Moonstone Melody

 A few weeks ago my daughter and I went to a bead show in Pasadena.  We had a fun afternoon together--we always do!  While there she saw some bezel set moonstone connectors that she loved.  So I picked thru a selection, brought them home and strung them on a gold filled chain for her birthday last week.  I think she loved them as much as I enjoyed putting them together for her.

Simple and the perfect length to wear doubled or single strand. 

My baby turned 30 last week and she is soon to be mother herself for the first time.  She is a constant source of joy in our lives--sweet, thoughtful, loving and good to the core--always off on another adventure--I think being a mother may be her greatest (and most rewarding) adventure yet!

Sunset in Paradise Up on My Roof

 Yes, that's how we felt last night when Mitch and I were looking out our living room picture window and saw the beginnings of a beautiful sunset.  We grabbed our cameras and ran upstairs to the rooftop deck to take in the 360 degree spectacular show from Mother Nature.  We were well rewarded for our efforts as you can see.

 This might have been one on my all time most beautiful sunsets.  As the  skys became mor vivid and the clouds seemed to be baking in their glory, I wanted to burst out singing one of my favorites from the cantata Elijah--"The Heavens are telling the glory of God.  The wonder of His works displays the firmament."
This was our view looking towards the sunset northwest across the beach and towards Santa Barbara.

 We really do feel blessed to live in this beautiful place where the wonders of nature are all around us every day.  From our rooftop we get a 360 degree view of mountains, ocean, islands and sand that makes my heart skip a beat on a regular basis.  This picture is facing the Channel Islands and looks out over the ocean.

One final picture looking southeastward over the harbor towards the mountains and away from the sunset.  It was no less spectacular in color--the sky was sooo pink that the reflection on the water in the harbor made it appear pink as well.  I pink ocean afloat with little sailboats bobbling on the water.  So glad we didn't miss this glorious display of heavenly glory.

Some Random Thoughts

Just some random thoughts here....instead of making soup with my stones, I've decided to just use them to embellish my soup tureen...see, I told you I'd find a way to use them....lol.

 I can tell it's summertime here at the beach, I actually see people when I take my walks now. Mostly I'm used to solitary walks on the beach, where I'm surprised to see more than one or two people along the whole strand...lots of birds, and dinky crabs, even a jellyfish or two and the neighborhood sealion--but people, not so much...but now they're coming to enjoy what I enjoy.  I especially love to watch the familys with children--building sand castles, running in and out of the surf, laughing and playing...reminds me of when my grandson is here and I can share in his delight of everything surf and sand..and makes me miss him all the more!  Solitude is sometimes overrated...there's a time and a season.

Yep, once upon a time I did Viking knit and I found this piece stashed away in my treasure trove of goodies, so I put it in my etsy store last night  http://www.rickitic.etsy.com/  I also 'reopened' my vintage/stash store on etsy http://www.allweneedislove.etsy.com/ and added some lampwork from my stash.  It's time to let go of a few things that haven't called my name for awhile and declutter.  Do they call that Spring Cleaning?  Not sure, but today is the first day of the rest of my life!  Have a good one!!!

Stone Soup

Every walk on the beach ends with my pockets full of little stones that look like they would make pretty jewelry...the only problem is I don't have a way to drill them and I'm not much of a wirewrapper, so what to do with them, but just admire their smooth rounded surfaces, their color and variety of textures and think about what to do with them.  I also have a rather large collection of larger and thicker stones with even more variety that I can't seem to stop collecting....when people ask what I plan to do with them, I have to admit I don't know, but I'm sure I'll think of something....maybe I'll make stone soup?  I also have some driftwood, seashells and sand dollars in my collection....do you think they'll add a little flavor...

Up On My Roof

Here's proof positive that the best room in the house isn't a conventional room at all, but my rooftop deck!  I have a great 360 degree view---the beach, ocean and Channel Islands to the west and the harbour with the mountains in the background to the east.  If I want to chase away the blues, breathe some fresh air, seek inspiration or just mellow out--this is the place to be.  It's the perfect perch to watch the sunset, the sailboats, the seagulls and pelicans in flight or just sit quietly and enjoy my lunch. It's the perfect perch to listen to the sealions, the roar of the surf, and the wail of the fog horn. I can be alone or invite 50 of my closest  friends to join me (it's also the largest 'room' in the house).  Winter, Summer, Spring or Fall, no matter the time of year there is always something beautiful to enjoy up on my roof. 

Talkin' to Myself

Yep, that's pretty much it--just talking to myself.  Isn't that how it should be, after disappearing for so long? I seem to have these little interludes of motivation and then fall by the wayside again.  You know once it's on the web, it never dies, so let me share some fun stuff!  I'm going to be a grandma again--this will make our second grandchild.  One almost three year old gorgeous, exhuberant boy and another baby boy-in-waiting to be arriving in mid-September.  We are all so excited. One family in Texas, the other in California--that will be the hard part on the grandparents---how to be both places often enough to enjoy both families.  I guess that is always the way...Since one set of grandparents live in Brazil, I won't complain about not being close enough!

Mitch and I have a peaceful respite here at the beach while he pursues some of his business dreams, still in California, in spite of my best efforts, lol.  Texas had my vote--our son's family, warm friendly people, and a vibrant, optimistic mind-set that won my heart...I think it was a whole summer full of nothing but 100 degree plus weather that nixxed the deal, and sent us scurrying back to California to regroup. 

Enough of the family stuff, here are a couple of new designs inspired by my walks on the beach...

Life's a Beach

Well, yes, I live at the beach and although I really don't like getting in the water, I love walking along the beach, picking up shells, sanddollars and smooth stones and enjoying the peaceful lifestyle.  It's a whole different pace of life and every day is beautiful whether it is sunny with blue skys or foggy with gray skys (and fog horn).  We live just across the harbor from a Navy base and every morning I get to hear the national anthem exactly at 8 am waifting across the water into my upstairs bedroom window. Now that's a stirring wake-up call!

Here are some the the designs inspired by my beach house all jumbled together--I like to wear them like that.

Working hard....or hardly working.....

In spite of the fact that I continue to be a mostly 'absentee landlord' of this blog space...and contrary to the popular opinion that I have fallen off the face of the earth...I'm back for another hit and miss update. After 7 weeks tending to my mother as she recovered from her pelvic fractures, I continued my 'time out' while I joined my husband in the Palm Springs area where he has been working on a project for the past several weeks.
I brought along a smattering of my jewelry supplies, in case the mood struck me, but without a good camera and some motivation they stayed packed away in their suitcase--until I heard from Judy Carlson of Jujee beads with an invitation to participate again this spring in her Scuba Show at Long Beach. Intrigued, I agreed to try my hand after an all too long layoff...wondering if I still remembered what to do and how to do it.
Thanks to a pandora's box full of inspiring lampwork, I've been crazily creating for the last 10 days or so and having so much fun, I'm really sorry to be finished and ready to ship the finished designs back to her.
I'd almost forgotten how much I love playing with my little treasures. As you can see, I still don't have my best camera or editing program to show off my little designs to their best advantage...
but I still wanted to share with you a sample of my handiwork and say, I'm not finished forever. Although at the price of sterling silver these days, I'm mighty glad to have a sizable stash to draw from...and wondering how to ever restock when I run out! Everything here is off in the mail tomorrow.
and that's a good thing. We are leaving the desert the end of the week, so it's time to clean up, pack up and leave for the next adventure.
Here's hoping it doesn't take me so long to dig out my suitcase full of goodies again...but no promises, just taking it one day at a time.....

Endless Summer

Well, with warm sunshiny days and beautiful sunsets like this, it did seem like summer was endless last week at our cozy little beach cottage! We woke up to a drizzly rain and foamy surf this morning, so maybe we will have a little autumn after all.

Inspired by my 'window to the sea' I just had to put together a little homage to the beach with one of my delightful lampwork beads by Vickie Miller, some turquoise stones and a little bit of silver. More coming sooon...my workbench is calling.....