Farmer Piper on Duty!

I've been MIA here I realise. But life, which was already chaotic (see last week's post!) has been raised to a whole new level this week with my responsibilities increased to 'farmer' status by my husband's absence overseas.

This week has included checking troughs, fences and moving stock - with the help of the younger man of the house of course :) I also had to do the farm bookwork which I hadn't done for the last 5 months (ooops). And, I almost forgot, my first time doing my new P&C (school) responsibity of working in the local saleyard canteen! I even got up at 6.30am to bake some fresh blueberry muffins to take along. Yep, a bit keen I admit LOL.

So, it has been a busy, busy week!

Needless to say there hasn't been much happening in the jewellery department. I did help a lovely gentleman find an aquamarine necklace for his wife's birthday and took on some remodelling jobs, but that was about it. I did, however, receive some gorgeous gems from a supplier I only deal with occasionally. I am thrilled with my selection and look forward to the beautiful new pieces that I can feel will spring from these wonderful gemstones.

Summer is almost at an end here with autumn due to start on Monday. The last week has been much cooler in the mornings and some days were a pleasant, mild temperature all day. Quite different to a couple of weeks ago when we were still in the high 30s/low 40s.

I love autumn - the crisp feeling to the air and the cooler days mean you can enjoy the sunshine without feeling like you are going to shrivel up! And cool, almost cold nights mean we can use our duvets again. Time to snuggle up with a good book - reading is a challenge when even sitting there means you break out in a sweat.

I looked out at dusk this evening and saw the bright moon in the still blue sky, with a little high cloud. I grabbed the camera quickly so I could share the sight with you. Isn't it lovely.



It will be busy again this coming week as I play farmer again, then hopefully I can get back on track - I can feel my bench calling me.

Today's pic is of a stylish pair of earrings - a bit longer than I normally make but perfect for a special dinner with your hair worn up? A large oval white freshwater pearl linked by chain to a bright apple-green chrysoprase pebble, more chain and then to stud fittings.

Till next :)

My chaotic life

OK, time to admit it. At least 70% of my life is chaotic. It didn't used to be this way and as I love routine most of the time, I'm sure I'll get past this stage. But it certainly isn't fun at the moment.

Children and computers are the major cause of this chaos. Sound familiar?

Last year, the children would head off to school, the house would be quiet. I could do the housework and then sit happily in my studio and create or do work on the computer. Naturally when shows would be imminent it would be a busier and by the end of the show I would feel quite worn out. (Nothing has changed in that department!)

This year however ALL routine seems to have gone out the window and the result is not pretty! The children are still firmly in holiday mode - sure they're going to school, but homework? And piano practice? And chores? I spend my afternoons and part of the weekend getting tense at everyone for not doing what they're supposed to and sorting out squabbling between the children as to who is going to do what first!

Add into the mix computer problems - a hacked website that took weeks to sort out, the recent trojan virus attack and associated problems. Oh, and a husband that appears to have watched too many aerobatic sequences on You Tube and our download quota being burned up so we're reduced to a snail's pace.

OK, now that I've admitted life is chaotic, it's time to do something about it! A timetable for the children perhaps, or a timetable for me?

Do you ever join in bloggy competitions? I've donated pieces to such events but never hosted one and rarely compete in them even though some sound marvellous. I saw that Monique of Your Cheeky Monkey won some luxurious soaps from Aroma Beauty recently and I know Monique would love them as Jan makes the best soaps around! Then Monique also won a children's hat, organic wool and some sustainable hemp products. That girl should buy a lottery ticket with her luck!

The show in Dunedoo last week was great fun. I saw lots of people I know and introduced new people to some lovely jewellery! The photo above is a piece that went on the day - lovely bright discs of mother of pearl shell and some sparkling rock crystal quartz. Perfect for summer, which we're not finished with yet down here :)

Till next!
Annette

Valentine's Day on the way and more rain - splash!

Another week flying by. We had around 4 inches of rain over the last week, although most of it fell in one day! The wet, almost misty and warm conditions mean that the feed in the paddocks is bulking up nicely and should see us through the first part of winter. Of course the hay hasn't faired too well. Hubby was actually baling when the rain started, and it didn't just start with a light misty type of rain, it RAINED. So the hay is still on the ground although he's gone to rake it this morning and see if it is worth saving.

I've been working on my site the last couple of days - I recently had an upgrade and things went very strange! So while the crinkles are being ironed out I put up a new pic on the front page. As we're still in high summer here, I think its very suitable, even though my readers from across the pond will be thinking 'that woman is FREEZING'!.

I recently mentioned how we all end up at weird and wonderful blogs by clicking on link after link. Do you ever check where your bloggy visitors have come from or where you are being mentioned? Someone advised me eons ago to register with Google Alerts and so its amazing to see where you get mentioned. Last night I received an alert that told me I was mentioned on the Business Mums Network. Thanks for the mention Melissa!

I've been browsing around Etsy again (that place is just addictive!) and found these cute little owl pins by Spinal Fusion in Chicago. And I bought hubby's Valentine's card from JBART in Washington State and some gorgeous little mini Valentine's from Twig Studio in North Carolina! Wonder what I'll find next week (yeah I know, sometimes I need to close my eyes LOL).

In honour of St. Valentine, today's pic is a BIG sponge coral heart on a strand of stunning pearls. I'm at the Dunedoo Show next week - pop in and say hello if you're there!

Till next :)
Annette

What a week - school is back, a nasty virus, the Grammy's and an Award

Wow, what a week. Not only have the munchkins returned to school, my computer mysteriously slowed up and I wasn't able to use a browser, so couldn't get online!!! It ended up being a nasty Trojan virus that snuck in somehow and wasn't picked up by my anti-virus software :( Thank goodness for the helpful soul at Microsoft Answers who gave me great advice that I followed and consequently seem to have solved my problems. Of course, what would have taken 15 minutes to do without the virus, took over 3 days!!! Very, very frustrating.

The children have settled into their new school brilliantly. They have made lots of new friends, are liking their teachers and overall are quite thrilled to be there. Such a difference to the end of last year, when they were dragging their heels at anything to do with school. My eldest is now in high school and I think the set up of lots of different teachers and subjects suits him down to the ground.

I managed to watch the Grammy's this week - as we all know I love to look at the jewels, although I rarely sit through a whole awards presentation. However due to a small mishap, I spent the evening on the floor in front of the TV.

(OK: this is why: the children were making up their jigsaw puzzles and had them all spread out on cardboard sheets on the lounge room floor. The door was open, a big gust of wind came in, lifted up the cardboard and puzzle pieces went everywhere. So what's a mother to do? Make them all up again so then put them away complete!! Do you know HOW LONG it takes to do a dozen or so jigsaw puzzles from 50 - 300 pieces each when they're all mixed up!!! No wonder I had time to watch the Grammy's!)

Anyway, I must say I really enjoyed it, particularly how they matched some newer faces with older established artists. It was quite spectacular and on the jewellery front those gals are certainly into bling. Lots of wow-factor diamonds!!

I've also been checking out the fashions at the Paris couture shows when I can. Of course, it's mostly unwearable-by-mortals clothing, but the jewellery was pretty amazing. Galliano (Dior), Lagerfield (Chanel), and Armani had big statement pieces, particularly for evening wear, that covered all the major types of jewellery - necklaces/chokers, earrings, bracelets/cuffs, rings and brooches (the latter worn in the hair or as a jacket closure).

The Tuscon gem shows are also in full swing and I keep hearing about tantalising new things being shown. I would just love to be able to go one year *sigh* but till then, I'll keep living vicariously! Have you ever noted how many events are held in Tuscon? I also saw a reference to the Tuscon Quilt Craft and Sewing Festival later in the year on the Road Home Quilting blog. THE destination for shows and festivals it seems!

Back down to earth, however, I have my first show coming up in less than a fortnight - the Dunedoo Show on Saturday, 13 February. This will be my second year there and I will be in or adjacent to the ladies pavillion. I don't know what other artisan/craftswomen will be there - I could hope for a lovely turnout as mentioned by Elena at her recent Handmade Show, but maybe that might be stretching things a bit! I will be taking lots of my new pieces along so the ladies will have lots of pretty things to look at. Pictured above is one such piece - amber, carnelian and pearls in wonderful shades - apple green, fiery orange, beaten bronze, cranberry and mauve. It makes me happy just to look at it :D

While I've been off the air, I received this award

from the lovely I am NOT a VOLCANO and other such stories. I am to pass this on to newly discovered lovely blogs...enjoy!

The Laurel Hedge
Escapade
Dustjacket Attic
Dress Design Decor
Plush Palate

Click, click, click, where will you end up?

Don't you just love how surfing the internet can lead you to the most extraordinary places? Places you never PLANNED to go to and in some cases didn't even know existed?

I will often click on a link, then another link and another and another. By doing this I have come across the weird, the ho-hum and the beautiful! And have you noticed that some sites (blogs particulary) can have the oddest sort of names that you wouldn't normally dream of reading further, yet when you visit them you see that they're doing a brilliant job :)

Some inspirational pictorial sites I have found in the last couple of weeks are Bush Belles (she found me actually and left a comment. I always like to return the favour and found a lovely blog that I now follow). Through Bush Belles I found a link to The Bottom of the Laundry Basket that I now follow as well... and then through there I clicked a link to Bright Bold & Beautiful and now I follow there too! Bloggers aren pretty amazing at spreading the word, aren't we!?

Today was another case of ending up in an unplanned but inspirational place. I was looking at the very pretty key fobs at Bags by Melanie. I ended up doing a little cruising around while I was there (well, that ALWAYS happens when you're on Etsy - it's never a stay of just a few minutes) I saw some things I liked, read that shop's profile and visited their blog. Then I clicked on a link of an Australian store doing upcycled tote bags. They were donating a bag to Hearts for Haiti which I clicked on to find out more. We are all aware of the terrible earthquakes that struck Haiti less than 2 weeks ago. I have already donated funds in the Hope For Haiti Now fundraiser but I wanted to see what this Etsy store was doing.

In this case the wonderful Etsians have banded together and in a few short days have already donated over 2000 items to this Etsy store with all proceeds (less Etsy and Paypal fees) being forwarded to DoctorsWithoutBorders (MédeçinsSansFrontières) specifically for Haitian relief. When I looked this morning the shop had already raised over $16000USD! I can't donate an item as I no longer have an Etsy shop, but I did buy a couple of things :)

I would love to insert an etsy- mini here to show off some of their items, but I have no idea how to! (Yes, I AM technologically challenged.) So click here and visit their store and check out the wonderful things you can purchase and by doing so, send some money help the relief effort in Haiti.

Needless to say, I haven't achieved an awful lot today (surfing the net does that to you!). The children do return to school later this week and although the end of my week is going to be frantic, I have high hopes for the following week when hopefully the dust has settled!

Luckily I was productive on the weekend so the week is not a total loss. At top is a photo of a necklace made with the most gorgeous 'v' or branched freshwater pearls. I assume that they started as two 'stick' pearls and having been moved around by the mussel, they sat next to each other and the nacre built up, joining them together at one end. I think they are fun, a little funky and definitely different.

Till next :)
Annette

A typical day during holiday time

I can't believe how fast the days are flying past. Our days seem to be jam-packed, even though we're not necessarily going somewhere or achieving much! And I'm sure last holidays I got to just sit back and relax, read a few books and so on.

Take today for example. I got up at around 7am, put a load of washing on, got everyone up and dressed and breakfasted, cleaned up after brekky, encouraged the children to practice their scales, hung out the washing, put all the recycling in the car, picked some roses and headed off to town. I'm basically immobile for almost two hours while I wait for piano lessons to be done and have a quick chat to the teacher. Then off to the garbage tip with the recycling, down the street to pick up a few groceries, a quick visit to some acquaintances that are moving next month, the obligatory chat with people you know that you see in the street and home for a (late) lunch. Half an hour later, my neighbour drops off her 6 month old little boy for a couple of hours of babysitting duties while she takes her toddler to swimming lessons. After he went home I chatted to a friend for a while on the phone, chatted to hubby about his day and then it was time for the dinner, bath, bed routine.

See what I mean?

I must admit, I have also learned about fibreglassing this week and spent a half a day this week helping hubby in the shed. But that's about as much as I have to show for the week! Time is just slipping away and I hate to say it, but roll on school so I can get back into some sort of routine!!

The daily babysitting for the last week or so has been enlightening. I didn't realise how much I had forgotten about children being babies! Rex is a lovely little boy, very content and easy (except for today - but apart from admitting he threw up on me, dribbled on me and grizzled or cried for the whole 2 hours, we won't go there!). I've got back my confidence in dealing with little ones and have also realised that I'm rather glad that stage is over for me!

I started a wish list of things I should have if this babysitting lark continued and the most important one I think is a splat mat! I remember my children having them and they were invaluable to keeping the floor in some semblance of cleanliness! I found some lovely ones at Your Cheeky Monkey. Personally I prefer this one, but I don't think Rex would be too fond of it - this one is more up a boy's alley!

For other things I would probably head off to Swap it Baby, a site I found through the Business Mums Blog. It seems like a great idea for swapping all sorts of child related goods.

Oh, and I guess I must also confess to spending a couple of hours checking out the red carpet at both the Critics Choice and Golden Globe awards ceremonies in the last week. Strapless and one shouldered gowns abounded (again) and earrings, earrings, earrings! So, pictured above is a pair of earrings from my creative time last week - citrine trillions on goldfill chain - delicate but gorgeous :)

Till next :)
Annette

School holidays whizzing past...

The school holidays are going by so fast and unlike last year where I felt as though I had a good rest, this year it feels like I've been very social and haven't had much time to just sit back and chill.

We've alternately had hot hot days or a drop or two of rain in the last couple of weeks. Here's a pic from late afternoon last week - although it looked promising it actually didn't rain much here at all. Maybe next time?



I've been productive at my bench at least with a lovely bunch of high quality gem earrings, pearl earrings and some pearl necklaces, classic and funky, made this week. After I've been away from my bench for a couple of weeks it's so lovely to sit down and let the creativity flow and enjoy the beautiful gems. The top photo is of a pair of fat, white freshwater pearls topped with a cluster of multi coloured tourmaline. Aren't they scrumptious!?

Keeping the creative juices isn't so hard when there are great shows that support handmade. I noticed on Elena's EP Designs site a great show she's attending tomorrow (16 January) in Oakleigh, Melbourne - the Handmade Show. The sub header states "supporting local crafters, keeping the love of creating alive". What a great aim and I hope they do really well. I still hope (in vain!?) for a show like that to come up near here... waiting, waiting.... LOL.

For a little smile, enjoy the following that I found on Jill's Liv'n Good Jewelry Blog Line 'em up boys :)



Till next :)
Annette