off than most people in this country. But it still feels awful to be relying on my parents not to lose our home. We will get some of the money if we sell the condo soon, which we're planning to. But we're not even close to having it clean enough to show to potential buyers. It's a filthy mess full of stuff we have to go through and get rid of, and I don't know when or how we will find the time to do that.
I wonder if something is happening to my memory and attention span. I have a near-constant feeling that there are a bunch of important things I have to get done and I can't remember any of them. I mean, there ARE a lot of important things to do, but whenever I sit down to do them, or even write a list of them, I can't remember more than one or two.
And I feel discouraged about my ability to succeed at anything creative. When I got into the Renaissance Fair this past summer, I was so excited. But it turns out the Ren Fair is only lucrative for the people who have a booth all season. What I had was a pop-up tent for two weekends, and the area where people set those up is apparently not an area that gets any traffic. It was a waste of time and money, when I had been hoping it would bring in enough money to help us get ahead a bit. And it crushed my belief in myself.
Things have looked up a little bit since then. I have sold a few items that I had on consignment in a local craft shop. I have gotten a deal with another local craft shop to teach wire-wrapping classes. And it looks as if I will be in the 13 Gears Steampunk Event in February.
But it's so little, and so uncertain, and I still keep wondering if my jewelry-making business will ever be worth what I put into it. We are putting things up on Etsy, but it may be a long time before that ever pays off.
And my first professionally published book, "Born on the Wrong Planet," is going out of print, and it's been forever since John and I have been invited to give a speech, and sales for our sci-fi novel "Kea's Flight" are down to less than one a month, so it feels like I'm a has-been as an author too. I'm almost ready to publish the sequel to Kea's Flight, which I am very happy with, but I'm wondering how I'll find time to promote it properly.
And all this is happening at a time when I feel as if the whole country and maybe the world is falling apart, and whenever I think about doing anything, I wonder if it's even worth it if society is just going to collapse in the next year.
All my survival instincts are telling me to move to the middle of nowhere, get an ultra-durable bunker-like house and go off the grid with wind turbines powering lamps to grow my own food indoors, because for all I know there could be a nuclear winter tomorrow. But I can't afford any of that, and so it feels like my mind is having to close off all my emotions and become okay with the idea of being dead, because that's the only way to keep functioning from day to day.
Ugh. I'm trying to stay positive, and things are getting slightly better in our life, but it's a struggle to look on the bright side when the world is so messed up.
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