Happy Monday!

I've got a lot to do today and the kids are out of school, so this is another drive-by update. I found this old, weathered chair in the barn last week and just had to figure out some way to use it. I'm debating whether I should sand some of the more distressed parts smooth and then paint it or if I should just leave it alone and enjoy the rustic vibe. What do you think?

Bead giveaway tomorrow, by the way. Make sure you check in!

Birds, Bricks and Border Gardens

Today's post is definitely chicken picture heavy - sorry about that to those of you who aren't poultry aficionados. We've been asked to send pictures (both of Dean's awesome coop and our feathered girls) to a lady who is writing an article for Atlanta magazine about the nationwide boom in backyard chickens. I don't know if we'll be selected for her article, but it sure would be fun!

Instead of chasing them around the yard, it was much easier to just let them traipse around the flowers by the patio and take pictures as they scratched around. They would much rather hang out in the vegetable garden, but I wasn't interested in following them under the okra (their preferred "chill out" spot) so I could get itchy and bug-bitten, all the while trying to get a couple decent pictures.

Bella and Mimi

Bella

Pearl and Lucy

Mimi and Fifi

Fifi

Nadine (with Dean)

Lola

Lucy

Fifi

Mimi

Lola

There. That should do me for a while!

And They're Off!

The girls have called to check in already! They are now in South Carolina after leaving with my parents this morning at around 6:30. They'll be at Isle of Palms around noon-ish and are gonna check in again then.

I've got beads to pack and mail now that the boy and I are home from our errands (bank, library, grocery store -you know, the usual.). I hope everyone has a wonderful Monday!

Yep, Definitely Monday

Now that we've got power again, I'm trying to get a quick update posted - just in case. We had some storms earlier this morning with high winds that downed trees and branches in addition to knocking out the power lines. I was worried, not for myself, but for the box of baby chicks we have that are still using the brooder bulb to help regulate their body temperature. No worries, the chicks are all fine!

The funny thing is that we were more concerned about the storms that passed through this weekend than the ones moving through today and tomorrow. There were reports of hail the size of apples, several tornadoes and a few twister-related deaths in Tennessee - awful!

Anyway, now that I've got a working water heater and am not navigating with a flashlight, I've got a lot of catching up to do so I'd better run!

If You Give a Kid a Camera...

Tilly asked if she could borrow my camera Saturday night and I agreed. While I was pulling images off my memory card this morning, I stumbled upon the series of shots she had taken. It's always interesting to me to see what she finds a worthy subject to photograph. There were shots of the power lines and trees across the street from our house (I'm assuming she meant to capture the sunset on the horizon, but didn't take the camera off auto-focus. *grin*) and pictures of the funky crow sculpture (which I absolutely love!) in the bird bath, but my favorite of all of them was this picture of the moon. Click on it to see the bigger version - you can even see some of the craters on the bottom right side!

I think somebody is going to be getting a camera of her own soon, don't you?

Gratuitous Chick Footage

Because you know I just can't help myself...

But good golly, aren't they adorable??

Captain Obvious, Reporting For Duty!

As you can probably already tell, I don't have any beads to post for today. I had an absolutely wonderful weekend - recharged my batteries, improved my mood and was very productive - but not productive in the sense that would make money. *sigh*

What did I do? Well, my lovely husband drew out a coop design last week and we spent the past several days getting the frame put together. And when I say "we", I actually mean Dean. He's the brains of any endeavor that involves building things. I can visualize all manner of things, but I can't walk through a drawing of a building in my head like he can. To me, it isn't real until it's 3D.

No, I was definitely more of a Girl Friday. Fetching tools, holding the measuring tape, making endless runs to Home Depot and Lowe's - you get the picture.

Once I get the okay from Dean, I'll post pictures of the future home of The Girls!!


We're still on for a big Boutique update very soon, but I'm not 100% sure I'll be ready by Sunday, March 1st. It might be a little later in the week, I should know for certain this Thursday.

Oh yeah, I'm still working on getting another newsletter program set up. In the meantime, if you'd like to get e-mail notification of new beads when they're posted, send me an e-mail through my website's "contact me" button!

Awesome!! (You mean like a hotdog?)

"So, 70 bucks later, we walk out of the movie theater happy and lighter (at least in the wallet!)."

As promised, we took the kids to see Coraline yesterday afternoon. What a cute movie!! The kids and I, at least, really enjoyed it. Dean doesn't really do whimsy, so he gets a pass on not falling immediately in love like the rest of us. He did say that the movie itself itself was beautifully crafted and filmed, he just felt it was a little light in the actual story department. Maybe it was, but Tilly had read the book and said that aside from the change in location of the secret door, the movie adaptation was pretty much spot-on. I'll definitely be buying it when it comes out on dvd and if I can find an early enough show time, I'd like to see it in 3D as well.

Nothing new to post on the bead front, sorry. I know I said Mondays would bring new beads, but I do have an excellent excuse - wanna hear it?? My cousin, Brian, flew in on Friday from D.C. and spent the weekend hanging out with our family. His primary reason for coming was because he's got an interview with Emory University this morning for a spot in their medical school program. He came down early so he could spend some time with all of us - isn't that sweet? We've got all our fingers and toes crossed he's accepted, because we'd LOVE to have Brian go to school so close by.

Instead of More Bead Monday, this week we'll have Whoa - it's Beads Wednesday! I should have a dozen or so things available for immediate purchase and shipping, so make sure you stop in.

Uhhh...

Remember the blog post I promised full of yummy men? Well - I've spent the better part of the day running errands and packing beads and now it's time to cook dinner. I guess I just ran out of day before I ran out of "to do"!

Hopefully, I'll be back on a more even keel tomorrrow.

The Sun'll Come Out....Tomorrow!

Wahoo - Election Day is finally upon us! And seriously, I don't care who you vote for tomorrow - JUST VOTE.

Tomorrow is also a teacher workday, so the kiddos will be at home with me all day. What that actually means is that their schools are polling places and they don't want the students and the voting public overlapping. (Which is cool - I'd rather they didn't come into contact with each other either!)

I'm working on orders still, but will be finished by the end of the week. Then it's on to New and Different! I've got an idea for a new series in my head - even got a name all picked out: "Zephyr", meaning a westerly wind or a gentle breeze.

Oops! I've gotta go start working on breakfast!

It's Monday - Let the Whining Begin!!

I've got tons of "Monday"-type stuff to do. Grocery lists to make, laundry to fold and put away, supper to plan out, beads to clean and ship, dishwasher to run and so on and so forth. The fun part kicks in because it just occurred to me this morning that this is conference week at the elementary school, which means the kids will be picked up at 1:10 instead of their usual 3:30. That just means there's less uninterrupted time to get all the normal chores done - fun!!

Plus, I'm running low on nearly every color of glass I regularly use, so now it's time to sit down and make out a shopping list! Luckily, Flame Tree Glass is a only couple of towns over, so I'll just make my (long!) list then scoot over and pick up what I need. (There's a local shop I can visit if I need just a rod or two, but they charge by the 13" rod and glass gets really expensive if you have to buy it in quantity that way!)

I've got some fun stuff planned for tomorrow, so check back!