Friday...already???

Here I am and it is Friday again already. I don't think I have stopped to take a breath all week. So many things to do, so many places to be, so many miles to hike.
I did go to Saturday Market last Saturday and I did take pictures. I love to spend time with these remarkably talented people. The best part is...they all think EXACTLY like I do! It is so fun to sit around at our different tables and chat about our art and our creative minds and how we think. It is rewarding to know that I am not the only dreamer out there. So many times, one of us will say something about our hopes or aspirations and when you look around, everyone is sitting with a smile on their face nodding their heads in agreement. It sparks so many conversations and it is just a lot of fun. I do enjoy it, and I look forward to going again in a few weeks.
Here are some pictures that I took of the things my friends and colleagues have to offer on Saturdays at Plaza Diane downtown Powell. If you are in the area, you really should stop by and take a look...

Where does the time go?

I have been so stinking busy!!! There is never enough TIME! I have been hiking in the evenings, working a full time job, taking care of kids, trying to get my house back to some semblance of order, and whatever else SUPER HEROINE can manage! It sure doesn't leave much time for getting on here and blogging, or making jewelry, or anything else that I REALLY WANT to do. Well, hiking is one of the things I WANT to do, but it just has to be done at the most inopportune times. I would much rather make jewelry after I get off work, but I need to have my priorities straight considering that we will be leaving for a week long back pack trip in a couple of weeks. WHEW!!!
I went to use my camera to get some pics this evening and low and behold...it was dead! It is now plugged in getting its proper fill of juice and I, once again, did not accomplish another thing that I REALLY WANTED to accomplish. Oh well, I guess that I just need to CHILL OUT! Right?
I will be doing the Saturday Market again tomorrow down town. It is Crazy Days, so I am hopeful that it will be a good day. I am going to take my camera along and hopefully be bringing the day to you in pictures. I love the crowd of vendors that I get to hang out with on the occasional Saturday that I get to participate. They are a great group of people with some great artistic talent. We have a lot of fun!
I have decided on the pendant that I am going to enter into the OOAK contest being sponsored by Wire Sculpture.com. The contest is in 2 weeks, so I have been working on perfecting the pictures that I will be submitting.
The boys went to spend the night at some friends' house, so it is just Kirt and I tonight. I think we may go and have us a bite to eat here in a bit. I love our stolen moments together. They don't happen very often, so I like to take full advantage of them when they do come along.
I did complete the pendant that I spoke of earlier. Do you want to see it? Are you sure? Well OK, here it is...

It is made with Chalcedony and sterling silver wire. I love this shade of blue! It reminds me of Robin eggs in the spring~BEAUTIFUL!!! So, I leave you this lovely to look at while I sign off for the evening. I hope that you all have a WONDERFUL evening and a MOST AWESOME weekend!

The New Necklace

Have you ever heard of Liver  of Sulfur? It is my new found love. It gives copper and sterling silver an antique look. I love copper, but always found it to be a bit too shiny. I have solved that problem! I apply the Liver of Sulfur and viola~no more shine! I love what it is doing for my wire work. Do you want to see what it does? Well, here is one of the pendants I did the other day...

Isn't it lovely? I think it is!
I am trying like mad to get my Etsy shop up, but there are SO many things to do! I am trying to get a banner, but I am having issues. I can't seem to get a picture uploaded to save my life. I can't seem to get text to type correctly either. I really hope to have it up soon so that you can all take a look. I want to take better pictures of the items I have too. The pictures above are a good example of where I am headed with the pics. The days of the black on white and the dull pictures with the light box are through! I want my stuff to literally jump off the page~well, in a manner of speaking anyway.
As I was taking pictures of this beauty last night, I found that the screws in our sheet rock have come through the wall in our bedroom. Upon further inspection, there is a crack in the ceiling in the living room amongst other damage. The explosion next door took a toll! I just wish that the structural engineers would get here and get the inspection done. I just thank our Heavenly Father that we were not hurt. It could have been so much worse.
I have another necklace that I did late last night. I will be posting pics soon!! It is GREAT to be blogging again! I love to share my trinkets with all of you!!

Happy 4th!

I hope that you all had a WONDERFUL 4th of July! We got to spend some quality time with family that we have not seen in a while. We went to three barbeques over the weekend. We went to a friends house and tried to watch the fireworks on the 4th, but I had to leave. Still can't stand to listen to explosions and watch fire, I had to come home. We just live right up the street, so it wasn't too far to travel. I sat on my front porch and watched. The weeds behind another neighbors house caught fire, and that is when Kirt and the boys made their way home. The boys were scared, once more, that our yard was going to catch on fire. They wound up in our bed for another sleepless night, at least until the fireworks were over. We are getting better, but it is taking some time.
I have some new jewelry pictures to post. I have made a couple of new things that I need to show you. I got some really nice briolettes today that I can't wait to play with. I have one more pendant to do for the contest and then I have to decide which one I am going to enter. I really need to get on it!
I have been hiking again in the evenings. I did 4 miles tonight. Kirt and I will be going on another back pack trip this year. We are going all by ourselves this time. Our friends from Spokane can not join us, so it will just be the two of us. I can't wait, I am so excited! The boys will be going to visit their grandma and grandpa in Utah. Their week will be jam packed with fun things to do and they are just as excited as Kirt and I are. It will be a great week. I am just hopeful that the weather cooperates this year.
I will be posting pictures of the trinkets, hopefully tomorrow. I hope you like what I have been up to!!
Good night all,
Janet

Feeling Better!

I think that life is finally on the road to recovery. I actually sat down and made a pendant out of one of my OOAK stones last night. I am pretty pleased with it, but I am not sure if it is the one that I will enter into the contest. I tend to always think that I can do better. That is either good or bad, depending on the circumstances. I think that I will have to do all three stones before I know in my heart of hearts which one I will enter. I haven't accomplished exactly what I was after in the design of the piece I did last night, so the challenge is on!
I hope that you are all having a most AWESOME Thursday! As for me, I am awaiting the end of a very long and tiring week. At least I am in jewelry making mode again and that, for me, is GRAND! I may or may not post pictures of the piece I created last night. I still have that superstitious thing hanging in the air. I guess we will all just have to wait and see...

Tired...Oh So Tired...

I really never realized the effect that seeing what I saw could have on me. I feel utterly detached from my everyday routine. I am tired; not tired in the way of sleepiness, tired in the way of complete exhaustion.
I visualize the scene of the house next door engulfed in flames falling to the ground in a storm of fiery boards and debris. I picture the white flash that looked like lightening filling the inside of the home~pushing and forcing its way at the walls until it found its escape right before the fire ensued. I picture the top of the house falling away like the petals of a flower opening up in hopes of receiving a drop of water. I picture the garage doors lying crippled and broken in my front yard and driveway, so far from where they once held out the cold night air. I picture my two little boys standing at my feet screaming to me that we were, "going to burn!", their tiny voices resonating over and over again as they stared at the fire that reached to the heavens. I hear the deafening sound of the two concussions of the explosion that caused the fire ball that emanated, filling the night sky with fear and devastation. I see the face of my husband as it distorted into a look of sheer terror as he bolted outside calling out to the people that luckily were not in the house. I have seen these very sights over and over again in my mind as the long day has progressed and the aftermath has unfolded.
I no longer feel as if my home is the safest place on Earth. I still shake as I re-tell the story to the curious faces that stop to see if I am OK and dare to ask what happened. I can't help but ask what is next and how bad can it get. Sunday, June 26, 2011 is a day that will forever be entrenched into the depths of my memory.
I picked up the Powell Tribune today only to read a misquote stating that I said something that I did not say about these people that have already endured more devastation in their lives than I could even possibly imagine. I went online to read a comment about what I had "said" that brought me to tears, a feat that is pretty easily accomplished these days, but my feelings were hurt none the less. I am disappointed and taken aback. I will be visiting the paper tomorrow to get them to rescind their statement. I only hope that it is enough to appease the appetite of the folks that want to tear me down, that think that I have nothing better to do than gossip about the neighbors.
When does my life get to be normal again? I am not claiming to have the most normal life in the world but for the most part, my life was pretty normal and hum drum before these last three days. I still have a hard time believing that it is Tuesday already. I did not go to work on Monday, as my children and I did not sleep at all Sunday night. Our night was filled with the sound of the radios in the firetrucks; voices echoing~directing and barking out commands. Our night was engorged with the bright lights of the backhoe as it dug to find the gas line that was feeding the brutal monster that claimed the home of the people next door. Our night was permeated with the constant red and blue flashes that lit up our stark white walls in the living room. Our night was filled with pounding hearts and silent tears trickling down our faces. It was filled with the constant tapping of my sons little hand upon my cheek begging me not to go to sleep because he was scared and he didn't want me to fall asleep leaving him to fend off the terrible night all by himself. The terror was real and scary and it invaded my little boys' lives as if it were a living breathing organism that was hell bent on taking over. To be honest, it invaded my life in a way that I will never forget.
I am still overcome by emotion when I find myself sitting still and trying to relax. Yes, I really can't wait until my life feels 'normal' again. Every morning, I have to get up and face the debris strewn lot that once was the foundation of a beautiful two story home. I have to walk outside and get in my car that once was kept in our garage, but can't be now because the explosion pushed the door in and dislodged the lag bolts from where they were once nestled securely. This is my life now, far from 'normal', far from the level of comfort that I have grown so accustomed to. This is my life and it is so, so surreal.

Crazy Night!

Last night was probably by far one of the worst nights of my life. Our neighbors house exploded! Needless to say, this post will be short today. Everyone is fine and there were no injuries, just a LOT of scared people. We are unsure what happened at this time, but we are just very thankful that everyone is safe and sound.
I will post tomorrow and hopefully I will have slept before the post. I really am running on empty right now.

Talk to you soon,
Janet