Say What?

I got word last week that Mark Kooiman passed away just weeks after his 60th birthday. Mark and I worked together in the late '80s to early '90s but our paths then diverged and we saw very little of each other after that. That wasn't uncommon working in the kind of 24-hour facility we worked in. Mark was a quiet type who mostly kept to himself. I didn't know him well but still, it was shocking and sad news to learn. I've looked for Mark's obituary but I haven't been able to find it. I was out riding on Monday and feeling like I should've stayed home. My adrenal gland was still in its prednisone induced slumber and I had so little energy since coming off the drug 6 days earlier. I tell myself that by forcing my body to workout, I'm encouraging my adrenal gland to re-engage. I doubt it works that way but it's what motivates me to get off the couch. I was back down riding the trails again Wednesday afternoon and I felt so much better. The old me h...

I received a message last week through my Etsy account from a couple in Michigan inquiring if I'd be interested in making 4 smallish stained glass panels for them. They gave me some ideas of what they were after based on some examples they found on my Etsy site . I opened my DeltaCad program and proceeded to sketch a design  that I thought might appeal to them. It did. We exchanged a few more messages to iron out the details and then I got busy breathing life into their request. I've had other inquiries for custom work through Etsy but never one that resulted in someone commissioning me to do a project for them. It was a good experience to walk through the process of putting an order together, completing it and sending it off. Honestly, tho, I have to be careful about commission work because it's not the same as when I'm producing work that I'm moved to make. I don't suppose I have much to worry about in that regard. I can't say enough good things about ...

I'm on a sardine kick lately. I know, I'm weird. I hadn't had a can of sardines in dozens of years until a few weeks ago. I was strolling the aisles at Cub Foods when I spied the sardine section and for whatever reason, I placed a few cans in my cart. Tammy gave me a sideways glance when she saw my purchase after returning home. Fast-forward to a few days ago when I was back at Cub to replenish my disappeared sardine supply—I think I must've had 20 cans in my cart. I'm at the checkout bagging my groceries when the guy ringing up my order yells down to me, "What's up with all the sardines!?" "I like 'em!" was my quick reply. And I do! I'm glad I wasn't buying 20 packs of condoms. I continue to add to  my inventory  of stained glass sun-catchers (my  most recent creation ) but I think I'm about to focus my attention on the openings above our  main-level cabinets  and come up with a design for stained glass panels for them. The...