A Milestone Day

Mortgage free! Yessiree, today, the house is ours and nobody else's. It's a great feeling. It's been a long 22 1/2 years, but finally, finally it belongs to us and the bank is out of the equation. This is cause for celebration, but that will have to wait until Wed. because of Don's work schedule. Then we're going into Halifax to see Avatar at the IMAX in 3-D, after which we'll be dining at Montana's. I got the express tickets online this morning as it's been selling out and some folks have been disappointed not to be able to have the 3-D experience. They're all raving about the movie though, so I'll let you know. 


I must apologize for not posting a pic of the mystery gift I made for my friend, Lu. The gift is a lovely beaded choker in amethyst colors. The beads are strung in a lace design. What happened was a computer failure during the time I was working with those files. The pc is currently out "being looked at" by a friend so I currently don't have any of my files as I'm using a loaner. Since I was on to photographing Audry II, I had deleted the files from my camera, leaving me without access to any pics of the necklace. However, the necklace is a bit too small, so it's coming back for adjustment, during which time I will be shooting it again, and posting it here, of course. So sorry for the confusion. 


Don is still working on a cabinet for the Legion, doing the finishing touches and I'll be sure to include it here as soon as he deems it ready for public viewing. Working full time at the bar doesn't leave him as much time for his projects as he used to enjoy. He's also acquired a used table saw that is a much better model than the machine he's been using. He's been tuning and tweaking that as well. Very time consuming, I'm told. 


It's such a dark and dreary day out here in the country. Very chilly too. We're expecting a couple centimeters of snow today and it looks as if it may begin very soon. Don has to work in a couple of hours, so we just had an early supper of some lovely stuffed Cornish hens, Dauphine potatoes, carrots and turnip. Not exactly on the low-cal, but absolutely delicious. Don did all the cooking today so I have scullery duty, which I must now attend to. I hope you all have a great day. 

Audry II

I've been a bit neglectful with this blog lately. I've gotten some work done though. Here is the finished piece, "Audry II" from Little Shop of Horrors. She is a gift for a friend who is a book and movie nut. He has already seen this and is very excited about it. She was fun to make and I love her teeth, which are painted toothpicks. The wire inside allows for positioning the tendrils to support her, as her head is a bit top heavy. She is embellished with glass beads and false eyelashes. I've also made a few more bracelets, which were custom orders for size and color. They all turned out nice and the customers were pleased. Other than that, we've been glued to CNN watching the horror that is transpiring in Haiti. Since I used to go to Port-au-Prince when I worked on the container ship, it is especially shocking to see what used to be there reduced to rubble. I will never forget the extreme heat and humidity in that city and I can't imagine what rescuers are facing. It's the most awful natural disaster I've ever seen and I fear things will become much worse there in the very near future as disease begins to spread. The city had deplorable sanitation to begin with, so all those nasty bugs are already there just looking for a chance to multiply. That has now happened and I imagine the country will need to be quarantined. My heart goes out to those people who's history has been tragic for the last 200 years. Between corrupt governements, slavery, hurricanes and now this awful earthquake, they haven't had much of a chance in life, yet they continue to stuggle on and survive. You have to admire their strength. It is, however, a bright point to see nearly every other country in the world rally to help. They have alot of challenges ahead of them.

Happy New Year

I hope everyone stayed healthy and safe over the past week. New Year's Eve is nearly upon us and then a fresh start in 2010. Wow, it seems weird typing that number. According to Nostradamus, we have 2 more years before the destruction of mankind, as we know it.  However, he's been wrong before ... or misinterpreted, who knows? Don has just popped out for a few things at the store because the fridge was beginning to look a little bare. Supper is on hold till he returns with potatoes.

Today I've been working on a birthday gift for my BFF, Lu. Can't tell you what it is yet as she might see this post before the 4th of January. After that, I'll post a pic or two and the mystery will be solved. Don and I have decided to spend the holiday with a couple of rented movies and take it pretty easy. A couple of his male friends are threatening to make an appearance to shoot some stick, so if they show up, I can throw on a quick chili or hearty soup and some biscuits to chow down on. If they don't show up ... peace and quiet.

What a Nice Quiet Christmas

  
We had a wonderful Christmas,  just the two of us and Daisy. Don cooked a spectacular meal of beef tenderloin, steamed lobster, asparagus with lemon and dill sauce and a lovely South African red wine. Neither of us worked on anything all day and it was great just to relax. We had turned down our usual invitation to dinner with friends because this is our 20th Christmas together and we wanted to spend it alone.

The past week has been a bit hectic, even though we didn't plan anything too special. The stores were crazy and the traffic was heavy. We did our visiting on Christmas Eve and saw lots of friends at the Legion. We don't have any plans for New Year's Eve as yet, so perhaps we'll stay home then too, since we enjoyed our quiet Christmas so much. I think we're just turning into old hermits.

Sometime over the next few days, I have to begin working with the wool again. I want to make a couple of cute critters for friends, and finalize the designs for a large humanoid sculpture. I have the head to the stage where I need to make decisions on gender and age at least. I'm trying to come up with an idea for wool in combination with beach rock as I have several nice ones in my supplies box. I'll need to sit down with my sketch book and try to dream something up for that. It seems I'm never out of ideas for too long. I've just about finished all the magnetic bracelets that I want to do for now. I have them out for sale now, so will see how they go. Just finishing up a pair of fringe earrings here today, for myself, then put all the beads away for awhile. It's so past time to get back to the wool. Don has also put in a request for a toque so must look for yarn for that as I don't think there's any here appropriate for that type of thing. Next time I'm by the Bargain Center in Shubie, I'll likely grab something for that. Now, I must go to the kitchen and see what I can come up with for our supper.

Howling Winds and Wool

The weather outside is frightful! Really. The wind blew all night, well above gale force, making the trees bend sideways and the windows rattle. It's  still blowing out there, but so far, not snowing. I spent last evening working on more gecko pins. The color combinations of the wool seem endless, and it's so much fun trying to match up some beads to embellish them. I'm sure most of you just think they're weird looking, but they're surprisingly popular and I haven't really pushed the product yet. Keeping prices low seems to be the answer. It's a lot of work meeting demand for the smaller products, and it doesn't leave me much time to work on the bigger projects, but I seem to be keeping up with the bills.

 I got about half of my Christmas e-cards out yesterday. Go green and save a tree, I say. Actually it's more about postage and the e-cards are so nice now, interactive and just beautiful. Sometime this afternoon, I'll get the rest sent and that will be another holiday chore done with. We had a bit of a kitchen crisis yesterday with the faucet breaking, but it was simply a matter of buying a new set as Don is a pretty good plumber too. The new faucet isn't exactly what I wanted, but times are hard, and it nice to have one that we don't have to fight with anymore.

I have to make a quick run out this afternoon and I'm not looking forward to driving on the highway in that wind. The roads will be dry though, so it's just major gusts to deal with. Don has to work at the bar, so will have to pick him up later. I'll be able to get more felting done this afternoon and I'm looking forward to that. Now, however, the vaccuum is calling my name, then I have to get some lunch ready for us. Hmmm .... toasted bacon and tomato sandwiches should fit that bill.

One Solution to an Ugly Problem

Good morning friends. While I refuse to get into the debate as to whether or not magnetic bracelets work for arthritic pain, I will tell you that I do wear one. I wear it with the thought that if it helps, even a little, I'm going to reap the benefits. I'm actually afraid to take it off, in case the sore spots get worse. However, they are damn ugly things. Just looks like a length of steel cable with polished balls on each end .... ewwwww! With that in mind, I have come up with a solution: beaded magnetic bracelets.

These look so much nicer and each has a minimum of 12 magnetic hematite beads woven in, even spaced and not touching each other.  I love mine and it's such a pretty piece I think I'll be wearing it all the time.  In the picture above, the bracelet at the far left does not contain the hematite beads .. it's just a pretty bracelet. In place of the magnetic beads, I used Miracle beads which have an unusual luminosity. I used a flash on this pic so they would show up. You can see they are highly reflective. I wish I had a black light as I imagine they would glow wildly in that. Beading has never been my main line but it's a lovely distraction and I incorporate beads into alot of my wool projects. Speaking of which, my Santa pins have been flying out the door and I actually have to make more this week to supply the store in Shubenacadie that is selling them for me. I can't wait for Christmas to be over now, so I can get my new stuff out ... the little gecko pins are very cute. I've sold a couple of them privately and gotten a great response.

First Snowstorm of the Season

Yesterday was our first snowstorm of the season which was of any significance. I had to drive into Dartmouth, which was ok for the most part, but there were a couple of places south of the airport which were quite nasty. The snow had blown onto the highway and built up, forming slush ruts filled with water. The plows were out but it's difficult to plow slush ... it just runs back in. Anyway, I made it in and shortly after that, the storm stopped. The party was fabulous. Thanks to the host, Duane and hostess, Lu. The party food was five star and addictive. Everyone was in such good cheer and all the old friends are looking just wonderful. I was overwhelmed by the positive response to the pins I'd brought in to sell. I'm going to have a busy week making the santas, as the only one I have left is on my jacket. My little geckos were well complemented too. The one pictured here is a "Necko".   It's a necklace as the tail is very long and it has a firm wire inside, so it hangs around the neck, easily adjustable to size. I had only made two of them and they sold the night before the party, so I only took the pins. They seem to be popular so I'm making a few more of them this week, as the $5 pins will all be gone after Christmas and a new batch of $10 pins will available, all with beautiful, higher quality beading material from http://www.thebeadingroom.com/  and featuring Japanese Miyuki cubes. So, that's work for this week. On that positive note, I must go start some badly needed housecleaning.