May 2006
Well, let's see…
Mike is a new uncle. Congrats Jen! He is a
raging cutie pie!!!
I haven't updated this blog
for several days 'cause I've been down with something really ucky. Actually spent DAYLIGHT hours in bed!!! Those of you
who know me well know just how apocalyptic THAT is.
Feeling better now. Sorry I missed your
birthday, Rick. Well, I didn't miss it… I knew it was coming and I knew it was
there when it was the day… I was just in bed, too ill to do anything about
anything.
The eagle video stopped working for me at home
so I was unable to catch their progress while I was sick. Last I saw (Saturday
morning?), the one egg had just a bit of a hole in it….
Still no chicks. I'll wait to see today, when the big
eagles stand up.
Here's a useful URL that was passed along to me:
Cheapest Gas in Your Area
Just plug in your zip code and you'll get a list
of the cheapest gas near you.
Nothing else too new to
report.
Tried to work with stringer (Karen, I'm just
THAT impatient).
TOTALLY want to find some torch time to
play/experiment/practice.
Everyone has dentist visits this afternoon… then
hopefully Mike can take Gabe back home, 'cause I have to take Mon to hockey.
Tomorrow, the kids go to their dad's, so I guess
that's when I'll be catching up on orders, planning meals for next week, and
looking for torch time.
Well, I'd better make this short as there's a
lot to do. I'm behind in everything now.
Friday, May 5, 2006
Rep. Patrick Kennedy says he'd taken prescription anti-nausea and sleep
drugs, but consumed no alcohol, before crashing his car near the Capitol.
So… this congressman wasn't drunk, so what? Does
NO
And then there's this: Please choose the author
of the following line…
"Yes, I broke the law, but it was in order
to make a better life for me and my family."
A) Illegal immigrant
B) Bank robber
Today's quote is: "Integrity has no need of
rules"
It applies to a lot of "discussions"
I'm having with people lately… and it has a lot to do with things I've been
thinking about lately.
Okay, onto lighter subjects… don't want to scare
away
Got some torching in last night… took some
pictures this morning of this week's beads but forgot to upload it before I
left the house.
I'm wearing a pendant necklace right now that
features one of MY lampwork beads (sorry Gabe). And
gosh darn it, I really like it. Not just the bead, the whole thing. I think it
looks quite decent. Happy happy.
Hm… Okay, it's been quite some time, eh?
I'm always amazed to hear how many people read
this blog. Particularly since I'm
not steady with updating it. Ah well, thanks for your loyalty.
There should be a lot to catch up with… let's
see…
Two exciting bits of news (on a personal level)…
I made my first set of lampwork beads (meaning things
that match and/or go together).
Here's the pic:
And here's the necklace I mentioned in my last
entry… the one that I made for myself with one of my own beads… and have been
wearing nonstop.
Mike… hm… he got a
PSP, but still spends most of his game time playing FFXI. He should be getting
computer soon… I guess that will expand his options for games.
Mike and I should be finishing his 1st book this
weekend. If we can get our act together.
I won't be going to any hockey practices because
Max won't take the kids to any this weekend, but I will attend the going away
party for the Morrisons and Jeff and Jason and Alex.
:-(
I'm still feeling the effects of the virus… uck. I'm tired, I'm cranky, I can't hear anything with my
right ear, and nothing tastes right. Wwwwwwwwwwwaaaa!
Mother's day kind of came and went too quickly.
I didn't do too much with my kids, nor did I really do anything for my own mom…
I'm just not feeling too into anything lately… not with the virus.
The kids made spaghetti for dinner for us that
night. That was nice. Monica was relentless all day trying to "do"
things for me. Ha ha ha!
Oh, Mon did talk me into letting her try
lampworking. I haven't taken a picture of her first bead yet, but she's pretty
proud… and wants to try it again soon.
Speaking of lampworking, the cats are diggin' it 'cause it means I open the kitchen window. They
are ga-ga for hanging out at open windows (and have
only knocked the fan out of the window twice. ARGH!
But here are three of the kittens, waiting for
the window to open... reserving their spots…
Speaking of kittens, Mike informed me that it's
their 2nd birthday this month. They still look and act like kittens, though,
especially compared with the two older ones.
Mar's still been terrorizing Ten.
Sigh…
Oh, this photo took an honorable mention, too…
in that contest (we were allowed to enter two photos)…
My new style of necklace, if
you haven't seen the auctions yet, are very simple pendant necklaces
featuring some lampwork beads I really like…
Here's a custom gemstone piece I made for a good
friend…
And a set for someone (I don't make complete
sets too often)…
Oh, here's Monica's second piece of jewelry…
Here's a custom piece, for which I've made a few
variations in the past…
Gabe's getting pretty tall (
Mon's catching up too… I predict she'll be
taller than me in half a year.
Now to totally change the subject… Mike and I
were talking with a friend of ours the other day. He's got some celebrity
status, so he receives emails from fans… and some of these fans are soldiers in
Oh, switching back to the kids for a second…
they both read horror, sci-fi, and adventure fantasy. So to try broadening
their horizons, I got a book on tape by John Grisham entitled "A Painted
House". (A young boy, his family, and the migrant workers they hire to
work their cotton farm struggle against difficult odds to raise and sell the
crop. Meanwhile, the boy dreams of living in better
conditions. However, with this particularly tough farming season, the
boy learns that his challenges guide him in discovering who he really is.)
At first Gabe expressed that he had no interest
in it. But by the time the fight took place in town, Gabe was riveted. They
both love listening to it.
Well, this has rambled on long enough.
I'll call it quits for now and try to make my
next entry in a more timely fashion.
Not for the faint of heart… watch at your own risk…
Keep your eye on the car in this video …
Okay, isn't that awful? Tsk
tsk
BTW, turns out Blackie's babies DID survive. Two
of them anyway (don’t' know how many she gave birth to.
So the little family is living in the pigeon
house, the two black and white furballs, Blackie, and
I mailed off the jewelry to a children's
clothing designer I'm working with on a project. Can't wait
to see the outfit and the jewelry together.
Made this piece out of gold and my best Lapis, but feel I have to take better pictures…
Hm… can't think of
anything else at the moment.
Still practicing my lampwork techniques. Have a lot of custom orders to fill this
weekend so not sure how much "fun" stuff I'll be able to make…
hopefully something.
Friday, May 26 2006
So many things... and yet I really have no desire to
write.
Maybe it's that "all or nothing" thing
again. Like, if I can't write down everything I wanted to blog
about and really get into the meat of each matter, then
I don't want to write anything. Heh
We'll see.
Maybe I'll start out slow, ease into it, and see
how it goes...
First up, the easy stuff... Blackie's latest
litter apparently did survive. She's got two bouncy black and white kittens
that look about 6-8 weeks old at the moment. Just this week she's started
bringing them over to the house to eat. They're uber skiddish, though. Sigh...
Mike thought he saw Domino the other day... but
I have my doubts.
Monica got some more orders for her cards ... that's
encouraging. Especially since we've got two more mouths to
feed now.
The kids are in
I have almost nothing up for sale on ebay. I must be going through a transition.
Everyone's yabbering
on about how bad sales are lately (and they are) and when I do my research, see
what's selling and what's not, I get a little panicky and/or depressed because
really good stuff is not selling. I mean, it makes sense for hack beads and
jewelry to not be selling, but it's scary when the good stuff is still sitting
there. Makes me feel, "Why should I bother then... if THAT isn't selling,
my stuff doesn't stand a chance!"
Then I think about it in sort of a ... okay, an
attempted Laura-philosophy way. I believe very strongly in change... in not
being static in anything. So it makes sense that to be able to sell, one must
constantly seek change.
There's also my strong conviction about
design... if you design the same or similar things that are being imported by
cheaper labor and materials, you are NOT going to get sales.
Which leaves one
option... I have to think what's next. Egads!
Yeah, no lazy resting on my or anyone else's laurels... I have to come up with
new (and attempted cutting edge) stuff.
Oy!
It doesn't help that I'm on week 4 of this icky
virus. Blah! It's so draining. I think this weekend I'm going to try the
concoction mom emailed me about... cayenne pepper and lemon and some other
stuff.
I've decided to blow off my trip to the glass
bead gallery... I just don't have it in me to go anywhere. I'll be lucky if I
can find the energy to torch. And I'm certainly hoping my lack of energy isn't
running hand-in-hand with my creative ability. Yikes!
Alex is supposed to come over Monday, but I'll
have to remember to warn her about how things will be better earlier in the day
rather than later... Max will come by at
So Sat and Sun should be two days I can hole up
in the house (barring any adventures Mike feels the need to devise) and just
clean and create... that's all I want to do.
I've been having a hankering to do some metalsmithing too.
Okay, I was going to touch on other subjects,
but I'm not in the mood.
One of them was the whole Kim Neely/Corina Tettinger
"thing". Blah...
The other... now I don't know because I was
interrupted an hour ago and have no idea (nor do I seem to care) what I was
thinking about.
In the meantime, Gabe called... well, not
true... Laury called and handed the phone to Gabe. He
was his usual monosyllabic self. But Laury is a peach
and offered a thought to the Monica issue. I will await hearing from Monica to
see how she's doing.
So far, I only have the schedule for the Bantams
and the PeeWees (thanks Laura M!)... wouldn't mind finding out the squirt schedule.
Okay, going to finish my work and then go into
thinking mode... have to be creative this weekend...
So I'm thinking the other night... my little 11-year
old girl... instead of doing ballet and making daisy chains... she goalies for
an ice hockey team and she melts glass with a blow torch.
And yet... it seems perfectly natural. I guess
that's 'cause we found things that make her very happy.
I took a picture of her second bead, but it's
still in the camera... I'll try to remember to load it up tonight so I can show
you. She made another one after that one and was doing the most amazing dot
placement when suddenly the bead fell apart. Ha! Poor thing
(Monica, not the bead).
This weekend, I made some earrings I really like
(but no pix yet). I am sacrificing two of my favorite Chris pc beads for them. Ack!
Alex (and Patrice) came over yesterday... and we
(Patrice and I) got some amazing lampwork tutorial by
Alex. I think I'll make a section in the website for my Lampworking progress...
sort of blog style.
The kids had a great time in
I feel, design-wise, that I'm at a turning
point... or a crossroads... or something like that.
I think it's the culmination of a really crappy
market currently, a need to move forward, and the result of the thinking that
transpires from my research (yes, I spend about 30% of my business time in
research).
Well, this was just an update... I don't have
any news...
Oh, I can show my new designs...
Did I already show the bracelet I made for
myself using lampwork beads that I made?
