Birthdays, Bad Backs, and Baby Bunnies

Well, here I am again. It's been a long two weeks, I have to say.
Where have I been? Here. Right here. The whole time.

First, my back went out. I have a bad back but it's been a long time since I've had a really serious flare-up. I'm not sure if this time around was the worst or if it's just because it's been so long since it's acted up that I forgot how debilitating it can be. It literally flattened me. I was in bed for days and barely moving for the last week and a half. Today was my first day back at the torch.

Of course, in the meantime we've celebrated three birthdays - mine and both of the kids all in one week. I can't hardly believe the kids are 12 and 8. How did that go by so fast, I wonder?

Speaking of time flying by, how about those baby bunnies? This litter is going strong and they're so cute you can hardly stand it. Such funny little faces. Such tiny, perky little ears. Such big feet! The one in the picture is my special favorite. Now, I need to work on finding good, safe homes for them.

Oh yeah, and on top of everything else, my computer was horribly infected by a Trojan horse virus and is still out of action. I'm borrowing the kid's for now. So, even if I had been working, there wouldn't have been any pictures or listings or communication. One thing after another.

But, trying to keep a 'glass half full' attitude, I'll tell you that my new fridge (the one that I had to sacrifice my ski trip to buy) is working beautifully.

There's always a bright side. Sometimes you just have to look a little harder to see it.

New Beads

I've been a busy little bee in the studio lately, but I haven't been taking many pictures. My camera is in the process of dying a slow and lingering death. I'm hoping (begging) for a new Nikon digital SLR for my birthday (which is in just a few days!) but until then, you and I will just have to put up with my yuck photos.

I have a few new focals and sets that I'm going to be listing on eBay - maybe - or Etsy in the next couple of days.

~Prom Night~

this one's actually listed on eBay right now. With no bids. None.

~Mermaid's Garden~

I'm crazy about this one. The color and texture are extremely cool.

(Don't you like how I talk about my beads like someone else made them, like totally shameless self-promotion?)

~Deep Water~
~Tide Pools~

Thanks for looking!

Mmmmmm, Bead Soup!

When I received my ingredients from Maire Dodd, I knew almost immediately what I'd cook up. I'm a Florida girl now and absolutely live for the sound of the ocean, but one thing I miss so much about the Midwest is autumn. I yearn for the intense, crystal blue skies, the smell of burning leaf piles and all of the earthy color of the season.

Whenever September arrives down here and the season fails (once again) to change, I have such a sense of nostalgia...total awareness of the passing of my days and of the memories of my childhood that have - thankfully - mellowed and improved with age. So, when I saw the beautiful focal that Mary Jane made and the pretty little spacers and copper components, I knew I'd be making something just for myself - something eclectic, a little bit funky, casual.

Something for September.

Thanks to Lori, for organizing the party. I've discovered so many beautiful, inspiring, creative, funny, thoughtful blogs that I might never have found if not for this. And now, I can't wait to go and visit the rest of the partygoers and see what they came up with. Here's a list of all the participants so you can come along.

1. Lori, An Artists Year Off

2. Mallory, For the Love of Beads

3. Terri, Blooming Ideas

4. Cindy, Sweet Bead Studio

5. Lorelei, Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio

6. Kerry, Kab's Creative Concepts

7. Erin, Treasures Found

8. Jeannette, Jeannette Blix Wire and Metal Jewelry

9. Adrienne, Adrienne Designs

10. Nan, Spirit Rattles

11. Laurel, Rue's Daftique

12. Nancy, Beading From the Heart

13. Mary, MK's Creative Musings

14. Cassie, The Glass Beadle

15. Dot, Winchell Clayworks

16. Sharon, Sharon's Jewelry Garden

17. Lisa, Lo and Behold

18. Norma, Bead Dreams and Moonlit Fantaseas

19. Judith, Judith B.

20. Debbie, Prairie Emporium

21. Maria, Garden Path Beads

22. Susan, Kaplan Creations Jewelry and Glass Design

23. Melissa, Melissa Meman: Art, Love, Life

24. Marianna, Pretty Shiny Things

25. Lisa, Joolz by Lisa

26. Cristi, 2 If By Sea

27. Sandra, Marbella Jewelry Design

28. Maria, Greene Earth Originals

29. Barbara, Jewelry of Distinction

30. Leslie, Bei Mondi

31. Loretta, Designs by Loretta

32. Linda, Bella Bead Jewelry

33. Kathie, The Bead Cult

34. Patty, Plays With Fire

35. Nicki, Nicki's Reef

36. Anne Marie, Heart's Desire

37. Mary, Mary Harding Jewelry

38. Jayne, Mama's Got to Doodle

39. Emanda, Artemesia's Studio

40. Whitney, Whitney Lassini

41. Marcie, La Bella Joya

42. Suzann, Beadphoria

43. Jen, Jen Judd Rocks

44. Julie, Credit River Art Glass

45. Janiece, J Birds Garden

46. Kate, Organic Odysseys

47. Laurie, The Mermaid Tale

48. Michelle, My Crazy Crafty Adventure

49. Sue, Sue Beads

50. Janeen, Wild Vanilla Designs

51. Nancy, The Rabbit Muse

52. Kristie, Artisan Clay

53. Regina, Regina's Writings

54. Tari, Pearl and Pebble

55. Lyn, Lyn Foley

56. Beth, Sunshine Daydreamz

57. Cathryn, Chile Cats

58. Emma, Fred Bean's Nook

59. Connie, Cetta Cheese Chatter

60. Juli, Jul's Beads

61. Julie, RockerJewlz

62. Libby, LibbyLeu and Glass Too

63. Melanie, Earthenwood Studio Chronicles

64. Katie, My Life and My Beads

65. Zuleykha, Zuleykha's Polymer Clay

66. Rekella, Me But a Little More in Depth

67. Ricki, What's New at Ricki Voges Design

68. Lisa, Lucid Moon Studio

69. Jo, Daisychain Jewellery

70. Lynette, Rock Hill Designs

71. Lynne, Island Girl's Insights

72. Chas, One Woman's Haven

73. Ruthie, Rose Works Jewelry

74. Elizabeth, Turquoise Sky

75. Maire, Maire Dodd

76. Janet, Singing Woods

77. Eileen, Dorset Hill Beads

78. Julie, Miss Kitten's Jewels

79. Joann, Jo's Jewels

80. Patti, PJ Clark Designs

81. Mel, Kookie Designs

82. Erin, Every Heart Crafts

83. Dale, Flights of Fancy

84. Dee, Runako Designs

Too good to miss!

OK, I'm getting ready to leave for a camping trip (yes, camping!), but I have some beads that are so special and so completely, perfectly beautiful, that I wanted to let you preview them before they actually get listed.

Most of you know that I'm pretty modest and very objective about my own beads but these are so pretty, so delicate and light that I can hardly resist keeping them for myself. If I didn't KNOW that they'd just end up in the dish on my dresser and be completely wasted, I'd keep them.

Anyway, here they are. They'll be going up on eBay later this evening.

*FAIRY FLIGHT*~

Cleaning out the stash!

I've got some new things coming but, in the meantime, I'm clearing out a lot of old beads. Some are perfect but some are wonky, confusing and downright imperfect. They're all sound, useable beads, though - annealed, cleaned and made with premium glass.

The first thing I've listed is on eBay for a starting price of just 99 cents!!! It's a lot of over 100 silver glass beads. The profits from this lot and the others that I'll be listing will go towards a fundraising project of my daughter's, a local animal rescue center. It's a good cause, so come check it out!

Silver Glass Orphans

This and That

I haven't been very good about blogging lately, I know. Things are just hectic. So, I thought I'd do a condensed version of what's been going on.

First of all, happy birthday to my Mom today. We're into February, which is known as The Birthday Month around here. My mom is February 1st, I'm the 17th, Connor is the 22nd and Anna is the 23rd. Very poor planning on our part, I must admit. Crazy times.

Strawberry picking a couple of weeks ago. Florida amazes me. One week, everything is frozen and things are turning brown and it looks like we'll never make it back to the beach. Then, a few days later, the kids come home from the strawberry fields with these and a lot more just like them. Of course, I still need to spend a week cleaning up the yard, cutting things back, hauling lawn debris to the compost pile and replacing plants, but, at least I have strawberry shortcake.

Connor got glasses. That's been a big help. When he got them he threw his hands in the air and yells, "Yeah! Glasses!!!" Kids? I don't know.

Tucker grew up. I refer to him as 'My Little Pony' now. He's not even six months old and he already weighs almost sixty pounds. It's ridiculous. He walks us now, not the other way around!

And, of course, the fridge died. The day I was going to put the deposit down on our ski house rental, it just decided it was done. It had already been repaired 3x and didn't actually work right anyway so it had to be replaced. Of course, the new one cost - almost to the penny - what we were planning to spend on our trip. So, no skiing this year. Very sad. Better luck next year, I guess.