Starting To Catch Up

Today was relatively uneventful. I called the vet in Perry again to see if he'd read my e-mail and it turned out he never got it. It had not come back undeliverable, so either their spam blocker intercepted it or maybe someone printed it out the day I sent it and misfiled it. I re-sent it and the receptionist told me he'd either call me after hours tonight or in the morning. I didn't hear from him tonight so I guess that means tomorrow will be the day I will have some news one way or the other. I am praying that this one will do it.

No response yet from the news reporter so I may have to do some calling tomorrow about that.

I'm now working on the logistics for a new line of jewelry. Since my PMC seems to be what's most popular and most everything else has just been sitting in my shop it occurred to me that I should go back to that and develop some new and exciting designs in that medium. I have had it planned to make some interesting molds for quite awhile but other things kept getting in the way. Now that the silver market is going down again it looks as if I may be able to pick up where I left off. Next I will be developing some pieces made from my artwork. If I can get Carmella's treatment all squared away then I may be back on schedule with my business plan. The original Budding Vine bracelets are unique but recently even they are starting to be copied in one sneaky way or another (and they are trademarked and published which affords them more protection than a copyright). I'm not in the suing mood right now, as I've got enough on my plate with Carmella's situation, but that is not an open invitation to encourage anybody to go on doing this. I probably need to zag in another direction for awhile and give these people a run for their money. If they are following my work trying to come up with cheaper versions of my most popular pieces I'm about to make it alot harder to pull off. I will be incorporating some things into my next line that are not at all easy to copy, and anyone who tries will spend so much time it will eat up whatever profit they hope to make on it.

It rained today for a good bit of the afternoon and Carmella began to get increasingly antsy as time went on. She still cannot be trusted wandering around the house by herself because she'll chew up vital things like electrical cords and clothing, blankets, and other items, but she has been whining to get out of the kitchen alot more often than she needs to go out in the yard to go to the bathroom and she does not want me to leave the room after I go in there to snuggle and pet her. She tugs on my pants leg and even tries to hold on with her front paws.

Tonight when I let her outside her front right leg gave way and she fell down. She got right back up, but I am getting worried about this falling because at first it was mainly stumbling but now she actually ends up on the ground. This is not good and probably means that the demyelination is still getting worse. This could be also why she's so restless and clingy today. She seems to sense when there is disease-progression.

I was pleasantly surprised today when I checked my e-mail and found several donations and another person had bought an ad space on my blog! Thank you! Thank you! Keep it up, everybody. Each bit helps.

Also in the mail I received a Hill Tribes leaf from April of ALJ designs from a blog contest that I won. I will make something very special with it. Check out her shop here: http://aljdesigns.etsy.com/

Slowly but surely I think I'm catching up on my sleep as well.

I spent some time today researching brass and what I found out was very interesting. Apparently there are many different alloys that are considered brass. Brass has mostly Copper and Zinc in it, but it can also have a number of other metals included, and some Brass alloys even have small trace amounts of arsenic or lead in them. One site I was reading on listed 11 different types of brass but they said that this was just the tip of the ice burgh. There are many more. I guess that's why there's no "standard" way to preserve the patina or the shine on brass, because depending on the proportions of metals in it it may respond better to one method and another brass might respond better to another. It seems to me that some standards for manufacturing should be made as they are for copper, silver, and gold as to the composition and purity of the component metals in it. To have such a broad category called brass seems to cheapen it. I've never been a big fan of brass myself, but I must admit I am temped to try some of those lacy antiqued beadcaps and components that dress up a single bead or other focal piece to look really fancy, and I do like the dragonflies that wrap around things. I love Copper but have been unable to find such detailed components in it as I see in the antiqued brass.

Tonight Carmella's jerking is particularly bad. It is making her ears and entire head jerk from the sheer force of it. I hope tomorrow a vet will have mercy on her and go ahead and make a committment.

If you would like to help please go to the donation link on the right, buy a $5.00 ad on my blog, and/or buy some art jewelry from my shop. Thanks to all of you who have been contributing in one way or another to help Carmella get well! With Love and Action All things are possible! http://Giftbearer.etsy.com/