Is It Raining With You Necklace

Inspired by my vacation to Oahu...
Not.

Of course, inspired by our lovely Portland weather. This cute necklace developed organically starting with the cloud idea and having it sit on my bench for a couple of days. Then there was the "raindrops". And then there were a lot more raindrops. I really like it!

Besides, "vacation to Oahu"? *dreaming*

Make Up Your Mind!

Mother nature seemed a bit confused today. I was headed out to lunch with my friend Guenevere (a fab painter! that's her work on the right and more can be seen here). We were only going about 12 blocks and were deciding, based on weather, if we should walk or drive. At the time we left it was overcast, but not raining - it had poured earlier in the day. We decided to walk. Five feet from the door, it starts to drizzle. In another block, it turned to light hail (yes, freaking hail). A few more blocks and it was storming hail. By the time we got to the restaurant, we were pretty wet. While we were eating it went from clearing up to pouring rain - which at one point was blowing sideways. Once it stopped, we made a break for it. A few blocks from the restaurant, the sky cleared and the sun came blazing out. We both literally stopped where we were and stood soaking it in. This was all in the course of an hour or hour and a half. Ah, crazy Portland!

Rant

I try not to complain about customers. Almost all of them are truly wonderful. However (there's always a however...), last week I had a customer that purchased an item around 2pm. I had the item and was prepared to package it and put it in the mail the next day. Around 6pm the same day I get negative feedback from this woman because she insisted I mailed her order - a mere few hours later? - to the wrong address. I hadn't even packaged up her order, let alone printed the shipping label. She never tried to contact me prior to leaving negative feedback to find out what happened. She saw on her Paypal account her address, not the address she wanted the earrings sent to, so she assumed I screwed up (and obviously totally ruined her Christmas). The address was just that listed in her Paypal account. When I contacted her to explain the situation, her reaction was "oh, ok". No "I'm sorry." Nothing. I explained that this unearned negative feedback can affect my business and asked if she would use Etsy's "Kiss and Make-up" feature to amend the feedback. I have heard nothing from her.
It is the only negative feedback I have received in over 2 years on Etsy. I am complaining about this woman here because I can't on Etsy. All I can say is she clearly is a moron and a bitch.
Ahhh, that's better.
/end rant

Today's Reality Check

Miners carry loads of sulphur out of the crater of the Kawah Ijen Volcano in East Java. They will trek over five miles from the crater to a collection center with loads weighing between 110 and 220 pounds. For the effort, they earn the equivalent of $7 a day.

Divergence Necklace

Another in my line of stepping stone jewelry. I'm loving the asymmetry and the various lengths of rivets that connect the pieces. Gives it a modern, spiderwebby, abstract feel. It took a bit to work through the riveting to make sure it hung correctly. I ended up having to shift around how it is positioned because it was wonky the original direction. Not only don't I think it hurt the design, but I like it better this way. Love those "art accidents" that help. I call this one Divergence Necklace and it's available in my Etsy shop.

Portland or...

Minnetonka?

Snuggy Dog

Kana's gotten better - over the course of this week - at dealing with the snow and cold outside. She seems to get that the coat I put on her before we go out keeps her warm and dry. And she's figured out how to walk on the icy parts: either take little steps or run to the other side. The above picture is how Kana's dealing with the cold outside inside. She's snuggled up against the radiator and she's got her blankie tucked up under her chins. She was snoring away when I took this shot. Spoiled? Naaaaaa.

Exclaim Necklace

Kinda says it all. Or most of it anyway. Angry, happy, excited; all expressed in a little symbol. I'm thinking I like the simplicity of punctuation. Might have to do others. The exclamation point I call Exclaim Necklace and it's available in my Etsy shop. Or should I say Exclaim! Necklace!?

Today's Reality Check

"Desperate days in Zimbabwe: Starving families pick up individual corn kernels spilled on the roadside outside Harare by trucks hauling maize corn imported from South Africa."

Crafty Wonderland/Winter Wonderland

This is the equivalent of an all-out blizzard in Portland. The picture on the left is Sunday morning. It had been snowing for maybe an hour. On the right is Monday morning. The storm has moved on and there's a crystal blue sky. It's pretty cold out right now (for PDX), in the 20s, and the snow is either icy or crunchy. The city has shut down: schools are closed, people are home from work, no one's out. I'm liking it. I like that we get to live with a bit of snow (I threw a snowball at some boys this morning...) for a few days and then it goes away. It's not here for months. It's pretty for a couple of days.

For Kana, the jury is still out on this snow stuff.

Unfortunately, this winter wonderland killed Crafty Wonderland. And for that it's not so pretty.

More Synchronicity

Today's Words of Wisdom

Donut reality rarely meets donut expectations.

Busy

been busy.........
but I made this........
I call it Java Necklace. It's handmade oval chain links of heat-oxidized sterling.