sunday calendar: meowy christmas!

it really is the cat's pajamas: the dancing cat 2012 calendar by jamie shelman.

dear santa

merry christmas! did you hear about this 100 year old letter to santa found in a dublin chimney? only a little scorched...

merry mailbox

set of 8 wassailing bears by moikka paper

do you send out holiday cards every year? this season i only sent a few but in the past i've really gone all out. here's a mini-round up of my favorites from etsy (and one from egg press).

rustic pine cone collection card by echoletterpress

snappy christmas card from eggpress

black and white cards by inhauspress

carolers card by niseemade

christmas joy wreath by onelantern

hand calligraphed card from sparrownestscript

the vamoose

i don't normally post about jewelry, but these pieces from the vamoose are so intriguing. using natural stone like marble, chrysoprase, quartz, riverstone, feldspar, lava stone and jaspar with metal and brass, kathryn blackmore makes her collections for the vamoose by hand. the geometric marble necklace is particularly lovely without being too delicate.

[via destined to design]

sunday calendar

gorgeous and graphic calendar by the indigo bunting. i think my favorite months are march, august and december (how about you?)

last minute handmade

a last minute plug for the last minute handmade gift market. this coming monday evening at the modern times cafe in minneapolis if you're local. if you're not, you can still get the rest of your shopping done online from fine purveyors like bara, scarfshop and painted fish studio.

[thanks martha!]

wish list: faribault blanket

i was bummed when the historic faribault woolen mill closed in 2009, especially since it was only a day trip away and i'd never visited. but they've reopened this fall and are now one of the only fully integrated, working woolen mills in north america. since 1865 the faribault woolen mill played a part in history, producing half the wool blankets in the united states (along with being the oldest manufacturing entity in minnesota). ellen showed me a trapper scarf in person today and i quite literally gasped. quality craftsmanship, indeed! i'm adding the lodge stripe throw to my christmas list this year. i feel like the world is a better place now that they're back in business (and doing it right).

plus, for each blanket purchased in december faribault woolen mill will donate a blanket to twin cities shelters.

agates and light

sigmar polke's stained glass windows in switzerland's grossmunster cathedral in zurich. they're made with slices of real agate - it would certainly be stunning in person!

for more info read this article from the new yorker.


[bookmarked recently, but i've forgotten from where]

sunday calendar

kittens! dreamcats 2012 calendar by fieldguided. the pink one for me, please.

Bills Auto Repair in Hiawatha Kansas 66434/Follow up Review/Hub Bearing/Milton

I wanted to follow up with an article I wrote earlier this year on, “Bill’s Auto Repair” located in Hiawatha Kansas 66434. The article was titled, “A Small Adjustment For The Customer.” I couldn’t understand why Milton the mechanic would not recheck his work on the front hub bearing I brought in. Milton said he would have to charge me another $100 or so in labor to replace the bearing since he did not buy it. I called this a small adjustment since I know what is involved replacing this bearing which he refused to do. With his power tools he could of performed this small adjustment for me under 15 minutes if he really wanted me as a happy customer. He did not know that I have over 25+ years experience working in the private sector as a ASE Certified Auto Repair Technician. I wanted to see how this shop handles its customers.

After refusing to pay Bills Auto Repair in Hiawatha Kansas another $100 to replace a bearing again, I replaced it just to see how bad this bearing was installed by Milton the auto mechanic. I found the 36 mm axle nut was loose which could cause premature wear on this bearing. The next thing I discovered was the O-Ring was crushed, torn, and installed incorrectly by Milton. This could also cause a good bearing to go bad real fast. The spot where this O-Ring was suppose to go was not cleaned and was covered with rust and dirt. One of the three bearing hold down bolts was loose which could cause improper alignment of the new bearing. With all of these mistakes made by Milton the auto mechanic at Bills Auto Repair located in Hiawatha Kansas 66434 I don’t see how I was going to pay him another $100 to screw up another new bearing. The inside of my New tire was wore out which now needs to be replaced. All I wanted was him to recheck his work and warranty his labor.

After finding all of these installation problems and Bills Auto Repair not wanting to honor their ‘Labor Warranty‘, my final review is to stay away from these guys as far as possible. Just because you try to save money by bringing in your own parts for them to install do not believe them when they say the part was installed correctly and you have to pay again to have it fixed. My advice would be to have a reputable auto repair facility document the installation problems and try to get your money back from Bills Auto Repair located in Hiawatha Kansas. Rather than relying on Bill’s to admit they installed your part incorrectly.


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