Rita'z R-tistic Ramblez

Bad blogger

2011-09-27T15:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, I admit it. I am a bad blogger. I always say I will try to post more often, then fall short on my goals. So, I am going to make a promise to post at least twice a month. I can't ever seem to manage the daily or weekly, this will give me the option to increase the amount of posts without committing to something I fail at. I can post more then twice, and can fulfill it by even posting twice on the same day. (ok, maybe it's cheating but twice a month is twice a month)So here is post number 1 for this month. Hoping to be back soon ;) I forgot to say my sweet girl Cassie had a miserable tube removed today and we are all cheering for her!!!!

July 4th family fun

2011-07-05T21:12:00.000-07:00

We shopped for sausages, hot dogs and potato salad ingredients on Saturday. We thought the traffic flow might be a bit less, and due to the fact the salad is always better made a day ahead of time. The traffic was so horrible, the trip to the store which on a good day takes 15 minutes to drive there, and maybe an hour to shop if we take our time, was unbelievably long. The store was so crowded that at one point it took almost 15 minutes just to get from one aisle to the next. We finally got out of the store and it took nearly 30 minutes to get home. One of the clerks told us Friday was even worse, and by Sunday (from what my cousin told me) the food was nearly gone. Oh the joys of living in a tourist town.

Our family BBQ was held at Tess's ex, Brian's, home nearby, he has a bigger house, awesome grill, and big back yard.

Tess made her famous dill potato salad on Sunday, photo to come later since the one in my phone is horrible. It aged overnight, and was joined by a wonderful melon basket (much larger than we actually needed), hamburgers, hotdogs, a variety of sausages, and black and garlic stuffed green olives, along with a variety of chips, a bit of cottage cheese, and supposedly some maple smoked beans. I say supposedly since they were still in the microwave being reheated when Tess was packing up the food at the end of the night. Oh well, no one missed them.

While Tess was making the melon basket Cassie and I were playing a dress-up game on the computer. I will find out what the website is, I think even adults could spend some enjoyable time playing dress-up. She loved having me choose the outfits, accessories, etc. She kept telling me to choose the items I wanted since the character was ME! She is such a funny girl. She also wanted to take me on a tour of the house. It is her dad's house we were at, and I have been there dozens of times. What a silly kid. Her sister was horrified that I had "seen" her bedroom, since it was such a mess. (actually for Athena it wasn't all that bad)

We then discovered the olives, black for Cassie, and garlic stuffed green for me. The garlic stuffed ones were from Trader Joe's, provided courtesy of my "sis" Patricia. I think they are the best olives EVER!!! Brian, Tess, and I made them disappear rather quickly ;)

Tess then took the hamburger and put her spin on it, making wonderful savory burgers from simple ground beef, and started the grilling process. She is amazing with a BBQ, and the burgers, sausages, and hot dogs were cooked to perfection.

By the time we had finished eating my back was way past the point of surviving a walk to the beach and back sandwiched around sitting on the sand watching fireworks, so when Tess and Brian were taking a run to the store I hitched a ride back home. I am so glad I did, even though I missed seeing the girls set off their fireworks, I enjoyed the fireworks extravaganzas on TV accompanied by music. The fireworks ended about 10:30 pm here, but the neighbors, and nearby homes ended theirs around 1:15 am. So I really didn't get all that much sleep, evidenced by my taking a 2 hour nap this afternoon.

Cassie the farmer

2011-06-23T22:17:00.000-07:00

My daughter, Tess, took Cassie and I out for Chinese lunch today. We had a nice relaxed and delicious lunch and took our time getting back home. Cassie decided since school is out she wanted to come to grandma's house for the afternoon. That was around 3:30 pm.

After playing with necklaces for almost an hour, trying a pile of them on at one point and looking like a gypsy. She then tried making "pendulums" of them and swung them back and forth and said, "Grandma, this is like a clock." She tried about a dozen different ones, she also tried a couple of bracelets, finally deciding some of them were a bit heavier and swung a lot better than the rest.

We drew and colored birthday cards for my friends Jerry and Patricia's daughter Meg. We had a lot of fun and put a lot of love into them.

Next we decided to open (again) a package that had come from my friend Yamiko. She went through the treasure trove of stickers, oggled the beads, and decided which kitty picture was the cutest.

We also massaged each other's feet and legs with lotion, and snuggled for a bit.

After doing all the activities she could do on the floor she decided she wanted to check out some games on FaceBook. She clicked on my traps in MouseHunt and Ghost Trappers. She was delighted to find a new game from the creators of GT, Diviad, it is called Alien Visitors. She laughed, and ooohhed and aaaahhed looking at the cute aliens I had caught.
She asked me if I had any more fun games and I told her we could go check on my farms on Farmville, and she kept herself busy for a couple of hours. She laughed most at clicking on the various animals who were "ripe" and watching the farmer and dog running from one side of the farm to the other. She then discovered she could move the animals, trees and other landscaping around and rearranged both my farms. She also discovered there was a "storage" option and put a lot of the things I had out away. In fact she loved it so much she asked her mom if she could play it at her house too. Tess told her she had her own farm and would get it all logged in and ready so Cassie could play with it. I figure if it took her a couple of hours to move all the stuff around I ought to be able to get it all back in place in an hour or so.

She left for home at about 8:30 pm, and was laughing and telling her mom all about our adventures. It was a busy, and wonderful day.

Wow, it's been toooooo long

2011-05-24T19:11:00.000-07:00

Okay, I swear I am going to try to be a better blogger. It's not that I haven't had things going on interesting enough to post about. It's more like I have been too lazy to put my thoughts into words.

The most recent adventure in our family's lives was "Outdoor School." My daughter, Tess, her ex-husband and kids dad, Brian, and my oldest granddaughter, Athena, went to outdoor school for a week. Well, okay, it was just five days. Last year the fifth and sixth graders went, this year just the sixth graders.

Tess and I ran around like freaks trying to get food donations, and cooperation and assistance since she had, once again, volunteered to be the camp cook.

Last year there were 185 people. No one had arranged for a camp cook. None of the parents, who had volunteered to help serving meals wanted, nor were able, to cook for that many people. Tess, however took it all in stride and prepared food, 3 times a day, with very few supplies, and no spices. She is a spicy cook, so one afternoon she drove the gravel road about 15 miles round trip to get her herbs and spices and gallons and gallons of water and stuff to flavor it with. It's not that the camp doesn't have water, it's that the water is sulphur smelling, and kids just won't drink it.

This year she coordinated efforts with the people planning the camp and put together her list of proposed meals, looked at what they had already been promised, and figured out how many of this and how much of that would feed the 85 people for five days. I have no idea how she does it, but she is so good at cooking, food prep and menus I know she got that particular cooking gene from some alien somewhere. I would have fainted if it had been me in her place, or passed out from exhaustion and everyone would have starved to death. Not my girl, in fact this year the managers of the camp where it was held wanted to hire her to cook for some summer camps. The problem with that is she wouldn't see her girls, and summer is time for them to get the momma-time they miss out on during the school year.

While they were away at outdoor school, Tess's step-sister Kori and I were responsible for Cassie, my youngest granddaughter. She is 7 years old and in first grade, so it wasn't like we had her all day. However, Kori got her and her wheelchair to school each morning and delivered her to her classroom and left for work. I went at lunch time and catheterized her and made sure she was doing okay. I then went back when school got out to pick her up. For most people that would be a fairly easy task, for me (with a bad knee, hip, and back) it was a huge undertaking. Her classroom is quite a distance from the school entrance and the handicapped parking isn't exactly near the front door. The first day I got to her classroom just as they were starting their reading circle time, and Cassie wanted me to wait until the story was over. After about 20 minutes we finally took care of the things I was actually there for. When I picked her up after school I got her into her carseat, and one of the parents helped me get her wheelchair into the back of the Jeep. I headed off to work for a couple of hours with Cassie in tow. Fortunately I had arranged to have her with me, and the customers at the shop I work at were completely charmed by her sweet inquisitive manner. She sat at a table used by customers and staff, drew, colored and generally entertained people.

Needless to say the lifting and moving took a major toll on my back, knee and hip. I ended the week in the ER getting pain meds and spent the next week in bed, recliner and pain. This week is going better, but the strain on my back certainly was hard on me. I wouldn't trade the wonderful time we had together for anything, but I would like to be rid of the pain. The rest of the week when I picked her up we came back to my house and played, watched Mickey Mouse, and talked about all sorts of interesting things. She told me she had just found out she was Kori's niece. I asked her if she didn't know Kori was her aunt, but she said she knew that it was the niece part she had missed somehow. She has an amazing imagination and often tells me about the new idea she has for how she can fly, or what she can do to make her legs work so she can walk. She seems to accept her "disability" well most of the time, but conversations like that just break my heart.

Ending on a happy note is a good thing. Last week one of the days at school was pirate day. Tess always makes sure the girls have appropriate costumes for spirit week and other "themed" events. No one had told Tess it was pirate day and as she was wheeling Cassie into the school everyone was asking, "where's your costume, Cassie." As you can imagine Cassie was very upset and sad by the time she got to her classroom. She always is the center of attention and everyone looks to see what fascinating costumes she has. Tess promised her she would make her a pirate costume and be back really soon. So Tess called me as soon as she cleared the front door of the school and I got work on making her a "pirate" necklace. Tess frantically went through Cassie's clothes and finally settled on making her a pirate dress from one of the Christmas dresses (red check) and if you know Cassie you also know she is the pink princess and rarely wears any other color. Tess tattered the edges of the dress, both layers, and made her a vest from a T-shirt, found a sash, and boots. She then visited the nearby (I mean practically next door) Pirate Pastry Shop and bought her a pirate "do rag," an eye patch and a tattoo. She grabbed the Big Pirate Flag from Cassie's room and rushed back to the school. Needless to say her entire class gathered around her cheering for "Pirate Cassie" when she emerged from the bathroom in her new garb. The necklace I made using little purple skull beads and a skull key. Cassie told everyone it was the special key that opens all the pirate treasure chests. There was a special pirate assembly complete with people in costumes patterned after "Pirates of the Caribbean," and of course a treasure hunt (scavenger hunt style). The wonderful principal of the school was Cassie's escort. He whispered to Tess, "I know where all the things are hidden so she won't miss out on anything," and away they went gathering their loot.

The adventures of Mommy, Grandma and Cassie: The Pink Hair Caper.

2011-01-16T11:29:00.000-08:00

This week included a major celebration in our family. Cassie is finally back at school. This is her first time back since the end of October (right before her surgery). She had home tutoring to keep up with her class, but actually being in the same room with your friends is so much different. She also is being mainstreamed this year so she is in her regular classroom all day instead of being in the "options" class half the day. Progress is measured in small steps some weeks, but this was and is huge. A lot of credit goes to her teacher, Ms. Hunt. She is not only a wonderful teacher, she is a kind and compassionate person. Her first day back included her favorite outfit, Leopard spot long-sleeve T and matching tights (pink with spots of course), matching skirt, bright pink cowboy boots, topped by her faux black leather jacket, and her fuzzy pink vest. Of course this is all set off by her pink wheelchair. Naturally she wanted her hair sprayed pink to match. She loved her pink hair so much she couldn't resist rubbing it on her cheek, which in turn colored her cheeks a lovely pink. Once the boys in her class discovered her hair was pretty much a giant chalk-like crayon they all patted or rubbed her head on the way past her. Pretty soon the entire classroom had pink spots, smears, etc. all over the place. Momma brought a cupcake cake for all of them to share after lunch, and juice for everyone. She was the hero of the day, but Cassie was the star. On the way home Cassie said, "Momma, I want my hair dyed with the stuff that doesn't rub off." So, of course, we acquired the necessary equipment and proceeded to dye Cassie's hair PINK. I have included documentary evidence. ;) We really have no idea how long it will last, but it wasn't all that hard to apply. Cassie was very patient in spite of the fact 6-year-olds don't enjoy sitting still wrapped in plastic wrap for 1/2 hour while the dye soaks in.

My friend Jeremiah, upon reading the title of my post about this on Facebook asked, "ooh.. new RPG video game? I want pre-order info!"

I told him, "LOL, sure Jeremiah!! That'll be $49.95 (isn't that the going rate?) LOL, just check out the photos hun ;)"

To which he replied, "Yup!! can I download it straight from a site? LOL"

So I told him, "Will have to get my daughter and son-in-law to write the code first LOL"

As you can see I take myself seriously, I really hope you will also. Of course Cassie also told me, "Grandma, for my birthday I want to get pink dye and you get purple dye and we will both have pink and purple stripes." She also asked if I could do hers and she could do mine. LOL

Holiday blur

2011-01-11T14:14:00.001-08:00

That is the best description of the past month, a blur, confusion, fun, festivities, family, the usual holiday insanity in short. We planned our family gathering for Christmas eve, with as little last minute cooking as possible so Tess could have a good time, too. She and I made a last minute trip in search of the perfect gift for Cassie. When I say last minute I mean the 23rd, and really a last ditch effort to find what Cassie had asked for. This was sandwiched in between sewing on wild "rave" style legwarmers and kitty ears for the older girls, Athena and their cousin Kat, and making a custom marble pouch for my son-in-law Eric. Tess and I had been trying to figure out where and how to find a "bike" for Cassie. Those of you who read my blog realize Cassie is a paraplegic, so a bike she could ride without using her legs was crucial. We searched hand-powered bike for kids online and eventually found a forum where someone else with a child with Spina Bifida had been told about something called a PlasmaCar. On their website was a link for finding where you could buy them "locally." Well, there was a toy shop listed within 20 miles of us, of course they didn't have one anymore. So the next closest place (roughly 70 miles away) was a cute little toy shop in Albany, Frogs and Pollywogs.
We got lucky, the store had a PlasmaCar available, one, only one. AND they were kind enough to hold it for us after hearing our dilemma. It took us about an hour to leave town, and another nearly two hours to get there, but it was worth the drive. The smile on Cassie's face on Christmas eve was worth all of it.

Was our celebration perfect? Was it a festival of fun, food and family? The answer to that is a resounding YES!!!

Cassie's bath

2010-12-16T09:46:00.000-08:00

On Monday, Dec. 13, Cassie went back to Doernbecher, yet again. BUT, and it's a very big but, it was to remove the final tube from the outside of her belly. She told everyone who would listen she was keeping the inside ones. When she was called in for her appointment she was already in panic mode. Afraid of what was to come, but looking forward to getting the final step over with. As they followed the nurse she kept saying, "We need to go slow. Can you please be slow like Dr. Austin did?" The nurse asked her if she was walking too fast. When she was getting ready for the tube removal she was starting to hyperventilate, Dr. Austin told her to calm down. Then she kept sobbing and breathing hard and saying, I need to calm myself, I need to calm myself. This was all before he had done ANYTHING. LOL Momma told her to breathe (like Lamaze breathing). She started to breathe deep and hard, and again Dr. Austin told her to calm down. She asked him, "Can you please go slow like last time?" He told her fast would get it over sooner, but she wasn't too sure about that. She finally told him to go ahead. (she's amazing for a 6-year-old) He removed the final tube, wiped the blood off and put a bandage on the wound. The second he was done she popped up and threw her arms in the air saying, "I need a hug, Dr. Austin." He said she was the first child who had ever popped up so fast, and certainly the first to ask for a hug following this procedure. He said they were usually so caught up in the crying they didn't even notice him. Not our Cassie. She had her eyes on the prize, a real bath. She hadn't had a real bath for a month and a half.

So last night, after the wound had a couple of days to heal, she got her tub bath. She was the happiest girl in the world, surrounded by hot water and piles of bubbles. She didn't want to get out. Ever. LOL And who could blame her after a month and a half with . . . as my mom always called them "spit baths."

Best giveaway EVER!!!

2010-12-10T11:15:00.000-08:00

I just entered the best giveaway ever. It is from the great online and brick and mortar store Gamestop. Anyone with kids, or who is into gaming knows this name well. They have outdone themselves, and the prizes offered are well worth the few minutes it takes to enter. Check out my note, and click the first link in my note to enter yourself.

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?created&¬e_id=477698753497

Frozen windshields and pancakes

2010-12-03T14:17:00.001-08:00

My day started off way too early, and frozen. I woke to my alarm blasting to remind me I had a doctor's appointment this morning. I generally stay up fairly late and get up around 9 am or so. So, having a doctor appointment at 9:45 am put a cramp in my style, to say the least. However I was really glad I got up so early and got to witness the beautiful ice on my windshield. Of course the bad part of this story was my car's unwillingness to start. So since we couldn't get my car running with any sort of speed, I drove my daughter's Jeep to the doctor (an experience in itself).

Now on to the important stuff, an update on Cassie:

Cassie is home and doing fine. She has had most of the tubes removed and is starting to use the new catheter port next to her belly button. She will go and have the final tube removed in a week or so. Since she has missed an entire month of school and will miss a bit more (before the holidays), she has been working with a tutor. She is doing great, feeling better every day, and starting to move around on her own again. I think her favorite part of being home is getting to eat her mom's cooking, and having pancakes whenever she wants them. The dietitian has added instant breakfast to her food regimen as often as she wants. Since Cassie has been addicted to chocolate milk for a long time this is really a simple change. She weighs in at a mere 30 lbs. so needs all the calories she can get. As a 6-year-old she is definitely on the slender side, but with the lack of muscles in her legs it's not surprising she doesn't weigh as much as other kids her age. She has had visits from her best friend, and been out and about as much as possible, including going to her favorite Chinese restaurant.

Scary night and afternoon, but better now

2010-11-05T20:29:00.000-07:00

Cassie was vomiting and screaming during the night due to pain. So they took her way down on her morphine dosage thinking maybe that was causing the vomiting. It all started again this afternoon, so meanwhile they did x-rays, ultrasound etc., trying to figure out what was causing all the pain, and they all came back negative. So it is supposedly gas etc. as her bowels start working again. She was finally able to get a little rest as they increased her morphine again. Don't know whether I will be able to update again until Monday, but I will try.

Day 2 post op

2010-11-05T07:19:00.000-07:00

Cassie had a hard night Wednesday night. She wasn't breathing as deeply as they would like and ended up on oxygen a few times during the night. Thursday night though she was doing better, fever down, and complaining because no one had fed her or given her anything to drink. We played with the controls on her bed a bit and sat her up a bit straighter. If she continues to do well she will get some liquids on Friday. She was definitely doing better when I left, and I am heading up to see her in a few minutes now.

Mommy, daddy and I decided to try playing Monopoly. We are in the middle of a game. We photographed the board so we would know who had how many hotels, houses, etc. since we had to call it off so I could go back to my friend's house to eat dinner and sleep.

Day 2 post-op

2010-11-04T00:03:00.000-07:00

My gorgeous angel-girl, Cassie, had a long hard day. After being awake much of the night, once the anesthesia had worn off, mom and dad didn't get much sleep either. Grandma showed on the scene about 10:30 am and gave them a much needed break from being the person at the center of Cassie's universe. After Cassie discovered she was hooked up to a morphine pump, and that pushing the button was a way to fight back against the pain, the day progresses with a bit more humor. She wanted to hold the button, which mommy and daddy had been pushing for her originally. She knew there were several things hooked up to her that beeped periodically when they needed attention, like the infustion pump controlling the antibiotics, and the O2 monitor attached to her finger. She also knew she couldn't exactly control those beeps, although breathing deeper could make the O2 one stop beeping once it started. We were talking about the beeps, and other odd noises in the room and coming from the TV speaker.

Well, mom and dad were both on laptop computers and checking on various things, not really paying attention to Cassie and grandma. Suddenly the morphine pump went Beep-Beep, and daddy said, uhoh what was that. Cassie said, "Daddy, it was me." She loved the sound it made, but she also loved the fact she could control or at least effect the pain level she was experiencing. We talked about her pain, and that it would get better over the next few days. The nurse came in and wanted to move her to change the bedding. Cassie didn't want to be moved, she was very afraid of what it would do to the pain level. I tried to explain to her that yes, it would hurt worse for a minute or so but it would get better fast. I don't know whether she really believed me, but she knows I won't lie to her about things not hurting when in fact they do. So she agreed to being picked up if it meant she could lie in mommy's arms for a while. The nurse and I picked her up and gently slid her into Tess's arms, which was no small feat. She has 4 tubes coming from various location in her abdomen, and each tube is attached to a different drain pouch. They are each clipped onto her sheet when she is in bed, but had to be moved and reattached to her diaper for moving her. She is also attached to a couple of different IV lines and infusion pumps, and a picc-line. So it was interesting trying to make sure all the things moved in unison and nothing pulled on her tender little belly. She slept on mommy for nearly an hour, then wanted to go back to her bed. The photos on today's post show her smiling at the joke of her being the cause of the beeps, as well as a couple of shots of her various hoses and one special one of her just after being moved with mommy. She was still hurting there, but wanted her photo taken anyway.

Once she got back to bed, my being there gave Tess and Brian a chance to eat, and just breathe without worrying about her. They had a leisurely lunch break, and returned in time to find Cassie and grandma both asleep. Like I said, it was a hard day, but the fact Cassie was finally asleep meant we were making progress. Not too much later she woke up and wanted to paint, I know at last count she had completed four paintings and was looking forward to doing more tomorrow. She won't get anything to eat for at least another day or two, and won't get solids for about another week. This is probably the hardest part of all since she has always loved her food, especially her pancakes and scrambled eggs. She is getting nothing by mouth at this point in time, and didn't say a thing about it today. She is so tiny, I worry about her losing weight. She barely hits 30 pounds and at 6 years old there is none to spare. She is quite tall, but has always been very tiny due to her being such a busy girl. I know she will rebound quickly once she is allowed to eat, but until then we just keep hoping and praying she won't lose too much.

Post Surgery

2010-11-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday was brutally long and emotionally and physically exhausting for all of us. It was also a rousing success. The urologist we met with after her surgery said it was very successful. Her appendix was used to create new "ducts" from her kidneys to her bladder, and from her bladder to the outside of her belly. A piece of her small intestine was used in augmenting the size of her bladder. She has a small vertical incision below her belly button, and 5 tubes coming out of her belly in various places. By the time she comes home she will only have 3.

She won't get anything to eat for at least 2-3 days, and to start of course it will be clear liquids. For a girl who is all about the food, especially pancakes, this is going to be the hardest. She hates the broth they tried to give her the day before surgery, the only part of her tray she found edible was the jello and the apple juice.

Last night she got to video-chat with her sister, but can't sit up well enough yet to see the laptop screen, so mom and dad had to each take a side of her bed and hold the laptop so she could see and be seen. She was very happy to connect with her big sis, her cousin, and her aunt. I am heading off to see her on her first day post-surgery. She is a trooper, and asked if she could go home yet last night within an hour of awaking from the anesthetic.

Cassie and her impending surgery

2010-10-28T19:39:00.000-07:00

My littlest granddaughter, Cassie, the one with Spina Bifida will be having surgery next week. On Monday she will have a pic-line installed so they can easily infuse her without having her arms strapped to something. Since she uses them as her mobility, the doctors actually get it this time to put the IV somewhere else.

She is having bladder augmentation, which will expand the size of her bladder, and while they are at it, they will put in a port next to her belly button for self-catheterization. She is pretty excited about it. She knows she has to have an operation, and that it may cause her some discomfort. But she also knows she will be more grown up when it is over. At least that is her take on it right now. She will be in the hospital for at least a week, and out of school for up to six weeks. The surgeries require the coordination of 4 different doctors schedules, and a block of time of up to 12 hours. Her urologist, proctologist, neurosurgeon and pediatrician will all be in the OR. The neurosurgeon will be there just as a precaution since he oversees anything to do with her shunt, and it empties into her abdomen.

The proctologist will resection her large and small intestines for expanding her bladder size, and adding the belly port, the urologist will actually put the parts together and hopefully it will prevent her left kidney from failing due to backflush. The other doctor who will not have to be there for an extended period (doctor #5) will put in a special line for flushing her bowels from the top once she has healed from her other surgeries. This is another of the big girl things that is happening. I am sure if you look up Spina Bifida you will find references to exactly what I am talking about.

Suffice it to say, Grandma, Mommy, Daddy, Step-daddy and sissy are scared half to death just waiting for the surgery. All positive energy, prayers and good thoughts are more than welcome. I'll try to keep you posted post-surgery.

Hello again

2010-10-01T17:05:00.000-07:00

Thought I would pop in long enough to say I am no longer a moderator for one of my favorite facebook games, but am still enjoying my facebook time. I also have a boyfriend / new love in my life. No details except to say he is kind, gentle, sweet, amazing and someone worth risking my heart for.

I was injured at work in July, and haven't worked much since then. The first 6-8 weeks I was unable to return to even light-duty work, so my wonderful (NOT) bosses fired me. Nice, huh? I am doing much better now, and have even done some graphic design work for my old part-time employer. Life is starting to look up again, and I am getting going making some new styles of jewelry, and prepping my lampworking (torching) area for future use.

More to come soon, and hopefully some photos, to go with.

Hi there

2010-06-21T14:46:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I am a bit remiss in updating my blog. I know it, and I won't make any lame excuses, but I will say I have been a bit busy. In January I started doing beta testing for a new game on Facebook: Chronicles of Blood . . . a really wonderful game from Diviad, the creators of Ghost Trappers (another great Facebook game). Following months of beta-testing I was selected from the chosen few to be one of the moderators of CoB when it went public. What does a moderator do, you ask? Well, I have learned there is no easy answer to that, aside from to act as one of the "online Sheriff's possee" and to keep an eye on how players are treating each other. The multitude of ways people try to cheat the game itself and each other mystifies me. They can be very devious in their attempts, but the "mod-squad" tries to keep it all under control.

If you like monsters and vampires and all that entails, Chronicles of Blood may be right up your alley. I can't get enough of it myself. Check it out while you are visiting your Facebook page.

Cassie and the Bikers, our heroes

2009-12-08T15:30:00.000-08:00

My darling youngest granddaughter was a recipient of the generosity of Oregon A.B.A.T.E. who bought her a much-needed piece of equipment which the Oregon Health Plan had denied 11 times in the past two years. Thanks all you wonderful guys and gals in black leather!!!

Finally back again

2009-11-30T12:34:00.000-08:00

My most sincere apologies to those of you who thought I fell off the face of the earth. I am alive and well and attempting to keep up with life at this point. I will be adding photos tomorrow, so check back and see them, too.

I recently returned from the trip of a lifetime with my cousin Nick (he paid for it or I couldn't have gone), and his (my honorary) Aunt Kay. We went to "French Polynesia" aka Tahiti, in other words most people spoke Tahitian and French, and a few of them spoke English. The language of kindness, compassion, genuine warmth and friendliness was spoken by all.

We left the Portland airport early the morning of Nov. 6, flew into LAX, and departed there for Tahiti on Air Tahiti Nui arriving in Tahiti in the evening . . . and boy were my arms tired. Seriously though, the flight was filled with laughter, movies and pretty good airline food. The flight attendants wore four different uniforms by the end of the flight, and were kind, helpful and amazingly beautiful (handsome). The seats were hard, too close together, and very painful by the end of the 8-hour flight.

We spent the next couple of hours getting from the airport to our hotel, since the shuttle from the airport was taking people to a variety of hotels before ours. We waited on the bus for at least an hour before we even left the airport, it wasn't our fault we cleared customs faster than most since we were the wheelchair brigade. The hotel was beautiful, and the first room we went to was totally inappropriate for an 85-year-old, a 66-year-old disabled person, and a 56-year-old grandma who gets around, but not without a cane . . . it was a two story townhouse set-up, and pretty obviously not right for us. So, they called and found a different room we could have that was one level. The housekeepers came in and split the queen bed into two twins and made up the sofa bed as well. It was a good thing we had eaten on the plane since the dinners that night were $150 per person due to some fancy chef from Monte Carlo being there. The breakfast the next morning was $45 per person, so we opted to take a shuttle downtown and ate at a cute little outdoor fruit/food stand. I think our breakfast there was in the $25 range for the three of us. We stopped next door and bought postcards to send home. They worked out to be about $4-5 each including postage and made it back home the same day we did, it's all about timing.

Our day's agenda was to find some Polynesian shirts, an artisan's marketplace I had seen on the internet, and a pharmacy. The first place I saw was the pharmacy, which we went back to the next day. If I had known what bad shape Nick was in before we left the hotel, I would have suggested he stay in our room with room service . . . but he didn't and we had to deal with his being unable to walk more than a few feet at a time. He would collapse on his walker about every 2-3 minutes, and wasn't covering much territory as it was. We made it past the pharmacy, and halfway down a long block. I told him and Aunt Kay to rest for a few minutes while I scouted ahead a bit, locating a T-shirt shop and "The Market," returning to collect them and get them to the next resting spot. Aunt Kay kept up with me just fine as long as we could go at her pace, but Nick was another story. When he collapsed on his walker at the shirt shop he bent the front wheels, making it impossible to continue without relinquishing my walker (I opted for that instead of my cane since I knew we would be going a long way on broken pavement). It's a good thing I had the walker since he was unable to move without one. He bought several shirts to wear on the trip, and a couple for his brother as souvenirs. The lady at the shirt shop let us store the broken walker there until we were ready to head back to the hotel. (I forgot to mention what fun we had trying to get him on the shuttle to begin with. It seems they have no accommodation for handicapped passengers . . . such as a stool to help get in the vehicle . . . so a worker at the hotel crafted one swiftly from wood and we were able to get him in the big van.) Did I mention how nice the local people are? We went the half block (big blocks) to the market and Nick waited outside while Aunt Kay and I did some exploring. We entered this giant open-air building to find flowers and floral arrangements in every known color, fresh fruits and vegetables galore, hand-woven baskets and hats, Monoi products (coconut oil created the traditional way using either crab or shrimp and flowers), delicious baked goods, shells and shell jewelry, pareos in every color and style of decoration, and even a tattoo shop. Pareos are commonly referred to as a sarong in a lot of places. But the Tahitians use lots of traditional designs and fabrics, and hand-dye or paint most of them, including working into them the name of each island. I have pareos from each location and several tops made using pareos. Since the locals also wore them I knew they would be cool and comfortable, also made large enough for me. We went back and got Nick and headed back to the area where we had been dropped off. He had to stop several times and just rest before we made it, but we were finally in the area we had started (once around a city block). After getting him situated I went back around the block and collected the broken walker. Not an easy feat considering the front wheels wouldn't turn. I was much relieved when I realized we could hire a taxi for just a bit more than the shuttle fare had been. Our Taxi driver, Felix, spoke a little English. He got Nick in the front seat and managed to get both walkers in the back of his little SUV cab. He told us a bit of the history of Papeete and also about Moorea (the nearest island, also his birthplace). He said for $100 he would take us on a tour of the local area and help us find a market to shop for dinner and breakfast for the next day. He took us to a local religious site called the Fern Grotto, two beautiful caverns with lush vegetation. He helped Aunt Kay up the big hill to the top and even took our photo with a "medicine tree" he told us all about. He was a kind and generous man, and so very helpful and informative. Upon returning to the hotel we decided to have lunch in the restaurant, no matter the price. Fortunately there was a daily special that cost 2300 francs each or about $31 per person. Did I mention how expensive everything is in paradise?

For dinner we had fancy ramen noodles and local bananas,the flavor is unlike any banana any of us had tasted before. They were small like the sweet bananas found in Florida, but had a tangy flavor unique to Tahiti. The following morning we ate the rest of our bananas and local coconut bread and awaited the arrival of the shuttle to the beautiful Pacific Princess. From the moment we set foot on the ship we realized the crew was going to take very good care of us. Our cabin was a bit too small for three people, but we did have a deck outside where the coffee table lived when the sofa became a bed for Aunt Kay, and laughter was the best medicine of all. The heat in the tropics was both a welcome change and an exhausting nap-inducer. I don't remember ever sweating as much in my life. It seemed like every time I turned around . . . or walked more than three feet . . . I was soaked. Imagine feeling this way while pushing a wheelchair everywhere. Since the walker incident in downtown we decided the only option was a wheelchair, provided by the ship. We had left the broken walker at the hotel, and might as well have left the second one there as well since it spent the voyage living on the deck with the coffee table. Our steward, Geoffrey, introduced himself and made us very welcome. I told him a few of the things to be prepared for, and we took off on our first excursion aboard ship.

We headed immediately for lunch in the buffet, fortunately I had studied the deck plans in advance so knew where to find things. From our first bite we knew we would be well-fed. We were taken to a table where Nick was seated and waited on hand and foot. The Pacific Princess is a small ship compared to the ones that carry 2,000-3,000 passengers, carrying only 650 or so. Consequently there is less to do, but shorter distances between things made it a more pleasant journey for me. Nick's favorite part of the trip was spent in the Lotus Spa having daily massages and being wrapped in algae, seaweed and (as he said) tin foil and being baked. Aunt Kay spent a bit of time in the casino, and she and I went to the nightly entertainment one deck below our room. We even got Nick to go with us a few times. There were production shows featuring a group of young people singing and dancing, there was an older comedian who was very funny, one night there was a juggler (don't groan) he was not run-of-the-mill he was outstanding and hilarious with audience member assistants however unwilling. One night a lovely young woman sang opera and played the piano. All around the entertainment was just that . . . entertaining. We were back in our cabin by 10 pm most nights and gladly so since for some reason our bodies thought the time to get up was about 5 am.

And now about our dinners. The food was spectacular, but the best part was definitely our wonderful waiters and the couple we shared our table with. It was amazing to find ourselves at a table with a couple from Oregon, and even more amazing to find the wife's name to be Rita (same as me). We made fast friends and I really miss chatting with them each evening.

Our wonderful waiter Lucio and his assistant/wine steward Abu were so amazing we wanted to bring them home with us. He not only made sure we were swiftly seated, but helped me with Nick's wheelchair, cut his food for him and made sure we were well-fed and pampered. A couple of times they sought us out in the crowd in the atrium area outside the shops and brought Nick into the dining room when we were running late. Lucio was also our waiter in the mornings in the buffet, thanks to him spotting us heading into the buffet on our second morning on board and making sure we were seated in his section. One morning I waved to a beverage server we had befriended the first day on the ship and he came to our table to chat for a moment. Lucio (not knowing Jayson and I were friends) said, "No, he is not to get your beverages, Emil is." I told him I knew that, but Jayson and I were friends and he had stopped by to chat. Lucio smiled saying that was wonderful since Jayson was his "shipboard son, and he his shipboard father." I said that was wonderful since Jayson was also my shipboard son, and asked Lucio if that made him my shipboard husband. You should have seen the amazed look on his face. He stuttered trying to think of something to say as we all laughed at his shock. He came over and putting his hand on my shoulder said, "Is there anything you need sweetheart?" I told him, "No my darling, everything is wonderful." And so went the rest of the trip. I told him he was a wonderful husband and he told me he was a grandfather. I told him I was a grandmother so I didn't mind. I told him his wife was a lucky woman.

We found out our steward, and many other employees on the ship sign on for a year at a time. Most working for 10 months without a day off, then getting a two month holiday to spend with their families. I don't know how they do it. Lucio found out he was a grandfather after being home for three days. He said by the time he arrived home there was nothing to be done about it anyway, so it just hurt his feelings that it was hidden from him for fear of his being upset. They had wanted his first few days home to be happy and relaxing. He felt he had lost several days with the new grandchild and made his family swear to tell him everything immediately in the future.

The islands we went to were amazingly lush with vegetation. Do you know how many varieties of papaya, mango and breadfruit there are? I had no idea how many different heights and types of palm trees there are either. We saw noni-fruit, pineapples, mango and all sorts of other fruits growing along-side the road. Our taxi driver said no one in Tahiti goes hungry. Food grows wild everywhere, and no one is every turned away by a neighbor if he is truly hungry.

When we were on the island of Rangiroa Aunt Kay and I went on a glass-bottom boat ride. What a fascinating adventure that was!! Beautiful tropical fish, some sort of "pipe fish," huge eels, sand sharks, and even a manta ray. Wow, we were so lucky. Marcello, our tour guide, said he hadn't seen a manta ray for a long time. Even the snorklers who were nearby missed seeing it.

The people were beautiful, and had the most amazing hair. They said their skin and hair (especially the women's) is treated with Monoi (the traditionally made coconut oil). Most of the women allow their hair to grow long, many of the men, too, but short is acceptable. If they are seriously involved in dancing the girls and women let their hair grow long, the boys and men are often tattooed with traditional designs. Many of the women are too. The dancing is similar to what is found in Hawaii, since it too is Polynesian. We were treated to dancing exhibitions in a couple of different ports, but the one that stands out was in Raiatea. It was the only port aside from Papeete where we could dock directly instead of having to take small tender boats to the wharf. They brought a variety of children on board, the youngest being two 5-year-old girls, which of course I found interesting since I have a 5-year-old granddaughter. They were adorable and so photogenic. The older ladies (mamas) also brought a variety of leis and "crowns" for sale, so Aunt Kay, Nick and I ended up looking very Polynesian that night. The flowers smelled wonderful and made our cabin a lovely tropical place to sleep as well. Tiare Tahiti is a wonderful variety of gardenia and the scent is sweet and used in many of the varieties of monoi products along with ylang ylang.

We visited a lot of different local shops as we traveled around and I quickly became accustomed to the different money, interpreting prices for Aunt Kay. There were a few location that accepted US currency, including Rangiroa and Bora Bora. The exchange rate in Bora Bora being the best for local crafts, one dollar per hundred francs. Many places the exchange rate was 7000 francs per $100. Needless to say I bought a gift for myself in Bora Bora. I took an amazing underwater tour on something called an Aqua-Bike. Riding on something that was a cross between a motor-scooter and a submarine. The tour lasted about 2-1/2 hours including a wonderful boat ride around a large Motu (offshore island). We even saw a school of stingrays in shallow water (no we weren't in the water at the time). It was an amazing adventure, and my back is still peeling from the sunburn I got that day. My gift for myself, purchased at Baldini's, is a beautiful black circle pearl set in sterling silver and mother of pearl in the shape of a sea turtle (one of the special symbols of the islands). Nick sent me back the next day to buy three more for him to give as gifts. My pearl is a beautiful grade B peacock color. Those I found for him were different colors and all grade A in the same jewelry shop at the same price, but new merchandise the jeweler had just brought in that morning. It's all about timing, I guess.

We only got Nick off the boat in a tender in one location, Moorea. And the tour we went on was fascinating, unfortunately it was raining horribly so we couldn't really see much. We drove to the top of a mountain to have a wonderful view of the mountain known to fans of the movie South Pacific as Bali Hai. Fortunately we had seen it from our balcony on the ship first thing in the morning.

Our voyage was put on film at every port and at a couple of formal evenings. I don't normally wear much dressy stuff, but tried to be as dressy as I could with what was relatively cool and comfortable.

Each day brought new adventures both in and outside our cabin. My daily ritual began with preparing Nick's medications for the day. (He takes about 15 different types of pills and 2 different types of insulin shots. I got the meds ready for the entire day first thing each morning while my mind was fresh.) Then got us both dressed and headed out the door with the assistance of Geoffrey. I knew we would return to an immaculate cabin, and a big welcome back smile and friendly greeting for Aunt Kay, "Sir" Nick and me.

I had no idea what I was getting into when I said of course I wanted to go on a wonderful vacation with them. I don't remember working this hard for most of the past 10 years. The rewards were a lot of laughter, and seeing Nick enjoy the times he was able to. I am still tired and we have been home for a week and a half now. But looking back I wouldn't change a thing, and I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Good grief this summer is flying past

2009-08-13T13:31:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-05T16:48:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-25T15:12:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-05-21T00:03:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-17T15:29:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-16T00:55:00.000-07:00

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??

2009-05-14T10:39:00.000-07:00

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!!!

Latest batch of beads and more

2009-04-20T22:53:00.000-07:00

Well, the city-wide garage sales were held this past weekend and I actually had time off to go to them for a change. My daughter and I went to quite a few the first morning, then after lunch her SO joined us and the three of us hit several more. That evening we took all our "finds" to the antique mall and priced and displayed them. We had even sold a few items come Sunday. We went back out for a while on Saturday, too, just didn't find much.

Well, the city-wide garage sales were held this past weekend and I actually had time off to go to them for a change. My daughter and I went to quite a few the first morning, then after lunch her SO joined us and the three of us hit several more. That evening we took all our "finds" to the antique mall and priced and displayed them. We had even sold a few items come Sunday. We went back out for a while on Saturday, too, just didn't find much.

Saturday night my dad's lift chair broke. I wasn't at all sure what we were going to do about that, but at 89 not having one was NOT an option.

After my daughter arrived, after her SO had spent hours trying to repair the broken chair to no avail, she said she remembered reading in one of the ads a sale actually had a lift chair for sale. We checked the ads and sure enough there had been one, a one day only sale, Saturday. We took the chance of it being a typo or the people being home. The house was obviously unoccupied, or a vacation home. We found the security patrol and he told us who owned the home or at least who was having the sale. Fortunately we knew him, he still had the chair and would let me make payments. It was $300, which was what it had cost for a repairman the last time the chair had broken. This time the chair wouldn't have been able to be repaired. It had a broken weld in a major frame structure. Darned thing.

Dad has his new lift chair now and is very happy with the easy controller and the comfort. Yea!!! Here are my beads from Sunday. I got interrupted several times and still managed to squeak out four beads. Not bad considering I only had about an hour on the torch. The bead with flowers is based on a color challenge using the initials in your name. I used my maiden name so I would have three colors: red, lavender, and celery green. I also made a bead inspired by something I see on a daily basis, my crazy cat Baby, also known as Baby Bob (by my youngest granddaughter), Robert Kitten (by me), and Bob (by my dad). The bead with the goldstone center is a spin on a bead I made last week. Someone told me I should do several in different shapes and make a necklace or bracelet from them. I really like the idea, and plan more soon. The final bead is one that is a continuation of the exploration of black, raku and goldstone. I like this combination very much, what do you think?

Here are the beads I didn't get uploaded a couple days ago

2009-04-09T22:27:00.000-07:00

I don't know if there is much here, but here they are any way. First off are the purple hearts and butterflies I made for Beads of Courage. These are my first attempts at butterflies, so don't laugh.
Okay go ahead and laugh a little, I did, too. I really want to make them more realistic, but I don't think that is in the cards at this point. I will make some more cartoony butterflies this weekend. I know I will find a few hours of torch time in store for me then.

It's Sunday, what's that mean? More BEADS!!!

2009-04-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

I spent several hours yesterday and today both creating glass beads. I have no clue what the ones I made today will look like, but the ones I made yesterday are great!!! I am really happy with them all. Check them out and tell me what you think. If you want to see them bigger, just click on the photos. Today I made several beads for Beads of Courage, if you don't know what that is, please click on the name and it will take you to their website. It is a really important program supported in part by fellow glass melters like me. Look through the information there and figure out where you can help out.

I will be back later tonight after the kiln cools and show you what I made today. It is warm and beautiful here today, of course the kitchen area is really warm, the torch has been going for over four hours and the kiln has been on for six.

The cat is trying really hard to drive me crazy. I let him in not more than five minutes ago and now he is crying to go back out. This is a pretty normal activity around our house. I just can't get a cat door because there are too many animals in our neighborhood who would love nothing more than to sneak into our house and go on a scavenger hunt. Not the least of which are raccoons. They got into my daughter's home last summer and destroyed half her kitchen and ate everything that wasn't either canned or in the refrigerator. What a disaster area it was when they were through.

Dad and I both have a cold / flu right now and are trying to get over the cough. It has been an uphill battle and I don't see the end in sight. Hoping a cold is all it is. If so it will be over in another 5-6 days at most.

Sunday again

2009-03-29T18:33:00.000-07:00

My goodness the last week passed in a blur. It was spring break in Oregon, and the central Oregon coast is a popular destination. The place I work is an antique mall and consequently tourism driven like many local businesses. The horrible traffic and long hours paid off with lots of sales and sore knees. I was longing to get back to the torch, but at the end of the day just too tired. So yesterday and today I spent many hours with flames and melting glass. Yea!!! Some of the things I made even worked out as well coming out of the kiln as they did going in. The photos are of what I found when I opened the kiln last night. I am hoping for an even better showing tonight. I especially like the long SW colored bead, the cute little cat (with a crack, darn it), and the pea pod. I finished up a lot of beads I needed for a Sock Hop exchange I am in, as well as the crazy looking one that was an assignment for an online class I am taking. Overall I am pretty happy with the results of over three hours spent melting glass. What do you think?

My Blog got an award!!!

2009-03-23T23:55:00.000-07:00

My friend Louise, from Fireseed, gave my blog an award for exhibiting either gratitude or a great attitude. I am very honored and humbled to receive this prestigious award. Here is what it’s all about:

The Lemonade Award is given to sites which the giver thinks show either great attitude and or gratitude.
The rules for these awards are:
1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3. Nominate 10 other blogs.
4. Add links to those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs

I don’t think I’ll make it to link to ten other blogs but here are some for starters!

They are not just my friends, but they are incredible designers / flameworkers / silversmiths, but also fabulous promoters of their own work and the work of others!! Thanks for all you do!!

Pam The Blue Between
Maggie Bead Towne
Gwen Valley Creek Studio
Cheryl Lavender Cottage
Angela Blue Lagoon Blog
Barrie Barrie's Jewelry World
Deronda Deronda Designs

Well, nothing much new today. Got my beads out of the soak this morning and there are a couple of good ones some mediocre ones and some really bad ones. Oh well, at least I made some. I also know now why Louise makes Monkees and I make cats, and skulls. The monkeys that survived are sort of like Larry, Moe and Curly. One of the peapods has a crack in the back and the other one has a sharp spot (I am going to try filing down). Yikes. But dang it one of my skulls had its pupil pop off. I was so focused on heating and reheating I forgot to melt them in a bit. At least there are a couple of things that actually worked. That's what I get for trying to make Sock Hop beads. I made five spacers on one mandrel, but only have four because I have no clue where one of them went to. It came off the mandrel hit the kitchen floor and shot off somewhere. Dad says I will find it with my bare feet after I have forgotten about it.
From the final bead you will see I even tried pulling twisty, quite an feat for someone who has never really been taught to pull stringer.

Friday is here, the calendar says it's spring . . where is it?

2009-03-20T11:15:00.000-07:00

Just a quick drive by to say I had a fantastic time torching last night. I didn't make much, but what I did is great. Here is a preview of what I made. See if you can identify it:

I'll be back later with the rest of the beads. Suffice it to say this was definitely my favorite. How fun is this!!! I also made a ruffled bead, a purple and turquoise bead and some little ivory spacers (4-on a rod) just to see if I could.

As promised, here are the others. Some little dark ivory spacers, a wavy bead made with copper green and silvered ivory stringer (SIS to glassy folks) over Opal yellow. I heated gravity swirled and crimped it, then reduced it to bring out the metallic shine. Then I made a bead that is nearly 1.25" (31mm) high using a dark ivory base with turquoise and EDP (Evil Devitrifying Purple-I love it!!) and SIS, then squished and dotted and melted and dotted with transparent purple. Isn't it a cool bead. I made the back flat so it would lie nicely when worn. Don't forget if you want to see them bigger, just click on them.

Happy St. Patty's Day!!

2009-03-17T11:42:00.000-07:00

Sure and begorrah, 'tis time for the wearin' of the green. And taking a page from me own grandma's history I thought it would be nice to green up my blog a bit. The peapod me comes courtesy of a fun bead I made a couple of days ago. A peapod. I made it to go with a pair of socks for a Sock and Bead exchange on Wet Canvas. Speaking of Wet Canvas, have you checked out the Etsy shops of my WETsy group? We are offering free shipping and green goodie specials during the month of March in honor of St. Patty himself. Click on the link to the right and visit the shops of the participants. Find the pot of gold in their listings, buy something wonderful and reap the rewards, not to mention seeing some really wonderful hand made goodies.

Here are the beads I made on Sunday. Wow, was it fun. You will see from the wild and crazy things I have been making I am making some serious progress on my glassy skills. The little dotty beads were great practice, and show that my ppp (practice, practice, practice) has finally paid off. The little fish is pretty fun, and a new touch is adding a second color to the tail. The peapod was such fun and frustration to make. Have you ever wondered how people add melty glass to already melty glass, keeping it hot enough to keep from cracking, while building up more layers and not letting the previous one melt? Sound confusing? Well, let me tell ya, it is a lot more than confusing. It is also frustrating, insane, and just darned hard. I don't know what I was thinking even attempting it. But, it was fun, and I am so happy it worked. Next time I am going to remember to get out more than one green before I start and see if I can't make the little cap a different green, and maybe the peas, too. The skulls have become one of my usual things. This time, though, I tried to make a floral bead which was going fairly well for a while, and then went a bit wonky. I remembered my friend and mentor, Maggie, always says if a bead goes bad she makes it into a shell. Well shells are her hallmark and skulls are mine, so the purple skull started life as a floral bead, but I like it even better as a skull. What to you think? The cat was the most fun of all, He had a mind of his own. He said he wanted to be a Gremlin (Mogwai) or Yoda, or at least play a bit on the typical cat-like appearance. I let him have his way, and I am so happy he is mine. A tiny piece of his tail popped off (on the back side) while I was building him and I won't sell him like that. Of course I think he is pretty happy where he is.

TGIHD

2009-03-11T12:53:00.002-07:00

Thank God/ goddess (according to your beliefs) it is finally Wednesday. I have hope of making it to the weekend. I heated up the kiln at about 7:30 pm hoping to get dad off to bed at 8 pm and torch right away.
Instead I nodded off, he stayed up until 8:45 and I got him to bed then. So my torching adventure didn't begin until a few minutes after 9 pm. I was feeling a bit tired, but as soon as I fired that baby up the energy came flooding back. I focused on a skull to start with, then moved on to fish and finished up with a cat. The skull is for my OWOH winner, and the cat was just because I wanted to. The fish were, well, practice on what I had tried to learn a couple of days ago. I am still trying to perfect my stringer work, fins, etc. It is so hard to melt in the things you want without melting stuff you don't want melted. Thinking the new torch idea is valid.

I got a call from the Veteran's Hospital in Portland and my cousin is back in the hospital again, with a toe infection again. He is a diabetic and doesn't exactly do what is best for him. I know it must be hard to behave, but it is his life that is at risk. He will be their guest for the next few days, then we have to figure out how to get him and his vehicle back to Lincoln City. He drove himself up there for a "routine" office visit. Not so much.

I hope your week is going well. Mine is moving right along with the addition of new styles of beads, and new glass. Fun is in store for the weekend for sure.

TGIHD

2009-03-11T12:53:00.001-07:00

2009-03-09T12:08:00.000-07:00

Here are the latest beads I made. I am in an animal exchange on TorchBugs.com and had no clue how to make animals, or what sort to try. Friday night I made a cat that was laughable. So I set out last night to make one I would like. I figured I would start by making something I know how to make . . . a skull. Next I made a cat. I thought keeping it simple would be the best idea, it worked. I love the little guy and now I want to make a bunch more. Then I thought I would like to play with some reactive glass and see what happened so I made a little test bead. It turned out great and I really love the way the colors play nice together. I then made the piece I really love and will make a ton more of . . . drumroll please . . . a fish!!!! I LOVED MAKING HIM AND HE TURNED OUT GREAT. Okay so he has a fin that's a bit short on one side, but look how far it got Nemo!!!

5/5 Meme

2009-03-05T12:33:00.000-08:00

My friend Louise, Fireseed, tagged me in her "5/5 Meme" post. I thought I would give it a shot. Who knows what I will find, it could be fun, finding a folder with images, clicking on the fifth folder inside it and picking the fifth image to post.

Sounds easy, right?

Sounds like it could be fun! But who the heck knows if I have nested any of my photo folders. I just might have to organize them again first, then choose 5/5.

The photo above is my 5/5 at work. It is a photo of my friend Barrie's cat I put in my inspiration folder. When I am having a crappy day at work I look in there for something to lift my spirits, or give me a laugh, or maybe even inspire a new bead. Well, I got home and checked my folders, the fifth one contained all the beads I have made to date, so I was naughty and skipped that one since i have already posted all the beads and found a cute photo of my cousin Bob's dog, Jammers. Isn't he adorable!!!?!!!

You five ladies may have done it before or something similar - but just in case you haven't, here are the rules!

Here’s how to play:
1. Open a file folder
2. Click on the fifth folder.
3. Click on the fifth photo.
4. Post the photo and describe it.
5. Tag five other bloggers for the Meme.

So here goes with the tagging:

Barrie (only fair, since her cat is the one in the photo)
Gwen
Pam
Angela
Dawn

Spread the Love Award

2009-03-01T16:06:00.000-08:00

Thank you Barrie, ( Barrie's Jewelry World ) for giving me this wonderful award! Just think, an award for doing what I normally do!! How cool is that?! In turn, I get to award it to 5 deserving others! It will be tough since she is one of the people I would have chosen, as are her other recipients! The award is supposed to go to people who take the time to leave a comment, or a word of encouragement, or a compliment on something that I created. Here are the rules:
1. The winner may put the logo on their blog.
2. Put a link to the person who sent you the award.
3. Nominate 5 blogs.
4. Put links to their blogs.
5. Leave a message for your nominees.

Here are my nominees:
1. Mallory of For the Love of Beads
2. Nancy of Nancy's Arts, Crafts and Favorites
3. Paula of Life on the Island
4. Trish of Sun Daisy Glass
5. Cheryl of Lavender Cottage

All five so deserve much more, and I am honored to call them my friends!! Visit their blogs and their wonderful shops on Etsy, too.

It's March Madness in the Land of Team WETSY!

2009-03-01T13:36:00.000-08:00

Look for a pot of gold hidden somewhere in each of these shops, buy something from the seller and make sure to mention which listing in their shop the pot of gold is hidden in, and receive their special offer. Make sure you wait for a new invoice before paying IF the offer includes free shipping. Click on the shop name and it will take you directly to their shops on Etsy. Mine are the last two shops listed at the bottom of this post. Please visit mine, too!!! Thanks!!!

Bead Towne
Free shipping and a green glass surprise to anyone who mentions finding the pot of gold.

Fireseed
A green glass surprise to anyone who mentions finding the pot of gold.

D White Creations
Free shipping on jewelry for the month of March.

Lavender Cottage
Free shipping when the Pot-o-Gold is mentioned, plus a free pair of Petite Wrapped Hoops.

The Blue Between
Free shipping if they mention finding the pot o' gold graphic

Andeesigns
Free shipping on all items except earrings during March if the buyer mentions the pot of gold during checkout.

Sun Daisy Glass
Free shipping for finding the pot of gold.

Do Bead Do
Free shipping on all items for the month of March.

Diane Hawkey
Free shipping plus a gift with every order for mentioning pot of gold.

Glass by GirlFriday1962
Free shipping on the person who buys the hidden pot of gold item.

Starlight Designs
FREE SHIPPING and a green goody surprise!

Cassandra Designs, our jewelry
Xhule, an artistic land of darkness and light
Free shipping and a bonus gift on both shops with mention of finding the pot of gold and telling me which listing it was in.

Thanks for stopping by my blog, and please visit my shops and those of Team WETsy for some great gift ideas!!

Wow, another weekend shot to heck!!

2009-02-22T19:19:00.000-08:00

I try to spend some time every weekend working on my beads, or making jewelry, or something creative. This weekend was no exception, aside from the fact i had an audience for my first bead. My son was here visiting and got to watch me set up and make my first bead of a two hour session last night. It is a beautiful SW inspired swirly bead. I am so in love with the SW colors right now and how they play together an make interesting things happen. My base bead was ASK Tribal Turquoise, I added Effetre Dark Ivory, some Silvered Ivory Stringer (SIS), a bit of coral stringer, and let them all play together. After I thought they had done their jobs I did some swirls with a clear stringer, and popped that bead in the crock-pot. Then I moved on to Transparent Effetre Amber, rolled in Ocelot Spot frit and rounded up nicely. In fact I liked it so much I did five beads with this combination. I followed that with another trans amber bead, wrapped in silver leaf, dipped it in the ocelot spot frit and wrapped a single strand of clear stringer around it, and rounded it up, then squished it into a rectangular shape. I think I like it. Gosh, I love playing with fire. I hope you like what I have made.

The next session at the torch will have to include some skulls and things to match socks for a sock bead exchange I am in. Then I have to think about what sort of animal I can sculpt with hot glass. I am in an animal exchange, too. Yikes, nothing like pushing myself to grow, huh!!

One World One Heart-CLOSED

2009-02-12T09:08:00.000-08:00

Well, the crazy gypsy caravan ride that is One World One Heart, the brain child of Lisa Swifka has come to an end for this year.
Drummroll please . . . the winner is: POLINKA from France. Now all she has to do is choose heart or skull bead, and the print of her choice from my Etsy art shop, Xhule.

POLINKA, if you did not get my email, please let me know here.

Here are a couple more skulls, I can make them pretty wild and colorful, too. Click on the photo for a closer look.

Another week gone, and here I am

2009-02-09T00:56:00.000-08:00

Another week of 2009 gone already. Amazing how fast this crazy world spins on its way. I got back on the torch Friday night and made three beads, made three more tonight. Hoping they turn out okay. Friday night I made an organic bead and tried making a swirl in the glass (my first attempt) which kind of worked, I also made a shell, the lip is a bit odd, but more interesting in color due to the Vetrofond Painted Desert glass I used. The final bead I made was a skull, special for my granddaughter Athena. She is a girly-girl and a tomboy. She loves all things skull, and her favorite color is blue or turquoise, hence the color. I wrapped a clear base bead in goldstone stringer and encased that in clear, then I pressed it and shaped it and added its turquoise eyes and bow and little Silvered Ivory Stringer teeth. I had a ton of fun making them, what do you think? Tomorrow I will try to get tonight's batch photoed and posted, too. Until then . . . have fun. If life's not fun . . . you're doing it wrong.

Sunday night, where did my weekend go?

2009-02-01T23:50:00.000-08:00

Yesterday while Tess and I were off shopping for both houses my phone rang and it was Lifeline calling to tell me dad had fallen and the ambulance had been called. We had a cart full of stuff and really needed to finish and pay for the things and take them home. So we called Eric and he ran over to be with dad. He found him on the floor with his hand bleeding, and rode with him to the hospital. We ran the groceries home and met them there. By the time we got to the hospital dad had gone to xray and was in fairly good humor. His ribs are bruised, his hand has a horrible tear in the skin (he is 89 and has really fragile skin), his glasses were in pieces (he landed on them), he had a skinned spot on top of his head, and his left knee is skinned a bit too. Kind of like rug burn. Aside from that and being stiff and sore today he came through it pretty well. It scares me so much when he is alone. Not a fun thing at all. He is really weak and has a hard time getting around even when I am here to help him.

I actually did get in a couple of sessions of bead making, the first batch was horrible because I had to torch turned up too high and pretty much smoked them. The second batch is great, but my favorite one cracked right down the middle. I will try it again, though, now I have a handle on how to do that sort of bead. Here they are, I had hoped to have a bit more time and energy for bead making, but the stress of dad falling and the fact we are both getting over a cold kind of prevented that. Dont forget you can click on the photos to make them bigger. Of course the photo at the top is of the smoked batch, so you can probably skip that one.

Paul and Natane brought a turkey over to bake and we all watched the Superbowl game. Except for a side trip for Tess and I to buy a few things at Safeway while the sale was still going on soda. (four 12-packs for $7.99, how can you beat that!!)

The other exciting thing that happened was me getting my SRA number. It means I am officially a Self-Representing Artist in beadmaking!!! Yea!!!

One World One Heart Giveaway

2009-01-28T16:24:00.000-08:00

I have entered the giveaways on several people's blogs and I think it is time for me to join in the fun. My giveaway is for one of my handmade beads in your choice of two colors, in addition I will include one of my prints see the prints at my etsy art shop. Your bead can be either a heart or a skull, depending on whether your heart is bright and playful or hides a dark center like my fun skulls. Here are some samples of the beads I made last night. I promise yours won't be smoked like a few of these.
Just leave me a comment and on Feb. 12th one of my granddaughters will draw out the winner. Be sure to visit the other participants. There are tons of folks participating so you can have chances to win lots of great things. Above all else, have fun!!! What a great way to connect with other bloggers.

Success and failure

2009-01-26T13:45:00.000-08:00

Here are my latest beads. The gravity heart was fun to make, and I really like the way it turned out. The shell was the result of trying to learn how to do a gravity bead, and deciding my friend Maggie was right when she said if it isn't working she turns things into a shell. This is the first one I have made and not had it lose its lip before I could get it off the mandrel. I guess I heated it right and didn't make the lip too thin!! Yea!!! The diamond shaped one was a test run for my new diamond shaped press. Not too bad considering I hadn't used it before and had no idea how much glass to use. I had one bead crack and fall of the mandrel while I was making it, from not reheating it while I was checking out my frit. I had one that made a cracking noise which fell apart when I tried to remove the mandrel, guess I forgot to flash it before rewarming after trying to dot it. Oh well, live and learn, and learn, and learn . . .

Looky what I made

2009-01-25T12:42:00.000-08:00

I bought this beautiful bead for my daughter from a dear friend, Pam Brisse, otherwise known as TheBlueBetween on wet canvas and etsy. Her work is amazing, and I knew Tess would love this bead made into a pendant. I didn't know at the time I ordered the bead she would include the heart shaped tie-dye one, too. I love tie-dye. I have at least a half dozen tie-dyed shirts and somewhere I have a tie-dyed jumper, too. I have always loved it, but the brilliant colors you can find nowadays really kick started my obsession with it all over again. (dont forget you can click on the photos and see them bigger) I even bought a tie-dye kit and some white t-shirts. Just haven't dared try it yet. Must get back to bead making later, and see what I can do with my new press. It is a small one in a diamond shape, maybe I can even make a bead with it. I also want to try some different frit combinations, and a couple of simple things in clear glass with frit. I am hoping to get started on my "Dead of Winter" exchange beads. I will let you know what I come up with. You never know what will work out best until you try a few different combinations. Of course I want mine to be "different" and me. I have no idea what that means, but I will if I figure it out!!!

I totally forgot to mention going to a concert Friday night with my cousins Nick and Marty. We saw Creedence Clearwater Revisited, they totally rock!!! Wow, was it ever fun. Of course it didn't hurt we had gone to the seafood buffet first. Great food, great music, and great company. How can you miss!!

I got an award!!!

2009-01-20T09:50:00.000-08:00

My dear friend Andee, from Duseldorf, Germany, awarded my blog with the Proximade-Award - thank you, Andee! :)

Proximidade is described as follows:
'This blog invests and believes in PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes for self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers!'

The rules are: This blog award should be sent to your favorite eight bloggers and they, in turn should forward to eight of their favorites. You should include the text for Proximidade (above) in your announcement blog.

So, now I've got to pass this award to 8 wonderful people, and I choose:

Michelle
Nancy
Louise
Mallory
Paula
Deronda
Angela
Capt. Elaine

How to win a Cookie Book from Martha

2009-01-20T09:24:00.000-08:00

Cindy C. at Laughing Glass Beads is having a cookbook giveaway on her blog. Click on the link and look for the Martha Stewart Cookie Book, read the instructions and enter. You might win. I really hope not because I want the book :D just thought I should give you a chance, too.

Playing with Fire

2009-01-19T10:50:00.000-08:00

The first photo is of the group from last night with flash, the second without flash, and then the funny colored hearts (one has a boo-boo next to its stringing hole) and the cute little bat. Click on the photos to see them up close.

What you ask could I be talking about, well, if that is the case you obviously aren't a flameworker, glass melter, torch fiend like me. I discovered last night part of the attraction to the torch has to be the time spent with a really bright light in your face. When I finished last night I felt like I had spent an hour or so in the sun. And this was with special glasses on to protect my eyes. I think the addiction to the torch comes from my pathological need for sunlight. I don't like bright sunlight shining in my eyes, but I love the feel of it on my skin. I think the torch is like that. The eyes need to be protected, but the hands and face love the heat produced by the torch.

I played with another of Lori Peterson's tutorials, how to make a bat. Tess's friend Cori is crazy about them, so I thought it would be fun to make one for her. I just hope its little wings stay on. I also made a couple of hearts with one of Vetrofond's Oddly Odd colors Cosmic Storm - I think they look like wood grain, which is a totally different effect than I was imagining given the name, another black with raku frit, and a big turquoise bead with coral flower which totally lost its shape, oh well. I also did another skull in dark ivory, and a little lt. silver plum shell, which lost its lip right as I was taking it off the mandrel. Oh well, I am not giving up on making shells, I think I just need to make them a bit bigger and make the lip a little thicker next time. All in all I had fun, and that's what it is all about.

A new twist

2009-01-17T20:32:00.000-08:00

I decided to try new things in my glass bead making. Since I really like skulls, and one of my daughter's friends is crazy about bats, I got a tutorial for Halloween beads from Lori Peterson. I also wanted to try some colors that have reactions with other colors, like using turquoise for the base color and then decorating with a color that doesn't move around too much, so I practiced my stringer dot placement on one bead, melted it in and then pressed it and added dots of ivory. I think it turned out pretty well since I am so new to all this. I love the little skulls, and even added a bow to the little one. I also thought I wanted to try making a bone bead. I bought some fabulous sculptural beads from my friend Paula, a cat for me and a cute little dachshund for my cousin Nick and had wanted to add a bone or two to a necklace for him. The one you see in the photo here was my first attempt. I think it worked out pretty well, don't you?! I also tried putting a flower on a heart, not so great, huh. Well, I knew I could make a heart of purple for the Beads of Courage. I finished with a perfectly round black bead dipped in raku iris orange frit, reduced and turned into pretty metallic spots. I love the shiny finish, don't you?!! Don't forget you can click on the photo to make it larger, oh, and click on the names of my friends and visit their shops.

My collected works

2009-01-10T21:51:00.000-08:00

I wrote this Friday night.

At about 9:15 pm, after getting dad to bed, the power went out and has not come back on yet. It is 9:40, and who knows when it will be back, if at all tonight. I figured I could at least get a bit of the day on paper, virtual at that. Did some running around before and after work. Got an amazing bead from my friend Debby in the mail today. WOW!!! She hit my tastes right on the head. I can picture wearing this bead as a pendant until I am 102. It is amazing. I just hope I can find the design of pendant that will do it justice. i will add the photo after I remember to take a picture of it. Wonderful and detailed work!!! The other exciting thing that arrived today was some of those cigar box bead boxes from the bead box man on Etsy. Nice. I put all the beads I have made (except the ones that cracked, and the first two days which I can't seem to locate) in one box, and they make a really impressive showing. I actually like a lot of them, and love a few. Yea!!! My dad was amazed when he looked in the box at how terrific they look together.

I photographed last night's beads and they are fabulous if I do say so myself. The tab is kind of funky due to not knowing how much glass it would take, but I like it anyway. The hearts came out great, and the murrini bead is really pretty, too. Yep, pretty happy with them all. A few could have had better dimples, but not too shabby. Better go before I use up all my battery reserve. (click on the photo for a bigger version)

I laid in bed and read until about 10:30 and finally gave up and went to sleep. The power came back on at 12:30 and, consequently, so did all the lights I had left on. so I got up and turned them all off. The light was still on in dad's bedroom and he slept right through it all.

Today I ran around with my daughter and a friend, looking for a cooling pad for the friend's laptop. I knew I had seen one somewhere locally and we finally found it at Rite Aid. Her laptop is now running without overheating, but soon she will be buying a new one anyway. It has had "issues" ever since she was "accosted" during a trip through one of the airport security areas a couple of years ago. The security folks were angry with her over her C-PAP machine showing evidence of "medication" well, duh, she cleans the mask in Listerine and it gives a false reading because of the alcohol. They basically threw her laptop, broke the latch on the case and must have either cracked or dislodged something one the motherboard. Jeez, another case of overzealous security people who really don't give a crap about the people they are injuring or the merchandise they are damaging. They did a strip search on her, and held her purse and all her belongings because of a medical device. Unreal. Sorry for the rant. It just annoys me still, even after two years.

What else? More beads!!

2009-01-06T16:30:00.000-08:00

Here is the latest batch of beads from a couple days ago. I love the little one with the purple poked dots, and the one with the funny little metallic spots is actually cobalt blue, you can't tell unless you hold it up to the light. Funny tiny beads. The big red heart with the goldstone stripes is really much prettier than it looks here, the goofy white one with the stripes and spots started out to be round and changed its mind halfway through the process, so I told it fine, you can be flat as a pancake. The heart on the right is just plain opaque red, interesting how the red has little streaky color changes in it, though. It was my first attempt at a vertical hole heart. Not too bad if I do say so myself!! LOL, I crack me up.

more beads

2009-01-03T17:43:00.000-08:00

Of course I finally got my torching table set up with the new Creation Station in place, which means I had to take it out for a test drive. The first night I made a few purple beads with purple frit, just because I love purple. (Well, duh!!) The only problem I had was the frit got a little more "done" than I like, but they are still pretty. The next night I made a variety of beads, including an experimental wavy bead. You would never recognize it as such, but it was fun to try anyway. I discovered it is much harder than it looks to melt down, and it was easier to place those dots than I thought. So i am sure it won't be my last attempt. I also made a SW bead from the tutorial I was gifted, and a red bead wrapped in silver, and of course a heart. They are what I make when I can't figure out what else to make. Here they are. I plan on making more tonight. Wish me luck.

Cupcakes

2008-12-30T15:06:00.000-08:00

My granddaughter Athena wanted an Easy-Bake Oven for Christmas, this follows on the heals of her getting a Disney Princess Cool-Bake Oven for her birthday. What a phenomenal waste of money that was. It's bad enough the darned cakes are so small, and "refills" are at least $5 for two packages making approximately 4 cakes (about a tablespoon of cake) each, but they were also disgusting. so as my daughter Tess and I were shopping for Christmas we were discussing the Cool-Bake Oven fiasco, and trying to figure out what else we could do to satisfy Athena's need to bake.

She also wanted a cupcake maker, which is actually just a cupcake decorator. Her dad volunteered to buy her the cupcake maker so that left it to us to handle the cupcakes.

We discussed the price of refills for the Easy-Bake Oven, the amount of mess and clean-up required, and the ridiculous one-bite size of the darned things. I mentioned it was too bad there wasn't a way to use regular cake mix for it, and my brilliant daughter said, "Mom, she knows how to use the oven and the Easy-Bake cupcakes are hot when they are done so she won't be much more apt to burn herself with regular cupcakes. Why don't we just buy her muffin pans, cake mixes and frosting in the regular baking department." We ended up getting some of the cutest little specialty cupcake pans and liners as well as the cake mixes and icings with sprinkles.

Last night I heard someone on my front porch and a moment later in came Athena and Tess with a plate of cupcakes complete with icing and sprinkles. What a nice surprise. And how wonderful to share in Athena's first cupcakes. Yum!!!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-26T15:57:00.001-08:00

Our Christmas day was really a strange one, but very fun all the same. I was awakened by my dad thinking it was the day he was “supposed” to wake me up. NOT, so I started out the day a bit cranky. I told him I would get him up when I was warm, awake, and the coffee was made so I had something to look forward to. I had been expecting Tess to be the one who would be waking me up. We still had to get the tree set up, the presents moved into the kitchen (tiny overcrowded living room), and make room for a giant toybox and bicycle somewhere. Instead of making room for the toybox, we decided we would let it continue to live in my bedroom for another few days so the girls could spread their new toys all over Cassie’s bedroom (the playroom) and have a ball with them before they had to think about putting them away. My cousin Nick decended around 11:30 am, and we then had to work around him, too. Tess had decided on cold-cuts and cheese with a few little tidbits to go along and we started getting all that ready after she had brought over the first car full of toys. She and Eric brought over the rest of the presents (she is the designated wrapper). She couldn’t find the roast beef and sliced cheddar she swears we bought a few days before Christmas anywhere at either house. I know it never came to my house and she claimed it didn’t go to hers either. Eric, the incredible eating machine, went back home and scavenged a variety of meat and cheese from their fridge. Funny thing is, no one missed the danged roast beef anyway, even though Tess had a big melt-down over not being able to find it. Then at around 1:45 pm Brian, the girls’ dad, called to find out when to bring them. I told him 10 minutes and we would be ready. We had to get the bicycle in front of the presents and prepare for them trying to get into things ahead of time. From the moment they came through the door, Athena kept saying can we open our stockings? Cassie kept asking Tess if she had made the bike (Athena didn’t even know there was a bike). We kept Athena out of the kitchen so she wouldn’t see the bike, until about 10 minutes later she suddenly turned around and spotted it. It then went to live in my dad’s room for the rest of the afternoon. Yea!!! We could sort of move around again. Cassie was as much fascinated by the act of opening things as she was by what was in them. She didn’t really play with much of anything until she got them home, then she couldn’t leave any of them alone for long. I think the hit for her was a school bus that had tons of buttons and shapes and colors and letters and numbers on it. It made lots of sounds and was very interactive. She also loved her dog that howled as he sang Christmas carols. My dad got a dog that played jingle bells and rolled over on the floor, and more candy than anyone except a child or an 89 year old should have. We were all so exhausted after it all that Tess went to bed by 8 pm and I was asleep in the living room by 10 pm. I woke up in time for dad to ask if he had to get me up in the morning. I told him he never had to get me up again. Ever.

A new creation

2008-12-20T19:40:00.000-08:00

Just in time for Christmas I decided to try a couple of new techniques. One i can't show you until after the person receiving it has seen it. Just in case she reads my blog. The other i will post, but not tell you who it is for. Naughty aren't I?!!

Yesterday i decided to try a new technique. It was written as a bail for making pendants, but I could see applications for beyond bails for the wire wrapping technique they showed. I wanted to make a tree for hanging earrings. So i not only made one, even gave it a little nest complete with eggs.

Upon completing the bottom portion of the tree I discovered looking down at the top of it it looked sort of like a spider web (holding that idea for another day given the spider obsession my daughter has), but also really resembled a bird's nest quite a bit. With a little extra work it looked more like a nest, and a bit more work created some eggs to put in the nest. I love it. I hope you do too.

In case you wondered, the bail portion of the instructions was just for one of the leaves (legs), only doubled over and woven together at one end. I like this a lot, but will also give the pendant bail a shot soon.

I hope you like the face-lift I have given my blog. I figured it was time.

Check my kids, grandkids and dad in their new video

2008-12-18T23:16:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

New Beads

2008-12-12T11:50:00.000-08:00

I finally got up the energy to get back on the torch last night. Of course it all started at 11 pm. Nice time to begin when you have to get up at 7:15, huh?!! Needless to say since I started playing with fire at 11 pm I didn't get done until about 1 am. Which also means I didn't get to sleep until about 1:45 am. So I am pretty much running on 5 1/2 hours of sleep. First thing this morning I had to find the coffee pot before I could start my day. I also had to get dad up and ready for a pacemaker test at 8:30. He was in need of some extra personal care this am, too, so it was a busy morning. I am now at work, and sneaking this in. :D

Oh well, no sleep plus plenty of coffee almost equals human. At least I have some beads to show for it, and a couple of them I really like. Yea!!! A good session. I played with my EDP, since it arrived yesterday (or was it the day before, jeez, my days all run together). I also tried out the Southwest Striations Tutorial from Anne Ricketts again now that I had more of the colors in her list of suggested combos. I also practiced my stringer control in dot making and just a swirly line. And I tried out some of the 96 COE glass I got. It has to have a bit hotter flame and is stiffer than what I am used to working with. Interesting night, and I learned a lot and really had fun playing.

Here are my fabulous beads, I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed creating them. The green heart and spacer and the one with the line around it are the 96 COE glass, you can tell since it has some really odd texturing. But is was fun anyway.

My Review of Glamorise® Magic Lift Plus® front hook posture bra

2008-12-10T16:34:00.001-08:00

Originally submitted at WomanWithin

Cotton/polyester cups
Foam bands have unique cross-under-and-over design for better uplift, separation and support without wires
Posture back with cotton/Lycra® spandex bands reduces shoulder strain
Wide back-adjust straps. No-roll Helanca™ nylon midriff ba...

Comfort Plus Ease

By Rita the Reader from Oregon Coast on 12/10/2008

Cup Fit: Feels true to size

Band Size: Feels true to size

Pros: Comfortable, Soft, Good Coverage, Good Support, Figure-Flattering, Washes Well

Best Uses: Office, T-Shirts, Everyday

Describe Yourself: Comfort-oriented, Practical, Conservative

This is definitely the best bra I have ever owned. This is actually the second one I have ordered. This bra not only stays down on the sides, but doesn't cut in. It lifts and separates, and adds some actual shape to my shape. The soft lining and lack of wires added to the front hook is why I bought it. The comfort and support are why I bought it again. If you are full-figured and need support this is definitely a winner. I love it!!!

(legalese)

On taking a 4-year-old to work

2008-12-09T13:32:00.000-08:00

When I agreed to take my granddaughter Cassie to work with me yesterday I wasn't really sure how things would go, but I agreed to do it anyway. It was a necessity that someone care for her and it seemed like a good idea it be me. She is my little angel girl. She and grandma always have fun together, and she was so excited to be loaded into my car. Tess says I should have seen her face, she was grinning from ear to ear, and saying, "I go grandma's work."

The wheelchair and diaper bag and all the food and drinks for a small army had already been loaded up before I went to get her. We live about a half a block apart, but with her being a paraplegic it is far enough to need to drive there.

All the way to the antique shop / mall, she kept saying, "Grandma, we going you work?" And I would say, "Yes, Cassie, we are going to my work. The antique mall." She would say, "We not going to you house?" And I would reply, "Nope, Grandma has to go to work and you are going with me." It was kind of a monotonous conversation, but I don't think she really believed her mom when she told her she was going to work with me.

Once we arrived I got her wheelchair out and put her in it, we "walked" around to the front of the building and unlocked the front door. I told her we needed to turn on the lights and then go to the back door and bring in our things. She has been here many times before, just not with her wheelchair for so long a time. She led me to the back door and I loaded in all our things and put them in the kitchen.

I told her I thought there was a little table in the back that would fit her and her chair, and sure enough it was exactly the right size for her wheels to go between the legs of, and just high enough, too. She sat next to me at her "desk" and colored while I did the computer work I needed to do. She was so good, and funny, and entertaining. She charmed all the customers who came in, and played games with a young man who lives up the hill behind the shop. I think they both enjoyed the hide and seek, and oooh, the monster is chasing me games.

She was pretty timid about going very far in the shop when she first arrived, but by the end of the day was "running" to the back door and down the back aisle and over the "hill" (which is actually a big bump in the carpet, about 10 feet long). It made her chair go faster when she went over it, so she really enjoyed it.

She also wanted to visit my friend, Tammy, who works in the adjacent shop. And was really excited when she got to go over to see her. Friends came in to visit and she snuggled our friend Dora for a long time, and gave everyone hugs before they left.

She played with all the little hot wheels cars in our toy basket, and colored an entire coloring book with her new crayons. She had a lot of fun, kept me entertained all day, made me laugh a lot, and gave me a lot of love. In fact she had so much fun she was disappointed when we had to go home. I am sure she will be back and spend the day with me again some time.

I slept very well last night, I'm sure you know why.

The switch to propane

2008-12-07T19:51:00.000-08:00

Well, the switch to propane has proven two things to me. I need a ton more practice, and I don't realize how much time has gone by when I don't have a tank freezing up on me after about an hour. I guess that means I am torching longer, but still having some adjustments to make. I did make some beautiful silvered ivory stringer, though, with some silver foil a secret santa on my favorite site, Wet Canvas, sent me. What a nice surprise, especially when I had just been given a tutorial that called for silvered ivory stringer. Coincidence? I really doubt it. Just a nice surpise. Since I had never really understood what it meant to pull stringer I was glad the tutorial had a tiny bit of info on it about at least how to begin. Pulling stringer, for you non-glass folks, is taking a rod of glass which begins from 5-10 mm in size and heating and stretching it to be in the 1-3 mm range for using in detail work, or as dots or decoration on lampwork beads.

I made one bead based mostly on the tutorial I had been gifted, with a couple of color changes to suit the colors my daughter, Tess, likes. The bead I am talking about is the bottom one in the group shot, I am also including a solo photo of the back / front side of the bead. I love it, and the tutorial was a huge help. The rest of the beads were again experimental stuff using the silvered ivory stringer, or other techniques I have been working on. Not to bad for a newbie.

Hoping to get on the torch tomorrow night. I really think I am too tired to go back to it tonight. We shall see. The new annealing bubbles in the crockpot, on high, helped save my beads today, even the giant one. Yea!!!!

I'm back and posting

2008-12-03T20:47:00.000-08:00

Well, I know I kind of fell off the radar there, but things happen, and so does depression. I was in a post-Thanksgiving funk there for a bit. My kitchen looked like a bomb went off and no one was helping take care of it. Top that off with little sleep, too many hours at work, and just feeling down and cranky. I am back to normal now. My kitchen is looking better, and my new torching area has been mostly readied. I am going to put the finishing touches on it tonight or first thing tomorrow and fire up the torch attached to a propane BBQ tank. I think it will be much easier on my shoulders and neck when I spend 1-3 hours at a whack on the torch. The silver lumps on the table are my new armrests. Toilet paper rolls wrapped in foil to keep them from flaming if hit with flying hot glass. Here is my new table and set-up, minus the torch, since I just picked up the clamps I needed. I misplaced the big bowl with all my containers of frit in it. It is a lovely old antique bowl, and I wanted to be sure it and the frits and short rods were safe while we rearranged and removed one table and put in a different one. Of course it was safe, I couldn't even find the darned thing. Well, Tess found it this morning when she went to warm some chai tea for dad for breakfast this morning. It was safely ensconced in the microwave. How funny is that!!??

Newest beads and more fun

2008-11-24T13:40:00.000-08:00

Here are the latest beads I made late last week. I love using purple, I just plain love purple. I guess that's where the name "Purple Grandma" came from. :D I used not only a purple glass, but also a purple frit mix to create them. If only I had made a few more I would have enough for a simple bracelet. I am definitely going to have to try that again. I love the way the color came out.

Friday night I went with my cousin Nick to dinner, seafood buffet, at the local casino (Chinook Winds) and to see "Three Dog Night." It was a fun night, and really brought back some musical memories for both of us. Even though he is 10 years older than I am, he remembers most of the stuff I listened to growing up since he has a brother just a year younger than I am. I think I got home around 10:30 pm, and then had to repack Tess's surgical site, and eventually went to bed. I was a little wound up and hoarse from the concert.

Saturday was pretty mellow. I relaxed in the morning (thank heaven) and Athena and I cleaned out my car. Sounds simple, right. Well NOT. It hadn't been cleaned out since last spring. AND it was the only car Tess and I shared for several months last year when her existing car had died and she had none or the Jeep she replaced her car with was in the shop. To understand exactly what that means, imagine a car where everything that needed to go to her house just kept piling up, and the layer of junk accumulated along with it. Add into that mix my friend thinking I had said I needed to take stuff to recycle, rather than her understanding I had asked her to put it in the recycle bin outside, and putting it into my back seat. It took Athena and I about an hour and a half, and filled not only my garbage can, but the recycle bin, which is even bigger, over half full. Then Tess, Athena and I went to do our Thanksgiving shopping. Whew!!! We will eat well, that is for sure.

Saturday night my friend Dan had emailed and asked if I would like to go with him and a couple of other folks for dinner and to the theatre in Newport to see a local production of "Oliver." I told him of course I would. He sprung for not only the theatre tickets, but the dinner as well. We ate at a fabulous oceanfront restaurant called, "Georgie's" and there ended up only being three of us. Dan had Ahi Tuna, served sushi-style (barely seared on each side), I had blackened scallops (YUM!!!), and Jeannie had a salad and steamer clams. Dan made us each try the Ahi Tuna, and amazingly enough it was delicious. I just had to pretend it was cooked and eat it anyway. I have never eaten, nor wanted to eat raw fish, but I was surprised to find it was very tasty. I would probably never order it myself unless I asked for it to be well done, but I am really glad I tried it.

Oliver was fun to see, and I was still humming the music the next day. Dan is a director in community theater and is always interesting to go to the theatre with. He has very strong opinions on direction, and acting, and well, every facet of every production he sees. Much as I adore him I go to the theater to escape, have fun, and just be a patron. He critiques everything. Not always easy to take for long periods of time, funny though if you can keep your sense of humor. One of the actors asked if he had enjoyed the show. He said, "I enjoyed the music." His idea of the only compliment he could give. He hates the director, disliked the way she directed, disliked the casting, disliked the way the people who were acting acted, and also disliked that way too many set pieces were used. Mainly he said there were just so many opportunities for things to have been better that were missed he was just very disappointed. He knew in advance it would be that way, though so he wasn't surprised. I think the rest of the audience had an enjoyable time. I know I really enjoyed it, and actually like several of the actors and the casting. He said Joann (his late wife and my best friend) would have given him 10 minutes to rant and said that's it. Made me giggle. I also giggled when he was talking to our friend who is a drummer in the orchestra. The drummer asked for his "notes." And Dan told him he didn't really want them all, but then proceeded to give them anyway. Very funny evening. Now you know why I was tired the past couple of days and didn't get anymore beads made, or even light my torch.

Sunday I relaxed as much as possible early on, caught up on some TV I had recorded, and got organized for Cassie to come to my house for the day. Then I drove Tess to work at noon, and took Cassie with me to "Granny's Attic," the antique mall I work at. She is so cute. She sat on the front counter while I talked to my bosses about things needing done, and she was a bit shy to begin with. I asked her if she would like to sit on the floor and she was happy to. Lori gave her some fruit flavored licorice, and she was interested in things in the various cases nearby. I asked her if she would like to crawl around, and she said, "I can go for a walk?" I told her sure, she could go wherever she wanted to. She said, "Come on Grandma, you follow me, I'm walking around." So I followed as she scooted along the back aisle, she looked down the center aisle and I told her she could go clear to the back door if she wanted. She got side-tracked in the "book nook" and was absolutely fascinated by the cook books. She is such a foodie. Dale asked her what she was cooking, she thought about it for a minute and said, "Fish." She doesn't even like fish. Too funny!!! She eventually let me read her a children's book, and then crawled toward the back area. Lori asked her what we were going to do when we went home. She said she no go home, she go Grandma. Lori asked what she was going to do at Grandma's, and Cassie said, take a baff, eat nunch, and cut bangs. Lori said she had cut her own bangs, and Cassie asked her to cut hers, too. So off they went to get the scissors and cut Cassie's bangs. They look great. Lori even thinned them a bit to fluff them up. She was a happy girl. Lori took her to pick out a teddy bear, and Dale let her choose what she wanted from our kids toy basket. She came home with crayons and a teddy bear, and was very happy. We played a lot while we were at my house. She didn't like "I Love Lucy" because it was in black and white, but was very good (as usual). At four we went back to pick up mommy from work, and went to the grocery store to buy dinner for a couple of nights. We both got frozen pizza for last night since it was on sale and it was what Cassie wanted. Tess is making her famous taco au gratin potatoes for both families tonight. So, BONUS, I don't have to cook!!!

Dad was so tired he ate pizza and wanted to go to bed at 6 pm. I did dishes and cleaned up a bit, then I fell asleep trying to watch some more recorded TV last night. Woke up to change Tess's dressing at 8 pm, finished watching the show I had slept through, and then started another show only to sleep through it, too. I finally gave up and went to bed at 12:30 pm when I woke up the last time. Guess those nights out really took their toll. It probably didn't help that I had hurt my back helping to lift dad after he fell on Friday. Tess and Eric each got under an arm but still weren't able to pick him up. He is fine, just a bit sore and always a bit pokey after he does this sort of thing. I am sure in a day or two he will be completely back to normal.

2008-11-19T22:33:00.000-08:00

Just discovered a new location for photos to use on your blog. Check it out, AcoBox.com . Royalty-free photos of all sort for your blog. Cool, huh!!! Thanks Nancy!!! I forgot to mention the above photo is Portland, Oregon at night. For a big city (well, big in Oregon terms) it is beautiful and a wonderful place to visit.

Yikes, I am so behind . . . no that would be Tess

2008-11-19T21:50:00.000-08:00

All the time spent removing gauze and repacking it into her poor hiney has me thinking of butts a lot lately. She is so pained, and yet, healing. The doctor says she may still have a hole come St. Patrick's Day. We are hoping it will close, fill, whatever much sooner than that. He says the earliest he has had anyone healed was in 12 weeks. Which would make it a whole lot nicer. Not holding our collective breath, but hoping all the same.

I haven't been on the torch enough this week, but have been having a bit of shoulder and neck pain so have been trying to take it easy. I think holding my hands in the air unsupported causes a bit of strain in the shoulders. I think my neck is from the high in the air monitor at work. I will have to stay off the computer and see if that helps. Not mine here at home, but the one at the antique mall. Oh well, need to work on jewelry making anyway. Have a lot to accomplish before the weekend following Thanksgiving. Big open house and my jewelry will be featured.

I ordered some glass and something called Japanese Annealing Bubbles last night. The bubbles are supposed to help my glass cool slower so I will lose less beads to cracking. Yea!! Can't wait for them to arrive. I also bought a BBQ tank of propane, which means essentially I will be able to torch for longer periods without the danged thing icing up like the little "cans" of MAPP gas do. The downside is I will have to take the tank in and out of the house for torching, going to need to figure out an easy way to transport it, like a little set of wheels or something with a handle. Don't want to hurt my back carrying it, also trying to figure out how to avoid transporting bugs in and out of the house along with it. Ought to be interesting. I also need some sort of mount for my torch now that I won't be clamping the MAPP can to the table with the torch attached. Have a couple of ideas, but will work more on that this weekend.

My latest beads featured a couple of experimental things that really didn't work out too well. The off mandrel stuff really needs to be done using a kiln. The rest of it worked out okay. I added a second photo a bit closer up of the best beads. You can click on the photos and get a bit closer view.

Part of why this post took me so long to get around to involved what I was doing last weekend. I went to the Oregon State Elks Soccer Shoot.

I got up in the middle of the night (6 am) and dragged along my oldest grandaughter, Athena, to watch my middle (hee-hee just typed that word with a “d” as the first letter) granddaughter, Wednesday, compete and win the state championship in her age division.

She scored higher than the boys in her age division and the one above hers, but could only compete against the girls in her division. She has a brand new soccer ball, a fancy T-shirt, and a first place plaque for her trophy wall. She is amazingly athletic!!! What a fun and exhausting time we had. Here is photo evidence.

Hoping to be back sooner next time.

Day 7 beads and Tess's poor hiney operation

2008-11-11T12:25:00.000-08:00

Life in the world of glass melting is fascinating, scary, wonderful and exciting. Pretty much all at the same time somedays. My daughter's favorite colors are greens in between the olive and avocado shades, she was thrilled because I hit it. (her words) She loves all the orange and peachy shades, too. Also loves red. She wanted something to go with some of the clothes she has, but never found anything in the right color. The beads created last night were done specially for her.

I made one enormous kind of rectangular bead with neon green from ASK, and it was a giant fat rod which kept trying to crack on me. However once I kept it from shocking it melted right down and was pretty easy to shape. I flattened the sides then thought it would be fun to encase it in some clear green in the same shade. So of course I had to round it back up some and then square it off again. I added some of the flame kissed orange frit I had and voila you get the bead on the left. For the rest of the night I worked on some basic things I had been doing. A leaf green heart with the same frit, a couple of leaf green spacers, one with frit, one plain. Then I threw in a clear heart with frit, and then two clear drops. Playing with the clear glass is fun since it is so hard to tell if I have it hot enough or not. Until it starts to droop I really can't see the red hotness of it.

Enough jabber, here are the beads.

Tess is recovering from her surgery of last Tuesday. She had a pilonidal cyst removed from the tailbone area. She has had recurrent infection in this area for over 9 years now. The surgeon would have hospitalized her the day before surgery but there were no rooms available in our tiny little hospital. Fortunately he does 6-8 of these surgeries a year and felt it would be fine for her to be admitted just prior to the surgery. She was in agony for several weeks before surgery and will be in pain for some time to come. Hopefully the worst pain will be over within the next week or two. He told her she will still have a hole on Christmas, and possibly as long as until St. Patrick's Day. It will all depend on how quickly she heals.

During surgery she was of course unconscious and hospitalized for nearly 40 hours. She was only released then since I would do her packing and dressing changes. I have some medical experience since I have had some horrendous wounds myself. I have cared for others in nursing homes, and taken care of post-surgical patients, too. I care for dad and his urostomy needs, too. So the doc figured it would be just another day for me. NOT!!! I was not really prepared for how enormous the wound woud be. Imagine a golf ball sized chunk being removed with an opening about the size of a quarter showing, elongated somewhat, but about the mass of a quarter. I have to look inside the wound, and then fill it with roughly half a 4x4 square of damp gauze. Sounds fairly straight forward doesn't it. Not so much when you are hearing your daughter cry as you remove the old one, sterilize your hands, dampen the new one, and then pack it into the wound.

I have to "pack" her wound every morning and every night. It is a very painful thing for her to endure, but at least it should end the problem once and for all. There is still a bit of infection, but he said considering how infected it was when she came in it is no wonder. He says the wound is granulating just fine which means it is healing. He doesn't want her on an antibiotic since that could cause a resistant infection. Better left alone so long as it continues as it is. Who knew being the mom to a 29 year old would mean nursing duties??

Day 6 in my beady life

2008-11-10T09:55:00.000-08:00

Well, I thought I would try something completely different last night. Stick to one color, and try encasing a little more. I am getting a bit better at the stringer control, not the encasing so much as just figuring out how much heat it takes to melt.

Here are the beads from last night. I was planning on trying to get on the torch during the day and see if the daylight made a difference in what I made. Coming down with a cold blew that all to hell. Oh well, at least I did fire up the torch once I got dad off to bed.

I started out by making a giant cobalt blue tab, encasing that, melting it in, then squishing it, and turning it pretty rectangular. I felt like I was creating some sort of ice sculpture. The blue kept flashing through the clear as I rotated it. How fun that was to see. Then I made two little spacer beads cobalt base with clear coating . . . on the same mandrel. Maybe not such a smart move for someone who is just starting out, but it seemed to be okay. Of course when they had cooled I discovered there is a crack in one of them. The last thing i tried was a big disk with white dots around the edge. Of course by the time I got the white stringer out the bead had cooled so much it shocked and a chunk popped off when I flashed it into the flame to start reheating it. Naturally I tried to move it away from the edge of the table and burned my finger. Not badly, but it hurt for about a half hour even in ice water. No pain now, I think I killed the nerve or something. Oh well. The beads are pretty cool. The bad bead ended up off mandrel and interesting, of course it also ended up broken!!!

More beads

2008-11-09T13:37:00.000-08:00

Well, last night was my fifth day of melting glass and making beads. I sure am loving this!!! What a fun thing to do with my evenings. I am going to try making some during daylight hours and see if it makes a difference in how things look.

Well, after I finally got all the errands of the day out of the way and got dad off to bed I fired up the new tank of MAPP and made another 8 beads. That seems to be about the limit of me holding my hands up in the air. Only one cracked, and I knew when I made it that was likely. As I was winding on the glass it called out to me, “Make a shell, make a shell.” So I did, but I knew the lip would be thin and probably crack. It did, but oh well, I will superglue it and keep it anyway. It was really fun, even if it didn't end up looking exactly like a shell. I will give it another try probably need to at least get a crockpot or start socking away the bucks for a kiln.

If you want to help me get there faster I will gladly send you my Paypal address and you can contribute to the "Buy Rita a kiln fund." I will not only be eternally grateful, I will send you a heart in your choice of color.

Scroll down to see the beads from days three and four.

Nothing spectacular, but need to document what I am doing so I can look at the improvements over time. I really like the burnt blue bead from night 3, even if it is burnt. Night four I ran out of gas and the torch was too hot to change the tank.

I've been tagged

2008-11-06T23:18:00.000-08:00

My dear friend Barrie Edwards tagged me. The purpose of the tagging being to tell you, my precious readers (you are out there aren't you?) seven things you don't know about me. Barrie always seems to come up with fascinating things to say, I will see if I can rise to the challenge.

1. Once upon a time I was employed by a logging company as a landing chaser. I unhooked the chokers (cables that drag the logs up or down the hill) on the landing where the loader operator loaded them on the trucks. Of course all of this took place after I used my hatchet to remove small branches, and larger ones I removed with the chainsaw I toted around all day. Yikes, I was a burly girl. I was also 21 at the time.

2. I was the prep-cook/back-up cook at the world famous Pixie Kitchen during my late teens. I made the salad dressings, angel food cakes, thousands of squares of garlic bread, breaded fish, shrimp, etc., and cut up hundreds of chickens every week. All for a whopping $1.40 an hour. Jeez, I worked for peanuts. Of course it was 1969-70 at the time.

3. My first job was at a 19-cent hamburger stand, which also had bumper cars and go-carts. I eventually moved up to the go-cart track and sold tickets. I was all of 15 at the time.

4. I didn't finish high school, but got my GED before my class graduated. I finished what the tester said would take us two days in a little over two hours with the highest scores she had ever seen. No wonder it didn't really affect me to have no real diploma . . . when you are brilliant it just shines through.

5. I absolutely hate parsnips and rutabagas. I discovered accidentally that I like turnips. I figured if I hated the other two I would hate them too, but surprise I like them pretty well.

6. I grew up with a mom whose mother boiled everything to death, so had eaten very few "odd" things until I grew up. Among those things was anything ethnic (except Irish) except for the odd Chinese food dinner. My mom always insisted on American. I remember one birthday my folks told me I could choose any restaurant I wanted and I chose a Japanese place in downtown Portland. Much to my surprise the Japanese food was only served upstairs and the American downstairs. My dad told my mom if she wasn't adventurous enough to share our Japanese she could eat downstairs alone. She did, and i don't think she spoke to him for several hours afterward. He said it was my birthday and if I wanted Japanese he was going to see that I got it.

7. I was absolutely obsessed with the Beatles as a young girl, and a friend and I could sing all their music in harmony. I still love their music and think it some of the best stuff ever written.

I am going to put out this challenge to a few of you. Tell us what you think we don't know, or you think we need to know about you.

Paula
Nancy
Deronda
Louise
Michelle

I will be adding two more as time allows.

Halloween costumes and My first beads!!!

2008-11-02T11:06:00.000-08:00

My sweet little family, Tess, Eric, Athena and Cassie ready for their big night out. The handsome prince Eric is holding the adorable faerie princess Cassie, Athena is the Spider Princess, and Tess is the Queen of the Spiders. I made Athena and Tess's garb, and Eric did their makeup!!! Wow, he is amazing. He says he had plenty of experience doing Mardi Gras makeup in New Orleans. (CLICK ON PHOTOS FOR BIGGER PICTURE)

My friends on Wet Canvas had been encouraging me to attempt making my own lampwork beads. They gave me all sorts of hints, tips, and love. They even (Maggie) sent me some tools and glass. I told Maggie I was planning to fire up the torch I bought last year by the end of October. What with the making of Halloween costumes I wasn't sure I would be able to hit my self-imposed deadline. But, at 10:30 pm on Oct. 31, I put the fire to my hothead torch and began melting glass. I spent nearly two hours on the torch, and repeated the process last night. I love the heart beads, especially the ones from last night. The swirly bead in yellow transparent over a white base with the red frit is probably my favorite. It was really fun to make. Back sooner with more beads. The bottom photo is of the beads from my first night's glass melting. The second night I actually managed to make a round bead.

Indoor? Outdoor? or Moving with a Psychotic cat

2008-10-22T23:42:00.000-07:00

This story began in April of 2007. I am posting it in my blog since I was asked by a friend whether my cats were indoor or outdoor. There is no short answer to that question, so here it is. I hope you enjoy my writing style. I couldn't help but laugh at it myself, so I hope you find it entertaining.

After much soul-searching, many nights of waking at 3 a.m. and not getting enough sleep, I made the decision to move in with my aging father. I did not come to this lightly, nor without thinking through all the ramifications of combining two households. This was no easy feat, and brought much anguish not only to myself, but my two nearly 10-year old indoor cats.
To give you a little background on my male cat, Baby, I have to start at the beginning. When we first met he was a mere 6 weeks old. He was brought to my home unwanted and, I believed, unloved. Needless to say, that didn’t last long. I am a sucker for helpless little furry things, feline or canine, especially furry, helpless little kittens.
My daughter, Tess, had promised a co-worker she would take a kitten when her cat gave birth. I told her I didn’t want a kitten, but she begged and begged and finally won. I agreed to take in a kitten. Make that ONE kitten with capital letters. Little did I know that was the last argument I would win for a while.
My daughter went to visit her father on the 4th of July and “rescued” a kitten from his unloving home. The poor little thing had tried to use the fireplace ashes for his litter box. Unfortunately the fire had just gone out, and the ashes were still smoldering. He had tiny little burned feet. I made room in my home and heart for a tiny tiger-striped lover named, aptly enough, Tiger. I believed he was the only kitten we would be adopting. Meanwhile Baby and his litter-mates were entering this world.
Baby was supposedly a girl kitten. Tess’s co-worker obviously had some difficulty with sexing kittens. (Boys look like a question mark and girls like an exclamation point. I have never forgotten those descriptions,. Take a look some time, it is true.) I had completely forgotten about the expected kittens by this point in time and had settled into a nice routine with one kitten and an older cat. Tess came into the house on August 15, 1997, in a big hurry and thrust a kitten at me. Her explanation was mostly incoherent and involved her having promised her co-worker, weeks ago, she would take this kitten. I asked her if she was out of her mind to which she replied, “Isn’t he cute?” He was so tiny, and she didn’t have time to take him back right then, so I asked what his name was and she mumbled something in Greek. (I later learned it was Ares.) I wasn’t quite sure I remembered her mumblings later on, so I started calling him “Baby,” due to his diminutive size. Okay, so I fell helplessly in love with him in about two minutes. He was a tiny white kitten with just a halo of orange around his tail and ears. He was part flame point or some other oriental mix, loud annoying Siamese voice and all.
The reason I didn’t want another cat, any other cat, was because I already had a cat, Prometheus, a large adorable, insatiably curious 14-month-old half-Tonkinese fur person. Prometheus was probably the smartest, most annoying cat I have ever known. He wanted to be everywhere you were, and involved in everything you did. He knew doorknobs were what opened doors and constantly tried to use them. He would happily grab the end of the toilet paper in his mouth and TP the hallway from the bathroom to the living room. Once he got his head stuck in a plastic grocery bag and panicked. He ran around and around the house fleeing from the flapping plastic bag. I finally captured him and removed the object of his terror. He immediately ran back to the bag, stuck his head through the hand-hold and started running again. Obviously he had turned terror into a game of his own device. He was the only cat I ever had who jumped from the floor to the top of my bedroom door to my stomach in a single motion. Oooof!
Prometheus had already taken Tiger under his wing and immediately became obsessed with Baby as well. Prometheus took his job of nurse-maid seriously. He literally nursed both kittens until they were nearly as large as he was. He thought he was their mother. He was a loving, friendly, outgoing cat who immediately attached himself to cat-lovers and cat-haters with equal abandon. Tiger and Baby, since Baby was his best friend and adopted litter-mate, were the exact opposite. They were afraid of everyone and everything, from visitors to hailstorms. Tiger was so afraid he would hide either under the bed or in the closet for hours following either of these occurrences. He was afraid of loud noises, kids, men, and just about everything.
I, at one time, had a roomer. She was loud, and walked like a herd of elephants. Tiger often hid in my bedroom, and rarely came out. One day, when the “kittens” were about two years old, the roomer found Tiger laying in the living room. She spoke to him, and he didn’t budge. She discovered he was dead. She later told me what had happened, and I feared she had done something to him, since she wasn’t especially fond of my cats. A short time after she told me about it, I was in the kitchen lighting a candle when I heard a funny noise. I turned my head toward the living room just in time to see the changer on the CD player going out and back in, and I saw Prometheus jump back, totter a couple of steps and fall over. He died shortly after, despite my attempts at CPR. I locked Baby in my art studio and made sure there was no way the CD player could ever kill again. It was a short in the electrical system. It gave a whole new meaning to the words, “Killer music.” My heart was broken, and so was Baby’s. He was more than a little psychotic after all this happened. He was afraid of virtually every loud noise, and every stranger who entered our world. He was however more attached to me than he had been.
I spent a lot of weekends with my best friends, Joann and Dan. They were the original owners of Prometheus, his siblings and their mother Dusty. Their hearts were heavy for me as they shared my grief. They had two cats, Tweety - named this because she looked like Sylvester, and Koala - Prometheus’s little sister from the next year’s litter. They encouraged me to take her home with me. She had always been more attached to me than to them, and Tweety made her life miserable. I told them it was too soon, but I would take her when I was ready.
A couple of months later I had surgery and was really depressed while I was convalescing. My roommate took it upon herself to go to Joann and Dan’s and pick up Koala. I was not thrilled she had taken it upon herself to do this, but I was as happy to see Koala as she was to see me. Fortunately we eliminated the annoying roommate shortly after.
We settled into a love hate relationship. Baby loved Koala and she hated him. After about a year she would stop hissing at him at least part of the time if he came near. After the end of the second year of their cohabitation she would occasionally allow him to be on my lap or the bed at the same time she was as long as he didn’t touch her. Now after seven and a half years together she puts up with him. Most of the time she doesn’t growl or hiss. Sometimes she even rubs her head on him, or lets him rub his on her. And occasionally she even plays with him.
Baby started to try to control my life when he was around three. He suddenly decided he was the alarm clock. He usually goes off about five minutes before the alarm is due to ring. He turns immediately into a snooze alarm, but with a much more annoying rate of return, and he refuses to turn off and let me go back to sleep. He had also started telling me when to go to bed. I paid attention to his annoying instructions for a while, but after a few months I decided to stay put in the living room until all hours of the night. I don’t think I really won, I think he just decided it wasn’t worth fighting over. Besides, if we went to bed later it was a lot more fun to chase Koala out of his favorite spot on the bed. She was a lot crankier when she had been asleep for a while. It wouldn’t have been so bad if he had a concept of days off and how much I would enjoy sleeping in once in a while. His annoying Siamese-type voice can be painful first thing in the morning.
My cats are not spoiled. They are just well-loved, and seriously pampered. They have their own kitty drinking fountain. Koala is obsessed with running water, so the fountain is the perfect solution. The water runs down a little slide in the front. It is filtered and has a reserve tank, which means they have plenty of fresh water for a day or two. They sleep on my bed, and now they have two slaves, my Dad and me.
In preparing to move here, I knew the toughest part would be moving the cats. We were only moving 12 miles, but it was a much larger move emotionally for all of us.
Dad moved into the smaller of his two bedrooms, and the cats and I were moving into the larger bedroom. In a bedroom roughly 11’x11’ larger is a term I use loosely. I was trying to prepare for the immediate necessities. I had purchased two cat carriers and had left them in the house for two days. The front of the carriers were open and I had placed an article of my clothing in each one, hoping for a friendly welcoming smell. Baby immediately went into his to “check it out.” Koala avoided both of them.
I spent the next couple of days figuring out what I needed to take with me right away. I still own my home, and plan to keep it in the family. I packed my clothes, jewelry, and laptop computer. The Mac and the rest of my stuff will have to come as I have time and room. I, a confessed packrat, have to eliminate a lot of my stuff. I plan to keep my art supplies, my pie bird collection, my Noah’s ark collection, and my favorite books. I have no idea what else I will bring besides photos, DVDs and CDs. I will probably have to get a storage unit to be able to sort through things and try to sell the stuff I won’t be keeping.
My ex-son-in-law, Brian, helped me get my “immediate needs” moved. This involved moving my dad into the smaller bedroom and into a hospital bed. We gave Dad’s mattress and box springs to my youngest granddaughter, Cassie, and rearranged the larger bedroom to give me the most usable space. I had to make room for my bed, a computer desk, and my drawing table. I wanted it to seem like more than a bedroom, and feel like I had a little of my own space. To accomplish all of this, I needed help. My daughter, Tess, moved the furniture around while Brian and Kori (Tess’s step-sister) and I loaded my bed and other things into Kori’s minivan. I also knew this was the time to pack up the cats, their drinking fountain, their cat food and litter box. After they had left with the bed and the rest of the stuff, it took me about half an hour to coax Baby out of the closet. I figured he would be the tough one to capture, so I talked to him in the bathroom with his crate. He walked right in and I quickly closed the door. I thought I had it made. Koala, the easy, friendly, affectionate cat would be a piece of cake. NOT!! I took Baby’s crate to the living room, probably not such a good idea. He immediately started meowing, and he never stopped. For nearly a week he didn’t stop. Koala, sensing there was something to be afraid of, tried to escape me. However, she is a sucker for petting and scratching. I grabbed her and started to cram her into her carrier. She became a bundle of legs. Straight out to the sides legs. Legs that refused to get through the door to the carrier. Then she scratched me and escaped. I tracked her down after chasing her around the kitchen for a few minutes. I then grabbed her front feet in one hand, and her back ones in the other. I flipped the crate on end, and unceremoniously dropped her into the crate head first, along with my arm. Somehow I accomplished this unscathed, and she joined in the caterwauling (now I know where they got that word). I toted the litter box and both crates to the car. I talked to them, rather loudly so they could hear me, all the way to my Dad’s house. Twelve miles is an awfully long distance when you have two cats screaming in discord.
Upon arriving I shut both cats in my room while we carried in the rest of the things I had brought. I put their litter box in the bathroom and when everyone had left I let them out. One at a time, I showed them the litter box, food and water. I had put the litter box in the bathroom, right next to my room. I put the food and a water bowl in my bedroom in case Baby was afraid to come out. Koala immediately started to wander around her new abode. She found my Dad entertaining and a gentleman. She figured out right away she now had two adoring humans to do her bidding.
Baby was a different story. He was terrified. He hid in my bedroom under the dresser for the first several hours. His terror was verbalized periodically in tones loud enough to wake the dead. When Dad went to bed at 9 p.m. I thought Baby would realize it was quiet, and he would feel free to explore. Wrong. He was still terrified. He came part way down the hall, and did a u-turn into the bathroom. He immediately opened the cabinet under the sink and disappeared into a plumbing access hole behind the shower. He never came to bed. I slept kind of restlessly from midnight until around 2 a.m. in spite of the meowing. Then it got worse. He carried on so much I gave up around 5 a.m. and got up. Me, who usually stays up until midnight and gets up around 8 a.m. By the time I had made coffee, I noticed the meowing had stopped. I thought, finally, he is going to settle down and adjust to his new home. I had the day off. I was so tired from all the meowing I fell asleep sitting in the living room. So did Dad. He said the cat didn’t bother him, but I can’t imagine he got much more sleep than I did. By the time I went to art class that night I was more than a little worried about him. I hadn’t seen him all day. I was really starting to worry. My friend asked if he could have gotten out some way. I was pretty sure there was no access to the outdoors.
Baby WAS outside!!! He did get out through the plumbing access. I lured him out from under the mobile home’s skirting at around midnight. I fumbled around in the dark, cut my hand, and I had to go back inside and find a flashlight. They should have named it a flash dark, it was so dim. But I did manage to find a little spot I could get a hand hold in, and finally managed to pry up a spot I could reach him through. And guess what? He started the whole thing over again as soon as I got him inside. Do you know any sure cure for an insane cat? I put a 31 pound bucket of kitty litter in front of the cabinet door. I figured I would go to Ace and buy hooks to latch the cabinets in the morning. Guess again. He meowed even worse all night. He meowed so loud I thought I would lose my mind. He also became interested in the washer and dryer. Sometime around 5:30 a.m. I gave up and got up once again. He was finally starting to explore his new home, but he was very vocal about it. He was looking under the kitchen sink for an escape route. Sometime during coffee making, and eating breakfast he managed to push aside the bucket of kitty litter and, once again, escaped.
I went immediately to Ace Hardware and bought hook and eye latches with little snap down things to prevent the large white pain in my butt from escaping. I took off for work, worrying about how I would lure him out this time. The only thing I could think of was albacore tuna. It worked. He loves the juice from albacore tuna, and I lured him out during the daytime. We were headed for the front door when the neighbor called to me. Between struggling with a squirming cat, fighting off the shredding claws, and desperately trying to keep him calm, I lost my grip. The only thing that stopped him from disappearing under the trailer was the albacore tuna which he stopped to eat. I once again grabbed him, and headed for the front door while informing him of the necessity of getting inside. He no longer had his access to the great outdoors. I might have latches on the bathroom cabinets, but he was still meowing. My next plan was to find something to calm him down. I got on the Internet and checked out herbal remedies, and “Googled” moving with cats.
I bought an $18 bottle of herbal calming drops at the pet store, and he went to sleep along with me. BUT, he started incessantly meowing at 4:15 a.m. I gave him another dose of his “medicine,” but it didn’t work, so I had to come up with some other solution. First I tried shutting him in the bathroom, the object of his obsession. Unfortunately, it is right next to the head of my bed so his volume was enough to kill me. I then tried shutting him in the coat closet in the living room and he was still so loud I couldn't sleep, even with earplugs. I finally gave up around 5:30 a.m. and got up. I was not functioning very well at this point. Exhaustion was really beginning to take its toll.
I wrote an email to my friends and asked the following: Do you know any way to silence an insane cat, or do I just need earplugs? I think I had had a total of about 11 hours sleep in the past 72 hours. Somehow that is not on a par with my usual 7-8 per night. Is sleep deprivation terminal? He is now obsessed with the dryer vent area.
He had discovered a new exit. The dryer vent hole, I didn’t even think he would fit in the hole. He shredded the vent and out he went. By now I had run out of new ways to fool him into coming out. The neighbor’s cats were circling around the spot I had pulled him out of, and I was seriously starting to think he might have to become an outdoor cat. Don’t ask me how, but I tricked him into coming out without tuna.
I then sequestered him in my bedroom for the next three nights.
While I was checking out the information on moving with cats I had read about a product called Feliway on the internet. "They" said it was practically foolproof, and a sure cure. After paying, gasp, $39.95 for it. I actually got 7 hours sleep. The next night however was a different story. He let me nap until about midnight, then slept until 4 a.m., at which time he turned into the alarm clock again and meowed a lot so I put back in the earplugs. By 6 a.m. I couldn't even doze through his meowing with the earplugs. My Dad had gotten up and had turned on the heat (about 75). Sooooo, I got up.
My former son-in-law, Brian, was going to repair the dryer vent on his day off. I really wanted to let Baby out of my bedroom, but I couldn't let him out until his escape route was blocked. I had bought one of the metal vent pipes and a big PVC flange, so Brian would have a choice of products to use. What the heck after the $40 Feliway I figured it was only money. At this point in time I just wanted the madness to end. Hopefully he would leave the dryer vent alone. AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!! I never realized how important sleep was.
Amazingly enough, I got home to a quiet house. I let Baby out of the bedroom, and he immediately jumped behind the dryer. He pawed at stuff and meowed a lot. He then sounded like he was having difficulty getting back to the top of the dryer. I figured if he was stuck it was his own fault. Eventually he came to the living room to look for me. He pawed at the cabinets under the kitchen sink, and disappeared in there. Little did he know there was no way out.
He came to accept the cabinets in the bathroom were not available to him and left them alone (most of the time). He was finally only checking the dryer vent about once a day. I don’t know if he thought it would revert, or if he thought I might change my mind. He was captive and adjusting. Well, one of us was.
He now lets me sleep until about 6 or 7 a.m. I just might survive this move after all. Now I have to figure out how to get enough sleep in six to seven hours. Guess I will have to try going to bed earlier. I really hate the thought, but I guess I could learn to do it if I have to.
Signed: Rita

Two weeks into my captivity and I am afraid I may survive. I am devising an escape plan. Koala doesn’t think it will work, but I have to try it! Don’t tell the natives, they think they have me whipped into submission.
Signed: Baby

The next installment of this little tale finds us as we are now. Koala is an outdoor cat, due to her refusal to use the kitty litter box. Instead she has been known to use the corner in the hallway, or one of my shoes. So needless to say she is now a strictly outdoor model unless some unknowing idiot lets her in. Baby is an indoor / outdoor model. He spends most of the night in. From around 10 pm until about 6 am. He then insists on going out, and I enjoy sleeping enough to let him. He comes in and out all day, if I am at home it begins at around 11 am and continues in about 10-20 minute intervals until bedtime. I gave up, he won the great indoor / outdoor war. I enjoy sleeping enough to realize I just can't force the issue and survive. He is currently sitting in my comfy chair and gloating.

Life is Good

2008-10-20T15:26:00.000-07:00

Life is good, and hopefully getting better all the time. Who cares what the stock market does as long as the supermarket is still within my budget?!

Last week was dad's latest doctor's appt., an ordeal as usual. It isn't that he is a problem, or that the doctor is a problem, just the logistics of getting the two together. We have a horrible old cobbled together wheelchair ramp. It is too steep for him to walk down, even on a good day, and so steep he has to go down it backwards or fall forward out of his chair. Tess came over to help get him out to her car, mine is too low to the ground for him to get in and out of. She nearly kills herself getting him down, and he can grab onto the rail and help slow the rush to the bottom. Getting into the car is tough since the old legs don't bend as well as they used to, and her seats are so high. They are leather, so it is hard to get him positioned in a way he is comfortable, but we eventually managed it. Then when we get to the doctor's office it is just him and me, and they won't help me, even to open the door. I use their wheelchair (read that as really crappy, but I can't lift his home chair). After the appt. is the really hard part. Getting him back in the house. By the time we get back home he is so tired he can barely manage to stand long enough to get his butt in the chair. So Tess comes over and we push/pull him up the ramp, and then struggle to get him over the raised area by the door. She pushes, I pull, and dad struggles with the door jambs. Eventually we manage it, and all three collapse in a heap inside.

The good part of the appt. was the clean bill of health, and the fact he doesn't have to go back for another three months. He gave us some new psoriasis medication, and says I am doing a great job following my instincts on his skin care. Whew!!! I told the doc the dermatologist wasn't helping at all and I was tired of trying to do what he said was right when there was no improvement. He said I was right. Trying a variety of other solutions made more sense than using something that did no good. Yea!!! The new meds are working better, and the non-prescription I started him on is helping too.

The print shop part of my work has traded ownership today. The antique mall part will trade on the 27th. I am in a weird sort of limbo, not knowing where or when I am working, but knowing as of the first of November I will be putting in more hours and being paid more for at least a quarter of my job (one of my jobs). I am also working on a line of jewelry for the shop, the new owner is fixing up a rotating Timex case which lights up and will hold a variety of my jewelry in a prominent position in the shop.

I am nearly ready to start using my lampworking torch, and making my own melted glass beads. I can't wait to begin!!! Of course I will need tons more glass and have months of practice ahead of me, but i am planning on getting going soon. The only serious thing missing from my arsenal is a kiln. The one I want costs about $800. Yikes!!!

The World's Largest Bead Store

2008-10-13T21:46:00.000-07:00

Shipwreck Beads in Lacey, Washington is the self-proclaimed largest bead store in the world. I really didn't know it was within driving distance. My soon to be former boss Ann, our friend Kip and I embarked on the trip to Shipwreck after rendezvousing at the print shop/antique mall. Kip had said he would drive, but Ann decided she wanted to, so thankfully Kip and I actually got to look at scenery, read beading magazines (on the way back), and just enjoy the trip. It took us roughly 4-1/2 hours to get there, and we only stopped once to get gas, and at the Safeway at Jantzen Beach to get eats (none of us had eaten breakfast before we left). We were all very excited about going, but Ann and I had never gone there before. I had no idea just how big it really was. It is HUGE!!! Picture over 48,000 styles of beads and charms and findings, and books, and . . . eight, count them, eight cashiers!!! It is like going to a major bead show, great prices, fantastic variety, and all under one roof. The building takes up a huge area in an area of huge warehouses, and basically that is what it is, but decorated nicely. They have wonderful old native American beadwork items, old beaded bags from at least 75 years or more ago, and a variety of newer things as well in wonderful displays on the walls, and a fringe of mardi-gras beads all around the edge of the ceilings like a wall-paper border, only done in beads. The photos are just a sample of what is there. I loved the displays so much I wanted to share them with you. The place is so big I didn't even go to two huge areas containing the books and the high end beads. I also only went to one side of the back warehouse area. Yikes, I definitely have to go back. (Mental note to self. Time it to match the Frantz Bash next year and stay over.) After we had shopped for a couple of hours we had to take a break for lunch. Well, guess what?!! There was a cafe inside the bead store. It had great food and reasonable prices. After lunch we shopped another hour or so, and then prepared to check out. I know I spent way too much money, but got some fabulous beads, some charms, copper findings, awesome mermaid clasps for bracelets, some fun beads for my little grandgirls, some purple glass pearls for me, raccoon beads to make Tess earrings and pendant, and did I mention 31 strands of assorted beads. I found another two strands later, so make that 33 strands.

Then of course we had another 4-1/2 hour drive home, but you know what? It was soooo worth it. We laughed, told stories from our misspent youths, and just plain had a great time together. How fun it was!!!

Dexter

2008-10-05T19:13:00.000-07:00

Check out this cool widget from one of my favorite shows, Dexter.
I'm not sure how I got hooked on a sociopathic serial killer, but I did. I admit it, and I love him!!!

Dexter Scramble Gamegreat free widgetsWidgetbox

Adorable Granddaughters

2008-10-02T16:49:00.000-07:00

Well, it won't surprise you to hear I have adorable granddaughters. I don't imagine it will surprise you one bit I am including photos. Here is Cassie, hanging out with dad and I earlier this week. And here is some earrings made by her big sister, Athena and I. I went out to breakfast with my cousin Nick, then hung out at the casino for a bit with him. Paid my annual "dues." As a friend of mine who is a tribal member (as is my daughter-in-law), he says, "Thanks for paying into my retirement fund." Little does he know his retirement is going to be pretty darned puny at the rate I pay in.

I am resting this afternoon. There so many things I should be doing, but sometimes my back just needs some down time after a day like yesterday. I was called in to my office and spent several hours standing at the color copier and waiting on a variety of customers. My back was not happy when I got home. It is even less happy after slipping on some wet floor today. I didn't fall, but sometimes I think it is better if you do. Something is pulled in my back. OWWW!!!

Progress and glass

2008-09-26T18:54:00.001-07:00

I had a blast at the glass foundry today. I got quite a bit done on the painting, and I got the grand tour. The son of the manager took me all around even showed me the reject room. I told him I knew where to come to find a vase when I needed one. I admired a little glass figure of a bear, and he said to take it home. Didn't have to tell me twice. He showed me the giant disk grinder and smoothed the bottom for me before I put the little guy in my purse. What a fun time I had. I only painted for about an hour and a half. As big as the panels are that is about all I can manage. My shoulder starts screaming after a short while. But I got the ocean blocked in on two of the panels and feel good about the progress.

A really long day, but Nick was so thrilled!!!!

2008-09-25T11:07:00.000-07:00

Well, I took my cousin Nick to Salem yesterday. Nothing like spending the entire day watching someone else have fun!!! He has gone without so many things for so many years it was so delightful just watching him. Our first stop was to pick up our friend Pam, who lives in Salem. Her husband John (who passed away a year and half ago) didn't get to see how his hard work turned out. He was responsible for Nick even realizing he was eligible for VA medical care. (Of course he was eligible, he served in the army for 12 years, and served in Vietnam.) Up until we had made arrangements to meet John and Pam in Portland at the VA about three years ago, Nick had no idea how to do or who to see to get his medical care paid for. He is diabetic, has many health issues, and had no medical care after a job ended. John walked him through all the tangles of red tape and helped him get familiar with what was expected and what to expect at the VA. Nick said it was only fair to bring Pam along for the fun, and pay a bit of tribute to John in that way.

Our next stop was to go get Nick's new Military ID card. It shows him as “active” military retired, 100% disabled, but with all the rights and privileges of active military, like PX access, etc. It was funny to figure out where we were going to get it. I asked Nick what the instructions said. He told me the cross streets, and I knew exactly the corner they told him it was on. He said it was an Oregon State building, which confused me since it was a military ID. He said it was called the Anderson Readiness Center. So we went to the corner it was supposed to be on. I said, I'll bet it is part of the big buildings surrounded by the chain link fence. He said, I think it is a State office. I asked him why he thought the state would be responsible for issuing a federal government ID card. He said he had no idea but that was what they told him. NOT. It was the place behind the chain link fence. The Oregon National Guard, Donald N. Anderson Readiness Center. (The part I was looking for was the Readiness Center, of course it was in small print at the bottom of the sign.) We drove up to a gate guarded by a really handsome young military man who checked out ID and told us where to drive, park and what office it was in. We passed along a narrow road past all sorts of military vehicles, and parked right outside the door to a huge brick building with an array of antennas on the top the likes of which could get reception from the moon. It was probably about an hour before he was done there. His local Vet rep had neglected to tell him he would need a copy of his discharge papers, so they had to have the Vet rep's office fax a copy of his DD214. They had also neglected to tell him he needed two forms of ID, fortunately he had them. Pam and I waited in the car and sat outside for a bit just watching all the cute young hunks parade past. There were a few closer to our age, too. Nice wait. We had a chance to chat and catch up a bit.

The next place we headed was a great restaurant called Sybil's. They have about a million types of omelets, tons of different sandwiches, hotcakes, everything breakfast and lunch you can imagine, and we go there for one thing: biscuits and gravy. Their biscuits are about the size of a “Whopper” and you get two with a soup bowl full of sausage gravy for $5.50. What a fantastic deal!!! Nick and Pam and I each saved one biscuit for later consumption. We were stuffed.

So on we went to our next destination: Walmart. Nick said there were a couple of specific things he was looking for and if he found anything else he wanted it was coming along, too. He bought new undies, some pretty new towels, new curtains for his bathroom, new T-Fal non-stick pans (his brother Marty cooks breakfast and always complains because the frying pan was not non-stick), new pillows, velcro, and a nice pancake turner.

Then we headed out to try to find a DirecTV store. I don't think there is such a thing in Salem, or if there is the stupid (and I really mean STUPID) call center employees you get at any DirecTV number you dial don't know where it is and have no information that does not relate to selling you their services. We gave up after I yelled at the lady on the phone after she had given Nick the runaround for at least five minutes and still not answered anything he asked her.

Our next stop was Lancaster Mall and the Burlington Coat Factory. Nick said he wanted a new winter coat and a new robe. We were wandering around looking at the robes, but just like at Walmart there were only one-size-fits-most robes, which only fit people under 200 lbs. He found a great coat in a “suede” finish it is kind of light colored, but very different, and it looks great on him. Then we sat in the mall and drank diet sodas and chatted for a while. Traipsed back into the store to find a restroom, and headed off in search of a place that would actually have a robe to fit. We found the Casual Male XL store a couple of blocks away and they had an entire rack of really great robes in a wide variety of colors. We helped him choose a beautiful dark blue plush robe in the tall sizes so it is a bit longer and has an inside tie to keep the robe closed so he can walk the dog in his undies if he wants to.

The next store we visited was a video store that used to be called Music Millenium. I have no idea what it is now, but they had buy three used DVDs get one free, and Nick is a DVD addict of the first order. He bought the sets he needed to finish out his Stargate: SG1 series, most of the That 70's Show series, and a variety of other movies. How fun is that!! They even gave him one of the series sets as his basic DVDs free one. Nice shop.

We then headed to Big Lots in search of shampoo, deodorant, and a few basics. We were probably there about ½ hour and knew dinner was our next destination.

We got to Hometown Buffet about 8 pm, and enjoyed a relaxing dinner, getting Pam back home around 9:30. The drive home went quickly and I spent about ½ hour with him before heading home. I pulled in my driveway at 11:35. Wow, long day. But you know what? It was sooooo worth it. Just the look of delight on his face was worth the price of admission.

Face Swap

2008-09-23T21:27:00.000-07:00

I got myself involved in a beaded face exchange recently, and my piece needs to be sent out by tomorrow!!! Well, I beaded off and on all day and here is what I ended up with: The first one shows the first part of the beading completed. The second shows the face with the beading completed. With flash: The third shot shows it completed without flash. The color is actually a little different than shown in any of the photos. The face has little sparkling flecks of pink in the purple poly clay.

Awards

2008-09-23T17:30:00.000-07:00

I was nominated for the Brillante Weblog award by my good friend Barrie of Barrie's Jewelry World. Barrie is an amazing jewelry artist. She is both a metalsmith and a flameworker making her own lampwork beads. I can only aspire to be a 10th the artist she is someday. In return I have to write a fabulous acceptance speech, so here goes:

I thank my dad, who gives me the freedom to do whatever my heart desires, just as long as it includes keeping him fed and entertained. I thank all my email pals for the entertainment part of that equation. I thank my pals on Wet Canvas for encouraging me and helping me keep my sanity while those around me are failing to keep theirs. I thank my son for teaching me exactly what it means to love someone and hate their behaviour at the same time. I thank my daughter for being there for me no matter what the insanity of the week happens to be. I thank her for supporting me in all I do, even financially some weeks. I thank my cousin Nick for being my big brother even though I am an only child. I thank my grandgirls for being the light and loves of my life. Without all of the above mentioned this blog would be neither successful, nor necessary.

Now, in return, here is my list of nominees for this award:

1. Luke-a-do
2. Elaine Magliacane Journal
3. Deronda Designs
4. Lavender Cottage
5. Sunrise Sunset
6. Blue Lagoon Blog
7. Andee’s Jewelry Blog

Here are the rules if you’re nominated:
1. The winner can put the logo on their blog.
2. Link to the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you’ve nominated.
6. Write an acceptance speech in the style of the Academy Awards, thanking every body’s mother, father, sister, brother, aunties and uncles and the kitchen staff at your favorite restaurant!

Check out my award winning nominees. They just have to follow the instructions to receive their award.

Faces and Butts

2008-09-21T19:52:00.000-07:00

My friend Deronda posted a link to a hue test. It was really interesting. I may take it again one of these days when my head is not throbbing. I scored 14. The lower your number the better. Here it is: Hue Test

Life has once again been chaotic. But on the news front. My cousin Nick finally received word on his disability claim with the VA. He is classified as 100% disabled, and 100% service connected. This means all those trips we have made to the VA in both Portland and Vancouver, WA is finally paying off. He is getting a pension which will begin soon, and all his medical expenses are going to be paid 100% as well. Yippee!!! For a while there it felt like we were beating our heads on a wall, with little hope of anything actually changing. Sigh. Celebration to begin once he gets his first check.

Off to take Tess back to the dentist in the morning. Then I am starting on beading some little faces for a "Face Swap." I have to get them sent out by Wednesday. Yikes, I better get busy. I made poly clay faces with a great little mold. I have never done beaded cabachons before, but I think it will be fun. And I will get the art of others in return. I love swaps. I have also made a few ATCs. Artist Trading Cards and am going to exchange some with other artists. I'll keep you posted on how that goes, too.

More soon!!! Dad is about the same. Butt is sore, still loves sweets and baseball. Also funny TV. Oh, and western novels. At 88 that isn't such a bad way to be, is it?!!

Mural finally started!!!!!

2008-09-17T19:47:00.000-07:00

It seems like years ago I got the commission for a mural. It is something like 50 inches high be 13 feet long. I have never painted larger than 30x40 inches. So it is quite an undertaking. I started the sketch today on the actual boards I will be painting on. I had done multiple sketches, but wasn't sure where I was headed exactly. I had been given free reign on what I paint, as long as it has beachy or water themes. I had sketched abstract fish, mermaids, sea lions, the beach, the bayfront, so many different things, but the mermaid and treasure chest idea just kept coming back to me. Here are the first rough sketches actually on the boards. I want it to convey the glassy feeling one of my fish paintings has. It is going to be hung on the outside of the Jennifer Sears Glass Foundry in Lincoln City, Oregon. And I am painting inside the foundry in their "gallery" area.

I spent quite a while talking with one of the hot shop guys about glass, design, my work, his work, and art in general. We finally worked our way around to torches and lampworking. He invited me to bring my torch over to the hot shop and set it up any time I would like to. I told him I had yet to fire it up, he said just do it. Then bring it over when I have time and I can try different gasses and see what I like best. We talked about the different glasses, color reactions, striking colors, etc. What a great time I had. So cool that is where I will be painting!!!

Here are the work in progress shots. There is another panel that goes on the right side with sea weed, etc. just leading off into the distance.

I took the photos for food for my head, and WIP shots to share. I told the glass guy I was just trying to get something blocked in, but not totally direct it, since I like to see how things unfold as I paint. I like to let the fun stuff come out on its own. I try not to paint things in a realistic fashion, even though I can, I just like the fun whimsical stuff better. He said, cool. Some abstraction is always a good thing.

Survival

2008-09-15T15:24:00.000-07:00

Well, I survived another weekend, and am having a busy day off. Duh, what's new. Today was take Tess to the bank and the dentist day. After dropping her at the dentist I stopped at my office and worked for about 1/2 hour finishing up a couple of things that came in late yesterday. Then ran and picked up MY paycheck, and by the time I was pulling away I had a text message telling me Tess was done and ready to be picked up. It took them less than an hour and they remembered (after her work was done) that they had given her an anti-anxiety drug before her last appointment. So she now has a prescription to use for her next one. They wondered why she was so upset. Duh!!! She is just about as excited at going to the dentist as I am.

Tess is home from the dental wars, they only pulled three teeth, excessive blood loss prevented the fourth being pulled, and they will go at it again in three weeks. She was very entertaining, if hard to understand to take to the pharmacy.

Then we stopped to pick up Chinese food on the way home. She said if she was only going to eat one thing in the next couple of days she wanted it to be egg foo yung. She said she probably wouldn't be able to eat after the numb wore off. Her eye to her jaw was numb on one side, and she looked like she had suffered a stroke. Very lopsided. She said she felt that way, too, since she couldn't feel her eye, nose or swallow. She is home tucked into bed now. Whew!!! Glad that is over for the next couple of weeks.

Hoping for a restful afternoon, and productive evening. I have so many projects lined up that need my attention I could stay busy 24/7 for the next year or two.

I have awesome news, I have sold my old mobile home. I had lived there for over 16 years when I had to move in with my dad last year. I really hated leaving it. It was the longest I had ever lived in one place in my entire life. It wasn't the home I hated leaving so much, it was the idea of being in one place. Of not having to pack and move, again. I am hoping I will get to stay here for a long, long time. Maybe some day Tess, Eric and the kids and I will be able to buy a big piece of property with room for all of us. I don't want to share their home, but it would be nice to be nearby like we are here. I love seeing my grandgirls so often, and being able to babysit, and hang out with Tess so often. It enhances both of our lives. And it makes it easier to care for dad, too.

Another week gone too fast

2008-09-10T22:36:00.000-07:00

Here it is Wednesday night already. This has been an oddly busy week. Monday was a day of hanging with family. We get together for lunch every Monday. My cousins come here for lunch. They bring their own, and we fix ours, but the time spent together is what we need most. It is especially good for my dad. This week it was Tess, Cassie, my cousins and my dad and I, so the living room was full. Tess made the best French Dip sandwiches I have ever eaten. Yum!!!

I finished a "Robin Atkins" type treasure bracelet. I used the instructions from a WC friend who has her own technique for that type bracelet. It took me about six hours to finish. Here it is, click on the photo to see it larger:

I have tons more beads ready to be made into bracelets, just need the time to actually do it.

Today we took Cassie to the eye doctor, who didn't actually treat children. the receptionist thought she did, so we have to go back to Portland or Salem or somewhere else. Dang it all!!! So as a treat we took her out for lunch. They gave her two paper hats to color. She colored one for me and I colored one for her. Here she is in her "Princess" hat.

Be back with more tomorrow

2008-09-07T19:47:00.000-07:00

Just popping in to post a link to a place with free Blinkies:

Cassie's First Day of School

2008-09-04T20:29:00.000-07:00

After the long summer, Cassie had pretty much forgotten about school. That is until Tess asked her what she would like to wear, and if she wanted to come to my house to see her new school clothes. She wanted to "walk" to my house in her wheelchair, and she has gotten so independent it took them over an hour to walk the equivalent of about a block. Of course half of it is gravel, and Cassie refused to let Tess touch her chair, or help her at all. She also wanted to talk about every rock, flower and bush they passed. I couldn't help but laugh.

Cassie was delighted with her new clothes, and even let me cut her bangs. She got all dolled up and asked if the bus was coming. Tess said, "Not today, we are driving you to school." Cassie said, "Grandma riding in my Jeep?" Tess told her yes, and away we went. When we got to school, Cassie had to wheel herself around the classroom and get her coat put away. Then she wheeled herself to the circle where they start class, and found her special spot. That is when we left, with Cassie's lip quivering. She had a wonderful time, though and got to spend 2 and 1/2 hours there unlike her 1-1/2 last year. She will be going three days a week, and her best friend from last year is in her class. Yea!!! If will be a good year!!

As a celebration when Cassie got out of school we picked her up and took her to the coffee shop for her special. She asked for coffee, so we got her a steamer with strawberry and white chocolate flavoring. She called it her pink coffee and was feeling very grown up when JB and Ben gave her a real cup and saucer. She was very disappointed to discover she couldn't take the cup home.

2008-09-01T21:43:00.000-07:00

Once again, too long without updating my blog. But then life has been a bit on the busy side. Again.

Last Friday I went in search of some school clothes for Cassie. Even though she only goes to early intervention classes, she still needs to have nice things to wear. here was my basic morning:

Athena and Tess and I went out to breakfast, then took Tess to work. We noticed there was a Trunk Sale at the bead store across from where Tess works, so Athena and I went to check it out. There were a couple of guys from India (at least that is what it sounded like) with tables filled with semi-precious stone bead strands ranging in price from $6 to $450 a strand. I let Athena choose a single strand and I got two. She got round Tourmaline and I got some lovely round opalescent grey stones I can't think of the name of right now (I think Labradorite). Of course while we were there we had to look over what she had added to the bead store, so I bought 10 more mermaids to use in earrings, and Athena had to have a lampwork elephant pendant (I am sure it is from China), but it was cheap enough. She also gave Athena a strand of beads from her $3 bowl since she is now an Etsy seller.

Then I took Athena grocery shopping, picked Eric up a special coffee, fed dad again, and headed out to go school shopping for Cassie.

I went to the outlet mall and ended up having to go to three stores to find what I went for. I think I bought her about 8 tops, a dress, two pairs of OshKosh overalls, one in a pink stripe, a pair of “yoga” pants, a zipped hoodie and a pair of shoes. No one had bought Cassie anything to wear for school, and I think she was feeling left out. So of course I had to give her a little lift and shop for her, too. I got everything color coordinated except for a cute peach color top I got at Old Navy. Everything else was in varied shades of pink to magenta. Now I can't wait to show her what I found.

Today, Tess and I had to go find a black sparkly headband for Athena. She is wearing her new blouse (like momma would wear) which I altered earlier, with sparkly black pants and the new headband. She is all excited and can't wait to parade around in her new clothes. Gotta love the first day of school. Of course Tess's co-worker was in an accident so she has to work tomorrow. I can't believe she has to work. At least she can take Athena to school before work, meet the teacher, get the lay of the land, and go see Cassie's teacher. I still haven't gotten to show Cassie her new clothes, but I did get to show them to Tess. Cassie and Athena have been at their dad's since Friday night.

Dad is doing fine, well, the usual. Not walking much, but moving around well. Sleeping well, eating well, and enjoying watching baseball on TV. I guess there are worse ways to spend your time at 88 years old.

I will be back sooner next time, and try to post some photos.

Whoa, it's been a week!!!

2008-08-28T00:23:00.000-07:00

Holy cow, it has been a week since my last post. I am so behind. I guess that is partially because I have been soooo busy.

Had my grandgirls over here a couple of times, spent half of a couple of days shopping with Tess, Cassie and Athena or a combination of the above. Finally attempted a solo run on giving dad a shower. Didn't kill either one of us, and it only took me a day to recover.

My big plans for tomorrow are getting the sewing machine out and catching up on all the stuff I have been intending to stitch up. A robe for my cousin Nick, sarongs for Athena and Cassie, and some minor mending chores. I have to hand stitch some tucks into a new top for Athena for school, too. Sandwich in feed and care of cats and dad and it pretty much takes up the day. Oh, and I promised Athena we would go to art class tomorrow morning. Yikes!!! What have I gotten myself into???

Another day. Thank God!!!

2008-08-21T10:29:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't know what day it is or what month it is, well actually I know it is August, but this week has gotten more nuts with each passing day. I am guessing today might be a little more "normal."

Let me start this story on Tuesday. Everything seemed pretty normal until Tess called to ask me if I would take the girls for a couple of hours so she could take Eric to the ER. His face was hugely swollen and discolored. He has a serious abcessed tooth. I said, of course, and over they came. After a couple of hours I got a call from Tess. They were still waiting to go in, and after another hour or so arrived to pick up the girls and take them home. Athena and Cassie and I played and looked at lots of beads, and beading catalogs, and Cassie crawled all over the house. Normal afternoon up until then. Tess said not only did they not do a whole lot for Eric, but he had a seizure in the middle of Walgreens. He has epilepsy and his poor body seems to conspire to make him pay for some unknown sin from his greatgrandfather or something. He is always embarrassed by public seizures, even though there is nothing he can do about them. Well, Tess called me and said, "Mom can you drive over here and put the car seat in the car, we have to go back to the emergency room." I thought, oh no, Eric must be worse. I asked her if he was okay and she said, "It's not for Eric, it's Cassie. I am covered in her blood." He was back home and recovering from all that, and the girls were playing, when Athena (overzealous in her playing) accidentally hit Cassie's head on the coffee table. She said Eric couldn't see a big wound so he wasn't too worried about it, but of course Tess was covered in her blood and hysterical. By the time I put on my shoes and drove over there Cassie had pretty much calmed down and said, "Hi Grandma, I have an owie on my head." I told her I knew she had an owie, and she was pretty calm until we started driving. Then she said, "I go doctor?" I said yes, and she starting getting wound up. She hates hospitals and doctors since she has spent so much time with them. By the time we got there she had wound back up to full whimper and was feeling very sorry for herself. She was hysterically crying all throught the triage stage, and totally calm by the time she was back to the waiting room, including wearing a wristband I told her was a bracelet. (She loves jewelry so it made the id band okay) She got called in to see the doctor, and of course Grandma got to stay in the waiting room. I couldn't hear her crying, and I guess she did pretty well. The doctor checked her head, they put ice on it, and called her neurosurgeon in Portland to see what he wanted them to do. The wound was really small, but there was a little bump and with her shunt they wanted to be sure there was no intracranial swelling. She was fine, and they got her to sit still by telling her she would get a present if she would let them look. Tess asked her if she wanted a prize and she said, a Prize?? Cassie got a glove blown up to look like a hand, and a cute little teddy bear wearing a purple T-shirt. She was so delighted everyone working in the ER had to go see how cute she was. They finally came out and had to stay until the neurosurgeon called back. She charmed all the people sitting in the waiting room. She crawled all around and entertained everyone, grandma included.

Yesterday was pretty uneventful, and I found out I am being traded to another company with some accounts and equipment. Funny, huh? I feel like a baseball player.

Yesterday was insane, I still have hope for today

2008-08-19T14:53:00.000-07:00

My day yesterday ended up being one of those run here there and everywhere days, too. Went to get my time sheet signed and a check for agency, cash Tess's paycheck, pick up my check, stop and pay Tess's power and pick up lunch for dad and Tess's girls. Stop and make lunches for dad and the girls, run to Newport (22 miles) go to the courthouse and visit assessor's office to get paperwork I needed and copies of tax receipts she needed. Then on to her appt. Next we ate lunch at our FAVORITE Chinese restaurant. Then on to Walmart. Ran around finding a new T-shirt and new undies for Eric, some beads and stretchy cord for Athena, picked Eric and the girls up some food at Taco Bell, and then home. Next a trip to pick up a can of gas and up to Tess's car (which was dying on her way to work on Sunday) get it going again, followed her to the gas station, put $20 in it, on to the grocery store, where we both did a bit of grocery shopping. Then home and fixed dinner, got dad started toward bed, another explosion in the rear end, more cleaning time, put new sheets on his bed, got him to bed. Then just as I sat down and put my feet up for the first time Tess popped in and asked me to spot her while she climbed on a chair to check for the reset button on her hot water heater. So we climbed in my car and drove over behind her house, so I wouldn't fall in the dark, and she dragged a chair around from her deck and I held a flashlight and she climbed on the chair. The screws in the cover over the thermostat was kind of stripped and she couldn't get it open. The internet said she would need to push the reset button which should be on top. So she wanted to look at the top of the tank. She couldn't climb up that high from the chair. So in the meantime the neighbor lady has popped out to see what we are doing, fortunately triggering her flood light which is pretty much aimed right at the hot water heater. So she went back in her house and brought out a step stool for Tess to use. Tess climbed on it, I pushed on her butt and held her up so she could look on top, no reset button in sight. By now Eric has decided to join us (he so didn't want to do this in the dark) and with his strong man hands managed to get the screw driver to bite into those stripped screws and push the reset button. I don't think that was the problem, but I haven't heard yet. I am sure the next stop will be at George Morlan Plumbing (The water heater king). Of course neither one of us has the money to replace it right now. So they will be in cold water for the next couple of weeks.

Today we went to check on the hotwater heater at George Morlan's and the gent there said we definitely need a plumber. Fortunately the hubby of one of my friends is a plumber. I had totally forgotten that until I went to Geo. Morlan. I am going to call and see if they will do a house call and let me make payments on it. Neither Tess nor I has any money right now for a new water heater, but we might be able to finance one. Jeez, I swear it never ends, does it?!!

Came home to find dad rolling around in no pants because he had a "little problem" while I was gone. so now I have him changed, dressed and down for a nap. I am hoping for a few quiet moments for myself at some point today. It is no wonder I am so tired all the time. When I look at all the stuff I do every day I wonder where I get the energy to do what I do. I never seem to get caught up on anything. And I am sleep deprived most of the time. Some day it will be time for me. I know it in my heart. I am just not seeing much of it right now.

Don't worry, I am not depressed, just a bit overwhelmed at the moment. Thankfully Athena is over here and we are making jewelry. That is a nice thing I do for her and for me. It relaxes me more than painting does.

On the painting subject, I have to start the public art project sometime either this week or next. Yikes. I don't know where to start!!! It is gigantic!!!

TGIF, NOT!!

2008-08-15T14:27:00.000-07:00

Somehow Fridays aren't such a great thing in my life, however this one started off badly but has gotten better as the day has worn on.

My morning started waaaay too early again. 5:30 again. This time with Dad yelling my name and needing help to get to the bathroom in a hurry. Of course it was just gas so we both went back to bed. As soon as my head hit the pillow Baby was meowing to come in so I got back up and left his escape hatch open so he could go back out when he was done. It took me about ½ hour to get back to sleep, then Baby decided he had to get on the bed and kept pawing my shoulder trying to get me to let him under the covers. Then after another 15 minutes or so he curled up between my legs and went to sleep. I just got back to sleep again and he suddenly jumped up meowed loudly and ran down the hall. I had almost nodded off again and he was back meowing like mad. I told him, “No dammit!!!” He wasn't listening obviously because he left for another few minutes and was back again. I finally gave up and just got up. I found dad had gotten up and was in the living room trying to figure out how to find our usual morning station. (TV remotes confuse him) I think Baby was just trying to ask me if dad was up why wasn't I!! Silly cat.

Then after some breakfast and coffee I had to drive Tess to work and went to buy her some fresh fruit for lunch. On the way back I went to two church rummage sales and bought a couple of things. I found a beautiful Taxco sterling silver bracelet for 10-cents, some Wade animals from England for 10-cents apiece, and a wonderful denim blue really soft leather shoulder bag from Wilson Leather for 50-cents. I am sure the bag cost at least $50 because I have a black one my XBF bought me last year at the Wilson outlet and I know he paid $50 for it. It is barely used and looks like new. I got some cute little elephant figures for Athena. For some reason she has become infatuated with ellies.

I got her Etsy shop started, but need to actually put some merchandise in it. I am going to photo and start listing in a bit. I got her an email address I can check and gave her mom the info for it, too. She is very excited about having her own shop.

I will be back quicker next time. Life barrels along with or without me. So I figured i better play catch up.

Tag You're It, well, I'm It!!!

2008-08-06T12:03:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by Nancy's Arts and Crafts (Nancy) and am passing along the game to six other bloggers.

The rules of the game are:

1. Link back to the person who tagged you
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger's blogs letting them know they've been tagged

Here goes with six unspectacular quirky things about me:

1. (Like Nancy, who tagged me) I like reading favorite authors’ entire works (unlike her I love murder mysteries and crime dramas, i.e.: Sue Grafton; J.A. Jance; Mary Higgins Clark; Carol Higgins Clark; Patricia Cornwell; etc.)
2. I could eat Chinese food for every meal every day and never tire of it.
3. I am obsessed with jewelry making. So much it is interfering with my painting.
4. I am really bad at selling my own work. My daughter is much better at it.
5. I am such a softy I will forgive just about anyone just about anything, many times to my own chagrin.
6. I think I am a truly rich person, in ways the financially rich person can never comprehend.

So here are the six bloggers I have tagged:

1. Barrie's Jewelry World
2. Elaine's Daily Art Journal
3. Ramblings of a lunatic mom and lampworker
4. The Blue Between
5. For The Love of Beads
6. Life on the Island

(even when i am low on free time I read these blogs at least once a week)

Read their blogs; creative souls writing there!

Shrink art revisited

2008-08-04T21:59:00.000-07:00

Another shot of some shrink art charms and the charm bracelet I made using them. The fish are my original art and are subject to copyright infringement if duplicated without my permission.

Thanks.

Computer woes

2008-08-01T21:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday and the day before were productive as far as making earrings goes, and annoying as far as having or using a computer goes. I have had my computer freezing and rebooting about every hour and 45 minutes for the last couple of months. So Tess and I had tried everything we could think of to remedy that. Nothing worked. Day before yesterday I thought (brilliant woman that I am NOT) I would check out the Microsoft website and see what patches or whatever were available for XP Media Center, which was the operating system I was using. They had an XPMC service pack 3 available, and recommended I install it, so I did. Once it was done I rebooted my computer, and it wouldn't even get to my desktop, or anywhere. So, Eric and I spent nearly 45 minutes on the phone talking about what I wanted to do, and what we could do. He laughed at me for downloading something from Microsoft, and I told him they said it was what I needed to download. Turns out it was a beta test version and really flaky, and after I downloaded it my computer was immediately susceptible to worms, spyware, etc. and it had contracted a worm which was eating my data. Tess and Eric got it opened in safe mode, and got rid of the worm, but the harddrive needed to be reformatted to recover from the original problem (rebooting itself). So to make a long story longer they got my computer running in safe mode, and brought it back to my house so I could delete the stuff we didn't need, and sort down the photos of the girls, etc. Tess took it back home and uploaded all the photos of the girls to her Photobucket account, and then they reformatted the thing and installed XP. Not media center, and I have now lost all my previously installed software, addresses, etc. But things are good between us all now, and Eric is finding out I am not a mean or bad person. He is trying to get a computer consulting business off the ground, and he is very good at tracking down problems and helping people with software issues. Tess had come over to bring back my cell phone (accidentally ended up in her purse last night) and she was trapped here by the momma raccoon and her triplets. Eric came to find out where she was and scared them away so they were able to get back home again. Whew!!! nothing like rambling on like a mad woman!!!

Went grocery shopping for myself and for Tess earlier after delivering some of the earrings I had made earlier this and last weeks. I got home from driving Tess back to her house with her groceries I had picked up for her earlier and found dad back up at the front door letting the cat out. I was so mad and scared I yelled at him (bad daughter). I asked him what the he*&^ he thought he was doing and didn't he remember how and why he fell the last time, and I was only gone for about two minutes and he knew it . . . JEEZ!!!! At least he didn't fall this time.

I am spending the evening making jellyfish legs tonight, and putting together jellyfish. Oh such fun.

Earrings and falling down

2008-07-29T11:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning I made 11 pairs of earrings, and photographed them and one I had made previously. I need to get all the recent creations carded up and ready to deliver. I also have to figure out exactly what each pair cost to make. Jeez. I have my work cut out for me. But I guess if I want to start making a living out of my jewelry making it will take some work!!

Got home yesterday to my dad lying on the floor in the living room. Fortunately he had only been on the floor for about 1/2 hour. Eric and the neighbor came and got him back up. Eric was so sweet with him. He gently took off his slippers and support stockings and helped get him sitting back up and then up on his feet and into his chair. Thankfully he is okay. Just a little bruised and stiff from the fall. His back is a bit sore, and his shoulder is a little sore from where he landed. But nothing is broken and I think he will be okay. Whew!!!

Here are some of the latest earrings I made:

And here is what came to lunch today:
Momma raccoon has been eating my catfood for several months. She finally decided to bring her babies with her in the middle of the day so I could get their picture. Aren't they the cutest!!! (click on the photo to see it bigger.)

Cassie is doing really well!!!

2008-07-25T22:07:00.000-07:00

I went over to Tess's house to pick her up to go to the store. It coincided with her ex Brian picking up the girls for the weekend. When Tess came out of the house carrying Cassie, she yelled, "It's my grandma. It's my grandma, my grandma!" Of course my heart totally melted at that point. She said, "Wow, my daddy brought me my Grandma!" It was so funny. So I held her for a few minutes while everyone got in their respective cars and she was excited about going to her dad's house. She also told me she was all better. No sick, no hostipal (her pronunciation) anymore. Her knees were dirty, and I asked her why her knee was all black looking, she said she had been crawling around a lot. So I knew she was doing okay. She looked great, and has been doing just fine. Yippee!!!!

I looked out the front door a minute ago and there was a cute little tiny oppossum eating the catfood on the front porch. It is just a little thing about 8-9 inches long from nose to butt. Very timid and jumpy, I tried to get a photo of it. I will attempt to download it in a bit. I don't know how it came out since it is dark. Oh well, sometime I will catch it out there in the daylight.

Why I'm still tired today . . .

2008-07-24T18:11:00.001-07:00

. . . I am so tired today because I left home yesterday at 7:30 am and didn't get home until 11 pm. This was after an evening of being awake until 1:30 am waiting to hear what was going on with my darling baby granddaughter, Cassie, who was at OHSU in the ER. She wasn't at the children's hospital Doernbecher since it was an after hours emergency situation and they are adjacent hospitals. OHSU handles all emergent care but Doernbecher has its own PICU. I wasn't at all sure what was going on with her until around 1:30 pm yesterday, and then I only had part of the story.

My cousin Nick and I had to go to the VA medical center in Portland which is also adjacent to the other two hospitals, three actually if you count Shriners. It is known by Portlanders as "the hill." Or pill hill by some. I am just so grateful it is there, and there is specialized care for children with Spina Bifida. Spina bifida is a somewhat common (1 in 4,000 births) birth defect.

I talked to Tess for about a minute when we were approaching the hospitals. She thought they were headed to Doernbecher to meet her pediatrician. The stupid neurosurgeon assumed it had nothing to do with her shunt and foisted her off on the rest of the Spina Bifida team. After a couple of hours at the VA, we finally got the voice mail Tess had left us telling us they had gone to her dad's house in Molalla.

When I finally got through to Tess, she said Cassie's fever had just spiked at 104, and she had thrown up on herself again, but was cooler now and resting pretty comfortably. She said the doctor had given Cassie an antibiotic and it seemed to finally be kicking in. She said she would love it if we would come to her dad's for a bit before we headed back home since Cassie always calms down when I am around.

Cassie said, My Grandma as I entered my ex-hubby’s house, patted couch next to her, leaned on me and said MY grandma, again. Within half an hour of us getting there she was starting to feel better. And Cassie started getting visibly better pretty quickly after that. I could tell she was really better when she asked to get down because she wanted to crawl. Of course crawling, meant she wanted me to follow her which entailed many laps around the house, down the halls, into the various rooms, and back to the living room. She of course had to stop periodically and yell Momma, I want you. I think she was just making sure we were all there. By the time we all left their house Cassie had eaten some chicken nuggets and was drinking chocolate milk Nick had bought her. Tess said they stopped at a Denny's and Cassie really stuffed herself with chicken. When she got home she played until 1:30 in the morning she was so happy to be back home. Then she and her sister, Athena, both went to sleep on the couch in the living room (their other favorite bedroom).

Nick and I made our normal trip to Walmart, since there isn't one in Lincoln City, and got to his house around 10:15. I think it was around 11 when I got home. My dad was still up when I got home, so I had to get him to bed and bring in the Walmart goodies: catfood and yogurt and put it away. Oh, and feed the outdoor cats. I was exhausted but strangely awake and I think I got to sleep around 1 am or so. I slept until 9 this morning. No wonder!! And to quote Paul Harvey, "and now you know the rest of the story."

Cassie is home!!!

2008-07-23T23:48:00.000-07:00

Cassie's fever finally broke today at 104 and the antibiotic finally kicked in and she finally (too many finallys) started to eat and drink again. She hadn't eaten since Monday, and barely drank at all. She is pretty fragile, so when she stops eating and drinking she takes a nosedive in a hurry. Her pediatrician at the children's hospital gave Tess his home number in case of emergencies. Tess and Brian took her to Tess's dad's house about 25 miles SE of Portland this afternoon, because the Dr. felt it might help Cass feel better since she hates hospitals so much. It must have helped because by the time Nick and I got there after his appts. she was feeling a lot better, and just continued to do better all the time. She is home tonight!!!! Yippeee!!! More tomorrow!!!

Doernbecher Days . . . er, Nights

2008-07-22T21:35:00.000-07:00

Well, Cassie fell off her couch last night and hit the back of her head on the floor. That just happens to coincide with where her shunt is placed. Not a good thing. She was lethargic and slept most of the day today. She wouldn't eat and when Tess left work early to go check things out, she said, "That's it, we are taking her to Doernbecher." So off we went. Well, Tess had been trying to call Brian, her ex-hubby, Cassie's dad for a while, and finally got him about the time we were at the north end of town ready to depart. Cassie had thrown up on herself, and immediately said, I'm hungry. I want hamburger. I want fries. I want milk. So we stopped at McDonald's. That is where we finally got hold of Brian. He said, just go I will meet you in Portland. I said, it isn't that I don't want to be there. But it's silly for us both to drive to Portland when we have no idea what is going on. And I have to go to Portland tomorrow to the Veteran's Hospital with my cousin Nick anyway. And it is right next to the Children's hospital.

So, Cassie and Tess are in Brian's car and hopefully already at the hospital. Athena is here for the night, since I have to leave early and she is going to help look out for Grandpa tomorrow. I will update this tomorrow night if not before to keep you up to date. Her temp is 102 and her spinal closure and shunt areas are red and slightly swollen. Tess thinks it is from that, but it could always be another kidney infection. She hasn't had one for nearly two years.

Good night for now. Think good thoughts for the babe. She needs our prayers and affirmations now.

UPDATE: Just got a call from Tess at the hospital. She said Cassie has a low-level bladder infection, but shunt stuff all looks okay at this point. They are keeping her overnight and will do more tests tomorrow. They said she has some hardened poop inside they are working on removing with enemas. In spite of her having chronic diarrhea. Bizarre, huh?! Poor baby girl. Will be up there tomorrow. I will post an update tomorrow when I get back. Probably after 7 pm.

Hey! Look! I got an award!

2008-07-17T12:28:00.000-07:00

Wow! I didn't know my blog was so fascinating, but I am thoroughly delighted to be nominated for and win an award!!!

Thank you Pam for nominating me for this award. Her blog is The Blue Between and she has fabulous photos of her home and surroundings, and inspiration for us bead enthusiasts. Thanks, Pam.

Thanks to all the little people, my cats, my children, my grandchildren, my cousins, and my dad, for making my life interesting enough to need my own blog.
Thank you Pacific Grind, Beach Dog Cafe, and Pirate Pastry for serving me wonderful food to write about. Thank you Tanger Outlet Mall for giving me a setting for many tales of shopping and dining with my wonderful grandgirls Cassie and Athena.
Thanks Momiji's and Lee's for allowing us to include your Chinese food in our diet.
Thank you Wet Canvas for giving me a world-wide circle of friends.

Here's my list of nominees that I'd like to receive this award as well:

1. Life on an Island
2. Elaine Magliacane Journal
3. Nancy's Craft blog
4. Ramblings of a lunatic mom and lampworker
5. Sueze’s blog - Vox
6. Luke-a-do
7. For the love of beads

Here are the rules for this award:

1. The winner can put the logo on their blog.
2. Link to the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you've nominated.
6. Write an acceptance speech in the style of the Academy Awards, thanking every body's mother, father, sister, brother, aunties and uncles and the kitchen staff at your favorite restaurant!

Cats are definitely crazy

2008-07-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

I was trying valiantly to take Koala's picture this morning after she had, once again, foiled my cat prevention measures at the front door. I figured since she was in the house I might as well take advantage of the situation and show you how pretty she is, too. Baby, meanwhile, had been nibbling on catnip and decided he didn't like the idea of my taking "her" picture.
He is the self-appointed king of everything and has suddenly decided "he" is the one to be photographed. I suppose what cracked me up the most was the lengths he went to prevent my taking her photo. He kept walking in front of the camera, and when that failed he would butt it with his head to move it away from her.

Little did he know she is difficult to get a decent picture of anyway. If the lighting isn't right she is so dark it is hard to see any details, and she won't hold still for more than about two second intervals.

I finally had to follow her to the bathroom to get a decent photo. She loves to go in there anyway because she is obsessed with drinking from the bathroom sink.

She has a perfectly good cat fountain beside it, but that is obviously "different" water. I don't know what flavor the faucet has that is so much better, but she certainly likes it better. Here is the lovely Koala in all her glory. I called this shot "Princess Koala." She has assumed the position of cat in power. It didn't last long, but she was satisfied for a moment.

More Charms and Charming Baby

2008-07-15T23:14:00.000-07:00

Today was intended to be a day of actually starting to pre-assemble earring components. Somehow it turned into a day of housework, charm hunting and naps.

I am including a photo of my beautiful boy, Baby. This is his attempt as hypnosis. isn't he a pretty boy? (click to enlarge photo)

Having changed the sheets on my bed first thing this morning, and getting dad up and fed to start the day I began doing laundry. Oh boy. Then tackled the pile of dishes that always accumulates on days I work. I can't seem to find the energy to do them on days I have already put so much effort and energy into. I had to figure out what to make for three meals today, which is a shock to my system after the weekend where we pretty much have leftovers and take-out. Then I had planned to work on earrings. That suddenly changed when Tess called and we went to the local Joann's Fabrics and Crafts in search of fringe for a new sarong for Athena. Tess found a really beautiful one at the bead store south of us last time we were there. Beautiful batik fabric and a generous cut so she had options of how to wear it. She said Cassie has commandeered it quite frequently and Athena really wanted one, too. She took Athena to Joann's a couple days ago, but couldn't figure out what to do for fringe. Hence the trip back there today. We found exactly what Athena wanted . . . rainbow fringe. While we were talking about Cassie stealing Tess's sarong she decided the way to remedy that would be to make one for Cassie, too. So she also bought fabric for that. Of course what she really meant was for me to make them both sarongs, since Tess can't sew in any way shape or form. While we were there I also found head pins and earring stoppers at great prices and the head pins were on sale at 30% off. The stoppers were a package of 300 for $3.99, and at the bead store they are $3 for 100. You do the math, but I think I saved a bunch of money. We also stopped at the bead store in the middle of town since I had a $10 off coupon I had earned with previous purchases. So I spent a total of $4 out of pocket for a bunch more charms for the earrings.
I am ready to start fresh tomorrow, and grateful for the day off today, and especially grateful for the 2-hour nap. I really needed it badly.

Here is another photo of my wonderful kitty Baby, I call it "puddle of cat." He is sleeping in dad's wheelchair.