Endless Summer

We just got back from our last trip of the summer, a few days in St. Augustine. We visited with my sister-in-law and her family who live there and did tons of touristy things, which we never do.

Here's Anna at the Alligator Farm Zoological Park. My nephew, Kevin, is the Assistant Curator and we are all outrageously proud of him. He is, in fact, the youngest Assistant Curator at any zoo in the country. I got a surprise this trip. I found out they even have bunnies! (As pets, not food)

I really love it up there. St. Augustine is so beautiful and peaceful. There's a lot of great shopping and art galleries and restaurants in Old Town but, across the Bridge of Lions, over on the island, it maintains it's little beach town atmosphere.

In a way, summer never ends here in Florida. There will always be sand and sun and sea and sky.

Still, the rituals of the season's closing brings along a sense of bitter-sweet nostalgia. School will start in a couple of weeks, the long and sometimes pointless days of freedom coming to an end for my children. Beach shoes will be abandonded in a corner of the garage and the sand buckets will await hopefully on their shelf for next year's castle building, pieces of broken shell clinging stubbornly to the bottoms.

Will Anna still want to build castles next year?

Rooty, tooty fresh and fruity!

So, I got my new A/C. Yay!!!! It works so well that, for the first couple of days, my kids were complaining about being cold - freezing - and my son wanted to wear jeans!

Needless to say, we've adapted. I didn't even realize how bad our old air conditioning system was or how used to the heat we'd gotten.

I'm all excited because my pineapples are finally starting to get ripe. I've already 'harvested' three of them. Soooo yummy!

This is what they look like when they're babies.

And this is what they look like shortly before I eat them!

We've also got bananas that will be ripe in a few months. They take a while, but they're so sweet when you pick them. Doesn't it look like some kind of obscene alien flower?

I've got lots of new lampwork, too. Several silver riveted Pandora - style beads on Etsy.

And this set, which will be going up on eBay in the next day or so. They are really pretty and the color is so soft and delicate. The glass is a color called 'Green Tea' from Effetre.

Thanks

Well, thanks to all who participated in the special discount on all of my beads for sale on Etsy and eBay. Some of you ended up with great lampwork deals this week. YAY!!!!

A/C still not repaired. BOO!!!!

My coffee and donuts beads were featured in a very cute blog this week. http://papergirlproductions.blogspot.com/ YAY!!!!

In fact, that was such a fun idea, I think I'll steal it. I'll scout out interesting blogs and items on Etsy and eBay to feature. If you'd like to submit yourself to be featured, contact me or leave a comment for me. I'd love to see what cha' got goin' on.

Took the kids to see "Journey To The Center of the Earth" in 3D. Wow, what a fun, if totally unrealistic movie. I'm not a movie person but the 3D action was very cool. I almost peed in my pants when the giant T-Rex popped onto the screen. And, the movie had something for everyone.

Josh Hutcherson for my daughter. She loves him but won't admit it.
Giant, creepy 3-D creatures for my son. He loves them and will totally admit it.
Gorgeous, blond adventure girl for my husband. No comment.
Brendan Frasier for me. Yummy. He's so tall which, for me is the first step toward a meaningful relationship.

So, I haven't had much of a chance to make beads this week. I mean, the temp in my house is about 100 degrees. Add the 1500+ degrees of my torch and the 940 degrees of my kiln and....well, I think you get the picture.
I do have a few focal beads that are coming up as well as a set of shells and sand dollars. I'll just show you now.

Oops!

Got so busy digging through my past, looking for something to annoy and/or embarrass people that I completely forgot to show pics of these beads. All of them will be listed within the next two days on Etsy or eBay. Notice that I've started making some Biagi/Pandora/Troll style beads now. I like them. They're fun.

Specials for Blog Readers:
15% on any beads for sale on Etsy or eBay until July 17,2008. (That's one full week!)

PLEASE READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE DISCOUNT!!!!!

eBay: After auction closes, send email referencing discount 0709 and wait for me to invoice you before you pay for the item

Etsy: Add item to shopping cart but don't pay for it. Send me an email referencing discount 0709 and wait for me to invoice you through PayPal.

Good Luck!

Highs and Lows

So, have had somewhat odd week. On the lower 10% of the 'Happy Spectrum', my A/C definitely needs replaced and is a horrifically expensive undertaking.
Guess I'll be postponing my anniversary trip to the South Pacific.

I'll just have to keep making fake seashells to cheer myself up.




On the upper end of the 'Happy Spectrum', I got an email from an old friend this week. Haven't seen each other or spoken in about a decade.

That's good stuff, there.

I moved away from my hometown immediately following high school. (When I say immediately, I mean, like 6 days after graduation.) I don't really stay in touch with anyone back there, except for my family. But this was a nice event as this person was one of the very few that I was friends with that really sort of got the big picture, even back then. Unique and not pigeonholed by small-town life.

Because that's how I was. I was back then as I am now. Just me, just doing my thing and sort of out there and experiencing things. I wasn't about 'collecting' friends, or being prom queen or dating the school hero. In small town America, this is like the antithesis of what being a teenage girl in the 80's was all about. It could be hard, but I made some friends that 'got it', too, and that made it easier.

So, in the spirit of nostalgia, I'm going to post an old picture that will probably guarantee nobody from my past ever contacts me again.

~1987~

Motley crew, eh? Thankfully, I'm behind the camera, as usual!

Beads, beads and more beads

O.K., in between my seashell sorting, worrying about the fact that the entire central air system in my house needs replaced at a grand total of right around $5000 and the endless rain that's falling on my house, I managed to get some beads photographed and listed.

This set will be up on eBay tomorrow.

And, I've been doing some more fun little sculptural sets for Etsy. They are so cute and I love making them.

I've also started making some Pandora/Biagi/Troll style silver riveted beads which I'll start listing this weekend. No pics yet, but stay tuned.

S***, it's hot in my house! Could there be a worse time for the A/C to fail than July in freakin' Florida?

Come with me, my love...

Well, I'm back. What's to say? The beach was beautiful. Spiritual. Cleansing. Uplifting. Inspiring.

All of that and more.

Sometimes I wonder how I stay away for even a day, let alone a week, a month, a year. The sea really is home.

Philosophically, you may not agree.

You may not like to go into the water. You may fear it.

You may not like sand in your shoes. You may not like the rush of wind and sound and scent.

But it's inside you and making the connection to it is so elemental....

Pictures.

Just a few this time. As the kids get older, I find I have less time to dedicate to photography on our trips. Less time for everything, really, other than just watching them.

Overall, I'm feeling renewed and rejuvenated. So ready to work and get back in the studio.

Expect much beach and nature inspired work in the very near future.