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!!

Coming out of my funk. . .

Sorry for my long silence. Blogging for me can sometimes be difficult. I'm not sure why that is.

I've been in rare form for the past week or so. I've not felt well and my emotions have surged to straight jacket levels. I am happy to say that I'm feeling much better this week. Normally I try to have my auctions end in prime time hours on Sundays, so listings go up on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This week, I won't have anything to list until Thursday. I've had other projects to work on and I'm a bit behind the eight ball.

Over the weekend I made a few small beads and focals that I plan to use for jewelry. I'm excited about that because I don't get to design very often. I plan to use them for tassels. Last week when I made the New Dawn Rose tassel, I realized that I am really at slim pickings on the Bali findings. . .I had to place an order for more and I can't wait to get them!! I'll be stalking the postman for the next few days. Maybe if I leave him some home baked treats, he'll deliver my silver faster. (LOL!! Like I bake or something.)

Edwin McCain

I have been a huge fan of this guys music since the day I purchased his "Messenger" CD several years ago. He writes his own music, as well as his lyrics. To me, there's just so much truth in his words and the music is brilliant. A true talent. . . I love this guy!!

I hadn't listened to in quite awhile and yesterday when I was cleaning, I came across his CD... covered in a bit of dust in my CD cabinet.

With recent passing of Memorial Day and Independence Day, the depth of the lyrics in "Prayer to Saint Peter" actually made me cry. I don't think I'd ever paid close attention to the song. I more so just kind of hummed along to it because the music was so beautiful and sweet.

So, I wanted to put the lyrics here for people to read. They remind me of those lost in battle as they fought our freedoms. So many of the lives lost were of youthful men who hadn't even had a chance to find out what life was all about and they are truly celebrated in this song.

"Prayer to Saint Peter"

Let them in Peter, for they are very tired.

Give them couches where the angels sleep and light those fires.

Let them wake whole again, to brand new dawns. . .

Fired by the sun, not war-times bloody guns.

May their peace be deep.

Remember where their broken bodies lie.

God knows how young they were to have to die.

Give them things they like.

Let them make some noise.

Give dance hall bands, not golden harps, to these our boys.

Let them love, Peter, for they've had no time.

Thy should have bird songs and trees, and hills to climb.

The taste of summer, and a ripened pear. . . And girls sweet as meadow wind and flowing hair.

And tell them how they are missed, but say not to fear.

It's gonna be alright, with us down here.

Roman Bath House Beads

The picture posted on the left is of the ancient bath house that my mother in law visited while vacationing in Rome. I love the colors . . . They inspired the "Roman Bath House" set that I have up for auction on Ebay. . This is probably one of my personal favorite sets, to date. I really enjoy working with copper green, especially when encased.

Using copper green for this application proposed a bit of challenge. I needed a textured background in order to emulate a feel of ancient architecture. Translucent pink glass works very well for that look, when silver is incorporated but using it with copper green creates a potential problem if worked too long in the flame. Trans pink turns copper green to an olive color, so heavy layers of crystal vetrofond had to be used in order to protect the dots of copper green while keeping them fresh and vibrant looking. It took me about two days to get the exact look that I was after and I am very proud of this set of beads. I am going hate to ship them when the auction is over, BUT that's okay. . .I'll just have to make some more later. Maybe a small set for Marilyn's auction!!

James Allen Workman 1948 - 1989

Yesterday I had written about my father's life and posted it here. I decided to take the original post down. . .It's too much info and really, I wrote it because I felt that I needed to in order to really connect with his memory. It was therapy for me I guess. I kept it up overnight and that's enough.



Most of his life was filled with pain due to his illness. He was a good father and a loving man. He taught me many things and I am thankful for having him for the first 19 years of my life and now, I am thankful for the GOOD memories that he left with me.



He died in 1989. . .A year after receiving his transplanted heart his body continued to reject the new tissue and he passed away. The first few years were very difficult for me to get through. I grieved so hard and I felt so much guilt. . .Wishing that I'd done more for him while he was still living. . .Kicking myself for missed opportunities of spending time with him. I had to let him go for awhile in order to get past the grief. For years, I wouldn't allow myself to think of him much. When I did, I'd push his memory away. Now, his memory is back in the front of my mind again and the grief is as nearly as fresh as if he'd only been gone for a little while. I wish I had the strength to deal with losing him when I was younger so that I wouldn't have to revisit it again. Or, maybe what I am going through is normal. Maybe you never really get over losing a loved one.







The first picture is of my dad at age 12. . . He's the guy on the left in the next pic, my uncle is on the right. We were vacationing in Nags Head NC, which was my father's favorite place in the world. I'm the little girl in the background that didn't notice the camera. Looks like I just suffered a wipeout on my raft or something. I remember that day . .. It was a very good one.



The 3rd pic is of my dad at my Grandmother's house. It was taken years before he became so ill. He used to be a coach. . .He loved the children as much as he loved sports.

The last pic is my father in his last year of life. Obviously he is very ill in this one. My daughter Ashley is the baby that he is holding. I am so thrilled that two could meet before his passing.

Happy Father's Day Daddy. . .I miss you.