A Birthday Bash for Gage

"The Man" and I live very quiet lives, so when there is a family gathering at my house its always a little stressful on "The Man" and me. My family get togethers are FUN, loud, rowdy, wild, and very busy. Gage's birthday was no exception.

Gage is my grandson who is turning 10. His real birthday is on the 29th of this month, but because he is heading back down to his Dad's for the school season, we had a birthday party for him here at our house.

I asked him what sort of food was his favorite and he choose one of my favorites too. ha SPAGHETTI!!! He must take after his mothers side, lol.........we all LOVE spaghetti. I cooked up a huge batch of sauce and noodles. Melissa made a very cute cake for him too. Here are some pictures from that WONDERFUL FUN DAY!


Gage is making a "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" game

Gage's Birthday CAke, Melissa made it.

Playing the Donkey game.


Opening up his camping cot

Couch of my dreams gone bad

After buying all kinds of furniture “The Man” and I decided to stop buying cheep crap and buy something that will last for years. We searched online and hunted in all the local furniture stores. What is the deal? Why are there so many sectionals, massive couches with a captain’s seat in the middle, and bubble like stuffing that makes them look like they are comfortable to sit on? NOT. You sit on these things and it feels like you are riding a camel. Not only are they hideous and uncomfortable, but they would never fit in our tv room, and they are also way over priced.

About that time a Lazyboy ad came in the mail. Hmmmm Lazyboy furniture?? They have always had good quality and reliable furniture. “The Man” and I decide to go to the Sacramento store to check them out. We find just what we want and need. They have a great couch in leather, its way more then we expected to pay, but you get what you pay for, right? We pay for it and now have to wait for 2 ½ months while it’s being built. Ok, it’s a long wait……..but I can deal with that. So two and half months slide by very slowly……….and I find a guy to haul off the old piece of crap. I can’t wait……. knowing my beautiful "once in a life time couch" is coming the next day.

I jump for the phone each time it rings, knowing it will be the couch people asking me what time to deliver it.

The phone rings……..IT’S THEM, IT’S THEM ……..but…………wait…………what??… what’s this I hear. They tore the leather, they want to fix it. FIX IT?? They want to send it back to the factory to reupholster the arm they tore??? Dye lots?? Two more months? Maybe it will match the couch? My mind is spinning, my hands are shaking, and I am getting very pissed.

Has it really been over 6 weeks since I have posted to the blog? Good DOG......where has the time gone. I try to think about what has happened in these last weeks, I come up with a few different things that I have done but most is just the same old routine of everyday life.

I am still waiting for my surgery. And still no date scheduled. I have times when I wonder if it will ever happen and maybe this is fate telling me to reconsider. I hope not.......I believe the benefits out way the concern.

I spent a week plus with my sister in Citrus Heights. She had her surgery and needed a extra hand around the house. Most of her chores where the same ones I do here, so that part was easy. What I found to be the most difficult is her 4 legged kids. She has three very excitable and energetic dogs. They are a lot of fun, but are so damn busy. It made me really appreciate my silly sleepy beagle boy.

I am looking for a new hair do. My hair is way too long and is now a chore to take care of. The ends are dry and I am loosing way too many hairs each day. I suspect it just looks like I am loosing more then I should because of the length of each strand........at least..........I hope that is what it is. I just might have "The Man" take the scissors to it. Hmmmm.......sounds like a great idea......at least until I come up with a "Do" that I can live with.

20 minutes later.............
"The Man" was very happy to help me with my hair trimming. He actually was more eager then I thought he would be, I guess that should have been a sign. His only comment was.......it will grow back.


I unfortunately have not been making beads. It has been horribly hot or I have been sick or just pulled in another direction. I am hoping Saturday will be a good garage day. "The Man" wants to wash the car and I want to make beads. Sounds like it could be a fun morning of jamming to music and imagination.

Distorted reality of youth or a River not so wide.

My sister came over the other day for a wonderful visit, she brought lots of pictures. She had recently gone back to our home state of Iowa to see our cousins and aunts. It has been over 40 years since she had been back there……..36 years for me. Her pictures and stories were incredible. It’s amazing to see the faces of our kin, so much older yet still very much the same.


Hearing my sister tell the stories of our relative’s lives and the town and country around them………..took me back to a simpler time.

I thought it was interesting how the decades had not changed the town that much. All the same land marks were there, but the one thing I did notice was how the dimensions had changed. Why is a child’s view so much smaller and distorted from reality?

This is what I remember…………. behind my aunts house was this great river, the Wapsipinicon, the Wapsi to locals. It’s wide as hell…….at least 1/2 mile wide, no doubt more. I remember that you couldn’t see the homes on the other side of the river……it was just too far across. Every chance we got we would fish in the river for sun fish and cat fish. When it rained we would run outside and grab up the huge night crawlers to use for bait. My uncle Ray would take us for boat rides on the river after much begging on our part. It would scare the crap out of us when he would let the boat drift; joking with us by saying if he wasn’t careful it would go over the damn. WE loved every moment of these visits and we still cherish those memories.


Now……….looking at my sister’s pictures….. reality strikes……. the river is only about 150 feet across, maybe less. It’s so strange to see it from an adult’s perspective. The fearful damn is about ¼ mile from my aunt’s place, once again I remember it being a huge drop……….at least 50 feet. (Reality is it really a good thing?) In the pictures the damn is maybe 10 feet tall……….very small, very unassuming, and not what I had remembered.

What I wouldn’t give to go back in time, to be a child again and feel the excitement and magic of the Iowa vacation. To feel small again, to see things with the distorted reality of youth………..to fish on the river and visit with my relatives who are long gone.

Barks a lot

I am still totally nuts about making dogs and cats. It started about a month or two ago. I decided to try my hand at a cat. It was not easy......but after many tries I came up with something that did have a feline look. I now have many litters of cats all over my desk. Orange ones, gray, black and white, even a blue one. Since my cats have taken over………. I decided to try dogs. They are getting better, but I still need work. My last one was the best and I will post his silly head. Every time I sit down to make beads I have to force myself NOT to make dogs or cats. LOL Now the weather as turned ugly and hot so I will not be making beads until we get a cool morning. Booo whoooo

Flowers, Colors and a Dream

“The Man” and I went to a local iris farm here in Vacaville. They had probably 5 acres of iris blooming. It was an incredible site. So many colors and shapes, it was an iris lovers dream. Ha We didn’t stay too long, but just long enough to make out my list of favorites. I have always wanted a big iris garden and after I get my order this summer that dream will come true.

I have a few varieties now, a couple of yellows, way too many purples, and a couple of oranges. For some reason the one pink I planted turned out to be purple…….must have been a mix up in packaging. Iris is one of the easiest flowering plants to grow. They don’t need a lot of watering and they don’t require constant fertilizing like other flowers.

Here are some pictures of our day and the flowers of course.

I whelped a litter of puppies!

I have been so stuck in one design for my cats and dogs. I have no clue why………. But I think I wanted the easy way out. ha The lentil press I used makes the first basic shaping of the bead very easy. Maybe too easy. NOT!

So yesterday I decided to think outside of the box. (I hate that cliché) I have to admit…….. I did do some research online, looking at other peoples dogs and cats. It’s truly amazing the different shapes and styles out there and they all really do look like cats and dogs.

I made 5 dogs total. I found the perfect core bead to start my shape and stuck with that. From there it was pretty simple, actually…………much easier then using the lentil shape. I think they turned out pretty good.

I do have a small problem with their eyes. They look like they are the proverbial “dog in the head lights”. I have gotten a few suggestions on how to fix that. I also have a problem with the dog’s mouth. Most people don’t see the problem……….and maybe I am just being too much of a perfectionist. Lol But I will try to correct that today.




Which reminds me…………it’s already 72 degrees outside at 8:00 am……… I need to get this old body in gear and get to making beads before it gets too hot.

Needles, hot toes and lentils

I can’t believe it’s been this long since I posted to this blog. Where has the time gone? In my own defense, life has been busier then normal.

Well…………lets see………… I had a back procedure done. They went in with needles and fried some nerves……….hoping it would stop some of the pissy back pain I have been having. It felt great for a week; it turned out to be just the steroids they filled me full of. After the roids wore off the old back was back to the way it was………….and actually more pissed off. Hmmm lesson learned………….leave it alone!

I went into Sacramento to see the gut doctor. No new news there……..more waiting and no progress. Urggghhh

My Dad is doing much better after a few rounds at the hospital. His heart is doing what it’s supposed to be doing now. I have discovered something, 81 is a very scary age for me.

I woke up last night was a cat foot on my mouth. Wrecks likes to sleep with me at night because I am very warm and he is not. He will work his way up in the bed until he is next to me and my arm is around him. hmmm
I was deep asleep, dreaming of a very pleasant encounter. In my dream I was being tenderly kissed by my hubby, it felt so nice, so warm and soft. It woke me up………..and I realized it was a warm cat foot. ICKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!! Where has that foot been??? Oh ICKKKKKK I am too sleepy to get up and do what the ICK is encouraging me to do. So I go back to sleep and have dreams of scrubbing my teeth with bleach. Ha………..that will do it.

I have to add my newest creation, after all this was started to help me sell my goodies. This necklace is called “Cookies and Cream”. I have been having tons of fun making lentils and recently branched out making something different with them. I love the effect, do you?



http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=23469686

Santa Fe and all the way the Rio Grande

I have some new beads to share that are listed in my shop I just love them, they remind me of New Mexico and those wonderful colors of the deserts.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=22823737

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=22565046

Dad is doing much better and is out of the hospital. AFter a few scares, the doctor thinks his heart will beat normally now. whewww

I am out of gas, I hope I can talk "The Man" into hauling the tank to Airgas tomorrow. I have a couple of orders to fill and want to get back to it.

I have watched a great old movie. Its called "Pillow Talk" with Doris Day and Rock Hudson. If you want to see a great feel good movie that has lots of laughs........rent it.

Hmmm......... I guess thats all the news. I will post more pics of the beads I make...........when I make them.

illness, reflection and life

This past week my Dad has been in the hospital again. He has this strange genetic problem with his heart. Out of the blue it will speed up for no reason and just race along at a marathoners’ pace……but……without the marathon. It is pretty scary and potential dangerous. After dealing with it for years, he is going into the hospital this Wednesday to get it fixed. They snake a wire up to his heart via the leg vein and zap the cells that cause the problem. They say it’s a simple procedure……….but I still worry. He is 81 after all and I am not ready to loose my Dad over a “simple procedure”.

How did this happen, how did my Dad get to be 81……. so quickly. Is time really moving that fast? It just seems so strange to me to have both my parents at that point in “life”. I can’t say the words…………..can’t even type the words. Just the thought freezes me in place, not typing, not thinking of something to type……….but just thinking of my parents and reviewing my own life.

Deer in the Head Lights or......Yanni's coming to town

Most of you know my extreme illogical love for Yanni. I fell in love with his music years ago and I still have a fascination with it. Hey……….its good music as long as you don’t have to look at him perform. He is such an ego manic, so in love with himself and……... I admit………..is really gross to watch.

Moving on……….. He has a new show. PBS has been running their pledge week around this new performance. There was nothing else on tv to on Sunday so I turned it on. I was very pleased to see new music and a new style of songs…..well……….sort of. He had new musicians too. Yanni even sported a new hair cut, he no longer had those long locks of hair that he flipped around like some super model during a hair commercial for shampoo.

We ……….ummm………..no…………. I was enjoying the music; “The Man” was not. He would make comments every so often, mostly what he thought of Yanni, the way he moves like some gay guy on crack, or just comments on how little music he is playing but taking all the credit. He made one final comment that I thought was interesting. “The Man” said……… “I would probably enjoy it more if I was watching a live performance and was in the audience”. Just at that moment PBS went to their pledge break. They talked about all the different levels of support you could sign up for. The 300 dollar level will get you tickets to the show………….SHOW??? The 1000 dollar level will get you front row tickets to the show and back stage passes………….BACK STAGE PASSES?? I couldn’t believe it………. they were saying those magic words………..the words I have wanted to hear from many years…………… YANNI WAS COMING TO THE ARCO ARENA……..IN SACRAMENTO!!!

I squealed in delight, so happy and so excited to the possibility of maybe………..hopefully…………going to see my STAR!! I looked over to “The Man”, I could see the realization was taking shape, the realization that he was going to have to eat his words…………the realization that…………maybe………nope not…………he would have to actually GO see Yanni’s new show. His eyes were bugged; his eyes were glazed….. like those of a deer in the head lights, disbelief on his face, grasping at thoughts of running for his life.

Long story short…………….nope…………no Yanni, no front row seats, no back stage passes…………. Just promises of a maybe……….a cd when it comes out in the stores.

Goose Bumps or Soggy Moss

I have been in a rut when it comes to making different beads. I have great ideas before I sit down in front of the torch, but then for some reason they fly out of my head when I turn the torch on. ha Well,....not this time. I made some really odd looking but very fun beads. I saw this one bead online and took some of her ideas and added tons of mine. Here are a few of those beads.

Romance and Love ……..eternal

Yesterday was our anniversary. We have been married for 8 years but have been together for almost 11. I guess you can say we have a very odd relationship in the sense we never fight, or yell at each other or argue. Its not that we don’t occasionally piss each other off, we do that for sure. It’s just that we get along so well; there has never been a time that we felt we had to resort to fighting.

I am sure most of you have heard the word “soul mate”. It’s an over used term and I never gave it much thought. It was always a ridiculous idea to me. But……. this is how I would describe our marriage, we are “soul mates”, destined to be together through out our life. I know I know……. this posting is so oooooooy goooy silly. Oh well……….bit the bullet and read on.

“The Man’ had asked me two weeks ago what I wanted for our anniversary. I told him nothing, but then I thought of a fun little game. I said………lets write a love letter to each other. We can read it to each other during our anniversary dinner. He gave me that “LOOK”………which meant I was insane……..but yet there was something in his eyes that said he liked the idea. I started my letter right away, struggling to put my feelings into words. I found that it’s very hard to express such strong emotions in text. I would stop and start, erase and start again. I knew what I felt, but the words just were not right. It took me five days to finally come up with something I was proud of.

Last night we went out to our anniversary dinner. I asked “the Man” on our drive over to the restaurant if he had his letter, he pretended not to……but then smiled at me. I almost thought I saw a tear in his eye. Hmmm…….maybe not....hmmm maybe so. At the restaurant we sat down, got comfortable and ordered our meals. Before I could even ask “when” did we want to read our letters…………”the Man” brought his out. He started first………with tears in his eyes, he read out loud the words............the words that overwhelmed me, made my eyes tear up, made me smile and sob at the same time. I was blown away and SO PROUD OF HIM, and SO IN LOVE WITH HIM.......…………it was an amazing moment that I will cherish for ever.

I will always look back on this night and know, even though “the Man” doesn’t always say the words, I know in his heart he feels them and so do I.

All wet and freedom rings

I started my water aerobics class today at the local Gold’s gym. They have a fantastic indoor pool and it’s actually heated to the perfect temp…..at least for me. I have to admit it……….. I was a little intimidated at first, mostly from walking into the place and past all those beautiful people……NOT ha Once I got to the pool area and saw that the people in the pool were just like me......I relaxed. The water felt so good and very inviting. Once the exercise started I was a bit surprised to feel how much my knees hated the activity. I was hoping that I wouldn’t have any pain since I was weightless........but I guess not. (I hope in a year or two I can get those bad boys replaced).

But……..back to the pool………….. I never noticed how much my bathing suit likes to scoop up the water while I jog in place. I used to work out at the other pool with nothing but women, so it never was an issue, but at this new gym………..well………. I was jogging to the music, which was the perfect beat to get my heart rate up and work my ass off. Up and down, up and down I go in the water; I could feel the water swooshing in the front…….but forgot about that because I was having so much fun. I didn’t notice how much swoosh was going on until one of the older dudes was staring at me…….......well………..not me………but my girls!!! They were bobbing up and down like buoys in the ocean. I looked down myself and realized the “girls” were very close to escaping the bathing suit……..eeeeek…….. I quickly turned around and pulled up as best as I could to get the girls seated back where they belong. Despite the quick fix, I noticed that the same old man took every opportunity to check to see if my boobs were bobbing for freedom.

So tonight I will see if I can shorten the leashes on the girls and tighten everyone up. Wish me luck……………………..

Boring days,

I haven't posted in a while since there really isn't anything to talk about. ha The title of my blog really "DOES" say it all. ha

I had a great time this past weekend. I went into my sister’s house to celebrate her birthday. We had a sister’s slumber party. It was a blast, from the reading at the physic, to the fun we had on the Ouija board. It seemed like the weekend just blew by so fast. I guess that’s the sign of having fun.

I had another doctor’s appointment today, nothing special ........just jumping through the many hoops for my up and coming surgery. There are days it seems like it will never happen. But I have to keep a positive thought and just take one day at a time. I try to keep busy and…….. I have a lot to keep me busy with.

Melissa now has her own Etsy shop. I can not believe the beads she makes. It’s amazing to me that I showed her how to make beads and now she is making some of the most incredible beads I have ever seen. The hard part is convincing her to sell them for the amount of money I know that they are worth. Ha She makes beads better then I do. Here is a link to her shop if anyone is interested.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6821208


That goes the same with Kate. I gave her a few pointers with water colors. Her first picture was breath taking. I guess I should have known…. she used to paint when she was little and even then her pictures were most definitely “art”. Her latest picture was gold fish in a pond. She painted the picture like she was looking through a dream, the fish in was the main focal with all the extras in the haze. I loved it, I think she gave it to her friend.

I have two very talented daughters. They both have taken what I taught them and excelled beyond my own abilities. LOL I LOVE THAT!! Isn’t that how life should be, you teach your kids, you hope they do better then yourself…………and when they do…………it’s so rewarding. Life is good…………

The Heat is ON!

I had to show you fish before I tell the tail. ehhehe




I finally fired up my kiln. The electrician came, he installed a new outlet with more power capacity and we set up the hot box on Friday. It was so exciting to finally get to do some fusing and at the same time…………very frustrating. The instruction manual that came with the kiln must have been written by the people who built the kiln or their engineers. Or……..this is what I think……...it was written in another language and then translated into English with a lot of the info left out. It was supposed to be very simple to program the computer, but it took “The Man” and me about 20 minute to figure out where to start. I basically started pushing buttons until it said “fuse”. Lol The ramp up was incredibly slow……..it took over 4 hours just to get it up to 1200 degree and another hour to get it to fusing temp. I have read many different information sites online about fusing so I pretty much knew what needed to be done. All the info I read said after soaking your glass for 10 minutes you vent off the heat. But the manual ……………of course…………..never addressed that issue. I waited for the kilns computer to cool down the kiln, it did, but it was only 27 degrees per minute. So I popped the top and vented it myself. What a thrill that was……….the heat pouring out of it felt like a blast furnace, everything was glowing red hot and all the colors of the glass was red, black and more red. Ha I continued to vent for another 15 minutes until the interior temp was down to 960. That was over 4 hours ago………and its still cooling down…………. slowly. I will probably just wait until tomorrow to see how everything turned out. Long story short………….I LOVE TO FUSE. LOL I told “The Man” that all gift ideas will now be related to fusing. Lol From glass to molds……….I want it all. heheheh

THE HEAT IS ON




ROGER WANTS TO KNOW WHAT THE NOISE IS




VENTING FROM 1480 DEGREES DOWN TO 960 DEGREES




SNEAK A PEEK



THE RED GLOVES

getting charged up

I just had the electrician guy here to give me an estimate on putting in a new electrical outlet for my kiln. Thank goodness it’s not as expensive as I thought. They will come out Tuesday or Wednesday to put in the new line.
I am excited; I will be able to fuse to my hearts content by the end of next week. Everything is falling into place so easily this time. I usual have fight with someone when I make changes like this. Either "The Man" disagrees with my ideas, or the cost is too ridiculous, or the placement of my new shop just doesn't work with the arrangement in the garage or......etc. I have tried to set a new arrangement in motion before and hit one obstacle after another. So it’s really nice to sail right through this without a hitch. ha
I have a local bead store that is buying my beads now. Its really rewarding to know that there are people out there that love my beads as much as I do. Ha I have an appointment with the owner today to take in my second order of 20 sets. This time she wanted spring colors, MY FAVORITE! I love the bright happy colors that you see each spring and in these beads.

Here are a few pics of my new toy and where it will go.

School of Thought FISH

Ok, I am a nut............I can not stop making these silly little fish. I must admit, I am getting tons better. I am actual proud of what comes out of the kiln now. ha I will add a picture of my last three fish just to show off. LOL

Speaking of kilns...........I HAVE A NEW ONE! I am so excited. Its just for fusing. I have wanted to do fusing for years and years but never had the courage to give it a try. I am not sure why, when I make beads the glass is melting in the range of 1800 degrees, so why is fusing so intimidating........go figure. ha The new kiln came yesterday and is sitting in the garage in it's box until "The Man" comes home. I need help lifting out that heavy sucker so it can be set up. I do need to call a electrician to come out and add a new electrical line just for the kiln. It might be over kill, but......I do not want any issues in the future while fusing and ramping up the kiln.

I will take pictures as we set it up, and yes I know.........its silly !! ha

"The Man" helped me clean up the garage for the new kiln. Ok, he did ALL the heavy stuff, I sat and sorted out the junk. (I love "The Man" and all that he does for me.) I will actually have a "glass section" in the garage now, no longer the small little area on the side. Its amazing how much junk we accumulated over the years since we moved in. After going through the two huge standing shelves, sorting out the junk, sorting out the stuff for freecycle, we have almost one shelf empty. We had to hunt around the garage to find things to put on it. ha

Has anyone ever used the "freecycle" before. It is a wonderful website where you can get rid of usable items you no longer want or need. You just post that you have XYZ and then you wait for the emails to come in. I have given away tons of things through this website and in the past it has worked out really well. Lately it has been a pain in my ass. So many times now people say they will pick up the item and then never show up. URGHHH I don't know..........maybe its some of the younger generation with their "entitlement" attitude. Maybe I am just impatient for my "give aways" to be gone. But......I still think if you say you are are going to show up at a specific time.......they do it.

Actually, now that I think about it........I think I can blame my impatience on my ex, its his fault.!! LOL ( don't you just love it when you can blame everything on your ex, LOL) Ok........moving on with that goofy thought. He used to be.........actually, he still is.............ALWAYS LATE. No matter what the occasion, he was late. I used to tell him he would be late to his funeral. ha

Ok, I guess thats enough excitment and ranting for one day. ha Check out my fishy obsession. thanks for reading............

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6179096