June Bead Journal Project

So many variables on just what inspires me to bead. For this month, I already had the fabric picked out well ahead of time. I went searching for orange beads (or anything with a hole in it) and came across these which were recently provided by Aunties Beads.

I dug around some more and pulled out green freshwater pearls, orangish swirly sequins, and other items as seen in the photo. The various shades of green seed beads are one of the many beautiful exclusive bead mixes (this one is 'moss') offered up at Whimbeads. I was lucky enough to receive a tube of them from my birthday buddy last year.

Other than the black line of beads, nothing was planned - I added the beads and sequins outward from that black line purely for the joy of it!

Here's the back


Photos are 'clickable' for a larger view.



And for those that have asked... here's 2 photos of my grand kids taken this past weekend. Ages are 13, 8 and 8 weeks.



In other news, my good friend Anne from Minnesota is flying in tomorrow and I have 3 days off work. Life is good...

Using the Muse and other things...

I entered the Use the Muse II contest pretty soon after Scarlett made the kits available. Since I had so much fun in the first round, I couldn't resist this one. In reading her blog I see she will host a round III contest in August as well.

banner provide by Scarlett-The Bead Maven

In this round, the colors chosen are beautiful (again!), inspiring and easy for me to work with. I'm doing something I have not done before and that's usually a good thing.



You see 2 teaser shots in this blog post, what you don't see is the 'Muse' - that will be revealed on the Use the Muse website when the contest entries are posted sometime in late July.



Should be good too - the contest went international this round, that many more entries to admire and inspire. In addition to the unseen muse, I have incorporated a polymer clay cab by the fabulously talented Jennifer Martin - the artist behind all the wonderful creations over at GraphixOutpost.



In other news, and for the few that have asked - my newest granddaughter is growing and providing many happy moments for the rest of us. I laugh every time I look at this photo, in my head I hear the 3 Stooges "Oh, wise guy, eh? Why I oughta..."

Last bit of news (for now anyway) that I keep forgetting to share is ... I signed up for the Tahoe Mountain Bead Retreat presented by Bead Unique. I've dreamed of taking classes from the pros since I first began beading 4 years ago, but have always run into obstacles (mostly self made), so this will be my first beaded anything to attend. I'm SO excited. Not only that - the last day of the retreat is my birthday, friends, beautiful scenery and beads - could it be any more perfect?

I'll fly in a few days before the retreat and stay for a few days after to spend time with dear friends in Grass Valley, CA. Friends I haven't seen in a few years that I dearly miss. A great way (I think) to spend the last year I will be in my 40's!

For now, I'm off to go bathing suit shopping with my older granddaughter. I can hardly wait to see what an almost 13 year old considers appropriate swimming attire (yikes! I sound like an old fuddy duddy).

Nice weather and a new baby...

So, I know I haven't posted here in quite some time - not because I haven't been beading, but it has taken a back seat for now to all the other 'goings on'.

With the much anticipated warmer weather, I have spent a great deal more time outside with my family and am so grateful for that!

This past Memorial weekend was fun filled. Besides the barbecued hot dogs and hamburgers we
rode bikes.


played basketball,


corn hole


and football.


The kids ran through the sprinkler


and had more water fun on a slip 'n slide.




When night fell, we sat around a bonfire, roasted marshmallows and made S'mores


At the same time we were waiting for the newest addition to make her way into the world as she was due on May 23. She waited for the weekend fun to be over and made her debut on Monday night.

Meet my newest granddaughter... Alicia, here she is less than 30 minutes old.


She's precious and perfect in every way! Here she is the next day showing off that full head of hair.


And here's her brother meeting her for the first time (her big sister was in school).


It was a perfect weekend in every way. I'm staying at my son's house for a week, so beading will be on the back burner for now. I am working on a few things though. A bead embroidered bracelet as well as my Bead Journal Project pages.

I just happen to notice that my 2 year blogiversary was May 12 and this is post 225 (really?). I will find a way to celebrate here in the near future. In the meantime - a big thank you to all of you that have followed my posts and offered up so much encouragement and feedback with my beading. I appreciate it more than words can describe.

Local Festival

I love festivals and there are plenty in this part of country. One of the more popular festivals in Fort Wayne is the Three Rivers Festival. We try to go at least one day every year. This year was no exception. It's fun for the kids, it's relatively inexpensive and not too far to drive.

There is a big fountain in the middle of the park which becomes quite a draw for the kids (and some adults) on especially hot days. My grandson thought it was quite funny that grandma stood in the middle of the fountain to cool off. This photo was taken right after that.


We enjoyed lots of treats as we walked down 'food alley'


And when we were finished we walked back through the park to get to our car. We stopped near the "Old Fort" (it is THE fort for which the city was named) to ride a couple of old fashioned bicycles.

The Fort will often open up the old buildings and have people in period costumes, I enjoy it. But I understand there are some folks divided here on whether or not the Old Fort should be torn down to make way for new development (I hope it never happens).

Back to the old fashioned bicycles. Here's my son's group...


And here I am with my other half

Know your limits

Words to live by, if only I'd listen! So... I went camping with my son - up to the Warren Dunes area of Lake Michigan. We had a lovely little spot in the campground. My son and daughter-in-law in one tent, me and my grandson in the other.

(all photos are clickable for a larger view)

Oh boy, was it ever hot and humid! After setting up camp we drove over to the beach area. Across from the lake (which looks like an ocean by the way) are the dunes. My son thought it a great idea for all of us to hike to the top, I wondered if I could make it. This is where I tried to gauge my limits and decided to forge ahead.

My son and I have hiked and camped since he was little, I have always been in pretty good shape - well until about 8 years ago when I hit a bit of a speed bump in the health department, combine that little speed bump with aging and it can make for some pretty distressing results when attempting a hike such as this one. I don't know which is worse - feeling/knowing how out of shape I am in or seeing that realization in the eyes of my son - probably the latter of the two. It's never fun when your child sees evidence of his parent(s) aging, recognizing weaknesses they hadn't noticed before.


So here is the sandy hill - doesn't look too foreboding from this perspective does it? Okay - maybe it does for the smart ones that DO recognize their limits .


Add high humidity and a temperature in the high 80's to this picture and this is what you get... a hot, red faced grandma that should have recognized her limits from the parking lot. But alas, I pushed on - determined to get to the top and find some shade to take a break before the descent! Yes that speck below is me making my way up the dune. My son was kind enough to capture it on film.


I will say - the views of Lake Michigan from the top were spectacular.


As I made the descent, I turned around to take a couple of photos, I wanted to make sure I remembered where I had been and as a reminder to myself that I actually made it.


I'm glad I went though - I had a wonderful time!

Fun in July

My son invited me to spend the day with him, his wife and son out at the home of some friends of theirs for the 4th of July holiday. It was a day filled with sun, good food, fun and LOTS of activity!

My son is a bit of a fireworks fanatic and it is a whole lot different here in Indiana than in California when it comes to buying fireworks for personal use. They are fairly sophisticated by my way of thinking and we usually enjoy a pretty good and lengthy show in the evening.


We started the day watching kids bounce around on the trampoline and after that croquet. They also took turns driving/riding the go-cart. Pictured here is my daughter-in-law, my grandson (flashing the peace sign) and his friend.


They all played in the water for a bit

and finished off the afternoon with a baseball game. It was a great day with family and friends.

I'm adding a photo of my son and grandson in their pool as well - it's not from the 4th, but I love this shot.


Another family day was spent canoeing/kayaking down Pigeon River in the Mongo Basin area of Northeastern Indiana.


My son, his wife and son rent a canoe and I opt for a kayak. It's always a lot of fun! This year we took a 10 mile trip down river. It was beautiful - peaceful and relaxing. There wasn't a lot of people on the river and we were able to travel at a leisurely pace. My son and grandson came into contact with poison ivy and are still suffering the effects of that more than a week later. But it seems that all a part of summer fun in this area!