What's Going On ...

What the Light?

You know how I love mystery games...Here's a cool one from M&M candies...

One of my favorite observations from my teaching in Germany is the fact that the German word for 'light' is 'hell'...In the glass bins, the colors were marked as 'yellow, hell', 'blue,hell', etc...I had to ask someone what 'hell' meant because I didn't think it meant the same thing I thought it did...Isn't it funny how a word can be considered offensive in one language and not at all in another...My favorite color was Light Red, tho...as 'red' is 'rot' in German, so the bin was marked "Rot,Hell'...I thought that seemed appropriate and it made me laugh...

I suppose its the same way as we look at 'bloody' from England...we don't consider that to be offensive, but apparently in England its not a very nice thing to say...Wanker is another one - in America it doesn't mean much, but in the UK its got slightly more punch...

We've been watching the original UK series The Office with Ricky Gervais and I find it completely hilarious, but Brian can't understand their accent or verbiage very well...so I'll be laughing and he'll still be trying to figure out what was said...We both enjoy the Americanized version, tho, so at least we can laugh at that one together...

We ordered Chinese take out last night and watched the first Gilmore Girls ep of the season...Brian has only seen a few eps, its a little more girly than he likes (although he's all about the male soap operas of Battlestar Galactica and Lost) and he noticed the writing wasn't the same as it's been in the past...I thought it was ok, I'm not ready to give up on it just yet, I kinda like the fact that they speak at a normal speed and not so fast that you need a cheat sheet to see what was said...All in all it was a good night of tv...and I learned a few new words - tree, leaves, wind, feelings, excited, sick, grumpy - all good words for my signing compendium...

Workin' in a coal mine...

Its time for me to get back on the torch...I'm in the mood to make beads, I feel like I haven't made anything in AGES and its making me itch...so, I will be updating very little while I spend the majority of my time at the torch instead...

A cool front blew in on Sunday and I've been lucky enough to have the windows and doors open to enjoy the weather...its in the mid 80's here, which doesn't happen very often (last year it was still in the 100's this time of year)...So of course I'd rather be outside in the yard, so this morning I set up two bird feeders and now I can watch the chickadees and cardinals visit...the cats are in the windowsills, I'm waiting for them to punch out the screens and make a dash for the birds....

I'm feeling fine, the bug seemed to just go away after my second Dr. visit...I dunno what I had exactly, but I'm glad it's given up and moved on...so that's all done...

While I was sick, I started watching PBS and found a show that I really like - its all about sign language...when I was a kid in middle school, I used to check out the sign language books from the library and teach myself the alphabet...I never did pursue it, and have thought about taking classes locally, but have never bothered to do that either...so now I'm learning how to say 'frog, chicken and bear' in sign language...all words that are very useful for me, of course...but its fun and I'm enjoying the show...

Things are good with the stray kitty, Brian still feeds her every morning while he checks on the house...which is a good thing because the realtors tend to leave the house a mess with doors not locked (or left wide open, thanks) and someone tagged our fence w/ graffiti so he power washed that off...we lived there 7 years and only got tagged after we moved out...weird...anyway, the kitty is good, her sister comes and eats, and we saw two other neighborhood kitties eat the other day...so its cat food central for now....

I'm headin' to the torch, so I'll update the site w/ some new pics and check back in with ya'll later...you want beads instead of words, right? that's what I thought...

Somebody slow down this month..

Its the 21st and I feel like I've missed most of September...its amazing to me how fast time can go...and I'm hardly a 'busy' person, compared to celebrities or politicians who are traveling and on the go so much...I'm glad things are finally stabilizing here, that I'm finally feeling better and am up and moving around like a normal person...I took the dog for a walk, contemplating taking her to the post office, but i'm not sure how she'd do if there was another dog inside, and I wasn't ready to find out...so I brought her home and took a zip in the Vampyre to get her engine going again...I also zipped by the library and got a card and a Phillippa Greggory book that I didn't have to BUY...libraries are cool that way...I offered to donate my books, since I tend to end up with way too many books sitting around doing nothing, and I would love a library to benefit from them...

I know some of ya'll have emailed me - I haven't begun to venture there yet, but Brian did say I had over 400 spam emails...that's not surprising to me, but it was to him...I usually just delete them thru the day anyway, so 400 in 2 weeks isn't all that strange...they go into their own folder and I rarely see them anyway, so no big deal...I'll get to emails as soon as I have some time to wade thru it...its kinda scary at the moment...

Someone mentioned the spinach thing - nope, that wasn't what I had...I'm not sure what it is, but I've seen 2 doctors and one of them is running some tests to determine if I have/had a parasite or salmolnella or what...i took a series of antibiotics over the weekend and they did some good, but on Monday I still had the bug...hence, a different doctor for a different opinion...I heard that this same thing had been going around in Germany, so someone might have passed it to me, who knows...there are so many variables its hard to say...I ate pickeled garlic - yum! and fish and chicken and bread and potatoes and it was all tasty and delicious...the german chocolate snack table was good too, but surprisingly I didn't go too crazy there...anyway, it seems to be giving up and I feel like Chinese for lunch...

More about beads and the trip in a while...just wanted to touch base so you know I do exist...heh..

It...is....ALIVE!!!

I tried updating earlier today, but my computer was freaking out, unable to hold an internet connection for longer than a few seconds...so now that things are straightened out, I can give you a quick drive by...

I am alive...yes...not back to 100% health just yet, but today was the first day I felt well enough to walk upstairs and try to update the site...so that's something...I spent some time in the studio, getting used to things like I would have last week, if I wasn't in bed feeling green...

First off, I LOVED the trip to Germany and all things about it...and I can't wait to go back (rumour has it we are going to work on a return trip as soon as our schedules fit)...I'll say more about the trip when I have more time and energy...

I've been legitimately sick sick sick since last Monday when some weird creepy crawly thing made my lower intestines it's new home...The flight back on Tuesday was interesting and I wasn't sure I was going to last, by the time I hit Austin, I didn't bother to wait for my suitcase (which I think was stuck in Chicago anyway), and I finally received it on Friday when it was driven to the house and delivered at 11:00pm...but all my clothes and beads made it home and I haven't had the energy to even unpack the thing...blah...

So, In conclusion - I am home, alive and on the mend...I should be able to update properly, assuming my computer cooperates (insert evil stare here)...lets shoot for an update tomorrow and see how that goes? I know some of ya'll were freakin' at a completely blank blog here today, kinda weird, huh!!

RAID ?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!

I'm happy to report that Donna has arrived safely back home. She had nothing but positive words for her hosts, her students, and the trip overall.

Unfortunately, she picked up a nasty bug at some point and I practically had to drag her home. In fact, we left without even bothering to try and track down her luggage which we believe is still back in Chicago. But I'll put in some phone calls tonight!

Just got back from the grocery store with a short list: Strawberry Jello, Frozen Bullet Pops, Low Sodium Saltines, and some Sominex. So hopefully, she'll be resting shortly so that her body can recover.

I'll try and keep ya'll entertained until she's back on her foot.

Cheers!

Word from Donner

While I don't have any photos to share, I do have some words from Donna ... direct from Germany:

"its been the first day of class, and it went very well...EvaMarie and Volker said people were VERY excited about today, and i could tell that made them happy as well...i was nervous of course, but once class started, i felt better..."

"they have a British Shorthair cat named Belli and hes got the funniest facial expression...its nice to have a cat around..."

Smart cars are COOL! But I think I'd rather have a British Shorthair. :)

"Yet hope remains while the company is true."

Wow! Who knew ... yesterday's post was the 1000th entry on Donner's blog. Groovy!

Ahhh, I'm freshly showered after returning from Austin this morning. While listening to 3 hours of our favorite weekend gardening radio shows, I decided to mulch the remaining spaces in our Austin butterfly garden. Some of the recent rain and less than 90 degree temperatures have definately given the garden a much needed break. I saw the biggest batch of Green Lacewing eggs on the Crossvine that I had ever seen in one spot. And as our local expert, John Dromgoole says, "The ladybug may be the poster child for beneficial insects in the garden but the green lacewing is perhaps the most useful." As I was winding down from the morning's efforts, my thoughts began to venture to some recently familar territory ...

When you sell a house .. or should I say a 'home' .. no one tells you that you will experience not only physical exhaustion but also an emotional drain.

Last weekend something figuratively tapped me on the shoulder and said 'Hey, aren't you forgetting me?' In the midst of 'cleaning up' our garden space in Austin, I took the opportunity to develop a couple of areas minimally just so that the space felt more complete - in the hopes that the house would look better and thus sell faster.

Well, it definately looks more finished ... but with it, a dam's worth of emotion broke through. I felt incredibly mournful because it wasn't going to be OUR space anymore. This is how WE envisioned the space with gravel pathways and more gardens beds.

"Would the new owners appreciate the space as much as we do? Could they see the hours of sweat, sore muscle, and compassion that went into it? Would they appreciate and honor the effort by continuing on? Would they associate milestones in their life with the space just as we have over the 7 years? Or would they just put a dollar value on it all like the rest of the square footage?"

Ouch! Who said that could tap me on the shoulder and where did it come from?

Fortunately, Donna understand completely and helped me last weekend see how an equally wonderful space could be created at our new home. She's good about that! :)

... just as I was reflecting on it all again this morning ... I saw my first green-throated hummingbird enjoying our Firebush. Wow! It think this is the same one that Donna has been seeing over the last few months hitting our garden on his daily route.

To further reinforce the positive feelings, Mother Nature left the red iris gift (shown above) in the front yard of our new home. Hope springs eternal, eh?

PS - 100 points to the person who knows where the quote in today's heading comes from!

Can You Smell the Tailgating?!?

That's right. Some are calling it the BIGGEST game to hit Austin in nearly 50 years.

versus

In only the 2nd meeting of the two schools, the #1 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes come to Austin & Memorial Stadium to face the #2 ranked Texas Longhorns.

Hard to believe that putting these two schools together on their seasonal schedules ACTUALLY took place more than 5 years ago. It's by pure happenstance that they are ranked so high simultaneous to their appearance. Crazy, eh?

To say that that Austin loves their college football is an UNDERSTATEMENT. When Vince Young strutted into the endzone to seal the 2005 National Championship last January, you'd have thought every person in Austin had taken a snap during that game. There are stores in town that are selling PINS and PENS with little micro-soundchips in them that play the playcall from the last 60 seconds of that game. Sheesh!

Along the road to that victory, t.u. (errr ... U.T.) had to travel to Ohio State. The Longhorns went into that crazy stadium and pulled off the near impossible without looking back. Well ... this Saturday is pay back ... and you better believe that the Buckeyes are thirsty for revenge.

As an Aggie, I have to admit that it's hard to not cheer and root for the 'Horns ... as long as they aren't playing MY team. They are extremely talented group of kids. Mack Brown and his staff (though I withhold judgment of Greg Davis for his Applewhite / Simms decisions) are masters of public relations and architecting a season of playing mostly creampuffs.

I hope the game itself lives up to the hype. Tickets are going for between $400 and $2000 here. In fact, I've heard stories of alum selling their groups of tickets, buying HD Plasma TVs, and hosting parties to watch the game at home instead. Ha! Can't see WHY anyone would want to do THAT?!?

So ... with DVR in hand, I'm looking forward to watching the game Saturday after some early morning yardwork. Unproven talent on both sides of the ball. Lots of fan interaction and excitement. Now ... if only there was a way to mute Brent Musberger!

PSSST ... are you still reading? How does an Aggie in Austin keep up with Texas A&M ball around here? I have no clue if the games are even being televised. I've got tunnel-vision and feel sooooo disconnected from my school.

The Fall TV Season

Brian signing on. Hoping to keep you entertained during Donna's international travels. :)

Have you noticed the marketing upswing for the upcoming Fall season of TV shows? And have you noticed how some websites are offering so-called webisodes of your favorite shows to 'tide the interest' until the official season premieres?

Now I never considered myself much of a glued-to-the-set, appointment TV kind of person? At least not in the last 5 years. In fact, after the X-Files hit its 8th and 9th seasons, I was lucky to keep track of the old favorite. In its stead, the durge of reality shows pretty much set a bad taste in my mouth. Sure, I watched the occasional first season show of Survivor. Or even have the guilty pleasure of being hooked on American Idol (once it hits the top 50 or so contestants). But where did all the *good* writing and superb acting go? When did you last feel like your investment of time in a series' characters was returned with surprises, excitement and interesting development?

Granted, in the last 2-3 years, there were sparks of good stuff ... Love Monkey ... The Sopranos (before it jumped the shark), or even ... Arrested Development. All of sudden though ... starting last year, Donna and I started taking notice of better offerings both on public and cable television.

For me, I decided that I had read enough believable non-publicity reviews of Lost on ABC and Battlestar Galactica on Sci-Fi that it might be worth Netflix'ing the season DVD sets. No commericals. Watch as time availed itself. Wow ... I got hooked good and quick. Both series are extremely well-written and acted. And they seem to connect with their audience on more than just the flash and good looks level. I've actually found myself thinking about the stories and how some of the tones and themes seem to be reflected in my own life.

And how about Keifer 'That Christmas Tree Must Die' Sutherland & his hit show '24'? I watched a few shows from the first season but just gave up ... until the end of Season 4. Then on a whim, I watched the Season 5 intro only to find our favorite 'Commander-in-Chief' Dennis Hasberg take an assassination bullet in the first 5 'freakin' minutes. Wow! Okay ... you just took out one of my favorite bad-ass can-do-no-wrong characters. How are you going to make up for the loss of my investment in that character? By giving me two more wonderful ones played by Jean Smart and Jeremy Issan (the new President and First Lady). Jack and his death-defying gambles were just icing on the cake.

So this year, Donna and I are looking forward to next month's recovery from a summer's drought of re-runs and bad TV. I'm completely caught up from the DVD releases and I'm ready for primte-time viewings. For me, the top of the list is Battlestar Galactica, Lost, 24, The Office, and ... from time to time ... the occasional guilty pleasure called 'Deal or No Deal'!

How about you? What are you looking forward to?

Sailing Sailing, over the ocean way...

That's not how the song goes, but you know what I mean...I'm sailing over the ocean this evening, although I have to be at the airport at 12:30 so Brian can get into work, which means a LONG day at the airport(s) for me, but whatever, right? I have the paperback of Harry Potter 6 (the first copy was accidentally plunged into the fountain at the mall last night and sunk to the bottom...so sad)...I have 4 skeins of cotton and some wood knitting needles, so I can knit a few more washcloths (small skeins of cotton take up less spaces than large balls of wool - I'm packin' light)...I have loads of bracelets that I found in a box full of jewelry, and I'm taking spare beads and sample beads and a few tools, even tho I was told I didn't need to...

Amazingly, my suitcase is quite light, just a few shirts and a pair of jeans...so if I have to stuff my carryon into it while flying from London to Hamburg, I can do that (the UK has a restriction on the size of the carryon, and I might be slightly larger than they like)..but that flight is a short one, its the transatalntic one that I need my entertainment...I wish I could sleep on the flight, but i've never been able to sleep on a plane, even with ear plugs and eye masks...booo...

Poor Steve Irwin, I'm so sorry to hear that he died...He was one of the good guys, educating kids to the benefits of wildlife, not the benefits of croc purses and boots...

Gah...I can't take my Burt's Bees lip balm with me on the carry on...boo...guess I'll pack that in my checkon...I'm gonna need that on the flight...

It hasn't rained here in ages, and so guess what - today its raining...the day I need to fly, it decides to rain...although its not much rain..and hopefully by 3:00 it'll be done...it shoulda rained all weekend, but no...it has to wait till today...

Our next door neighbor in Austin said she's seen lots of folks driving by the house slowly, and some have gone inside for a look and she even talked to one guy who thought the shop in the back was an apartment (hey, make it into whatever you want! get roommates to help offset the cost of rent!)...But no one is leaving calling cards, so we have no idea who's coming thru...And our agent is rather prickly about me being upset that someone left the sliding glass door wide open - she's making it clear that its OUR responsiblity to check the house for that...geez...WE don't leave the thing wide open, WE know how to close and lock the door...There are two new Giant Swallowtail caterpillars on the orange tree in the back, we've been watching them grow fat and sassy...they're pretty funny...

Alrighty then, I'll be back with candies and goodies before you know it...can't wait...See ya'll then...

Rock your Labor Day Holiday...

Are you having a good holiday weekend? Yesterday completely flew by, probably because I spent a good deal of it watching College Football, but today i've been very productive, unpacking boxes, looking for beads, making a list (and checking it often), and gathering up what I'm taking with me...mostly its a small amt of clothes and some sample beads, and if I can find the Euros from Italy, I'll take those with me to get a jumpstart on the exchange...I know they are in a box upstairs, but after that, its a guess as to which box...

I just noticed a fistful of comments that I didn't appear previously, so I hadn't posted them...I've approved them and I apologize for the delay, I've never had that happen before...I like to approve comments and check quite often to see if anyone has left one...weird...

I found some old russian seed bead necklaces I bought from a nice Russian artist years ago...I'll haveta post them and see what ya'll think...do you own that Russian seedbead book thats white and was all the rage way back when? I spent hours configuring my computer to translate Russian so I could type in the captions and have an idea what they were writing...but the diagrams are fantastic and easy to work from, so even tho I never learned the language, I could certainly make the projects...there was a leaf project in there that I liked a lot, if I rememeber correctly...

Have you seen that you can order directly from Rio Grande online and not need their catalog? I have them here (somewhere), in fact I can't set up my account until I find them and get my customer number, but I desperately need more of the 3mm silver and gold beads I use as spacers for my bracelets...I just hope I can get in and get out w/ it costing me a small fortune...Rio rocks...

Enjoy your day off tomorrow, kick back and groove out...eat a hotdog...

Dancing as fast as I can...

I'm starting to come to the realization that I can only do so much...after falling ill last week from the hustle and heat of August, I am officially behind on pretty much everything...One bright side, I am printing labels and all goodies purchased recently will be in the mail on Tuesday...

But I leave on Tuesday (and arrive 24 hours later on Wed - what a zombified freak I shall be), and I need to do a quick load of laundry, but our washer/dryer is in the Austin house, I should pick up a new pair of jeans and other things to take with me (I'm wearing my sandals - is that a bad idea to go to Germany in sandals?), but breaking in new shoes now is not possible...

I would like to get a few more of the sample beads made before I leave, but the a/c has been blowing the silver foil/leaf all over the studio..I think Brian is going to rig some cardboard up tonight, just so I can get that done...i got about 4 hours of sleep last night, so now I'm getting sleepy and want to go to bed early - but I haven't finished everything that needs to be done...

I did check the American Airlines website and I can take a carry-on the size of a briefcase thru the U.K., so now its time to pack the check-on luggage, and gather up the stuff I'll take w/ me (knitting and maybe a Harry Potter - will that kill 24 hours?)...I'm not complaining, mind you, I'm just ticking off all the things I need to do and haven't done..I need a list...once I get some of this stuff done, I'll feel more in control...tomorrow and Monday will be my packing/laundry/errand days...and I do have SOME of the sample beads to take with me, so its not all bad...

I found out that 'movie' they were shooting in town was actually a Chevy Truck commercial...boo...I was hoping Quentin Tarrantino was here (he's here a lot filming with Robert Rodriguez, and he's even bought a castle in Austin...cool), but maybe another day...

Whats a good portable protein snack? Can I take a jar of peanut butter on the plane? hee...

Flying low...

Make your own Jackson Pollock picture to match the bracelets I have on the Pickin' page...groovy...

I have LOADS to do and am wondering when I'll get the time to do it all...guess I can't do it all, can I?...so I'll do what I can...

Obviously I haven't posted any beads for August because I haven't found my backstock in the move yet...and the stuff I've made has either been sold, or too wonked to even give away for free...so it might be after I get back before you see anything for Sept...vote if you want, or don't, I understand completely!

We had dinner at the mexican food place down the street and it was Karoke night...hilarious...we sat and listened to locals sing Elvis and Willie Nelson - priceless...It made Brian dig out all his old country music and I had to listen to it the rest of the night...geez...

The Austin house is clean and ready to go on the market...we have a few things left to do, but nothing that will keep it from showing...and now we sit and wait to see what happens..I spent yesterday looking for some decent front-on shots of the house, but most everything I have is of the backyard and butterfly garden - that's where the magic is at, baby...all the new stuff we've planted is looking good, and this week will be in the low 90's instead of the 100's, so it shouldn't fry up...Brian will keep stuff watered and mowed...

I'll be glad when the house sells and we can concentrate on this house, unpacking, putting stuff away, moving things out of the hallway and into the right rooms...I've been keeping our transplanted roses, garlic and sage alive, the relief in the shade is making them happy...and I've been seeing cardinals, chickadees, butterflies and hearing what I think are owls, so that's exciting...this yard is gonna rock, no doubt...