Never too old to learn something new

Or maybe this could be titled....Another Senior Moment :-)

The month of February was a blur.  It started off on a happy note with my daughter and her family visiting for two weeks.  Lots of happy memories were made.  Not long after they had returned home, we had a death in the family.  Not unexpected, but a sad time none-the-less.  I hope you'll understand why chatting here was missing.

Anyway, it was so beautiful out this morning, chilly but sunny, that DH and I decided to take a walk in the neighborhood.  Grabbed the camera, hoping to get some nice shots of things that piqued my interest and that I could share with you....feeling a little guilty here that I'd sloughed off my weekly blog ramblings.  Before I left the house, I put a different lens on the camera, one with a bit more of a zoom that what is normally on there, and one that I hadn't used before (the camera is mainly used for pictures for my online shops and the one that was on there works just fine for that).  Got up to the area where there's the remnants of a dam.  It's an interesting little place, one where I love to just stand, watching the water spill over...and listen.  There's something mesmerizing about the powerful sound of running water.  I took off the lens cap, turned on the camera, poised to take that first shot, and then realized that the Auto feature (my best friend on the camera) wouldn't work...so I set it to Program, which I have used before, and proceeded to click away.  DH and I had the best time....walking, talking, shooting (pics, not guns, I abhor guns)!  I got some fantastic shots that I couldn't wait to come home to upload and chat about!

Here's where the senior moment comes into play.....I "forgot" to look at the settings in that Program mode...they were set for shooting jewelry indoors and everything was way overexposed :-(  With a lot of fiddling in Adobe, I was able to make one that I could share...sort of.

 

So I actually learned three things today.....how to use that new lens, to check the settings when in Program mode, and not to drink too much coffee if I'm planning on using the camera  :-)  If tomorrow is as nice as today was (even better would be if it is warmer) I may just head out to practice what I learned.  Keep your fingers crossed I don't have another senior moment  :-)

And the winner is....

I missed posting my Blog of the Week last Thursday...but I had good reason (well, at least in my mind it was a good one :-))  I was busy getting ready for my daughter and her family to come spend a couple of weeks with us!!  They've been here for a few days and DH and I spent every minute catching up on things....and getting cuddles from the little one!

We braved the icy roads last night (we, and a LOT of other people, are sooooo ready for winter to be over and spring to arrive) to go out and celebrate our grandson's first birthday!  My daughter was concerned that he'd be cranky from being overtired due to jet lag and, well, just being a little one up past his bedtime, but he was a trooper and entertained us all during dinner :-)  I'll post a pic when I upload them from my phone.  I can't believe I forgot my camera, so had to use my phone!

Today is going to be a busy one.  There's an appointment with a photographer for portrait pics, and hair appointments, and picking up a birthday cake...a good kind of busy! 

The newest feline addition to our house no longer is What's His Name!  He is now Machiavelli, Mac for short.  Mac has recovered nicely from having his teeth extracted (not all, he has one left) and had definitely settled into the daily routine.  Didn't take him long at all to expect the three meals a day schedule. :-)  

Off for more grandma cuddles, but first....and the winner of a glass heart is.......beadsnbangles!!!!  Congrats to Kim and thank you to everyone for the suggestions!

What's His Name

What a whirlwind few days it's been.  It all started last Friday.  A group of us from my Arts In RI team were going to meet up at one of the places where I get some of my jewelry findings. A girl's afternoon out.  On the way up, I stopped and picked up one of my friends.  During our chatting, she mentioned that she knew of some cats that needed a new home, was I interested.  She filled me in on the background of why they were available and how they had been living lately and my heart ached for them.

Fast forward to Sunday when I got a call from my friend wanting to know if I'd like to meet them.  I warned her that I was out in the studio and had on my grubby work clothes.  She informed me that what I was wearing really wouldn't matter to them, animals or humans...yeah, she's a good friend!  Hopped in the car and when I got there I just couldn't stop petting this one.  Meet Calvin (who really doesn't look like a Calvin and I'm hoping that you all will help me come up with a macho name for him but for now we're calling him What's His Name)  Before I knew it I had a new family member! :-)

WHN is a purebred blue bi-color Ragdoll.  He's almost 6 years old and has the most gorgeous blue eyes despite how they look in the photograph.  I think he's going to be a snuggle bunny when he settles in and becomes more comfortable with us...all of us :-)  He's had an appointment with our vet.  Some issues to take care of in his mouth (hopefully the antibiotics and his dental appointment Thursday will help those).  Once he can eat without pain, and with some good food, we're hoping that he'll also put on some weight.  Don't let all that fur fool you, he's a little bit underweight underneath all of it. 

Here's how Meeting Night aka Potential World War III (Tuesday) went after I left open the door to the bathroom where he's been staying...typed as it was happening :-)
Little Mama is sitting ever so primly in the doorway to the bathroom just looking in.  Secretly I think she was on the phone earlier to a bookie placing her bet as to which male was going to be the winner and she wanted a front row seat to all the action. :-)
I'm not sure where Sam is...but all seems to be quiet on the Front Line.  Oh, wait....yup, a little hissing going on from one of them.  Has to be Sam since LM is still sitting primly, like the little princess that she is.
A few minutes later, Sam has come sauntering (yes, he really does saunter....with a bit of a swag to his steps) out to the living room where I'm sitting.
Uh, oh...it's way too quiet....wonder what's up.  Phew, Sam just checked in with me...and proceeded to lie down on the rug nearby....nope, now he's up on the printer.  He loves that spot.  I swear it's because he sits high up and can look down on his servants.   LM seems to have disappeared.  Guess the action in the boxing ring (aka bathroom) didn't turn out to be all that exciting to watch :-)  Found her!  She's laying on her window seat in my daughter's old room...her favorite spot in the house...well, except for right in front of her food dish, preferably when it's full :-)
Wonder if I should call LM's bookie and place a bet on how long this quiet will last :-) :-)   I really was expecting WWWIII here tonight.  Throughout all of this, WHN was acting like a perfect gentleman!
The rest of the night was uneventful....everyone, including the three furry creatures, laid around and got a good night's sleep....we don't lead an exciting life here :-)

This is WHN after breakfast on Monday....he settled in, closed his eyes......and sighed

Today (Thursday) WHN is at the vet's office getting his teeth worked on.  Poor baby!  But, they have to be done and even though he will be teeth-challenged when it's over, he will be healthier. 

If you've read through all this and are still with me, I have a little give away.  I can't keep calling him WHN (a guy needs his identity!).  Help!  I need some suggestions.  Soooooo, everyone who leaves a comment with a suggestion for a name gets a chance to win one of my glass hearts.  I haven't decided which one yet, but it will be pretty ;-)  The winner will be announced next Thursday.  Disclaimer:  His name will ultimately be decided by DH and myself, but some input will be greatly appreciated. :-)

Digging Out

I'm sure you've all heard or read about the snowstorm we experienced yesterday. It was all over the news, along with the horrendous ice in the southeast. Well, all I can say about it is...it was wicked (that's RI speak for "really, really") bad!

When I went to bed Tuesday night, there wasn't a flake in the air. Woke up the next morning to.....

This is what my glass studio looked like early in the morning.

Not too bad...but there was more snow to come!!

Throughout the morning and into the early afternoon, DH went out and kept the stairs to the driveway relatively clear, made sure there were paths to the studios, and cleared off one of the vehicles in case we needed to use it (not sure why since I don't think we could have gotten out of the end of the driveway). Me? I stayed in the house all warm and cozy. Now, don't go thinking that I was being lazy or anything...I had done my part...the driveway! But before you go saying, wow, what a wife!, I have to confess...the day before I made arrangements to have it plowed :-) While DH actually enjoys the physical activity involved with shoveling, even he had to admit that the predicted 15-20 inches would be too much for us to handle (yes, I do go out and help with the shoveling a bit).

One concern of ours, besides the total amount, was that it was a heavy snow. The house is surrounded by tall pines and the combination of heavy snow and wind always makes us nervous. Before the snow started, DH wanted to park my car so that it would be a straight drive out if needed. Thank goodness we didn't! Some branches succumbed to the added weight/wind and my van would have had a few dents in its roof.

The tree that lost a few branches during the night.

Fast forward through hot chocolates, reading the newspaper (online since yesterday's supposedly was delivered but is buried somewhere in a pile of snow by the paperbox), watching tv, taking a nap. The afternoon brought a lessening of the snow AND a plowed driveway!! We are now connected with civilization again :-)

Yesterday really was a beautiful white winter wonderland
with a few touches of color when a car passed by!

Now, today is another day and life will be back to normal. DH will be heading out shortly to teach his first class. I'm heading out to the studio and firing up the torch to work on some hearts for a little boutique. The furbabies will do what they do best....

Little Mama at the height of the storm..isn't life grand?
I think she was trying to show us how to deal with the snow :-)

Before I head out to the studio, I'd like to share a couple of Treasuries created by some friends. Guess instead of naps on their snow days, they were productive :-)

White Out

Snow Day

Having committed to BAW (aka, Blog a Week), I sat down pondering what to write about. Some topics came to mind, but nothing that made me go That's it! That's what I want to blog about!! I'm sure at some point I'll write about them...and hopefully not bore you to tears...but they just weren't what I wanted for now. So I stepped away from the computer for a bit and puttered around the house. Then it hit me! I'll do what I do best....share about someone else.

Lisa, of Crooked Moon Studio & Mosaics, and fellow Arts In RI'er, creates the most incredible mosaic belt buckles and jewelry. She combines teeny tiny slivers of artglass, gemstones, and focals (some vintage, some new, some metal...and even some glass ;-)) into unique pieces of wearable art. I just peeked into her Etsy shop and this is one of my favorites (of what she currently has for sale).

And another of my favorites...though, I may be a bit biased on this one ;-)

Lisa also offers pendants and rings....you'll just have to poke around in her shop or head to her website to see what she has done....DH walked in the door so it's time to start dinner. If you happen to purchase something or convo Lisa to let her know how much you like her work...tell her Kim V says Hi!!

Puppy Love

Puppy Love
Originally uploaded by KimVGlass

Another metalworker shared how to link Flickr to blogs. And to think all the times before I was doing it the hard way :-) Here's my first...

Mixed metals earrings made from textured copper disks and vintage brass hearts.

Spring is coming early

Ok, so LOTS early :-) Doing a little "Spring Cleaning" here.