What's Going On ...

And the Farmer goes boom...

I just wrote a ton of things here, but Clementine walked across the keyboard and they all disappeared...how nice...

So, where have I been? Sick...sleeping...feeling bad...it was probably exhaustion from working in the yard in 100 degree heat...but I feel better now...

That means I'm behind on shipping, but I will get everyone's stuff to them before I leave for Germany...and I NEED to get prepared to go, so I'll be spending some time gathering up stuff for those guys...Next week...

Drove into Austin to get my haircut and they were filming in our little downtown...I was hoping they'd want a shot of the Vampyre with her teeth, but then again, this is a small town and I doubt she'd fit into a scene...she's too 'big city'...

I had about 80lbs of hair cut off, and it feels so much better...my hair grows fast, and is thick and curly and really hard to manage...now that its layered, its so much lighter and less trouble...

My upstairs phone isn't working, it was interferring with the wireless connectivity, so Brian was going to change channels and now it wont answer calls at all...useless...It will give me caller ID so I know who's calling - but I can't answer it...awesome...

Ok then, so now I've checked in and you know I haven't taken the money and run to Jamaica (hey - hmmm)...I'll catch up on those emails I'm behind on, but don't be offended if I don't give much of an response - I'm just trying to touch base so you know I see you...

rock on kiddos...

Farmer McDonner

I've been in Austin, digging and planting lantana, verbena, purple cone flower, milkweed and others...its been a hot and sweaty weekend, spilling into today...we list the house soon, and as we remove plants that haven't handled the sun well, we've been replacing them w/ sun-loving plants...Brian snagged a crepe myrtle tree from a neighbor who was going to throw it out...so that went into the butterfly garden yesterday...I've been seeing some really fantastic new birds in the yard too - about the size of a sparrow, but the males are bright chartreuse green...some kind of finch, perhaps? I should research it...

I'm working in the studio, it got messed up in a few short days, and just so ya'll know - I haven't responded to emails yet, although I have had a chance to read them...I'll answer soon, I promise...

I need to get some beads made and let my head decompress...this month has been crazy and we are tired...next week I dip my toe into the wacky world of international travel, won't that be interesting...I'm not afraid to fly, I just don't wanna be diverted because some crazy person won't stop painting their nails (yes, that happened recently)...geez...

Go Go Gadget...

Mulchy McCrunchy...

Today we concentrate on the butterfly garden...mulching, laying some gravel, digging out anything that isn't handling the heat...the dog is coming along to supervise and assist...I trimmed nandina and ligustrum yesterday, raked old leaves and found a small grey snake, but he slithered off before I could relocate him into a better spot...I'm hoping he's not in the bag of composted leaves that we have waiting for recycling...snakes are good for your gardens, like wasps...one person's pest is another's friend...

My first foray into the world of security systems was a bomb- I didn't arm the alarm properly, so it was never set...ha...maybe today I'll figure it out...its not like we are really worried about the house, I imagine the security sign and the black dog in the yard do enough to deter folks from trying to get into the house...I've seen jewelry stores who put tarantula's in their windows at night - they work better than burglar bars...people are funny about what they are afraid to get near...i could get a sign and hang it on the front door...I used to have 2 tarantulas as pets, but they've both passed away...they are awesome pets...nature in action...

Tote that barge, lift that bale...

Time for some tree trimming and mulching...I'm kinda nervous tho, I'm gonna set our new Brinks alarm and then leave the house...I hope the cats don't go nuts in front of the sensor and set the alarm off, but its located high in the corner and I doubt it'll pick up their movement...besides, I expect them to sleep the day away...the bigger trick will be rememebering to turn the thing off once I get in the house and not tripping the alarm myself...I've re-read the instructions, so I'm gonna give it a go...

I'll take my computer with me so I can keep an eye on the Pickings...we still have our cable modem and server in the Austin house - even tho we don't have a tv or anything fun to watch, we can at least connect to the internet...

And I guess that's all I have to say about anything...Brian and the dog have already hit the road, they're already working hard...I'm in charge of bringing bags of ice and orange juice for the cooler...Its all good...

hope you're enjoying your end of summer days...Football season opens Sept 2 here, and we're looking forward to it...I'll be in Germany for the Ohio State/UT game...d'oh!

May the Beads be with you...

Now this is just goofy...

11:20am - Ready, set, go...(aol users remember- hit F5 to refresh the page)

11:03am - almost ready, gimme about 20 min...look for something at 11:20am...

10:00am Cleaned, strung and shot...next: optimization and writeups...back w/ next update...

Lots of bracelets and some mini spacers to start your day...am still working on the stringing of what came outta the kiln this morning...will update as I get further along...

I caught a quick view of the weather map in the newspaper - its August, how can some of ya'll have 65 degree temps?? August people! Get with the program...101 here today...65 is for wimps...you should be hot and miserable in August, like the rest of us...shape up...

Pack up the dog...

First Tom Cruise is fired, now Pluto is demoted from a planet to a blob of ice and rock...what's next?

I'm in Austin w/ the dog, watering the plants...she's running around the backyard, playing w/ the frisbee, and probably digging up our plants...she knows this place, tho, the minute I turned onto our street, she went bananas, recognizing her fence and yard...she's full of a lot of energy and likes to give me face fulls of wet noses on the ride up here...I keep her leash on, and tug her off of me, so we don't wreck...its all crazy bedlam...

I got some good work done last night at the torch, the beads are already cleaned and to-be-strung upstairs later today...the Brinks folks are coming over this afternoon to turn on the alarm that's already installed, and teach me how to set it and not set it off!

More beads to be made this afternoon, tho...I'm discovering small problems, like the a/c vent blows right on my torch, making stringer work nearly impossible...so I have to either put a small barrier up, or relocate my desk, or figure out how to work around this, cause I know turning the a/c off isn't an option...hmmm...isn't it funny how the smallest things can make the biggest differences...needless to say, I made dots on the beads last night, but I'll see if I can get things to settle down today and do some stringer stuff...

I gotta go move the water, back later chickies...

Setting up shop..

The last of the glass has been removed from the trunk of the car and I've put some of it up this morning, but there is still a bit of backstock to haul upstairs...not anytime soon, mind you...but I got my generator/tank hookedup to the Minor last night, and figured out why I wasn't getting any air (I had screwed the C clamp down onto the air hose by accident, its a long story, but its working now)...Cleaned the torch, and have been melting 1/2 rods together to make long full rods to use...a few explosions have occurred, glass flying everywhere, but no major burns or accidents yet...I'm cleaning some clear glass and then will get underway in a bit...

You don't know it, but you like that my computer is upstairs and out of easy reach..you really do...why? Because I don't spend nearly the amt of time on it like I used to - I'm actually getting things done and not surfing so much...and that is a good thing, trust me...The tv is still in the studio, but that's ok, I kinda need some background noise to help me work...but I don't need the temptation of surfing to be right there in the same room...I'm too weak...

So far, I have 4 bracelets ready to post for Friday...groovy...oh, and a few more mini spacer sets...but i'll make more stuff today and tomorrow and we'll have a big blowout just in time for payday...

We hauled the roses and hoses out of the truck last night and gave everyone a big drink...I checked on them this morning and they were still moist, so that tells me they won't be too stressed in the backyard under the trees and shade...they're in buckets now, which means they'll dry out quicker, but i'll keep an eye on them to make sure they don't die...There are 3 roses in the Austin backyard that are crispy and brown...but I bet they aren't dead yet, just sleeping...hard...we'll dig them up anyway, the trellis with beads are still back there, and we need to get them along w/ my exhaust hood...does it never end...heh...

Chores and Errands...

Yesterday's class was tons of fun, everyone did great and I found some areas that I need to adjust for my upcoming trip...So overall, it helped me get ready, now if I can just get the airlines to let me take my knitting needles on the plane, I'll be happy..something tells me that ain't gonna happen...

I was up early and made the trek to Austin and watered the front yard and butterfly garden..if we give them small drinks each day, they will stay alive...the calladiums and purple fountain grass look great - they haven't died since Sunday...

I strung up two extra Autumn squeeze Zoot bracelets and will post them later...I have beads to clean and string as well, so lots to do...the roses from Sunday are still in the back of the truck, I need to get them out and get some water on them...so much to do...

Brian brought my desk in from the front porch last night, so my studio is looking more like a real work space..I have 2 tables facing one another, one for beadmaking, the other for silver work, and misc. stuff...I can setup another torch there and have friends over to play for the afternoon...the tv is hooked up to digital so I can still listen to my groovy music, and I'm getting my main kiln setup...I'm happy with it coming together...each day a little more falls into place...

An update on kitties - turns out the little striped stray that found Brian is in fact our next door neighbor's cat...we took him next door and they asked if we wanted him! But we haven't seen him since, so I'm hoping they are keeping him indoors...he's very friendly, so he's not neglected or abused at all...and the older stray in Austin who has the crappy owners is looking great...we still leave food out on our porch for her, and she's clean and looks well fed, but not fat...and all our indoor kitties are doing great, they love to run up the stairs and hang out in my office...Clemetine throws herself on her back so I'll tickle her tummy...she loves the carpet...and everyone is so clean and shiny, its really nice...Lady is loving the backyard, all her toys and sleep spot are here, and she would rather be outside than inside...now if we can only get all the stuff outta boxes, the place will look like a real house...

The fun never ends...

Brian dug up 5 roses yesterday and we replaced them with purple fountain grass...it looks fantastic...I planted 6 sets of calladiums where my basil/thyme/sage had been, but didn't thrive...if I can just keep these guys going for a few months it'll be cool...I'm heading over there after class to water everything again...even tho we ran the sprinkler for 45 min on Sat, the dirt was bone dry yesterday...amazing...I guess those 100+ days will suck up every bit of moisture...

I got little to no sleep last night, worrying that I'd oversleep for today's class...its an informal one, should be fun, not a lot of stress, but still I tend to get worked up when I have to teach and 'be responsible'...I just don't wanna screw it up (or be late)...

I haven't had a chance to take the beads off the mandrels yet, but hopefully tomorrow I'll be back in a schedule again...I'll prob just hold them until I have plenty to offer, kinda like last time....should we shoot for Friday again this week? That will FORCE me to get on the torch, right? I'll see if there's any cool new glass at BlueMoon today...I'm sure I'll get some inspiration from all the organics we'll be doing today...

So, there ya have it...not an exciting update, but lemme just say, we are exhausted...doing yard work in August is not the most fun, but it needs to be done...I'm glad to have the roses here with us now, they are all still alive, but a few need a little love...I think some dappled light will give them what they need, some relief...its all good...

Why am I so tired?

Ugh...I am tired...the house looks great, tho...very clean and shiny...and the deck is clean...Brian put mulch around the big trees in the front...today we are digging up some of the roses and replacing them with other plants we'll go pick up this morning at our fave nursery...another long day, I fear...the clouds made things slightly cooler yesterday (only 95) but today we're back to the 105 readings and I'm not sure how long we can hold out...

We dismantled the last piece of furniture, the daybed, and reassembled it in the living room here, so we can actually sit on something to watch the tv that's propped on the floor...but hey, its a start...

I dunno when we'll get to go see the SoaP movie...I was hoping we could do it with the fans who would hoot and holler at the screen, but it doesn't look like that...we'll see it eventually, tho, and it'll all be good...

Brian met one of our Austin neighbors yesterday while working in the yard...he bought his house in 1971 and paid $10,000 for it...We have other neighbors who bought their houses NEW in 1953 and paid $8000 for them, and have lived there the entire time...I really cannot imagine living on one street for that long...I've lived in a lot of places, and moved a lot of times and I think that makes each move easier for me than for other people...I watched a show on TLC last night, and a woman lost her home in the Katrina flood - she had lived there 42 years...that is amazing to me...the longest I've lived in one house is 7 years...sometimes change is good...

Power Washing sure is fun...

2:37pm...I've been soaked for pretty much all of the day, the porch was the most fun thing to power wash, I would get up under the overhang and then it would rain on me...we are both quite a mess, and somewhat out of energy, so I don't think we'll be doing the movie tonight...our neighbor who yelled at me for feeding their cat just called the fire dept to come and rescue them...they don't have a/c in their house and its blistering hot outside, I'm sure they are dehydrated or something...I haven't seen the kitty today, I'm guessing she's sleeping in the backyard across the street...that house has been nothing but drama since we've lived here, ambulances, overdoses, fire engines at all hours of the night...I won't miss that, fo sho...

Today I get to spend the morning power washing the Austin house and I'm looking forward to it...I'm the kinda person who will take a hose w/ a jet nozzle and spend hours washing the side of my house, so to do it properly with force and power, well, that is what its all about, baby...this is gonna be fun...and since it'll be 150 in the shade, I'll be cool and wet, which is better than hauling mulch and gravel around, like Brian will be doing...

we'll take a break in the middle of the day and go see Snakes (guess I should take a change of clothes then, huh), and tomorrow I think we'll go remove some of the roses that aren't dead, but haven't grown very big (others have gone bananas, like the one in the front covering my archway..sweet)...

I made some new beads last night, and I'm pretty pleased with them, but it'll be a bit before I can post them...Monday I'm doing a 'demo' class in prep for my Germany visit, since they've asked me to teach stuff I don't typically teach...I can DO the techniques, in fact they pulled them off my website, but I've never taught them in a class environment before...well, I have, kinda, with one-on-one students, but never to a group of 8 or more...so this will be a good test run to see where the wheels fall off before I get all the way over there, and catastrophe strikes...I'm trying to avoid the catastrophe monster as much as possible- the flight to and fro will be a pain in the drain w/out having to worry about the class to...So some of my buddies are coming to the studio and we'll have some fun...

I guess we should go now while its only 80 out, and get things underway...See ya'll later on...

Its Snakes On Plane, ya'll...

Oh how I wish we coulda done this 24 hour marathon of SoaP at Drafthouse...but alas, we have real work to attend...The theatre was looking to do a 'Snakes on a Plate' feast, with different snake meat being offered, but last I heard, they had only found 2 types of snakes to eat, so I dunno if they are going thru with it, or if this 24hr marathon is taking it's place..Either way, we will be going for a matinee tomorrow, after working on the Austin yard, mulching, power washing and getting things ready for cleaning...I read an article on the local paper that says Austin's home market is still rockin', not flat like the rest of the country, and its mostly folks from California that are driving the prices sky high (sky high for us, not for them of course)...

So, I hope our house is sold by Halloween...I think the average time on the market in Austin is 60 days, and if we shine the place up and price it right, it should move...well, that's the hope anyway...I met the mulch dude this morning, he was there at 8:30, he dumped the mulch in the back and drove off while I was getting his check ready...oh...hmmm...well, we'll have to call and figure something out...

I strung two bracelets last night and have been wearing them..I feel like myself again, with beads on my wrist...You know that my motivation to make beads is just to adorn myself with as many as I can keep, the stuff I sell to ya'll keeps me in business, but I'd certainly be happy shoving it all onto my arms and wearing 111 bracelets at once...who wouldn't, I ask you? Brian just looks at them and goes "oh, beads"...he could care less...good thing I have ya'll to tell me if they are good or not...

Darcy is falling into open boxes and Amelie is stalking her...its a crazy day upstairs and I'm looking forward to getting the studio setup properly now...its making me a little crazy down there, and I don't like it messy...

Tell me what you think of SoaP...Campy goodness, at its B-movie best!

Bonding with the space

I found my crystals! Digging around upstairs is revealing a whole plethora of goodies..my silver stuff is out and breathing again...my chopsticks for pulling twisties have materialized...my wire to string beads on, my tools, my bead cleaning tubs...and the shipping area is looking good...I have my computer up here now, I think I'm gonna try to keep it up here, so it wont distract me so much while i'm in the studio...we'll see how that goes...I'm diggin' the upstairs, indeed...

After a quick trip to Austin to get the LAST of my glass backstock, I'm now upstairs, setting up my shipping dept and bonding with the space, so to speak...Joni Mitchell is singing Court and Spark, I found some catnip toys for Clem and Bagheera (the cats love it upstairs, its like their giant playground) and I've got nearly all the shipping stuff setup...even my little Stamps.com scale was easily found (I woke up last night wondering which box that was in)...I still haven't located my box of crystals or wire, but I did buy some new temporary wire at Hobby Lobby today, so I plan to strand the beads I've sold recently...I don't like to ship them loose in ziploc bags, they tend to rub and little bits snap off...

I'm walking around the house w/ my box opener in my hand, looking for boxes that I've marked (Brian did most of the packing, he's better at it than I am, I like to just shove everything on a table into one box, and I tend not to wrap anything in paper - d'oh!)...so I do hope that the missing box(s) are in the kitchen or somewhere, but its probably one of the unmarked ones upstairs that I can't get to easily..its my fault, really, he does such a good job and I'm the Britney Spears of moving/packing...golly ya'll...

Last night I made a few things, I'm still plugging away on the Kronos..I can't decide if I'm getting it TOO hot, or what..I can get colors sometimes, but I can't figure out how I'm doing it...but I have another bundle that just arrived in the mail, so I can keep playing with it w/out fear of running out (its a thing Dodie and I have about needing plenty of backup before we can use any color of glass- I had to buy another $50 of Kronos before I felt comfortable using any of it- geesh)...And I have the beads set in a little circle in the bathroom (where I sit and clean beads until I get some space made in my studio, but my desk is still on the porch, waiting to be disassembled before brought into the house, which means my studio is still a mess, lemme just say), and I bought the stuff to make a bracelet, with them, but can't find the crystals...argh! I'm on a hunt for them now, tho...I may slice open every box till I find them...*I* packed them, why can't I find them?

Workin for a livin...

Remind me again, why did we stay in Texas? Partly cloudy. Highs around 101. South winds 5 to 10 mph. Heat Index readings 108 to 109 in the afternoon.

New Poll! - With this move, all sorts of things come to the surface..and I've rediscovered my seed bead/delica stash..and its big..huge..and I dunno that I need this many seed beads...so I'm wondering, if I offered them for sale here, would you be interesting or no?

I'm taking advantage of spending the morning at home and will be getting my shipping station setup, cleaning beads and generall working...nothing exciting going on here, but I have been laughing at our front porch..remember the scene in Risky Business of the guys bringing all the furniture into the house before the parents got back from the airport? That's what our front porch looks like...full of stuff that needs to come into the house, but nothing as fancy as a piano or glass egg...there are some stringers out there, tho, I should see if they made it thru the night...

Mow Mow Mow the yard...

I checked my Dell Latitude D610 laptop battery and its not affected in the current recall (I believe they replaced it a few months ago in fact, because it was getting hot), but check their website and see if yours is in the recall...And be nice, I have friends who work at Dell...

Yep, I was fired up and mowing the lawn before 10:00 this morning..its so pretty when its mowed...even tho parts of it that get lots of sun are starting to turn brown, but then that's happening all over our street...ours is pretty and green..

My friend Mick's a/c has gone out at her place and its 100 in her house (or feels like it, I'm sure)...so she's camping at our Austin house (the daybed is still there) till she's up and running again in a few days...she's gonna water for me tomorrow, so I can stay here and get stuff done...

I played with some Kronos yesterday, the beads I made are very blue, but kinda groovy w/ metallic sheen to them...reminds me of boro...I'm still trying to figure the strike to it, but I'm getting better...I'm probably working it too hot, but it sounds like that's a good thing, so I dunno...eventually I'll get what I want from it...

Nearly all my backstock is here, just a few bits left...and not much is at the Austin house, so next up is a few nail hole repairs and repainting the studio floor, and we'll be ready to list it...and then it'll get interesting...I wish we could keep it like Kate McKinnon is keeping her Pacific Grove house, that would be so groovy, but we're gonna rebuild the butterfly garden out here, so it'll be good...have I mentioned I like how quiet it is out here? I really feel it after spending time in Austin and then coming here...things just slow down so much...its nice...

Time to make more beads, and package/send the ones from last week..i think that's what I'll work on while Mick is watering for me tomorrow morning...groovy...

I'm the yard boy...

1:00pm Although I didn't mow (needed to water more, will mow tomorrow), I did get a chance to see the Giant Swallowtail butterfly that had just hatched on the lemon tree...He hung around awhile, juicing up his wings, and I caught his first flight into the world while moving the sprinkler...he was fabulous and I hope he tells his friends to come lay more eggs...the yard/garden is looking good...I brought all my Gaffer glass with me, and tonight Brian is picking up the daybed/trundle...nearly everything is out, then we'll do a round of cleanup/minor repairs and list this puppy...I wish we were selling in March and not August - the yard is so much prettier then...oh well...

7:30 am Time to get to Austin and take care of the yard...we spent all day Saturday there, and part of yesterday, bringing home misc stuff, and watering the lawn..I'm thinking I should mow today...the butterfly garden is looking good, butterflies and birds galore...i've seen at least one monarch, but no eggs/caterpillars on the milkweed just yet...one of the gulf fritilary butterflies were actually chasing the monarch away...but it kept coming back...yesterday a small pair of birds were flitting all around the trellis, I think they were taking a bath in the sprinkler...Brian donated his fish tank and a local school teacher came by and hauled it away...

And our freakish sofa and matching chair, the we bought brand new just 6 short years ago were left on the curb, with a 'free' sign on them...the cats (one particular cat, actually) completely trashed the arms of both pieces, and Brian didn't want to bring it with us...can't blame him really...I posted it for free on Craigslist, and I hope wehn i get there this morning that its gone gone gone...

I've asked Brian to help get the printer station setup so I can start mailing beads to ya'll...so that's our next project...last night he got our main television hooked up, but the cable company didn't connect all the channels (HD) that we asked for, so phone calls were made, but they still weren't working when I went to bed last night...they aren't high priority, its just one of many things that need to get ironed out...right now I am unloading the car with our Halloween pumpkins (the plug in kind), and bird feeders...Its never ending, thats fer dang sure...

Bathroom Humour...

During our hunt for a new house, we learned from our past mistakes - don't get dazzled by the little things...like hot water dispensers installed next to the kitchen faucet so you can make a quick cup of coffee or soup (not that we even drink coffee)...The Austin house had one of those thingys, and it stopped serving hot water about 6 months after we moved in, and because it was installed using bubblegum and duct tape, we never we able to figure out how to get it to deliver hot water again...So this time around, when looking for homes, we knew better...do not be fooled by flashy gizmos and disguises...When we looked at the house we've recently moved into, we noticed it had a jacuzzi tub - 'big whoop' I said...You can't get ME with suped up appliances that just break down, i'm not falling for it...

We bought the house regardless of the tub..and with all the moving in the heat, and the sweatiness that it brings, I thought I'd try the tub out...oooooohhhhhh...in the 8 days that we've been in the house, I've used the tub twice...twice in 8 days have I taken a whirlpool bath...that's about how many times I took a 'normal' bath in the Austin house in the 6 YEARS that we lived there...showers are my preference - get in and get out...but I must say, this jacuzzi thing is pretty sweet...I feel like a pot of spaghetti when i'm in it, I think I may fall asleep in it eventually...I spent so much time in it last night my fingers pruned right up and I didn't want to get out...I discovered the jets move so I can shoot them at my feet or legs, and what's nice is, the water level never sinks (no slow leaks) and the heat stays consistent...This thing is amazing...I'm sure eventually the motor will blow and we'll have to have it serviced or something equally frustrating, but for now, I'm getting out the oregeno and salt and making a big batch of Linguini Donner...

It might be a new record

We moved into this house just a week ago...Last Saturday we hauled our stuff here and started getting settled in...This morning, Brian is fixing the flat tire - and a stray kitten wanders up to say 'hi'...Seven days, and stray kittens are finding us...Actually, I think this MIGHT belong to our next door neighbor, we saw an adult cat a few weeks ago that looks a lot like this kitten, so I HOPE it belongs next door...plus, its a very friendly kitten, which means it probably belongs to someone...Brian took her/him back outside to continue helping him with the tire...

We are heading to Austin to work on the house and yard...I'll be heading up there each day to keep things watered and alive...it's going to be 100 all this week and it doesn't take long for the grass to wither in that kinda temp...August/Sept is the hardest time of year here, its just brutal...But, I'll be working on beads in the afternoon, so you won't have to go too long w/out another Blackberry fix...

We found the local paper yesterday, its printed once a week and they even print local birthdays...Its such a hoot...we found some local auction houses and are learning more about the town...We are really enjoying living out here, the slow pace and friendliness is fantastic...I noticed in the grocery yesterday that there is a huge wall of meat - chops, steaks, roasts - these folks out here know how to cook meat! In Austin, our local grocery had a tiny section of meat, mostly hamburger...I told Brian we need to learn how to cook, cause the steaks were amazing...And the folks in the store like to peer into your cart to see what you're buying and then smile and talk to you...i'm not used to small town living, but apparently your business is their business too...!

Beads Today...

10:45- I was able to shoot pics and get them posted sooner than I expected...so if you have some time, take a look around...

Yes, I do have some strands for ya'll...I bought some new bead reamers yesterday at BlueMoon, so I can clean them properly, and I hope Brian can locate the camera so I can take pics...there are no 'homes' for our stuff yet, things are just moved and pushed around, so I dunno where to find anything, but at least the fridge is up and making ice, and most of our food survived the trip...

Class yesterday was a lot of fun, a very delightful student who I hope to see again one day...I spent time at the house watering the butterfly garden and doing some laundry...this weekend we are doing a mass cleaning/watering there...the minor repairs are completed and look great...I read where the Austin market is still 'hot' and they don't forsee a slowdown for another two years at least...the homes in the 300K price are selling the fastest...and homes are on the market on average for 63 days...one of our friends sold his house in 4 days...we don't expect that kind of turn around, but the sooner the better...it is a groovy house, I miss that studio!!

Today is a good day...

A cowboy kitty named Adventurous...

Things are going well...I figured out how to use the shower spigot (yesterday i couldn't get any hot water out of it, so I took a bath, which was awesome cause this tub is a whirlpool jet w/ lots of blasting bubble machines) and I'm finally tooling around in the Vampyre again, we had kept it in Austin and were using the truck and Hybrid to go back and forth with cause they hold more than the Miata...but last night we fired her up and brought her out and its good to have my car here finally...she needs a bath desperately, but I'll get to that as soon...I took a quick zip to the post office and checked my mailbox, and there was a guy there who was in the best mood, all laughing and smiling...infectious...

So now, I'm gonna get some cereal (our fridge is hooked up, making ice and cooling things down, like milk) and start removing these beads from the mandrels so I can make more...A very rockin' day..

I just saw Amelie zip up the stairs, the cats are enjoying going up there to stake our their private quiet spots...the dog has yet to venture up there, so they are able to get away from her, although for the most part its been a very calm and tranquil animal transition...she's outside soaking up some sun, I like letting her get out of the house, she doesn't have good footing on the wood and tile floors...I hope Amelie works some of her poundage off by going up and down the stairs...something tells me she'll just go eat after the trip tho...

I'll be out of touch for most of the day tomorrow, teaching...but I'll be around as best as I can...rock on kiddos...

And the hits just keep on coming..

When Clarice was little, she looked just like this...sleeping on our necks, with her reticulated tummy...

You know, I'm in a pretty good mood, considering...My internet connection is still cutting out frequently, but I'm just resigned to keep reconnecting as often as need be until its fixed...no problem, right? And my phone, which is pretty much out of juice (there is an internal issue, the new battery didn't solve the problem), and neither of our phones work in the country (Sprint is great in the city, not so much in the country), so I'm pretty much w/out phone service until we get a new provider...and this morning, at 6:30, when Brian was leaving for work, he found a flat tire on the truck...Needless to say, he took the car, so I'm sans phone and vehicle...I might as well walk around barefoot w/ a piece of straw hangin outta my teeth, and a jug of XXX slung over my shoulder...

I tried to call a local tire repair place, but as soon as they answered, the phone cut the signal...I'm laughing for the keystone-cops situation here...

On the good side, my bead count is raising, I have so many that I need to get them off the mandrels so I can use them again...I hope they are worth the wait for ya'll...i found my dremel, but not the crystal box, so I think the beads will be 'loose' this round...i'm sure ya'll can handle it, tho...

The fridge, tv and 2 armoires arrived safely yesterday, but we forgot the tools at the old house, so we can't hook up the water line and get it up and going until tonight...

I sure hope we don't move again anytime soon...although this has been pretty smooth, and at least it wasn't 2000 miles away...This weekend is house-cleaning in Austin...time to mop some floors and vacuum and mow...the fun never ends...!

Its the little things...

I've discovered that I can receive your emails, but I can't send just yet...we are on a different mail server now and I need to find out what that POP address is, then I can send email...hopefully today...and on a similar note, my internet connection keeps dropping - something about bad software, I dunno..so every 5 minutes (literally) I have to reconnect...which makes surfing around a bit of a drag...and our tv hasn't been connected yet, so this is my only form of entertainment...eventually it'll all be right again, but for now I feel like I'm really roughing it here in the stix...ha...

The bead front is looking good, my plan is to get a bunch of stuff made and offer it all on FRIDAY...I don't know what time, it depends on if I can get the stuff cleaned (need my dremel for that, dunno where it is), strung (have no idea where my wire and crystals are) and photographed (I do have some planks of wood and my camera, so I can shoot something at least)...

All the cats and dog are hovering around me this morning, wanting to go outside...I can put the dog out in the yard, but she wants a walk, and there's not leash-law in the country, so I'm wary of taking her where dogs will come up to her...and the cats, well, they're indoors for a while, they just don't know it yet...so I'm sequestered in the bedroom w/ all the animals in the hall, waiting for me...they are all animated and I'm just one person against them - they have me outnumbered and I'm hiding till they settle down...I'm ready for a shower, tho...maybe I can make a run for it...

Cool country living...

The local breakfast place offers awesome pancakes, eggs, sausage, and even grits...Brian loaded up, but I had a breakfast taco and just taste tested his food...there was so much, we couldn't finish it all...I saw a dude riding his horse down the street the other day, and there is livestock being carted around on the highway...saddled horses and cows w/ little cows with big cow eyes looking scared...the cows in the field were laughing at the cows on the highway - silly city cows...

The neighbor's dogs barked all night, and the cats were all over the bed purring and stomping on our heads...we are both pretty groggy and moving slow, but there's still lots to be done, so we are getting on with it...We had some fantastic friends who moved lots of heavy boxes for us yesterday, so we need to do something special for them as a thank you...Beads will be coming, I'll letcha know when that will be, but it'll be soon...I am teaching on Thursday, and again on the 21st (a demo class in prep for the Germany classes), and then I leave for Germany the first part of Sept...yeehaw...

Poor Floyd

The majority of our stuff has been moved, we've droppped the truck off, and at that UHaul location (in the country, mind you) there were 3 palettes of chicks that had just been born on Wednesday...they were fuzzy and going 'peep peep peep' and just about as cute as they can be...i can't wait to get a coop built in the backyard, but we'll have to do it so the critters can't dig in and get the chickens...there's a ton of stuff to do, and now we are inbetween two locations, at least for awhile...the big stuff is being moved on Monday, and there are still remnants of stuff that need to be moved...but we'll be going as fast as we can to get everything in one location, and then start opening boxes and digging out...I hate moving, have I mentioned that? But I think I'm gonna dig the country, its just slow and friendly and I like that...rock on my fellow country fried friends...

To be such a talented bi-rider (Paul Sherwen's word), to work so hard as a backup guy, to bonk on stage 16, to come back hard on stage 17 and to win the Tour de France, then to find you have synthetic testosterone in your system, at a ratio of 11:1, its just sad...I hope things clear up, I hope he's able to justify this test, and retain his crown, but things aren't looking good...Innocent until proven guilty, indeed, I just wish the evidence wasn't so damning...

See you kids on the flip side, time to meet the cable folks and get some connectivity going...rock on...

Entertain yourselves momentarily...

The next few days will be the storm, and by Sunday we will be living out of boxes and igloo coolers...So, you should keep yourselves busy by sending customized emails from Samuel L. Jackson PERSONALLY to friends and get them excited about seeing Snakes on a Plane...So campy, so bad, that its good!

Let's go for a ride...

8:00pm - I DID spend the day at the house, the 'working' glass is all unpacked, the backstock is still yet to arrive, but I managed to get an interim table/torch setup and I actually made some beads...some fall cubes...I'll offer them once things get settled next week, and tomorrow I'll go back and do it again...I did take Clem with me, but she pretty much hid and stayed freaked out all day...now that she's back in the Austin house, she's happy and skipping around again...

I'm spending the day at the new house, working on my studio and putting a few things in place...I'm taking my laptop and will update at the local WiFi cafe...I think I may take Clem along to keep me company...see ya'll in a bit...

And this is where it gets interesting...

We took our first load of stuff to the house last night, mostly stuff for my studio, and today another load is going with me...Moving is one thing that I completely detest...I tend to go blank when I look at my stuff and want to just toss everything in one box, making it weigh 300lbs...I also like to move using black garbage bags (something that the Gilmore Girls also do - high five), and Brian cringes at the thought...I'll be glad when all this stuff is outta here, Saturday is the big day, but on MOnday we have some pros coming in to move the heavy stuff...A few questions have come up, so I'll try to answer those now...

How can I stand to leave my garden? Well, that one is a really tough one...I don't want to leave it, I'm still enjoying it, watering it, keeping an eye on the butterflies, doing maintenance on it...However, I also realize that we can start another garden (this one is only about a year old believe it or not), and I will have some of my metal pieces to take with me, and this fall/winter is our bed preparation time, so we'll start on it as soon as possible...I also hope whoever buys the house enjoys the garden, and that will make it easier for me to turn it over to good hands...

What will we do about the stray kitty? Right now we don't have any plans to take her, so we'll talk to the owners of the home where she's been hanging out (they haven't moved in yet, they're still renovating, but they aren't here much of late) and see if they'd be interested in at least keeping her food bowl filled...If not, perhaps another neighbor will help out...we have good neighbors, and they understand the problem with the original owners...We won't abandon her, we'll figure something out...

Will we keep our kitties safe from coyotes in the country? Yes of course...first off, we'll keep our kitties indoors for a few months, as we did when we moved into the Austin house...they didn't want to go out and we didn't want them to...Next, I'll get a couple of harnesses and take them outside on a leash to get used to the outside...and finally, even tho we live in the 'stix', we are still close to town and coyotes don't show up where we live...but we've moved with cats before, and we'll take the same precautions as we have in the past...

So if you have other questions or concerns, fire them at me...I'll answer them as best as I can...I appreciate all the great response from everyone, and I can't wait to get settled and start taking pics of the new place...Why did we choose to move in the hottest month?

Headin' up, movin' out...

More pics are posted of the house...

Yep, we are packin' our toys and movin' on down the street...Its time for us to get out of Austin and into the countryside where life is quieter, slower paced and more like what Austin used to be 25 years ago...We've been talking about moving for a long time, and I even asked some of ya'll what you liked and disliked about your own home town...we were considering all sorts of places in the US to relocate to, but after investigating other places, we decided (even with the massive heat) to stay in Texas and just get out of the 'rat race'...So THAT'S why you haven't seen any beads or silver from me in a few weeks - I've been busy packing and purging...but never fear, I haven't purged the 'good' stuff, I'll be selling that once we get unpacked and everything is settled...

Click the ? to see the house and yard...more pics to come as we get things underway...Over the weekend we visited the house, and managed to walk from it, into downtown, to the post office, to city hall, and back again...sure it was 100 outside, but that wasn't the point - its that we can actually DO that...I've lived in the city for over 20 years and it'll be fun to live in a little town again, where things are slow moving...my only hope now is that the city doesn't come out and find us...

I'm off to take care of some loose ends, but I'll be back to finish packing the studio (good lord, I'm pretty sure I won't be able to get everything in the new house)...yeehaw...