It is a good world. 

A new friend

"When there is nothing left in the world to prove ... all that's worth doing is to love one another ... using whatever means are available."
Author unknown

I was just talking through email to a new customer on Ebay. I meet some incredibly nice people who buy my jewelry, and I am honored to know them, even briefly. I said to him that I thought when I started selling on Ebay that it would be a good way to make some extra money. Actually, Ebaying has been a good way to meet new friends.

Two of my best friends I met on Ebay. Both of them love jewelry and beads as much as I do, and both are incredibly talented and beautiful women who have made my life so much richer. I have met hundreds of acquaintances on Ebay as well, and I really believe that Ebay's community values ring true: We believe that people are basically good.

Hear hear.

Have a great day.

A new listing goes up today for a Jasper & Pearl Bracelet with Sterling Silver. 

Moving on to Christmas!

Today is a day of transition. The Thanksgiving festivities are over, and thoughts turn to Christmas. This year we are driving to Mike and Michelle's house to spend the holidays with them. I can't wait. It will be fun to be in Maryland for Christmas Day, a state that I think is absolutely beautiful. George and I will enjoy the car trip, and I will enjoy the fact that I do not have to pack light, and I can take all the presents and Christmas wrapping that I want. I even plan to pack a few pie tins and cookie sheets for apple pies and cookies. Try that on an airplane!

Keeping it simple is hard at Christmastime, but that is what we intend to do. Not a lot of lavish and expensive gifts, but a lot of fun and together-time.

I'm redoing my Ebay store today, listing a lot of new items, and I'm busy taking pictures, writing descriptions, and setting prices low enough to lure buyers to my jewelry auctions. Ebay is where I meet new people and make friends with other jewelry and bead addicts like me. It's a fun place!

Have a great day.

The socks I made during the Thanksgiving holiday. 1 skein of Sockatta yarn and a lot of hours of knitting with tiny needles. Aren't socks fun? 

Setting the table for dinner...Apple pie with holly decorations 

We got to go see George's new granddaughter Lucy yesterday after Thanksgiving Dinner. Oh how cute! 

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! 

The Christmas Cactus in bloom just in time! 

Our Thanksgiving centerpiece 

Pre-Thanksgiving Fun Day

It is so nice to have Michael and Michelle here. Their plane landed just a few minutes late, and we have no holiday horror stories to tell about flights. I have been delayed and missed my connections so often on airlines that I am a VBAP--Very Battered Air Passenger. But no problems yesterday.

We enjoy sitting about, knitting, talking, surfing, reading, watching old James Bond movies, and just enjoying each other's company. Last night we went to a Boston steak house that has been there forever called Hilltop and had ribs and steaks and apple crisp. We are getting ready for Thanksgiving by honing our appetite skills. Today we will go shopping for little things like books, yarn and the Nintendo Wii...which is about all Michael talks about. I sure hope Santa can find one for him or we are all in big trouble.

My friend Dave gave us a nice grandmother clock before he died and it sits on our mantle next to George's family grandfather clock. George has both of them working now so we have dueling chimes every quarter hour. It is fun and makes the house seem rather like us...a little crazy but a whole lot happy.

Have a great day and enjoy Thanksgiving preparations!

Thanksgiving merriment

I love this time of year. Probably because I love looking at pictures of food and reading new recipes. The web is full of new recipes and pages of ideas, and the television has cooking shows that are non-stop about Thanksgiving and Holiday goodies. I love all this talk about food, probably because I love to cook, but mainly because I love to taste good things.

This Thanksgiving Day, I am not cooking. It is a departure from our norm, but one that I am happy about. We are going to visit Michelle's relatives and since there are so many of us, we are going out for dinner! Good. No dishes. Bad. No leftovers.

Frankly, in the real world, I am not that excited about leftovers. I can make a turkey anytime, and often George and I buy a small one and roast it just for ourselves. We make turkey sandwiches to take to work. Yum. Cranberries are good anytime, and it is so easy to make cranberry sauce. Lately I have been turned on to white cranberry juice by my mom, and it will be served on ice in our pretty red stemmed Fostoria glasses this year at our home.

It is an exciting day. Mike and Michelle arrive today. First stop is Barnes and Nobel for some book shopping and a cappucino.

Have a great day.

Meet George's new granddaughter, 2 day old Lucy. 

The Snowflake Fair

Thank you to everyone who visited me at the Trinitarian Congregational Church's Snowflake Fair today in North Andover. It was a wonderful fair, and I had a great time. It was great to meet a lot of new people, and to sell some jewelry to some really nice buyers! Thank you to all who bought jewelry from me today, I hope you all keep in touch.

The day went really fast. Craft fairs always start early, and the prospect of lugging all the tables and displays at 7 a.m. is a daunting task. And then the fair starts and the people come in, and it all gets better really fast. I love meeting and talking to people at craft fairs, and although I don't do many each year, I'm always grateful when they are successful.

I had a large display of about 300 pieces of jewelry, and I came home tired and happy. A good day.

Thanks to all.

The necklace that will appear on The HourGlass Gallery web site. 

Running a jewelry business while running around

Since I came home from Oklahoma, things have been pretty much a running disaster. While I was gone, I didn't pay much attention to calendars, and when I got back I kept missing appointments. I found out that I had missed a craft fair where I had paid $50 for a table. I was already feeling a little foolish about that when I realized that I had missed a class that I signed up for. I was at church on Sunday and mentioned the missed class to a friend who was in the know about the class. She said, "oh, the class wasn't yesterday, it's today!" I called the beading shop where the class was to be held, and found out that although I would be two hours late, I was still invited to come and learn what I could.

I attended the class, caught up with the others and finished a really pretty woven bracelet that is pictured on my other site. At least I didn't miss that class completely, which would have been a real shame! It was fun and I can't wait to start making more of those beautiful bracelets and listing the for sale. This is going to be fun!

Today I am marking all my activities on my calendar and trying to get caught up. I have been working on jewelry to take to the consignment art and gift store, and finished 12 pieces in the past three days. My hands hurt from making jewelry when I go to bed at night. And I still can't wait to start on the next project. I lay awake nights thinking of new techniques and color schemes.

The Trinitarian Congraegational Church craft fair is this Saturday in North Andover, and I have a lot of work to do to make enough items to make my table exciting and therefore profitable. It is a challenge to make jewelry under pressure, but it is still the most fun thing I can think of!

Have a great day.

The Raffle Basket called "Snowed In" 

Highway Robbery

George and I drove to Mystic, Connecticut today. On our way, we drove past a Congregational Church in Preston, Connecticut that was having a craft sale. We decided to stop in and see what they had to offer. At the door, two nice ladies said, "oh good, you're just in time for the raffle." I felt that the least I could do was buy a few raffle tickets. I asked how much, and she said, "three for a dollar, or a whole arm's length for $5." That description was so tempting...I bought an "arm's worth". George and I quickly tore them apart and added them to the 15 or so baskets of prizes that were in the hall. The largest basket, of course, had the largest number of raffle tickets in the bag, so I just added one ticket to that one. I put most of our tickets in the bags that had the fewest tickets already, meaning my odds were better to win a small basket of stationery and thank you cards, or the basket of garden gloves and bulbs.

We walked through the craft show in a few minutes and they started the raffle. First drawing..nothing...second drawing...nope, not us...third drawing etc. Then LOW and behold...they draw for the biggest basket of all, one called "Snowed In",...and WE WON!!! Everyone was floored. Here two strangers walk in at the last minute and we walk off with the biggest basket that people had had their eyes on all day!

We left with our basket and giggled all the way to the car. I couldn't help but think that we robbed them. We even felt a little guilty. But it was so much fun.

The basket contains the games; Monopoly, Clue & Sorry, as well as popcorn, cookies, soda, and I don't know what all. It is fun and they were robbed :-).

Have a great evening.

A day in the country

George and I are off for a drive in the country. I got the idea as my plane was flying over New York. I wanted to see the countryside, and the beautiful northeast. I like Oklahoma, but I'm really a "northeastener" now. I missed it. We are going to drive to Connecticut to a bead store where they have lovely silver charms and findings that I can't find anywhere else. (No pun intended.)

On the way, we happen to drive near Foxwoods, the big casino that is so popular, and I'm going to scrape some quarters from my car and try to make the big haul. Ha. But it is a fun place to stop, and we don't stay long. We found the non-smoking slot machine room the last time, so we will head there. Cigarette and cigar smoke really ruins the casino experience for me--I smell it as soon as I hit the elevator button.

So, we're off for a nice drive, and have packed our apples and turkey sandwiches. A nice day for a drive!

Have a good one.

Mom's Cell Phone Holders

  

Time to go home

I will be leaving tomorrow morning to go back home to Boston. Mom is much better, and we have lined up a whole group of people who will be coming in at various times of the day to do things for her. She and I are being very stoic about my leaving, but both of us have learned to enjoy living together, and it has been a wonderful time to be together. She and I made cell phone cases that I will sell at the upcoming craft fairs. She does the crocheting part and I weave them together and decorate them. This little job has been just right to keep her busy.

Life will be slow for her, but she will manage. She wants to live in her own home, and my being here has made that possible--not a small thing. We have both seen what it is like to live at a nursing center, and there isn't much fun there, that is for sure. In fact, when she was in the center, she was alone alot there too...since the care is sporatic, and the nurses attention is hard to come by. It is hard being 96, and I have learned that well as I lived here with her. She has her work cut out for her to be successful at making her own meals and taking care of herself during the hours when no one is here. God bless her, and I hope she continues to get stronger.

Life in Boston is going to be busy for me. I have a lot of irons in the fire, and they have been heating up, even as I'm cooling my heels here in Oklahoma. Time to get back to my own life. The sweet part will be getting on the airplane tomorrow, but the bitter part will be leaving my mom here by herself. It has been wonderful. I'm lucky to have had the chance to be here.

See you in Boston.