Under a Blue Moon

Bullet journal layouts

One thing about being suddenly unemployed is how unmoored you feel. You go from have a very regular routine to having absolutely no structure to your day. Last week was easier because I was still going into the office and attending meetings. This week, however, nada.

Nada doesn't feel good. At least to me it doesn't. I feel anxious and like I'm forgetting to do really important things.

Typically on Monday morning I arrive at work and pull out my bullet journal and plan out my week. This Monday I surfed the internet, mosied around Michael's looking for Halloween inspiration and basically just wasted an entire day.

Tuesday I sat down at my desk and wrote a to do list – the top of which was to create a weekly layout for my bullet journal. Typically my weekly layout is very work focused with a small section on each day for personal errands or reminders. I thought I would try out a couple of new layouts. I generally prefer the week laid out horizontally like the second picture but I've been doing that for a couple of years now and thought maybe I should switch things up. So I came up with a simple vertical layout that I'm going to try out for the week.

Before I commit ink to paper I like to lightly sketch the layout in pencil. I can adjust box sizes and positions and get a feel if it will look pleasing and be functional. It's probably hard to see my pencil marks but I switched up the layout in the end by moving the monthly calendar down to the lower left hand corner. And actually now that I have it inked out I think I'll move it to the lower right corner and make the quote box smaller. That gives me more note taking space. I like my notes section to be on the left side because I am left handed.

Another thing I do is print off any large text in a simple font. I position it under the page where I want it and trace it with my pen. My handwriting is mediocre and gets progressively messier the larger I print.

I also created a simple job search tracker so I can keep on top of applications I've submitted and any follow up. I just did a search for examples and this one seemed straightforward enough so I used it. I'm guessing once I start using it I'll make some adjustments.

My last day is actually this Friday. This week is mostly cleaning up loose ends and networking like mad. My resume has been spiffed up and sent out to a number of people already. I just need to try to relax and know that I'm doing all that I can to move forward. Trust in the universe.

The last bit of Summer

Rick and I decided to take an impromptu trip to the beach on Saturday. I just felt like I needed to breathe a little ocean air. What is remarkable about this picture is how clear and blue the sky is. With all the fires in California this summer the air quality has been terrible. I didn't realize how hazy the sky has been for the past month or so until I saw this beautiful view.

We went to a little town just south of Santa Cruz called Capitola. To be perfectly honest it's not my favorite place because it is so touristy and crowded but it does have an esplanade with a number of restaurants with lovely outdoor, ocean view seating to choose from. We ended up at Paradise Beach Grille where I had the best salad of grilled prawns, avocado, tomato and mozzarella. Kind of a caprese salad with extras. It was delicious.

Soquel Creek empties into the ocean right where we were dining. The water you see in the picture with the colorful houses is actually the creek. There are some lovely properties right there on creek. What a gorgeous backyard they have.

After a leisurely lunch Rick indulged me and we went to Ivy's Porch in Scott's Valley on our way home. I have mentioned it before – it is a 100 year old house that has been turned into a collective type antique store with 16 different vendors. There is so much to look at. I found a hobnail milk glass vase and an unusual glass container with a silver-plate top to it.

It is oval and fluted. The top is a little worse for the wear but then aren't we all. I wonder what it was used for. Matches? I'm using it for toothpicks.

Our roses are going all out at the moment. I think it is the last final flush before the temperature really start to cool down. I do love hobnail milk glass. It is my favorite.

I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Friday

Imagining a life lived ◊ waiting ◊ From above ◊ flower making party!

No favorites this week.

I tend to write my posts a few days or week in advanced and then schedule them to post on certain days. My Wednesday post turned out to be rather prophetic as I was laid off from my job on Tuesday well after I had actually written it. I should have started my side hustle sooner!

To be honest I am okay with it. Not happy about it but okay. I started working for Hewlett Packard 30 years ago and weathered several splits, mergers, 8 CEOs and finally they sold off my division last year and we have had lay offs ever since. I work in a high cost location, we are losing big customers left and right and I could see the writing on the wall a year ago. My entire entire team, save two people, was let go including my boss and his boss.

I already started updating my resume a couple of months ago so it's been shined up and sent out already. With the job market as strong as it is right now I'm confident I'll find something quickly. My skillset, training development and knowledge management, is relevant across many industries so there is sure to be something out there for me.

A good friend of mine from my HP days gave the advice to not make a career out of looking for a job. In other words, yes spend some time looking just not ALL the time. Take some time to relax, recharge and just enjoy life.

Which I intend to do right now.

On another note – if any of you are in Florence's path please know you are in my thoughts and please stay safe. As I'm typing this it is about a 100 miles away from landfall and it's looking very dire.

Paris Flea Market

There is a monthly event in my town called The Paris Flea Market. It is generally held the first weekend of the month from Thursday evening through Sunday. I have been probably half a dozen times in the five years we have lived here and the selection and prices are always good.

It is held in a ware house and is staffed by the vendors who each work one shift per weekend. Recently they started adding booths in the parking lot on Sunday.

And if you ask me the set up is brilliant – for both the vendors and the shoppers. I sometimes think it would be fun to have a booth in an antique shop but I know that it would be a full time job to keep it stocked.

But I think it would be doable to collect enough items or refurbish a couple of pieces of furniture for a weekend event. Rick is forever finding great furniture pieces on Craiglist for cheap that would be easy to paint or refinish and then resell for a profit.

I've thought of starting up an Etsy shop to sell lovely vintage things and actually have one set up (without anything to purchase).

I took all these picture with my cellphone so apologies for the hurried snaps. I always feel so weird taking pictures in public.

I read an interesting article about not having all your income come from one source. Of course most people earn their money that way. You get a job, you work it and collect your paycheck. All your eggs in one basket. The article said to consider what would happen if that one source dried up. You should have alternate sources of income. Like a side hustle. :)

When I was a teenager I always had multiple jobs. During my senior year in high school I had three.

I do believe if you are going to do something outside of your full time job it should be something fun.

It's something to think about.

Laundry day – part 2

Long time readers may remember a post I did about etching an old jar so I would have a nicer container for my trusty box of Biz. That jar has served me well for nine years but it was hard to get the lid on and off. It just didn't want to line up properly so I reconciled myself to either going back to the box or finding a new container that would work better.

Somewhere along the way I broke the sweet little china mug I used for a scoop.

If you aren't following Sonja from @ourcraftsmancottage on Instagram well I'll just wait a minute while you go fix that. Her pantry is the the thing of dreams. I love her green lidded canisters and always assumed they were vintage. Then she posted how she color matched her bread box and painted all the lids. Once I realized they were new they couldn't have been easier to find doing a quick Google search. They are Anchor Hocking Montana jars and they come in a variety of sizes.

Rather than etch the word Biz on the jar I painted it on using an oil paint Sharpie pen in white. I printed off the word Biz using the font Thirsty Script and then taped it to the inside of the jar and traced it.

Then I painted the lid in my favorite shade of green. I had a bit of an issue finding the color I usually get (Americana Mint Julep Green) but found Craft Smart in Sage Green which is almost an exact match. It's the bargain brand Michael's carries and you can tell. I had to apply three coats (after spray primering the lid) to get rid of the streakiness. I also coated it with a clear coat of polyurethane.

For a scoop I polished up a vintage silverplated baby cup and it is the perfect size and way prettier than the green plastic scoop that comes in the box. There's no risk of breaking it either.

It was an easy project but it is such a nice little touch in my laundry area. I wish I could figure out some pretty way to store the liquid laundry detergent. I wonder if I decanted it into one of those beverage jars with a spigot if Rick would go for that?

Friday Favorites

Spring – Cows in the Meadow, 2. View #9, 3. Morning sun, 4. landscape2

Isn't this a pretty Airstream? I am so over camping but I wouldn't mind parking this in some lovely location and roughing it for a few days.
Queen Majesty Hot Sauce – this is the best tasting hot sauce. The sweetness of the ginger balances out the heat so it's not overwhelming. I am a bit of a hot sauce wimp and I don't find this to be too hot. Speaking of hot sauce – does anyone watch First We Feast Hot Ones challenge? It's a guilty pleasure. The premise is they invite a celebrity on set for a hot wings challenge. Each wing gets progressively hotter until the end when the heat level is a bajillion scovilles. Something weird happens to people when they eat progressively spicier food – they can't edit themselves
Do you think this copper flower charm would really work to keep your cut flowers fresh? Or does just changing the water every few days do the trick?

Happy Friday! I had one of those "cram a week's worth of work into four days" kind of weeks. Anyone else experience this? You think that it's going to be a chill four day work week but in reality you have 13 meetings scheduled for one day and you are expected to be at all of them. Shoot! I forgot to pick up the winning lottery ticket too!

We don't have much planned for this weekend. I'm watching my granddaughter Saturday so her parents can celebrate their third anniversary. I'm going to try to go early so I can hit up Ivy's Porch in Scott's Valley because it is such a fun place to poke around.

I hope you have a lovely weekend!

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