The Patter of Rain on a Tin Roof

As I type this I hear the patter of rain in the background. Rain against a tin roof - there's nothing like it, especially when you really need it! Australia is such a big country - and while the central part of the eastern coast has been literally submerged in wet weather we have remained dry. Living on a farm makes you attuned to the weather and what it can do - and the lack of grass is having an effect, with the need for supplementary feeding. Changing the stock into new paddocks is more to give the cows a change of scenery than more feed! So, I am enjoying the raindrops for as long as they last and wish those affected on the coast could blow some more this way!!

Have you ever looked at where your web visitors come from - I've been watching my blog visitors lately and its amazing the way they find you, the most random searches - albeit for me it is something to do with either gemstones or jewellery. And the locations! There are some places I've never heard of (which I actually find rather embarrassing!). In the last week I've had lots of visitors from the UK, whereas my visitor list is usually dominated by US or Australian locations. I wonder why? Where do most of your visitors come from?

I must thank Anne of The Tall Poppy for a recent award - the Welcoming Blogger Award! She reckons I'm always popping up and welcoming newbies along and I must admit that I do like doing that - after all, you never know who you could meet!



Of course I've been doing the rounds of my arts/crafts online buddies and this week I must draw attention to two outstanding artists.

The first is Carol of The Blue Cat. Carol stumbled on my blog a few months ago, followed me over to Creative Bloggers and has been a stalwart supporter there. I love popping into her blog and seeing her gorgeous artwork - she has an affinity for our feline friends and imbues such personality into them that they are just adorable! She sells on various online marketplaces and they're certainly lucky to have such a talented artist on their books!

The other talented woman is Sayo - a fellow maker of jewellery and I just love her big silver rings with a lovely big fat natural crystal! It really appeals to the gemmologist in me I guess!!! Do check out her blog where you can see her great work - bet you buy a piece ;)

I would also like to urge any ladies downunder to join the marvellous Connect2mums network - I have already made some wonderful friends there and I'm sure I will find a lot more. It is so wonderful to have such a network for those of us down here in Australia as usually our only option for such camaraderie is based overseas. Of course, in true spirit of my above award I'm welcoming everyone aboard!

OK, I had better include a picture of something I've made recently. Ah yes, a torsade. I only make these occasionally as they are very time consuming - getting the colours just right and not just the combination, but the percentages of each colour. The last one I featured here on my blog sold the first time it was seen in real life, so I decided to make another. This one is a little more subdued in the colour, but very delectable! Made with freshwater pearls in sage, bronze-copper and cranberry, rich red garnet and some sparkling smoky quartz.

Till next :)