LoraKellyDesigns

Life goes on, despite me!

2008-08-04T20:07:00.000-07:00

Maybe you've been wondering where I am ... or maybe not. I know some of you are regular visitors, as I've been to your blogsites and we've created a sort of community here in blogsville, sometimes we do wonder where the other has gone when a particular voice has fallen silent. So if you did... here's why.

I returned to the regular 5 day a week, 8 to 5 working world last December. Since then, much of my "creative" aspirations and honestly, juices, have drained, or have been put aside because ... really no reason other than the usual... creativity wanes in the face of the work a day world. It does! It's very hard to maintain that joie de vive when that which is not quite so alluring demands your energies. You plod along then, instead of leaping from bed each morning, tulip-prone into the rising sun. I realize why some societies offer sanctuary to their artists, less taxes, free housing, etc. So they might do their thing unimpeded by the usual worries of life... such as ... how do I pay the bills. That sort of thing.

And so some things have fallen by the wayside, but not forever.

Anyway... so what about the blog? I still am a blogger! I swear! (I actually typed "I sweat" and had to fix it) ... It is REALLY warm here, so Freudian I suppose, in a way ... the "slip" that is not meant to escape the lips but comes out in a like-turn-of-phrase anyway), you know of which I speak. So, I am still writing when I can find the time.

On the back burner then are my beads, or my jewelry making business. Really this is because a rock and roll band took over my workshop and have been keeping the neighborhood on it's toes. I've never looked back. Because my shop is a mess mostly. Shortly, I will be cleaning it out and moving the whole affair to the loft of my little Sears kit house as soon as the just-turned-18 year old (the "was" young man of whom I've so often spoken} "and the band" are situated in what WAS my shop. And good luck to them. I shall carry on in my way, as I've been known to do.

And for those of you who are awaiting items of jewelry... my sister, her bracelet, my friends; Julie, her necklace and matching earrings, Melody, her pendant, others ... their own desired bits of stone and silver strung as jewelry as only I can do (or have convinced them only I can do -- shhhh!).... please keep the faith. Soon. Soon. Soon.

Cheers, all!

the Easter bunny makes an early visit... or does he?

2008-03-16T18:48:00.000-07:00

it's not even Easter yet ... although it seems we've had a visitor who left his mark ... could it be? Looks like someone's been busy coloring eggs ... but wooden eggs? Perhaps he couldn't find a chicken!

behind a bowl of tulips I spy a possible suspect! But, Easter's still a week away? What's he doing here?

still... the tulips seem to know something's up! Just look at them! They seem to think spring has sprung...

ahhhh... what's that! ... there's the culprit ... in a flash of green!

a basket of eggs....

cherubs?

spring grasses? Wait! That's no Easter rabbit!

but my own Mr. R. ....the Easter Parrot, no less! Wishing us all a blessed week filled with a dazzle of spring flowers and basketfulls of colored eggs and treasure hunts in dewy green meadows...

can anything come close to a basketful of pastel-painted eggs? A few things... like this sweet little spring necklace with periwinkle, freshwater pearls and glistening citrine, just might!

thanks for dropping by!

HAPPY EASTER TO ALL!!

~L

more than a load of abalone

2008-03-08T17:27:00.000-08:00

recently a friend asked me to make a memory piece using her deceased husband's St. Christopher ... something fun and reminiscent of the sea and surf, since he'd been a surfer in his youth. My friend appeared truly pleased with my final creation, which is always a treat for me! But ... during my search for special beads for this sentimental project, I was reintroduced to that most beautiful of all shellfish shells, in my opinion, abalone. I always buy some whenever I find it at bead stores and fairs, and have since made other sea-themed pieces, including the one pictured above, which is a simple, small pendant combined with freshwater pearls.

it seems to me abalone used to be easily obtained and I even remember my Aunt kept one beautiful specimen as an ashtray, no less! I've never eaten abalone, but I've been told it's heavenly. Over the years, it seems abalone has been over fished. You just don't see it anymore except on the menus of some very high class restaurants. How sad we humans can't seem to leave a good thing alone.

i remember an aquaintance who came to visit me in San Francisco in the early 80's when I lived with a houseful of roommates out on the avenues. This aquaintance was not a close friend, or friend at all, really, but rather the friend of a friend. Still, I met her for dinner. She was on vacation with her boyfriend ... they'd been abalone diving up and down the California coast, which to me, at the time, seemed terribly exotic. I don't remember much of that particular dinner party except that the "aquaintance" fell asleep at the table, mid-sentence, cigarette in hand, while I looked on in disbelief. Apparently, diving is a good work out!

tomorrow's my birthday, and I recall the days my mother always baked a cake for such occassions. Us kids were rarely satisfied with one piece of course and were always clamoring, dish in hand, for seconds. My mother used to say, "You're eating that stuff like it's going out of style! Tomorrow's another day!" Sage advice! The truth is, we can always make more cake. But abalone?

~L

tuesday afternoon

2008-02-26T06:34:00.001-08:00

i've been so busy these days I haven't had a moment it seems to keep up with all of you, dear readers. Nor to read all the blogs of my fellow bloggers of whose prose I am so very fond! No fun at all! This is bound to change as I get my groove going. But now that we're nearly skidding into month three of 2008, I'm worrying just a little that a hitch has embedded itself into my "giddyup" ... despite the numerous resolutions (as you will recall ... I went just the teeniest bit overboard!)

I'm finally posting a photo or two today, though not of jewelry, but of number one son's band... still unnamed ... or in the throws of naming. Mostly I loved the photographs and thought I would also add a plug for the lovely young woman who did the photography for free as a promo ... Erika Mounts.

So far the boys will be cutting a demo in late March and as they say ... the rest may be history! I get the awesome delight of listening to them on "nearly" a daily basis as they wail away just a door and a breezeway away (yes, that does refer to the garage, actually). And I am happy to say I have not had the desire once for a set of ear plugs!

It's such a treat to see a dream come alive! For all those who have dreams they let die for lack of courage, or energy, or means or otherwise, I hope these young men will enjoy the wonder of seeing theirs flourish.

Being a mother, of course, I cringe somewhat to realize how easily dreams perish or are crushed, but also know that nothing ventured is absolutely nothing gained. And if no one made mistakes, nothing of any worth would have ever been accomplished in this world.

number one son is upfront center ...Go for it, boys! Break a leg! Well ... no ... forget that last one! No leg breaking allowed!

as it is early morning here in the north country, I will have to rush off quickly to dry my hair ... which is now red by the way! By now you've realized it is not, in fact, Tuesday afternoon, but rather Tuesday morning! And Oh, did I not mention I took a major, crazy turn in life and colored my hair something drastic! RED? Well, I'd become so very bored of my bland blonde (oh, yes, it was bland!) and decided since I am only a year away from being a half-century old ... imagine ... that I should get to make a rash decision. I've made so few of them in my life and really, if one must make a rash decision, let it be hair color which at least can be returned to its original state should the decision not work out so well as hoped. Unlike having breast implants or a nose job or an eye lift that leaves one looking much like a strange dolly. I'm sure you'll think of a few celebrities who fit this description! I'll save the tatooing for when I turn 70. That gives me a good 20 years!

Work! gahhhhh! I nearly forgot... as if anyone can EVER forget work. Believe me, working in Human Resources and especially for a staffing company? I do know that many people forget work ...forget to call ... never show ... never are heard from again? Please let it NOT be one of those days!

okay ... work this morning ...

But on another note... and more importantly, as pertains to shiny things ...I do have new pieces and will be photographing and uploading to my websites on Sunday. About time!

~L

sunday morning babble

2008-02-10T09:01:00.000-08:00

as luck would have it, or lack thereof, number one son lost the cord that allows me to upload photos to my laptop ... which puts me out of business, practically. And reading blogs is so much more fun when there are pictures to go along with whatever prose is smattered across the page. In fact, photos keep us scrolling down for more.

sadly, I must bore you here with no photos, and only me pounding away at the keys until my order comes in. Do you know you cannot just go into any camera store and purchase a cord for uploading photos? NO ... you MUST order such things from the factory or some online store. Brick and morters don't believe in carrying such things, it seems. Also, do you know that such cords cost a minimum of $25??? That's the lowest price, plus shipping ... another $7 for the tiny, weightless cord that probably costs $7 to make. Here, I will end my rant and move on to more happy thoughts.

perhaps you'll recall that I have been learning the guitar since the turning of the new year, and so far I can play two songs. Neither of which you would want to hear me play but to my own ear, they sound rather nice. I don't believe the two bands who wrote the songs would feel the same, they being CCR (Bad Moon) or "every Tom, Dick and Harry" literally (House of the Rising Sun) ... need I say more? It doesn't take a flash of brilliance to realize I was not born for this instrument. Despite the fact that my fingertips are numb and it feels very weird to wash dishes or pick things up with the fingers of my left hand, nor that I have two brothers who are rather accomplished guitarists, nor that number one son seems to have mastered said instrument in barely 5 years. True. I have only played it for a month and a half. Okay ... perhaps "played it" is too strong a term ... fiddled with it might better describe my relationship to the guitar. Still... I will continue with my resolution to "play" an this instrument!

yesterday I spent an entire day cleaning the main floor of my house. Considering there are three floors to this house, that seems extremely sad, doesn't it? The irishman said, why not get someone to come in and clean the house weekly. It would be nice, but ... how long would it take me to clean the house in order to let that person come in to clean the house again? I don't think I could muster the energy. But it does sound dreamy.

last weekend I drove around looking at new houses, something I am prone to do when I am particularly tired of my own house and feeling the urge to move on and experience a new kind of life. New houses smell so wonderful! And because they lack furniture and wall hangings, they are open and airy, simplistic and Zen-ish... and pregnant with possibility. I found a wonderful house that I've been thinking about off and on. One that had a dishwasher even! Can you believe that in 2008 I do not have a dishwasher? We actually had a dishwasher in 1971, when I was in Junior High School! It made a horrible crunching sound as it splashed through its daily rounds. The story goes, (the one my father told, anyway) that I washed my goldfish bowl in that same dishwasher, the kind you had to roll over to the sink to hook up (the dishwasher not the goldfish bowl... stay with me now) and apparently it still had some of that little blue gravel in it, which trickled down into the workings of our "Avacado" colored Kenmore dishwasher, forever cursing it to the noisiest wash cycle in the history of the machine. Personally, I highly doubt I had anything to do with it!

Nevertheless, in this modern era, I've been told (by the Irishman who is a Plumber, no less) the septic system won't hold up to such new fangled gadgets. Who would've guessed? I've always heard that the carpenter's wife is the one without a deck! Well, I suppose I did get a deck built last summer. Perhaps there's a nice carpenter's wife out there I can swap with, then my plumber can build her a deck and her carpenter can install a dishwasher at my house!

as always, I babble on too much....

outside this grey looking Sunday morning, the sky is blustery and the trees are tossing about madly. In the garden, squirrels are hanging upside down from the bird feeders while the little chickadees scold them to get a turn. We've had snow on and off... usually coming at night and washing away by day. It's only mid February but how I am looking foward to spring and flowers and sunny days and warm winds.

ahhhh... guess what just came out? THE SUN!

wishing you a beautiful day...

~L

good reasons for loving fridays

2008-01-18T12:42:00.000-08:00

i'm home today!

hooray for Fridays ... I say. And who doesn't! I suppose someone who's Monday began on Friday wouldn't like Friday's too much, unless of course they had a job which entailed testing chocolate or ice cream or mattresses, or how long it takes to fall asleep under a down comforter, or playing with puppies all day. I suppose then one would love their Monday which was really Friday for everyone else, and then the people who loved Friday wouldn't like Friday so much anymore because they couldn't wait wait to get back to their ice cream and chocolate, mattresses and puppies. That said ... what the heck is this post all about anyway?

oh yes, today is Friday. And I have many things to do, but being a free bird on Fridays I flutter around and do the things that give me great pleasure, one of which is shopping for silver findings, such fun, and the others entail eating comfort food like macaroni and cheese and playing with my two unmannerly parrots, my sweet doggies and extremely chubby cat. Such things don't really take getting used to. They are sort of the frosting on the cake of life. Such things are Fridays made of!

i happen to have a rather stealthy parrot climbing up my back right now. He's tired of seeing me type, because he wants me to take him to the kitchen where he can really have some fun. Mr. R is a Dusky Headed Conure and he is very silly and full of play. Problem is, parrots, unlike dogs and cats, rarely nap. They can play non stop all day like a child with ADD ... and with the same attention span, or lack thereof! Needless to say, parenting a parrot is not for the faint of heart, nor the sleepy. The one really good thing is that you can, of course, lock them in a cage and toss away the key ... then go take your nap. I suppose if you are thinking seriously about getting yourself a parrot, that is, something a bit more troublesome than a parakeet or cockateil, I would recommend you borrow one for a month from a friend. At the end of which time, you may have a change of heart! Lovely though they are ... breathtakingly beautiful, in fact, they are also very bright, constantly searching for fun, food, something to chew, and companionship. They don't like being alone but prefer to be in the midst of the flock with all the accompanying noise. And if there is not enough noise, they will gladly create some for you!

right now, ms. L is chewing on my mouse, and mr. R is climbing up an electrical cord. Ahhhh yes. The wonder of parronting.

as you know, i've been working hard to keep up with my New Year's resolutions ... well, thank heaven's I have a whole year. But I have been doing my 4 days a week of exercising ... which by now has merely caused me excruciating pain in my upper arms and thighs! Practicing my guitar, per my son's instructions ... which has left me with burning fingertips that waver between shooting pain and absolute numbness (just wait until the calluses form, he says! I've been reading my books ... now I have two going and finding it hard to get in that 1/2 hour a day! I can, alas, make macaroni and cheese, a good Greek salad and a pretty tasty shrimp curry.

Today, I'm thinking that chocolate brownies would make a quite tasty vegetarian dish ...

I wonder if I have any baker's chocolate? ....

the white stuff makes a brief appearance

2008-01-08T20:39:00.000-08:00

it came in the night ... when the house was silent

and we were all sleeping ... okay, most of us were sleeping ... someone was creeping about and leaving their telltale footprints ... Frosty? Is that you?

giant flakes fell from the sky

then sadly ... the grownups had to go to work and by the time they got home...

it had mostly melted away. All that remained was Frosty's skeleton! Not quite a children's story, is it?

I love the snow!

(sigh)

a very misty Friday

2008-01-04T09:46:00.000-08:00

home today and i hardly know where to begin. It is the day to bring down the tree and remove the last vestiges of Christmas....

time for the penguins to stop their chorus for another year...

the wreaths on the chandalier must go ... and copious dusting must ensue...

the ornaments must be wrapped and stored...

the little tree, once lush and fragrant is now dry and eerily combustible seeming! it appears cramped in its little corner, sans brightly wrapped gifts beneath it's boughs, now dropping needles and begging to be returned to the earth in the annual "Kelly family" ceremony ... the burning of the tree (before it burns us, of course!)... we, a secret band of pyromaniacs, watch enthralled as the first match is tossed and it goes up in flames with a gasp ... that could've been our living room, we each consider wide-eyed! Still ... always a sad day this! (You're not convinced)

out my window, the cedar is still green and the hazelnut bare... the sky is a dusky grey, the landscape blurred by the rising mist from the earth...

another year begins for us all.

And then there's Mr. R... the imperious green conure, for whom this....

is just another day to make trouble!

With that... i begin the list:

learn to play an instrument -- number one son has offered to teach me guitar! i begin by learning a strange rock riff he feels will 'limber me up' ... sore fingers and tennis elbow later ... ouch?

make three new pieces of jewelry each week ... oh, that one's easy! Right?

take a photography class to shoot my jewelry better

take a class on birds nest rings (the ones with the big, fat gemstones wrapped in silver wire)

learn one excellent vegetarian recipe a month. (Oh, I must've forgotten to mention i went veggie this summer ... for the LAST time!) Not so easy when one must cook meat for the natives. But my thinking is, a good palatable vege dish will perhaps replace meat for the natives, too!

lose weight ... i shall say no more!

exercise 4 x weekly! (good heavens! who's writing this list, anyway?)

write one paragraph per day, whether it be poetry or prose

complete daily studies of A Course in Miracles

take 1/2 hour to read my favorite books each day!!!

take time to have fun with my friends WEEKLY! Go to breakfast, dinner, drinks, dogwalking or laughing over the phone

go to the stables once weekly to be around my favorite animals in the world

invite a friend to dinner at least once a month!

volunteer ... the humane society?

toss out all non-essential things in my home ... give them to the Good Will ... simplify!

purchase a good, sturdy bike and stop driving to the grocery store ... use pedal power!

do the 21 day Master Cleanse! Gaaahhhhh ... this will most certainly be the subject of many blogs entries!

Sign up for the Masters in HR Certification at UW in September

Sit for the SPHR certification exam by summer

get a pedicure before summer

relax more....

have more fun....

(sigh....)

resolve to evolve

2008-01-02T19:07:00.000-08:00

previous New Years when i made an attempt at "resolutions" it seemed "life" infringed upon my better judgement, bulldozing my rosier dreams aside, or else, and more than likely, I just forgot them. Because I was struggling through school, or barely surviving in the city on my own, or too busy with a new job, or falling in love or falling out of it, or going back to school, or raising a child, or assuming multiple new chapters in my life ... all of which could have been preceded by resolutions had I only known what was to come, but that instead just sort of happened, with little effort on my part in the way of conscious decisions for change, despite my best intentions each first of January.

Anyway ... all that aside. What I'm trying to say here is that, this year is different. I've decided to resolve to resolve to change for the sake of my own evolution. Or that's how I explained it to my 17 year old son who asked me as I sat propped up on my pillow staring thoughtfully off into space, journal opened in my lap, pen poised. "What's the purpose?" ... and for once I had an answer that didn't sound like something my mom would've said... as in, "because, that's just the way it's always been done... it's what you're supposed to do, see?"

"To evolve!" I said almost too quickly. And it sounded so eloquent falling from my hopelessly boring lips I realized I was on a roll and determined to let these strange words flow as they seemingly desired... I went on... "to become somehow "better" than you were last year. A better person ... more knowledgeable, more fit, more thoughtful, more loving, more compassionate, more capable, less judgmental, less uptight, more carefree, more competent, more Godlike" okay, okay, I get it! he says loudly, hand up in the air. Need I say I may have gone a little too far with that last one? Still...

in wishing all and myself included an uncommonly blessed season, and these things don't just "happen," we must in effect make some form of effort to create our lives, I believe. Therefore, I take the first plunge and think about what I wish to accomplish this year, but also try to send my mind to the end of the year to feel what it will actually feel like to have accomplished these things ... will it feel good, as if I've truly grown and changed for the best? I'm thinking it will. Perhaps only incrementally, but growth incrementally or staggeringly is growth, which is not stagnation, which means to me doing nothing, basically, but to sit and rot like bad pond water. Not good. Even frogs don't lay their eggs in rotten water. What the heck does that mean? God knows!

i'm still working on my list and when it's complete I will post it here. I'm really hoping to find lists of resolutions throughout the blogosphere ... maybe some that will inspire me in ways I haven't even considered!

Join me, will you, in resolving to become a better person in 2008? Here's to conscious evolution!

~L

Happy New Year!

2007-12-27T20:14:00.000-08:00

how quickly Christmas passed ... although technically, the 12 days only began on the 25th. Still, it seems the years are racing by us now. And the shops are decorating for Christmas in September! Hey! What about Halloween! Thanksgiving! ... I must've missed those displays in the summer... I'm sure you know of what I speak!

i'm still wrestling with that nasty cough I cought earlier in the month, but feeling a bit of relief so I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Just barely. But, seeing the end is half the battle. Feeling tired... exhausted actually. Still, the thought of a new year gives me hope. And isn't that the golden fruit? Afterall?

i am hopefull... and I pray that all of you have just a little hope for a most stellar year. I've made some resolutions, despite the fact that most of my previous resolutions have been broken before the years have ended. I was amazed by the fact that I actually stuck to some of last year's, and so this year I am committed to commit! (So, who doesn't PLAN to commit to their resolutions) I hear you thinking....

well, you're right of course. I'll give it a good go, let's put it that way! Since I have a few days to pinpoint my plans for the new year, I can turn them over a few times in my mind's eye and make sure they will provide some sort of return worthy of a commitment, or at least, give my life some umph! I hope (plan) to post my resolutions here for curious eyes ... but mostly so I can say, I said I'd do it, and you witnessed my saying it, so I can't pretend I didn't intend to do it ... you get my point. perhaps...just perhaps... that will help me to stick to my resolutions with even more resolve and focus.

i wish you all an uncommonly blessed season and hope you too have a floating hope in your hearts for a fabulous future beginning in 2008!

peace....

Solstice! only 5 more days to go

2007-12-21T11:33:00.000-08:00

i'm sitting at my desk today, the house all decorated and a sparkling coat of frost on the trees and lawn, and instead of feeling grateful, I am feeling, well, short changed... why me and woe is me?... coughing like a dog ... sick as a dog, in fact ... and I have to wonder ... where does that come from? I mean ..."Like a dog?" when referring to sickness and laziness and smelliness ... (dogs always seem to get a bad rap when it comes to all the ills of humanity... dogs and pigs that is, I think) anyway, ingrate that I am, I am highly bothered that somewhere along the way during these 12 merry days of Christmas I was unmerrily invaded by a microscopic bug that settled into my bronchial tubes and caused much havoc among the natives. I've been trying to cough it all up for days and the result is extreme exhaustion and even some downright depression. So many things to do and no energy to do them!

today I will admit is the first day among many that I've felt the least bit of energy to sit at my desk and pound away at the keyboards. So I should be grateful. I even took the family mutts for a long walk, and as I trekked along behind them, huffing and puffing, I coughed my head off. Well, I do actually have my head now, but at the time, it seemed to be lagging behind somewhere and I wasn't too pushed either to go find it!

this afternoon, despite my desire to go to bed and dull my central nervous system with cough medicine laced with codene, I've been invited by my son to accompany him and his girlfriend to the mall for lunch and loafing. Considering 17 year old boys rarely want their mothers along for much of anything when they have girlfriends, I realized I should be grateful, and decided I must take him up on his offer and so, precious delirium will have to wait. Sigh.....

at the back of my mind a nagging thought triggers some guilt, i have many commissioned pieces this season and most are due by CHRISTMAS MORNING! I should be working. BUT... instead, this weekend will be a busy one frought with me bundled to the nines, fingerless gloves, mufflers and ear muffs while i hunker over my work table "creating" glittery things. It's so cold down there this time of year. I turn on the space heater and put it right up against me, practically, just inches from being a fire hazard (okay, so maybe it IS a fire hazard)... and then I try my best to achieve a state of comfort. This is necessary in order for creative juices to flow, otherwise, one's mind wanders to visions of hot cocoa and roaring fires and feather beds piled high with comforters and cozy socks ... you name it. Anything BUT creating. So... I suppose the point here is ... wish me luck?

Finally...i hope you are enjoying your 12 days to the fullest and that today, you are beside a warm fire place or in that feather bed with comforters piled high, or enjoying a cup of steaming cocoa while you listen to Vince Guaraldi's "A Charlie Brown Christmas" ... my most favorite Christmas music in the world!

in keeping with the theme of gratitude which is what this season is all about... I am very grateful to Charles Schultz AND Vince Guaraldi for creating wonderful memories for me. I can't quite get enough of that wonderful little animated film, A Charlie Brown Christmas ... and listening to the music reminds me of all those wonderful Peanuts characters I so love. Thank you, gentleman!

Blessings on this Solstice night and best wishes, friends,

Christmas is nearly here!

2007-12-15T09:07:00.001-08:00

Well, I didn't get too far in my countdown because number one son absconded with the camera and then I couldn't find 5 Really Cool Things (at least all at the same time) ... I do love horses, kittens, country roads, farm houses and rainy days, but just try getting those really cool things into one photo shot!

so now it's the 15th and I'm not sure what day of Christmas that makes this... and I'm really not sure when the 12th day of Christmas starts anyway. All I do know is there's one more week to go!

I do have my tree decorated FINALLY! And although the living room has some seasonal decor decking the walls and halls ... the three presents under the tree is/are the sweetest "thing" of all. Only THREE! That's because our tradition has been to wait until Christmas for the magic to arrive. The few little bits before the big day are just harbingers of things to come. Of course, none of these three things are for me because Yours Truly is the decorator and wrapper in this little house. And despite the best intentions... we're all last minute shoppers, too!

we've never been an over the top sort of family this time of year, although having one child, that child tends to be somnewhat spoiled, just a bit! Now that the child is 17, hopefully he will see that it is his turn now to do a little spoiling of others. For those of you who have "only" children, you too understand just how difficult it is to teach these young ones the concept of "sharing" ... especially when they've never had to wrestle their favorite toy out of the hands of a sibling.

still, the days of toys are pretty much over. Now, it's a different sort of plaything... guitars and amps, skateboards and video cameras ... these are the items on the lists of only children who are 17. AND...Girlfriends.... did I mention that? ONLY Sons often disappear to assist the girlfriend's family with decorating and preparations. As mine did last night. Something about setting up the nativity scene at the church and Mexican food afterwards. Who knew it would come to this?

i asked number one son if he would like to go with me to Seattle to watch the Nutcracker or see the symphony to help capture that special Christmassy feeling. His reply? Mom, I'm just happy when the house is all decorated like you do every year, and everything smells so nice and Christmas music is playing. That's all I need to feel the spirit.

sigh.... perhaps he'll be okay after all.

counting the days to Christmas!

2007-12-06T20:25:00.000-08:00

on the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

... four flakes a falling

...three pearls with pendants

... two parrots playing....

and an angel in a fir tree...

Christmas Sale

2007-11-28T09:20:00.000-08:00

if you are considering buying jewelry for someone this Christmas, I'm having a sale at LoraKellyDesigns.com through the 25th. You might want to drop by and see if there's something you like. Be sure to click on the "specials" link so you go straight to the sale items.

i will be adding items through the season, so be sure to check back. If there's a particular item you are interested in, send me an email at lorakellydesigns@aol.com and I'll let you know what date it's slotted to go on sale!

keep in mind ... all items are "handmade in America" and if they are to be gifts, I provide free gift wrapping. If you want your gift shipped directly to the recipient, I'll be happy to do that for you, I will also wrap it and include a persnalized card! Just email me at lorakellydesigns@aol.com and tell me if it's a gift and if you need direct shipping.

all items are shipped USPS Priority Mail ... and I've been told by the post office to allow 6 days during the Holiday season.

on another note ... I have yet to get my house decorated! Although I do have a beautiful evergreen wreath in the living room smelling things up nicely and plans for the Christmas tree hunt are culminating on this Friday! THEN it will feel like Christmas. I do plan to decorate the studio as well ... so I'll be sure to take photographs. Although I can't imagine much making that place seem cozy while temperatures are in the 30's!

I took both parrots to the studio yesterday. Word of caution ... never take parrots to a bead studio. We'll leave it at that.

goodwill and peace to all!

~L

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-22T08:42:00.000-08:00

i began this post on Thanksgiving morning, then couldn't seem to finish it, not really having a clear idea of what it actually was I was going for. It is now Sunday evening, the end to a perfectly beautiful four day weekend, filled with sunny skies, lazy mornings, fun with friends (Saturday night at a comedy club) and luxurious walks in nature with my dogs.

my intent was more than just wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving, I realize now. Mostly, I think in giving thanks, or being prompted to because of an annual holiday, gave me to understand that I am grateful everyday, not just the day they give us permission to voice it! In fact, I am grateful for so much I thought I might make a point of noting my gratitude in every blog entry, which may or may not be every day, although every day is my intent!

if there are things you too are grateful for, let me know, or post them in your blog for all to see, and we can start a gratitude revolution! Change the world by changing the way we think about it. Instead of all that's wrong with it, what's right, right now, in our personal experience, that brings joy to our lives...

Today, I am grateful for my handsome, creative and inspiring son, in whom I am well pleased. I can only hope I have loved him enough to shield his heart as he prepares to go out into the world on his own. I am grateful for my little house, it isn't an amazing house, but it's warm and friendly, surrounded by a wild garden and a shock of trees and shrubs, it makes me smile and has sheltered my family this many years. I am grateful for work I love, friends who make me laugh, and having been blessed with a creative spirit that motivates me and guides me towards happiness.

i wish you the warmest of holidays... and many reasons to be grateful,

~L

a day's work

2007-11-21T10:59:00.000-08:00

Carnelian pendant with Bali Silver and Peridot dangles from Freshwater Pearls.

these three colors contrast with each other perfectly!

Turquoise and Bali silver balls wrapped on Sterling Silver chain

Two strands of freshwater pearls

Another view...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVE!
~L

My First Home Party!

2007-11-12T06:11:00.000-08:00

it's early morning, 6 am actually, and I'm sitting in bed with my computer doing my entry for the day... outside a storm rages against my house, 40 mile an hour winds and rain lashing against my windows. I pray the power stays on just long enough for me to do what I need to do this morning before all goes black!

yesterday afternoon I did my first home jewelry party and it was a fabulous success! And, despite my initial nerves, it was so much fun! I thank all of the lovely ladies who attended the show and purchased my jewelry, and thanks to Michele who was so lovely to host the party! Michele has two gorgeous dogs, Mocha and Ivan, who are two beefy labby dogs. What sweethearts! Thanks guys for snuffling everything you possibly could and making me feel totally welcome!

so, with the help and encouragement of friends, I've launched a new aspect of my business which is home parties. Unfortunately, at this time, I am only available to do parties in the Puget Sound area in Washington State. But who knows what's to come down the road?

thanks for stopping by, dear readers! I so enjoy your visits to my site. I wish for you that your day weatherwise is better than mine!

luv
~L

pretty things

2007-11-07T20:31:00.001-08:00

toyed with simplicity today...

I played with a variety of stones and my favorite, chunky silver chain...

finally found a place for two chunks for Aquamarine that have been calling to me...

and what to do with Blue Agate rounds? They remind me of berries...

I mixed them with tiny Onyx beads that look like little seeds on a vine...

I managed to come up with a few pretty things.

Thanks for stopping by!
~L

falling back

2007-11-05T16:32:00.000-08:00

i set my clocks back on Sunday. Today I compared notes with a tree. Trees don't think much about time. But they love moonlight. I never knew.

I worked in my studio and made this... I was thinking about water being formless, yet taking the form of any vessel it fills, perhaps our souls do the same ... Trees also like water very much.

Trees wear their own sort of jewelry and are always in step with the seasons. Of course, they are the trend setters. These simple pendants and pearls speak of fall... berries, bark, leaves, water and stone...

squirrels love trees. Baby squirrels also love decks and sunny afternoons and naps...

trees remind me of change... they are always in a state of change and yet they are always the same... we are like that, too... the golds of fall will become the grays of winter and gardens will glow golden like this citrine wrap necklace...until the first frost

birds love trees most of all...

and they also love shoulders, especially their mom's. Mr. R and Ms. L think of me as some moving tree with a kooky personality that is always changing and always the same... I feed them much like the trees feed the wild creatures, and give them shelter from the storm.

this weekend, I fell back an hour into fall. fall reminds me to slow down, be quiet like the trees, remain constant, grow, and change my colors once in awhile... to have a sheltering heart and arms, to bend, to be both flamboyant and austere, to drink deeply of fresh water, to be grounded... and to breath...

sometimes, we must fall back in order to move forward...

~L

the "green" city of Portland, new friends, and all things considered

2007-10-30T07:35:00.000-07:00

i'm back.....

(labradorite & onyx bracelet ... if you click on the picture for a better look, just click the "back" arrow when you're done, not the X, or you'll exit out of the site!)

Portland was so much fun! I truly enjoyed myself despite my hotel room. Perhaps I didn't mention I slept on a cardboard box filled with concrete? It was disguised as a mattress, but I know different. Let's just say, my BACK knows different. So, ahem, despite that ... Portland was fun.

As you can see here, my booth looked absolutely wonderful ... so happy I invested in those black velvet necklace displays afterall! And despite having no electricity the first two nights of the show ... you can sort of tell if you look at the picture below, there was at least some overhead flourescents that enabled customers to see the displays and, all things considered, the show was a success.

(my booth at Portland Fashion Week)

finally...I had lights on Saturday night! That's also the night I lost my keys, my cell phone died, and I had to catch a cab to the hotel at midnight... not an altogether pleasant experience!

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would I do that particular show again? I'm not sure at this point since it was my first fashion show. Hopefully, by the same time next year, I'll have had a great deal more experience with these things and my decision to do it or not will be based in knowledge. Certainly six nights was a marathon! At the same time, I met some wonderful people and have decided to mention them here so you may check them out as well!

Izzy Lane is a wonderful company out of England that creates sustainable fashions from the wool of rescued sheep. What a fabulous concept! What darling sheep! I also met their wonderful designer, Helen, who's booth was next to mine at the show. Her cashmere sweaters, and plaid skirts and vests were adorable, simple and classic. All from sheep that are loved by their keeper and who will live out their lives on a beautiful estate in England where they are cared for as all animals deserve to be.

On the opposite side of me was Nicole Gionet, a handbag designer from Portland whose line of hand-sewn, elegant leather purses are original and unique.

Nicole uses a variety of textures, colors and metallics and each piece shows her spot-on fashion sense and unwavering attention to detail! Soon, Nicole's gorgeous bags will be in fine shops everywhere, but in the meantime, you can visit her website and contact her directly. She takes orders! Click on her name above!

Across from me was Madeline who is a young fashion designer in the Portland area who sells her totally hip dresses (resewn or made from salvaged or handmade materials) at the Le Rouge on SE Hawthorne. If you are in the Portland area, you must look her up! For amazing youthful, fun designs you'll find nowhere else ... this is the shop! Please tell her I sent you! She bought one of my wrap necklaces for her mother! I hope your mother enjoys her birthday gift, Madeline!

Meeting these wonderful, brave women was the very best part of the event! Our little corner of the vendor area was awesome. Thanks for the comraderie and laughs, ladies! It was a pleasure I will forever hold dear!

And now, it is Tuesday morning and I am off to attend to things that have nothing to do with jewelry, such as cleaning a basement, for one. It calls. Sadly, I must go.

Thank you once again for stopping by my blog, I've enjoyed our chat!
~L

images of fall

2007-10-28T22:11:00.000-07:00

a beautiful day here in the pacific northwest ...

the bloodgood was crimson against the azure sky

the japanese maple like spun gold

the hydrangeas ... blushing violet

I am grateful to have witnessed such a spectacle in my own garden. I hope wherever you are, your day was as beautiful...

~L

catching my breath before the plunge

2007-10-17T09:21:00.000-07:00

hello to you, dear readers who've dropped in to visit me on your daily blog rounds. Thank you! Please indulge me for a moment if you will and listen to my wailings. It is mid-week and I find myself not yet ready for my show come Friday evening. Because this particular show is 6 days long I have concerns about having enough jewelry or ... it being the wrong venue for any sales, in which case I have too much jewelry. And so I wake at night with my mind spinning with varying scenarios. It's sort of like having a baby, I think. I remember for years my husband and I said, when we can afford it, we'll get pregnant. But upon hearing my plan, a friend's wise advise to me was, if you wait until then, you'll never have a baby, because you can never afford it and you're never ready. So just plunge in.

today, I am remembering that sage advise (thanks, Alma) and realizing, I can never be as ready as I think I should be, so I will take the plunge must take it ...and hope for the best. Crossing my fingers and my toes, and holding my nose. (I was never good at jumping in and I'm a terrible diver, but I can swim like nobody's business! Hold that thought.)

in the column on the right, you'll see a badge entitled "One Thing be brave" ... and I found that on Jesse's site, Diary of a Self Portrait. You don't know me, Jesse, but you did inspire me to be brave. Thank you. What's so amazing is, I'd just watched a program on Eleanor Roosevelt, from whom this quote originated (Every day you must do the one thing you are afraid of doing), and had been telling myself "look at all she accomplished" and I was thinking about her when I stumbled upon Jesse's blog. Jesse is also a talented artist and has a shop on Etsy with lovely things. For those who would also like to find themselves a little braver in this life, click on the Be Brave badge and play along.

oh, by the way, we did take the plunge and get pregnant 17 years ago and today I am ever so glad to have the most wonderful son to prove it!

and so, another ending to a very discombobulated blog entry as I ride off to Portland to sell my wares at the fashion show. A little frazzled. But feeling braver.

anyway ... it's too late to back out now ....

~L

The Necklace Collection

2007-10-11T20:22:00.000-07:00

Hey! Where'd she go? She ... (me, actually) will be furiously working on show preparations this week, so while I'm otherwise indisposed, I hope you, my visitors, will still stop in and take a moment to enjoy this really neat video of my necklace collection.

a matter of stone

2007-10-07T12:00:00.000-07:00

this week I've "co-inspired" with my muses creating like a mad woman ... and despite the cold outside, and the cold in my head, ideas have bubbled up like molten lava, manifesting in stone ... wrap necklaces dance before my eyes in boundless variations and combinations; this one of golden Citrine and purple Flourite ... reminiscent of the drops of rain on my fading hydrangeas as fall gently nudges summer aside and takes her place in my garden...

click on the photos here for a closer view! This wrap, like the others, can be wound up tight as a choker, or worn long and tumbling like a reflective water fall.

below, more Turquoise and Coral are bound with silver findings... the chunk of Coral speaks of abundance, and seems almost magnetic here ...nearly edible, packed with the codified knowledge of the garden, dangling from a silvery stem, like the apple that caught the eye of an ancient Goddess...

and finally; visions of gold have danced in my head (and led me astray from my silver roots) ... asking to be combined with plum colored Pearls and Amethyst as dark as a king's robe and deep purple dreams ...

and tumbling into matter as the elegant wrap necklace pictured here.

my week ended with a raging head cold and this weekend I will tend to my wounds with chicken soup and a soft blanket, so that by Monday I can begin again. There's so much to do!

all of these creations will be displayed, and sold to good homes at Portland Fashion Week starting on the 19th. I hope you can come!

fondly,
~L

focusing on stone

2007-10-04T17:37:00.000-07:00

i've been making things ... perhaps you guessed, which is why I've neglected my blog, other than to post the fruits of my labor so you may see what's been keeping me in hiding ... a beautiful pendant of Crazy Horse Jasper called to me (click on the photo for a close-up of this Jasper's kooky spottiness) ... but it took me awhile to find just the perfect mix of elements ... I've fallen in love with coin pearls ... and of course, the fall...

Turquoise and Coral are bound together, our ancient deserts were once the sea, and here they are bound once more.

a splendid pendant of Galaxy Quartz looks as though it might be filled with a tiny amber sea or rust colored sands from Sedona... it is a "farmed" crystal and not created by Mother Earth. Still, it caught my eye. I combined it with amber Czech glass crytals for a touch of sparkle... like rain on my window...

and then ... another a delicate wrap necklace was born...

filled with blue-green light ... I call it "River"

it calls to mind the cold green waters that rush over mountain boulders in the Cascades...

pouring forth from pristine, frozen lakes, reflecting snow-capped peaks and the delicate colors of the sky...

this one is "Winter" a fine wrap necklace that seems to have risen from just such a lake ...

but now it is fall, and I am in love with the colors of the season ... when the sun shines through the rain and for a brief while ...

the world is golden ... today was such a day

i hope your world is as beautiful...

~lora

"fall" wrap necklace

2007-10-02T16:48:00.001-07:00

i remembered still having some 24K gold dipped leaves ... i mixed this one with freshwater pearls (i love the coin shaped ones!), Czech glass and Austrian crystal...

and of course a good length of Sterling silver chain ...

wrap it up as an elegant choker, or let it spill into your bustier! ... for a night at the opera, or to accept your Oscar... or ... who needs a reason? Wear it because it's beautiful...

wear it long and flowing with a gown ... or with jeans and a black sweater

or turn it around and let it spill down your back.

Tres chic!

~L

what i've been up to today

2007-10-02T08:51:00.000-07:00

i've been quietly preparing for my upcoming show and so haven't been posting to my website or etsy, however, here's a peek at what I've been up to.

silver wrap necklace using smokey quartz, freshwater pearl, carnelian and crystal quartz

silver wrap necklace using aventurine, chalcedony, moon stone, quartz crystal, Austrian crystal and flourite

i just love the delicate mix of colors!

these necklaces can be wrapped many times or just once and worn long down the front or, if you're so inclined, down the back

silver wrap necklace using lemon quartz, died quartz and peridot

these items won't be posted for sale until late October, since they are show inventory at present ... now, back to seclusion!

hope your Tuesday is fabulous!

wrap necklace is long on looks

2007-09-27T15:02:00.000-07:00

today I played more with the idea of the claspless wrap necklace using two smokey quartz pendants and a handful of faceted crystals with a Sterling chain. Note the same necklace below antiqued ...meaning it has an oxidized silver chain (more liver of sulpher)...

and look! (shhhh!) A real live model! Don't let the others hear or they'll be so terribly nervous about their jobs.

exciting news...I just sent off my check for a vendor booth at the Portland Fashion Week event (http://www.portlandfashionweek.net.) I'm just a little nervous, however, since the event is 6 days long and I will be doing most of it on my own! Okay ... more than a little nervous ... how about a lot nervous!

but I know that the best way to undertake such things is to greet them head on with a smile... so ... I have three weeks to prepare!

pictured below is the Aphrodite Goddess Necklace, combining blue lace agate hearts, faceted crystal quartz and Sterling silver... modeled here by the lovely Claire...

i am still toying with the 7 "things" ... since I was tagged. But afterwards, I may be forced to close up shop for a couple of weeks while I prepare for my big show.

have a fabulous Thursday!

~L

today's work

2007-09-26T11:53:00.000-07:00

i was in the mood for something simple...

something truly feminine...

i was thinking about something a Celtic princess might wear while communing with the fey folk in an ancient oak forest

i had an idea about a clasp-free necklace that could be worn many different ways ... a choker or tumbling sweetly into the cleavage...

and this is what materialized...

A good length of chain ... I haven't measured it yet. Yes ... that'd be me! At both ends of the chain I wire wrapped two rose quartz pendants and several Austrian crystal beads for glitz. Of course, I had to drop the whole thing in a Liver of Sulfur solution just to see what it would do (couldn't help myself) ... and here it is! You can wrap it as many times as it will go around your neck ... so a thin neck could even get a cute little choker out of it. But I sort of like the long, come-hither look. And wouldn't this be wonderful on a backless gown? Jewels cascading down the back? Hmmm ... I'll need to knock that one around among the old brain cells a little longer!

Here it's wrapped up as a choker... modeled here by the lovely Lilly (remember her? my first dress form!) She's been sulking ever since I got the sleek mail order models with their delicate, swan-like necks. But she just had to come out for this one. Well, she's a sturdy girl, after all.

Oh, good heavens! ... I just realized I've been tagged by my neighbor Bee Skelton at Indigo Blah. You're very sneaky! Well now ... I must once more gather my list of idiosyncrasies so that'll probably be for tomorrow.

Have a very fun and creative Monday!

shiny new things

2007-09-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

yesterday's "pretty thing" is a bracelet composed of watery-blue, faceted chalcedony (pronounced: chal-sid'-uny) combined with polished, striated, sky-colored chunks of blue-lace agate, tiny freshwater pearls and a gorgeous Bali silver ball. The silver toggle clasp is finished off with a shiny, Sterling fish dangle, the ancient sign of wisdom in global mythology. Christianity was formed during the "age" of Pisces (an age is 2,100 years, the amount of time it takes the solar system to pass through each sign of the zodiac). Pisces is, of course, the astrological sign of the fish, and the 12th sign of the zodiac, and is the Christian sign for the Christ (Jesus, specifically). It seems the great journey of the silvery salmon, returning to the very stream he was born in, to breed, spawn and die, only to begin the cycle again, has touched mankind as an analogy of our journey since the dawn of time (or at least the dawn of story telling). Thus this beautiful bracelet is steeped in meaning. This piece is being shipped off to Anne in Reno, brimming with healing energy! Welcome to the dawning of the "New" Age of Aquarius! Around 2013 we'll be full swing in the cycle.

the healing qualities of this particular combination of gentle blue stones aids in release of anger and melancholy through creativity, rather than destructive means. Both stones align with the throat chakra,enabling pent up emotions caused by childhood traumas and frustration to flow free of the body and auric field via the pursuit of heart-felt desires, freeing up energy in order to move in a positive direction ...forward towards one's dreams ...without causing harm. To free the flow of energy so that the wearer can utilize their creative spirit to the fullest.

Jewelry for the "Handfast" Ceremony

i've wanted to create a line of jewelry for Handfasting, that ancient Celtic rite of a new couple to join in "handfast" (a trial marraige) for one year before deciding if they are truly "marraige material" ... at the end of that time, the couple then decides to stay or go their own separate ways.

The design of the necklace encompasses the use of two separate strands of turquoise coming together into one silver heart and sifting down as two separates, side-by-side, intertwined. The crystals indicate the alchemy or "refining" process, as the two eventually become one very beautiful, multi-faceted "gem" indicating their joined fates. My last handfast necklace, "Promised" (shown in the August 21st post) was shipped off to Ireland to Bridgit. This one, which I've merely called "Handfast" will be posted on the website this weekend.

As far as the healing qualities of the necklace; the combination of turquoise and aventurine bring much strength to the wearer in terms of being honest with themselves and their true love, so necessary in a new relationship. Turquoise coincides with the throat chalkra enabling the wearer to find and use their authentic voice, to speak their truth. I used green turquoise because green is the color of the heart chakra, my hope being that the wearer will speak from the heart. Aventurine is a stone of fate, luck and good fortune, sharing the same vibrational qualities as the "low-heart" it calls one to step up to the plate, take risks, trust and have faith. It has been known as The Gambler's Stone throughout the ages for it's quality of drawing "good luck" to it's keeper. What new couple doesn't need a bit of luck in this day and age?

i used 20 guage Sterling silver to create the clasp, which is wire-wrapped and hand-forged. I also used just a touch of Austrian crystal for some glitter and bling!

I hope to create some simple, beautiful earrings to go with this piece for a truly elegant pairing ... and the accompanying positive vibes! Check out the website this weekend to see what else is new!

~L

Silverado Kelly 3/01/2002 - 9/20/2007 RIP

2007-09-20T16:00:00.000-07:00

Vigilant guardian of the garden, stalwart protector of the family, brave comrade, beloved friend. We will miss you!

He calls the sun to lay it's rays upon the grass
so he can walk
for him distant hills glow gold
he crows just to separate this moment from the last
despite the sleeping, he is prone to crow
which is why cups fly
or sometimes a stick or stones

He crows to give marching orders to the sleeping
to say the moon is done,
to say that it's the season
he crows to seize the day, because he's pleased
but also crows when he is not, or
for no apparent reason

He bosses the song birds, the speckled hen
three saintly dogs and one gray cat all day
then rests politely at the threshold of the kitchen floor
speaks my name just inside the open door
begs for grapes and Irish bisquits from my hand
pretends to hate red toenails
and bites them when he can

He clucks hen-like and watches me with amber eyes
stops to pluck a thread and stretch a wing
settles on the rug to watch me cook
inspects the dog water for things
Sometimes he's only lonely for a friend
and comes to chat, while I talk
his head topples while he naps

He takes a dust bath in the roses on sunny days
and crows when he hears my car coming down the lane
when the hawks throw dark shadows on the beds
only then he squawks alarmed and runs full out
then struts to hide what looks the same as shame
And deep he knows I know what he's about

He crows when its time for bed
meanders like the shadows cross the lawn
he calls before he gets his last kiss
then struts to show he's not that gone
but let's me lift him in my arms
and carry him to roost
and all is finally quiet
until dawn.

say goodnight, silver

2007-09-20T08:58:00.000-07:00

two nights I've hovered over a basket on the kitchen table, nursemaid to the waning life of a rooster I called Silver. Sometimes he seemed to perk up, to hold his head high, cluck and eat the grapes I offered him (his favorite treat), and watch with interest at the goings on in the house around him. Sometimes, in the night, he's wailed, and I've run to his side and comforted him, helped him change position and covered him again. If you've never heard a chicken wail, it is a sad and lonesome sound. Especially coming from the once powerful rooster who ruled the roost of my back yard for the last 5 years.

today, he can barely open his eys. His breathing is belabored and he is flattened out on his pillow, wings sprawled and neck elongated. What little comfort I can offer, he seems oblivious to. Almost comatose, cooler to the touch than yesterday. Still, I've covered him and kept the house warmer than usual. I doubt very much he will survive another day.

~L

if a sick person should drink chicken soup

2007-09-19T13:51:00.001-07:00

what does one give a sick chicken?

based on that, you may have guessed where I am going with this. I've endured more than a month of human and animal ailments and finally, yesterday, I found my rooster flattened in the dirt in his yard and unable to stand. I brought him in last night and let him sleep in a basket on the table. Today, I've searched the "chicken" chat rooms and tried to find what might be ailing my poor dear Silver.

i called the vet, who is willing to check him out but can't see him until Thursday, in the meantime, I've bathed him in epsom salts, de-mited him (if de-mited isn't a word, it should be), poured oil of camphor on his legs as the scales look very red and raised, and tried my best to get him to take water by dampening a paper towel and drizzling it down his throat.

he's quiet now, sleeping deeply in his basket on the table while I type away. I've been forced to leave the parrots locked in their cage today for fear they might either pick up a stray poultry mite or some weird virus, if that's what he's got.

if anyone knows anything about such things, I would very much appreciate any information, including hearsay and old wives tales, you might remember from conversations on the porch with your long-lost farmer uncle, neighbor, granny or grandpa.

in the meantime, i'm here, nursemaid to a sick chicken. Prayers for wellness are most welcome.

thank you,
~L

movie magic is still possible.... and other things

2007-09-16T09:59:00.000-07:00

guess what? last night I had a date! ... with my teenage son. We went to see the movie "Stardust" ... he'd already seen it with his friends and so was in the know, but wanted to make sure I was able to see it first on the big screen. How dear of him ... despite the fact that I paid!

my critique? Honestly? .... the movie was fabulous and I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves whimsy, action, love stories, fantasy and cinemagraphic magic! Filled with unlikely heroes, princesses, wicked witches, humor, fine acting ... it also had a wonderful fairytale story line. And the cinematography and special effects are worth dropping $9 at the matinee ... (okay ... $50 with popcorn and a soda). If you get a chance, it's truly excellent and a must see. Please don't wait until it comes out on video, unless you have a home theater.

my weekend also consisted of a visit to the dogpound (humane society) which left me feeling a little unsteady, despite my original desire to go kiss a few noses and cuddle some puppies and kittens in hopes of sharing some love and nurturing with our society's silenced throwbacks. Despite the intense sadness it brings, I realize that everyone should make a point of visiting their local dogpound several times a year. Perhap coming face to face with our use it, abuse it and lose it society, a few eyes and hearts may be opened in the process. Just an idea. I cover my own experience in more detail in my other blog www.wingedmuseepiblogue.blogspot.com if you are interested.

today, Sunday, I plan to relax with a great cup of Barry's Irish tea and partake in one of my favorite Sunday morning activities... visiting www.postsecret.com. Join me?

have a fabulous rest of the weekend!
~L

adventures in artistic-ness?.... whatever!

2007-09-15T10:02:00.000-07:00

recently, you may remember, I played with collage art ... "played" being the key word here! Stones being my medium of choice! But I really had fun creating this little fairy girl with her cool boots and bull dog. Fall's my favorite time of year and so it is nearly impossible for me to make leaves green! The pages were pulled from some old 50's children's book. I hate to ruin a perfectly good children's book and thought later ... why didn't I just copy the pages and antique them! Duh! Oh well, we live and learn..... nevertheless ... I think she turned out sort of cute. Another blue fairy.

A beloved friend of mine dropped by the other day with a dreary face ... she was bearing an envelope containing a necklace I made for her several years ago that finally "took a dive" her words ... meaning ... the beading wire broke. 5 years is a good go, in the wear and tear world of favorite jewelry, especially when you wear it riding horses! Well, duh! Can it be saved? Of course!

As I reworked her piece and walked down memory lane, I realized I had another shell just like hers... I found them years ago on one of my writer's retreats to the ocean! (little good that did, you're thinking! I speak of the writer's retreat here) ... anyway, I drilled it and created something new like something old (oops wait, I have a parrot hanging down from my bangs and pulling an eye lash .... ooh.... arghhhh .... sheesh!)

Okay .... now then ... where were we?

i'm not sure what sort of creature this shell came from .... so anyone who knows ... I'd love to hear. The little pinkish beads are antique trade beads, the silvery-white beads are mercury glass from Japan along with Sterling balls, and the green is, of course, lovely Aventurine ... the Gamber's Stone, a stone attracting luck and good fortune to it's keeper. It corresponds with the heart chakra, unconditional love and health. Plus ... it's so pretty! Translucent spring green.

very delicate and beautiful ... but chunky enough to make a statement, too...

I decided to go with a non-symetrical piece which can be worn with the shell dead-center or not. The shell can also be turned so one can either admire the sculpted back or front with the shell-opening. The Sterling silver clasp is a really plain, simple toggle, so as not to deter from the elegant beauty.

that's it for today's entry. In case you hadn't noticed, Mrs. E wrote my entry yesterday, since I'd already used all my alotted 10,000 words having spent two weeks of visiting with family. I'm currently reconfiguring a few brain cells. Anyway, I haven't read it yet, but she assures me it was fabulous.

Of course, cat's tend to think everything they do is fabulous. (shhh! Please don't tell her I said that!)

hope your weekend's great!

one cat's take on things

2007-09-14T09:32:00.000-07:00

one day, while sitting in my red chair ... I heard a little sound.....

I turned around .... and there... near the trees (on my deck) ... was a giant squirrel (too many McVitties Irish Biscuits, no doubt)

She was licking her foot and showing her bare ankles! Paying no heed to me at all.

I swear she challenged me to chase her! Insanity? A death sentence! Was she mad?

I glanced in her direction and yawned. She was so lucky I wasn't hungry. And no, I didn't chase her.

The reason being? Well, of course, the whole thing was merely a dream, silly. There's no such thing as giant squirrels, is there ... are there? Whatever!

Have a mice day.

Ms. E.

it's all a matter of perspective

2007-09-13T23:00:00.000-07:00

the little house that could

2007-09-13T11:59:00.000-07:00

i'm not exactly sure how much my return was awaited by anyone else, but for me, it is a happy occasion. As I mentioned earlier I've been very busy visiting with company, all of whom I love very much and would not trade for diamonds, except for that one just awful relation who knows exactly who they are who I might trade for a lump of coal ... but... otherwise... uhuuum ... yeah.

anyway, it is not a secret among my close friends that I possess the introverted and introspective tendencies of "Hermit," card number 9 in the major arcana of the Tarot and also the day of my birth, my birth number in numerology, and also the number of steps from my refrigerator to the couch while balancing one carton of Hagen Daz vanilla ice cream and a bowl in one hand, and a bottle of Hershey's chocolate syrup and a spoon in another... okay ...big steps, mind you. Isn't that interesting, though? Who knew?

as such, you have probably surmised where I am going with this or you, dear reader, could care less ... either way, there is a purpose to this obvious musical-chair style explanation of things (I can just see you eyeing that chair as you time the length of my babbling)... and what I am saying is; I much prefer long, wordless, morning jaunts with my dogs in the woods than hours of talking and visiting with my loved ones. Sad as that may seem to some, I am really quite happy in my silences, exuberantly so, in fact. Be that as it may ... I do love to write and perhaps that is my way of transforming wordlessness into talking hours on end like a teenager, without really talking hours on end at all ... if you know what I mean.

which brings me to today... a gorgeous misty morning which has been spent roaming with dogs for the most part. I've also enjoyed a double-tall latte at Starbucks already, hand-wrestled with two very energetic and playful parrots, called a friend, done three loads of laundry, made a bank run and stared expectantly at a pile of dirty dishes on the counter. I also moved furniture ... the wing-back chair that stuck out too far in the living room, moved there to accommodate extra people, has returned to it's rightful place in the computer room, the bed that filled up the computer room has been humped back upstairs past the parrot condo to it's rightful place in the loft. I've also chugged down three extra strength Tylenol.

in my office, which looks a little worse for wear in the two weeks that I've neglected it, I've prepared jewelry for shipping, answered customer service emails, paid bills, attempted to organize receipts and ended up lumping them all in a file entitled (Receipts and Stuff).... and finally, plopped down at my desk to knock out a blog post, fingers pumping away at 90 wpm while parrots sit on my hands and try to pop keys off the keyboard. Finally, the mind quiets, the fingers stop and my eyes droop. I start to scribble on an envelope and then it's lunchtime. Quite alot for one morning.

I think it's probably a good thing I don't have a boss. He or she would certainly love to pay me (don't you think) to be slumped over my desk, staring off into space, dabbling here and there with no sense of direction or discipline ... but golly what a creative employee! "Just look at her doodles!" I can just hear them say. "Isn't she brilliant?" Why yes. She certainly is! Everyone says so.

oh, well, I say, locking up the studio and heading back up to the house for a salad. The sun's blazing away. Construction still goes on two lots over. Dogs tagging along at my feet. Out on the deck, Vera begs for McVitties Irish Biscuits, the cat sleeps just inches away in the red chair. I swing open the back door and peer into my kitchen... the little house that could hums in silent reverie. Isn't life just grand? I think so.

With love, ~L
.

in case you're wondering where I am

2007-09-06T08:16:00.001-07:00

perhaps you think i found a spot of quiet time among all my animal and husband and child ailments over the last month, and I must say that would be nice. However, not exactly true. The Irishman is in Ireland ... so ... one down. The animals are all feeling fine, including the birds who've finally adjusted to their upstairs retreat. But ... now company's in town... actually company's in the computer room cum spare bedroom (sans birds and confetti) ... so the house isn't exactly a quiet oasis!

in otherwords, I am somewhat out of commission for another week or so. Thank you for visiting and reading and commenting... I so love to hear from you.

Until next Friday ... or something like that.... the shop's always open so feel free to stop in and look around and read and browse, eat chocolate and try on some of the jewelry.

spider bites aren't fun, among other things

2007-08-27T08:41:00.000-07:00

if it's weren't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all ... anyone remember Hee Haw? No? ... never mind. Still, luck, or rather the lack of it, seems to be the theme of the month of August for my human and animal family. Quite a few posts back I'm sure I mentioned "the Irishman's" visit to the doctor wherein he (we) found out he was not only allergic to the birds, but also to the cat and the two dogs! How nice.

Over a month later and several prescription medications consumed he is still not one ounce better than he was the first day he decided to go get needle poked by an overzealous receptionist (I swear), and told that perhaps he had a very slight allergy to our non-human children ($700 later). (Imagine being told you are allergic to your children?) Okay.... not the teenagers (whom I realize we all have allergic reactions to now and again) but rather your little toddlers? That's what it was like! An additional $300 in Heppa filters later, he's still coughing.

So I moved the birds upstairs. Oh my ... lucky you weren't here THAT day! Lucky no one was. The dogs hid, if that's any indication of how fun it was. You see, the bird cage is very large because it contains two parrots. So, I let the parrots play on a bookcase while I emptied out the cage, dragged it through the kitchen, knocked down several cups and cherished pottery pieces in the process, cursed, got the freaking thing down the stairs, and zapped it with the power hose. In the meantime, the parrots were unusually quiet. Good, you're thinking, right? No. Not good. Parrots being much like small children.

I then cleared out a nice spot at the top of the stairs by the big window where they could watch the workmen on the lot next door build the 18 houses that will destroy the neighborhood ... but that's another story. Then, back downstairs (there's 13 of them by the way, weird, huh!) and down another three to the patio where I then hauled the dripping bird condo back inside, took out several more precious nick nacks, and hoisting the thing half on back, precariously slipping on the wet stairs, lugged it up 13 stairs where I did battle with the thing (and they say most accidents happen in the home ... wonder why?), all the foul words I was merely thinking did in fact escape my lips (no sign of the dogs at this point), and finally after much repositioning and dagger looks at anything that moved in the vicinity, I got the thing situated. Then I packed up and down the stairs another three times to gather the grate and perches and feed dishes until everything was in place and perfect.

By the time I got back to the computer room which was the previous home of Mr. R and Ms. L ... there was a pile of confetti (I think that might have been a very thick book about hypnosis) and a half eaten bookcase. Luckily, I didn't like that bookcase very much because it was one of those put it together yourself Target specials. So ... I'm still relatively sane at this point.

After situating the birds in their new home, which they were very suspicious of and perched precariously on the door and stared at me in utter confusion and uncertainty without so much as one indication that they might actually ever inhabit their old condo in its new location ... I went back to the computer room to "de-bird" it. This took me most of the rest of the day. The birds watched from their perch at the top of the stairs. Worried expressions lingering on their brows. Yes, birds do actually have brows.

By the time the allergic Irishman got home, you'd never know a bird lived in our house, what with a pristine environment and heppa filters blowing fresh air all about the place and not an animal to be seen (the dogs and cat were still hiding) ... except for the fact that two very nervous parrots were screeching from the top of the stairs ... it sounded something like "HELP ... SAVE US!"

I swear it was the very next day when I noticed our little Esky, Mr. E., who'd finally come out of hiding to eat, came down with a terrible rash all over his body following a reaction to his flea medication. I clipped away at least twenty-five pounds of hair and still couldn't find his skin ... but eventually, after continued snipping and pulling and coming to understand what a sheep shearer must feel like, I did ...and slathered his rash with neosporin, the wonder drug of the century. At this point our dear Mr. E resembled something like a French poodle who'd received his last hairdo at the nearest hedgeclipper's. Needless to say he was mortified to go out in public.

The very next day, truth, our beautiful golden Shepard Ms. S was bitten by something, I think it was a brown recluse spider ... and suddenly her eye, cheek and nose swole up (I do realize swole is not a word, however, here it fits quite nicely) with blisters that popped and began to bleed. Gahhh! At this point, I had to chase her with the neosporin.

Okay, perhaps two days later, Mr. E's "hot spots" were not doing so well, despite neosporin, Reiki treatments and oatmeal baths ... and so it was time to bite the bullet and go to the vet for a cortisone shot. However, the vet thought it would be very nice to shave his tail, to help heal one of the more severe "spots." I had to hold Mr. E because he was growling like a hyena, bearing his pearly whites, and acting totally in character. But if you'd seen what that vet did to his tail, you'd sympathize. Now he looks like a weird white lion with a naked tail and a baboon's bottom. Every time my eyes happen to fall upon his backside he is prone to growl at me or look certifiably embarrassed. The very nice vet also gave us some antibiotics to help him heal quicker.

In the meantime, Ms. S's spider bite has spread. I looked it up on-line and there are horrid photos of spider bites! Now I'm feeling very frantic and slathering neosporin on her every two hours, and giving her Mr. E's antibiotics. She runs from me every time I reach for the neosporin and tries to hide her huge bulk under the bed.

The Irishman, by now, has gotten no better at all and continues to hack like a 30 year smoker and has given up all faith in the medical establishment. But back to the doctor he goes, and now they think he's aspirating or maybe he has acid reflux. GAHHHHH ... he takes a new bunch of pills (these are purple) and once again there is no response. He goes back to the allergy specialist's nice receptionist ... apparently there are shots that can give you immunity. Really? Who knew? Immunity to what? The birds? The dogs? The cat? Acid Reflux? Aspirating?

He keeps asking me, like I actually know something, what do you think it is? They've x-rayed, they've poked, prodded, checked his throat, his esophagus, his larynx, his lungs ... it appears he's coughing for no reason at all! I think a minute and look him in the eye. I still think it's the birds, I say. So now he walks around the house with a mask. Should we move the birds out of the house? I ask. No, he says, I love those birds! Are you crazy? I'm getting those shots! But in the meantime, he wears the mask and takes the purple pills, just in case the doctors do know what they are talking about, but which I very highly doubt.

Amid all these goings on, the birds, who have yet to truly accept their new home, repeatedly leap from their perches to land at the bottom of the 13 stairs, sort of like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid when they leaped off the cliff into the raging river miles below! I can just hear them say, "but I can't fly ... so what, we'll probably die from the fall anyway!"

In the meantime, the "young man" has turned his ankle skateboarding for the umpteenth time and is hold up on the couch or in bed with his foot up in the air and wrapped in ice or generally wimpering and limping about the place and begging for room service.

This week, with all of the forementioned taken into account, despite painting, making jewelry, preparing for a houseload of company, I'm running up and down the stairs with two insecure birds on my shoulder, caring for two-legged and four-legged patients like a much friendlier version of Nurse Ratchid ... ( right about to fly over the cuckoo's nest myself!) Just picture me chasing down dogs, cornering them, slathering on neosporin and stuffing hot dogs loaded with antibiotics down their throats. It doesn't actually bare thinking, does it?

Trouble is, I'm not sure at this point if it was the teenager who got that last antibiotic stuffed in a hot dog or the Irishman who got the neosporin slathered on his eye. And who, for godsakes, took the last purple pill!

A spa sounds "real nice" right about now ... actually a small cave in the Andes shared with nothing but a family of roving coatimundies sounds heavenly.

Sigh....

Note: For those of you who DON'T remember ... here's words from that infamous country variety show of the 60's featuring Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, Roy Clark, Grandpa Jones,and a whole slew of old time country-western singers which I must say I loved to watch and who's huge audience base shall forever baffle mankind, science and the arts, while somehow managing to remain time immemorial:

"Gloom, despair and agony on me
Deep dark depression, excessive misery
If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all
Gloom, despair and agony on me...."

That's about it.

urban goddess couture

2007-08-24T17:34:00.000-07:00

Without fuss, the earth dons her finest ... night or day, dressing herself up in flora, water and stone. A brief lesson: Citrine is my favorite stone for it's simple, delicate beauty and golden color, known by the ancients as the Merchant's Stone, and often kept in cash boxes to draw more good fortune to it's keeper. Citrine has a very high vibrational quality and is used as a healing stone to pull refined, golden light into the auric field and down through the 7 main chakras for the ultimate cleansing. Smokey quartz is a delicate, brown crystal and is known as an excellent grounding stone, bringing its keeper stability, confidence and reason.

una terra

2007-08-24T15:44:00.000-07:00

( A study in turquoise with one small, faceted carnelian. Something about this beautiful blue-green turquoise captured my heart. It's actually much daintier than one would expect looking at this photograph! Turquoise, of course, is associated with the throat chakra vibrationally; an ally of the authentic voice of it's wearer. Carnelian is a reddish-orange stone associated with the vibration of the sacral chakra, and was also been known by the ancients as sard. Carnelian assists with clearing of the lower emotions including depression, anger and jealousy, among others. It is said to increase the energy of the wearer and renew sexual vigour. Together, they speak of confidence and grounding, good nature, honesty and comfort with one's sensuality. Not unlike the mother earth herself!)

Today's pieces will be posted on both websites this weekend: http://www.lorakellydesigns.com/, http://www.lorakellydesigns.etsy.com/

spring thaw

2007-08-24T14:32:00.001-07:00

("Spring Thaw" is composed of white coral, green turquoise and one polished aventurine stone pendant. Coral is very slow growing and harvested from the seas in the Mediterrainean to the South Pacific. It is actually the skeletal remains of plant-like sea creatures. The Romans placed strings of coral around the necks of their children for protection from misfortune, and it was worn by royalty in the Orient, with some museum pieces dating back 25,000 years!)

For information regarding purchase of this piece, be sure to check my website at http://www.lorakellydesigns.com or http://www.lorakellydesigns.etsy.com this weekend!

desert sea

2007-08-21T19:06:00.000-07:00

Various sizes and shapes of Coral make up the bulk of this little necklace, only 14 inches long. The tassle combines two shades of Turquoise along with red and white Coral pieces.

promised

2007-08-21T16:27:00.000-07:00

The colors were inspired by a Chinese proverb ...

"Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a singing bird will come."

So what of this reminds one of either a tree or a singing bird?

(This dainty necklace is called "Promised." Something a Celtic princess might wear to a "Hand Fasting" ceremony, to be wed for a year and a day, and then to decide if she will remain a wife or take back her freedom. Thus two hearts, one large and strong. The smaller delicate heart is struck by Cupid's arrow. The stones here are Peridot and Amethyst. )

Peridot was used by the Egyptians and Aztecs for cleansing toxic energies and negative emotions such as jealousy and rage, even. Associated with both the heart and solar plexus chakras, sharing the same vibrational signature, it allows one to move forward towards unconditional love with a clarity and a calm heart. It has been called a good "first stone" for those who have begun the search for spiritual awakening, because of its quiet energy. Whereas a higher vibration might cause feelings of light headedness, nausea or back pain as energetic toxins are stirred and brought to the surface.

Amethyst is THE healing stone of choice. A beloved, high vibrational stone that matches the vibrational signature of the crown chakra. I spoke of Amethyst's qualities below in my August 9th entry; Journey in Stone.

Unfortunately, this piece will not go on the sale block as it has already been promised. The new owner is a lovely Irish woman ... so this little piece will be shipped out to the Emerald Isle. I just like to photograph them before they go off into the world.

Oh ... and I haven't forgotten that I have three more to tag!

~L

the tagees

2007-08-20T08:48:00.000-07:00

since I'm officially IT, now's the time for me to be tagging. I was hoping to find others who have never BEEN tagged, but it's very hard to figure that out searching through the blogs unless you read every post for the last 12 months ... very ... very time consuming! So I will do my best.

Once you are tagged, be sure to visit the sites of the other taggees, and check in with them ... say hi! See what they do, introduce yourself, that sort of thing, if you can ... obviously, we're all busy and this is supposed to be fun and informative! So, have fun with it. The OFFICIAL RULES are listed in the previous post ... down below this one. Okay?

Here's the lucky tagees:

Indigo Blah at http://indigoblah.blogspot.com

Caffeinated Crafts at http://caffeinatedcrafts.blogspot.com

Simple Arts Planet at http://simpleartsplanet.blogspot.com

A Ribbon Afficionado at http://ribbonaficionado.blogspot.com

Okay ... so it's only four. I have three more to go. Not to worry ... I'll get there!

Now ... tagees ... be sure to look below for the official rules ... okay?

Have a wonderful Monday!

~L

official tag rules for tagees

2007-08-17T12:35:00.000-07:00

Tag Rules

1. List seven random facts/habits about yourself

2. Choose another SEVEN bloggers to tag and list their names in your blog

3. Leave your seven tagged bloggers comments to notfiy them of their tagging and to direct them to your blog for tag instructions.

getting tagged and the seven things

2007-08-15T08:43:00.001-07:00

as I sat down to write my entry this morning, I was very excited to see that I'd been tagged by my fellow etsy jewelry maker Ackeloade! Hmmmmm....You're sneaky! Not that I really understand anything about being tagged, mind you, it just seemed... well ... exciting anyway. I have noted this "tagging" phenomonen going on as I've perused the blogs on a regular basis while taking my morning tea, and thought it looked fun... and I especially love to read those seven "things" everyone must tell about themselves once they've been tagged. They MUST tell secret things about themselves... or... or ... like ... self-destruct or something. So ... sure as heck ...I'm game!

The only thing is ... now that I'm the tagEE... I also get to be the tagER ... which I'm not so sure how that will work, since as a child I never liked being IT because everyone ran so darn fast and hid so darn well! Oh, wait ... that's hide and seek, isn't it? We're not playing that, right? (Oh... distraction... just this moment I looked up to catch Vera out in my flower box digging up the pansies! Lovely!) For those of you who missed it, Vera is the (sweet?) squirrel who lives in the giant cedar tree next to my deck. (So where was I? Golly, I am easily distracted, obviously... I suppose that should be one of my 7 things).

Okay .... so here goes:

Number One: I am easily distracted. I think I have undiagnosed ADD. I can certainly hyperfocus, like when I'm eating chocolate ice cream or reading a totally forgettable romance novel. I can be vigilant about the strangest things ... like noticing that one of the sofa pillows is in the wrong position or noticing that one window smudge in an otherwise immaculate house (okay ... on the rare ocassion the house is immaculate) ... but paying bills, balancing my check book, talking about cars or plumbing, doing anything math related ... you can be pretty sure the lights are on, but no one's home.

Number Two: I am a dog maniac and magnet. I have been known to cross to the other side of the road just to visit with doggies ... worse, while driving...swerve to the side of the road in order to jump out and visit with doggies. Sad isn't it. Really? And wherever I go, dogs seem to find me. I'm always trying to save them ... sometimes to my detriment and everyone elses. And have brought home my share of strays, sad sacks and lost souls of the four legged persuasian in my lifetime. Once, I found a huge german shephard running along the highway. I coaxed him into my back seat with my son, then a toddler in a car seat, and drove home to check out his tags and call his owner, all the while he hung his huge head over my shoulder, licking my ear or my baby son's face. We found the owner, by the way.

Gosh ... I'm only to number three?

Number Three: I am a 2nd degree Reiki practitioner. Reiki is an ancient healing art discovered in Japan which involves the laying on of hands. I received my first attunements seven years ago, and only last year felt ready to move up to level II. (I'm a slow mover ... that's another thing!) I have had great success using it on myself and other's to dissipate aches and pains, skin disorders, depression and animal ailments. I love it so much because it feels so nurturing and deeply relaxing to the giver and receiver. It's a miracle right in our midst and I'm surprised at how many people don't know about it, or merely dismiss it without ever having experienced it.

That's all for today because I will need to think about the other "things" before I continue, and also, it's already quite late already ... just look at the clock! I must run. So, I will return tomorrow morning (or maybe later tonight if I am able) to provide the remaining 4 "things" and decide, too, who I get to tag! I can't wait!

It's the next day already! And I decided I would pick up the next "things" in the same blog entry, otherwise, well ... it would just be too confusing.

Number Four: I'm a popcorn-a-holic. In my book, popcorn is the 5th food group and must be consumed on a daily basis or else the body will have a nervous breakdown. I'm very careful, mind you, to make sure I buy only good popcorn with 0 transfats. Orville Redenbacher makes some lovely popcorn worthy of addicted souls like me.

Number Five: I am the most disorganized person I've ever met. Truth. But I hide it very well and most of my friends are totally unaware. This is why, I try to do all things at once. Because of my undiagnosed ADD, I try to do everything on my mind all at the same time and it isn't easy to read ten books, work on 12 projects, clean all the rooms of the house, paint the front door, re-design the garden, re-arrange the furniture, write a romance novel, meditate, pay the bills, learn a new technique , bake a pie, make a list of all the things I need to do, listen to all my favorite music and relax with a cup of tea or a glass of wine all at the same time! It's downright dysfunctional. I just want to do everything now and I don't want to wait and I have no ability to see tomorrow because I'm so entangled in today. Sad, isn't it. Funny thing is, I'm usually pretty calm about it.

Number Six: I hate to cook. First let me clarify one thing. I absolutely LOVE to bake! And I really LOVE to eat baked things ... cookies, especially. Okay ... I like cake too. Pie's nice. I think I hate to cook because I"m so busy doing all the other things listed in Number Five above (you might wish to scroll up and re-read those). That's why Pizza Tuesday is my favorite night of the week. Because I don't have to cook! I am very jealous of the wonderful cooks I see in the blogs ... so creative! Such skill. I truly wish I could enjoy cooking more. But I'm more likely to put on a roast, and head off to do other things while it cooks, then forget the roast is in the oven. Not good. Just ask my husband.

Number Seven (FINALLY): I love rain. It's not that I hate the sun. It's very pretty and it does warm things up nicely and where would my flowers be without it. But my favorite day in the world is a rainy one. Where the rain falls gently or in torrents, it doesn't really matter. If I have places to go, I prefer a warm, gentle mist. If I have a good book a clean house and no place to go, I prefer powerful wind and lashing rain! I love to work in my shop with the door open on a rainy, summer day. The air is thickly scented with Douglas fir and dark, fertile earth and everything is sparkling and clean. My dream day: If I can pull on a sweater, wool socks, jeans and boots and head off down a wooded lane with my dogs on a misty morning ... there is nothing sweeter in life. I've died and gone to heaven.

So that's my seven. And now I get to be IT. That will have to wait for a later post!

remembering a feathered friend

2007-08-13T09:11:00.000-07:00

last year I lost a beloved friend to the wind. A parrot. It was a terrible accident, all too familiar among bird owners, forgetting her wings had grown out, my husband who'd been carrying her on his shoulder all afternoon, walked outside in a rainstorm for some simple task, and she spooked and flew into the trees. Having no experience with flight, having weak breast muscles, a heart not accustomed to bouts of flight, a life in captivity ... well, the odds were against her. We never found her again despite days of combing the woods and calling, placing posters everywhere and her picture on the internet. The storm raged on for several days. We lost hope. Hawks and eagles frequent the area. A beautiful blue-green bird would hardly go unnoticed. Especially one who had trouble navigating the skies.

Arwen was a rescued bird. She'd lived in a small cage with a previous owner who finally decided she didn't want her any longer, she was loud and aggressive, apparently, and sold her to a local pet shop. I visited that shop one day to buy a toy for my dog. Arwen jumped on my shoulder and with her face nearly pressed into my cheek, stared sweetly into my eyes. Well, what could I do? I had no previous experience with parrots, but decided I couldn't live without her. I took her home that day. She was an absolute joy to our lives.

Sadly, we didn't have her long enough... hardly knew her ... but completely loved her.

Sometimes when I walk in the woods near my home, as I did today, I have a pang of emotion that runs deep. So many times when she was afraid it was necessary for her to look directly in my eyes for reassurance, sometimes crawling inside my shirt to peep out from my collar and survey the world from that safe place. I'd promised to protect her forever from the loneliness she'd come from, from abuse, from any imagined harm that might befall her, confident that she'd be with me forever... for her, a good 40 years!

She was just a bird, you might say. But if you've never lived with a parrot, you could never know the intense, loving bond that is formed with these amazing, intelligent birds. As great as that with a beloved dog. Perhaps even greater.

I have two young parrots now, just a year old. Both as sweet and smart as can be. The bond is already stronger with these two, because they've only known love and kindness and both lack the mistrust that Arwen possessed when she first came to live with us, having previously experienced how deceptive a relationship with humans can be. These two play exhuberantly and fearlessly, laying on their backs with their feet up in the air, silly and childlike. Many parrots mate for life and their flocks are tight family groups of older and younger siblings. Aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers ... just like ours. Thankfully, these two will never know anything but friendship, kindness, gentle hands, and loving care.

I guess this month I've thought much about her loss. I know there was a lesson to be learned. Something about letting go of attachments in a universe where death and loss are everyday occurances. As are exquisite beauty, birth, compassion, virtue and hope.

Had it not been for Arwen choosing me that day, I would've never known about parrots. I would've never made the decision to bring two of them into my home! The door of their cage is opened every morning until they go to sleep at night. They have their play area, and plenty of toys, and then they have me ... their biggest toy. Their favorite toy, too, I might add.

Just as I am writing this loving tribute, little Mr. R., the dusky headed conure, popped the Escape key right off my laptop! Just in case I waxed too poetically!

(Above is a photograph of Arwen in my husband's hands, getting a head rub! But it took time to get her to this point ... initially she wouldn't allow anyone to touch her back. Once she came to trust us, this was one of her favorite things!)

Sunday afternoon, after much talk of rain... the sun shown and the day was warm and beautiful. And again, this morning is perfect. Not too warm, nice and breezy. I haven't decided whether I will continue my painting spree or reorganize my shop today. (I just learned last night that "spree" was an old Scottish word meaning "cattle raid!") Neither enterprise seems particularly appealing today ... a third option is to take the day off and head to the seaside. But that wouldn't be very productive, would it?

Still weighing my options. May your day be fabulous!

future work in progress

2007-08-10T13:45:00.001-07:00

I've been searching for sometime for very pale blue turquoise and having no luck. I found these lovely rounds, although not the blue I really wanted, but I think I will settle this time. The key is antiqued brass which I plan to somehow include in this piece as a pendant.

As turquoise is blue it is associated with the sky-blue color of the throat chakra and therefore increases the power and clarity of that particular energy center, assisting the wearer with finding their own voice and speaking their truth. Somehow, in my mind, the key signifies opening that particular gate or portal and setting free an extraordinary life purpose and authentic story in the world.

But, alas, that is the extent of my creative spark today, my studio needing a good cleaning and major feat of organization. Then of course ... there are my friends....

Can we play?

Guess they win.

Later.... ~L

journey in stone

2007-08-09T08:56:00.000-07:00

i have long considered starting another blog dedicated to the healing and regenerative power of stones, and that may be a future endeavor as another way of looking at gemstone jewelry for those of you who may be interested ... I'll keep you posted here as to whether I do. However, in the meantime I have decided to at least offer some of that type of information here since this site is dedicated to the inside view of the daily life of a jewelry maven. And stones are an integral part of my existence. Though I do prefer to keep this site light and humorous and not belabour you, my dear visitors, with the deeper aspects of my journey in stone.

that being said, I will give you a small history lesson. You may not be aware that the original purpose of jewelry was not for physical adornment! Imagine....

in ancient times, only rulers, holy people or healers wore "jewelry" or those who required healing or had somehow earned the right, or had the need to carry a particular stone, and thus entertain its qualities and influence. Stones were thus carried close to the body and secured. Ta Da... jewelry!

(I called the bracelet pictured above Love's Catch. Rose quartz is a translucent pink stone said to express an energetic vibration matching the high-heart's. It's gentle light draws and expounds upon unconditional love, kindness and nurturing. Flourite, the green stone, has been called The Relationship Stone, helping to balance and stabalize emotions, honor clear vision and decisions based on truth, rather than fogged by emotion.)

(Above is pictured a long, flapper style, wrap necklace of freshwater pearl, jaspar and jade I have named Avalon. Did you know jade has been said to carry the energy of all previous wearers forever ... therefore be careful from whom you buy your jade!)

whether one believes in the healing or recuperative power of stones, or not, it exists and is discussed in our most ancient texts and languages including Sanskrit. Individuals of royalty carried crystals with them (eventually they became the crown jewels) initially to enable them to govern their societies with clarity, wisdom and integrity. Crystal, as discussed in my July 30th full moon blog, draws, holds and refracts energy, and thus the crown jewels were passed down through the generations, in hopes that too was all wisdom gained by the previous rulers.

gems have been worn for thousands of years around wrists, on fingers, as amulets or carried in medicine bags. Because of their ability to stimulate energy, they have always been consciously or unconsciously worn in conjunction with the various chakras, or energy centers of the body, thus activating certain qualities such as love and compassion, wisdom, right action, right speech or creativity.

(The Jasper donut here can be removed from the necklace. Jasper was long considered The Warrior's Stone and was carried into battle as an amulet or totem. The stone's vibrational qualities coincide with those of strength, courage, trust and nobility. It has been used in therapeutic environments to help those who are dealing with addictive behaviors break free, or shy withdrawn people dealing with difficult change find courage. I think it is a beautiful stone that tells a story if one looks deep enough. This one of mountainous journeys, mist and mystery. )

you are probably thinking, how in the world do people use stones to heal? That just seems weird. I suppose if you really think about it, we often receive a "healing" effect from an experience we might not have considered a healing modality! Certainly a kind word or a hug from a child or loved one. But think about stepping out into nature in your bare feet, feeling the warm or damp earth under you, smelling the sea air, sitting on a flat boulder warmed by the sun and watching a rushing river, even eating fresh foods ... things of this nature cause a feeling of renewed energy. This is a subtle healing response. If you seek healing from an experience consciously, you are adding an element of intent which strengthens the intensity of the experience.

(Here aventurine is mixed with amethyst and flourite. Amethyst is one of the crown jewels, and is called a mystical stone and coincides with the crown chakra, assisting us to get in touch with our highest values, true feelings and intuition, fostering healing, selflessness and spiritual awareness. Aventurine is associated with the heart chakra and is appreciated for attracting abundance, wealth and opportunity. It has a reputation as "The Gambler's Stone" in that it has been held in esteem for its good luck qualities throughout the ages!)

the nature of crystal healing can be described as thus, aside from their beautiful physical qualities, when worn or placed in close proximity to the human body, their electromagnetic energy field joins with the human electromagnetic field, which you may have heard referred to as the aura. Kerlian photography proves this without a doubt. Remember, we are all energy on a sub-atomic level! The stone's particular color and light force "vibrations", are refracted into the aura and the increased color frequencies thus dissipate and/or neutralize physical, mental, emotional and psychic stress. The result is balance, which shows in the body as health. Most healing experiences are initially quite subtle, but sometimes the experience is amazing.

here's a good "test" if you are open to that ... which can be really fun and interesting! Find a stone that is very attractive to you ... one you find in nature is usually too dense ... but you may wish to go to a rock shop or new age shop where they have crystals, which have a more refined energy and are often easily felt by even the most cynical naysayer!

holding the crystal in front of your body (close but not touching), in your thumb and forefinger, run it from your groin area upwards to the top of your crown ... what do you feel? What is most often felt is a tugging sensation in one or more locations as you move upward. There are 7 main chakra's located in the torso, neck and crown and these respond to the energetic field of the crystals as they come close together. I love this test because I've rarely had someone "not" have an experience! It's sort of that "yippy" feeling you get when you're on a roller coaster or glance down a long stairwell or over the side of a cliff!

but aside from the more aesthetic uses and meanings associated with the element of stone, the most healing experience of all can be merely wearing a special gemstone and feeling attractive because of it, or knowing your beloved grandmother wore it, perhaps there is a story surrounding it that is secret and beautiful... these experiences bring an unparalleled connection to your deepest self... and with this comes confidence and personal power! I say ...What doctor can give you that?

so that's my stone story for the day ... I will make an attempt to slip one in now and then, including the particular healing qualities of the various stones I use in my jewelry.

thanks for stopping by today!

~L

a new display mannequin

2007-08-08T08:42:00.000-07:00

i was so excited to receive my new toy in the mail last night. Yes, I said last night, because it arrived around 7 pm on the evening of our ever-celebrated Pizza Tuesday! A knock came to the door just as I stuffed my mouth with mushrooms, cheese and tomato sauce! I opened the door, smiling with pursed lips and using hand signals as hot cheese burned a brand into my palette ... and there was the UPS guy in shorts (aren't they lucky?) bearing a cardboard box for LoraKellyDesigns! Just like Christmas!

I knew what it was as soon as I saw the Venus Display Mannequin return postage in the upper left hand corner and could barely contain myself while doing my best to remove three layers of that shiny mailing tape (which runs neck in neck in annoyability to duct tape!) In the end, I prevailed!

Look what I got! Isn't she lovely? I actually received two lovely ladies ... well, really I only got their upper torso's, not sure what happened to the rest of their bodies. In case you wondered, they will by no means replace the lovely blue fairy Flora! Never! Despite her unfortunate mishap with the slates, she is still as lovely as ever and holds a special place in my heart. Still ... I'm really excited about the new girls! This one photographs well, doesn't she?

My next photograph has nothing to do with mannequins or display models or blue fairies but is actually just an adorable picture of my two beloved parrots, that I hope you will indulge me by viewing; Ms. L (on the left) and Mr. R (on the right) ... both wanting their share of pizza and wondering why they must pose on the back of the chair when they'd much rather be sitting on my shoulder and attempting to pull pizza from my lips. Yes. They are THAT bad! Horribly spoiled ... I admit, but ... cute beyond words. And sweet? Well, indescribably.

Even though I design jewelry and spend a great deal of my time with stones and beads and findings and the like, I rarely get a chance to wear jewelry myself at home for one reason, these two bothersome birds! They love to be with me as much as possible which means, when I'm in the house, they are usually on my shoulder. From there, they have an excellent vantage point should they wish to partake of a lovely earring or pendant, and although they may look like gentle creatures, there is nothing they enjoy more than destruction! It's a parrot thing, nothing personal. And shiny, colorful beads offer just such an invitation. I fondly refer to them as "The Destructors!" ... sort of a super hero status that fits them well.

Ms. L is the more timid of the two and steps about like a delicate princess with a hoidy toidy attitude, Mr. R's nickname is "Kerplunk!" in that he's a sturdy little lump of a fellow with no airs or graces and who lives for fun, food and friendship. The order depending on his mood.

(Spell-check had great difficulties with this blog entry today! It is so confused by my challenging language! It really loved "annoyability" as you can imagine!)

You've obviously realized I am an animal lover, as so many of you are, I can tell by your blogs. And so I am glad and proud to be in good company.

Thanks for stopping by!
~L

digressions in decorating

2007-08-07T06:39:00.000-07:00

believe it or not, and you'll probably believe it because why wouldn't you ... I am blogging from my bed this morning. I woke up at 6 a.m. and was unable to get back to sleep so made myself a cup of tea and some toast with jam, grabbed my laptop and headed back up to bed. The number one "young man" of the house (favorite son and only son) presented me with a nifty lap table on my last birthday for just the purpose of writing in bed ... so here I sit, blogging away in the half light of morning with two dogs strewn across my feet. What more could anyone ask for?

this rather askew-seeming photograph below was taken at this angle for a purpose, and that is to show you, my dear fellow bloggers and blog visitors my new accent wall.

this weekend I took on the very daunting task of painting an accent wall in my dining nook. The painting part was not the daunting part ... although I must admit to my embarrassment, I absolutely despise prep-work ... I much prefer just opening the can of paint, rolling it on fast and furiously and getting it overwith so I can stand back and admire my handywork... but, this time, I did things right. I taped off the woodwork and adjoining walls with blue tape and even spackled the multitude of nail holes behind the big mirror... so ... that's not the daunting part. What's really really daunting is the choosing of paint colors!

I really liked it when the illustrious KMart had that great line of Martha S paints that all were in the same color family or appropriate contrast on the artist's color-wheel and matched up perfectly. KMart has since closed in our area ... well, I think you must go to the big city to find them now and my little corner of the universe is too backwoods for them, if you can imagine anywhere being to backwoods for KMart! So, I was left to my own devices. Lucky for me, and I don't come by luck easily, I'd managed to remember the name of the Dutchboy brand of paint I'd used in the kitchen! Hooray! So I merely found a chip and laid it against about 5 zillion other chips and agonized for about an hour and finally came up with a dark olive.

I'm very happy with the result and took a photograph for posterity ... although I usually change my wall colors every year out of sheer bordom, much to my husband's chagrin, poor man! And probably next year, I'll have had enough of accent walls and this one will too go by the wayside in a splash of inspiration. But, for now ... it's rather pretty ... sort of moody as the art critiques are so fond of saying, and despite the fact that I suffered a crick in my upper back and right shoulder due to this project, I decided to forge onward...that I must also have an accent wall in the living room and in one day, prepped and painted an additional, much longer wall and must say, it looks overall pretty neat!

In the midst of my painting fury, with furniture pulled out this way and that and paint pans and brushes atop tables in the midst of spread out newspaper here and there and the 6-foot step ladder being dragged throughout the house, I took a break and at this moment, I can't remember just why I needed to leave the house on said break, but I did. I ended up having to take the "young man's" car ... and what a mess it was let alone on empty! Being a good mother and somewhat over indulgent mother and probably a really verging on bad mother, I filled up his tank and ran his car through the car wash ... yes, he thanked me. But, what I was going to say was, while I was out and about taking my paint break I actually decided to run through the McD's drivethrough and get myself a cup of coffee, having heard that they do a pretty good java. Guess what? It was one of the best cups of coffee I've had in years! And, they put the cream in for me (well, how nice of them!) ... AND ... it cost a whole heck of alot less than Starbucks! Now ... it wasn't a Latte ... granted ... it was merely a regular cupa joe with some half and half added. But, it was rich and hot and ... well, just thought I'd mention a good thing.

Today I am still on the painting spree (or will be when I get out of this bed anyway) and will probably finish off my entryway, which is a sweet little place with a domed ceiling. Now, that sounds really fantastic doesn't it? But, my entryway is about big enough for an ant family to enter and turn around twice in because I live in an 80 year old Sears and Roebuck kit house. Cute, but just a tad... impractical. Impractical by today's standards because our furniture is so big! How do we get the big furniture of the 90's onward into a little dinky house built for the mini-people of the 50's?

You know what the only problem with writing in bed is? The mouse keeps sliding off the pad ... either that, or the pad gets bent up like a fortune cookie and the mouse is only able to get its signal out via the wormhole effect... thus the curser is flying all over the darn page!

Okay... that being said... I think its time for another cup of tea. Thanks for stopping by.
~L

in the garden

2007-08-03T08:33:00.000-07:00

yesterday, according to the weather folks, was the last of the hot weather for awhile, for which I am truly thankful. It seems we've had (and here I refer to the Pacific Northwest) an ongoing heatwave since April, which is so unusual for this part of the world as far as how long its lasted and how hot its gotten, (and I shutter to think this is only the beginning of what we'll experience with global warming) ... and I have yearned for a few rainy days for quiet and contemplation. I did spend a moment to walk in the garden yesterday morning and enjoy the flowers I so rarely seem to have the time to care for as I used to!

I love the color of this particular hydrangea, as I have two whites and one purple and this one is sort of sky blue. It must be pleased with its location next to the house because it puts out armloads of plump mopheads each year and they stay long into the fall and turn to a fabulous cobalt just before their season ends. This one doesn't require much from me, and I just love plants that are self-reliant!

these little Loosestrife are one of my favorite flowers of all time (yes, I have so many all time favorites!), with the sweetest little curling fronds; of course they are extremely hardy (that makes me happy!) and despite the fact that they often get mowed down by the now "young man" ... they pop up again and again to look as cute as ever! Unlike me ... who doesn't pop up quite so fast after a good mowing, I'm afraid.

this morning the rain is falling softly, at last, and outside my door the sweetest scent fills the air and my head; fresh with the fragrance of damp earth and growing things. even the fairies give thanks for the rain as caring for the local flora has been quite a task with little water other than that from the sprinkler. I can see their wings sparkling in the shadows as they flit about from leaf to leaf ... okay ... maybe I imagined it. But ... perhaps I didn't!

i wanted to say thank you to all of you who commented so positively on my jewelry and said such kind things about poor Flora who fell and hurt herself ... although I think I was hurt much more than she! I truly appreciate your words and humor! And thanks, too, for stopping by to visit and check out my daily wanderings. I love to check in on all of you as well and sip my tea with you and laugh at your wonderful stories, reflect with you thoughtfully and gaze in awe at your amazing, artful creations!

I've become aware that there are so many other women out there, like me, who are attempting to express themselves artfully, whether they are mothers, executives, pilots, scientists, housekeepers or homemakers ... whatever ... no matter who they seem to be walking in the world, it is obvious to me they are doing the deep work, nurturing the soul, and coming face to face with that creative spark, and thankfully... letting it shine! How excellent!

Have a wonderous day!

art for a little more than arts sake

2007-08-02T11:38:00.000-07:00

Someone To Watch Over You

Let It Go

Make Peace

Be Happy

in a rather serious mood today ... what's up with that? it's another gorgeous day here in the northwest and i've spent the morning working in my studio since, oh, say 8 a.m.? I love doing that ... the time there is heavenly, despite my organizational disasters... however, this morning I was not making jewelry but rather working on a memorial of sorts, for a beloved animal I lost last November. Yeah, long time ago really, one might think if they've never loved an animal, but truth is, whether they be feathers, fur or flesh..they are just containers for love. I thought collage art would be a great way for me to express my heart about the matter. I've written about it, talked about it, cried about it ... here I "draw and paint" about it. My first try at collage art ... sort of funky and amature but the fun working with glue and paint is always worth the mess and worry that it's never good enough! You who have stopped by to visit me are so lucky! You get to be the first to see it. My ode to Arwen.

Have a lovely day!

meet flora ... the blue fairy

2007-07-30T16:52:00.001-07:00

yes, I do know that she's missing part of her head but ... we don't mention those things within ear shot.

I barely had a chance to say how do you do to Miss Flora ... (the lovely blue fairy pictured here modeling some creations) she'd hardly said giday ... it was less than 5 minutes ... truly ... when one of the slates toppled over during a photo session, banged her on the head, flattened her and caused several little chips to appear on her torso! Poor love! She promises not to sue, and despite the development of a rather odd tick ... she seems just fine!! Really, she does. Unfortunately, now she's damaged goods! I swear! She was in the mailbox when I got home, and I being so overly excited, rushed to my studio, situated her just so, and ... it took me no more than 5 minutes to destroy her. I have quite the knack for these things!

My mother came very close to naming me Grace. Perhaps if she had, I would've gotten through life with a few less accidents!

Must go wipe away tears now ... what a major KLUTZ!

... later

fairy wings

2007-07-30T09:08:00.003-07:00

someone lost their wing this morning and it fell, seemingly from the sky, and landed on my left shoulder...

full moon monday and the proper clearing of stones

2007-07-30T07:46:00.000-07:00

i don't have much time to visit this morning, which certainly shouldn't be the case, but today is my busy Monday and entails another job that isn't nearly as much fun as making jewelry and requires a great deal of stress medication in the way of caffeine and chocolate. However, that being the case, I still had a moment to begin my "list" ... the one I spoke of several posts ago. The one I had every intention of following through on and so here, this morning, I begin...

but first ...let me remind you that today IS the full moon, and if you are one to keep crystals in your house (being a bead goddess I have a multitude of cut and natural crystal), whether they are set in silver and strung about your neck or geodes placed next to your bed, or polished stones you keep in a medicine pouch, or just crystals you keep because you think they are beautiful, which they all are, and I fully understand!

Whatever reason... crystal does collect and retain energy and can lose its luster, clarity and other properties (except for citrine) and must be cleared regularly. As science has now confirmed, we are all merely waves of energy on the sub-atomic level, and so truly the same as our crystalized friends, just moving somewhat faster. And, just as the moon has magnetic qualities, stone acts in much the same way, drawing like-energy to itself or as they are used in healing, drawing detrimental energy away from us. Running water, sunshine and moonshine (as in the moon in the sky! Not the nearest distillary, dear friends!) are excellent resources for the purpose of clearing energy.

The problem with sunshine is, it may actually fade your gemstones, as some are quite sensitive to sunlight, being cave dwellers for the most part! Case in point, I had a brilliant green aventurine heart a good friend made me swear I'd leave to her when I died (I think she's still counting the days!) But, I left it on the top of a dresser for a day, unfortunately right where a splash of sunlight happened to fall for about an hour each day, and even more unfortunately ...my gorgeous lime-colored pendant faded to a mere ghost of itself! I still adore that stone and wear it often, but needless to say, it doesn't get the compliments it used to, but at least my friend has made no more threats on my life.

Fresh running water, the best source being a waterfall or fast stream, though an excellent source, is not so easily come by. Tap water is so so and if there's nothing else, leaving your stones in a bowl under fast running tap water for 20 minutes or so works just fine. Obviously, if your precious stones are set in silver or gold or any type of baser metals, be sure to dry and polish them thoroughly afterwards! Burying stones in a container of sea salt is another good method for clearing cluttered or stagnant energy, however salt can be caustic to some softer stones such as celestialite, tigers-eye and sugalite and again cause dulling, scratching or cracking.

However, one method that is clearly excellent and causes no adverse effects to your stones whatsoever is the light of the full moon. You certainly can set your stones in your window sill overnight, however as the earth and moon go through their rotations, the stones will not get a full dose throughout the night, which is preferred.

I recommend placing the stones on a tray and setting them outside overnight somewhere they can get some full-spectrum moonshine. Don't worry if there is cloud cover or rain, the power of the moon is undaunted by the weather. Tomorrow, you can set them out about your home again to be beautiful, or do their work. Some people prefer to re-program their stones with intention based on the innate healing quality of the particular stone. There are wonderful books available regarding this! What's really interesting is that most people, never having read a related book on the subject, usually just know the capabilities of their stone.

Finally, those stones that are set in metal of any kind should be stored properly when not being worn. If I'm not wearing my rings, pendants or beaded jewelry, I keep them in air-tight freezer bags. This keeps them gorgeous, without need for polishing or cleaning. Just... after each time you wear them, be sure to polish them with a soft, dry cloth and stick them away again for safe keeping until the next full moon.

Now ... that list ... I didn't get very far as you can see. I suppose tomorrow is another day!

Have a fabulous Monday!

XXOO ~L

postsecret.com

2007-07-29T18:52:00.000-07:00

if you haven't yet been to this site, it is worth the visit. Updated each Sunday, I try to make a point of reading it with my morning tea, and sending out my own silent blessings to those in need of comfort. Sometimes sad, often strange, usually touching, rarely forgettable; Insights into the fragile heart of our human family... reminding us all to reach out and withhold judgment.

And now, I truly am signing off for the night!

;)

sunday driving

2007-07-29T17:37:00.000-07:00

Today I decided to take a day trip to Bainbridge Island, which is just up the peninsula from where I live. Not sure really what I had in mind, but thinking perhaps I would visit some garage sales. Turns out, I drove all the way to Winslow, the little town at the edge of the island where you catch the ferry over to Edmonds and from there, Seattle and parts unknown, and decided to go sight seeing. I parked the car on the street, lugged my bag up on my shoulder and headed off on foot.

Sun blazing down, all the morning mist having dissipated, and a vibrant breeze filling the air -- some lucky dog somewhere was enjoying a barbecue! Being as it is Sunday, most of the really sweet shops were closed but I stared in windows, nose pressed up against the glass, thanking heaven I couldn't get inside ... so many wonderful things to be wished for and possibly obtained! I did visit Bad Blanche's furniture store and drooled over a sofa table, circling it quite a few times before deciding the wood was too reddish ... walnut I'm thinking, and would blend in with my fir floors and ... it just wouldn't give the punch I was looking for. The other reason being, I am a rehabilitated impulse buyer. This wondrous gift (the rehabilitated part) was given me when I decided to take a fun job ... a short-term, part-time stint in one of the cutest shops in the world ... The Apple Crate in Tacoma. What I realized was, each day a new shipment came in I opened packages and thought, I have to have this! The next day, I'd come back and say, I really don't have to have this. And...by the third day, whatever I thought I couldn't live without had totally lost its luster usually... that being the case, it takes me a good three days to determine whether something is really worth buying or not (there are exceptions, such as ... a garage sale find that will probably never pass this way again!) So ... Thanks Apple Crate! You did me a great service, and I should think anyone else requiring some like-therapy ought to get themselves a nice little retail job in the shop of their dreams for one summer. Believe me ... it works.

So back to today... I window shopped mostly, and did not spend. Nothing that required dying for. I traipsed through several galleries and looked at jewelry ... not to purchase, but just in an artistic sense, I love to look at materials and color and gems and workmanship. I wandered through a nursery, smelled fragrant flowers, fingered petals and dug my fingers into dirt... and considered how I might plant a particular border in my garden. I stopped at Starbucks and indulged. I met three very nice tethered dogs, waiting for their dining owners I suspect, and had friendly conversations with each of them.

I came home from my day's outing pretty much empty handed... with nothing but a book about Seattle's best women entrepreneurs and their great little shops and the powerful desire to visit them all! Next time I'll catch the ferry, cross the big water and shop the city. I must drag one of my dear friends along with me for that day's adventure! Of course, I'll bring a camera and share that day with you.

Home at last and the weekend winds down. We're having baked cod for dinner. It's in the oven right now and smells heavenly. 7pm and a breeze rustles the trees, dogs lie stretched out on the cool floors, birds chatter in the other room and the cat lies on her back on the sun-warmed deck. Vera stops in for a McVitties Irish Bisquit, which she takes from my hand and rushes back to her tree. Alone for the moment, other than, of course, visiting with you.

Blessings ... ~L

post party irish soda bread

2007-07-29T09:30:00.000-07:00

last night was the big birthday bash ... which has nothing to do at all with Irish soda bread, but I thought I'd mention it nonetheless. The Olive Garden, 6 teenagers, two glasses of wine (for me), acres of pasta, a very large bill and one chocolate bar-cake later ... well, the survival instinct kicks in, doesn't it? I've also sworn to no longer refer here to my new "young man" as a "man child" ... from now on it will be just ... young man. I asked, what is the greatest thing about turning 17? He's not exactly sure, except somewhat likes the idea that now he can go to R-rated movies on the up and up. You mean, I said, you no longer have to sneak in to see The 300 when you paid for Harry Potter? Exactly. They think we don't know these things, you know.

At the end of the night, us grown ups fell into bed snoring away, much too partied out, all that cake and pasta and giggling being too much to handle, and the "children" went off to the movies. This morning, two teenage boys are strewn across two living room couches, still snoring away at 10 a.m.!

I, getting my due rest, was up quite early this morning (7 something, what with dogs and cats and parrots and roosters to feed) and decided to make a loaf of Irish soda bread, and thought I'd include you, dear friends, in on it ... so here it is.

First I made myself a nice cup of tea (always required) .... then I began: Preheat oven to 375!

Combine:
2 cups of unbleached white flour and 2 cups of stone ground wheat flour
2 tspns baking powder
2 tspns baking soda
2 tspns organic, raw sugar (honey is fine, too)
1 tspn salt
2 tablespoons corn starch

whisk it all together ... I like to use a flat bottomed, plastic bowl .... that way, I do the whole process in the bowl and clean up is a snap! I am by no means a cook or baker at all, but this one thing, I've got down to a rather fuzzy science!

Add 2 cups of low-fat buttermilk and combine the dry and wet ingredients with a spatula... squishing it all together until well combined and has a sort of "chunky" texture... like this....

Note: It's best not to handle the dough too much, as this is a heavy farm-style bread, and over mixing will end up with a springy texture that just doesn't do it justice.

Here's the only messy part: Shape the dough into a round mound sort of thing (sorry, you will need to use your hands here) and finish with a dusting of flour.

Using a sharp knife, make a cross on the top. (Sort of like a hot, cross bun!)

Place on a cookie sheet that's been very lightly buttered with a thin sprinkling of flour over it. Stick it in the oven for 40 minutes. When you pull it out, wrap it immediately with a towel and place on a cooling rack. I wrap it in a paper towel and over that I wrap it up with a kitchen towel. This keeps the crust from becoming as hard as a rock and breaking everyone's teeth! Let it cool about 10 or 20 minutes.

Then, slice it warm, its really to die for with butter (I know what you're thinking; So What ISN'T to die for with butter!) You're right. Nothing, except dirt, possibly! The crust texture should be "crusty" ... but not like a piece of bark ... that's why the towel part is important! This is a wonderful, hearty bread. Great with bean soup or stew or even for sandwiches! Easy to make, quick and you can put it on in the morning and have fresh, warm, farm-bread with breakfast!

Hope you enjoy it!

Happy Sunday! ~L

time for a cup of tea

2007-07-27T09:43:00.000-07:00

the sun's out this morning and a lovely breeze is in the air and life seems worthy of a very long and comfortable sigh at this moment, so I will take the time to have a cup of tea and put my feet up before the other shoe drops ... yep, still in my PJ's. Crazy, isn't it.

Vera

2007-07-27T08:57:00.000-07:00

we've had a visiting neighbor of late whom my son has named Vera (and I have no idea whatsoever why he chose that name but it's sort of stuck, nonetheless). She's a very lovely neighbor who just happens to live in our cedar tree out back and so, in that sense, I suppose you could say she has a lean on our property? She's a very good neighbor in that she doesn't make a great deal of noise, has no loud parties in the middle of the night, keeps her home grounds tidy and isn't particularly nosy. Well, not particularly, but a bit. She does have one little problem, however, and that would be her addiction. Yes, she has one. Well, who among us are perfect? Her addiction happens to be food. Well, one must eat, mustn't one? I mean, really, what kooky psychiatrist came up with the term "food addict" anyway! It's not like alcohol or drugs... which are not necessary to the living organism (okay, with the exception of marguaritas, I suppose) but food? Well, food is "necessary" ... wouldn't you say? Chips and salsa? Popcorn? Chocolate? I mean, who can live without that stuff?

So, back to Vera. She is addicted to food, poor dear. Especially, one particularly dark and forbidden desire, peanuts, but she isn't particularly picky if the peanut stash is empty. She will also enjoy a grape or a milk bone dog treat or a piece of bread or a raisin, even. The problem, if you could call it that, which I don't really, but some might, is that her tree touches onto our deck which is right off of our kitchen, where there is, in fact, a great deal of food and food preparation and food comsumption and food discussion and discussion with food. She does not bring her own food to these events, but rather comes to visit to see if she can leave with as much food as possible stuck in her pockets which are actually, her cheeks. She loves to eat and run, in other words.

Despite all of this, we've grown rather fond of her and many's the day we spend tempting her to steal her treats right out of our hand, which she does. Mr. E the Esky thinks she's very unattractive and makes every attempt to chase her right back up her tree any chance he gets. But we think she's pretty... and despite the fact that she stares in the window at us most of the time with big, pleading brown eyes ... we'll probably continue to feed her addiction.you have to admit, she's unusually attractive.

the final brood member

2007-07-26T11:47:00.001-07:00

I nearly forgot I'd promised a picture of him... quite the stunning example of rooster-hood, isn't he?
Silverado is our handsome Brahman Rooster ... he has a very persnickity personality along with feathery legs and very long, sharp spurs (look closely!). Here he is on the potting bench outside my studio where he often lingers. My husband hates his crow and has threatened strangulation or worse many's the day. Poor dear. So that's it. That's all of them. All my children.

Silver, as he is called, fondly, by me only I'm afraid, is very stuck on me as well, and sits at the window while I work and stares in at me most of the day. On rainy days, I sometimes let him come inside as the floor is concrete and is quite easy to clean. Unfortunately, he is quite aggressive with everyone else, including my husband. Let's just say, they have a hate-hate relationship.

My little hen, Mabel, died last year, and ever since, Silver has been very lonely and more clingy with me, no one else. I really would love to find him a place where he could live out his days among a harem of hens. Sigh... poor love.

the morning constitution

2007-07-26T11:04:00.000-07:00

the dentist reassured me my tooth would give me no further problems ... and so I went to breakfast to chomp on some eggs and toast just to make sure ... and plenty of hot coffee with cream, too. And you know what? It held up? No problem yet. Tonight I'll try some popcorn just to make sure.

When I came home, I pulled on my walking shoes and the dogs and I headed off to the park for a morning run.

leaving me in the dust they are off to explore the road ahead ... what fun! plenty of bushes to be marked and smelly things to roll in before she can catch up with us...

where is that slowpoke? Better wait up. we don't want her to exert herself too much! Poor decrepit old devil.

.................................................................................................................................................

As I sat in the dentist's chair this morning, I did some very important thinking. Why all the most important thoughts seem to come when I'm about to be tortured, I'm not sure ... but, this is what I realized, when I'm home and should be working, I seem to find a zillion other things to do, none of which have any real purpose other than to take up a good portion of my day, by the end of which, I can honestly say I've done nothing.

I've decided a list is in order. A list of things to do so my day will appear to have some reasonable format and that things I set out to do in my head, I actually do ... as in, physically DO THEM, not just think about doing them and having done that, think I'm done. Make sense? Nor to me, really. Still ... I think its a good idea.

that will be the subject of my next post ... my list ... or ... how to prioritize my day ... something like that.

til then, then ...

a quiet morning

2007-07-26T10:49:00.000-07:00

through slanted eyes she peers.... "I wish she'd make some attempt to learn how to use that camera ... as in ... turn off the flash!"

fine, composes herself.... okay then, shoot away.... I never was one to waste a perfectly good photo opp.

...one kitty-cat enjoying a quiet, misty morning on the deck... sigh

Now I must leave you. The blogger here must go to the dentist, as luck would have it, and have that crown placed. Off to roust man child to move "his" car so I can get out of the driveway. Who woulda thunk I'd be asking HIM to move HIS car! it doesn't bear thinking, really.

later... ~L

things in bloom

2007-07-25T20:40:00.001-07:00

Believe it or not ... I bought this rose quite a few years back ... and can't remember the name any longer. It was on sale and I believe a "good thing" per Martha Stewart. It has indeed been a good thing. Isn't it beautiful? And I hardly ever glance crosswise at it ... it just does its thing without complaint, unlike a few other of my garden dwellers, of whom I refuse to name names but they know who they are!

dog days

2007-07-25T20:11:00.000-07:00

Mr. E says "Hi" and of course, he insists I mention he is a very good dog ... not like that spoiled cat and out of control birds, none of whom have any manners ... his words.

Being the geriatric member of the family, Ms. S is very well mannered and just a little old fashioned. Not quite so outspoken as her little Eskie brother. Definitely her momma's baby.

Now, you've seen the brood. Oh ... almost forgot .... there's one more. But he's gone to roost so will have to visit with him tomorrow ... at dawn? See you then!

the not so secret lives of two very bad birdies

2007-07-25T10:58:00.001-07:00

Here we are (Ms. L and Mr. R) having a bit of rice krispies with our mom. Sorry we didn't have a chance to use our napkins and yes, we do always talk with our mouths full. Please pay no attention to the droopy rose in the background. More ... please? The bowl here looks humungous but really it isn't! Really! I don't eat a giant charger full of cereal in the morning. It's all a matter of perspective ... really! Being a slap-happy photographer of sorts, I know about these things.

Could it be any clearer that my life has gone to the birds?

the secret life of one particularly spoiled kitty cat

2007-07-25T10:50:00.001-07:00

need I say more.....

pitiful.... ain't it....

a sneak peak

2007-07-24T22:57:00.001-07:00

i hung this over the back of the kitchen chair just so you could see it ... this is the one my dear birdie wanted so much to eat. I will be fattening the purple turquoise bead (yes, I did say purple turquoise) with more wire wrapped trifles, but ran out of head-pins so was forced to stop in my tracks. but ... just for you ... a peak. The color is washed out under the kitchen lights. Should have a good photo tomorrow!

thank you, my friend "P"

2007-07-24T22:11:00.000-07:00

i opened up my blogspot today and actually had a comment! Which meant, someone had actually visited and said "hello!" ... thank you so much! (How many times did I just say "actually?") How nice to know I am not writing off into the sunset alone! AND .... how nice to see it was my good friend, Priscilla, who visited! (How many times have I said "How!" And now suddenly I can't seem to get back to the original color of my ink for my blog. I must say I've had nothing but technical problems lately. Couldn't be me. Thank you, Priscilla! Nice to have a visitor and glad you liked the amethyst and turquoise "in the works" piece. I will post a picture of the actual one soon. Oops ... there goes that word again!

i actually (gahhh!) got sidetracked today and DIDN'T work on that one at all, but ended up photographing like a mad woman until I began yelling at the poor pitiful necklaces because they wouldn't lay just right (not their fault, of course)... time for your medication, dear, I said. Which is, in fact, a nice cup of tea and a session with my feet up.

THEN ... I got inspired ... after the tea and the feet bit, and made something really lovely which is still not completed because I've been looking it over all night and wondering what else it needs before it's perfect, and figuring it did indeed need something. Just not sure what.

And while I was hanging it on my knee and admiring it, my little bratty parrot Ms. L decided she wanted to admire it too, and in fact, she wanted to admire it in her beak, which translates to, she should be eating it. She seemed to be saying...all the nice little beads shant go to waste, afterall.

Because Ms. L. is also a sweet little girl-bird-friend, despite her annoying habit of eating everything she sees, I decided to let her play on my knee and put the necklace away. She watched me hide it however and spent the entire evening trying to get it back in her beak, and I kept hiding it in new places. Do you have any idea just how smart parrots are? And did I say persistent?

On to another subject, it is 10:30 p.m. and the man-child is not home yet. I'm trying to loosen the apron strings on the adolescent, really, be less clingy and protective... but these things make me terribly uncomfortable. He did call. Must give him that. To say he was on his way, just had to drop off his two friends. He's been skating at the skate park all evening and .... then to the mall ... and ... well, all the things boys do in the summertime when the evenings are bright and the days are warm. Did I just say that? Mmmmm.... maybe not ALL the things. Please ... not all? Ooo... he JUST walked in the door! All better now.

Good night, ~L

on the website

2007-07-24T22:03:00.000-07:00

drizzly days

2007-07-23T08:57:00.000-07:00

a relaxing, rainy weekend was in order and just what we got... in typical northwest fashion. Often we get sun all week while we're working indoors and then the weekend arrives just to greet us with a deluge! And so it did. But I didn't really mind at all being that this has been a terribly steamy summer and the rain is really, really welcome! Really! Cooled things off a bit, actually, and the grass sprouted an additional three feet in response!

I've been spending much of my time in my studio lately, laying slate tiles this way and that, perching shiny pieces of jewelry in all manner of position and shooting pictures for my portfolio. Guess what? I'm getting better! Practice actually does pay off, in case you thought otherwise. And I think ... remember when we DIDN'T have digital cameras? And we had to DEVELOP our film ... which meant, for the likes of me, taking it to Walgreens or KMart and waiting a few days. Well, they do have 1 hour film, but ... usually most of those photos you imagined would come out wonderful ... were duds! And then you were back at square one ... taking tons of addiitonal photos that would probably be duds in the end. What a WASTE!

Well, now we just look at the picture we JUST took 1 second ago and if we don't like it we delete it and move on! I have been only the slightest bit techno-challenged over the years, I admit, BUT ... in this case, I LOVE technology! I love my digital camera. I spent close to $300 on it ... not top quality but a good camera nevertheless ... back ... well, probably at the beginning of the year. Now I'm thinking I should've gotten the 8.5 pixel or some amazing zoom for closeups, but truth is, mine is just fine. For now. Maybe .... next year would be a good time to upgrade on the camera.

In the meantime, out of the studio, the man-child ebbs ever closer to 17 ... as in this weekend! Husband gave him the car THIS weekend instead of waiting for who knows what reason, and he says I'm the soft one! So, said teenager is cruising around right now. Or will be just as soon as he gets out of his summer school class. Now, dinner out Saturday night coming ...with too many teenagers I might add, for the birthday celebration ... and well, I'll be glad when this particular "passage" is over. I dread the one to come, however. The big 18. But that's another year away and I think I can relax until then.

Love ~L

silver and quartz on slate

2007-07-22T10:50:00.001-07:00

something in the works

2007-07-22T10:43:00.001-07:00

photography lessons

2007-07-22T10:26:00.001-07:00

the trouble with tassles ... they're addictive!

2007-07-20T18:38:00.000-07:00

Here I mixed slate with copper organza as a backdrop. My camera is 6.0 pixel with a zoom. I usually turn off the flash because it causes such a glare. I have a nice east facing window in my studio, and that's where I do most of my photography ... it gives a more natural effect ... I think.

I abslutely adore the amazing color contrasts in this peridot, coral and amethyst piece ... I had to make the earrings simple since the tassle is so sassy!

I went a little over the top with this little turquoise choker... just couldn't stop fattening the tassle!

A study in pink and greens is this little 16 inch necklace with flourite, pearl and a green striped lampwork bead that reminds me of ribbon candy. I really like how well this piece photographed against the slate.

the agony of photographing jewelry and other mishaps

2007-07-20T08:29:00.000-07:00

I use a box of sand to photograph my jewelry usually, but it gets boring after awhile... all those same images over and over again, and I'm trying to find some other way to display pieces with an ounce of penache. Here I laid a silky, copper chifon over a lavender silk ... not bad, but still not exactly what I'm looking for. I certainly want the piece to be the show-stopper, not the fabric.

I finally ordered some upper-torso, jewelry display mannequins and can hardly wait for them to arrive! I'm hoping I will be able to use them for photographs for the website, so customers can actually see how the piece will hang, which is the question I get most. And since Miss Lilly (my thriftstore found dress form) isn't all together attractive enough to be a professional model, she shall remain in the background, in my studio, helping me fit necklaces behind the scenes.

Always looking for new ways to present my jewelry, I went back to Clear Creek Nursery in Silverdale yesterday, and purchased a square block of grey slate. I'll show you more on that tomorrow!

Happy creating!

a morning's work

2007-07-19T12:49:00.000-07:00

Cream-colored quartz, white freshwater pearls, Sterling silver and fused glass.

the tags

2007-07-17T10:30:00.000-07:00

tagmania

2007-07-17T10:24:00.000-07:00

Last night, I had the most enjoyable task of making jewelry tags (no, I am not being sarcastic, either). I didn't mean to end up making my own tags, and in fact I searched the web diligently and found companies that make tags just for this purpose. But being as lorakellydesigns is currently of limited means in that these times are but our feeble beginnings, I decided that I should do this myself, being perfectly capable and certainly someone who enjoys a challenge as well as anything creative. Much cutting and clipping and tying, two glasses of Pinot Grigio, many mishaps and a good deal of general silliness later... I came up with some really neat earring cards and small tags for necklaces and bracelets.

much needed rain brings relief to the sweatshop

2007-07-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

I was so happy to see the rain this morning! We've been having a heat wave with upper 80 and 90 degree temperatures. Very unWashington if you ask me. I don't ever recall such heat! A day here or there over the years, but not weeks on end! Its very hard to work in the heat as my "studio" has no insulation and is indeed a sweatshop. Above, my feet soak up the moisture ... don't look too closely ... no manicure in, I'm afraid .... waaaay too long. Yes ... those are my pajamas. You did see correctly.

The blue spruce is even bluer in the rain... sort of a surreal blue. Everything glistens and is renewed.

Remember the new dooor?

Just one more coat of paint should do it.

Having tea and reading my email .... looking out from where I sit this morning!

So glad its raining!

It smells divine!

wouldn't you know it? a toothache for the holiday!

2007-07-05T12:24:00.000-07:00

Just before the holiday ... "The Fourth" ... I met with the most unfortunate experience of biting into a lump of popcorn that wasn't fully popped... in otherwords, that lump was nothing less than a seed. At the moment of said bite ... I felt a terrible shooting pain in my wisdom tooth ... until recently I had all 4 of them, I might add (that's another story!). The pain went away quickly and I thought nothing of it until the next morning when I sipped my hot tea and crunched my cold cereal ... it swirled in the back of my mouth and the shooting pain became a stabbing pain (a "cereal" killer stabbing pain). I weathered the holiday sipping luke warm liquids, carefully maneuvering food to the good side of my mouth, and holding my left hand over my left jaw. My mood was less than the usual "jovial" reserved for holidays but no one complained, especially after the man-child tried to put out a small fire gathering in the brush (we'll leave out the part about how said fire occured in the first place!) and drove a rusty wire into his big toe. Not good! Finally, a foot soak, 12 dabs of neosporin and umpteen bandages later, after it was deemed the man-child would survive, my other half decided to take it upon himself to call the dentist and get me in as soon as possible ...considering I haven't been to the dentist this year and half a good $2K to spend on something unpreventable as this surely was! This morning I found that I luckily did not require a root canal, whew! But, I had actually broken my tooth ... a crack... some such thing, and air was leaking in and annoying the nerve. A crown was required and hours later I am drinking hot tea and cold lemonade and up to my old tricks. So ... it just goes to show you... well, I'm really not sure what it goes to show anyone but ... isn't it always right before a holiday that everything that could go wrong does go wrong! Teeth have an uncanny ability of going haywire on weekends and holidays. Otherwise, we had a lovely 4th. I hope yours was as lovely, sans the tooth thing!

feathered friends

2007-07-03T08:58:00.000-07:00

Ms. L and Mr. R ... double trouble... who have found themselves a pair of glasses to disect having been shooed away from the keyboard, suddenly realize the camera is upon them!

Lazy Evenings

2007-07-03T08:54:00.000-07:00

Ms. E. who especially likes the deck makes no bones about absconding with whichever chair is warmest ... whether that be due to a splash of sunlight or due to the fact that I just stood up to get another cup of tea. Don't even think she'll move when I return ... I must get another chair or have nowhere to sit... this is the thinking of cats in general, I suspect.

On the homefront

2007-06-29T07:59:00.001-07:00

The Deck!

Its Friday! Two weeks have flown by and I've had little chance, or haven't found a spare moment at least, to sit down and write about it all. Finally.... here's what's been happening:

On the homefront, the deck and door are completed, hooray! Except for some sanding and painting around the door, and on the in-side ... still trying to marry sheet rock to old lath and plaster which isn't turning out as nicely as I'd hoped (wish we'd hired a carpenter but best keep mouth shut about that!) ... a little paint and molding might neaten things up nicely, however... I am hopeful, that is.

Here's our fluffy little Eskie Mr. E ... admiring the fancy new umbrella but wondering why his mother is photographing this strange inanimate object .... in other words, why not him!

The "man-child" with his new 80's rocker style is out of school for the moment ... busying himself with bothering me immensely these days. You'd think at 16 this wouldn't be the case. Other mothers out there will nod vigorously with me when I say .... It doesn't seem to ever end no matter what age they are! We are, in fact, mother's 'til we die! And all that goes with it. Which is worrying ourselves sick, most of the time!

Luckily, the birthday will arrive with the old Toyota insured and keys passed over. (He can hardly wait!) He's been mowing lawns and attempting t be as responsible as an almost 17 year old can be when desiring his freedom!

The Red Chair!

Here's more of deck ... which I am obviously very excited about! It has been quite an event! Shopping for furniture took me to World Market ... aren't they great? I've been drooling over their cute little adirondack chairs for weeks ... waiting to complete the deck! Here it is! Perfect!

The story was a bit more in depth, however, as I went to WM with all intents to purchase the darkish blue chair, but they were out. So I thought, the lime green was awfully cute, so I lugged out two boxes ... actually two teenage boys lugged out two boxes and an umbrella for me ... and when we got home, opened them and found the lime green chair was actually red. Okay, I like the red chair, I decided. But the box with the little foot stool which also said "green" ... turns out ... it was actually green. So now I had a red chair and a green foot stool. I thought, it is cute. But ...not exactly the look I'm going for.

I sent the boys on a mission to return the stool. They came back saying the store was out and I'd have to go back tomorrow. Hmmm ... do you mean to say you got so caught up looking at guitars and skateboards you forgot to return the stool. Ummmm ... yeah.

Two days later, I returned to the store and got my red stool. Isn't it nice? Mrs. E ... lying on the mat here, and in fact unable to remove herself from the deck since the day it went up, and which she considers her very own tree house, thinks it is nice as well. So glad she approves.

Believe it or not ... the web site is still not done. I approved a proof yesterday, and now am having second thoughts. You know how that is! Little things that stand out in my mind that just don't feel right? The project has been expensive and I really want to love it! I'm hoping I do. I'm really having close to a nervous breakdown about the whole thing! I will let you now when it is finally complete! Hopefully ... it will be wonderful! The biggest problem is my photography, which leaves much to be desired. I may have to take a class to gain some ability there. So, I go on chewing my fingernails and hoping it turns out to my satisfaction.

Potted Plants!

I've been having the most fun potting flowers for the deck ... since I love little pots of plants more than just about anything!

I had so much fun finding little miniture roses and setting their little roots free from those terrible teeny grocery store plastic pots where they've been wrapped with foil (the kind they sell as little gifts that usually die in a month from being indoors on the kitchen table!) ... now they are free! They stretch their little toes and seem so happy! Within one day they are blooming like crazed moon goddesses in their finest!

One very cheeky squirrel visits the deck quite frequently and likes to take the new buds off th roses and eat them in front of me. He doesn't really eat them, I realize, he just pulls them apart... chews a bit, spits it out and leaves a mess. Then he seems to look at me and say... well, what are you going to do about it? Let the fluff ball out? I'm afraid that's what he calls Mr E., unbeknownst to Mr. E, who would be very upset at being called a fluff ball. So we won't tell him. So, Mr. Squirrel, I just laugh in the face of rose destruction. Soon, I hope, he will get bored, and go back to stealing peanuts.

Fondly,
~L

much ado about gas grills and other sordid tales

2007-06-13T07:41:00.000-07:00

Well, friends, since my last post, so much has happened I can't begin to recount the lot of it, therefore I will merely pick up where I left off and that, I believe, was having found my earring and being duly elated. This prompted me to purchase a large bag of very small and insignificant seeming rubber tips to slide on the backs of all LoraKellyDesigns earrings, so that none of my good customers ever have the same harrowing experience of losing a perfectly beloved earring. So.... it seems in the case of the lost and found earring, experience taught a valuable lesson.

Following that particular incident, I also co-purchased a very first gas grill and also co-put said-grill together after much cursing and gnashing of teeth (on the part of the "co" part... as you may have imagined) and eventually cooked for the first time on said-grill (as in "I" cooked on said-grill and "co" part watched from window between "innings" ...it being baseball season as you probably know... because, as you will recall, we have no door cut in yet). Are you still with me?

The fact that my only previous grilling experience included a small two burner hibachi that was truly not much of a comparison, considering it required I squat while cooking. Later I had the good sense to move it to a table where at least I was able to stretch my legs (the hibachi, not the grill, in case I've already confused you). The hibachi experience was twenty years ago and my legs were still quite able to bend easily and noislessly into a squat sposition for lengthy periods without getting stuck in place .... so it was no big deal, really.

Let me also note here... the putting together of said-gas grill by the co-part and the me-part required two moderately intelligent people (not so far a stretch) with complete use of all moving parts, limbs, digits, etc... the ability to lift heavy objects without dropping them on feet or through deck floor, a power screwdriver and drill lest arms twist out of sockets within the first 5 minutes, the ability to read abstract instructions that only make sense three pages later (as in ... ohhhh ... that's what that was... oopsie....), good ability to "visualize" ... so a student of the New Age would be well equipt in that sense, and about two and a half hours of spare time. Keep this in mind should you decide you too must have the experience of cooking on a newfangled gas grill. Or ... go to Home Depot where... I've since learned... they will assemble it for you. Thank you very much!

Note: The end result of all that (being the meal) was worth every minute, I think, of blood, sweat and tears. Our grilled 8pm dinner was heavenly. Three glasses of wine and one magnificently balmy evening later, at least, that's how I remember it.

Thanks for listening... lora

on flower pots, an amethyst earring, a cold day and a full bladder

2007-06-07T09:43:00.000-07:00

Now that the deck is done, sans a door to get out onto it, soon to come ... I decided to go purchase some gorgeous pots to plant flowers in to set out on said deck.

SO ... I went to the lovely Clear Creek Nursery in Silverdale that has grown so much in the last several years I walked around in a daze, took numerous wrong turns, and finally was retrieved by a very nice person who asked me if I was lost. Yes. Totally. But not in a bad way. Just ... you see....She raised an eyebrow and said, follow me. Problem was, she only knew where the cash register was. What I needed was the parking lot.... fast ... please!

Here's why I ended up not buying one single thing because ...for one... it was too cold. Yes ... freezing in fact ... after the heat wave from the previous week the temperature had plummeted to something like ... 50 degrees! That's Washington, however. Have you ever tried to shop in your shirtsleeves in 50 degrees? Not fun.

So, I'm freezing to death, AND, here's the bigger and more important reason why I didn't buy one single thing, I have a powerful need to relieve my bladder in a bad way ... sorry, I suppose I could've said go to the loo in Irish fashion, but ... you, my friends, might not understand the whole loo thing ... so best I just explain the biological function. AND on top of all that, I was lost in a maze of flowering trees and statuary and pots and row upon row of bedding plants and ... just get me out of here ... I prayed silently... nearest exit, please... I cajoled ... sortie!....and I promise I will never again eat peanut M&M's on the first day of my diet and then just throw in the towel because I've ruined it after all so why even try! That's about when the "angel" showed up and led me to my car, in a round about fashion, after an embarrassing moment at the cash register when I didn't have anything to buy.

Now that I really think about that promise ... dang! Anyway...

I sped home and felt much better in no time, except ...when I looked in the mirror and realized ONE OF MY EARRINGS WAS GONE! My most favorite earrings in the whole world and ONE OF THEM WAS GONE! Somehow, in the midst of getting a Starbucks, shuffling in and out of my seat belt, walking through the parking lot, wandering in a daze among the annuals, driving home like a madwoman etc., etc., ... I LOST MY MOST FAVORITE EARRING IN THE WORLD!

The Irishman rolled his eyes up to heaven and said, that's not a good sign. Now, just what was THAT supposed to mean? Are you insinuating.... he hands me the phone at that moment, just before I get myself into trouble, grabs the phone book, flips the pages, and all but dials the nursery for me ... they've probably found it. Who'd find that delicate, dear, helpless little earring in the midst of billowing perennials ... and gardener types mucking about in their big ol' mud-logged wellies? Are you kidding? I sobbed... But a rather nice lady answered the phone just then ... Loreli... was her name. Hi Loreli, ummm, my name's Lora, well, I suppose that doesn't really matter... but ... the reason I'm calling is ...I was just there about an hour ago and I lost my... well... my earring and ... you'll probably never find it, this is probably very silly, I know I'm being an idiot, but I just thought in case someone does and ....

It's gorgeous, she says, I'm keeping it! I was stunned into silence ... whaaa? Then Loreli starts to laugh. Just kidding! Hello? Yes. I've got your earring. Someone found it in the parking lot. I'll have it at the desk for you.

Oh ... bless you. And your children. And your unborn grandchildren ... and their descendants for thousands of years to come and beyond. click.....

She's got it! I exclaimed, (one doesn't often get a chance to exclaim, do they) racing out the front door and jumping in the car again, shuffling in the seat belt, driving madly across town, shuffling out of the seat belt, sprinting across the tarmac...one earring swinging from my right ear, leaping through the front doors and up to the desk... where I stood quietly in line for 10 minutes while a very ancient man purchased ten English roses, checked each one thoroughly for bugs and rust spots, carefully wrote out a check, was told they no longer accepted personal checks, voided it, used his credit card, couldn't find his glasses, fiddled in every pocket of his bib overalls for said glasses, asked to fill out a credit account, did they have a pen, wondered if he could call his wife to get his social security number for said credit account, thought better of it, do they accept cash? ... laughed... told story about a time back in 1942 when he couldn't cash a 100 bill because back in those days ... it was more than a month's wages ... found said glasses on the top of his head... I peeked out around him during the 1942 story and waved my hand slightly and smiled brightly as if to say ... ahhh... I just have one teeny, tiny thing to ask?

Loreli looked at my good ear, immediately recognized it, and held out the matching earring. I just love these weighty glass earrings, she said, handing me my beloved. GLASS? ...Did she just say GLASS?

These, my dear, are not mere GLASS .. . they are semi-precious gemstones, mined from the earth, finely cut and polished! Amethyst! Lemon quartz! Need I say more? Honestly? I didn't say any of that. I just grinned from ear to ear, thanked her from the bottom of my heart, and left happy as any pig in mud.

Actually, it was at that point that I was very much ready to buy a blue glazed pot for the deck and in the perfect mood for spending money, having earlier, in my moment of panic when I'd decided my earring was gone forever, both relieved my bladder and donned a sweater. But ... in the rush from there to here ...I'd forgotten my wallet at home.

Wouldn't you know it.

Tomorrow ... being another day.

~lora

more on the deck, Irishmen and .... ta dah....pizza Tuesdays!

2007-06-06T09:54:00.000-07:00

despite the loosening of my teeth and other sundry bones and organs due to the (mutters under breath) tree slayers, I did manage to have a really nice evening because it was the illustrious ... pizza Tuesday at my house! That means.... We get to eat pizza on Tuesdays because it's 2 fer 1 day. About 3 o'clock in the after noon I get really excited because I realize I don't have to stop whatever I'm doing and make dinner! Because usually whatever I'm doing is always much more fun and interesting than cooking. It's the little things that make us smile, isn't it?

also, there's the little matter of ... the deck, which, as you can see ... there have been a few "setbacks" ... shall we say? and so, the rails are still not up but should be tonight... honest ... says the Irish husband. But, it's gorgeous, isn't it? That's my chair there ... where I sit to watch progress.

Oh, speaking of whom ... the poor thing ... he finally consented to go to the doctor because he's had this terrible, awful, dreadful coughing thing going on for weeks and it just won't stop and sometimes he can't even sleep and ... well that means that no one gets to sleep. So ... I made him an appointment with a very nice doctor (well, his receptionist seemed fairly nice, at the very least) in Tacoma who specializes in allergies ... because I'm thinking, he's got an allergy to concrete .... because the whole thing started when we laid the nice landing for the deck stairs to rest on. (it's really neat, by the way, in which ...I put a sweet little design using river rock ... oh, we're talking about the doctor aren't we?)

So ... anyway ... he (the poor love who faints at the sight of blood ... his own mind you) got poked and prodded with teeny needles on every freckle (and let me tell you, there's lots of them), because that's what those allergy people do, good thing I didn't warn him or he wouldn't have gone. AND .... drum roll please..... guess what he's allergic too!!!

DOGS...CATS...AND.... PARROTS

My first reaction was: ... oopsie! My second reaction was: Gosh, sweetie, does that mean you have to move out?

Luckily he truly LOVES our brood and opted instead for the medication that he must take the rest of his life and which will probably destroy his liver in the long run, but ... that's life...

Pictures to come of neat concrete landing thingy!

Later....

sewer line replaces 100 year old tree ... how nice

2007-06-06T08:40:00.000-07:00

Is she still on her soap box? ahhh... sort of? ... well, she did go snoop into other people's business to see why they were chopping down their lovely pine trees. And this is what she found out ... she being me ... of course. We're not takin' 'em all down, ma'am (since when did I become a ma'am!) ... just the big ones, makin' room for the sewer line. Well ... isn't that nice... people certainly need to go poop... thank you very much. Mr. E, I said to my most annoying little white dog, in a whisper, you go right ahead and bark at the nice ... tree murderer!

see ... two lots over used to be a lovely two acrea site engulfed in a quiet little wood, roosted in by some crows an owl, a couple of woodpeckers and myriad little teeny birdies and lots and lots of frogs and garder snakes (very sweet little snakes who live on bugs, frogs and small rodents). A horse and a bantum chicken lived their once, too, but ... that's another story. but the old lady died ... as they have a habit of doing, darn them anyway ... and whoever she left her lovely land to sold it... because ... well ... that's what they do... and then that person, who didn't like owls and such, or didn't actually consider their existence being important ... because ... well... that's what THEY do ...decided to build 18 new homes and get rid of that godawful quiet little wood. Goodbye nightly frog serenade!

Now, since summer began, my house has been shaking and vibrating like armageddon all because said builder has had any number of bull dozers, steam rollers, diggers and shovers and mess makers and majorly oversized trucks of every make and color and obsession...over there turning what was once a little wooded ecosystem into a baren waste-land. But he didn't stop there ... no ... now he's got to tear up just a few more trees on other people's property because his 18 houses need sewer lines. The rest of us in this "used to be" rural neighborhood are on septic and ... we don't have a say in the matter because... well... that's progress. And in fact, we'll all probably be charged for the new sewer line running down our road.

Speaking of owls, there used to be a little wetland area down, past the $350K new houses in the other direction (we're being hemmed in I'm afraid) and across from the church where I walked my dogs at night and sat on a knoll to watch an owl hunt at dusk. If you've never seen such a thing, it is awesome... a word I don't use for fear my teenage man-child would think I was slipping. That owl no longer hunts there since they bull dozed the land and built a farm "feed" store. But he can no longer feed there.

She steps down now....

I made a very nice necklace yesterday with those lovely lumps of coral I found last week, amid all the shaking of rafters and clanging of dishes, and despite my teeth vibrating right out of my jaw, and the ungodly noise of saws and of mammoth trees falling around me ... yeah, exactly!

Thanks for listening, dear friends. I will make an attempt at more levity in days to come, in my usual manner when I've recovered all my teeth. We'll chat later....

~lora

my unsung hero of the day

2007-06-05T10:03:00.000-07:00

today is a magnificent, true-blue, overcast, pacific northwest day. Just why do you think we have these holy rain forests anyway? (One good reason to appreciate the rain!) I say holy in the truest sense, becuause that's how I feel about forests, their canopies are the only cathedrals. I love trees ...silent, monstrous plant beings who luckily stay put or else step on our heads and squish us ... although they sometimes lean over to far to snif a flower, I suspect, and fall flat on their faces. Woe be to anyone or any house in their path on that day! Let us be reminded that trees are the lungs of the earth, lest we forget their importance to our very survival on this planet! I'm waxing poetic, aren't I. Somedays bring it out in me!

I suppose one might call me a tree hugger in that sense. Why the tree thing today? Well, because down the road from my house, they are taking down a magnificent, giant pine tree. Yesterday, they removed her limbs., leaving a stoic, staggering sight on the roadside! Today, they are taking her down all together. I say her, because perhaps she should've been named, like Luna. But I will not name her now, because she won't exist by the end of the day. I think I will go hug one of my own giant cedars in silent reverence and rememberence that in our world, nothing lasts forever. Sigh...

Although I love trees, I can't say that I've ever lived in a tree like the amazing young woman who lived in one for more than two years to protect it from being logged off the face of the earth forever. An unsung hero in my book! How difficult it must've been to use a mere bucket for those "certain bodily functions." And what about water? One thing, she could peek into the nests of birds and see the little peepers! That would be fun. The rest though? It doesn't bare thinking! So ... before I go off to work in the shack and make beautiful things for women who don't currently live in trees, I've decided to add a new element to my blog. Unsung heroes. So, if you can think of any goddess heroes of the earth ... I'm not talking war heroes here, but peace heroes. I'd love to hear about them. Today, mine is ... Julia Hill. Her book is, The Story of Luna. The Legacy of a Tree. The beautiful Luna is a thousand year old redwood in Humboldt County that still stands for the rest of us to admire and be astounded by, all because of Julia. I love you, Julia, wherever you are. Bless you!

miss lilly earn's her keep

2007-06-04T13:14:00.000-07:00

I'm so enjoying working with my new model, the ever beautiful and talented, miss Lilly. Here she is modeling one of my new/old "vintage earth goddess" necklaces ... plenty of shiny objects to delight any raven or maven.

This necklace is actually on a 26 inch chain and hangs down to accentuate any cleavage one might have very nicely ... and no cleavage looks quite nice as well. Wait ... that didn't sound right. I meant ... well, nevermind. Anyway ... (I have plenty that I'd like to donate to a worthy cause should you know anyone.) ....

Now then, where were we? Oh ... Here, I wrapped it up snug at the base of her neck so I could get a good look at all the charms. I just love having someone else other than me to look at!

Lilly ... you are worth you're weight in gold, deary!

And of course, irreplaceable! ~ Later...... Lora

the oriental poppy

2007-06-04T11:33:00.001-07:00

If you've seen my storefront on Etsy, or heard me go on, you know I adore flowers. Because practically every jewelry photograph I take also includes a flower. I love them. And I have a huge, out of control, cottage garden to prove it, which, as you can imagine, the Irishman just thrives on mowing around... tee hee.... (she giggles with hand covering mouth)

So, Just for you, dear friends, I padded barefooted out onto the lawn this morning and took this picture of my favorite flower on the planet, since I was gushing over it and going on about it last night and you were probably thinking... what in the devil is she babbling about! Well, maybe you didn't say quite that. In fact, I'm sure you didn't. You instead were probably saying...

so what's it look like?

As I learned (or should've learned) in all my writing classes that I failed in miserably: show the reader! Don't tell them! So.... just for you... here's my beloved poppy. Second only to the tulip,of course, in my favorite things on momma earth. Problem is, they don't stay around long enough, do they? Just a week or so every June.

Not nearly long enough I should think.

They have no fragrance to speak of either, but what they lack in scent, they make up for in sheer, unequivocal drama! Though, they are NOT the drama queens of the garden at all! That lofty title, my dear friends, goes to the one and only rose ... who must be fiddled with constantly; fed, weeded around, watered, bug-picked and pruned and prodded like a high class hooker ... I should think, never having known a high class hooker, you know. Okay, let's dis that sentence and say rather ... pruned and prodded like a Hollywood starlet.

Better?

No, the poppy is absolutely gorgeous and comes back gorgeous every year without one single solitary lifting of a pinky by me ever. In fact, she hates to be fiddled with. Hates to have her soil mucked about in, hates to be touched even! Yes, she's a tad persnickety in the absolute opposite way the rose is ... but ... flowers are just like us I suppose, aren't they? All their own unique personalities and styles. Well, girls will be girls.

This photo does not do this queen of flowers justice at all! Because I'm no photographer, for one, that certainly accounts for something. And two, it's been misting all night in true Northwest fashion, and then the sun came out just long enough to burn the whetted petals

off all my little beauties!

You see, in all her beauty and glory, the rain and sun fade miss poppy's edges to a flimsy grey, just another one of her little touchy idiosyncrasies that drives the ordinary gardener to madness. (I, however, am no ordinary gardener. Being mad already!) When I say "mad" here, of course you know I refer to a certain state of insanity ... being married to an Irishman, I've picked up some terminology that is strictly un-American, if you know what I mean.

So, yes, getting back to my point, she turns an ugly shade of putrid, to put it bluntly, eventually. As if she doesn't have enough reasons to hate her! I can just hear her in her Lauren Bacallish voice croon softly ... "don't hate me because I'm beautiful!" Honey, we say, there's plenty of other reasons to hate you, so don't flatter yourself! But now I never actually say that.

You KNOW I don't say that!

I just say, why would I hate you for being beautiful and making my garden look beautiful!

I love beauty! Momma earth loves beauty. It's all good!

So, sorry I got a little side tracked up there, what I mean to say is, enjoy miss poppy the minute she is in bloom, that's my motto (okay, one of many motto's I'll be happy to go into more detail about another time). Which translates to; once they drop their fuzzy green grey little casings (which are too cute for words!), their wrinkly paper mache petals will be the purest orange you've ever seen in your entire life and you'll want to go eat them! But don't eat them, no, not good to do that. Go touch them! And even (shhhhhhhhh!).... cut them ...and bring them inside to enjoy without momma nature butting her nose into your business.

Before miss poppy has a hissy fit and turns some ungodly shade

of gross and looks like hell in a hand basket.

So ... now ... getting back to the purpose of all this flowerography-babble ... being a bead goddess, my question to you my friends is, any ideas about what sort of beads will capture the beauty of my poppies? I'm thinking coral and amethyst, but the coral will have to have an orangey sort of feel to it ... the amethyst the deepest purple ever, since the center of the poppy is nearly black! Hmmmmm.... I feel a bout of shopping coming on!

James! Fire up the caddy...

(there really is no James, nor is there a caddy, there's a Subaru, actually, but if I had a chauffeur I'd like his name to be James)

Later my friends, ~Lora

the trials and tribulations of motherhood and stuff

2007-06-03T21:10:00.000-07:00

Sunday night and the heat has finally dissipated to a nice comfy temperature outside. The clouds have rolled in and the winds picked up and this dreary heatwave is on its way out the door ... I only wish for good, but alas Summertime is just around the corner here in the Pacific Northwest.

Despite the heat, the summer has already brightened up my garden with so many blooms and the colors of the Oriental poppies are inspiring me in regard to a necklace that keeps popping in my head. Hmmmm ... I'm wondering where I will find beads as red-orange as a poppy? What about Jasper?

Then of course there were the usual things a mother of a teenager must attend to. Which things are those? ... for one, the young man-child is now one teeny bit closer to "man" period... or so he will tell you! Though I don't promote this line of thinking ... certainly not! Still ... Saturday morning he cajoled me into accompanying him for the second time to take his written driver's test, and me thinking, well, he'll probably fail it again since he refuses to study so no big deal ... then ... I had this idea! I told him if he failed, he had to pay me back the $20. That'd stop him in his tracks. Only fair, right? But... shockingly... he agreed with little more than pursed lips. He went off to the little computer cubical to take his test and I went for coffee and as I was stepping out of the coffee shop, latte in hand, I had a small epiphany ... he's going to ace the test a voice said. You'd think if God was going to talk with you She'd tell you about something that didn't cost money!

When I got back to the DMV or is it DOT now ... whatever they call themselves these days, latte in hand, there he stood all by himself up at the counter chatting to one of the wonderful federal employees and she (the federal employee) was smiling and looking as if she were quite happy to be in that conversation instead of looking at her computer screen and frowning, which seemed very, very STRANGE. I raced up to the desk, "I'm back! I'm the mother! Oh my god! What happened?" I panted. The federal employee frowned and looked back at her computer screen (did I just miss something?) ... guess what, he said, I can take the drive test in 20 minutes! Someone just cancelled! Can you believe my luck? No ... I can't believe MY luck (I only thought this last bit, while I smiled encouragingly, realizing I was out a minimum of twenty bucks! I was also wondering what the maximum might be.)

Waiting for the nice lady (we hoped) who would judge his abilities to join the ranks of the safe and careful American driver, he decided he would practice his parallel park. Like a true champ, he executed every step perfectly except for turning on the windshield wipers instead of the indicator light ... heh, heh... oops! I burst out laughing... feeling as though I'd just stepped inside a Monty Python skit, and he in turn giggled hysterically! Not good. Hysterical laughter is, as I'm sure you are aware, unbearably infectious and I immediately realized I must pick myself up off the floor boards and maintain a serious demeanor, which meant getting as far away from him as possible because my sympathetic nervous energy (its hard being a mother!) was pushing him over the edge of sanity which is not a good condition to be in when taking a driving test. Maybe I should just go wait inside, I said. Good idea.

In the end, the nice lady passed him. First try! And him grinning from ear to ear with a thumbs up as he swaggered in the door. That'll be $25 the lady behind the counter said, and I planted two bills down and smiled. Before I put my pocket book away, will you folks be wanting any more of my money, I asked. This new Federal employee had no sense of humor and merely considered me as if she hadn't noticed me before nor planned to ever again. Her hand smacked down on the $25 as if it had been hers all along.

When can I get insured? He asked on the way home, happy as a clam in muck.

Help?

~Lora

the end of another week and the terrible, awful, dreadful heatwave

2007-06-01T13:32:00.000-07:00

this week has been unbearably hot and filled with terrible tasks. The kinds of things I don't really like to do. Like fiddle with bank accounts, filing, website stuff and paperwork. Unfortunately, it must be done but I would much rather dump it all in that $2 wicker basket I found at the thrift store and let the gods worry about it. I've found they don't like worrying about such things and so yours truly must bite the bullet and do the dirty work despite the sheer drudgery of it all.... sigh....

But, good news ...we're all going to the mall this evening, doesn't that sound fun? Buying clothes for the man-child who continues to outgrow everything at a terrible rate. I'm wondering if he has that incurable bone disease that causes people to grow and grow and grow and never stop growing until the day they die. I'm hoping that's not the case, because I'm counting on him leaving home in a year and buying his own clothes from that day forward and, should he have that disease, I don't think he'll like that too much. In fact, he probably wouldn't like that at all considering he doesn't like to spend his own money on necessities ... and will probably end up back in his room upstairs asking what's for dinner. It doesn't bare thinking about, does it?

I hope you noticed, I finally took a picture of myself that apparently does me improved justice, but I won't know until my sister has viewed it and given it her stamp of approval, of course. She didn't like the other one because it was just too serious, she said. I sort of liked the eyes up in the air thing because I thought it looked like I was thinking about what I would say next ... which is often the case. But since I just had my hair chopped off yesterday, I suppose it really was time and the new one is more up to date and the little blue glasses are a nice touch ... or are they? I don't really need the glasses to see, unless I'm working, in which case, I can't find the little wholes in the beads and its cause for endless bouts of foul cursing like a fishwife while the dogs cover their eyes and ears respectfully, and Elcifer the cat just winces.

At the bottom of the page you'll see a vintage photograph I found of a Goddess, Earth Mother ... Strange Person? Not really sure... but she is so lovely, and her jewelry and adornments are wonderful! I had to have her and thought she would be a wonderful addition to the family. She reminds me of Isadora Duncan! And she certainly signifies the first rule for all goddesses ... never ever compromise (or skimp) when it comes to accessorising! She looks as though she might go dancing about under the moonlight in her get-up! And who could resist the hair-do!

Well, I mustn't forget I'm very busy... there are forms to be filed out and multitudes of things I don't like to do, but must be done.

later... lora

along the well beaden path

2007-05-31T06:33:00.000-07:00

Top of the mornin' to ya! Tea? I drink lots of it, being married to the Irishman. I used to drink coffee only, and sometimes still steal a cup here and there, including Lattes from Starbucks. But mostly I've fallen in love with tea. One tea in particular, Barry's Irish Tea. Nope, you can't buy it over here unless you find it in an Irish imports shop. We get it shipped to us from the family in Sligo. But my nieces, who are now hooked on it too thanks to their meddlesome auntie Lora, just buy it on line. How very clever. A hearty black tea. VERY wholesome and comforting tea and with just a little milk its sort of like something from heaven in the morning. Ohhh, sorry to change the subject, but ... the cat (you know of whom I speak) is staring at her food again... persnickety thing!

So, can you believe it? Here we are in the great northwest and we've got 90 degrees in May! That was yesterday and being a true northwesterner and, yes, something of a wimp when it comes to heat (I admit it!) ...let me tell you, it was just AWFUL. I'm not sure we broke any records, but the news said the last time we were this high was in 1956. Ahhh ... nooooo ... I beg to differ .... I think it was about 1966, mr. newsman! But ... that's another story that others will have to tell. In truth, I was only 7. If you are good with numbers, which as you are already aware, I am absolutely not, you now know how old I am! Frightening, isn't it?

I lived in the kooky town of Reno for several years (yes, people actually LIVE there ... there are grocery stores and libraries and parks, schools and homes, too, really) and ... talk about high temps? Now, I did not like those summers at all. So I do know the difference between a mild summer and a scorcher. I will take the mild ones, thank you very much. Whoever would like the scorchers may keep them, as well, I don't mind at all. So, to me, which is what I was getting at here after the usual double helping of babble, yesterday seemed like a scorcher.

Its sort of sticky here when it gets too hot. Your jeans sort of glom on to your legs. Bras do weird things in the heat, don't they? And hair is absolutely unmanageable. (le chat, Elcifer is looking over at me now, squinting, shoot!) Mine went flat at 9am and by around 4pm, no one recognized me. (Excuse me.... No that's all the food you get! Don't you know there are starving cats in Greece!) Sorry ... Not that I care about being recognized, because most people don't remember me from one day to the next, actually. Sometimes my own family... that's why I love dogs so very much. I've never not been recognized by my dogs. Now, the cat's looked at me askew a time or two...

oh newsflash... the teenager is moaning on the couch right now because he stretched a tendon skateboarding and isn't sure he can stand up and "go to school" ... of course, he was just fine last night. Must have been some battle with his sheet that dislocated his foot. Poor dear. He says I'm unsympathetic. Really?

He DID sleep on the couch in a sort of "bent up" position, I'll give him that, because living in an old house as we do, not too well insulated either, the upstairs is likened to a sweltering furnace after a hot day and he was afraid to go into his own room for fear of being roasted alive. Smart thinking. I slept up on top of my quilt myself, with a huge fan on a chair next to the bed and pointed right at me. Also smart thinking.

When I woke up, the fan was blowing on one cat and one dog (and only because the other dog can't jump up on the bed anymore due to her elderly condition (she just likes to shed clumps of hair), the parrots sleep in their cage and the rooster has an outdoor coop, thank heavens) ... I, on the other hand, was sweating profusely from the two little beloved one's body heat while they soaked in the pleasure of cool winds off the fan! Smart thinking on their part. Holy moly.

My sister visited my blog yesterday to see what dastardly things I was up to and was displeased with my brooding picture. I suppose it looks a little brooding. I thought it looked sort of thoughtful, actually, like I was thinking... hmmm ... yes, let's talk about that exciting event... or how about this one ... anyway, she thinks I should change my picture so now I'm burdened with the daunting task of finding a photograph that does me justice and makes me look like the happy go lucky girl I really am. I hate photographs. I used to like being photographed when I was ... ahemmm... younger... and cute. Yes, cuteness was actually in my past, somewhere ... waaaaay back. But then I got older and unpleasant looking. Well, sometimes I can look pleasantly thoughtful.

All in all, I'm hoping today will be a cooler day, that's it really, not much to ask. I did find a fan in the basement, by the way, so didn't have to buy one, thank heavens, there with the vases and extra pairs of shoes that might come back in style some day. Did I mention ALL the rails are up on the stairs? ... tonight the railing goes up on the platform. I can hardly wait! We'll chat later....

~lora

carnelian butterflies, among other things...

2007-05-30T20:19:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the addition of my newest and might I add, quite lovely model, Lilly, pictured here wearing the latest "vintage" piece with the carnelian butterflies I fell in love with... I am now able to see face on what my collection actually looks like (on someone other than a teenage man-child who isn't too thrilled about being a necklace model). Promise me you'll keep this little tidbit secret as he'd probably be a little bothered to know I spoke of it. You'll also notice Lilly's new attire ... a tight turtleneck and patterned t-shirt showing off her very hip librarian look. She carries it off, well. Don't you think? The white turtleneck t-shirt underneath really hides her (and this I must whisper for your ears only) "flawed" neck ... poor dear. That basket on the floor behind Lilly was another lucky $2 find at the thrift shop ... I do so need a litter basket ... having a concrete floor makes it so easy to just toss the throw-backs on the floor ... in throw backs I mean, bits of wire, cracked beads, bad wire wraps, mistakes, crud ... whatever happens to meet my critical eye and fall short. I'm constantly feeling little beadies go crunch beneath my size 9's. Sometimes those little ladies were not meant to be throwbacks at all! Not good. Really. Well, it all adds up, I suppose. I really should keep a better count of things. A bit of tourmaline here, some amethyst there... I'm not very good at numbers so I try not to think about it too much. Less worries, less wrinkles you know. And so, another day closes. Thanks for listening.

~lora