Spring in Arkansas

It's been a crazy Spring in Arkansas - tornados and flooding - seems like we'll never finish cleaning up all the trees!  We've been able to do some hiking, though, and all the water makes for some pretty creeks, so can't complain too much.

Sweetie found this Mama turtle laying her eggs on Mother's Day!  She digs a hole in the soft mud, lowers her heinie down into it, lays her eggs, and buh-bye - she's gone.  Now we'll be looking for the little baby turtles.  Sweetie is always finding cool stuff like this.  I call him a critter.

This next picture is near our house in the country.  I know the power lines aren't very pretty, but the picture really shows the topography of the area.

And lastly, another creek picture.  I like this creek, because the rock is so straight, it looks like it is manmade. 

 

New Year's Resolution - Eat More Chocolate!

Every year it's the same old thing - January equals a bajillion tv commercials on how to lose weight and get in shape.  Well, forget that!  My New Year's Resolution is Eat More Chocolate! 

Years ago I used to eat chocolate every day.  I just loved it.  When a holiday came around, like Easter, I would stock up on M & M's, because then you could get the fresh chocolate that they made just for the holiday.  I stashed Dove pieces in my desk drawer, had a spare bag in my purse, had an M & M dispenser on my desk, well, you get my drift.  Then one day, it just didn't taste good to me anymore.  My friends looked at me like I was crazy when I told them I didn't like chocolate anymore. 

But then......, this Christmas I ate some chocolate and oh. it. was. good.  So, off to the store I went to buy a new assortment of chocolate.  My only concession here to good health is that I'm going to try to stick with dark chocolate, since it's supposed to be good for you.  Here is my current stash......

I started with the Ghirardelli Twilight Delight, and found it to be very silky and smooth.  I just ate one square, so I am trying to show some restraint.  Don't just hock the whole thing down, you know.  So, turn the channel when those stupid weight loss commercials come on.  Enjoy your life!  Eat More Chocolate!

Cossatot River Hiking

We finally made it down to Vandervoort together and decided to go hiking Saturday afternoon.  Sweetie has been telling me how super the Cossatot River trail is from the Ed Banks Access to the Sand Bar Bridge.  The trail used to follow the river very closely and you had to climb over big rocks, wade through water - all that fun stuff.  So, I wasn't really very enthused about doing it.  But Sweetie kept at me and I'm so glad he did.  We had so much fun!  Take a look....

The trail is much higher up now, so no climbing over big rocks or wading through water.  It still follows the Cossatot River, but the trail is much higher now and you get some great views.  There are many natural rock beaches, like the one in the picture above.  LOTS of blue paint marking the trail - no way you can get lost on this one!

OK, I know this is an awful picture of me and could easily get me nominated for What Not To Wear, but it just really shows you how the trail winds through the woods, high above the river.  Plus, it's just a great picture of the Little Black Dog.  There is nothing she likes better than running with her "pack" through the woods.

We were WAY up high and could see WAY far away.  The river was running at about two feet and the water was so pretty and clear.

 I don't know if you can tell, but this rapid is shaped like an S, hence these rapids are called the Esses.   Anyway, I had already seen the rapid from the ground, but never from a bird's eye view, so it was cool to see it really is an S!  Reminded me of a rapid I saw in Idaho called Ladle, which looked exactly like a ladle from above.  Simple minds, simple pleasures.

This is a neat spot that I would really like to see in the Spring, with lots of water gushing over it.  We counted seven bridges on this trail.  Lots of work involved in building bridges in the middle of nowhere!

Can you see it?  Her tongue is out so far!  But a little stroll through this creek and she was ready to push on.



So, we made it to Sand Bar Bridge, turned around and went back the way we came.  The weather was warm and beautiful.  On Sunday, we hiked the Cossatot River trail that starts at Highway 246.  I was really hesitant to hike this trail, because the last time I did it I got a really bad case of poison ivy or poison oak.  It was the middle of winter, damp, and the trail was not much of a trail at that time.  I had to hold on to trees and limbs to keep from rolling down hills.  Apparently, some of what I was holding on to was poison oak.  Hey, I know what it looks like when there are leaves on it, but with no leaves....
So, I had gloves on this time, just in case.  But the trail has been totally redone and it was super.  It was cold, cold, and windy though, so no pictures this time.  I'll take some next time.  All in all, a very good weekend. 

Holly Daze 2010

Every Fall, Penny Harper has a super fun shopping event at her beautiful home in Sherwood.  This is Holly Daze 2010!

You just can't help but be jealous of Penny's studio - it's perfect!  It's big, beautiful, comfortable, and even has a sink and a flat screen TV.  Here is some of the beautiful jewelry that Penny makes in her studio.

Stacy Osborn of By His Grace Designs was there with her beautiful creations.  It was great to meet Stacy, since I had heard so much about her.  She is tres elegant and cool - you'd never guess she has three children and works a full-time job!

Custom Cards by Sue Winkley.  Sue and her husband, Rex, are always going somewhere cool and having the most fun, plus she does an enormous amount of volunteer work.  I don't see how she has time to make these really special and intricate cards!  I had to buy some for myself, of course.

My friend Patti Arp, of Bead, Wire, 'n Fire, made this beautiful set.  This is Patti's own design and I just love it.  Even though it's put together with wire, all you feel against your skin is cool, smooth stones.  The picture just doesn't do it justice.  My new camera and I are still getting to know each other!

Margaret Horton brought her fascinating Miche Bags.  If you've never seen these before, they are really ingenious.  You start with a base purse, such as black or bone, and you then change the look of the purse by adding one of a bajillion different shells - really cool!

Sharon Johnson, of Norah's Goods, made this gorgeous jewelry.  I should have taken my picture sooner, because she had already sold a bunch of it by the time I came around!

Betty Bloore, of Blue Iris, knitted these incredibly soft scarves with a yarn named Cocoon.  So pretty!

Linda Whitlow, of Stitched in Romance, brought her super embroidered items.  She had everything from bibs to towels to potato cookers!

And last, but not least, Judy Nelms, of Sassy Sweaters, made the most adorable little sweaters.  Judy takes adult sized sweaters, felts them down to child size, and then lets loose with her creativity by embellishing each sweater with yarn, buttons, ruffles, etc.  Sooooooooooo cute and clever!

So, we all had big fun!  As always at Miss Penny's house, we had plenty of food, great companionship, and lots of happy conversation.  Thanks Penny!

New Metalwork Designs

My friend Brenda taught our beading group how to make a metalwork bracelet a few months ago.  Since then I have been cutting, torching, hammering, fold forming, and corrugating my little heart out.  It is so much fun and so very different from the other types of jewelry that I've made!  Here are some of my new pieces.

This is copper that has been textured, fold formed, flame painted, and wired with turquoise rondelles.



This is copper that has been textured, fold formed, flame painted, and wired with glass beads and black onyx beads.

This necklace and earring set is made with brass that has been corrugated and flame painted.  The necklace has a Sodalite teardrop.

I know - this picture looks a little slim.  But my stupid green croc was in the picture, and I'm too *%&%! lazy to go take another picture, so you get the cropped version.  This necklace is made of copper that has been textured, fold formed, flame painted, and wired with a marcasite drop and marcasite nuggets.

Again, really gotta watch those feet.  This is my take on swiss cheese - shiny, shiny copper with assorted holes.  The matching earrings follow.

These earrings are made of brass that has been annealed and formed into petals, and wired with glass flower beads.

And finally, you can show your sweetie that you're thinking about luuuuuvvvv when you wear these copper earrings with male and female symbols.

Please comment on what you like and don't like, cause I always welcome feedback!

BSA and Beads and Bike Chain

Saturday morning we decided to go hiking again, so we drove up to Petit Jean Mountain State Park, which is only about an hour and a half from Little Rock.  We had a very pleasant drive up to the park and decided to do the Seven Hollows trail.  The Seven Hollows trail is my favorite, because of the huge rock formations.  Here's Sweetie and the Little Black Dog on the Seven Hollows trail.

We didn't get very far before we realized that the trail was really CROWDED, so we decided to do the BSA (Boy Scouts of America) trail instead.  We pretty much had the trail to ourselves for most of the time.  We're spoiled from hiking at our place in the country, because we usually don't run into anyone on the trails we hike there.  Anyway, it was a good hike - nice and warm, but breezy - and we ended up at Mather Lodge.  This is a pic of the vista from the lodge - doesn't really do it justice, you have to be there!



Here's another pic from close by.  The leaves aren't gorgeous this year, since it's been so dry, but still very pretty.

Then on Sunday, Sweetie and I drove to Hot Springs to go to the Bead Show.  I had fun shopping and then we went to La Hacienda for lunch - my favorite Mexican restaurant.  A very good day all around.  Of course, then I had to design something with my new beads, so I made this necklace with the Fire Agate beads I bought in Hot Springs.

That inspired me, so then I made two bracelets, a necklace, and earrings using a chain maille pattern called Bike Chain.

Followed by more necklaces with a pattern called Celtic Visions.



OK, I'll try to get off the alliterative kick now - just couldn't resist.  Bijou Booth, the Bountiful Blogger on BSA and Beads and Bike Chain!

Red and Brassy

Red and Brassy - sounds kind of sassy!  And it reminds me of my paternal grandmother Tessie, because she had bright red hair till the day she died - and she was definitely a sassy lady.  Of course, I was eighteen before I realized that she dyed her hair red and that was only because someone told me - jeez, I am really dense sometimes!
So, I made these earrings because my friend Lynn wanted something red and brassy.  Hope she - and you - like them.......

Pinnacle Mountain State Park

Hey, two posts in one weekend.  If that's not bountiful blogging, I don't know what is!  So, Sweetie, the Little Black Dog, and I went out to Pinnacle Mountain State Park to hike.  We started at the boat launch near the Visitor Center.  Here's a pic of one side of Pinnacle Mountain, with the LBD in the corner.

There were a bunch of people on the trail, which we thought was kind of unusual.  Then as we got closer to the State Park, we heard drumming.  Then the yummy smell of funnel cakes.  It's Rendezvous weekend at the Park!  Pretty cool, with lots of Indian wares for sell and Indians doing war dances and tee pees.  Here's a pic of a war dance.

Here's a pic of a tee pee.

And here's a pic of the climbing wall and the other side of Pinnacle Mountain.

So, all of this made for a very nice Saturday indeed.  I love October in Arkansas!

Resin and Metal

Yeah, it's the Belated Blogger.  I've just been too #^$&!$ busy to blog!  I got addicted to resin and metal, so my days have been full of  banging on metal, setting fire to metal, cutting out tiny pictures, and pouring ice resin - all of which I displayed at yesterday's Argenta Art Walk!

As you can see, I got a little carried away with the resin pendants.  Here's an upclose picture.

Just love the Christmas Cowgirl.  Now I'm looking for pictures for Cat Woman and Wonder Woman, as suggested by some customers last night.  Here's a look at some of my new metal work.

I know, I know - too far away to see, but I'll get some closer shots later.  Anyway, I had a great time last night.  It was nice and cool, and, as usual, lots of nice people.  Sweetie took off work early to help me set up and he was SO helpful, as usual.  And, no, I won't tell you about the whole smashing the finger of a very sweet lady, because Sweetie would be upset if I talked about it and he's already hanging his head down about it anyway.

Yikes, gotta go.  Sweetie and the LBD are going to Pinnacle to hike, and I want to go with them.  Till later.  I'll try to redeem myself and become the Bountiful Blogger!!!

Birthday Weekend

It's a tradition in my family to celebrate the whole weekend, if your birthday falls on a weekend.  This blog is about my birthday weekend 2010.  So, you're thinking "What the heck is this picture for?!".  Well, my friends Sharon and Brenda and I went to Fort Smith to go to the annual Bead Show at the Convention Center.  Brenda brought her nifty little GPS and put in the address for the Convention Center.  We ended up out in the middle of nowhere and the GPS announced "You have reached your destination".  We laughed till it hurt.  Turns out there are two destinations in the Fort Smith area with an address of 55 South Seventh Street.  Huh.

Anyway, we finally got to the Convention Center and had big fun shopping.  Then Brenda treated us to lunch at a cool little retro burger place.  Sharon drove us home through pounding rain and we ate wonderful birthday cake in the car.  That night, Sweetie and I watched The Blind Side, with Sandra Bullock - BIG tear jerker, but really good.

Then on Sunday Sweetie and I had yummy pancakes for breakfast and went shopping at antique stores and book stores.  All in all, a very good Birthday Weekend.  Nothing better than having super friends and a sweet husband!