A beautiful full blue moon hangs in the sky this late evening and I can not keep myself in the house for want of going outdoors and dancing in its' light. I think this moon has had a lot of pull and influence on many of us this month. On this night the glow seems special, almost surreal and I am being magnetically, magically pulled towards it.

We have finished the driest August ever here in Port Townsend, no rain this entire month. I am missing it, wanting it, needing it. Everything feels dry and tight, brittle, brown. When the rain returns, just like this blue moon, I will be dancing in  it.

MY current sock knitting project.

My front porch frog has returned!

Daisy.

Old ancient Jesse girl.

Now that the temperatures are not ( hopefully ) reaching the too hot 80's or higher, a burst of energy has come upon me and I had a fabulously busy studio day yesterday. It was an unexpected day at home and I was so glad Phil worked for me. Lita drove all the way over from Ellensburg for a quick visit and I felt an explosion of energy. It was like I radiated creativity from all my pores! I even took some time to paint on a canvas I began much earlier this year. Hurrah! I am more me.

So as this last holiday weekend of the summer begins, I long for fall and all the flavor it brings to life. See you around the studio and shops in the next few days!

Pictures Around Here

A neighborhood tree covered in moss that is just waiting for the rains to begin.

My sweet tall son and Lisa. 

My beautiful hydrangea, it bloomed!

It really bloomed!

Milagro says if I could get out of my recreation area, I would climb that tree!

I had such a fun day in the shop on this fine, wonderful, much cooler Saturday. So many customers stopped by to show me things they have made, that I was in a state of perpetual excitement today. The more I see someone's finished work, the more I want to make things. I consider all my customers friends and I am the richest woman ever, surrounded by people I really love and enjoy. Here are just a few of the wonderful people stopping by today:

Beautiful Joan and the scarf she knitted with Diva Yarn.

A fun hat Joan made. She is so imaginative!

KC and her embellished jacket made with a fabric, crochet and maybe a bead or two.

Maia, I could not forget Maia! One of our loveliest customers!

Geez, but I've Been Busy!

Working six days a week or close to it, in the shop haas kept me so busy that I only find a few minutes before I leave in the morning or just before bed to post. It might help if I were an actual typist and could write things once instead of having to go back and correct my errors. Summer is here with a vengeance and the temperatures are climbing into the 90's. It will be a hot time in the bead shop for the next few days!

We did manage to get to the county fair last Friday night where I made a dash for Randy's awesome crab cakes, Jake abandoned us for his friends and I was able to sway a bit to the live music playing on the grand stage. The evening was just about perfect for a stroll on the fairgrounds! I meant to take pictures of the animals but I was so enraptured by the flowers that I only managed to photograph them.

Here are a couple of my favorites :

Soon summer crazy time will be over and I can get back to some serious studio work. A friend has promised me the use of his plasma torch and I hope to be cutting metal by October! That will be great fun. I am already bursting with ideas.....

( Incidentally, if you come to Tucson in 2013, I will be BACK at my original Windmill Inn location with a new promoter running the show. The show will have a different focus and I can not even begin to tell you how exciting that is! Stay tuned for updates on this very beady blog! )

Hands are so important.....

I am working in the shop on a daily basis but things have ground to a halt in the studio. I have injured the middle finger ( the BAD finger ) on my left hand and given myself tendonitis in my right lower arm. Such misery! I know, it is misery on a small scale and an inconvenience on a big scale but I have had to stop making everything and I can not even knit or crochet for the moment. My Diva yarn shop will be without samples for awhile. I always look for the silver lining and believe that everything happens for a reason so I am trying to look at all of this as a time for some kind of spiritual growth. I have been lucky to have sold so much jewelry in the last few months that I made more, lots more,  causing the tendonitis. Good for making a living, bad for the arm.

The middle finger thing is because I have osteoarthritis in the top joints of many of my fingers, caused by years of over use and I whacked this finger good a few weeks ago. This caused the joint to leak fluid that belongs inside - outside. The end result? It must be fixed and I will know more after seeing the hand surgeon on Monday.

So I can not knit while watching TV, can not make more jewelry to replace pieces sold in the shop, can barely type on this laptop and of course, no silver work!

Am I  a normal person who just sits and watches TV or reads? My hands are idle. Idleness does not make Lois happy. Sigh. I am whining but just for a moment. Bear with me. I am on a hand vacation!

“ Be DARING, be different, be anything 

that will assert

integrity of purpose 

and imaginative vision against

the play it safers, the creatures

of commonplace,

the slaves of ordinary. “

Cecil Barton

Found this in a sketchbook today and as I reread it, I was again reminded of how much I like the quote. 

It was astoundingly and miserably hot all day yesterday ( and today ) in Port Townsend and especially hot in my shop. Gallery walk was well attended and I did sell a small piece but it was all I could do to move away from the fan however briefly. Anyhow, imagine how surprised I was when I walked back to my car after eight and there was a woman on the sidewalk swallowing fire swords and knives! Talk about hot! It was the first time I had ever seen her downtown and she was great fun to watch even if a green Honda nearly ran me over at the intersection. What a wild saturday night downtown!

A slightly blurry photo but I liked her head gear.

The early morning visitor.

So the other morning as I snoozed peacefully under the bedroom ceiling fan, an obviously upset animal or bird started chirping in the swamp maple outside my window. I threw on my robe and headed out to find a tiny red squirrel in the low branches of the tree. He was very red-orange, with lovely big eyes and so horribly upset. I talked to him and as I did he calmed down and looked at me, climbed closer to me. When I would stop talking and turn to leave he would start up again. I wish I knew squirrel-speak so I could have understood why he was so upset and what I could have done to make it all better. In the 15 years we have lived here, I have never had a little red squirrel in my tree or at my house. I hope he shows up again - just maybe a little later in the day.

The moon is full and bright out tonight and I am sitting back, feeling pleased with what was accomplished in the studio. I also took some time out today, just for me and read our weekly newspaper through. ( Well, it was a whole hour to read so it was a break of sorts just for me. ) Life journeys and lessons come in so many forms, surprising, revealing with unexpected consequences. I have been allowing my mind to roam in the quiet of the studio without music or television and I have found a surprise in my journey.

A couple of years ago I wrote about the end of a long, long friendship. I was sad it had ended and could not see what could possibly come out of this abrupt, miserable ending but now, a couple of years on the other side and I see a brightness that was not there before, a completeness that was perhaps missing while I was in the midst of this friendship. I am closer now to my husband. We are sharing more, talking more and our friendship has deepened. Not having this female companion to fall back on has made my marriage richer.

I have also learned that what broke up this friendship was personal, between my friend and me. There were people who took sides. I never wanted someone to take a side, did not encourage it and indeed, when I said goodbye to this person and wished them well, I meant it. I just figured things would go on much as before and the only change would be that this particular friendship was ended and had run its course. Surprise. People left me, un-friended me, and went away. Each act was not exactly painful but like a scratch to the skin. A quick, sharp pain that lingered for a bit. Once again a couple of years later and I find that I treasure the people and friends in my life more than I ever thought possible and surprisingly, I don't miss these people. Perhaps it is the wisdom with being older, maybe the realization that life does not go on and on, the thought that all this could change and end on a nano second's notice. Whatever brought me here left much in it's wake and I am grateful.

You see, I have come out the other side of this journey, stronger, smarter. Happier, richer, more in love with all that is in my life today. Sometimes a journey is just that, a trip to the center of your being, a lesson in life, a passage to adulthood's wisdom. Life is a journey and a the trip is good.

Glass jewelry focal pieces made today.

Vintage lucite bracelets crafted for the shop.