Starry Night Necklace

A new design that's actually an old design. The original (which has already been sold) was something I made and it sat and sat on my bench. On one recent foray into bench cleaning, it got put in the "I've got to do something with this" pile. I did. I finally cleaned it up, oxidized it, brushed it, tumbled it and put it on my table at the Saturday Market. It sold the first day out. Seems people really like things like moon and stars (and hearts and suns and stuff like that). So I made more. Here's the Starry Night Necklace, available in my Etsy shop and on my table at the Saturday Market.

Bottle Redhead

Bought the fixins yesterday to make me a coppery redhead today.

Could be a stunning transformation.

Could be scary.

Today's Reality Check

"Shack attack: A couple confronts a demolition crewman before he tears down their shanty home in Las Pinas, Philippines. Hundreds of residents fought police and demolition workers as their slum homes were bulldozed to make way for a subdivision expansion."

Today's Reality Check: New Iraqi Orphan

"Lil' survivor: A bomb that blew up the car this baby boy was riding in killed his parents and brother in a Shiite district of Baghdad. He was found in his mother's arms." More information on this story - one of many daily tragedies in Iraq - can be found here.

The Afternoon Vacation

Yesterday, I decided to take a half a day off. After dropping a couple of orders off at the post office, I drove out to Cannon Beach on the Oregon coast. Although I really want to take a (at least) week-long vacation, this seemed like the next best thing on a stunning warm, sunny April afternoon. I haven't lived this far from a coast in many, many years and when I got to the beach - it's about an hour and a half drive from Portland - I realized how much I miss the ocean. I rolled up my pant cuffs and took a long slow stroll down the beach. With the sand between my toes and the tide lapping at my ankles, I stopped to pick up the treasures (in the photo above) as I went. When I got to Haystack Rock, I spent some time checking out the tide pools, spotting the biggest starfish I've ever seen, the neon green anemones, and some little crabbies. Hypnotized by the relentless roar of the waves, I sat down and watched the sunset. It was a lovely afternoon that helped refresh my spirit and I hope to be doing it more.

Festival Carnelian Earrings

Brand new! Bezel set 8mm carnelians are the focus of these fun danglies. I'm liking this design and may expand it to necklaces. Guess I'm just partial to curly things...






I call them Festival Carnelian Earrings and they are available in my Etsy shop.

Cousin Selma

My mother's cousin, Selma, was my favorite relative. A life-long New Yorker, Selma could tell you about most anything in The City. She was a businesswoman before there were such things. Selma was quick to laugh, loved museums and theatre, visiting her many friends and a good Bloody Mary at cocktail hour. She didn't like the subway, preferring to walk or ride the bus so she could see where she was. She lived in Manhattan on the 26th floor of a big apartment building where we would sit on the balcony and chat, her telling me stories about the people and the buildings. Selma died in November 2007 at the age of 93, an incredibly lively and intelligent woman to the end. I recently received a box of the pictures that were in her apartment - for some reason I was the only one who wanted them. The above treasure is Selma as a baby (I'm guessing from 1916 or so). Although I only knew her as an older woman, I recognized the expression and gesture of my favorite cousin immediately.

Rules for Apartment Living

• If you can hear me, I can hear you too.
• If the water pressure in the shower changes dramatically, quickly step out of the flow of water. It’s about to get really hot or really cold.
• If you don’t want me touching your clothes, remove them from the washer or dryer within a reasonable amount of time, then I don’t have to.
• You’re friends screaming up to you in your apartment is never really cute. Particularly after, say, midnight.
• Smoking outside is cool. Smoking outside of my apartment is not.
• Saying hello if we pass is ok. I live here too, I’m your neighbor. Hell, we could even chat!
• If you have an “issue” with me, it would be helpful if you approached me about it first before going to the management. I’m fairly reasonable.
• If you’re posting lists of rules for apartment living on your blog, it’s time to seriously consider finding someplace new to live.

(probably to be continued...)