Recycle, Reclaim!

Here are some piccies of my recent jewellery-making session, using reclaimed and recycled materials for the most (save the findings) and have produced some pretty cool bits!

Coolest Blue

A memory coil bracelet consisting of lapis lazuli beads and Czech glass, interspersed with silver mirror-style rocaille beads. Complete with matching lapis lazuli and rocaille bead earrings (all new).

Yuletide Red

A memory coil bracelet consisting of red glass and ceramic decorated beads and interspersed with red rocaille beads. A matching pair of dotted ceramic earrings (reclaimed, aside from findings).

Earthborn Brown

A memory coil bracelet consisting of brown reclaimed glass beads, interspersed with earthy-toned rocaille beads. Completed with a matching pair of earrings (reclaimed, aside from findings).

Silver Gemstone Cuffs

Two silver cuff bracelets; with mixed gem placements of turquoise and jasper - three stones on each cuff (photos to follow - bleedin' camera died at the last minute!)

Feeling not so hot-hot-hot!

Well I have managed to return and post something - seems like forever since I was last on here.

I am now almost 11 weeks pregnant with our second child and feeling grimmer than Grimsby on a very grim day :(

My bowel condition has flared up massively which is leaving me rather housebound, not to mention incredibly guilty that I can't look after my gorgeous girl properly.

She has been a total star, and has told me: "It's ok mummy. You're my best girl and I will take care of you!" So in between vomiting, being adhered to the loo and feeling grim, I have also been in floods of tears at her sheer sweetness.

Weather is not helping I don't think. My poor chickens are miffed with the constant wind and rain and are starting to shed a few feathers. I keep boiling up lots of veggie scraps and pureéing it for them to keep them happy.

Hubby has been a superstar and taken over most jobs including the kitchen - I cannot bear to be looking in the fridge and seeing what to cook, and I'm sure my cravings of pickled onion juice and fizzy sherbert sweets are not
what my family would fancy for dinner!

I am making home-made pizza for dinner tonight though, but I think that's only because I actually want to eat it. Last night it was a strange concoction of tuna steaks (for him), garlic mushrooms and steamed Brussel sprouts with a baked potato.

Hmmm all that talk of food has got me thinking about a nice big Double Decker...can feel another dispatching-of-husband-to-the-shop coming on!

xxx

Crystal crafting...

This morning, I have mostly been making....jewellery!

The weather is pretty cack and we didn't want to go anywhere out that cost money! Part of our crackdown on saving the pennies and all that credit-crunch malarkey.

So here are my craftings from today:

A pair of snowflake obsidian and black onyx with crystal bead earrings;

A pair of lapis lazuli and crystal bead earrings;

Silver cage with crystals, mounted on either a key ring or a suede-effect purple cord for round-the-neck wear.

And a lovely silver bracelet, with alternate rose quartz and amethyst stones.

Very productive! That, and I have re-arranged all of busy child's toy area so that we can actually get through and access things.

Chickens are most disallusioned with the wet weather and have a good old cluck cluck at me, waiting for a handful of fresh green grass.

So we're having an in-afternoon, with jigsaws, cake and Daddy building bricks. Bless him.

Rather quiet of late...

I have been so consumed with *other* things lately, my poor little bloggy blog has gone untended :(

For this, I can only apologise profusely and promise look after it properly hence forth.

I have been writing away, when inspiration strikes (usually either on the loo, 03.00hrs or at work...) but have managed to go past our intended deadline for the latest submission. But then, I'm always late, so there should be no shock there.

My good friend's father died just over a week ago so I have been feeling very down, and contemplative regarding mortality etc. The funeral was on Friday we (four boys and a girl) all went to show our love and support for the family. I have grown up with these boys, and even after over 15 years, and even though we don't see each other all that often, I think at times like death of a loved one, you can truly see who your friends are and that they'll always be there for you.

Madam P has been enjoying making crafty things of late (as in art, not wily ways to outsmart mummy, although sometimes I do wonder...) and getting knee-deep in paint etc. She has also enjoyed visiting the zoo (£13.50 for an adult ticket - what the bjesus is that all about?!) with Daddy, and being delighted with the 'stinky' tigers and greedy peahens trying to pinch her cheese sandwiches.

Our winter potatoes are coming on just lovely and the chickens are thriving, coming running as soon as I open their little door in a morning, with a "bock bock bock" awaiting a little hello and a handful of grass.

She is singing all the time - day and night, and has learned some French songs with, surprisingly, a wonderful French accent and can count to 12 in French (not bad for a two-year-old from Lancashire). Her memory retention is amazing, compared with my amoeba-like recall. There is hope for her then.

We talked about death this week again. Some months ago she brought Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Match Girl to me and wanted to know why the little girl at the end of the book was lying on the step all blue. We have gone with telling her that the little girl had died, and that meant that we couldn't see her anymore - that's what happens when someone dies and it's very sad.

So when my friend's father died and I was getting ready for the funeral, she came out with, "You going to funeral? It's very sad Phil's daddy died. We won't be able to see him anymore." Perfect. I think, for a two-year-old, she has got a great grasp, although basic, of death. I will not shield her from life, of which death is a part of - I don't see the point. It will create fear and uncertainty, and perhaps repression of feelings.

I'm not saying that we would go into great depth of how someone dies, but it is important that children aren't treated as though they are stupid. Death is life and life is death - it's unavoidable so why treat it like a hushed subject of fear and loathing? It's gonna happen to us all, however and whenever, so I say embrace, rejoice and love life. Death is but a mere pause.

Dentist rant...

My dentist appointment yesterday turned into a bit of a farce.

Firstly, I was running late. Yes I KNOW that I am ALWAYS late for everything and anything, but this genuinely wasn't my fault. Honestly.

After the husband's omission of his mobile phone, which continuously trilled the annoying ring tone it throws out at 20 decibels, he remembered that he had left his phone at home, while he was 20 miles away.

I had to then wait for husband's colleague to call on his way to work for the phone.

Which, inevitably delayed me leaving the house. Then, child as unbelievable sweet and beautiful as always, needed a poo, I was running about 10 minutes behind.

After telephoning the dentist's surgery, and finding their answer machine on as per usual - they never answer the phone during surgery hours. Great customer care and very helpful. I think not.

Anyhooooo, I dashed into the surgery, where the receptionist (who looked like she should have been in a heavy metal band) was on the telephone. After a few minutes of waiting, it became obvious that this was a personal call, involving her son and college and something to do with credits for a course.

She then paused her telephone call, to hold her hand up to me a la Jerry Springer show-style, and say she needed to re-book me as I missed my slot.

Quietly seething and suddenly wanting to jab her in the eye with the pencil she was writing with, I stood waiting while she actually carried on with her private phonecall!

I muttered several words about her being a heinous something or other and marched out.

One stark and ranting letter to the surgery of complaint, and I felt rather less angry and refreshed. She could have at least spoken to me to explain why I couldn't be seen, or at least had the bloody manners to not conduct personal phonecalls in work time.

Might need to find a new dentist now. Hmmmm....