Pelicans hanging out and relaxing

American White Pelicans 

In October there was an Airstream trailer camped out on a mini-peninsula with open space all around him. Look at how it's shrunk! Now it's an island! The birds camp out there now. Today, lots of pelicans. They're so cute. When they fly they're magnificent. As I snapped my photos a gull was dancing in the wind above me. He was watching me.

Macrame necklace with a half knot

If ya wanna be a cowgirl

I always wondered how they made these twisty necklaces! It's so easy. It's a half knot the whole way around, over and over. It's even simpler than a square knot because a half knot is half of a square knot. Those beads, why those antiqued fake silver formed from the finest plastic to found anywhere in Hobby Lobby stores across America. They'll last you long past after you're dead. Now that's quality!

Each piece I make I learn a little more. First, why didn't anyone tell me to buy jewelry making hemp? It's called 'polished' so it's not itchy. Mine is a tiny bit itchy. I found a good selection of polished hemp twine at a store in Oklahoma. The other thing is, you have to have beads with really big holes. The third thing is you really need round or rounded beads to weave in because they will lay better. All the beads I bought had holes too small. Look, I put a bead on the end too. Yeah, I upgraded my technique. Heh.

This necklace is screaming for earrings though. I've never made earrings. Oh boy! Uh oh. I gotta make earrings next.

I'm going to make chokers for my nephews' birthdays. The young men really like this stuff. I want to get my nephew who fishes a lot, a Maori carved fish hook pendant. Saw one on Ebay...

Indigo eyeglass necklace

For my mom

My mom's favorite color is blue. I made this for her. She wears one I made about a year ago which is blue and white daisies, and says she doesn't want another one. Thing is, that one looks like a sixth grader made it. (No offense against sixth graders!) I'm hoping she'll like this one and maybe quit wearing that other one.

I used two dichroic beads that I've had for over a year. It was as if they were made for this necklace. At the time that I picked them out - I didn't know they were for my mom. It's cosmic, baby.

Update: This one broke after a few months. My mom said it got caught in her glasses. I think it was too heavy and that's the reason it broke. They need to be very lightweight. Live and learn!

Sandalwood essential oil

I read that sandalwood essential oil is good to put on the ends of your hair to alleviate dryness. After washing my hair today in a shower with a spray that barely kept me wet, with 55 degee weather outside and no heater, I dried it outside then applied a few drops of the eo on from about ear level on down. I like it! I even went outside and checked it in the sun. Usually I used jojoba, but this has imparted such a nice sheen to my hair.

Sandalwood eo is a keeper.

I went two weeks, fourteen days before I washed. Hey. Did I just see you make an "Ewww" face? I feel like, really accomplished. Heh.

I had our son give me a microtrim too. I have no idea how it turned out, I can't see back there, but he and my husband say it looks good. I explained real carefully that he should cut any uneven guys who are growing faster than everyone else. Do NOT give me a trim or a new hemline I told him. My husband couldn't stand it. He said he couldn't watch, so he excused himself. But he conceded that our son has the best eyes in the family.

Every four months I told our son, you gotta give me a microtrim. He said okay. He knows all the hair care terminology from hanging around me.

He said I should write it on his calendar for May. (He just finished spending two nights drawing his own calendar for 2006!) I did.

An eyeglass holder

An eyeglass necklace

It's just a bag of mixed Czech glass beads. I like the mix a lot though and think I'll buy some more at Hobby Lobby. I'm getting better at making nice neat knots in the clam shell bead tip.

My first macrame jewelry

Made of hemp

One hundred percent, high quality hemp grown in Hungary. Olivewood beads I ordered from Bethlehem, Israel. A buncha square knots.

Blog find: Real Live Preacher

Tonight I came across a nice blog. I haven't investigated any further except for this one entry. He's a Baptist minister who's learned to pray the rosary and likes it.

Today I had our son go find ten pebbles and one slightly bigger rock and I told him we're going to use them to count our prayers. He liked the idea. So he brought them in the trailie and washed them and dried them and I explained that in the Catholic Roman Rosary the little pebbles would be called the ave beads and the big rock is the pater, or you can say the little pebbles are the Hail Marys and the big rock is the Our Father, same thing said in a different way. He picked a pretty quartz stone for the Our Father prayer.

Finished Light on Snow book

I'm gonna be so sorry in the morning but I just finished reading my book Light on Snow by Anita Shreve. Incidentally she also wrote The Pilot's Wife, possibly the worst book I ever read. It really stunk. But Light on Snow was pretty darn good.

I'm dying to start on Gettysburg by Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen. My husband just finished it and he was even crying at the end. What? MY husband? Over a book? Indeed. So I've gotta read this one. It was a New York Times bestseller and has 108 reviews at Amazon. My mom gave me the book. She's a total bibliophile. But we didn't know the end is not the end. There are three books in the series. My husband drove all the way to Cruces today for the second book. He had to have it.

A Gameboy in my house

Anyone who knows me knows we don't do Gameboy. Our son received a late Christmas gift. It's a Gameboy. I'm extremely upset. I dislike television, video games, and Gameboy. We have excluded these things from our son's intellectual diet. Television is fine in moderation, and depending on what's viewed. Cartoons are okay, again depending on the toon. (Leia watches cartoons!) But there are some pretty disgusting cartoons drawn with characters who say and do things to appeal to the baser (low, vile, absence of higher values) human nature.

He received a Nemo and a Shrek game with it. We've never seen Shrek, but Nemo was cute.

Earthquakes

When we first got our trailer, every time my husband or son would roll over in bed my eyes when fly open because I thought it was an earthquake. Small or big, either way even in a dead sleep my heart would be racing and my eyes wide open looking into darkness.

I was thinking last night, I don't do that anymore. I've must be used to the movement now.

In 1987 I was in the biggest earthquake I'd ever been in. The epicenter was about five miles away from us in Whittier. It was a 5.9. There were waves in the swimming pool about six feet high and water splashed right out of the pool. The entertainment center fell over in the living room. You know how they tell you get in a doorway for an earthquake? That's just to make you think there's something you can really do. How many door frames do you see still standing after a big quake? None! Duh! Thing is, in a large quake you also can't walk very well on account of the earth rolling or jumping under your feet and the doors are opening and closing on you so how you supposed to stand in one? Who ever came up with that safety tip? It's really noisy during a big quake, then after it's quiet again. Transformers explode in the distance. There's smoke in the air. Actually it's dust.

I still kind of like earthquakes, littler ones! Not big ones. The two stories that I wish I could forget are a college student killed by an ornamental precipice that fell from a building on campus during an aftershock, and a tot killed by a brick that fell out of the fireplace onto her head in her home. They're stuck in my memory bank.

Everyone is well

Okie dokie. We're done with the flu. Everything is back to normal. I didn't get it. Woo hoo. Must be some kind of Y-chromosome flu.

Trip to B&N

The winds were so high today! We had gusts up to 60mph and it blew our satellite askew. Finally, I'm back online.

Drove into Cruces today. We got our son his first laptop and he's thrilled. Now we have to make space on the dining table for three machines. He's already made The Weather Channel his home page and customized his taskbar to show the local weather. He's like a little old man, checks the weather first thing every morning. He's now setting up his bookmarks: archie.com, united-states-flag.com, weather.com, activetoys.com, santa.com.

My husband took me to the bookstore and where else? The bead store! Two bead stores in fact. I wanted four books, bought two and ordered two. One I bought is to learn how to make hemp jewelry. I can't help it I still like hemp jewelry. I'm so stuck in the '70s. I also bought Beading for the Soul which [silent scream] was not on my list, but for some reason since I saw it online and saw it in the store I thought it was on my list. Shall I add, I didn't have my glasses with me and husband and son were waiting impatiently in the truck for me so I was in a rush.

The two I ordered are A String and a Prayer:How to Make and Use Prayer Beads and The Way We Pray: Celebrating Spirit from around the World. I'm going to start reading right now.

The beads I got are real pretty! In the second store I kept being drawn to the same color bead, carnelian. I didn't know it was carnelian but the bead store owner said all the beads I kept touching were carnelian! I've wanted some ever since I started beading so I finally indulged myself and purchased a string. Yum! Can't wait to use them.

Husband drove today but now he's back in bed. It's hard to make him stay in bed you know. Me, I'd be in bed all day, no problem. All he's eaten is some bread and a piece of banana that he had to swallow three times. This bug he has won't let him eat, and he's starving. It's a pretty mean flu bug that makes you hungry and won't let you eat! Usually with the flu you can't eat - and you don't wanna eat.

I got supplies for Rita to make an eyeglass necklace with her (she gave me the money to shop for her!) and I dropped by and gave her her stuff, but her dear husband is not feeling well. I don't know if we'll really get to make the eyeglass holders together. Jack's heart is not working well and he won't go to the hospital. When we first arrived to Elephant Butte we saw him out and about doing landscaping and such and now, he needs oxygen. It's happened so fast. My heart is heavy and sorrowful but there's nothing I can do. Jack is so nice. Our son has grown fond of him, and vice versa I think.

The flu is here

Well our boy has had the flu for several days and now his daddy's coming down with it. I had it so bad last year (I went to the hospital!) that I say I'm innoculated. Hope I miss it this year. I feel fine.

I got the bestest email this morning from my cyber friend Michele. It was long all right! And nobody else wrote me today so it was especially savored. My dad totally owes me an email. My sister, I had to get down and dirty and told her not to make me go to California to beat her up, so she wrote me a cursory email. Bless her little pin head. She works full time and drives the kids around to soccer and wrestling and what not, so I know she's real busy.

For two days I've been utterly engrossed in the Roman Rosary. It's always been a mystery to me. What the heck is a rosary I'd say to myself. What's the meaning. What's the purpose. As it turns out there's a plethora of information on the topic to be found on the trusty WWW.

So basically, beads for meditation have been around since forever. The Hindus are the first known to use prayer beads which makes sense because Hinduism is the oldest religion. But I'll put some of my research links here because invariably I delve into a new interest, swim in it for awhile, get sick of it and delete all my bookmarks, then six months later I have to search for them again.

I have some beautiful olivewood beads that I ordered from Bethlehem and they've just been sitting, waiting for me to do something with them. I plan to make myself a rosary. I'm going to learn the rosary so that I know it and am no longer mystified by it. But since Catholicism is far too paternalistic for me, I believe I shall end up making for myself a set of Anglican prayer beads.

I rather hate to upload this post because now the picture of my eyeglass holders won't be at the top of the page.

Beaded eyeglass necklace

Deep Blue Meditation

Tomorrow at 2:00p.m. I'm teaching a class about how to make beaded eyeglass holders. Several ladies in the campground whom I've grown quite fond are coming. Last night I threw this one together and today I made the little tag to go with. Presentation is half of the craft! I wanted bigger, more brightly colored organza bags, but ivory and small is all I could find.

Eyeglass necklaces are so nifty. Do you lose your glasses a lot? No matter where you go, there are your glasses, right there around your neck if you have an eyeglass necklace!

This one is called Meditation. When I finished it it reminded me of a meditation because when I decide to meditate my brain is blasted with hundreds of noisy, irrelevant thoughts all demanding my immediate attention at the same time. I greet each offender, then politely excuse it, and continue in meditation. It's that or throw a hissy fit and give up.

Elephant Butte Lake, NM

Today's sunset walk 

We think New Mexico's State Parks are the best kept secret. It's so quiet and beautiful. We might host here next year too.

Lots of birds stop at the lake for winter and today as our son and I walked along the shore, four American White Pelicans graced us with a fly by. I spotted them in the distance at the other end of the lake and I suspected they weren't just gulls. I was wishing they would fly near us. Then they turned toward our direction and flew our way. All was quiet. They were so low we could hear wing feathers cut through the air. I know they were looking us over! Closer and closer they came, until the first one stopped flapping his wings, then the second, the third, and fourth; and silently, right over our heads, they all four glided by.

Art Bell's wife has passed on

Art Bell's wife died in her sleep from an asthma attack. I'm surprised to see that her death is already noted on Wikipedia.

I'm sad for Art. His radio talk show is real entertaining. It comes on at about 11:00pm. If you have nothing to do, it's a good listen. He has interviews and conversations on the topic of UFOs and aliens and paranormal occurences, but Art is so down to earth, so respectful to his callers, that sometimes you wonder, could some of what you're hearing be true? Depends on the caller. Some are complete utter wackos and some, might be one cookie short of a dozen, or might not. Yet no matter how outrageous the call, Art is never condescending. Good late night entertainment. Such success he has had with his show, that he now broadcasts straight from home in Pahrump. He lives in Pahrump, Nevada. Pah-what? Pahrump.

Pahrump, Nevada got its name from the Southern Paiute "pah" meaning water and "rimpi" meaning rock. One who lives in Pahrump is called a 'Pahrumpian.' Tell me you don't have to have a sense of humor to live in a place called Pahrump!

Bought avocado oil

I'm using my new avocado oil for deep conditioning tonight. It's supposed to add luster to hair. Fun facts about the avocado. And a good page about carrier oils. It's supposed to be one of the most penetrating oils, very moisturizing, full of vitamin E and other good stuff that nourishes skin, especially, ahem, maturing skin! Gimme some of that.

We drove into Cruces today. We learned that locals don't call Las Cruces 'Las Cruces.' They say, "I'm going in to Cruces today." I finally bought some sandalwood essential oil. It's premixed with jojoba which is okay with me. Smells nice. I have some glycerin and I'm making soap out of it, adding the sandalwood for fragrance. I bought some evening primrose oil for my son's hands. I read that it's good for eczema and his knuckles are so rough. He uses his hands a lot and gets so much soil, and paint, and cleansers on them. Hope it might help. I don't know about these natural remedies though. I bought a new pair of jeans. Gray. And ummmm, I got lilac water to spray on my hair to get the ridges out when I don't want ridges.

I have issues with jeans. The jeans I bought last time didn't shrink like I thought they would and they get stretchier and stretchier till I end up with a murph hanging off my bum. On a plumber it's okay. On me, it's ugly.

I fixed myself up today

I completely ignored the arrival of the new year, but 2006 must have seeped in through my pores! I was tired of my old look. Ever since we sold our house and started livin' on the road, seeing some of the Lord's best work, and meeting new people, well that old page of mine just wasn't me anymore.

Zen-like, contemplative with a touch of Mother Nature describes was the look I was going for. I incorporated my newly found life verse. Cool. And I read that black (font) on a white background improves readability , so I ended it with my gray font. Possibly, I may have gone overboard with the zoo zoos, wham whams and do-nothing gee-gaws in the sidebar, yet I felt I really needed a lunar phase calculator, a pixie weather girl, a Flicker mini-photo album, and a new, improved calendar. There goes months of entries on my old calendar, but you have to move with the times.

Just tryin' to make the reading more fun, don't 'cha know.

Perimenopause and the hair on my back

Nobody told me that when I got into perimenopause that I would get hair on my back. I don't want hair on my back! Especially short, black, pokey hairs like Jeff Goldblum got in the movie The Fly. I had two years of electrolysis to depilate hair everywhere, but who ever thought it would come out on my back!

I found it last night and it felt just like the kind that popped out on Jeff when he got stuck in the machine and he didn't know a fruit fly was in there with him. I nearly had a heart attack. This was worse than my rare but recurring nightmare that I have zits covering my entire face. I wake, I feel my face, it's bumpy all over, but I know I'm not really awake. It's a tactile dream, and I force myself in my subconscious brain to know that it's just a dream. All the same, I wake in the morning and immediately feel my face and fly to the mirror to check for the zits.

Like I said, can I say it enough, I don't want hair on my back! I don't care if I am 46. I'm not dead yet. I have a lot of years left in me. First thing I thought is, I can't have my husband find this thing. It's good that I found it first, but how disgusting. He might not want to be with me again if you know what I mean, if he finds out about this.

So I got the tweezers and tried to pluck it out. Have you tried to tweeze anything on your back? It can't be done. But I am driven, I try and try, but I cannot nab that thing. I get a bright idea. I will have to ask our son to look at it and get rid of it tomorrow. I'm hoping he won't tell my husband about it.

Next morning, as soon as my husband left to do camp host work like clean the BBQ pits, I ask our boy, who has the sharpest eyes ever, to look at this hair and please take it out. He's so sweet and doesn't judge me at all. I'm thinking King Kong and he's just thinking, Mamma.

He took it out and says there, see the sliver Mamma, I got it. What? Sliver? Why the sweet 'lil punkin' I think to myself. If he's none the wiser, I'm not telling him it's a disgusting outgrowth. I get my glasses and study it real close. It didn't have a follicle and it was awful light colored and I didn't feel it get yanked out really.

Yesterday I had been standing with my back to a juniper tree (for my pictures ya know) and the juniper tree's trunk is very barky and shredded. I remembered there were juniper shreds all over my sweater when I took it off.

So, it was a sliver I had after all, and not a hair. I have a new lease on life!

And my little boy never said a word to my husband.

2006 Hair sig photo

Something new

I had my husband take some new pics of me today. He took a couple nice ones. I made a BIG decision tonight. I decided I'm making this signature pic and no more for the rest of the year. In January of 2007 I'll take another picture and then compare the two. So be sure to come back and read me on January 2, 2007. Make a note of it in your daily planner. In pen. I think it's the neatest thing when people show one year progress pics. The change is so dramatic and you get the 'oooh ahhhh' factor. Me, I have the shortest waist and it's taking forever for this hair to get past it.

The pretty elements in my new photo are from a kit made by Francine Hayman. I bought my two first kits last week. I'm becoming a digi-scrapper you know. I'm not very good yet, but I might be someday. I'm new at it and it's so fun. I'm working on making, designing is a stronger verb, a bunch of jewel case covers to go with the CDs that hold all my photographs.