Shepherding

Laurel Reflection by Richard Shilling

I was reading Richard Shilling's {Land Art} blog this morning where he was musing about spring and little lambs leaping through the meadows, and about the cycle of life. It came home to me again while I was sitting in church and heard the readings, which mark this Sunday as "Good Shepherd Sunday".

Adoration of the Lamb, the Ghent Altarpiece by Jan and Hubert van Eyck (detail)

I also thought about one of the most awe-inspiring works of art I have seen in person, the Ghent altarpiece also called the Adoration of the Lamb. (My husband and I saw it this past May when we were in the Netherlands, we went to Belguim.)

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Spring is here, new life is all around us, new ways of looking at life and our place in it also surround us. I have had a lot of changes in this past year and I have learned so much about myself. I have been out of work for most of the year and I have been fretting about it too. So often we define ourselves by what we do, I know I do anyway, and not by who we really are.

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I worked very hard for two weeks and quit my "new" job because of the toll it was taking on me, on my husband, and on our quality time together (oh, and the doggies didn't like it much either!). I was one the road two hours a day and the salary did not compensate for that. Doing the math opened my eyes to that fact.

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So, I am unemployed again, but with a difference this time -- I know who I am and what I am worth and also what I do well.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Now, for something completely different: I did not hear from Loretta, so I did another drawing and picked Katie Nelson as the new winner of the Bindweed Beetle bracelet. Email me with your address and I will get it out to you in just about no time!

Post #100

The Winner of this lovely Bracelet, inspired by a photograph of the Bindweed Beetle is

~~~~~~~~ Loretta ~~~~~~~~~~

Send me an email with your address and I will get it out to you in the next two days

Thank You, everyone, for helping me celebrate my 100th Post!

~~~~~~~~

I took my camera to work today. We have tons of chalk-turquoise (sold by weight), mother of pearl, crystals, lots of semi-precious gemstone beads, lots of base-metal findings and lots and lots of "fashion jewelry" all at wholesale prices. The majority of the beads are $1, $2, $5 a strand.

This first photo reminds me of Lindipearls (see previous post), but it is actually dyed mother of pearl. ;^)

Mother of pearl, "gemstones", and findings . . .

Crystal bead strands . . .

"Fashion Jewelry" . . .

And "fashion jewelry" made on site.

The Brazos Collection has an online store so that you can shop in your pajamas. Here's the link {HERE}. If you shop online, tall them I sent you!

Lindipearls

What a week! I started a new job in the Stockyards of Ft. Worth that is an hour commute from my home. It is a tourist destination now, but it was the end of the road for billions of cattle in the old days.

The shop where I work, the Brazos Collection {online HERE}, is a bead and fashion jewelry wholesaler that sells direct to the public at wholesale prices. It takes all of my reserve to not bring home all my wages in beads and finding! As a matter of fact, I bought part of the gorgeous beads for the Bindweed Beetle Bracelet (in the banner above) from their main store in Salado, Texas a year ago.

I am loving learning the stock, you know, petting all the pretty beads and fondling all the findings. What I do not love is that do not have any is free time. I leave the house for an hour drive and return home ten hours later, exhausted.

Before I go any further, I wanted to show you these:

The large ones are the size of a large chickpea and they are graduated on down from there to about 3mm.

Pretty aren't they? Well, I will not be making a necklace or bracelet from these even though they cost over $600.

They were home grown and harvested Lindi-pearls. What are Lindi-pearls? I will get to that in a minute.

On Tuesday of my first week at a new job, my little Mini-Schnauzer went under the knife for bladder surgery. She has apparently been suffering for a very long time, but we had no idea why. The vet was astonished when he looked at the x-ray film. Her bladder was filled -- FILLED -- with over 35 stones of varying sizes from small marble to tiny chips. Well, see for yourself -- part of the harvest is in the photo above!

So now we believe Lindi is full-blooded mini-Schnauzer with a recessive oyster gene.

Lindi is feeling a whole lot better now.

Thank you for asking.
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Next time I post, I will have drawn the name of one of the entrants to the Pass It On Challenge. You have until Midnight Sunday April 18th. Go {HERE} to enter.

Ah, Spring!

One of my favorite artists, Richard Shilling was interviewed on Esty, the UK edition, this weekend, {read it HERE}. He makes beautiful land art using objects found in nature. One of my most favorite of his pieces is called River Squares (above) and I use it as my computer’s wallpaper. It is so serene and subtle, bold and beautiful all at the same time. Check out his Flickr account too {HERE}.

I have been a bit under the weather the last few days with horrid allergies. I take out the dogs in the morning and I sneeze my head off for about the next an hour, then things calm down to where I can actually see straight. Then the doggie darlings want to go out -- again! (Imagine that!) More sneezing and sputtering, calming, and then – you guessed it – they want to go out AGAIN!

Whew!

Wears me out.

As you know, this is post #98. Two more and I will be drawing for the Bindweed Bracelet (in the banner) for my 100th post. So, go {HERE}to comment and Pass-It-On.

So, what Do You think?

I have been preparing myself to relinquish the Bindweed Beetle Bracelet (above) to the winner of the Pass It On Challenge {enter HERE} in just three more posts. I have changed my banner and blog background so that even when the bracelet is gone, I will still have it.

Clever, huh?

Look What I found This Morning!

This is going to be a short post. I have a job interview this afternoon and I am asking that you send out good thoughts about this. I have been out of work since July and this would be a perfect time to start work again, don't you agree?

I took a look at a patch of clover in our yard (I swear it wasn't there yesterday!) and look what I found! I am taking it as a sign. This is NOT an April Fool's Joke.

UPDATE! ~~~~~~~
I got the job and will be commuting to the Fort Worth Stockyards to work for The Brazos Collection, a bead wholesaler. (OMG!!) If you purchase online, please let them know I sent you.

Go {HERE} to enter the Pass It On Challenge to win the Bindweed Beetle Bracelet when I publish my 100th post (This is #96)

It is Holy Week, and for those who do not know what that is, it is the rememberance of the Passion of Christ, his final days and hours before his death. In our house (a clergy household, my hubby is an Episcopal priest) the schedule of extra services can be a bit hectic.

The first year we were married, our One Year Anniversary fell on the day after Easter. Not really so bad, except my husband, who had been serving two small churches and therefore double the number of extra services, was exhausted. (I think we counted 13 services from Sunday to Sunday and the churches were 22 miles apart). I was exhausted too, because I was expected to be present at both communities' special services. Whew! We laugh about it now that he only serves one church, but that was rough!

I sometimes say that Holy Week in a clergy household is kind of like "Hell Week" at a frat house! Oy! For that reason, I try to schedule as little as possible in my life so that I can be a pool of calm for my beloved, when he comes home from work.

This year, things are a bit different. I have an interview tomorrow (fingers crossed!!) and I have been making some jewelry. I was pleasantly surprised by the order of a Salvation Bracelet in my Etsy Shop this morning. I had to scramble a bit because I thought I had run out of the cloisonne crosses. I searched high and low, and then went looking in the local Hobby Lobby and Michael's without success (no surprise here). While I was looking for an acceptable alternative in my stash, I found two cloisonne crosses!

So, here is the finished product. It is going to be a confirmation gift for a young lady.


So, tell me, what are your plans for this weekend? Are you going to any special religious services (It's Passover too)? are you going to hit the parks and enjoy the beautiful spring weather? Are you going to spend time with family and/or friends? Inquiring (and nosy) minds want to know!

P.S. Go {HERE} to enter the Pass It On Challenge to win the Bendweed Beetle Bracelet when I publish my 100th post (this is #95)

Finding your genius

Get in touch with your Genius! Listen to Elizabeth Gilbert, author of "Eat, Love, Pray" to the very end -- this is fantastic! (Thanks to Beth Hemmila at Hint for posting this video)

This is Post #94. Go {HERE} to be entered in the Pass-It-On Challenge and win the Bindweed Beetle bracelet on the day I post my 100th blog post.

Winning is FUN!

Don't you just love it?

Winning is so much fun and sometimes it is easier than falling off a log. Take this for example: Erin over at {Treasures Found} pulled my name out of a hat (the old-fashioned random kind of drawing) and all I had to do was to leave a comment. Couldn't be easier!

What did I win? Some of the same goodies Erin used to make this lovely piece called {Lily at Twilight}

Now that you know how it's done, go {HERE} and enter my Pass-It-On Challenge. The odds are really good at the moment and you could win a beautiful bracelet when I publish my 100th post (this is #93)

All Quiet Here

I have not had a lot to say lately, I am kind of in the doldrums right now. I am also having trouble refilling an important prescription and it is giving me a little electrical light show behind my eyes which is very disconcerting and distracting.

I know I am not supposed to apologize for not posting, but there you have it.

A couple of days ago ur two Miniature Schnauzers got the full spa treatment and a brand new style. They usually have long beards (which seem to collect all kinds of gunk) and with the long beards they look a bit like my husband. No, really! What do you think?

Windsor with his new Shorter cut

Lindi with her Greta Garbo look (I vant to be left alone)

Who likes to ride in the car?? (With the long beards)

Photo-op at the blessing of the animals in October

Two of my three favorite fuzzy faces

I am slowly moving towards my 100th post. This is #92. Your chances of winning the Bindweed Beetle Bracelet are pretty good at this point. So go {HERE} find out more and to enter.