Conjecture 4 Art Showkaytee
Jewelry Town
Jewelry, Piercing and Fashion industry news. Articles and stories about gold, silver and titanium body jewelry such us watches, rings, diamond jewelry, bracelets and many other.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
A Moment of Weakness As I was going about my
A Moment of Weakness
As I was going about my business today I accidently became waylaid by an interesting tidbit from ShopDiary. You see, the Proenza Schouler collection is available online now. Go ShopLocal.com or Froogle.com and enter “Proenza Schouler” in the search engine. Target doesn’t have direct links on their website yet but going through ShopLocal and Froogle will [...]
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Unconventional vs. Conventional?The first bracelet was inspired once again by
Unconventional vs. Conventional?
The first bracelet was inspired once again by the marvelous lampwork beads by James Derrick Reeves and reminds me of something a friend once said,"Artists can get away with anything.""Oh, you mean like staying drunk all the time and being unfaithful?"
"No, "she said, "you know, like wearing green and purple together."
The bracelet above is made of tourmalinated quartz, lampwork beads, and wonderful faceted amethyst nuggets along with sterling silver chain and tiny little charms.
Maybe not as daring as green and purple together, but I was in a mood, and I'd just gotten these luscious faceted citrine nuggets (very nice), and decided to mix them with some light aqua chalcedony I had as well as the lampwork beads. The sterling silver accents are from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes.
For the more conventional, a rainbow moonstone bracelet with lampwork beads in a light periwinkle blue. The lampwork is by Burt Gumeson. There are also chalcedony nuggets and faceted rondelles as well as some tiny little cabochon rainbow moonstone charms.In the same vein, but a different temperature is the bottom bracelet: a sunstone and boro lampwork bead bracelet with vermeil and a huge very special crab fire agate faceted nugget. The vermeil elements in this bracelet are from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes also.
After being out of town for a while, nothing is as hectic as returning and trying to catch up on all the work - even though I took plenty of work with me! Does work multiply exponetially when we're away?
To see these bracelets, and many more, go to our Cluny Grey Jewelry website; the link will take you to the citrine bracelet first. (Don't forget that citrine is the November birthstone).
jewelry
fashion bracelets chalcedony
weblogs
accessories
design jewellery lampwork beads
beads
beadwork
beading
gemstones
silver moonstone
The Jewelry Blog citrine sunstone amethyst agate
quartz
clunygrey@yahoo.com (Cluny Grey)
party time It’s 11pm on a Friday night and I’m
party time
It’s 11pm on a Friday night and I’m at home in track pants doing flats, only partially paying attention to the movie the husband is watching next to me, eating wine gums. Ah, the glamorous life of a fashion designer…
Monday, January 29, 2007
Netted NecklaceInspiration Piece: I swiped this off my friend's neck.
Netted Necklace
Inspiration Piece: I swiped this off my friend's neck. The piece is probably almost 10 years old and handmade using swarvoski's montees (3mm)(or something similar). The other links look like hematite, but I think it's someother metal, I'm not sure. They are closed links. It has a real nice feel to it/heavy.
Have a happy, be back in a few days.
jeanettedesignstudio@gmail.com (~jeanette design studio~)
An Interview With FIT?s Dr. Valerie Steele on Academics and
An Interview With FIT?s Dr. Valerie Steele on Academics and Fashion
This is the first part of my interview with Dr. Steele. In it I ask her questions (along with reader submitted questions) on academics and fashion. If you want to run it on your own blog the code is available here.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Plus-size Fashion: How to Find the Perfect Bra There's a
Plus-size Fashion: How to Find the Perfect Bra
There's a great thread going on right now over at Feministe on the best place to find bras, whether you're well endowed or not. Since there are no photos unless you click the links to the retail sites, it's more or less work safe.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
vocabulary definitions resignation: the moment you realize your favorite dress
vocabulary definitions
resignation: the moment you realize your favorite dress just doesn’t go with the rest of your collection and needs to be chucked. colorblindness: the state of mind where you’ve been poring over color groups for so long they all start looking equally sucky. night vision: when you come up with the most brilliant solution to Question X [...]
The December Birthstone? Turquoise (Among Others)The December birthstone is difficult
The December Birthstone? Turquoise (Among Others)
The December birthstone is difficult to decide upon. It seems there is no hard and fast birthstone for December the way there is for, say, May - the emerald, or January's garnet. Some sources will tell you that the birthstone for December is the Zircon, which is not the same as a cubic zirconia, but a real stone that is usually colourless and heat treated to turn it a beautiful blue colour. Some say the December birthstone is the Blue Topaz, probably because it became quite popular as a jewelry stone, and many people started viewing the Zircon as a synthetic, confusing it with the cubic zirconia. Other sources say turquoise which is what I am going with. So with turquoise in mind, I did the above bracelet with a mix of blues - blue turquoise and blue lapis - inspired once again by the great lampwork beads of James Derrick Reeves. Also, not only do I like lapis mixed with turquoise personally, but it has been mentioned as a traditional alternative to turquoise and blue topaz as the December birthstone. The smaller lapis pieces are good lapis from Afghanistan in a lovely dark royal blue. I have listed this bracelet on the Lapis Jewelry page on the Cluny Grey website, simply because there was more room on that page. 
The turquoise bracelet above features borosilicate (boro) lampwork beads and blue ovals and rounds in turquoise. I think of this more as a birthstone bracelet than the others.
Turquoise gets its name from Turkey, and it has long been used in jewelry. A gift of turquoise is supposed to represent friendship and fidelity. In the ancient world, turquoise was considered to be a sacred stone.The bottom turquoise bracelet is called "In the Time of Flowers" and has great turquoise nuggets with the wonderful spidering veins that makes it so pretty when it is this colour blue, and little charms at intervals throughout the whole bracelet. Everything is sterling silver, and the lampwork beads were chosen to complement the spidering as well as the turquoise. To see more turquoise bracelets, click here.
If you don't know what your birthstone is, or want to know your Hindu birthstone, see our Birthstone Chart.
fashion jewelry jewellery bracelet turquoise turquoise jewelry lapis birthstone shopping The Jewelry Blog gemstones beads handmade beaded jewelry handcrafted jewelry wearable art
lampwork koristaa jalokivill joyer a
clunygrey@yahoo.com (Cluny Grey)
Friday, January 26, 2007
Thursday, January 25, 2007
My Wardrobe Improvement Goals for 2007Many thanks to all who
My Wardrobe Improvement Goals for 2007
Many thanks to all who answered my New Year's question concerning your personal wardrobe improvement goals for 2007, thereby giving me another day to consider mine. Not nearly as profound as any of those submitted, mine is simply this:
to fill in my wardrobe of accent tops (basic tee-shirts, dress shirts, etc.)
Mentally my wardrobe exists in three building-block-type components:
May I suggest a goal, if you don't have one already? Invite a friend over to help you organize your closet and advise you on what to biff. Tessa is willing to come and do it for free if you pay her travel expenses, as am I.
But here's the catch: what you commit to get rid of leaves with me. No changing your mind later.
to fill in my wardrobe of accent tops (basic tee-shirts, dress shirts, etc.)
Mentally my wardrobe exists in three building-block-type components:
- Bottoms. Skirts and trousers. Most often, I think of shoes and socks in conjunction with these.
- Top Layers. Jackets and sweaters, blazers and sweatshirts. Thinking of these sometimes leads to considerations of outerwear, as well.
- Accent Tops. The mortar that holds outfit together. Necessarily flattering to the face, I am missing some of these bread-and-butter basics (like a white dress shirt). I guess that makes sense that my challenge would lie in this arena, since this category of clothing is considered an accessory by some.
May I suggest a goal, if you don't have one already? Invite a friend over to help you organize your closet and advise you on what to biff. Tessa is willing to come and do it for free if you pay her travel expenses, as am I.
But here's the catch: what you commit to get rid of leaves with me. No changing your mind later.
Rebecca
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Hey, Look at This!I think this was my real Christmas
Hey, Look at This!
I think this was my real Christmas present. Many thanks to the Bargain Queen for her helpful advice in making the change, Kathleen Fasanella of Fashion Incubator for her post (quite a long time ago, but she's having technical issues right now, so I can't link the exact post) urging bloggers to buy their own domain, and to Darren Rowse of ProBlogger for drawing my entry to win the 10 books, which somehow made it urgent to do it TODAY.
So who will be first to link to the new site?
So who will be first to link to the new site?
Rebecca
What Did You Get for Christmas?Did you get any cool
What Did You Get for Christmas?
Did you get any cool clothes? (I don't think anybody dares to get me any. There was a nice pair of hiking socks in my stocking, though, and plenty of $$$. I'm happy.:)
Rebecca
bacardi competition Did everyone who emailed me get an email
bacardi competition
Did everyone who emailed me get an email back with the information? I sent out a slew of emails but no one emailed me back saying they got it or not. Let me know if you didn’t receive an email from me about the competition. Thanks and good luck!
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
bacardi competition Did everyone who emailed me get an email
bacardi competition
Did everyone who emailed me get an email back with the information? I sent out a slew of emails but no one emailed me back saying they got it or not. Let me know if you didn’t receive an email from me about the competition. Thanks and good luck!
Tim Gunn/"Ugly Betty" Update!Boys and girls, get out your Tim
Tim Gunn/"Ugly Betty" Update!
Boys and girls, get out your Tim Gunn calendars and turn to February. Now, peel off two of your special Tim Gunn stickers and place them on February 1 and 8. This will mark the acting debut of our Tim on "Ugly Betty." Click here to learn more!
The_Scarlett_Letters@verizon.net (The Scarlett)
Hell to Nah! Ugly shoe Tuesday. I am seriously beside
Hell to Nah! Ugly shoe Tuesday.
I am seriously beside myself right now. What in the lilly white rice is this? Caption it.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Fall/Winter 2007/2008 Fashion Week Preview-Alexander Wang Alexander Wang, already beloved
Fall/Winter 2007/2008 Fashion Week Preview-Alexander Wang
Alexander Wang, already beloved and much publicized for his cashmere knitwear, has really been expanding his reach and interest. With Spring 2007 he launched his first full ready to wear collection and with his take on modern, hip, and easy to wear looks interpreted in luxurious fabrics was a really step towards finally realizing the [...]
Unconventional vs. Conventional?The first bracelet was inspired once again by
Unconventional vs. Conventional?
The first bracelet was inspired once again by the marvelous lampwork beads by James Derrick Reeves and reminds me of something a friend once said,"Artists can get away with anything.""Oh, you mean like staying drunk all the time and being unfaithful?"
"No, "she said, "you know, like wearing green and purple together."
The bracelet above is made of tourmalinated quartz, lampwork beads, and wonderful faceted amethyst nuggets along with sterling silver chain and tiny little charms.
Maybe not as daring as green and purple together, but I was in a mood, and I'd just gotten these luscious faceted citrine nuggets (very nice), and decided to mix them with some light aqua chalcedony I had as well as the lampwork beads. The sterling silver accents are from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes.For the more conventional, a rainbow moonstone bracelet with lampwork beads in a light periwinkle blue. The lampwork is by Burt Gumeson. There are also chalcedony nuggets and faceted rondelles as well as some tiny little cabochon rainbow moonstone charms.In the same vein, but a different temperature is the bottom bracelet: a sunstone and boro lampwork bead bracelet with vermeil and a huge very special crab fire agate faceted nugget. The vermeil elements in this bracelet are from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes also.
After being out of town for a while, nothing is as hectic as returning and trying to catch up on all the work - even though I took plenty of work with me! Does work multiply exponetially when we're away?
To see these bracelets, and many more, go to our Cluny Grey Jewelry website; the link will take you to the citrine bracelet first. (Don't forget that citrine is the November birthstone).
jewelry
fashion bracelets chalcedony
weblogs
accessories
design jewellery lampwork beads
beads
beadwork
beading
gemstones
silver moonstone
The Jewelry Blog citrine sunstone amethyst agate
quartz
clunygrey@yahoo.com (Cluny Grey)
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Fashion Lab: Better Late Than NeverI really should get some
Fashion Lab: Better Late Than Never
I really should get some modeling lessons or something, rather than continually subjecting you wonderful people to these hack photos.
Typically I choose not to focus on the type of advice that picks some "less-than" body part ("I hate my thighs!") and uses "fool-the-eye" techniques to compensate. It's all too confusing. In most cases, learning and employing the basics (line, shape, proportion, scale, and, of course, personal idiom and color) will create a much more integrated, simple, and aesthetically pleasing look.
But an outfit I threw together recently caused me to think about a principle I had previously run across:
To camouflage or draw attention away, surround the feature with something larger or more eye-catching. In these pictures, the "feature" is my thighs and the "something larger or more eye-catching" is the line of the t-shirt hem(s) and the belt buckle.
In which of these pictures do I look most normal to you?
And another question: How would this principle be used if the "feature" being camouflaged was a slight tummy bulge?
On one thing I'm sure we can all agree: Use tunic-length tops with caution! (They never worked for me in the '80s either.)
Typically I choose not to focus on the type of advice that picks some "less-than" body part ("I hate my thighs!") and uses "fool-the-eye" techniques to compensate. It's all too confusing. In most cases, learning and employing the basics (line, shape, proportion, scale, and, of course, personal idiom and color) will create a much more integrated, simple, and aesthetically pleasing look.
But an outfit I threw together recently caused me to think about a principle I had previously run across:
To camouflage or draw attention away, surround the feature with something larger or more eye-catching. In these pictures, the "feature" is my thighs and the "something larger or more eye-catching" is the line of the t-shirt hem(s) and the belt buckle.
In which of these pictures do I look most normal to you?
And another question: How would this principle be used if the "feature" being camouflaged was a slight tummy bulge?
On one thing I'm sure we can all agree: Use tunic-length tops with caution! (They never worked for me in the '80s either.)
Rebecca
Friday, January 19, 2007
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Circle PendantI've been working on my Year of Jewelry challenge
Circle Pendant
I've been working on my Year of Jewelry challenge piece and have been challenged this week by the theme, Kisses in the Mist.
I had a great idea, but it didn't work (I guess that's the joy of a challenge...educating yourself that brilliant ideas don't always pan out!). I have seen a couple of renditions of the popular "circle" pendants lately by fellow beaders, and wanted to try something. I think it might be my next YOJ challenge piece.
The "circle" pendants you can buy at any jewelry store usually feature diamonds. Mine has labradorite, tiny rounds (3-4mm) that are wired onto a round frame. Because I haven't masted soldering (yet!), I used the ends to create a bail.
I love this pendant, and the bail is a little small to fit on the chain that I have, so I added the sterling jump rings so I can wear it tomorrow. I still have a couple of ideas I may add to it before actually submitting to YOJ, but I do like it as is. :-)
Beading Help Web Editorial Team
Red Shoe DiariesToday is a red shoe day. There s nothing
Red Shoe Diaries
Today is a red shoe day. There s nothing like a great pair of red shoes to make a gal feel like she can go out and conquer the world and perform any ass-kickings that may need to be administered along the way. Don t believe me? Just ask Dorothy. Of course, I can t rock the sequins the way she did, but I like to think that my kicking shoes of choice (see pic below) have a sleek, modern feel. Because that s how I roll, yo.
And now for the list of kickees :
1. The bozos who on two separate occasions this week revealed their total lack of elevator etiquette by failing to let me and the other passengers OFF the elevator before barging right on and essentially mowing me down in the process. I swear the elevator door opened and some guy was about an eyelash length away from me TWICE! Raised by wolves, much?
And now for the list of kickees :1. The bozos who on two separate occasions this week revealed their total lack of elevator etiquette by failing to let me and the other passengers OFF the elevator before barging right on and essentially mowing me down in the process. I swear the elevator door opened and some guy was about an eyelash length away from me TWICE! Raised by wolves, much?
2. The brain trust who decided that rush hour in the rain on a Monday morning would be a good time to turn off the main traffic light that controls the intersection to my office building s parking lot. Smooth move, ex-lax.
3. The person who invented the words Storm Watch. Yeah, right. Drizzle Watch 2006 is more like it. Thanks awfully, though. Because, you know, ooooo the drama!
4. The quite bizarre saleswoman at Macy s who felt the need to issue elaborate commentary on each and every one of my purchases which, considering I was in the lingerie department at the time was disconcerting to say the least. I already KNOW the underwear is cute, thanks. That s why I m buying it. Except I had the weird feeling that if she thought what I was buy was ugly, she would ve commented on that, too, in the same upbeat, chipper, overly-friendly, robotic Stepford Wife-ish voice. Just shut up and bag the damn stuff. If I d wanted your input, I would ve asked. I ve experienced this phenomenon before in relation to food purchases at the grocery store and it s annoying there, too. But it never had the creep and ick factor that this gal provided with her running underwear diatribe. Not to mention her brain seemed to not be able to handle simultaneous activities such as talking and ringing up sales so the whole process took, like, a decade or something.
And now, for some red-shoe-ass-kicking music, I bring you the immortal words of Kelly Clarkson (or whoever writes her songs):
Since U Been Gone
Here's the thing we started out friends
It was cool but it was all pretend
Yeah yeah
Since U Been Gone
You re dedicated you took the time
Wasn't long till I called you mine
Yeah Yeah
Since U Been Gone
And all you'd ever hear me say
Is how I pictured me with you
That's all you'd ever hear me say
But Since U Been Gone
I can breathe for the first time
I'm so moving on
Yeah, yeah
Thanks to you
Now I get
What I want
Since U Been Gone
How can I put it? You put me on
I even fell for that stupid love song
Yeah, yeah
Since U Been Gone
How come I'd never hear you say
I just wanna be with you
I guess you never felt that way
But Since U Been Gone
I can breathe for the first time
I'm so moving on
Yeah, yeah
Thanks to you
Now I get (I get) what I want
Since U Been Gone
You had your chance you blew it
Out of sight, out of mind
Shut your mouth I just can't take it
Again and again and again and again
Since U Been Gone
I can breathe for the first time
I'm so moving on
Yeah, yeah
Thanks to you (thanks to you)
Now I get, I get what I want
I can breathe for the first time
I'm so moving on
Yeah, yeah
Thanks to you (thanks to you)
Now I get (I get)
You should know (you should know)
That I get, I get what I want
Since U Been Gone
Since U Been Gone
Since U Been Gone
So, just a warning to everyone out there my red shoes and I are in the house. You better straighten up and fly right!
KJ
P.S. Architect Guy (who I ll be calling AG for short now) paid me the nicest compliment about my lips. This is extra cool because I ve never liked my lips. In order to avoid drawing attention to them, I never wear anything on them other than lip balm (Bonne Belle Lipsmackers in Strawberry or Vanilla since 7th grade if you must know). Until very recently, that is. I made a conscious decision earlier this year to just embrace myself real and imagined flaws and all and went nuts buying lip gloss and wear it all the time now. I guess it paid off. If he says something nice about my nose, next, I may be in love LOL!
Silver Parrot
Busy busy busy This is insane. I was on business
Busy busy busy
This is insane. I was on business travel the last week in November. I'm leaving today for more and won't be back until late Thursday evening. I'm leaving again next Monday and am coming home Wednesday evening, then will be heading out for NC on Friday to visit relatives for Christmas. That makes four weeks out of five that I'm out of town. On that schedule I can't possibly get anything done in the studio. I did manage to finish a badge lanyard for a co-worker and if I can I'll take photos of it before I give it to her at the company Christmas party this Friday. We'll see if I remember to do it between staggering off the plane after 9 pm Thursday night and heading into work on Friday morning.
So don't expect much out of me this month. It'll be all I can do to get presents wrapped before Christmas.
Fall Preview ~ Magical colors in jewelryI'm having a real
Fall Preview ~ Magical colors in jewelry
I'm having a real hard time with blogger loading up pics for me~
Here are some additions that will be available exclusively at my fall & winter events.
I haven't updated my website, we are getting totally revamped & lots of exciting stuff will be happening in the new year!
Playing with fall colors is a favorite! I have some beautiful designs. I'll try to get more up, blogger willing...
Some favorite combinations are smokey quartz & burgandy crystals, I have some fab smokey TOPAZ, beautifully faceted, combined with Garnet gemstones, Tigereye & red poppy jasper and the most wonderful czech leaves!
jeanettedesignstudio@gmail.com (~jeanette design studio~)
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Out with the old, in with the new!Dear Beading Friends:I
Out with the old, in with the new!
Dear Beading Friends:
I wanted to say "THANKS" for a great year in 2006! Beading Help Web grew by leaps and bounds, and a lot of credit goes to you for questions, comments, contributions, and support. It's been a fun year, and I'm so pleased to have "met" so many of you this past year.
Looking back, I've grown personally as well. At the beginning of the year, I thought making chainmaille was totally beyond my grasp. I laughed at the thought of teaching a beading class. I've conquered both of those challenges and others...because I refuse to keep to the status quo.
On the main page of Beading Help Web, I've posted my goals for 2007. I prefer to call them goals instead of "resolutions" because I can measure my success, and it's not a pass/fail thing.
Your own personal goals, whether they be in your beading journey or other aspects of your life, don't have to be figured out by January 1. But do it soon. Write them down. Take a look at them regularly to see how you are doing. Don't wait - every day that you do is a day you could have spent getting closer to that goal. ;-)
Have a safe and happy New Year's celebration. I look forward to hearing what YOUR goals are for 2007.
Lynn
I wanted to say "THANKS" for a great year in 2006! Beading Help Web grew by leaps and bounds, and a lot of credit goes to you for questions, comments, contributions, and support. It's been a fun year, and I'm so pleased to have "met" so many of you this past year.
Looking back, I've grown personally as well. At the beginning of the year, I thought making chainmaille was totally beyond my grasp. I laughed at the thought of teaching a beading class. I've conquered both of those challenges and others...because I refuse to keep to the status quo.
On the main page of Beading Help Web, I've posted my goals for 2007. I prefer to call them goals instead of "resolutions" because I can measure my success, and it's not a pass/fail thing.
Your own personal goals, whether they be in your beading journey or other aspects of your life, don't have to be figured out by January 1. But do it soon. Write them down. Take a look at them regularly to see how you are doing. Don't wait - every day that you do is a day you could have spent getting closer to that goal. ;-)
Have a safe and happy New Year's celebration. I look forward to hearing what YOUR goals are for 2007.
Lynn
Beading Help Web Editorial Team
Monday, January 08, 2007
August's Gemstone is Peridot Anybody who knows me,...August's Gemstone is
August's Gemstone is Peridot Anybody who knows me,...
August's Gemstone is Peridot
Anybody who knows me, knows I love green. You may notice that a lot of the jewelry I design is green so naturally I'm attracted to the gemstone Peridot--which is also known as Olivine. The color of Peridot runs from a transparent yellow green to a deeper shade of chartreuse. In ancient times, it was thought to foster friendship and it was suppose to rid the mind of any envious thoughts. This powerful stone was also thought to prevent liver disease and excess fluid retention. In ancient times people thought the Peridot stone was a gift from nature to celebrate the beginning of spring. Major sources of Peridot can be found in Arizona, China, Pakistan and Burma. Just one more tid bit of information about Peridot--it isn't a very hard stone so it can scratch very easily. Check out some of these pieces on stranded.com
The first item was designed by Joy and it contains some Peridot stones. The second item I designed and the necklace is made from Peridot chips. Finally, the third item I designes and these earrings are made from Peridot colored Swarovski beads.
Anybody who knows me, knows I love green. You may notice that a lot of the jewelry I design is green so naturally I'm attracted to the gemstone Peridot--which is also known as Olivine. The color of Peridot runs from a transparent yellow green to a deeper shade of chartreuse. In ancient times, it was thought to foster friendship and it was suppose to rid the mind of any envious thoughts. This powerful stone was also thought to prevent liver disease and excess fluid retention. In ancient times people thought the Peridot stone was a gift from nature to celebrate the beginning of spring. Major sources of Peridot can be found in Arizona, China, Pakistan and Burma. Just one more tid bit of information about Peridot--it isn't a very hard stone so it can scratch very easily. Check out some of these pieces on stranded.com
The first item was designed by Joy and it contains some Peridot stones. The second item I designed and the necklace is made from Peridot chips. Finally, the third item I designes and these earrings are made from Peridot colored Swarovski beads.
stranded
Project Runway on eBayClick here to see Daniel Vosovic's "Makeover"
Things Are Not Alright in BloggerlandGiven the fact that my
Things Are Not Alright in Bloggerland
Given the fact that my primary photographer took her camera and went on vacation for a week, and that it took much of yesterday to get her there, presently I am awaiting back-up photographer's arrival; I have not yet taken the pictures for today's fashion lab. :(
In the meantime, I posted a small thought over at my Titus 2 blog and it has become obvious that all is not right with Blogger. The post is there, somewhere, but not at the top of the main page. *?*?*
So I am at the mercy of Blogger (and my back-up photographer). Will we indeed have a fashion lab today? I hope so.
Update: In the end, it was neither Blogger nor my back-up photographer that scrapped, or at least postponed, today's planned photo shoot. It was equipment failure. To avoid these kind of technology-based problems, follow the Bargain Queen's advice. Admittedly an old article, but the truth of it (especially #1) affects me everyday. Have I ever mentioned that I blog from a Windows ME operated computer?
In the meantime, I posted a small thought over at my Titus 2 blog and it has become obvious that all is not right with Blogger. The post is there, somewhere, but not at the top of the main page. *?*?*
So I am at the mercy of Blogger (and my back-up photographer). Will we indeed have a fashion lab today? I hope so.
Update: In the end, it was neither Blogger nor my back-up photographer that scrapped, or at least postponed, today's planned photo shoot. It was equipment failure. To avoid these kind of technology-based problems, follow the Bargain Queen's advice. Admittedly an old article, but the truth of it (especially #1) affects me everyday. Have I ever mentioned that I blog from a Windows ME operated computer?
Rebecca
Bracelets, Bracelets, Oh, No, More Bracelets!I'll start with carnelian, and
Bracelets, Bracelets, Oh, No, More Bracelets!
I'll start with carnelian, and the wonderful faceted orangey carnelian nuggets that I mixed with a carved flower of carnelian, lampwork beads, sterling silver and a bit of turquoise. The second strand has little charms hanging at intervals from the second strand.
I also got some great tourmaline faceted nuggets and decided to use those with these boro lampwork beads and vermeil. The chain is 14 karat goldfilled, and the other gold accents are vermeil (24 karat gold over sterling silver).
I really love sunstone, and peach is just about my favorite colour, so of course, I'm always trying to get my hands on good sunstone. This bracelet has 3 strands (one is a sterling silver chain). The wonderful lampwork beads are by Irene Collier.
I've been working on many different things this week, but I am still entranced with the Babylon Collection and have been making drawings that I may experiment with later this week. The basis for this collection is my love of lapis lazuli - especially when it is paired with gold. The lapis lazuli one sees on the ancient art in Egypt (beards are often rendered in lapis in sculpture) mixed with gold is opulent, the way you imagine rich gold and gemstones when you're a child. The museum in Cairo is like being lost in a fairy tale. One gets the same feeling at the University of Pennsylvania's small museum when viewing the Middle Eastern art with its lavish gold and lapis from Mesopotamia.See the jewelry at Cluny Grey Jewelry . A few of the pieces may be on auction at Ebay this week: check for Cluny Grey or under the user name chloemarie99.
jewelry jewellery The Jewelry Blog carnelian gold lapis bracelets tourmaline sunstone sterling silver beads lampwork beads beading turquoise
clunygrey@yahoo.com (Cluny Grey)
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Peggy Li Creations redesign!I'm so excited to announce updates to
Peggy Li Creations redesign!
I'm so excited to announce updates to the design of Peggy Li Creations! Now you can page through my handmade jewelry designs and have the option to enlarge multiple insets. I've also added a visual cross-sell feature for each product page, so mixing and matching your PLCs is even easier.
Please check it out and let me know what you think!
peggy
info@peggyli.com (plcpeggy)
Memories of Halloweens Past...Happy Halloween! I have to say, outside
Memories of Halloweens Past...
Happy Halloween! I have to say, outside of Christmas, this has always been my favorite holiday. The change in the weather. The roll-back of the clocks. The free candy. Okay, it s probably mostly that last one, but still!
At least, this was all true until Halloween last year which turned out to be the worst day of my entire life. I haven t written too much about it because it s taken me a long time to get to the point where I COULD write about it. I almost didn t write anything today, but then I realized that writing about it and marking the date could be a good thing for me.
So, for cathartic purposes and so I can take one more step towards being able to put all this stuff behind me, here s my story.
This time last year, I was sitting in a bathroom staring with disbelief at a positive pregnancy test. My husband of almost twelve years had just moved out of the house the day before so I was already reeling from the idea of becoming a single parent to one child and now there was going to be another one. The prospect was so unbelievable that I went to the store and bought two more tests just to confirm the results. I even bought one of those tests where the actual word pregnant shows up in the window instead of a line. Just to be really, really sure.
You may wonder how I could let this happen considering the break up of the marriage so I ll explain a bit. First, the break up was, from my perspective anyway, very sudden. In a three week period, I went from being in a committed marriage with a few problems that we were working on to being told it was over and that he was moving out of the house. By the time the pregnancy was detected, I was almost through the first trimester. In addition to that, I had to use fertility treatments to conceive my first child. Pregnancy without medical assistance was not supposed to be possible for me and therefore not something I actively guarded against.
Don tcha just LOVE the irony? Yeah, me too.
As I sat there looking at those three tests, my brain was on overload. Shock. Disbelief. Anger that this was happening NOW of all times. Happiness (yeah, there was happiness, too) because I d so desperately wanted to have one more child and the demise of the marriage coupled with my age had made that seem like an impossibility. Terror at the idea of having to go through a pregnancy, delivery and caring for a newborn completely alone. But then I remember having a moment of clarity where this voice in my head just said It will be hard. Harder than anything you ve ever done in your life, but you ll do it. One step at a time and you ll make it through.
By the time I walked out of that bathroom, I knew I was in love with and committed to that baby, whatever happened. I planned to tell my ex and my parents that night after my son had finished trick-or-treating and had gone to bed. I didn t know what to expect from the ex and frankly, I didn t waste much time thinking about it. As far as I was concerned, he d made his decision and left his family and even if he changed his mind upon hearing the news (which I neither wanted nor expected), I planned to go forward.
I put a call in to my doctor to schedule a blood test the next morning to confirm things. There were a couple of physical things going on that had me slightly worried, but that could also have been totally normal for early pregnancy. I just wanted to get checked out and make sure everything was okay.
I went on with my day and headed home to take my son to his Halloween activities. The ex arrived to participate (this was when we were still trying to do the civil getting along thing) and things went fine during the costume parade and dinner. Then, just before we were to leave to start walking the neighborhood, I felt a dull ache and something of a tearing sensation in my abdomen.
I didn t know what was going on, but told the ex to go ahead out with our son and I d catch up with them. I started having cramps and had to take some pain relievers to get them under control. I figured I was either having a miscarriage (in which case there was nothing to be done) or else it was just some wonky, but normal, pregnancy thing that would go away. Little did I know
I left the house and caught up with the rest of our party and finished walking the neighborhood with them. While we were out there, I still wasn t feeling too well and ended up having to break the news to the ex as we were walking. That wasn t my plan, but it was becoming obvious something was up with me so I didn t really have a choice. He looked stunned, but really didn t have much of a reaction. To this day, I don t know if he even believed me. I told him that something was wrong and that I had a blood test scheduled for the next morning. I broke the news to my parents that night, too.
The night didn t go very well. I had a lot of cramping and had to take more pain relievers, but I also didn t seem to be miscarrying, either. I went to the blood test the next morning and then in to work. The results came in about mid-day and confirmed that I was, indeed, pregnant. When I told the nurse about my symptoms, she scheduled an ultrasound for me that afternoon.
At the ultrasound, the tech initially couldn t find an embryo, but commented that there was a lot of blood in my uterus. That s it. I m miscarrying. I thought, but then, I saw a heartbeat on the monitor (I d been through this before with my first child and so I knew what to look for) although the tech tried to turn the monitor so I wouldn t see it . At that point, I thought everything would be okay until she said I m going to go get the doctor to speak with you. They never do that unless it s bad news so I was prepared for her to come in and tell me I was miscarrying. I was not prepared to hear her say The pregnancy is ectopic. It s located in your right Fallopian tube and you need to have surgery TODAY. Like, right now.
Next thing I knew I was sitting in the doctor s office frantically calling relatives while the nurse tried to get me scheduled into surgery that afternoon. I called the ex to give him the news and his only reaction was Well, good luck with that. To this day, he has never expressed one word of condolence or sympathy over the death of our child and that, more than anything else including what I ve since learned were multiple affairs, is why I loathe him and consider him a waste of skin. Under those circumstances, I would have offered sympathy even to my worst enemy and here I was married to the man for over a decade and shared a child with him and that s all he could come up with.
And yeah, I know, he was probably shocked. I get that. But I was in the hospital overnight and recuperating at home for two weeks after that and he could have said or done something during that period. Instead, he chose to use that time to contact a lawyer, file for divorce and have me served with papers.
Where was I while he was doing all that? Well, first I was laying in a bed in the hospital s surgical prep area having to sign forms to eliminate his ability to control any of my medical care or decisions should I be unable to speak for myself and to try to make some provisions for my son s care and custody. Lovely, eh?
Then I was discussing with the doctor whether or not she would be able to save my Fallopian tube to preserve my ability to have children in the future. Then off I went to surgery.
I found out later that my tube had already ruptured and I d been bleeding internally for at least 24 hours. It s a miracle that I didn t go to sleep Halloween night and bleed to death in my sleep. Of course, they were unable to save the tube due to the damage and I didn t come out of the surgery very well so although it was supposed to be an outpatient procedure, I ended up being admitted and had to stay overnight at the hospital.
So, in a very short period of time, I lost my marriage, a baby and the ability to have any more children all in one fell swoop.
Then I got served with divorce papers when my incisions (much less my heart) hadn t even healed yet.
A week later I went in to the doctor s office for a follow-up visit and had a very weird experience. As I got off the elevator, I passed the ultrasound office where I d gotten the bad news just a week before and as I did, the hallway seemed to stretch and stretch so that the door to my doctor s office got farther away the longer I walked towards it. I assume it was some kind of post-traumatic stress thing, but it was awful. Then, as I sat in the waiting room with all the pregnant women and pictures of babies, I started to cry uncontrollably. This sounds totally normal except that I m someone who almost never cries and I certainly don t cry uncontrollably. In public. A nurse very quickly hustled me out of there and into a cubicle don t want to upset the expecting moms now, do we?
I just realized as I m writing this that I haven t been back to my doctor s office since then and have missed my yearly exam. I hope by now that I can face going in there again, but it will definitely be difficult.
The last year has been a long journey for me. I ve changed mentally, emotionally and physically I hope for the better. At the very least, I learned that I m stronger than I ever thought possible and that there s very little life could throw at me now that would be worse than what I ve already been through.
One of the final steps of my recovery is to spend a last bit of time on these memories, write them down, recognize the anniversary for what it is and then move on. Having said all that, I will never stop regretting the loss of the baby and the fact that I probably can t have any more children. I ve supposedly got one good tube and one good ovary left, but seeing as how I m 41 and unmarried, chances are slim.
I m still angry over the circumstances and the lack of sympathy, support or even plain old acknowledgment from the other party involved. He continues to act to this day as if none of this ever happened and can t understand why I m not just happy as a clam to see him and talk to him. I find that attitude to be completely insulting to me and disrespectful to the memory of our child (and yes, I consider that there was a child since I saw the heartbeat).
Those feelings go to the back of my mind at times now instead of being constantly there, but I doubt they will ever go away entirely. Every time I have to see him, or hear his voice on the phone or deal with his why can t we just get along attitude, I literally want to hurl. Don t get me wrong, I ve never been anything other than civil to him (especially in front of our son) because I made a decision a long time ago that the kind of person I am is not the kind of person who exposes a young child to anger, bitterness and fighting. It s just REALLY FREAKIN HARD to do.
It was a terrible thing to go through, but I like to think that I have come out the other side as a stronger, better person. I certainly know that MY honor and integrity are intact. I m not a vow-breaker or a liar. I m blessed with one phenomenal kid and I m doing my best to be worthy of the honor of being his mother.
I started this entry off by saying Happy Halloween and I m sure anyone who has read to this point is thinking that was a crazy intro to something this sad, but despite what happened last year, I m looking forward to seeing tonight s activities through my son s eyes. There s nothing like that child-like wonder to chase away any bad associations I might have with this date.
I d also like to say a special thank you to all the family and friends who have been there and supported me over the last year without you and my faith in God, I wouldn t have made it!
So, I hope everyone has a wonderful time tonight. Enjoy the children whether they are your own or those who come to your door. Take time to see the sparkle and wonder in their eyes and recognize it for the miracle that it is.
Oh, and don t forget to snatch a piece of candy (or two) for yourself! I know I will!
KJ
The world breaks everyone and afterward many are stronger at the broken places.
--Ernest Hemingway
At least, this was all true until Halloween last year which turned out to be the worst day of my entire life. I haven t written too much about it because it s taken me a long time to get to the point where I COULD write about it. I almost didn t write anything today, but then I realized that writing about it and marking the date could be a good thing for me.
So, for cathartic purposes and so I can take one more step towards being able to put all this stuff behind me, here s my story.
This time last year, I was sitting in a bathroom staring with disbelief at a positive pregnancy test. My husband of almost twelve years had just moved out of the house the day before so I was already reeling from the idea of becoming a single parent to one child and now there was going to be another one. The prospect was so unbelievable that I went to the store and bought two more tests just to confirm the results. I even bought one of those tests where the actual word pregnant shows up in the window instead of a line. Just to be really, really sure.
You may wonder how I could let this happen considering the break up of the marriage so I ll explain a bit. First, the break up was, from my perspective anyway, very sudden. In a three week period, I went from being in a committed marriage with a few problems that we were working on to being told it was over and that he was moving out of the house. By the time the pregnancy was detected, I was almost through the first trimester. In addition to that, I had to use fertility treatments to conceive my first child. Pregnancy without medical assistance was not supposed to be possible for me and therefore not something I actively guarded against.
Don tcha just LOVE the irony? Yeah, me too.
As I sat there looking at those three tests, my brain was on overload. Shock. Disbelief. Anger that this was happening NOW of all times. Happiness (yeah, there was happiness, too) because I d so desperately wanted to have one more child and the demise of the marriage coupled with my age had made that seem like an impossibility. Terror at the idea of having to go through a pregnancy, delivery and caring for a newborn completely alone. But then I remember having a moment of clarity where this voice in my head just said It will be hard. Harder than anything you ve ever done in your life, but you ll do it. One step at a time and you ll make it through.
By the time I walked out of that bathroom, I knew I was in love with and committed to that baby, whatever happened. I planned to tell my ex and my parents that night after my son had finished trick-or-treating and had gone to bed. I didn t know what to expect from the ex and frankly, I didn t waste much time thinking about it. As far as I was concerned, he d made his decision and left his family and even if he changed his mind upon hearing the news (which I neither wanted nor expected), I planned to go forward.
I put a call in to my doctor to schedule a blood test the next morning to confirm things. There were a couple of physical things going on that had me slightly worried, but that could also have been totally normal for early pregnancy. I just wanted to get checked out and make sure everything was okay.
I went on with my day and headed home to take my son to his Halloween activities. The ex arrived to participate (this was when we were still trying to do the civil getting along thing) and things went fine during the costume parade and dinner. Then, just before we were to leave to start walking the neighborhood, I felt a dull ache and something of a tearing sensation in my abdomen.
I didn t know what was going on, but told the ex to go ahead out with our son and I d catch up with them. I started having cramps and had to take some pain relievers to get them under control. I figured I was either having a miscarriage (in which case there was nothing to be done) or else it was just some wonky, but normal, pregnancy thing that would go away. Little did I know
I left the house and caught up with the rest of our party and finished walking the neighborhood with them. While we were out there, I still wasn t feeling too well and ended up having to break the news to the ex as we were walking. That wasn t my plan, but it was becoming obvious something was up with me so I didn t really have a choice. He looked stunned, but really didn t have much of a reaction. To this day, I don t know if he even believed me. I told him that something was wrong and that I had a blood test scheduled for the next morning. I broke the news to my parents that night, too.
The night didn t go very well. I had a lot of cramping and had to take more pain relievers, but I also didn t seem to be miscarrying, either. I went to the blood test the next morning and then in to work. The results came in about mid-day and confirmed that I was, indeed, pregnant. When I told the nurse about my symptoms, she scheduled an ultrasound for me that afternoon.
At the ultrasound, the tech initially couldn t find an embryo, but commented that there was a lot of blood in my uterus. That s it. I m miscarrying. I thought, but then, I saw a heartbeat on the monitor (I d been through this before with my first child and so I knew what to look for) although the tech tried to turn the monitor so I wouldn t see it . At that point, I thought everything would be okay until she said I m going to go get the doctor to speak with you. They never do that unless it s bad news so I was prepared for her to come in and tell me I was miscarrying. I was not prepared to hear her say The pregnancy is ectopic. It s located in your right Fallopian tube and you need to have surgery TODAY. Like, right now.
Next thing I knew I was sitting in the doctor s office frantically calling relatives while the nurse tried to get me scheduled into surgery that afternoon. I called the ex to give him the news and his only reaction was Well, good luck with that. To this day, he has never expressed one word of condolence or sympathy over the death of our child and that, more than anything else including what I ve since learned were multiple affairs, is why I loathe him and consider him a waste of skin. Under those circumstances, I would have offered sympathy even to my worst enemy and here I was married to the man for over a decade and shared a child with him and that s all he could come up with.
And yeah, I know, he was probably shocked. I get that. But I was in the hospital overnight and recuperating at home for two weeks after that and he could have said or done something during that period. Instead, he chose to use that time to contact a lawyer, file for divorce and have me served with papers.
Where was I while he was doing all that? Well, first I was laying in a bed in the hospital s surgical prep area having to sign forms to eliminate his ability to control any of my medical care or decisions should I be unable to speak for myself and to try to make some provisions for my son s care and custody. Lovely, eh?
Then I was discussing with the doctor whether or not she would be able to save my Fallopian tube to preserve my ability to have children in the future. Then off I went to surgery.
I found out later that my tube had already ruptured and I d been bleeding internally for at least 24 hours. It s a miracle that I didn t go to sleep Halloween night and bleed to death in my sleep. Of course, they were unable to save the tube due to the damage and I didn t come out of the surgery very well so although it was supposed to be an outpatient procedure, I ended up being admitted and had to stay overnight at the hospital.
So, in a very short period of time, I lost my marriage, a baby and the ability to have any more children all in one fell swoop.
Then I got served with divorce papers when my incisions (much less my heart) hadn t even healed yet.
A week later I went in to the doctor s office for a follow-up visit and had a very weird experience. As I got off the elevator, I passed the ultrasound office where I d gotten the bad news just a week before and as I did, the hallway seemed to stretch and stretch so that the door to my doctor s office got farther away the longer I walked towards it. I assume it was some kind of post-traumatic stress thing, but it was awful. Then, as I sat in the waiting room with all the pregnant women and pictures of babies, I started to cry uncontrollably. This sounds totally normal except that I m someone who almost never cries and I certainly don t cry uncontrollably. In public. A nurse very quickly hustled me out of there and into a cubicle don t want to upset the expecting moms now, do we?
I just realized as I m writing this that I haven t been back to my doctor s office since then and have missed my yearly exam. I hope by now that I can face going in there again, but it will definitely be difficult.
The last year has been a long journey for me. I ve changed mentally, emotionally and physically I hope for the better. At the very least, I learned that I m stronger than I ever thought possible and that there s very little life could throw at me now that would be worse than what I ve already been through.
One of the final steps of my recovery is to spend a last bit of time on these memories, write them down, recognize the anniversary for what it is and then move on. Having said all that, I will never stop regretting the loss of the baby and the fact that I probably can t have any more children. I ve supposedly got one good tube and one good ovary left, but seeing as how I m 41 and unmarried, chances are slim.
I m still angry over the circumstances and the lack of sympathy, support or even plain old acknowledgment from the other party involved. He continues to act to this day as if none of this ever happened and can t understand why I m not just happy as a clam to see him and talk to him. I find that attitude to be completely insulting to me and disrespectful to the memory of our child (and yes, I consider that there was a child since I saw the heartbeat).
Those feelings go to the back of my mind at times now instead of being constantly there, but I doubt they will ever go away entirely. Every time I have to see him, or hear his voice on the phone or deal with his why can t we just get along attitude, I literally want to hurl. Don t get me wrong, I ve never been anything other than civil to him (especially in front of our son) because I made a decision a long time ago that the kind of person I am is not the kind of person who exposes a young child to anger, bitterness and fighting. It s just REALLY FREAKIN HARD to do.
It was a terrible thing to go through, but I like to think that I have come out the other side as a stronger, better person. I certainly know that MY honor and integrity are intact. I m not a vow-breaker or a liar. I m blessed with one phenomenal kid and I m doing my best to be worthy of the honor of being his mother.
I started this entry off by saying Happy Halloween and I m sure anyone who has read to this point is thinking that was a crazy intro to something this sad, but despite what happened last year, I m looking forward to seeing tonight s activities through my son s eyes. There s nothing like that child-like wonder to chase away any bad associations I might have with this date.
I d also like to say a special thank you to all the family and friends who have been there and supported me over the last year without you and my faith in God, I wouldn t have made it!
So, I hope everyone has a wonderful time tonight. Enjoy the children whether they are your own or those who come to your door. Take time to see the sparkle and wonder in their eyes and recognize it for the miracle that it is.
Oh, and don t forget to snatch a piece of candy (or two) for yourself! I know I will!
KJ
The world breaks everyone and afterward many are stronger at the broken places.
--Ernest Hemingway
Silver Parrot
Elegant ~ Funky ~ Chic: Briolette Cluster Drop EarringsThe title
Elegant ~ Funky ~ Chic: Briolette Cluster Drop Earrings
The title says it all... everyday glam with freshwater pearls & Swarovski crystals. Black diamond has geniune garnets.
jeanettedesignstudio@gmail.com (~jeanette design studio~)
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Tourmaline, Turquoise, and My Bracelets de La SemaineI've been trying
Tourmaline, Turquoise, and My Bracelets de La Semaine
I've been trying to work with different gemstones, since I am so bad about getting onto one and using and reusing it (I've been doing that with turquoise). In an effort to be a bit different, I've used tourmaline - not my favorite gemstone because good tourmaline is just too expensive, and I seldom see it cut in a way that I want to use and that I can afford to use as well. But I did get some pretty tourmaline from Spain with lots of pink in it, green, and very little black. I threw in some of the highest quality labradorite rondelles that I had (tons of blue flash) and used one of my labradorite nuggets with good blue flash, made three strands, braided them, and I'm pretty happy with the result.
I've been playing with turquoise as you can see, and here are some of the results of my play. I tried it with pearls (above) and lampwork beads, muscovite and lampwork beads, and even green quartz and lampwork beads. The lampwork beads are by Burt Gumeson and James Derrick Reeves, two of my favorite lampworkers. The pearls are freshwater, and the metal components, charms, clasps, beads, are all sterling silver. Hmmm, I'm going to have to put a picture of a turquoise bracelet with gold (or vermeil) because I think that while turquoise and sterling silver are classic, gold is fantastic with turquoise and gives it a richness that reminds me of ancient romantic places, Babylon, Sumer, Ur, Egypt.
By the way, if you are intersted in beading and other crafts, check out Elifce's blog where she demonstrates with video - and even has some video of her hometown in Turkey! Look on my sidebar under Elifce's for her ecraft.blogspot.com.
Cluny Grey Jewelry
The Jewelry Blog tourmaline turquoise bracelets gemstones beading pearls lampwork beads jewelry jewellery sterling silver
clunygrey@yahoo.com (Cluny Grey)
File Under Cute: Hanes and Champion Style File Promotion There
File Under Cute: Hanes and Champion Style File Promotion
There is nothing I love more than a really good pitch. Top notch publicists are always surprising me with creative ways to promote a potential story. Of course, I see my fair share of terrible pitches and products but when something really superb comes my way it can make my day. Yesterday FedEx dropped off an [...]
Bags I'd Like to Carry This set of nifty and
Bags I'd Like to Carry
This set of nifty and effective shopping bags is well worth a look -- and a laugh. These retailers are thinking up new and creative packaging to make their products stand out. What do you do that makes your customers smile?
Friday, January 05, 2007
Back in Action! I finally got the chance to sit
Back in Action!
I finally got the chance to sit down in my new studio and actually makesomething last night. It's very soothing to have an entire room devotedto art: no one's tripping over you and you're not tripping over yoursupplies.
I didn't have a whole lot of time, but I started on a set ofinterchangeable gemstone charms to go with a sterling chain bracelet. Ialso made myself something for once - another of the chain braceletswith two charms: a sterling lotus charm, to remind me to slow down andappreciate the beauty around me, and a faceted garnet bead, which is myhusband's birthstone and makes me think of him.
Photos when I get enough time to do them. I have a big conference andtwo major meetings coming up at work and they're occupying a lot of myattention these days.
Book ReviewWhew! Haven t had time for a book review in
Book Review
Whew! Haven t had time for a book review in a while so thought I d sneak in a small one. Part of the problem has been lack of decent reading material. Most of my favorite authors have new material coming out in the first or second quarter of 07, but the last few months have been abysmally bereft of anything really awe-inspiring.
I read Wen Spencer s Wolf Who Rules the follow-up to Tinker and found it to be pretty good. The plot got a little out of hand towards the end, but generally, it was a good sequel. I think I d wait for the paperback version, though, as it doesn t quite live up to the start made in the first book. Having said that, I somehow managed to buy two copies of the hardback version without realizing it (hello? blonde hair!) so if anyone wants the second one, e-mail me and we ll work out a deal.
I ve also been continuing to read the Honor Harrington series by David Weber. I m on about book #8 or something and while they ve been keeping me busy, there s really no need to do individual reviews on them as basically the same thing happens in every book. The Star Kingdom of Manticore gets its fanny caught in a bear trap and Honor Harrington single-handedly (and against overwhelming odds) rescues it while simultaneously proving that she is practically perfect in every way. Weber does try very hard to balance that out with a lot of tough command decisions and personal injuries/losses that she has to deal with, and that helps keep her from being super-annoying in the perfection department. Still, it s one of the things that you just sort of have to accept and overlook about the character and the series as a whole. There s a little too much time and attention paid to starship technology, the physics of battles in space and the enemy s internal political struggles for my personal taste, but those things are the hallmark of this particular genre so if they bug you, just skip over em to get back to the action. That s what I do and it works just fine. I do have to say that, annoying technological interruptions aside, other authors could learn a thing or two about action and intensely-paced battles from Mr. Weber. If you find yourself approaching one of the climactic battle scenes in these books at bedtime either put the book down and wait for morning, or prepare yourself for a sleepless night as you try to recover from a major adrenaline rush.
Lastly, I picked up the first book in Lois McMaster Bujold s newest series. Beguilement: The Sharing Knife Volume 1 is an interesting departure from both her Vorkosigan series and her Chalion series. Although it s fantasy like Chalion, it s set in a completely different world and deals with peasant-class characters versus the nobles who are the main focus of the Chalion series. That s a refreshing change as it s a level of society that is too often made one dimensional or ignored entirely by most fantasy novels. The background world and the main evil are interesting and well-thought out, but Bujold s true talent is in making characters come alive. Dag and Fawn are both immediately likeable and interesting and the romance that develops between them is one of the most well-written I ve read in a long time although it is somewhat reminiscent of the one she created in Shards of Honor the first Vorkosigan novel. And, let me just say, certain authors (cough! Laurell K. Hamilton cough! cough!) could learn a LOT from the way Ms. Bujold writes a sex scene. It s absolutely clear what actions are going on and yet it s written with a sweet innocence that makes it a delight to read. There s also just enough detail to make it sexy mixed with just enough vagueness to allow the reader s imagination to go as far as it wants to. This makes a nice contrast to all of the overly-anatomically-graphic sex scenes that seem to be all the rage right now. I m tired of sex scenes which, rather than being romantic or even nicely lusty, leave the reader feeling as if she needs a long shower after surviving an overly-in-depth gynecological exam.
If I had one small complaint about the book it s that all the action seems to happen in the first third of the book and the last two thirds seem to be more about set up for the rest of the series. That being said, one might want to wait for further books to come out before starting the series so as to be able to read the whole thing at once. Or not. I, obviously, was not able to wait. Oh, and as much as I enjoyed this book, I d still rather have another Miles Vorkosigan novel, but now that he s married off and has kids, she seems to be done with him. Which has me totally bummed.
In other news, the premiere of The Dresden Files Sci Fi Channel s take on Jim Butcher s Harry Dresden - series is scheduled for a January 21, 2007 air date. While I find it hard to believe that anything could possibly live up to how fantastic the books are, I m still excited to check it out. Hope springs eternal despite what the bast er people at this channel did to Battlestar Galactica. Blech! All I can say is if they do the same thing to my beloved Harry, there will not be a hole deep enough for them to hide in. And yeah, I know, BSG is a big critical success and blah, blah, blah. I don t care. They turned my Starbuck into a CHICK! That is just so frackin wrong! Also, if Starbuck were really a chick he (she?) wouldn t be so butch and grim and tormented and complicated. Starbuck is very simple: hot, great pilot, sarcastic-playboy-devil-may-care attitude layered over a genuinely heroic core that he tries hard to make sure nobody notices.
Dirk Benedict , where are you when we need you?
KJ
P.S. Apollo is a wuss.
I read Wen Spencer s Wolf Who Rules the follow-up to Tinker and found it to be pretty good. The plot got a little out of hand towards the end, but generally, it was a good sequel. I think I d wait for the paperback version, though, as it doesn t quite live up to the start made in the first book. Having said that, I somehow managed to buy two copies of the hardback version without realizing it (hello? blonde hair!) so if anyone wants the second one, e-mail me and we ll work out a deal.
I ve also been continuing to read the Honor Harrington series by David Weber. I m on about book #8 or something and while they ve been keeping me busy, there s really no need to do individual reviews on them as basically the same thing happens in every book. The Star Kingdom of Manticore gets its fanny caught in a bear trap and Honor Harrington single-handedly (and against overwhelming odds) rescues it while simultaneously proving that she is practically perfect in every way. Weber does try very hard to balance that out with a lot of tough command decisions and personal injuries/losses that she has to deal with, and that helps keep her from being super-annoying in the perfection department. Still, it s one of the things that you just sort of have to accept and overlook about the character and the series as a whole. There s a little too much time and attention paid to starship technology, the physics of battles in space and the enemy s internal political struggles for my personal taste, but those things are the hallmark of this particular genre so if they bug you, just skip over em to get back to the action. That s what I do and it works just fine. I do have to say that, annoying technological interruptions aside, other authors could learn a thing or two about action and intensely-paced battles from Mr. Weber. If you find yourself approaching one of the climactic battle scenes in these books at bedtime either put the book down and wait for morning, or prepare yourself for a sleepless night as you try to recover from a major adrenaline rush.
Lastly, I picked up the first book in Lois McMaster Bujold s newest series. Beguilement: The Sharing Knife Volume 1 is an interesting departure from both her Vorkosigan series and her Chalion series. Although it s fantasy like Chalion, it s set in a completely different world and deals with peasant-class characters versus the nobles who are the main focus of the Chalion series. That s a refreshing change as it s a level of society that is too often made one dimensional or ignored entirely by most fantasy novels. The background world and the main evil are interesting and well-thought out, but Bujold s true talent is in making characters come alive. Dag and Fawn are both immediately likeable and interesting and the romance that develops between them is one of the most well-written I ve read in a long time although it is somewhat reminiscent of the one she created in Shards of Honor the first Vorkosigan novel. And, let me just say, certain authors (cough! Laurell K. Hamilton cough! cough!) could learn a LOT from the way Ms. Bujold writes a sex scene. It s absolutely clear what actions are going on and yet it s written with a sweet innocence that makes it a delight to read. There s also just enough detail to make it sexy mixed with just enough vagueness to allow the reader s imagination to go as far as it wants to. This makes a nice contrast to all of the overly-anatomically-graphic sex scenes that seem to be all the rage right now. I m tired of sex scenes which, rather than being romantic or even nicely lusty, leave the reader feeling as if she needs a long shower after surviving an overly-in-depth gynecological exam.
If I had one small complaint about the book it s that all the action seems to happen in the first third of the book and the last two thirds seem to be more about set up for the rest of the series. That being said, one might want to wait for further books to come out before starting the series so as to be able to read the whole thing at once. Or not. I, obviously, was not able to wait. Oh, and as much as I enjoyed this book, I d still rather have another Miles Vorkosigan novel, but now that he s married off and has kids, she seems to be done with him. Which has me totally bummed.
In other news, the premiere of The Dresden Files Sci Fi Channel s take on Jim Butcher s Harry Dresden - series is scheduled for a January 21, 2007 air date. While I find it hard to believe that anything could possibly live up to how fantastic the books are, I m still excited to check it out. Hope springs eternal despite what the bast er people at this channel did to Battlestar Galactica.
Dirk Benedict , where are you when we need you?
KJ
P.S. Apollo is a wuss.
Silver Parrot
Turquoise (Part 11)New Mexico.--Until the 1920's, New Mexico was the
Turquoise (Part 11)
New Mexico.--Until the 1920's, New Mexico was the United States largest producer of turquoise. However, since then Arizona and Nevada has surpassed it in terms of both annual and total production.
Production of turquoise from deposits in the Cerrillos Hills, Santa Fe County; the Burro Mountains and Little Hachita Mountains, Grant County; the Jarilla Hills, Otero County; and the Guadelupe Mountains, Eddy County; can be traced to prehistoric Indians. Several different mines operate or have operated at each of the New Mexico locations mentioned, producing seam and nugget turquoise.
In our next issue we will learn about Turquuoise, please visit our Beading Newsletter Archives section located at the left hand side of our homepage or simply click here.
blog@houseofgems.com (House Of Gems)
