It's Christmas Eve, and 3 degrees warm outside. We are having a very quiet Christmas this year, just the two of us. What a year this has been. I thank God that I am not celebrating Christmas alone. What a close call we had. It would be so wonderful to be with the family, and to be able to see our newest Great Granddaughter, but we will just have to settle for pictures. My hearts desire is that our Children and Grandchildren will have a bright New Year, full of love and happiness. That extends to our extended family also. What can be in store for the world in the coming year...I wish I knew. But in the meantime, I will just play with my beads, fabric and paints. God has a plan for every life....I'm still waiting to find out what plan he has for me..or who knows, maybe the plan has been in play all along. Merry Christmas to friends and family, and may the New Year be all you hope for.

Well, winter is officially here, snow, ice, wind, yuk!!!!However, I have been catching up with my Bead Journal pages. I will post the new ones as soon as I photograph them. Its overcast and gloomy here today, and so is my mood I'm afraid. I have been working on some Apron's for the Gallery, with matching pot holders. I'm not sure why, but everyone seemed to think these would be great to have. Time will tell I guess. Well, back to work, and I will post photos soon.I am going to post another of my watercolors today. I have sold three so far...watercolor is very very painful for me. I love the forgiveness of oilpaints, but I will keep trying with the watercolors again for awhile.

I finished two entries for the Haute Couture Beadwork challenge. It was a lot of fun and hope to do it again next year. The first image is my "Masculine" cuff, Jack wasn't thrilled with it, he said it was not like anything I had ever done..too plain I guess, but we both like the second cuff, although it was going to be a necklace in the beginning, but it had a mind of its own and became a cuff instead. I am going to try to download the two fashion pictures that I used as my muse for the two cuffs.

At last I am back to Beading. Had to get busy and finish up some barrettes for the Gallery. A customer in Maryland was in and ask for more barrettes and I finally was able to get some done and emailed her the photos. It may be to late for her, but at least I am back to beading. Now to get my Journals up to date. Both boys have been on my mind almost constantly, I think they are prodding me to get their pages done. Anyway, I will post the photos of the barrettes here now.

The show at the Gallery this month is titled "Serendipity". Kathy Little, Ingrid McKinstry, Elizabeth Peterson and myself are the contributors of art work for this show. These are the three pieces that I entered into the show. The triptic is in acrylics and collage, the northern lights picture I painted in oils and the butterfly picture is an altered book.

Yesterday was a crazy day at work. The first couple into the Gallery in the morning, hurried through looking quickly around and then told me that they had to hurry off to catch the Ferry, but that they would probably be my last customer of the day when they returned. I didn't think too much about it, but did notice that they did not return by closing time. I was in the process of turning off the lights when I heard a knock on the door, and there they were. I invited them in and they said they pretty much knew what they wanted, they would just need a few minutes to decide between two things. Well it turned out the two things they were trying to decide between were two of my beaded necklaces. They finally made their decision and as we were finishing up the sale, the Lady told me that she was a writer and wanted a special piece to wear to her readings. Wow, did I feel special. Her name is Emily Cooper and her book that will be coming out soon is called "Queen of the Lost", the story of Lucy Holcombe Pickens. A fact-based fiction on her life as the "Queen of the Confederacy". A woman who charmed important peoples of the day, but ignored the human tragedies that would continue for more than 100 years. (This information was included on her card that she so graciously gave me.)I look forward to reading her book when it becomes available here. They were a very lovely couple, it would be nice to have a chance to visit with them again sometime.Now, here is an interesting "Serendipitous" fact...the original designer of this necklace, (with some slight variations on my part) is Suzanne Cooper....wouldn't it be something if Emily and Suzanne were related.

I am so far behind now with my bead journals, I haven't done anything since May. I am going to have to work really hard to catch up, hope I can do it. The rain has finally let up here, over 30 days straight of rain........then 3 days of sunshine and now its really foggy this evening, I suppose it will rain tomorrow. But it is supposed to be nice again the first of the week. I sure hope so, because we haven't had much of a summer so far and Fall is fast approaching. As a matter of fact it is only three weeks away from the Burning Basket for Equinox. This year the basket will be named "Imagine". I am looking forward to working on it again, but it seems to have come so soon. I did manage to get a small 5x7 picture painted for the Watercolor show next month, and am working on a Triptic for the Invitational show titled "Serendipity" that is also being held at the Gallery. The Triptic will be a mixed media piece, along the lines of an altered canvas.

I so enjoyed all of the Grandchildren, they all got along so well the whole time we were there, it was just great. They are so much fun to be around. They all enjoyed wading in the water and the two oldest boys enjoyed their boogie boarding. The girls were so silly and so much fun. The little boys stayed on the go from daylight until dark. We went for long walks to see the seals that had hauled up on the beach quite aways away from where we were staying, but it was such a nice walk. Our wonderful Daughter-in-law brought goody bags for everyone with all kinds of fun things in them, as you can see from the silly picture of the girls. What a wonderful time we had.

Well, its the 21st of August already. The month of June was terrible the first half. So much stress and worry, but we have moved on from that now. The last half of June was wonderful. Against my better judgement, I went to Oregon to see our Children and Family. I hated leaving Jack, but he pushed until I finally agreed to go. Once I was there, I was so happy that I agreed to go. I really didn't realize just how stressed I was. What a wonderful week that was. I missed seeing our oldest Granddaughter, her husband and our beautiful Great Granddaughter, and our Nephew John, but those that were there were such a blessing. How much I miss them.

Christina from the Gallery just called to tell me that "Seala" the beaded mermaid doll that I had in the Gallery just sold to a woman from Arizona. Thats the second doll that has sold, its......wow, silly as it seems, there's always a feeling of....loss. Each doll has her own personality and grabs you in different ways. How silly...its just a doll!!!! Funny but certain pieces of my beadwork make me feel the same way. Some I don't have feelings one way or the other, and then....certain pieces just make you feel differently. I guess its the time that you put into them. Oh well, back to painting the front door. I was really hoping we would be able to buy a new one this year, but with all that's happened lately, paint will just have to do for a couple more years I guess. Maybe I can get in some beading today..maybe.

Well, so much has happened since my last entry, and I am now two months behind on my bead journal pages and so much more. Spent four and a half wonderful days with our Children and Grandchildren on the Oregon Coast. My Mother, Nephew and two of my Sisters were also there, along with their families. What a wonderful time we had, I can't wait to do it again next year, only with Jack going along also. If it be Gods will. I haven't been able to do any beading since I've been home, due to Jack's health issues, but things will soon be better I am sure and then I can get back to beading with a vengence. I did do a small painting to make a thankyou card to send to all who made the family gathering, but thats as creative as I have been. I am really wanting to get into my beads....soon....soon....I hope.

I am enjoying learning to watercolor. I don't know if I'm doing it exactly right, but so far it seems to be working. I love my little birdhouses, so I found a driftwood pole to hang the houses on in the yard. It looks a little weathered, which is what I was hoping for. The birds sit on it, but not in them. I took a picture of it when the fireweed was blooming in with the raspberry bushes. This is an edited version of the photo I took.

A young friend of mine named Miriam took this photo over in Seldovia on the boardwalk. I loved the photo so I purchased it from her with the plan to do an oil painting, however, since I am trying to learn watercolor I decided to try it that way...I think it turned out ok.

What a week we have had..Jack ending up air evac"ed to Anchorage in critical condition, but it ended ok. A week in the ICU, heart doctors, kidney doctors, helicopter ride....but he is still with me and thats all I care about. I went to Michaels Craft supply one day while Jack was having tests, and found this great centerpiece for a necklace. Inexpensive, but I think its beautiful. Rowan, one of the gals I work with at the Gallery had her Birthday while we were in Anchorage, so I thought this would make a beautiful and slightly exotic looking necklace for her birthday. She loves red so it works out well I think. I added coral and brass beads. I love the way it worked out. The two "fan" beads are cinnabar.

Today was a beautiful day weather wise. Then this evening Sandy and I went to all the Gallery openings, fun. Then we made a quick trip out to the Spit to see what if anything was happening out there. The opening for the Coastal Studies, "Drift" art project was this evening and I will post a few pictures of those entries. What a fun project that was. My two buoys will be on display at the Fire and Ice B&B and Lodge. They will be auctioned off in September. I wish it would have been a better day for Jack. He has had a rough two weeks and it doesn't look like its going to get better. Oh for a magic wand!! I also finished another piece for the Gallery which I will post here. God gives us so many trials in life.....

Here is a closeup view of the piece.
This piece sold this Labor Day weekend, to a woman from the East Coast. She bought it for her Daughter.

Finished the "Owl Moon" piece. Haven't decided if I am going to take it to the Gallery now or wait until our show next summer..hmmm decisions..I am pleased with how it turned out. My muse had taken a few days off and I was struggling, but I feel like keeping on with the beading again, although when the weather is as beautiful as it was today, its a real struggle to stay in and work. I need to get a kit together again so I can bead outside on the beautiful days, don't want to miss out on the sunshine.

Well, after a three day battle, I have finished another doll. She battled me tooth and toenail, but I won. She's cute I think. I will be talking my dolls to a doll show tomorrow with Irene. Irene is taking her antique dolls and I am talking my "Art" dolls. Should be fun.

We three walked the docks for awhile and watched the fishing crews getting their boats ready to set sail. Joey enjoyed the walk, he sniffed his way along, I know his nose must get tired. He loves to explore when he comes to stay with us.

Jack and I and our Step-puppy Joey went for a walk out on the Spit this evening. It was such a beautiful day. I worked all day, but kept straying to the back door of the Gallery to enjoy the sunshine and the gorgeous view. I don't work tomorrow, so I hope that it is as beautiful a day as today was. We stopped in at the Restaurant at Lands End for a cup of Chocolate and this sail boat was coming by so I stepped out on the deck to get a photo. Turned out beautiful.

Christoper had a hunting dog which he dearly loved and his Parents now have the dog. The dog on this Cab reminds me of Chris's dog. Although the dog on the cab is a prettier dog. I can see Chris smiling as I say that. We all miss him so very much. The May squares are done, and on time thank goodness. I know the time frame is mine alone, but I feel like I have to have them done before the month is over. I started out behind, caught up and I want to stay that way.

I finished the two journal pages for May. Ryans has three flower cabs that represent his children and like the new buds in spring, his children are sprouting up. They will not forget their Father because the family will keep his memory alive for them. Day after tomorrow will mark one year since we lost him.

And this is what I am working on now. I haven't decided yet what I am going to use for the fringe and neck strap, I love the owl, it is such a beautiful piece. The colors of the owl inspired me to use the beads and of course I had to add some tourquoise in the design also. I can't seem to help myself, I just love tourquoise so much. I believe the stone is my muse, it seems to always be hanging around. Come to think of it, I seem to use moon faces in a lot of my work also. Hmmmm wonder what it all means.

This bag was one I made as a sample for a class that I gave several years ago using Robin's book as inspiration. This was such a fun class, everyone seemed to enjoy it. I also incorporated her 5 question process and had them incorporate the five words into a poem. So fun. I also used her 5 questions in a class I gave on Altered books and had them use their poem on the last page of the book.

Well, I finished piecing the quilt I have been working on. After going to five fabric and quilting stores I gave up looking for the fabric I needed. I started the quilt five years ago and so of course the fabric is no longer available. I spent two hours on the computer last night going through different quilt and fabric sites and looked through all the discontinued fabrics they had available and still did not find any, so ......it is what it is. I will post a picture of the quilt later. I also finished the cuff that I have been working on...my amazon cuff....I used a vintage button in the middle of the turquoise donut and almost four strands of coral chips. Large but lovely. I am also posting a snapshot of the piece that I am working on for the show next summer. So many projects....sometimes I overwhelm myself...I need to learn to focus on one project at a time...yeah right!!!!

What a beautiful day we had today for Mothers day. The sun was so beautiful. After Church today Jack and I had breakfast at the Lodge and then walked through the Quilt Show. Beautiful quilts. Saw some patterns that I would love to have, if I can find out where they bought their fabric and patterns. Actually its not a pattern, but three panels that were used in a beautiful Oriental Quilt. Then we came home and planted our tomato plants in the "Topsy Turvy" bag. Now we just have to wait and see...I love fried green tomatoes....can't wait.

Today was a very busy day at the Gallery. Made the day go by rather quickly. We had two groups of children from the Russian village of 'Old Believers" at the head of the bay, come in for a tour of the art work. Rowan is the manager at the Gallery and she came in and did the tour for the kids. What a great job she did. The kids all seemed to enjoy it quite a lot.

Came home and once more looked for the quilt squares I had made for the quilt I'm working on. they seem to have vanished into thin air...guess I'm losing my mind. Anyway, I sat down and made more squares, now I just have to add the sashing in between the squares and I will have the strip finished and can add it to the others. One more to go and the body of the quilt will be finished, then I just have to do the sashing around the outside. So far I have made over 20 quilts of various sizes. I love to make baby quilts the most. I made this jacket and booties for our Great Granddaughter Dahlia for Christmas two years ago. This year I made her a rag doll. Well its late and I need to get to bed before long. Tomorrow will be a great day, I have decided. God willing.

So today was just one disaster after another so I put aside my beads and moved over to my sewing machine. I made two pairs of pillow cases and then decided to get out the quilt I started five years ago and never finished. That was going well until I discovered that I had used one of my main fabrics at some time and now I am short. So I ran over to the fabric store and of course, the fabric is five years old and they did not have any more. Mary (the manager of that department) said she would be glad to give me some out of her own stash...if only she had some.

When I got home I had a message to call my friend Sandy at the Gallery and she invited me to go to a special showing of a documentary that was made about a local artist Norman Lowell. So off we went. It was very well attended and a great documentary. Norman and Libby are such nice people and he is such a fine artist. The documentary was well received internationally and won first place over 4000 others.

Then back home, and back to the quilt. I managed to scrounge enough scraps to finish the squares I needed (I hope) so maybe the day isn't a total loss.

I also sent out a plea for help to my Sister Janna, to guide me through adding the Bead Journal Logo to my blog page. Another success, God is good. Janna has helped me a lot with my blog, I could not have done it without her.

Back to work tomorrow, perhaps it will be a good day all around. I hope so. This awful gray, rainy weather is not much help in the attitude department. If God gives us tomorrow, its up to us to make it good. So thats my plan.

Took a walk on the beach today, glad I was alone, well, not really alone, I walked with my Grandson Chris at my side and in my heart. It turned into a very emotional walk. The harder I tried to move past the grief, the more it enveloped me. When does it get easier I wonder. Lets move on.

I turned in my two floats to the Coastal Studies today. I ask if they had a good showing with the artists and she said yes that there seems to be a lot of participation. She took a photo of me with the floats. I hope it doesn't show up any where. I was dressed for my walk on the beach. They will be having a First Friday Opening June 4th. That should be fun to see what everyone has done.

No signs of the "boys" today. We have twin baby bull mooses that have been hanging around the house. Only saw one of them yesterday and not at all today. They are just starting to get bumps where their racks will be. Hope they make it ok. They are sure staying small this year.

You can see the fresh water pearls in this shot. I bought these less expensive pearls to use in embellishing bead embroidery, then I put them away and forgot about them until I was looking for things to embellish the floats. Always a treasure hunt.

I also used some of my lamp work beads that I rushed and they cracked because I didn't let them cool long enough, but they work on here. Also another little lamp work fish.

One more little lamp work fish swimming around the side.