Bah. Humbug.

I'm back. I probably won't post anything else this week.

But I'm back.

Enjoy your holidays.
Love,
Scrooge

aka

T

Do You MIss Me?

A little validation doesn't hurt anyone, does it? For some reason, I did not pop in with an update last weekend. I have no idea how that happened. And this week, there's not much to say. I did get a loaner computer yesterday and T-man will plug it in when we get back to the house to see if it will work. Cross your fingers. If not, I'll be back next week with a lot of ranting and raving.

I've been busily stitching, stitching, stitching plus Bella and I have had a lot of quality time! Hopefully, I'll have new pictures of her, the chickens and the family after the holidays. Maybe by then I'll be reconnected to the outside world!

Nothing New

The computer is still DEAD. It's just DEAD. What is a girl to do? I'm sitting here in T-man's office: surfing, typing, catching up. It's just not the same as sitting at MY desk, in MY house, wearing my JAMMIES. Know what I mean? sigh

And there is not much new to talk about. The chickens have been laying. I've got four hens that I know are producing and the eggs taste so good. Our fall tomato patch is producing like crazy. I fixed fried green tomatoes last night, and they were exceedingly yummy. We spent Thanksgiving Day with my family and there was plenty of good food to go around. And it is cold and wet outside today.

Rumor has it that I have been accepted to teach at the 2010 Embroider's Guild of America South Central Seminar. I'll have more details soon. And yes, I'm busily creating new stuff. I've got a new pattern in two color palettes to put up for sale on my web site. This particular pattern has samples finished, plus I've got more of those on the way. I'll have lots of new jewelry to put up elsewhere on the World Wide Web (more details will follow), and I'll be sending out more teaching proposals AS SOON AS I HAVE A WORKING COMPUTER! Oh my stars, I am still so frustrated. I am so envious of those of you who are able to sit down and connect with the outside world!

I think I'll go bang my head against something for a while.

SSDDAIAPO!

Translation: same shit different day and I am pissed off!

Needless to say, there is still no computer Chez Buchle. I am once again using Natalie's lap top while she is here. I've got scads of new stuff and no way to upload so, before I become maudlin or worse (insert INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATED here), I will sign off with a promise to be back as soon as I can.

Keep your bead threads untangled, your colors coordinated, and your fingers crossed!

ARGH! I Want My Computer Back!

So today I am coming to you from T-man's desk at his place of employment (they are such nice people). No, my computer is not fixed yet and it is driving me crazy! I am starting to feel totally cut off from the outside world. On the other hand, I have lots of creative time right now.

While I was at the Houston International Quilt Show/Festival, I met Judith Skinner and Sara Jane Helm! They are some of the nicest folks I have met on the show circuit, and as soon as the computer is back I'll get some permanent links up. If you don't do much polymer clay, you probably are not aware of who these two ladies are. If you do polymer clay, you can understand how giddy with excitement I was. It was just like the time I met Suzanne Cooper! Okay, enough name dropping for today.

Nope wait, I'm not through with the names. I did get to see Betcey from Beyond Beadery again and as an added bonus, I met an old email pal face to face -- Dustin Wedekind. Beadlings, Dustin's picture does not do him justice. He is such a cutie.

So, I'm off. I'm heading back to the house in a bit. Natalie's coming for dinner tonight so we have a little time together. And that's it for today. Keep on beadin' on, kids!

Lost In Limbo

Well, the computer still is not fixed so I am typing from Natalie's laptop right now. This really sucks. Most of you realize how attached to my computer I have become, and this is just about killing me.

The International Quilt Show was a blast, but it was totally exhausting! I can't recall when I have ever been so tired before, except maybe after childbirth! I got to spend time with GG and with Carol and to top it all off, I'm going back this weekend to help Carol with the Houston Bead Society's annual bead bazaar. Just call me a bead-loving masochist! See you there!

Houston!

Well, here I am at GG's place. We've been sitting, chatting, catching up. It's very quiet here compared to home!

Yesterday my computer died. Apparently the start switch mechanism thingie fried itself. It's odd. T-man and I were discussing just last week whether or not it was time to invest in a new machine. I guess that question has been answered for us, huh? Looks like I'll be comparison shopping when I get back home, but it made it very difficult for me yesterday. I felt like my lifeline had been severed! NO EMAIL! OMG!

If you are in the Houston area between now and Sunday, please try to stop by the International Quilt Festival and check out Carol's fabulous beads and say "HI!" Otherwise, I'm out until next week or later! Bead on!

It's Friday Already?

Nope, it cannot be! I haven't accomplished nearly enough for the week! Next week is a short week for me. Don't forget, I will be helping Carol Wille with her booth at the International Quilt Festival in Houston next week. She will be in booth 1461B, 63, and 65. Look for the bright pink on black!

BRRRRRR!

It's COLD! (remember, I'm a hothouse flower) I would say that fall fell yesterday evening. The wind swooshed in and temps dropped almost 20 degrees in an hour. It was in the mid-40s last night! Yup, it's time for our two weeks of autumn in Central Texas. Time for that fire in the fireplace, big bowls of hot stew, and then pull the shorts and t-shirts out again until right around Christmas!

Bits And Pieces

Yes, it is coming together slowly but surely. I made more bits and some more pieces last night. Hopefully it will all be put together by the end of the week, its portrait will be taken, and then off it goes through cyber space to be submitted. Then it's on to the next project for me. Deadlines for more teaching proposals loom on the near horizon, and that is what will heap my plate next.

I sent T-man a big wish list of metal working tools this morning. He has since likened me to Ariel near holiday time. I pointed out that I said "I need this" rather than "I want this". There is such a huge difference, no? But right now those nifty tools must join the list with the new camera. Such is life.

I did make some tiny updates to the web site last week. I'm preparing it for your shopping pleasure, but I don't want you to get too excited. It will be pretty slow going. I fought with Front Page for an entire day just to finish the little bit that is there. I shudder in horror whenever I think about a larger scope of changes. Chills run up and down my spine, and not in a good way.

Well, that is today's update. There isn't much going on here, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Gorgeous!

It is freakingly, amazingly gorgeous out today! The mockingbirds are singing like it's the beginning of spring, poor confused things. You could not ask for better weather here on the prairie.

You get a quickie today, beadlings. On Saturday, T-man and Ben dispatched Soup and Salad. The roosters are now in the freezer. They were itty-bitty! Apparently, they were all feathers. It took a day for one of the other roosters to take up the morning crow. And we started feeding them laying food, so hopefully we will have eggs soon. And it looks like yours truly will need to learn the ancient art of canning. We have a bumper crop of fall tomatoes and apparently they would all like to ripen at the same time.

I'm off. I've got a tighter deadline on the Pam and Theresa collaboration now as I will be helping my dear friend Carol Wille with her booth at the International Quilt Festival in Houston next week. I've got to finish the piece and get the photo submitted before I leave. Keep on beadin' on!

Morning People And Morning Pets

You know that I am not a morning person, and you also know that I need certain amounts of caffeine in the morning before I can fully function. But did you know that my youngest child is a morning person? Yep, and she's a CHEERFUL morning person. Not only is she a morning person but my cute new canine buddy is a morning pet. Yep, 6:00 on the dot and Bella is wide awake, ready to go outside and do her business and then she's ready for frolicking and playing. Sheesh. How did this happen? I gave up early rising when I started working from home. I thought I had imbued the same slug abed attitude into my youngest as I did my oldest. Looks like I did not! The dog I can understand (sort of), but my own flesh and blood? ACK!

A cold front blew through. Now I don't want all you folks up north to snicker too much, but it's a bit chilly today! It may not even make it out of the 70s today! It's sweater weather!! It's fire in the fireplace weather! (almost)

Tomorrow is a Friday beading day and my plans are to go visit my Austin beady buds. Those are my plans. Hopefully my plans won't get changed in the next 24 hours.

And last, but definitely not least, I believe I've got the camera/computer SNAFU all fixed, at least for the time being, and maybe I can take some pictures and transfer them magically from camera to cyber space. We'll see.

All We Are Saying . . . .

Today is John Lennon's birthday. More nostalgia. Things I just didn't get when I was a teenager sure do make sense now, but you all know that I don't put my politics on the blog. That's left for arguments with close friends.

Much beading was accomplished yesterday, but I have miles to go yet. And I'm still contemplating the camera problems. T-man says it's neither the camera nor the disk drive, but bad floppies. I guess I'll just have to hunt up some better ones until I can get my dream camera. Anyway, after I surf a bit more, I'm going back to the living room couch and the tray of beads, and I'm going to watch a few goodies on the DVR. Fortunately Bella gets me up and moving on a regular basis. For instance, right now she wants to play so I guess I'm out for the day!

By the way, I finally found my dream house. Go take a gander. I'm accepting bribes I mean, donations to facilitate the move west. I think this would be a wonderful place for beady gatherings, don't you?

Boxes Of Nostalgia

In preparing for the little National Night Out thingy that happened last night, I had T-man pull some old boxes out of the closet. This caused an avalanche of occurrences. First, the closet got a little more organized. Second, we found the necessary accouterments to transform Ariel into the Vampire Queen for Halloween. Third, I found some jewelry items I had forgotten about. Fourth, and not the least in any way, those boxes are now taking up space on the floor of the "bead" room. Hmmm, looks like a job for the Clutter Fairy! Of course, it would help if I actually had the necessary space to store my hoardings. I could let Cat come go through the stash of goodies (I know she wants to). I must come up with a solution SOON.

I did sell a few pieces last night. My mother-in-law received a thank you gift of earrings she has had her eye on for a few months. She promised to get a picture for me and I'll share it as soon as it comes across the cyber waves. I am still having problems over here, which does not bode well. I have a ton of pictures to take and edit, but I cannot get them from the camera to the computer. ARGH! Frustration abounds.

Now that I'm not putting together little pieces (some of which will end up in the Etsy store as soon as the camera problems are resolved), I will get back to stitching. I plan to spend the rest of the afternoon with beads in my lap. What are you doing today? Share with me, come on. You know you want to.

When you create you get a little endorphin rush. Why do you think Einstein looked like that? Robin Williams

Nostalgic Musings

I've been musing. Do you ever wonder where old friends have ended up? I found a few this week. I found a dear old friend from college, who lives down in the Rio Grande valley with his family. Oddly enough, two of his sons live up this way so we will probably all get together soon. I found a couple of other old friends here and there. I had been wondering what they were up to and now I know. For some reason I always get very nostalgic this time of year. Maybe I should just try to shake it off.

We are "baby sitting" Annabelle this weekend. She and Bella are getting along just fine, although each is pretty jealous of the other. That part is pretty entertaining until both dogs try to sit on your chest at the same time. I had taken several cute pictures of them togethers but my disk drive is acting funky again, so no pictures right now. I really want a new camera. I've sent T-man a link to show him what I want. I found this camera via Juls, as it is the same one she has, and it takes fantastic pictures. Christmas is coming, maybe a camera will find it's way into my stocking.

I'm going to participate in National Night Out, but in my in-laws' neighborhood. They are having a little arts and crafts sale, so my mother-in-law thought it would be a good idea if I took a few things and set up a table, which the neighborhood coordinator agreed with. So I'm making some more earrings and a few bracelets to take over on Tuesday. Hey, it's free and we'll have dinner at their house. What have I got to lose?

Have a beadiful weekend!

Bella And Beading

Bella and beading was very interesting. I'm right handed. Unfortunately, I had Bella's blanket on my right side. Bella's idea of helping me bead is to throw her head back onto my thigh which is where my beading tray sits.

There were no mishaps, but I think I'll move the blanket to the left today!

Hey beadlings! Where are those suggestions for items in the shopping cart? Hmmm??

Bella!

This is Bella. She's a yorkie-poo (yorkshire terrier and poodle). She's peachy and soft and so friendly. She doesn't shed! She's about 18 months old and she's mine. I missed Annabelle so much when she went with Natalie that Natalie got me my own dog to spoil. Bella's family could no longer keep her, and when I saw her picture I knew she was exactly what I wanted. She loves Ariel, and is getting along pretty well with most of the animals. She is fascinated by the chickens, even though her nose has been pecked a couple of times. She and Oliver are getting to know each other slowly. Bella is definitely an alpha female.

It's a gorgeous day here on the prairie. It's fairly cool during the days and almost chilly at night. It is supposed to get a little cooler next week. And Saturday is T-man's birthday. He's finally getting gray hairs! And yes, you can tease him about it. You have my permission.

Okay, the shopping cart is coming along at a snail's pace and I am the first to admit it. The biggest question looming in my mind is what will I put in it? Keep in mind that I got out of the retail business for a reason, and I don't want to get bogged down in selling again. So what will go in the shopping cart? Hmmm. Since there are several of you have brought it up in the past few months, give me some hints. Seriously, either leave a comment or email me with what you would like to see in the shopping cart. I'm not making any promises, but all suggestions will be considered and I'll see what I can do.

Shopping Cart Woes

In the attempt to customize my shopping cart and have a cohesive look with the web site, I not only mucked up the cart settings -- oh, no -- I messed up EVERYTHING associated with my domain name for about 24 hours while poor Lauren fixed my mess. She is the best, which is why she has been my web host for about 10 years. So I get email again, my web site is still there and I can go back to work CAREFULLY on the shopping cart! So be patient a little longer and I'll let you know when everything is up and running. In the meantime, surf some links down there on the right. There are some new ones for you. Bead on!

Shopping Cart News

A few of you have requested that I sell my kits and patterns on line. In the interest of keeping my customers happy I am learning about the shopping cart feature available to me from my web host. It's quite a bit of reading, and the reading is on the computer monitor, which is very irritating to my eyes. See how much I appreciate y'all? I thought you would.

I'm working on another project to send off for acceptance or rejection, and watch for a collaboration piece that will also be submitted. It is still nice and cool and sunny and all the animals are quite happy. Now that it's cooler, maybe the hens will start laying! Other than that, it's SSDD chez Buchle. Anything new in your world?

COOL FRONT

Yippee!

Today is a no stress day!

Yippee!

Today is computer day!

Okay.

Still Don't Know How To Read A Calendar

Nope, I don't. I'm hoping that sometime soon I learn the trick of reading one of the infernal things. On the 10^th I thought to myself "I can get these out on the 14^th and be okay, that gives me three more days to stitch and one day for packaging." Yeah dummy, except that the 15^th is on Monday, which means everything has to go out TODAY! One nifty project doesn't get to go this time, but I've still got other proposals to send off with later deadlines. Maybe it will get included in those. Thankfully, I always have other projects on hand to submit. Otherwise, I'd be up a nasty creek in a leaky boat with no paddle.

And tonight we will batten down the hatches for any stray winds from Ike. I'm looking at the tracking maps, thinking we may be far enough west to miss out on the really nasty stuff. Right now we have a wind advisory, but we had those all spring. Fortunately it just means taking down some hanging things on the deck and securing patio furniture. But for those of you in Ike's track, our thoughts are with you. Be careful riding out the storm.

And lest I forget, I must issue a retraction. Pam was NOT an English major. In her words it was "Psychology all the way for this chica. Minor in philosophy". There, she has proven there was no English major AT ALL. lol!

Grammar

When I was achieving my degree in foreign languages, one stipulation was that my English grammar be as close to perfect as possible. Sometimes I slip. After all, my native tongue is Texan. But my dear friend Pam was an English major before she went on to pursue her graduate degrees. It was she who located this delightful blog (for you fellow Texans, let me translate: "She done found this right nifty site". Gawd, I'm channeling Jeff Foxworthy.)

And there are some NEW links over there on right. Enjoy!

Addendum to BOHICA

Kate just let me know that this is a military acronym. It's one I had never heard until today. And until today my favorites had been FIIGMO and FUBAR. I worked with a lot of ex-military men (like a full bird colonel) when I worked for that State of Texas agency that will remain unnamed. I'm just guessing that they didn't want to appear crass in front of us "gals". I just love it. Let's suffice to say that every day contained some SNAFU that had been FUBAR because some flunky decided to do something entirely incorrectly with the excuse of FIIGMO. So, again I say, BOHICA, y'all.

And yes, it appears I am having one of those days, so I'm out of here before I become maudlin and bring the entire room down!

BOHICA, Y'all!

Thanks to my e-pal Kate for this new twist on "SSDD".

"Bend over, here it comes again!"

Boy, if that doesn't describe some of my days, I don't know what will, except for this one:

"Well, Jane, it just goes to show you, it's always something."

And if you're old enough to remember that, let me know. I'm feeling my age these days. My 30 year college reunion is coming up. Oh boy.

Pray For Me, Beadlings!

I'm working on the web site this week. This means I will be dealing with Front Page.

Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated.

You Blog Why?

When I first decided to blog, I looked at it as a way of advertising what it is I do for a living. Intertwined with that, I wanted you to get a glimpse of the life that makes me who I am. Like the title says, musings on beads and beading, art, life, and whatever else.

As I started blogging, I started making friends with a few cyber-celebrities (you know who you are) here and there, mostly in the art/craft/design world. I started linking to their blogs with links back to mine, which is a high form of cyber-compliment. I also followed links from links from links. I read bead magazines, mixed media art publications, fashion magazines, stitching magazines, fiber arts publications --- whatever it has taken to keep my eye on what's going on in the world of indie design. What I have also tried to keep doing is provide you with plenty of places to look for ideas, inspiration, instruction, and impetus to let you see that you could have a life doing what you love and actually make money with it. I've linked to the web sites of some people who inspire me greatly. I've linked to the blogs of some people who have taught me alot about business in this cyber age. Jeez, if I had known some of this stuff 12 years ago when I started Bumble Beads^tm . . . . but that's water under the bridge as they say, and I have moved on to what I believe are better avenues of adventure for me.

Anyway, the point is that I'm trying to offer you more than just an entertaining picture of me running around the yard in my jammies, chasing escaped chickens with Natalie's puppy at my heels. Hopefully you are taking something away that helps you realize your dream of being an artist,

or a cyber-celebrity!

So, if you have found a web site or blog that you think might fit in with what I'm trying to provide over there on the right-hand side of the page, send me a link so I can look at it. You can comment (you don't need a Google ID to comment, you know) or you can hit the "email me" link over there and drop me a line to let me know what you have found. Keep in mind that I'm looking for artistic beading, bead artists, fiber artists . . . . just check out some of the links to get a good idea. But to me the best ones are the ones who say "this is how I took my dream and made a successful business of it".

And next week, I'll let you in on a few of those secrets that I used and am still using. In the meantime, happy surfing and let me know what you find!

Crikey!

Yes, I really do say "crikey". I say it a lot. It's better than some other words I could say. Don't get me wrong. I don't say it disrespectfully! The company T-man works for is Australian and his boss is an Aussie (I try not to let loose with "crikey" in front of the boss), plus I think Steve Irwin was great and I miss seeing his cute Aussie face and those short, shorts on TV. I haven't seen shorts like that since Tom Selleck played Magnum, but I digress. Anyway, GG sent me this and it was waiting in my inbox this morning. What a great way to start my day.

I am feeling so much better today, but I'm still not 100%. I'll just keep taking the pills and everything will be fine. I'd still like to see more responses to yesterday's question: When you were a tiny tyke, what did you want to be? So 'fess up, beadlings, as inquiring minds would like to know.

I Wish I Were Samantha Stevens

Everything would get done on time without much more than a twitch of my nose. But then what happens when a twitchy witch gets a sinus infection? I guess I'm better off this way, huh? I better get my rear in gear, beadlings.

Here is a question of the day for you, preceded by a personal intro. When I was s little girl, I wanted to be a ballerina. For my sixth birthday my mother decorated my cake with ballerinas, including a beautiful china ballerina that I still have somewhere. When I got my own bedroom, it was decorated in ballerinas and most of my paper dolls and coloring books were ballerina inspired. But I never took dance classes. Go figure. So tell me (and the rest of the world), when you were a tiny tyke, what did you want to be?

Cough, Hack, Sniff, Groan

These are not beaded pieces. No, no -- they are unwanted visitors. Streptococcus and sinusitis came a little early this year. I usually don't get a visit from them until October or November. Did you know you're not really sick until you run a fever? And although I can breathe better when I sit up, it makes my head pound, so I'm going back to my bed as soon as I take an antibiotic, a vitamin and a few OTC pain relievers. Carry on without me, troops. I will return!

Yuck Still, Yet & Again

It is a gloriously beautiful day here on the prairie. There is a nice, cool breeze gently blowing. The pool is sparkling and very inviting. The birds are singing and cooing. It's a good day for a book, a lawn chair and a shade tree followed by a dip in the pool. Yesiree, it's a great day.

I feel like shipoopy (as Margot would say). My ordered books have not arrived, and I have lawn chairs but no shade tree. I'm afraid that if I go float in the pool, I'll fall asleep and burn to a crisp. Crapola. T-man swears that my symptoms indicate the downside of this cold, but I believe he may be wrong. I also believe he is forgetting about my wonky immune system. If most people have a cold that lasts for 48 hours, you can bet that Theresa will have it for a week. I say again, YUCK. Please keep in mind that this is NOT a plea for sympathy. I'm just venting before I go make my chicken soup AGAIN. I detest being ill and not being able to function normally, well as normally as possible for me.

If you'll excuse me, I'm going back to my bed for a bit. Maybe I'll feel better later. Maybe. Possibly. Jeez, I hope so.

Summer Cold ~ Yuck

Yes, it's true. I caught this freaking cold from T-man who caught it from Ariel who caught it who knows where. I'm hoping I'm on the downside, but I feel like something the cat drug in and forgot about for three days. Yippee. We're still planning our Labor Day relaxation fun, I'll just do it all in slow motion and maybe from my bed.

Pregnant Cats And Beads

Some of you know our problems with Casey (that's her up there a couple of years ago), aka Slut Kitty, and how she can streak out the door between your feet every four months or so. Last time it was T-man who let her slip out the door. HAH! He did it, not me, not one of the kids. Anyway, do you know how to tell when a cat is ready to have her kittens? Well, she goes rooting around for a place to make a nest. Casey is in the utility room now, in a big box, having her litter of kittens. Yesterday, however, this was not the case. Yesterday she was rooting around, looking for a nice nesting spot. Do you want to know where she was rooting? Of course you do. That's why you've kept reading. She was rooting in my bookshelves of beads. Do you want to know what she did while she was rooting? Well, I'll tell you what she did. She managed to very quietly knock a small trunk off the shelf. In that small trunk were two bead trays filled with Delicas®, seed beads, needles, thread, wire, findings and two partially finished projects. In knocking it off the shelf, she managed to knock the lid off of it. Yep, she did that and didn't even let me know. When I found it last night as I was headed for the bedroom, I just about had my own litter of kittens. Argh.

It's Friday. Are you glad? It's a three-day weekend, too. T-man is still getting used to the fact that he gets paid holidays. His hilarious comment last night was "I don't have time for a day off." Oh my stars, my hubby has turned into a Type A workaholic. I talked him into quitting the lawn business because I wanted him to have time to relax and now all he thinks about is work. He brought work home last night! He has turned into what I was 13 years ago. It's role reversal at it's finest, kids.

I didn't go play with the Friday beading group today. There are too many little things left to do to send projects off to be accepted or rejected. I'm trying to be professional and not get everything in just under the wire this time. I don't want the stress involved with doing things in that manner. For once, I'd like to have a few days to spare and breathe easy, which is what we are going to do on Monday. Pork brisket and corn on the cob will be on the grill and maybe I'll fry up some okra. How's that for home cooking? Betcha didn't think I could do stuff like that, did ya? And nothing says end of summer better, except maybe some homemade ice cream and a last dip in the pool to top it all off. Aw, who am I kidding? This is Central Texas in the midst of a heat wave. We'll be floating until mid-October at the least!!

Have a deliciously relaxing weekend!

Anniversary Fun

We went to IKEA and came home with a few inexpensive necessities. I also came home with new ideas for the kitchen, the guest bath and the master bed and bath and I'll still have money left over! Oh my stars, that place is wicked evil. Then we went . . .

BOWLING!

Yes, yes, it's true. We went bowling. We went to probably the cheapest bowling lanes in Austin. Next time we get that particular bug up our rears, we will go to the more expensive lanes. The balls had chips in them! Some of them had plastic liners in the holes because the holes were so chipped. They looked like people had taken pocket knives to them to make them larger. I kid you not. I could not find the right ball. I need a very light ball, because I am a frail, fragile flower of femininity. Also, I am very weak and wussy. The very light balls have very tiny finger holes because they save them for the children, you see. I finally found a ball with the right size holes.

We bowled three games. After the first game, our scores were so pitiful that T-man started looking for beer. Lo and behold, they had Guinness! My man was happy and no longer cared about his score. We bowled a second game. It's hard to bowl when you're laughing as hard as we were. By the third game, I decided to change the rules and make the scores more like golf. You know, the lowest score wins. My last game I bowled a 24. What does that tell you?

We had a blast, though. And no, I didn't get on the back of the bike. We've had bad thunderstorms in the afternoons, so we took the car. But we're still planning on a ride here in the near future, and I'll be sure to take the camera along. As for today, every joint in my body aches and I feel like I was hit with a bunch of bowling balls! I'm off for the sofa and a lap full of beads! Go check out Pam's Goddess Beads and check out Angela Cartwright's images of her own baby bird leaving the nest (you'll have to scroll down a bit). And don't forget that it's Thursday. Later, beadlings!

Baby Bird Has Flown The Coop . . . .

Well, yesterday was a milestone. Natalie has moved into her own place. Keep in mind that half of her stuff is still here, but she did spend the night in the apartment last night. Her reaction to leaving really surprised me. It would seem that my baby has some misgivings about being a grown-up after all. Natalie's classes start on Wednesday, which doesn't give her much time to get settled. Annabelle is still here for a few days, though. And Natalie's 20^th birthday is next week, so this weekend is to be spent with both families.

Ariel's first day of middle school went swimmingly! She came home with the glad news that she has made two new friends! And she got to have lunch with Emmie. And she has theater as her last class. She is in a new program called "Explorers". It was set up so that students can experience several different types of electives. She has theater, Spanish and two others that she cannot remember, but she swears it will be great!

Our 12^th anniversary is tomorrow. T-man is taking the entire day off and is mentioning the motorcycle. Maybe the weather will hold. We'll have to wait and see. The weather may hold, but I'm not sure I like the idea of riding in 100° with 80% humidity! Can you say "sweaty helmet hair"? Yuck.

And with that, I bid you adieu!

Up At The Crack Of Dawn

Argh, is this rough. Apologies to all my working-outside-the-house friends, but it was DIFFICULT to get up this morning and get Ariel off to orientation! I've truly gotten used to sleeping in. (Yeah, yeah -- I know. I'm a slug. By the way, I'm sitting here in my jammies as I type.) She has an all-day thing at school today. They get a big tour of the school so they'll know where everything is come Monday. I was up around 7:00. She has been up since 5:30. Do you think she was a little excited about today? When I dropped her off, her little face was the weensiest bit forlorn. I think she'll be okay though. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) she and Em don't have any classes together, but I'm sure they will be on the phone for a couple of hours this afternoon.


Here's a sneak peek of the current project, which is just about finished. Then I've got one last piece to stitch, then I write up the proposals and then I send them off. This one is so far away from the original idea and sketch that it is almost frightening. I joke about letting the beads decide what's going to happen, but this time it was surreal! They just took control and away we went!!

I really don't have much else today, so I'm going to get back to finishing this piece. I told Ariel that we must practice getting Mom up early tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday so I'll be able to do so next week. But I'm not giving up working in my jammies! No sirree. I think I'll be like Hugh Hefner and work in my jammies all the time. I'll start collecting different jammie sets so I can have different ones to wear each day. Yep, sounds like a plan!

And I must correct my post about Guilty Pleasures. The parasailor's friends did not tape his adventure. It was, in fact, caught quite serendipitously by a news camera as our sailor was caught by a "surprise" gust of wind! I still maintain that parasailing during a tropical storm is not the brightest idea.

Guilty Pleasures

We all have them, those little secrets we keep even from our closest friends. They are our guilty pleasures. One of mine is watching "World's Greatest Videos" on TV. Yes, I admit it, I watch it and other shows which showcase the stupidity of mankind and I sit there and wonder what were those idiots thinking and then, on the news site this morning, I find this:

A Fort Lauderdale man was critically injured when a sudden gust of wind caught his kite surf and hurled him across a busy road and into a concrete wall.

A Florida man literally got carried away by the wind as Tropical Storm Fay barreled toward south Florida when his kite was swept in a strong gust.

He was bounced and dragged along the beach in Fort Lauderdale then eventually slammed into the side of a building.

He was rushed to a local hospital, however his friends told Miami's WFOR-TV that he'll be okay. He said he's suffering some bruises and a few broken bones and that it could have been much worse.

By the way, his friends were videotaping the entire flight, so guess who will be on the newest chapter of "World's Most Amazing Videos"? And guess who will be sitting there watching? Yep, that's right. It's one of my guilty pleasures! So, beadlings, what are some of your guilty pleasures?? 'Fess up and make 'em good!

Blue Monday

Yuck. I know we need rain, but today is just overcast and gray and dreary. It just drizzles and doesn't really rain. Let's just say I could never live in Seattle. The amusing side of the weather is Annabelle. When she goes out to do her business in the grass, her belly gets wet. Then she streaks into the house and scoots around on her belly trying to get dry. Yes, we laugh at her expense.

The big excitement in our house is school starting next week. Ariel will be in middle school this year, and she is excited. OMG, she gets a LOCKER! Yep, it's more than mom can handle right now. HAH! They have all day orientation Thursday and she cannot wait. I'm really glad that she is looking forward to this so much, and I'm hoping she isn't too let down after a couple of weeks of school. We'll just have to wait and see.

Suzanne Cooper has a new blog! Check it out.

And inspiration hit big time last week, so I'm almost finished with the latest piece and then I have one more to do before they all get shipped off to be approved or discarded. Well, it's not really that bad. I either get accepted as a teacher or I don't. If not, then they go off to the next proposal and I do the wait and see game again. It's kind of a vicious cycle, which once started becomes difficult to end so I keep it interesting with new projects to throw out there.

We did do some fun things Saturday. I went to the hardware store for supplies (wait and see!) and then we had game night with KC and family. What fun things did you do this weekend?

Friday Beading . . . .

is always a pleasure!

It was great today. I love getting out of the house. I love seeing my beady friends.

Look! There, On The Horizon!!

It's my deadline, looming largely. Later!

Hunting The Elusive "I Know I Used To Have That" Component

Do I still have it or did I give it away? I know I had it six years ago, but where did I put it? Crapola, I need a personal assistant!

So today, after I deliver a kitten to her new owner, I will search for those elusive components because I am sure they will be perfect for the earrings I have in mind. I'm just not sure where to start!

And I've told Ariel we will do an experiment with the Mardi Gras beads today. And I'll ask again -- does anyone want Mardi Gras beads? I have 75 pounds of them!! Please, please take some. All I ask is that you pay for shipping. FREE MARDI GRAS BEADS AND YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO LIFE YOUR SHIRT!! Oh my gosh, who could ask for anything better than that?? HAH!

Toodles!

On Fridays I Make Things

I unbeaded and rebeaded yesterday, so now I'm pleased with what's coming out of the beads and thread. I love it when they don't fight back. But today, I think I'll put together some pretties, take some pics and post some things in my poor, ignored Etsy store. And then I'll probably do some more web site work. I hate web site work. I hate Front Page . . . . . oh wait, you've already heard that rant. I will try to move on.

I'm ready for cooler weather, kids. I've got things that I want to do, but it's just too freaking hot to do them! I am not known for my patience, you see. It's too hot for resin, it's too hot for browsing market days and antique days. It's too humid for painting. Ugh. I envy those of you who live in cooler climes. Wake me when it cools off!!


We are lucky enough to have a small pool, and we use patio umbrellas to keep the sun off. We buy freezer pops (like Otter Pops or Fun Pops). We have been playing a lot of indoor games this summer, rather than pulling out the croquet set. Look what I found! I could make my own fruit pops with these. I could make my own fudgesicles with these!


How are you staying cool this summer?

Caffeine And Puppies Redux

Caffeina is still the reigning goddess in my house and the puppy is still freaking cute! Even T-man grins at her antics. She plays with the cats, she plays with Ariel, she plays with me, and she loves, loves, loves Natalie (as it should be). I do believe Ariel will miss her when Natalie moves in a couple of weeks. I will miss both of them. *sigh*

Otherwise, there is not much going on Chez Bead-Mused. We have tentative plans for the weekend, but we may have to wait and see. T-man has a home and garden show to participate in at least one day this weekend and we're not sure yet which day so everything hinges on which day he has free.

What are your delicious plans for the weekend?

Caffeine And Puppies

I can have caffeine again! Woo hoo! I'm on top of the world this morning. Yesterday's test left me totally worn out, so it was one of those lost days. Then I took a drive with Natalie to Pflugerville to pick up her new toy, I mean puppy.


Annabelle is like a stuffed toy that moves. The cats are rather fascinated by her. She just wants to play and maybe chew on them. She is part West Highland Terrier and part Pappillion, which gives her some Chihuahua characteristics. And she is used to being held all the time, which makes what I do very difficult. But she is so cute! Natalie moves into her new apartment in two weeks and Annabelle goes with her.

So, today I will try to make up for lost time again. I'm not happy with the way the newest piece is turning out, so I may have to just put it aside and work on something else for a while. I really don't want to fight with another piece. I just don't have the time. And in that vein, what is it you are fighting with that's eating all your time? No, you cannot tell me that it's your significant other. That's too easy. Think, beadlings. What's giving you fits that just really isn't rocket science but is trying to act like it is?

It's August? What Happened To July??

Sheesh, where did it go? I shouldn't be over yet! School starts in just two weeks!! Do you remember when we were little, and school didn't start until after Labor Day? And it ended in mid-May rather than AFTER Memorial Day? And we got a full three weeks at Christmas? At least that's how it was here in Texas back in the dark ages when I was in school. Ariel is already saying she's not ready to go back. Of course, she starts middle school this year, at a new school, with new people so she's a little hesitant.

Oddly enough, there have been no more open doors on the hen house, but we're not putting the alarm away just yet. And, would you believe, one of those stinking leghorn roosters bit me on the arm? No, he did not peck me. He BIT me. It left a little beak imprint and a bruise. Of course, I was holding him at the time, discussing with T-man how there would barely be enough meat on him to make a good chicken salad . . . What? You thought we were going to keep those two because we love the noise they make 24 hours a day?? Unless they can lay eggs, they become dinner and those are the rules! And they certainly won't make any pedigreed chicks, so they have no use except to take up room, and eat, and poop. Don't forget that I adopted them to be nice, not because I wanted two more mouths to feed!

I've been steadily beading, but not necessarily beading steadily as I have become a teensy bit cranky. I have a medical test tomorrow that prohibits taking all of my meds since yesterday and until the test is completed. By the way, that includes caffeine. None, absolutely nothing until after the test tomorrow. Obviously they care nothing for the safety of humanity. Pity poor T-man who must drive me there, wait with me, and drive me home tomorrow, and that man better be stopping at Starbucks on the way!!

Everything Is A-Okay Today!

No loose chickens this morning, thank goodness. We have one of those infared door bells for the driveway, which T-man mounted out by the door of the hen house. It went off at 12:30 this morning, but we think it may have been one of the cats, as there were no two-legged varmints about. We'll keep it up for a few nights and see what happens. By the way, that is a BIG adrenaline rush.

Beading with the Friday group was great! I hadn't seen everyone in so long. There were a couple of friends I missed, but hopefully I'll make the next get-together and they will be there.

Got to run --- groceries need to be bought and we must fly before traffic gets too awful. Bead away, beadlings.

Twice In A Row Is Not A Coincidence

The hen house door was opened again and the chickens were out in the yard. Yes, I had yard chickens this morning. They were funny when they ran after Ariel back to their yard for feed, followed by our littlest kitten. She has decided that she is a BIG cat and can take down anything! I closed the door and PULLED on it with all my #*% pounds behind me. It does not open on its own, kids. Someone is opening the hen house, probably looking for eggs. I don't think they'll be doing it again. I do think the sheriff will be at our house just before the sun comes up, though. And I did send T-man the layman's wording of Texas law regarding shooting trespassers. Don't worry, he said he won't shoot the guy. The problem is we think we know who it is, which is too bad. You like to foster good relations with your neighbors, right? But if I find out we have had eggs all this time and we didn't get any of them, there will be hell to pay!! What I would give right now to have nice Amish neighbors like Margot! The saddest part of this tale is that we share our goodies with our neighbors and ask for nothing in return. They don't even have to ask us for veggies, etc! T-man happily goes door to door, tomatoes or cantaloupes in hand. So why is this person going into our hen house? People never fail to amaze me.

Web site work is on the very near horizon. Blechpht!! I am not a fan of Front Page and I have to struggle just to update one page, let alone all of them. Yes, I want sympathy here, damn it! I need a cyber genie to just read my mind and get all the computerish things done for me.

Ah, but tomorrow is a BEADY Friday! And I haven't been in so long!! I'm really looking forward to that. Saturday night is card or video game night this week, so that will be fun. And then Sunday is family day. Ta-da! The weekend is planned. I hope you have fun and wonderful things planned for you and yours this weekend. I bid you a fond farewell and will keep you updated on the saga of the hen house. In the meantime, bead happy!

Herding Chickens

Someone opened the chicken coop door last night or this morning. When Ariel went out to feed them this morning, they were all around the yard rather than in it. She ran back to the house, pretty upset. It was fairly easy to get them back in, though. They love corn cobs! T-man is ready to make booby traps. I just love living with Wilderness Man (Jeremiah Johnson is one of his fave movies). He promises it will just scare the shit out of someone, not hurt them. It will probably scare the shit out of me!

I'm not typing much today. I must run Natalie's lunch to her in a bit. You have new places to visit over there on the right-hand side of the monitor. I'm still trying to get some new Etsy items up before summer is totally over. It's less than four weeks before school starts for Ariel. It's hard to believe it's that soon, but it is. We have had 37 days of 100° plus so far this year, not including today which has also been predicted to be over 100°. That's 37 out of 202 days! I am ready for October.

I'm also stitching away on sample number two. It is very slow going as I have chosen 15° for the base. Yes, yes, I admit it. I believe beading should be masochistic. Why else would we all participate in a delightful pastime wherein we pierce our fingers with sharp needles? Bead away, my beadlings, bead away.

What's New?

Wait, wait -- now there's something new (never mind that this is my second addendum to today's blog). Check out the links to web sites and to blogs. I've added a bunch for your surfing pleasure! Enjoy!

Okay, so I found this absolutely, weirdly cute thing on DIY. If you have little kids around or you're just feeling like a little kid, why not make a gelatin aquarium? How do I find these things? I surf. I hit a blog or site that I like, then I hit one of their links, then one of their links, etc., etc., etc.

We had a great weekend. Ariel's birthday celebration is FINALLY finished. We were at my mom and dad's house for the dual celebration of Ariel's birthday and one of the little nephew's (his is the day before hers). The two little nephews are cute and getting cuter every day. They are 14 months apart and my sister-in-law has all my sympathy.

Then it was home to floating, sipping, tubbing, sipping, eating, giggling, floating, sipping, tubbing. And we had our friends from up the road, KC and her hubby, come down. Then Sunday KC, Ariel, Natalie and I went shopping, which was great fun. The guys took a ride down to Seguin to do some work, Then we all met back here, got KC's daughter and friend, and we all played video games and hit the pool and the tub again. I can't think of many things better than a relaxing weekend with friends and family.

Yesterday was one of those lost days given to doctors and pharmacies, so not much got done, needless to say. I shall try to make amends today and get some things put up in the Etsy store and maybe a little work done on adding links to other blogs. Happy beading!

Moving On

Did that startle you? "She's moving on? To where?" Sorry, but I couldn't resist. I'm simply moving on from the pink/gold project to the next. Yep, I finally finished it. And your preview is a not-so-good photo, but it does convey a feel for the necklace. It turned out to be very romantic. It's quite mauve-alous, with light touches of gold and some other colors in there. I'm please with it. I just wish it hadn't taken so long to finish! So the next is, well it's a big ole surprise, is what it is! I can't give away all my secrets.

I've decided my presence on the web is way past due for an overhaul, so this weekend I'll start working on things and keep you updated as I go. And being as it's Thursday, I thought I would direct your attention to Inspire Me Thursday and Ornament Thursday, just for a little change of pace.

Where Is Sam Spade When You Need Him?

(cue the background music for film-noir)

This morning's commute was hellish. I tripped on my way in to the bathroom and knew the day would not be good. I finished my business there and looked for clothes to wear in the murky darkness of the room. I just had to hope everything coordinated. I stumbled from the bedroom bleary eyed and momentarily blinded by the bright light of day only to find no coffee in the coffee pot. Sometimes the small person makes some, sometimes she doesn't. Evidently this was a doesn't day. I took a quick glance at the clothes I had grabbed in the dark. Good, things matched. Hearing odd noises, I opened the utility room door to an avalanche of fur bodies. Crikey, it never looks like that many of them any other time. I was greeted by meows and purrs and soft fur rubbing my ankles. They don't make coffee, either. They sneered and muttered something about not having thumbs. Crapola. I decided that I was going to have to make the coffee myself. I poured in the water, measured the grounds, hit that special button, and then the waiting began. I heard an odd noise outside and quickly went to investigate. It looked like the county had finally started repaving the main road to fix the repaving they did last year. It took them six months and when the road was finished, it worse than it was before they started. Maybe this time they would get it right. The roar, the bang and the beep of road machinery would be my background music today. I went back in to check the coffee pot, but still no luck. I had to find something to take my mind off the nonexistent coffee, so I opened the email and was greeted by responses to a dilemma put forth to my beady group the day before. Somehow the topic went from my request for advice to homemade tortillas. Damn, that made me hungry but there were no homemade tortillas in the house and no good substitute. It was a good thing the coffee was ready so I didn't have to start looking for bad things to eat. There would have been hell to pay if that had happened. But back to the coffee. It looked good enough to drink. It was dark and rich, just the way I like it. All it needed was a dollop of amaretto cream and it would be killer. Ah, that first sip was good. It was worth the wait, even if it was cheap. I settled in to read more emails and do some investigating on the world wide web, but the browser was slow. I wondered if it was connected to the road work outside, but that thought would have to wait until later, until after the coffee and I were through with our business for the day.

Birthdays Chez Nous

When a birthday is celebrated in our house, it's not just one day. Oh no, dear friends, the birthday goes on for weeks. We celebrated Ariel's birthday here at home on Thursday, with a cake made by Emmie and presents. Then we celebrated again on Saturday when Emmie came to spend the night and brought a present. There was also more cake. Then we celebrated again yesterday at the in-laws with more presents and, of course, more cake. But wait, there's more! Next weekend we go to my parents' house for more birthday cake and more presents! Yes my beadlings, birthdays go on for weeks at our house! And as there really isn't much else happening here, I'm off for some research, some beading and some errands later. So I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and I hope today isn't to much like a Monday!

This was just too funny not to add!

Live Passionately!

Live Passionately is such a cool web site, I couldn't help but share it with y'all. Sorry guys, but it's geared strictly toward women. I don't usually go for the affirmation pep talks, but I like this site. I absolutely love the waterfall picture, but the entire site is lovely and the suggestions are wonderful. And we all need a boost now and then, n'est-ce pas? Adieu mes amis!

Friday? Really?

I measured the days this week by when Ariel's birthday fell. A skewed calendar, but it worked. So in our part of the world, yesterday was a national holiday. But she had a wonderful day, which is all that matters.

I've been slogging away on this pink and gold piece and I have begun to hate it. Yes, I hate it. The execution is not such that it should have taken five weeks. I had certain things on the movie screen in my brain that just did not pan out in real beads. I hate it because I have spent five weeks doing mostly unbeading. Sheesh. I am so ready to be working on something else, but I'm almost finished. I'm down to nothing but the clasp. And no, I'm sorry, no pictures until this fall. Oh, and the Fly Pen is kind of slowing me down, so I'm pretty sure it will be Ariel's when school starts next month. I am not used to taking the time to print, and it doesn't pick up all of my shorthand. So it's back to multi-colored pens and big, thick binders for me. It's time to stock up again.

So, that's all for today. No imaginative insights, no thoughtful musings on life or creativity. My brain is an empty vessel today. In fact when I sneeze, it rings like a bell! HAH! Go forth and bead.

Just Beading

That's all. I'm just beading. Actually, I spent yesterday baby-sitting. I picked the wrong day for that, but it's okay. Ariel had her friend Emmie over, and Emmie's little brother comes along. He's a handful, but he's cute as a bug.

T-man is away on a tank installation. He won't be back until tomorrow night. My house is pretty darned quiet without him here. And Thursday is Ariel's birthday -- the big one-one. Yep, she's one step closer to being a teenager. Ain't life grand!

Calling All Crafters!

Vickie Howell, well-known Austinite of Knitty Gritty fame, is looking for a few good crafters! Check out the blog and see if this is something you'd like to do. Just think, your name in print in books sold around the world. Now what could be better than that on a Saturday afternoon? Funny you should ask. Even if you don't knit, even if you have never watched a single episode of VH-1's Behind the Music, watch "Behind the Knitter". I haven't laughed so hard in quite a while! Have a groovy weekend.

No Energy Today

It sucks when I hit these lows. I've had a slightly stressful week, and I suppose it has finally caught up with me. I'm going to try to bead, but right now I can barely keep my eyes open. Maybe a catnap is in order. We'll call it a "power nap" so it doesn't make me sound lazy, okay? Of course, it doesn't help that T-man woke me up at 5:00 this morning! I'll survive, I just need a snooze and then I can pick up that needle and thread and take off again.


FYI, these are not pictures of any of my kitties, but they are public domain photos from Wikimedia Commons.

I use quite a few of their photos and clip art. I'll try to come up with some beady pearls of wisdom for you tomorrow. Egad beadlings, tomorrow if Friday! Where did my week go?? Here's a deep thought for today:

Creativity is the greatest expression of liberty.
Bryant H. McGill

I'm outta here. Just keep on beadin' on!

Resin Anyone?

I have a new fascination. I want to make things with resin. There is only one problem with that. Okay, there may be two or three problems. It cannot be done indoors, I'll need to wear a respirator (pesky migraines) and it works best in temperatures of no more than 75°. Sheesh, I'll have to wait until November! In the meantime, you can see what I'm talking about when I say "resin". I'm not talking about bottle cap jewelry, no no! I'm looking at a much more involved process. Of course, I won't discount the bottle cap thing entirely. Jennifer Perkins of Naughty Secretary's Club has done a how-to video for one of her best sellers and there are a ton of tutorials on YouTube and various other locations in the World Wide Web. I am itching to try this. T-man thinks it's funny, simply because he knows how impatient I can be. I also found Resin Obsession, which has EVERYTHING I would ever need for making resin jewelry. I think the name says it all.

But, I guess I will wait until the weather cools considerably before I make my first foray into resin. *sigh*

Happy Birthday To Me!

Yep, it's that time again. Nope, I won't tell how many. Let's just say I've seen a lot of things happen around the world. I share my birthday (not year) with Sylvester Stallone, who paints! Yessir, the man's an artist. And other than baseball stuff, nothing really important happened on the day I was born!



So today I am being lazy and coddled and I plan to enjoy every minute of it. See you later, beadlings!

Happy 4th Of July

Well, I Do Declare!

Guess what? It has been publicly suggested, by someone who lurks about but never comments, that I have deserted you in my embrace of B.W.O. Yep, yep, yep. Simply because I choose not to bore you with detailed descriptions of every breath I take, every move I make and the other various and sundry details of my daily existence, it has been hinted at that I have deserted you, that I have let you down, that I have shirked my responsibility as a blogger. How's that for a slap in the face from behind the back? Sheesh.



I started the base of the pendant for the pink/gold piece last night. Hopefully, the end result will match the vision. I'll try to finish it today or tomorrow and get a picture. We'll see what happens. I also bought one of those table top photo studios. T-man was pretty impressed with it. He's no slouch when it comes to photography. He used to do the most wonderful black and white photos, which he developed himself. I'd like to able to make a darkroom for him someday. Maybe I'll put it right next to his lampwork studio. Seriously though, he is still discussing building a studio for us next year or the year after. I can see it now -- the back part of the property is a huge garden with the pool sticking out of the center, the dog yard and the chicken coops on one side next to the metal workshop and the studio on the other. Oh goodness, mind the tomatoes as you walk on back! And don't trip over the cataloupe!

Maybe stepping stones would be a good idea.

Bead Fight!

Sometimes when I'm designing, I have a pretty good idea of what the end result should be. I carefully choose the seed beads and the embellishment beads in certain colors. I find just the right thread for the stitch. Then I start stitching and taking notes as I stitch. I don't usually work from a sketch, just a picture in my head.

For the current project, I had an image of rosy pinks and golds. I had found beautiful Swarovski pearls, crystals and a drop in just the right shades. Then I found the perfect seed beads in a silver-lined pink AB, with just the tiniest flash of blue, echoed in the Swarovski pendant and some of the embellishment beads. I started stitching.

Did you know that beads can be sentient beings?? Cheese and rice kids, you would have thought I had never done this before! So I unbead and start again. Take out the 8° beads. And again. I need more color, so let's add those. Nope, that REALLY doesn't work! Start again. These seed beads are not working so I'll try those over there. And again. I'll go find a Delica in the right shade of pink. And again.

Last night, after the SIXTH false start, I got it to look basically the way I picture it in my feeble brain. And when I say false start, I don't mean just the first three rows. Oh no, it is not that simple. I bead a good two to three inches before I can tell whether things work or not. It's a very good thing that beading thread is inexpensive. Did I mention that this was just the neck piece portion??

OOOOOOOO, I can't wait to start the pendant (she said sarcastically).

I'm sorry, what did you ask? Why do I do this if it is so frustrating? It's very simple, my dear. The end result will be splendorous and so mesmerizing, that people will be struck speechless when they gaze upon it (at least I hope they will). Besides, I cannot NOT do it -- (whispering) it's part of my essence.

Come Fly With Me

I got my Fly Pen. I've gone through the tutorial and now it's charging its little battery. We have decided that if it does not work well for me, it will go to Ariel to help her with school this year. It is, however, very cool. I'll let you know how it works for my notes on how to make a beaded piece of whatever.

And now, since I've got that all figured out, I can start working on the new projects. Yes, yes, it's true -- I used the Fly Pen as an excuse for procrastination. It's been a very long time since I had a summer vacation. I have definitely been bored out of my gourd at times, but I've also had a lot of fun. I've spent lots of time with my girls and with my husband just playing. Playing is a very good thing and we should never give it up. We have played with the Playstation. We have played in the pool. We have played with the chickens and the kittens. We have giggled and laughed and hugged. Playing is a good thing, beadlings!

Now fly! FLY! Hee, hee, hee, hee, hee!

And Why I'm Glad The Camera Battery Was Not Charged

All four pounds of Tatiana, the Ameracauna hen, climbed up my arm while I was holding her (she likes to be petted) to sit on my shoulder yesterday evening. T-man rushed into the house to find a camera with a charged battery because he thought it would be a great picture for the blog. Do you have any idea how bad your hair looks after a chicken combs it? I'm so glad the battery was not charged!

Remember Matilda, the spider with the web on the side of the pool? Two of her daughters have made little webs near that spot and are growing daily.

I'm hunting rosy pink beads today! What fun!! And yes, I'll charge the camera battery today.

Why The Digital Camera Battery Should Be Charged At All Times

We were cleaning the pool Sunday evening. Don't get excited or envious. We have an above ground pool just big enough for the four of us to float in. Anyway, T-man and I had drained it and were scrubbing it down. The sun had not quite set and there were storms on every horizon, but no rain on the prairie - just a lot of humidity. Suddenly, the sky was filled with dragonflies! I have never seen anything like this. It was like they all hatched simultaneously. They were swarming in everyone's yard. You could actually see them up at the other end of the road and way up in the sky. A couple of barn swallows took advantage of the situation (sorry, Cat). Alfred Hitchcock would have used this scenario to his advantage! Maybe I should give Clive Barker a call. Needless to say, the camera battery was not charged. I'm not sure I could have gotten a good shot anyway, but I definitely would have tried! By the way, I love stumpwork and finished these dragonflies that my dear friend Joyce had started. Cat now owns them.

I went shopping for beads yesterday so I can get started on my samples for my next proposals and work up some local class offerings. I came home with a big bag of Swarovski goodies from Laurie at Mica in San Antonio (nope, sorry, no web site for her yet). Ariel and I spent the entire day together. She has her own bag of goodies. We had lunch, then drove back to Austin to visit our favorite bead store and see more friends. Again, she scored on her own with goodies. Then we went to get her a MOOD RING. Yes, my child is repeating history. I remember my own mood ring. She put it on her sock monkey last night and proudly proclaimed "Mom! Monkey has moods!"

So, as a small teaser of things to come, I will let you know what I have in mind as far as the beads are concerned. I'm doing a project in crystal and with sprinkles of gold, one in rose and gold, one in bronze and silver, one in silver and gold, one in turquoise and violet, and maybe one in blue. I have a new set of patterns to be done in black with jewel tones. I hope you all noticed that green and purple (okay, violet might count) were not in there. T-man wanted to take my vital signs when I gave him this information last night. Hey, it does no one any good for me to become predictable, now does it?

Sad Monday

I just read that George Carlin died. This is sad for me. I actually liked his comedy, and I would like to believe that he was amazed when some of the seven words he told us could never be said on TV actually became commonplace. My dad always considered him obscene. I always enjoyed that he was a rebel. Did you know he was the very first host of Saturday Night Live? Yep, waaaaay back there in 1975. I had posted one of his quotes a few days ago, simply because it was funny (at least it was to me), but this one is much more profound and a good send off for the day:

Those who dance are considered insane by those who can't hear the music---George Carlin

Is It Truly Friday Again?

I would like some verification on that. It seems like just yesterday I was in San Antonio! My goodness, this week has just flown by while I have been a slug. No more, I must just back into my groove. I have a HUGE list of things to get done and being in SA talking to EGA members added about 10 things to the list. My fingers are actually twitching to get back into the beads, which is a very good sign! I also have a ton of cyber work to do, starting with the Etsy store and the web site (notice that I did link to those because they are pitiful right now).

And so the time has come to embrace Blogging Without Obligation, because sometimes less IS more. I'm not deserting you, I just don't want to spread myself to thin as that would become incredibly boring to you when I start struggling for something to ramble on about every day. "I would much rather give you wonderful tidbits of insight occasionally", she said with sincerity. I did mention that I'm a frustrated novelist, didn't I?

Do you remember Dale Carnegie? "If you believe you can succeed, you will" and other motivating quotes? He wrote How to Win Friends and Influence People and he was the undisputed king of motivational speaking before Steven Covey came along with his "seven steps". I found the most wonderful quote about art from none other than Mr. Carnegie and leave you today with his words:

The essence of all art is to have pleasure in giving pleasure.

I will "chat" with you more next week. Have a great weekend!

Sunny Day

Oh my, beadlings, it is sunny and it is HOT already! Monday, when Natalie and I were running around South Austin, it got up to 103. I'm pretty sure it was just as hot yesterday, but apparently we have had a COLD front move in and it's only supposed to hit 98 today! Oh, it is to laugh!

I have spent two days being a slug and I'm not sure how much more of that I can do. I'll give it another try today, but I'm not promising anything after today is finished. It's hard work being lazy! So, until I finish my "vacation", I really have no new stuff! That being said, stay cool and dry wherever you are and keep on beading!

Here I Am!

Well, I'm back and I am utterly exhausted. T-man has convinced me to take a few days off, doing nothing more taxing than taking care of the chickens and the cats. Okay, I can do that.

I had such a marvelous time at seminar! I had fun, I met some new friends, ran into some old friends, and even had a trip down memory lane. There are not enough words to describe what a good time I had. The only downside to trips like this is eating restaurant food every day, morning, noon and night. Unfortunately, most pre-made foods come with MSG and it does not take much to do me in. This year, it settled in my knees and I would ache every night. But, it will all be better by the end of this week -- lots of salads and water to flush the MSG out of my system.

I had five new beaders in my larger class. They are now converts to the seed bead side (insert Darth Vader noises here). My mission to cover the world in size 15° beads moves forward!

Many, many thanks to the San Antonio Needlework Guild for the hospitality and to the South Central Region Seminar board for a fantastic seminar, and to Clara who gave up her day to come sit with me behind a table and talk beads to anyone who happened to stop by. I'm off for today so I can keep my promise to my hubby, but I'll be back tomorrow with bead musings, as always. And as my tiny friend Luke says "Later, Dudes!"

I'm Off To Teach Some Beading!

Here I go. I won't have much time to blog while I am away, but Monday's post will be, well it will be written by me! HAH! Okay, I didn't get enough sleep last night, but today has been easy going. So, Natalie and I are on our way. Have a great weekend, and if you are attending the EGA South Central Region Seminar, I'll see you tomorrow! Either way, happy beading!!!

Hot, Humid, Hellish

I used to live in Houston, Texas. One of things I disliked so very much was the humidity. 80% relative humidity was a good day. Today, here on the Central Texas Flatland Prairie at the foot of the Hill Country, Houston seems like paradise. Yuck. I hate that feeling. You get out of the shower, and you need another one as soon as you walk outside. But enough of my grousing, on to better things.

I went by Pam's Friday afternoon and picked up a box of goodies for the lucky shoppers at the Fiesta Marketplace portion of Seminar. My, oh my, I want half of the box for myself. I'm bringing lampworked thimbles, blue bonnet beads (yes, by popular demand they are back!) and the most gorgeous matched pairs that would make perfect earrings. There is one pair in Pam's favorite pink that are just to die for! Oh, I cannot wait to put these out and offer them up to the stitchers!

And kits are almost done. It has been a very long time since I have had to put together so many kits in one session. 32 of them were for the classes, and the color mixtures are breathtaking, if I may say so. For inspiration, I pulled out pictures we took in 2005 when we spent Thanksgiving in Lost Maples State Natural Area. The fall colors were late, and we got some gorgeous shots. The picture of the girls on the top right was taken there.

So, I've got just a few more things to put together and price, then pack. That's it. And it has all been fairly stress free. HAH! Yeah, right. More on that when I get back!

What? You need a quote for the day? Okay, here's one from one of my favorite authors:

Don't think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It's self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can't try to do things. You simply must do things.
Ray Bradbury

And I simply like this one from George Carlin:

If you can't beat them, arrange to have them beaten.

Muse on that for a while. And remember, don't think --- just do!

Is It Friday Already?

Evidently, according to the CALENDAR it is Friday. I've made great strides in what I have left to do. I must run to Pam's house tonight to pick up more goodies! She has a small fan club among the EGA.

It poured this morning, which means if you walk in certain spots of our yard you will become an inch taller. Well, when Ariel went to feed the chickens, Tatiana got out and went to the places of nothing but clay mud. Yuck. But she is now back in the pen, happily scratching and eating. There is enough dry grass in there that they aren't getting too muddy. And now the sun is coming out in full force, so today will be reminiscent of my life in Houston, but that's a story for another time.

What are you doing this weekend? I ask so that I may enjoy it vicariously. I'll be slaving away in front of the scale, with my little baggies. Okay, one short story. Let's go back to 1997, when I first started selling beads. We lived in a single-wide trailer in South Austin. It was not the Taj-Mahal, but it was paid for. Okay, picture this. I had a large living room window, and when the blinds were open you could see clearly into the living room. Slightly off to the side, but still within view of the window, I had a drafting table where I could stand and do the weighing, tubing and bagging. I have a small digital gram scale. So there I am, weighing, tubing, bagging, and I notice that a patrol car keeps doing the circle drive in front of our house slowly. I figured they had a call about the neighbors, because that was a frequent occurrence. Then it hits me why the police keep driving by my living room window . . .

And on that note, have a groovy weekend, whatever you do.

Autumn In The Air!

Yes, it's another quickie and yes, I am on the correct page of the calendar! Nope, I haven't lost it. It's kit-making time!

I'm digging through the beads, finding different colors for the leaves to put in the kits. The fun part of this is that no two kits will be exactly alike or exactly like the sample! I love the unique aspect of this class! I'm hoping it will spark some creativity along the way and maybe cause a couple of new bead addictions, which leads to today's quotes (yes, it's twofer!):

The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.
Carl Jung

Creativity is a drug I cannot live without.
Cecil B. DeMille

Bead on, beadlings!

A Blustery Day On The Prairie

It certainly is! Big, hot gusts of wind are coming straight out of the south. It's also a bright, sunny day out there. Since I've managed to have another week, I finished the cows (pictures tomorrow) and can get some more instructions out of the way. I'm actually very glad to have had this extra time.

I had lunch today with my darling daughters. It was nothing special, but it was nice just the same. And now I am overstuffed. There is a big tomato scare in our part of Texas. It seems some have been contaminated with Salmonella. Crikey, kids! Ariel and I had tomatoes on our sandwiches! Apparently the safest tomatoes are the ones you grow yourself. I'm sure glad ours have started coming in! I guess we will cross our fingers and hope for the best over the next 72 hours! And of course I did not find out about this until after lunch, when I got home and talked to T-man who had left two messages. Did I have the cell phone with me? Well, no, I did not. I was incommunicado!

I dreamt of tornadoes last night. I've had dreams about them for as long as I can remember. The places change, but my family is always central to the dream. In this one, we were back in our old house. I can't figure that part out, but I know what the tornadoes mean. Here's one interpretation:

tornado - Being overwhelmed by work or circumstances. You are stressed out. If you are overtaken: Things are out of control in your life. If you escape from or avoid it: You are stressed but can handle the situation.

Fortunately, I've never been overtaken by the tornadoes. Hmmmm. I know I've been trying to convince myself and everyone else that I'm not stressing, but there sure are some obvious signs that I am. I wonder if I can get a massage during seminar??? So, in honor of the tornadoes, I'm showing you the Twister Scissors Fob: I have quite a few people ask what scissors fobs are for. Well, if you are in a big class, like those at EGA seminars or the Bead & Button Show, a personalized scissors fob makes your pair easy to spot. Plus, they're just fun and nifty.

Hasta la bye-bye, beadlings, I've got typing . . . well, other typing . . . to do! And don't take in any suspicious looking tomatoes!

What A Ditz!

Remember how I told you I have No Concept Of What Time It Is? Well, I have once again proven this to be true. I had it etched in stone on my little mental calendar that seminar starts tomorrow. I believed this so much that I had set aside a special project because I didn't think I had time to finish it and get all the kits finished to. I had arranged for Ariel to stay at grandma's house and had even arranged for Natalie to drive me to SA.


well, duh


Seminar begins June 10^th. And after that, what's left to say?? I've been given one more week! Yippee!

Well, It's Friday

Ariel is now an official junior high school student. We went to "graduation", which lasted for about an hour. She got a medal for A/B Honor Roll this past six weeks, and she has a nice certificate that says she has completed elementary school. She and her best friend, Emily, are outside enjoying the pool.

You know how I keep telling you that I'm not stressed? Well, I have this honkin' big fever blister on my mouth that says otherwise. There's nothing like standing up in front of 20 people with a big ole beacon on your face. Luckily the ENT doc gave me some antiviral meds to take and I bought some concealer to kind of tone down the angry magenta color it's sporting.

I'm off to run a couple of errands, then it's back to the creating of kits! Woo hoo! Down the home stretch she goes! Have a great weekend!!!

What Have I Been Dreaming Of?

I've pretty much been dreaming of this stuff, or at least thinking about it --- A LOT! Please take note that I did not say anything about stress. There is still no stress. Stunned and amazed, my family is!
And this is what I would like to do when I come home from seminar. We haven't taken a ride in so long I may loose my Iron Lady status! Hopefully, we will be able to afford a trip this summer.

So today I'm off to see the doctor, then back to some cows in a meadow (you'll see, you'll see). Tomorrow Ariel "graduates" from elementary school. We have been trying to explain to her that this is not as important as graduating from high school, but her teachers are making it a very big deal. *sigh* We are proud of her and of all her accomplishments and will probably take her to lunch. I know she's excited about this, so I'm trying not to burst her little bubble (mean old Mom).

Anyway, I must be off. I'll try to pop back in tomorrow! Have a beadiful day!

Tap Tap, Tapity Tap, Tapity Tap Tap Tap

I am typing away today. I've got one more piece of stitching to finish and type, then I'm putting together all the kits.

Did I mention that the chicken coop and hen house got finished at last? Well, they did. Talk about some happy campers! (and I mean us AND the chickens) I had to take them all into the house the first night. At dusk, they were all huddled in the corner, cheeping for Mama Hen. T-man had to pass them through their little doors and I put each of them on the roost. Then we closed the doors so they would stay in all night. The next morning, we let them out and fed them. We got home after dark Monday and they were all in the house! Smart little buggers, aren't' they? Now they go in each night on their own. They've made it theirs in more ways than I care to describe. But they are happy. And some of them are starting to cluck. My babies are growing up!

Needless to say, today you get another quickie. You do get a quote today, not necessarily an art quote, but it's a good quote:

A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg.
Samuel Butler

Bead it! Now scram!