Sit A Spell With Me, Won't You?

Won't you sit a spell with me?

We Can Sit Here and Enjoy the Morning,...

The Big Bird is Watching Us From Across The Lake In The Neighbor's Yard

The Grapefruit Are Starting to Look More Ripe,...

Grapefruit "Sunning" Themselves

Coco's Being Too Loud Now So We Have To Go In,....

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and This or That Thursdays!

Cheers,

~Shel~

What's Today??

Okay - so it's Thursday! 

Yesterday I missed BTW (Bead Table Wednesday)

and today I've missed

"This or That Thursday" over on Deb Duty's blog. 

My excuse you ask?

Well, Sunday night the hubby and son came home from camping and motorbiking in the desert with the son's wrist all tweaked out! 

Monday was spent at the Doctor's office and

over at the X-Ray place checking things out.

Tuesday morning was another trip to the Doctor's office

to get a splint when we found out it wasn't broken

(thank goodness!) but only sprained.

Wednesday found us back at the Doctor's office after school to learn that the same child now has strep throat! 

Geeze,...this kid barely goes to the doctor once a year,...and now,...three times in three days!

Holy Cow Smokes Batman!

Yes, Marsha, I said it again!

(Now EVERYONE knows what a total dork I am!!)

Today was spent waiting hand and foot on above mentioned teenager who, due to being sick, seemed like he was 5 years old again!!

So, tomorrow I'm hoping that a few things will get back to normal and regular posts to the blog will continue. 

But hey, how un-fun is life when things are always

normal and predictable, right?

So, Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and a little bit of Chaos!

Cheers

~Shel~

Oh - and for those of you who haven't signed up yet for the Holiday Shop Hop - hop on over to the original post and read all about it and then send me your info via email to: Shel@asicj.com

It'll be fun!!

This or That Thursday!

It's This or That Thursday over on Deb Duty's Blog Today.

Thank goodness for 'auto-posting' so that I could participate today when I'm actually not here!

Rusted pipe from the cabin after the fire this summer

This is,...well, it's just RUST!

I love the texture of rust and it's fun to play with when photographing!

Enjoy!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Texture Fun!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Music To My Eyes

It's This or That Thursday over at Deb Duty Photography today. 

Won't you play along?

 

My Uncle gave my Dad this violin. 

My dad gave both his violin and this one to my sister. 

Awhile back, she so graciously gave this one to me. 

From what we can tell by the shoulder strap imprint,

it will be 100 years old in October 2012.

I wanted to restore it but felt that if I did, all the hands that had touched it, the sounds that came from it and the past it represented, would melt away. 

So I enjoy it by taking it out every now and then,...touching it, listened in my head for the songs and sounds to come to me and feeling a closeness to the people who are no longer here.

 

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Timeless Memories

Cheers,

~Shel~

Shel's Friday Fav's

This Friday I'm starting something new
(well, new on my blog, anyway!).

I'll be sharing with you some sites I think are really worth stopping by and checking out! 

And, just so you know, I'm not talking all
bead and jewelry related blogs/sites here either. 

I'll be sharing all sorts of sites and blogs like photography, fashion, entertainment, etc.

But of course I'll have some fav's loaded with
artisan beads, fun tutorials, pearls
(you knew there'd be pearls - I mean, come on,....!!) 
and tons of handcrafted jewelry
to fulfill your fantasies as well!

So, please join me for "Happy Hour" and Shel's Friday Fav's!

Today I'm giving some blog lovin' to some of my all time fav's!

First there's Lori Plyler's Blog - Studio Waterstone. 

Lori does it ALL!
And, she does it all very well!

  Not only does Lori host "I Heart Macro" Sunday's
(Sharing the LOVE up-close!)

she designs some of the most amazing purses and bags you'll ever want to drool over and
she's the artist who put together my blog banner 
(along with many other people's).

Plus, she's always got something "cooking in the kitchen"! 

So, hop on over and enjoy all that Lori at Studio Waterstone has to offer!

Next up this week is Deb from Deb Duty Photography! 

I found Deb's blog while participating in
'I Heart Macro'  one week.

Deb's pictures caught my eye and she continues
to amaze me each week with her photos. 

Deb also hosts "This or That" Thursdays on her blog.

The  amazing photography these participants contribute,  I mean seriously folks - I just sit back in complete awe each week.

 Be sure to check out Deb's blog.
You will be so happy that you did!

Next up is a blog I read each day,....rain or shine. 

It's Kate McKinnon's blog. 

Okay, you jewelry peeps know who Kate is, but for those of you who don't know Kate,...She's this kick-ass, deep-thinking, creative genius! 

Everything she touches, from seed beads to PMC to photography to writing - you name it - it just ROCKS! 

The Jewerly Architect by Kate McKinnon

And, I love the fact that she's not afraid to use the "F" word weekly (if not daily!) in her blog!  It cracks me up!   

She packs her blog full of super advice, lovely designs,  mouth-watering inspiration, and so much more!

 AND she shares it all with this "free-living-spirit, take-no-shit attitude" that's so refreshing, and she shows lots of pictures of Tucson (where we used to live) and so I love catching those!! 

You'll seriously want to check her out!

So, there's my line up for this week.

There's so many more,
but I won't hold you hostage any longer!

Go check out these super great blogs and please feel free to send me some really cool, "kick-ass" blogs you think I should check out and possibly feature here for Shel's Friday Fav's!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Blog Lovin'!

Cheers,

~Shel~ 

This or That Thursday!

Treat yourself and gaze at the amazing photography

over on Deb Duty's Blog today for

"This or That Thursday". 

You will be delighted!

I'm in awe of all the talent and the gorgeous photography - what absolute works of art they are!

I play along, even with my little point and click camera, just because I love to see everyone else's pics and because I would love to someday be that talented with a camera in my hand!

So, today, for "This or That Thursday"

I believe that the chili peppers need dusting

(along with probably everything else in my home!)

and that this little bracelet needs a name.

What should her name be?

Now, back to hammering metal for my

mega earring wire orders this week!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and This or That,

Odds and Ends,.....Bits and Pieces!

Cheers,

~Shel~

This or That Thursday!

It's This and That Thursday over at

Deb Duty's Blog today.

You should see the amazing photography that goes on over there  - I mean really, from all over the world - it's breathtaking to say the least!

Here's what's happening this Thursday with me,...I've been having trouble posting to people's blogs for over a week now.  I put the comment in, type in my name and url and then hit the comment button and it just makes the things I typed disappear - "POOF"!

Or, it will tell me that I don't have the authority to comment and asks me to sign in again, and again, and again.

So, I've somehow managed to completely mess something up.  I even googled things to find out I'm not alone in being computer challenged, but nothing suggested has helped (because I probably didn't follow their advice right!).

Needless to say, this has frustrated the daylights out of me to the point where I think I might seriously want to think about switching to de-caf, but only AFTER I chuck the computer into the lake and then lock myself in my studio with some great tunes and a nice bottle of wine this weekend and forget about cyber space for a couple of days!!

Poor Spider - his home was blown away!

I'm sure this little spider, who dashed under the leaf right before I 'clicked', felt the same way this week as all his hard work was totally destroyed in one teeny-weeny second by this big gust of wind - just poof - gone, like my blog comments!

What Lovely Color Will This One Be?

However, seeing there's some beautiful roses ready to burst on to the scene made my computer problems seem completely insignificant - as they are - and both the spider's web and the budding roses made me reflect on how magnificent and fragile, yet strong life, in all forms, is. 

Almost Ready!

How precious, special and what a blessing to be in the midst of it!

(even with computer woes!)

So Precious!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and "Life", Baby!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

This or That Thursday!

It's This or That Thursday over at Deb Duty's Blog today - you should see all the fun photos!!

Today, I'm sharing our fountain that we put out in the front entrance to our house for "Prosperity" - it's working!!

Wishing you all a great Thursday!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Prosperity!

Cheers,

~Shel~

This or That Thursday!

Okay - so I'm playing along with "This or That Thursday" over on Deb Duty's Blog.

Her photograophy is amazing!!  (to say the least!)

My pic for the first This or That Thursday is,....you guessed it:  The Ocean!

San Onofre Beach - Camp Pendleton, California

Sorry, I just can't get enough and I have so many pictures I've taken that inspire me and just plain 'ol call me - I mean, who wouldn't want to be sitting here, right now,

looking at this view? 

San Clemente State Beach Park - California

I can just hear the waves crashing on the beach, smell the salty air and feel the warmth of the sun as it sets. 

t's my litte slice of heaven!

So, get an eye full of great pics and head on over after work to "This and That Thursday" and sit back, relax and be inspired, feel loved, be touched, in awe, or just plain entertained!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Beautiful Pictures of Life!

Cheers,

~Shel~