Hibiscus

This is my favorite Hibiscus. I got a cutting when when I went to the Florida Keys for the first time, and this is the result!

Pepe Le Pew

It's time I tell the story of our beloved Pepe Le Pew. First, I have to go back in time to over a year ago and tell you all that I was never much of a cat lover. In fact I won't say I hated them, but I certainly had no use for them. I grew up with dogs and they remained my favorite 'pet' for all these years. My husband didn't like cats either. My son, on the other hand, never met any animal that he didn't like and vice versa. He just has a way with animals that is pretty unique.



So back to Pepe. This cat appeared in our yard one day and was very skittish for a couple of months. He would come near us, but not too close. Finally after about 2 months of being stand-offish, he came up to me rubbed against my legs and let me pick him up. I guess that is when I fell in love!



From that point on, he came around every day, sitting on our porch chairs, lazing under the ferns in the front yard, napping on top of our cars and generally acting like he owned the place! We walked into our lives and into our hearts in an almost magical way, transforming previous disdain and dislike into unconditional love.



Fast forward about nine months. Pepe was out of sorts and we knew something had to be wrong. He napped a little bit too much and was not interested in eating. A late night visit to the vet gave us no hope he would recover. It ended in us euthanizing him. It was a heartbreaking decision to make. He was in shock, his red blood cell count was way off, and a fever through the roof all contributed to the decision it was time to let go. This happened 4 days before the poison pet food story broke in the media, yet the vet said he tested positive for Feline Aids.



We will never know for sure what caused his little body to fail so very fast. FIV was reported to rampant in a neighborhood near ours. I did feed him some pouches of food that were on "the List".
All we know for sure is that this debonair cat that had so much class and style captured our hearts. I still can not fathom how much love he brought to us. Pepe, may you rest in peace and know that we love you so very much!

Stargazing

My Stargazer Lilies finally bloomed! I wasn't even sure they would since they are under a live oak tree and don't get very much sunlight!

Bead Unique Inspirations

Bead Unique has some fun themes going this week...
With the arrival of the Harry Potter movie and book, Hogwarts was our inspiration.

Here's my Ode to Dumbledore:

Picasso Jasper, Swarovski Pearls, Karen Hill Tribe beads and handcrafted charms.

Rhodonite is the Featured Gemstone for July.


Rhodonite, Carved Black Onyx, Black Tourmaline and Black Diamond Swarovski crystals.

More Adventures...

Adventures on the High Seas Part Deux

I almost finished this one today..




I still have to work the bead wire back through some beads and polish it all up, But I wanted to take some pics before it got dark to see how it looked on film so to speak. I love, love this design! It is a similar style I made for a wedding set 4 or 5 years ago. More later...

Adventures on the High Seas

I started this one yesterday and finished it today. It is the first piece of a new collection that sort of ties in with the Beachcomb ones from a few weeks ago. this time the palatte is decidedly bluer! The lampwork is by a Gina M DeStevens. Her work is awesome and very inspiring to me. She incorporated kronos in these beads and I simply love it!

Bead Unique Inspiration

I belong to wonderful bead group on eBay & Etsy called Bead Unique. This was my interpretation of an Inspiration picture (it's in the background - I just manipulated it in PSP).



Working with copper is very different than silver! I started out wanting to use silver, then changed my mind and then basically had to start over with my bead selection! I love the warmth of copper though and I'm pleased with the way this bracelet turned out.

Beach Glass, Mother of Pearl & Amazonite

This necklace & pendant was a joy to make! Normally I make the pendant first, then the necklace, but this one happened the other way around.