Tuesday Beads are Few, So Here is a Random Post :)

I only got this one set made and just a few eggs still waiting to be etched.  Yesterday was mostly a day of errands.  Today is more of the same as I run around town with my Mom for lunch and shopping.  She needs to find a dress for a wedding we are going to together next month.

While I was out yesterday, I picked up this book by Heather Powers.  One of my eggs is shown on page 15 and she uses my headpins in the necklace tutorial on pages 66-67.  It's pretty neat seeing my work on printed pages, which makes me so grateful for those of you who buy my lampwork, use them in your jewelry designs and then submit some of those designs for publishing in magazines or books.  You all are just the best and go far in reinforcing I am where I need to be and surrounded by the right kinds of folks.

Here is a funky lentil which also came out of the kiln.  This is what happens when too much glass is added before forming the lentil shape.  It smooshes out.  And yes, smooshes is the technical glass term for this.

 

For you Nikon fans, I am thinning out my stash of lenses and selling my 35mm/f2.0 lens and my 105mm/f2.8 Micro lens.  They are both in perfect condition with no exterior wear/marks and come with B+W MRC filters over the lenses for added protection, as well as their original Nikkor boxes, manuals and front/rear lens caps.  Email me at kelleysbeadstudio@me.com if you're interested.  They both performed perfectly on my D90 and now my D700.

Yesterday was my Grandma Eloise's 93rd birthday.  We went out for hibachi for dinner together.  She deals with a bit of dementia and Alzheimer's, so it was a surprise a few times throughout dinner that it was her birthday.  She is always in wonderful spirits and has the best disposition.  My kids adore their great grandmother.

Oftentimes she has crazy hair and even crazier clothes.  One is just not a concern and the other makes her happy.  Her memory is pretty much shot and thoughts do not stay in her head long before being forgotten.  But she always knows she is surrounded by people who love her dearly and knows that the feeling is mutual.  She enjoys being with us and hearing the kids laugh.  She is not the same person she was in my childhood.  Losing her husband and her oldest son over the last ten years were hard blows.  While I miss the woman she was, I am so very thankful she is still here with us...celebrating another birthday (wow, 93!), laughing easily and returning our hugs and kisses.  HaPpY bIrThDaY to my Grandma!

Etsy Seller - Phat Straps

I just love Jo's shop Phat Straps on Etsy. She has the coolest, hippest fabrics and the quality of her products is outstanding!

My Mom bought me this camera strap for my birthday last year. I love the brown and pink combo and I really love the minky backing. It feels so much softer and comfortable (read as: it doesn't cut into my neck leaving those lovely, red marks like the factory camera strap).

I also like that it is lengthened with these extender straps. This makes it easier for me to hang my camera over my body in a messenger-style, rather than just around my neck. Nice to have my camera hanging next to my hip instead of in front of my stomach or chest. And if you like to coordinate camera accessories with your outfits (apparently there is an need for this, based on interchangeable camera bag covers I see online) you can buy multiple straps and easily change them out with these quick release buckles.

Jo also makes huggies or protective bags for camera lenses. This pic shows a couple of different sizes, but she also makes custom-sized bags based on your lens measurements. I have a few of these bags and they make me smile. The fabrics are the ones I picked out (she doesn't make the huggie until you pay for it and specify which fabric you want) and fit my lenses perfectly.

Jo isn't giving me any free products and didn't ask for my opinion. I just wanted to share her shop with you all because I think her items are fantastic and I love the bright fabrics. :)

Happy 2010

I can't believe I have been blogging for over a year now. Time just continues to speed up on me and disappears in a blink. Apparently, so have the last 2-3 weeks, as is seen by my lack of blogging over the holidays.

While I have neglected my blogging duties, I have been busy in other avenues. My sister-in-law moved out, after living with us for close to a year and a half. I have spent time reclaiming our guest room and refilling that closet with all of the stuff I pulled out to make room and eventually just sat in lonely piles over the past year. It feels good to have carpet space back in my closet and in our bedroom. Less clutter around the house is helping me think clearer, too. Along with this room, I have also spent mucho time cleaning out my office/studio, my bedroom closet and the one and a half problem counters in the kitchen that seem to always be heaped with mail, AA batteries, Christmas light bulb replacements and kids' art projects.

I washed and put away Keeters's food bowl and haven't gotten over how empty and lonely the top of the dryer looks now (all our cats' food bowls are in the laundry room, either on top of the counter or the washer and dryer). I still see Keeters out of the corner of my eye in the kitchen, like he's on top of the counter being naughty (the last 6 months, he was so naughty and was constantly being shooed off the kitchen counters where he knew full-well he was not allowed) or near the pantry door, waiting for me to get a scoop of dog food out so that he could snatch a piece.

I cleaned out the kids' toy cabinets and dresser drawers and now have a ton of stuff to take to Goodwill once they start accepting toys again. The kids got mostly clothes for Christmas, which was much appreciated over a boatload of toys that will not be played with after the initial novelty wears off.

I have learned how to shoot in manual mode on my camera and now feel comfortable adjusting the f-stop, ISO, shutter speed and white balance. I also have deleted hundreds of pics as I work my way through the various adjustments in each of those settings, but it has been instrumental in learning hands-on how each little dial notch makes a difference. My next step is to learn how to adjust the light metering and focus points. As well as the white balance lens cap that my honeys gave me for Christmas. I don't know how to set the custom settings on WB after using the lens cap.

I didn't make any New Year's resolutions, but have renewed old goals. Exercise more. Take time to breathe. Just Say No to cookie dough (because that, along with the 250+ cookies I made this Christmas, I'm not digging the eight extra pounds I put on. neither are my jeans). Find more patience and exercise it. Lose the sarcasm. Be kinder. Up my random acts of kindness. Find more time on the torch. Find more time for me. For my blogs. For making jewelry. For my friends. For my kids. For my husband.

I had a fantastic 2009. I'm really looking forward to 2010!

To you and yours, I wish you all the best! Health. Contentment. Peace of mind. Love. Joy.

Come back tomorrow, I'll be posting a new giveaway! No entry necessary. You just have to be one of my loyal blog followers :)

Things That Make Me Happy

*My new macbook. My original was destroyed a year ago. I have missed it dearly. It meant no more evenings spent sitting next to my honeys on our sofa. Now I can sit by his side again while I update listings, blogs, websites and maybe a bit of online scrabble.

*This green bag made by my friend Sean. He used to teach tennis lessons with my honeys back when they were both young. Sean knits. He's good at it. He made this bag for me in early summer and gave it to me when we were visiting over the 4th of July. It holds my phones (yes, that's plural because work makes me carry one with me 24/7) and keys and my little camera and kid snacks. LOVE this bag!

*These new converse. My kids picked out the purple for the Vikings (I'm a fan by default as the husband is from Minnesota and bleeds purple). They're comfy and casual.

*My kids. My kids like to sing. My kids like to sing into microphones. My kids like to sing Queen's "We Will Rock You" or "We Are The Champions" into microphones.

*My new Nikon. It takes purty pictures. It makes me look like I know what I'm doing when I hit that silvery button on top <--technical term.

*My husband. He can be so thoughtful. He's probably getting irritated with me for the many times I have thanked him for my new macbook. But I can't help myself. I love it. It makes me happy :)

Pics from the New Camera

I am having fun playing with my new camera, but it is becoming painfully obvious to me that I have much to learn about how to use it. Thankfully, until I learn how to use all the features and the difference between ISO and f-stops and white balance, it has an auto-focus mode :) It was a rather spendy camera, so I figure I owe it to myself (and the camera) to learn how to use every button and dial (omigosh, there are more dials than I know what to do with on it!) before the year is out. A photography class is likely in store for me.

The girl child and I took a walk this morning before our guys woke up. The sun was shining, but it was hidden from us during our walk on our nature trail because of all the tall trees. While we walked, we enjoyed hearing the crickets sing to us.



My Beanarina at the top of the steps leading down to the nature trail at the bottom of our street.



Cool lichen growing on one side of a little tree stump.



Here is Chloe walking up to the footbridge. It is just at the edge of our little forest of trees after we walked about half a mile under their cover.




This pic better captured the floating water bug than it did my reflection as I leaned over the footbridge where we turned around to come home.



I thought this was a neat leaf with cool spots. Pretty spider on the underside, although I kept a safe distance. I do better with vertebrates than arachnids or some of the unpredictably jumpy insects.





Some quick fancy footwork helped us jump over this guy on our way back home. He was almost as big as my index finger!



Newest beads using Ekho from Double Helix



Here is the same glass encased in clear. Love the purple that comes out! Need to play with this glass a little more :)



My Owen boy is feeling 100% again after being on antibiotics for over 24 hours. He tested positive for strep throat Saturday morning when I took him into the pediatrician's office. They looked at me like I had three heads when I told them my Wendy treated six cases of it on Thursday (strep season starts as soon as school is back in session). But the quick strep test that normally takes 5-10 minutes to show the results turned Owen's little throat culture back in less than two minutes. Poor guy...he just had strep in February. Although, I'd rather it be strep and get antibiotics to feel better in less than a day, than it be a cold virus and treat the symptoms for a week or more.



And the other good news is that the union for the Southeast did not walk out on strike when their contract expired at 11:59pm Saturday night. Which keeps me at home with my family and not climbing phone poles in Northwest Georgia or Oklahoma. Soooo thankful!

Now if I could just kick this sore throat that I picked up on Friday!