What's Going On ...

Lazy, hazy, crazy days....

I'm busy doing the rain making dance, but its not helping...and I see other parts of the country that are flooding - while we bake and wish for rain...the butterflies are dancing outside, there are 3 of them playing chase, and drinking from the milkweed, which is grown very tall...it looks kinda leggy, but its there for when the monarchs come thru on their migration and need some food...I hope they eat every leaf and flower and grow big and strong...last year we had 4 caterpillars on the plant and it wasn't very big, so I had to relocate them or they woulda run outta food...We found 2 Giant Swallowtail cocoons on the lemon tree out front over the weekend, so they are still stopping by and eating and dropping eggs...its all good....

Hmmm...you're wondering...

So, as you've probably been secretly wondering to yourselves - 'why aren't there any beads on this website lately?'...and I can say that there will be again, not to worry...I've been doing some things behind the scenes here that I'm not quite ready to reveal yet, but I will bring ya'll up to speed on MOnday or so...I'm not quite ready to say what I'm doing, but I will say - things are fine, the stuff that's going on is good, and its nothing illegal...Oh shoot, I bet ya'll thought I was going to run away and join Chuck Norris' World Combat League (teams forming in Austin!), but I'm still doing all my round-house kicks here in my backyard...Kicking danger's butt and saving small kittens...

I'm excited that Football season is getting geared up, it was litterally - Tour de France ends on Sunday, Football coverage starts on Monday...I think the Cowboys camp opened at noon today, but I'm not all that big a Cowboy fan anymore, and now with that suave and sophisticated Terrell Owens on board, I'm even less a fan...I prefer to root for University of Texas football and I was even watching/listening to a 1999 Michigan/Penn State game yesterday on ESPN Classic (Tom Brady was still the quaterback of Michigan, he looked like he was 17 years old...).

So there ya have it...All is well, never fear, and Chuck Norris (who has a ranch just Southeast of here outside of Houston) hasn't phoned me yet...I'll keep ya aprised, tho...heh..

Bad for him...

Oh man...a bunch of ya'll have sent me links to the story about Floyd testing abnormally high for testosterone on stage 17 of the Tour...if this is true, if he's really been doping, he'll be fired by his team and his career will be essentially over...He could come back from a hip replacement, but who would want to touch him with that kind of stigma? Jan Ullrich was just fired from T-Mobile...I so hope that Floyd would not dope, even if it is a substance that your body makes naturally...He knows the rules, he knows the boundaries, and I hope he hasn't crossed them...Wow, this is going to be interesting...Of course, this COULD be the French ruining his tests, as they were so happy to attempt to do to Lance...I don't think Floyd's relationship with the French is as cantankerous as Lance's was/is, and I hope things work out for him, but Tyler Hamilton tested positive at the Olympics - something he denies - and where has he been lately?

Good for him...

I just read that Lance Bass has come out of the closet - good for him...I don't really care one way or another what someone's sleep habits are - they're private and I'd rather they stay that way, but its good to see someone who feels comfortable enough to come out and make an announcement because it has to be a difficult thing to do, dontcha think? Being judged in America is hard - we are a very judgemental country, and as a pop star (I suppose he is), he stands to lose a lot of fans and work...I hope it goes well for him...

I heard from Tink Martin today - she's coming to Austin this December to teach for a couple of days, so if you're here in town, you should ring up BlueMoon and get on her schedule...I'm looking forward to meeting her...!

I received a kit from Lisa Niven Kelly the other day, to test her Queen's Ring project...she's in the final re-writes and is looking for some feedback from me, and its only taken a year to get this kit, so I'm going to give it a whirl...I still have her gold ring as hostage but now that I have my own kit, it looks like i'll have to be returning that one...oh and how I love it so...hmm...

Discovery Channel signed Levi to their team yesterday...if they can get some good training on him and put a good team around him, he might win a Tour...he practically did all the work for his team this year, and I think he has it in him...I hope Floyd recovers from his surgery and is back next year as well...

We are getting a little rain today, my yard is grateful..and my waterbill...I need to go pull some scraggly plants out of the ground, they've pretty much given up and are lookin' painful...boo...

Today's Secret Word is...

"Lunch"...Anytime you hear the secret word - scream! Obviously I spent too much time watching Pee-Wee last night...What's old is new again, right? Its hard to believe that show started 20 years ago...

My cat Darcy likes to use her paw while drinking...she dips her left paw in and drinks from it...its rather amusing and I get these little one-footed paw prints on my desk after she's done...I always know when she's come thru...Everyone is waiting for me to let them out, so I guess they need to go help me in the backyard...the butterflies are out, dancing around the passionvine and I need to dead-head the roses and give them some food...no blooms right now...bah...

I've got to pick up some shipping supplies today, I've run out of a few things that I thought I had backstock of, but alas have not...the new toy I ordered for the silver jewelry has arrived, but its very messy at the moment and I need to give it a good cleaning before I can use it...I have about 80 different things I'm trying to get done here at one time and its kinda bogging me down, so I'm sorry that I haven't had more exciting things to talk about or beads to show...all that will get back on track once I make my way thru some of this and you'll see some groovy beads and silver jewelry again in no time...is it time for Lunch yet? aaaaahhhhhh!!!!!

Howdy Ho...

Yesterday's class was fantastic...a great group of students, they caught on quickly and we all had a fun time making beads and twisties...I usually don't teach groups, but a long time ago Jim at BlueMoon asked if I'd take over the Intermediate class and we never had enough students for the class to make...so its been ages since I taught it, but this one did, and it was fun...

We're just trying to keep everything alive here, the heat and sun has been baking our yard, so I'm posting a pic of a waterfall jug that isn't in our yard, unfortunately...its still pretty neat, tho...

I'm watering the front today, the back tomorrow and I know this is boring for ya'll, but its what's happening here right now...the animals are all good, the stray is still across the street and we are still feeding her, and Lady is playing with squirrels who are taunting her in the backyard...its a normal day here, hope ya'll are staying cool too...!

Zippy do...

Sorry I haven't checked in - sometimes I just get caught up doing stuff here and don't get around to updating the site...and tomorrow I'm teaching all afternoon and the Tour wraps up in the morning, so I'll be pretty outta touch tomorrow as well...but that's ok - ya'll are busy doing summer stuff, right? As you should be...

I'm trying to catch up on emails, but if I've overlooked yours, shoot it to me again...I'm not great at answering the phone, but I do try to get to email, even when I have to go back a few days and see what i've overlooked...

How about Floyd pulling the win out this morning...that was great...especially after bonking two days ago and thinking he was done for the race...everyone wrote him off...this was an exciting Tour, even without the big names in it...too bad about Jan Ullrich - he was fired from T-Mobile...I wonder if he'll come back at all...Well, football season starts in a couple of weeks, and while its still kinda hot for me to get excited about football just yet (I like to wait till September), I know that summer is winding down here in Austin...kids go back to school in the middle of August here, so the stores are having back to school sales, there's notebook paper and pencils in the grocery stores, and our 'tax-free sales weekend' is coming up the first weekend of August...we are closer to 2007 than to 2005, and Christmas will be here before you know it...good lord...somebody slow down the bus...

What do you wanna hear first?

I DO have new Icicle earwires...lots of 1 inch, but no 1.5 inch - while I did in fact make the 1.5 inch, they didn't clean up nicely and now I can't get the firescale off them...hmm...i'll try again today, but they might be ruined...

And because the earwires took ALL DAY to make (really), I have no beads to offer today...big bummer...i thought I'd be done with these earwires sooner, because I had already cut, hammered and filed the pieces, but I soon found out my fine silver torch does not get the Icicles hot enough to solder (they are made of sterling)...so I had to...

drag out all my old silversmithing torches, tools, etc and go that route...and it took awhile..and I couldn't find one of my 3rd hands, so I was only using one, so each earwire was slow in coming...anyway, the ones that I completed look great - they've all been filed and tumbled and are shiny and pretty...as soon as I have some 1.5, I'll post and letcha know...am not sure how soon I'll have them...

I have appts today, so I'll be here and gone and back...

Did you see Floyd completely fall apart yesterday - looks like he bonked...but today, he was awesome, and he's only 30 seconds out of the yellow...yesterday he was in 11th place and 8 minutes out...today was a whole new ride...the commentators were so giddy with the ride, everyone was so excited..I'm glad to see he's back, I was surprised the peloton had no answer for him...he's the best time trialist of the leaders, and can win this thing on Saturday...very good!

You are so money..

I'm making new Icicle earrings today - 1 inch and 1.5 inch...if you've been tapping your foot waiting, come back and punch the 'buy now' button and get yours while they're in stock...unfortunately the prices have to go up due to the increase in silver cost - geez...sorry about that...boo...

Craving chocolate? Maybe you need some nuts and seeds instead...

I enjoyed hiding in the a/c so much yesterday that I made a fistful of beads...however, before you get too excited, I won't be posting them today because many of them were test beads...I have some new reactive glass that I'm testing and this morning I'm assessing which ones to work with...

I also made a bunch of class beads for the Intermediate class i'm teaching on Sunday...should be interesting, a mix of Hot Head and Minor torches, some folks are experienced, others are brand new...but I thought I ought to have some sample beads to show, so those are ready...and finally I do have a neat set of lentils, but I'll wait to post those until I make more...so lets shoot for tomorrow...

We watched Swingers last night - hard to believe its already 10 years old...what a groovy movie...Game Show Network is counting down the Top Gameshows and last night they highlighted one I'd never seen before...1974 "The New Treasure Hunt"...have you ever seen it? I dunno how I missed it as a kid, but its kinda a knock off (and poorly done) version of Let's Make a Deal - a show that I really adored...This show offered some neat prizes like TWO convertible Jaguar's (less than 20K for two, pretty sweet)...I like watching old game shows, they remind me of when I was a kid and would be home sick and watch the shows...I enjoyed staying home sick, the entire day was filled with game shows...I still watch Match Game when I get a chance, and Password...as I got older I didn't watch so much, so I'm not that into the Whammy guy or Joker's Wild thing...I've always liked puzzles and trying to guess answers from obscure clues...I would always buy the Encyclopedia Brown mystery books from our Book Mobile (and horse books, I always wanted a horse), and I still watch Poirot and Sherlock Holmes on the Biography channel...and yet, I never can figure out the answers before Poirot does...he's good...

I'm hiding in the air conditioning...

Aha! I took the shots and here they are...I made dangles (lots and lots - and man are they time intensive to make!) and put them all together for some splashy Swarovski shine...I dunno if ya'll are interested in buying these, you can easily make them yourself, but if you spy something you want, email me and I'll give you a price..otherwise, I'm gonna wear the heck outta them...they can go on any size dangle ring of course, since its simply a jump ring with lots of wrapped crystals loaded on...I'm 'test driving' them to see how well they hold up - the purple needs to be tightened (it has the most dangles packed on, perhaps I should just remove one or two) and they have a nice weight to them...Oh - and there are 3 separate pics on each of the underlined words, so you can see what they look like in action...

What happened to the pics I was gonna post yeseterday? After I picked up the camera, it was noon and so hot outside that I just stayed indoors...but now that it's morning, I can shoot some shots so that's what I'll do next...

Someone very nicely asked to see pics of our garden and creatures...I haven't taken any photos of either in awhile - our garden is under heat stress, so we're just keeping it watered and alive, but its not as pretty as it was in Spring...although nothing has died, its kinda leggy and so I posted a shot of prettier times...when the flowers at our nursery were open and showing off...

And of course there's a B in the mix...he was in the yard with me, staying far away from the danger, but keeping an eye on the progress and making sure the tree was disassembled properly...He's so social, he woulda loved to climb right up the tree and help tie the rope around it...but I kept him across the street with me and we took photos instead...

L'Alpe Duez is on the television at the moment - my favorite mountain in the Tour...such memories - "The Look" occurred here when Lance turned around and looked at Jan, then took off up the road, with no one following him...awesome...I heard that Lance has arrived in France and is with the team, giving support...Did you see him on the ESPY's on Sunday? He was pretty funny, actually...

I have no errands or appts or meetings to attend to today, so I can stay home and get back to work...and I'm lookin' forward to it...crack that whip!!

Hey, how ya'll doin'?

I know some of ya'll are curious about the ring sizing I've been posting, so i've found this site that has a great comparison chart, and some helpful suggestions on how to size a ring, and that you should buy a larger size if the band is wider...I'll post this on my Ready for Pickin' page as well...

D'oh! I tried to take a few pics for ya'll this morning, and the camera is with Brian...he took very nice shots of the Pond Tour this weekend and the memory sticks are here, but the camera is still in the car...so, I'm gonna meet him and get a few pics for ya'll this afternoon...hmm...what could I be taking pics of???

So, it looks like Texas-style heat has invaded the entire country (except those of ya'll in Seattle - bah)...all I can say is 'sorry about that'...its hot, isn't it? if its any consolation, its been hot like this for us since April and will be this hot or hotter thru September, so when ya'll are coolin' off, we'll still be sweatin'...just stay in the cool weather (our a/c runs year round pretty much), or take a cold bath, or go pool-hoppin'...drink plenty of water and cut all your hair off - its much cooler that way! Every year at this time I'm ready to cut all my curls off and go pixie again...but I never do it...maybe I should...?!?!?!

Ok, I get it...

I guess the blank dangle rings aren't all that exciting (kinda like buying the hanger w/out the clothes, i guess), so I'll make some dangles and offer them again in a few days...no worries...i'm working on them this morning in fact...

Brian is heading out to the local Pond Society tour and seeing what the professionals have done...eventually we'd like to put in a pond, but do we want shade, or sun, how big should it be, waterfall or no, etc...its good to see what other people have done, of course...but its hot out today and I have loads of other stuff to do, so he'll go do the lookin' and snap some photos and I'll stay and work...which I don't mind in the slightest...

Other than that, its a typical sunny Saturday in Austin...Clementine is racing thru the house, having a ball chasing nothing, but still making me laugh the whole time...she's so tiny that when she gets running fast, she zooms into walls and has a hard time putting the breaks on...she's defintely the comedianne of the house...

Attack of the Silver Jewelry...

I made more dangle rings for ya'll yesterday, and was instructed to make them BIGger..apparently I have tiny 'carny' fingers, according to someone who will remain nameless...I don't have many small parts on my body, so I'm glad to have small fingers, since I have a rather large behind...I haven't put any beads on the rings, would you like them 'raw' or should I outfit them with dangles? lemme know your thoughts...

Have you seen Pee-Wee's Playhouse is being shown at 10:00pm on Comedy Central? So now I have to choose between vintage Star Trek (cheese factor of 8) and my dude PeeWee (silliness factor of 8)...Who else screams when they hear the word of the day...you? I do! And I dazzled Brian with my useless trivia again last night...he just laughs at the fact that I know this craptacular info - I think the portion of my brain where 'math' is supposed to work has been taken over with the names of the Brady Bunch castmembers (a question last night)...2+2=5, right?

The Tour got going yesterday, the first big mountains blew the GC apart, as expected...but Floyd did well...and today is another mountain day...the Alps are where I enjoy the tour, tho...all those crazy switchbacks...L'Alpe Duez is coming, and its my fave...

We ran into Jill Symons at BlueMoon yesterday, which was a great surprise...I've talked to Jill in email and knew she had gone to college here, but didn't expect to see her...she's in town for her son's baseball clinic and he was off taking his driving test (which he passed)...Jill is such a class act, she makes awesome beads and was testing some new pink glass that Jim had just received (which we scored some small sticks of to test as well- sweet)...I'm out of touch with all the new glass coming out, I haven't ordered any glass from the big houses this year, and should probably go poke around and see what's new...I do have some of the fancy glass that is very hard to get a hold of, I lucked out and scored some (Double Helix) but haven't done anything with it yet...must get back on the torch...!

Ahoy matey and tasty treats...

The Pirates Feast was a blast...the audience was a good one - when the previews came on screen and they were rated "R", the audience would all yell "AARRRRRrrr"...and man, the ending - we all whooped it up and were so loud we couldn't hear the final words that the character spoke...and if you go, wait thru the credits, there's a tiny scene that is amusing that you'll enjoy...all in all, a great night indeed...The movie seemed longer than the first, even tho I've heard its only 8 min longer, but there are scenes that kinda go on and on (Kraken anyone?), but we both agreed that we need to go back and see it again...I hope Johnny Depp made some nice bank for this, or gets a big bonus from Disney - he makes this movie and the suits were so afraid of his Jack Sparrow...he's fantastic...

I have a load of things to do today, including taking some glass to BlueMoon for a customer who needs a specific color to finish a project- Jim looked in his database and found I had bought some a year ago, or longer...and I haven't used it at all (its a vetrofond color, I can't remember which one), so why not share with a friend in need...and there's cat food to pick up, lunch with Letha and other stuff...On a good note - the fuel arrived, so silver goodies will be forthcoming (who wants to bet that I make silver jewelry and won't clean the house...anybody?)...

The Tour is interesting today - the first big day in the mountains...its apparent that there is no leader of Discovery Channel, its a rebuilding year, and that's ok...I hope they figure out what they're gonna do...Ace is in the breakaway with the leaders over the mtns, but he's not very high in the GC...I hope Floyd Landis does well, he seems to be in a good position...

And so, I must take care of things, but i'll be back...hopefully with some shiny silver dangle rings...?? and more bracelets? Oh, I ordered something yesterday that will make things more interesting for the silver jewelry, I'll tell ya more once they arrive...rock on kiddos!!

Chores and Pirates...

A couple of fun and different squeeze bracelets for ya...

Somebody asked me if I'd be doing another Scavenger Hunt like I did when the last Pirates movie came out, which was kinda ironic cause I had just finished deleting most or all of those pages on my site..however, I had been thinking of doing another scavenger hunt, (I'll just make new pages, that's all), but first I need to make some groovy beads for it...I will post announcements on when it'll take place, and what the prize(s) will be for it...why not...!

I need to mow the lawn while the shade is still in the front yard, then I'll come inside and string up the beads I made yesterday...Tonight is our Pirates Feast, finally...I feel like the whole world has seen the movie except me...I can't even read the cover story in my Entertainment Weekly about the making of the movie, in case its full of spoilers...

Did you watch the trivia show last night? I'm still having fun watching it, although one of the contestants was an obnoxious troll who kept screeching and yelling and I was hoping they'd lose so we wouldn't have to deal with her anymore, but alas, they won, so more screeching abounds...ugh...

I'm still waiting for my 'clean' fuel to arrive, I couldn't find it locally, so I had to order it, but I got plenty, so new silver should be showing up here very soon...sounds like I need to make some larger rings (dangle and plain), as well as more bracelets...so look for those soon, I'll keep ya aprised..

I lusted after the Orange sun pendant that Kate McKinnon posted recently, but of course it was the first item that sold and I missed out...dang it...but, she's added me in her links section as well as on her shag carpet kit page...awesome! I don't even mind that my name is spelled wrong...heh...I was going to take her PMC class this weekend in California, but when we had dinner at B&B (that was a great evening with Gail Crosman Moore, Michele Goldstein, Gail Lannum, Anne Mitchell, Kate and me), I said I'd rather go to her new home in Tucson, since I was feeling like driving, and Tucson is way closer than Pacific Grove...which worked out perfectly for her too, since the class was overbooked...so I think I'm going out there in November...I think a drive to Tucson would be fun, once I get out of Texas, its not that much further...I think the drive to El Paso is 9 hours...12 hours? someone told me once, I'm not sure what it was...but in November, it'll be cooler and I can put the top down on the car and enjoy the weather...

Alrighty, enough yakking, I hear other mowers in the neighborhood (one was going at 7:30 this morning - nice), so I better go participate...back in a bit...

The feedback polls DO work!

I've been reading your response to the question about how you feel about organic beads and amazingly the most popular response is for me to make more of them...and I appreciate that, because I do enjoy the freedom that organics give, plus - you get a set of beads that are unique...so expect more of them in the coming days...I find that making them in a pressed shape allows for a greater visual to the organic reactions, so I'll be making lentils and other shapes to come...

Last night a new show premiered on VH-1 The World Series of Pop Culture - and its right up my alley..its like playing Scene It! and Trivial Pursuit all at once...

finally, my useless knowledge of pop culture can be used for good...Brian is in awe at all the freakishly weird knowledge I have, but when the category came to 'old school rap music', he knew way more than I did...such a playa...anyway, years ago I used to compete with my company at local bars during trivia night and we'd usually clean up..we even won a championship tournament once...I wish I had known they were auditioning groups for this show, I'd have waited in line for my chance to become the next Clay Aiken...

Bracelets are posted...

Beads are up...

Did you see the latest issue of Bead and Button? A feature was done on Stuart Abelman, who provided the Show Bead this year...he makes these really cool beads with metalic finish on them...I don't rememeber all the specifics of the article, but you ought to read about him...and pick up some of his beads when you get a chance...shiny...

Amazingly, I like most of the beads I made last night, and those that I don't like are a good first attempt for later...While I typically post in the morning, I'll go ahead and post these now, for all the folks who want me to post later in the day...does this work for ya'll in New Zealand???

Just running a bit slow this morning, but I'm headin to the studio to check out last night's work...back in a bit, with some new bracelets, I hope...more update to come...go eat lunch..!

Kick back and relax

10:30pm - I've been making some organic beads, and they are in the kiln cooling down right now...some are experiments, and I hope they turn out better than they looked when I put them in the kiln - I know there are some groovy ones in there that I am lusting after even now...I have a busy day planned tomorrow, mowing the lawn and jumping back on the torch, so I should turn off Robot Chicken and go to bed...

Its a quiet Sunday here today...I couldn't find any 'clean' fuel yesterday, so I've ordered some and it should arrive this week, so all silver jewelry will have to wait till then...

but in the meantime there's plenty for me to be doing, so I guess I shall go and see what trouble I can find for myself...the bugs are out crawling and I really should mow the lawn, but I might just wait till it cools down later tonight, or tomorrow morning...I shouldn't watch cooking shows on FOODTV when I'm hungry..now I want to tear thru the house and make cookies, pasta, salads, dressings and steak...maybe I'll just have some cereal...

Star Trek, Tour, Rain and butterflies...

Oh yeah, if you're looking for beads, I've made two bracelets, but am not ready to post them until I get a few more made...plus I have some backorders I need to fill...and some new silver - but I ran out of fuel yesterday...so I have some errands to run before I get things in order here...but i'm workin' on it...

I'm rockin' to the old Star Trek marathon on G4 right now...these old eps crack me up...and its been raining out, so our butterfly garden is drinking it up...I haven't been outside in it much, the plants are going crazy, the vines are taking over, and yesterday a Giant Swallowtail was laying eggs on the lime tree...we found 2 eggs, two teeny 'orange dogs' and one large one, who will turn into a butterfly in a few days...the fennel is lookin' pretty scraggily, but there were a ton of little mop ladybug larvae crawling all over it - they looked like teeny tribbles...so cute...

The tour is rolling along, an individual time trial was today, George Hincapie didn't do all that, but Floyd Landis was good...the mountains are looming...

So, who saw the new Pirates movie last night? I read that it made a zillion dollars, although I don't have any figures...is it good? the reviews swing wildly, EW gave it a D+, but our local paper liked it...and they don't like much of anything unless its gay cowboys eating pudding...(Cartman knows his indie movies)...We're lookin' forward to Wed and our feast...

Stray update - we're still feeding the kitty and today its sibling came running over, looking just as skinny and all wet from the rain...Brian took it over to the food and it scarfed down a good amount...I won't go into the problems of that family, we found out more info about them last night, and its no wonder they aren't feeding these cats - they can hardly feed themselves and one of them was in jail for shoplifting last month...nice... they can yell at me all they want, if these cats are starving, then we're gonna feed them...people suck...

Wow, Its been a busy day...

I have the July Freebies pulled and ready, just need to get a shot posted..Fall colors...what else is new...heh...

The vacant house across the street, that's been empty for 6 months, where the stray kitty has been living all this time, has new owners and there have been vehicles (5 of them on our little street) with people cutting down dead willow trees, mowing the lawn (that hasn't been mowed since January, I think I saw an elephant running out of it), tossing stuff out the windows into flat bed trailers and generally coming and going like an ant farm...Brian talked to a neighbor who said the guys who bought it want to renovate it - which is funny because the previous guys who lived in it had totally renovated it too...I am so glad its now occupied and by owners and not renters...nothing against renters, but they tend not to take care of lawns, trees and have like 6 ppl living in an 800 sq ft home (like our neighbors around the corner)...

So, I dunno where the stray has run off to...Brian took her food this morning and I hope she shows up again...she's afraid of Bagheera, cause he chases her out of our yard, so I'll have to see where she pops up...i'm sure she's not back at her 'real' home - she hasn't lived there in the past 6 months, why would she go back today?!?!?..

The Tour has been kinda quiet this week, but that's to be expected with all the flat sprint stages..once we hit the Pyrenees, its gonna bust open the GC and the real climbers will come into effect...with last years faves out of the race this year, it'll be interesting to see who rises to the surface...I'm still enjoying listening to the show in the morning and again in the evening with Bob Roll...its not summer without the Tour in my house...

I've been trying to get beads made and a few have come thru, but I need more time...more silver has arrived at my house today, so more silver rings can be made...Dana sent me this link to some dangle rings that Sundance Catalog has for sale...I was told I could get into that catalog, but I'd have to have a LOT of stock, and I'd have to provide all the shipping materials and I think there's a 50-50 split on price, etc...for now I think I'm just gonna sell here on my little corner of the Internet and hope ya'll keep coming back to see me...I'm not quite ready for Sundance, I don't think...but I do like the inspiration from it...the pieces look so simple and I've bought rings from them in the past...and probably will again...

Who wants to go to Germany with me?

Its been a long time in the works, and now it looks like it's going to happen - I've been invited to teach in Hamburg Germany...and I'll be there in September...The tickets have been booked and I've marked the days on my calendar with big red marker...So all you overseas kids, if you're interested in coming to see me in Hamburg, lemme know and I'll put you in contact with the studio...I'm excited about getting the opportunity to travel there to teach, its not something I expected, but I'm gonna go and have fun!!! When they asked me last year to come over, I had to ask them 'are you sure? you want me?' but they said 'yes, we know what we're doing' and I said 'ok, as long as you are sure'...I'm nervous but excited...wow...awesome...

We're doing another movie feast - this one for Pirates of the Caribbean...July 12...yum!

So, last night the owner of the stray kitty rounded her up (at 10:00pm mind you) and took her home...Brian was outside and saw it happen and he was mad, but I told him that she wont be mean to the cat, her meanness comes from her neglect, so just be patient...sure enough, before 8:00am this morning the cat was back across the street, waiting for breakfast...I haven't gone over, I figure i'll wait until later when I won't have a confrontation with them...the cat deserves food at least, and now she knows where to get it on a regular basis...the house is for sale and some prospective buyers were looking at it yesterday and they gave the cat affection, so maybe they'll buy the house and take care of the cat...I can hope, right??

I feel like working today...just melting stuff and going nuts...maybe hammering some silver...lets see what today brings...I can hear Cardinals outside the window and the gulf fritilary butterflies are hatching every day...the passionvine is practically taking over the back of the house - so different from last year when we planted it and I was hand picking the caterpillars off it, so they wouldn't strip it from all the leaves...now, nature has taken over and i don't have to hand pick them at all...balance has been achieved...its all good...

Mmmm...BBQ....

I just saw this artist on "That's Clever" and had to check out her website...she makes a circle ring bracelet like I do, but I guess I'm not charging enough for mine..heh...

Ha..I just got yelled at by the neighbors down the street who aren't taking care of this stray - they yelled at me to stop feeding 'their' cat...hmm...I told them they could pay me the $130 I paid the vet, and then I'll stop feeding it...and now, the cat is on the porch across the street, where I've been feeding it, and yet no one has gone over to pick it up and take it 'home'..if they wanted it back so badly, you'd think they'd have picked it up by now...so sad...

We had official Texas BBQ yesterday in celebration for the 4th...pork ribs, sausage, potato salad, beans, the works...yum...and then Brian made a meatloaf for dinner, and we watched 'Napoleon Dynamite' yet again, and its still just as funny as in the beginning...my favorite line now 'you might as well be doing something while you're doing nothing'...I say that all the time now...

So today its back to work...time to ship, pull beads from the kiln, put some new ones in, and go feed the stray...its been raining on and off, so she's been hiding to stay dry...we need the rain, so I'm not complaining...

I like having the Tour on the television in the mornings as background noise...it 'feels' like summer to me...The tour is still interesting for me, but not as good if Ivan Basso and Jan Ullrich or Vinokourov were still in...I knew Lance was out, but now that the 'big names' are out, its kinda blah...

I got very little sleep, Darcy was pacing the house meowing and crying for whatever reason...so I got up to settle her down and she came in and slept on my side...which makes it hard for me to sleep, but I couldn't very well kick her out...she's such a cute little kitty, and has the saddest wail...and I'm a sucker...

Happy Fourth!

Eat hotdogs, go swimmin', watch fireworks, and have a great holiday!!

Are you still on vacation?

Don't feel like sitting thru the new Superman movie? Watch the 30-Second Bunnies enact it for you...

I know most of the country has taken today off, as should be...but I'm headin' back to work and Brian has gone into the office (its quiet and he can get work done)...first, tho I'm catching the Tour and feeding the kitty, although I don't see her out the window yet...some neighbors were lighting firecrackers yesterday - those loud snappy ones that sound like gunshots - so she's probably in hiding...

Long wet weekend..

Yesterday was one of those days where you looked up and it was 5:00 already and you wondered where the day went...today, we've already had breakfast, gone grocery shopping, fed the stray (and stayed for some attention), walked the dog and its just after 11:00...I like days like today - it feels like we've done a ton of stuff and its not even noon...sweet...and the groceries are even put away...man, we have a lot of peas...

I've had a chance to see the end of today's Tour stage and am so excited that George Hincapie is in the yellow...that is fan-freakin'-tastic!...I dunno their gameplan, typically they would let the yellow go for a few days and try to recapture it later, so I doubt they'll try to defend it for 3 weeks, but how exciting for George to be in yellow...wonderful!

i dunno what today will bring, I worked Friday instead of playing with the gang, cause I knew this weekend would pull me away from the torch, but I might see if I can get something done either beads or silver...is tomorrow a national holiday, or just Tuesday? does the mail run tomorrow?

Its been raining here all morning, we need it so badly, so we're just letting the garden drink up..no planting or weeding today...it can rain all day and we'll be happy...

Fun and funky day...

My OLN station wasn't working properly this morning, so I missed a lot of the Tour coverage, but the good news is that they are running it eleventy million more times today, so I'll pick it up later this afternoon...I spent some time looking after the stray, feeding her some good food and keeping Bagheera from chasing her down the street (and eating her breakfast)...he seems to think that because I took food to her across the street - that that's HIS food, so he saunters over and just eats it...

A big storm is on its way, the wind is blowing and its getting darker out...its like the tornado scene in Wizard of Oz...I hope Elvira Gulch goes whizzing by on her bicycle any minute...

I'll be drawing names for the freebies in a bit, and posting later...all new votes will go toward something new, although I haven't posted what it is yet...probably tomorrow, with the storm and all...

Is it really July? awesome...