My Latest Project

Yes, there it is. Isn't it lovely? sigh I'm chugging along last night, thinking that this baby was almost done. Then I notice that waaaaaaay back there, I've totally skipped a bead. See it? WAAAAAAAAAYYYY back there. Not only that, but I start looking at the length of this thing (it's supposed to be a business card case) and it's a bit short. I take it off the support tube and it's A LOT TIGHT! Oh my stars, have I been stressing??? And to top it all off I can barely squeeze one card into it. CRIKEY! So, I get the computer out to redesign, then I get the scissors out to unbead. The only saving grace was being able to watch my friend Judy's husband Frank on Trading Spaces. I actually met Judy many, many years ago at a Houston Bead Society bead bazaar. I get to see them now every year, when I got to Houston in November. Frank is a hoot! And I love to watch people's faces when they realize he is someone they've seen on TV. It is a gas!

And speaking of celebrities, I was surfing in the wee small hours of the morning (new meds induced insomnia!), and who should I happen upon but the delightful Margot Potter doing her stint on QVC. Even at 2:00 a.m. the girl looks gorgeous, and the jewelry is to die for!

Okay, you must go check this out. These are polymer clay by Jill Newman, also known as Tatercat. I once bid on one of her pieces on Just Beads. It was a three-dimensional fox head, with the ears connected by links. It was fanfreakintastic. I had to stop when the bidding went over $90. Damn, her stuff is out of this world!

Here is the ever elusive Callie. Callie was dumped out here when she was about 10 weeks old. We believe she was mistreated in a house with small children. She has finally stopped cringing when you lift you hand and she tolerates being in the same room with A. I can pet her, but it is very infrequent. She has a new pastime. She meows until I come throw a big, wooden bead for her. She would be content to do this all day, and doesn't understand the sentence "I need to work now, cat!" She is one of the very few cats I have that isn't gray or black. Isn't she pretty?

I'm leaving now, to start the card case AGAIN. I've made sure this time that it is long enough and wide enough. But first, I'll need to find something for the support tube since I increased the diameter. So, off I go on a scavenger hunt. See you tomorrow, bead friends, same bead time, same bead channel! (Holy Trademark and Copyright Infringement, Batman! Can she do that?)

Sunny Day?

Where is the sunshine as promised by the local weather guys/gals? I really want to know. I don't like dreary days, not one bit. Well, at least it's not cold and blustery to go along with the clouds.

I'm going to start packing shortly. I'll take off as soon as A gets home this afternoon. It's my first road trip in the cruiser. Well, that's not entirely true. The first day we had it, T-man and I drove to Blanco for dinner. That is probably the last time in my life I will have chicken fried steak. Let's just say the gall bladder really spoke out loud that night. But it was a beautiful drive and a great date night.


So, who's coming to Houston? Raise your hand. I will be at the Hess Club on Westheimer, in the Texas Ballroom. That's the big room to the left of the main entrance. Look for the Yellow Dog Beads booth. If you don't own any of Pam's beads yet, now is the time. These are the last beads I bought from her, but certainly not all that I have. You can find more information about the Houston Bead Society's Annual Bead & Jewelry Show on their website. Have a great weekend!

Proof of Beading

Okay, this is supposed to be a blog about beading (among other topics). You've all read my rants about not being able to do anything beady. Well, here you are.

This is one of my newest patterns, which will also be a kit come February. It is a bracelet, and now I must come up with some sort of clasp, else it will fall off the wrist! HAH! I've also picked out the next palette for the next new thingie, and my angels will be happy to know that their projects will be put in the mail tomorrow. Yes, dear readers, it has finally happened -- my ass is on fire!

I love my husband, but you all know that. One of the reasons I love him is that he supports me in my endeavors. Now, the bad news is I am going to need some outside work (and that is because we had to buy a car the month before T-man got laid off), and I've signed up for substitute teaching in A's school district. The good news is, T-man does not want it to interfere with the other things I do, so it's not something I must do every day. There is more to this story, of course.

We were driving home from the grocery store last night, and I started talking to my ADHD hubby about my seemingly ADHD tendencies. I think I've finally got this figured out -- it may not be the meds, it may just be me. You see, what I do with the beads was starting to feel too much like work again, and I don't like that feeling. I truly believe you should love your job, whatever it is, but when mine starts feeling like work, I dig my heels in and I just don't want to do it anymore. Soooo, T-man agrees with me. Then he points out that I've fallen back into that hole where I'm too concerned with making what I think the general public wants instead of making what I know to be creative and artistic. Are you with me? Once I got my mind around this idea, I got up off my duff and became productive again. And yes, it was pretty much overnight. No, the beading was not done overnight -- I picked this particular piece up and put it down so many times it would make your head spin. What occurred overnight was the change in attitude, the desire to create art and not just beaded stuff. T-man also pointed out that when I do what the universe has been trying to direct me to do for years, everything else around me falls into place in the best possible way.

Crap, it's Monday. I'm still hoping for those three day weekends. Plus there was the time change. Try explaining the why's of this to a 10-year old, and then explain why Arizona doesn't play along. *sigh* And this coming weekend I'm in Houston at the Houston Bead Society's Bead Bazaar as an employee of Yellow Dog Beads. I've got to get my hair cut, get some more groceries, figure out what clothes to pack because you never know what the weather in Houston will do. And of course, I must figure out (1) what beads to take and (2) what beads to shop for! And I understand that Beyond Beadery will be there this year!! Oh my stars, I've heard that you need sunglasses as you near the booth because of all the Swarovski sparkling in the light! More tomorrow, beady buds!