|
|
|
Archives |
|
|
Tuesday ~ October 6th
Making beads & mom is making jewelry. We don't have a name for this colorway yet, any suggestions?
|
|
Thursday ~ October 8th
Thank you for your help regarding the naming of the new beads. I appreciate your contributions & had a tough time picking from all the great suggestions. There were lots of references to autumn & the sky that I loved, but in the end it was a toss up between Electric Circus or Carnival. I went with Carnival (thanks Annette), because it just seemed to fit with them & when I look at the beads, I am reminded of images like this picture from flickr. I've also had some requests to make some strands for sale here, so if you're interested in these beads, I will likely be making some after our show in late November.
We had the first snowfall yesterday, which I took a picture of:
I still haven't cleaned my pots out & stored them for the winter. It actually seems a little early for snow with many of the leaves on the trees still green... I suspect this stuff will melt & we'll get a little reprieve before the real winter comes knocking at the door. I sure hope so, I really have to get some more fall clean up done.
While I'm on the topic of the yard, I should finish the before & after shots of the front & side leading into the back, like I promised. Here goes:
This is our cute little house back in April of 2004 shortly after we bought it. It had awnings & a crumbly sidewalk & a wooden board on the step sealing up a big hole in the concrete. It had 2 large weeping birches in the front that, at the time we didn't know it, but they were dead & the grass was in a sorry state. We knew we were up for a challenge...
I chipped away at things, sprucing up the rock garden & trying to revive the grass. We took off the awnings & cut down the dead trees, but there were a lot of problems & in the end, we just decided to grade the whole front, put new sod in, build a deck, extend the gardens, replace the siding & the sidewalk...
This is our house earlier this year. It's hard to believe it's the same place & now it's a gardener's dream instead of a nightmare. We want to get a new door & build a pergola on the deck which is hard to make out in this photo but is on the right hand side of the house. It's a really hot area & the pergola would help cool it down, especially if we grow grapes on it (I'll show a picture when it's complete).
And a side view of the rock garden - big & full of color, just the way I like it!
Onto the side yard. Originally, this area was very problematic because the sidewalk slanted, making it somewhat precarious to walk down (especially in the winter):
Also, the crude fence & the neighbor's half dead lilac tree weren't too charming. And the hill between our house & theirs never managed to grow grass no matter how hard I tried & it was always a cause of concern when it rained a lot because the rain pooled on our sidewalk.
Chris & I decided to build up a rock wall to level the space between the two yards. We extended our curvy sidewalk to the back to add a little bit of whimsy:
We placed large boulders spaced out along the sidewalk edge & then filled in the rest of the wall with smaller rocks. This was a lot of fun, like putting together a puzzle. We then topped it up with a couple yards of soil.
Then Chris built this really cool gate. He's a genius. Can you spot the bell hanging on the middle post? I bought that in Montreal last year - it's now attached to the latch so that you have to pull it to open the gate (which also gives a little "ding" to let us know someone is coming - handy when you're in the hot tub *wink, wink*).
And I planted cedars & ferns to give us a barrier between the houses.
Here's the view from the other side:
Above, walking out of the back yard before the renos.
And here's the after, a picture I took just the other day from the gate:
It's actually my favorite part of the yard now. I love walking up the curving path & smelling the cedars after a rain. I put some suet feeders where the cedars are too so that we can watch the chickadees & woodpeckers out the kitchen window during the winter.
I guess that concludes the "tour". Thanks for checking it out. And if you're looking for the backyard before & after photos, I stored them in the September Archives (just scroll down to find them).
I hope that this helps a little for inspiration if you're in the process of doing some yard work. Feel free to ask me any questions , I'll do my best to answer them. I know how daunting it is to start these big projects, trust me. The truth is, I suffered from some serious stress & doubt along the way. This was, by no means, easy, but now, I believe Chris & I can do anything & that's a great place to be.
Oh, I almost forgot to show you the pumpkin that we grew:
Eh-hem, it's the one in the middle. |
|
Wednesday ~ October 14th
New Pendants ~ all of which seem celestial to me... Aurora Borealis keeps popping up in my head when I look at them. I really love making these kinds of beads with sparkly glass playing peek-a-boo below the swirly, silvered ivory surfaces. I hope they find good homes. These are part of our stock we are preparing for our show in November. If you're not on the mailing list, email me & I'll change that.
Long days at the torch now. It's cozy & enjoyable, but my back is starting to ache & I'm feeling all compressed so I need to remind myself to stretch & walk around throughout the day. We are not meant to be slumped over for hours at a time, are we? If so, I'm sure some therapy massages would balance things out. Or maybe I need to start back at yoga & be like this dude:
It's been snowy & cool here for a good week. I made pot roast yesterday in a slow cooker & when Chris came home, the first thing he said was, "it sure smells great in here". That's all the reward I need, but it did taste tasty too. You wanna know my secret ingredient? I added ketchup to the "gravy-sauce". It gave a bright tang to the flavor.
Oh, one last thing. Did I ever share the website, 1000 Awesome Things with you? It's a daily countdown of all things awesome. I love how they focus on somewhat ordinary yet universal perks & victories; it's a good reminder to take joy in the little things ~ awesome! |
|
Thursday ~ October 15th
|
|
Sunday ~ October 18th
Sunflower seed heads
Digging ~
This video on Guerilla Gardening
This blast from the past: M.A.S.H.
And this widget because it reminds me of my cat, Nu.
|
|
Tuesday ~ October 20th
Photo courtesy of NASA
Oh Saturn, beautiful Saturn. This photo was taken from NASA's Cassini spacecraft, now about 1.5 billion kilometers away from Earth right now. It took this photo approx. 847,000 km (526,000 miles) from Saturn. Some things just blow me away. |
|
Wednesday ~ October 21st
Have you seen the Fall fashion colors for this season? And when did Pantone become the fashion color expert? I don't know, but it's true. I've been snooping around the stores & that purple heart color is everywhere, mixed with taupe ("Nomad"), grey & black & the other popular color is red with black & grey. With this in mind, I've been working on beads to match ~ a little sneak peak below:
Yeah for purple! I had to stop myself from a purple marathon... I just love that color.
Red, on the other hand, has always been a challenge for me, but I think these worked out really nice with some grey, black & a dash of silvery sparkle. And the great thing about the lentil shape is that it works so nicely in a single bead bracelet, multi bead bracelet & dangling down as a pendant. Got to love those versatile lentils.
Today, I'm working on a glass that looks a lot like the Majolica blue, which I also saw a lot of at the clothing stores, mixed in with browns & teal. Maybe I'll add some warm olive highlights to it as well, we'll see.
These are off to my mom's so that she can make jewelry with them - she's got a bit of work ahead of her. By the way, I've had some inquiries about when the show will be. We've set the dates for Friday, November 20th & Saturday, November 21st so if you would like an invite, please email me.
|
|
I love this human calendar. It changes on it's own each day ~ cool!
This is clever too. |
|
Friday ~ October 23rd
This postcard arrived in the mail from my Uncle & Aunt the other day...
On the back it read:
Beautiful, intoxicating Santorini... Oh how it made me pine to go back or just to go anywhere really.
Heck, I could handle this view too. After all, it's only a 4 hour drive away:
Banff, Alberta ~ photo courtesy of my mom, Judy
But really, time is tight right now.
Still, just a wee little getaway wouldn't hurt...
Well, Chris & I are going to the Cuddle Inn near Legal, AB (30 minute drive away) this weekend. My Uncle Doug & Aunt Paulette went to a charity auction earlier this year while they were in town & bid on a gift certificate for a room there & won. I think they were actually bidding on the diamond ring that went with it ~ all for a good cause anyway, right? Since they live in Arizona, they could take the ring, but the gift certificate had to stay & we were the lucky recipients. I just love my family! Thank you D & P.
I still pine for Santorini, but for now, I'll take an escape to a country inn.
And, on our way there, we're going to stop at the U-pick pumpkin patch at Prairie Gardens & Greenhouses so I can stock up on some mini pumpkins. Have you ever roasted a mini pumpkin before? Most people use them for decorations around the house, but they are so much better served as a side dish, trust me. And really, you can have the best of both worlds; decorate now, eat later. Here's a basic recipe but you can shake it up a bit by adding cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, maple syrup, fresh herbs... or you can stuff them with cranberry rice, bulgar pilaf or whatever your hearts desire:
Roasted Mini Pumpkins
Preparation: Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Cut tops of pumpkins (about 1/3 of the way down so the whole top will come off). Scoop out seeds & scrape soft fibers out. Scoop out the top also if necessary. Brush melted butter over the inside of pumpkins & their tops. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Place tops back on. Pour 1/2 inch of water in a baking pan with sides & arrange pumpkins inside. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until pumpkins are tender.
Have a wonderful weekend! |
|
Monday ~ October 26th
If I wasn't making beads, these would be some sweet gigs:
And incase you're in search of something new, this looks like an inspiring documentary:
|
|
Tuesday ~ October 27th
New beads ~ you likey? |
|
Thursday ~ October 29th
Photo courtesy of my mom, Judy
Are you ready for Halloween? I love when it falls on the weekend. We are going on the Edmonton Queen Riverboat this Saturday with some friends for a Halloween party. I would tell you what I'm going to be but I don't want to ruin the surprise... hehe.
Yesterday, I walked outside & spotted this guy on the fence:
If I've identified him correctly, he's a Sharp-shinned hawk. A spooktacular sight to see as he wasn't hanging around for the sunflower seeds in the feeder. He was looking for a little bird to snatch up. Thankfully, he didn't stick around. |
