Turning Point in My Summer

I've felt like my peonies have been shaking their angry tight fists at the skies for weeks.

I know I have.

Mid- July and they still hadn't bloomed.

 Rain and grey every day and none of those scorching temps that the States are having.

( oh yes, we in Alaska call those other places "Outside" or "the States"

or "the lower 48'

But wait... could it be?

and I've gotten about a half cup of strawberries from our plants now

So luscious

I may have to harvest these broccoli florets today before the moose gets them.

Things have been growing so slowly with temps that seem to be hovering between 49 and 59 F

( that's 9.5 and 15C)

So far this summer.

The flower baskets have done rather well.

It's a turning point because honey is coming home on Saturday after being gone 5 weeks and then I'm leaving for Maine for a couple of weeks on Wednesday.

I'm already kind of ramping down on making stuff and listing in my shop until I get back.

The sun has come out this week PLUS I have a visitor out here in the boonies.

And I'm shaking this whatever thing that took away my voice for 5 days and had me in scary coughing fits too.

What a change in my spirits now.

Julio's in his early 70's and shows you how it's done staying young at heart.

Here I am trying to show you how my new earrings from Pinmolly look.

I know you can't see them but somehow I like how this photo made me look younger.

must be the hazy reflection....

or the bewildered stare?

trying again...oh well...sorry about that. 

But I love them!

OK, here they are all properly photographed by Tracy

This week I started wearing glasses all the time. 

It's an adjustment and seems to magnify the long distance visual disturbances I was having but seem to be an improvement for up close work and reading.

I hauled out some old colored leather that I had bought way back when.

Sometimes you need to revisit old supplies.

and I had to try designing with my own studnik too.

I got these recycled glass bottle top rings on Etsy.

I thought they would be fun to work with.

You can see a few beads that I won on Petra's giveaway too.

I'm hoarding the extra special ones for the time being...you know how it is!

I won these lovelies with my silly douche bag joke.

I'll have to thank my ex husband for that. I think it's one of the few jokes that I ever remember.

One of my lampworked copper pieces folded over and fastened here.

I thought I'd show you what my copper matchsticks look like before I enamel them.

I was going to show them being torched but the photo came out kind of vague so I didn't.

My enamel piles

and frit piles.

So now I'm going to be on a bit of a break until mid-August.

Most likely I'll be checking in with you all from time to time and perhaps showing you a bit of Maine.

And a welcome to any of you new visitors. I hope you like what you see.

As Promised... What else I've been up to

These are some more of the collages I did on a dismantled vintage file folder box.

Also covered with a netting of tinted cheesecloth secured with self leveling gel medium.

The caption says "Reach for the moon to make dreams come" taken from an old typing book

 I was really just noodling around with images that day... just having fun.

"We look as well as  the way we look at things".

...also taken from a typing book

 "Peaches"

 Summer revisited us with a very comfortable 80 degrees. ( about 27 C)

I often take breaks from the studio for some outdoor exercise and chores

Been really enjoying the sari silk ribbon in my designing.

These just up on Etsy today

I had meant to take some photos rather than showing scans but then it started to rain.

I did get my photographing kit safely sent to Maine so I can bring it back when we go there.

Revisited an old bead that I had saved for several years. I had been trying to get the effect of seaweed and a tide pool. No one else got it though apparently! I still like it.

Raw Garnet and semi-precious stones.

I had a request to see if I could design some drops. This is what I came up with. I plan on having a day of production to make some more in different colors.

Any suggestions?

Now I Know I'm Really Home~ The Beginning of My Morning Routine

My walk to get the newspaper, heading to the woods.

There's a little trail cut through the thick black spruce. Sometimes I even miss the trail so I've set a big round rock by the berm at the trailhead.

The trail leads to a big homesteader's field and the neighbor's spectacular log house is in view.

Duckies bathing in the low spot in the field.

There's always some good old junk laying around. This is where I'll find a blueberry patch later on in the season.

After I pick up the paper I make myself walk up to the top and sit and read the paper if it's not too windy or the mosquitos don't run me off. 

I'm still awestruck by this vista from our road.

Walking back home.

I admit to have a bit of blogophobia the past few days because you see it's my 100th post and I promised to have a giveaway. Since I don't have my s#*t  together for a giveaway I am going to delay it until post 101. Instead I'm going to take you on the walk that means the beginning of the summer season and my home routine that I developed last year, which was my first summer off in 26 years since the birth of my boy.

Coryman, my husband has trotted of to his first day of work doing archaeological survey at the nearby military base. It's a government requirement that these surveys are done before they blow any land to smithereens in their training runs. This particular area is rich in archaeological finds as it was the main corridor for the hunting and traveling of  land bridge peoples. He's probably in his last season of working this job as he hopes to go into full retirement later on this summer.

I will secretly admit (yeah, as this if this is really secret on a blog!) that I quite enjoy having the days to myself to play and create. I live with a most energetic man and sometimes our ideas of what a full day is differ. I'm a slow and late riser but gather steam as the day progresses and he's an up & at 'em kind of man-work ethic type of guy that once in awhile might not see that my sanding pre-school puzzle pieces with glued ephemera on the sunny deck as "work". He is mostly quite supportive of everything I do I must add! As long as I keep delicious meals coming at regular intervals the balance is mostly in check.

Last summer I developed a morning routine that helped me immensely both mentally and physically. This old gal is a little lame in the hips from 10 years of heavy equipment operating for the State of Alaska road crew. It's a nice little walk out to our newspaper box that sits out on the Alaska Highway. I find that if I do this walk every day it not only stretches me out nicely and gets the joints less creaky as well as clearing my head for the day. I have mandated that I won't allow myself computer time until this has been done.

The day begins now and I get to choose whether it will be a glass, collage, computer or gardening beginning to my day. If the wind stays down I may even haul out my bicycle!