Bead Fest

I had a blast last weekend at Bead Fest in Portland. I helped out at the Hanson-Stone/ Just Let Me Bead booth. It was so nice to get to spend some time with my friends Marcie Stone and Greg Hanson. Marcie sells fabulous vintage glass beads, buttons and goodies. Greg is an amazing glass artist and had quite an assortment of cabs and buttons. I wanted to buy each and every single one. Of course, Laura McCabe's kits were fantastic as always and it was fun to see people get so excited about seeing her work in person. (Even though most had a visibly "let down" look on their faces after talking to me and finding out I wasn't Laura! Geez, what am I chopped liver?!)
It's always so nice to see friendly, enthusiastic faces, excited about beads. I was lucky enough see old friends and make new friends. I particularly enjoyed meeting some of the Portland Bead Society members, as I am a member but the meetings are just a bit too far for me to attend.
I am looking forward to the Portland Bead Society Bazaar on Nov. 7 & 8th. It's at Montgomery Park in NW Portland. Please stop by and say "hi" if you make it to the show.

southwest adventures

We made it back safely from out southwest road trip. I just love being in the desert and basking in the sun. I think I must have been a lizard in a past life.
Speaking of reptiles... I almost stepped on a rattlesnake while in Tucson. We stayed at a fantastic house made of bottles. Yes, you read that right, bottles. Our gracious host, Dolores had just finished telling us to always carry a flashlight at night because that's when the rattlesnakes hunt. Apparently they don't rattle their rattles while they are hunting. I decided to walk across the driveway to get something from the car. Barry asked me if I wanted his flashlight, to which I replied, "no, it's okay. I'm not going very far. I think I can see alright." As I proceeded onto the driveway, I saw something move not more than two feet away from me. Then, I heard a rattle. I jumped to the side and exclaimed something like, "Holly s..t! there's a rattler right there!" They thought I was joking. Here's a picture of the little guy.

The wildlife was abundant amongst our bottle house digs. We also saw a tarantula, copious amounts of Colorado toads, which just so happen to contain psychedelic toxins (no I did not test this theory out but reminds me of the fantastic book by Tom Robbins: Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas), javalinas ran through the courtyard at night, and coyotes sang us to sleep. Let's not forget the bottle house guard dogs, Sweetie Pie (appropriately named) and her daughter, Sadiquie.

First Post.

I signed up for this blog quite some time ago and have been procrastinating with my first post. I really wanted my first post to be something special, moving, profound. But I've decided that if I continue to wait for that moment to arrive, I may never post a darn thing! So, here I am to ramble.

Several weeks ago my Dad and my two brothers Louis and Kevin came up to visit me. They helped me move and clean an antique typeset case that I purchased to put my beads in. The case was super dusty and the inside of the drawers were caked in old ink. I'm extremely appreciative of all their help. I have successfully transported my beads and filled half of the drawers. Like many of my beader friends, I love to organize and fondle my beads. I lost all track of time while I was arranging my little beauties.

While the family was here visiting, we went on a hike up to Sweet Creek Falls. It was a gorgeous, unusually warm day. Barry, my partner, took some fantastic photos which I shall post as soon as I can figure out how! Wish me luck...