This is a giant piece of flourite and amythest just barely polished and cleaned up for sale. It is the size of a toilet! I know that is a bit graphic but it will help you get an idea of size! It was really pretty but alas, sold before I could get to it. Would have looked just lovely in the lobby of my shop.


By the way, a customer referred to the lobby of my shop area as the " atrium " yesterday because of all the windows and the 5 minute spot of sunlight streaming in. I rather liked that name for the space! Very victorian in this, the queen of victoriana. Have a beautiful, relaxing day!

the rest of the photos....

More photos of geodes. For some mysterious reason my ancient lap top would only allow me to post no more than 3 photos at a time! Sheesh! By the way these geodes are huge and the 2nd picture was referred to as the " bathtub "!

Tucson!

Of course, with my new camera this year, I took lots of photos in Tucson of anything and everything that interested me or made me laugh. Beginning today, I am going to post pictures from the gem shows until I feel like I have shared some of the experiences.

These pictures are of amythest and citrine geodes. BIG geodes full of sparkle and time and the secrets that lie deep within the earth. Mmmm, I'd love to have one at my side right now to stare into and have it whisper to me of the time past, the beginnings of earth, the history of man, the wisdom of the ages.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Ahhh, the day of romance. A sweet gift from Phil, a non fiction book of Bad Girls through history and a chocolate candy bar from Jacob. I missed my mother today and tears are always near when I think that I can not call her. All in all a great day at the shop, a nice evening dinner at home and a few hours of television watching. Nice and relaxing. Love to all, Lois

Here I Am Again!

I am home! To my wrinkled red flannel sheets, to Regina so happy to see me she was singing, to cats crawling up my legs for kisses, to Jacob who grew so much in the two weeks we have been gone; that I needed to buy him new clothes for him before I could get on the plane and to all the zillion and three chores waiting for me! I did manage to take pictures and I will post more on those later along with show info and maybe just a bit of the old bead gossip! Until later, hugs and kisses, Lois

Tucson - The Journey Begins!

It is very early morning in my household and everyone is still asleep. I tried to get Regina, my faithful dog, to come out into the dining room with me while I blogged on the internet but she got up, walked out here, gave me the evil furry eye and went back to her bed! Such companionship!

I am as always, anxious to get my trip underway. I wish this truly were the Star Trek generation and I could " transport " myself there without needing a plane flight or storing away my car in Seattle. The weather seems pretty mild now in Tucson and the night time temps are reading colder than PT. That means I can sleep with the windows open and have the room be naturally chilly!

In just a bit I will get together my knitting, reading materials and sketching supplies for my stay. I spend more time choosing these things than packing my clothes! I don't always have time to work on things but it is really nice to have them all with me for those few moments when I can. It all helps de- stress me!

I may not get much of a chance to blog from Tucson but I will take lotsof pictures to post on my arrival home. I don't travel with my ancient laptop as it is sweet, bitter sweet, to be away from it; to concentrate on the show and my inner life ( ! ) in my free time. Wish me luck and I will see you all in 2 weeks! xo, Lois

p.s. Here are 2 awesome pictures of Tucson. I do love that place, the dessert, the colors in the air, the pop of light and the change, a really BIG change in scenery.

Almost Done by Default

This is a little pen and ink drawing I did nearly 2o years ago ( no, can it really be that long ago? ) that I used for a gallery opening I had. It is a self portrait of Lois and corn. I love drawing corn and this was supposed to be MY corn; grown by me but of course, here in the pacific northwest you can't grow corn! I like having this little reminder of a younger me on my website, which is where you will find the picture and in my office, where the original is located. One of these days I will draw a new me. I wonder how she will appear and what might be in her new basket!
The time is coming quickly, way too quickly, for me to leave for Tucson. Soon there will be no more time to make that one more piece of jewelry, design one more charm, make one more sign or banner. It is always a little sad when it comes time to leave the comfort of my home and creativity of my studio and hit the road. And did I mention the clothes packing? I hate choosing clothes and packing them for a trip. I look at my closet and say, fine, I will take these 6 shirts but then maybe I will want this one, and maybe it will be cold enough to wear that one and maybe this one will be comfortable on a busy day and maybe this one... and the list is endless and soon I need a moving truck to take everything with me. Not to mention that I need to choose which knitting projects to take, hoping that it will be waaay too busy to knit and sketchbooks and drawing materials. No, I can't take the entire studio so what to take? Hmmmm... anyhow all small dilemmas and I will be on my way to warmer, sunnier climates!