Cameos!

I recently bought some really nice cameos off of Etsy and have been beading them. I love them. And they seem to be selling well also. Here's a little glimpse...

And for my Halloween Friends...

She's Growing...

For those of you watching ZD (Or Ziti, as I call her) grow up, here are a few new shots.

These were taken at a picnic that I went to with some friends. Since I had no one to leave her with, she came along - and had a blast!

She is teething a lot and hands and feet are her toys of choice.

Here she is getting her bottle (the rest of us had iced tea).

And here she is sniffing the roses and entertaining Robin.

She has learned how to use the litter box, how to escape from her "crib" and today she ate solid food for the first time, although I still give her a bottle to make sure she is getting enough fluids. It has been pretty hot here and she hasn't quite grasped the lapping water bit.

Update on Baby Cat

You'll probably remember that a couple of weeks ago I started fostering a baby kitten. Since my last report, we have all grown head over heels in love with the little nipper and - with my long suffering husband's blessing - my son is adopting the little one. He named him "Zavalon Dexter", or ZD for short. This was after my husband said that I couldn't name the cat because I always came up with weird names. Guess my son inherited cat naming from me.
So we took the little one to the vet because of problems with colic and diarhea and found out that our "He" was a "She" . Totally OK with that other than the fact that it's more expensive to spay females, but that's minor.

So little ZD is happy and healthy now, She's getting real cat ears instead of her little rounded cub ears she had before. Starting to explore a little bit. Eating canned food mixed with her formula in a bottle and last night she actually played with a kitty toy I had bought for her.

In this picture she looks a little like a squirrel.

Sweet Little Baby Needs Me

Approximately 2-3 weeks ago, a feral cat gave birth to a litter of kittens in a field near a friend's house. Not long after, a mower went through the field and killed all of the kittens except this one. So I have a poor little orphan to bottle feed. He's TINY - that's a quarter by his head. And he's been having a little trouble with colic. But I think he will be just fine. I'll be sad when it comes time to part with him. I already have 9 cats and can't take anymore. But I'll feel good knowing that he got a chance at a good life in someone's home - not running around wild.
So here is my rant. There are lots of options out there for low cost spaying and neutering. Please don't adopt a pet if you aren't going to have them fixed.
Another scenario - My father lives out in the country. Someone thought he'd make a great host to their throw-away pet, so they dumped a half feral cat off at his house. He took pity on it and started feeding it, but had a hard time getting close. Unfortunately, the cat was pregnant and very soon gave birth to 2 kittens under his house. By the time that the kittens showed themselves, they were wild as little jack rabbits and twice as fast. Dad kept working with the mama cat and finally got her tamed down enough to catch her and take her in to be fixed. But by that time, one of the kittens was pregnant. So he worked at taming them down and eventually caught her and got her fixed as well, but not before she had 2 kittens of her own. You see where I'm heading? One of her kittens got pregnant and had FOUR kittens. So now from one original stray, he has 9 cats and kittens. I finally saw the need to step in - Dad isn't as young as he used to be, so I went down there and trapped the four kittens - a terrifying experience for them. Then I kept them in my bathroom to try and tame them down a bit. Finally, my friend Janetta, who works for the Humane Society, took them and kept them in her shop and they are now socialized and tame enough to adopt out. But not until they are neutered or spayed!

Two of the 4 kittens from my Dad's house.

If you have a pet and don't want it anymore, PLEASE take it to a shelter. It may cost you a little bit of money, but that is your responsibility for taking it in the first place. The shelter will get it fixed and adopt it out - or it may have to euthanize the poor thing because there are more pets than pet-lovers, but death is preferable to living in the wild where diseases attack cat colonies and they are preyed upon by coyotes and such.

My Daughter, Bryn, feeding a feral orphan. We kept this one.

These are sweet little creatures and deserve a good home. But please don't bring any more into the world. There are plenty to adopt already.

"Wicked" trying to escape the bathroom. We tamed her down and kept her, but she refuses to come in the house. Instead, she lives under the neighbor's shed and comes home for food and lovies.

Thanks for letting me rant and remember -Spay and Neuter Your Pet!

The Magic in Our Methods

I was reading a letter from a fellow artist a while ago and she was expressing the emotions she puts into her beadwork. She said that each piece holds feelings of peace and inspiration. Yeah! I get that. Sometimes I get so involved in beading that it's almost trance-like. I feel very peaceful and joyful. The endorphins have kicked in. I am in my Zen.
So do those feelings transfer to the new owner of the piece when it is sold? I think so. I have had pieces that I have bought from other artists and some have wonderful feelings attached, some are gloomy, and some make me agitated. Is this what the makers were feeling when they made them? If so, should I be charging extra for the calming vibes of my beadwork? Of course not. But it is nice to know that I am sharing some calm and peace with my customers, whether they are tuned into it or not.
So how about you? Do you have a certain emotion that sets in when you do your art? Or is it different with each piece. Is a disturbing painting disturbing because of it's visual value, or because the painter was filled with angst as he painted it? I'd love to hear from you about your thoughts on this. Do you get "vibes" from art? And do you think it's from your relationship with the piece or the maker's? Or both?
So sorry again for my tardiness in picking a winner for the Give-Away. June's Give-Away recipient is..... LOIS MOON! Send me your mailing address, Lois, and I will get your brooch in the mail to you pronto.
Since my summer is a bit hectic and I haven't had as much time to blog as I'd like. I am going to take a bit of a break. I'll still write a little something now and then, but I'm curtailing the Give-Aways until the beginning of the Fall/Winter season. But I'll make it up by making my first return Give-Away a doozy. Stay tuned.

I am Bad, Bad, Bad!

Oh I am a bad girl! I have lots of excuses, but I really should have updated this blog LONG ago. So sorry. Here it is almost the end of June and I just picked the winner of May's Give-away. And she is...
ROBERTA WARSHAW from Roberta Warshaw Artisan Jewelry. My apologies, Roberta for this late delivery. Please send me your mailing address and I'll get your brooch sent pronto!
So what has been keeping me from my keyboard? Well, you probably read about my mom's death. And then there was the funeral (I arranged all of the flowers including a huge casket piece of lilies). And I have been spending more time with my Dad to help him transition into living alone. And I trapped (humanely) 3 little feral kittens at his house so he doesn't have to deal with an eventual cat population explosion.  Afore mentioned kittens are now living temporarily in my bathroom as I play "Kitten Whisperer" and get them tamed down so they can be adopted out. I have myriad scratches and gouges and two pretty nasty bites, but I'm making headway. They will let me pet them now, but only one has condescended to be picked up without a fight. I have to give major kudos to my poor husband who REALLY didn't want feral kittens living in the bathroom (again!), but who has patiently let me have my way because I'm a cat woman.
I have also started selling at our local Saturday Market - A fabulously creative and magical market here in Eugene. I sell my beaded brooches and my sugar skulls and some charms I made and some beaded hairpins. I have made some wonderful friends, especially my boothmate, Cheri, who has taken me under her wing and helped me get started in the market. Cheri makes irresistable earrings out of recycled bottles. Her business is called "Boozy Baubles" and you can buy "Beer Baubles", "Wine Baubles" or "Liquor Baubles" as well as her totally awesome "Cola Baubles".  Check out her entire Etsy Shop here.
I've been beading every chance I get. I'm going to my Beading Circle again which has many great beady friends to connect with. And I've made friends with some beaders at the Saturday Market and have traded for some wonderful pieces.
So - all in all- I feel like I am getting back to my comfortable life and promise to keep up on this blog!
I will leave you with a picture of June's Give-away.  Just follow this blog and leave a comment to earn a chance to win!

Up for grabs!

Participating in My Mother's Journey

My mother, Hilda in 1940

I know I haven't been around much these past weeks (Thank You, Leanne, for noticing). My mother was diagnosed a few months back with lung cancer and she had a long, strange journey to go through before she finally passed away last night.
 She started off angry. When the doctor gave her 4-6 months to live, she said she felt like he had given her a death sentence. I had to remind her that none of us get out alive and she had 80 good years to show for the life she had. She said her doctor was still a "s#%t head".  But she eventually accepted it and tried to keep a good sense of humor through the pain that she felt. She told me that she wanted to be buried with her wedding rings still on ("check to make sure the mortician doesn't steal them") and that she wanted to be dressed in comfortable clothing, "even if it wasn't dressy".
My niece is getting married tomorrow on the other side of the world in Johannesburg, South Africa. Mom wanted to go to the wedding in the worst possible way, but knew she couldn't. She said that the only way she'd see the wedding is if she died beforehand so her spirit could be there. Last night when I called to tell my sister that Mom was gone, I told her to keep watch tomorrow at the wedding in her garden, because Mom was on her way and would be there.
I spent the last three days with her. My sister-in-law and another niece were here to help, but it was mostly my duty to administer her morphine every hour around the clock. At night I'd fall asleep and wake up exactly an hour later, without the aid of an alarm clock, give her her morphine and then fall back asleep in the chair beside her  - to wake up an hour later and repeat the process. The rest of the time I'd talk to her and hold her hand or sit next to her working on a beadwork project. She had the luxury of dying at home and in her last hours she roused a little to tell us all she loved us before she wandered off again and began talking to her mama who had died almost 50 years ago.
My dad is feeling a bit empty now and I'm staying with him for a few more days until he adjusts to being alone. His cat is a comfort for him and he has friends that he talks with on the computer. My brother lives next door, so I know he'll be watched over when I'm not here.
My mother and I didn't always see eye to eye. She was a strong personality and had very firm ideas on religion and politics that I didn't always share. But I'm glad I was able to take this journey with her and see her off into the next world. And I'm sure that I'll probably get a glimpse of her in my own garden someday soon.

My sister, Kathy, came from South Africa right after my mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer. This picture was taken just before she left to go home - Dad, Mom and Kath on the front porch.