The Green Cloud

Good Morning all!!!

I'm reporting to you from under a green cloud of pollen. Well, to be fair, we had a little shower last night that rinsed the sidewalks & cars into a streaked, tie-dyed looking landscape. This has been one of the worst years we've had for pollen in several years, but hopefully it will end soon. Luckily, I don't really have sinus problems & allergies, but I sympathize with all my friends who have been sniffly & headachy for the last few weeks. It's no fun seeing green water pouring out of your hair when you wash it, but there are worse things in life than a little green goo.

I'm back at the bench & working on a couple of new pieces. One is for my friend who is getting married next month & she wanted me to make her "something blue" for her wedding.....most of it's in the pickle right now waiting for completion. The other piece is a little something for me. I realized that I only have a couple of my own pieces & that I needed to do something about it. Well, I may have bitten off more than my little torch can handle. It's the largest piece I've attempted & I may not be able to do it, but I'm going to try. It will require the use of 2 torches at the same time (safety hazard?? Yep.) but it's a bit exciting to have fire in both hands. Hopefully I'll have photos tomorrow....I don't work very quickly so it does take me a while to create new piece.

In the meantime I hope y'all have a great day!!

Happy Spring!!!!

After an unusually cold & bitter winter we are greeted by the beauties of Spring. I love Spring & Fall. I think it's because it's almost like a new beginning. The air smells fresh & the landscape seems to change daily.

The trees are stretching their limbs getting ready to sport their new Spring attire....

...and the flowers start poking their little heads out of the soil to see if it's safe to come out & bask in the soft sunlight.

align="center">I kinda feel the same way. I feel more energized & more like taking on new challenges with more vigor and obstinance. In the past several months, it's been too easy for me to succumb to my own doubts & personal challenges. I was afraid that I'd forgotten how to dig deeper & find the tenacity that used to be exist on the surface (just ask my friends)..lol. I'm hoping that it's coming back & with it, the old Pam. I miss her.

Sometimes something happens that shakes you out of your own self pity & makes you open your eyes & take a look around. I had that happen & luckily, it turned out OK.

A few weeks ago my dear, sweet, sweet 84 year old Grandma fell & broke her right hip & right shoulder. When I received the phone call I had my first mini anxiety attack. I'm very close to my Mom & Grandma....we're all each other has so we're bonded in a very deep way. I felt something was wrong when I woke up that morning, and called both Mom & Grandma, but neither were home. I tried to put it out of my mind, but it was still pressing down on my consciousness.

Anyway, Grandma had a total right hip replacement & a rod put through her right shoulder. Luckily, she's left handed so it could have been worse. She has wonderful physical therapists & occupational therapists working with her right now & hopefully she'll be back dancing in no time.

Oh, I guess I forgot to mention that my Grandma fell while she was line dancing. Yep...that's my Grandma. While I'm sitting home most Fridays nights, she's at Red Barn tapping her toe & occassionally dancing to the tunes with a handsome gentleman. It was the Electric Slide that got her. I told her from now on she just needs to hold on to a nice man & dance & forget about those group dances.

My Grandma's always been a little firecracker & I hope she continues to be one (without p*ssing off her therapists & nurses, of course). I love your Grandma!! You & Mom are my heart.

I've also had a few technical problems that had nothing to do with being in the country where I couldn't get proper internet service. I've had the hardest time transferring photos from my camera to my computer. I'm not very techie, but I think I've figured out a different way to do it. I should probably get a new card reader because sometimes my pics will transfer & sometimes they won't.

Anyway...if you're still here after all of this, muah!!! You're a good sport & very patient. Now take yourself away, pet your furbaby & hug your kids or pet your kids & hug your furbaby....either way, have a great weekend & thanks for listening.

xoxo

Pam

Searchin' My Soul

I'm back, baby!!!

I'm Here!!

I am...I really am. I'm gonna have something to say here soon. I don't know what it will be, but it'll be something.

I hope you're all having a beautiful day.

xoxo

Pam

Happy Tuesday!!!

I've been doin' stuff.......

A few Etsy sales, but mostly custom orders. When I say custom orders, I mean (mostly) my guy friends tell me they want something for their sister/mom/girlfriend/wife then I ask them questions about their sister/mom/girlfriend/wife to try to figure out what type of jewelry they may like.

I'm no longer confused about some of the presents my previous boyfriends have gotten me.

I asked one of my closest friends if his person wore smaller jewelry or larger statement pieces.

He told me she had brown hair.

You know who you are, my love, that's ok though, you're still one of my favorites. I hope your sister is happy with her "Birdy" necklace. It'll look great with brown hair.

I have been breaking hearts like crazy around here due to my friend Christina. This is the second or third batch of Candy's Hearts I've broken, then mended (Mama taught me to how to be a proper Southern girl...& some of it stuck). Christina got one of the necklaces, has been wearing it & people want the necklace after seeing her wear it. Great model, huh? She's a beautiful model & a beautiful person, thanks Christina!!

The pink jasper will be going into the shop tomorrow & the rest will be delivered this week..hopefully. I have a couple more things let to do, but I'm waiting on final approval before I start.

This is a stone I bought from a show this year & the gem cutter had it named Bruneau Turquoise. I don't know if it's a true turquoise or now, but this stone is just gorgeous. This was picked by another friend of mine for his sister. I had to show this up close so you could see how awesome this stone is up close. Also so you could see Dakota's hair & that I need to work on the bezel a bit more. Macro is soooo not forgiving.

OK, it's shower time, so I'll "see" y'all later

Exciting news!!

I told you last week that I had some exciting news so here it is. It's probably not so exciting, but it made me feel really good about what I'm doing & I'm terribly flattered.

Over Thanksgiving I was contacted by someone locally asking if I would be interested in donating one of my pieces to an animal rescue group for their silent auction. Shut up, right?? I was so excited to be randomly asked to donate & also this was to help an animal rescue. The organization is called IAR (Independent Animal Rescue) & I believe the silent auction is in January.

Here's my little rescue dog. Maybe not so little, & not rescued in the now, traditional way, but my little rescue sweetheart nonetheless. Dakota was left chained to a tree when her family moved. We don't know how long she was there before the neighbor noticed & started feeding her as best as she could with what little money she had. A friend of a friend took her in & got her healthy, well physically healthy anyway, & that's when she leapt into my life.

I decided to make a piece especially for the event & came up with Booker. Mom doesn't know, but this is a collaboration between the two of us. I put the initial design on paper, she named him, I thought I should add something else because he seemed plain, she said no, he didn't need anything....this is what what happened.

Most of my pieces have a name & a story because I'm nearly always inspired by something I dream, or see or feel and Booker is no different. Booker's story is Dakota's story.

Booker

Booker thought he was a good dog. He misbehaved sometimes, (as we all do), but he loved his family. One day his family didn't come home. He stared at the back door waiting to see a familiar face until his eyes were dry & burning. Day turned into night...turned into day....turned into night.

Booker didn't know what he had done to drive his family away, leaving him alone, cold & hungry, but he vowed never to do it again.

Now, as the dusk settles over his little world, his eyes fixed on the encroaching darkness, he looks for his new friend, the moon. He makes his wish that one day he will find his forever family.

I printed this onto a card to accompany the piece in the auction. I hope this speaks to people the way Dakota spoke to me & they give as freely as they can. Fingers crossed that Booker will bring in a little money for the other animals when he finds his forever home.

Hugs & puppy dog kisses to you all.

Pam

Hey, Long Time!!!!

I made it back to Durham from one of the most beautiful places in the world...well, to me anyway. Nothing like going back home & getting Mom & Grandma love. Watching the ground flatten & the cotton fields whiz by me as I got closer made me realize how much I love this land.

It wasn't until I moved away, that I noticed the brackish fragrance that drifts in from the sound & lingers in my memory. One day I'll go back home....to stay. I'll have a house on our farm that looks out onto the water to be awaken each morning by the warmth of the rising sun.

I have a few things headed to the shop this afternoon. This is my golf ball marker. Carolyn, from Autumn Leaves Jewelry has been a huge help to me while I was trying to get this off the ground...after all, she cornered the market on Etsy. Mine is a little smaller & has the little peg thing on the back. A friend of mine asked me to make him one & gave me a little plastic one as a model.....probably the only thing from Rolex I'll ever own.

Care, what do you think? I'm going to make it available with up to 3 letters. I only have one letter stamp set & this marker is about the size of a dime, so I don't have a lot of space for stamping. It'll come in a "velvet" pouch packed in a gift box.

Here's a pendant with a simple white quartz. You can't see it from this photo, but behind the little flower is the silhouette of a dandelion. A simple little necklace.

I have some exciting news, but I'm gonna wait to tell you. tee hee. Doncha hate that??? It's not really a huge thing, but means a lot to me, for several reasons.

I hope you all have had a great week..I missed you.

Pam

xoxo