What's Going On ...

Happy Halloween

Every night I have all these ideas of things to blog about, and then morning comes and I sit here stone faced, wondering what to say...I am most def a night owl, the mornings cause my brain to freeze...

I had a little fun at the torch yesterday, have some new lentils I'll be posting on Etsy in a little while...with some other treats...

Pushing Daisies has a new Halloween episode tonight, watch it while your doorbell rings...I'll be curious to see if we get ANY trick or treaters...I'm not holding my breath...

Aint no party like a Scranton party...

Brian and I really enjoy The Office..I'm sure its because we worked in cubicle hell and can relate to the idiotic environment...So, this Office 'convention' in Scranton this past weekend looked like SO MUCH FUN, but alas we couldn't go...here are some really funny pics, tho...if you're a fan, you'll enjoy this...

I am VERY HAPPY to announce that Round 2 of the Autumnal Equinox beads are DONE...they are STRUNG and I'm heading upstairs to ship them TODAY...you should see them by the end of the week, I suspect (unless you're outside the US, it'll take slightly longer)...Sweet...Which means - you know what - I can play with my new glass and presses...awesome! I'm psyched...

I've been really good this year and not bought any Halloween candy...usually I buy bags in September, eat it all, and have to re-buy new bags...but this year I've just waited and now its time...we won't get many trick or treaters down our lonesome road, and that's ok...but I'd like to have a bag, just in case...I need to pull out our Halloween DVD and watch it...the pumpkins are plugged in, the tombstones are in the garden, we are ready for whatever comes...

Last night American Masters ran their episode about Charles Schultz...timely, i think, with his 3 major Peanuts cartoons showing in the next few weeks (don't forget The Great PUmpkin is tonight on ABC!)...I find it amazing that someone so talented, popular, wealthy and loved could be so sad, depressed, insecure, isolated and fearful...I still love Peanuts, tho...we quote it around our house ALL the time...

Catch me if you can

So, I see Lady making noise toward the live trap and notice that its been sprung - something is inside it! I have it covered with a towel to keep the kittens comfortable entering, so they don't see the big dog, plus it keeps the cold night winds from blowing thru...which is why I don't know whats in the trap till I peel back the towel...thinking "what could I have caught?", I slowly check under the towel and hear the cat noise...and find we've caught..Jack Bauer! He musta smelled the smelly food and got caught...he used the towel inside the trap to curl up and sleep on...he was fine, I released him and he and Chloe came and ate on the front porch...

I haven't heard the outdoor kittens in a few days, so I guess I'll put the trap away so I don't catch anything else...if I hear them again, I'll try to get them..

The orange kitten is doing well, he's more brave and doesn't run the second he hears or sees us...we've opened the door to the room and put the baby gate up, so they can see whats going on in the outside world...our cats leave them alone, and its all quiet and pleasant...anyone need a kitten?

G'Day, M'lord and lady...

We had a GREAT time at the Ren Faire...the campus has been changed a bit since we last visited, they've built out some areas and created more theme-food arrangements so that its not all Turkey Legs every other booth...We actually spent very little, I bought a beret and Brian bought a new hat and then we had some snacks and drinks and that was it...We knew we could come away w/out spending lots, cause we weren't really in the mood to buy stuff...but the weather was wonderful for the day, and with it being Halloween weekend, there were LOADS of folks in weird costumes...you know what? Americans are FAT (me inlcuded) and they have NO BUSINESS wearing outfits that emphasize this fact...geez, we saw plenty of ickiness, but people-watching is the most fun and we had lots of fun doing that...

We're both tired, sore, sunburnt, windburnt and ready for a bath...Brian is taking the dog for a walk and I'm checking on the cats, then I think we're gonna crash and get ready for tomorrow...i'm excited to get back on the torch and finish the lentils so that I can ship either Tue or Wed this week - then, its time to play w/ my new glass and toys...and what's even cooler- there's more glass on it's way...sweet...

Hope ya'll had a nice Fall weekend too...go carve a pumpkin!

Chores...

We had too many things to do at home today, so we stayed here and got our work done...tomorrow we'll go play, maybe...that's the plan, but it could change...Some of my new glass and a few new bead presses arrived in the mail and I'm REALLY anxious to fire it up, but not till I get all the Round 2 beads completed, early next week...but its good incentive to get my work done!

We found a small town festival and walked around, checking out all the dogs (great danes to miniature yorkies)...had some good tasting Texas Twister fruit juice, but all booths of items were mostly 'junque' and lots of really ugly strung beads that looked like they were dug out of the bottom of the basement...that was enough of that...looking forward to tomorrow, tho...should be a good day...

Its definitely playtime...

Today, I'm working on beads, but tomorrow we are hitting the Texas Ren Faire cause the weather is perfect and we haven't been in years...its one of those things - we like going, but every year seems kinda boring, so we pick and choose when to go...one year, we bought tix in advance for a particular weekend and then it was cold and rainy, and we didn't go...bah...I'd rather pay the door price and be sure than to get advance tix and not...this should be fun, tho...

I had to get my haircut today, and its all short and punky again - I love it...its so great with my car too, I can just toss the top back and not worry about my hair, it blows around and then falls back into place...in the past, I had all this long curly hair and it was a pain the butt...but now its hassle-free...ahhhhh...no more dreadlocks...ha!

Writers Block..

Sometimes when I sit here to update I know exactly what I'm gonna say...for the past 10 minutes I've been sitting here wondering what to say...apparently my brain hasn't plugged in yet...I do need some breakfast, that much I know...its nice and brisk outside, I want some hot chocolate and pancakes...fall food...but I'll probably have some toast...cause that's all I can make...and jelly beans...and pretzels...and popcorn...

10:45...Oh, but the plot thickens...I just went out to reset the trap, only to discover all the bait had been licked clean by someone...probably someone too little and light weight to trigger the trap...d'oh...so, i've added new stinky food onto a piece of tin foil and placed it way far in the back of the trap, and set the trip mechanism to the lightest possible setting, hoping for the best...Ironically, when I removed the previous plastic lid holding last night's bait, I found a large grasshopper looking bug in it...I think maybe the kitten left us a gift in exhange for the food...the hind legs has been removed so the bug couldn't jump...ha...

10:00AM no new kittens in the trap overnight...i don't even hear them this morning, which makes me wonder where they are...I wish they'd come into our yard so we can get them, but they are finding our neighbor's yards instead...Brian bought this awesome stinky catfood (it looks disgusting and i bet it smells just as bad) but they didn't come get it...I hope to have better luck today, but if I can't hear them, then I doubt they are nearby...and they are so small...and they are alone...its not good...

Where there's One, there's More...

We kinda knew...we kinda suspected...when a cat shows up on your doorstep with only one kitten, you kinda wonder...most cats don't have litters of one - there are 3-5...sometimes the other kitties don't live, or they are picked up by kindly strangers...Last night we managed to snag the orange baby and bring him and his mom Bette Davis indoors...it was loud, the baby screamed like I've never heard before..Bette freaked out and ran after Brian down the hall...his left hand looks like its been thru the grinder, but he's ok...

Its 60 outside, lovely, and I have the door open...I hear a kitten crying and my first thought is 'oh, please let it be the orange baby in the office'...but of course, its not...Brian peers thru our backfence to see TWO kittens- one is all black, the other is black and white...about the same age as the orange one...great...

So, we've got a trap set w/ wet food and are waiting...I saw the black one nibble bits of wet food off the front of the trap where I put it to lure it inside, but of course he hasn't gone inside...we put a towel down to encourage them to go in, but now its a waiting game...and of course, the dog is SO excited to have kittens outside, she's going nuts...she's whimpering and even barking because she really does love kittens...and not as snacks, no...Brian is working from home, so he's here to help..I only hope we can catch these two sooner rather than later...having no mom to feed them might be of help, maybe they'll come out and try to get something to eat...we can only hope...

Back to my normal life, everything else is going well...more beads were made yesterday, and I have at least 3 more days of working to finish everything...Someone asked if I would be giving ya'll notice of the next time I open 'the store', and just so everyone knows - YES! I will give you advance notice on when I'll have beads ready for order...I think i'm gonna take a few days/weeks to make some other stuff in the meantime, maybe stock my Etsy store with some strands again, but I will have more Ready for Pickins again...i'm just ready to play at the torch and make a few things I want to make...I can feel the need...

Here come those Santa Ana winds again...

I haven't bought any new tools or glass in a long time...but I just got done ordering a few sample packs of the new reactive glasses and a couple of new presses to play with...I'll be goofing around with these and seeing if anything comes out of it...There are so many people using the new reactive glass and making such cool stuff with it - I feel so left behind with my little Italian glass...maybe I should stop using my horse and buggy and look into those newfangled motor cars too...

If you live in Southern California, I hope you have a boat and head to Catalina Island for a week...I watched Nightline last night and its amazing what's going on out there...I kept trying to decide which is worse - fire or flood? they are both bad, but I think I'd rather have a flood cause the wind/heat/fire factor is just so unpredictable and scary...and hot...But really, its all scary...and I hope ya'll make it out ok...grab your favorite things/pets/kids and hit the road...

Its still cold here, but at least the sun is out and its supposed to warm up...we tried so hard to catch the kitten last night, but it didn't happen, so Bette and her kitten spent the night in the catbed I bought...at least they had a warm place to sleep...we'll try again tonight...

I DID manage to finish all the beads for round 1 yesterday, and even got a nice start on the round 2 sets, so I'm happy about that...all but 4 packages went out in the mail yesterday, if you got an email from me w/ a tracking number, your package is on it's way (yours too, Francoise!)...the rest of ya'lls will go out today...sorry for the delay, I needed to remake some beads that i wasn't happy with, and a few that I apparently didn't write down...there were only a few, like 3, but it still amazes me that I missed them...you'd have thought I woulda had extras of those styles, but NOOOOOOooo....anyway, we're on track, things are good, I'm happy...and I got good sleep last night so I'm ready to rock today...

What did you think of Heroes last night? As much as we enjoyed Season 1, this second season has been sloooooow to get going...but we're sticking with it...and watching Pushing Daisies is still fun...and new SouthParks on Wed are silly...

I have pecans ALL OVER the backyard, I must rake them up before I crush them from walking on them...anyone wanna come collect pecans for me?? there are lots and lots...the best crop in 30 years according to some farmers...we are loaded...i love pecans...they are good for you too...tasty and delicious...if I was really a Martha, I'd make a pecan pie with them...hmmm...

Blow me down!

Yeehaw, we've gone from Summer to Winter in one day! It was 90 and sunny yesterday, today its 50, rainy, windy and nasty...That massive front that's moving across the country has found us and while I'm grateful for the cold weather, I wish I coulda caught Bette Davis' kitten and allowed them to both hide out inside the house, instead of under the house...they are both small and now they are small, cold and wet...I was up late again last night, Bette was trying to show her kitten that it was good to get pets and love from the human, and I was able to pet him when he was standing next to her and didn't realize I was the one who was touching him...the second he figured it out, he ran...Alas, she came up on the porch this morning, but the baby saw me and ran...the trap didn't work, the only way I'll be able to get him is with her help...i'm sure they are trying to get some sleep right now, so I'll try again later...I hear later this week we'll get our Fall season back, maybe even our Summer back (it'll be 80 - is that Fall or Summer?)...but today is winter and even the dog won't go outside...blah...

I thought the cat cartoon video was hilarious, I spotted it on CuteOverload and instead of just linking to it, I thought I'd try to imbed the video in my own website..and it was a lot easier to do than I first thought...so, I'll be putting other videos here as I spot them...Brian gets hit on his face by Abby and I get Clementines butt in my face when I wake up in the morning, so that video is quite appropos around here...and once in a while they'll knock a large fan off the dresser which is almost like being hit in the face w/ a bat...almost...

I spent a lot of time yesterday getting most of the orders packaged and shipped...the rest should go out tomorrow, after I get the beads made today...I tried to work yesterday, and I made a few beads, but wasn't happy with them...so today I'm working on Round 2 and finishing Round 1...I'm tickled with how the orders shake out - in round 1 some beads weren't ordered at all, in Round 2 multiple folks ordered those exact beads...I'm sure there is some kind of weird reasoning for that, but I just like to chuckle at the randomness of it all...I've always said I don't know what folks want, I just make what I like and hope that others do too...

How did i do that?

I spent last night going thru all the orders and finished beads - and still managed to miss making some beads...sure there are extras of some, I do that on purpose...but how in the world did I manage to miss making beads that had been ordered? I thought I wrote them all down?!?!?...so today I will spend making the missing beads...if you get your order and there are beads in separate little ziploc beads, don't panic - I strung everything I had on hand and will just supplement the order w/ the ones I missed...there aren't many, but it still amazes me that I manage to do this...crazy!

I tried so hard to get Bette Davis' kitten to come to me last night, but she just wont do it...Bette is still inside, recouperating from her surgery, and her kitten is lost, scared, hungry (maybe) and possibly cold...we've got a wonderful cold front coming down tomorrow, and she WILL be cold after tomorrow night...I set a trap, but she wouldn't go inside...I could hear her crying those tight little sharp mews and it sounded so sad...but the trap is still empty this morning and I got little sleep worrying about her...sigh...

Well, I know what how my day will be spent...thank goodness I was gonna make beads anyway...heh...

Who are you Mr. Possum?

So, while Brian is out of town, I'm in charge of the whole house and all the strange noises that go with it...last night I'm in the living room and I hear this loud, strange noise...thinking 'ok, there are kids out there stealing my Halloween decorations', I open the front door - to come face to face with a possum who had been digging the cat food on the porch...he looked at me and I looked at him and he just casually walked down the steps (they aren't very fast moving)...I'm just glad he didn't charge at my legs, and that Bagheera didn't charge out the door to attack him (B killed two possum babies at the Austin house and he was SO proud of himself)...

But the Halloween decorations are fine...they aren't that spiffy, and folks around here are pretty docile, but I didn't expect to have them stolen in Austin and they were, so I'm a little suspect...but its fine...whatever...I'd rather they steal the decorations than steal my yard tools! heh...I NEED my hoe, weed eater, lawn mower and shovel!! I don't NEED plug-in pumpkins all that much...

I took Lady with me in the truck last night, she loves to go for rides..I think i'm gonna take her to the PO today and out for a walk...try to exhaust her cause she has more energy than any of us...she's a good dog...she needs to run...she found that possum last night and I had to bring her inside before she got a faceful of one of those...

The cool weather is coming down w/ a vengence - it'll be in the 70's next week...i know, I hear you laughing...but considering it'll be 90 today, I'm grateful for 70's...at least the mornings and evenings are cool and comfortable..I've been leaving the doors open while working at the torch and its so great...aaahhhh...

And Fall has finally arrived..kinda..

Dumbledore was gay! I love it! It never occurred to me what his sexual orientation was...There are a few more tidbits about the characters here as well, so if you haven't finished the 7th book, you may not wanna read this...but seriously - why haven't you finished yet??

This morning is awesome - 57 outside right now...I have all the doors and windows open, and I just heard a big scuffle downstairs - I wonder if the cats tore open the screen door and are in the backyard, making their escape...guess I need to go look...The daytime is still hot, it was 93 here yesterday...yes...you read that right...so needless to say, I have no pumpkins because they would MELT in my yard...but I'll take the mornings and be happy for now...yippee...

Turns out the vet was busy w/ a major surgery yesterday and couldn't get to Bette Davis, so she'll be fixed today...but she did test negative for Leuk and Aids...and Chloe showed up at the backdoor this morning, so she made her rounds thru the house and nibbled at the foodbowls..she gets along w/ everyone, there's never a conflict with her...she's so good...

The orders are starting to pour in, so I am not sure how soon I will be closing the offer...please don't wait because I don't plan to take as many orders this round as I did the first round...

I need like 2 weeks to just go thru all the crap and stuff that's up here...there's stuff all over these tables...I have no storage up here, so it just sits...with no place to go...I'm a prime candidate for Mission:Organization...is that show still on? I need to take a fistful of cash to IKEA and I'll be set...they have some neato storage situations and you can build on them...Brian's star wars toys are in some neato IKEA bookcases and are quite stylish...

Ok then, time to go get some orders put together, some beads made (these are the beads that I made and lost all their sheen, I'm remaking them in small batches so they don't sit in the kiln as long..yesterdays group came out great, so by tomorrow they'll be done)...and see if my cats are all over the backyard...hmmm

Bette Davis Eyes

For Mary Jo

Autumn Equinox Orders being taken NOW

I seem to have completed the original orders that I received back on Oct 6-8 (if you didn't receive an invoice from me, you aren't in this group)...I have a few more to make over the next few days, but they should ALL be finished by Saturday..I've printed out all the invoices and will begin putting together the orders tomorrow, and begin shipping early next week..

IF YOU MISSED THE FIRST ROUND - I'm opening up the orders for you...Please submit them ASAP so I can complete them because I'm already to move to a new color scheme for winter...cool, frosty colors...I think you'll like them...and as always, if you have any questions, just shoot me an email..my address is on the Contact Me page...rock on!

We've finally named the 3rd sibling to Jack Bauer and Chloe...we're calling her Bette Davis because she has these really awesome, unique, different gold-orange eyes...and today she's at the vet to be spayed...we're about 99% sure she's pregnant and really - no more kitties...we love kittens, but man, there's a big drawback to living in the country and that's the strays...especially stray cats...stray dogs are also tragic, but we don't have them in the quantity of the cats...at least w/ these 3 cats being fixed, they won't be populating...now we just have to catch the orange kitten who refuses to stay in the same yard as us...will it ever end??

I hope you had fun with the right/left brain test yesterday...Brian said he never could see it turn clockwise..he's very Left Brain oriented, although he does have an artistic streak...he just doesn't let it out in the sunlight very often, so its dusty and full of cobwebs...I'm trying to drag him to a craft show this weekend, not cheese crafts, but from the Make Magazine (and Craft magazine) folks...I like being around creative people, they are interesting and most of the time they aren't doing it for the money...if they're real artists (in my opinion) they are doing it for the love of doing it...if they are lucky enough to make money, great...but the process is the biggest reward..we all like stringing beads and wearing bracelets, our goal isn't to sell the piece and get money for it...how many of ya'll won't sell your pieces because you like them too much? exactly!!

Pinky and the Brain

When I first started watching this animation, it was turning counter-clockwise...but once I started reading the words in the left column, the animation would change to clockwise...I could get it to go back and forth at times as well...I thought it was a trick, that it only turned one way, but no, I saw it going both...can you get it to turn both ways as well??

Out of nowhere...

I received news last night that a very good friend of mine's husband was killed in an accident yesterday afternoon...I feel like I've been punched in the stomach, because I wish I could do something, but there's nothing I can do from here...I've spoken to her on the phone and I'll fly up and see her in a couple of weeks after the hubub of family and friends have made their way thru her home and life and things quiet down a little...I don't want to be a pest or in the way, she's gonna have enough to do without worrying about extraneous folks in her way...but once things settle down and she gets things situated and is ready to just kick back and do nothing for a week, I'll go hang out with her...walk the dogs, knit, cook, watch movies and spend time together...

I'm plugging away on the torch, I sat down yesterday and knocked out all the stringer beads in one session...I didn't plan on it, its just what my hands started to do on their own...I cleaned them this morning and they turned out pretty good...I made extras of each bead for insurance, in case any of them popped off or just cause i like having extras ya know...today is 'pressing' time...squares, lentils and the like...these are the trickiest I've found, because you have to have just the right amt of glass on the mandrel - too much and you have those excess edges, too little and the bead isn't shaped properly, not centered before pressing and the bead is lopsided, oh the minefield that pressed beads can become if you're not in the zone..at least that's what I've found for me..plus, I'm doing various sizes and shapes, and as such I have to adjust accordingly...this isn't a complaint, merely to say that these days can be tricky, take time and patience and hopefully the dog will not bark at the toad as she was this morning, and make my hands jump...she was really adamant that this toad not be in our yard...I had to pull her off, I thought she was gonna try to eat it...and it was a biggun...

Sigh...

A new Beadlicker is born

I received this email the other day and thought it was topical and rather hilarious...

Hi Donna, I just have the cutest story to share about your beads. **WHICH I LOVE, by the way!**

Okay, yesterday in the mail, I got your beads via etsy and also another focal bead by Jelveh Designs. And I showed my daughter KayLee, 4 1/2, the focal bead first. She asked if she could hold it, and I said yes, but be careful not to drop it, because it could break. So, delicately she took it and wondered at it, and then said, I just have to kiss it, and did! THEN, I asked her if she wanted to see some more. And she said YES! So, carefully I took yours out and she gasped. She asked if she could touch them, and I said yes, and I told her about how you always talk about wanting to lick the beads, and she said, "Can I lick one?" And I just had to indulge her, and she licked one, and then said, "I want to lick the other ones to!" OH MY, I was just rolling on the floor!

So, I JUST HAD to tell you this story! Consider your beads licked! Have a super weekend, HUGS, Nicole

its been a long exhausting day...

We were up early to work in the yard, now that the mornings are in the 60's and tolerable...Brian went after this gigantic grapevine that's been growing all over the electric and cable lines...and I planted bluebonnet seeds, removed grass and weeds and cleaned up the rose trellis and deadheaded the rose bushes...needless to say, even tho it was cool out, we still wore ourselves out...and to make things more fun and interesting, Jack and Chloe's sister seems to have a small, 6 wk old orange offspring that was hiding in our garden hose box...we tried to catch him, but he was too fast for us...but he's on our radar, and we'll be taking her in to be fixed, and try to get him (or her) adopted out while he/she is still cute and fluffy...man, really cute...tiny...but speedy...

The grapevine is now dying, it looks all shriveled and brown...which is good, that means the weight isn't pulling on the cables...

After we took naps and had dinner and watched football, we've come upstairs to dig thru our Halloween stuff...its not as much as we thought, and we've even created a new box to donate...most of it will be displayed indoors, since we still only have the one outlet, but we'll fix that by next year, I'm sure...its just as well, I don't want to draw a lot of attention down our street, I like the privacy and fact that not a lot of folks drive down here...why light it up like Las Vegas, right? So, I think we'll put the 3 giant pumpkins out, the same 3 we put out last year and some tombstones and I'm not sure what else...and we'll just keep most of the plug in/light up stuff inside and enjoy it ourselves...

And that's been our day...tomorrow is catfood/litter, IKEA, and I'm not sure what else (Target?)...breakfast at the local diner and then hit the road...I think I need to go get a bath before I fall asleep...see ya'll another time...

Goat Cheez Salad - I'm a comin'!!!

3:00pm The goat cheese salad was wonderful (I took my own bag of dried cherries cause they never put enough on there) and I really enjoyed the movie, although if you don't like Wes Anderson movies, you probably won't enjoy it..I loved Rushmore, didn't care for Royal Tennenbaums and didn't see Life Aquatic, but this movie made me feel relaxed and happy...maybe it was the salad, maybe it was the 10 people in the theatre, I think it was the 3 actors who I adore...anyway, I feel great...

Its time to make my weekly trek to Austin, especially since I didn't manage to do it last week...my goal was to get my car up and out at least 1x a week, to just blow the cobwebs off (literally) and keep the battery charged...so, since I'm way behind, I'm going this morning...part of the reason I'm behind is because its just been too dang hot to drive w/ the top down and there were no good movies to see...but now there's Michael Clayton (George Clooney) and the Darjeeling Limited (another weird Wes Anderson movie that Brian has NO interest in)...so I'm taking the morning to myself and working this afternoon...and eatin' my favorite goat cheese salad as a treat...

I'm glad to see so many of ya'll are enjoyin' Pushing Daisies...its so silly and cute..

While outside checking out the garden yesterday, I happened to check out the pecan tree and the pecans are starting to drop...I spent about 20 min filling my pockets like a chipmunk, plucking the nuts from the branches...i opened one using an ice cream paddle (yeah, we don't have a nutcracker, go figure) but the nut was still kinda moist and bitter...so the others are sitting in a bowl on my counter, drying out...I think I need to do some raking this weekend and see what I can gather...there's SO MUCH going on this weekend, we're planting bluebonnet seeds (October is the best time to plant wildflowers), there's football games on tv, there's Halloween decorations to be dug out, and pumpkins to be hunted, and I need to weed eat the front yard...now that the mornings are cooler, we can work in the yard again...and man, does it need it...ugh...

La La La...

There are so many cats that look like Amelie, I'm beginning to think she's some kind of breed that I don't know about...and they are ALWAYS huge cats...this one is rather talented...

And today looks a lot like yesterday...its still summer here...90's...although the mornings and after sundown is comfortable, so I'm grateful for that...ya gotta find positive in the small things until you can be grateful for everything...I am grateful for my Dyson, its an awesome vacuum cleaner...and the kitties outside are sweet and friendly and I wish I could bring them inside, but with Jack being FIV+, its not gonna happen right now...so I go out and play with them during morning meals...and that's good...

I'm happy with how work is progressing...I even took a fistful of extras and strung them into 2 bracelets this morning, so I can 'play' with ya'll...I see all these cool beads that I'm gonna be mailing off, and I want to wear some too...yeah, I know I can make more for me, but I enjoy picking beads outta piles like everyone else does too...its funny how they all seem to work together, even if you don't plan for them to...making lemonade outta lemons, and all that...

Are you digging Pushing Daisies? I think its a really cute show...it goes fast, I forget its an hour because it seems to move along nicely...maybe its all the commercials...did you know hour-long shows are really only about 44 minutes? Back in the day they used to be 50 minutes, but commercials are taking over, and we only get about 2/3rds of a show..I wish we did what the UK does w/ their shows - play the whole thing, and then have all the commercials at the end...plus, have you ever seen commercials in England? They are great! Really funny...so much better than our boring, annoying ones here...is it any wonder we all have TiVo's so we can zoom thru them? Last night we started the show about 10 minutes late, so we could just zoom thru each commerical break and not bother with them...that's how ya do it...and then, of course, they start with product placement IN the show and you just never get away from advertising...its everywhere...good grief...

Fistful of beads...

I cleaned all the beads from yesterday and Monday and it made for a really nice big plump pile of beads...I love when there are tons of beads to roll my hands thru...I'm sure it goes back to that 'bead licking' thing that I mentioned the other day...I've made so many but there are even MORE to make, so I'm back at it today and the rest of this week and probably most of next week...sometimes bad things happen, like the 28 beads I made yesterday and all the sheen came off the metallic glass...the beads look ok, but if you were expecting a sheen, well, hmmm...so, I have to remake those...and I can't just do it at any ol' time, I have to make them at the end of each day, so I don't let them sit too long in the kiln (which is why all the sheen is gone)...I woulda been surprised if everything went smoothly, it rarely does and that's just part of it...we get lost going to a party, we forget our wallet and have to go back and get it, we spill stuff on ourselves just before leaving the house - and life goes on...we just fix it and keep going...hey- I now have 28 more beads than I expected!

Actually, I have lots more 'bad' beads that I've been making...I tend to make more beads than necessary with these orders - that way I can pick the best of the beads and keep the extras for myself..sometimes I string and wear them, sometimes they end up in my flower beds, ya never know...so I've got a small but growing stash of these building...

I was tickled to find 2 more monarch chrysalis yesterday and I saw 3 zebra butterflies flitting in the garden...the 3rd stray kitty (sister to Jack and Chloe) has been coming up on the porch more readily and I got to pet her, although she's still very skitish...she just needs some time to come around..at least she's eating and getting a little thicker...we'll have her fixed too, as we need no more strays...gah...

The Ren Faire is going on outside of Houston now, each weekend...I hope we can go later this month, maybe the first of Nov...its still so hot, that its hard to stomp around w/out dying, or just hiding in the shade...but I do like going, having some snacks, buying some jewelry, maybe a wreath of flowers for my hair, watching the craftsfolks and the birds of prey fly around...good stuff...

Crack that whip...

I'm finishing up some shipping that needed to be done, and the kiln is firing up...I took yesterday's beads outta the kiln, but haven't had a chance to really look at them yet...I foresee a long day at the torch today - nothing on tv tonight, so I will put in my new audio book (its 15 cds, a good long one) and just get going...

Heroes was on last night, the first few episodes are rather tedious...I've been reading an online Heroes blog and folks there all agree...Sick of Hiro in feudal Japan (bring him home!), tired of the Wonder twins and their boring black-goo super power...Nikki is a drag, no one likes her storyline...but, next week is looking pretty good...I'm ready for the stories to start knitting together again and we see more of the Heroes interacting...And I like West and Claire, tho most folks don't...oh well...

Back from the brink...

Brian took my machine to work and was able to bring it back to life...it was not responding after I'd open it, I'd have to remove the battery, power source, then plug it back in and reboot it up...after doing this 3 times in a row, it finally gave up and I got a C:\DOS prompt and some other heinous error message (that neither of us had seen before)...After some hocus pocus and hard drive de-frag, it seems to be back...for now...till it dies again...who knows...its always a surprise here, we never know what our technical stuff is gonna do from day to day here...I rented the movie "The Prestige" and during a very loud explosion, it cause my DVD player, television and receiver to all shut off...i tried again, it shut it all down again...I had to fast forward and mute that part of the movie so my equipment wouldn't pass out...go figure...

Speaking of weird, confusing technology, I'd like to apologize for the weirdness of the Comments section...A few weeks back someone said their comment wasn't accepted, it thought something was profane...I feel your pain- I tried to respond to a comment left here the other day and I TOO got the same "your message is not compliant, please change it and re-submit' message...wha??? I didn't say anything bad! I tried to make a few adjustments and nothing made it happy, so I gave up...I am not in control of what the Comments God thinks is profane or acceptable, I think Moveable Type is the culprit, and we are just at their mercy...so, if you have comments issues, feel free to email me directly and at least I'll know what you want to say...

The beadmaking has begun...I got a lot of Rows 5 and 6 made today, not all but lots...and some weren't what I was planning, and while putting one hot bead in the kiln, I hit one that was already in the rack, thusby ruining both beads...sigh...*&%# happens, as always...but that's ok, I just laughed and kept going...what else can I do?

oh, George Clooney is on Dave, I think I'm gonna watch...

Closing Orders Tonight

9:30pm
Hello my cheeky monkeys...my computer has died, a really ugly death...Brian is taking it to work with him tomorrow to run diagnostics on it and hopefully bring it back from the other side...I am able to read email on my iPhone and respond, although somewhat succinctly...so, if you submitted an order and haven't heard back from me or seen an invoice, I will try to get to them as soon as I can...If you have received an invoice from me, then I've got your beads logged and will be starting work on them tomorrow...without interruption...I've even stocked up on snacks at the grocery store to make it thru the next couple of weeks...So, there you have it...I'll update here when i'm back online officially...till then, be cool...

If you have been debating on placing an order for the Autumnal Equinox beads, please gather up your numbers and submit your order this afternoon...Due to the volume of beads being ordered, I will need to close the orders by 5:00pm Central time (that's 6:00pm Eastern and 3:00pm Pacific)...IF you submit your order AFTER this time, they will not be completed in this first round...and I can't guarantee I'll have the energy or desire to make a second round...SO, PLEASE submit TODAY if you're hemming and hawing...

Yesterday we were lucky enough to meet someone who has over 50 antique needlework magazines (some dating from 1901) who wants to sell them...Brian volunteered to post them on eBay for the very nice lady, and I get to go thru the books first...some of the pictures and ads in the back are fantastic! I don't know that I'll buy any, but I will post some of the fun pics here, once he starts getting them ready for eBay...I love old things...

Now that I'm full of breakfast tacos, its time to go grocery shopping...always shop on a full stomach, it'll save you money!!!

The Calm before the Storm

6:25pm - I've been sending out the invoices, or emails if I have questions about your orders...but if you haven't submitted an order, do not fret...i'm still accepting them, even tho each order is about double the number of beads that the last orders were...wow...OH - if you're placed an order and need to send payment, my PayPal account is: donna@blackberrybeads.com and if you wanna pay by check, just email and lemme know...

Although UT lost the game to OU, I thought it was a really GOOD game and am proud our team hung in there and didn't get their clocks cleaned...I really expected a total and complete rout, but we looked pretty good...OU was just a bit stronger...shellacing was not had this year...and I'm ok with that!

11:00am The orders are coming in, thank you berry mucho...I will be taking time over the weekend to get the invoices in order so I can begin work on Monday...I didn't mention this, but if you need to send a check for payment, that's perfectly fine, I've accepted checks since I started making beads...just let me know that's the plan, so I have a clue...I can be quite clueless at times...

Its the big Texas vs Oklahoma game today...OU usually creams us 56-3, and our team isn't very good this year, so we all expect a bit of a shellacing...although we want to win, of course...but we've struggled against bad teams, and OU has been clobbering bad teams, so it should be interesting...and then it'll be sad...I do HOPE we win, of course, but I'm also a realist...

Summer is still here in force, its in the 90's this whole week...I'm tired of summer...I'm not in the mood for Halloween because its just so hot out...I have no decorations (or desire) and that's sad...its this time of year when I find I want to MOVE somewhere we I can enjoy the holiday...argh...

Have you been watching the new Fall TV season? We caught Pushing Daisies and really enjoyed it...and we're still watching Heroes, The Office, CSI and we're kinda easing into 30 Rock...I've recorded some shows, but haven't bothered to watch them...typical...

I see there's a new Sweeney Todd trailer and it looks like loads of fun...

Autumnal Equinox Are Ready

Alrighty, I've finally figured out how I wanted to label the beads...it was more complicated this time, as there are more of them and I didn't separate them in colors, but rather in styles...

As always, EMAIL ME WITH QUESTIONS...and I'll be happy to answer anything you have...Last time the orders took me about 3 weeks to complete, as I go into 'production' mode with this style of ordering - meaning I gather up all the orders for specific beadstyles and make those..once I get all the beads made, then I ship them all at once...If you require beads soon, we can make arrangements for that, but you need to email and let me know...and there will be a surcharge, sorry, but it slows me down to do each be in an order individually, vs. doing them in production...I'm sure you understand, tho...eh...?

Hope you find something fun...I'm heading outta here for awhile, so if you don't hear from me, its cool...I'll get back in touch when I get back...

Rock on!!

The beads are shot, I've just looked at the pics and they look printable, so next up - optimize and assign names and prices...that might take a bit...

I'll give you just a snapshot of the colors so you can see if you wanna come by and shop later...but, its only a small taste, cause I'm mean...seriously...evil and cruel and creepy...really...

Bwhahahaha....

Free to bead, you and me...

Beads are coming along, I have a full kiln that I'll be cleaning and getting ready to shoot...My plan is coming along nicely, as Stewie would say...I'm going to make more beads Thursday (today) and then I'll clean what I have on Fri morning, shoot the pics and post them...then, I'm heading into Austin for some sushi or a salad, I can't decide...BUT, while I'm gone, you are welcome to poke around, look around, squeeze the beads, smell the beads, and maybe if no one is looking, lick the beads (people do this I hear...interesting!)...and if you find some that you'd like to order, please put together a little list and mail it to me...

The order system will work like it did for the previous order, so please visit the REady for Pickin page to see how we all laughed and danced with bead delight the last time...

I'm making beads in the same style, but with different colors this time, and it'll be interesting to see how the photographing/labeling will work, but it'll look much like the Cowboys and Clementines page...with more beads and more variety and more color options...BUT these beads are in a different color palette...you'll get to see on Friday, but its probably not difficult to guess what palette I'm working in...HA!!

So there you have it...Do not fret, do not worry, do not panic, there's plenty of time for the Bead Fairy to get to work...I'm baking cookies for her so she'll be sure to deliver the goods...

Rock on my cheeky monkeys...

Hello creatures of the garden...

Its still summer here...gonna be 94 here today, i do believe...the garden shows it, things are growing and going crazy...the butterflies are everywhere again, and I spotted 3 monarch chrysalis on the house yesterday...of the 20+ that we had, I've only seen these three, but its kinda like hunting easter eggs - you never know where another will pop up and it makes for an interesting trek thru the grounds...

I was watching Nightline last night and a new drug kids are abusing called 'saliva'...which is the common name for 'sage' and we have loads of different salvias in our garden...in fact, I'm not certain but I think we have the exact salvia they were talking about that kids are smoking...some dude sells it for $65 a gram and I thought, 'geez I must have $1000 worth of that stuff in my front yard'...

the hummingbirds are enjoying the long purple flowers that it produces and it would never occur to me in a million years to smoke it...I just don't do recreational drugs...never have...my drug of choice has always been chocolate...when the plant is spent for the year, we'll cut it back and put it in the compost pile along w/ the rest of the garden...but for now the birds are enjoying it and that's all I can ask for...

I spotted a zebra butterfly today...I was excited to finally see one a few days ago, its the only buttefly in my books that I wanted to see and never had...but now I've seen a few..they are not big and they are more wide than long...

I'm still working on beads...I'll be offering another REady for Pickin page where you'll be able to place an order, just like the Cowboys and Clementines...now that I've gone thru an order situation, I believe I can leave this new group up longer for more orders, so I don't anticipate closing it as quickly as I had to...As long as ya'll who place orders are cool about waiting...BUT, if you NEED to have your beads quicker, I was thinking I could put a 'rush priority' status on your beads (I realize many of you are designers who have upcoming shows)...we can talk about that if/when we need to, but its another option I could offer so you could jump to the head of the line if you needed it...

Keep on rockin' baby...

Another day, nothing exciting to share...while I had the camera out the other day, I snapped a buncha shots of the fall garden...its rather overrun from the weeds, even tho I've hacked them down a few times...all the plants are in good shape, but its been too hot and humid to get any decent work done out there...mostly I've just been watering and trimming, but that's it...I hear this weekend we're getting a cold front and it'll be 80 on Sunday! that's very good news, it means we can get outside and get some work done...I'd like to take down some of the spent spider webs and I have bluebonnet seeds to plant on the slope in the front yard...

And I guess that's it for today...I'm doing some catch up work for a customer and making new stuff...its going pretty well...I hope to have stuff posted later this week, it all depends on how this week goes...but I'm melting as fast as I can...

Its October...

The rest of the year is quickly coming up on us...is it Fall where you are? I watched some of the President's cup on tv yesterday cause Tiger was playing, and I could see the pretty fall leaves on the trees...they were in Canada, so I guess its fall in Canada! We got some nice rain over the weekend, and my spider is still doing weird things...she's far away from her web, hanging upside down w/ her legs curled under on the side of the house...maybe she's dropping another egg sac...I have no idea..

I saw my first goldfinch in the backyard just a few minutes ago...I have the thistle feeder up and ready for them...I'm seeing various birds coming thru on migration...

ALL the monarch caterpillars are gone from the plants, probably because there are no more leaves to eat...I saw a few of them on the house, but I hope the others find a good place to turn into butterflies...neato...

I found a few things in our Halloween collection, but it all needed to be plugged in...and we only have 1 outlet in the backyard, so I just left it all upstairs for now...ha...maybe our Halloween will be quiet this year...

rock on groovy kiddos...