Words are getting in the way today. I am trying like hell to finish up these blogs posts, but the words that usually come so easily seem like a distraction to me today. I can usually put Pandora radio on the iPad while I write and have background music, but today, I seem to notice every single word from the lyrics that are coming through the speakers. It's driving me mad. I need to concentrate on this, and, well, it's just not working...
Strange today that my back is hurting me down through my knees, the same way it did at the beginning of all this digestive unpleasantness, and sure enough, my stomach has gone on strike today. Nothing sits right when I eat. Going to the chiropractor this afternoon to see if that helps a bit, and then I think I should have acupuncture this Friday instead of trying to go for another two week stretch without a treatment. Damn it all...
Monday, November 21, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Sunday
Tom is off deer hunting today, and he called me this morning to tell me that he got the buck he had been watching since he arrived in Greene on Friday afternoon! Truthfully, I was a little worried about what would happen if he didn't get a deer. He's had such rotten luck so far this season and he missed out on his big island hunt with Rob and The Guys in October. It'll be nice for him to have venison in the freezer this winter!
Colden and I are having a lazy morning. We're both still in our pajamas, although I did actually make it into the shower to wash my hair and clean up a bit. It's a windy, overcast day today, with a sprinkling of rain. We've had breakfast (sort of) and watched The Santa Clause 2 (oy) and are hanging out in his bedroom, sort of cleaning and straightening up and sort of playing with his favorite magnetic fishing game.
Tom called me last night when I was just about to have a nervous breakdown. I had finished the last of the "chicken" strips for lunch, and Colden decided that he wanted them for dinner. (After we had come back from Oma and Opa's house, where we had mac and cheese and peas for dinner.) So in addition to the guilt I felt from eating the last of the strips and the exhaustion and aches, I had a screaming nearly-four-year-old to soothe.
After Colden finally went to sleep, Tom sent me a text message. I can't repeat it here, but it made me laugh. So we sent text messages back and forth for about half an hour before we both conked out and needed to go to sleep. I felt like my sister, who texts back and forth with her husband all day long. What's next for Tom - a Facebook account?!
Beading later. I got some ideas that I need to start working on before my deadlines completely overwhelm me and I drown.
Colden and I are having a lazy morning. We're both still in our pajamas, although I did actually make it into the shower to wash my hair and clean up a bit. It's a windy, overcast day today, with a sprinkling of rain. We've had breakfast (sort of) and watched The Santa Clause 2 (oy) and are hanging out in his bedroom, sort of cleaning and straightening up and sort of playing with his favorite magnetic fishing game.
Tom called me last night when I was just about to have a nervous breakdown. I had finished the last of the "chicken" strips for lunch, and Colden decided that he wanted them for dinner. (After we had come back from Oma and Opa's house, where we had mac and cheese and peas for dinner.) So in addition to the guilt I felt from eating the last of the strips and the exhaustion and aches, I had a screaming nearly-four-year-old to soothe.
After Colden finally went to sleep, Tom sent me a text message. I can't repeat it here, but it made me laugh. So we sent text messages back and forth for about half an hour before we both conked out and needed to go to sleep. I felt like my sister, who texts back and forth with her husband all day long. What's next for Tom - a Facebook account?!
Beading later. I got some ideas that I need to start working on before my deadlines completely overwhelm me and I drown.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Up the Ante.
It's been years since I did any bead shopping down in New York City. The last time I went was the year before I got pregnant with Colden, and I can still remember traipsing around the fashion district with my two friends, buying beads, eating falafel from a street vendor...
I may not be able to do the street vendor falafel thing this time around, but I can certainly still shop for beads! (I'm thinking maybe some meal replacement bars from my favorite place in Willsboro will have to do instead of the falafel.) So the other day, I bought a train ticket down to Penn Station for the first weekend in December to spend some time hanging out with friends and hitting the bead shops in NYC.
Maybe it was that episode of Project Accessory where they went to the Swarovski store in Manhattan that got to me. Or maybe it's just that I haven't been away to do anything fun in a very long time. And now that I *can* have a little getaway without feeling horribly guilty over finances, I think I need to do this.
Besides, it'll give me great blogging material!
Speaking of blogging, make sure you take a few minutes and check out this blog over at the Lark Crafts site! They've asked bead artists for their recommendations for holiday book wishlists, and right now, you can read my recommendations (there are quite a few!) as well as the recommendations of my beady friend Jill Wiseman of Tapestry Beads!
Got to get back to it now...we've got a holiday weekend coming up, and I still need to get two more blog/newsletters out of my brain and on to the proof reader...
I may not be able to do the street vendor falafel thing this time around, but I can certainly still shop for beads! (I'm thinking maybe some meal replacement bars from my favorite place in Willsboro will have to do instead of the falafel.) So the other day, I bought a train ticket down to Penn Station for the first weekend in December to spend some time hanging out with friends and hitting the bead shops in NYC.
Maybe it was that episode of Project Accessory where they went to the Swarovski store in Manhattan that got to me. Or maybe it's just that I haven't been away to do anything fun in a very long time. And now that I *can* have a little getaway without feeling horribly guilty over finances, I think I need to do this.
Besides, it'll give me great blogging material!
Speaking of blogging, make sure you take a few minutes and check out this blog over at the Lark Crafts site! They've asked bead artists for their recommendations for holiday book wishlists, and right now, you can read my recommendations (there are quite a few!) as well as the recommendations of my beady friend Jill Wiseman of Tapestry Beads!
Got to get back to it now...we've got a holiday weekend coming up, and I still need to get two more blog/newsletters out of my brain and on to the proof reader...
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Babies
In the last month, four of my friends have announced that they are pregnant. Some of them are having second and third babies; some of them are having first babies. Most of them are my age or older, which made made Tom and I have the big talk again: are we going to have a second baby?
The more I thought about it, the more I thought that at this point in my life, with our financial situation being what it is, I can either have a second baby or a career. I don't see any practical way of doing both right now. And I'm 37. I certainly don't see myself doing the round-the-clock feeding thing again when I'm 40. (As it is now, we still have to get up sometimes four times a night with Colden!)
We had always thought about having a second baby so that Colden wouldn't be an only child. Tom's mom was an only child, and she has always said that the one thing she really wanted was a sibling. I have to admit that since my mom passed away a few years ago, I've become closer to my sister. I would love for Colden to have a brother or sister that he could have that experience like Tom and I did.
But. I just don't think it's in the cards. Not right now, anyway. Maybe I'll change my mind in a year. Maybe we'll find a way to do it in a year. But for right now, we're just going to enjoy Colden, and enjoy watching him grow up, even if it makes me a little sad that he's doing it all by himself...
The more I thought about it, the more I thought that at this point in my life, with our financial situation being what it is, I can either have a second baby or a career. I don't see any practical way of doing both right now. And I'm 37. I certainly don't see myself doing the round-the-clock feeding thing again when I'm 40. (As it is now, we still have to get up sometimes four times a night with Colden!)
We had always thought about having a second baby so that Colden wouldn't be an only child. Tom's mom was an only child, and she has always said that the one thing she really wanted was a sibling. I have to admit that since my mom passed away a few years ago, I've become closer to my sister. I would love for Colden to have a brother or sister that he could have that experience like Tom and I did.
But. I just don't think it's in the cards. Not right now, anyway. Maybe I'll change my mind in a year. Maybe we'll find a way to do it in a year. But for right now, we're just going to enjoy Colden, and enjoy watching him grow up, even if it makes me a little sad that he's doing it all by himself...
Monday, November 14, 2011
More NaSeeBeMo
We are now at Day 14 of the month of November, and so far, I have managed to bead every single day, even if it was only for ten or fifteen minutes. Feels pretty darn good.
This is my Arabesque challenge piece for the Etsy Beadweavers' Team. I have to have this baby finished and listed in my Etsy shop before midnight on December 5. I'm pretty confident that I'll have it ready to go by then!
I'm amazed at how much I've accomplished just by breaking down this large-scale piece of bead embroidery into manageable pieces. I think to myself, okay, I'll just stitch this one line here. And then when that's done, I tell myself that I can stitch one more line before I have to get up and do something else. Then when my thread is finished, I start on another section of it.
I'm purposely keeping my threads short so that I give myself that good ol' pat on the back for accomplishing something. I love it.
I also managed to get the brass collar form for my Day of the Dead challenge covered in Ultrasuede the other day. Once I finish edging it with those tiny black seed beads using brick stitch, I'll start adding the embellishment with the beads. This is going to be interesting...I'm still trying to figure out how to add the lampwork sugar skull. It might involve some wire work and a cabochon, we'll see.
And on that note, I'm trying to plan a few days away down in NYC with some friends for some bead shopping. It's been far too long since I've been down there for a visit, and I need some time away from home to recharge my batteries. While I'm there, I think I'm going to have to hit Rockefeller Square to see all the Christmas decorations and eat some street vendor falafel. Sometimes I really miss living so close to the city, but I can't imagine living anywhere else but here.
This is my Arabesque challenge piece for the Etsy Beadweavers' Team. I have to have this baby finished and listed in my Etsy shop before midnight on December 5. I'm pretty confident that I'll have it ready to go by then!
I'm amazed at how much I've accomplished just by breaking down this large-scale piece of bead embroidery into manageable pieces. I think to myself, okay, I'll just stitch this one line here. And then when that's done, I tell myself that I can stitch one more line before I have to get up and do something else. Then when my thread is finished, I start on another section of it.
I'm purposely keeping my threads short so that I give myself that good ol' pat on the back for accomplishing something. I love it.
I also managed to get the brass collar form for my Day of the Dead challenge covered in Ultrasuede the other day. Once I finish edging it with those tiny black seed beads using brick stitch, I'll start adding the embellishment with the beads. This is going to be interesting...I'm still trying to figure out how to add the lampwork sugar skull. It might involve some wire work and a cabochon, we'll see.
And on that note, I'm trying to plan a few days away down in NYC with some friends for some bead shopping. It's been far too long since I've been down there for a visit, and I need some time away from home to recharge my batteries. While I'm there, I think I'm going to have to hit Rockefeller Square to see all the Christmas decorations and eat some street vendor falafel. Sometimes I really miss living so close to the city, but I can't imagine living anywhere else but here.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Foggy
The last couple of days, I've felt like I've been in a total brain fog, which is not a good thing for a writer/blogger. My attention jumps from piece to piece as I'm writing. I probably shouldn't have sixteen pieces open at once in my word processor, but there it is.
I did, however, manage to finish two more pieces from Bead Riffs last night and get started on another one!
I have been just itching to make those lovely little Nightingale earrings. The idea of stitching together all those tiny, shiny little Swarovski rounds just tickled me! Once the pieces were finished, I was genuinely happy with my color choice of Crystal Copper for these earrings. I seem to be gravitating towards copper and warm brown tones lately, and these will go nicely with a number of sweaters and shirts I have for winter.
The only mishap occurred when I tried to attach the earrings to the fancy sterling ear wires that I got for the project. (They were similar to the ones pictured in the book, and not the sterling round hoops you see in the picture.) I went to gently open the bottom loop of the second ear wire to add the finished earring and the loop broke right off! Considering what I paid for them, I was a little annoyed, but decided that they look just as nice on the round hoops. Unfortunately, those round hoops are NOT comfortable for me to wear, so I'm probably going to find another pair of fancy ear wires for these.
Then I started in on Drop Me Off in Harlem, another 3-dimensional right-angle weave project that I was fascinated with making.
It's truly a stunning pendant, and it came together so easily! I stitched up both bases in just over an hour, and the embellishment itself only took me another hour or so. Stitching it together took no time at all, and now all I need is a chain for it!
Similar to the Night In Tunisia necklace, the real shape of this piece didn't come together until the last step when I was stitching the bases together. But it felt wonderful in my fingers as the curves and angles came out, and I'm also pleased with my color choice of a permanent-galvanized rose gold seed bead from Beyond Beadery.
The only thing that really gave me problems was figuring out how to attach the rose montees to the top of the peyote bumps during the embellishment. I always felt like there was too much thread showing, and trying to keep those little crystals from flipping over before I could make the second and third thread passes was a challenge, too. Which leads me to....
The beginnings of 'Round Midnight! The color of this piece in the book is metallic silver, but I wanted to do something bright and cheery. I got these permanent silver-lined fuchsia from Beyond Beadery at Bead Fest a few years ago, and I've had the size 15s in this color for so long that I can't remember where I got them. (Beadin' Path? Whimbeads? I have no idea.)
If I want to master the art of adding montees to peyote bumps, this is going to be the piece that does it. I've got to add 12 montees to 12 peyote bumps. Three down, nine to go...
I really want to dive in to some of the larger and more complex pieces in the book, but I'm afraid those are going to have to wait until 2012. >sigh< I've got three big beading deadlines coming up in December, and even with NaSeeBeMo, I'll have to put off anything else until after Colden's birthday in January.
For now, though, I'm really thrilled with all the little sparkly pieces from Bead Riffs that are making their way into my jewelry box!
I did, however, manage to finish two more pieces from Bead Riffs last night and get started on another one!
I have been just itching to make those lovely little Nightingale earrings. The idea of stitching together all those tiny, shiny little Swarovski rounds just tickled me! Once the pieces were finished, I was genuinely happy with my color choice of Crystal Copper for these earrings. I seem to be gravitating towards copper and warm brown tones lately, and these will go nicely with a number of sweaters and shirts I have for winter.
The only mishap occurred when I tried to attach the earrings to the fancy sterling ear wires that I got for the project. (They were similar to the ones pictured in the book, and not the sterling round hoops you see in the picture.) I went to gently open the bottom loop of the second ear wire to add the finished earring and the loop broke right off! Considering what I paid for them, I was a little annoyed, but decided that they look just as nice on the round hoops. Unfortunately, those round hoops are NOT comfortable for me to wear, so I'm probably going to find another pair of fancy ear wires for these.
Then I started in on Drop Me Off in Harlem, another 3-dimensional right-angle weave project that I was fascinated with making.
It's truly a stunning pendant, and it came together so easily! I stitched up both bases in just over an hour, and the embellishment itself only took me another hour or so. Stitching it together took no time at all, and now all I need is a chain for it!
Similar to the Night In Tunisia necklace, the real shape of this piece didn't come together until the last step when I was stitching the bases together. But it felt wonderful in my fingers as the curves and angles came out, and I'm also pleased with my color choice of a permanent-galvanized rose gold seed bead from Beyond Beadery.
The only thing that really gave me problems was figuring out how to attach the rose montees to the top of the peyote bumps during the embellishment. I always felt like there was too much thread showing, and trying to keep those little crystals from flipping over before I could make the second and third thread passes was a challenge, too. Which leads me to....
The beginnings of 'Round Midnight! The color of this piece in the book is metallic silver, but I wanted to do something bright and cheery. I got these permanent silver-lined fuchsia from Beyond Beadery at Bead Fest a few years ago, and I've had the size 15s in this color for so long that I can't remember where I got them. (Beadin' Path? Whimbeads? I have no idea.)
If I want to master the art of adding montees to peyote bumps, this is going to be the piece that does it. I've got to add 12 montees to 12 peyote bumps. Three down, nine to go...
I really want to dive in to some of the larger and more complex pieces in the book, but I'm afraid those are going to have to wait until 2012. >sigh< I've got three big beading deadlines coming up in December, and even with NaSeeBeMo, I'll have to put off anything else until after Colden's birthday in January.
For now, though, I'm really thrilled with all the little sparkly pieces from Bead Riffs that are making their way into my jewelry box!
Monday, November 07, 2011
Sparklies
They're here! They're here! They're here!
I have been a very patient beader these last few weeks, and now it's paid off! I can't jump in and start Rondo or Dolled Up just yet since I don't have everything for those projects, but I can get started on some of those smaller pendants and rings - beaded rings! (Which will be great to go with my newly manicured fingernails.)
Saturday, November 05, 2011
NaSeeBeMo
Maybe you've heard of National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo - it's an event where writers are encouraged to write every single day during the month of November, with the idea that at the end of 30 days, you'll have a first draft of a novel, or pretty darn close to it.
One of my beading friends on Facebook, a very talented beader named Dulcey Heller, mused about what would happen if there were National Seed Beading Month in November. What a great idea! Beaders being encouraged to bead every single day for an entire 30 days!
All too often, at the end (or at the beginning) of my days, my beading gets pushed aside to do other things. I decided to pick on the NaSeeBeMo idea because I feel like I'm ready to get back into large-scale beading projects, and I just need some impetus to do it. Giving myself the encouragement to bead every single day for a whole month is something that I really need right now.
So far, we're five days into November, and I am happy to report that I have picked up my beads every single day for five days. I've made good progress on my Etsy Beadweavers' challenge piece (which is due on December 5th, yikes!) and I've made progress on a couple other pieces that were sitting on my work table.
Even if I only bead for five or ten minutes, it feels good to hold that needle in my fingers.
We'll see what the rest of NaSeeBeMo brings...!!!
One of my beading friends on Facebook, a very talented beader named Dulcey Heller, mused about what would happen if there were National Seed Beading Month in November. What a great idea! Beaders being encouraged to bead every single day for an entire 30 days!
All too often, at the end (or at the beginning) of my days, my beading gets pushed aside to do other things. I decided to pick on the NaSeeBeMo idea because I feel like I'm ready to get back into large-scale beading projects, and I just need some impetus to do it. Giving myself the encouragement to bead every single day for a whole month is something that I really need right now.
So far, we're five days into November, and I am happy to report that I have picked up my beads every single day for five days. I've made good progress on my Etsy Beadweavers' challenge piece (which is due on December 5th, yikes!) and I've made progress on a couple other pieces that were sitting on my work table.
Even if I only bead for five or ten minutes, it feels good to hold that needle in my fingers.
We'll see what the rest of NaSeeBeMo brings...!!!
Friday, November 04, 2011
Decisions, Decisions...
So, I got the order of brass bead embroidery collars from Designer's Findings the other day, so now I'm all set to start my project for The Hole Bead Shop!
...or so I thought...
My first thought was to make a collar covered in Ultrasuede (no bead embroidery actually on the collar) and then just fringe and embellish the hell out of it. But when I checked my Ultrasuede supply, I found that I didn't have enough black to do it. I had a large piece of the off-white, but I didn't want to use that because it seems to get dirty pretty easily on a big project like this. I had a very cool deep red/orange that would look fabulous, but without the black... Meh.
Fortunately, I am expecting a new order of Ultrasuede any second now. Which, translated into shipping times to rural areas like this, means sometime between now and the 17th of November.
So, I have a choice. Do I hold off on working on this collar until I get the Ultrasuede and go ahead with my original plan? OR do I just say to heck with it and do a bead embroidered front?
I'm thinking that I will probably stick with my original plan. I don't want the bead embroidery to take away from the lush and lavish fringe and embellishment that I have planned. And truthfully, I don't know if I'll have the time to do a full-on bead embroidered panel for the front. (I'm already working on a big Arabesque bead embroidered piece for my Etsy Beadweavers' Challenge this month so I don't get kicked off THAT team.)
I went into town today and had lunch with a friend, and it was a fabulous time. I miss having grown-up talk like that during the day. And I didn't even have any digestive issues with the lunch, either! Huzzah! Followed that up with a great acupuncture appointment, and came home to a hot meal of homemade Indian food, thanks to the spousal unit.
Tomorrow morning, I have to be at the lab bright and early when they open to get that last set of blood tests that the acupuncturist wanted. (Have I mentioned she is also a fabulous M.D.?) Then I think some Beading in Public at Starbucks before I have a manicure... And don't laugh. It's been two years since my last manicure, and I need to do something girly for myself this weekend.
...or so I thought...
My first thought was to make a collar covered in Ultrasuede (no bead embroidery actually on the collar) and then just fringe and embellish the hell out of it. But when I checked my Ultrasuede supply, I found that I didn't have enough black to do it. I had a large piece of the off-white, but I didn't want to use that because it seems to get dirty pretty easily on a big project like this. I had a very cool deep red/orange that would look fabulous, but without the black... Meh.
Fortunately, I am expecting a new order of Ultrasuede any second now. Which, translated into shipping times to rural areas like this, means sometime between now and the 17th of November.
So, I have a choice. Do I hold off on working on this collar until I get the Ultrasuede and go ahead with my original plan? OR do I just say to heck with it and do a bead embroidered front?
I'm thinking that I will probably stick with my original plan. I don't want the bead embroidery to take away from the lush and lavish fringe and embellishment that I have planned. And truthfully, I don't know if I'll have the time to do a full-on bead embroidered panel for the front. (I'm already working on a big Arabesque bead embroidered piece for my Etsy Beadweavers' Challenge this month so I don't get kicked off THAT team.)
I went into town today and had lunch with a friend, and it was a fabulous time. I miss having grown-up talk like that during the day. And I didn't even have any digestive issues with the lunch, either! Huzzah! Followed that up with a great acupuncture appointment, and came home to a hot meal of homemade Indian food, thanks to the spousal unit.
Tomorrow morning, I have to be at the lab bright and early when they open to get that last set of blood tests that the acupuncturist wanted. (Have I mentioned she is also a fabulous M.D.?) Then I think some Beading in Public at Starbucks before I have a manicure... And don't laugh. It's been two years since my last manicure, and I need to do something girly for myself this weekend.
Trying Times
We had a potty training meltdown this morning.
What is going on?!
Colden wouldn't get on the potty to poop. He ran away from me every time I tried to get him in the bathroom. I finally got him on the potty, and then he wanted to read every single book he owns. I couldn't get him off the potty. When I tried to get him off, he started screaming and just went limp so that I couldn't pick him up. I finally relented, and we wound up getting over to Oma and Opa's house at ten o clock in the morning.
Of course, the whole time this was going on, I was thinking about all the things I had to do today: the work, the writing, the beading, the photographs, the appointment for acupuncture... And I could feel myself just getting more and more stressed out. I had to walk away from Colden while he was sitting on the potty just to get myself together.
And then I start thinking that I must be doing something wrong. Is Colden's behavior my fault? Am I allowing him to get away with having a temper tantrum? Am I "enabling" as someone once told me?
The whole thing starts to make me feel like a very inadequate mother.
On the other hand, some mornings it's HARD getting a nearly-four-year-old washed, dressed and well-fed before we get out the door all by myself. Colden is a bright, active kid. It's hard to find a balance between letting him assert himself and making sure that I can get him to do the basics all within a reasonable amount of time.
On a good note, a friend emailed me this morning and asked me to have lunch with her. And I rescheduled my acupuncture appointment for later this afternoon. That will be a very nice break for me today.
What is going on?!
Colden wouldn't get on the potty to poop. He ran away from me every time I tried to get him in the bathroom. I finally got him on the potty, and then he wanted to read every single book he owns. I couldn't get him off the potty. When I tried to get him off, he started screaming and just went limp so that I couldn't pick him up. I finally relented, and we wound up getting over to Oma and Opa's house at ten o clock in the morning.
Of course, the whole time this was going on, I was thinking about all the things I had to do today: the work, the writing, the beading, the photographs, the appointment for acupuncture... And I could feel myself just getting more and more stressed out. I had to walk away from Colden while he was sitting on the potty just to get myself together.
And then I start thinking that I must be doing something wrong. Is Colden's behavior my fault? Am I allowing him to get away with having a temper tantrum? Am I "enabling" as someone once told me?
The whole thing starts to make me feel like a very inadequate mother.
On the other hand, some mornings it's HARD getting a nearly-four-year-old washed, dressed and well-fed before we get out the door all by myself. Colden is a bright, active kid. It's hard to find a balance between letting him assert himself and making sure that I can get him to do the basics all within a reasonable amount of time.
On a good note, a friend emailed me this morning and asked me to have lunch with her. And I rescheduled my acupuncture appointment for later this afternoon. That will be a very nice break for me today.
Rejection
I got a rejection yesterday. I've gotten lots of rejections before, and while having your art rejected isn't fun, this particular rejection was just mean. The rejection letter said something like, "We have deemed that your work is not of sufficient quality or artistic merit for our program."
Wha?
Two of the pieces I submitted, mind you, were good enough to appear on the cover of a certain well-known beading magazine. But they were not of sufficient quality or artistic merit for their program.
My sister, who is an up-and-coming science fiction/fantasy/horror writer, called me and understood exactly what had happened. She said, "There's a difference between CONSTRUCTIVE criticism and just plain criticism."
What I experienced was the latter.
It got me so pissed off. How dare these people go so far as to insult me and my work like that? Being rejected is hard enough; but getting a MEAN rejection is just, well, mean.
I may write a response to their rejection letter and suggest that in the future they refrain from using those particular sentences when turning down candidates for their program. Why? Because nice matters.
Wha?
Two of the pieces I submitted, mind you, were good enough to appear on the cover of a certain well-known beading magazine. But they were not of sufficient quality or artistic merit for their program.
My sister, who is an up-and-coming science fiction/fantasy/horror writer, called me and understood exactly what had happened. She said, "There's a difference between CONSTRUCTIVE criticism and just plain criticism."
What I experienced was the latter.
It got me so pissed off. How dare these people go so far as to insult me and my work like that? Being rejected is hard enough; but getting a MEAN rejection is just, well, mean.
I may write a response to their rejection letter and suggest that in the future they refrain from using those particular sentences when turning down candidates for their program. Why? Because nice matters.
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
Eggs
I was cooking an egg, avocado and Swiss cheese sandwich for myself this morning, and I was looking at the egg as I cracked it into the bowl. Last month when Tom's hunting buddies came up from downstate, we used up pretty much every egg the girls laid. And then we actually had to go BUY eggs, because until Tom got the red light installed in the coop for the winter, those girls were not generous in replenishing our supply. The other morning, Colden asked for an egg for breakfast, so I opened the store-bought carton of eggs.
The egg that I cracked into the bowl for him that morning was pale, neon yellow. It looked sick. I actually felt a little sick cooking it up for Colden, knowing that it probably came from a hen that was crammed into a tiny cage so that she couldn't even stand up or move her wings, and that her beak had probably been removed, too.
It did not look like a happy egg.
This morning, I had a nice supply of eggs from our girls to use, thanks to that red light that keeps them warm and gives them some extra light when the days get short. (I could probably use some extra light, too.)
When I cracked that egg into the bowl, I noticed what a deep gold it was, how it was a thicker yolk and a thicker shell. It tasted much better than the other eggs that I cooked from the store-bought container earlier in the week. It looked better. It looked like an egg.
So here's what I'm going to take away from this experience with the eggs: Our chickens are raised with care and love and pride. We do not remove their beaks. We play with them. We pick them up and pet them. We interact with them. They get good food, lots of fresh vegetable and meat scraps, lots of fresh grass from their huge enclosure, and they get to walk and run around in the fresh air and the sun every day. They get fresh water. They get love and attention.
And in return, they give us beautiful, nutritious eggs.
If you want to do something well, do it with care and love and pride. Do it with respect and a consciousness of your actions. Do it with the understanding that everything you do will affect someone else, somewhere.
Be nice to your chickens.
The egg that I cracked into the bowl for him that morning was pale, neon yellow. It looked sick. I actually felt a little sick cooking it up for Colden, knowing that it probably came from a hen that was crammed into a tiny cage so that she couldn't even stand up or move her wings, and that her beak had probably been removed, too.
It did not look like a happy egg.
This morning, I had a nice supply of eggs from our girls to use, thanks to that red light that keeps them warm and gives them some extra light when the days get short. (I could probably use some extra light, too.)
When I cracked that egg into the bowl, I noticed what a deep gold it was, how it was a thicker yolk and a thicker shell. It tasted much better than the other eggs that I cooked from the store-bought container earlier in the week. It looked better. It looked like an egg.
So here's what I'm going to take away from this experience with the eggs: Our chickens are raised with care and love and pride. We do not remove their beaks. We play with them. We pick them up and pet them. We interact with them. They get good food, lots of fresh vegetable and meat scraps, lots of fresh grass from their huge enclosure, and they get to walk and run around in the fresh air and the sun every day. They get fresh water. They get love and attention.
And in return, they give us beautiful, nutritious eggs.
If you want to do something well, do it with care and love and pride. Do it with respect and a consciousness of your actions. Do it with the understanding that everything you do will affect someone else, somewhere.
Be nice to your chickens.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Dias de los Muertos
Look what was in my mailbox today! My Day of the Dead challenge kit from The Hole Bead Shop!
I was sooooo lucky to snag one of these kits - there were only ten of them! And I cannot believe what is in there. Fire polished beads, daggers, Tilas, drops, seed beads, Lucite, freshwater pearls, and this absolutely gorgeous handmade lampwork sugar skull bead!
I love that my sugar skull bead has a happy face on one eye because I usually sign my emails with a little happy face. Goofy, I know.
I can't wait to get started on this project! I have until December 10th, which means I need to do some serious beading on it. This will probably require several late nights, which may or may not work with Colden's sleep schedule.
I feel like I'm ready to start working on large-scale projects again, I just need to figure out when and how to do that. So I called Designer's Findings to order a couple of thick brass embroidery collars, and guess what? She's traveling until the 24th! I was so disappointed, I wanted to cry. That means I probably can't start working on this piece until November 1, darn it.
On the plus side, that also means I have another week or two to do some sketching and some coloring and see what other beads I have and what other beads I might need to do this project. This is gonna be something gooooood...
I was sooooo lucky to snag one of these kits - there were only ten of them! And I cannot believe what is in there. Fire polished beads, daggers, Tilas, drops, seed beads, Lucite, freshwater pearls, and this absolutely gorgeous handmade lampwork sugar skull bead!
I love that my sugar skull bead has a happy face on one eye because I usually sign my emails with a little happy face. Goofy, I know.
I can't wait to get started on this project! I have until December 10th, which means I need to do some serious beading on it. This will probably require several late nights, which may or may not work with Colden's sleep schedule.
I feel like I'm ready to start working on large-scale projects again, I just need to figure out when and how to do that. So I called Designer's Findings to order a couple of thick brass embroidery collars, and guess what? She's traveling until the 24th! I was so disappointed, I wanted to cry. That means I probably can't start working on this piece until November 1, darn it.
On the plus side, that also means I have another week or two to do some sketching and some coloring and see what other beads I have and what other beads I might need to do this project. This is gonna be something gooooood...
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Swing Time!
Here it is, the first few rows of Swing Time!
So, I'm getting a little impatient waiting for the order of chaton montees and rose montees that I ordered back in September, so I decided to start Swing Time, since I've got pretty much all the materials for this bracelet with the exception of the clasp and the liquid silver beads.
I knew which colors I wanted to use for the bracelet after my first acupuncture treatment - the colors came to me while I was lying there on the table, full of needles, relaxing. (I know, that doesn't sound like it's very relaxing, but really, acupuncture is very relaxing for me.)
Then I realized that it has been a very, very long time since I had to read a graph for right-angle weave. A very long time. The last time I did that was back in 2001 or 2002 and I was trying to do a double needle right-angle weave project using a graph from my old White Russian beading book.
Reading the right-angle weave graph is a bit tricky, but I'm coming up with a system for it, which I'll post here and on Beading Daily once I get it written up.
I also ordered a whole bunch of seed beads from Fox Den Beads, since she's going out of business, and I thought I could get some of the colors I needed for a few more projects. Well, that was a great idea, but since she's not restocking anything, I received my order and it was a few tubes short of some critical colors. Dang it. I'll probably order some more beads from her just to add them to my stash, and then get the rest of the colors I need/want from Whimbeads and Beyond Beadery. Darn, darn, darn.
So, I'm getting a little impatient waiting for the order of chaton montees and rose montees that I ordered back in September, so I decided to start Swing Time, since I've got pretty much all the materials for this bracelet with the exception of the clasp and the liquid silver beads.
I knew which colors I wanted to use for the bracelet after my first acupuncture treatment - the colors came to me while I was lying there on the table, full of needles, relaxing. (I know, that doesn't sound like it's very relaxing, but really, acupuncture is very relaxing for me.)
Then I realized that it has been a very, very long time since I had to read a graph for right-angle weave. A very long time. The last time I did that was back in 2001 or 2002 and I was trying to do a double needle right-angle weave project using a graph from my old White Russian beading book.
Reading the right-angle weave graph is a bit tricky, but I'm coming up with a system for it, which I'll post here and on Beading Daily once I get it written up.
I also ordered a whole bunch of seed beads from Fox Den Beads, since she's going out of business, and I thought I could get some of the colors I needed for a few more projects. Well, that was a great idea, but since she's not restocking anything, I received my order and it was a few tubes short of some critical colors. Dang it. I'll probably order some more beads from her just to add them to my stash, and then get the rest of the colors I need/want from Whimbeads and Beyond Beadery. Darn, darn, darn.
The Hunter
So, one of the things my acupuncturist suggested to me at my appointment last week was that I try the blood type diet to see if it helped ease my digestive issues. I had a few issues with that. First of all, I view any diet that is "trendy" as a sham. Atkins, South Beach - they're all a crock, as far as I'm concerned. Second, according to my blood type, I'm supposed to be eating a diet of red meat and vegetables with very little grains. I haven't had red meat since I was 15 years old. I haven't had chicken or turkey or any kind of white meat since 2003. When I told the acupuncturist about this, she said that sometimes in Chinese medicine you can substitute beets for red meat. (Don't understand that, but maybe it's the color?) Since I love beets, I thought, cool, I'll make a big kale and shredded beet salad for dinner that night.
I'm standing there shredding the beets with a hand shredder (Why didn't I use the food processor we just blew a bundle on? No idea.) and suddenly my hand slips and I neatly slice off the outer 1/8" of skin from the knuckle on my thumb. Tom took over and completed the shredding while I washed the wound and put a Band Aid on it.
Thus ended my experimentation with the blood type diet.
There's really nothing wrong with the diet that I eat - no meat, lots of fresh fruits and veggies, not a lot of processed foods (since I can't digest them anymore, anyway) and whole grains like quinoa, bulgur and kasha. Lots of beans and protein sources like tempeh, too. Low-fat dairy on the occasion that I want it like low-fat cottage cheese or hot chocolate made with 1% milk. That's about it. Of course, Colden and I bake cookies and during the summer I'm a sucker for those gourmet cupcakes from the farmer's market. But I think that overall, I eat a darn good healthy diet.
That said, I had my second acupuncture treatment yesterday and I feel great. Had a little bit of a queasy stomach the other night, but I now believe that was due to other circumstances. No more nausea after every meal, no more gagging and dry heaving... And I actually feel like cooking again!
Colden and I are going to baby sit for a friend this afternoon, so we're putting a harvest soup in the crock pot this afternoon - mixed lentils and barley with brown rice, chunked up butternut squash, celery root, carrots, chopped kale and leeks. Tomorrow night after Tom's hunting buddies have left, I'll be making a vegetarian cassoulet with tempeh, carrots, white beans, sweet potatoes, chopped kale, and a yummy buttery breadcrumb topping.
Yep. I should have done acupuncture months ago.
I'm standing there shredding the beets with a hand shredder (Why didn't I use the food processor we just blew a bundle on? No idea.) and suddenly my hand slips and I neatly slice off the outer 1/8" of skin from the knuckle on my thumb. Tom took over and completed the shredding while I washed the wound and put a Band Aid on it.
Thus ended my experimentation with the blood type diet.
There's really nothing wrong with the diet that I eat - no meat, lots of fresh fruits and veggies, not a lot of processed foods (since I can't digest them anymore, anyway) and whole grains like quinoa, bulgur and kasha. Lots of beans and protein sources like tempeh, too. Low-fat dairy on the occasion that I want it like low-fat cottage cheese or hot chocolate made with 1% milk. That's about it. Of course, Colden and I bake cookies and during the summer I'm a sucker for those gourmet cupcakes from the farmer's market. But I think that overall, I eat a darn good healthy diet.
That said, I had my second acupuncture treatment yesterday and I feel great. Had a little bit of a queasy stomach the other night, but I now believe that was due to other circumstances. No more nausea after every meal, no more gagging and dry heaving... And I actually feel like cooking again!
Colden and I are going to baby sit for a friend this afternoon, so we're putting a harvest soup in the crock pot this afternoon - mixed lentils and barley with brown rice, chunked up butternut squash, celery root, carrots, chopped kale and leeks. Tomorrow night after Tom's hunting buddies have left, I'll be making a vegetarian cassoulet with tempeh, carrots, white beans, sweet potatoes, chopped kale, and a yummy buttery breadcrumb topping.
Yep. I should have done acupuncture months ago.
Monday, October 10, 2011
I'm Awake
That's what the acupuncturist told me the other day. When we were talking about how my body just doesn't react well to most Western medical practices, particularly to prescription medications, she nodded and smiled and said, "Well, that's a good thing. It means that your body is still awake."
It certainly was awake the last few nights. Colden had a rough couple of nights. The first night, he would not sleep unless I was in bed with him, and even then, he would cry (with his eyes shut) and say things like, "Mommy, I wanna go an a big airplane NOW!" (The best we can figure is that he was thinking about the movie Rio and the three second clip where a big airplane touches down at the airport in Brazil.) Then the night after that, he and Daddy laid there in bed and cuddled and snuggled and laughed and laughed and laughed. Tom said something about Moose chasing a critter in the backyard, and Colden just took that and ran with it - "Moose is chasing those freaking racoons again!" Not exactly conducive to sleep, but we didn't have to get up early the next morning or anything.
We went to Canadian Thanksgiving at Rob and Jenny's last night, and the place was packed. It was so much fun! I can't remember the last time I saw so much food - or felt like eating so much! My only mistake was that I went back for thirds. After my third plate of mushroom stuffing, mashed squash, locally-raised and roasted beets and carrots, mashed potatoes and green salad, the music, noise and heat started to get to me. (It was 83 degrees yesterday!) We had to bail a little early, which was a shame because Colden was having so much fun playing with the other kids.
At one point, I heard singing and I looked down into the lounge area and saw Colden with his little friend Andrew. They were putting together a HUGE wooden train track and singing the theme to the Wonder Pets about teamwork. It was so cute and funny, I told Andrew's mom about it.
Lots of beading for today. Two deadlines: one project needs to be out the door tomorrow morning, and the other needs to be ready to post for Friday morning on Beading Daily.
And I've started another project from Bead Riffs! More on that later today once I get the camera out and ready...
It certainly was awake the last few nights. Colden had a rough couple of nights. The first night, he would not sleep unless I was in bed with him, and even then, he would cry (with his eyes shut) and say things like, "Mommy, I wanna go an a big airplane NOW!" (The best we can figure is that he was thinking about the movie Rio and the three second clip where a big airplane touches down at the airport in Brazil.) Then the night after that, he and Daddy laid there in bed and cuddled and snuggled and laughed and laughed and laughed. Tom said something about Moose chasing a critter in the backyard, and Colden just took that and ran with it - "Moose is chasing those freaking racoons again!" Not exactly conducive to sleep, but we didn't have to get up early the next morning or anything.
We went to Canadian Thanksgiving at Rob and Jenny's last night, and the place was packed. It was so much fun! I can't remember the last time I saw so much food - or felt like eating so much! My only mistake was that I went back for thirds. After my third plate of mushroom stuffing, mashed squash, locally-raised and roasted beets and carrots, mashed potatoes and green salad, the music, noise and heat started to get to me. (It was 83 degrees yesterday!) We had to bail a little early, which was a shame because Colden was having so much fun playing with the other kids.
At one point, I heard singing and I looked down into the lounge area and saw Colden with his little friend Andrew. They were putting together a HUGE wooden train track and singing the theme to the Wonder Pets about teamwork. It was so cute and funny, I told Andrew's mom about it.
Lots of beading for today. Two deadlines: one project needs to be out the door tomorrow morning, and the other needs to be ready to post for Friday morning on Beading Daily.
And I've started another project from Bead Riffs! More on that later today once I get the camera out and ready...
Thursday, October 06, 2011
The Death of Jobs
One of my beading friends on Facebook posted this quote last night:
I can remember my uncle using his Mac to create those wonderful church bulletins every week. He was truly talented at desktop publishing, and he and my father had many long conversations about the pros and cons of Apple vs. IBM.
In 2008, my father sent me my first iPod, and I was hooked. Ever since I loaded most of my music collection into my iTunes, I've always said that the only way anyone is going to get that device away from me is to pry it from my cold, dead hands.
I also saw with some amusement this story from The Onion with the headline, "Last American Who Knew What the Fuck He Was Doing Dies". Sadly true, I think.
Wherever he is, I hope Steve Jobs could see Colden this morning as he played on my iPad. RiP, Mr. Jobs.
And I just loved it. I had to share it again. I don't know why I was so shocked to hear about the passing of Steve Jobs. It's not like I knew him, although his company certainly affected my life. I can remember playing and working on my dad's Apple IIe computer during grammar school, learning about programming languages and learning how to use a word processor. I think we even used that thing to access the first BBS on a local college campus.
I can remember my uncle using his Mac to create those wonderful church bulletins every week. He was truly talented at desktop publishing, and he and my father had many long conversations about the pros and cons of Apple vs. IBM.
In 2008, my father sent me my first iPod, and I was hooked. Ever since I loaded most of my music collection into my iTunes, I've always said that the only way anyone is going to get that device away from me is to pry it from my cold, dead hands.
I also saw with some amusement this story from The Onion with the headline, "Last American Who Knew What the Fuck He Was Doing Dies". Sadly true, I think.
Wherever he is, I hope Steve Jobs could see Colden this morning as he played on my iPad. RiP, Mr. Jobs.
Night in Tunisia
First of all, I loved this piece from the minute I saw it. But when I started picking out my colors to go with those Siam Swarovski crystals that I picked, I felt totally disheartened. I just could not find a set of colors that went together well, so I cheated a bit.
I decided to stick with those lovely hematite colored seed beads for the base, and I found some silver lined red beads that were a perfect match for the crystals. I loved the way the grey-lined 15s contrasted with both the red and hematite beads, but I just could not find a color of size 8 that I liked with these beads. So I used size 8 beads in silver lined red.
Stitching this piece together was, I thought, like magic. As I made the base with right angle weave, I couldn't get over how unstructured it looked. (I should have taken a picture.) It was loose, floppy, and just didn't sit right, no matter what I did.
Then I started filling in the little squares, and WOW! Things just tightened right up, took shape, took form... It was a beautiful thing to watch.
I loved the freedom in this piece - Rachel didn't have a specified thread path for filling in each of the little units of right angle weave, so I was free to wander through my beadwork in any way I saw fit, which was good when I was trying to squeeze my beading needle through some of those tightly-filled bead holes.
My current obsession: finding the perfect red sweater to wear with this necklace this winter. I did see a couple of beautiful jewel-toned red cocoon sweaters at the Bass outlet in Lake Placid the other day. Maybe another quick trip there with Colden this weekend...
I decided to stick with those lovely hematite colored seed beads for the base, and I found some silver lined red beads that were a perfect match for the crystals. I loved the way the grey-lined 15s contrasted with both the red and hematite beads, but I just could not find a color of size 8 that I liked with these beads. So I used size 8 beads in silver lined red.
Then I started filling in the little squares, and WOW! Things just tightened right up, took shape, took form... It was a beautiful thing to watch.
I loved the freedom in this piece - Rachel didn't have a specified thread path for filling in each of the little units of right angle weave, so I was free to wander through my beadwork in any way I saw fit, which was good when I was trying to squeeze my beading needle through some of those tightly-filled bead holes.
My current obsession: finding the perfect red sweater to wear with this necklace this winter. I did see a couple of beautiful jewel-toned red cocoon sweaters at the Bass outlet in Lake Placid the other day. Maybe another quick trip there with Colden this weekend...
Wednesday, October 05, 2011
How to Bend a Tulip Beading Needle
Well, I did it. I finally figured out how to bend one of those new Tulip beading needles! I finished High Style the other day, and when I was finished, my gorgeous Tulip beading needle had a definite curve to it!
I just love this bracelet! I really should have made it one unit shorter, but as long as I don't lose any more weight, I should be okay with it. And truthfully, if I did have to tear it apart and re-stitch it together, I think I'd be okay with that. (Just can't do it right now with deadlines and some new designs floating around in my head!)
Just look at those fun little bumps! I loved them. There was just something so wonderful and soothing about stitching these. They were simple, once I got the hang of them, and I was amazed at how quick they stitched up.
And just look at how they tarnished! At first, I was disappointed that the shine of those little copper beauties faded so quickly, but then I tried it on with my favorite long copper earrings and my new favorite brown hemp wrap shirt, it looked fabulous. Really fabulous. Like, I can't believe that I made this bracelet fabulous.
I also finished Night in Tunisia, but that will be another post for tomorrow...
Just look at those fun little bumps! I loved them. There was just something so wonderful and soothing about stitching these. They were simple, once I got the hang of them, and I was amazed at how quick they stitched up.
And just look at how they tarnished! At first, I was disappointed that the shine of those little copper beauties faded so quickly, but then I tried it on with my favorite long copper earrings and my new favorite brown hemp wrap shirt, it looked fabulous. Really fabulous. Like, I can't believe that I made this bracelet fabulous.
I also finished Night in Tunisia, but that will be another post for tomorrow...
Monday, October 03, 2011
Why?
One of my non-beading friends asked me the other day why I had decided to bead my way through Rachel Nelson-Smith's newest book, Bead Riffs.
There were a few reasons why I wanted to do this. First of all, ever since I saw Rachel's first book, Seed Bead Fusion, I've been totally captivated by her style. I love her techniques of making peyote stitch bumps on a base of right-angle weave, the way she creates bezels to capture rivolis and cabochons... I especially love the way she uses Swarovski crystals. I've never been much of a sparkly-beader kinda gal, but Rachel uses crystals in a way so that is so subtle, you really don't notice them. So when I first took a look through her book, I was just totally inspired to start stitching up every single one of these projects.
Another reason why I was motivated to stitch up all her designs was because I don't often get a chance to stitch up another artist's designs. For the last few years, I've been so busy making beadwork for inventory and working on my own designs that I just haven't had time to make up designs from someone else. That was always something that I loved to do when I first started beading and brought home a new beading book - I would make up little lists on sticky notes with all the beads I needed to buy for each project, and my hours after work were always spent sitting with Tom and watching movies and beading. I thought Rachel's designs are just so beautiful and so WEARABLE that I had to give them a try!
I've also been feeling a little stifled in my own beading designs lately as well. I'm so used to the ideas flowing easily into my sketchbook that this most recent dry spell has left me feeling a little bummed out and a little worried about if the ideas will ever come again. (Of course, on some level, I know they will, but right now, it feels like I've been hung out to dry by my Muse.) I'm hoping that getting a peek into Rachel's process and her designs will help ignite some of that inspiration in my own designs so that I can start designing my own pieces again.
So, enough of that for now. We had a fabulous weekend up here, complete with roaring fires in the wood stove to chase away the damp chill from the rain, a HUGE (60+ pound) box of assorted squash, a big pumpkin that Colden picked out all by himself, and a dinner of roasted vegetables and tempeh with a big loaf of Tom's homemade bread. If this is autumn in the Adirondacks, I say bring it on!
There were a few reasons why I wanted to do this. First of all, ever since I saw Rachel's first book, Seed Bead Fusion, I've been totally captivated by her style. I love her techniques of making peyote stitch bumps on a base of right-angle weave, the way she creates bezels to capture rivolis and cabochons... I especially love the way she uses Swarovski crystals. I've never been much of a sparkly-beader kinda gal, but Rachel uses crystals in a way so that is so subtle, you really don't notice them. So when I first took a look through her book, I was just totally inspired to start stitching up every single one of these projects.
Another reason why I was motivated to stitch up all her designs was because I don't often get a chance to stitch up another artist's designs. For the last few years, I've been so busy making beadwork for inventory and working on my own designs that I just haven't had time to make up designs from someone else. That was always something that I loved to do when I first started beading and brought home a new beading book - I would make up little lists on sticky notes with all the beads I needed to buy for each project, and my hours after work were always spent sitting with Tom and watching movies and beading. I thought Rachel's designs are just so beautiful and so WEARABLE that I had to give them a try!
I've also been feeling a little stifled in my own beading designs lately as well. I'm so used to the ideas flowing easily into my sketchbook that this most recent dry spell has left me feeling a little bummed out and a little worried about if the ideas will ever come again. (Of course, on some level, I know they will, but right now, it feels like I've been hung out to dry by my Muse.) I'm hoping that getting a peek into Rachel's process and her designs will help ignite some of that inspiration in my own designs so that I can start designing my own pieces again.
So, enough of that for now. We had a fabulous weekend up here, complete with roaring fires in the wood stove to chase away the damp chill from the rain, a HUGE (60+ pound) box of assorted squash, a big pumpkin that Colden picked out all by himself, and a dinner of roasted vegetables and tempeh with a big loaf of Tom's homemade bread. If this is autumn in the Adirondacks, I say bring it on!
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