Fun with Seed Beads

And I mean 'fun' in the most sarcastic sense of the word. It's not that I hate seed beads, but they are tiny and working with them is time consuming. My bff/kindred spirit/sister Michelle works absolute magic with the tiny bastards. Me, I'm lucky if I break them out twice a year. I started working with seed beads first, in the late 80's & early 90's and was very prolific at that time. Now, not so much. I like working with larger beads that string quickly. There's way more instant gratification.

But there were a couple of projects I'd been wanting to get to, involving seed beads, so I decided to get it over with create them.

I had some really pretty pastel coloured plastic leaf beads and another one of those metal rings with the loops all the way around the edges.

I may try to stablize the center strands a bit better to clean up the way it looks where all of the beaded strands intersect.

This pretty pale green & gold glitter lampwork heart bead came from that grab bag I blogged about earlier this year. It hangs down from the center, lower than leaves.

Little blue leaf below the hanging loop.




I also got silver metal filigree butterflies in the grab bag.

Here is that same butterfly with green seed beads and crystals sewn onto the holes.

Medium & Large butterflies with crystals and beads sewn onto the wings.

A trio of beaded filigree butterflies!

Jody Bergsma Designs Colouring Book

I just finished a Jody Bergsma Design colouring book, that I started last fall. There were about 18 designs in all. I did them with gel pens and coloured pencils. I really enjoyed doing this book and am kind of sad that I finished it. As always, click on the pics to see the detail of the shading and such. I coloured this one with Jaime and her nephew in mind.

I kept dragging my hand through the wet gel pens when I first started, hence the big smudge on the bottom right. It was a conscious effort on my part not to keep doing that.The gel pens really make the pictures shimmer, which is hard to see when the pages are scanned.



I had to rely on the internet in order for me to use the accurate colour scheme on the birds.



This was the final picture in the book and of all of them, this is my fave the way it came out.

The Barefoot Bandit

There's a local kid from Camano Island, named Colton Harris Moore, who has been on the run for 2 years, ever since he slipped out of a group home up in Renton. He is but 19 years old now, extremely resourceful and absolutely brilliant. He has managed to make law enforcement in several states look like the Keystone Cops. He's been given the nickname, 'The Barefoot Bandit'.

I can't decide whether or not I am amused or annoyed by his antics. On the one hand, he is causing people financial loss and aggravation. But anyone who can afford to own a plane or a boat probably has the money to absorb the loss. On the other, he has not hurt anyone, and in fact he's put himself in way more danger than any citizen. He breaks into convenience stores at night to steal food and drink. He taunted the authorities several months ago by drawing giant footprints on the floor of one store. He taught himself how to fly from the internet and I think he got a DVD or something on how to fly small planes. He steals vehicles and boats with ease. He is a keen survivalist and makes his way around the San Juan Islands, including Whidbey and Camano Islands, by stealing all kinds of modes of transportation, including several small planes. It has been widely rumoured that he stole, and crash landed, the plane that belongs to local DJ Bob Rivers, from KZOK.

He crashed this one in the Cascades last summer.

His mother is extremely proud of him and refuses to help the authorities. She has nothing but awe and admiration for her son, and I really want to smack her upside the head. She even said in a recent interview that she and Colt have a deal: He is not allowed to steal and fly single engine planes and he always has to wear a parachute. HELLO!!!! I would have to say that the general public in Washington has more contempt for the mother than they do for Colton.

A month or so ago, someone offered Colton $50,000, no strings attached, if he would just turn himself in by a certain date and time. The attorney who held the money in his trust account also offered to represent Colton pro bono, so that he could use the $50,000 however he wanted instead of using it for legal fees. The date came and went. Then a bounty hunter was hired and was supposedly tracking him on Whidbey Island. Meanwhile down in Astoria, Oregon, someone was now stealing boats and planes. Oh, and on the way down, he stopped at an animal hospital in Raymond, WA, and left an envelope with $100 and a note asking them to use it for the animals. The FBI confirmed the fingerprints were Colt's. So he's galavanting around Southwestern WA and Northwestern OR while this supposedly crack bounty hunter is allegedly "tracking Colton" about 250 miles to the north. I'm sorry but I did find that incredibly amusing. He totally gave them the slip and made his way to Oregon, undetected. It was the first time he crossed the state line, that they know of, although now they are wondering if he might have been the person flying a plane that crossed into restricted airspace over Canada during the Vancouver Olympics.

No one had heard of him outside of Washington State. Until recently.

Colt has now made his way across several states, by stealing planes and Cadillac Escalades. Always Escalades. He's been spotted on security cameras in Idaho, both the Dakotas, Nebraska, Iowa and the midwest. In South Dakota, a man came home to find a naked man in his house, eating his food, and having done his laundry. The naked man grabbed his clothes and disappeared into the night. It was Colt. His latest coup was stealing a plane from Indiana or Illinois, flying it to the Bahamas, and crash landing in a marsh. He's on the run in the Bahamas, island hopping, and has broken into convenience stores down there too.

Of course a cottage industry has sprung up, hoping to make a quick buck off the latest weird news story of the day. Americans love an underdog on the run from the evil authorities, especially when he hasn't hurt anyone.

I certainly would not want any of my stuff stolen and wrecked, or have my grocery store broken into. However, the few homes he's been in haven't been ransacked. He takes food and drink and money that's lying around. I haven't heard of any expensive jewelry or electronics being stolen. He hasn't hurt a single person or animal. And he is obviously incredibly bright. I'm even trying to think of who is going to play him in the movie. I'm thinking Kathy Bates for his mom. And as one who has never been a huge fan of law enforcement, I am getting a charge out of the fact that this 19 year old kid, who has been on the run since age 17, is always keeping one step ahead of them. By the time they discover evidence of where he's been, he's loooooong gone. So yeah, from that point of view I find myself thinking, "I hope he gets away." The cops cannot seem to find evidence that he's being helped by anyone or in contact with anyone either. If Colton Harris Moore is indeed acting alone, by his own wits and intelligence, then man alive, he needs to be found and his powers used for good. What an incredible talent he has, if only he was channeling it into something a bit more productive.

But this can't last forever. And he is in serious trouble now. He has now executed an international crime spree. Successfully too, I might add. So far. His last plane landing in the Bahamas was a rough one, and it was initially thought that he could be injured. How in the world did he fly from the midwest USA all the way to the Bahamas, without once having checked in with air traffic control? Do small planes not have to radio in as they pass through urban airspace?

I can't help but wonder how this is going to play out. He's either laughing at everyone or panicking and trying to get as far away from here as possible, making it worse with every illegal border crossing in a stolen plane, boat or Caddy. I have a feeling that the end is drawing near, and it's not going to be pretty no matter what happens. He is now completely at the mercy of the authorities in another country. Or countries, because by now, he could be in South America. That is, if he doesn't die in a plane crash or get himself shot. If he is panicking, then he is going to start making mistakes, which could be deadly.

Who knows. Maybe he's really Harry Potter, has an Invisibility Cloak and can Apparate.

UPDATE: Colton Harris Moore has been captured by the Bahamian authorities!

There's Something to be Said for Productivity

You ever have one of those weekends where you get so much done? That was me over the four day holiday. I cleaned the house really well. Got all the dog beds washed. Kitchen and bathroom cleaned. Dusting, dusting and more dusting. Emptied the Dyson about a kajillion times.

I swept out the garage, scraped up all the moss both in back and out front. Mowed the front yard, too. I sold my environmental soul by choosing to deal with the weeds by way of Round Up, instead of killing my back even more by doing it by hand. Still haven't dealt with the back yard though. Didn't bother washing my car because it's still raining off and on, but I did wash the picture window in the living room and the family room slider too. Both were covered in 'pup kiss'. I'm sure Sagan will see my newly washed windows as 'fresh canvas' on which to work his wet nose magic.

Once the window was cleaned, I noticed how pretty the sun looked on my marbles.

I also stenciled and assembled this clock kit-of-the-month project. I royally screwed up the number stencils. Talk about black blobs. It took about an hour or so to apply white paint with a teeny tiny brush, around all the numbers to make them look better. And hey! It even keeps time! Just don't look too close.

Without the flash you can really see how much I had to paint. So it's probably best mounted way up high on the wall; better to be seen at a distance!

The other day one of my Facebook friends posted a link to someone who was selling her bead and jewelry collection in order to finance cancer treatments for her beloved dog, Ukiah, a malamute or husky, not sure which. I found this really cool vintage piece on her site and could not pass it up, plus it was for a good cause.

I finished my Jody Bergsma Designs colouring book and also did 2 other pages in my paisley design colouring book. I will post pics once they are scanned. I spent most of Monday afternoon working on a new bead project. Let's just say that I now remember why I don't work with seed beads very often anymore. It just takes too long.

Finally, I hung up my seasonal dragons cross stitch frames that have been sitting upstairs for the better part of a year!

But I still haven't dealt with my Norton issues.....

Mini Scrapbook Kit

One of my Craft Kit of the Month Club projects was a mini scrapbook, with 4 pages, for a total of 8 front and back. I wasn't quite sure what to do with it at first. Then I had a brainstorm.....How about one d'evoted to Vincent D'Onofrio?! Click on the pics for a close up of all the doo dads and such!

Photos courtesy of Eliza, Val, Madi & the Valentine Cat.

America's Birthday

The only thing that would have made this cartoon funnier is if they'd spelled it "Chowdahead".

July 4th doesn't seem to mean the same thing on the west coast as it does on the east coast. If you were born and raised in one of "The Colonies", like Brian and I were, July 4th is not only a day of fun and games, but also a time to celebrate the birth of our country. There are revolutionary war themed parades back east. However, the west coast is way, way younger, and very far removed from important historical places like Philadelphia and Boston. So out here, July 4th is more about a day off to drink to excess, eat to excess and then blow shit up. The whole Declaration of Independence thing is an after thought.

Sandwich in the 1970's was a different place in time. It was still a small town, where everyone knew everyone for the most part. There was a "horribles parade" in the early morning, that started and ended at the elementary school, doing the loop through town. From Wikipedia: "Parade of horribles" originally referred to a literal parade of people wearing comic and grotesque costumes, rather like the Philadelphia Mummers Parade. It was a traditional feature of Fourth of July parades in parts of the United States in the nineteenth century, and "Horribles Parades" continue to be part of the Independence Day celebration in several New England communities."

Kids decorated their bikes with streamers and stuff woven in their spokes. There were people dressed up. Classic cars, the school bands. Civic leaders, a few floats. Then after the parade it was off to the elementary school to watch, or enter, the 3-legged race, potato sack race and other "old fashioned" games from a simpler time. All the homes that ringed the school had parties so you just walked around, visiting with everyone. A fave event was The Firemen's Muster which was always good for a laugh as the fire departments for the villages of Sandwich, East Sandwich and Forestdale would compete against each other and inevitably, the firehose would get turned on and people would be drenched and screaming w/ laughter. All of the old homes in the Village were decorated with red, white & blue bunting and the effect on the white painted homes was striking.

In 1975, there was a huge parade to kick off the Bicentennial year celebration. My dad was in the Lion's Club float that depicted Washington Crossing the Delaware. He was one of the oarsmen, and my Uncle Dick was standing behind the guy who played Washington. My mom and Aunt Eve made their costumes, which costumes passed immediately into the hands of Diane and I on July 6th and boy did we have a blast that summer with our tri-cornered hats, vests, pouches and fake rifles that my dad made from wood & pipe (and I still have mine in the closet). We have home movies of the parade. When I see it I just cannot believe how little Diane, Sharon and I were, at ages 10, 12 and 10 respectively.

After the morning's activities, it was always home for lunch. After my aunt and uncle had their pool built in 1973, that's where we'd be for the rest of the afternoon. I'm not sure what we did before the pool was built, but possibly we went swimming at the beach or at Snake Pond in Forestdale, where I took swimming lessons.

Dinner would be a family barbecue with the picnic table outside at Aunt Eve and Uncle Dick's. Sometimes we were taken downtown for the fireworks, but when we were very young, we would light the sparklers that Diane & Sharon's dad, Hal, would buy on his many business trips to the south. He would get sparklers mostly, maybe a couple of other small things, but nothing major and it was enough to satisfy our need for fireworks. But when we got older, we would go back to downtown Sandwich at dusk, coated with bug spray. We'd get an Italian Ice from the ice cream truck and find a spot on the ground at Shawme Pond.

Once we staked our place, we'd listen to the band that was playing on the wooden bandstand, which is to the far left of the above photo, next to the tree. It was also decorated with red white & blue bunting, like the homes around the pond. As it started to get dark, the lighted boat parade would start from the other side of the pond. People decorated their row boats with tons of Chinese lanterns and would row past the crowd, each boat trying to outdo the other, as best as one could in a tiny row boat. Everyone would clap appreciatively, and they were all within shouting distance of the shore so there were a few loud wise cracks from those who recognized the people in the boats.

The fire department would shoot the fireworks from the point at the old cemetery, across the pond.

It was a lot of fun. In the late 70's, they stopped the fireworks b/c the cemetery was just too fragile, and the drunk people were using the yards of historic old homes as toilets. There was still the parade and events, and in high school I'd always go downtown for the day to hang out with my friends, but we didn't bother fighting the traffic to go to Falmouth or Hyannis for the fireworks. I remember a few times being with Marybeth, having walked all over town during the day, and then at night so many people, adult and children, would be at their house and people showed up with some roman candles, catherine wheels and firecrackers.

In 1986, I was lucky enough to see the Boston fireworks, which were incredible. I will never forget it. My bff Charlene had an apartment near Copley Place, behind the Pru. So I crashed at her place after we went to the Esplanade. I remember we had to climb a 6' chain link fence barrier that divided Storrow Drive so that we could get to the other side. Oh the things I was able to do in my youth! There were speakers so even though we were behind the Hatch Shell and unable to see the Boston Pops, we could hear the music. The fireworks were amazing.

In 1987, my friend Jack, cousin Diane and I went to the annual Mashpee Pow Wow on the Cape. That was fun. Then that night I went to the fireworks in Hyannis, at Kalmus Beach, with my then boyfriend Howard. We were sitting so close to where they were launching them, that all the shells broke directly over us. We were laying on our backs on the blanket looking up thinking what a great view we had. Then the flaming debris started hitting the beach all around us. We sprang up, grabbed our shit and fled down the beach, laughing maniacly at the situation, with flaming shells still raining down on our heads.

In 1988, I was in Maine for the July 2 & 3 Dead shows with Michelle. On July 4th, we drove from Freeport, Maine, over into New Hampshire and all the way to the top of Mt. Washington, the highest point in all of New England. It was so hot and hazy. When we got back to North Conway, we had dinner and stayed for their fireworks, before making the 2 hour trip back to Freeport.

In 1989, we were at a Dead show in Buffalo on July 4th. Brian and I were on the radio at a local Buffalo rock station, because it was our honeymoon and our friend Jef knew the on air talent from Massachusetts. When he told her that it was his friends' honeymoon tour, they decided to talk to us.

After we moved to California, July 4th was kind of a let down. There were no fireworks near by enough to bother with the traffic jam. Half the time San Francisco was socked in with fog so the fireworks couldn't even be seen. We would sometimes have friends over for grilling and good times. But overall, it was just another day off. No bunting. No parades. No town festivals held to coincide with the holiday.

Then we moved here and discovered that fireworks are, more or less, legal. The Indian reservations make windfall profits from the fireworks stands. Technically you aren't supposed to leave the res with the good stuff, and sometimes there is a State Patrol car sitting at the entrance and exit so then you take your chances. But overall, you can go, blow tons of money on heavy duty mortars, and get home w/o being stopped by the cops. Our neighborhood goes a bit nuts, and so did we, especially in 2002. I saved $20 a week for months and months, for "The Boomie Fund" so by the end of June, we could go nuts. And go nuts we did.

Now that we have Pepper and Sagan, we don't buy them anymore. It was fun but man, what a mess they made in the driveway. One year we were finding parachutes on the roof and trees for weeks. And it really is a waste of money on something that's going to explode, but we had the disposable income for it back then. Not so much anymore.

But I do sometimes long for those July 4ths in the 70s, in Sandwich.

Post #600

So. Post #600. I totally spaced on observing any of the other milestones, so I don't know why I'm observing this one but I am.

I started this blog in June, 2006, after searching around the interwebs for fans of Vincent D'Onofrio. That's how I met Val, Eliza, Axe, Ann, Mary, Jaime, Susan, Kris, Madi, Tess & Di at The Valentine Cat and all the gals on the Molly Blog. Their blogs were all pretty new too, in the summer of 2006. I am proud to call them amongst my dearest friends. And through our fledgling efforts to D'evote our blogs to the D'Ivine D'Onofrio, I met a whole bunch of wonderful people too: BASRIC, BobbyBeGood1, our only male Vincent Vixen Snarkangel, Jazzy, Nantz, Ruby, MauiGirl and Music Wench. I'm proud to call all of you friends. Other Vincent bloggers have come and go, and I keep in touch with some on Facebook. I apologize profusely if I have left anyone out!!

My fellow Vincent Vixens did a fantastic job at presenting Vincent pics and slideshows, especially Eliza, who works some serious magic with her treasure trove of pics. Unfortunately, other than posting stock shots of Vincent I'd snagged from around the web, I didn't know what else to do with it, and therefore decided to just write about miscellaneous stuff. I like to write and it's been a good outlet for me. It's been a fun 4 years, although I can't believe it's been this long.

Along the way I also found some great Deadhead friends like Aiko Annie at Cozy Shack, Daisy Deadhead at Daisy's Dead Air, Sugar Mag, Fancy Schmancy, White Rabbit and The Golden Road. Through White Rabbit, I connected with Petit Fleur who writes a great blog as well. Her young son comes up with some brilliantly funny quips, which she calls "Harleyisms".

I love Vaporback Writer's blog (f/k/a Danger Panda's Eats Shoots & Leaves) because she lives a few towns over from me and does a lot of writing about the history of places and people, and she loves to poke fun at Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer. I love the great travel shots over at Trigby's Rigamaroo. Trigby performed Donnie & Mike's wedding ceremony in San Francisco, and that's how I met him. He and his partner, Eric, surprise each other all the time with fantastic trips to exotic places. I can't afford to travel, so I am happy to do it vicariously through my friends.

And now I've also been enjoying the Hood Photo Blog, San Francisco Sidewalk Safari and Victoria Daily Photo, which represent some of the most breathtaking photography I've ever seen of my fave places. Val, at Incurable, writes some great stuff about her intense long distance horseback riding competitions she does in the punishing Texas summer heat. Maureen's I'd Rather Be Blogging is always good for a chuckle. I've also been perusing the blogs of some absolutely amazing artists, like Sam's 3 blogs: Silkie Sue, SaMmY's PiX n MiX & Gingerwine's Lost Toys. I always loved Drowsey Monkey's blog but she decided to take a break several months ago, although I see she's testing the waters again (Drowsey, if you read this, please restart your blog).

Sorry I don't know how to do links, but they are all on the side of my page.

All of these blogs, including, Just Some Thoughts, Siobhan's Neverland, Sylvia's Stitches, Seraphim Jewelry Design, Blue Eyed Girl, Marching 7/4 and Marble Forum, are what keep me inspired to make my blog interesting and eclectic.

I want to thank all of my wonderful friends and family who pop by to read, either regularly or now and then. I appreciate the support. A lot of blogs I've seen never have any comments at all and it means a lot to me that I do get comments. I love all of you.

So the other day in the car, I was listening to one of my fave songs, "Blow At High Dough" by the Tragically Hip, which was also the theme song of one of my fave shows called "Made In Canada", about the film and TV industry in Toronto. It was brilliantly written and acted, extremely accurate and I developed quite a crush on Peter Keleghan, who played Alan Roy, the head of Pyramid Studios. Peter was simultaneously on "The Red Green Show" as lonely, loony Ranger Gord, who I also adored. When I got home, I looked Peter up on Facebook and found a page. I thought it was just a fan page till I checked out his friends. Oh it's definitely him alright. So I decided, what the hell, I'll send him a friend request. I included a message saying that I've been a long time fan of his, and assured him I wasn't weird or a stalker. Less than a half hour later, I got a notification that he'd accepted my friend request. I was ecstatic!!

Last year I'd also done a similar friend request to another long time fave actor, John Pyper Ferguson, on whom I have had a major crush since 1993. To my utter bliss, he also accepted. I've always been star struck, but to have 2 of my 3 biggest actor crushes consent to be a Facebook friend is like the closest I will ever get to meeting them in real life, or seeing what they are up to, even though neither of them are on that much. Now if only Vincent would get a page! Then my trifecta of actor crushes would be complete.

I covet this pendant. I am thinking about buying it. It's like $45 though. But I love it. We'll see.

As I mentioned the other day, Sagan's boarding this weekend. Today I got up at 7:30 and checked the following things off my Do It or Die List: Cleaned, vacuumed & dusted the downstairs, washed the downstairs dog beds, put away the DVDs, CDs and books. It took me about 4 trips to and from the upstairs livingroom with arm loads of dog toys that had to be brought back downstairs and put in the toy boxes. I coloured 2 pictures this afternoon, and also started one of my craft kit of the month club projects. It's stenciling. Because I have always sucked, and will always suck, at stenciling, I am having to try to salvage it as I continue on w/ the project. Needless to say when it's done and I take a photo of it, the photo will not be a closeup.....

The weather's been very cool and rainy, which suits me just fine, but for the ever-growing horror show that is my backyard. But the longer it stays like this, the shorter the summer. Last year was so awful. Just so hot. Too hot. Africa hot. Tarzan hot. I-don't-think-I-can-stay-here-if-it's-gonna-be-this-Hot. That's why I will happily take this off & on rain, any day.

I met Brian on July 2, 1988, 22 years ago today, in Oxford Maine, after the Dead show. I don't really remember that specific meeting other than saying, "Hi" when we were introduced, as it was late and dark and everyone was flying on LSD except me, who had to drive about an hour back to Michelle's place in Freeport. It was the next day, July 3, when he and I bonded after I sold him my extra ticket for what I paid ($20) and he said, "I love you". We didn't start hanging out regularly till months later though.

July 4th always makes me feel nostalgic and I will probably do a post about what it was like to grow up in a place like Sandwich, in the 1970's and celebrate the 4th of July. It's so quintessentially American, especially when you grow up surrounded with the history of it like I did. The fledgling rebellion would meet at Fessenden's Tavern, which eventually became the Dan'l Webster Inn, where I worked every summer as a chambermaid. The loyalists would meet at Newcombe's Tavern on the other side of Shawme Pond. I was born and raised in the heart of America's birth. So was Brian, being originally from New Jersey and outside the Philadelphia area. And typical of children, I didn't appreciate it when I lived there.

Tomorrow's goals: Dusting & vacuuming the upstairs, washing the livingroom windows, taking the stuff to Goodwill, washing out Sagan's crate and cleaning the kitchen & bathroom. And crafts. Always crafts.