What's Going On ...

Rain Rain come back..

Its been raining almost non stop for the past two days and I love every minute of it...(the dog, not so much)...we had one of those fab thunder boomers yesterday around 3:30pm that was blowing rain so hard on the front door that Brian had to ask 'what is that'? It sounded like someone was throwing gravel at the door (it is a metal door, so it makes sounds we aren't used to)...anyway, the skies are breaking and its gonna be sunny and warm and dry out..speaking of drying out, I kept hearing cars drive down our street, which is odd because there are only 3 houses on our street and its a very quiet road that people rarely drive by...turns out, someone was stuck at the end of the gravel road and was trying to get his car out of the mud...I could hear the wheels a spinnin'...I guess he musta freed himself, but I'm gonna go look this morning, just to see if there's a dead car in the road...I found it all rather amusing, only because they shoudln't have been on the road in the first place (our street is not a main road, hell it isn't even paved) and I seriously doubt he lived down here...we've walked down there after a rain and there's lots of nice standing water to get mired down in...good luck Johnny...

Corina is posting beads/bracelets again and I snagged one for old times sake...sounds like she's busy with a new project...she's invited me to Carnival in Feb (in Italy, sigh) but I don't think I can make it, as much fun as it would most def be...the shops over there that sell masks and costumes and the bakeries filled with Carnival pastries and sweets are gorgeous and I could just spend the day going from shop to shop looking at all the masterwork...alas, I'll spend it stateside with ya'll..

Gues whose PMC order has arrived! Yeehaw and boy howdy...the box was heavy...its nice when you spend a fortune and the box is small but heavy...Have you ever left a beadstore with a tiny bag of beads and a receipt for $200...doesn't quite FEEL like $200 does it? This box FEELS like how much I spent on it...so now I think I'm ready to get down to business...maybe on New Year's Day...sweet...

So, Saddam Smelly has relocated to Hell to live with Satan...If you watch South Park, you know of what I speak...I hope they do a new show based on what's happened to him...Hey, Look over There...

Oh, if you want to learn to knit, you might check out this website with free videos of all sorts of techniques..I refer to it all the time so I can SEE how something is REALLY done, not just how its drawn in a book..some illustrations just don't help at all...This site is great..in fact, its author, Amy, was on Knitty Gritty yesterday, which was very cool...and the local Austin paper had an article about Vickie Howell, the host of Knitty Gritty who lives here in Austin (she tapes in LA, tho)...groovy chix rule...

I'm excited about my new needles!

I have seen these boro knitting needles for ages, and thought "I might be able to do that"...so yesterday I was in an exploratory mood and decided to give it a try...mind you, my torch is about the lowest end used for melting boro and I am in no way an expert - in fact, one of the colors i used was a cobalt blue, but when I melted it, it turned metallic...I thought this might happen, but I'm not bothered - its my first attmept and I love weird ocurrances like that...I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out...12 in needles, probably about a size 8...today I'm gonna give them a whirl with some fibres and see how they knit...the tips are a little bumpy, but they don't feel bad when I rub them together...

And then I FINALLY stitched some beads onto my little fuchsia clutch...it has been sitting here for months waiting...all I needed was some DMC floss that matched the clutch, and now the beads are on and I'm happy with the result...its not a very big clutch, it doen't hold much, but that's ok...I still like it...

I started another mystery ball scarf on the flight to Tucson and finished it the next day...so I had to take some shots and show it off...they go so fast that I decided to try one out of my own stash, which is the purple/green one that you see...Brian hates (HATES) the peach/pink ball of yarn that I used in the middle, but I think it looks great so I don't listen to him...he doesn't understand color theory and I think I have a decent color sense, so blech on him...This is the first time I've ever attempted a seed stitch (the lime green swatch) and was surprised at how easy it was...Next up I want to tackle some cables...eventually I'll knit a cover for the car...heh...

So yesterday I ended up cleaning up my work table to turn it into a PMC work station...its coming right along...I'm ready to mash some clay, as soon as it arrives..

And YES! I MUST HAVE that 'will knit for tattoos' tote..too hilarious..!

Not much is new...

Semi-Success! I had to ask myself "where would I have put PMC tools after taking the beginner class at B&B this June?"...and with that in mind, I searched only 1 bag and 1 box before turning my sights on the rolling drawers right behind me...sure, I had to go thru 7 drawers before I found them, but there they are...removing the packing tape from each drawer was a treat (does glue come off fingernails?) but now I have a roller, a poker, a small ruler and more various sized straws...things are looking up...! (now to find my original set of tools and PMC packages from the move...I hope to dear Lord that I didn't open the 50g package I bought, but I'm thinking I might have...oh what an idiot I can be...)

Has your LiveSTRONG yellow wrist band worn out? Need a replacement? How about one of these?

Lets Make Sandwiches!

We watched Clerks II last night and it was rather funny...I really liked the little kid, Elias...he was the best actor of the group...Other than that, I'm just doing stuff behind the scenes...this morning I have to put on my scuba gear and go surfing thru the boxes upstairs to find my PMC tools from previous classes...I wanna be ready to go when the little box of expensive clay arrives...

And I broke down and ordered more Angry Little Girl totes and a Hippy Chix shirt...ha!

Did you see that Corina's site is back up and she's gonna start selling beads again...sweet...

I made 3 lentils yesterday for the first time in AGES...I now have a taste for lentils again...

Did you survive, or are you still reveling?

The week between Christmas and New Years is always a fun time...most folks are still off from work, shopping, eating, playing with new toys, enjoying the days...Our holiday was fun, we got really groovy presents that Santa delivered...a new watch that never needs a battery - something I've needed for way too long...I also was lucky enough to score a monarch chrysalis that Jude Rose creates, this one is the transparent one that matches the chrysalis that hatched in our bathroom this year...sweet...I already had a green one from a very groovy customer (who has asked to remain nameless) who was nice enough to send it to me earlier this year...I also got some of the Angry Little Girl totes that crack me up, and a groovy new Sony camera that is small so I can take it with me wherever I go...fancy schmancy stuff...

Today is back to work for Brian and me...I'm hot on the trail of my PMC tools, I borrowed some from BlueMoon yesterday, picked up some others, even more arrived in the mail today and I'm waiting on my big PMC order...so things are coming along, kinda fast, but kinda slow, depending on how you look at it...I'm gonna work on beads in the meantime, tho...end of year beads are always fun, time to play around and see what comes about..

The place where I get my nails done has a little kitten and its such a sweet little thing...it was so quiet two weeks ago, and now its getting more animated..it loves to climb up your leg, and it was 'helping' to file my nails...her name is Pookie...

As you probably can see, I haven't done a very good job at keeping my Freebie Beads going this year...so I've decided to take down that section for awhile..if you want to vote for me, great, but don't feel like you must...once I get some 'decent' beads in my stash again, I'll feel better about offering freebies, but right now my stash is full of stuff that I don't think anyone could use or would want...gimme some time to rebuild, rethink, rework that offer...I might come up with something else instead of votes..I don't mind giving away beads, when I feel like what I'm giving away is worth something, but I hate to give away junk...so don't be surprised when that section is gone in the next day or two...just giving you heads up...

And I guess I'll go get some lunch and fire up the torch and see what happens...groovy tunes!

Merry Christmas!

Hope you had a wonderful holiday and are warm and snuggly in your homes...

Where's Santa?

Track his progress...I see he's in the Himalayans right now...

We are heading over to cat sit our friend's cat...I'm taking knitting and Harry Potter..the cat likes people so we'll spend some time with him...and then we're gonna work on the upstairs room, its quite the tornado zone...I can barely move up here..now that the canopy is up and going, I can move the Halloween and Christmas decorations out there...sweet...

I've been poking around on the torch, but don't have anything ready yet...just some ideas to explore...but I'll letcha know when I'm ready, never fear...maybe you'll get a purse from Santa with $100 in it...Santa rocks...

Go to bed early tonight, leave out those milk and cookies and enjoy your day tomorrow..we're pickin' up a country ham today...

Merry Christmas Kids!!

Little Birdie...

Clementine LOVES to be brushed...when I go into the bathroom for anything, she comes running, wanting me to brush her...in fact, she has her own brush and it fills up with her long blond hair...so since its a cold wintery day here, I've taken her brush fill and have stuck tufts of it in the trees for the Titmouse birds...they use it as a blanket in their nests...I've been watching the windows, hoping to see one swoop in, but so far no luck..they were just here at the bird feeders a few minutes ago, so I know they are out there...it tickles me to think that some little birds will have Clementine hair in their nest to keep them warm...

We got going early this morning, by 10:15 we had already had breakfast and done the grocery shopping...Brian has finished putting up our canopy where we'll store our lawnmower, ladder and outdoor stuff until we build a garage...just to keep the rain off the stuff...

We drove to dinner last night and one thing I can say about little country towns - they sure do love their Christmas lights...wow...I'm amazed at the decorations...stuff up on roofs, inflatable snowmen, lights in trees, dangling off fences, the place looks like Disneyland...we have our little lighted deer and tree in our yard and look like Scrooge in comparison...color me impressed...

I've turned the space heater on under my desk, just to take the chill out of the room w/out cranking the heater down, and everytime I do that, Amelie has to take a nap on my lap...like clockwork...I'm held captive by my fat cat...I finally had to boot her so I could bring in the dog cause its raining...we need a dog house...

Its feeling like Christmas here..Brian is asking if we can open a present tomorrow night...I'll let him, but I'm gonna wait till Monday...Ralphie starts asking for his BB Gun tomorrow night on TBS...

Oh...I...have...placed...a...PMC...order...yeehaw...

Is it snowing where you are?

How about that Denver weather...? Or the Seattle floods...? Turns out, people are flocking to Arizona...am I surprised? Only 6 mil people live there..that's just a little more than Houston alone...Pack up and get out of the snow people...its 68 and sunny here today...like I've heard someone say before - 'you don't have to shovel sunshine'...yeehaw and all that stuff...

Someone asked if I'd be selling any of my PMC stuff in a PIckin's...I usually don't sell class projects, beads or anything I do in a class because they are not very good quality...things I make in class are done quickly and poorly mostly so I can get my hands moving in the same manner as the intstuctor, but mostly because I'm doing unfamiliar movements using unfamiliar tools in an unfamiliar environment...you should see some of the beads I make in class- priceless hideous!

So no, this PMC will stay in its box (I may wear it, but won't sell it), BUT I'm already considering where I can get some PMC locally before ordering it so I can play with it right away...I also need to get a kiln, as I'm not so sure I want my large kiln inside my house to hold a temp at 1650 for 2 hours...no need to burn my house down..I'd rather run it outdoors, and moving a brick kiln is not something you really wanna do...however, I will be making more PMC in the future and having it for sale, indeedy do...I'm also in need of collection some texturing and cuttin tools...I ordered some the other day, but they are out of a cutter size and it won't be in until Feb...so I have a way to go before I'm ready, but I AM working on putting together a set of tools...I have the basics from other PMC classes I've taken, so that's fine...its amazing to me how different those other beginner PMC classes are from what I just learned...and what Kate teaches is so simple...the other instructors make it a LOT harder...setting up drying racks with hairdryers, blech...

I'm still making beads too...I made some extras to replace some that had chipped...so if you ever receive any beads from me that are flawed, PLEASE email me and let me know...a remake/replace/refund is always available, I just need to know if there's a problem...

I got the 3 gigantic presents wrapped for Brian and it wasn't easy, but its done...he bought a cactus at the nursery yesterday for a whopping .38 cents...the cactus was 20% off and he had a frequent buyer card that was full, so with both discounts, it was practically free...smart shopping!

Time to get to work...groovy baby..

Winding down...

Can't get enough Christmas cheer this year? Check out this list of Christmas Classic videos, all categorized for easy selection...And of course there's the Star Wars Holiday Special that's really getting bashed on blogs for being 'bad'...really? I'm so surprised...

If you're a fan of "24", or Santa, or just have a home with no chimney like mine, then you might appreciate this spoof on Jack Bauer...until the end when its kinda stupid actually...oh well, enjoy it for what it's worth...'24' will be back in a few weeks...we nicknamed the kitten next door to us 'Jack Bauer' cause he's always climbing trees, running across rooftops and hiding under vehicles...

Rudolph is on again tonight, if you missed it the other night..course, with that list of Christmas videos, you can watch him whenever you want...

The last Harry Potter book is in the works..the title has been revealed...supposed to be out next summer, as will the 5th movie...I'm in line already...!

Wendy is doing a "Knit from your Stash 2007" thing, if you're a knitter with loads of yarn and want to get it out so you can buy more yarn...I have a very small stash, I would prob be done a month or two, leaving 7 months of no-yarn buying, which would be hard...I think I'll just observe this on her site and not participate...now, "Melt from your Stash 2007" where I don't buy any glass for 9 months...well, that would be just crazy now, wouldn't it...

I'm winding down for the holiday, just a few things left to do, like wrap presents and bring the plants in again as its supposed to be a bit chilly just before the 24th/25th...I'm still writing things down from my class, so I can remember everything I took in...there was a lot of stuff going on and sometimes I tend to just sit and watch and not make notes...I'm always impressed with folks who can take a class and not write anything down...I tend to forget, so I have to write it down and refer later...just how I'm wired I guess...

Oh, and that's 5 pkgs of PMC and a bit of fine silver you see in the pics...(one 50g pack and 3 25g packs - 125g of PMC if that helps)...

Back to your regularly scheduled progam

As promised, here's a look at my project pieces from class...

I'm back, at my desk, pounding away on the keyboard...Its a dark, foggy, wet, humid day here, like London I suppose when Sherlock Hemlock roamed the streets looking for evil-doers...not sunny like Tucson...What a delightful city that is...all the convenience of a big city, but the coziness and friendliness of a small town...I really enjoyed my stay at the Royal Elizabeth and if you are ever in Tucson or just need to get away from the snow and slush, you should really (REALLY) book a few nights there...such a gorgeous house with gorgeous guys who will keep you fat and sassy with their amazing breakfast feasts...I can't wait to go back...

So now its time to unpack, answer emails properly (my phone is great for reading emails, but punching all those keys for a proper response is tedious at best), start some laundry, and unpack those PMC trinkets...I'll get pics posted today...

Its always nice to come home and enjoy the family of kitties and puppy..the dog was happy to see me even tho she didn't recognize me until about 30 seconds of smelling my suitcase, jeans and hands...I smelled like everyone BUT me, but once she got thru the layers, you could see the light go off over her head and she got very wiggly and jumpy...just goes to show, she really loves everyone, even if she doesn't know you...

Brian is enamored with Winston the cat, and I have to admit he is rather amusing eating his smashed potatoes...

I feel like I'm doing 14 things at once...there's no place like home...

Awesome !!!

ok kids...my class with Kate and Anne is super-fantastic bubble elastic...you MUST take this class when you get a chance...I will have pics of my trinkets when I return...which is late tomorrow...

i've been admonished for not updating the site for a few days so here is my drive by...my phone isn't happy conecting to wireless so i'm getting in while the gettin's good...back soon babies...

queen elizabeth

I'm leaving the desert to return home to 90% humidity this evening...makes ya go 'hmmm' doesn't it...

our flight from Tucson was all-women piloted...chicks rule...

I ate at the same xact kiosk in terminal A I did 6 days ago...deja vu...

bored in the airport...guess ill get back to Harry Potter...

while i'm waiting for my afternoon flight, i'm hanging out at the B&B all by myself and I love it...its a 1870s house and I feel like its all mine...hee...even the owners have left for Phoenix, so i'm really alone...should I sing songs and pretend i'm a wealthy old crone?...I think so...more later...

demo day

today was demo day...touched no tool or pmc but tomorrow we'll be getting our hands dirty...

i'm not answering email now, but I will when I get back...

Tucson rox, i'm ready to move here...ha...

enjoy your weekend...

quick update

I'm here...updating on my phone...slow...

its nice here...sunny and warm...Nigella is on the telly...I'm working on another mystery scarf...have already hit a yarn shop...priorities...class starts tomorrow...

I'm in a b&b and its fab...

I found sushi for dinner...yum...

more tomorrow...

Its beginning to look a lot like...

I'm a buzzing bee today...I did manage to get up early enough to clean and string the 3 bracelets I made last night...I had to have something to wear to Tucson that was bright and shiny, right? Sweet...

I've noticed that ever since Dexter passed away, none of my cats like to sleep together...they used to snuggle in with Dex and now that he's gone, no one has buddied up...but this morning I see Clem and Clarice are sharing some body heat...although it looks like Clem isn't too sure what's going on...Poor Clarice, she was Dex's little buddy and she needs that companionship...maybe they'll figure something out...

I washed the car and truck yesterday, they look wonderful...I started out watering the roses and butterfly bush and anytime I have a garden hose in my hand, I'll find something to wash...lately its been the windows of the house, I just hose them down cause they get dust on them from the street...but I love a clean black car, and now its lookin' stylin'...even the truck looks happy...

Ok then, so you have all the scoop on my life...really exciting stuff, lemme tell ya...actually, I am excited to be going to Kate's and soaking up the PMC goodness, since I completely suxors at it...I'm lookin' for some groovy yarn shops there too, I've found some in Google so we'll see how that goes...

Rock and roll kids...

Life would be a Dinglederry...

I watched Letterman last night - he had Matt Damon on and Matt does a great Matthew McConaughey impression...Cracked me up!

Here's the first group of beads that I'm offering...another year end blowout, I've had these before I think...you might find something you like, then again, you might go get a pedicure and call it a day instead...yeehaw!

Isn't that pretty much how life is in your world? A dinglederry? I was watching the Wizard of Oz last night for the millionth time and there are loads of classic lines in there...I like the dinglederry theory....If I only had a brain, my life would be complete as well...

Speaking of brains, mine was trying to explode thru my ears last night...I had a headache all day and while making smashed potatoes to go with our left over meatloaf last night, I had to go laydown before I grabbed a knife and removed my head from my body...After falling asleep and waking at 9:00pm, I felt better...and then watched thw Wizard of Oz and the Chicago Bears...it was a good night and now my headache is gone...thank thee...

I might be adding pieces here today for sale, I'm in the mood to sell sell sell and why not...check back and see if there's anything here...

Tomorrow is hair/nails/errand day before I head to Tucson...you prob won't hear much from me while I'm gone, I'll do my best to update a bit here and there, but I"m not sure how to post pics on my site from my camera...I'm sure there's a way...I'm not technologically driven to find out...back later...

Christmas Goodies

Check out these groovy shirts from HippyChix.com...I can't wear long sleeves much of the year, so these would sit unworn for 10 months of the year, but I am digging them anyway...

Here's a pic of the Mystery Ball Scarf that I made the other day...it goes really fast, I think I was done in two days, and I'm a slow knitter...I like the outcome, although the heavy yarns tend to pull the scarf down (click to see a full shot) and somehow I've managed to start an unravel that I don't know how to stop so I'm keeping it folded up for now..

Last night I was playing w/ some new 'suede' yarn and decided to knit up a quick cell phone cozy...my cell phone is larger than the average bear and with the carrying case, its even more cumbersome...So I kinda just knitted around the entire thing and stitched up the sides...now I need to come up with a cool closure for it and its ready to go...

This is a neat site for Christmas, but they need to update and catchup..today is the 11th, right? Well, I'm sure they are busy and will get to it when they can...

The tree is up, only a smattering of ornaments made it on, but they look great and apparently are taunting Amelie who was bonking them furiously last night...She started with the tiny glass balls and moved to the large ones, but I managed to get her to stop before anything fell off and broke...Today is another day, tho, and I'm sure before the holiday is over we'll have a casualty or two to vacuum up...hopefully when they come tumbling down, they won't break on the carpet...we'll see...

This morning is Shipping Time...Tra La! So you will indeed get your goodies before the changing of the calendar...I'm gonna make some beads between now and when I leave for Kate's, but they won't be for sale till I get back...

70's all week this week, can't complain about that...Our temps seem to go from 80 to 30 and we don't get much inbetween temps, so its nice to have some decent, comfortable temps to enjoy for awhile...I should be outside dumping compost in my front yard, but that will happen...I have wildflowers to scatter as well...

Now that the tree is up, its time to get some presents wrapped and under the there...la la...

Oh Christmas Tree

So we're in the middle of putting up our tree, which we haven't bothered with in the past three or four years...sometimes we had new kittens in the house, other times we spent out tree money for outdoor trees and I decorated them and they were just as good as an indoor tree...but this year we haven't bought any outdoor trees, so we went ahead and are going indoor instead...the lights are on, the skirt has been put under it and in the first 30 min Clem was sleeping under it...I'm pretty sure the cats enjoy the tree as much or more than we do...I'm diggin out ornaments now and we'll be deciding what goes up and what goes out...Powerpuff Girl ornaments probaby won't make the cut...

Its a cold, dreary, foggy, wet day here...football and Christmas carols...I finished another wrist warmer last night, but like the newbie dork knitter that I am, I believed the manufacturer when they claimed I could get two pieces knitted from one skein..alas, I cannot...so I need to make a trip to Michael's for more yarn, but I won't be doing that today...We spent loads of time at the mall yesterday buying new jeans and shoes for Brian, and while the mall wasn't really all that busy, we don't feel like making any treks in the car...I'll find something else to knit in the meantime...hmmm...now, lemme see what can I find to keep me busy...

Its beginning to look...

...alot like Christmas - in my front yard...I put the yard art out yesterday, two deer and a small tree...lights a blazing! We have some errands to do in Austin and then we're back...I met a neighbor who is gonna introduce me to more neighbors who are an electrician and handyman...I smell a garage in my future...

I just ordered some new glass, which I haven't been doing much of this year, and look forward to playing with that...I just discovered that Amelie knocked over my small jar of teeny mandrels, which is fine except the sand I use to keep the mandrels in place has tumped into my dish of Raku frit...all I can do is just stare at it...Amelie is such a bowling ball, everything she walks next to falls over...she's still a funny fat little bowling ball, tho...

Free to Beads, you and me..

Don't forget - Tonight, CBS, 8/7C

NOTE: Please remember to REFRESH the page, as some items might have sold...I'll ship these before I leave next week!

If you watched the Gilmore Girls a few weeks back, with the Knit a Thon I mentioned, you might have noticed Lorelei's very groovy shirt "Knit or Go Home"...It was an original creation, but there are some knockoffs being made...go getcher self one now!

And here we have it...The beads are posted and ready...I just hope you like them...and if not, I'll have very jingly wrists while wearing all of them myself...hee...

I see that TV Land has the famous Marlo Thomas "Free To Be, You and Me" show coming up soon...I remember that being a big deal when I was a kid, I think our school even showed that at an assembly or something...as you can tell, it really stuck with me - not! (Does I sound like the Borat?)...It was the kid equivalent of 'I'm ok, you're ok', I think...Its ok to be you, no matter how different you are...we all know how well that goes over with 12 yr old girls...!

I have beads, glorious beads...what wouldn't we give for...that extra bit more...that's all that we live for...Ok, enough show tunes...I got wise and cleaned/strung the majority of the beads YESTERDAY cause I knew it'd take hours, which it literally did...this morning I finished up with a few more and they are now strung and ready to be shot...therefore, I'm off to bundle up, shoot the pics and get things underway...back in a bit street urchins...

Snoooze...snore...zzzz..

I saw the wrong side of 2:45am and I'm paying for it...I dunno why I woke up then, the dog didn't bark, although Clementine did jump on my back, but she does that all the time and I only know about it when I wake up in the morning...she's so light I don't even feel her...but I did wake up and didn't get back to sleep until after 6:00am...I'm a bit groggy, but I'm gettin' it done...today is more bead-makin', but first I'm gonna clean everything I've made so far...loads of spacers, bracelets some new fancy rounds and cubes...I only hope ya'll have saved some Christmas money to spend on yourself, but if not, there's always January! Beads don't spoil, unlike the freaky looking fruit I just tossed into my compost pile...gah...

Got a knitter on your list (or are you a knitter with a list?) and don't know what to get her? Check out this list...and notice what number 1 is - I just treated myself to those...ha!

I'm hungry...breakfast...cleaning beads...its turned chilly and will freeze tonight...yesterday was 70 and sunny...a truly roller coaster winter for us in Texas...but its what we always get...remember last year we were planting roses on Christmas day...we'll prob be doing that again this year...I'm tired of hauling them in and out of the house when it freezes (my kitchen looks gorgeous today, I took everything out yesterday and vacuumed up all the dirt and leaves)...I guess I gotta haul them all back in tonight...geez...

Oh yes...my plan is coming along...

The beads keep tumbling out of the kiln, all sassy and shiny...I worked all day yesterday, never got the plants out of my kitchen and back outdoors (maybe today), never got pics of the scarf (and I found a part where its unravelling itself - ack!), didn't even eat lunch...didn't even knit...I did watch Gilmore and Nip/Tuck, while the cats scratched at the door trying to get into the studio with me...they really don't like closed doors, have you noticed that? At one point after I opened the door, I had 4 cats and a dog tumble into my room...so I turned everything off and fled to the living room..I can't torch with cats jumping around, its too dangerous...

I'm booked to Tucson and have a car, so I hope to get out to some groovy knit shops and bead shops...I've never done Tucson in February when every bead person on earth descends into madness...I'm afraid I will descend with them...my favorite story about doing Tucson in Feb (you know what I'm talking about right?) is about the two women who went with budgets of $2000 each...One came home having spent $10,000...the other having spent $12,000...um, yeah...I have friends who have been going to Tucson for years and they are exhausted when they return after 4 days...and they still don't see everything, of course...how can you? It runs like 3 weekeends now, doesn't it? I did pretty well at B&B this year, I actually came home with more money than I went with, and I didn't spend on crazy things that I won't use (remember me selling all that Pacific Silver Works that I loved, but never used?)...I was disciplined this year..but I'm not sure I'm ready for Tucson quite yet...not in Feb anyway...

Whaddya want first?

Play Solitaire from The Office

Well, the good news is - the beads I made yesterday are rather groovy, I'm very happy with them and I'm on target for more today...Should we shoot for another Friday bead day? Lets do it...On another good note, I finished the 'mystery ball' scarf this morning and it looks groovy...I'm happy with it, its def not for keeping warm, its all about the color and groovy factor...

On the bad side, I don't have any pics of the scarf to post yet...and I won't have much more updating today, so that I can get back to the torch...I did get the Monarch pics posted for ya, tho...

On the bad side for me, the cat boxes need changing...so nice...

Joe or Josephine has Flown to Mexico

So what exciting things happened in your world over the weekend? Brian woke me up at 1:30am to let me know the chrysalis in the bathroom was going to pop...and around 5:00am it did...I have pics, but can't find the memory stick with them, so I'll post later...It was fascinating to see the butterfly thru the transparent chrysalis, and see all the wings and body inside...After a few hours of letting it get warmed up, and letting the outdoors warm up, he took the entire yard art outside so nature could take over...the sun came out, we put butterfly plants near the butterfly and hoped for the best...After coming back from lunch, she (or he) was gone...I hope she's halfway to Mexico and not hanging around in this cold weather...butterflies are smart, right?

I've pulled some new rods and have some new beads planned...Time to get back to work...

I leave on the 14th to go see Kate McKinnon and Anne Mitchell for some serious PMC assistance...remember how much I cannot handle PMC? I'm expecting to be skilled and brilliant when I return...Are any of ya'll going this month? Will I see you there? Gail?? I heard Andrea G was there last month and I missed her...but I see that she and Kate are going to be doing some collaborative projects...groovy!

Brian has been selling some of his Star Wars toys, and last night he made nearly $800 on them...just little plastic toys that apparently are rather popular...one figure went for over $300...good grief...It was fun to watch the price keep going up and up, though...

I'm working on a new scarf project that I started yesterday...its a 'mystery ball' of thread that you just knit and it creates a really neato scarf..I'll get some pics so you can see the premise...I'm enjoying discovering what the next thread might be, and each one is only about 10 yards, so you don't get too bored before the next comes along...

Back with more chickies...

Knitting merrily along...

I'm late updating because I've spent the morning straightening my hair...I have a love/hate relationship with my hair..its been curly all my life and I've hated the curls...I know, most folks think I'm insane, but I don't have those gorgeous Deborah Messing red curls flying around (mostly cause I don't have a stylist following me around 24 hours a day)...its hot and humid most of the year here, so when I'm in the yard working, long curly hair is hot, sweaty and messy...I constantly cut dreadlocks from where they form next to my neck (I shoulda gone the Carol Cypher route and just 'felted' my hair like she has - she has beads in hers and its very groovy)...but I prefer straight hair, and I've been straightening it on and off since I was 18, and here we are again...

I've heard of a process at my haircutter's place that takes 8 hours and costs $800 to straighten hair, but there is just no way I'd pay that much...First off, my hair grows fast, so I'd have to have touchups frequently...Second, that's a TON of money to spend on hair, unless they give 24KT gold hightlights...and I don't have 8 hours to sit around for my hair to get straight...a $6.00 box from the grocery works fine for me...Once in college I straightened my hair and I had frosted it before hand and part of my hair turned out like Ramen noodles...awesome...not this time, tho..

Anyway, I've finished my wrist warmers...Made the pattern myself - couldn't BE any simpler - using Debbie Bliss Cashmerino (1 ball per wrist, but you have a lot left over), CO 45...K3, P3 until you get the length you want...CO and leave a tail for seaming...Seam up from wrist to bottom of thumb, and again from top down to the thumb...I want to embellish these, but my attempts so far haven't been great...

I wanted to show the cat toys I've been making..I posted the directions the other day w/ no pics...

And lastly, check out my kitchen..The cats are loving the plants and paper, they zoom around and chase each other...I'm surprised no one has eaten anything yet...Its getting warmer and we'll prob move these out tonight or tomorrow...the chrysalis is in the bathroom staying warm and humid...I can see orange now, so its still alive and changing...It might just hatch this weekend..I hope I can get pics!