Listening to the news this morning you'd think the whole west coast was a solid sheet of ice from Oregon to Canada. We got snow late last night and then the temps dropped down into the teens early this morning, thus the sheet of ice. Now, my fear of ice driving or being a passenger in icy conditions is HUGE. I was in three ice related accidents in a two week period. One of them included being run over/into by a spinning pinto station wagon as I tried to run out of its way. I am pretty sure she hit me while I was in mid-air. Needless to say I didn't leave for work this morning I am home getting caught up here.
Sammy, excited by all the snow hopped out of bed at 4:00 am turned the bright hall light on fed the dogs and turned them out (including putting Glorias' coat on) I couldn't believe she was up so early and then I made her wait until 8:00 for the rest of the humans in the neighborhood to get up before we went outside. Poor kid she was "snow" excited she was fit to burst.
I finished listing ALL of my bottlestoppers over at the Etsy shop and may do a bit more editing and adding of other items later. I also divided things into sections. I am really having fun with the whole thing since they updated to V2. Not a plug to make you look it is just something I am really enjoying doing.

Let it *Snow* and other random thoughts~
We woke up yesterday to about two inches that melted away over the course of the day. this morning it is a sheet of ice out there and school is two hours late. Just a little bit ago we had another mini blizzard it blew in here and covered everything with a fresh skiff in about five minutes flat. Hmm... keep my little girlie home or send her out?
The coffee just tastes better on days like this. Right about now I wish I had a cozy wood stove out in the garage~studio It would make it so much easier to talk myself into melting some glass today! I must as I have orders to fill.
I have also been busy adding more things to the etsy shop this morning. Mostly keychains and later some bottle stoppers.

Giving Thanks~ I am thankful for so many things I don't know where to begin, My family is healthy, I am thankful. My pets are healthy, I am thankful. My Friends (sorry the pets got mentioned first didn't they :) are healthy and I am thankful for that as well. Most of all I am thankful to just be
yep just to be...
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you~

An Old favorite of mine~
The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Cups of Coffee

When things in your lives seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."
The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.
"Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things--your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.


The sand is everything else---the small stuff. "If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you. "Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

It is all about the weather lately... Yesterday was no different. We had very strong winds throughout the state. The worst of them were up north I think the strongest gust here was somewhere between 50 - 60 mph. We lost power for about 6 hours. Matt hooked up the generator and we watched news and kept the cold things cold :) Then the cable went out too so we played Sorry with Sammy until bedtime. Matt won~ Power came back on in the night and the heater coming on was a welcome sound. My Etsy shop is back up and I really like the new format they designed. I will be adding some loose beads soon. Take a look!

And then the winds came... It was very windy throughout the night. Matt and I didn't get much sleep. Sam slept like a little log and we didn't hear a peep from the dogs either. Sams lunch is made her breakfast is eaten and she is out the door with her daddy. Off to school~
I am just sitting here sipping my coffee trying to get motivated to go out and cook up some beads.
We got our electrical problem taken care of for the time being. There is a "bad ground" somewhere between the house and the transformer. They came out yesterday (Sunday can you believe it?) and put in a temporary transformer until they can get back out and do a wire trace? We lucked out they were in the area doing a repair and just happened to have the transformer for some reason or other. I guess what the guy meant to say was " We don't usually show up on Sunday within 20 minutes of your call." hehe...
Have a Great Day!

Hehe... my day started with the news that my usual route was "closed due to flooding" I always get up a little early so I can have a coffee and catch the news. So I jumped into the shower after I finished debating with myself about whether I should even go down the hill. I finished up and grabbed the camera and headed out. Now about halfway down the hill there was a flashing sign that warned of the closure. Thing is at this point you can no longer exit! I was chuckling to myself. Traffic was very slow, everyone was funneling through the small town where I work. All of the highway traffic down Main Street Sumner. I was happy to have a few backroads to follow. I finally got to work after 45 minutes this is normally a 10 - 15 minute drive~ getting home took 2 hours. The damage to me personally was small, my family is safe and dry our pets are cozy in our home. I just spent more time driving than I usually do. My friends however had some stories to tell. A dike gave out in Orting and the river came up suddenly and quickly. Animals and homes were lost. It breaks my heart to hear about the animals, somebody thought it was a good idea to tie them up. I am heart sick over that. A sweet little backyard creek turned ino a raging torrent of water washing away years of love and care, the damages are still being assessed.

Be thankful for the peaceful moments in your life,

hug your loved ones as often as you can,

and above all Don't get so attatched to your "stuff"

you don't get to keep it in the end anyway.

A "little" flooding here. My fifteen minute drive to work turned into forty five and coming home was even more fun (read dripping with sarcasm) Boy the things we take for granted like getting around easily, electricity, warm heat and water from the tap~ I took some pictures of the flooding and will share all the drama when I am not so exhausted :)
((Hugs))

Life is about adjusting whether it be adjusting your outfit to the weather or an attitude adjustment. Learning to accept and adjust isn't an easy lesson but it is a worthwhile one. I was reading some life lessons written by my little circle of friends. Mostly it was about things you realized at the age of forty that you wish you'd realized sooner. For me it was about realizing that I can't control and am not responsible for the actions of others. Whew what a load off! I am excited to say that Everything isn't my fault. Except for the fact that now I am writing in italics yep that is my fault. LOL I am such a computer illiterate. Just ask my brother I send him blank e-mails all the time. Well thats about enough of this~
Night!

Lately I've been checking this out: http://www.wavelit.com/?ch=Wildlife&sh=africam
It's fun to take a peek at the animals when there are some. I was just watching some gazelle and baboons. The sounds are fascinating, the dogs think so too. I also like to go and look at Petes Pond They are taking that one down soon for the rainy season.
Today we are facing flooding here speaking of the rainy season. The weather folks are saying this will be the worst in over ten years. Yikes!
Here are some more bead pix to soothe your senses~

Driving upstream! That was what coming home felt like tonight. We have had torrential rain and warm wind for most of the afternoon so lots and lots of water running down and across the roadways. I left work around 4:30, just in time for the last bit of light to leave the sky. Some how I ended up on the freeway behind a motorcycle at first I kind of dreaded that thinking the last thing I ever want is to run over some poor guy that tips his bike over. I pretty much decided he was probably safest in front of me (I leave lots of room) Just as we started up the hill he almost lost it and then he kind of slowed w a y down like he was going to stop Yikes! he finally got himself stabilized after a moment or two and we proceeded on up the hill. I sure hope he didn't have much further to go. I am really happy to be home safe and sound. The first big winter storm is supposed to hit Sunday night into Monday so batten down the hatches ~
Here are some more bead pix to keep you happy :)

Well I thought I'd give it another shot so here they are? :) I am off to do a small local show today and I hope it goes well. I am actually hoping somebody else cancels so I can even get in hehe not the way I really like to plan things so I'll just be waiting to see...

I can't get the pictures to load
~Sorry~

We had our first good frosty cold snap this week. Burr... I wasn't ready for it. I have to adjust my timing when I make beads they need to go from the flame to the kiln a wee bit quicker when it is that cold or annealing cracks appear. I got out of practice over the long hot summer and had two beads from Mondays session that had cracks. Ah well maybe it is time to turn the heat back on in the garage :) I also had a little piece of glass snap off and land right on my lip this week ouch that hurt. Luckily my fingers were so cold I could use them for ice hehe. Today it is pouring buckets of rain and a bit warmer out Yay! Here are some shots of beads currently up for auction on Justbeads~ Seeya!
Kris

I have been busy with my good friend "the flu" this week. Maybe I am just getting a bit worn down trying to do to many things? Hmmm... I don't think that'll stop me though :)
More to come soon~

Many of you know I go to Dewey Beach Delaware with my sister every October for the annual Greyhound Gathering. There is always an adventure or drama of some sort waiting. One year there was a hotel fire and I went into the office and helped myself to the keys with the blessing of the local police. I was looking for a master key and the jackass in charge was outside on the phone with someone? Anyway this year it was the weather. My first Nor'easter made quite an impression on me. Being on the Delaware coast with high winds and rain during one of the seasons highest tides~ wow! The bay crept up onto the road and toward the ocean at least a few blocks. The tents everyone vends out of were taken down partly by high winds and then by choice because of the danger. Vendors scrambled for new locations and many found them. We found out where others were located. Folks had come to shop specific vendors, some have quite a following and I was happy to be able to tell them where they were. We stayed in a condo this year and that sucker rocked and spun in the wind like a cruise ship. It was partly on pillars and really got moving, heck that thing was moving the first night we were there before the real winds came :) I thought my room was haunted and really had to work hard to convince myself otherwise and not run screaming down the stairs. Stupid wild imagination. I for the life of me could not figure out why my bed, which was still, would suddenly flutter a bit wtf? I thought something was wrong with the box spring and all kinds of things anything, but haunting? That takes the cake hehehe...
Dewey 2006 What a ride!

ackkk... Where did the summer go? We are actually enjoying sunshine and 70's this week. Good thing because I have big beads to make and chilly weather would cause more thermal shock and all, you know. I hate dodging hot exploding glass! Dewey is looming and of course I have a last minute idea Fueled by Sue~ my sis. I am making beads like mad and surely will be exhausted enough to sleep on the flight out, I hope as it seems I won't have a chance to run out and buy a novel for the plane. Maybe I have something in the "Donor box" Books I'd never choose for myself but am trying to read so I can "broaden" my horizons. Whatever... some are really great and then there was "Sex in The City" I barely got through the first chapter not enough to keep me interested I guess, Must've been a heckuva show though? I am excited about the dicro images and can't wait to see what kind of a reception they get. I will be schlepping all the loose beads along as well as the Seattle Lampworks Jewelry. I have a couple regulars in Dewey not like the "famous" people though :) You know who you are!! I aspire to join the club but as long as I have to keep my day job I guess I'll just be bringing up the rear~
Love to you all, see you real soon!

Things accomplished hmm... Today I organized my Bullseye Glass. It is my favorite to work in the flame. I keep wandering back to my first love the wildly exotic and tempermental Effetre but using it just makes me love my stable and steady Bullseye more, I don't love the Effetre less I just love the Bullseye more...
All sorted and tidy just as I like it. I can't cook unless I clean the kitchen first either, wonder what that says about me? Last week I ordered some Dichroic images with my own art on them! I was so excited to have this done. I got them on Thursday and used some today with a new bead press I ordered especially for the dichroic images. They are the biggest beads I have ever made. I keep thinking to myself "That isn't a bead it's a frisbee!" :)

Today is the day~ Perfect for pictures of the Rose that grows because of Grace. A Little pictorial tribute to Grandma and the love of growing things I inherited from her. I'll start with shots of "The Rose" A little pink bud and a rare second blooming for fall~
A Picture of Grandma as a girl~
A picture on the cruise before she passed.
I can see it in her eyes...
I am so glad she got to go to Mexico that one last time she was so excited about it when I telked to her before she left her spirits were higher than they had been in months, the doctor had just declared her Cancer Free for the second time in her life. How ironic that she would die from a massive heart attack. I am so thankful we were close at the end and I talked to her often. I am especially thankful for that last phone call we had :)

Cool crisp autumn air~ Woo finally :) I love a cool feel to the morning air it is so refreshing. Work is still rough as they haven't replaced my buddy yet and vacations must go on. I keep looking behind me to see if I have worked my ass off yet....hmph no such luck, ahh well such is my life.
I took pictures of the monster rose but haven't put them into the computer as of yet so you'll just have to live with bead pix again unless I can find something else of interest to put up.
I have been reading an excellent book I discovered in my grandmas things. It is inspiring in a way that I feel is very personal as if it were written for me. The book is called Simple Abundance I am sure it was popular a few years ago as the title was familiar when I first noticed it. It isn't what I assumed... What I am trying to say is it is helping me see things in a new light and the path is clearer. The entry for September 8th starts with a quote from Helen Keller "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable." and then further along is this " Perhaps you're skilled in one occupation but not thrilled about using those skills anymore. Some other work does secretly thrill you . But the stakes seem too high."
Yep I am thrilled, not so secretly, by lampwork and glass and some of the stakes are high.
Saturday is Grandmas memorial it has taken a long time for everyone to prepare for this.
She passed away in April and I miss her every day. She was a wonderful woman, a perfect lady
and an awesome fisherman ;)