Socks That Are Hot or just Too Hot For Socks

Tube-Flops ?  Why ?  They seem to defeat the whole purpose of wearing flip-flops in the first place.  When I think of sandals and flip-flops I think of hot, muggy summer days and the very thought of threading my legs into a pair of almost knee high socks makes me shudder.
When temps are in the 90's or sky rockets into the 100's one would think something like this would be hot and uncomfortable. They also look like something that is going to require frequent laundering and at about $29 a pair they aren't as economical as your everyday 4 or 5 dollar, age old, run of the mill, get-em-at your Dollar Store, flip-flops.

What were they thinking ?  Probably thinking that the youth of today will buy anything if they think it's trendy enough.  Hope they are wrong...but just in case you're dying for a pair of these you can purchase them through Zappo's.com $29.95 free shipping.  As for me, I'd rather go bare-footed thank you very much !
What are your thoughts ?  Is this the next big Fashion Flip or will it be a Fashion Flop ?

Hot and Hardy Plants

This summer is turning out to be a scorcher so the memories of this past, long and icy winter seems like ancient history.  For the last few months John and I have been trying to replace many of the plants that suffered either frost damage or were killed by the several, below 30 degree nights that they had to endure.

Photo above...the magnolia planter with it's ring of dead Lantana twigs. Though the Lantana did survive, both John and I felt it was too high maintenance with it's constant need for pruning during the hot, wet months of summer and babied during winter freezes.  In the end we opted to remove it and replant the circular planter with something more "user friendly". 

Photo above...45 bags of top soil to fill the planter with.  This is only half of the bags that were bought, the other half have already been emptied into the planter, plus we had to purchase an additional 30 bags to get the soil level up to where it needed to be.

Photo above...Work in progress (or process as I'm beginning to think the terminology is interchangeable).  We had to temporarily remove the irrigation system in order to add the much needed top soil.

Photos above and below...The finished planter with a circle of small, 3 gallon size, Schilling ilex (a type of holly that thrives in the heat of summer and survives the freeze of winter).

Photos above...Must admit it was a gorgeous day for photos, though very hot !

Mundane Monday Mystery ???

Monday ! Monday !

Back when I worked 9 to 5 I used to hum a tune by The Mamas and The Papas call "Monday, Monday.  However in my mind the words became "Mundane Monday, can't stand that day. Mundane Monday, wish it'd go away".

Though the day that follows Sunday is a difficult one to get acclimated to and ends up taking a lot of flak, the truth is that every week must start somewhere and Monday is as good a day as any.  This Monday I'm going to be a little different and I'm starting it off by presenting a mystery...a Mystery Monday.  I found these photos in my jpeg stash, they're odd, yet intriguing.   Can you guess what it is ?

Is it a UFO ?   Perhaps a strange sea creature ?

What's your guess ?  I bet all of you can figure it out.

Look...up in the sky...it's a bird...it's a plane...

The sky is always fascinating, it changes it's wardrobe throughout the day from sunrise to sunset.  It can be clear and blue or a hazy gray or even dark, foreboding and threatening.   There can be a scattering of small clouds or an abundance of huge billowy thunderheads.  The photos below were taken just before sunset in the backyard of my Bradenton, Florida home.

Photo above...strange down cloud.  At first I was concerned that it might be a funnel cloud, a harbinger of a tornado, but it didn't have the movement nor the smooth tubular appearance of a funnel cloud.

Photo below...It was a pre-sunset sky and the golds, pinks and lavenders were just making their appearance.

Photo below...another shot of the strange cloud.  Camera set at full zoom (all 3X of it LOL).

Photo below...I wondered if perhaps it was a trail caused by a weather station rocket, though they are usually not so big nor so vertical.

Any ideas as to what you think may have caused this strange cloud ?

From Out Of The Rubble ...

Some of you may recall my post about too many inspirations coming from a cluttered tray of assorted beads and findings.  I promised to post about the resulting products and I did manage to blog about a pair of black and copper dangle earrings that turned out wonderfully...so much so that I ended up keeping the first pair made.  : )

Not all things work out as one envisions them and for the past few days I battled with an idea that just refused to come out the way that I saw it in my mind's eye.  I haven't abandoned the idea but I have put it aside and will attempt to create it at a later date, using a different method of construction. 

However even before this battle of wills with those reluctant beads, I did manage to complete a sweet little pair of fun and sassy earrings using 2 of my  handcrafted beaded beads.  

One strand of zircon blue briolettes had a few brios that had shorten tips to them (somewhere along the line in manufacturing the briolette tips had been chipped but then were honed and polished, so this truncation of the tips had been done before I acquired them).  By using my perky yellow beaded beads like bead caps to cover the shortened tips and with the addition of a crystal rondel  in citrine yellow and a firepolished Czech glass bead in the same zircon blue as the briolettes, I had created a pretty dangle...perfect for an earring. 

All that I needed was to craft a pair of sterling silver ear wires, to which I added another zircon blue firepolished beads and voila !

You may notice that the silvery wire on the dangle has been twisted, I did this as there wasn't enough space to use a substantial gauge wire and so 26 gauge was used. Since 26 gauge is rather fragile I doubled it all the way and created a twisted wire to form the loop and wrap with. I may decided to change this out as I can't decide if I like it or not. ?  What do you think ?  Should it stay or should I change it out and use a smoother look ?

A Tulip by Any Other Name ?

Photo above...My Mother's Day Tulip Plant

On Mother's Day my daughter, Kathi, had presented me with a pretty potted tulip.  Tulips are lovely but unfortunately very short lived and in just a few days the fat flower buds had burst open, displayed their pretty tulip blossoms and then wilted into something less attractive.

Photo above...Tulip in full bloom.

Though the tulip was not at the stage that I could place it outside and out of mind, it was not the most joyous thing to look at either.  That's when I was struck with an idea.  It was a prime candidate for photo enhancement.  After taking a few snap shots and playing around with my very rudimentary photo editing program I came up with these photos.

Photo above...My first attempt at photo enhancement using saturated colors

Photos above and below...These two enhanced photos are my favorite, I think they have an oriental quality to them and look more like artwork than photography. I am tempted to have one printed out, matted and framed, only trouble is I can't decide which one. They are similar yet very different.

From Inspiration to Realization...

A few days ago I did a post on my pile of inspirations, granted it looked more like a hodge podge of assorted beads and findings but each pile was its own little inspiring idea awaiting creation.

I have completed a couple of these piles of ideas and am posting my first one, as promised.  These long dangle earrings are crafted from lead-safe copper wire and a mix of Czech glass beads and Swarovski crystals.  Not too fussy, not too ornate...simple, swingy and super fun.  Unfortunately these looked so good when I tried them on I decided to keep the first pair for myself and had to make another pair for my etsy shop.

Photo above...Combo of  black and red Czech glass beads along with Swarovski Fire-Opal crystals   are highlighted by the warm tones of my copper wire work.  The earring hooks are also my own handmade and bead embellished hooks.

Photo below...Just a part of my head to show my earring being worn...I should have worn a lighter top...no I should have gotten someone else to model them for me !

Photo below...Close up of the spiral wire work that I added to the black glass disc beads.

Since it looks like Etsy is going to take its sweet time to instigate a protocol that will allow us to have multiple shops under one email address or to be able to change our shop/user names, I will seriously have to start thinking about getting a second email address and opening another shop for my jewelry.  Not that my jewelry is flying off the shelves (oh how lovely that would be)  I just don't like mixing my supplies with my finished pieces. 
Aly of  AlyGatr'sEverywhere  I think you need to open an etsy banner shop as it looks like I may be needing another banner some time soon. : )

Bitten by BEDBUGGS...

photo above...A big eyedalater, maybe its looking for inspiration?

Inspiration is all around us and when Krista of the blog BedBuggs, wanted to do a feature blog on me, it was the rocket that launched my own inspiration to the highest pinnacles.  I admit that I had been rather down in the doldrums but from BedBuggs interest I was infused with that "spark" again...I actually began creating some jewelry and found myself hit with  idea after idea for new pieces.
Krista's blog is a lovely, eye-catching one filled with interesting features and posts.  Hey, check it out for yourself  and be sure to read her feature on Moi  : )

Krista's blog can be found at BedBuggs  or if you prefer :  http://www.bedbuggs.blogspot.com/
I also highly recommend a visit to her adorable etsy shop : http://www.etsy.com/shop/bedbuggs


But watch out you just might get bitten by the BUG...of inspiration. :)

Aspiring to be Inspiring

Photo above...Bead soup, or "Holy Moly, enough with the inspirations already !"

Is there such a thing as too much inspiration?

For the last couple of days I've been dabbling with my old love, crafting jewelry.

Trying not to get too involved and falling head over heels in love again, I began to look at a few of my "projects in waiting". Those are the things that I made but didn't quite like and so took apart to refashion at a later date. Picking up one project I found myself wrinkling my nose at the old ideas that had once filled my head; "What was I thinking? How drab!" Suddenly I was enveloped with inspiration...after inspiration...after inspiration and my small work tray soon looked like "Bead Soup".

Photo above...An idea for aqua and yellow on top with ideas for white opal and gold beads buried beneath them.

Obviously what I had dreaded happened, I was sick in love again and way in over my head. Perhaps when I get one or two of this forgotten projects done I will post them for your opinions and comments.

 

Photos above...Some black glass and my copper wire, stir with a pair of round nosed pliers, hm interesting.  And how about a lily sterling silver bead cap and a dangle of seed beads...only not in gold, how about using those gunmetal blue seed beads just above them ?  Oh and what if I.....

A Bristling Dilemma

Toothbrushes! Ever thought about them ?

As I brushed my teeth I began to think (for me that can be a dangerous thing) about toothbrushes. Mine was in need of replacement and I began to wonder how long ago it had been since it was brand new and squeaky clean. They recommend we change our toothbrushes every 2 to 3 months which would be 4 to 6 times a year.

Wow ! If everybody is tossing their used toothbrushes...how many toothbrushes are laying about in landfills all across the world ?
Well they're small right ? But what if you took every toothbrush that's in everyone's bathroom right now and piled them all up ? Bet it would make for one really impressive pile ! Think about it. All the people in your neighborhood, your city, your state and country...everyone on this planet who has access to the convenience of this marvelous dental hygiene product...day after day these worn brushes are being tossed, week after week, month after month, year after year.

Is there a place to recycle toothbrushes ? Sure I always save a couple of old ones to help me clean and scour those hard to get at places around the house but even then I only need a couple of old brushes and they seem to last for years and years. So what about all those extra toothbrushes that reach their expiration after 2 or 3 months ? I can't find any recycling symbol on my toothbrush, does yours have one ? Hmm, this sounds like a job for my friend at GreenLeafReviewer ! Anyone have any suggestions ?

Homeland Security in a Cow Pasture

Photo above...Who you lookin' at? You lookin' at me?

Last spring the cattle pasture close to home held a nice herd of cows and a healthy crop of frisky calves. It was enjoyable to watch the young ones as they cavorted around the pasture and tried to emulate their moms. It was amusing to watch them as they tussled one another, engaged in mock battles. Then they grew up, as all creatures must do and the rancher sold them off, as was his purpose for having bred them.

This year the old herd seems smaller and only one calf graces their pasture. I did notice that all the older cattle kept a watchful eye on the little one.

Photo below...For a brief moment the calf was left alone, the adult cattle were just far enough away that I could capture a shot of the little calf all by its self, well other than the egret in the background...but....

Photo below...Right after I took the above shot, this "guardian" decided to get into the picture. One can't be too careful now-a-days.

RESURRECTION

A year ago John, my darling hubby, gave me a lovely Easter lily simply to say Happy Easter. While it bloomed we both enjoyed it's sweet fragrance and stunning white trumpet shaped flowers. Once the flowers wilted, I sat it outdoors, watered it sporadically and eventually its leaves turned yellow and the plant died back. I dumped the soil from the pot thinking I would find a bulb of some type but nothing was apparent and I surmised that perhaps the bulb had shriveled and died also.

Early this spring, while pulling weeds from the front flower bed, I noticed a strange plant. It was oddly familiar and something told me it was not a weed so I let it be. I soon discovered it was 2 plants growing side-by-side.
Later, as the plants grew larger, I filled a pot with good potting soil and transplanted these "weeds-not-weeds" into the pot...as my curiosity needed to know exactly what they were. At the back of my mind I hoped they would be Easter lilies as they were growing in the same spot where I had dumped the soil from the old Easter lily pot. With time the plants produced nice fat, flower buds and low and behold...resurrection !!!

A Princess Bracelet or a Bracelet fit for a Princess ?

My latest creation was inspired by my 9 year old granddaughter who asked me to make a "Princess Bracelet". I thought all my bracelets were fit for a princess, so I asked her what she thought a princess bracelet should be. Her response; "Lots of pearls and gold !". Simple answer.

So I went through my personal supplies and found a hank of creamy white pearl seed beads (glass of course and made in the Czech Republic but the closest things to tiny real seed pearls that I had on hand). In my seed bead collection I found a tube of gold Charlotte beads #14, teeny little things, and with their silver lining they really sparkle. To this I added Czech glass 3 mm round beads in a white Opal finish, and some luscious Czech firepolished glass beads in a deep ruby or garnet red just for a splash of elegant color...but not too much color, must let the pearls and the gold stand proud. A search through my button collection found a package of gold tone buttons that I purchased years ago but never used. True the button isn't real gold, it isn't even metal, it's plastic but it has a lovely design to it and was made in Italy...that could explain why I liked them so much.

Photos above and below...I can't seem to get the color calibrated on my camera. The top photo was taken with the camera set on Auto, while the bottom photo was shot set on the portrait setting. The background color of both should have been a lovely pale sky blue. But as you can see the top photo looks like a blue gray and the bottoms leans toward turquoise blue. (Oh and the very 1st photo was on a mossy green background, just in case you're wondering.)

So what do you think...is this a Princess Bracelet or not ? And yes it is in my Etsy shop for the astronomical price of $12...oh am I going to get rich or what? LOL