What I Did On My Spring Break

With my folks antici-pating bad flooding of their riverside property this spring, i flew up to Manitoba to do what i could to help raise everything in dad's studio to a level of 3 feet above the floor. It was a huge job and i still can't believe we got it done in a week. Back in New Mexico now, i am keeping my ear on Manitoba flood updates. We'll see what happens in the next couple of weeks, but the long, slow thaw this spring bodes better than the "worst case scenario" predictions.

At some point this winter a shepherd mix pup crossed the river ice and took shelter under my parent's back deck. She was pretty feral, and between flood-prep tasks i took it upon myself to dog-whisper her into socialization. My family and the immediate neighbors were all concerned for her welfare and hoped we could find a dog rescuer that was willing to take on a difficult case. We thought it unlikely that she would be "adoptable" while she remained scared of people. But in five days we got her from cautiously coming out from under the deck to take kibble from a hand, to letting me scratch her belly. Sadly, someone not involved in her rehab called in the big guns and she was dragged away at the end of a noose pole the same day i left for home.

Get your pets spayed and neutered, get your next pet at a shelter, and please support your local animal rescue group.

Perky New Card of Business

On a whim last night i took some time to design a new business card. The basic card design i started out with was very simple, kind of fresh and clean and new. It had a plain white background and just a few colored balls on one end that could look almost beadlike if you were inclined to see them that way. It had my name and status ("glass bead maker"), and my etsy shop address, and that was it.

And then i pretty much went the opposite way and ended up with this ornate, old fashioned style of thing. It was past my bedtime, and so i called it a day and ordered 250.

As i look at it this morning i'm shaking my head. iI'm wishing i had stayed up just a little bit later, since the next logical step would have been to go with a design somewhere between the two extremes... But i used VistaPrint, so all i paid for these cards was the five and a half bucks for shipping. And since the whole point of having business cards is to give them away, well i feel right now like i won't be able to get rid of these ones fast enough!

Yay Glass Pearls Color Combo

I'm going to be terribly busy for the next few weeks with two HUGE bead orders, but while i was waiting for my shipment of the required ivory colored glass, i worked on these transparent rounds with fine silver foil and thick encasing. I had the amber set and the blue set on the counter together and i absolutely loved the combination. Although i've listed the sets separately in the shop, i almost hated to separate them.

Freshwater Limpet

My husband, as a biologist, collects various organisms from local water bodies, and was surprised to discover that one of his aquaria has been housing a population of freshwater limpets. He didn't even know such a thing existed. Click on the photo to go to his video on YouTube to watch the tiny gastropods in action.

Back to Business

I've had my dear friend from way back visit with me for a while, and i had some downtime with a cold, but things are back to normal now and the beads are finally getting made again.

One item in the shop now is this set of four little bones made with the Messy Color glass called Stone Ground. The round bead i made using this color wasn't very interesting, but it really shines when used kind of sculpturally, like in my bones. Then many different, albeit pretty subtle, colors are brought out. A lot of the Messy Color glasses behave like this and it's really nice.

I used another Messy Color called Sangre to make the red set of rounds. An encased layer of fine silver foil (melted off and reduced) provides that neat pearly, metallic residue.

Where's the Cat Drain?

Stinky we hardly ever see, but then he'll come inside and get a couple of days of loving and spoiling, and then take off again. And there is a tom we haven't even named. He just sneaks in the cat door to scarf down kibble when he thinks no humans are around, and if he hears a sound he's gone like a shot. The last kitty we took in is a real sweetie. He was sick last week and had us wondering if there was such a thing as feline polio. We feared he would never chase a laser dot again. But antibiotics have pulled him through.

I love them all, but sometimes i think longingly of this handy gauge we saw labeled on an aircraft carrier, and how much simpler (and less hairy) things would be... if i could just find the "cat drain" lever or button.

Oodles of Soft Glow Beads

I sent a nice big custom order out yesterday. It was a pleasure to have a couple of hands full of these lovely beads, even if for just a little while. :-D