Mothers, dressing and visitors

Two posts in two days. Go, me!

1. A good friend is a mother for the 3rd time. She's doing well and the baby is a beautiful, healthy little thing.
2. I find a bottle of salad dressing that's eluded me for months.

and best of all,

3. Someone other than me has visited and read this blog. I'm stunned and honoured - so thank you very much for dropping by my little corner of the Web. Season's Greetings to all you lovely people & Happy 2011!

A party, medication and a crafty gift

1. I get a text message inviting me to a friend's New Year's Eve party. Sweet! I haven't seen this friend in a long while and it'll be good to spend some time catching up with her.
2. My 17-year-old cat is looking better these past few days. He's been a good boy about taking his medication. And it's paying off. 
3. A christmas gift of colored glitter is sitting on my desk, waiting to be used in some resin experiments.

Lapsed.....

Yes, I'm a lapsed 3BTer. It's hard to believe that my last post was sometime in September. Three whole months ago! I guess I need to make sure that's the longest I go between posts.

1. Work is winding down and there's space - and time - to breathe.
2. A Christmas party beckons....good food, good company and presents. What more could I ask for?
3. An old friend who lives a world away will be here in less than a month.

Ramadan, a holiday and the weekend

1. I'm thankful for the spiritual strength that allowed me to see through another Ramadan. God is good. 

2. A 2-week trip to the US is just around the corner. Looking forward to meeting up with a dear friend and her son when I get to there. 

3. It's a long weekend where I am....rest and relaxation here I come. 

Beads!

Just realised I owe a pic of the beads I ordered way back in June. Well, here they are. Aren't they beauties?

Commissioned pieces, reminiscing and mangoes

1. I was paid for a commissioned bracelet and am working on another commissioned piece now - a long necklace.
2. An old friend came by which was a nice surprise. It got me reminiscing about the old days.
3. Plowing through a boxful of mangoes. Sweet. Juicy. Heaven.

I'm still here

I've been neglecting my blog of late. Work and general busyness has taken up my time. This is always a hectic time at work so I don't expect things to ease up any time soon. My jewellery-making has also fallen by the wayside a bit but I did try making a bracelet last weekend. It didn't quite turn out the way I wanted so I'll be re-working it this weekend. I also got my hands on the new Elizabeth George novel. Not through my sister like I mentioned in an earlier post, but through the library. I had reserved it a while back and never cancelled the reservation even after my sister told me she'd gotten a copy. I'm glad, cos that copy never materialised. I've only read the first couple of pages, but it's already got me hooked. You should check her books out- they're really well written and more than just a crime mystery/thriller.

Beads, books and dinner

Today was a strange day, filled with fits and starts. But I made it through.

1. An extra string of beads arrives alongside the one I ordered. No, I check, it's not a mistake, just a token of apology to make up for late shipping. I can't quite believe my good fortune.
2. My sister tells me she has managed to get the book I've been desperately wanting to read.
3. I find there's no need to rustle up something for dinner. Leftovers and dessert are sitting in the fridge waiting to be consumed.

Thank you Mr Mailman

Yay! Two of my parcels arrived at the beginning of this week. A good thing too. I was starting to get really worried that they may have been lost in the mail. I now have 4 - yes, 4 - used books in my clutches. It pains me to admit that I actually had these books in my posession at one point or other in my life. But they either got lost or were given away and I'm now on a quest to retrieve them - volume by volume - from all corners of the globe. I've read (or should that be 're-read') one and am half-way through the second. Hopefully, the books will get me through the weekend.

I'm now waiting for my other 2 parcels to arrive. I hope they are winging their way to me as I type. I'm fairly itching to get my hands on them. Why? Because I gave in to tempation - again! - and ordered a bunch of beautiful artist-made lampwork beads. Nothing too outrageous (style or cost-wise) but definitely drool-worthy. Photos are clearly in order so I'll post some pics when the beads finally get here. In the meantime, it's Friday! Hope you've had a good week and here's to a fabulous weekend! 

Anxiously waiting...

I've lately been struck by an intense desire to get my hands on copies of The Chalet School series. I loved reading them when I was a child/teen. To be honest, I still re-read the copies I have on occasion. It dawned on me a few months back that I was missing quite a few volumes in the series and I started hankering for them. I don't know if this is just another attempt to recapture my childhood; all I know is that I gave in to temptation this past week and ordered 4 volumes from eBay and an online used books store. The first batch of books should arrive soon. In fact, I was hoping they'd have arrived by now by I think they must be sitting in a post office somewhere. I hope they're doing OK and just waiting for me to give them a good home.

I'm also anxiously waiting for a package of beads to arrive. Yes, I know. I already have more beads than I know what to do with. But again, I just couldn't resist. I'll post pics of the beads here when I get them. If that weren't enough, I'm now eyeing some more handmade beads on eBay. What can I say? They're beautiful and reasonably priced. I haven't ordered them yet...but my fingers are itching to click on the 'buy' button. I'm going to resist the urge for as long as I can. Hopefully, this insatiable urge for beads will pass soon.

Books

I'm glad I picked up Mark Haddon's book. I should have borrowed it earlier. It was really very enjoyable. I highly recommend it if you're looking for something to read. I'm now looking forward to getting my hands on Elizabeth George's new novel This Body of Death. Apparently it's still 'in process' at my local library. So I'll have to wait a while more. I've been checking the library catalogue obsessively just to see when  it actually becomes available. Yes, I know. I'm a sad person :-). I don't know about you but I get awfully restless when I don't read for a time. Reading actually calms me down and I get into this peaceful, zen-like state. Which I like a lot.

And now, for my weekly post of the beautiful things in my life:
1) My doctor's appointment went well. For which I am very relieved.
2) I chatted online with a wonderful friend who lives half the world away. She always cheers me up.
3) I may actually have a jewellery commission. I am so stoked. She wants to buy a bracelet I have up on my Etsy store and is thinking of getting me to do another in a different colour. You can't imagine how much her interest has helped me. I was on the verge of giving up this whole jewellery thing.

Reading

I've been feeling under the weather these past few days and have had to stay home. Methinks it's the flu bug making its rounds. So apart from sleeping (which I've done a lot of LOL), I've also been catching up on my reading. Went to the library over the weekend and got myself several books. A few beading books as well as some fiction. I'm now reading Mark Haddon's A Spot of Bother. And so far, it's been highly enjoyable. You might want to check it out.

Computers, shortbread and cats

It's been a less than positive week for me. I unexpectedly came up against some highly unpleasant people at work which quite upset my equilibrium. But I'm trying to put that out of mind and focus on the good things that are present in my life.

1. My new Macbook Pro arrived. I love it.
2. Some lovely chocolate shortbread is on its way to my tummy. All thanks to a friend who's a wonderful baker.
3. My cat is old. But healthy. We were worried he might have something wrong with his right hind leg.

Tea, reading and fish

1. I find time for a cup of chamomile lavender tea. It soothes my tummy that's been acting up for weeks.
2. There's nothing like getting stuck in a good book, even if it's one I've read before. It's been ages since I last picked up The Sittaford Mystery so I don't recall who the murderer is.
3. Fish and chips for lunch. The fish is fresh and the chips crispy and hot.

Movie magic and memories

One of my greatest pleasures in life is watching movies. My earliest movie memory is of watching Jaws in the cinema and cowering behind my sweater. My late mother loved movies, especially the old Hollywood classics. I remember her sitting up late at night and catching re-runs of movies like The Prince and the Showgirl. She also had a huge crush on Rock Hudson and I sometimes wonder what she would have said if she had been alive when news broke that he was gay. It would have shattered her world.

Thanks to her influence, I know a lot more about old Hollywood movies and the people who acted in them than most of my peers. I'm still about the only one among my friends who'll watch musicals like South Pacific and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers or knows who Troy Donahue is (I thought he was peachy keen when I was 12). Those old movies I watched back when I was a child continue to be magical. Partly because of their happy endings which spoke to me of hope and better things to come. But mostly because these were the same movies my mother had watched in her youth. Watching the same movies she had was my way to connect with a mother I lost much too early in life.

Quiet morning, sweets and parcels

Apologies for the lack of updates. I've been feeling under the weather this past week, and am still feeling a little dodgy. Despite the health issues, it's a good time to reflect on some beautiful things in my life.

1. A quiet morning to catch up on tasks in glorious solitude.
2. Pack of Wether's Original - these butterscotch flavoured sweets bring back childhood memories.
3. The mailman brought me a parcel I've been waiting for. A few more packages still to come.

Usefulness of guilty pleasures

Just to show you that I do - occasionally - make something out of my beads, here's a pic of a bracelet I made for a friend who recently got married. I used Swarovski glass pearls, freshwater pearls, gold-plated pewter spacer beads, gold-plated crystal rondelle and a vintage faux pearl clasp. I think it turned out quite pretty after all.

Check out my Artfire store if you want to have a peek at my other jewellery.

Countdown of indulgences...continued

Right, I hope you've had a good day so far. I have. I managed to coax both my camera and my laptop into working. At least for a little while. So this post isn't going to be very long, since I really don't want to push my luck.

It's with much guilt that I acknowledge - a day late - that my single biggest indulgence is....this.

Yes, people, my greatest guilty pleasure is beads. Beautiful, gorgeous, breath-taking, sparkly beads. What you see is just a teeny portion of my bead stash. Aren't they lovely? My favourite has got to be the butterfly beads. They look and feel like glass but they weigh hardly anything so I think they might be acrylic. I bought them in Tokyo over 2 years ago and am loath to use them. They're just so pretty. I guess I'm waiting for inspiration to strike since they deserve to be showcased in a spectacular jewellery design. What do you think? Do you have ideas on how I should use them? I keep thinking they'd look stunning in a necklace but I'm not quite sure. Leave a comment and tell me what you think I ought to do with them. At the moment, they're sorely neglected. They only see the light of day when I take them out - every month or so - to ooh and aah at them.

PS. I'm known for taking crappy photographs. So do bear with me. I'm hoping all this blogging will help improve my photography skills. We'll see.

Troubles & beautiful things

I was going to post some photos of my No. 1 guilty pleasure, but I'm having issues with my camera and my computer. So that particular post will have to wait.

In its place, I thought I'd mention a wonderful blog I came across not too long ago called "3 Beautiful Things". You may already know about it, and love it as much as I do. The whole idea of being thankful for the many little blessings and joys in our daily life is both simple and significant. I totally recommend that you check the blog out. You can find the link in my blog list.

Although the day isn't quite over, these are my 3 beautiful things for today.

1. Rain. Glorious after a week of sizzling heat.
2. Chatting online with a friend who recently got a job (wonder if that makes it two beautiful things?)
3. Having 2 scoops of chocolate ice-cream for dessert. Yum. The diet can wait.

Countdown of indulgences

There's nothing I like better than to sit down for a couple of minutes - especially during a busy day - with a cup of tea or cocoa and a bite to eat. When I really want to indulge myself, I go for one of these yummy things. What's your teatime indulgence? I'd love to hear about it.

Brand new blog

Despite what it sounds like, I won't be blogging about gloves. Unfortunately. Or about shoes. I just couldn't resist using a quote from Jenny Joseph's poem 'Warning'. The spirit of the poem seemed to fit what's happening in my life. The older I get, the less apologetic I am about my guilty pleasures. So this blog will be about that: my guilty pleasures, and other frivolities of life that bring me joy. Check in soon to see what these are :-)