Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Local Horses

On of the treats of my morning walk is to visit with these horses.

They just look for grass to eat most of the time, but occasionally they look up and I get some eye contact. 

Way down at the end of the yard is this barn. I just love seeing its' bright red color and slightly worn look. It's like getting a prize just for going for a walk.

Monday, January 29, 2018

Live and Learn category

This is a set I made on Wednesday, January 24, 2018. The necklace is 33 inches long! Since we've moved to this cold-in-the-winter climate, I find the necklaces I wear need to be long 'cause I wear long sleeve knit shirts all the time now. The shirts have a boat neck and go straight across, so anything on a short chain usually falls behind it. I'm usually always wearing an apron and tuck the jewelry behind, but that's a story for another day.

This pendant is a multicolored labradorite mix that I've had for a long time. I really never had an impulse to make something with it because it is so dark. However, living in a state that makes snow instead of hot humid weather changed my color needs. Now, dark feels warm, so I go for it, big time.  

Because I used a mix of black jet and the gray crazy lace agate beads, glass beads and some silver charms I had enough to make two bracelets, also: a parure!

Definition of Parure: a French word commonly used to describe a set of three or more matching pieces of jewelry. Yes, I did make three items and I've worn them all together. 

 Yesterday, I made chocolate chip cookies. Another impulse that is the result of cold weather. I'll have to admit it was a lot of fun. I got to pull out my 30 year old mixer and use my mellon-baller to scoop out the dough making most of the cookies about the same size.  Plus, I don't have to use my fingers to push the dough off a spoon onto the cookie sheet.
That bad boy at the end of this tunnel like kitchen is a gas stove. I'd always dreamed of having a gas stove. I'm over it. Give me electric! The cook top I had in Florida had burners that heated up the bottom of a pot uniformly. This gas ring thing causes uneven heating and it takes a long time, a really long time to make water boil. grrrrrr.... 
And this thing has two ovens, another item I had put on my wish list. Wrong Again! Give me back my big space oven with three roomy racks. Sometimes it just doesn't pay to wish for stuff...
This is what snow in our back yard looks like. Pretty. And very cold in 22 degree mornings. 

"Be careful what you wish for, you may get it"  

- quoted by Uhura in "A Search for Spock"














Sunday, January 28, 2018

Scraps Card

I think I am finally getting adjusted
to our move to Colorado. We left Florida in May of 2016, lived with my oldest son for eight months and moved to a home of our own in February of this year. I'm still unpacking boxes, but the house is
beginning to feel normal and I can usually find what I am looking for.  Now I really understand why "moving" is called a big stressor in life. Sheesh. I never want to move again!!! 
We lived in our Florida home for 37 wonderful years and I am only now truly appreciating what we had there. Oh well...
So, I have cleared the basement enough to actually be able to make stuff again. Yes! They have basements here in Colorado! A whole 'nother level to live in. Amazing! This is just not possible if you live even 9 miles from the ocean in Florida. The water table is rather too high for basement living spaces. 
"Anyway"... as my dear Aunt Betty would say.  Yesterday I collected my bag of fabric scraps, ironed them down to some light weight iron-on stabilizer and secured them to a Strathmore 140 lb. watercolor card with free motion sewing. I made three 5 inch by 7 inch collages and now have three beautiful cards to mail to friends. 
That's a rather nice way to spend a day. 

Making Jewelry

More boxes unpacked and my plastic containers of beads are found! 

Now I can spend hours and hours stringing colorful gem stone beads onto wire. What fun!
These are 6 mm garnet beads with fresh water pearls and some sparkly crystals for flash. Oh, I am in 
beading heaven. 
I'm going to try to get into the habit of posting to this blog some more to make a little journal of my activities. I know where most stuff is these days in this new to me house, so if  I blog, I will remember even more. 
It's amazing how stressful moving is to one's memory. It seems as if I put something away or even just down for a moment and then find myself searching for it, soon becoming panicky and wondering what is happening to my mind! 
Note to self: don't ever move again. Ever!