Friday, December 28, 2007

A Sigh Of Relief........

Our puppy made out good from Santa!

All the decorations are down (except for the cool live wreath) and things are returning to normal. Christmas was a lot of fun and the kids got to make Gingerbread cookies which was a total blast. The last minute rush is what gets to me the most and I'm so relieved when it's over.......I know, that if I didn't wait until the last minute it wouldn't be that way......next year......I will plan better.......

Zack is home from the hospital and doing much better although a complete recovery is going to take a few weeks. Having been a very active kid before the infection that is probably going to be the hardest thing for him, staying off of his feet for awhile.

I haven't had a chance to get back to the torch yet but, hope to within the next couple of days. More rings are in the works. Both glass and metal. I also got some new metal smithing toys for Christmas, and am chomping at the bit to try those out.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and is looking forward to the coming New Year. We have already started our new years (life) resolutions early. We just didn't see any reason to wait until then, since it's for the better.

All done!

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Prayers For Zack



My friends son has a bacterial infection that's so bad it put him in the hospital. He's going to be in for at least the rest of the week while they try and figure out which antibiotic to put him on and make sure it doesn't come back. What started as a pain in his ankle (thought it was a sprain), turned into a fever and vomiting (thought it was the flu) and then him screaming about the pain in his leg. At his second Dr. appointment they finally told the parents to take him to the ER. I took her other 2 (kids) for the day and night. She has great kids who happen to be great friends with my boys. And I think She and I are kindred spirits. She has been run through the ringer and the ringer isn't over yet. The scariest part about all of this, is that they just don't know how these kinds of infections get started. The aren't contagious and just seem to happen at random and they are serious enough to kill someone. Zack we are praying for you to get better soon!!

I did squeeze in a little time at the torch this afternoon. The boys started Winter break with a half day today but it didn't take long for them to interrupt me a half dozen times while I was torching. That cut my session short, while I looked for the duck tape (kidding). The chilly pouring rain and wind didn't help. They are getting pretty excited as we approach the home stretch of the Christmas countdown (EEEEEK!!!). I'm still not quite ready but I'm working on it.

Tomorrow I'm supposed to head out with my Mom but we haven't confirmed it yet. Maybe I'll be able to finish up...........

A couple of pictures of auctions starting tomorrow night.

Have a good one!

Sunday, December 16, 2007

The Stress



Of Christms coming is really kind of funny. The kids look forward to it and most of the adults can hardly wait for it to get over (me included). This year I'm a little less stressed, even though we have less money (thanks to my ex) but I'm really excited for the kids. We bought a couple of cool things that they are really going to love, so I think getting a little less this year won't be noticed.


I braved the crowds today to get a tumbler that I've needed for quite a while. Harbor Freight has them on sale and I have to say that while it's not my favorite store to go to. It does have lots of goodies for artists of all kinds. I have 2 butterfly necklaces that I have been holding off selling for a few months because I think that they could use a little tumble to harden the silver a little and shine things up. I'm rather proud of these two pieces and entered one of the in the FMG contest but unfortunately I missed the deadline (have I mentioned that I procrastinate a bit sometimes?). They have a new contest going but I don't know if I want to try and enter is again. I'll see how I feel after a good tumble. I did, however, forget to get stainless steel shot for it so that will have to wait until later in the week.


I have 8 glass rings waiting to be cleaned. I'm really liking them. Especially the frogs. They are a lot of fun to make. The ladies are too but there's just something about those little froggies. I also tried to do a man ring too. I think he turned out pretty well, right down to his.......hmmm......jewels.


The ornaments I'm going to continue making throughout the year. The are fun and not particularly Christmas themed. I think they would work great for Spring too, because of the flowers.


The boys have a day and a half of school to go and then they are out for a 2 week winter break. I always look forward to this because is means we are almost half way through the school year. Boy is time flying!!
That's it for now.

Friday, December 14, 2007

A Note.....




I was going to start this out with a rant/note on deadbeat Dads........but I think that in the end Karma will catch up with them.........moving on.........

Rings have been a thing for me for as long as I can remember. I love rings in general but particularly unique, cool, out of the ordinary rings. I have gone back to lampworking rings and boy did I forget what fun I've been missing out on. Frogs and the female form. Maybe a flower or two. The down side is that I need to get more mandrels. I only have 4 and they range in size from 6 to 11-1/2. I'm going to have to pick up a few more after Christmas. In the meantime I try to make 4 a day which is difficult with Christmas fast on my *ss. I'm still perfecting things so of the 4 usually two are worth putting up for sale. Still I can't complain it's really a blast and I love the attention I get when I wear a frog ring.

I started Christmas shopping today. I told my Mom that I was getting a "jump" on things and she reminded me that getting a jump on things would have been a month ago.....oh well. I hope to be done before the end of next week, if not sooner.

I'm still looking forward to Christmas but, I'm trying to simplify it and not get so stressed over the whole thing (dead beat Dads do not help with this). No matter what, the kids are always happy and have a wonderful time. So I'm trying to "flow downstream" which helps a lot but is also a new learning experience. Remember the book I told you about....Ask & It Is Given (Jerry & Esther Hicks).....if you read it you'll understand. It helps a ton, in that, I don't lay awake at night worrying about everything but I still have a lot of work to do to reach the desired goal.

Anyway enough for tonight. Check out some new auctions (Rings) on Ebay and I finally got those ornaments listed.

Enjoy your night!

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

A Couple Of Ornaments.....



Should be up for auction later today. The one I did in white I ended up chalking and I'm not really pleased with the results. That one will end up on my tree. But I do have 2 that I think turned out quite nicely and those will be up for auction later today. I still have a few more in the works but those are my night time projects. I've been messing with the glass during the morning hours and will be listing some cool frog rings and a few more beadies either today or tomorrow.

Lots to do today. Have a good one & stay warm!!!

Sunday, December 09, 2007

And More Snow.......


We are being hit again with the white stuff. It's just a light dusting right now & looks to be slowing down. I'm hoping that will be it for the day. With only a little over a week until Winter Break I'm hoping we don't get enough to keep them out of school. Alternate bus routes also keep them home but those days they don't have to make up at the end of the year. Since we are on a hill it's not possible for me to drive them to the alternate stop when the roads are snowy/icy.


I've been working a little here and there on lampwork, ornaments & jewelry. Yesterday I worked mostly on getting a spot cleared for the Christmas Tree. The boys can hardly wait! They picked out the tree yesterday and it's now waiting on our deck for it's esteemed spot in the house and to be decorated.


Christmas is quickly sneaking up, with only a couple of more weeks to go. You can feel the tension/excitement in the kids mounting by the day. I still have a bit of shopping to do, but have lists to work off of, which helps a lot.
Do you like the sampling of ornaments?
Enjoy your Sunday!

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Hibiscus & A Ring



My flower bloomed. Isn't it pretty! I love hibiscus and have a couple of ornaments made with a hibiscus theme. I also finished another ring. This one with peruvian opal and lavender pearls. I really like the copper but I do have some sterling around and might try a couple in that, maybe with some bone faces.
Tonight is book club. The book we read is The Skeeter Daddle Diaries~Reflections of a South End Nettle Farmer. A funny book with bits and pieces of one of the local (Camano Island) artist. This is a hard to find book if you decide to look for it. The author is Jack Archibald. A good read and my copy is autographed, Thanks Auntie!!!
Today I started making room for a Christmas Tree. We are going to be getting one this weekend. This is probably the last year we will buy a real tree. I'm ready to go with a "fakie" for convience, time, $$ and the hoard of pine needles that don't shed all over the floor. We will be checking those clearance sales after the 25th.
I'm really looking forward to the end of the week. It seemed to be a long one.......

Monday, December 03, 2007

Stormy Weather.......And More



Stormy weather. So far, so good, we haven't lost power & things seem to be calming down a little but I hear another round is coming. School was normal so the kids were bummed, plus the snow was, pretty much, completely gone since it was 54 degrees this morning and actually stayed pretty mild all day.


Happy Birthday to Brandy today. She's 19. I can hardly believe it!


A couple of Tassel Ladies up on Ebay too. I didn't have a chance to list anything else yet but hopefully I won't have any running around to do tomorrow, outside of the house that is.
I hope you're all having a great Monday!!
See ya tomorrow!

Sunday, December 02, 2007

Snow!!!


What a way to start December. We got about 6 inches of snow!! It's a slushy mess now but the kids thought it was fun while it lasted. They are now hoping that they will have a delayed school day tomorrow but I told them not to get their hopes up because it looks like the snow will be mostly gone by tomorrow and then a wind storm is moving in, happy day (not). I would almost prefer the snow over the wind but I'm happy if the power doesn't go out for a long period of time. I really am a modern day girl who prefers electricity to darkness. We do have a wonderful wood stove for heat though so that makes things much nicer in the Winter.


I'm chalking my ornament and am really pleased with the results. I now have to figure out how to seal it and not get the sealer on the glass. I'm working on some more for Ebay & Etsy. I don't know what it is about Hibiscus but I really love them. Since I don't live in a tropical area but I would love to, if the opportunity ever comes along. I keep a plant in my bedroom and it does wonderfully because of all the light. I'll take a picture of the next flower that blooms, which should be in a day or two.
I also have some of my Tassel Babes ready to go up for auction. I don't know what people will think but I love them!!! I haven't seen anything quite like them and it's always cool to think that I might have come up with a totally original design.
Time for bed. Have a relaxing Sunday evening.