Sunday, December 30, 2007

Back From My Travels......Well Almost!!


I left home and Florida on December 1st. Since then I have been to California, back to Florida, not home but Orlando, then on to South Carolina. I finally got home last night. I had a wonderful time with my family. I saw all of them except for Nick and Nicholas since I wasn't able to fit NY into my travels this month!
While I was in California enjoying my son and his family we all took a day and went to the Ocean View Mine in Pala, CA. It cost $60 for each adult and $50 for each child. I felt the price was fair for the adults but $50 for a 4 y/o child was very unfair. He didn't do any digging or searching for gems. He did enjoy the mine tour and he's still talking about how he went "into the mountain". I didn't find any "gem quality" stones but I found some pretty tourmalines and aquamarines. My 8 y/o granddaughter is really into things like that and she found most of the nice pieces. I'm gonna make her a nice pendant from one of the stones. All in all it was a good time and worth doing. Now I need to find more adventures like this.
I had a Christmas celebration at each home I went to! We all opened gifts and enjoyed each other's company. It was such an uplifting time. Being close to family, no matter how many miles separate us, means so much to me! Now it's not over yet! Tomorrow I leave for Orlando and go to my daughter's home once again for the New Year's Eve celebration. It will be especially nice since Oliver's mother, sister and brother-in-law will be there from France! They will be in the USA for three weeks and I do enjoy their company, too.

Sunday, November 25, 2007



It's been quite a while since I've entered anything! Thanksgiving is over and the Christmas holidays are fast approaching! I've been busy both making and selling my pretty jewelry. I did a couple of fairs and flea markets. I've been teaching classes. The Egyptian Coil was very well received and I'll be teaching it again this week. I got home from Oviedo Friday night and I'm just getting organized for my CA trip and after that, Christmas.

I'm, again, not putting up a tree! This is my fourth Christmas here in Florida and my fourth year not putting up a tree. The two trees I have are sitting nicely in their boxes in the shed. Last year I put up a few lights on the windows but I don't think I'll even do that this year.

The reasons that I haven't been putting up Christmas decorations are:
1. I'm never home very much to enjoy them.
2. My family, as I brought them up to do, stay in their own homes for Christmas. They and the children stay home and enjoy the spirit of family at this most family oriented holiday! I join one of them. I try to even it out and spend the holiday with a different family each year.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007



Well, the bathroom is all fixed and painted. My check list of things to do is getting a little bit smaller. Not small but smaller! My neighbor pointed out to me that the palm tree in my side yard is going to fall. It seems that the large amounts of rain loosened the earth so much that, in spite of the braces to hold the tree straight, the tree's roots are pulling up. I hear that palm trees have short roots. I had my gardener look at it and all he wants to do is chop it down! I'm hoping to save it but I can't spend too much money doing it! I hate taking down trees especially a beautiful palm! What to do? I don't know but I'll work on it.
The earrings are my tribute to fall. Even though there is not much of an autumn here in Florida I'm still in the autumn mood! There is a bracelet to match, too!

Friday, October 5, 2007

Jewelry Photography


I finally got it! At least I think I got it. I've been experimenting with photographing my jewelry. I use my small Canon Powershot and use the macro setting, no flash and a timer. I'll eventually get a tripod but for now I'm just trying to have very steady hands! I put the jewelry on a sheet of white paper. Once the photo is taken under my Ott Lamp the background is gray not white. I use Photoshop Elements to edit it. I use under Enhance, Brightness/contrast and go to levels. Use the white eyedropper and click on the background. It makes it white again! Then I adjust the color, also under enhance, using hue. I'm amazed that I figured this out myself! I'm pleased with my pictures now and not ashamed to put them on my web-site. Maybe I'll write a tutorial on this someday.
The example I'm including in this post is a Full Persian bracelet in sterling silver with a magnetic clasp and a safety chain. This particular bracelet resides with a friend of mine in NY.

Sunday, September 30, 2007


Wow, this week has really flown by! I can't believe we're starting a new week already. I didn't accomplish too much this week. I just took it easy and finished unpacking, cleaning out things, incorporating all my jewelry making paraphonalia into one area of the house (oh, for a bigger house with more storage!).
I just stocked the fridge today so no hurricanes please! Last time I did that Wilma came along and I lost everything I had just bought after getting back from NY!
I finished a couple of orders and mailed them off. I'm working on a couple of more. I'm trying to get myself ready for craft fairs but I haven't registered for any yet. How do you find them? I've searched the internet but how do you find the small church bazzars and pre-Christmas craft fairs and flea markets? That's the biggest problem!
The necklace above, is made with a very unusual stone that I found in a Rock & Gem Club show in Freeport, NY. It's called a view stone. It's Japanese and you can see some kind of view in each stone. This one is triangular and looks to me like the mountains in the west. Beautiful isn't it? Better in person! The chain is made with bright aluminum rings and is very light weight. The chainmaille weave is called the Barrel Weave. I'm selling it but I love looking at it and will find it difficult to part with!

Monday, September 24, 2007

Interesting Weekend


It started on Friday when my granddaughter passed her divers test. She has this little red sports car waiting for her and she didn't disappoint it. She passed the first time! She's happy now that she has some freedom.

My daughter and her husband went away for the weekend and I stayed with the two granddaughters. They are old enough to be no problem and great company most of the time! The first day we went to play glow-in-the-dark mini-golf at the mall. Interesting but fun. Then out to dinner at Out-Back Steakhouse.

Yesterday we all went to see "A Comedy of Errors" at the Orlando Shakespeare Festival. Even the 9 y/o enjoyed it! They did a great job and presented it as very funny.

I'm home now and looking forward to a week of rest and jewelry making. I have some orders that I have to catch up on. I also have to mail my passport application. The cruise will come up quicker than I think!

The above picture shows a piece of Long Island sea glass, picked from a beach in the Hamptons, wrapped with bronze wire and hung from a leather cord.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Laura's Art


I just had to post one of my granddaughter's art work! Isn't it beautiful? She's so very talented!

Home again


I'm back! The NY summer was very successful. I renewed old friendships and even made a few new ones! I went to a great block party in my old neighborhood and saw some people that I hadn't seen in years. It was a blast! I learned some new jewelry making techniques thanks to Cher at Studio 59 in Lake Ronkonkoma. Pictured here is one project done under her guidance.
The trip home went pretty smoothly and I got to spend a week with my daughter and grandson in South Carolina. He's getting so big and so smart! He's three and knows how to click and drag and drop on the computer!
One thing happened that made me worry and hurry home to Florida a few hours earlier than planned. I got a call from my neighborhood that the Terminex man had been to my house and found a broken valve in the bathroom that was spurting water into the air! The bathroom had water on the floor and was heading toward the room with my computer! He had turned the valve off and stopped the leak but the neighbor was unsure as to the extent of the damage caused by the leak. I had been gone for two months and who knew how long the valve had been spurting water? I made it from Irmo, SC to my home in Florida in 7 1/2 hours. I didn't stop for anything but gas and br breaks! When I arrived home I had imagined the worst. I figured I'd probably fall through the water rotted floor boards! To my utter amazement there was nothing wet except for the soaked bath mat and toilet seat cover! The leak must have just started! I examined floor boards, moldings, walls, furniture and carpet in the next room and there was no sign of any water damage! I'll have to call a plumber to fix the leak and maybe I'll need a new toilet but compared to what my imagination conjured up I'm getting off very easy! I'll never leave home without turning off the water, I'll never leave home without turning off the water..............................

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Depression


I can't believe that this has happened! A very, what I thought was "rock solid and stable" gentleman tried to take his life today! I've admired his gentle and quiet ways for many years. Thank God he did not succeed! What a thing to do to your family. It's difficult to believe that someone can be so wrapped up in his depression that he doesn't think how much pain his actions could cause his family. Depression is such a terrible condition since many suffering people don't recognize the need for treatment. Most don't even realize that they are depressed. I think its more difficult for men to seek help for their feelings of depression because they are so reluctant to even talk about feelings at all.
I hope this is an eye opener and he'll seek the help he needs to cope with whatever he's going through!

Sunday, July 22, 2007

What a week!


It's been some week! I worked at my old job for three days. It went well and it was great to see everyone! I was exhausted at the end of each of the days but I think that's to be expected.
The weather, here in NY, has been crazy! Wednesday all hell broke loose here on Long Island. Torrential rains, floods, even a tornado! On top of that a steam pipe broke in NYC and was the other talked about topic on the news. One lady died of an MI while trying to get away. Most people, in the area, thought it was a terrorist attack. I can't even begin to imagine what it was like for those that were walking by at the time it let loose!
I went to 112 Sewing (see link on the left) and I have my teaching schedule. If people are as interested this year as they were last I should get in quite a few classes in the next six weeks here in NY. The above picture is an example of one of the classes I'll be teaching there. It's a necklace made with size 5 seed beads in the single spiral pattern.
Today's my grandson's third birthday. I'm sorry I can't be in SC with him. I did give him a little party before I left him last week. He's so cute and smart! I miss him and his mom.

Sunday, July 15, 2007


Well, I'm back in New York! I made my journey in six days. I stayed with Liz on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and traveled Monday, Friday and Saturday. I arrived here at 5 in the afternoon after, as usual, encountering much traffic in NJ on the turnpike and on the Belt Parkway! There was no traffic or crazy drivers anywhere else. It's always in NY area! Not the best ending to a 1200 mile journey. Going in the opposite direction is always much easier. You get all that traffic out of the way in the beginning!
I had a flat tire twice! Thankfully it wasn't until I got to Liz's house and was parked in front of her house. I had a road angel (thankfully there's always one around when I need one!) help put the doughnut on the car and I took the car to a local tire place to have the tire fixed. It was flat again the next day! This time AAA was called and I went to Irmo Tire and bought two new ones. Since my other two tires were only three months old I just bought two.

The rest of the trip was uneventful. I started reading (listening to) the Audible book, The Haunting, as I started out. I planned to stop at a motel in Fredricksburg, VA for the night. As I started listening to the book I was very surprised to find out that the book was about a hunting of a house on Caroline St in Fredricksburg! It was quite a romantic book and it made me anxious to see that city! After checking in the motel at 5PM I freshened up and went exploring the town. What a pretty town! The shops were mostly closed and the tours were finished for the day but I enjoyed just walking around after sitting in the car for 7 hours. I had dinner at a local Irish Pub on Caroline Street and it was delicious! I plan to stop there for a longer time and explore further on my way back to Florida.

Saturday, July 7, 2007

A Break in Traveling



I'm home for a couple of days before taking off again for my trip to NY. My hurricane shutters are in place and my packing is half done. The jewelry making stuff is the most difficult to get packed up but I'm almost done. I'm happy I have someone to stay in my house for the time I'm away. This means I don't have to have everything totally locked down.
Today's picture is from a collection given to me by my son. He and his family just got back from a holiday in Arizona. One of the places that they went was the Grand Canyon.
I went there a few years back and I can tell you that pictures just don't do it justice! It is something that everyone should see sometime in their lives! Just one of the wonders of the country and the world that we live in!
Happy Birthday Dad!

Sunday, July 1, 2007

For Bonnie Jean


Well I'm back. The story about the macrame class and the necklaces I made in that class is a long one but I'll try to condense. I was late, very late for this class! I thought it started at 1PM and it really started at 11AM. I got a call at 11:50 wondering where I was. I hurriedly got ready and drove there. The other two students were almost finished with their first necklace (we were to make two). The teacher was a beautiful women from Columbia South America who speaks very little English. In spite of that she was able to communicate the directions to me and I was able to do well. She stayed later and let me finish both of the necklaces. It seems she was a psychologist in Columbia but is not able to practice here. It's a shame but I'm sure she will do well once she is fluent in English. I was pretty impressed with her!

The Scottie necklace in the previous post contains the Scottie bead that I picked up in Beads and Baubles in Fort Pierce, FL when Luigi Cattelan visited last winter. He is pretty famous and comes from a long lineage of glass blowers in Murano, Italy. He will have an article in the coming October issure of Beads and Buttons. Along with Luigi, Susan Barrette, owner of Beads and Baubles with have her work with Luigi's beads, focused in that issue. I can't wait for that issue to appear on the news stands! It should be a treat for the eyes!
The Scottie necklace is in memory of our doggie, Bonnie Jean MacKenzie, who left us last July. We all miss her still!

The necklace in this post is bead crochet. I made it in one evening and it now adorns my daughter's pretty neck!

Birthday Party!



Yesterday was my granddaughter's ninth birthday and the party was at Chunk E Cheese! That place did a great job running the party. Our hostess was wonderfully helpful. To me, though, I think that that job is a nightmare job! The noise level alone would make me a wreak! But never the less a good time was had by all!

The picture is one of the macrame necklaces that I made at the class on Friday. More to come on that class later. I've gotta run and do some errands now!

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Good Class


I taught the Lace Cuff again yesterday and had five students. It went well and everyone walked out with a bracelet on their arm........well everyone except the man in the class! He took the class to make this beautiful bracelet for his wife! His color choices were sky blue, silver and gold. Absolutely great combo. I'm sure his wife is very pleased with his efforts. If not, well she should know how lucky she is! His initial worries were that his large hands would not be able to handle the needle and thread and the small beads. He had no problems at all! Today I'll be teaching the Egyptian Coil at Crafts N Stuff in Vero Beach. I'm anxious to teach this piece since it's one of my favorites.

Monday, June 25, 2007

Rock & Gem Club


I've been concentrating more on chainmaille than anything. I've done two more Jens Pind and this Parallel weave. I've also done another Twice Around the World, this time in silver plate with purple beads. Not as nice as the bronze with carnelian!
I finally got to attend a St. Lucie Rock and Gem club meeting! It was very interesting and I've decided to take a table at their show in November. This show will be held at the Martin county fairgrounds the first weekend in November. Last year's was really nice so I'm looking forward to this one. I found out that the St. Lucie's chapter is the 2nd largest in Florida second only to the Jacksonville chapter so it should be a big show!

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Twice Around the World


Yesterday's class went well. We did Wire/Bead Crochet. I've been lazing around the house today. It's the first day that I haven't had a lot to do. I finally have a date for the class at Crafts and Stuff! I'll be pretty busy next week!
The picture is one of my latest creations! The design of the chain portion is one of Mei's designs called Twice Around the World. The wire wrapped pendant is my own design. The wire is bronze which I like much more than copper! The stones are unknown to me. I have to pay more attention to what I buy! I think that this is one of the prettiest pieces that I have made. Thanks Mei!

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Jens Pind


This Jens Pind weave has been bugging me since last November. I cancelled a class that I was going to take in West Palm Beach. I figured I could teach myself and save the money! Well it didn't work out that way. I've tried so many times to learn from on-line tutorials. I finally broke down and bought Spiderchain.com's 2nd instructional DVD with Jens Pind on it. In a matter of minutes it all became clear! Thank you Spider! Now on to try other weaves.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Just One More Thing, Today!


I have to show a picture of the bracelet that I started on Friday in the class that I taught. It took a while to finish but I did finish it this morning. I'm calling it my Parrot Line Triple Spiral. I'll be doing more in these colors or similar colors. I love the colors, very tropical! What do you think?

Soaring - my quilt!


I've been quilting since 1998. Since I've found jewelry making I've slacked off on the quilting but I figure that all the work I've put into quilting the quilts that I've made deserve some of the spotlight! This quilt was made in January of 2006 while I was helping with the grandkids in San Diego. It is, for the most part, hand pieced. I took it to a quilt store to be quilted since I didn't have my machine with me. I think it came out real nice! The pattern is a variation of Drunkard's Path, just arranged differently. I've named it "Soaring".

My Garden


I finally got a garden planted here in Florida! I've been here 2 1/2 years and have not really attempted to plant. This is very unusual for me since I've always had a garden of some sort. Florida planting puzzles me! I'm from Long Island, NY and am used to the short planting season and lots of moisture! The rain pattern is so different here. I think that Florida depends on short periods of very heavy rain whereas NY has days of overcast and rain. The soil is so different. It's very sandy so it needs to be supplemented. The bugs! I was awake half the night with the mosquito bites! Actually, there was this little bugger that found me and followed me around Home Depot's garden center. I would have bought more but I had to get away from him! I have at least 10 bites on me and I never was able to get him!
I went to Horizon Nursery in Vero Beach for the bulk of my plants. Great service and their knowledge about Florida planting is unbeatable! This will be the first of a few gardens that I will be doing here. I want to see how this one survives the summer before I plant the front of my house. The nice thing about planting here is I can do it in my swim suit and then go and jump in the pool to cool off.....which is exactly what I did!

Friday, June 15, 2007

Happy Friday!


Today was another good day. I did some jewelry making this morning. I came up with a very pretty necklace made with silver wire and Swarovski crystals. The class I taught at Beads and Baubles went very nicely. The ladies that I taught picked up pretty easily and they were fun to be with.
I'm not going to Mary's for Father's Day cause the father, Oliver, has a bad cold and is in great need of a restful weekend. Erica is sick, also, so I think I'll postpone my trip until Erica's birthday in two weeks. Laura started her job at Target. It'll be good for her to get out and get some money for herself.
I'll look forward to going to the pool and relax tomorrow.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

A Quiet Day


Wow, it is soooo quiet here! I haven't done much of anything today except clean up, work on my website and edit the pictures from the wedding. I spoke with Liz today. She got home safe and sound. They encountered some thunder storms on the way but all went well.
I also got a call on Skype today! Someone, called Kamal, from Moracco who wanted to improve his command of the English language. He seemed very nice and not only wanted to improve his English but wanted to learn some slang! I spoke with him for a few minutes and found that he is an accountant and wants to move up to a new job but needs fluent English for this. He sounded like a very interesting young man.

It's been a while!


Wow, what a week I've had! My son, Bill and his family, were happily with me for the past week. We did some exciting things like tour the Kennedy Space Center. It was interesting since the last time I was there it was two weeks after 9/11 and most of it was closed for security sake. My granddaughter, Emma age 7, was very excited since she wants to be an astronaut when she grows up!
Tuesday they went on an air boat ride in the swamps of Vero Beach, FL (see link on my web site). They said it was great and they saw many, many alligators both large and small! They kids loved it. The rest of the week went between the pool, shopping and the beach. My daughter, Liz and family, arrived on Wednesday afternoon and the kids all enjoyed playing together. We had a few skirmishes but they mostly played nicely with each other!
Friday we all headed to St. Pete Beach to the Sirata Resort. We met my daughter, Mary and family, and my son, Nick and his son Nicholas.
Saturday we all attended a beautiful wedding on the beach. The weather was ideal! Blue sky, white sand, low humidity...........just so stunning! The bride, my niece Jackie, was sooooo beautiful! I can't tell you how many emotions went through me when I witnessed the ceremony. My brother, Bill, was just so proud! I only wish our Mom & Dad, Blanche & Bill Smith, could have seen her! I know that they were there in spirit. I'm posting their wedding picture for this post. We all miss them.

Friday, June 1, 2007

Sad, Tragic Event


This is so not my usual blog entry! I'm from Long Island and I usually catch up on news from a daily Newsday e-mail. Wednesday I was very shocked and upset to see an article about a 59 y/o woman's murder. She was babysitting for her grandchildren when this monster sexually violated one grandchild and brutally murdered the grandmother. This happened in the town where I grew up and lived most of my life! That same evening, while calling a friend, I found out that the murdered grandmother was a friend of another friend. This fact brought this so much closer to home. It actually shook my world just a bit! Is there any real security in this world? Are we all so vulnerable that we have to constantly be on our guard even in our own homes and in the homes of our family? My sympathy goes out to her family and all her friends. I can't even start to imagine how they will all deal with their loss!
I pray that the children involved in this horrible event will find support in dealing with this. My prayers are with them all.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Good E-bay day!


Whew! I couldn't get into this blog! Google wanted me to use their acct email instead of Yahoo email that I usually use. It gave me a couple of bad moments but I'm here!
E-bay sales went real well today. Only one thing didn't sell and it's the pin that I like the best! It wouldn't be too bad if I had to keep it. I reposted it and we'll see how it does this time.
Everything that's paid for is packaged up and ready to go in the mail tomorrow. It really is a good system.

The picture shows a wire wrapped pendant and earrings that I did at William Holland Lapidary Arts School last September.

I called work today and got my schedule for the first two weeks back in NY. I'll be working more this year (just for the six weeks that I'll be in NY) because it's big vacation time. I got some bad news about people I know but I can't go into that here. Dialysis is a strange field for a nurse. You get really close to the people that you take care of and it's really hard to let go. That's why I go back each year. I don't want to let go of all those long term relationships that I've made over the 18 years of working there. It will be good to see everyone come July!

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

I'm Really Excited!


It's almost time for Jackie and Sean's wedding! Just a week and a half until that big day. The family is starting to gather here in Florida. Bill comes in with his family on Saturday night, Liz with her's on Wednesday. Nick and Nicholas are flying into Orlando on Friday and going directly to the hotel when Mary & Oliver pick them up at the airport! This will be the first time the whole family is together since 1999. My brother and my other niece, Danielle, will of course be there. The only sad thoughts will be how much our Mom and Dad would want to be there! They both loved Jackie so much. I'm sure they will be with us all in spirit!

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Isn't it pretty?


I forgot to post the picture! This is one of the items that I put up on e-bay today.

e-bay day!

Today I met with a friend and had breakfast with her.
Some articles that I put up on Freecycle.com were picked up. That's a great site for getting rid of things when you're cleaning out your house. If it's something that's too big to ship or something that you just aren't interested in trying to sell and you just want to get rid of Freecycle is great!
A good deal of my time, today, was spent putting vintage jewelry up for sale on e-bay. If you're interested in vintage/antique jewelry (pins, cameos, bracelets and earrings) or just want to watch what I have for sale look up "Items for sale by seller gsmth390" on e-bay. It's fun to see what happens. Most of my items are only listed for three days. I don't want to have to be bothered shipping when Bill and his family are here.
No jewelry making today. I did complete the necklace that I'll wear to the wedding. I'll post that picture tomorrow!

Saturday, May 26, 2007

A Good Class

We had a good class yesterday. I taught the wire-wrapped doughnut. While teaching I was able to make one of my own. My granddaughter's birthstone is turquoise and she really love the stone so I made this pendant for her. It is wrapped with sterling silver wire. It is reversible and it is a little more conservative on the reverse side. My student made a totally different pendant! Hers was made with a dichroic glass doughnut with a large hole. She did hers in 14k gold-filled wire and it came out just beautiful!
Emma is coming here next week and I'm wondering whether or not to give it to her now or keep it for her December birthday. I'll see what she's wearing to the wedding. If it's something that will go with the piece I'll just have to give it to her now! I'm going to make a turquoise and silver chain to complement it.

Well I'm off to teach another class now. Today we're doing a peyote bracelet made with different sizes of seed beads. I'm teaching this at Susan Barette's shop, Beads and Baubles, in Fort Pierce, FL.
Tomorrow I'll post a picture of the finished product.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

A Quiet Day

Let me explain that the house across the street has been in the same condition since the hurricanes of 2004! It hasn't been pleasant looking across at the shredding blue roof blowing around the otherwise nicely kept neighborhood! No one lives there and I heard that the management is evicting whomever owns the house. Well today they finally started working on the house. Hooray! I was hoping they would tear it down cause that would give me a lake view from my front window but I think they will just fix it up and sell it.
I made this necklace today. It's made with shell and crocheted copper wire. I hand made the cones and the clasp. The bead crocheting is fun! I'm very happy I was able to teach myself. Now I'll be able to teach it in Beads and Baubles in Fort Pierce. I'll be writing the tutorial, soon, and then put it as a free tutorial on my web site.

Class taught


Today was not bad. I taught a class today at Beads and Baubles in Fort Pierce. I always have a great time when I teach. The people that bead are so congenial. I taught the Byzantine weave bracelet. Dinner was with a friend at Norris' barbecue restaurant. Later was our HOA meeting and my second attempt at being secretary! I don't think I did too bad. It's fun and I'm meeting new people.
See more of my jewelry at:

www.new-bel.com

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Experimenting is fun!


Here's a technique that I taught myself this week. Wire crochet. I've been crocheting most of my life. I remember my cousin Jane and myself having competitions to see who could make the longest chain! That's all this is.....three strands of wire with stone and metal beads crocheted in to the wire. The end caps are made from twisted wire wound into the tornado shape. A hand made sterling silver clasp finishes it off.
It was fun to make! It feels good around the neck, too.
I'm teaching a class in Byzantine tomorrow. I love the look of Byzantine! I have to cut some rings for this today.
Friday I'm teaching the wire wrapped doughnut!
I'll take a trip to Sabastian to buy some wire for that class. I ordered some from Monsterslayer.com but I don't think it will get her in time for the class!

Monday, May 21, 2007

Car Day


Today's the day that I get to put $500 into my car! Friday at 3:30pm my car, a white 3 y/o PT Cruiser started making noises and smoke came out from under the hood. I immediately ran to the Chrysler dealership in Vero and they were nice enough to look at it and deem it undrivable until an intense tune-up was done. I had to leave it over the weekend. The dealership loaned me a car for the weekend and now I'm waiting for the call to go and pick it up!
This came on the same day that I got a dental bill for $2000! A very expensive day! I'll have to sell a whole lot of my pretties to make up for this weekend!

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Another of my lovelies


Here's another of my little lovelies! You know that I'm doing this just to get out of cleaning and organizing my home!! I guess this will be it for today. Gotta get to work again. :(
I'm crazy about making chainmaille jewelry! Here's an example of my work. This piece is done in bright aluminum with Swarovski crystal dangles. You can see more on my web site. I'll be posting new items here just for viewing.

Pack-rat therapy!

I'm starting this on a day where I'm trying to organize my home! The shed is cleaned out (just about). It's difficult to break the habit of being a pack-rat! I had someone from Freecycle.com come and take the old clamshell shutters that have been cluttering up the shed for almost a year. I offered him the other stuff such as the curtain rods, hot plate, golf bag carrier, kitchen cabinet hardware but he wanted none of it. Too easy! Most of that is now on Freecycle and if no one wants them by the end of the week they will go in the trash! I hate throwing things out! Must be my upbringing. Waste not want not! Now I'll tackle the inside!