Other Stuff

This is not a quilt blog.

Published on by coldfeetstudioblog

Promise.

It’s a, I don’t really know why, but, I want to do it anyway, blog.

So.

Sometimes it’s about quilt making.

Sometimes it’s about jewelry making.

And, sometimes, but not often, it’s about writing.

Right now I wish it were about photography.

Why is Mickey so small!

O.K. that’s marginally better. Don’t ask me how I did it, I’ve already forgotten.

I did it once before, with this instagram,

but, you can call me Lizzy Arbuckle if I can remember how I did it.

Anyway, back to the writing.

I’ve noticed recently that when I approach something knowing I will fail, I give up.

Not big news to everyone, I know, but I’m kind of just getting it here.

The nano thing mo went out the window after a few days. I know, I said it wouldn’t this time, but, you see, I can explain.

O.K. I can’t explain, but, I really feel I must fess up because it’s been eating me away, because I said I’d do it and I didn’t, because I wanted to do it, and I just don’t get what happened, because, this time, my little book was going to make it big, and, because there are many, many more becauses. (I wanted to use semi colons there, but, I just couldn’t get my finger to brave it).

🙁

It was going oh so well.

I laughed, I schemed, I fretted over the story line.

I talked in strange voices to myself. I pondered the logistics of being a hag in today’s society. I cracked myself up.

I enjoyed every moment and didn’t want to leave.

So why?

Why did it have to end so brutally?

What did I ever do to me to deserve this?

Am I going to give up on everything just because I don’t think I can do it?

No d^*# it!

As Gandalf says, this too shall pass. Hang on, it was, you shall not pass, wasn’t it?

Oh well. Whatever’s going to, or wants to, pass needs to do it now because it’s enough already.

I will finish my book if it’s the last thing I do!

–

See, there’s the problem, right there.

Absolutes.

Steer away from them at all times as they will gobble you up and spit you out, defeated, despondent, depressed, and all the other d words you can think of, except dessert, and, dogs, and daffodils, because those are nice things, except if you’re trying to lose weight or the dog bites you or you suffer from hay fever, then you can add those d words to the list of bad d words so long as you keep it on your side of the complaining.

What does this all mean you ask?

Nothing really, except sometimes I want to just do things because I love to do them and not because I think I will be good at them.

(Remember the semi colon dilemma?)

Sometimes I want to give myself a break and just enjoy myself.

(Still worrying about the semi colon).

Sometimes I don’t want to live by the rules I’ve so precisely written up for myself.

(Or what the semi colon has written up for me).

And so

this is why you should finish your book people.

Don’t give up just because you think you will fail.

Get out there and do the things you love and quit complaining.

(When I’ve figured out how to do that I’ll let you know …)

The reality is, I’ve still got five days to make my fifty thousand words.

That’s only 46,372 words to go

– if we’re talking absolutes of course.

😉

–

Oh, and by the way, James didn’t quite save the world, but, he did look rather stunning as he didn’t do it.

(How come he get’s to be bigger than Mickey…)

–

Modigliani, James Bond, and, giant apes.

Published on by coldfeetstudioblog

Modigliani is one of my favourite artists.

I have quite a lot of favourite artists, but, his work gets me every time.

I have a huge poster of one of his paintings in my quilt room, and, now this is my phone wallpaper.

Makes me want to use my phone all of the time.

Do I have enough minutes?

Man, I need to check.

Did you know that his, I don’t think she was his wife, threw herself out of the window after his death. She was nine months pregnant.

You should watch the movie.

It’s full of bits like that.

–

It was nice to have B back for Thanksgiving, she seems to have recovered nicely from her accident.

She’ll drive back to Austin today in our nice BIG land cruiser which, hopefully, will come back to us in one piece as she waits to get herself a new car.

But, before that.

Bond, James Bond is calling us.

I have to wait until a movie’s been out for a few weeks before I go as I can’t stand the idea that if I don’t get there early enough I might have to sit too close to the screen. Remember the days when that was the thing? The closer the better. The last time I had to sit way in the front was when we went to see Congo (I know, don’t ask), and, aside from the neck ache, the Indian meal we had eaten prior to the movies just didn’t seem to sit well, what with the huge decapitated head rolling towards me and almost landing in my lap. It was touch and go, I’ll tell you. I kept having to check out the distance to the nearest restroom – just in case.

No, it’s the back of the cinema for me thank you very much.

Also, one of the many benefits of waiting to see a movie is that the likely hood of sitting right next to the woman chomping down on her mountain of popcorn is reduced to one in ten thousand.

King George was already having trouble with his speech. I could hardly stand it.

And, don’t get me going on germs.

Have these people not seen Outbreak?

Ebola is the last thing I need before Christmas!

So, B’s off later this afternoon. James will hopefully save the world – again. And, as for me, it’s back to the quilt.

Much safer considering.

–

Kids + Cars = Anxiety x Infinity and Beyond to the power of – everything.

Published on by coldfeetstudioblog

Enough said.

–

B’s car is now written off.

She’s O.K.

However, I’m now researching particle reorganization as I’m sure beaming her up would be a better way to get her to work. Unless she gets reassembled the wrong way around, of course, which would be somewhat unfortunate.

But, it happens.

See.

Bottom line.

Mini Cooper, versus the road, is apparently a no go. Even if the mini is chili red and called Henry.

Saying that, it has endured four, (maybe five but they all seem to have blurred into one), fairly major accidents, and only this time has B suffered anything from it. This time a minor concussion, which is not cool, but, considering she was taken out by three different cars and spun around like a hockey puck to eventually end up facing oncoming traffic, in rush hour, that’s not such a bad outcome in my opinion.

I’d take that any day.

Poor kid. Two weeks ago she was rear ended to the tune of $3000, and, yesterday, completely wiped out.

DOES SHE EVEN REALIZE THAT I CAN’T GO ON LIVING LIKE THIS FOR MUCH LONGER!!!

WHEN WILL IT STOP!!!

O.K. panic attack over.

Note to self:

She’s O.K. She’s O.K. She’s O.K.

–

P.S. Watch Galaxy Quest.

–

Yesterday

Published on by coldfeetstudioblog

I bought a cup.

Ron Philbeck

Really I wanted a mug, but, as I’m a fussy tea drinker, I wasn’t too sure about them. Now, coffee … I wouldn’t have a problem with. For me, good, strong, coffee, is best drunk from a good, strong (read think edged) mug. Tea needs a different rim thickness. A refined thickness. Not necessarily bone china you understand, in fact, I prefer a stoneware mug, but, it has to have the right feel and I’m not sure these mugs will have it.

But this cup makes me smile and I think I might use it as my water cup when I’m painting with water colours. (Sorry Ron, but, I really needed one of your pieces and I don’t drink coffee).

If you’re a coffee drinker and like to smile when you drink (only not at the same time as that could be messy) go check out his work.

Saying that I’ll probably buy one eventually and make myself drink more coffee.

I didn’t go to my quilt room yesterday as there was a lot of other stuff to do. I have been sorting through my files and transferring the ones I want over to my new laptop. It’s all pretty straightforward but time consuming. I definitely fell into the black hole of the computer world. Then I decided beef and black bean enchiladas were needed. N makes killer chicken enchiladas from a recipe we found on cooking light so when I found the beef one I thought it had a good shot of being as good.

Nope.

The tortillas were soggy and the filling and sauce boring.

Still, I feel it has potential and next time I will change things up a bit. How can the chicken one be so good and the beef so blah?

Look at them, they look so good.

I feel jipped.

So, fajita’s tonight, although now I’m feeling a bit worried.

 I’ll be bummed if they come out as bad.

Next up.

More adventures in quilt land.

And,

a to die for bean soup.

–

Out with the old and in with the new.

Published on by coldfeetstudioblog

It turns out, if you have to drop your mac, make sure it doesn’t fall on its hinge else it severs your wi fi connection, or, on its front left hand side as, apparently, that’s where the hard drive is. I know this because B spilled a whole can of coke on her one last year and she was barely able to retrieve all of her class work from it.

Fortunately, as most of it spilled on the right hand side, we were able to copy her hard drive and she was able to graduate, but, the whole thing could have gone terribly wrong. Don’t let this happen to you. Always drop to the front right.

That said, mine dropped to the back left, which is no good, whatsoever, for the airport card, which is located in the middle hinge area, (according to the nice apple lady), and which, as a consequence, eventually died a slow, drawn-out, death from its wounds. And, as the ethernet socket was completely smooshed also, it was goodbye internet and all you have to offer.

The I pad, bless its heart, was o.k. but, for me, not so good. No offense I pad, you did your best under the circumstances, but, you wouldn’t let me center my paragraphs and I just couldn’t cope with not having control over my blog layout.

I haven’t quite laid my old laptop to rest as it has loads and loads of, I don’t know why I even kept it all, stuff on it. Mostly I saved things I never once looked at again and it became more and more stuffed with stuff. I’ve slowly come to realise that I am an internet hoarder. But. No more! I am cured of all that and have vowed never to stuff this, my new laptop, with stuff. That meant getting rid of 6000 e mails. Yes, 6000! Every day I said, today’s the day I will sort through my e mails, but they just kept coming.

It was a nightmare.

Now they are gone and I feel remarkably relieved.

So to celebrate I bring to you the beginning process of B’s quilt.

First you work on the pattern. Figuring out the size, etc.,

Then you draw it out full scale.

(Well, I do anyway).

And, then you continue to cut out the templates.

At this point you realize, (although really you suspected from the beginning), that there is a lot of background showing and that threatens to bring the whole quilt down. So, you decide that perhaps the background would look better broken up a bit.

But, you’re still not sure.

Then you practice fiddling around with all the other fabrics you have.

(Of course, Wally has to be there every step of the way).

And although you really like the fabrics, are they too dull? Is the background too dark? Will everything look blah? Am I wasting my time?

Here it is, well, one corner of it, but it is instagrammed, (don’t ask me why except I’m still a little fascinated by it), so the colours are a bit off, but you can still get a good idea of the block, if not the colours.

And, despite all the worries, I think I’m liking it.

–

We are experiencing technical difficulties

Published on by coldfeetstudioblog

Please do not adjust your screen as I’m on it.

Actually I’m on my I pad as my laptop finally, and, rather abruptly I might add, decided to shun its old friend, the Internet. Poof, not a how’s your father, not nuffin’ (sorry, a little bit of the Essex girl coming out there. That’s what betrayal does to you. It brings out the old primal diction. Ahhh, I can hear you think, that might very well explain the bad grammar also …).

So, back at camp, what the h*+# did you do that for?, I am in the throes of deciding what to do next. Obviously a trip to the Mac store is in order, but, that means going to the mall, and – I’m allergic. (God help us all, Christmas is coming. Time to get the meds out).

Really I want a new one, because of this,

But, the powers that think they be say I can’t have a new one until I learn how to not drop things.

Oh well. Sorry powers that think you be, it might just be time to get the antihistamines out! This I pad juggling is killing me.

On a different note, the quilt is coming along nicely. I went to Joannes yesterday to pick up some Wonder Under and because of this nifty ap on my phone, I got the whole bolt free! (P doesn’t think it’s free as I still spent money, but I know differently).

If you haven’t got these aps, get them now. Today! I have one for Michaels, Hobby Lobby and Joanne’s (thank you E for showing me the light). I don’t use them all the time as I’ve kind of mini banned myself from stepping inside those stores, but if you really, really, need Under Wonder at $60 a bolt, and you get it free just because you needed some thread to go with it, that’s worth unbanning yourself any day.

Right?

–

Every so often

Published on by coldfeetstudioblog

I get the quilting bug.

Hence the trip to the quilt festival at the weekend.

I finished N’s quilt quite a long time ago now, but, because of the jewelry making, painting, etc., I’ve not felt as though I’ve had enough time for quilt making for some time.

But it’s always there, in the back of my mind.

N’s quilt

(That’s actually a really nice red border, not brown).

So,

I’ve had this little niggling for a while now, and, once that happens it’s usually a short trip from the back burner to the front.

I’ve been doodling designs on and off since N’s quilt and have come up with a few ideas.

Here’s one of the doodles.

Then I start playing with it.

This one (below) is a bit creepy so I could turn the flower a bit so that it fans from the center more symmetrically.

Not that I don’t like creepy.

This one’s better … but, still weird.

It’s also not squared off properly, sorry 🙂

This one has some potential if I work on the center more to give it more substance and then the borders.

Here’s another one.

Again, I could bring it together more in the center.

Or just play around with it.

Until I find something I can work with.

This one needs a middle design and would take ten zillion years to make, but, you get the idea.

Sometimes these beginnings lead to something completely different. It’s the process that’s important.

This was the beginning of N’s quilt.

Once I’ve got something that I really like I go out and find some fabric that grabs me.

I really like this,

                                                               
by Adorn It (click photo for website).

But, it’s not quite what I had in mind.

Then I got impatient and bought this.

(That happens a lot)

(Some Moda, Fellowship, and a few others I can’t recall the names of).

Which I like, but, again, I’m not absolutely sure. I was thinking of something brighter and a bit more fun.

So today I’m going to just start playing around with it and then I will find out what colours I could do more of and which are no good at all.

–

My other self made a B by the way.

With a little garnet to hang off it.

This is just a prototype but I’m thinking of making some alphabet charms …

Maybe.

–

Yesterday

Published on by coldfeetstudioblog

I went to the Houston Quilt Festival. It’s held at the George R Brown Convention Center which must be one of the biggest buildings I’ve been in here in Houston.

 By the end of it my legs felt as though they were going to drop off, and, we didn’t even see all of it.

Here are some of the quilts. Some I like, some I don’t particularly like but have to appreciate the work put in to them.

This one (below) was huge.

This one was fun.

And, for some reason that I’ll probably never fully understand, I really liked this one.

Couldn’t sleep under it though. Or, come to think about it, have it on my wall.

I also liked this one a lot.

And have decided that

I really have to make one of these.

I’ve always been drawn to crazy quilts.

It always surprises me that I like quilts, but, there’s something about taking perfectly good pieces of fabric, cutting them up into small pieces, and, putting them all back together again in a different order, that really appeals to me. I also love the fact that someone I’ll probably never know, living  somewhere I’ll probably never visit, or in a life time before mine, sat down and made a blanket that I can look at now. What is/was her life like?  It fascinates me.

I have two great books on Texas quilts. They are called, Lone Stars, A Legacy of Texas Quilts. The first one is great. There are pictures of these little old ladies who actually are probably not much older than I am due to their harsh living conditions. There is a description of their lives and pictures of the quilts. It’s brilliant. It goes back to 1825.

As I was looking for a link for the Lone Star books I found this.

I am not a religious person, perhaps you can blame that on the fact that I’m British, but, this woman is very inspiring.

And, to top it all off I saw this.

And, now I want to make one.

Like I don’t have enough to do already.

And then …

Just when I thought I was safe …

(who knew there would be beads at the quilt show …)

Australian Variscite
Chinese Hemimorphite Druzy

And (please help me)

Natural Garnets from Alaska

Fortunately I managed to get out of that booth quickly.

I think I wont allow myself out of the house any day soon …

–

I wanted to

Published on by coldfeetstudioblog

take a photo of dinner last night.

But I forgot.

Here it is at the end.

 

It’s hard to see exactly what we had, so I’ll help you out.

We went to our mussel friends house and ate mussels cooked in butter, white wine and thyme. To be honest the liquid is as good as the meat, M made homemade bread and to dip it in and soak up the liquid is to die for.

We only eat mussels with these people.

It’s a tradition.

To be honest with you eating mussels freaks me out a bit. I’m always relieved when I wake up in the morning and realize I have survived the night.

They also look creepy, like Audrey Jr. from the Little Shop of Horrors. Inside that shell is a miniature venus fly trap waiting to devour you from the inside out.

Right?

O.K. maybe only I can see the comparison.

But they are delicious.

Especially if you don’t look at them too much.

We finished it off with warm chocolate cake and cream.

Now I’ll have to see if I can haul my ever growing belly out of the house to buy something healthy for dinner.

–

Just so you know.

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It’s 46 ¡™£¢∞§¶•••ªªƒ©˙∆˚

(O.K. that’s me trying to find the degree sign. No worries, I think I got it).

It’s 46˚ out there today.

Very nice. I feel as though I can breathe.

Although Wally has decided that he’s better off under the bed clothes.

Either that or he’s hiding from the wicked step cat who’s here for the weekend.

Here she is in her exorcist pose.

Freaky cat.

A few things going on right now.

First I found these.

Which I’m really excited about.

You can read about my poached egg trauma here and here.

But, be warned, it includes the word, snot.

I haven’t tried them out yet but today might just be the day.

–

 And although I did say there were a few things going on at the moment, I think I lied as I can’t seem to come up with anything else.

I did find this, however,

in the cupboard, which has encouraged me to try a few more.

I’m still reading up on selling my jewelry wholesale, but haven’t got that far with it yet because it involves going out and talking to people. I didn’t know I was such a chicken.

O.K. maybe I did.

I have been listing a few more things on Etsy.

(I didn’t write that Danielle 😉 did I ever mention I was a slow learner?).

And today?

I’m thinking of getting out my PMC and making some charms. Only the stuff makes me really frustrated as all I seem to do is get hundreds of dollars of sticky silver on my fingers which is really annoying and no good for my blood pressure.

Maybe I should experiment with the copper clay first just to get a grip on things.

This is one of my first attempts before I put the stuff away in disgust.

Not very inspiring.

But, other people can do it, so I’m determined I can. Not that I’m stubborn or anything.

–

Or, I might paint.

Let’s just hope the poached egg situation doesn’t put a damper on the whole day.

I will report back …

–

Saturday

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Was the art fair.

The weather was perfect.

Which is unusual to say the least. It’s usually hot as hell, even though it’s near the end of October.

Here is my booth.

Every year, well twice a year really, after I pack up from doing this fair I swear I’m going to re vamp my booth for the next time.

Make it look more professional.

Something that looks like I know what I’m doing.

And looks as though I’m serious about doing it.

I did do something different with the earrings but the rest will just have to wait for next time now.

I’m not holding my breath.

Here’s my friend Nicki’s booth. She’s an old pottery friend of mine and it was the first time since we’ve both been doing this show that we were placed next to one another.

Of course, I had to buy some of her bowls …

again.

All said and done I made $1,000 for charity even though it was really, really slow in the morning and I thought I’d never get beyond selling two pairs of earrings.

So, thank you everyone that came out to see me yesterday. And, thank you everyone who bought from me off etsy recently.

Getting rid of my stuff means I can make more 🙂

Happy times.

–

Thursday, and all is well.

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Crisis over.

I’ve priced all of my jewelry so I’m good to go on Saturday to the art festival, if it doesn’t rain.

I’ve had my hair cut. (Haven’t actually taken a good look at it yet so I’m hoping it’s o.k.).

I’m about to have a cup of tea.

Then I’m off out to the studio.

It’s going to be a good day.

🙂

–

It must be Monday again.

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O.k. today’s the day I’m giving up painting again.

This seems to happen on a regular basis now.

This is what I feel like.

Anguished.

Pure droopy melodramatical anguish.

Hence, the above, is a small angusishy photo, because I feel small and anguishey.

(Yes, I know that’s not a word but I’m in too much anguish to care).

I might have to give up jewelry too. I haven’t decided yet, but I think it’s killing me. Slowly. In an anguishy kind of way.

I think definitely a time out is in need.

A time out to clean my studio. To get all the dust out of there. To rethink how to get all the fumes out of there. And to reorganize. It looks as though a bomb has hit it.

All you wanna, need to, I’m new to it all but just have to, jewelers out there, pay attention. It’s a dangerous hobby and could kill you at any time – or cause amputation.

Either way, it’s not good, and is certainly an inconvenience.

Don’t let me put you off though. That weird feeling in my chest could just be a panic attack waiting to happen, or indigestion, but my hypochondriacal self knows those are just lies written to assuage my fear of the inevitable.

That I’m dying.

Again.

–

To help you not die, however, take comfort. I have found this website for you.

You can now rest assured that you do not have to become as anguishy as I have.

There is hope.

–

So, where were we …

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As you may remember I made this link.

Which was all well and good except that the chain I made with it costs 5 billion dollars as it was so time consuming to make the ends smooth enough so that they wouldn’t catch on your clothes. (This bracelet is still for sale btw if anyone has the 5 billion in cash).

finished bracelet

So, just in case people couldn’t afford the 5 billion, I made a revised version of the link,

this time with balled up ends.

finished bracelet

This one was, by far, faster to make but I’m not sure I prefer it to the first. However, I haven’t made a whole chain out of the link yet so I might like it more then.

See that little divot in the end of the ball?

Don’t laugh, but, I’ve just found out if you use .999 fine silver wire instead of sterling silver the balls come out perfectly. I found the wire to be a lot softer to work with, however, and it has a tendency to kink and bend and basically take on its own shape until you harden it by hammering or tumbling. Is the fighting with it worth it for the perfect ball and the non tarnished finish, I ask myself?

Myself has yet to make a decision on that count.

And, as we’re talking about tumbling …

When I first bought my tumbler a few years or six back I bought the wrong shot and it all went rusty after the first time I used it. But, even though I moaned and grumbled and wondered if I would ever use the thing anyway, I finally bought the correct, stainless steel, shot. Why do they even sell the rusty kind I want to know? When I tried it out a second time I was really put off by how long the thing had to run for it to even begin to shine the silver. I actually ran it for a good couple of hours and when I finally got really fed up with it and opened it up to take a look, the silver was still the same dirty old stuff I’d put in there. And I wont even mention the noise the thing makes, the constant droning, on and on and on, except that it’s really annoying. I even thought about putting it outside to do its thing but it’s that irritating the neighbours might complain.

Fast forward to now when I decided to give the thing another go. It bums me out that other people use tumblers and yet I can’t seem to get the hang of it and so the darn thing has been lurking in the background like a sore tooth, niggling away, and, I swear, just mocking me. So, I braced myself for the noise and disappointment, put some cleaning stuff in there along with the shot and water, and, what do you know, the whole thing leaks. The rubber seal has obviously sat too long in the cupboard. I got out an old empty glaze tub and improvised with that, just to prove to myself that this was not going to faze me, (I’d show it!), but, again, after hours and hours, the silver was still unchanged. I read on a forum somewhere that some people leave the thing running overnight. I just can’t see me doing that. And the bottom line – I don’t even like shiny silver. Must have forgotten that little detail when I bought the darn thing.

I am determined that this piece of no good equipment is going to work for me, however, and so today I am going to give it one last shot. This time to harden my silver, not to clean it, as for the life of me I don’t know if the thing would know how to clean silver if it had to save the world.

–

Here are my newest chain bracelets.

And a tiger eye and silver necklace.

In your face tumbler thing.

🙂

–

It’s all good.

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This weekend was moving in day for B.

I feel as though every bone in my body is broken, (O.K. well maybe just my shins and ankles), and I wont be able to walk again anytime soon. I’m also tired and my face is puffy. I think this is a mystery ailment. I’m probably allergic to heavy lifting.

O.K. so I didn’t lift anything heavy but I did walk up four flights of stairs with light things – occasionally. There must be a physics formula out there somewhere that makes that equivalent to lifting heavy boxes.

One thing for sure is that I am unfit and unhealthy.

I’d like to say here that this is where it stops. That my life is going to change because it’s enough already with the moaning about my weight. But I’m such a drop out when it comes to commitment 🙁

So, I’m just going to try, because, my shins hurt and my ankles feel broken and I’m having to hobble around with my puffy face and it’s all making me feel old, and like a grandmother even though I’m not one, and even though there are grandmothers out there that are more fit than I am, (I’ve seen them), and that it’s not fair of them …

I’m not whining you understand.

–

So, now I’m even more tired and want to cry. (Whining is not for the faint of heart, obviously).

But.

B looks happy.

She is free at last.

We spent the first night there with her, as well as loads of money. Loads of trips to grocery stores, Target stores, World Market store, Ikea stores. All those happy home building stores that I never want to set foot in again – at least for a week.

But, it’s all good.

–

Depressing boxes and dismembered arms.

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This weekend has been apartment hunting weekend. B starts working in Austin today. Nothing like leaving things to the last minute I say. I’m pleased for her, and us. She graduated in May and has been home since then. Love her to pieces, but, enough already. Trouble is now she wants to take all of our furniture. Somehow she manages to tell it like she’s all alone now, and furnitureless. We fall for it every time. The kids look sad and sorry and we say ahhh, poor things, and give them all we have. All I can hope for now is that they leave us enough for the old people’s home.

She graduated as a graphic designer. She’ll be wanting a drafting table next. Unfortunately I have one of those. Maybe she wont notice.

Why are all the apartments so depressing? We must have looked at eleven of them on Saturday and only two of them felt as though you wouldn’t have to kill yourself after living in them for a month. The one she picked was nice, loads of windows and very open. $900 a month though. How do people manage? There were cheaper ones, but, like I said, if she lived in one of those she wouldn’t be around to even see a pay rise so she could move into a nicer one because she would be dead, in her chair, in the pitiful box she called home. I feel happier with her in this one. It seems safe, and happy. It’s on the third floor though. I think this is strategic planning so I’d have trouble getting up there with my stiff knees. Maybe she wont get our furniture after all.

–

We passed this car on the way to Austin.

I was a little worried that they didn’t know there was an arm hanging out of their trunk. P wouldn’t flag them over.

–

Other news.

This has taken a turn for the better, I think.

And,

new bracelets happening daily.

–

Why everyone’s on the moon and is there a good reason why I haven’t thought about getting them off yet.

Published on by coldfeetstudioblog

Yes you heard right, the moon.

I stumbled upon this on-line e-course, that, for some reason I’ll never fully understand, I signed up for. I think I was having a ‘moment’. I’ve written about my moments before. Some of them are dark, moping, droopy moments. Some swirling, anxiety, omg moments. And I’m sure there are plenty other moments in the whole spectrum of moment psychology which I’ve chosen to not admit to. I think the moment I was having at that moment was the one that made me think I needed to take this e course. (Don’t ask me – I still don’t understand).

Anyway, the fact is I’ve only watched the first video, but, it was quite interesting. It was about cleaning out your house, the house in question being your psychological house, but, darn if my real house doesn’t need cleaning too. How did she know! She starts with getting everyone out of your house. Everyone, even your kids and husband, if you have kids and husbands, which is kind of ironic as I’ve been trying to get the kids out for a while now. They all went off to college, and then they all came back again! Now you tell me, is that wrong or what? The exercise is that some people who used to be in your house you might allow back on the porch, some in the garden or the sidewalk, etc. until you have a clear idea of who is healthy to have around and who brings you down, then you can start letting them back into your house. You get the idea. Some people you might need to send further. Particularly worrisome people might have to visit Africa, although that only makes sense if you don’t already live in Africa. Then, she says, there are the Moon People.

At that point I started to get a bit worried about favouritism and who should go where and for what reason and it all got to be too complicated. So I decided to put everyone on the moon. Then I started to think about all the people who would still be too close even if they were on the moon, and, also the moon is rather cool I think and perhaps even too nice for some people, so I started working through the other planets, but they all seemed too close, you know, being in my universe and all, so finally, out of ideas and getting a bit desperate I decided that these people must go into the black hole. For the time being you understand. Only then I got caught up with life without moments and forgot to watch the second video and now everyone’s still up there. I feel as though this is unfinished business. There has been no closure. And that the whole exercise, while quite freeing I have to admit, has left me slightly more worried than before I started.

To all my Peeps I feel that I must explain. There really is no need to feel upset that you are on the moon, I did it only so that I didn’t discriminate, (well, except for the black hole people that is. Maybe they should come back to the moon). I imagine you all in some kind of statis really. Happily bobbing around, just hanging out. Down here, in real life, you’re all still around, but I really must get down to watching that second video soon.

–

Mostly dead.

Published on by coldfeetstudioblog

Well it’s Friday.

Damn if this doesn’t happen every week!

I like Fridays but they’re coming around too quickly for my liking. I start on Monday thinking its a new life, a new start, a new, bright, wonderful opportunity to rock the world, lose weight and make beautiful, interesting, different art, and then before you know it its Friday and I’m left wondering what the h*ll happened? Where did all my new opportunities go?

They went to next Monday, that’s where they went. And that ain’t getting to be so cool anymore. Before I know it the only new opportunity I’ll be getting is what it feels like to be old, grey(er), and practically dead.

That makes me think of Billy Crystal.

(Just love the way the mind works. Keeps me smiling that’s for sure).

If you haven’t seen, The Princess Bride, you should. It will restore your Friday’s lost opportunity mood into a, I think I’m going to smile forever, mood. That’s unless you’re all dead of course, in which case there’s not a lot to be done about it.

I don’t know about you but I’m feel better already.

I think I’m going to get out there and rock the world today,

Friday or not …

–

Baby steps.

Published on by coldfeetstudioblog

Today I am going to work on this,

and this,

I’m going to try to keep with the acrylics on the first one. The bottom one, because I’ve already started over the acrylics with oil pastel, I’ll finish with the pastels.

If I can follow through (always my problem) with the acrylics I think I will prefer the top painting to the bottom one. The oil pastels seem less spontaneous to me although I love the richness of the colours. (You can’t tell here as the photograph is bad).

I applied to the art festival I do each year. This time I applied to take some paintings as well as my jewelry. I’m just not sure though. I’m always saying that maybe next year I’ll be ready. Ready to display my jewelry in a more professional manner. Ready to sell my jewelry as a proper business. Ready to make a real effort at painting, etc., etc. But next year is always the same as this year. This is why I’ve applied for painting also.

I don’t think my paintings are very good. I’d like to work on them to a point where I feel comfortable trying to sell them but confidence always gets in the way of me even trying (hence the worry wart). This blog has helped me though. I am putting them out there, warts and all (no offense to my wart) and it’s becoming easier to get over myself.

Now, finally, I have sent off some photo’s to the art festival people – even though I have none finished.

(Where’s that darn worry wart when you need him!).

Baby steps people 🙂

–

Sometimes it’s hard being me.

Published on by coldfeetstudioblog

Especially when I don’t know what I’m doing.

Or rather, I do know what I’m doing but I don’t really want to know.

My acetylene ran out yesterday. It’s been trying to run out for some time now but yesterday it gave a final, (pathetic really), puff and gave out. I made some cold connection earrings instead, but, today I knew I was going to have to go replace the old girl.

The last two I made with my little creme brulee torch.

–

Couple of things I don’t like about replacing the acetylene.

1. What if the neighbours see me lugging that big, somewhat dangerous looking, cylinder around.

2. What if I blow up.

I’m pretty sure the neighbours think I’m strange anyway, so perhaps that isn’t quite as important as the whole blowing up thing.

–

I put the tank in the car, wedging it between the back of the front passenger seat and the rear seat. It’s a sleek operation with all those electrical chair moving buttons gliding the chair into positions it’s never been before. I feel as though I’m preparing for take off or something way more exciting than a trip down the road, even if that trip is fraught with anxiety.

I hold on to the tank all the way to the gas place wondering what it feels like to have your hand blown off, and then I laugh, casually to myself, because that really isn’t going to happen. More likely my whole body will blow up at the same time leaving the hand worry somewhat redundant.

I try to imagine myself in some high trauma job, like bomb disposal, and pretend like I drive acetylene tanks around all day, just because. But, it doesn’t work as I know today is going to be the day I woke up unaware that I’m to be blown to pieces.

I ask S to come with me, but he says no. I ask B to come, but she says no. I feel bad that I’ve asked them. What if I blow them up too. Would that be fair. No. So, instead, I just feel sorry for myself and get on with the job in hand wondering why I have to pick a craft that can kill a person at any time. Perhaps it’s time to take up basket weaving.

Just as I get used to hauling around explosives in the car, I find the gas place has gone. It’s closed down. Abandoned like the Mary Celeste. A ghost shop. I call and they tell me they’ve moved (duh). I download map quest on my phone, (if you haven’t got this, get it, you can find out how to get to the nearest welding supplies shop any time you want with it), I call P when I realize I’ll be diving a fair way further. Does he know how painful it will be to blow up? He avoids the question which probably means very painful.

There’s a bit of a hiccup when the map woman tells me to do a left hand u turn for no apparent reason, but, after a moment of cussing (me, not her) she gives in, recalculates, and I finally find the new shop. I have to admit to the guy that I don’t want to remove the hose and pressure gauge myself as I don’t want to blow up. He reluctantly does it for me. Not in his job description I think to myself.

Now I have to make it home, on the freeway this time, hoping that all the other people on the road wont hit me. I follow a big, chemical tank truck, because it makes sense to me that if I go, we all go, but have to wonder, am I really in more danger than the guy passing me at 85 mph on his motorbike doing wheelies with no helmet, knee or elbow covering. Can you say carpet burn. (I know it will be concrete scrape but just the thought of carpet burns on concrete does my head it).

So I made it home o.k. I did make S take the tank back out to the studio. He moaned the whole way. Apparently it was heavy. Not too heavy for his poor ol’ mum with dodgy wrists though.

I haven’t used it yet. I’m about to go out there now. If you don’t hear from me again, rest assured, it will probably have been quick …

–

Depressing boxes and dismembered arms.

Published on by coldfeetstudioblog

This weekend has been apartment hunting weekend. B starts working in Austin today. Nothing like leaving things to the last minute I say. I’m pleased for her, and us. She graduated in May and has been home since then. Love her to pieces, but, enough already. Trouble is now she wants to take all of our furniture. Somehow she manages to tell it like she’s all alone now, and furnitureless. We fall for it every time. The kids look sad and sorry and we say ahhh, poor things, and give them all we have. All I can hope for now is that they leave us enough for the old people’s home.

She graduated as a graphic designer. She’ll be wanting a drafting table next. Unfortunately I have one of those. Maybe she wont notice.

Why are all the apartments so depressing? We must have looked at eleven of them on Saturday and only two of them felt as though you wouldn’t have to kill yourself after living in them for a month. The one she picked was nice, loads of windows and very open. $900 a month though. How do people manage? There were cheaper ones, but, like I said, if she lived in one of those she wouldn’t be around to even see a pay rise so she could move into a nicer one because she would be dead, in her chair, in the pitiful box she called home. I feel happier with her in this one. It seems safe, and happy. It’s on the third floor though. I think this is strategic planning so I’d have trouble getting up there with my stiff knees. Maybe she wont get our furniture after all.

–

We passed this car on the way to Austin.

I was a little worried that they didn’t know there was an arm hanging out of their trunk. P wouldn’t flag them over.

–

Other news.

This has taken a turn for the better, I think.

And,

new bracelets happening daily.

–

That’s wart I’m saying?

Published on by coldfeetstudioblog

My worry wart came today.

It’s bigger than I thought, which is good as I have a lot of worries.

As it’s so big I thought I would put it on the mantle along with the others in my menagerie of oddities so that the other people living with me can take advantage of its magical powers.

But it’s worrying me how worried he looks. See how he’s checking out Mr. Angry Pig? That’s a look of sheer terror right there.

Perhaps I should move him. His companions do look a bit thuggish.

–

This is what I’ve been painting.

I’ve almost finished this one,

and I’m working on this one.

I also got these two out and fiddled with them some more.

Almost as creepy as my menagerie?

(Well, O.K. perhaps they’re creepier).

I finally finished listening to the last of the Dick Francis audio books dad brought over. There were five of them.

They weren’t too bad. I found myself comfortably lulled by the narrator’s voice and only had to cringe a little at the bits where he played a woman. The plots were quite thin, however, always starting with the main character and the horse introductions. Then it seemed that, in the ones I listened to at least, there was the usual (or not) amputated hand/foot/leg/whatever, leg in plaster, etc., etc., explanation, which always ended up being due to some unfortunate horse accident … go figure, then the murdering bit, which was fairly low-key in comparison to the other murder mysteries I’ve been listening to. I’ve become used to the whole putting people in a wood chipper in the deep dark woods next to a creepy cabin kind of murder, or the, lock someone up in a decompression chamber for five years and slowly increase the pressure each year so that when it’s opened suddenly the person inside implodes and – O.K. I don’t know if you’d really implode but it’s safe to say that the regular old whack on the back of the head murder seems to be a little, been there, done that, kind of thing really.

Then there’s the falling in love bit, the, I should tell the police but I wont, but I should really, but I wont, bit, then the danger, danger, bit, and finally the, it’s solved, bit.

Fairly lame really.

No offense to the horses.

Needless to say its a real treat now I’m on, To kill a Mockingbird.

–

The way of the lost.

Published on by coldfeetstudioblog

I may have got a bit carried away with this one.

The houses are rightly shocked as they are being swept away downstream after the road collapsed into the river.

Well, it’s just a beginning.

Here are the first two.

I don’t particularly like them which is why I think the houses went the way of the lost. I had to free up my frustration. Throw it all in the river so to speak.

This painting stuff will probably be the end of me …

–

Really?

Published on by coldfeetstudioblog

I think its going to be a jewelry kind of day today.

I haven’t made anything since my dad was here except to paint. But, I’ve now decided to give up on the painting. Yep, I’ve gone into my, I can’t do it and it’s bringing me down, stage. It generally happens after a few days of, I want to say enjoyment, so how can it go from fun to despair in such a short period of time?

Was it Dick Frances?

I didn’t work on the one with the out of control tree, but, rather, I picked up some half-finished paintings, one of which I actually believe I finished yesterday. My second or third completed piece out of the hundreds (okay, maybe fifty) I have lurking in the store-room. Wowzers. At least that’s a step in the right direction.

And here it is.

in all it’s glory. No windows, sorry E.

And this one, apart from the sky, is perhaps almost as close to finished.

Some windows. Ghost windows, mawahaha. (Too creepy?)

But then I picked up this one – again.

And I think it might just have been the one that finished me off.

There’s something about it that I really like, it’s simplicity perhaps, and the colours, but, I just can’t do it capt’n, I’ve no the power!

Oh the stress in my heart as I think about it.

(O.K. maybe a tad melodramatic).

And then, as if to push me over the edge completely, I found this on Etsy.

Click picture to find Ariel Schoen

And bought it so that I can put it on my bedroom wall and have it taunt me each day I wake up ….

O.K. I’m going to have to stop now. The self-pity is bringing me down.

Time to move on …

On a good note, the red oil pastel all but came out of the sofa. The only place you can see the remnants of the ‘incident’ is on one of the cushions which can easily be turned over and hidden. The stain on the ottoman was the most worrying for me as there is no turning to do, but, it came out completely, as it did on the other two cushions. Oh, goo be gone, white shaving cream and apple scented washing up liquid, you are now my friends for life. How can I have been so dismissive of you for all these years …

So, jewelry it is. Either that or moping on the sofa – and that’s kind of getting old news now. I have an art festival coming up in October so perhaps I need to make some simple, cheaper, items, but really I want to set some more cabochons. I’m not going to let it bother me though. I’m just going to wing it.

$^$!@!# it’s bothering me already.

Really? Is the whole day going to be like this?

–

–

It’s O.K. really :)

Published on by coldfeetstudioblog

Update from this mornings post.

–

So, perhaps the hair didn’t come out so well but I had a jewelry sale this morning which topped me close to the $1000 mark.

Okay, so I didn’t really make $1000, as P would be eager to point out to you, as I have never worked my jewelry making as a ‘proper’ business. I pay taxes on the money I receive, etc., but I don’t include my expenses and supplies in that figure – I just get excited when someone buys something from me and then I add up all the money I get for the jewelry and tell P how successful I am :). I consider the expenses and supplies I buy a gift I give myself to be able to enjoy my craft. The other part, the part I ‘earn’, I consider a gift I give back, which in itself is another gift I give myself. One day I am going to get it all together and try to work it properly but right now I am just happy that I was able to send my hard-earned and completely enjoyable, $1000 to Care.

Thank you to everyone who bought a piece of jewelry from me in the past few months.

You are good people 🙂

When Hairy met Scary.

Published on by coldfeetstudioblog

Dad’s gone, the garden is a disaster and I’m getting my hair cut today.

Sounds like it’s going to be a touch and go day.

Actually dad’s going wasn’t as bad as it usually is. I hate to see him go and it always seems as though we just do a drive by at the airport, push him out and speed on. Of course, it doesn’t exactly goes down like that, but, insofar as the, now you see him, now you don’t, trick that invariably gives you that, something’s missing and I don’t quite understand what happened, feeling, it might as well be. But, he got home safely and (says) he had a good time, so I’m going to try not to worry about it.

As for the hair cut, well, that’s another matter entirely.

My usual hairdresser did a runner. Well she was a barber actually as I was too self-conscious to go to a real hairdresser (working on it), and I also have very short hair and the barber cost me $12 instead of the $40 this new woman charges. But, as I said, the barber did a runner. Another, now you see her, now you don’t scenario which is beginning to give me that uncanny feeling that things can change at the turn of a dime and you never know when the next disappearing act is going to happen.

Scary.

Okay maybe that only scares me.

So, I went to get my hair shorn and she just wasn’t there. She had been in, packed up her stuff, and within five minutes had gone. Apparently to California!

What about me? Did she not wonder how my life was going to never be the same again! Did it not occur to her that there could be other, more important, things than having to get out of dodge because you’re in an abusive relationship and things are beginning to get a bit hairy! No pun intended.

(Good for her. I hope all goes well for her).

I tried the other woman in the barbers but it was like torture with the shears going way overtime and her not taking into account that I was actually a woman and didn’t necessarily need my face shaved. So I left and had a bit of a desperate moment knowing that I was going to have to try out a real hairdresser.

It actually wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be and once Kelly (my new woman) pointed out to me that she would have been way more self-conscious sitting in a barbers getting her hair cut with all those men hanging around, I began to realize that perhaps I had got it the wrong way around. (I find life very muddling at times).

Long and the short of it (another pun not intended) is that now I have Kelly and I sit in a real hair salon and pay $40 for what could be done for $12 and the poor woman has to sit through me telling her how to do it like the barber did it and end up leaving with a haircut that I have to go home and cry about and know that I can never leave the house again for as long as I live. Well, at least until it grows out.

So, today I have made an executive decision.

I am going to leave it up to Kelly. I’m going to sit back and let her do her thing and see if that works. Otherwise I’m just going to have to shave it all off and never have hair again because the whole thing just upsets me.

It’s just all worry people!

–

Meanwhile …

Published on by coldfeetstudioblog

Not a lot being done around here. I didn’t take any new photos to list but I have been buying up all the bead supplies on Etsy …

People aren’t allowed to visit me any more because I turn into super sofa sitting girl with my veins plugged into the computer.

Here are some things I was doing before my dad visited.

I want to feel excited about the jug but know it wont come out the way I want it to. I usually end up giving the ceramics away because I just don’t like the results, so K and E, no fighting over this one …

Let’s hope it comes out O.K. so we can have some peace around here …

–

Why I’m not an Olympian.

Published on by coldfeetstudioblog

I’m going to try to photograph and list some new items of jewelry today. I’ve been a bit behind in everything since my dad is visiting, which is absolutely fine by me. Priorities are everything, right 🙂

Been watching some of the Olympics. Loved that the Brits got a bronze in gymnastics. I didn’t even know we had a team! And the synchronized diving. Good grief. How good are those guys. I really enjoyed watching the Mexicans. Wow is all I can say.

So, today is going to be more of the same. Just kicking back, enjoying my dad and enjoying the Olympics.

Does this make me wish I’d tried harder at P.E.?

Not on your Nelly!

I was never that good at sports. I remember being fairly good at making up time as the fourth leg in the relay. I had a good eye for tennis and squash and really liked javelin – don’t ask me why, could have been something to do with sharp pointy things and anger issues. But I just couldn’t cope with the jumping sports. I suppose the long jump was O.K. and the triple jump somewhat fun, but the high jump was just freaky. God only knows how those people do the pole volt! I do enjoy watching that on t.v. though.

I was a complete failure at field sports. Especially when it was my turn as goalie. The anxiety from waiting for someone to whack the ball at you in field hockey was just too much for me. And it hurt! What was that all about! They give you that little stick and you’re supposed to defend your goal with it! That’s almost like using chop sticks to eat. The pressure of letting your whole side down as they watch you jump out of the way of the ball was unbearable.

Not a good time in the showers after that I can tell you.

Gym was awful. I had, and still have, no upper body strength. It was humiliating not being able to get up that rope and to top it all we had to wear those silly black knickers.

Diving – I couldn’t even get up the ladder to the platform, and swimming … I want to be near the water, not in it. All that stuff up your nose and in your ears. It’s not normal people!

I would opt for badminton, thinking it was an easy option. No it wasn’t, and volleyball just meant bruises all up your arm.

I remember thinking that I’d never make it back to school alive when we did cross-country. That would teach them when they found me dead from exhaustion in a ditch somewhere. And I can only thank god we didn’t have horses on the school ground.

Non stop cricket rounders (don’t ask) was fairly fun though.

On the whole I think it’s fairly safe to say that sports were definitely not my thing. Some might think I’m somewhat a wimp – but I’m still alive.

How smart is that …

–

Kitty Fashionista.

Published on by coldfeetstudioblog

Here’s Wally, waiting for his nails to be painted.

I took all the cats in for their yearly this week, and yep, while dropping them off mentioned the doggy pedicure – again. I couldn’t help it, I think I’m still in the baffled and amazed stage. S, who helped me with the cats, gave me a swift kick to the shin. I think I embarrass him. He told me I was being rude. Oh well.

I thought I had heard it all on animal bizarre-ment. Nope. The assistant then told me that some kitty owners also get their cats pedicured! What the @%^*#$$!! Problem is, she went on to tell me, because cats claws are retractable they have trouble drying them so it’s not so popular.

Not so popular. There’s a clue. I just can’t imagine why.

Anyhow I got to thinking about it and, obviously, Wally’s been thinking about it too – he was probably kennelled next to a feline fashionista while he was waiting for his shots. He’s been giving me the, here are my nails, go on, do it, hint, every time he sits next to me since.

I suspect he’s always wanted to try out the transvestite thing. I think that’s why I love him.

I just don’t get it …

Published on by coldfeetstudioblog

Yesterday we picked Willow up from the groomers. Yes, bless her heart, she was shaved again. I know she’s a girl, I know she’s a cocker spaniel and should have all that cocker spaniel hair, but – we live in Houston, and it’s hot. She also loves to ditch swim. Yep in the ditch. She doesn’t like clean water. She will not go in the pool although we think that’s a depth perception phobia rather than a cleanliness phobia. No, she has to frolic in the muddiest water out there. And she ends up stinking. She is a stinky dog. So, I get her shaved. I actually love the way she looks when she’s shaved. She looks fit and lean. With all her fur on she looks podgy and grimy.

Anyhow, we picked her up and as we were waiting a lady, who looked quite sensible and normal, was there picking up her two dogs. Cute dogs. As she took them out to the car I noticed that one of them had red on its nails. I just got a fleeting glimpse but it was definitely red and it worried me. What manner of nail eating disease could result in such a vivid, horrific, colour? But I knew it was too red and too uniform to be anything normal. I turned to the girl at the counter and admit I felt a little stupid, as surely, surely, it couldn’t be nail polish. But yep, it was. I asked, what on earth?! I asked, why?!! I even had my incredulous and amazed face on. The girl looked at the dog’s chart, and, honest to god, answered as though this was not the strangest, most bizarre thing on earth. With a straight face she told me it was a ‘female’ dog. End of story. She all but added the word, duh! at the end.

And? I wanted to ask, but obviously the female thing was answer enough for her.

Who was I to question the madness.

I just don’t get it …

–

I’m sorry Willow that I didn’t get your nails polished.

Maybe next time I’ll treat you to a blue rinse.

–

Florence Nightingale and the fluoride thing.

Published on by coldfeetstudioblog

I found Pickles.

Blending into her surroundings.

It’s obviously her turn in the orange chair.

I don’t have an orange chair. This one came home with one of the kids and, just to jar me out of my aesthetically calming environment, somehow made it downstairs to the living room. Still, if it helps Pickles blend …

–

You haven’t heard from me as I’ve gone into one of my hypochondria dips.

It could have been the fluoride thing. It doesn’t take much.

I haven’t exactly gone into a fetal position but now I have this weird feeling in my chest.

I just know it’s bad …

I feel doom lurking. All the things that I love to do are potential death traps.

When I talk to P about my worries that I’m dying, he just says, we’re all dying. That doesn’t help. When I talked to the doctor about my ominous chest feeling, he just says it’s a mini panic attack trying to get out. He could be wrong.

Florence Nightingale was a hypochondriac. Apparently she spent 50 odd years in bed thinking she was going to die at any minute. She lived to be 90.

Oh the irony …

I don’t want to be a Florence Nightingale, but it sure as hell is hard to get out of bed some mornings – especially if one of the only things that you want to get out of bed for is to go into the studio.

The Death Trap!

So, I’m just going to have a little pity party here. Better out than in – right.

And then I’m going to get up and pretend I’m not a hypochondriac.

It doesn’t work but I’m going to go with it anyway.

–

O.K. Pity Party Over …

–

 Now, I’m going to list this on Etsy, and post the pair of earrings I sold last night 🙂

I think I’m up to $300 now. Going for $500 before I send it off to charity.

Oh, and look what I found yesterday.

They sell for $5 and they say that every $5 spent goes to Africa – so I guess that means all of it 🙂

You can find them – HERE.

Great gifts for young people. Or even old people.

Maybe they’ve got one for hypochondriacs …

It’s going to be a good day 🙂

–

While it’s been raining.

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Here’s what I’ve been working on while it’s been raining.

I finished this

and this,

now they’re waiting to be fired.

I made some of these,

these are also waiting to be fired, after they’ve been cleaned up. They are going to be little triffid plates.

I made one of these

But I think I’ll only make the one. It’s huge! and it’s one of those pieces that I like but am not too sure why I like it.

I also made one of these,

which is sweet in comparison.

And one of these,

While making all these I listened to,

The girl who played with fire – Stieg Larsson.

and

The scarecrow – Michael Connelly

and am now listening to

One step behind. – Henning Mankell

and

I’ve  also been loving these

Spencer chillin’ as only Spencer knows how to chill.

Wally trying to casually hang out on the mantlepiece but giving himself away with the, I’m keeping my eye on you, stare at Willow who is obviously annoying him.

And here they are later

Doing some more chillin’. Wally has to sit with some part of his body on you at all times.

My new stones came 🙂

and so I’ve been sketching.

And I finally made this.

which is kind of weird, and reminds me of some kind of tribal woman.

And then I found this.

In the store room. It’s kind of wow and … bright.

Nonetheless I feel a painting moment coming on …

_

Rain, computer trauma and hypochondria.

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It’s raining – again. The pool has overflown. It’s been raining for days. Last summer the most water the garden got is if we spat on it. Terrible times for lots of areas that lost homes to fires here in Texas. This year no doubt there will be homes damaged by flooding. I haven’t checked the news yet but I suspect this might be the case for some homes today. I hope not.

That said, I love the rain. Not the drizzling, every day the same, grey, dismal kind of rain, but, the black skies downpour with thunder and lightning kind. Not so keen on the pool overflowing though.

Dropped my computer.

Placed it on the table and it slid off.

Fortunately it still works and the power cord still fits. Wasn’t really sure what that screwed up socket is but am told its the ethernet. Don’t use that so I guess I’m o.k. The screen is a little off it’s hinges but so far seems to work. Been pushing for a new one but the people who think they’re in charge say no. I have to learn to look after my things, they say … I might have to ignore them but we’ll see. On the whole I think it gives it some kind of character, at least I know which is mine.

Just found out that the flux I’ve been using contains fluorides. Now, I’m not too sure what this means. I know from the warning on the tube that its perhaps not good, but, my hypochondriacal self doesn’t want to find out the specifics. I tried looking on the internet but just couldn’t bring myself to click on the articles.

NOTE: If you’re reading this and know – please don’t tell me as I’ll have to curl up in a fetal position and not come out again.

I do know that my thyroid has been off and I’ve had to up my meds for it. I also know that fluoride affects this. Whether it’s the same kind of fluoride, I don’t know, but I’m now on the look out for a good, non fluoride, flux. I’ve found a few but am holding out for when I’m sure. I’m also looking into a better extractor fan for over the solder area. P set up one for me a couple of months ago but I don’t think it works. I haven’t the heart to say. (O.K. I do and I did, but I appreciate that he made it for me). I don’t really want to spend the $800 or so price for the one I found on the jewelry sites, so I’m going to see if we can’t explore different versions of the one P made. Just bigger, better, stronger – without the six million dollar price tag. S is home from school now so I might set him on it. He’s pretty good at figuring things out.

Other than that, not a lot going on really. Been doodling. Been making stuff. Put a ‘0’ on my ruler – finally. Been moping around trying to find the next book to read. I think I’ve settled on, House of sand and fog, by Andre Bubus, although I can’t hold my breath on it. Been trying to lose weight but have put on five pounds. Think that’s my thyroid thing, at least that’s what I’m going with.

Same ol’ stuff really.

–

Monday gloom.

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Dentist this morning 🙁

Only a cleaning but the trauma of dentistry in England in the early seventies has left its toll. Our local dentist was a Mr Hoolian, aka, (o.k. only by me), Mr. Hooligan. Hated him. I’m sure he was a nice man but he had all of those sharp whirring tools, and all that smelly gas stuff.

I’m freaking myself out now.

Think of fairies, he would say with a sickly grin as he put the big black rubber gas mask on my face. Sure I thought of fairies. Big, grinning, evil fairies, hovering around me, thinking evil, vicious, stuff of nightmare thoughts.

Freaking fairies. Never been a fan since.

–

Friday. Again.

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Do you think Spencer One Eye could be more comfortable?

I can’t make the bed until he gets up.

O.K. that’s not true. I probably wont make the bed anyway.

Soooooo, it’s Friday. Again. I’m not up either – only because I don’t want Spencer to feel the odd man out. I’m a good pet parent like that. Always aware of their psychological health.

I have a bit of a headache and I’m still tired from P waking up at 4:30 to go fishing. You couldn’t get me up at that time of day to meet the Queen. She’d have to wait – at least until after I’d had my first cuppa of the day. Also, Spencer has rearranged himself closer and is purring loudly, a cosy feeling not to be taken lightly – I have to soak up the love else it be wasted.

To be honest, I spend a fair bit of time in bed in the morning. I generally wake up at 7 ish. (Recently more like 6 ish, which is a bit of a bummer but what can you do). I try to go back to sleep, but eventually realise that my brain has started to work overtime on all the things it wants to do. I try to ignore it and pretend I’m asleep, but eventually have to give in to the fact that that’s it for me, even if I am tired – which seems like always.

 I really need to stop playing wordfued until midnight.

But then I drink the cup of tea that P has made for me, I love him for making my tea, and check my e mails, which are all junk mail!

How is it that I’m getting mail from the scooter store?

At first I thought it was a real scooter, you know like vespa scooters, and mods and rockers and quadrophenia, and all that.

From Jolly Edition – HERE.

and I thought, ahh, they must know me.

Then, when I clicked, I found out it was this scooter. (I can’t even post a picture of it, it’s too disturbing).

And I thought, what the #&*%@$! only I used real letters (in my mind) and felt really old and that maybe I would stay in bed for the rest of the day.

A helpful tip here – don’t click.

After the e mails I either surf for a while, or read, or make notes, or just continue thinking until I’ve sorted out the whole universe thing and am ready to start the day. Sometimes I might write a rambling blog post on anything that comes to mind, or a paragraph of a new book I’m thinking of writing, or sometimes I just dwell, in that droopy way I’ve talked about before, on things that are usually not worth dwelling about.

Today is a bit of all of them. But now, I’m ready for the day to begin and I’m thinking I might do some of this

But, yesterday I made this,

which I’m kind of loving …

so I might have to touch these instead.

From Silurian Era
click photo

I also bought a new rivet making tool which, as an aside, reminds me of my dad as it smells of grease. My dad was a mechanic and it’s a smell I like – strange but true.

From Forgeron on Etsy
click photo

So, I might end up making rivets instead.

What ever it ends up being I’ll not know until I get out of bed.

So, Happy Friday you people out there. It’s time to rock the world.

–

Oops. I did it again!

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Maybe there is no hope for me.

Chrysocolla and Malachite
Red Creek Jasper
Tiffany Stone Bertrandite Opal
Mexican Crazy Lace Agate
More Crazy Lace Agate
Morgan Hill Poppy Jasper
Even More Mexican Crazy Lace

You might be able to tell that I have a thing for Crazy Lace Agate. NOT my fault – look at it!

My only hope now is that I might be able to save others.

For all you jewelry makers out there that struggle with cabochon addiction.

Run!

Do NOT click – HERE.

There will be no turning back.

–

Please, don’t let THIS –

turn into THIS …

–

You have been warned.

SAVE YOURSELF.

Acting out.

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‘As far as I’m concerned, if a person desires to write, it’s worth trying to find a way to do it, even five minutes a day, and what happens to the writing afterward is a separate issue. The act of doing it has enormous value on its own.’ – Aimee Bender.

–

I read an article this morning on Oprah’s website. I don’t really watch or read Oprah. I’ve got nothing against her but sometimes I get tired of all that, 10 things you can do right now to feel good, stuff. I get depressed when I don’t do the 10 things, and beat myself up for not trying hard enough, and walk around with my droopy mood on, and well, generally feel worse than I did before I even knew there were 10 ways I could feel good in the first place.

But I quite enjoyed this one.

(Read full article – HERE.)

I love writing. It’s one of my favourite things to do. It’s also one of my most scary things.

I’m just not that good at it. I love words, I love configuring them, playing with them, reading them, but I suck at grammar. What the hell they were teaching me at school beats me. Maybe I was away sick that day.

But, I still love to write. I definitely have the desire. I have two books that I’m fiddling around with and I have the best time when I actually allow myself to sit down and write them.

I’m realizing more and more that I am scared to do a lot of things that I love to do, which seems ridiculous when you think about it. It’s not like I want to go sky diving and throw myself off a cliff or something like that. So this article was very inspiring to me.

The quote above is exactly right. For me, the act of writing, or painting (especially these two out of all my creative outlets), is reward in itself and I need to stop worrying about the outcome and enjoy the process for what it is. I laugh out loud when I write. It’s a wonderful thing to crack yourself up and not feel as though you’re losing your mind – well, maybe not losing much of it …

So, I’m thinking maybe I need to get me a, ‘keeper of the contract’, friend … (that’s my texan comin’ out y’all) … and start letting loose on the old typing skills.

I think I can manage one hour a day.

 –

And, no, you can’t read it …

A disturbance in the ranks.

Published on by coldfeetstudioblog

The troops are gathering.

And they’re looking pretty determined.

Wally is keeping a close eye on them, whilst appearing nonchalant.

And Spencer is on high alert.

In a shrewd feign of guarding the jewels.

Pickles, not photographed here, is undercover.

Some might think that she is slightly ashamed of her body weight, but she is, in fact, a stealth cat bred for her amazing ability to avoid detection in covert operations.

Everyone is in their place. The atmosphere tense. Now, we just have to figure out why …

because it beats me.

–

Finished.

Started.

–

Also started.

From past experience I can tell you that this last ‘started’ will probably not be ‘finished’ but will remain in a suspended state until I get my act together.

The act of which is also suspended …

Until un-suspended, it will bore a hole in my nerves until I throw all caution to the wind and decide to ignore my lack of faith and attempt to finish it.

Then I will promptly ruin it and vow never to pick up a paint brush again – until the next time.

–

Off now to make some more jewelry for Spencer to protect.

–

Neverwhere.

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I woke up dreaming that my dad had died 🙁 Very sad. It set my day off badly. I called my dad and he was fine, but I still felt sad.

So, today has been a drooping day. All of me is drooping, especially my face which kind of bothers me as it also feels as though thick sludge stuff is trying to ooze out of my skin, and, of course, now I’m older I have more skin for it to ooze out of. So there is a lot of thick, heavy, sort of greenish/grey sludge stuff, everywhere. I’m trying to visualize it as a form of face mask, you know, the happy, nurturing, cucumber on the eyes sort of face mask, but it’s not working. Maybe it’s because I’ve never had a face mask before so my visualization is off. I don’t know.

So I made a cup of tea and found N sitting on the sofa watching Animal Cops, or something like that, about all the poor abused animals that the S.P.C.A. goes around rescuing. That cheered me up 🙁

So I went into the studio and stood there looking at all the stuff I could do.

Then I walked over to the chair and sat there looking at all the stuff I could do.

Then I came back into the house for another cup of tea – the procrastinator’s friend – but it was obviously an Animal Cop marathon, or something, because those animals were still on the t.v., and, to make it worse, Sarah McLachian kept coming on singing, The Eyes of the Angels, in that sad animal abuse advert. Look away people, save yourselves, is my only response to that. Especially when you’re having a drooping day.

Finally, Sarah, and the idea that I could listen to my new book, got me back into the studio.

I finished the Death Book the other day, which was quite handy considering, and had bought, and already started listening to, a Neil Gaimon book – Neverwhere. I chose him after I listened to his commencement speech, and because we already have a few of his children’s books in the house. Now he seems like a really nice person and I think we could be friends, but, and I hate to admit this, I had to stop listening to it. I liked listening to his voice, I liked listening to his words, I guess I just wasn’t up for listening to the story he was telling at that moment. Which is a shame. So instead I settled on my old, go to, genre, murder mystery, and chose (sorry Neil) The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler- Olsen.  I can’t tell you that it’s any better than Neil’s book, but, a good murder sorts everybody out, doesn’t it. Put’s life into some perspective.

Here is an update of my finger painting.

(I have to admit to using a pallet knife also.)

This kept me happy this afternoon.

No drooping allowed when you get caught up with making something.

This week

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I’ve been finger painting.

Which I love, except now I have paint all over my bra strap.

I’ve been pallet knife painting.

Which I also love and it’s a little less messy – bonus.

And, I’ve been doing, whatever the hell this is,

Really not sure at the moment.

It started off as an acrylic mess, don’t they all …

Well, mine do …

Then went on to be an oil pastel mess.

then it turned into a boring blur thing.

with a creepy rat like creature on wheels in it.

Like that’s normal, right?

And now it’s as you see in the first painting.

None of them are finished. All of them will probably never see the light of day again. But, I really enjoyed myself painting them, except for the creepy rat one which is a little disturbing and has been annoying me from the start.

So, get your paints out people, put on your old bra because it’s really upsetting when you get blue all over your new one, and knock yourself out painting with your fingers.

It really fun.

This just out. Guardian angel on sick leave until further notice …

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Please, if you are sensitive, and can’t handle the gruesome,  look away.

This is not a happy sight.

I think I knew when he accepted the job that nothing good could come of it. Well, o.k., I admit I gave him no choice in the matter, but, as far as I was concerned the job was his from the minute I set eyes on him. All he wanted was to play football. Tomatoes meant nothing to him. But I needed him, and, in my obsession with growing the perfect vegetable, I disregarded anything that he might want.

In essence, I abused my power.

Just because something can’t walk, or talk, or feel, just because something is made from (what the hell is that, plaster?) something other than flesh and bones, doesn’t mean it was right to dismiss, out of hand, the look of pleading on his little (plastic?) face as I banished him to the far corner of the garden in order to satisfy some need in me.

I should have realized when he first turned up on our doorstep that he wasn’t here to interview. He wasn’t even dressed for the job. But, I ignored all that thinking how generous it was of me to open up my home to this small, lonely, creature. Admittedly  I felt a twinge of uncertainty each time I saw his desperate face staring at me from across the patio, but, in spite of this, I turned my back on him and walked away.

I would have the perfect tomato, dammit.

For a while, all seemed well. He seemed to have resigned himself to his fate. I truly believe that when he set eyes on the vulnerable seedlings I delivered into his care, he couldn’t walk away.

And so he stood, with nothing but his football to remind him of his hopes and dreams.

I’m sorry (resin?) gnome thing. I’m sorry that Willow tore your foot off and ruined your hat. I’m sorry that we eventually found you lying face down in a muddy puddle yards from your post. I don’t think I will ever be able to make it up to you, but, it hurts, you know, to be the recipient of your revenge.

O.k., so maybe I overlooked you, I abandoned you, I abused you,

but really,

what did these tomatoes ever do to you?

In better times …

Playing with Pixlr

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I’ve been playing with pixlr and I’m liking this scratchy effect although I’m not sure it would sell my jewelry for me 🙂

It’s great what you can do with these programmes and this one is free if you want to check it out.

It just takes a minute to figure it out and then you’re off. Trouble is tearing yourself away …

Now I’m off to eat something before I waste away …

Keeping it simple.

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Yesterday I wrote a long post about the African Green Opal. It was really boring – so I deleted it.

So, until I don’t feel so boring I’m just going to keep it simple, fumble around WordPress to get my bearings and try to get my umph back from wherever it’s gone.

These are my sterling silver lovelies. What do you think?