golfing jewelry

the golf pro at the country club was telling me that he planned on bringing in a new line of ladies' golf attire into the pro shop.  i told him i would happily help him choose some new things--and that i would really happily make some jewelry to pair with the new items at the open house he is planning to promote the new line.  

i thought about the jewelry i liked to wear when i was golfing (if you can't play well, you may as well look accessorized...) and decided it had to be something easy: nothing long or dangly or heavy.  but i felt like i always wanted a splash of color, something bold enough to notice on that little "V" of skin that the average woman's golf shirt allows.  so i came up with these: my favorite handmade glass and porcelain beads simply strung on tiny chain with accents of sterling beads and spacers.  at 15-1/2" long, the focal bead rests just at the hollow of your throat.  i haven't been golfing much these days, but i will be wearing mine with just about everything, as this is such a great length to wear with a t-shirt or even a scoop necked sweater with another longer necklace.

and, of course, there are matching earrings.  i didn't make any bracelets because they just get in the way when you're golfing.  it pains me deeply to admit THAT.

good books and good jewelry

have you read this?  a friend loaned it to me years ago and it sat, languishing (love that word) on my bookshelf.  every once in a while i would glance through it and decide that i must have left it there for some reason--too boring,  too wordy,  poorly written.  i do have a stack of books like that, started and abandoned and now, languishing (couldn't resist).  a week ago, when i started with this chest cold that is SO wont to leave me, i picked this book up out of desperation.  i found that it wasn't languishing, it was overlooked.  and man, what i was missing!  it's everything i love: excellent writing about ordinary things and ordinary people, with a plot that keeps pushing forward in a slow, steady, hypnotic way.  with characters you dream about, and awaken sure that they are, indeed, real people in your life.  i am halfway through and i don't want it to end.  that's a good book.

and i have been trying to drag myself away from gaea's porcelain beads.  it's hard, but i was able to finish a couple of hill tribe pieces.  i love these beads:  the organic feel and the soft sheen.  as irresistable as a good book.

embroidery

is it wrong to be so passionate about hand sewing?  i am addicted to embroidering on wool felt.  just looking at all my supplies--the threads, the beads, my tiny stork scissors--makes me happy.  i can't face a long car ride without a supply of felt and thread.  i can't watch a movie on tv without annoying everyone with my light, so i can sew.  don't ask me to make clothing or quilts, but you want a felt pin?  i'll get right to work.

of course, i love working with my pliers, too.  so if you desire  a gorgeous porcelain pendant on a long, long chain, i'm happy to oblige.

portrait of a great man

this is my brother, david, who came to visit last weekend.  this is the first time he has come on his own (without kids/family), so we were able to spend a lot of time together.  on sunday he and i went to hawk mountain to watch the hawk migration, something we both have wanted to do together for a long time--something NOBODY else in our families has the faintest desire to do.  we arrived at the lookout at 9:00, and spent four hours there, quietly watching.  we saw a few broad winged hawks up close,

but mostly we watched "kettles" of hawks, some with 50 plus hawks, flying in the distance, searching for a good wind.  it was a peaceful, satisfying morning.  there is much to be said for sitting in sweet, companionable silence with the one who kicked you under the table during dinner throughout your youth. 

i am so proud of the man my brother has become.  a man who, during my growing-up years, i never dreamed he would be: patient, kind, smart, compassionate, generous.  a true friend.

when he left he took with him lily, the stray cat we took in and couldn't keep.  the cat no one wanted.  and the next day he sent me an e-mail, thanking me for giving him such a great gift.

a rare bird.  oh yes, dave.  yes, you are.

welcome, fall!

a really lovely start to a new season today.  we had brilliant sunshine and warm temperatures.  and i am finally getting over the bronchitis that has effectively shut me down since sunday.  it felt wonderful to go for a walk this morning, dragging henry along and looking for signs of fall for today's shuttercal entry.  that lack of energy was killing me.

i finally broke down and bought a light tent for taking photos of my jewelry.  i was getting things ready to take to outrageous today, so i didn't have much time to play with it.  i did manage a quick shot of a necklace with more of gaea's gorgeous porcelain beads. 

i love the earthy yet bright and contemporary look of her beads.  i ordered more today, so there will be plenty of pieces available for the holidays.

look at me, thinking ahead.

employment

yesterday i got a job.  i haven't worked outside of the house for five years, so this will be a little new.  luckily, i will be working for a fine jewelry store, so i will be working with something i love.  i can't wear--or even talk about--my jewelry at this shop, so that will be a bit strange for me. 

i am slightly wary of giving up the vast amounts of free time i have now, but i look forward to a schedule, a routine.  i am intrigued by the simple idea of having a job to do and having to do it.  in all of the time i have been at home, i haven't felt as though i have truly accomplished much, and that frustrates me--even though it is my own fault. 

and, of course, i like the idea that i will be earning money, contributing to our household, if only in a small way.

i am wondering if (and hoping that) i will be more productive, better able to schedule my time now that it is necessary to do so.

we'll see.

why is this so hard?

i will try again.  this blogging is tricky.  i missed a couple of days and then it stretched into a week and then...it's september.

i have been busy, sending her:

to rome,

trying to find a home for her:

and working on a few new things:

these are porcelain beads by gaea (www.gaea.cc), and they are just beautiful.  i have a few things listed on etsy.  the rest are going to outrageous, a wonderful shop in shavertown, pennsylvania.

i'm back.

of muffins and bracelets

so, at long last, i am doing this:

and this:

And, oh, it feels good to be back in the kitchen and back at my jewelry desk with the house sort of in order.  the backsplash is not done yet, but all the new appliances are in.  and the refrigerator is out of the dining room!! and the table is cleaned off!!  and we can eat at home!!

i didn't get much done these past 5 weeks since the renovation started. it was just so noisy and dirty/dusty, with displaced furniture everywhere.  it was hard for any of us to think straight.  and even harder, apparently, to get ANYTHING done.

now, finally,  i am getting to work on some new jewelry and planning an open house sometime in june.  and i will be adding some new things--at last--to my completely neglected  etsy shop.  and maybe i'll even clean out my sock drawer.

but probably not.

mother's day

these earrings are making their way to massachusetts and florida for my two mothers for mother's day.  through the years, my mother and mother-in-law have received more than a few gifts of blue violet jewelry.  both of them actually wear what i give them (and claim to like it!).  i am impressed by how funky their taste for jewelry is. i have never heard, "these earrings are too big," or, "i don't wear that color." i love that they maintain the same sense of style that i do: if you like it, wear it.

back to business

i met with sharon, the tile lady, again today, and after i'd obssessed about decided on some tile colors,  we talked about art and jewelry and blogging.  and she chastised me, as well she should, about not blogging regularly.  she's a good blogger, a regular blogger, and she makes something EVERY DAY (and works full time).  so there is no reason, no excuse why i can't do the same.  so my kitchen is torn apart, so i am having some serious baking withdrawal, i can still make stuff.  and type.

so here are some brand new earrings, made with stormin' beads by melissa at sea of glass.  (i admit, i hate to use any word with an apostrophe instead of a "g" at the end, but that's melissa's term, not mine.) i love, love, love these beads.  they have so much depth in a mad scientist, young frankenstein, lightning strike sort of way.  do you see what i mean? those crazy lines running through the purple----pure genius.

renovations and new friends

there is nothing in my kitchen right now.  well, there are old sheets, a broom, and a saw of some sort.  but the appliances, the cabinets, everything kitchen-ish, is gone.  the new kitchen has begun and we are living in the family room and making meals in the microwave, when we don't have dinner out (which is, admittedly, most of the time).  it is a little disconcerting, but so far we are handling things well.  and, of course, we could have greater problems.

the decisions--that's what tough for me.  what colors? what finish?  what appliances, tile, cabinets, sink, faucet?  i am not a good decision-maker.  i am barely a bad decision-maker.  today, when jeff and i went to the tile store, i was totally unprepared for the tile extravaganza that awaited us.  luckily, we met sharon, who knows her stuff and was not afraid to say, "no, that won't work."  and, "what about this?" and even, "are you out of your mind?" (or something like that).  you have to admire someone who knows how to give you the business even after just meeting.  she was a huge help, and introduced us to the SPARKLY GLASS TILE.  i was in love instantly.

the colors, oh, the colors.  sharon had to rein me in just a little bit. 

 they are delicious. and SPARKLY!  and they come in different sizes:

 

we are definitely going to be using some of the SPARKLY GLASS TILE.  it looks like jewelry--how can i resist?

and, as it turns out, sharon makes jewelry and has a wonderful, well-kept blog: livewirejewelry.blogspot.com . i am a new fan.

the last coconut cream egg

don't even.  don't EVEN look at me like that, all innocent.  i know what you're up to.  you enemy of spin class.  you proponent of jiggly arms.  you double-chin-loving, bathing-suit-hating, miserable little witch.

insanely delicious, ecstatically gooey witch.  the coconut you leave in my teeth lingers, a sugary reminder of your smooth, satanic ability to sway me.  every time.

the dandelion

it's so beautiful up close, don't you think?  all those layers of delicate petals.  and i never knew about those darling little tendrils until i used a macro lens.  but i wasn't admiring them yesterday.  in fact, i was swearing a bit as i tried to yank them out of the lawn.  we don't have a lawn care service (YET), and never fertilize, weed and feed, aerate, whatever, so there is a proliferation of dandelions all over our yard.  i think it's safe to say that our yard consists of more weeds than actual grass.

but it's so good, so sweet to be outside, with the sun on my back, swearing at the beautiful dandelions.

top of the tree

i am slowly learning a little about photography.  the shutter speed, aperture, ISO stuff still confounds me, but i am excited by the way taking photos has changed how i look at things--even what i look at to begin with.  take this tree.  every time i walk past, i am intrigued by the lines of it, its height, the stark, bare branches.  yesterday i tried taking a picture of it.  i only had my zoom lens, so i had to keep backing up, trying to get the whole thing in the picture.  when i put the camera down and considered it again, i thought about how much i especially loved the top of the tree, those branches reaching for the sun like long, arthritic fingers.  and it occurred to me that it would really be alright to take a picture of only the top, the part i liked best.  and i like this shot.  it's simple: the sky so blue, the tree so silver.  i like that it seems eerie, but the crisp, bright background makes it safe.  and i know it isn't the best shot, but this one says something to me.  and that's what i love about photography.

reflections

so i signed up and paid a good amount of money for an on-line course that purports to help you to find your true self, to peel away the layers and find...something... through photography and writing assignments (write your life as a fairy tale...).  not even two weeks in and i'm understanding that, for me,  the money would have been better spent on embroidery thread, beads,  or magazines.  this week's assignment was to take (and share--it's all about the sharing) a picture of yourself as a reflection.  well, i'm done with the class--it's not done, but i am-- and i'm thinking that maybe i can find out more here, by telling and showing and being honest about things.

here is a reflection of me in a beautiful vintage, bakelite mirror that my sweet neighbor and friend, monica, gave me.  because she thought it would be a lovely addition to my jewelry shop.  and because she spends most of her time thinking of other people and what they would like, or how they are feeling.

i am blessed to be surrounded by people who reflect back to me what i need most: love, acceptance, patience, unabashed joy.  thank you, my people.  i will take you over an on-line class any day.

pendants with attitude

i've mentioned that i am loving a long necklace these days, and these big, big beads from sea of glass are fabulous.  i have hung the pendants from 26" diamond-cut ball chain (a little bit of sparkle), so they hit just right on the body and look wonderful with every neckline.

favorites

i think my favorite restaurant of all time is ruby foo's in time square.  i've been there three times and have been thrilled beyond reason with my meal.  the fiery tuna roll is simply exquisite.  and they have ginger mojitos.  GINGER! MOJITOS! and it's not even summertime! this weekend we went to new york city with some friends and saw west side story.  dinner was, of course, at ruby foo's.  a lot of laughs, a lot of great sushi (and a lot of flash in this shot, unfortunately).

and my favorite piece of jewelry right now--both to make and to wear--is one of my new lampwork pendants.  i've used two large, textured lampwork beads on each of the pendants and accented them with bali beads.  i love the way they look on a long chain with a turtleneck.  and i'm anticipating wearing mine often with a t-shirt...soon.

ebullient

he has a heavy step, my brother.  made only louder by cross country ski boots as he tiptoes (lumbers?) up the stairs to wake me for our sunrise skiing.  i jump out of bed and get dressed.  he is already outside and has set up my skiis and poles.  i click in and we race across the field.  the snow is crusty and slick and, as usual, i'm a little wary of falling, but i do my best to keep up with his long, smooth stride.  when we get to an icy, uneven patch, he waits patiently as i moan, "i can't get over this!"  but i can and i do and we sail along,  thrilled by the sun rising warm and brilliant in front of us.  when we stop for a picture, we laugh and marvel at the sparkling snow, the birdsong all around us ("a red bellied woodpecker," he says).  and i am grateful for all these little moments of pure happiness, when everything seems just right.

little projects

 

these little bookmarks are hypnotic to make.  some ribbon, wool felt, a few smooth stitches and you're done.  and then you can make another, different one!  in a different color! with a different design!  i guess there is a lot to be said about making something, from start to finish, in a short time.  and then holding it in your hand and knowing it is done.  so a bookmark is not a novel, or a rocket, or surgery.  but still. 

leslie thompson sutherland 3/20/28-3/2/07

i once read (and i wish i could remember where) that, "your grandfather's coffin is heavier than you think, and your father's coffin is almost too heavy to bear."  i often think of that when i think of my dad and how stunningly difficult it has been to let him go.  three years later, sometimes i am still shocked when i remember that he's gone.

i don't think that i glorify his memory.  he was often moody, obstinate, overly critical.  he could not understand that people thought differently than he did.  sometimes we had to tiptoe around him, desperately trying not to make him mad.   he hated it when his tea wasn't hot, or when you bumped the table, or if you giggled in church. 

i guess, as you get older, you realize all the things people did that were right, in a behind-the-scenes sort of way.  now i can understand all that i never had to suffer because of my dad.  he worked so hard and so long to make sure none of us ever had to worry.  he provided for us and protected us.  he loved us above anything else. he was always there for us, and since we never knew any differently, we didn't know to appreciate it. 

he was a good father.  a good man. and he is missed.

elk mountain

we went to elk mountain yesterday with some friends who have a house there.  the boys went skiing/snowboarding and jill and i went snowshoeing, which was wonderful.  it was snowing all day and it reminded me of college days in vermont.

we had dinner at a quaint little inn, all lit up on the mountainside.  lamplight on a snowy night intrigues me.

a winter bracelet

cool, brushed sterling

digging out and digging it

 

the view from the kitchen window.  jeffrey is (unhappily) shoveling a patch of deck so i can sprinkle some seed for my birds.

 

though some of them are doing just fine without any.

jeffrey and i went for a walk in the wild wind late last night.  with just our little flashlight, it was a little creepy.  but the snow was sparkly and blowing crazily and i had that other-worldly feeling i think you only get during snowstorms.  i loved the snow dancing in the streetlights and the wind wailing behind me. mostly i loved feeling a little protected by my boy.

anticipation and embellishment

i love the wintry blue morning light.  there was a little snow last night, just enough to leave a thin blanket.  i thought the trees looked lovely--even my dead butterfly bush, which surely should have been trimmed back in the fall.  we're supposed to get a big storm tomorrow and i am eagerly awaiting.

 

the beginning

 

i am just going to start.  like that.  no more waiting until i do more research or feel more prepared.  i have never been good at keeping a journal, but i love the openness of a blog, the way you can be connected to so many from your little house.  i love reading blogs, so i am hoping i will love writing one.  we'll see.

thanks for being here.

so there, mark.