Bragging Rights: Linda Conti

Linda did a great job beading Bogart and Bergman from this classic scene of Cassablanca. Love the framing as well. If you like the pattern find it HERE

Overweight? Really???

So I took my Parrot to the Vet. Just a check-up. A look in the beak to check for infections parrots can get. A clip of the wings and claws. Just normal type stuff.

And as with most medical check ups, what is the first thing they do?

That’s right, you gotta face the scale. Lucy was no different.

My "Chubby" parrot

“Your bird is overweight!”  

WHAT???? You have got to be kidding!! How can that be possible?? She eats bird food (with fruits and the occasional treat such as cheese or yogurt or a teaspoon of ice cream). Most of the food gets wasted and flung out of the cage.

I looked at Lucy. Overweight???  I have seen that bird, wet after a shower. Feathers soaked and plastered on her little parrot body. The Cornish Game Hen I have in my freezer looks morbidly obese compared to her even plucked and dehydrated from freezer burn. And if you ever had a Cornish Game Hen, you know there isn’t much to feast off of with one of them. Don’t waste your time, go for a big fat chicken instead.

Just how much weight should a bird that weighs about 700 grams lose?? Really?? And what program for birdies is there? A birdie weight-watchers? Birdie overeaters anonymous??

Later, I heard a radio host talking about American pets in general tend to be like many of their owners. Overweight.

The talk show host said he wanted to buy a used saddle for his horse, but the store owner advised him against buying a particular saddle because it was quite old and does not fit a “normal” sized horse these days. Horses in general have gotten “wider”. The talk show host was as befuddled with that as I was about my “overweight” parrot.

I have seen a lot of dogs and cats that are without a doubt overweight. Their bellies scrape the ground. They are as wide as they are tall. Some dogs will eat like little pigs. Anything and everything is food. They may have just eaten a full meal and they will still beg at the dinner table. If the owner does not take the dog for a walk or have some form of exercise, these little food churners become fat.

But my parrot??? OVERWEIGHT???

How much does she actually eat?? Really it does not seem much. As I said, she wastes a lot of her food (as most birds do). I guess maybe the problem is lack of exercise. With clipped wings so she can’t fly away, flying is not an option for a normal routine.

Lucy would have no part of this!!

Putting her on a leash and taking her for a long walk isn’t an option either. I bought the birdie harness and gave up putting one on her. I was afraid that the Society for the Prevention of Animal Abuse would come at my door with all the squawking and feathers flying that occurred while trying to get her into one.

No diet for me!! I eat like a bird to begin with!

There may be a niche market that bird lovers are missing. Perhaps I should invent a birdie treadmill,  kinda like a hamster wheel to exercise parrots. Unlike a hamster, the parrot will not go into it willingly. A gentle shove, close the door and turn the motor on (timed so you don’t forget to turn it off) and then the little birdie legs will have to move to keep up.

Nah….I love my Parrot as she is. Overweight or not. Fat and happy is the motto in this house, and I am sticking with it.

But for me…I am off to the gym, for both of us.

Book Review:Showcase 500 Beaded Jewelry

First, my disclosure....The Publishers at Lark Crafts/Sterling Publishing sent me this book to review on my blog. They do NOT pay me for the review, other than the book(s) that they sent me for review.

Showcase 500 Beaded Jewelry

Ray Hemachandra

Lark Crafts/Sterling Publishing

2012

Paperback 532 pages $27.95

ISBN 978-1-4547-0316-7

I dunno. I just dunno if my heart can take this book.

I am writhing on the floor from what can only come from an overdose. My eyes are glazed. I am drooling and incoherent. I am wondering if I will ever return back to "normal".

No, please don't send the paramedics. I am not sure I want a cure. They may take this drug...er....book away from me. I will need more of it shortly.

I have had this book for a few days now. I STILL have not looked at all of it. I went into overload. This is not the sort of book (if you are a REAL beader) to flip through. Each page, each submission needs to be studied. There are some pieces that must have been made by some sort of beading goddess that can transcend the laws of physics.

To be 100% honest (and risk sounding like the boy in the Emperor's New Clothes) there are a few pieces that I wonder why/how they got into a book with such artistic pieces. (Strung beads of wood that look like something I found at Goodwill for example). But I suppose a few slips are ok in a book otherwise full of artisty.

If you have a favorite bead artist, you will most likely find that artist's work in this book (Ok you won't find any of mine. I really aught to start submitting to some of these "casting calls").You will find the who's who of the beading world such as Marge Deeb, Marsha Wiest-Heines, Nome May, Huib Petersen and that's just to name a few. Other lesser known artists included will likely become household names after being included in this book.

This book is a "MUST" for any aspiring beader, novice or experienced. 

Run, don't walk to buy this book.

I think I will now go off to get another dose of this book!

An Exotic International Trip Without Leaving The Country

As much as I might wish I could support myself through beadwork (and writing), and as much as I may hate dragging myself to my day job, my day job does have its pleasurable moments.

Yesterday was one of those days. The inspection was easy. The owners of the business were very nice and accommodating. It was a very pleasant visit.

But what made it special was that they had zebras! Eight of them! The zebras were a surprise. They were not part of the business. The owner decided that his hobby would be to take in zebras that are circus rejects. For whatever reasons, these zebras just did not cut it for the circus acts.

These zebras have a pampered life. Plenty to eat, in a nice grassy environment. No worries of lions, or dried up water holes. No silly circus acts, no whips, nothing to do but eat, sleep and kick up their hoofs if they so choose.

After the inspection, we went up to the zebras. Nosey as they were, they came up to the fence single file. I got to pet one. It was one of those job perks of seeing things that the general public does not get to see, which makes the job fun and interesting.

It was almost like being on a mini safari in Africa.

On my way back to the office, I made another discovery that took me "out of the country". A new (2 months old) restaurant that is family owned had opened up. It was the sign that said "Mediterranean Food" that caught my eye. Signs that say that (or fresh baked bread) have the same effect on me as the flame does to the moth. I have to go towards it, no matter what the consequence!

"Mediterranean food"is often code for Mideastern food. Flavors of the Arabic countries, Turkey or Greece come to mind. Occasionally Italian food is also part of this distinction, but as I hoped, this restaurant was of the Arabic/Turkish variety.  This restaurant is owned by a Jordanian family. Turkish food is quite similar to Arabic food. Just some of the names are a little different, and some minor changes in spices. But if you are not very familiar to the distinctions of the types of cuisines, you might never notice.

Boy was it good. I opted for the Koefte wrap. Ground beef with seasonings shaped over a flat metal skewer and grilled. This Koefte was then put on Lavash (a thin flat bread) with lettuce, onion, tomato and tahini sauce. Add some harissa (a type of hot sauce) and YUMMY!!

The arabic style music playing  added the perfect ambiance. I felt as if I were in Turkey.

Not bad! A visit to Africa and Turkey all in one day without the long arduous flight. And I was home by dinner time!!

Bragging Rights: Andrea Dorin

Andrea did a great job with the Art Nouveau Tiles found on my website http://www.beadedbear.com

What is great about these patterns is that you can combine them any way you like. Buy a bunch and combine them all, use just a few, and separate them with solid color tiles or use just one for a necklace. Whatever you do with them, you are the creator, using the building blocks for your own unique piece of art unlike any other. Andrea created a genuinely beautiful tapestry, don't you agree??

Bragging Rights: Lavonne Carlson

This is a huge pattern. It is 29 X 11 inches and has 92,736 beads!! Lavonne did a great job. Love the choice of frame too!  If you like the pattern, you can find it HERE

The Last Supper

Best Efforts to Spread Cheer....

Start of day            End of day

A Monday at work.   Harrumph!

Double Harrumph as coming back from a mid week holiday followed by taking the remainder of the week off “just because” to do nothing in particular is always a bit depressing .

I can’t say I was exactly thrilled to be in the office but I did try to keep a “cheerful attitude”.

I greeted my manager with a cheery “Good Morning Sunshine!” (I tease him regularly so this is not out of the ordinary).

My cheerful greeting was met with something less than cheerful. “Either share your happy pills or take them elsewhere!”

I do not have happy pills. I have no pills at all. Not even an aspirin.

So I slinked off elsewhere.

Sheesh!

Other coworkers seemed to have also been in a semi bad mood.

As was the person who gave me my morning coffee.

And the person who gave me my sandwich at lunch time.

And the person at the fruit stand where I bought some fresh veggies for dinner.

No matter how cheerful my greeting, or friendly my “thank-you” was today to anyone I spoke with, it was greeted with a grunt, or other display of general unhappiness if not outright annoyance that I was so cheerful with them.

I have come to think that as much as we say we love happy cheerful people, that perhaps we don’t. Or at least we can’t stand it when someone is happier than we are.

Have you ever been in a crabby mood, and just hated being around someone who is all happy and bubbly? Have you ever just wanted to squeeze the Happy out of them as you would toothpaste from the tube?

They say happiness is contagious. I don’t know about that. It takes work to be happy at times. And being around someone happy does not make a grumpy person change their outlook. Sometimes it just makes them grumpier because they “want” to be happy, but can’t seem accomplish the mood change.

I am drained trying to spread my cheer onto unappreciative, unreceptive people. I think I will stay in my corner, with my happy dog, my happy parrot and my ever glowing beads. Maybe tomorrow, I will try on my grumpy face and join the club.

Just Can't Get Close Enough

Does this ever happen to you?

You just want a little space. A little elbow room. It's not much to ask. Even in a public place where there is lots of room for everyone. But although you might be the only one there, someone has to be right next to you?

I had that happen twice today.

First time was at the gym. It was early. There was hardly anyone there. I plunked myself on an eliptical.
There are a total of 24 of these machines. 12 on each side of the room. There was one lady on one about 2nd from the end. I chose #6 from the end. Still 6 more on the other side of me. And 12 more empty ones across the aisle.

In comes a lady and plunks herself right next to me (the one you can see in the photo.  I was on the eliptical immediately to her right.) I don't know why I found that to be soooo annoying. I guess it's kinda like being in a roomy elevator and you are the only one in it until someone else gets in and has to stand within 3 inches of you.

Isn't there an unspoken rule that we try to spread out when we can?

Then later in the day, I stopped at a store. I tend to park away from the masses, even if it means I walk a bit. I don't know why I do this. I just do. A big vast empty parking lot. I am the only one in that area. And wouldn't you know it? Someone had to park right next to me. Not one spot away, right NEXT to me.

The silver car is mine. Note the nearly
empty lot.

Again...why do I find this annoying?

I never thought I was such a magnetic personality that attracts people to need to be close to me. But I guess that is the answer. What other explanation can there be??

Bragging Rights: Billur Alanyali

Billur is from Istanbul, Turkey. This is where I saw the Whirling Dervishes in an amazing display of spirituality (albeit for the benefit of tourists). It was a real treat. I think this pattern turned out really nice!

If you like the pattern, you can find it HERE

Can It Get Any Better??

A Sunday afternoon. The company of my daughter. Steve is asleep somewhere in the house. A sunny day, that is not too hot with a light breeze. My "Zombie" cup with a pina colada, and my beads.

I think think this is a perfect afternoon.

I am working on the "Deruta" pattern for my Traveling Bracelet blog which is #7. Bracelets #7 and #8 are spoken for. I will have 2 more (as of yet unassigned and not yet designed). I THINK I will stop at 10....  ;)

But it is a perfect afternoon. Just taking a momentary break from the beads, stretch my legs....maybe I should take the dog for a walk?

Nah...the beads and the pina colada are calling!!


A WHILE LATER...................

My daughter has left to go home. It feels hotter as the sun is beginning to hit my work area (do I really need to move the table). My pina colada is gone. The wind has picked up and blown my pattern onto the ground for the 5th time,  in the dirt where it was wet. I spilled my beads, I have a big knot in my thread. I think I hear Steve spouting off about some dumb thing. Flies are bombarding me.

Maybe now it is time to walk the dog.

But still, all in all, it was a great afternoon.

And don't you ever forget to enjoy every moment as much as you can. You just never know when things can change!