Lost My Sketchbook???

Actually, it's an IDEA book and I truly cannot find it. I have others, with better and more recent ideas, but I shudder to think that maybe the perfect project is in the oldest idea book. I'm trying to move on and look at more recent sketches and notes.

As a result of this misplacement, I've walked all over the house three times already. I've driven to school and back twice because someone forgot her lunch. I've walked the yard with the animal control officer (stupid stray dog got into T-man's garden!), and now my legs are threatening to go on strike. Fortunately, sifting through the idea notebooks can be done with my feet up. Did I tell you I've been up since 6:30? And you KNOW I'm not a morning person.

Let's go back to ideas. Hmm. I've got an elegant, gorgeous rosy pink WIP, an almost formal bronze UFO and grapes on two different vines waiting to be plucked. I've got an old favorite with a new and improved execution as well as some old standards that will eventually be scooped up as the perfect workshop. I've also got some one hour faves to send off to some of my favorite people in San Antonio. Add to this mix a scheduled surgery date AND the arrival of two very important little boys! And oh my stars, it's only Monday.

My Head Is Full Of Mush

Okay, an explanation for that title is probably in order. I have all these fantastic ideas for jewelry, dolls, etc. floating in my brain. Constantly. My brain never seems to stop whirling (and I realize that might sound a bit bipolar). Sometimes I write the ideas down, sometimes they even manifest themselves. But there is so much going on in there that I cannot possibly keep up most days. I don't want to spend all my time taking notes. I'd much rather spend it in front of a pile of beads with needle and thread in hand! So I remain stuck in a whirling vortex, adrift in a sea of ideas, mired in . . . . I think you get the picture.

Yesterday I took KC (who is pretty much a baby beader even though she has strung and she has torched and she has fused) to visit a couple of the local bead stores. I took A with us and we took KC's teenager with us (cute as a button!). My little Miss A is invited to a big b-day party next week, so we picked out some cute, cute beads to make a bracelet for the birthday girl. I got some yummy glass beads (of course) and a few margaritas (no, not the drink) at the wonderful Mica Beads & Jewelry in San Antonio (unfortunately, they do not have a web site). Then off we went back to Austin to my fave LBS. I got some metal components and a few beads. KC grabbed up some Charlottes that were on sale. I have to admit, it's impressive when a baby beader gravitates to charlottes and crystals right off the bat! Then it was off to the book store, where I got my copy of Laura McCabe's new book Creating Crystal Jewelry with Swarovski. And I got a copy of Somerset Studio's Artful Blogging. And basically, perusing those two books will add to the mush that is my brain. *sigh* Maybe I should go attempt to execute something. Ciao!

There's No Place Like Home

How true is that statement? I so enjoyed my four days away, but I am so glad to be home. My family missed me, the cats missed me (Baby refuses to leave my lap, and typing around feline is no small feat), even the dog missed me. Here I am, back in my hovel. My hovel is fairly quiet, even with A home for Martin Luther King day.

I realized just how much of a hermit I have become. I was sitting in a room with roughly 80 other people, and at times it was just overwhelming. I was not only assaulted by the noise, but there was all the movement, good natured jostling, accidental bumping -- all things that are unknown to me here in the quiet of my solitude. And four days is not enough time to acclimate to such a change. And with three of us sharing a room, it was totally correct when GG commented that it had become a dorm room (something about all three hair dryers running at the same time!). But the best part was getting to spend four days with the other three High Priestesses of the Goddess of the Temple of Beading.

Anyway, I'm back. I'm catching up with my fellow bloggers, I've read through 200 emails, and now I've got to unpack and get cracking on four or five different projects! I've had very little sleep over the past few days (go figure), but last night I got a FULL 12 hours. T-man spiked my hot cocoa with a bit of rum and I slept fairly well. So, I'm energized and ready to push forward through my maze of projects. I came home with a bucket full of ideas. Hopefully tomorrow or the next day I will have the pictures that Juls took so you can see what fun we had. I have missed you all, I hope you missed me just a little bit, but now it's time to bid you farewell until tomorrow morning! Have a beadiful day!

Beady Mornings

Okay, it’s quiet in the house as N still has not emerged from her room. The kitties are still in their room and I have GMA on the TV, but the volume is low, and the only real sound is the dishwasher, which is not overly loud. And I’m sipping my coffee (yes, bad grammar there), just kind of enjoying my morning surf, which is what I do. I hop around from this site to that blog, clicking on links, just kind of exploring the world wide web, getting into the groove for the day, seeing what's happening in the world outside my doors, checking on what other creative souls are saying and doing.

So, I'm hunting for something that Pam mentioned (we've already exchanged several emails this morning -- oh man, deja vu!). I have a lot more time to surf and explore than she does, and I like it that way as some of my taxes pay part of her salary! Okay, picture this -- I'm sitting at the computer desk, in my jammies (that's how I work, okay?), sipping my java, looking for treasure. I Google, find a good possibility, I click and suddenly this HORRENDOUS NOISE emits from my computer!!! It sounds like a rabbit dying. If you don't know how that sounds, it's like an alien scream. This is coming from my computer!! Apparently, to get you in the mood to buy the beach themed product on this site, the designer decided to use the sounds of the Gulf coast. It was a sea gull crying LOUDLY, and now I'm listening to the gentle sounds of the surf. Oh, how apropos for my web surfing. Thank God I didn't have coffee in my mouth at the time

Remember the earrings I made that N claimed? Look below in Bead Musings. And you remember that A asked if I could make a smaller pair for her? Well, I made them last night. When she gets home today I'll take pictures.

I'm going through one of those periods where I have tons of ideas, and I try to write them all down. But I don't feel a need to pick up needle, thread and beads for some reason. I know this will pass, as it always does, but I feel this tremendous guilt for not doing what I should be doing.

But I will leave you with inspiration for your day. I give you a pot bellied pig, with thanks to Pam (who did not make this, but she did find it on eBay!).