Auction for Just Vonna

"Prayer for Peace"

A dear friend unexpectedly lost her young adult son over the Thanksgiving holiday. Most of you may already know her. . .Her name is Vonna Maslanka. It's my understanding that her son, Jonathan, did not have life insurance so Vonna and her family had to cover those expenses on their own.

Marilyn Peraza is hosting the auction and several very talented bead makers gave their beads in hopes to help Vonna. In the past, Vonna has been one to bend over backwards to help others within our community so I hope that her auction does very well. She deserves no less.

Here is a link to the auction on Ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com/JONATHAN-lampwork-beads-more-Peraza-SRA_W0QQitemZ290193768164QQihZ019QQcategoryZ34070QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Wishing you and yours a happy holiday season!

This year, my husband and I are staying home for the holidays. We had planned to spend Christmas in CA with my husband's family but couldn't work it out so we will hope to get there next year.

Normally, since we couldn't go to CA, I would choose to make the trip home to my mom's ranch for the holiday. However, my daughter has to work on Christmas Eve, as well as the day after Christmas. Rather than hustle and bustle, a nice Christmas dinner at home seemed like a beautiful idea so that is how we are going to spend our holiday.

I have been thinking lately about how lucky I am to be a full time bead artisan. Many of those thanks go out to you . . . Thank you for the encouragement, kind words, and of course, thank you for purchasing my beads because without you, I would be sitting behind some desk in a cold office building, wondering if I would ever find my place in this world.

From my family to yours, have a very happy holiday and prosperous new year!

Thinking of Cheri Blum

Just recently, I was thinking of one of artists that I always found to be so incredibly inspiring. As a muralist, and lover of Italian frescoes I simply adored her work. . .The seemingly time washed background textures that she created on her canvases was only one of the elements of her work that I so appreciated. She was truly gifted and her work continues to inspire me even though she is no longer with us. When I read about her untimely passing in 2003, I broke down in tears. To this day, I miss looking forward to seeing new work from her, but will always treasure the inspiration that she left behind.

Her hydrangea paintings were my favorite. I have tried time and time again to create something as beautiful but Cheri was no doubt, in a class of her own. I am sure she is greatly missed by all that adored her. Hopefully I'm not violating any copyright laws by linking to this photo.

No more excuses. . .I HAVE to walk now.

So, there I was. . . Walking through Walmart with Mr. Muell, pushing a cart full of stuff that I didn't really need, when suddenly I saw it. At first, I thought it must be bathed in the white light of the Holy spirit because it just seemed to beacon me toward it. . . As I approached the seemingly blessed object, I realized that the white light was nothing more than ultra strength florescent lighting. Still yet, I decided that it must be a sign. For I HAD to buy that treadmill. It was on clearance, which further drove the point home.

Mark and I checked out the treadmill and it seemed to be a fabulous model at a more than reasonable price. We looked beneath the pedestal that it sat upon but to our disappointment, Walmart had sold out of that particular model. With heavy hearts, we began to walk away in pursuit of other unnecessary sundries. (For example, I later purchased a whiteboard for my office. Did I REALLY need that? NOPE but it sure looks cool hanging in here, just in case I get the sudden urge to doodle, erase and doodle some more.)

Just as we were about to walk away, we began to scan the attire of stander's by in hopes that one of them would be wearing a blue "Walmart" apron. No such luck. . . It seems that you only see them when they have the isle blocked with something and they need for YOU to move so that they can get by. lol Anyway, after playing the Walmart version of "Where's Waldo", we finally found someone that could help us. To my delight, she offered us the display model while cautioning that the manual had gone missing at some point. HUH!!! I didn't care. I didn't even ask for a bigger discount. I just want to be able to take a brisk walk while I watch Judge Judy.

Later in the afternoon, we finally arrived home with the object that would help us to recover from our couch potatoasitis. Mark positioned it perfectly in the corner of our living room, plugged it, turned it on and . . .NOTHING!! NOTHING!! It did not work. Oh, but he was determined to NOT return this big piece of equipment to Walmart for a refund. He's too smart for that and he doesn't give up without a fight. He took it a part and looked at the onboard computer so that he could be sure that everything was plugged in where it should be.

Yep, according to him everything looked fine. A little red light was on and that told him that the unit was getting power. . . "SO what's the problem? Why isn't the motor turning? Why won't the computer display come on?!!!" He shouted. After an hour of frustration in trying to figure our what was wrong with the seemingly cursed treadmill, he decided that it time to consult Google. After much research on the model number, he found out that there is a key that has to be plugged into a slot in the treadmill in order for it to work. It's this little do-hicky thingamabob that exists as a safety feature. I think it keeps people from being flung off of the belt incase they decide to step onto it when it's moving at break-neck speed.

I bet the little key thing was in the packet of paperwork that was lost, that I coincidentally said I didn't think I needed. Actually, my statement to the Walmart employee that sold us the treadmill was, "No paperwork? Who cares. . .I'll take it!!" Luckily I have a pretty smart husband. He rewired the panel so that it works without the key.

After all of that drama, here I am writing about it instead of getting my morning exercise. lol

Careful what you wish for. . .

Ah. . Rain and cool weather. Our severe drought has been quenched quite a bit over the past few days. That's a beautiful thing. . . We needed it very badly, as most of the counties in our region had put forth mandatory water restrictions. I hear this morning that some of those restrictions have been lifted. Having said all of this, it's been 5 days since I've been able to go for my morning jog. I can feel it too. . .I think I might need to save my pennies to buy a treadmill or maybe I could use that elliptical that sits in my basement collecting layers of dust?

October? Nuh uh.

As I stepped out this morning to go on my daily walk/jog, I couldn't believe how damp and warm the air felt. Is it really October? This is my most favorite month of the year. . . I look forward to the crisp-feeling, clean-smelling air that Fall has to offer. The nostalgia can be almost overwhelming on a 68 degree day in mid October. . .The cool air licking the back of your neck as sweatshirt cuffed wrists reach up to rub down the chill before it crawls down your back. The humidity that you loath has packed it's bags and retreated south, leaving only clear blue skies and puffy white clouds with sparkling silver linings. Falling leaves are a welcome distraction from the almost infinite skyline as they float slowly to the ground. The fact that they will need to raked is of little importance on a day such as this. . . Where the heck is this day? It's October 9th, yet it still feels that we are in the midst of the "Dog Days of Summer".

The would-be Autumn leaves even seem to be a bit confused. The Fall season is predicted to be exceptionally beautiful due the relentless drought that our region is suffering. It seems that the Maples and Oaks have not received the memo because they are still green. Not a fantastic green either but more of a sad, "Please give me water" green. Oh how I yearn for the vibrant yellows, reds and magentas! Today we are expecting to receive another record breaking day in terms of temperature. High of 93 degrees and NO rain in sight. On the upside, the bins at the Farmer's Market continue to flow over with homegrown tomatoes and yellow squash. :-)

Hi All!!!

Hi all!! This past month has been a bit crazy. Recently my daughter moved back home. As a mom, I couldn't be more thrilled but it has taken a bit to get used to since I've been an "empty-nester" for a year now. She still kicks her shoes off in the middle of the floor and doesn't put them away unless I tell her to so I guess some things never change. Remembering to add junk food to the grocery list is also something that I am trying to get used to. BLECH. . .Real Pepsi with sugar and I can't seem to keep enough ketchup these days. Still yet, it is wonderful to hear the laughter again and her presence brings me great joy.

Now for a little "bead" talk. . . For awhile now, I have been thinking of switching over to 96 coe glasses. I've been playing with Reichenbach a bit and I have to admit that I am simply in awe of some of the colors they have to offer. The color density is so rich that it seduced me into placing an order for a bunch of it this morning. I can't wait till it gets here so that I can enjoy playing "get to know ya".

Lately I have been struggling with inspiration so I've been revisiting and updating old designs. Sometimes, I can find a really awesome new idea when I do that because I will have learned something along the way that will make the old designs look fresh and new. The silhouette style of beads that feature the black classic motif is one that I never wanted to let go of. I still felt that there was much that I could do to enhance the look but couldn't figure out just how to do it. I don't want the beads to look as though I piled as much as possible on them in efforts to make them look flashy. No, that wouldn't do. The balance of color and form within bead design is too important to me. The chosen elements must make sense and whenever possible, a motif (if used) must flow across the surface almost as though it has a life of it's own. I don't pretend to always nail it. I make more than my share of flops but in a perfect world, every bead that I make would have the perfect balance of form, movement and color. To bad our world is not perfect, huh?

The set that I'm working on now is called "Ruler of the Republic". I am not sure what people will think of them but they most certainly speak to my soul. . . I have had a fascination with Rome since I was child and this set was made with ancient Rome in mind. The color is absolutely striking. . .Hand mixed rich garnet and goldstone. . .pale trans brown and amber with black silhouettes inspired by the diadem of fresh laurel that adorned the head of Gaius Julius Caesar. I'll should be finished with the set later this afternoon and I hate that I must sell these beads BUT making beads is my living so I'll suck it up. . . :-) .

Now, off to ship some stuff. . .Have a wonderful week!!