The Latest Bracelets

I am sorry I haven't been doing much blogging. I decided I would add some of the latest in bracelets so you can see what I am doing.

The single bracelet is made of Swarovski crystal aurora borealis cubes and some antique-looking bead caps. The cubes were ordered for another bracelet I wanted to try. I tried it and didn't like it. So I decided that, since I have always liked these bracelets, I would make myself a bracelet. I like it very much.

The photo with the two green bracelets are "sidewinders" made with Czech green firepolished beads down the center. The each of these bracelets have different small Czech beads on the edges. The lavendar bracelet is called a "helix bracelet." It is the second one I have made.

The red, silver and black bracelet is made using seed beads and a square stitch. It was my first attempt at designing this type of bracelet. I learned some things and will make another, making use of what I learned on the first one.

The third picture (regardless where it is on the page) has a bangle bracelet and the aqua bracelet is a spiral pattern using several sizes of seed beads. I like it and plan to make another one in different colors.

I tried my hand at a triple spiral. It doesn't spiral exactly correctly. So I am going to have to try another bracelet to see if I can figure out what I did wrong.

That's it for this time. Tune again!

A Reason, A Season.....

Someone said that people come into our lives for a reason, a season or a lifetime. We've all wondered about this at one time or another. Probably many more times than once, over a lifetime.

Son Tony came home, after visiting the home of a new friend Jim and told me I really needed to meet his new friend's mother because she was really, really nice.

I took his adice and became acquainted with his friend's mom. Nancy was really a sweet lady.

Our families became friends and we spent some time together for several years. Jim was a year older than Tony and Jim's sister, Dawn, was probably four or five years younger than he was.

One Thanksgiving it snowed and ruined this family's plan to go out of town. So we packed up our dinner - turkey, potatoes, gravy and all the trimmings - and took it over to their home.

When we first got acquainted, Nancy was in remission from cancer. As the years passed, the remission went away. The cancer was back.

I was working half days so I visited her every afternoon at her home. When she went to the hospital, I stopped at the hospital every day after I got off work. Chuck would pick me up and we both visited her.

We went to visit Tony at Rose Hulman College in Terre Haute, Indiana, for the weekend. We had a good visit with Tony and his friends.

While we were away, Nancy passed on Friday evening. The funeral was on Sunday. We were driving home that Sunday. It was difficult to find closure.

So a reason - a season?

Family Dinners

Wednesday evening we attend "Food Court" at our church. Some of the women of the church prepare meals from September through May. It is a nice meal and only costs $4 for adults.

This past Wednesday, Patti and Michael brought 6-year-old Lynsie and 2-year-old Teygan. The girls' Mama, Jessica, joined us. The food was good and the fellowship was wonderful!

This brought back memories of Sunday family dinners at home when I was growing up. It was always a time to catch up with the happenings in my brothers' lives.

Mom provided good food and we all joined inthe fellowship and fun. My brothers liked to tease me, especially when I was a teenager. They made comments about any boyfriend I had at that time.

When I went away to college, the regular family dinners became more sporadic. Brother Bill moved to Colorado, Dick moved to Arizona and Bob moved to Kansas City, I believe. Then when I started teaching school, we moved to Junction City, Kansas. So these family dinners usually happened in the summertime.

Those family times then , as these times now, give us all a chance to make wonderful memories.

Lampwork jewelry

My first work using Melissa's lampwork beads. I also used Swarovski crystal, Czech pearls and seed beads. I made this one for me.

I am posting this because the creator of the lampwork beads is having a contest. Who knows, I might win something!

Christmas gifts 2010

Top is a gift set for Jessica. Second from top a gift set for Lisa.

The necklace below is another gift for me (from me). The set below is mine made with lampwork beads and Swarovski crystals.

I find joy in creating and giving beautiful jewelry to family and friends.

Musings

I have been so blessed in my life with many people who love me. My Mother who taught me to be a positive and joyful person. My Father who loved the Lord and set an example by his service as a Sunday School teacher. My brother Bill who gave me choices. He was a good man and I pray I'll see him when it's my turn to go home.
My sister-in-law, Inez who showed me how to treat my young sisters-in-law by the way she treated me. My friend Jannette who talked to me on the phone and shared scripture with me during those difficult days in the early '80s. My friend Marlene who helped me at a time when I really couldn't handle what someone else had done.
My friend Helen who has shared the pathway - following a few years behind me. She gives me the freedom to speak about anything and never to judge. Helen's mom, Nola, who has simply loved us and enjoyed our company.
Rosalie and Raymond who loved Don and me and enjoyed our company without any expectations of who or what we are.
My friend, sweet Angie, who listened to me when I was 59 falling in love with Don. She didn't even laugh that a 59 year old could feel like a giddy school girl. And then there is sweet Lu who behaved the same way I did in the '80s - only it was a decade later. I was able to see myself in her actions.
Our pastor Mike Coffey who had the gift of preaching - he and Rose Mary who gave us the gift of their friendship. Pastor Karen who is so real and genuine. Tom Stewart, Jan Adkins, Kay Minneck and the Clown Connection - they all came into my life when I needed them most.
How very blessed I am! How very grateful I am to each one who loved and accepted me exactly where I was in my life.

My Very Own New Necklace and earrings

The photo does not do this piece justice. The back of the necklace is a "sidewinder" stitch in a very deep red. It is the newest piece of jewelry I've made for myself. I am so pleased with it.

So often the jewelry is made for gifting; when I make it for myself, it is always special.

I finished this last Saturday so I could wear it to church on Sunday. It is the only beading I have done since Thanksgiving. While the beads still called to me, I didn't answer. I guess I needed some time for other things.

I spoke to my jewelry teacher and showed her the finished results. She was very complimentary. She is such an excellent teacher. I love to just visit with her.