Friday Foto 9/30

Photo by Dale Forrest

There's a strong cold front coming in from Canada and it's supposed to be windy with a high temperature in the 40's and snow flurries tomorrow. Not a fun way to bring in October. Hopefully that Canadian cold front will also bring the package of supplies that I ordered three weeks ago from a Canadian Etsy shop! Have a good weekend, everyone, and stay warm!

Thank you!

A big THANK YOU to Metal Clay Today magazine for featuring this blog in their "Best of the Blogs" section. (I tried to get you a picture of the cover of the fall issue, but I'm working at the gallery today and our computer here just couldn't handle that.) And a warm welcome to all the new readers who have found me through the article. The author called this a "tranquil blog"... Sometimes, but not all the time!

Metal Clay Today is a free, quarterly online magazine. Their banner states

"Metal Clay Today is devoted to giving recognition, encouragement and a voice to the many gifted artisans, teachers and enthusiasts in the metal clay world."

I feel very honored to have been chosen out of all the bloggers out there that write about metal clay. Thanks again!

Still a lot of studio stash for sale

Awhile back I did a studio clean-up and decided to sell a lot of the things that I had been keeping "because I might do something with them someday". I just want everyone to know that there are still a lot of deals to be had. I've listed them at the silver price I paid at the time, so there are some really good bargains. Go to My Etsy Shop and check it out. You can see all of these items at once if you click on the "Components, Studio Stash" section over on the left side of the screen.

I'm really surprised that this one hasn't sold yet:

Apatite set in sterling silver. Click here to go to the listing on Etsy.

Or, this one:

Carnelian in a sterling silver setting. Click here to go to the listing on Etsy.

And these - all cut out and drilled and ready to use in your own project:

Set of five sterling silver triangles. Click here to go to the listing on Etsy.

These will stay in the shop until they expire - I won't be relisting them. At that time they'll go to the scrap pile. So get your bargains while you can!!

Friday Fall Foto

Happy Autumnal Equinox, everyone! This godenrod is a sure sign that summer is finished.

Fashion Secrets of the Self-Employed

Sofia Vergara from "Modern Family" at the Emmy Awards - my favorite show!

Two events got me thinking about this topic. The first is that over the past few weeks I've been cleaning out my closet and getting rid of things that I haven't worn in years. Second, I watched the Emmy Awards on Sunday night and saw all the glamorous clothing - the gowns and the shoes and the hair and the jewels and thought about what we wear and how we are judged by what we choose to put on in the mornings. And about how much I really don't care. So, for those of you that don't have to go to an office every day, here's a few tips:

1.) When you're working in the studio or around the house the object of your clothing is comfort and durability, certainly not style. For instance, today I'm wearing a pair of sweat pants that have paint all over them and a t-shirt that I've had for, probably, 10 years. I mean, the work that I do is messy and I wouldn't want to stain or burn anything nice.

2.) When you do have to be around people you should wear clothes at least a little better. I have to go to town later in the day I'll change into jeans and a newer t-shirt. (After all, I'm going to WalMart, and I might see someone I know.) When I work at one of the galleries I try to dress nicer so the the public doesn't think I'm a complete slob, or that the gallery is run by a homeless person.

3.) When you're at home you can get away with wearing the same clothes for several days in a row, as long as you haven't sweated in them and gotten them stinky. Underwear is excluded. Clean underwear every day is a must! (And, it can't have holes in it. Just ask my Mom.) This will also cut down on the amount of laundry you have to do.

4.) When the delivery truck arrives don't get your feelings hurt when the driver laughs at you. He's just jealous that he has to wear a uniform and can't get away with wearing the awesome grubby clothes that you get to wear.

I hope you'll keep this in mind if you happen to drop  by without calling first. Not that it would make much difference because if I know you well enough to have you drop by, then I don't care if you see me in my usual wardrobe. I know you love me anyway.

Friday Foto 9/16

This is a patchwork hill of Christmas trees. Did you know that North Carolina grows and sells more Christmas trees than anywhere else, except Oregon? It used to bother me that people would cut down a perfectly good tree and bring it in their house for a few weeks, until I moved here and learned that they're only a crop, like cabbages. It's just a crop that takes 10-15 years before harvest. It won't be long now before they start cutting and shipping them out - usually around the end of October.

There's a chill in the air this morning and my furnace came on. It's cloudy and I'll be in "Fog Likely"  before the day is over. (See this post for an explanation.) Seems a little early to me, so I'll go dig out some socks and a sweater.

This makes three weeks in a row for Friday Foto. I hope I can keep it up. Thanks for reading and have a good weekend!

Remembering

Friday Foto

I've had some friends visiting the past couple of days and yesterday we went up to Grandfather Mountain. This was taken near the Mile-High Swinging Bridge at the top of the mountain. There were clouds and fog, but that's typical for that elevation. The red berries are mountain ash.

More Miscellaneous Musings

Photo taken last April

• The remains of Tropical Storm Lee have been pounding us with rain since day before yesterday. As you know, I live close to a large creek and my little bridge is my only way out of here. Needless to say, I've not had much sleep the last two nights and I'm feeling a little loopy today. So far, so good - no major flooding - and it's supposed to be over in the next few hours. Whew! Maybe I can get a nap later today.
• Labor Day is past. I don't want to see any of you wearing white until next Memorial Day, OK? I had a very uneventful weekend. My boss doesn't give me days off, you know, so I had to work at the Blowing Rock gallery on Sunday. Lots of people, a very good retail day.
• I've had a lot of company in the past few weeks, with more folks coming this week. I love it when people visit because I like to show off the beautiful place I live in. It's fun to play "tour guide" and take friends to all the touristy places around here that I never go to otherwise. And, it forces me to keep my house clean, which is usually not a priority for me if I'm here all by myself. (If you drop in on me unannounced, you'll see what I mean!) Having company saves me from being so much of a hermit, too, and it's great to spend quality time with good friends.  
• I've been in the studio quite steadily. I've made the decision to go ahead and replenish my stock no matter what silver prices are. It is what it is. And, hopefully, my customers will understand the increase in prices and continue to support me. After finishing up a big pile of earrings (see this post) I'm now working on bracelets, as both co-op galleries have sold all that I have.

• I went to my Sister's the weekend before last to celebrate her birthday. (It's actually on August 9, but she's been celebrating all month!) Several of us went to the Washington Duke Inn for dinner and I had the best bison I've ever had. In fact, the entire dinner was excellent. This gorgeous place is located on the campus of Duke University in Durham, NC and is 5-star everything. Their website says: "Since the late 1800s, the Duke name has been associated with both excellence and achievement. The Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club, named for Washington Duke himself, is proud to carry on that prestigious tradition, excelling in providing exceptional service and gracious southern hospitality."  And that is certainly true. I don't get to go to "fancy" places much any more and it was a wonderful treat.
• Time to go run the vacuum cleaner and do some dusting for the next round of visitors. I'll try to keep up with the Friday Foto theme this week, too, so please check in then.

Friday Foto

Lola sometimes gets jealous of my computer.

I'm going to start this ~~ A simple post on Fridays of a picture and a description. I'm hoping it will encourage me to take more pictures. I promise they won't all be Friday Feline Fotos, but Lola is such a fun (and cute) subject, so you'll probably see her quite a bit. We'll see how long I can keep this up.