New items on Etsy

Today was a rough day at work but we're due for sleet and a serious cold front so I'm hoping for a snow day... Maya has a bad infection and we need to up her allergy shots so my husband is trying to sweet talk her into taking her antibiotics and steroids. It's not working but it's kinda funny to watch. She's the sweetest dog on the planet but not a good pill taker. On the human front, I'm due for allergy testing Monday so Maya should be happy that I'll have to do it to although it should be slightly less traumatic for me since I won't have to be knocked out for it, although my husband might prefer it!

Anyway, I'm working on a couple of new projects that I should have pics to post tomorrow and I've added a couple of new pendants to my ETSY store. One of which is this one. She's one of my favorites since I picture her as one of the really sassy WWII women that I think helped keep America running, and extremely interesting, during an unbelievably difficult time.

I love my des chiens!

... and my Google home page. We're in the process of switching internet providers since Comcast was purchased by Time Warner (and I've come to loathe Time Warner since they seem to have a serious issue with actually being able to keep internet connectivity) so I'm just making the jump over to gmail.

I set up my google home page with my horoscope - my husband warned me about the horoscope and that it was not a happy go lucky little horoscope but in fact was very "heavy" but sheesh! I've also a few other fun little items including: the date/time, the moon phases, word of the day, movie times, headlines, gmail, weather in my area (and London, England - just 'cause) and tips I should know. It's sort of like my own personally daily Farmer's Almanac... maybe that's just a Midwestern thing! :)

This is a fun little pendant I made using some optometrist's lenses I got from eBay. The middle is clear but the sides are frosted so the "chien" text was off center so it could be read in the clear part, turns out when I applied the diamond glaze the frosted glass edges disappeared so now I'm calling the off-center text artistic choice for added interest. The piece is to keep a little piece of my puppies close to me when I'm at work all day...

Speaking of which, tomorrow we have to take Maya (the Akita) back to the dermatologist because her allergies are back and out of control. We'd finally gotten her off the steroids and antibiotics and on the allergy shots but she's had a bad flare up. I'm hoping he can do something to help her. I feel like she's miserable but this might be worse on us than her but I hate to think she's miserable and can't tell us. I'll keep you posted.

Art Days

I had a great time on Friday with my friend Kate and can't wait to see how the vase experiment turns out next week. Mostly, I practiced cutting glass which can be tricky given the different types of glass, variations by color, etc so I appreciated the practice with Kate around. I've also spent most of today working on a fairly substantial Christmas art gift, sorry no pics yet!

Thursday night we did manage to see The Queen. The theater was packed but it was worth it, my husband might not agree! We also managed to make it to the square but the crowds kept us from staying very long but I found a great pack of dominoes that I can't wait to put to good use.
My husband also took me on a spending spree at the book store since he got a $100 gift certificate for filling out a survey - he swears it took 2 minutes- he's got way more patience for that kind of thing than I do but I stocked up!

No big plans for our final day of holiday freedom - maybe we'll venture out to the grocery store, I think that's the most holiday shopping I'm willing to risk!

Happy Saturday guys!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's been a quiet Thanksgiving in our house. We took the easy way out and got a smoked turkey from a bbq place ... it was very tasty and didn't take all day to make! I think we're going to head out in a little while and see The Queen. It's gotten some pretty good reviews and I love Helen Mirren. If we can stay awake long enough, I may even make my husband buy some new house shoes at the Eddie Bauer Outlet at midnight, mostly just because we could. :)

Tomorrow morning I'm heading to my friend Kate's to make a vase. She's got the super cool glass kilns and tools so we're going to play in her studio for a few hours. Tomorrow afternoon we're heading to the square for the "Dickens of a Christmas". We've lived here for 6 years and have never managed to do it but tomorrow's the day - well, that's the plan any way!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone ... if you're not in the US, well, it's probably the weekend and that's a good reason to be thankful too!

Sorry about the down time!

I've taken a little unexpected down time this week! It's been hectic but definitely improving. My doctor's appointment went well and I've got a new migraine medication that I take daily - Weds I double the dosage so I'm hoping it doesn't make me loopy. My husband assures me I have very little wiggle room in this area! The good news is that the new medication is working and I've only had to take the bad migraine medicine once so that's very exciting. There was no blood taken this visit either, although she mentioned that I should visit an allergist and there would be lab potential next month. I'm just excited that I think I might be able to eek out of November without needles so woo hoo!

I've been working on some art projects but since they're mostly gifts there's not a lot I can post in terms of photos. As soon as the holidays are over there will be lots of goodies to be seen. I'm also working on a few things just for me but they're a little time consuming but I'm very excited about the upcoming holidays to do nothing but eat turkey, play in the art room and watch movies.

On the movie front, we saw Casino Royale yesterday and it was fabulous!!! I've been a Daniel Craig fan for a long time and Layer Cake is quickly becoming one of my husband's favorite movies and Casino Royale offered a little something for both of us since we're huge James Bond fans. Definitely a must see for Bond fans.

Since I don't have any new photos of art, I thought I would pull out another Europe photo. I went with one from London of Harrod's in honor of James Bond and the beginning of the shopping frenzy - it seemed appropriate.

It's been a year since our trip and I'm starting to seriously bug the hubby about our next adventure. So far we're in talks about the Czech Republic, the Christmas Markets as a group Tour and Italy. I'm taking votes and comments. :)

Tired and blah...

This has been a long couple of days with zero art happening. I've got tons of ideas but not enough time or energy. (I should warn you that this could be a slightly whiny post but I feel better having given you notice.)

The basic gist of it is that we get up at 5am and don't get home until 12/13 hours later. With dinner, dishes, etc it's pretty much late evening before I'm walking into the studio but we've both been feeling icky so mostly it's just being plopped down in front of the tv which drives me crazy because it takes up all my free evening time... but, I'm addicted to alot of shows so while TIVO helps me out, I've got a serious tv addict monkey on my back. I can't give up The Amazing Race or CSI/CSI:NY (I can't even begin to talk about my reality tv addictions - like Project Runway, Top Chef and Survivor) and the group at work has ganged up on me and forced me under their spell with their love of Heroes... seriously, it's a problem.

When not plopped down in front of the tv, I'm taking my fairly serious migraine medicine and curled up in a ball in bed asleep - or hoping for sleep. I see the doctor again tomorrow - 3rd dr's appt in 6 weeks each requiring blood to be drawn. My arms look like I've got a problem worse than a TIVO obsession; the lab techs and I are starting to be on a first name basis!

Also, we have yet to talk about the most crazy addiction of all - the book monkey. I have stacks and stacks of books waiting to be read. I've managed to squeak out extra reading time to and from work - I carpool with the hubby (so don't worry about me being a road hazard!) - at least an hour each way so that's some pretty good book time. But, I have to read before bed, otherwise I can't sleep, admittedly I sometimes lose track of time and realize it's midnight and I'm now in trouble 'cause of the 5am wake up call. ... Maybe I should be including that in my migraine journal!

OY! Where does it all end? My friend, Gwen, and I kid because for a while I was riding the train back and forth and kept talking about how I was a hamster running in the wheel but getting no where (seriously, the train is strictly North & South so there weren't even hills or curves to break up the ride!) but let's be clear - my route may be boring but my wheel is pink and sparkley!

Ok, I appreciate you guys listening to me rant. I'm sorry for wallowing in what is clearly, self-indulgent whining about too much TV and too many books - I'm starting to feel pretty seriously embarrassed given that there are actual problems in the world besides too many tv shows in their season pass manager. I'm going to bed and will try to wake up with a better attitude - at least the dr's appointment means I get to sleep until 7am! :)

Bluegrass in Missouri!

We've been unbelievably busy this weekend trying to play catch up on all the things we haven't been doing. We finally got all of the Halloween decorations down and have just moved on to a little bit of Christmas cheer. We decided not to go all out this year and just do a few things and 1 tree instead of the usual two with 15 baby trees all through out the house... we're giving someone else a chance to take on the winter wonderland challenge this year!

I do have some big art/jewelry plans so I'm hoping now that the house is finally straightened, cleaned, mopped, etc I can spend so significant time in the studio and workshop getting some Christmas presents done. I can't wait for Thanksgiving and time off to sleep in and goof off!

On a musical note, if you find yourself in the Springfield, Missouri area on Dec 15th, you should check out my brother's band Doc Brown's Odyssey . They're really good and bluegrass offers fun for the whole family! ;)

Happy Birthday Mom!

This is a piece that I made for my Mom for her b-day. It's a pic of my Dad with my Grandmother when he was only 4 years old. I had to send it in the mail to Missouri and was a little nervous about the shipping but it arrived safe and sound. :)

Happy Birthday MOM!

On the non-birthday front (but definitely applicable to the upcoming winter holidays), I bought a bunch of glass today at lunch and have big plans, I'll keep you posted on the progress! I do have to say that my local, well fairly local since there really is no such thing as local in Dallas, glass shop is fabulous. Every time I go in they are unbelievably helpful and much nicer than I have come to expect when making a retail purchase. Also, if you go back a few times they start to recognize you and throw in a couple of extra pieces of spare glass or "forget" to ring up the patina. It's fantastic service that I always find shockingly enjoyable so if you're in the Dallas area and in the market for stained glass supplies or want to see some gorgeous glass pieces then stop in here. I definitely advocate shopping the smaller local stores when you can... also, make nice with them and they will seriously take care of you!

Happy Thursday guys!

Vote!!!

Okay, most people have probably voted, or not voted, by now but just in case. I'm urging everyone to get out there and perform your civic duty. I always think of the Northern Exposure episode where Chris went to the polling place dressed in a suit - he's was more than a little attractive but I digress - just to watch the democratic process at work (he couldn't vote because he was a convicted felon). I mean seriously, that used to be one of the worst punishments inflicted upon people, losing their right to vote - not losing cable or internet access, or their FREEDOM but the privilege of voting.

So get out their and cast your ballot!

This blog was paid for and supported by no one but me! :)

New Commission Collage

This is a piece a friend of mine commissioned for a housewarming/Christmas gift. Both of their names start with an "M" so that explains the back. :)

I had fun making the background and playing with the layers but got a little bit stuck on linking it all together. I decided to have fun with the words, added a little glitter and viola... finished piece. I hope my friend likes it!

I'm heading out to the garage/workshop for a long soldering session. My husband had to go to a visitation and funeral for his great-aunt tonight so I'm hoping to make some serious head way on my art list! As always, I'll keep you posted.

Dia De Los Muertos

I always think of my friend Yuri today, he's from Mexico, and today is the 2nd day of the Dia De Los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead. It's a beautiful tradition that is celebrated in Mexico and that Yuri really loves. It is not his partner's favorite holiday, the skulls can be a little overwhelming if you aren't used to them!

Anyway, it's a great day to remember those who have passed and to tell the people who are still with you that you love them. I also use it as an excuse to eat Mexican food 3 meals a day! You can find out more about this gorgeous tradition here.