OMG I'm Bored

I am so incredibly bored today that I am wandering around the living room taking pictures of stuff.

The boredom started yesterday - I spent some time beading (bead-crocheting, actually) - but making a bead crochet rope is just (to me) incredibly repetitive and boring.

And there was nothing good on TV, to keep me rooted to my seat while beading. So I didn't get much done - and the same was true today - I worked for about 2 hours on the rope crochet, but then I had absolutely had it.

So I just grabbed the camera, and started walking around.

I have an absolutely incredible lapidary collection - I have been collecting specimens for over 40 years. I even had a rock tumbler in elementary school, and tumbled rocks I found around Minnesota (where I lived at the time) for weeks, and weeks, and weeks.

This picture shows an agatized coral head, from a riverbed in Tennessee. And in the foreground, a gigantic piece of raw malachite, purchased from a published collector who travels through Afghanistan collecting malachite. (Or at least, he used to). This particular specimen is about 8 inches in diameter, and over 12 inches long.





When I was 5, I was hospitalized for about 3 months, and desperately needed things to keep me busy. I had a Lite-Brite - remember those? But after a couple of weeks, I had finished every single design available, and so my Dad brought in some fabric, and beautiful threads, and needles, and a embroidery-frame he had made himself just for me - it was adjustable to many different sizes, and the tension could be finely adjusted - it was a piece of art itself!

And then he taught me all kinds of needlepoint, including crewel.

And I spent hours doing crewel - and continued until I was in my 30s.


I made these 2 wall hangings, which have moved with me over the years, but always find a place in my living room, wherever I set up house.










This lamp was handmade by Wishon-Harrell in their Muncie, Indiana, studio. I lived in Muncie for about 5 years, and knew both these gentlemen well, and have a lot of their artwork - many lamps, and a wall clock, and vases, and candle-holders, and entire set of dishes, including a casserole and drinking tumblers.

I have heard rumors that their studio is closed - of course, it was back in the early '80s that I lived there and frequented their studio.


OMG - I'm not only bored, I'm old.

This Lamp Rocks!

So, I have really bad eyes...

I have a really hard time working with seed beads (but I LOVE beadweaving!), and finding the holes in beads, and seeing the right spot to open jumprings (hello, chainmaille!).

And this despite wearing glasses AND an optivisor!

So imagine my delight at discovering this fabulous lamp!

It concentrates light on my work, but when you flip up the little cover, it magnifies the work 5 times! It is unbelievably fantastic!

It's made by Sona Electronics, and I worship this lamp! And this is an unpaid endorsement, by the way...



It doesn't put out enough light for my purposes - what it produces is directly concentrated on whatever is directly below the lamp - it doesn't radiate outward to light the rest of my work area, so I use it along with my Ott Light, but that is no biggie.




If you have trouble seeing your projects - whatever they are - I cannot say enough about this wonderful lamp!

The gooseneck is really flexible, and stays wherever you put it.

And the light emanating from the lamp isn't hot - so your hands and your work don't heat up.

And I'm so excited about a little "family reunion" I'm experiencing on Etsy! A group of delightful folks I met last year in the forums had disbanded in January, but now we have started our thread up again, and it is so much fun!

Hi you guys - you know who you are!