|
|
|
Archives |
|
|
Tuesday ~ September 4th
Lori & Jason
Our friends, Lori & Jason celebrated their 10th year wedding anniversary this weekend. I've known Lori since grade 8 (about 22 years now) & I was her maid of honor at their wedding. These 10 years have zipped right by, but they did manage to have two children in between:
Em, Auntie Carrie & Ella
These two are just so darn cute, I can barely stand it!
We went out to Elk Island National Park to camp & it was a beautiful night with a magnificent sunset. What a treat to get away from the yard work for a little while & just enjoy some time with them.
Hope you all had a fantastic long weekend. |
|
Thursday ~ September 6th
Just thought I would pop in & say hi! I've been making beads, but all the beads now are heading to my mom's so that she can make jewelry as we prepare for our November show. I'm going to be one busy girl here, but I will show you pictures of cool things as they transpire. Who knows, maybe I'll be able to squeeze in an eBay auction or two as well.
I managed to carve out a garden bed in the backyard this last week & I've been transplanting, adding new trees & shrubs, putting in edging & resodding a few areas that needed it. I still have to add some shrubs, perennials & compost, but I'm excited with the way it's turning out. This is the bed that Chris & I look out at while soaking in the hot tub during the winter months so I've added a Mugo Pine (he's small now, but not for long), a Cedar & a couple of Junipers for the evergreens. The birdfeeder is here as well so we can watch the blue jays & chickadees. I'm going to add a few dogwoods for their red bark & maybe a berry shrub. There's a globe thistle that I think will look cool later on & I'll probably add some grasses too to give the bed some texture & interest in the winter. I also planted the Amur Cherry at the back so that we can enjoy the coppery, gold bark.
Gardening up here requires a lot of thought towards the 6 months of the year that most things are dormant. You have to add plants that might not seem too interesting in the summer, but have a lot of drama in the winter. It's actually been a lot of fun to plan out.
The weekend is looking good. Tomorrow night Chris & I are going to the football game & on Saturday, my favorite greenhouse, Wellington's is having a big sale so you know where I'll be. Have a wonderful weekend! |
|
Monday ~ September 10th
I could make these Alexandria beads for a straight month, I reckon. I've been having so much fun, just grabbing the amber & blue glass & building on it. Lots of shimmer & shine! Mom met me for a walk this morning. We came back here & she took them all away ~ bye-bye little friends, you're off to a good home!
I'm going to now move on to some new colors, although I'm tempted to spend today working on an eBay auction with the remaining stringers & glass rods before I pack it all up & start fresh... we'll see what happens. One thing I'm going to do for sure is watch Oprah ~ a brand new season starts today& she's interviewing David Letterman ~ cool!
Chris' dad, Ken sent me some pictures of the hummingbirds that were visiting them this summer. They even got some baby hummingbirds to their feeder ~ think of the smallest animal (bird) you can & now imagine a baby of that - does it get much cuter?
Here's a photo of one of their visitors... they have long since gone, a sign that we're in for an early winter.
|
|
Wednesday ~ September 12th
Sunflowers in the neighborhood
"Follow your bliss and doors will open where there were no doors before."
It's such a bright, sunshiny, crisp & glorious morning ~ wow! I know I should be making beads, but I just couldn't resist getting out in the yard and planting some of the shrubs that have been hiding in our garage for the last two days. They were delivered the same day that I heard there was a frost coming ~ yes, we had frost last night. No harm done though & now I'm having such a wonderful time!
I'm planting right around the bird feeder & the blue jays don't seem to care one bit that I'm there. I just witnessed two of them suspended in air, fighting over the last peanut, their crests were right up & they were shrieking at each other like a couple of teenage siblings. In order to keep the peace, I had to race to the garage to get more peanuts. Don't they know there's plenty more where those came from? Silly blue jays. |
|
Sunday ~ September 16th
Crow ~ photo courtesy of my mom, Judy
I've been having a really enjoyable weekend ~ making beads, working in the yard, & yesterday Chris surprised me by taking me on the Edmonton Queen Riverboat. I even had to wear a blindfold as he drove us down there. It was a wonderful break & just a spectacular day for it. Now that the leaves are changing color the river valley is really stunning.
Hope you're having a nice weekend too! |
|
Monday ~ September 17th
New auction starts tomorrow night, here's teeny weeny sneak peak:
|
|
Tuesday ~ September 18th,
Luxor ~ new bead auction now on! Click on King Tut's Tomb to view:
Well, I did it! I made a bead set for eBay, which I have to say (shyly) is really stunning in person. The photos do an o.k. job, but I guess I have to finally admit that it's time for a new camera ~ *sigh*. I've had this ol' thing since I started taking photos of my beads. But now, for some reason, it's just not capturing the detail like I want it to. Whether that's my own eye becoming more in tune with the beads, or the beads becoming more complex, I don't know, but I do know it's time for a change. So I'm asking, does anyone have any recommendations on a good camera for close up pictures? Email me at carrie@beadtree.net if you do & thanks!
I know it's everyone's busy time & it's good to get my stuff out there so I'll *try* to have one or two more eBay auctions before November if I can, but time is really tight with this jewelry show approaching. I'll give more details on that soon, but in the meantime, be sure to block a space free on November 9th or 10th if you're in this neck of the woods.
And for fun, a little more information on the discovery of King Tut's Tomb here. |
|
Thursday ~ September 20th
Black Magic Beads
I've been busy in the studio, cooking up some ornate black & ivory beads with lots of silver details (of course). My mom is coming by this morning for a walk & she's snatching these up for jewelry, but I thought I would take a quick photo before she does. I'm hoping to squeeze in some time to make a bead set for auction, we'll see how things go.
The new Survivor starts tonight & it's in China! Jeff Probst so needs one of my lampwork beads on his neck, don't ya think? Anyway, I think that will be very interesting. I've always wanted to go to China, it's on my list... Speaking of travel, I have been asked when I'll start up the "Where in the World is Carrie" contests again. Yeah, I meant to get that going for September, but just haven't had the time. Hopefully, I'll have a new contest for October. |
|
Saturday ~ September 22nd
Trail at the Clifford E. Lee Bird Sanctuary
Yesterday, mom & I took a little excursion to the Clifford E. Lee Bird Sanctuary (thanks for reminding me about the sanctuary Pat L.). Ironically, the only photos of birds I took were of these two chicks (heehee):
Mom & I
Afterwards, we went to a greenhouse nearby & walked around in the garden there. Tons of robins were flying to a cherry tree & eating the little fruit, I've never seen that before. I thought robins only went in for the earthworms. It's just really nice to still see them before they're off until next spring.
We walked through the remaining shrubs & I reluctantly held back on buying anything. I think I have enough plants for this year ~ I'm a wee bit obsessed, you know.
Unloading the cobblestone
When I got home, our cobblestones for the sidewalk arrived, so the rest of this weekend will be spent making beads & making a sidewalk (or at least putting a big dent into it). |
|
Sunday ~ September 23rd
Luxor ~ bead auction ended, thanks! |
|
Tuesday ~ September 25th
Cat Yoga
If you think this is silly, check out the Dramatic Chipmunk (a.k.a. Prairie Dog). And this is just absurd.
That's all I got today. Not much to report around here, I'm just working lots & wishing there were more hours in the day... |
|
Wednesday ~ September 26th
My friend, Tamye (Stampin' Up! Goddess) has an amazing card making offer going on this Saturday in Edmonton. You get to make 20 cards for only 20 bucks! And look at the quality of the cards, this is just a sneak peak at a few of them. If you're interested in hanging out with a bunch of enthusiastic crafters & creating beautiful, handmade cards to give to your family & friends, email Tamye & she can give you all the details! |
|
Friday ~ September 28th
A start to the new jewelry...
Last night we went to see Nashville Outlaws at Mayfield Dinner Theatre ~ it was a musical about Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson & Waylon Jennings ~ an awesome show if you want a fun night out in Edmonton, the guy that performs as Waylon nails it.
Have a wonderful weekend! |
|
Sunday ~ September 30th
Another sneak peak at what my mom has been up to. I tried this bracelet on to see how it fits & I just love how comfortable, sparkly & interesting it is. If we have enough goodies for our show, I think I might keep this one. |
