What's Going On ...

Rip Van Winkle lives here

I knew this would happen, and I was right - after I take a trip where I go-go-go and sleep little, I always come home and crash...Sure enough, I've been crashed all morning, trying to 'catch up' from the past 7 days...I think I'm pretty much back to normal now, its 11:31am (thank god for the time change) and I've been dozing on the sofa since 7:15am when I woke up...But now I feel ready to go...Time to watch football and make beads...yeehaw..

After I came home from the Fireflies meeting last night, I spotted what I thought was a white plastic grocery bag in the wooded area behind our house...but when I rolled the window down and made a sound, two little faces turned in my direction and I knew I was wrong - it was two kittens, about 8-10 weeks old. They couldn't have been there very long, they were not dirty or hungry (well, they ate, but what kitten doesn't?)...So I asked Brian to help me catch them, and surprisingly they walked right up to us - it looks like they were taken care of and now just dropped on the side of the road...So we have them quarrantined in our spare bedroom (its more like a spare cat infirmary) and I'll be building a webpage to advertise them for adoption...Our house stands at 7 resident cats as it is, we can't take two more...but these two are cuties, very affectionate and playful and ready for a home of their own...That Great Pumpkin knew what he was doing when he dropped them off near us...I think there must be a page on the web that kitties look at when they decide to run away from home - 'Oh, go to that house in Austin, the white one with the big fence...they'll take you in and give you food and find you a nice home.' And so they keep coming...Who wants a set of sister kittens, anyone???

When Computers Attack....

I've added captions to all the pics that I posted yesterday..PLUS, I've added pics of all the beads I made and bought...Some of them are really cool and others, well those would be mine...(wink)...
Oh, and click on the Ann Starrett Link to see cooler pics of the place we stayed...its a rockin' 1889 mansion, yes indeedy...

You will all be glad to know that we ordered a new laptop for me this morning - a Dell Latitude D600 ...its about 5lb, compared to the 15lb machine I currently am lugging about...So Brian has been busy putting together a cordless keyboard/mouse combo for me in anticipation of the new laptop (it'll arrive around Nov 8 or 10)...but alas, the new mouse is not working, so he's hooked up all my corded stuff so I could log on and talk to ya'll, and the 'bad' mouse is being exchanged for a new one..

I tried making beads yesterday but I think my head was too full of info from class, so nothing happened...but I have the kiln going right now, and hopefully I'll get something done...Its sunny out, so I'll get the pics of all my stash taken and posted here this afternoon...I heard thru the grapevine that there is a thread on WC! about our class, so I'll have to go check that out too...

I also want to write some captions of the pics I posted yesterday...have ya'll decorated for Halloween yet? Brian really spiffied up our front yard, with 'fire' cauldrons and a 'zombie' coming out of the ground...I love Halloween, I can't believe its here already...!

Guess where I am today!

I have arrived back home last night and am up and moving around, getting unpacked and finding all the goodies I brought back with me. I have 47 pictures to process from the trip (too bad I couldn't have put them up each day, but the new computer will be ordered this weekend and no more lugging around useless machines!)

Did I have a great time!?!?! MORE than great! I learned fabulous techniques, Andrea and Michael and their families and friends could not have been more friendly and hospitable, Pt. Townsend is a cute little town on the Puget Sound, the weather was in the 50's and sunny every day...We hit Frantz Artglass (the Mecca for glassworkers) and Olypmic Glass Rods (the Mecca of frit) and all sorts of other goodies that I have to tell you about...Today its dark and cloudy here (go figure) but I'll get some pics of my class beads posted too...

I appreciate your emails, votes and comments while I was gone...I even typed a Comment on Monday night when I had access to a computer at a local house - but the Blog code told me 'your comment cannot be processed due to questionable content'...HA! I dunno what it was that it didn't like, but even *I* was blocked from my own comments field...how ironic..

Ok, I'm off to get the pics processed and posted...thanks for stopping by, and come back when you get a chance to see the goodies..!

When Spam Protection Goes Awry ...

Unfortunately, I've recently learned that some legitimate comments from Blackberrybeads vistors were being nullified by our spam protection. Apologies are extended to several of you including Anissa, Tracey, Beth, Jill, and Marianna. Everything should be fixed now so please give it another try.

Remember: the BEST way to ensure that your comments always make it through would be to register here. And then always login with your TypeKey username / password. Or you can click the Remember Me box and it'll save your username / password each time you visit the site. :) It's that simple!

Cheerio!

Where In The World is Donner?

DH Brian here ...

Donner's trusty laptop has decided that if it's Master was going to take a break ... then so would She. Or maybe it's just that the system is over 4 years old and the LCD panel has given out. Ugh!

Either way, Donner regretfully cannot post tales & pictures of her adventures in Oregon this week.

She will be back on Friday, October 29th in full force, no doubt.

In the meantime, maybe ya'll can help me pick out a new laptop for her! Any ideas or suggestions? I was thinking this one looked pretty slick - a Dell Latitude D600:

Who's a Procrastinator? Raise your hand later...

10:00pm Thur night - One last post to say I'm shutting down my computer tonight (Thur) and will be back on line once I hit Seattle tomorrow...or maybe if my layover is long enough in Dallas, I'll fire up the wireless and log on - but don't hold your breath...See ya'll from Seattle, I'm taking my camera with me for extra goodness...

Nancy B gave me the name for the purple set of beads I made last night - while I was making them, Amelie was blissed out...the auction will start tomorrow and run through next Friday - i'll be back by then and can handle the shipping, etc...

I'm REALLY proud of the two hollows I made - they are TINY!!! 8mm and 10mm each...get out a ruler and mark off 8 and 10mm and you'll see just how small these guys turned out...I rarely make hollows, but when I taught a couple of weeks ago, my student asked to do hollows...the one I made came out better than I expected, so I've been making more (All Hallows Hollows anyone?) and I thought 'well, lets see if I can incorporate them into a tiny set, why not?? And voila (ha, i checked the spelling this time!) I was amazed that i could make a hollow that small...Needless to say, i'm inspired to see what else I can do in the hollow world that I rarely tread in...the entire strand is smaller than my beads of late...after making the Booberry set and those beads were 5mm, I really liked the look of them, so I tried to get that small again...due to the surface decorations, these are slightly larger, but overall the entire strand looks very small to me...They really sparkle in the sunlight and I hope ya'll enjoy them...

Well - who is surprised to hear that I've put off all my errands until today - the last possible day I can do them before leaving town...? anyone? anyone? What can I say, when it comes to running errands or staying home and working, I'll choose home every time...I got a lot of work done yesterday (even have a new set for eBay - I've completely ignored eBay the past few months) and got everything shipped that was here..the house is rather bead-less at the moment, but that's GOOD...

My friend Susan wrote yesterday and said I should give ya'll more insight to my background and even consider installing a webcam so you can see me work...I have Brian hot on the wireless webcam trail looking for options on how to get this going...I know some other sites use webcams, in fact when i was first starting out, I used to visit MotherBeads because I could watch her work...but I didn't want to be seen as 'copying' (its really funny how worried we all get about infringing on others ideas), but isn't the internet all about spying on what others are doing? So, hopefully I can get setup for ya'll...I told Brian I'd pay, if he'd install - which is what he does for a living (he's an IT dude) so it'll be like playing with toys for him...Its great having an IT guy in the house to fix all my computer problems...and I do some stupid stuff sometimes but he always laughs at me and fixes the problem...I did customer service/troubleshooting/quality assurance for computer companies for 14 years, so when I have a problem, the LAST thing I want to do is troubleshoot it...I have a definite love/hate relationship with my computer...I just installed Mozilla Firefox as my new browser because so many pop ups and spammers are cruising for IE users...Firefox works pretty well, except my bookmarks are all jumbled and I can't figure out how to line them up properly, but I've always disliked the dictatorship of Microsoft (I still have Netscape 7.1 installed on my machine too) so I do my little part to support other software whenever I can...

I'll be glad to go into my previous-life stories (I worked for a famous computer game company here in Austin for 8 years) in more posts, and I really need to update my Artist bio but for now, you get to experience my kitties...oh and for the record, the addition of Amelie to the house makes our cat total "7"...

what does this number mean?

Answer: Yeah ok, Mandy got it right cause she's here in Texas and knows what its like outside right now - the forcasted high temp for today in Austin - 95...its 90 out right now...And to confirm some other guesses - I made 78 beads last night, but it felt like 95! and I only have 25 monkeys in the barrel at the moment, but I've put some bananas in the bottom to lure the rest...

95...Ninety Five...any ideas? gimme those guesses if you think you know...

I have a little strand of beads that are different, but I like them...and a neat denim/topaz bracelet that I've contemplated etching, but thought I'd wait to see if whoever buys it wants it etched or not...there is no turning back once that's taken place of course...

I'll be making beads today, at least that's my plan, for one last posting tomorrow before heading out Friday..I AM taking my computer so I'll have email and website updating capability, assuming I can get a connection - but Seattle is very techno savvy, right? I'm not concerned, perhaps I can find a computer cafe if our B&B isn't wired...

My friend Dodie is stopping by in about an hour to pick up some frit and touch all my new beads...as she likes to do...and then I'm off to run the errands I didn't do yesterday - like early voting and passport picture time...why do I keep putting this stuff off? Cause i'd rather come back home and enjoy the torch than be in the 'real world' farting around in traffic...But I can't wait much longer, that passport must be updated ASAP..

back soon...

Class next week

I've updated the Swarovski Crystal links page...thanks for all the contributions, and I'll keep adding if you keep submitting...

I used to change the banner image on my homepage frequently, and then I just left the Chocolat set up for ages...so I decided it was time for a 'facelift' and I dug out a set of beads for the season..i'm sure i'll change it again, but lets hope it doesn't take another year...

Thanks for letting me whine about the comments yesterday....I know a lot of ya'll aren't comfortable posting in a public forum and I can't blame you...most of the time it doesn't phase me, but every once in a while I feel like I'm twirling in circles in the driveway by myself, wondering where all my friends went...and then I get dizzy and fall down and everything is ok again...heh...

I'm leaving town Friday for a week of classes in Washington...we'll fly right over Mt.St.Helens, apparently...I've never been to Washington, and its in the 50's, so I'm ready (it's in the 90's here this week, i'm sick of summer...argh!). I get to wear jeans and boots and maybe even a jacket...wow! and maybe i'll get to check out the fall colors Corina was talking about on her drive last weekend...I do plan to post some beads this week before I leave, tho, never fear...Today is semi-errand day - haveta get that passport photo taken, and update my passport...the vet wants to check on Amelie's teeth...and its time for Early Voting here in Austin so I'm going to get this out of the way today...rock on!

With Brian's help, he fixed my broken site yesterday...something weird with the blog font, and we don't know how it happened, but isn't that how all computer glitches go? and now I know how to fix it, should it happen again...

Whats up, my pretty?

I've been trying for 30 min to update the Freebie pic (the winner is Bonnie P), but apparently there is a bug or something keeping me from getting it updated properly...will keep working on it...

Just a quick note about the site - as you might have read on yesterday's comments, Brian has implemented a new 'anti-spam' program that now requires everyone to register (just once) in order to make comments...this is because in 4 weeks time, I had over 5000 spam comments hit this site...It started slow, then it started to grow, just like the Who's in Whoville...So, to keep the spammers out, we have shut the door - so the rest of ya'll can simply open the door by registering...Its no different than when you had to enter your name/email previously when making a comment - the info is stored in a cookie on your computer, and we don't 'harvest' the info for evil maniacal use...the only thing around her that's maniacal are my beads...

I spent all day yesterday working on the Ice Cube orders...I only have 14 beads left to make, out of 70...pretty sweet...I'll take a pic of all the beads in a pile once I finish these last few...it'll make a nice sparkly presence...and for all you poor soles who've been waiting, you should see these by the end of the week (will ship tomorrow or Wed, I hope)...

We went to SweetBerry Farms to pick our pumpkins on Saturday...it was a 'festival' with kids painting pumpkins, hayrides and a huge variety of pumpkins and gourds...We zipped in and out cause there were screaming, crying children everywhere..why do kids throw fits all the time? I'm sure they are sweet little darlings, but geez are they monsters when they toss a hissy...and I'm talking 3rd grade kids, not babies...Can you tell I don't live with children? I just smile and walk away...cause I CAN...and I do feel sympathy for the parents who are trying to get the kids to straighten up - that's a lost cause...the kids just wail louder...heh...and we just keep walking...my Vampyre was a hit with the kids who were behaving - they laughed and pointed at the teeth...or so I thought...hahha...

Spam Checks In - But It Never Checks Out!

DH Brian here. I'm updating Donner's weblog software to implement new spam-killing features. More instructions coming soon ...

Pumpkin Patch

Pickings are ready!

Inspired by a trip to the SweetBerry Farms pumpkin patch, the Bead Fairy left us some pumpkin-themed beads...I don't know what survived the kiln, sometimes the Fairy manhandles the beads and they don't all make it, or sometimes she makes really ugly beads that should never see the light of day...Let me go see what her stash reveals and I'll be back with more Pumpkin tales of lore to entertain you fine folk...

I'm up early - its good!

No beads were made yesterday, I had too many other freaky things to get done, but I'm up early and plan to get to work...the kiln is already firing up and its only 8:20am...(normally I don't get to the torch until at least 3:00pm due to all the errands/shipping/work I'm doing behind the scenes)...But I shipped out all the latest beads yesterday, and so I'm looking around going "what? I'm ready to work already? this is great!"...I love spending a lot of time at the torch, its just that I typically can't do it until later in the evening - and I dunno if I've ever mentioned here, but I do my best work at night..So I might not get anything worthwhile made until tonight anyway - but I'm going to try! I've got cubes to be made (I do have some done, but plenty more to do)...

its only 59 outside right now and I remember when that was WARM when I was growing up outside Chicago...(and that IS warm outside Chicago!)...but down here, 59 is a right chilly - jacket and shiver weather...I remember playing tennis in 59 degree weather and thinking 'wow, its warming up'...I have to keep that memory as I shiver here in the studio while the door is open this morning...Its gonna be 81 today, tho...that's more like it.. :)

Ok, enough about the weather, who cares anyway, right? I'm off to the torch, time to get going...I think I'll have some Rice Chex first, tho...mmmm...life is really good right about now...

The buying spree went well...

Some cool new glass, a groovy new glass holder, I came home with some great stuff and was so inspired that I spent a couple of hours cleaning up the studio...I felt like the HGTV show Mission: Organization - "Put all the catalogs together, and all the beadmaking books together, so you can find them...lets hang up these pictures, and keep all the CD's in this bin"...it was great...and then my friend Cindy stopped by and caught me up on her semi-detatched retina in her right eye, which is very scary...and then I finally got Brian on the torch last night and he made 3 little beads that I can't get off the mandrels this morning..heh...but I'll get a pic of them...he did very well and learned quickly...course, I'm such the taskmaster that he knew if he didn't perform well that I'd get mad and throw the mandrel across the room - just kidding...I would never do that...

Pics coming up, and a couple of raku frit/cocoa sets...come back later this morning..(its 66 out and I'm soaking up this weather like a sponge...it was 90 last week, ugh)...

buying spree

i'm heading out to 'rescue' the glass across town...no new Pickings today, but there's always tomorrow...back later...

Its Tuesday, are you diggin it...

I have two surprises for ya'll...I haven't been using the Bead Fairy pics of late because I haven't had large numbers of beadsets to offer and I hope to remedy that tomorrow, because today is "All Burning, All Day" ...However, tomorrow at 10:00am I'm heading across town to buy out another glassworker who's selling all her Moretti...so, assuming I get Pickings done today (I can never be sure) they'll be posted later tomorrow than normal...Don't say I didn't give you fair warning...{whip crack}

Happy Columbus Day

Banks, post offices and schools are closed, but Blackberrybeads Studio never sleeps! Today is a private lesson day for Gayle, which will be fun. I made her 3 rings yesterday for her to take home as souvenirs for her family...and later tonight Brian and I are going to see (finally) Napoleon Dynamite...I've been looking forward to that for weeks and it finally came to Alamo Drafthouse (the theater that serves food that is our favorite place to see movies in town) so we're gonna catch it before it leaves...I also want to see Garden State...

So what's up with all the folks dying lately? Janet Leigh, Rodney Dangerfield and now Christopher Reeve...I guess they are right - its always in 'threes'...bummer

Thanks for the cool front, its 70 outside right now and couldn't be nicer! I've got the windows and doors open, the cats are frolicking in the backyard and its just downright pleasant outside...perfect weather for the Renaissance Fair that'll take place this weekend...we might go, it just depends on what my schedule is like...

More beads tomorrow, I hope...!

Spam is not tasty

As you might be able to tell from the Oct 8 entry and other previous entries, I'm getting spammed on my weblog...how quaint...Brian has found a way to prevent this but it requires ya'll to register in order to post comments. Its not painful, its a one time thing, but I don't want to implement it until I can monitor the site for any questions or problems...my years of QA are coming into play here and I understand that you don't roll out changes to a program without being available for the troubleshooting that invariably comes with it...SOOO, please bear with the spam for at least another day until I can be here for ya'll to keep an eye on everything...Spam spam spam baked beans and spam...

Class is going well, since its only one student we're kinda going 'off center' and I'm teaching stuff that isn't on the agenda...like hearts and bicones...I think I drove the stringer stuff into her head yesterday, she probably thought I was going to bring out a whip at one point...but today is all fun with rock beads, pixie dust spacers and gold reduction stringer...

Yeah, UT was blanked yesterday but at least they weren't routed. I expected to lose, I'm just glad it wasn't the pummeling we've taken in past years...Oh well...

Class in my studio this weekend

Guess who's going to be doing lots of stringer and floral work this weekend...Me, yep that's right and Gayle who is raring to go...I hope the directions I gave her don't get her lost...she's so close I could almost walk to her hotel, so I hope she doesn't end up 30 miles from here...!

Its UT-OU weekend...for all those who don't know, Oklahoma and Texas have a major rivalry (its on ABC today, if you want to witness the bloodbath) and OU has beaten us the last 4 years by huge margins - 64-13 or something equally embarressing...I don't mind that I'm missing the game today, since I expect it to be another rout...What? what kind of 'fan' is that? well, a realistic one...I'm not happy about it, but that's how it is...We keep getting our head handed to us (and our legs, arms and torso too)...and I'm ready for us to win and get back at them, but its just so awful...if it were a 20-23 loss, I could live with that...but 5 interceptions in one game, come on...scary indeed...So, I'll be gleefully ignoring Brent Musburger and his completely biased commentary today, while making dot and flower beads and enjoying time on the torch...See ya'll tomorrow morning!

Are you ready for Halloween?

I haven't put up one single decoration yet, and this is my favorite holiday! what is wrong with me? Well, I'm just running in lots of directions, trying to keep everything going...and this weekend (tomorrow) i'm teaching two folks coming in from Oklahoma and Las Vegas...I've never been to Vegas, but I hear its a hoot...

I could not resist putting up the Linus bracelet - I own the DVD of The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, and my favorite part is when Linus is in the patch, and he's telling Sally about how the Great Pumpkin visits the kids who are good, and he gives emphasis to a phrase by widening his eyes...priceless...so, here's a bracelet in his honor...And the Rain bracelet is for all my denim buddies out there who are waiting patiently for me to get more Forever In Bluejeans/WildWild West sets made - I will...I will...

i was up late last night and got up late this morning...I've cleaned my beads and still have to etch, string, shoot, etc...plus i have to meet Dodie at 11:30 to drop off her beads from Dustin's class and from Monday when I had a studio play day with everyone...SOOO...i'll get going as fast as I can to get these primed and posted...gotta runnnnnnnn!!!!

Photos, passports, haircuts

Time to get me to the barber, photostore and Travelocity...I need a haircut, passport photo and to book my January itinerary before too much time gets away from me...i've only had 6 weeks to do all this (well longer, actually) and yet here it is Oct 7 and I haven't done any of it...but I will...

I made a fun little set of Halloween beads with ghosts last night..."little" in that there are 28 beads, but they are between 4 and 5mm in size..teenie tiny guys...I'll get a photo posted for ya shortly...time for a shower and to get the day underway...

Bagheera is doing well, he's such a good cat...He has to be crated for the next 3 weeks and that's going to drive him insane, I'm pretty sure...he's used to being outside, going where he wants, and now he has to stay inside in a cage so his leg will heal...he's on pain meds and antibiotics and we're keeping him away from the other cats to minimize his anger...i had to give him an injection last night, but he never flinched - i'm not sure he even knew I gave it to him...The Dr. suspects he wedged his leg inbetween something and when trying to pry it out, he broke it, based on other bruising...regardless, he's inside and going to have a cow every day until he can run free again...

Beadbox Boogie

I just got back from dropping Bagheera off at the vet, and stringing beads seemed like a fun thing to do..He's gonna be fine, I'm not worried about him, but he doesn't like car rides or the vet (who does, really?) and I always feel bad leaving any of our cats there...but its a good office, and he's a good kid, so I'm not worried..

Leaf Pile be done...

Sigh...I just got back from the vet, and our big outdoor alpha kitty has broken his leg...he was fine last night, came in the house - no problem...this morning, limping really badly...I'm taking him in early tomorrow for surgery....he'll be fine, I think (he's 10) but we just had Amelie in for $600 worth of teeth removal and abscess lancing - (I call her my Six Million Dollar Kitty) and now we have leg surgery to look forward to...like our vet said 'when it rains....'

So, on a good note, I made this funky weird set of lentils with sky blue dots after seeing a jacket on tv the other night...i LOVED it, and thought it'd make a cool set of beads, and I think it does...light azore blue AB crystals give cool sparkle...

I also have ALL the Leaf Pile sets done, so I'll be mailing out pics to ya'll and if you decide you don't like them, you can always refuse them - next up - Ice Cube orders! hang in there, I'm working through it all...

Heading to the torch to make beads all day and night today...oh yeah, gotta answer those emails...i'll be back...

I have to be across town in 30 min, but i've finished, cleaned and strung the Leaf Pile sets, plus I have a new lentil set for ya'll...I'll get the pics taken and posted later this morning/noonish...I'm sorry I havne't answered emails from over the weekend - i had a houseful of beadmakers from 10:00am to 11:00pm last night and was busy..the good news is - the LeafPile was completed...the bad news - I'm late on emails...but i'll get caught up and it'll be like everything is back to normal..

Slight change of plans - one of our kitties is limping pretty badly, so I'm making a vet run and I'll be back afterward...THEN we'll have pics of LeafPile and the new lentils...it'll be a few hours at least...sorry - wish this wasn't happening...

I'm back, back in the saddle

What an amazingly fun and informative class we had with Dustin Tabor...His beads are very precise and exact - and it was fun to work with the bright colors and learn new color combinations...Can't wait to show you the beads that we made yesterday - they were in the kiln overnight and will be mailed this week...Did you visit his website? If you, you'll have seen some warring states and murrini beads and lotus pods that we did yesterday..my lotus pod looks like a fat acorn...

I love taking classes...we have a great time telling stories and learning 'behind the scenes' kinds of business stuff as much as learning the beadmaking stuff...Dustin is only 23 and still in college - that was hard for us to get our heads around...but it was more 'can you believe he's this accomplished at only 23?'...we were all impressed...We also enjoyed how big his beads are - so colorful, full of clear casing that has no bubbles! magic! we learned a lot and I can't wait to make some new pendants w/ my spin on them...

I'm teaching this weekend, and then leaving for Washington State at the end of the month for a class from Andrea Guarino and Michael Barley...I'm gonna be so full of info that I'm pretty sure I'll have to put corks in my ears so it doesn't all fall out...Plus I've just signed up for a Kim Fields class in February...Did I mention that I like to take classes? hahaha...

What are your weekend plans?

I'll be just down the road a piece, taking a class from Dustin Tabor so I won't have any beads for ya'll over the next few days, but I promise to be back in action next week...I'm on the 'rollercoaster of October' right now - class this weekend, teaching next weekend, leaving for Wash state for another class (i'll be gone the 22-28 this month)...and the first two weekends of Nov are booked as well...its an action packed Fall for me...i never did get my car into the shop - I don't have a way to get home once I drop it off...oh well, it'll get done eventually...like everything else...
Thanks for the continuing cystals suppliers and links, I'll update the page soon...

I watched the last 3 hours of Angels in America last night and it was fabulous...I hope to catch the first 3 eventually...I can see why it swept the Emmys...

Will be back later, haveta go take care of some bead business at the moment...ta...