It's never simple...

June 29, 2009

OK...it's been awhile...I tried to catch up in Colorado, put it in my documents, but it doesn't want to copy/paste...so let's see if this works.

June 8, 20009

So much has happened since I last added to my "Dear Diary"...and right now, as I'm out of touch with the internet, I can't see where I left off, but here goes anyway...pardon my duplication as I'm sure there will be some.

As I remember, I was caught up in researching glass bead making. For a month, I spent every spare minute on the internet, reading "glass bead making forums" and asking questions.

I researched every aspect of bead making...the torch, the fuel, the glass, the ventilation...Studying and comparing...I wanted the most for my money, but didn't want to sacrifice quality.

I stopped by the Jewelry Box and visited with Cheri, the owner. I asked after a bead maker I'd seen at Women's Connection, and she knew who I was talking about, (Karen) and told me how to get in touch with her and said when I got to making beads, to bring them in and she'd sell them for me! What good news! Not making beads yet, and already have someone who is wanting to sell them for me!

I was excited to get ahold of Karen, and she was excited to hear from me. She had not been doing beads, and thought maybe she'd get back into it if she had someone to do it with. After not hearing from her for a week, I called her back...she decided we should meet over at my house, so the next day, she brought her equipment over, and we "did glass beads"...that is, I did 4 beads...the mappgas torch she used got cold and wouldn't provide enough evaporation to make the hot flame, so I gave up in the middle of the fourth bead. I knew then I needed to get a bench burner and have propane and oxygen to get the hot flame I wanted. I also decided it would be better to have an oxygen concentrator than to buy tanked oxygen, as in the long run it would be cheaper...and if I invest this much money, I AM in it for the long haul. I spent a lot of time agonizing over a kiln. Finally in a moment of determination, I "bit the bullet" and ordered a fairly good sized one that should take care of my needs. I have found out I can anneal 300 beads at a time in it. But I'm getting ahead of myself here.

I placed an order for the torch and much of the equipment I needed. While I was waiting on it to arrive, I made a few other purchases toward my end goal...but the most time was spent retrieving my stained glass of 20 years ago from my daughter's out building and my son't barn. Getting it to my house was the easy part. Cleaning each sheet and shard at my kitchen sind...washing, scrubbing and drying, sorting and putting it away. Putting it away is a work in progress. I've bought different pieces of furniture to store it in...have been saving flat boxes and glass jars for the smaller pieces...even getting help from a friend here and there.

Finally the day came when the box arrived. I had my handyman "on call" to install everything, but then I realized the oxygen concentrator wasn't with everything else. I called, but it was coming from the person who reconditions them. Three weeks later, it finally arrives. I anxiously called my handyman, and he came over to hook everything up for me. At noon that day, I considered it to be the first day of the rest of my life. I sat down and actually got to do beads...It seemed like a long time coming, but in actually it gave me time to get my mind ready. Each night I was on the computer preparing myself.

I decided my first objective was to make beads with the hole in the middle of the bead and a dimple in each end of the hole, and after about 600 beads, I'm getting pretty good at it.

Getting ready to go on vacation, I fired up the kiln and annealed somewhere over 600 beads. I gave 50 beads to my son for his church project, and took the rest down to The Jewelry Box. I wanted her to critique my beads and tell me what they could sell for. She said she'd take all I could give her, so I let her have them all. In the first few days she sold $80.00 worth. That's not enough to make a living, but it is encouraging.

On the way out to Colorado I was reading a book called "Beads of Glass" by Cindy Jenkins. With each page I'd tell Sandy, "We gotta go home...I wanna make beads!"

The vacation is going well. I found a place where they make beads and I go in and watch them every few days.l Last Thursday we attended a farmer's market that was really fun and we bought some goodies there. We've been to Loveland and the Loveland Outlet Malls, Walmart, some thrift shops and restaurants. Today we went to Boulder ant the Celestial Seasoning's factory and took the tour. Afterwards we went to The Leaning Tree, which is a western museum. They had a lot of paintings and bronze sculptures. My favorite sculpture was a horse made of old parts you'd find around a barn and/or machine shop...a lot of wrenches, pitchforks, rakes, fly wheels, pulleys and so many other things I can't remember. I need to find out how to put a picture on this website and post a picture of it.

Estes has a wonderful laudry. You can set out front and have a view of Longs Peak. The drive into Estes is up a canyon with a couple of sets of switch backs..a beautiful drive, then when you pop up out of the canyon...there it is...Estes in the valley with Long's Peak and all it's friends towering over the smaller mountains in between.

June 7

I love the song..."What a Wonderful World"...both hearing Louie Armstrong sing it and when my quartet used to sing it. When I hear it on "Muzac" (sp) in the store, I always stop and listen. There's so much beauty in our world, and I've been once again reminded of it as we drive through the Rocky Mountains, up the canyon and along the Northfork of the Thompson River...crossing over the river time and again...seeing the rocks jut out overhead...noting the trees growing, seemingly right out of the rocks...some straight up, others gnarled and twisted by the elements. Wildflowers of many colors growing in the valleys and up the hillsides.

We came to the Rockies early this year...usually we've been out here in August and/or September...this year we came last of May and are here into the first two weeks of June. Temperature difference...more rain...more flowers...in fact, we've been able to enjoy Spring at home and now we're enjoying it all over again here in the mountains. When we arrived, the lilacs were just beginning to bloom...the tulips were still blooming and now the peonies...not only the sight, but being able to smell their scents is a joy.

We're in a two story log cabin just outside Glenhaven, CO. The cabin, a four bedroom with a sleeping porch, is in a canyon with a pretty much straight up canyon wall of rock on either side...right along the river on one side and right next to the road on the other. The lot is long and narrow, with about 20 feet in front, from the house to the road and from the edge of the house back, it's less tjam 15 feet to the edge of the river, which is flowing faster and deeper than it has when we were here in past years, due to the time of year. Many tall pine trees grow up the canyon walls, along with current and other bushes. There's a nice bridge from the corner of the house to the other side of the river...also a garage and a picnic area.

I used to set at the picnic table south of the house and paint, or eat lunch, but feel less comfortable doing so now since one day last year, when I was setting at the dining room table, I realize I was watching a bear make his way down the canyon wall across the river from the house.

The dining room has windows all along one side, so you can set at the table and watch the river run by...also, there is a hummingbird feeder hanging just outside the windows, and we spend a lot of time watching them come and go. We've had as many as 8 hummingbirds vying for a position at the feeder. We've taken many pictures of them, but the screens always run interference.

Glenhaven is a wide spot in the road...but a very beautiful and interesting wide spot. It has three well done "treasure" stores, a small grocery/convenience store, a bead and breakfast, a real estate office, a fire department, a town hall and a post office. The buildings have flowers adorning the outsides, and apopulation of hujmmingbirds swooshing by.

Our group:

The cabin is rented by Marcia and Marvin, friends from church, who have been coming here for around 20 years, with different configurations of guests. Marcia and Marvin travel through out the world with Jesus Films and will be in 5 different countries this year.

Two and three years ago, Orval and Eunice (brother of Marvin) were here. They haven't come the last tow years because of health problems.

Leatrice and John took their place last year and this. Sandy and I cook with Leatrice at the church the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month. They ride out on their motorcycle. They're both tons of fun and really spark up the group when they're there. They do a lot of cooking, infact, when they spent a week with us on one of our Florida vacations, they cooked, cleaned and waited "hand and foot" on Wendell and me. (Thank you Leatrice and John!)

Sandy and Walt (cousin of Marvin's and travel buddies of ours) usually drive out with us...the last three years they've driven and we pay the gas...works well for both of us.

Coni and Bill are from St. Joseph, MO, and have been coming here for years with the Marvin McKinley's. Coni has Parkinson's and Bill is her husband and caregiver. They're in their mid-70's, and just finished building a new home a couple of years ago.

Dee and Alice are neighbors of the Marvin and Marsha's, and both widowed. They are taking the second week of Leatrice and John's, who are the youngsters of the group...in their 50's, so had to return home after one week to get back to work.

June 11, 2009

The vacation is nearly over...After breakfast this morning, we drove up to Estes and went to the farmer's market. It didn't take us long there, as we'd looked at most of it last week and knew what we wanted. At 11:00, we met the other van load of friends at The Egg and I, a breakfast and lunch restaurant. I had a Mexican omelet (wish blogspot had spell check)...it was really good. After brunch we drove to Sprague Lake. Some of the group walked aroud the lake, then we drove up to Bear Lake...again we stayed in the car. We was a couple of herds of elk both on our way up and back...parted ways and we stopped at "the other" glass shop in town...totally do not hae the personality of the first glass shop. Later stopped to have an ice cream treat. I had an upside-down banana-split in a glass...it was yummie!

We got back to the cabin around 6:00 pm, ate a bite of dinner...I warmed up some smoked salmon we had gotten at the farmer's market and some sweet potato fries, left over from yesterday's lunch. Also sliced up some of the Asiago-basil bread we'd gotten at the farmer's market today.

I just finished downloading pictures from one of our cameras, Sandy is making necklaces and the rest of the crew are watching "The Bucket List on Walt's computer.

Tomorrow we'll all be packing up and loading up the vans, as we will be leaving her at about 5:30 am on Saturday.

Although I will miss the Rockies, I am looking forward to being home and getting to make glass beads again. I've been studying my bead book, and looking closely at all the hand made beads in the stores, getting a lot of ideas for making beads. I'm ready to get started and excited about trying all I've learned in the past two weeks.