MY WATER FEATURE IS FINALLY IN!!!!

(pics: 1-design trial 2:Epoxyed rocks for edging, 3: reservoir is in, 4: Finished product!)

Well, it's FINALLY in!! After literally about 2 years of planning for and acquiring things for it, my water feature is finally in! I wanted a bubbling pot of some kind - something quiet and simple sounding. I love watching waterfalls and all, but for my garden I wanted that bubbling sound. I searched for 2 years until I found the perfect pot. I loved the design of them - ceramic with a gorgeous blue-ish, teal glaze and they were 50% off - how much more perfect could it be? I didn't even know it was the perfect one for this project until I was staring at it one day wondering how in the heck I was going to fill this really tall, kinda unsturdy pot up with soil - it's 3.5 feet tall - that's a lot of money in dirt! Then the idea hit me - fill it up with water instead! My brother and I messed around with some ideas about the style of the feature, but we never came up with anything solid. I had a design finally settle into my head that I really liked and decided that was the way to go - and it was the easiest way to put it together as well - what a bonus!

I bought a shallow barrel liner & set the pot upside down in the tub (shimmed up with some leftover broken stepping stones to set it straight and allow for water flow to the pump). We added a long length of 1/2" pvc pipe onto the output valve of the pump and threaded it right up through the already provided drainage hole at the bottom of the pot. To cover that up, I 2 part epoxied a boundary layer of stones around the outside of the base. These were taller cobblestones that would provide a "pen" to just lay and stack the other rocks inside of. I built up a small pyramid like base of rocks around the exposed PVC (which I'm planning to sheath with copper just for looks). I plan to add some of my marbles to this pile as I make them for the feature. I will probably end up replacing most of those rocks with glass pieces slowly. Who knows. Either way, I love how it turned out.

Hubby is running underground electricity to it tomorrow, so to test it out, we just have an ugly orange extention cord going to it.

I went outside after my daughter went to bed to listen to it and take some of the pictures - it sounds SO wonderfully soothing at night when everything is quiet. It truly now is a refuge and is already my new favorite part of my garden.

Thanks for coming and checking it out!!

I'm just THRILLED!!!

Well, I'm an idiot.....

Yesterday, I began my grand plans for adding a water feature into the back shade garden of my house. The beginning of this plan included removing a spindly old lilac bush that has resided in the corner of my yard since before we moved here. It was placed there by someone who had no idea of what kind of light a lilac bush needs, so it grew tall and woody - spindly with more branches than leaves. My brother and I decided that it was time to get rid of it.
So, after a few errands out (one of which I bought a new anvil pruner to help with my task), I headed out to the back garden to bring this poor thing down.
As I'm happily chopping away at the undergrowth, I grabbed a branch and proceeded to cut at a 45 degree angle. Well, I didn't pay much attention to the fact that my hand was in the cutting path and I sliced the fatty part of my palm right open with my brand new, extra sharp pruners.
So we all piled into the car and took me over to the hospital for a fix up. Which consisted only of super gluing my cut back together. It hasn't held together too well and it's still swollen and very tender which meant I couldn't torch today, but better things came of it anyway.
Hubby finished digging out the lilac and put in my water feature!!!! I"M SO THRILLED!!!! It turned out just how I wanted it to!! Now I have the center feature for my Zen garden and I can start to work around that. The corner already looks so different and I can't wait to plant my hostas and ferns and moss around to complete the whole thing!
I have pictures that I still have to edit, but will post a short blog about it later tonight.
Right now, gotta put the little one to bed....
back soon!

Well, well.....I finally get back on here!

I think I posted here last fall and that was the last time I was able to access this account. Things have changed on here a bit now and I was thrilled to get back to this blog!

I've had some fun things happen this month for me and am really exited to share them with all of ya.... I know I won't have time to write everything I want to due to the fact that I have to leave for my daughter's soccer game in about 20 minutes, but I'll write a small overview and expand on it later I guess.

May is an insane month for my family. It has been for a long time and I dread it and love it all at the same time. My mother, husband, and daughter have birthdays within a week of each other, there's Mother's Day and usually 2 parties for my daugther (the family one and the friend one if her big day doesn't land on a weekend).

We're through all of that now except for a family get-together this Wednesday to have her party for her real birthday - THANK GOD! Now I don't feel like I'm running around with my head cut off. We are just doing a small family out to dinner thing, so that's easy.

I also am working outside of the home again! I'm really happy about that. There's a place down the street from me that I worked at about 9 years ago and quit because I was stupid. I had my daughter, and a few years after that, they started asking me to come in during holidays and while people were on vacation to help out - and then they asked me back this spring when a valuable employee got a great job offer and couldn't pass it up. It's this great place called the "Miner's Den". They started out decades ago as a rock shop and branched into fine jewelry. Over many years, they've added a bead room and many other jewelry lines to 3 large rooms of the store. It's a family owned business and they treat you like family even if you're not. I really love the environment and I get to get out a few times a week and talk with adults and create stuff for the store and get paid for it! That's a big change for me who's been literally stuck in my house for my beadmaking and motherhood for 6 years now. I welcome the change and the fact that they are all very happy I decided to come back to work for them.

Also, this weekend, I was fortunate enough to have my bud, JC Herrell come to stay with me for 3 days while she taught classes only a few miles from my house. It was so fun having her here! If you're not familiar with her work, be sure to click on her name to check out her website. She makes the most amazing beads - and they're HUGE!! I'm fortunate to have quite a large collection of her work that I get to admire every day. She was a wonderful guest and took my 6 year old's affections with great stride as sometimes she can be a bit overbearing trying to show a guest everything she can and telling every story she can remember. She also thinks that JC is "So COOL!"(since she's met her once before), so she was all over her most of the time. Thanks for humoring her, JC :) She's still talking about you and wanted me to write "Thank YOu for the birthday present!!!. Anytime you're around here, you're more than welcome here.

I'll be sure to post a picture of the bead I was gifted from her this time that I saw her. One of her new rainbow beads - so gorgeous!!! And I must point out - a whole spectrum on one bead! ;)

Oh, gotta run, but I have to write about my hubby, daughter, and Ben (the boy in her class who has a HUGE crush on her.) They went out to the movies and there's a heck of a story that I have to post about next blog........ I about died when I heard the story. SHE"S NOT READY FOR THIS!!!!!

Here's some pictures of recent work of mine.
Just something to tide you all over until I get the other pics up on my previous blog - cuz I know you all can't get enough of me, right??? lol
LE'ers have already seen all of these, but TS! :)

WOW!! It let me back in!

I've been locked out of my blog for a couple of months. I tried every password I knew and couldn't get in!! It's nice to be back.

So.... well, my recovery has been going slowly and very painfully. I've been plauged with mysterious pains in my shin that have been moving around on me. I start Physical Therapy next week, so maybe with some sort of exercise, things will move quicker and maybe it will help with the pain. (But I'm thinking that it'll just make it worse - dreading it actually)

Anyway, enough with that - seems all I do is complain about that....
I had my birthday a few days back - UGH. I did resolve to try and do one thing new each day for the next 33 days (my new age :P). I've done okay so far! The eve of my birthday, I brought in my birthday on the torch making star murrini. I've never torched on my birthday OR made ANY murrini before. (Well, I tried to make a star before, but it was a pathetic attempt with only 4 points. This time I did a 5 pointed star and, despite my doubts, it came out almost perfectly and I was just thrilled!
For the next couple of hours or so, I made some large, egg shaped "night sky" beads with silver, a moon, and my star murrini. I like them, but my idea where they should go from here has changed and I can't wait to get back to the torch and experiment more.
Also, my best friend, Sheila Morley inspired me with the butterfly murrini she made in a recent Loren Stump class. It's GORGEOUS! A picture of it is to the right. I'm sure she won't mind me posting the picture since she complains her camera doesn't photograph right. Hope I did it justice. I am working on some SUPER beginner murrini things. It'll be interesting how this comes out - probably very laughable stuff :)
My husband bought me the "Creation Station" for my birthday and I am eagerly awaiting its arrival. I also got a nice sum of money to spend on glass and supplies from my father and a Caribou coffee card from my brother so I can stay up all night playing with my new glass and tools!! LOL.
My daughter was over the moon about my birthday. It's so adorable when they're little and still think your birthday is just as big a deal as their own. I was the "Queen for today"! She was so sweet. She bought me a card with coupons that she couldn't WAIT for me to chash in and she even made her own wrapping paper for my present with a picture of she and I holding hands in a field of flowers. Makes your heart melt, I'll tell ya.
She was supposed to have her first Kindergarten field trip today, but (of course) today was horribly stormy (the ONLY bad day out of the whole week, mind you), and while they left to go on the trip, they turned around less than halfway there because it was lightning. I don't blame them, it just sucks that all the kids were so excited to go to the orchard and they got jipped. Oh well, next time.
Well, have to be on my way to go and pick her up so I'll post the pictures when I get home. Sorry to be in such a rush.....

My Muse returned from vacation today!

I just had to pop in here and say that I finally got to torch for real tonight. I have only been on the torch once since my surgery, but I didn't have any bead release and the donut I made cracked anyway.
Today I was able to sit there for a couple of hours and actually create some beads that I'm excited to see tomorrow (they're annealing in the kiln until the morning). Usually when i take a long break, I just turn out crap for a while until I get back into the groove. I'll post pictures tomorrow when I get them all cleaned out. I used the new "all the rage Kronos" glass and I maybe got it to do its thing. That would be cool!
See ya tomorrow :)

Lake Pleasant Pictures

I've been having TONS of trouble getting on here, so I'm vastly out of date.
First I wanted to post a couple of pictures that accompanied my last post - Lake Pleasant on the border of Michigan and Indiana.
These were taken at sunset from one of the docks in the front of the house. They are the last house on the lake and there is wetlands that extend from the property around to the other side of the lake. It's beautiful!!

AHHH.....a little getaway will do you good!

I know I haven't written in the blog for awhile, but I have been dealing with some sensitive family issues and just haven't been too motivated to write. This weekend's little getaway gave me a breath of fresh air , so....

I just returned home from a little mini vacation with my husband and daughter and it was wonderful. It was my only little excursion this summer, but it was worth the extra knee pain I'm having now. We visited my husband's family in Indiana at their lake cottage. I haven't been there in 2 or 3 years, and it was nice to return. His family are just really wonderful, extremely hospitable, genuinely good people and it's always nice to hang out there because you just instantly feel like one of the family the second you walk in the door. Their cottage is located on Lake Pleasant which shares shores with Michigan and Indiana. Theirs is the last cottage on that side of the lake before the wetland area so there is only one neighbor and it is so secluded and peaceful. During the day, everyone just hangs out in the sun, plays in the water, goes on boat and jet ski rides, and EATS. There are always at least 3 meals or desserts cooking or being prepared at almost all times, and before you even digest breakfast, a huge lunch is laid out, and the same thing happens with dinner.
After dinner, and the evening winds down, we have a fire and sit outside and enjoy the beautiful evening and most often times, at least one person on the lake has a fireworks display. On Saturday night, we looked for meteors. On the way home, we stopped at a roadside stand, met an adorable elderly couple and their grandchildren, and their huge old bassett hound named Sammy. We bought fresh sweet corn (they crossed the road and picked the corn just for us - can't get any fresher!!), homemade cherry-rhubarb jam and blackberry jelly, and also a large jar of honey collected from the bees that pollinated the corn we bought. I know, I'm a geek, but I love farm stands and fresh veggies and honey. I am VERY pro local produce and small farmers. All of my uncles are small farmers and I know firsthand how difficult of a life that is, so I support them as much as I can.

I could go on and on, but I think really I was just so thrilled to get out of this recovery room for a few days and breathe some fresh air and do some summer things that I love to do. Nothing I love more than hanging out by the fire on a gorgeous summer night and farm stands. (Laugh all you want
As summer is coming to an end quickly, I want to remind you to take some time doing some summertime things that you love to do and slow down and enjoy those things before they're gone for another year. Have a fire and roast hot dogs or make s'mores. Have a few friends over to do those things with you! Take a walk in a local park and stay to watch the sunset - take a picnic along and make it a date. Just do something that you'll miss in the winter. Being laid up this whole summer has made me appreciate these things so much more and I feel like I had to say something. It's so easy to forget about all of those things when school is beginning soon and parents schedules are heating up for the year.
Just enjoy the short time we have left until most of us are locked in our house for about 6 months.!
Here are some pictures of the lake from this weekend. Saturday night sunset.

Same Shit different day......

Well, I'm officially halfway done with the first part of my recovery from surgery. I only have a few more 12 hour days on my "torture machine" (as I so lovingly refer to it now - it's actually a CPM machine) , and I get to lower the hours per day down to 6-8! I know...it's still a solid work day, but at least it's better than 12!! 4 more weeks of the CPM machine and I start physical therapy. So, things are progressing .......slowly, very slowly, but still.

On a happy note, I got a wonderful package from the Boogers today!! I won an awesome auction from them (Afro-DJ-Yak - I LOVED it and needed it!!) and they sent this jammed full of goodies box for me. THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! You guys don't even know how much that cheered me up!! I got the bead I won, another GORGEOUS wing shaped bead with dichro on the inside and a goddess drawn on the front, like a relief ( omg, I ADORE this bead), a cute blue necklace that my daughter claimed immediately and won't give back, some "Candy Teef", 4 packages of poly clay and some handmade poly clay leaves, and a wonderful off mandrel woman figure. Boy, I feel so lucky to have recieved that!! I'm going to make something for them from the clay and send something back. For some reason, I do love to send things to them :) It was just so thoughtful of you guys to put something together like a care package for me - just to put a smile on my face. I'm so fortunate to know the both of you because people like you guys are rare and everyone that comes in contact with you are changed in a better way. Don't know if that makes sense, but whatever. Love you guys!!! That really made my day!!!!! I would post pictures, but our main computer is still on the fritz and I'm still on a borrowed laptop that I only have access to at night for a little bit. My husband had to re-format our PC, but I should have access to it tomorrow. Watch for some new additions to my website and I'm putting up auctions as soon as I can!

I've been watching WWAAAAYYYY too much TV. I think I've seen every episode of almost every show on TV. There's also just so much reading and crossword puzzles I can do before my eyes cross. I can't really create any jewelry because of my setup - since my leg has to be up, I can't sit at a table to do anything, and I also can't really put it on the bed without spilling it.... my creative side is DYING in this bed!! I'm hoping that my husband may agree to help me maybe venture down the stairs and get on the torch for an hour or so. I think if I can find a way to prop up my foot a little bit next to my bench, I can do it for a short time. I am just DYING to play with molten glass.
I was getting really excited before my surgery because I had decided to just make what I wanted to make - not gear towards things that would sell - to re-spark my creativity. I had been in a slump for awhile because I would think about what I had to make for orders or shows and what sells there isn't necessarily what I love to make. So I decided since this hiatus was coming up, that I wasn't going to make anything but what I wanted to make. I was having an absolute blast every time I sat down at the torch and was actually playing and exploring new things I never had the time to. I was actually really looking forward to each torch session and then I had to stop. I think that made me sadder than actually having the surgery. I REALLY hope I can get to play a little this weekend!
For Lori Greenberg and JC Herrell - I have some great signs that you guys have made me want to post. I'll get those up when I have my computer too. My favorite one is the dog groomers down the street.......

Hey Little Saturday Night .....

All's as well as can be for right now. Hubby and my daughter are having a camping night in the backyard. t'l be interesting to see how long she lasts before she retreats back into the house leaving dad stranded in the tent. I know HE won't wake up if she leaves the tent! Good thing I'm up late now that my sleep schedule is all screwed up so I can be awake when she comes in.
By the way....how in the WORLD do you get a 5 year old to listen to you without yelling at them???? Is that even a possibility or are all of you parents reading this laughing at me? Do any of them listen the first 5 times you ask, or is that a pipe dream I have and and a completely laughable expectation??? Anyone with any insight, please feel free to let me know!! I would be very appreciative!
Well, I hope that everyone reading this has a more fun Saturday night than me. I have a date with a movie all by myself tonight.
I'm attatching a picture of my red flower garden bead, complete with butterflies flitting around. I may find another one to put up here too.
Have a great evening and weekend!

Ahhh.....Friday!

I get to spend some time with my family this weekend!
My daughter has begged my husband to set up the tent and camp out in the backyard this weekend. She's 5 and has been camping before, but I'm wondering how long it will be before she finds her way back into the house and leaves Daddy sleeping in the tent all by himself.
I'm hoping to be able to spend a little while outside myself - even if it is only to sit and take in some fresh air. It's driving me a little crazy that I can't even do small things like planting flowers or even water my garden. It's starting to get a little weedy , but hubby doesn't know what's a weed and what's a plant so he doesn't touch it. I'm a big gardener and not being able to enjoy my garden this year kind of makes me sad. I'll post some pictures that I was able to snap before my surgery since everything came up and bloomed so early this year.
I still haven't gotten around to taking any pictures of the last things I made on the torch, but I'll post some pictures of the donuts that I was making before my forced hiatus from torchwork. I'm going to be adding these to my website this weekend ( http://www.geneseeglassworks.com). I'm aiming for today, but we'll see how it goes.
Well, my father just showed up with a late lunch for me so I'll go for now - have a great Friday, everyone!

Yet another day in bed.......

Well, I haven't had much of a chance to do anything on the computer as I am fresh out of major knee surgery. It will be 3 weeks this Thursday, and while recovery is speeding along quite nicely, I still have months and months to go until I am even close to back to normal. It's getting me down quite a bit that I can't get out and about and do allof the fun stuff that my husband and daughter are doing. I'm trying to look at it as taking this time now to fix these problems will allow me to have tons of fun in the upcoming summers. For more information about the procedure I went through (cloning cartilage cells and replacing them in my knee) visit www.carticel.com . Thought that for people it may offer an alternative that your doctor may not be aware of because it's a relatively new procedure and only about 6,000 peoplei in the country have had it done. I also had to re-align my kneecap with screws so I'm in a significant amount of pain from that procedure - that is what's keeping me laid up for so long.
I am planning on taking more pictures of some fun beads I made before I had my surgery so I can share them. I plan on putting up some auctions soon to help me pay for a new designer set of crutches. Since I'll be on them for so long, I figure it would cheer me up to have really nice ones ( www.lemonaidcrutches.com ) - plus they make bags to put on your crutches which makes carrying things like your wallet and other necessities easy to carry.
I'll probably manage to do that later tonight, so be sure to check back!! :) I'll find a picture to put up of something I've been working on lately - donuts. I really love making them and they're so versatile.
By the way, please visit MY website at www.geneseeglassworks.com to view a lot of my work.
Have a great 4'th of July everyone!!!

My first Blog Post!!!

Well, here it is.....I've finally succumbed to the blogging life.
I'm a stay at home mom to a little girl who just turned 5 and graduated pre-shcool yesterday! (oh my goodness..... where does the time go???)
I am also a glass beadmaker and jewelry designer in my spare time (which I don't have much of lately). I'm getting seet to have major knee surgery which will force me to take some time aweay from the torch....I'm not looking forward to that at all!!!
I plan to use this space to showcase a lot of my glass art pieces (mostly beads), but I'm also planning on using to blog daily events too.
I haven't had a chance to photograph any of my newer pieces yet so I'll put up some older pictures of some of my more favorite beads.
I'll write more later.....we're off to a rainy, miserable soccer game :(