Monday, August 10, 2009

The Land of the Lost


It's been raining in Stillwater. Great big GUSHING afternoons of rain with wind and lightening and a drop in temperature that I'm craving more than sugar or caffeine. I'll stand outside watching until small limbs begin to snap or the the tornado sirens go off. They do. Frequently. It's raw, primitive weather than seems oddly misplaced in this benign and quiet town. And it's wonderful.

I leave to go back to Nevada in a week or two. I'll be driving part of the way with friend Anna who's leaving for art school and then either train or bus the remainder of the trip. There are oddly merits to both. The train is easier to sleep on. The bus is cheaper and oddly quicker. Both offer opportunities for reading and zoning. Playing silly games on the laptop and tenacity. It takes a special patience to deal with the bus and I'm glad I have it. I don't fly. I will avoid it unless it's simply impossible to do otherwise.

The cats are circling. The storm has made them restless. They've hunted fiercely lately and while I don't like living mice...dead ones aren't so much fun either. You can't be mad at a cat for being a cat. Shudder. Shudder.

I'll be sad to give up playing with glass for a while. Melting glass has given me a fresh awareness of color and new found patience. To make and sell what I make is infinitely more rewarding than to buy and resell and I'm grateful I've had this opportunity. Here's to summer. I hope you've all been as blessed as I have.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Top Ten Reasons I Like the Post Office


1) Free boxes, envelopes, address labels, and tape.


2) They turn down their air conditioning to sub arctic levels.


3) The single most charming man in Stillwater, OK works there.


4) The horrid lady doesn't seem to work there anymore.


5) It's cheaper than UPS.


6) I have no social life.


7) First class International...so cheap!


8) After mailing 9 million packages, I am a regular.


9) Cash back with my debit card--as my banks nearest atm is 40 miles away.


10) In 10 years only three packages missing.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Lampworking 101


I'm once again trying to challenge myself to DO something with all of these beads I'm making. So here's project #1--Easy Ivory and Copper Earrings. The lampwork I made. The findings including the copper rings I bought at Hobby Lobby. (Please please please only purchase when half off which is about every other week.) The filigree balls at the bottom I'll post on ebay along with a set of silvered ivory lampworked rounds. (If you don't have a Hobby Lobby near, holler and I'll help you obtain some.)


Friday, July 31, 2009

Sons and Daughters.


I have a great capacity towards self indulgence. The center of the universe is about two inches left of my couch. Occasionally I'm hurled into awareness. A friend's adult daughter is missing. A woman in her late thirties with over a decade's history of schizophrenia. She left Oklahoma and has puts thousands of miles on the family car driving in and out of New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Arizona, and Kansas. Her gas card has well over a thousand dollars in charges from the last two weeks. Somewhere along the line she shaved her head. Last seen in Burlington Colorado, the sheriff's department put her up in a motel after she was evaluated as neither a danger to herself or society. On foot, now, she was gone the next morning.

Tomorrow family will leave Oklahoma and head for Burlington. Her father and her ex husband will travel together, pick up the vehicle she'd been driving and hopefully find and coerce her into coming home. Her sixteen year old daughter and mother are cleaning her house and waiting.

I don't know the lesson in this. I suspect it's that the connections between people must be present through marriage and through divorce. That the people you see mumbling and looking a little crazy, they're our daughters, mothers, sisters, wives, neighbors. That something as simple as taking your meds...isn't simple. Toss in a big pile of grateful. (There but for the grace of .....) Kindness to strangers. etc. etc. etc.

For me---I'll be making beads tonight. Riding my bike. And hugging the ex husband before he goes off looking for his daughter's mother. The woman he loved through a difficult marriage and still loves. Thankful for his big heart. And hoping she will be found.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Ohhhhhh MOM


It's true. We do turn into our mothers. And while this information doesn't force me into the spasms of hysterics it would have a decade ago, I still admit a little uncertainty with this process. For example: My mother as a child seemed to me VERY bold. Sure, the express lane at the grocery store stated a limit of 12 items. But my mother assured me that if you had 7 of the same item, it only counted as 1. If the commissary (army brat) was crowded, she'd have me wait in one lane and she in another, to see which moved faster. OR WORSE--she'd leave me waiting in line with the cart while she waltzed off to find a few more items. Now before you call security on me, I want to clarify--I do NONE of these. Well, ok...maybe just one of these. But today--when I answered the phone the caller said, "Who is this?" And instantly my mother's voice responded, "To whom do you wish to speak?" I lost every trace of the Southern accent I've cultivated for the last two decades...and no shit...my mother's clipped ohhhhh so proper voice waltzed out of my mouth. I'm 43. Only one or two gray hairs. Have probably raised children who are just a tad less psychotic than I am. But I'm now channeling my mother.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Life's Calling


There is nothing that forces me into a panic faster than a plumbing issue. I can handle phone calls at 3am, letters from the IRS, and "We need to talk," moments--but the minute water dribbles from where it shouldn't or ceases to pour from where it should--I turn into a babbling mess.

Tuesday I took a shower. (Whoa, fascinating, you did???) Upon completion I reached down to turn off the water and the tub spout fell off in my hand. The resulting arc of jetting water and rusted spout spelled certain disaster.

In North Carolina I had a plumber. He knew me. Well. He was aware of my sensitivities and paranoia about anything plumbing related. He spoke to me in a soothing voice. He was a GOD. In Oklahoma I was lost.

I trekked off to Lowes and pretended I was stupid. A roll of teflon tape and a new spout later I returned to the crime scene. I ascertained quickly (7 hours, and 4 breakdowns later) that the pipe was too rusted to screw on a new spout. (In a clockwise or counterclockwise direction.) I trekked back to Lowes. The returns lady took one look at me and practically threw money back at me. (Bless her.)

At the ungodly hour of 6 45 am the next morning--and $210.00 later, the problem was solved. Now here's the thing. Maybe I should have called a plumber first and avoided the hysteria. Plumbers are far superior to therapists in resolving a sense of personal well being. But I think if they came immediately and not after 7 hours of "Try," and 24-48 hours of sobbing, they'd be undervalued.

I once thought about going into the ministry...I was certain I had a calling. Now, I know I was clearly wrong. If so much joy can be spread by a man with a wrench--imagine what a woman who knew how to weld one could do.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Brambles

I went blackberry picking tonight.



A really brambly mess it was. And 2 hours later I have precisely enough to make a cobbler...which is always the best way to serve blackberries.
My beads are coming out crisper lately. More focused. Less wobbly.
I'm hoping as much for this cobbler!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

One Hundred Percent Positive


My ebay feedback went back up to 100 percent this week. (A year ago I received 22 negatives from the same person, it sucked, I cried, etc.) One more example of "This too shall pass," coming to pass.


I finally weighed myself this week. 20 pounds lighter since I arrived in 107 degree Oklahoma. Apparently humidity is good for me.


Kristen

Sunday, July 12, 2009

F.A.T.


I rode my bike tonight. About 6 miles. In 100 degree weather. And a kind and thoughtful young man informed me that I was fat. In fact, "Really fat." Now being a woman who is fully aware of both my size and the fact that he was standing still doing absolutely nothing--my response was a cool "Have ya looked in the mirror lately, sweetness?"


A year or so I probably wouldn't have said anything. And cried. A lot. But there's something about riding six miles that makes you both tougher and also less inclined to give a shit about what someone else thinks. And it's addictive--this sense of toughness. Not that I didn't consider running him over, mind you. And not that truly the best response would have been to smile and say, "Thank you. Have a good evening."


F.A.T. Freely Admitting Toughness

Dump Cake


Did you make this in the 70's? Cherry pie filling....cake mix....pineapple...pecans. All thrown together and baked. It likely included butter too. And shouldn't have tasted as good as it did?


Sometimes things blend well. And sometimes they don't. I'm in the process of trying to decide if I blend with another person.


I probably don't. And it's hurting.


K

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Help

I went to school in Swannanoa, NC at a very small liberal arts college, Warren Wilson. When I was there, the student population hovered a bit under it's agreed maximum of 590 students. Now I believe it's reached a ghastly 1000 and it's hard to fathom just how they manage to graduate individuals. Over two years ago they printed my obituary in the alumni newsletter. While at first horrified and then a bit miffed--mostly now it's just something to grin over. I've cheated death and it didn't even involve a plane crash or surgery. Woot!


It's going to be a charming 107 degrees tomorrow here in Oklahoma. Heat and humidity lead to depression, irritation, and the advanced certainty that things are simply not well. So I'll probably flee to the land of coffee and WIFI and list beads and read magazines I won't buy and lounge in comfy chairs. That'll kill 2 hours, anyway.


And then I may pull out tiny little seed beads. I haven't in a while. And thread a tiny little needle and weave myself into the certainly that Oklahoma is charming. That my life is charmed and that 107 degrees is normal, if not lovely.


And you?

Friday, July 10, 2009

Birth in Darkness


In Louise Erdich's Tales of Burning Love two characters sit around telling stories and discussing healing remedies for toothaches. June, a Chippewa woman suggests to Jack (he with a toothache) that he try chewing on cloves, an old Ojibwa remedy. His skeptical response, "Aren't cloves from Europe or something?"

When we gather remedies around us--those which nurture us spiritually--those which nurture our bodies and our hearts--we have to sift. What worked for us 20 years ago may still be fresh. And it may need to be sieved out of the mix.

Whether these remedies come from those we love (or from the last expected source) this process of cleaning out our "medicine cabinet" can cause anxiety and grief. It is for me right now. And I firmly believe it's only going to help....eventually, drat it.

I recently spent hours of focus on another person's life. If he just did this, this, and this....it would all come together. How dare he be dishonest with himself? With her? And while it left me certain I was absolutely right, it also left me certain that it didn't matter. Not my life. Not my choice. And of course...that it was really a way to not examine my own choices. My own personal dishonesty. My own responsibility for happiness.

Melt glass, ride bike, eat, sleep, list. Sift. Sift. Sift. Bake at 375 degrees for 24 hours. Repeat.

Foxes


Ok, after equating my recent lampworking to losing my virginity, it's probably best if I stick to something less squalid. I frequently walk at night here. There's a well lit Urban trail that meanders in and out of the woods. Three bends in lives a male fox. He calmly escorts me to the next bend, protecting, I assume his family. It's all done with a certain level of familiarity and calm that I really appreciate.

I watched a recent documentary, a Buddhist monk who works in a kitchen. Work as prayer/meditation is part of the theme. But another theme is serving others. That in cooking you're providing your fellow man the greatest of service. That it's best accomplished with whole foods and doing things by hand. When I watch my housemate prepare chai I get a sense of the innate truth in this. After grinding multiple spices in a mortar and pestle, Steeping tea, adding half and half, a mere 45 minutes later I'm sipping (luxuriating) tea. Molten glass can't be hurried. Learning can't be rushed. Growth is frequently so slow it makes you ache.

Time for my walk.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Meditations on Blobs of Molten Glass


I've been submerged under piles of molten glass. Gravity has become circular. You twirl and twirl and twirl and regardless of how lumpy and misshapen a bead once was, it becomes round and dimpled like a donut. (Bah, lentils.)


I really do feel like I've gone to summer camp and emerged, well, not a virgin. Yeah, the tawdriness of it all. But some sort of rite of passage is occurring. I'm learning to be quiet and "make" again.


And you?

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Keys to Sanity?

Sanity is madness put to good use--George Santayana

I've saved the 4 people reading this blog from details of the mayhem in my life. (Well, since most of you are exes you probably wouldn't be too surprised.) But the combined voodoo magic of bike riding in 100 degree weather with 50 percent relative humidity, melting glass in fire, avoiding caffeine and chanting "I am a goddess, I am a goddess," seems to be doing the trick. OK, I'm not chanting. Affirmations are good, I firmly believe, but who the heck has energy to chant after giving up coffee. Sheesh.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Lentilicious


I've always liked this bead shape...but these...love 'em!

Saturday, June 20, 2009

You're doing WHAT in Oklahoma??????




Aside from trying not to gripe about bugs, humidity, and psychotic cats, I am doing two things in Oklahoma. I am riding my bike. (Between 4 and 10 miles a day.) And I'm making beads. It's something I haven't done in years. And in a odd twistie (bead humor, snort) I'm getting help from the person I taught to make beads about 5 years ago. (He rapidly surpassed my knowledge and talent.) But it's fun. And I'm getting better!

Friday, June 5, 2009

Lions and Tigers and Chiggers, Oh My!


I'd forgotten. Just simply forgotten. Sure, in Nevada I'd acquired a chapstick habit. Yep, winter in Reno sucks! But I'd conveniently forgotten Oklahoma's charms: Humidity, ticks, and chiggers. Not quite the 7th, 6th, and 5th rings of hell--but, well, close.

I just got back from a twelve hour hike in the Wichita Mountains. The area is a wildlife refuge for bison and cows--the long horned variety. Those of you who know anything about me know that I was probably ill prepared for a 12 hour hike....straight up the mountain, granite boulders to climb up and around, poison oak and ivy. Oh, and did I mention ticks, chiggers, and humidity? At one point when I was protesting my assumed ability to continue hiking, something resembling more of a shriek than a whine, I looked up and realized I was 10 feet from a buffalo (well, bison.) I knew my spirit animal wasn't a cougar---but I hadn't considered a buffalo. Yet.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Spin the Bottle


I'm back in Oklahoma going to weddings, (Not mine, assuredly), working on relationships, and clearing out clutter. It's simply wrong to have belongings stored in 4 different states! The find of the week? 5 gazillion vintage bottle caps. Fun!

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Split Twig Figurines

Split Twig figurines provide us evidence of people living in the Grand Canyon over 4000 years ago. If eager little anthropologists ever happen to be digging through the remnants of my life in the year 6009 they'd marvel over:

7 mugs. (All containing dribs and drabs of coffee.) All sitting on my desk where I have been for the last 8 hours doing my taxes. Not one drop was spilled on my keyboard though it does appear to contain traces of smudged in muffin.

A monster pile of assorted papers. And this despite the miracle of accessing nearly everything one "needs" to know--online.

Plastic donut shaped discs---ahhhh, the wonder of TURBO TAX.

Gum Wrappers. Many.

And beads. (Which as I asserted just recently are breeding rapidly.)

2 phones. (Everyone knows more about this than I do.)

And an un rinsed cereal bowl.

I thought about taking a picture of all this carnage to make any and all feel more satisfied with their own lives---but it's a lot like needing a manicure---or underwear who's elastic has been stretched impossibly. Just better left unexamined.

Happy April 15th. Now maybe we can all (even the procastrinators!) get on with the actually important things.

Monday, April 13, 2009

The NOT so Amazing Race


I know, I know. 2 posts in one day---from the woman who's barely been managing two posts a month. I truly hope that the 3 of you non relatives non ex husbands non ex boyfriends who are reading this, don't suffer any detrimental shock or eyestrain.

Some of you know that I hide a dark secret. While I have never in my life paid for cable I watch not less than 4 reality television shows on the (gasp) computer. One is the Amazing (ish) Race on CBS. (I will not be disclosing the other 3 or more assuming deserved ridicule.) Anyway: it seems like each season there is one pair of racers that manage to travel the globe being absolutely horrible to everyone--their competitors, airline employees, each other, and most notably taxi drivers. While it's quite easy to mock them for their rudeness--and inability to understand why the entire universe doesn't speak English--it's done something positive for me. Watching people be horrible to those who are providing service to them, makes me nicer to nearly everyone. Now if Hell's Kitchen (gasp) would just inspire me to cook!

They are Breeding like rabbits!


I firmly believe that beads wander off and breed. Like bunnies. And this isn't just a lame attempt to somehow address the whole Easter thing. It's just true. A week ago I tried to ship an order....it was missing an item: Butterscotch Cats. Now...first...these are cuter than they sound. Second they were nowhere to be found. I search high and low, back and forth, in and out of that particular inventory box. No cats. I sent the purchaser a Kristen GOOFED again note...and some ducks....and refunded her payment for the cats. (No, ducks are not cats....but they were in both the animal and slightly butterscotchy family. ) Today I shipped orders again. Not one, but two lots of butterscotch cats. Precisely where they were supposed to be. I know there is an explanation for this phenomena that reaches past it being MONDAY and Kristen being slightly disorganized. It stretches beyond the universe is chaos thingy. It's simple. Beads wander off and breed.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Rainbow Bright


There are some beads....that you absolutely know you'll never do anything with---but still are so bright and perky they cheer you up. I'm lucky to have some relationships right now that fall into the same category. My own personal cheerleaders without the complications of sex or marriage or putting on makeup. And this in no way detracts from my appreciation--quite the opposite. Rah!

Saturday, March 28, 2009

The Effects of Anthocyanin on Plant Production


There are simply some things I will never need to understand. Picking and choosing how to focus brain power and energy...once again. How to write a 7 page paper. How to manage sleep with a new neighbor--chronic smoker--invading my space. How to love. And how to be gentle. How to get it all done. Why to ride my bike. How to parent. Why to avoid sugar. 3 steps forward. 2 steps back. Buttons pushed. Blogs avoided. Friends avoided. Paper done. Phew.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Vrrrroom Vroom

I spent about 3 hours today in the National Auto Museum here in
Reno. Despite being a "non driver," many of the cars were beautiful. But then...gleaming....glistening...not far past the Morris Eight and the Packard, right there in the corner of the gallery, was a display with over 30 antique beaded evening bags. The best collection of vintage beaded bags I've ever seen--in or out of an automobile museum. Just when I thought my outing couldn't be more perfect, I spotted the penny pressing machine in the lobby. Nirvana, Reno. Who knew?

Monday, February 23, 2009

The Art of Being Tuareg

The 200 square foot studio I am now living in
has become the perfect size for me. I appear to be
in a process of downsizing which will eventually lend
itself gracefully to being packaged in a a rusty old Microbus.
I sit in my studio late at night and pretend I live on a boat--the effect inexplicably heightened by the freight trains that pass every
few hours. The broom has "it's" place. My only mug is my favorite mug. The 2 plates are each the perfect shade of lime green fiesta ware. I can sweep, mop, dust and clean in just under 25 minutes--and do so with far more regularity than I did in other much larger homes. Entertaining is made irrelevant. You fit, or you don't fit. (Or choose to fit.) Should you bravely venture in, I will feed you oatmeal cookies made in my toaster oven.

I have been accused recently (and probably accurately) of being selfish. Of being eccentric. (I used kinder adjectives than were gifted me.) I do know I'm lucky to be able to make this choice. It was not foisted upon me. And how pleasant to know myself well enough that small spaces (and those that I can afford) have far more appeal than Mega Homes.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Flower Power

Thoughts of Spring! Copper and Cobalt, Brass and Bronze. Weird little Bead Caps without center holes that I smashed flat.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Sometimes You feel like.......

One more pair of acorn earrings. Copper headpins, fire polish and bead caps. Simple.

Monday, February 9, 2009

Flowering


Bloom where you are planted.




Sunday, February 8, 2009

When it rains.....


It pours. This week I've dealt with: Infidelity, Layoffs, and a depression that would be kicking me in the acorns (it's good to stick to a theme) if I had them. Tomorrow I have class and I don't want to go. Being 43, even if I feel like I'm 12, I will go. I think. I've laid out my clothes and shoes and unread textbooks on the firm belief that a person can create their own path. I know I'm not the center of the universe. And I know some of you are struggling even harder than I am. If you're not, please reach out to your friends. They do need you. If you are, please hang in there. If you can't even lay out your clothes, then throw on your sweats, step outside, and breathe in deeply. And then do it again an hour later. This too shall pass. This too shall pass. This too shall pass.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Smashed


Last month it was skeleton keys. This month: elongated pennies. I'm restraining myself. Barely. But I would love, love, love to wear a jingly bracelet with hundreds of these things. So what if I don't know what a "1968 Dottie Dow Pomona Valley" penny is all about. Just picture one hanging next to the "Haunted Mansion," or "Grandfather's Mountain." Some people want diamonds. I apparently want flattened copper.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

And Sometimes Y and W

I've gone back to school and am struggling with some basic tenets of student life.

1) No amount of coffee will prepare one for an 8 am class.
2) My books cost nearly as much as my tuition.
3) I still blush and stammer when I stand up in front of the class.
4) The desks no longer seem large enough.
5) At 43 I still procrastinate with homework.
6) It shows.
7) Sigh.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Shielding One's Self


It is through art, and through art only, that we can realize our perfection; through art and art only that we can shield ourselves from the sordid perils of actual existence.--Oscar Wilde

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Skunk Beads


Cornaline d' Aleppo--named for their resem-blance to Aleppo stone, an agate used to ward off the Aleppo boil that left a red circle with interior pus. (Gross, gross, gross.) But long or short my favorite African trade beads. Hmmm...wouldn't these be a nice Valentine?

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Acornish III




Filigree copper cones, Jet fire polish, and Copper Bali type spacers.

Acorn II

I'm completely "nuts" for these acorn bead caps that arrived in today's mail. But the large topaz fire polish I was going to use to create earrings: Out of stock. Harrumph!

Friday, January 30, 2009

Shields


Susan Storm Richards (also known as Invisible Girl and later, Invisible Woman--whether or not she grew or Marvel grew, I don't know...but I digress.....) is a comic book heroine created by Stan Lee. Sue received her powers after being exposed to a cosmic storm. She is able to render herself and others invisible. However, she can also project powerful fields of invisible energy which knock down walls, buildings and various bad guys.

I could probably live without the second if I had the first. But ya never know.

The shield bead is a really beautiful Picasso Jasper.

Acorn #1

In the 1600s, a juice extracted from acorns was adminis-tered to habitual drunkards to give them the strength to resist another bout of drinking. I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but I thought it was interesting. Back in North Carolina...every 4 or 5 years there was a rash of suicidal squirrels. Those you were completely certain were aiming for your car tires. I never could completely correlate it to a year with low acorn availability. Not that I tried terribly hard. I was really too busy dodging fluffy rodents.

Anyway: A few beads, sparkly and unsparkly, that I played with tonight in my quest for acorn adornment.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Nuts?


There is a certain German folktale that describes a farmer trying to outwit the devil. He assures Satan that that his soul will come to him as soon as his crops are harvested. And so he goes out and plants. His crop? Acorns.


In many cultures the acorn has been a symbol of patience...of waiting for what one has been longing for. There are very few days in which I am not teetering in a high wire sort of balancing act. (My need for solitude versus the needs of my family. The desire to make versus the need to sell. Depression and apathy at war with enthusiasm and renewal. ) The good news is always: This too shall pass. The bad news: Well, it's of course the same. (Drat it!)


Keep an eye out for Acorn projects in the next few weeks. Better yet, send me some of yours to show off. I've no major objection to the obvious symbol for February. (Especially in this time of surgery on the wee one) But the acorn seems far better suited to symbolize the L word.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Crow Call


Nancy Crow is simply my favorite favorite favorite Fiber Artist. I very rarely buy 65.00 books (Wait, I've never bought a 65.00 book) but this may change.

What are you craving right now?

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Logarithmic Spirals in Nature


--The approach of a hawk to it's prey.

--The Chambered Nautilus Shell.


--The approach of an insect to a light source.


--The nerves of the cornea.


--Sunflower Heads.


--The Milky Way.


--Romanesco Broccoli. (Cool looking, but I've never eaten it.)


Growth is a spiral process, doubling back on itself, reassessing and regrouping. --Julia Margaret Cameron

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Fire Polished Czech Glass


10 things I know about Czech Fire Polished Beads:

1) They're lead free.
2) They've been made for over 200 years in the Czech Republic.
3) They're machine faceted and then "polished" in the fire.
4) They're produced by a company called Jablonex.
5) Until 1989 Jablonex was criticized for using prison laborers in their factory.
6) They're cheap!
7) They sparkle. (Ooh, Ah)
8) Originally they were part of a cottage industry--and were made in people's homes.
9) Size intensifies color. Therefor a 4mm bead will not seem the same color as a 10mm fire polished bead.
10) The shades of color (like in yarn) may vary from dye lot to dye lot.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

12 Days Later

12 days later I'm finally blogging. In the interim I have:

1) Ridden over 2000 miles on a train.
2) Met an author and read his book. Michael Graham's "The Snow Angel."
3) Met my nephew. (He is now 4lbs and 7 ounces.)
4) Eaten Jaeger Schnitzel and red cabbage.
5) Slept very little.
6) Stayed in a Ronald Mcdonald House. (My nephew will be having heart surgery this week.)
7) Washed my hands 9000 times.
8) Shopped for baby clothes.
9) Paid tuition. (Mine. Intro to Anthropology and Cultural Anthropology.)
10) Spoken gently but firmly to teenagers who I'd never met but felt the need to explicitly discuss their sex lives 3 inches from my ear.
11) Bought a 75 year old woman on her way to Hawaii a Budweiser.
12) Marveled.

What have you been up to?

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Wednesday--The Garden of My Life


In Winnie the Pooh, the dis-agreeable nature of the weather is attributed to its being
"Winds Day." Hump day reminds us that we are still climbing arduously towards the weekend. Wednesday's Child is full of Woe. In Richard Brautigan's In Watermelon Sugar, "Wednesday is the day that the sun shines gray." And it would be sad to forget that poor Solomon Grundy was married on Wednesday.

Pish Posh Apple Sauce.

This day rocked!

First, friend Mindy and ebay seller Haveonhand sent me a picture of a key she's been working on. The garden of my life sparkles nearly as much as Mindy. (Thank you!)

Second, son Samuel was REALLY REALLY brave and auditioned for the citywide children's choir. That he is much bolder than I was is marvelous enough. That he was accepted is Cake.

Third, it was warm. In Reno, in January, this is a pure grace.

And last: I found something I'd lost. Enthusiasm. While it ebbs and flows. It is always Chinook--a warm breath of Spring.



Monday, January 5, 2009

Just another Manic Monday


It's just another manic Monday. I wish it were Sunday; 'Cause that's my funday. My I don't have to runday It's just another manic Monday --The Bangles

Monday was made slightly tolerable with a gift jar of pebbles. Even more beautiful than you may have realized, because they're actually chocolate that friend Charles brought back from Chinatown.

I ride the bus (gasp) a lot in Reno. It's cheap and easy to navigate between home, work, and son's school. Today I tried to do some bead work on the bus. (Scitter, Scatter.) Tomorrow I may try chainmaille. (Clink, clink.) For a long time I've wanted to take photographs of bus passengers. (The Deity you fear and long for is here in the face of the person standing next to you on the bus. More than that, I can't offer.)--Etsy Seller Fancifuldevices What have you been wanting to photograph?

Friday, January 2, 2009

Fun Friday


I lived in Japan for several years as a little girl. My mother's house-keeper was my universe. Not only did she make me miso soup with quail eggs, but she also took me downtown to the "Hello Kitty" store. I love this BirdieBird. Etsy seller Loriola has some super fun lampwork!


Anyone else found something fun today? Send pics, would love to post a few!

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Hang Ups



Nailing up doo-dads and gew-gaws in the studio today, I used twice as many nails as picture hangers. The leftover brass hangers were flattened, hammered and drilled to make earrings. A good reminder to "hang in there?"