Before I Go...

Packing with Toddlers, or Reason #689 Why I Love Life with a Two Year Old:

(click to see the larger image)

Auctions and Vacation

I've just listed two new auctions...click the pictures to take you there. And now, time for the beach! It's our annual trip to Edisto Island for some much needed R & R!

Spacers

When I first started making beads back in 2001, I bought A LOT of glass and I thought I had to have at least a pound of every color of Effetre. Wow, yes, I still have so much staring me in the face and it's like that "if it's hanging in your closet for a year and you never wear it" thing...in this case, really, if I haven't used that color/type of glass over 5-6 years of beadmaking, am I going to use it?

So...I am on a mission to use these colors, because I can't really afford to invest in more glass until I unload some of it! I am dying to experiment with some of the glass that's come out in the last few years but it is exxxxxpensive, so something's gotta give!

To that end I am making spacers - not my favorite thing to do by a long shot, but soothing in its own way, and a great way to move some of this glass to make way for more! I've already started adding colors to the shopping gallery and you can order as many or as few as you'd like!

Back to Two

Ally is headed back to Charleston today...I don't know what the boys will do without her. I'm hoping to get back out to the bead shack later this afternoon...I've missed it for most of the last two weeks!

Toothless in Monroe, O2-less in Mint Hill

Ally is staying another week so we are busy-busy. We went to the Schiele museum yesterday, always fun for the kids. The newest exhibit is "Ocean" and it teaches a lot about North Carolina beaches, erosion, and wildlife.

I made beads with Ally on Friday - she had wanted to make beads all day (her first experience) but I told her we should plan for 1:00 to 3:00. In the 90+ degree heat, she was pretty much done by 2:30. We had a safety lesson first and she had a healthy respect/fear for the flame. She started the bead and I finished it. She did great! Then we ran out of oxygen, so we headed down to Airgas to get a new tank. It's a 20-minute drive. The guy at the counter was about 80, toothless (not that there's anything wrong with that) and kept telling me "I can't load a cylinder in your car and I WON'T load a cylinder in your car. I can't and I won't. I can't and I won't." He repeated himself in a very toothless way.

So it turns out I have to either have Tom go get O2 since he can load/unload the cylinder himself (I could do it if it weren't for the 3 stairs to get up to the dock at Airgas) - or I have to have it delivered. I was trying to avoid the delivery fee but that's how I'll probably go in the future...I only have one tank now (used to have two in Cleveland) so it's an issue of timing - I either have to risk not finishing the tank and having a delivery before it's out of O2, or waiting until it's completely out and then I sit for a few days unable to make beads.

Cousins

Cousin Ally is here for the week and we are having a blast. She is a wonderful 14-year-old and she loves her cousins...and boy-oh-boy do they love her!

It didn't take John long to start chanting..."Ahhwee! Ahhwee!"


They have had a great time in the pool together and she was able to get Sam to bounce through the shallow end on his feet...without holding on for dear life...which makes me think that others' advice to get him swimming lessons from someone other than Mommy is a good idea!


She wants to be a chef, so she and Uncle Tom have been cooking up some treats for us!

Tweet

I am a really private person, but things have changed so much since 2005 when my beadmaking slowed and then stopped. "Social networking" has really changed things and now you can't really afford to be a hermit - like I am by nature - if you want to get your name out there. Since I've been absent from the scene for so long it really is starting over, but I hope that stretching beyond my comfort zone (which only really extends to the property line of my home) will help.

To that end I started a twitter account yesterday (twitter.com/chbeads) - you can see the feed on the right side of this blog. So now that makes website, blog, Facebook and twitter to keep track of...overwhelms me a little just writing about it.

Last night we took John to his first baseball game - the minor league Charlotte Knights - and while the kids aren't old enough to sit and watch the game itself, they had a great time at the playground right next to our seats!

New on eBay

New on eBay tonight! Auction runs through next Thursday evening.

Specials

Just added some "specials" to my website, so check'em out! I tend to be drawn to the same colors and I have quite a few colors I use less, so specials are a way for me to experiment with both color and technique, to see what reacts with what and the mixes I can create.

Inspiration

I'm not sure I've ever used any print, photo, or image as inspiration for my beads - if I've used anything other than my "visions" and trial/error, it's been flowers or other things from nature. When I came across this totem recently, however, I was drawn to it and I keep staring at it, thinking - these are colors I might not use on my own, definitely patterns I would not normally explore - so look for totem beads soon, I hope!

BLTs

Busy busy day...no beads from the kiln yet, but I'm fixing BLTs for dinner...the first of the summer with our garden tomatoes. Yum!

July 4th

We are recuperating from a busy weekend...lots of barbecue, swimming, fireworks, and fun.


I love July 4th...whether we are hosting a party, going to a party, or just hanging out, I love every part of it. We had a great weekend with friends and family and the boys enjoyed having some playmates over as well.


Early July also equals Wimbledon each year, and if you remember me from my old website (Valentine Glass) you may remember how much I love tennis. From this point through September it's non-stop tennis at our house! I wasn't thrilled with the result Sunday (I was so hoping Andy Roddick would pull off the miracle win) but it was a great match. And of course I'm happy to see an American - Venus or Serena would be fine - win the ladies title.

Beads...I listed a large set last night and they're on auction through Wednesday evening. I love these colors...the olive green and steel blue work very well together.

Back to Blog

I've decided to keep the blog, separate from the website, so here I am! Things are going well, although I am not at the torch as much this week as I would like...too much going on. Last week of first-session summer school for the boys; July 4 weekend; getting ready for my niece to spend the following week with us...I've got to find some things that a 14-year-old will find cool (besides babysitting her little cousins, ha ha!).

I'm up way too late...again...so it's off to bed for me.