Where in the world have I been?

Hello Everyone, I am back!
Our hike into the Wind River Mountains was AWESOME! Kirt and I hiked for 3 days covering 20 miles and then spent another 3 days in Pinedale. We had a great time! Our little boys went to visit their grandparents and we all had a lot of fun on our own little excursion.
I took some fantastic pictures...like this one...

and this one...

Both of which were taken right outside of the lodge where we spent the night so that we could get up the next day and go right to hiking. We took off the next morning bright and early and here I am on the trail...

Isn't it breathtakingly beautiful here...even as the rain poured down upon us.

 

The MAN! Standing at the Bridger Wilderness sign...

And the clouds hanging overhead...

 I thought that this tree was super cool...

 

And these were just a few of the things we saw on the way to here...

Me sitting on the COUCH!

The flowers were INCREDIBLE! There was every color you could imagine. These pink ones were very pretty.

And this was our view right out the front of the tent. Not too bad eh???

And this is Kirt coming back from caching our food away from the animals...Marmots more than bears. Too many people for bears, but the marmots were frequent fliers.

This was the stream that ran right out the side of the tent. Who doesn't like to fall asleep to the sound of a fresh water stream nearby trickling over the rocks to sing you a lullaby?

Home Sweet Home...

This is Pingora, in the Cirque of the Towers. We hiked in to here the next day after arriving at camp. These are some rocky, rugged mountains.

Does this look man made or what? It is all natural though...falling to Lonesome Lake below.

 And here is a good picture of the Cirque of the Towers.

 And this is where we stopped to eat lunch. Sausage and cheese anyone?

And what a view right off of the rock we were sitting on. WOW!

And then we hiked back to our camp and spent another night at this gorgeous place...

And then we had to hike out. We stopped to take a little water break and rest the legs for a moment. It was rugged, awesome country!

 And it was absolutely beautiful...

 We went here the next day. Green River Lakes. Wow it was a great week! We had the best time and we can't wait to go again next year.
Our bodies were aching, we were tired, but every ounce of effort was worth the reward. We saw some amazing country and had a great time just spending some quality time together doing what we love to do. That is the meaning of life isn't it? I really hope so because it was truly meaningful... every bit of it!

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...