Cold and Rainy Here...

That makes it good weather to be beading away on my January BJP piece, which is coming along a little slower than I'd hoped, but it will be finished soon.

Here's two of my cats keeping warm. I wish I could climb in and curl up with them. I have to settle for getting up close and personal with the little space heater next to my desk. :- P That's Curtis Junior on the left, Herbert on the right.

Wheeeee!

I got the 2010 Rio Grande Tools and Equipment catalog today -- jewelry tool porn! I love going through and looking at all the stuff, the mutant extraterrestrial pliers, hammers, bizarre tweezers, strange machines, fascinating saw blades, dapping blocks, draw plates, vacuum forming machines, torches, kilns, and... This thing keeps me entertained for hours, and is one of the highlights of the new calendar year. And it came at the right time -- I happen to need some new bizarre tweezers. :- ) Lucky for me, they are inexpensive.

January BJP Started

I have started in on my January piece, but it's not far enough along to post an "in progress" pic just yet. There are some beads I want to use, but I put them... somewhere and now all my searching has not turned them up. If I go buy some more, they will magically reappear. If I keep looking, I'm not likely to find them. This is typical for me and my studio, and it has been this way forever. Usually if I can't find what I want, I discover something even better to use, that I would never have thought of otherwise. It will be interesting to see what I come up with.

Changes...

Time to say, "Goodbye" to the 2008 BJP, and "Hi" to the 2010! I made up the logo button in Photoshop, not actually knowing what I was doing, but getting it done regardless. It turned out okay, I think.

I have my fabric, backing and bead colors all around me, ready to start up on Friday or Saturday when the calendar turns. It will be interesting to start another year with this project, and my only New Year's Resolution (besides my usual: eat ice cream) is to do better with this third BJP than I did with the last one. And that won't be hard to do, at all.

We're having a rare hard snowfall -- 2 inches in 2 hours. It's lovely to look at and slippy-slidey to drive in. I'm safe inside with my kitties and husband, enjoying hot chocolate and keeping warm. And of course, I'm beading!

Winter Solstice 2009

I lit the special cat candle (electric), dedicated to the Solstice and all of our lost friends.

Outside, it looked like this:



Tom and I enjoyed a lovely spaghetti dinner, and afterwards I made the traditional Solstice chocolate pudding. I make it from scratch, chopping up the chocolate, combining the ingredients, and cooking it slowly on the stove. It's always tasty that way, but it doesn't last long around here.

Amazingly, I got to bed around 11:45am, I got up at about 3:30pm, and I'm still wide awake. I like doing without sleep sometimes, so I can work on stuff, and I'm liking it this time. I'm sure I'll sleep well when I finally do get into bed, but... just not ready now.

Now for artwork!

Matilda, R.I.P.

This is the last picture of Matilda, taken yesterday.

We said "Farewell" to our beautiful old cat, Matilda yesterday afternoon. She was, as close as we could tell, at least 20 years old, and maybe 21. She was with us for almost 10 of those years, and quite the tyrannical dictator she was! Now we don't know what to do, without her telling us. At the end, she weighed less than 3 lbs, and was clearly ready to go. It feels like she's still here, and I'm looking for her in her favorite places around the house. I had trained myself to adhere to her medication and fluids schedule, and it will be awhile before I stop thinking, "Oh, it's 11 -- time for the white pill. It's 9 -- time for the pink pill." She was a wonderful friend. May she journey well.