Sushi Decadance

My son took me to Suzuki's for sushi last night. It was beyond wonderful! We got SHUMAI (shrimp dumplings), a flame seared appetizer trio and a big sampler platter....a little hot Saki to share, and sorbet for dessert. It was over the top! We  had a slow relaxing dinner and left with a tummy happy sushi glow.  I think my favorite was the  hamachi  nigiri, which is ( I think) a small yellowtail tuna with rice and ...magic.

They also had  sea urchin served in a little scoop of the urchin shell, very good, creamy and tastes like....fresh seashore... and so pretty! Makes me want to make some sea urchin beads.

I kept thinking, Noah would love to have a special birthday dinner here. He's a little sushi fan.  Not surprising since he's always been a very adventurous diner. He was just a toddler when his uncle Zeph lived with them and would run to the table when he brought spicy Thai Noodles. He'd climb up on his lap and and dig in. I think there's still a little video of him taking a bite, and, with eyes watering exclaim "Spicy Noodles!" and dive for more. 

 The picture is of one of the new bunnies I made last week. I've been experimenting with different colors since the plain white "chocolate" or dark "chocolate" bunnies were getting to be a little old hat for me. Time to change it up a bit. I like the new bunnies, what do you think?

Countdown to the dream house drawing.....just ten days!!

My Dream Home

I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but you know the HGTV Dream house? It's going to be mine this year. I'm sure of it!  It's the perfect floor plan...it would work absolutely perfectly for me, and my DH has been wanting a place to get away from the winter weather. The decor is a style I could easily live with and there's a great place for a workshop in the garage. I decided it's got to be mine, so anyone else who might have their eye on it, forget about it! It's mine...all mine!!

Blow Me Down

Isn't that what Pop-Eye used to say? Well, a couple nights ago that's just about what happened to us! A particularly windy and rainy winter storm had been buffeting the coast for a couple days and I thought I'd seen the worost of the wind right on the ocean alraedy. Was I ever wrong! I love the sound of the wind and was lulled to sleep with it, when, about 1:30 in the morning a horrific banging and clattering sound woke me with a start. I couldn't figure out what was causing the sound. I thought perhaps a door had blown open, or a gate was slamming open and shut, when we saw a white ....thing....like a foot wide rithing snake, slamming against the window. Turns out it was the aluminum fascia that had been torn loose, but was still attached at one end. By the time we figured out what it was and devised a plan to try to capture it, it had broken in one of the living room windows and torn up the screens. We're lucky we caught it without it slicing into one of us! The force of that wind was crazy! The good news is that the repairs we had done last summer to prevent leaks on the first floor all held up to days of horizontal wind driven rain....but other places leaked instead, so now we have more repairs to make. Eventually this building will be calulked and sealed up like the Ark and we could bob out to sea with no leaks at all!
On the beady front, I have a bunch of bunny and Easter sets in my Etsy shop. I think I'm going to use that as my vehicle for placing Specials since the web site form has turned out to be a little expensive to use for Specials and I've priced them as low as I can possibly sell them.

Spring is around the corner!

I'm hoping anyway!! We've had a really unusual month, weather wise, not that I've heard anyone complaining. Almost no snow and the temps have been fairly mild for this time of the year! We had the grandkids here for a few days and took them to the winter festival at the Owl's Head Transportation museum.  We brought hats and mittens but didn't need them at all. We went for a Model T ride and saw oxen and draft horses pulling some antique log haulers. There was  a blacksmith doing demos and antique snowmobiles and plows. They made Styrofoam planes in a workshop...a very interesting day for all of us! We did lots of fun stuff and today my sis in law and I took them halfway home to meet their mom.
It's great that they enjoy coming to visit as much as they do. I know one of these days visiting grandparents won't be on the top of their list of fun stuff to do so we're enjoying it for all it's worth now!
I was on a roll of bead making till I went to Turner last week. Since the kids were on vacation I spent time with them and not much at the torch....and got chemo out of the way too. Now I have 2 and 1/2 weeks to catch up before it's time to go back for more.
I have a few bunny sculptures finished and made a whole line up of tiny bunnies as well as quite a few other beady goodies. I'll be putting them on Etsy, ebay and possibly some on the website too! Look for them this week if you need some beads.

Early Easter Beads

Spring is just around the corner (at least tht's what I keep telling myself!) I'm totally enjoying the perfect weather ....perfect for torching anyway. I've been making Easter and spring beads, spent one whole day on making teeny tiny parts for the Easter Basket beads....actually the finished product is more of a sculpture than a wearable bead, though they could be worn if someone was very gentle with them. All the tiny details make them more fragile than a normal bead, but the details are what makes them so special!
I actually thought about the possibility of encasing one in a clear resin egg (like miniature paperweight) I'd really love to be able to encase the whole thing in glass but would need a lot more equipment to be able to do that.
Each tiny bunny, egg and peep are made, kept warm and then slowly and very very carefully added to the basket. Each addition threatens the rest of the goodies already in the basket. The chance of melting too much and ending up with a misshapen mess is great...almost as great as not keeping an area of the sculpture up to temp and having a piece crack. Definitely not relaxing to assemble, but I love a challenge!
 I still have a few dog designs to work on and a sock monkey bead to make. I haven't done any of those for ages! Soooo, back to the torch to get more done before heading out for chemo on Wednesday and then hopefully I'll stay thru the weekend to catch up on the family before coming back to Rockland and the torch.

PS.....I have a lot of Easter and a few Valentine beads on Etsy and on the website for sale so check in if you need some beads!

This and That

Just finished listening to Wolf's Hall. It took me a while to get through it, kept rewinding (or whatever you call it in this digital age) since every time I wasn't concentrating I'd find I missed something important,
 Hard to believe that I making happy little bunnies and eggs while I was listening to the behind the scenes plotting that lead to the beginning of the Church of England and all that went along with Henry the VIII's reign. Fascinating times! Thank goodness we're living in a different time!
Now I'm on a historical kick and just checked out The Twentieth Maine, a book about a volunteer Regiment from Maine in the Civil War.  I feel smarter just thinking about reading it!
I've been on the torch a lot this week, a real lot! Enjoying every minute of it, doing lots of Easter eggs and bunnies and romantic little hearts and flowers. I'll have some "seconds" of my encased floral focals up for sale, probably in a couple batches, and will be adding spring sets to my Etsy store page. 
I'm planning to gather beads from my bead stash to auction for some fund raisers for Haiti Earthquake relief.

I knew I was holding onto those beads for so long for a reason! 

Spring Beads

Working on Spring beads in the middle of a cold snap. Somehow I always seem to have one foot in the next season!  I'll have some specials tomorrow if I get the pictures taken. I have some florals and hearts and Bunny sets, along with some stone style focals, and maybe an angel or two.

 I'm listening to Wolf's Hall, a historically based novel with Thomas Cromwell as the main character. I've always been fascinated with the era and Henry the 8th's reign. So much intrigue!  Have I said how much I love listening to Audiobooks? I got my Mom a little MP3 player and set it up to record audio-books and she's enjoying them too. Wish I'd discovered last year that you can download a lot of audio-books from the library....free.

American Idol started a new season tonight! Yahooo! I still love that show and the try outs are so much fun to watch.  It should be fun with Ellen as a judge!

Happy New Year!!

We're in the midst of a big snowstorm that began on New Years eve and is still going. It's a winter wonderland here! I had to share a couple of pictures of the ice and snow. I love it when the pine trees are under a blanket of snow. So beautiful!!
We had a wonderful holiday. The kids are such great ages right now and make the whole season a magical one!
I  hope you got everything on your list....I didn't really have anything on my list, but got some unexpected goodies. My daughter and her family got a Clairsonic brush thingy that is amazing. I've already seen a difference in my skin!! My son got an I-robot Dirt Dog shop vacuum (figuring it would work on picking up the threads of stringers that always end up on my floor) It works and is fun to watch. Now I can set it going...plug into my head phones and turn on the torch....and have nice clean floors when I'm finished!

I got a super powered Kitchen Aide mixer for my hubby (and for myself of course) He burned out the motor in the old one years ago when he tried to use it to grind beef for hamburg. His father was a butcher and he decided to get a 1/4 side of beef and butchered it at home. The whole house smelled like a slaughter house and the hamburg was a lot more than the mixer was designed to handle. Needless to say, that won't be happening ever again....though with this mixer and it's super sized motor it should be able to handle the occasional sausage making project, or anything else he decides to do with it....and Zeph can pop upstairs and use it for any of his culinary experiments (yummmm.....I'm hoping that happens a lot!)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

I know, a strange image for a few days before Christmas isn't it? I got an email form my youngest grandson this morning (sent with a little help from my Mom who was babysitting) He wants me to make him this costume for Halloween....nothing like planning a little early! LOL! He'd  live in costume 24/7 if he could!
On the beady front, I have some more snow-kid style snowmen ready and more in the kiln. I'll put them up on the website or maybe try them on Etsy or eBay, Some of the "shopping cart" buttons didn't work for people on the last batch of specials on the website. Not a good thing. So far Etsy has always worked for everyone, though there is that pesky registration thing for anyone new to Etsy....maybe Artfire is the answer to easy shopping for new bead specials.
I also have a ton of earthy style focals . Something I love to make and my favorites to wear, but I'm not so great at selling them. Maybe I'll try putting some of them up in small batches.
I'll try to update before Christmas but just in case time gets away from me....I wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Safe and Happy New Year!!!

New website

I'm still working on the new website adding pictures and more beads for sale. I have a big drawer full (and I do men full!) of beads I've made over the past year and a half and just never sorted into sets or gotten posted for sale. I should just divvy them up into a few big batches and sell them as "pot luck beads" .
I hesitate only because there are some really nice ones in there, the one of a kind "gems" that I know I'll regret parting with....even if they are just sitting in a drawer right now.
I'm working on a few custom orders and toying with a design with a Jack Russell dog ....they're so darn cute and ful of personality that I'm afraid I won't be able to capture them in glass. But I'm going to try!
Right now I'm headed back to CMMC in Lewiston for chemo and tonight is the "baby's" Christmas program,  I'm thrilled to be able to be there to see it! He's very excited!
I had all three grandsons this weekend and we had a super time. I think I enjoy them ore and more as they get older, though I miss that baby stage. They are turning into such interesting little people!
I'll be back late tomorrow and then I'll have a chance to put up a few more "Snow kid" beads on the Specials page, been in a snowman state of mind at the torch!

Website Link & new specials going up later today

Thought I better put on a link to the new (a work in progress)  Website  and also let people know that I should have some specials ready to post later today.

The old dog trying new tricks

I am trying, once again, a new website, this time on Artspan.
I finally figured out how to put up some new beads for sale there, like my specials page, but so far I can only figure out how to put the beads up in a Beads for sale "Gallery" on the gallery page of the website.
The shopping cart seems to be a really good one and allows a larger picture to be shown of the beads than the website I've been using. One wonderful feature is an easy way to be updated when any new beads are listed for sale.  As far as I can tell, you just click on Notify me of new art by this artist  link
and fill in your email address and that it! Any time I add new stuff you get an email! Short and sweet!

On the beady side of things I've been making some cute little snow-kids in fun little hats, dainty angels, and angel wing hearts. I got some wonderful glass that has a crystal content and the shine and sparkle is just amazing! I'm having fun at the torch and I think it  shows in the beads!
The heart on the right is filled with the new dichro that comes on copper sheets, very different look than regular dichro. I like it a lot!

I've been in Turner for much longer than I anticipated. I thought I was heading back for a Dr's appointment and a Pet scan, but on Monday the oncologist ordered a whole battery of tests (what fun!) The last one is on Saturday, they really did jump through hoops to schedule them all as soon as possible, so I can't complain.
Of course this trip I figured I'd be back on Monday to pop any beads that might need to be shipped into the mail and didn't bring any with me! I usually pack up all the beads that I have listed in Specials, on EBAY and Etsy, so that they're with me just in case I need to ship any of them. This time I didn't and I have a few that I really should have shipped out earlier this week. Wouldn't you know?

It turned out to be nice to have a little extra time in Turner to spend with my parents and the grandkids. I got to go pumpkin shopping and carved pumpkins with them and went Trick or Treating, went to a ceramony honoring my Dad and some other Veterans, which was really moving. There were two veterans that fought in WWII, several in Vietnam, including my Dad,  and some were in Desert Storm and Iraq. Nice to see people honoring the vets for their service. When Dad came home from Vietnam he said they felt like they had to "sneak in by the back door". No thank yous for their service and sacrifice and all they had to endure for their country back then. Thank goodness that has changed and, even if we don't agree with a war, we respect and honor the soldiers.

As for the tests, so far so good! Knock on wood! It looks like I'll stay on the chemo I'm getting now for the next few years, or as long as it keeps working and it doesn't affect my heart function. Need to get back to the gym so I can keep the old ticker going strong!

New Website & Happy Halloween!

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays, I know....it's a little weird. A day that anyone can dress up and become someone else, whatever or whoever they can dream up....can it be anything less than a magical day? Add candy to that, and pumpkins and crisp apples right off the tree...what could be better?

I'm heading back to Turner where my parents, and nearly all the rest of the family resides, for a few days of Halloweeny fun, and a Pet scan and some tests and Oncologist appointments. The timing happened to coincide so I have the fun stuff to look forward to when I'm doing the not so fun medical stuff. 

I have a long list of things to ask the DR about, been doing my research about the new trials, new drugs, and the new vaccine that's looking promising.

On the beady front, I've been making Autumn leaves like crazy but they are flying out the door as fast as I cam make them. I'm also doing some Christmas/winter theme beads, started really late on the holiday beads this year and I've been tired so not getting as much quality time on the torch as I had hoped.
I've been working on a new imporved website...I  know, you're thinking "what's new about that"? ; P
It's something I've struggled with for years, tried nearly every different program or tool, but I think I finally found one that I can stay with. It's part of a group called Artspan and my own site is http://www.lezlieb.com/
I love the clean simple lines and the elegant slide show features.  Artsapn  was developed for artists so their formats are geared to showing lots of images, which, after all, is what's important for beads or jewelry or any sort of art.
My  "home page" is still blank and I have lots of images to upload and work to do on the rest of it. Something to keep me busy for the next few...months! LOL!
I hope to put up a lot of the old images of different styles of beads I've made over the years in some glaaery pages and the format for Sales looks like it will allow me to use large images (my recent web page only allowed tiny images on the "shopping cart page, something I really didn't like) I know when I'm shopping I like to see a big picture so I know exactly what I'm buying. If I can just see a tiny thumbnail image then I usually pass.

Brass Compass

It's a gorgeous fall day today, bright and sunny, Indian summer is here! We decided it was the perfect morning to take a walk along the harbor, enjoy the views and salty air and sun and....ended up at the Brass Compass to try their Lonster Club for an early lunch.
Ever since Bobby Flay was here in Rockland for a Lobster Club "Throw Down" and our local breakfast/lunch cafe won, we've been wanting to try the winning sandwich. I woke up this morning with a craving for "lobstah" aand decided this was the day! It was really good, but I have to admit that I prefer a simply plain lobstah roll.
The bread was just like my grandmothers, simple homemade white water based bread, nothing fancy, just big thick slices. Made me think of all the mornings I used to sit down with Gram and have a hot cup of tea (Teatly or Salada, nothing fancy) with a thick slice of her homemade toast, slathered with salty dairy butter and the strawberry, or strawberry rubarb jelly. that she made every summer.
Hummm...makes me wonder what my grand kids will remember about breakfast with Nana....since I rarely cook any more. We do have Jingle Bell Waffles when they sleep over when I'm at my parnets.  My Dad has turned into the family waffle chef so he makes them waffles and  I add the Jingle Bell fixins. Just peppermint striped chocolate chips and butter and syrup. It's really a tasty combo (according to the kids)
I also keep horrible sugar cereal like Count Chocula and Cocoa Crisps and even those cereal straws every once in a while. Like adding frosting to cereal and calling it breakfast! LOL! I was the sugar and additive police when my own kids were growing up, but I figure, what the heck, they don't have breakfast here very often so I can spoil them with forbidden treats.
We also make rice pudding for breakfast, like the stuff in the Poky little Puppy book, sprinkle with cinnamon and delicious.
 I guess we do have our own special things they'll remember, just different from my memories of breakfast with my Grandmother.