What's Going On ...

No Monkey Claw yesterday..

I was able to make beads, although I wanted to look at them today and get an idea of what direction the color scheme was going and if I was off balance...I don't like to have 2 of one color and 15 of another color, so I need to see what I've got in the kiln...and after awhile, i forget what beads I've made, so to keep from making the same color over and over, I wait and look at them...this way I can assess and decide what to do next...I can say that I don't feel like I have enough sets, maybe 3 or 4 at best and I'd like to have more cause I think ya'll will like this color scheme...is this just me thinking outloud on my blog? Is this my internal voice coming thru...too much information perhaps? I'm just sharing my thought process on how I create my sets, so that you understand why the delays occur...so, in conclusion - no beads today, hopefully tomorrow...depending on if I get anything made this afternoon, after we get home from the movies...it might be Monday then...I'll letcha know regardless...

On a boring technical note, my Time Warner cable connection has been having problems for days...its not our house alone, we've heard from others having the same problem...it was so bad yesterday that I lost ALL connectivity to the web and email for about 3-4 hours...today most of it's back online, but I still have slow email issues (its constantly asking me for my name/password and it takes forever to download something...)...so, if you see me 'go dark' and wonder if there's anything wrong, yes...but none of us can do anything about it...I hate Time Warner, but its the only service available out here in the stix...I guess it could be worse...Jenn told me she just got off dial-up the other day and onto DSL...I cannot imagine using dialup, so I suppose I'll just deal with TWC and hope they get their junk fixed soon...

Its been sunny here the past two days...i hear there is more rain on the way, but I'll believe it when it hits the sidewalk..until then, we are out in the sun (and heat and humidity) enjoying the warmth...my garden needs to dry out...I had an exciting encounter yesterday, as I was heading to the PO Box, I stopped in the garden to look around and one of the hummingbirds flew down to my eye level, and was hovering about a foot from my face...we both looked at each other for about 7-8 seconds and he/she flew off...nature rules...

Would you like a Monkey Claw?

While making beads yesterday, a monkey claw attacked me...today I am trying to finish the beadset cause I actually like how they turned out...so stay tuned for some beads in the next few days (I hope...please dear god no more monkey claws)...

Hey, that was kinda fun hunting down the pics and sound for this...it wasn't easy, but I like how it all turned out...

Chloe the kitten spent the night in the house last night...but I got no sleep...she was making noise, banging on the blinds and causing problems...I let her out at 4:30 this morning and am paying for my lack of sleep...kittens are so cute, but not at 4:30am...zzzzzz...

its so funny..

every evening I cruise around the internet, finding loads of interesting stories that I want to post/share with ya'll...come morning, i can't find anything remote interesting that I want to share...maybe I'll update this afternoon w/ more interesting info, but right now its just me...eating Cheerios and stringing beads...I made myself a Caramel Macchiato bracelet, but alas, I left the beads in the kiln too long and lost all the groovy reduction shimmer that the original bracelet has...its still pretty w/ its dark brown stringer, but the sheen isn't making a statement...still, i'll wear it for awhile and it'll get lost in my jewelry box and I'll find it in a year and go 'oh yeah, I remember this bracelet'...don't we all have jewelry that we rediscover that way?

I have more jewelry than I know what to do with...huge amounts of earrings that I never ever wear...(and I rarely buy anymore)...huge amounts of rings that never see the light of day...I love boxes of trinkets and am making plenty of them for myself all over my house...years of collecting...and beads too...everywhere...I'm glad I collect small things...what if I collected snowmobiles? where would I keep them all? (where would I use them?)...jetskis! that's what I'd have to collect in Texas...where the water runs deep, swift and often...we got our rain late yesterday and the ground is so soaked that its like walking on a sponge...still, there's no threat to our house, we are groovy...

I'm having Cheerios for breakfast, I was thinking of having tortelli for lunch...round food...what should I have for dinner? bagels? donuts? what other wheel-inspired food is out there? lifesavers!

Beads are whispering to me...is that wacky?

Surprise...I didn't plan on posting these, but they were whispering to me to take their pics, and what can I do? I am a slave to beads, and have to do what they tell me...especially when they say to eat the last piece of cherry pie in the fridge...that's when they are the best...

July Dates to Remember - July 7 - Tour de France begins...July 9 - VH1 Pop Culture competition begins...July 11 - Harry Potter Movie opens...July 18 - Harry Potter Feast (our turn)...July 21 - Harry Potter Book 7 arrives...July looks to be a rockin' good month!

iPhone mania - you might remember me mentioning in passing a few months ago that I'd like to get an iPhone when they come out...and now that tomorrow is the launch day, you can bet I will be no where near the craziness that is All Things iPhone...while its very cool technology, I tend to be behind on the techno-curve (I just got my first iPod this year - 5 years after they've been on the market)...I cannot pick up a decent signal out here (my neighbor talks in the street on his phone, our trees make a great canopy to block the signal, thank goodness he's quiet and polite)...and for the most part I'm home everyday and just don't use the phone much...so, while I'd love to have one as a cool gadget, it won't be tomorrow...maybe in 5 years...

You've heard me squawkin' about the rain for the last week...I'm hearing that its making the national news...we are fine here, no flooding, no problems...its dark and wet outside, its been raining, but all our cars are dry and there's not flooding down our street...I see a big weather cell sitting right over the Hill Country right now and I hear that 17 inches of rain fell overnight in some areas...why do people think they can drive their Ford Focus thru 8 feet of water? It happens everytime - folks get stuck and have to get rescued...we are staying indoors today (Brian is home working) and hunkering down...

I've had some responses regarding my trouble with Terra, thank you for taking pity on me...I will give your ideas a try and letcha know how it goes...if you're wondering how to work with Terra, I'm definitely not the person to ask, check out the chat boards cause i'm sure there are folks there who know how to make it pop...

Good news, bad news..

The goodness must be balanced by the badness...as is the ying and yang of the world...Black and white...Up and down...In and out...we need balance...and that is the mantra that I must tell myself to keep me continuing with the glass known as 'Terra'...

You've probably seen the gorgeous beads that Kim Neely has been posting of late...I too have a small quantity of Terra, and after re-discovering it on my worktable after the studio relocation, I thought 'sure, I should give that a try at the torch'...and yesterday was that day...

The good news is that I have the glass in hand - its hard to get, constantly out of stock (as is the case right now, when I tried to order more last night)...the bad news is that I have a very few sticks, they are extremely thin and I can burn thru them very quickly...so I really really need more stock to waste...The good news is I managed to get strike some awesomely pretty colors at the torch...blues, greens, purples, really pretty...the bad news - the beads coming out of the kiln are all (still pretty to me) in olives, rusts, dark metallic blue...pretty, but not exactly the colors I had when going IN to the kiln...I either left them into the kiln too long, or too hot...more work is needed to determine...

The good news is that I'm gonna string these up, and I'll enjoy them...the bad news is they aren't pretty enough to sell...

Changing gears, I pulled out some new cane I bought from Val Cox and made some practice beads with it...apparently it is highly metallic, as when I tried to reduce the blue stringer, the entire bead reduced all at once...but the practice beads that aren't reduced look pretty good...

And finally, I remade the Lauscha beads (that cracked) using Moretti and they held up perfectly...I've got a bracelet planned for them...

Playing around at the torch can be costly in both time and money!

Mow Mow Mow your yard..

Yea! I got about half the backyard mowed before I hit a shepherd's hook and broke the mower...its making odd sounds now...so we bought a new one...i liked our old mower, but its taken a beating with the backyard in Austin and now this new one...neither one had 'normal' grass like yards (the front in Austin, yes, the back - no)...so when a normal mower might last for 10 years, these things have been running over bricks, rocks, weeds, concrete hidden under ground poking up just enough to cause problems...anyway, new mower, yard is mowed and life is good...our goal is to mulch the backyard and not need a mower like our front yard...i can't see putting plants in the entire backyard, but i like the idea of mulching everything in...

I didn't make any beads over the weekend, but its MOnday and time to get back to work...I made two beads w/ the 'new to me' lauscha and yet, they cracked...i obviously am doing something wrong...i've heard that you have to put the beads into the kiln while still glowing red hot and I forgot to do that...the good news is I can find colors in Moretti that are nearly identical to these lauscha colors, so I can get the same effect w/out a broken bead...its a neat glass, I just end up w/ cracked beads...and i'm too lazy to figure out what is going wrong, so I just substitute other glass and keep going...

I saw all sorts of cool spiders, grubs, grasshoppers, toads and snakes while mowing yesterday...the mockingbirds came thru and snagged the grubs and hoppers..its fun to watch them slap those bugs around...nature is cool...

So, that was my exciting weekend...i deadheaded roses, watched swallowtails deposit more eggs on my dill/fennel, there are 8 monarch caterpillars eating the milkweed, and I saw my first hummingbird fight last night...so far we've only had 1 hummer at a time visit the firecracker plant...yesterday, two were fighting over the plant...ironically, Jack Bauer (our neighbor's cat) has started sleeping under the same plant...but he never made a move for the birds...I heard them chirping, they are very quiet and sound a little like guinea pigs...go figure...

Its Peanut Butter Jelly Time!

Get on down with your bad self...

Relax...don't do it....

80's music is so cool...

We're supposed to have rain (on and off) for the next 4 days...indoor projects abound! Brian is ripping up the carpet in my old studio (the new spare bedroom) now that he's finished ripping out his office...the floors underneath aren't BAD, they aren't great, but they aren't all night of the living dead either...we just prefer hardwoods to carpet, especially with cats (Bagheera mostly) who like to pee on the carpet...right in front of my eyes...although I can't smell, it makes Brian crazy, and I don't really want a house that smells like cat pee...so up comes the carpet...

Bagheera is working on a new toy that I filled with dried catnip...and Chloe just made the rounds, she was in the backyard on our garbage can, so we brought her in, but once the major confontations started occuring, she was back on the front porch...we don't mind her being inside, but she's just as happy being outside, so that works...she just wishes we were outside with her...she REALLY needs a home where she can be indoors and loved on all the time...

so, I have no idea when I'll get the yard mowed...neighbors are trying to mow their wet yards and its not working...still, I can't and wont complain about the rain...I'd rather have weeds/grass that are too high than when the yard was drying out and cracking from lack of water...too much rain is never a problem in my opinion (flash flooding be damned!)...

What'd ya learn in school today?....Share....

Bright colors...bright colors...I haven't made Itty Bitty beads since 2004...sure, I get back to remaking stuff- eventually...hope you find a strand you wanna wear this summer...enjoy!

Its another dark and stormy day today...like yesterday, which wasn't a sunny day at all, I just wanted it to turn out that way...I like it when its dark and stormy outside, tho...as long as there's no hail or damaging winds...bring on the rain, my plants can use it...the butterflies were trying to hide from the raindrops, but keep eating the bananas...eventually they flew to safety on the house...i like looking up and seeing 8 or 10 butterflies dotting the outside of the house...i find it amusing...

I snapped another climbing vine on my cecile brunner climbing rose yesterday...its taken over nearly half of the archway out front...but sometimes I allow the growth an extra day or two before I try to bend it back between the supports, and I snap the ends off...thankfully, they just launch new runners and the thing keeps growing...it'll look great when its covered in little pale pink flowers...such a good choice for an archway...

We took the dog into the road last night for a game of nighttime frisbee, she was so worked up that she was pacing in the front room and doing those little barks (directed straight at Brian) to tell him to get up and go outside to wrassle...so we did...and lost the frisbeen in the woods...I suspect its out there this morning, somewhere...she didn't need it tho, she ran and ran like crazy w/out it...

I don't know what I'm gonna make at the torch today, I'm still in the mood to make shiny things, but I have to wait until late in the day to do them, so I'll come up with something else in the meantime...I sitll have lots of bright twisties on my desk, maybe i'll play around with those...pics coming shortly...

Busy bees

This is what Amelie will look like in another 3 years...heh...

As it happens, we too have managed to score a copy of the final Harry Potter manuscript, so we know that the book ends with Harry Potter, Ron and Hagrid all eating onion rings in a diner while an over-sincere 1980s power ballad plays in the background. As Hermione attempts to parallel park outside, a man walks into the bathroom and then suddenly everything goes black.

I'm working, working...i'm not ready to post anything yet, I've got more to do...up late last night, finished HP5 on the iPod, had to delete it and add HP6 now...I've been watching the HP5 trailer and the movie looks fantastic...everytime a book or movie comes out, I get all Harry Pottered...was reading this synopsis (again) - if you haven't read books 5 or 6, you don't want to go there...read the books first, the synopsis wont make any sense...I won't call it 'spoilers' per se, since the books have been out a few years now, its not like I'm revealing new info about the story...besides, the site is full of speculation on how the blogger thinks the clues are adding up, its not J.K. Rowling saying anything definite...I do enjoy reading what other folks think the clues say, since I get kinda confused and wound up in it...

I liked book 5, not as well as book 4, but I really disliked book 6...well, I guess I felt that it just kept saying the same thing over and over and over and nothing was really revealed...yes, Voldemort came from a crappy family...he was unloved...Harry was loved...Snape was bullied in school...so he became a great potions master who created lots of wicked spells...and- that's about it...what else? nothing really...still, I keep going back, re-reading them, and I think Rowling is a wonderful writer...I'm curious to see where she goes next, if she continues with new books in the HP realm (there's loads of stories to tell about other characters, a whole world of wizarding that has nothing to do with Harry...)Or, will she create a whole new world in a new land with new people? I would love to see a series of all the BAD wizards - show us more Malfoy and the bad guys...I look forward to what comes next...and I am in the camp that doesn't think Harry dies at the end of the story...how can she create a hero who has to go thru so much and then die at the end? I can't see it...she'll have him live on, after banishing the evil and saving the wizarding world...I think Snape will die and I dunno who the other person is...prob not Hermione or Ron...we shall see next month...I'll take a few days off to read the book cause I KNOW folks will be putting the spoilers out as soon as they can...talk about evil!

The rain in Spain is pouring in my yard...

Hits as of March 15, 2004

I am one of 'those' people..who like to see the weird numbers line up on their odometer...I still remember taking a pic of when my Miata hit 1600 miles...I tried a website the other day to see if my phone numbers made any 'cool' names, but alas, they didn't...when I worked at the computer game company, we had a number that was 555-GAME and 555-HELP...fun with numbers...I'm easily amused...
Its still raining and thundering, although the big storm has passed over us...i wish we had a rain collection system to harness all this good, clean water...the plants respond to rain water so much better than our very hard water from the tap...

This is a fun quiz - and I only got FOUR right!!! I don't eat much Ben and Jerry's so I don't know their ice cream flavor names...and i don't have a My Space account, so I'm not cool...

So much for mowing today!

I swear my backyard will not get mowed until October...it is black as night outside right now, awesome! serious thunderstorms are here...its days like this that I'm glad Brian doesn't have to drive into work...this is his second 'work from home Wednesday'...its pretty sweet for him...

Chloe has been relegated to the porch, she's been itching to get back outside...but now that its raining, we'll probably bring her in...her brother, Jack Bauer is out there with her, so she's got company...he was glad to see her...we put food and water on the porch to keep them going...

Ooo...the thunderstorms are getting worse, I'm gonna post this and lay low before we lose power...back later!

So as I sit here...

A few new squeezes and round beads posted...a variety of designs, as my brain is trying to do everything at once...simma down now...

With nothing exciting to say...although the good news is, I was up late last night making beads...something I haven't done in a long long time...and I slept well and woke up and got up and am gettin' a move on...everything is shipped and gone, beads are cleaned and strung, cats are fed and watered and the house looks somewhat halfway decent, although I could probably vacuum for hours and still have cat hair...the dog is outside barking at everyone who's mowing their lawns..speaking of, if it doesn't rain tomorrow, which its supposed to, I am gonna tackle our backyard...I killed a rogue ant mound yesterday, so that I don't run over it and scatter it all over...

I only hope there are no snakes lurking in the weeds, or that they at least get out of the way...we had a huge snake show up a few weeks back, the dog barked at it like crazy and the birds were all twittering around it, trying to scare it off...it didn't look poisonous, there was no triangle shaped head...it was green and yellow and smooth and while it wasn't very long, it was very rotund, so I think it eats well...I haven't seen it since...its probably living under my lawn mower...

Hello Creatures...

This weekend was full of laughs, as we watched "Hot Fuzz" yesterday and then the Star Wars Robot Chicken Special...Saturday was filled with old South Park episodes we hadn't seen in awhile...and while Brian pulled up the carpet in his office, I have started removing the wallpaper in the bathroom...we've never done any interior home renovating, its always been outdoor landscaping...but, as the weather is now hot and humid outdoors everyday, we are spending more time inside...I heard Brian mention the other day that he's 'ready to start painting'...I've been looking at colors for ages, I have a small grouping that I like, I just can't decide which room should be which color...but I will figure it out...

I must say, we laughed thru Hot Fuzz the entire time...such a funny movie...we really liked Shaun of the Dead, so we figured we'd like this one and we did...because its been out since April, and there was only 1 showing time of it yesterday, we thought we'd be the only folks in the theatre, but I think it was full...which is a great way to see a movie, cause then everyone laughs out loud...we saw Aqua Teen in a theater with only 2 other people and it was kinda quiet...the theatre (Drafthouse) was playing Bad Boys II and Point Break trailers before the movie, since they are featured in Hot Fuzz...which was actually helpful cause I've never bothered to see either of those movies...whoa...

Today I have a lot on my plate, I have to spend time with Chloe while she recoups because she's in the office and can't come out and she cries and cries...anyone need a spayed kitty? Time to get a move on so I can get back to the torch...I'm in the mood to make some new stuff that's been rattling around in my head...git goin'!

June Showers

I cannot complain about the rain...we don't get enough rain here, so when it does rain, I can't complain about it...I'm grateful for the rain...really...and, it keeps us indoors to work on inside projects...Brian has nearly all the carpet ripped from his office and the wood floor underneath doesn't look nearly as bad as we suspected..in fact, it doesn't look bad at all...a few boards are slightly warped, but considering they've been here since the 1920s, its to be expected...we have an area rug in the closet that we'll put down and he'll have a whole new room to enjoy...we had no carpet in the Austin house and actually prefer it, especially with cats who can't hit the litter boxes properly...good thing I can't smell!

Chloe is coming along just fine, she has let us look at her little tummy and she's soaking up all the attention and love...everything seems normal for her...

Looks like we'll go pick up a new vacuum next week...Best Buy is offering some discounts and interest free payments for 6months...can't beat that...thanks for the feedback about the purple vacuum, I think that's what we need...

One of my regular websites is sponsoring a guessing game...the glass jar is full of coins, we have to guess how much money is inside...I guessed 142.00 and since then two other folks have guessed $142.17 and $142.58 or something equally close...so I guess my guess is probably not gonna win, but that's ok...i've found that there ALWAYS seems to be more money in a jar than you expect...I have a small ceramic toad that I filled w/ coins once..it had $32.00 in quarters in it..and it was only about as big as my fist...whoodda thunk it...?

Chloe's back..

We picked her up from the vet's office, everything went just fine...she was pregnant with a litter, but not anymore...she's less than a year old...no more kitties...we fed her and she ate and drank and is up and moving around just fine...Brian is tearing up the carpet in his office today (he's been wanting to since we moved in) and she'll help him with that...

its raining and stormy - a most excellent day..except I was gonna mow the backyard...not now...i'll probably hang up more stuff on the walls and I need to ship everything from this week...I might even fire up the kiln...speaking of,

my experiment didn't turn out too well...the first bead I pulled out, I tried to re-reduce and it just got muddy and uglier, so I just moved all the beads off the metal fence and started making new ones...which turned out SO nicely that I pulled them from the kiln as soon as I could and strung them up (yes, they were annealed and cooled, I don't have ovenmitt hands)...So my experiment was a bomb, but the new beads are rockin', so its all good...I've already got someone who's asked for the ugly beads, so they are living on in a new home...Even Brian said he didn't think they were bad, he couldn't see the problem with them...when I set down the shiny new beads next to the unshiny beads, then he saw the difference...but I guess the unshiny ones aren't all that bad, they just aren't what I was going for...

I've been hankering for a new vacuum cleaner for months...months and months...and I might just get one today...i need something that works on animal hair and has high extension capability and I think that purple or yellow Dyson would do it...one of them is especially made for pet hair..I dunno if its a gimmick or worthwhile, but with 7 indoor cats and one dog, I need something...my poor old regular vacuum just doesn't cut it anymore...when I had 2 cats and an apartment, it was fine...

I'm having a war with my newspaper delivery guy, who can't find my house and can't deliver my papers properly...its been ongoing and I just can't take it anymore, so I cancelled my subscription, but the paper wants to know what it can do to make things right...I'm so far gone right now that nothing can fix the problem seeing as how I've been alerting them to the problem constantly and its not resolved itself (they can't find my house, so I don't get most of the papers I pay for..ok, so I won't pay for them anymore- problem solved)...i'm not in the mood to fight this anymore...I have been patient, I've notified them, I've received the standard form letter of apology, and yet nothing changes...move on...

Same song, second verse

10:00am After giving the beads some thought, I've decided to try an experiment...I've kept them all on the mandrels and have loaded them back into the kiln...I'm gonna re-heat them in the kiln, then introduce them into the flame and try to reduce them again...what's the worst that can happen? They still come out gross? Big deal...as it is, they are nicely shaped, just not shiny...If I can salvage the shine, they'll be fine...I might be able to do that...and if not, well, the Bad Bead Jar always has it's mouth open...this won't take long, tho, so I can still make new stuff as well...this will be interesting and fun...(famous last words)...

7:30am There are lots of Sopranos Alternative Endings on YouTube right now..i've seen three and they were all funny...here's one that made me laugh...

I was SO happy with the beads I made yesterday...lots and lots of them, all shiny metallicy, pretty...so when I opened the kiln this morning in anticipation, you could see the precise moment I was crushed into dust...only ONE of the beads turned out like I intended...I have an idea of why this is, and today I am going to remake the beads and test my theory...THIS is why its tricky to remake beads that are organic in nature...THIS is why folks test and test and use (waste) glass to perfect their beads...THIS is why I have a jar of crap beads that needs feeding from time to time...Some days are gold, some days are not...

and I SO wanted to post these for ya'll cause I was rather excited about them...isn't it funny how the beads look SO GOOD when they go INTO the kiln, and then can be so disappointing when exiting...sigh...

I'm up early to take miss Chloe to the vet...We're happy to have her fixed, its just the right thing to do...we spent time with her last night in Brian's office where she's quarrantined and she was SO happy to have people with her...she loves attention more than she loves food...some cats are like that...and this morning I need to venture in there and try to put her in cat carrier...I'm not sure how much blood loss I will suffer with this task...

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, its off to surgery we go..

Our neighbor has two cats, both of which are pretty well taken care of (food wise) but neither of which are fixed...we kinda suspected this, but last night while watering the garden it was confirmed for me when I saw Jack Bauer mounting Chloe...I stopped anything from happening, and when Brian came back from the walk w/ the dog, he picked up Chloe and brought her into his office where she's been hanging out overnight...the surgery is scheduled for tomorrow...and Jack is next...we just don't NEED any more kitties in the country, seriously...if we can do our part to keep these two from reproducing, that's a start...its cheaper to do the surgery than to take care of 4 more kitties...we love kitties...but we have 7...that's enough...they are all fixed...

I've been having fun w/ some new beads, they are shiny and new...come along, they're expecting you...the BEAD BOAT!!...ok, enough...I'm in a wacky, silly mood...I think its the grape juice...sugar rush...more beads to make today...this new studio thing is cool...and we have long term plans to build a 'real' studio this winter where I can setup my silver stations, PMC stations, stringing area and lampwork area...neato...the best part - there'll be a garage for my little car...wheeeee....

I whipped out my nippers last night and deadheaded the garden...even removed a few fuzzy caterpillars before they stripped the plant they were on...the grasshoppers are coming out in full force...they are little right now..i'm not seeing any devastation right now...they don't like water...lots of new rose blooms are coming up...i saw a new medium sized monarch caterpillar and I know there's loads of eggs just waiting to hatch...the garden keeps on giving...this weekend, more weeding and mulching and mowing...i'll be glad when we mulch the backyard so we don't have to mow anymore...do not like the mower...bah...

Link it to me...

Make your hamster shred your credit card receipts...fun for the whole family!

Austinite built groovy spartan armor for Stephen Colbert, who apparently loves it as much as any man would...

I get the taping of bacon to a cat, thing...but wouldn't the tape slip off the greasy greasy bacon? how did it stay stuck to the cat? wonders never cease...

No one wants to look at ugly people!!

Yip Yips were after my time, but they are still kinda funny to listen to...

Friday, Tulsa will open a 50 yr time capsule...apparently the car they buried is known for rusting something fierce...maybe they'll just uncover a pile of iron shavings...is 50 yrs a little early to be unveiling time capsules? why not 200 years from now? when no one will know how to drive a vehicle anymore...

Hey, My Snarky Comment is in Entertainment Weekly...

I often write comments on the Entertainment Weekly website, and last week I decided to try my hand at some humour...and much to my surprise, they published my dorky little comment...wheeeee!!

A particularly cute day on Cuteoverload...

I just watched a female monarch laying eggs on the milkweed...new caterpillars will be hatching anyday...the swallowtail caterpillars had better crawl off the dill and go cocoon soon before they are so big they can be seen from space...the biggest ones I've seen so far this year...geez...(and a swallowtail was laying MORE eggs on the poor dill this morning...i think we need more dill...)

I spent yesterday at the computer, so today its time to get some beads made at this new studio setup...I have a few errands to do first, but the focus is beads...crazy, I know...

The whole shack shimmies...

We haven't watched the Sopranos for over 2 years now, and actually have been able to keep up with the story lines pretty easily...Knew about Adriana. Knew about Christopher. Knew about what happened last week...All while saving HBO fees per month... so I was mildly curious to know how the show would end last night, but again, not enough to rent hotel rooms as I read some folks did, just to see the show...I've been reading about the reactions folks had to the ending and I even watched the last 5 minutes of the episode (YouTube rules)...I have to side with the camp that thinks the ending is brilliant...Sure, you WANT to see what happens because you've been witness to so many other crimes, being gunned down in the woods, run over by cars, heads popping out of bowling bags...so you think you should SEE how this story ends...but really, could any ending satisfy fans? I thought perhaps Tony would head to Las Vegas and setup shop w/ his family there...but folks woulda thought he ran away...Should he have been killed instead? And his whole family too? I like the idea that you get to make up the story however you want to believe it...I will say, that there is a LOT of suspense in that diner and it looked like bad things were gonna happen in there...maybe Tony deserved to get whacked, but I don't think his family did...nor do I think they'd be bad citizens if they lived on...its fun to speculate, tho...

Someone in the neighborhood is setting off seismic booms and its shaking my house...it feels like when thunder goes off directly overhead, and the house shakes...only there are no thunderstorms outside, its sunny and hot...and its not the squirrels, I know what they sound like on the roof, and they are not seismic...I only hope whoever it is stops soon...it even knocked over my wheelbarrow (at least I think that's what knocked it over...something did)...

I'm heading out to snap some photos of beads...I have a few bracelets and I'm gonna see if I can find some other goodies, but I dunno if I'll have any luck...I'm enjoying my new studio space in the house, I have more breathing room and more sunlight...plus, the space is clean...I like when the desk has no debris on it...neat and clean...I'm a weirdo, I know...

Don't believe everything you hear...

Who wouldn't want a Jack Daniels watch?

Hahaha...so I'm watching Food Network and Giada has an episode of one of her 70 shows on tv where she's come to Austin for a weekend getaway...she's saying things like "to get the best BBQ, you must drive out of Austin to Lockhart Texas"...and "this restaurant has been around since 1932, making it the oldest family run restaurant in Texas"...uh, no, sorry...I dunno who she's getting her info from (probably the BBQ restaurant), but there is awesome BBQ in Austin, and all around Central Texas...I'm sure Lockhart has awesome meats, but so do Driftwood, Taylor, Elgin, Marble Falls and Round Rock...and believe me - many restaurants have been around longer than 1932...

anyway, its always fun to see how different shows represent Texas, especially when you know the area they are going to...I love when they recommend restaurants that us locals would NEVER eat in - its only where the tourists go...ha...but I'm just as bad when I go on trips to famous places - while in London, I wanted to eat Fish and Chips - and of course the locals just rolled their eyes at us...but when in Rome, right?

The studio move has been successful, I have the kiln running, the generator is hooked up and I seem to have solved the leak in the O2 that I had previously and could not find...the propane tank has been changed to a full one, and I'm gonna do a trial run of beads to see how well the cats will be able to stay out of the room...I used to have a door on my studio, but now I don't...and I don't need any curious furry beings jumping onto my lap...Will letcha know how that goes...

Brian dug out a bunch of grass and weeds and layed mulch early this morning...the yard is coming along nicely..there's still more carving out to do, but eventually it'll be done..our initial work was just tilling the level areas and then we started planting...we didn't prep the sloping areas, and now we are going back and digging them out...but we needed to get the plants in during the spring because its just too hot to plant anything right now...its all maintenance for the next few months...there are some swallowtail caterpillars on the dill that are as thick as my little finger...humongous!

Beads tomorrow? yes? no? Anyone have any money left, or have you spent it on swimsuits and summer camp for the kids?

The garden is out of control...

I should post some pics of the garden for you...I was just looking at pics of it from just a few weeks ago and today its gone completely crazy...and it'll get even bigger as the sunny summer days crank along...I've spotted some swallowtail chrysalis from all those caterpillars that were eating the dill/fennel a few days ago...and a few are starting to hatch in the yard...I posted the pic of the freshly hatched Monarch (from a few weeks ago)...I've had monarchs in the garden fighting with one another, as well as a Queen butterfly...yesterday I took a pic of the bananas in the garden where 20+ tawny emporers were feeding...I'd never seen so many butterflies all at once...the whiptail made an appearance, and while I was shooting him, a female hummer was right in front of me drinking...when I moved my camera ever so slightly to take her pic, she flew off...they are REALLY aware of their surroundings...

anyway, the garden is out of control and I love it...I'm glad its such a small space, its fun to cram it full of flowers and its easy to take care of...we have to do a lot of watering here, and its no fun to do when its hot and humid...so a small garden works for me (it felt like 97 at 10:00pm last night - awesome)...

Anyway, I've cleaned and strung the recent beads into bracelets, but I'm gonna wait to post them till early next week...today - we are moving my studio out of the dark little room I"m in now, and into a sunnier space...I used to have such a nice bright studio, and I need more light...should take lots of time and be interesting to say the least...I'll take pics and letcha know how it goes...deep breath..

The beads are building...

I'm slowly garnering a collection of beads...its going slower than I thought, but it is going...I have to go to a meeting at our county tax accessor's office to fight the taxes that have magically doubled...what is up with that...good grief...so, I need to print pictures to prove I don't live in the Dell mansion, or on Willie Nelson's 100 acre spread...I live in a small shack on a dirt road in a small town...please stop taxing me like I live in Trump tower...good lord...I'm ready for a fight...

Did you know the mosquitoes that come out at night are twice as large as the daytime ones? I saw that last night while feeding Chloe...when they landed on my leg, they made an indention...they were large enough to carry the cat away...and why wasn't the toad eating them? I didn't see him at all last night...

and the spider who weaves a web each night in the corner of the porch wasn't out either...i think they were cowering from the mosquitoes...everything is bigger in Texas...

My mind is fried...I don't know what else to post...I'm fiddling with some old beads here, wondering how I can make them into a necklace...la de da, la de da...I need to go print pictures of my shack...back later...

How's your summer going?

Mine is flying by quickly...amazingly quickly...I see there's a whole new batch of tv shows for the summer...I started watching the Starter Wife last week and thought it was charming...so I'll probably continue with that...and Monk returns, and there's a new USA show called Burn Notice with Bruce Campbell that I'll probably check out...I don't have HBO or Showtime, so I'll miss all those, but I'll live...I'm trying to add just enough tv but not TOO much...

Our neighbor is mowing and our dog is going crazy barking...but its a playful bark, she likes to run up and down the fenceline like its a game...

I have a stack of more beads, but I'm going to shift gears out of organics and move into some bright summer colors...at least that's the plan...it feels like summer sandals, straw hats, chunky bracelets and colorful beach towels time to me...someone suggested that I make more garden stakes, which I had completely forgotten about, so I will see if I can get some of those done too...I had to leave all 6 of mine at the Austin house cause the new owners wanted 'everything as is' from our yard..ironically, Brian drove past the old house and they've taken down our gazebo...and apparently no one has been watering the plants (he said the purple fountain grass was hurting)...so - if you want us to leave stuff there, why are you allowing it to deteriorate? I'm hoping they put the gazebo back up, but ya know what? its not my decision...I bet the house will look really good when they are done with it, but I wonder if it was necessary to leave our garden items there at all...bah...

I feel much better...

I really did stay inside all day and made beads yesterday...I only went out to the mailbox to send back my Gilmore Girls disc 3 after watching it all day yesterday...this morning I ventured back out early and planted a large plant that we bought on Sunday and needed to go into the ground soon...it was larger than I'm used to, so I had to remove more dirt and dig a bigger hole...all in all, its in and I think it'll be fine...the ground there seems rather sticky and clay-like...i might need to go back and remove more and add more soil...i'll worry about that later...

So, the beads look good...I haven't really studied them, I've been outside all morning, but I'll go see in a minute...and will prob make more today...i was gonna do sushi but think I'll push that to tomorrow...man, since we've moved out here, I really like staying in the country and don't venture into Austin unless I absolutely HAVE to...bah...there's too much good stuff out here...We have 3 new monarchs and a new Queen butterfly in the yard, I had my first long visit from a Tiger Swallowtail, I saw the buff bodied hummingbird two days ago, the whiptail comes out and visits, Chloe the cat from next door comes over for attention, and the birds are going crazy at the new feeder we just bought...why should I venture into the city? boo....

Our Honda dealership wrote to us the other day, wanting to buy back our Civic Hybrid for $1k over the book value...they are so backed up with hybrid requests that they want us to sell ours back...huh? Then what are WE supposed to buy, a car that gets 18 mpg? We jumped in the Hybrid world before prices hit $3.00 a gallon, we're keeping our 2yr old car, thankyouverymuch...its a crazy world out there...

Oh and I know I am way backed up on emails...I'll get to them, I've read them, I just need some time to respond...hang in there...

The sun done beat me down...

Ugh...I'm awake, technically, but my body is moving in slow motion..inlcuding my brain...I have some Bach on the digital music channel to help me get rid of the fuzziness...it sounds like a hangover, but its actually from working in the yard most all of yesterday...While I was outside, I was hot and sweaty, sure...but I had plenty of energy and just kept going and going...but today...wow...I feel like a large sack of potatoes walking around, squinting and blinking myself to life...I think I overdid it outside...I'm not sunburnt, just exhausted...I put all 9 metal fencing panels into the front garden, and then cleaned up a few boxes

that were left out in the rain (by me)...course I did all that in the sunshine too, cause that's where the boxes were sitting...not much was lost in the rain, and a few seed packets got wet, so I sprinkled the seeds in the yard, even tho its not really planting time right now...who cares - if the flowers come up, great...if not, maybe next year...anyway, I am not going outside today, and if for whatever reason I have to, I'm staying in the shade...mostly I'm staying indoors because I've already got my kiln fired up and ready, and I have my rods cleaned and I even know what I want to make...so I think today is a perfect day to get some beads made...

Hey, this week is Bead and Button, huh...its sneaks up so quickly...I spoke to Kate McK just before she left, and man, I wish I was there to see all her very groovy rings on display...I want to go take one of her ring classes this fall..anybody wanna go with me?

Hello Creatures...

Yeah, I took the weekend off from the computer...no email, no updates, no surfing, nothing...never touched the machine...it was nice! Brian hadn't had a chance to really unwind from his Star Wars trip, so we worked in the garden, bought some new metal fencing and took naps...I bought a Garden Claw (The Claw!) and he used it to weed the front of our flower bed...the recent rains were making all the grasses and weeds go crazy...you couldn't even SEE the plants in front any longer...now, it looks gorgeous with deep black mulch and no green grass...We had another storm last night, another 4 inches of rain...not so bad, except it was unexpected...weathermen never know what's going on...no rain in the forecast, four inches of rain...how does that happen? bah...

Now that its getting hotter (90's) its time to start staying indoors during the day and working...this is our time of year to hide inside, away from the humidity, mosquitoes and blazing sun...I think I shall go back to the torch and see what happens...

Feast on this...

So, yeah, the Feast was awesome - the food and wine were fantastic, especially the port served with the dessert...a big truffle in strawberry sauce, the port was awesome...Brian drank most all my wines, since i was driving, but I got to taste a few...The movie? BORING! How can a movie with so much going on be so boring?????? Part of the problem was I coudln't understand what they were saying half the time (Barbosa and the Calypso woman especially)...and it was LOUD and the story was not fleshed out at ALL...REALLY disappointing...bummer...But, next up: Harry Potter...I hope HE's able to save my summer movie experience...Become your own Wizard in Hogwarts, kick Umbridge's ass and ride a Hippogriff...coming in 2009...

The Drafthouse is doing another Potter Feast, so we'll definitely go to that...AND, they are planning a Simpson's Movie feast, which just sounds like fun...What would you offer on that menu? Donuts...Three-eyed fish...Flaming Moe's...Beer...ha! The chefs said they are having a hard time narrowing it down...the trailer for the movie doesn't inspire any laughs from me at ALL and I love the Simpsons (old epsidoes, like the Monorail and Choo-Choo-Choose Me)...I dunno that we'll do that feast, although I'm very interested in knowing what they serve..

I'm sorry the movie wasn't better, now after seeing it, I'm amazed it's made so much money...bah...But, if you like Johnny Depp (and don't we all), there's lots of him on screen..I'll leave his pic up today, just cause he's 'great eye candy' as Mary Jo mentioned...heh...