Good grief this summer is flying past

Here is the favorite bead of the most recent ones I have made, I call her "Mango Mamma:"

The hours in the antique mall get extended from 11-5 to 10-6 which takes a big hunk out of my days, not to mention making me get up an hour earlier. That might not sounds like much to those of you who only have to get yourself ready to face the day, but those of you with small children or elderly parents like me have another person or persons to prep, too. I get up at least two hours before I have to leave the house just to factor in time for getting my dad up and going in the morning. And of course factor in my daughter getting married this coming Sunday, and you pretty much have the picture of my life lately. Some days it only takes a half an hour and those mornings are a blessing, actually allowing me the time to shower and take care of me. Other mornings I am still running back and forth like a maniac and tossing him PB&J on my way out the door, praying the traffic won't be too bad and I make it the four miles to work in time to open the door at 10. Well, not only have I not been updating this for a bit, but I haven't had many beads to add either. And here is a new photo of me in my new Ghost Trappers T-Shirt. I won it in a raffle on The Gamers Force website. Ghost Trappers is a Facebook game, which has a huge following and tons of special events players can participate in. Obviously I love it!!

Obviously I haven't made too many beads this summer yet, but I haven't given it up nor do I plan to. I am awaiting the delivery of my oxygen concentrator (which I think will occur in about two weeks time), and then will upgrade to a bigger torch with more flame control, as well as more heat and the ability to create far more beads in less time. I actually have put in a few torching sessions since the last post, but not many. Let me start back at the beginning . . . of summer that is. I hurt my back and then my shoulders, so obviously I took a few weeks off, and have been crazy busy with wedding plans ever since. Not to mention (okay I am mentioning it) the gem / bead shows I have been to and the one I was a vendor at. I have also been to a farmer's market as a vendor. It was awesome!!! I have had a lot of fun, learned even more and even figured out what sort of displays work and don't work for selling lampwork beads. Yay!!!

Hopefully once the wedding is over (this Sunday) I will find more free time and a bit more energy again. Plans are also in the works for me to reduce my days at work to four, which would benefit both my dad and me.

More Beads, of course

Well, it has been too long since I updated this so I will pop in here today and say a couple things.



First, my dad has been back home for a week today, and he is still very weak but glad to be home anyway. The doctor said the spot in his lung is a little bigger, but not a big worry yet. Not that they would operate anyway, but something to be aware of.

Second, I finally had enough energy to fire up my torch on Sunday afternoon and make a few beads. I swear this weekend I am doing nothing before I spend a few hours on the torch each day. I really need to get some things made for a couple of exchanges I am in and some things to sell as well.

I made a couple of cats (as usual) my favorite one cracked, darn it, but the other one is cute. I also made a couple of new things I hadn't tried. I got some tools called Tapley's Tongs and they make perfectly shaped lentil beads. I had longed for something to make those lovely lentils and it worked perfectly. I need to experiment a bit and see which sizes I will use the most and sell the others. I also tried making an alien, actually two, but one is not for public consumption. The last thing I tried which was new was a little focal bead with some cute blue bugs on it. The first cat I attempted is now known as the cat gone wrong since the bead release broke in the middle of shaping it. Anyway, I will let you come to your own conclusions.

Dad is in the hospital

Just thought I would let you all know we need all the positive energy we can get flowing this direction right now. My dad is in the hospital and we are waiting for test results, they have poked, prodded and scanned, and we have yet to hear anything from the doctor. Waiting is a horrible thing. Dad seems to be doing fine now, he was dehydrated following a short and intense illness, but is in good spirits now and they are finally feeding him. Two days with nothing to eat made him not too happy. If you know my dad, he loves his food. I think that runs in the family. He is having some skin issues, some bowels problems and got dehydrated very quickly. He had also had a cough for a few days, we thought it was an allergy, but who knows. Hopefully we will get more information tonight.

I'll keep you posted. Please keep him in your thoughts.

Wednesday night, or is it Thursday morning?

I hope to find a time for hitting the torch and melting glass either tomorrow or Friday, or both days with luck. Watch for beads to come.

While you are checking things out on the computer visit a fun site for a few minutes entertainment. It is on FaceBook, a great place to connect with friends and family in a safe atmosphere, and find tons of stuff to see and do. This is a fun slot machine game. Try it out. If it doesn't cost you anything it can't be gambling, right?!!

Finally, back on the torch again

I felt like my last weekend wasn't my own, even though it was Mother's Day. What's up with not doing what mom wants to do? Well, I can't really complain since I was treated well, worked to death, but fed, feted, and fondly remembered. I also got to see the latest Star Trek movie, which was fantastic. But, and trust me for me this is the deal breaker, I got no time to torch . . . melt glass . . . feel the heat . . . get my flame on. (Get the picture by now?)

This weekend was sooooo much better, even if it was a Friday and Saturday. Friday I said I didn't care what else was accomplished this week I was definitely making beads. About noon I turned on my kiln, and by 1:30 I fired up my torch and set some glass on fire . . . well, okay not on fire, but melty running fun anyway. Here is what was created in the process: three little cats, one of whom thinks he is going to take over the world by hypnosis and mind control, one who is a cross between a cat and a space alien, and one who my daughter says is the spitting image of my cat Baby. I also made a transparent blue organic bead wrapped in a bit of silver foil, a big organic bead in ivory, silvered ivory, light blue and turquoise. These were followed by a special order from my daughter. She said none of my glasses were grey enough to suit her but since her favorite color was green I should make her a green raccoon. Then in keeping with my trying to catch up with one of the glass groups I am in I made an olive, complete with pimento stuffing. Perfect picnic fare, or a lovely little addition to my martini. I may have to make more of these. I have been think about trying a little onion, too. Hmmm, maybe a whole new line of beads for me. Veggies made while you wait. Oh, and the wait on these is quite a while. From the time I finish making the bead and it going straight into the kiln to be annealed (about two hours) until the time the kiln actually cools down enough to open it is usually at least 6-8 hours. Sometimes I am impatiently tapping my foot, others I have given up and gone to bed.

This time I pulled the beads out of the kiln before going to bed, popped them in a nice bath of Dawn detergent and warm water and left them for morning. After removing them from the metal mandrels (no easy feat) and rinsing them again, I took them into the living room and let my 89-year-old dad take a look at them. He really loves the little raccoon. He found it hilarious my daughter wanting a green raccoon, but thinks it is pretty cute anyway.

I think my favorite bead type is the character bead, whether it is a cat, dog, or a raccoon. I like trying to give them personality. Now if I could just get good at the fine detailed little scroll work and dots I see in my head. I know, PPP (practice, practice, practice.)

Lampwork Bead Pendants on Parade

I thought I might as well make this it's own little post. Here is a photo (two put to gether actually) of the display of pendants in my daughter's area in the antique mall. The first photo shows the sign that hangs above the display. The top row has a stone pendant, and two rings in it, the rest are my original work.

Don't forget you can click on the photos and see them larger in more detail.

Been Crazy Busy, How About You??

Hi all!! Most of my absence is due to my being too exhausted to think straight. My daughter and her SO expanded their shop in the antique mall and added a whole new section which we filled with a huge new shipment which came in on Friday. So to start my weekend we were at the mall until 8 pm, then back there in the morning for over two hours. Some day off, huh?!! Then we went to about a half dozen outdoor locations looking at possible sites for the wedding. Did I tell you they finally set a date? On Sunday we met at the local coffee shop, Pacific Grind, for breakfast. They were so sweet and said I shouldn't be cooking on Mother's Day, and we had a wonderful time. We returned there for lunch, and continued the search for the “perfect” wedding site. We needed not only somewhere that had a beautiful spot for the ceremony, but also plenty of room to park, and wheelchair accessibility. Yikes, do you have any idea how hard it is to find a lovely treed natural spot that is wheelchair accessible? Take my word for it, hard!!! We finally found the perfect location, and it is in a state park about 5 miles south of us. Yay!!! My daughter asked the local coffee shop (our favorite) if they would be open to having an open house style wedding reception held there for a couple of hours later in the afternoon/evening on the day of the wedding. They are going to do it, so that will be interesting. Tess said she and Eric will pay for regular coffee for everyone, but if they want specialty coffee or tea drinks they will have to buy their own. Then to cap off the Mother's Day weekend festival we went to see the new Star Trek movie. It was amazing!!!! The only thing missing from my weekend was torch time. Which is probably why I am so exhausted. Flames calm me down and center me, and I didn't get any. Oh, that and the problem my dad has been having with his “intestinal” issues again. I think we have paraded up and down the hall to the bathroom on about a 1-2 hour interval since Sunday. Fortunately once he is asleep it seems to stop so at least the nights have been uninterrupted. I know he is as tired of it as I am. There is hope though because he has only been once so far today. Yay!!! The end (pun intended) is in sight!!!

I promise there will be bead photos later, along with photos of the new necklace display in the shop . . . all with my lampwork beads made into pendants. Yay!!!