New burrs came in! Oh boy! It's fun to start a new skill and learn with it. I do really enjoy the fresh enthusiasm that comes with trying things and working out the best approach. Sure, it's great to have a mentor in a craft to gift you the knowledge, but there is something about just grabbing some stuff and learning as you go. Like, do it. No rules. No approvals. Who cares, do it! I've always liked making stuff by hand. Some part of my prehistoric hindbrain finds it deeply satisfying in a way work on a computer screen can't match. I can't explain it. Yes. Good. Make. Shiny.

Slate carving is going quite well. They were right, it is very easy to carve. The diamond bits and pink grinding bits are getting some use. Generates a lot of fine dust but a stiff paintbrush helps to get it out of the way. If slate weren't so heavy and fragile I might think about doing coasters. But I'm trying to stick to product that won't break.

I was going to spend $30 on a shoe rack as a display, and then I realized I can just use the detachable top half of the shoe rack I already own. I just have to sew little fabric shelf covers, because the shoe-holdy part is just two metal dowels, not a proper shelf. Upside, will take up very little space to transport when disassembled.

Sister in law Becca has asked for the versions of their logos I fixed up and put on their cups. Damn straight you want them. I knew she was smart.

Hilarious cricut drama continues to be hilarious. I swear to god, I will storm Michaels and burn it down with these women. We can play loud country music and drink cheap wine from knockoff plastic mason jars and I'll try to cuss less in case they bring their kids. I don't care, as long as there is fire.

YES, BURN IT.

On related note, the Michaels right across from where we go grocery shopping is looking pretty sad. Over the pandemic the displays in the front window areas have thinned out and the cheerful signage for sales has stopped. Today there was a lone "70% off" poster in the window. When I went in to get that tube of cheap watercolor a couple weeks back, I wanted to check on this other enamel style craft paint, and realize their entire display of craft acrylics was down to a few scattered bottles in weird colors, like they hadn't reordered in a while. I'm thinking that store may not be doing so hot. Fine by me. They overprice their stuff, they take advantage of their employees and customers, they stock low quality merchandise, they feed off trends. Rot and die, temple of parasitic pseudo-creativity. I'll litter your grave with confetti made from your 40% off coupons.

We ran errands and I was feeling fancy so I put in some proper earrings. My ears are stretched to 10mm (not very big as stretching goes) and I like wearing oversized earrings. I just find them really beautiful, so beautiful I stretched my ears so I could wear them. For a few months I wore no jewelry in my ears (depressed) and my holes shrank up and then I had to stretch them back out again over several weeks, so being able to wear my old jewelry again is a real treat. It's been so long I have even forgotten what I own. So today I put in these nice elaborate carved wood pieces, and immediately realized the problem when I went to put on a mask with elastic over my ears. Oh yeah. This is a lot more complicated than it used to be. Womp womp. I guess I am stuck with just boring plugs for a while longer. Bummer.