Random Thoughts

Improvement wears many dresses...  

My wonderful 80-year young neighbor Mrs. C has been taking me walking again this week. This started Saturday when I cut class early so I could go to the Farmer's Market. She wanted to see if they had any "goodies. (I found some luscious spinach, mixed greens, purslane, and some budding plants at the Market.) Mrs. C and I haven't been walking in a long time for various reasons: my classes, she was hurting, weather was too cold, weather was too hot and so on...

Last Saturday, she complained how badly she hurt from that simple trip to the market and back again. After some discussion, she said she would think about going walking with me first thing in the mornings again. I really didn't expect her to call me bright and early Monday morning with her usual "Ready Freddie?" We went walking. 

We did again this morning. About half way around the library park, she had to sit down.  She encouraged me to finish my lap but hastened to tell me to hurry up about it or she would just go home! *laughs* So I went walking around the park, quicker than I usually do.  Needless to say, my legs were cramping fiercely by the time I was halfway finished, but because I was afraid she would get up and leave, I walked through the cramps. I'll probably pay for that later but I amazed myself that I could find that level within myself and walk through the cramping instead of stopping and whimpering like a baby. 

I reminded myself  when I began this journey two years ago, I couldn't walk around the park at a snail's pace without coming home exhausted. I had to stop at every corner of the park because the cramping was so bad that I wanted to fall down and move past merely whimpering into an ambulance for a ride home.  I hurt that bad. 

At the time, my various doctors explained that I had blood clots in my legs and arms and that caused the vicious cramp-burn-muscle knotting pain I experienced. At the time, only one doctor gave me any advice that I would follow that was not related to surgery. He told me to simply walk every day. 

 So now I feel a sense of pride about one of my goals because it's reachable. I feel like one of those pioneer women who gave birth one minute and  defended her home from marauding outlaws while saving her homestead from burning to the ground. 

Ok...may be NOT that good.  But I definitely understand that I have improved because of my lifestyle changes. I also understand that this journey of mine will never be an easy one because I crave carbs dressed as cookies and breads and rice and cookies and pasta and potatoes and cookies and cous cous and cookies and...Well you get the picture. 

Speaking of that, how come giving up smoking was so much easier than giving up carbs?  

The BC Life...
Otherwise Known as The Confessions of a Coffee Addict

Since I've moved to the percolator for our coffee pot, I have about a half hour every morning before it's finished. My old life used to be "Don't talk to me, don't ask me to feed you, don't ask me to do anything complicated like think about the day or ask me if I know where something is and don't wake up cheerful of all the gawd-awful things to do BEFORE COFFEE!"   

Some mornings I would give only one warning: "It's a two-cup day."  That meant don't do anything or ask me anything or even talk to me until I've gotten at least two cups of coffee down me first. And you would be safer if you let a half a pot get into my system before even breathing or looking in my direction. 

A dear friend who used to be a classmate called me this weekend and asked me, "Have you had your coffee yet?!?!?!"  Since she called me at 8:30 in the morning, her question was legitimate. And then she reminded me that I used be really, really bad BC. She remembered the days when I was trying to reduce my consumption of coffee down to something that was "reasonable" and how fellow classmates brought me cups of coffee before class so I would be "reasonable." 

Yeah, yeah, yeah...and that was a long time ago. I've changed. No seriously--I've really changed.

To give you some examples: This morning I went walking with Mrs. C BC.   Before our current drought initiated the severe water restrictions, I would water and sometimes weed the garden BC. I feed the cats and the birds BC. I start laundry or do a quicky load of dishes BC.  I read my favorite blogs BC. I answer emails and phone calls from students BC!

How's that for seriously changing from the coffee hag into who I am today? *grins at you*

Alright--I confess. I warn my morning statistics students with "I've only had a cup and half of coffee today--so I hope you had your protein because we're going to hit this hard and heavy so I can get that last cup in before it's too late for me to have any!"  

Nonetheless, there's still life before coffee!

Humongous Bead Give Away Reminder!
If you haven't signed up--please do so! The bead drawing is coming closer and closer to its finale! Go to Denise Yezbak Moore's blog and check out her huge, ginormous, bestest ever give away! The Bead Addict is screaming at me--actually pulling at my hair because I'm reminding all you beady readers there's still time to enter. She wants all these beads to for us to keep--but I believe in "What comes around, goes around." Since you've been generous with me--I'm spreading the news! 

Bead Soup Unveiling!

I've been waiting for this day for a long, long time! My partner, Dana James at Dana's Jewelry Design sent me some seriously and completely luscious beads for my ingredients. I was in awe. Pearls are some of my favorites gems but I felt totally out of my league with these beauties. Check out the abalone--that soft, shimmery, silvery gray just whispered to my soul. I totally loved the rose quartz rectangular beads and the kyanite ovals. Check out the Swarovski crystals in two different sizes! The heart-shaped clasp caught me by the throat because it's beautiful and funky. The Bead Addict in me came out in full force and giggled--a little maniacally--with glee over such a treasure. How could she resist?

After I got HER calmed down enough to start thinking about what I was going to do with my wonderful ingredients. I admit that panic settled in because these ingredients cried out for something more elegant than plain ole' soup. I also felt trapped because I normally don't do hearts. Understand I give heart-embellished jewelry to others who do hearts, but I rarely if ever do hearts for myself. The Bead Addict had already declared that what ever was made from this mix of treasures from Dana would be ours--I mean mine. 

Since I teach classes at two different universities, I checked my calendar. The Bead Party would fall what would be my midterms week! I had to use my time wisely and get this delicate creation done NOW.  About that time, the horror of the BP Oil Catastrophe hit the news and I realized that the damage done could spread world-wide. It hit me that these precious gifts from the sea might become exceedingly rare and I understood that Dana blessed me with something even more than mere beads--but a gift that could turn into an heirloom treasure.  Thank you Dana. I hope I did justice to your wonderful and beautiful gift!

Click on the pictures for better viewing and detail! 

  
So I put on my music CD that was a symphony to whale song and created. The first piece that I did was the necklace... I was enchanted with the rose quartz Dana had included, but wanted to reserve them for something else. So I pawed through my stash and ran across a diamond-shaped rose quartz strand. That maniacal giggling you hear in the background is Bead Addict. Another addition were the biwa stick pearls my husband had bought for me a couple of years ago. They were elegant and totally out of my area of stringing "expertise" but they worked well with what I was doing...framing that gorgeous abalone focal.  I also added  a couple of different colors in the Swarovski crystals to emphasize the gorgeous pink ones Dana included. 

I completed this choker-style necklace with silver-plated chain and one of my own clasps. I did find one last tiny heart toggle, left over from a project I did for my aunt. To me, that was fate, because it was still within the theme of what Dana sent me. 

Then I because I'm on a huge bracelet kick lately, I made one with some of the left over ingredients. This was totally out of the box for me because I experimented with danglies. Since we decided...I mean I decided to keep this, I wanted to try something I haven't really worked on before. 

I used Dana's heart clasp because it was too pretty to hide in the back of a necklace. Secondly, it just seemed so natural to use that toggle in a piece of jewelry as part of the ensemble's focal. I used silver pearl head pins to combine the pearls and the stones to form danglies. The bracelet has a good weight to it--not to heavy but not so light you forget you're wearing it. It doesn't jingle-jangle--something that would get on my nerves since I use my hands a lot in teaching. 

Well, what's a bracelet and a necklace without matching earrings?!?! This was rather fun because I stretched myself again here. I wanted a pair of earrings that would compliment the necklace alone, without the bracelet. But I also wanted a pair of earrings that would compliment the bracelet if I chose to wear that without the necklace. Then to top it all off, I wanted a pair of earrings that I could wear with both the necklace AND the bracelet as a matching set. So this is what I came up with as a solution

Starting from left to right, the gray pearl buttons with the pink Swarovski crystals would be perfect for wearing alone or with the bracelet. They would also compliment the necklace. The kyanite and cyclamen Swarovski crystals would compliment either the necklace or the bracelet...or could be worn alone. The gray ablalone and white button pearls with the the crystals would fit the necklace well.  

So what got me out of my normal box? Using pearls and making danglies. Thank you Dana for giving a shot in the you-know-where to boost me from my conventional form of beading! 

I hope you visit others who are unveiling their Party Pieces as well. 

Carol, Carol Bradley Designs 
Wanda, A Frayed of Fibers
Diana, Vintage Blue Studio 
Marieke, Marieke's Blog
KJ, Silver Parrot
Maire, Maire Dodd 
Shannon, Miss Fickle Media
Dana (and MY Partner!), Dana's Jewelry Design
Charlene, The Bead Dreamer 
Elisabeth, Beads for Busy Gals 
Missy, Melissa Rappaport 

I also want to thank Lori Anderson, our coordinator, for all the encouragement she gives us!The fact that she keeps nearly 100 women together for this event is simply amazing and I wanna be like her when I grow up! :D 

Enjoy the soup... 

Bead Soup--Day Three

The Bead Soup Party is still rockin' today with talented artists! To help you find your way, here's a list of today's Bead Party group. If you have a couple of minutes to spare, go browse around and look at the incredible, talented, wearable art! 

Before you go on the tour--this is for my bead friends and readers. 

 Have you ever wished you could just win a huge stash of beads? Now's your chance to try for one humongous bead destash/giveaway!  Denise Yezbak Moore is having such a giveaway. She hasn't decided to send it all to one person or to split it six ways yet but I think she's counting the votes! You can click on the link above (her name) and check out this wonderfully, gorgeous, luscious, delightful set of beads she's giving away--all SEVEN AND A HALF POUNDS of it! 

Back to the Bead Party! 

Here's today's group!
27. Lisa, Alterity 
28. Dale, Dales' Flights of Fancy 
29. Melanie, Kookie Designs 
30. Christine, A Hot Piece of Glass
31. Nancy, Beading From the Heart 
32. Laurel, Rue's Daftique 
33. Sandi, Do Be Do Bead Do 
34. Nicki, Nicki's Reef
35. Virginie, ViviBijoux
36. Janeen, Wild Vanilla 

(Psst! Lisa and Virginie are also having giveaways! Here's your chance at winning some fabulous handcrafted jewelry by extremely talented women!) 

Have a wonderful day!

PS: Dana, my bead soup partner is having a NON-BEAD giveaway at her blog! Go check this out! 

A Friendly Visitor

The other day, I looked out my window while I was on the phone with a student and saw a wonderful sight. As soon as I could, I rushed outside with my camera. We had a visitor and I wanted pictures!

 That's my Fire Witch that I planted earlier. The butterfly couldn't leave it alone.  

           
 This little one intrigued me since I haven't seen that many butterflies in a long time. Beauty on the wing...

  Apparently, it really liked the Fire Witch--which smells spicy sweet. No pun intended.

The first day of the Bead Soup Party was yesterday. Lori Anderson, our coordinator has broken the party up into easy sections so this party is going to last all week long! How exciting is that?!?!? My partner, Dana and I don't get to do our unveiling until Thursday and I can hardly wait! So if you have nothing to do for the moment, head over to Lori's place and check out some amazing talent in today's world of beaders, jewelry designers, and artistic craftswomen!

Finally, Natalie of Tins and Treasures is having a stupendous giveaway to celebrate her blog's upcoming two year anniversary! And no--it's not beads so those of you who don't follow the craft can take a peek at her blog and see some of the wonderful items that are up for grabs on this giveaway! Just leave a comment on her blog by Tuesday, June 22nd and you're entered in the drawing! It's as simple as that! 

Hope your Sunday is easy and peaceful!
 

It's What's For Dinner!

Since my crazy summer schedule leaves very little time for daily meal planning, I've had to get crackin' and come up with a new way to have our meals prepared in advance. We live in New Mexico where it's hot and dry. Really hot and dry. Luckily, we live in northern New Mexico and in the mountains where it's not as bad as where I used to live in southern New Mexico. Still, no one--especially a dozen cats--wants me using the oven to cook because the heat lingers for days. They're having a hard enough time keeping cool. 

So my method of choice is the outdoor grill. On the weekends. When it's not windy. Or rainy. 

Grilling outside is preferred because I can cook a whole bunch of food at one whack. For example, today I grilled...well look at the pictures and see!

 I try to plan this well but sometimes I get ahead or behind myself. Today it was a bit of both. I wanted to grill D's potato and his corn, along with my eggplant and zucchini first since they usually take longer. And normally I don't crowd the grill this badly. Missing from this picture are D's button mushrooms. I don't use a marinade or rub or sauce because I count on the mesquite wood smoke to flavor everything. Mesquite is just my personal preference, but hickory or other aromatic smoking woods could be used. I also cover the grill to let the smoke do its magic, but I can't take a picture of the magic. 

What I have on the grill today are zucchini, eggplant, red bell peppers, an ear of corn, yellow squash, one baking potato, purple and yellow onions.  When the veggies are all done, I add meat. Kathy--you may wanna scroll past this bit. 

 I added fruit tonight to the grill because it adds a nice dessert.   Stone fruits, like peaches, apricots, nectarines, and plums grill up deliciously. I found that pineapple works well as one of those fruits I can grill. The trick is not to over-cook your fruits. A tip I learned (the hard way!) was to use ripe but not soft fruits.

Tomorrow, I'm going to cook green beans and asparagus on the grill.  I'll use foil or my cast iron skillets for that and see how they turn out. I'm also thinking of trying to grill carrots and see how that works. Alright--you can call me a grillin' nut if you want. But if it works, you'll wanna try it!

My favorite marinade for meats is simply beer. I personally can't stand the taste of any beer in the liquid form, but it does tenderize and adds a delicious flavor to grilled meats.  I have chicken soaking in D's Moosehead beer, using a covered casserole dish. I've used his Negro Modello, Shiner Bock, and Corona beers for various meats. I prefer the darker beers for beef, pork, and chicken; and I like the lighter beers for chicken and fish. 

Because the grill usually stays hot long enough to cook several meals, I can get plenty made for the upcoming week. It's simple to store in ziplocks or covered containers. What doesn't get eaten within a couple of days is relegated to the freezer in case of rainy or windy days. It also makes it nice since D and I are on different schedules--he's coming home from the lab when I'm beginning a class. It means we both get a nice meal despite the conflicting working hours.   But I have to confess, the fruits are usually eaten for breakfast. 

So do you grill? What are you favorite ways to do it up?  



 

Just Little Bead Tease...

Most of you know I'm involved with the Bead Soup Party hosted by Lori Anderson. The Bead Soup Party kicks off this weekend and I can't wait to go traveling to visit all the wonderful, incredibly talented bead artists. My unveiling of my bead partner's stash isn't until next Thursday--June 24th. But I'm really excited about this party and wanted to give you a hint of what's to come. Dana sent me some exotic and exciting beads to play with and play I did!

So here's a sneak peak at some of those luscious beads that Dana sent me!

 I can't wait to show the rest! But I gotta...I have to wait until it's my turn. So mark your calendars for the unveiling and join me for the Party! The Bead Party that is...worn by movie stars. (I wish!)

Wishing you a peaceful day! 

  

A Short One...

I  just finished teaching class. I helped D change out the last catboxes and watered the food garden while he watered the flowers in the front yard. I'm bushed. I want time to relax with my  husband and the cats. 

For you beaders, please check out Elizabeth's bead giveaway! It ends tonight! Last chance to comment and get your name in the drawing! She has some fabulous beads in her collection, which has me drooling. (One of these days, I'll tell you about my drool-trails, which aren't as toxic as chem-trails.) Beads have that effect on me.  Elizabeth put together an eclectic mix of beads that are both cool and funky and fun. So if you bead a little or a lot--go check out her giveaway and leave a comment! 

We found critters eating up some of our plants, so now we have to get them off and out of the garden. It's OUR garden--not bugs! I'm not raising that food for them. Most people would reach for the bug spray or some other pesticide. Since I'm trying to protect my kidneys by growing my own food, I have can't use commercial pesticides either. I'm going to be pressing several garlic cloves into a spray bottle and let it sit for a day or two--making garlic tea. It should discourage most garden pests, and I'm hoping it works for these bugs.  

Tomorrow is a full day and I don't finish teaching until 8 in the evening. I finished some administrative stuff today so I'm hoping I grade papers in my spare time. And yes--I know I "stay pretty busy" but one of these days, we'll break down the A-Personality type (that's combined with a bit of OCD and anal retentiveness.)

Have a great week!