M-u-s-t S-t-o-p

Tonight's one of those nights when I wish I didn't have to think about getting up to go to work in the morning.  I'm on a roll, gettin' stuff done, and I'd like to keep rollin' right along!  But, no, I shall drag myself away from the computer . . . as soon as I stay on long enough to write this post!  ;)

I'm printing out the art festival posters as I write.  I'm happy with how they look.  I'll have to figure out a way to show it to you w/o giving out my personal info, i.e. location!  I'll save that 'til tomorrow, though:  otherwise it would be another excuse to stay up later, editing the poster!

The electrical system inverter started making horrible sounds this morning.  Or, perhaps more to the point, it was the first time I'd heard them.  It quite obviously sounds like the cooling fan, but an inquiry to the local alternative energy guy resulted in a "I don't know if I can replace the fan" and "think about a new inverter".  NOT the answers I'd wanted!  The inverter is INTEGRAL to my electrical system here.  As in, no inverter . . . no electricity.  OR power to keep the below-ground heating lines from freezing.  And, it seems awfully damn early (in its life)  to be thinking about having to REPLACE the inverter!  Granted, it works a LOT, but I really thought that would be a once-in-a-lifetime purchase.  But, too, I could be TOTALLY off, and perhaps it's "just a part" that wears out.  I'll be contacting my new, preferred off-grid guy, you can bet . . . but I still need to keep a good relationship with the local one for times like this!

Thinking about This Situation could open a whole new can of worms if I let it.  Mainly, the difficulties that are (potentially) caused by the below-ground / in-floor heating.  And that I was talked in to such a system.  Or, specifically, putting water into that system instead of anti-freeze (or something similar).  The big problem is that the heating system can N-E-V-E-R be left alone and unused in the wintertime.  If it is, the water in the lines will freeze, expand, and burst.  It's a completely closed system, so I don't know HOW labor intensive it will be to replace the water with an anti-freeze solution, but you can BET that I'm thinking about it rather seriously!  I've heard, tho, that the anti-freeze solutions are harder for the wood furnace / in-floor heating pumps to push.  A big, fat negative.  So, it's six of one, half a dozen of another.  But, the point is, if there was a non-freezing solution in the closed system and, say, I DID "run out" of electricity due to a failed inverter, I could just heat the house with the 3 wood stoves herein and deal w/o electricity for the interim.  No biggie.  But, having a freezable system IS a biggie!  A big, fat, stinky biggie.  Stay tuned.

In other news . . . I've been working, tonight, on actually getting my holiday greeting cards up on my website!  I know, I know:  amaze-balls!  There's still a long way to go before the page is ready to go live, but, with luck, I'll have it up early enough to still snag some holiday shoppers.  Just in case some of you want to think about ordering your holiday cards from yours truly, here are a couple options:

Cold and Quiet, Horizontal

 
Inside Greeting:

Old-Fashioned Christmas, Horizontal

Inside Greeting:

Lara's Snow, Horizontal

 

Inside Greeting:

            

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Annnnd, the rest aren't transferring over well.  Nor can I get that damn line gone.  You'll have to wait 'til tomorrow to see more.  Prices are $4.25 for an individual 5x7 card, $29.95 for a set of 12, and $34.95 for a set of 12 with custom printing.

Okay, I have to go to bed now.  Really.