the holidays. you know that i fucking hate them, right? so let's get this recap started so i can move on to 2011, shall we?
the rakkadeer econobox internet empire grew by one computer this week as leff gave me beatrix (on the left).
it really was the best present ever as ratburger (right) is on his last legs (and xp). it's very nice to be able to get work done without everything crashing every five minutes. thanks, leff!
our plethora of london books also arrived
and leff got a metric shit ton of cybermen.
and that's that. "jekyll", this site and gin are pretty much the only things that got us through.
what? of course i'm trying to learn a little bit of conversational welsh. if i'm moving to cardiff it might come in handy. (although, english works very well there. i just feel like i have to do a bit more work due to my american accent. (it's the model un nerd part of me. heh.)) don't be impressed though. the only thing that i can remember how to say at the moment is "bore da". i mean, that's nice and all but it's not going to get me very far when i'm trying to ask the way to, say, llanfairpwllgwyngyll, you know what i mean? (i still can't pronounce that. i'm working on it.)
ANYway, you don't need a recap of 2010, do you? good. for everyone i know it's been one of the worst years ever and i just want to see the back of the damn beast.
oh! stupid fucking awesome ends in four days. starting on jan 1, i'm switching things up a bit by having two weekly projects: skull diggery and pax and ak. fingers crossed on the paak project as it's collaborative. with a relative. who is two. it might not work.
you can also keep up with what's going on with me career wise through the news feed at rakkadeer.
the past week saw many, many wonderful things arrive via post and ups. the most unexpected present being, of course, LEFF'S CHROME NETBOOK!!
it's a terrible picture of our laptop family. it will also be outdated soon as we're expecting beatrix to arrive this week. (my compy, ratburger, is on his last legs, poor thing. (many thanks to leff for the holiday gift!!)
anyway, the chrome netbook is really pretty great. i haven't used it as often as leff, naturally, but when i have, i've found it to be quite quick and nimble. you know, the way you expect chrome to be. leff has a bit more to say about it at his tumblr so go check it out if you're interested.
continuing with the surprises, my dad and step mom sent us this lovely couple.
it might seem a slightly weird combo to you but it makes perfect sense to me.
while it's not a surprise, i still enjoy the twin peaks notebooks that i bought for myself from one up designs.
they're not full of secrets yet but they will be. *ba doom ching*
more packages will be arriving in the next few days. i'm assuming that's what i'll be talking about next week as i'm avoiding the general public until this holiday bullshit blows over. the cats seem to enjoy it, however, so that's nice.
the things that have happened at casa rakkaleff other than dealing with torrential rain and urban craft uprising have centered primarily around food.
specifically british food.
if you claimed that we were ruled by britannia, i wouldn't begrudge you that point. leff and i are both unrepentant anglophiles. (actually, we're fans of all island countries. i don't know why that is specifically but it's true.) we're also quite "home"sick for the uk.
that's how we ended up ordering this big box of britain.
don't be scared, british people. leff and i are both nonfreakish worshipers of royaume-uni. we also think that tripling tuition fees is utter bullshit but that's neither here nor there. (giving clegg and cameron the angry side eye.)
the food has helped us get over having to live in les etats-unis. (at least for the short term. (please don't ask me why i'm all about french place names today. i'm tired. it happens sometimes.)
in addition to the bounty above, we also picked up some marmite at the grocery store in our former seattle neighborhood. the damn grocery store that decided to stock tons of british food once we'd moved! GAH!
what's happened to the text above? oh, christ. i'm too tired to give a shit. deal with it, please.
anyway, the marmite's ok. esp since we now have a new toaster! (and electric kettle!) both courtesy of leff's mom!
thank you leff's mom!
a bit more about marmite. it's kinda' too salty for my undeveloped palette.
i've been told that if you mix it a tiny bit of it with butter just so the spread turns tan, that it's fantastic. i'll have to try it!
until then, however, i'll continue eating nutella toast.
'cause, seriously. nutella is the bomb. (i'm going to make some nutella crepes soon and play like i'm still sitting at the creperie in caridff. *sniffle, sad face*)
oh, yeah! we also got some curry beanz.
leff had them on toast. he loves them. i might try a bit on toast when we get some more.
in addition to the toaster and kettle, leff's mom also got us some books that she thought would be right up our alley.
she's so right! i luuuuuuuurve 84, charing cross road in both book and movie version! i also can't wait to get started on a history of wales! (have i mentioned how much i like cardiff lately? ha!)
groc has been posting some more of his pictures from our trip across the pond. here's me making fun of a stack of plates at a yo sushi in london.
and now we arrive at the cat part. want to see something adorable but irritating? then look at what happens when i try to take product shots for my etsy shop.
yeah, clouseau gets all "i'm ready for my closeup!" like i'm cecil b demille or something.
peel has also been all "lookit me! i'm so pretty!" lately.
i catch her admiring herself in this mirror all the time. i've raised some cats with ridiculously high self esteem. in other words, i've created some monsters. sigh...
k, i've got to see how the basement's drying out. i'm HATING wa state at the moment and CHRIST IT'S RAINING AGAIN!! motherfucking fuck, i hate rain.
we had 4 inches of rain in less than 24 hours this weekend and i need to finish cleaning up the basement. then i might have a damn cup of coffee. this weekend. bloody hell!
please go bid IF YOU ARE IN THE SEATTLE AREA! (items cannot be mailed and must be picked up in person at the stranger's offices. sorry, most of the people that i know.)
proceeds go to childhaven and desc so please bid well and often!
before i even get started on this quick recap, i want to give proper thanks to both leff and l for being my backup crew! THANK YOU A MILLION TIMES OVER, GUYS! i seriously could not have done it without the both of you!
so! urban craft uprising 2010, winter edition! it was awesome steak with a side of crazysauce! the final tally of attendance was just shy of 10,000 people! my face hurts from smiling so much!
leff and i set up my booth on friday afternoon. it didn't take long as my work's small and i'd gone the table rental route. (we lugged over two suitcases full of merch and etcs on the ferry and that was it.)
have i mentioned how much i love my logo sign? it's so stupidly wonderful. (thanks again, leff, a and jer for your help on that endeavor!)
i only have pictures from set up because, jesus, did you READ that number of attendees? it was super capital PACKED and, as regular readers know, my work sometimes takes a bit of explaining if you're not acclimated to the crazy that is my style.
this was fantastic because they're both incredible people. (g'wan check out their site! there are lovely garments for the children that you know!) also, they didn't mind it when leff and i would occasionally dance like buster bluth when he wasn't wearing his glasses and mistook lucille two for a cactus. (it's complicated. you can kind of get an idea of what it's like from this video.)
leff did take this video while on a short break just to show how crowded things were.
but back to my table. we went the matching route. as in, we wore matching sweaters that also coordinated with my table fabric. it worked well! except that people sometimes mistook us for a painting collective. (??) it's all me, kids. i'm an art machine!
anyway, this is the only picture of us as a couple that you'll ever see.
i think that it sums things up rather nicely.
i really don't think i would have enjoyed the show as much as i did if i hadn't had some great booth neighbors! jolby were incredibly wonderful in not flipping out when i knocked over some of their work. (i'm so SO sorry guys! i'm glad that everything was still intact!) vermilio was staffed by some total dears! also, tender loving empire were absolute sweethearts and manticore and i found out that we only live a few blocks away from each other. ha!
i really clicked with anna and (omg, i'm so sorry i've forgtten his name) her bf of victory garden yarn and the woo woo ladies!
in fact, anna and i swapped! isn't this crocheted hoop of hers adorable?!
speaking of swapsies, here's kate's shark card that i HAD to have!
i also need to ask her if aaron (also of nancy) would swap a small ceramic or two because, hello? you've seen his work, right?
so, i think some of you readers came by the table. THANK YOU!! it was really kind of you to make it to the center on a day when there was actual sunlight! i hope that i wasn't too out of it and managed to say something that was vaguely amusing.
i'm sure that there are other things that i should be writing here but i've got to 1) fill etsy orders 2) head to the bank 3) clean the house (it looks like a shit storm hit. heh!) 4) unpack merch 5) photograph new stock for said etsy shop 6) try to catch up on some sleep.
i'll post something non show related a bit later this week. PLUS the strangercrombie auction goes live on wed and i don't want you to miss out on that link! proceeds are going to two very worthwhile charities! please check back soon!
