Cyclones, earthquakes, killer tornadoes and forest fires that refuse to die. It's hard to sit back and watch. Especially the situation in Myanmar. All that worldwide aid just waiting there, being diverted or outright stolen while the citizens suffer. The horrible experience of losing entire families - so many children and so many children left without parents. And what do they have to go back to? I mean, those people don't have insurance. When they lose everything, they lose everything. It's heartbreaking.
We've been lucky. Although the fires are quite close to my sister-in-law's home, she and her family are safe and so is their home - for now. And, although my parent's were on the road and stopped with their giant RV right in the center of the tornado path, they were not hit. They were up all of one night with tornado warnings and sirens all around them, but they did not have a direct hit. Just a few miles away, though.
And then, there's the economy.
Yeah, a scary place, indeed.
Well, on a brighter note, I did go canoeing on Mother's Day and it was beautiful. It was also absolutely grueling. Miles and miles on a river that the droughts have brought so low and the hurricanes have made almost impassable. Still, it was fun. Sort of.
Don't get me wrong. I love canoeing. This was just a particularly difficult trip. Here is a picture of the river we were on. The Little Big Econlockhatchee River (how's that for a mouthful?). That water isn't dirty. It's sort of a yellowy color from the Cypress trees and it's shallow, but it's absolutely crystal clear. That's actually the white sugar sand bottom that you see. When you're on the water, looking down at all of the fish, it's really beautiful. The launch for this river is just about a mile down the road from my house.
So, back to the economy. It's hard for everyone, which is why I've been listing my beads at a very low starting price, $.99 for focals and $14 and $19 for sets. I've heard a couple of beadmakers complaining endlessly about how 'low' their beads are going for. These are people who are used to getting over $100 dollars for a single focal. A single bead!!!
Understand, I think hard work and talent should be rewarded and recognized, and making beads is hard work, in a lot of ways. But it's not digging ditches, that's for sure. With the global financial situation the way it is, I think we should all be happy to even be able to sell a bead at all. I know I'm grateful. After all, artisan beads are definitely a luxury item and so are the creations made with them. We all just have to hang in.
OK, done venting (for now). Here are a couple of pics of listings that are currently on eBay.
These are my favorites in this shell series I'm currently working on. I just love the soft, beautiful color of them.
~Whisper~
Everybody, have a good day and try to remember how good we have it.
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