The Lost Word

Choose a word for 2013.  I didn't.  I'm not much for New Year's Resolutions and this sounded a little like resolutions to me.  However, my word had other ideas.  It chose me.  So I had my word...it came to me while I was washing dishes...

This is easy, I thought.  I have a word.  I can do this.  Three months into the new year and I began to feel like Jane of Jane of Lantern Hill fame.  I had a word; I knew I had a word, but it was buried under all the debris of accumulated daily living.  I simply couldn't find my word.  "Create"--that's all fine, but I could barely decide what to fix for supper, never mind create.

So I made cookies...black and whites...from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar...and they were good!

Then spring started to arrive.

The apricot started to bud and then to bloom.  All that promise.  I could see the jars of jam and almost taste the apricot pineapple pie...All that promise gone in one cold night even though we built the tree a small fire.  I may still get enough apricots for a pie...I always hope.

And then Spring Break came and I got oxygen at long last.

I think that perhaps I am becoming reacquainted with my word.  The ivory beads are ivory with small pieces of silver leaf and encased in clear.  I didn't completely melt the silver off before I encased it because I wanted some of the sparkle to remain.

And finally there are these recycled earrings.  These have my very first attempt at making my own headpins.  Since I was experimenting I used black annealed steel wire (and also because that was what the store had available).  Making headpins is quite fun.  I just have to discover how to get my wire straighter and how long to cut it so I don't scorch my fingers when working with it. 

Today I decided to rearrange the studio.  It is crammed with paraphenalia from the bathroom remodel and seriously getting on my nerves (or maybe my LAST nerve).  Anyway, I got the bright idea that it needed to be rearranged.  So I did...I am quite certain that this was NOT my best idea.  But since it was a lot of work, it will remain this way for a while...at least a month.

I think that I am starting to live in the spirit of creativity again.

Has It Really Been a Month?

March.  What can I say about March?  I did have a lovely birthday.  I would say it was uneventful, but the cake we baked was an experiment and in the nature of experiments everywhere didn't quite cooperate.  The ganache refused to thicken in time and the final result--although tasty--was not lovely to look at.  We had made a peanut butter torte with cream cheese frosting and a chocolate peanut butter ganache.

We are still embroiled in bathroom remodelling.  This is likely to take some time as we are only buying materials as we have the actual money.

Spring break will be next week and I still have to get some oxygen for my torch.  I do not intend to go the entire vacation without taking some time to melt glass.

I'm hoping that the weather will cooperate long enough for me to get the early seeds into the ground.  I'm really wanting some fresh spinach and lettuce.

The laundry dryer has also decided to do its part in adding to the general chaos by burning out its heating element.  It still turns and blows air; however, it is cold air and takes all day to dry anything.  We have retaliated by drying things for about an hour and then hanging them to dry the rest of the way.  So far, it is working quite well.  It will go even better when it is a little warmer and a little less prone to drop rain without notice.