ISAR’s Neighborhood

Go forth and fill your libraries with media.

Seriously, thanks to everyone for being so amazing and patient. You are the reason I love Vox.

~daisy

I was just told that the Amazon Conduit will be fixed by tomorrow. I will post here as soon as I get word that it's back up and running.

I know this has been frustrating and I am sorry there wasn't more I could do to make it less so. I really appreciate your patience though.

Cheers,

daisy

Bad news. As many of you have probably noticed, the Amazon Conduit was not fixed in the last week's release. Unfortunately, there was an undetected bug that is preventing the conduit from working.

We are working on this bug fix and hope to have the Conduit back up and running this week.

I will keep you posted.

Thank you for being so patient.

~daisy

Blog Action Day is every October 15th, when blogger are asked to post something about a single issue to show our strength and conviction as an online community. It's a great way to feel connected to the greater good, and the participation of so many bloggers to support the world's leading non-profit organizations is something you can do to help, right now. By blogging today, you're supporting some of the world's leading non-profits and sharing your voice for change.

This year's topic is climate change, and we'd love to read your thoughts on the topic. If you participate, leave us a link to your post in the comments, so we know to check out your post!

Go to www.blogactionday.org to learn more, get a badge for your blog showing your participation, and see some ideas for your post on climate change.

Can't wait to read your posts!

~ daisy

The Amazon Conduit will be working again on October 15, 2009. Thank you to everyone for your patience.

Have a great weekend,

daisy, Team Vox

In my last Team Vox post, I let you know that we're aware that the Amazon conduit is broken and that we're working to fix it. Many of you want to know when it's going to be fixed and I'm so sorry I haven't gotten back to you about that sooner.

Unfortunately, I don't have an exact date to give you, but rest assured, the Amazon conduit will be fixed in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, I'm about to finish my latest book and I could use a few suggestions as to what to read next, so... if you don't mind, let me know in the comments what's on your nightstand and/or what book you think I absolutely must read next.

Thanks! :)

daisy

Unfortunately the few items I made awhile back including a coffee mug and a bowl, were placed into the wrong kiln and are no more.  Luckily they were just practice pieces and I hadn't placed as much work into them as the following items.

 

 

 

This is my first attempt at a sugar bowl.  I haven't quite mastered how to make the lids yet. ;-)

 

 

Here is the matching creamer.

 

 

What looks like brown was supposed to be blue.  Sometimes you don't know what you get until it comes out of the kiln.

 

 

This one will most likely be brought out to the camper where it will hold salsa or sour cream, and it will double as a paper weight to keep the table cloth from flying off the picnic table.

Some of you may have noticed that right now you cannot add books from Amazon to your Vox library. Giving people a glimpse into what's on your night stand is important to many of you, so I just wanted to reassure you that we are doing our best to get this bug fixed. I'll keep you posted.

So sorry for the inconvenience.

Hope you have a great weekend!
daisy

 

My good friend had the wonderful idea of going up to Sedona for a night.  She had Friday off and I as only working half a day.  So, we drove up, checked into our hotel and spent Friday afternoon hiking through the red rocks.  Sedona is a breathtakingly beautiful place.  It's one thing to drive through or stop at a scenic vista.  It's quite another to be in it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is my friend Ida, the marathon runner.  She is in amazing shape and I often have a hard time keeping up with her. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The picture below was taken Saturday at Slide Rock State Park.

We spotted two deer eating apples under the trees.  Unfortunately they aren't that visible in this picture.  They blend in with the shade.  It was neat to see though.

Below is one of three tourist cabins that are still standing at Slide Rock in Oak Creek Canyon.  A good stiff wind would probably knock this over.  I'm sure many families spent many a summer here before the cabins fell into disrepair.

 

 

This was a question posed in a magazine that I receive monthly. 

They gave examples like, "Perhaps it was meeting your son's girlfriend for the first time, or being called ma'am."  For me being a 'grown up' is not a place that I've arrived at like a train reaching a station.  It is a place I continue to arrive at and probably will for the rest of my life.

I realized I was a grown up recently when I finally accepted all my flaws as a part of who I am in addition to the things that I do like and have long accepted about myself.  It hit me the other day after fighting with myself to clean the house for the umpteenth time that week that I simply do not like housework.  Do not like is putting it mildly.  Sure, the house is clean for company but there are days I look around and wonder why we live like this.  I'm often envious of girlfriends who seem to keep it all together no matter what time of the day or night.  There are no dishes in the sink and no one has written their name in the dust on the coffee table.  As of right now there is a smiley face donning the dust of my coffee table certainly drawn in by an unseen finger that most likely belongs to my husband's 9 year old niece.  At least she didn't call me fat.  If a kid calls you fat, you have an issue.  If a kid writes in your dust, it's beyond time to clean.  Once I have a permanent job again I will hire a housecleaning.  Another adult problem solved.

When I was younger being a grown up meant having your own checking account.  I remember sitting at the kitchen table with my mother as she showed me how to balance numbers in that gray and white lined ledger.  That year I bought my family gifts for Christmas through the Swiss Colony catalog.  This is the same catalog I couldn't wait to see every year as a child because of the elaborate gingerbread houses they displayed.  Now I was actually buying my family a gift basket using a check I had mailed the company.  This was a long time before computer banking and online orders. 

In 1998 I was engaged to be married.  A few months before the wedding he called it off.  This was the single most devastating moment of my life.  Not only was the wedding called off, he had someone else he had been seeing for quite awhile.  Now I've heard stories of revenge where the jilted woman goes over the deep end and takes a baseball bat to the car of her former betrothed.  In fact, friends at the time actually suggested I seek out some sort of revenge.  Surely he did deserve it.  However, despite what I may have been feeling at the time, I knew there was a whole other world out there.  I was only 29 at the time.  From that experience sprang so many different opportunities and avenues to explore.  There were people to learn from and plenty of country to see.  As in nature, when there is a devastating fire in the forest, in time everything grows back stronger.  I grew back stronger too.

This year being a grown up was finally throwing in the towel on a job that I detested.  After hemming and hawing about it I finally came to the conclusion that this job was not for me.  I gave my notice, gave up a great income, and walked away with the complete sense of relief that I had absoutely done the right thing.  As of yesterday I had 58 cents in my bank account. I joked with my husband that this was the first time in months I had any disposable income.  I accept this as the reality of the decisions I made a few months ago.  I may not be able to shop like I used to and my savings may not be what it once was, however, there is food on the table, the bills are paid, and I have time now to visit with friends.  I can take an exercise class.  My weekends aren't filled with crushing thoughts on all the things that need to get done on Monday.  I can eat dinner with my husband most nights of the week.  I may not be able to jump up at a moment's notice to get a pedicure but that is okay.  Again this is just another golden moment in the realization of adulthood. 

In time more 'grown up' moments will present themselves.  The important thing is that these moments are recognized as miles stones on the way to being a 'grown up.'  Until then I will wait for the next stop on my continuing journey to becoming a 'grown up.'