Rest in Peace Daddy...

Last week, on October 1, I lost my Daddy. He spent the week in the ICU where they tried to stabilize him, but he was too far gone. He was a Husband, Father, Grandfather, Brother and Friend. Him & Mom were married for 51 years. I think it goes without saying that I'll miss him. Although strong when he was younger, the last few years had left him fragile. I will always remember him as a gentle soul. I'm like him in many ways except that I'm waaaaay feistier. And I'm not sure that anyone who knows me would ever use the word gentle to describe me.

Altimeter, Belt, Control, Cable, Canopy. He taught me this when I was about 9 years old. It's the things that you check before you take off in a glider. He loved to fly. Now why I still remember this, but can't remember to call my eye doctor to get a copy of my prescription- I don't know. ;-)

He wanted to be cremated and spend his eternity with his girls, down here in Florida where he spent over half his life. But well intentioned relatives started the process to bury his remains up north, in a place where his "girls" won't get to visit him. We (My sister & I) don't get to travel much & Mom's not going to be able to travel much either. So this really is goodbye. I am comforted by memories and can smile through my tears.

Please pardon this sad post....needed to get it out into the universe.

Cutting Rocks

When I was a little girl (I know, this statement brings on yawns & rolling eyes!) I used to collect rocks. They've always fascinated me. Fast forward to now. (I know- a really quick trip down memory lane) I'm a little obsessed with metalsmithing. And I'm loving my classes, although sometimes experiments can be costly- LOL. Anyway, I wasn't finding stones that I liked, in shapes & sizes that I wanted to work with. So...this semester I'm taking a cabbing class in addition to the metal fabrication class. There's plenty of new equipment & tools for me to learn how to use and I'm enjoying sourcing out rocks to cut. Last week I learned how to properly use the 12" oil saw. My hands were stinky with a foul smelling oil- but I cut a rock into slices (called slabs). Before class started I got some rocks to cut & cab- here's a pic of one:





This one is called Sonora Sunrise, a newish find from Mexico. (And from what I heard- "all the rage" at Tucson this year) It's Chrysocolla, so it's got lovely blues and Cuprite, so it's got earthy reds. With some black mixed in (Tenorite)

New Earrings Listed

Finally got a decent photo of these Bloom Earrings. Very rustic, organic. I just love them. The texture is fantastic. I have a pair too & they are very comfortable.

Gotta post & run....I'm off to class! Yay!

Included in a Beautiful Treasury

Jen K of TheBlueDress selected a pair of my earrings for this gorgeous treasury. She made mention that the old green of the 70's is coming back as the new green. I love green & happen to be in a sort of "green phase" right now. But do this: check out Jen's shop! She is so talented with metals it just blows me away. I always look forward to her posting new work. We are on the SATeam together & I've got to say.....she rocks! Thanks Jen!

Independence

A friend of mine sent me an email. She always forwards funny things but this one was different. It said that there is a rock in Iowa on HWY 25 that kids have painted for years. Graffiti, names, stuff that kids would do. Always changing as the next kid makes his mark. But a teenager painted over it months ago & nobody has touched it. I thought it was perfect to share with you today. The artist's name is Ray "Bubba" Sorenson II & I understand that he's a teenager. Check this out:












We need more teens like this one! Happy 4th & thank you to all the men & women that made & keep us independent.

Etsy Gift Guide & Free US Shipping

Who knew that even a "not so great" photo can be picked for a gift guide? LOL. This weekend there is a Free Shipping promo going on at Etsy. My shop, Azoho, is participating in the promotion. Etsy put up the gift guide/ limited time promotions & I was happy to see that my Bloom ring is in the guide. Sure wish I had a better photo to put into that listing. ;-)





I wanted to share this with you. Last Sunday I woke up with a nasty sore throat, still sore so I'm going to go have some nice warm liquid. Stop by the store & take advantage of the free shipping promotion!

Bloom...The Ring

I know I'm just dropping quick photos & running....life's been that way. But I wanted to post a pic of a new ring. I haven't been able to get a great photo to post it in Azoho yet, but I'm close. It's a "bloom" ring. I love it. Wearing it on my pinky right now. Earrings are close to finished. And a ring with a little bezel set stone is finished except for some patina & polishing (& setting the stone). Hopefully some time in the metals studio tomorrow morning & I'll get it all done. Then photographs. The last part is still the tricky part for me.
The kids are almost finished with school for the year. At this point I'm usually thinking that I'll have more time....but this year I'm not kidding myself. My time will have to be stolen moments here & there. Unless I can work out some sort of schedule. Hmmm....will have to give that a try!