Who I Am

“There comes a time when you have to stand up and say:This is me damn it! I look the way I look, think the way I think, feel the way I feel. Take me, or leave me. Accept me, or walk away! Don't try to make me feel like less of a person, just because I don’t fit your idea of who I should be and don’t try to change me to fit your mold. If I need to change, I alone will make that decision.” ~ Stacey Charter

From a Facebook post earlier today. 

Nearly 10

It is nearly 10 pm on a July Friday night. A very wet and chilly Friday night. Truthfully, I love the rain and the gray. I love a cool, wet summer and the explosion of green that happens when the sun does warm things up a bit. I have been saying that my yard looks like the Amazon jungle and that all the deep, dark holes that Daisy has dug look like Afghanistan. I think in all seriousness, it may be next summer before I can plant anything and not have Daisy dig it up or eat it!

This is my darling Daisy on her way into the studio. She gets a bacon treat and then sleeps on the carpet behind the chair I work in. Really though, she only half sleeps as the minute I make a move to get up, she is ready to go. If I ignore her too long, I hear the familiar noise of a bead rolling around her teeth and in her mouth. That never fails to get my attention. She looks tail-less in  this picture but she is not. Her tail is long and lovely and full.

Finally this evening, look at these lovely and colorful lampworked beads that I intend to make into earrings soon. They will be a lovely addition to my display cases and the earrings will be a perfect summer into fall fashion forward look. I think they kind of look like byzantine openings or windows. They were available in so many delicious colors, it was heard to settle on these! Rich greens and oranges stir an unbridled bead lust in me.

I am hearing the siren call of the studio and the bedroom. One for working one for snoozing. Which will win out as the late evening progresses? The rain makes me think sleep is the stronger call and hearing the sound of the water falling on the roof will make for a good night's sleep.

Peaceful dreams all.

This Weekend Past in Tacoma

I am just now home from the Puget Sound Bead Festival in Tacoma. The car is unpacked, a load of laundry is tumbling in the dryer, my feet are up and I am slowly getting more sleepy by the minute.
The show this weekend was considerably smaller in size and scope than years past but was filled with an excellent variety of bead things and of course, filled with my friends that I only get to see " on the road ". I can't decide whether I should work a show or just flit from person to person and booth to booth and visit, hug and chat! I take many long bathroom breaks and make sure I walk a different way to them -  past friends so I can stop and talk. Bead shows are a little soap opera from time to time and this show was no exception. Intrigue and mystery, rumor and gossip were abundant! I loved it! The stories customers relate to me also make me want to write a book. Someone, somewhere should be recording these tales I hear from people I barely know. I would have to say I like getting to know people and treasure every minute of conversation we have.

I was a terrible picture taker too this weekend! I just was more interested in talking than picturing so I leave you this fine evening with half a full moon hanging in the inky black night outside my sliding glass door with a few pictures from the weekend.

THe view from the top floor of the convention center where the show was being held. See the mountain?
Mount Rainier, that is! 

Another downtown shot featuring the Tacoma Dome and the Washington State history museum. 

A random show picture showing the setting up of Pam's booth.

July 4th

Today there is an abundance of sun and warmth as the fourth opens here in a blast of summertime glory. A light breeze blows across the yard, birds are singing and the lavender plants are wafting their delicate scent past the plastic lawn chairs sitting on the side deck. I have been up since 5:30 working away in the studio, making inventory for the shop; heart pendants, crystal earrings and inexpensive dangly charms. I have always referred to this work as " regular ". It is not the exploration and play of materials I am doing when I do my favorite studio work. I am not really being creative as this is all work I have done in the past and continue to do on a regular basis. Don't get me wrong, it is all original work, my work, my designs, my creativity but it is the production part of me and not nearly as rewarding as making something from scratch.

I am on the verge of something in my life and I can not quite figure out what it is. Maybe a change is coming, a journey could be on the horizon, maybe I need romance and mystery and to reinstate in myself a lust for life!

I am meandering this morning and I need to get on with the day not to mention my morning walk so I will leave you with some pictures of jewelry I took in Utah with the beautiful desert rocks as a back drop. Happy - boom boom - fourth!!

Easiest to Post

This is what I called the Judy Jetson flower. Space age-y modern.

This blue violet color was gorgeous!

Pinks make me happy and calm me.

It is easy to post when the house is empty and still. I either have to wait until everyone is asleep or company is gone or I am alone with myself. My mind can then compose, talk, wander and center on writing. Finally, I am going to post a few pictures from my Utah trip. What I enjoyed the most were the flowers. I did not take nearly enough photos but the ones I did take, I imagine will show up in my work for awhile. I was refreshed when I had time to work on my projects and happy when family just loved me for who I am. More to come later!

Utah!

Okay, I am trying this again. I don't usually travel with my laptop and since this is an actual, honest to goodness vacation, I had promised myself not to use a computer for 7 days. Obviously, that thought has flown out the window!

Anyhow, I am in Orem, Utah visiting family and doing things that I do not normally do. Like riding the ski lift up 1000 feet at Sundance. I once read that you should do one thing that scares you everyday and yesterday, on that ski lift I was scared enough that it should cover a month's worth of doing a daily scary thing!

Ah, but the view of the snow capped mountains, the rushing streams and the singing birds was exquisite. It was about 64 degrees with a soft wafting wind and beads were the furthest thing from my mind until... high in th trees, just below my dangiling feet, were strings of mardi gras beads draped in the aspen branches. The sun caught their sparkle and you could not miss them! I had to laugh and smile to myself with the thought that the universe always confirms to me to " trust the beads "! What a joy!

More pictures to follow including photos of the grandkids ( how can I be this old? )

Utah