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‘the office’ Category

  1. Society Page

    August 13, 2012 by Wink

    While researching the designer label on an evening gown I picked up this weekend for Tiddleywink Vintage, I came across the “society” page of The Pittsburgh Press, November 15, 1947. I hope you like these snippets. Click ’em to see ’em larger.

    Dolores (Carr) Rothrauff, 1947

    Bunnye (Wedner) Kramer, 1947

    Dorothy (Parrish) Briney, 1947

    Social Situations, 1947

    Juke Box Wail, 1947

    Long Skirts, 1947

    Other News:

    A day in Leadville, CO

    • The fella and I, along with his younger sister and their parents, went up to Leadville (Colo.) for a day trip over the weekend for the parents’ 40th anniversary. The dad lived in Leadville until 1958, so it was a trip jam-packed with anecdotes and information that really made for an interesting day. We saw the hospital where dad was born (now condos) as well as the tar-paper house where his mother was born in 1906. We went past the rectory where her father first stopped—ready to receive his last rites—when he arrived in Leadville, because he was sure that his arid-climate nosebleed was in fact a sign of the high-altitude-induced brain hemorrhage that would soon cause his death. :) An antiques shop in Leadville is where I found the aforementioned gown, but seeing as it’s not exactly a fancy-dress town, I’m not sure if it ever saw a dance floor locally. Perhaps it caught a performance or two at the Tabor Opera House before being packed away for many years.
    • Also acquired: my first piece (no, really!) of Fire-King Jadite ovenware! I’ve long been on the hunt for a single, affordable, useful piece. Yes, I could use a mug, but I have this whole matchy-matchy thing going and I likely wouldn’t. I once found a solo fridgie dish-and-lid for a reasonable price, but it was chipped. Then lo, what do I spy in the corner of the antiques store but what appears to be a smallishy loaf baker which is not only marked a reasonable $22 but also conveniently on sale for 20% off! Once I got it home I learned that it’s actually a fridgie dish but with the less common (?) “Colonial” style rim, and it should have a clear lid. This set came with the same clear, handle-less lids used on the Gay Fad painted series. Those seem more easily found online, so I may buy myself a Gay Fad set just to steal the lid. ANYway…pale green bliss!
    • The cherry-pie-that-didn’t-turn-out, I have decided, will make a delicious addition to a batch of homemade ice cream. Mmmm, ice cream!
    • The wardrobe dep’t. for “Vegas” placed another order! Woo!
    • Um, probably other stuff! Zippity doo-dah!

    Very happy to be working this week on a project for Cooper House, who are not only pretty darn fab designers (and coders), but also wonderful friends. However, between that and a client meeting I have on Wednesday and a high-maintenance-pet-sitting gig I have going all this week: go away. I’m busy. I’ll be blogging (I hope!) but you have a reprieve from the baking/canning/cooking posts this week. Ta for now!

    Category amusement, collections, day job, design, family, fashion, friends, nostalgia, shopping, the office, vintage & retro Style | Tags: | 2 Comments

  2. Lettuce Was Ahead, Tomato Had To Catch Up

    July 30, 2012 by Wink

    Ah, the busy-ness. The lack of posts last week was due to my being called in to work on-site at a client’s office. Which I enjoy, especially for that particular client, but it does take a bite out of my post-writing time. I’m playing catch-up this week, so the posts will likely be brief while I try to get back into the swing of shooting/measuring/counting/posting items in the shops.

    Catch-up? Get it? Whether you spell it catsup or ketchup, here’s a recipe for you all to get ahead on, as I plan to bake up a batch later this week. It comes from a 1938 copy of The Household Searchlight Recipe Book. If you follow me on Instagram (@ampersandwich), you’ve already had a peek at this one.

    Raisin Catsup Cookies
    1 cup sugar
    1/2 cup shortening
    31/2 cups flour
    1/2 tsp salt
    2 Tbs catsup
    1/2 tsp baking soda
    1 cup raisins, chopped
    1 egg

    Cream shortening and sugar. Add catsup and unbeaten egg. Beat thoroughly. Add raisins. Sift flour, measure, and sift with baking soda and salt. Add to first mixture. Mix thoroughly. Turn onto lightly floured board. Knead thoroughly. Form into roll 2 inches in diameter. Chill overnight. Cut in thin slices. Place on well-oiled baking sheet. Bake in hot oven (410°F) about 10 minutes. 24 servings.

    Hmmm, I think I’ll perhaps post recipes all week. I have a fruit-flavored marshmallow recipe in one of my Jello-O cookbooks (go figure) that I’d like to try. Maybe I’ll do that this afternoon. Instead of the 20 other things I should be doing. :)

     

    Category day job, food, the office, vintage & retro Style | Tags: | No Comments

  3. Conundrum

    June 5, 2012 by Wink

    The dry-erase markers I use to make my whiteboard To-Do lists have dried out. I’d put “Buy new dry-erase markers” on the list, but…

    Category amusement, day job, the office | Tags: | 1 Comment

  4. Lack of a Cohesive Plot

    October 16, 2009 by Wink

    Forgive me, Readers, it’s been a week-ishy since my last post. The Department of Labor sent the letter with their Official Determination, which makes it Official: My contract work wasn’t as a contractor, but as an employer. Oooooooookay. However, the Determination of Benefits letter was based on very obviously (to me) incorrect earnings for when I was working, so I have to file a correction and blah blah blah.

    ANYWAY. I started an on-site contract with a new company this week, and so far, I absolutely love it. It’s immediately apparent that all of the folks in the department really care about each other, and everyone seems to truly enjoy their work. There is no grumbling or rolling eyes, and it feels great to be in such an environment! And, ohmigosh, the paperwork I need for each project is ALL FILLED OUT. Nobody takes a shortcut and assumes that the info isn’t necessary or that someone down the line will pick up the slack. Heavenly and efficient! The breakroom refrigerator is kept stocked with cream/half-and-half/soy creamer for the employees to use! REAL STUFF! Not CoffeeMate crap! Sometimes, it really is the little things that show an employer cares. And did I mention that they’re all nice to the New Girl? There’s talk of bringing me back for a few days in January, when a different person will be out on vacation. I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for that! Yay!

    I had three imperfect transactions on etsy all in the same day, which was odd, but two of them are already cleared up and I know the third will iron out soon. The first was no big deal: A person ordered an item, but the payment didn’t come through. I nudged the buyer to check his account, and yeah, there was a hiccup in the system. All taken care of now. The second was from a new-to-etsy customer who didn’t understand the shipping fees and wanted a refund of the “excess,” but once I explained how the charges are calculated, we came to mutually agreeable terms. The third was a person who was in a rush and very clearly laid out when and how I needed to ship her purchase, without first asking if it was possible to do it that way (it wasn’t). I’ll be checking the tracking number to see if her dress arrives in time, but there’s nothing I can do if it doesn’t. My fingers are crossed for that, too!

    The fabric is all cut out for the more complicated part of my primary Halloween costume. There was a bit of a “d’oh!” moment when I cut one piece from the wrong fabric, but it turns out that I need that piece after all, so that’s a happy accident. However, I completely miscalculated yardage for the skirt, and had to buy all new fabric for that. Dang! At least I hadn’t yet cut the original fabric, so I can use that for some future project. Not sure what, exactly, but I’ll think of something. Probably a handbag. Or three. I found a pair of shoes on eBay for a DOLLAR (plus shipping) and I hope they fit and work with the costume. More finger-crossing!

    Okay, kids. My coffee is done brewing, so time for me to pack my lunch, swing by Einstein’s for my Free Friday bagel, and hit the office. Enjoy the weekend!

    Category Halloween, sewing, shoes, the office | Tags: | 2 Comments

  5. Doing the Right Thing

    October 12, 2009 by Wink

    (Side note: Has anyone noticed how long it’s been since I’ve written about shoes or pie? I need to work on that.)

    Last week had its Not Good moments. Many/most/all of you know that I’ve been officially Not An Employee since August 26, 2008. That’s the date that “my” company laid me off, along with many others, during yet another in a string of restructuring moves. I had just begun a new project at the office, though, so I was immediately hired back on as a contractor and was back at a desk (not my desk, but a desk) by the end of the week. Without the interruptions of so many other little tasks that people always think “won’t take you any time,” I was able to complete the project in a couple of weeks, and then I filed for Unemployment to tide me over until I found another job, or my freelance work picked up enough to support me.

    I’m sure I covered the original Unemployment saga earlier within the pages of this blog, but in summary: I applied. I was approved. Freelance work was frequent enough that I didn’t mind that there was clearly a problem with my claim, but when it dried up and so did my savings account, I had to start making phone calls to straighten things out. I finally started receiving benefits in May of 2009, eight months after I filed.

    Fast forward: I had freelance work for three days in September. Well, one in August, and two in September. I claimed those three days on my bi-weekly benefits request, just as I’m supposed to. My payment was proportionately cut for that week, exactly as I knew it would be. And then, on or about September 5th, my benefits ran out.

    I applied for an Emergency Unemployment Claim (EUC). Quickly: “Regular” benefits are determined by the State, and are paid by your previous employer(s). EUCs were put into place as a Federal program because of the high rate of unemployment, and the vast number of people who have run out of State benefits. They are paid with Federal funds, but still managed by the States’ labor offices.

    The Department of Labor called. They were reviewing the paperwork for my EUC, and saw that I worked for three days. They needed me to send in any/all paperwork related to my work as a contractor, because they felt that it was not contract work, but that I was actually an employee of the company that hired me. Which would mean that I would not be eligible for an EUC, but would have to open an entirely new claim.

    Um, exsqueeze me? That’s just silly. I sent the DoL a copy of my invoice for the three days of work that I did (for which I still haven’t been paid, by the way), as well as copies of invoices and receipts for the freelance work I did before I received any Unemployment benefits.

    The DoL, using logic so flawed that I cannot even begin to comprehend their decision, determined that my freelance work was actually as an employee. The letter states, “… it has been determined that you were not free from control and direction in the performance of the service or you were not customarily engaged in an independent trade, occupation, profession, or business related to the service.” Really? REALLY? My freelance graphic design business, which is a Sole Proprietorship registered with the State, is not a “customary” profession? Or is it that the work I did was under the “control and direction” of my clients? Isn’t that the case with ALL freelancers? I dare you to hire a contractor to paint your house, but give them no direction as to deadlines or color choices. See how far you get. I explained my disagreement to the representative at the DoL, and he curtly explained that it was the State’s official determination, and suggested that I write to my Congressman and ask him to change legislation. I shit you not.

    This determination means that I am not eligible for an EUC. The Labor Department will instead open a new Unemployment claim for me. The benefits will again be paid by my previous “employer” (thus guaranteeing that the company will NEVER hire me as a freelancer again) at a percentage of my wages for the last two quarters. I don’t like to discuss hard numbers, but it’s relevant in this case: I billed $1200 during the last two quarters. That averages out to $46/week. I haven’t yet received the Determination of Benefits letter, but I sure hope there’s some sort of minimum, because a percentage of $46/week doesn’t exactly seem useful.

    In other news last week, I was turned down by my bank for the Mortgage Loan Modification Program. This program is supposed to stave off foreclosures for people in hardship situations by bringing mortgage payments down to 30% of your income for 5 years, and then jumping back up to whatever the interest rate is at that time. I didn’t meet the automated prequalifying conditions, so I went in through a back door to speak to a Wells Fargo mortgage consultant who shall remain anonymous (as well as my connection to him or her). This person couldn’t go into my specific account, but assessed that I was most likely turned down because I’m not behind on my payments. The suggested solution? Stop paying my mortgage. Re-apply for a loan mod when I’m 30 days late, and if I still don’t qualify, apply again at 60 days/30 days late. Hope that I get approved before foreclosure proceedings begin. And get my other financial ducks in a row now, because my credit score is about to take a big hit.

    The moral of these stories? Doing The Right Thing will bite you in the ass.

    Category citizens, for doing the right thing., the office | Tags: | 3 Comments

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