sick of being sick

i've gotten everything that has come by the turnpike this winter. and now i'm so dizzy i actually fell out of my chair at work. yes. you read that right. i was leaning down to pick something up and everything went all dark and quiet and there i was. on the floor. huh.

so i'm going to the doctor. hopefully there is a simple answer, 'cause i can't go back to work if i'm gonna continue having dizzy spells. i'm a jeweler, so i work with a torch, chemicals, cutting disks... the list goes on. it's too dangerous, basically, to be falling over.

here's hoping for an ear infection.

chain

i love how this chain turned out. earthy and rustic. but it needs something. don't know what. just.... something. i'll ask becca. she's very good at figuring things out. patina? verdigris? hrmmmm......

classes are over. i'm relieved yet sad. i think this semester was my last, at least for the time being. i just haven't had enough time with the girls and that means they're just a little distant. you know the saying, "quality time"? bull-honky. it's *quantity* time that matters with kids. be there when they need a bandaid. be there for the recounting of the days events. be there. just be there.

so my big project for the summer is to set up a metalsmithing studio in the garage. i think i can do it, with the income from market combined with my job. save and scrimp. no more bead purchases. no more extravagances. big things like torches! ($350) rolling mills ($500)! it would be nice to get another foredom, so we each could have one at our benches. i've figured out what i think will work for our benches. you know the gi-normous drafting table i bought seven years ago? i was thinking i could turn it so the skinny side is to the wall and then becca could have one side and i could have the other... two benches for the price of one! i'm just worried about the height of the desk and what kind of chairs to get. both becca and i have issues with our backs/necks and so the height needs to be *right*..... all the workbenches i've seen are ($350-$500!) are enormously tall with a flat work surface on top and a sweeps drawer where i want the desk top to be... am i spoiled from the desks on campus? why yes, yes i am. wonder where they got those...

i'm excited to begin this next phase. i feel like i'm on the right path. like i'm actually where i'm supposed to be. just a-walking. where is it leading? i'm interested enough to continue.

must get photos of my new work! one of the new pieces sold on saturday, the kylie parry one, with the bird by her and the nest bead by humblebeads. and i have no photo of it! so sad. must. take. photos. this week!

oh, and the sirevaag car died. so we're all sharing the truck. argh! poor becca. taxi mom.

but i've got high hopes. go slow, bethiboo. don't get disappointed. just keep on this path and listen to the birds sing. sing. sing. sing.

'she not only saw the light, she became the light'

i've slowly begun collecting art beads. i need to take some photos and share.

the thing is i've been reading so many jewelry blogs where the artisans use art beads.... and magazines where the published work uses art beads.... and i've actually gotten over not being willing to spend 30 or 40 dollars on a single bead. haven't gotten past the 50 mark yet, though. and with this new art bead passion has come a new style of work. *must* take photos and share. i'm all aflutter with "new", "new", "new". and farmers market opens in a week! yay! can't hardly wait. and all the snow is mostly gone. nothing green, yet, but it's coming! the geese have arrived.... sun stays up later and later and gets up earlier and earlier.... all of which means that summer (oh, blessed summer) is coming! land of the midnight sun, shine bright on me!

when i made these guys i was thinking about poppies. even though they don't look much like poppies, i still love how the turned out. yay, metalworking gods! sometimes they are friendly.

celestially obsessed

i absolutely adore the night sky. moon? oh. my. god. could it be any more *perfect*?!? stars! twinkling planets! wispy clouds skudding across a full moon...

romance.

and something a little nostalgic about it. like a memory of a haunting tune.

i have a crescent moon with a girl swinging from it and three stars tattooed on my left shoulder blade. love it, love it, love it. and a sun on my right hand. which is a daytime thing, but hey. i love the daytime sky, too. not as passionately as the night.

i make it a habit to always look up when i step outside.

i like how these earrings turned out. the moon's stone is much sparklier in person. it's a blue goldstone. the star is amber. the only problem is that they're so freaking heavy. rrrrr. but i still love them.

rings

i *love* rings. love making them. love wearing them. love seeing other people's. this ring is prehnite, which is a new favorite of mine. it's pretty rare, so fairly expensive and rather difficult to find. there i go again, falling for what's out of my reach....

which reminds me of a funny story. embarrassing, but funny. the guys i had crushes on growing up? gay. all of them. i didn't find out they were gay until later, mostly. still. it's weird, don't you think? i'm guessing it's some kind of protection thing. i liked the guys that were unattainable, because they were safe. nothing would ever happen, so i was free to crush on them. twisted little brain of mine.

i paired this kitty in the window looking at the moon pendant with oval tiger's eye and of course didn't get a photo of it before it sold. but i was so happy with how this pendant turned out! all the pierced sawing turned out really good. yay! it's hammered brass with little wire-wrapped links up top.