The busyness

Where to start?
Here are some things that have been keeping me busy, of late:

1. Planning

Jody and I are thinking seriously of moving. Out of the country. So I dropped off my Canadian passport application a week ago - which was not terribly painful, but it was annoying and expensive. The law has been changed so that I can't just amend my passport; I had to completely reapply-- and pay again-- for a new one with my new last name, despite the fact that the one I got for my South Africa sojourn is good for another 3 years.
Today I am going to Vancouver last-minute to get a family friend of Jody's to sign his application and passport photos for the UK. We had this done a week ago, except that my first round of photos got rejected (too fuzzy; flash wasn't working where we got them taken) so we figured Jody's would be rejected also. He got them retaken on Saturday and we brought the photos to church on Sunday - but our pastor is now on vacation until August. So, now we have to find a new guarantor to sign his photos and application. Which means going to Vancouver, since Jody has no one here that has known him two years in a professional capacity.

(Fortunately this little trip means I can spend the ferry ride with friends of mine who have been visiting from out-of-province, but haven't been able to catch up with me. Yay!)

There's also financial planning, and job planning - which of course are related. Ah, spreadsheets. We are spreadsheet-happy right now; I think we have at least half a dozen going. I need to figure things out like RRSPs and my student loan repayment plan. I think the time has come for professional help, now that we have some sort of outline of where we are and where we want to be come winter.

2. Job Search

This has been sliding to the back of my mind. Yesterday I found an ad for a secretary that sounded interesting, so tomorrow I'll drop a resume by. No luck with bookstores or the library. Jody keeps joking that I could apply to drive a horse-drawn carriage and spend the rest of the summer in the hospital from asthma attacks, but I don't think that would be lucrative either.

3. Beadwork

Despite not having a job, I have managed to earn some money. I have sold some of my beadwork - to family, so far, but others have expressed interest. BeadedWishes is now on Etsy. At the moment I have only listed one item, but it looks like it works because it's had more than the 2 views from myself. So now I will put up more items and see what happens!
Jody and I spent a few hours this weekend just making the banner and profile picture for Etsy, and I'm very happy with how professional and fun they look.

4. Veronica Mars

We are addicted. I think we've watched 8 episodes this weekend. We're almost midway through the 3rd season now, and I'm sad that it's almost over.

5. Books

Recent reads:
The Host - Stephenie Meyer
Persuasion - Jane Austen
Sweetness in the Belly - Camilla Gibb
Spook Country - William Gibson

and writing:
Turned - a work in progress! I hope I get to write more on my trip today.

It's 9:15 now so I'd better get going - a few things to do before I head out!

Creative wineglass usage

I was playing with afternoon light and a wineglass today in order to photograph the collection of earrings I'm sending off to my aunt tomorrow.

The Mad Midnight Beader

I have been doing beadwork the past two late nights in a row. Last night it was due to having no earrings to wear with my black and white print sundress. I had a wedding to go to, and quite frankly it was easier to make, rather than find, black and white jewelry. Tonight, I was inspired to work on the cluster earrings I had planned for my grandmother. She asked me to create a second set of earrings to match another necklace she had, and pretty much gave me free rein again since she loved the jade and olive stone drops I made her last time. (See previous post: Beads of 2008, top photo.)

Unfortunately my EeePC doesn't like our old Fuji camera's USB, so the pictures will have to come later. But oh my goodness, the new earrings are fantastic. The black and white came together really quickly, and were just the thing. Tonight's pair, though--my fourth pair today--are even more fantastic. They took me almost an hour because I was measuring chain (12 lengths of it) and working with very very tiny pearls and crystals.

I am calling them Swarovski Waterfall earrings, because 4/6 beads are Swarovskis- 2 crystals of slightly different shades, and 2 pearl-coated crystals that look like luminous pearls. The other two beads are Rhodonite, a rich dusty rose coloured stone. I hung each one from a length of fine antique gold chain, using a gold headpin. When they were all on chains of varied lengths, I strung them in ascending order on a straight pin, bent it into a circle and attached it to the earring hook. Now, they look like a dainty waterfall of rose and pink, which hopefully will work with the bead-and-shell necklace my Gramma has. Oh, they are so pretty. A lot of work, but so pretty!

The other earrings I worked on today are for a set of 6 I am sending to my aunt for her gift cupboard. I did two yesterday, so that leaves just one more for her. I haven't quite decided if I'll work with stone chips again, or do a chandelier pair for a change. Still, I'm pleased with the work I've done this weekend. :)

Beads of 2008

Picture 1: Commercially made necklace with earrings I created to match.
Antique gold findings with olive stone (top), Nephrite jade, South China jade, and bead caps (lower).
Picture 2: Chain, glass bead and crystal earrings
Picture 3: Happy Birthday Jane set - multicoloured seed beads and glass
Picture 4: Happy Spring set - dual-layer floating necklace of glass and seed beads, with squeeze clasp
Picture 5: Happy Spring set - closeup, with silver filigree post drop earrings

Beads Galore!

These are my newest earrings - they are articulated, with two separate posts joined by loops.
The tiny silver-and-seed-bead drops in the last picture are my other recent creation, for size comparison.
Picture 1: Blue Goldstone, black round beads and clear/grey colour-lined seed beads
Picture 2: Crystal, glass beads, and gold filigree balls
Picture 3: Crystal, glass beads and textured gold balls
Picture 4: Side-by-side comparison for size

Beads of 2007

Pictures 1 & 2: Pink Birthday set: floating dual-layer necklace with cowgirl-inspired chandelier earrings
Picture 3: Chain and glass bead earrings
Picture 4: Silver chandelier earrings with blue, teal and purple seed beads