OT and Not OT Update on me:)

Before I begin...Skype...I have no idea what my account settings are set
to, as I think I've only actually used Skype twice. But how terribly
rude of it to say I wouldn't share!

So, as many of you know, we were living in the Evil House Of Mold, and
expecting our third child. He was born in August 05, and I'll spare you
the gory details. (Okay..maybe one or two..like how DH nearly decked
the gal who set up my epidural--she was a mean, mean, MEAN person!) We
were pretty strapped for money around then, so I was trading my jewelry
for baby stuff, with other RCBers Almost all of Elijah's newborn
layette came from trading, or the virtual baby shower that a group of my
beading friends from RCB threw for us. The beautiful outfit made by
Shirley has since gone into his Keepsakes Box

That fall, DH's parents approached us and said they'd back us if we
could find a house to buy. With their outstanding credit, we'd be able
to get not just a house, but a lovely house--one that would fit all five
of us and the kitty. So we began looking, in our town and the
surrounding towns, for something that would suit our needs. Plans got
put on hold when my migraines escalated and we found out that I have a
condition called Transient Ischemic Attack Syndrome. Basically, it
means that the spasming blood vessel that causes my migraines is also
cutting off precious oxygen to my brain. If this goes on long enough, I
have a mini stroke, and have an increased risk of full blown stroke
within the next few days.

The first time that happened...eeesh. All I knew was that my head
hurt, and I was mostly unable to see anything, and then DH was leaning
over me, holding the baby, as I lay on the floor. I had passed out cold
while trying to make it from bed to living room, to tell him that
something was wrong--my thoughts were garbled, confusing. I made it
two steps from the bed before I had a piercing pain, and the next thing
I knew, Adam was trying to get a response from me. He'd heard the
*thump* of my hitting the floor. It took a couple of hours, but my mind
righted itself--I was just exhausted.

Luckily, I've only had two more mini strokes since then, but now I know
the signs (that tell me a migraine is not going to be Just a migraine,)
and I can usually head it off with medication. There's no lasting
effect, thankfully. Its scary when it happens, tho--to look at your kid
and think...oh..what a cute baby...I wonder who he belongs to? Or to
try and try to recall what my husband's name is, or how to do something
I normally do 10 times a day.

But enough about that.

Last spring, we began looking again, and found the house we wanted
fairly quickly. It was in the town closest to Adam's work, which is
good. Unfortunately, its also a very small town--even smaller than
where we were living. We miss city life, so this is a constant
struggle, this small town life. The hardest part is that we live in a
very narrow minded, bigoted, racially aggressive area of the US. Yuck.

With the help of Adam's parents, we bought our first home. You can see
it he http://www.collierco.com/new_pages/W...316closeup.htm
So we moved, and that was an experience I won't soon forget! I had two
broken toes, a 3 year old and a 8 month old at home all day, a 7 year in
school, and migraines happening at least three times a week. DH had to
work all day, and I was hardly any use, where getting us moved was
concerned. We actually had the house for a month before we moved all
the way in, and we spent that time moving things over bit by bit while
Darian finished up 1st grade. We painted the kitchen a color that was
supposed to be terra cotta, but instead got pumpkin orange, LOL! (This
is on the list of things to fix--we have new paint, just haven't done it
yet.)

Darian spent the summer making new friends, missing his old ones, and
learning what it means to live in *your own home.* Adam spent last
summer enjoying his new ten minute commute, versus the old 60 miles
round trip he had been doing. Tyler quickly realized that he now had
room to actually PLAY! Elijah got past his "I'm a new baby" and settled
right in to being *the little brother.*

I spent my summer working to establish myself as a seller on Etsy.com.
http://duet.etsy.com It was slow going at first, but I had a partner in
crime--some of you may recall her from here--"lunamom" aka Diana. She's
been my best friend and confidant for quite some time now, and even
though we still haven't ever seen each other face to face, I knew there
was no one else I'd rather share an online shop with. Sales picked up
towards the end of last year and I was able to give my kids one heck of
a good Yule celebration In January, I began selling my hand coiled
wire beads and my sales have risen steadily ever since. (My hot item
right now is hand formed ear wires, mostly in sterling.) In March,
Diana opened her own shop there, and she's been busily creating
beautiful polymer clay items ever since. http://lunamom.etsy.com I
don't think either of us could be more pleased with our progress at this
point

So, I haven't left the world of beads--I still make jewelry, and now I
sell it, too!!! I've got some submissions in for a new book coming out
late this year...waiting to see if my work was accepted. I've been
asked to submit a how to article for a major beading magazine, but I
simply haven't had the time to do so yet. I still run the Yahoo Group
Orphan Beads, which ebbs and flows like any group does. Life is pretty
gosh darn good, you know? We are so much happier now.

I suppose y'all might like to hear our latest awesome news 3 days
ago, we set up our lampwork bench in the garage. I bought a kiln about
two months ago (a brand spanking new Jen-Ken!) and we still have the
little HotHead that was gifted to us in a TFNR. Our happiness meter has
shot through the roof! We have a small collection of beginner beads,
and will work at it until we become the best we can at it. Adam is a
natural--he had never even seen a video of someone lampworking until two
days ago, and yet he's whipping out perfectly round and centered
doughnuts like an old pro. I, on the other hand, will need some time to
catch up to his natural aptitude for the glass

The house is a mess--who can clean when there's glass to be melted???
and we've had take out a couple times too many, but the kids are fine
and we're happy, so who cares, you know? LOL! He's got a 4 day
weekend, so we'll split the time between chores and glass, and hopefully
come out for the better in the end. Adam is waiting eagerly for his
ten days off in July--he's got the hot glass bug and I think its great!
I just hope that some day in the not too distant future, I'll be able
to send him to a class--there are none in our area, so this will take
some time, planning, and of course, money.

(On a side note....if any of you lampworkers know where we can find good
used tools of the trade, please let me know. _Especially a pair of
glasses--we have one pair, but two people_ Our set up is *very basic*
and we'd love to be able to do more with our glass.)

So, I think that about brings us to now. Darian finishes 2nd grade
tomorrow, and we're in the process of having Tyler evaluated for
Asperger's Syndrome (one of the many afflictions in the Autism spectrum,
but a milder one.) I can hear Elijah waking up in his bedroom, so Momma
time is starting (well...round three of it..Round 1 starts at 6 am,
round 2 begins around 7, and now is Elijah time, lol!)

If you'd like to see some pics of everyone, have a looksie here, and
check out the various albums http://flickr.com/duet

Thank you Shirley, for pulling me out of my hidey hole I love you
muchly, dear lady.

~Candace~
http://duet.etsy.com

Thanks for telling what happened to you.
Your wire beads are lovely and I love the pendants especially the green
ones.
I hope your health improves, I know what it is like to be plagued by an
illness that does not want to behave. I have been having some funny
heart moments myself the last 8 months.

I am so glad that I have pulled you out of your hidey hole.
Now I wonder if I can pull some others out. LOL

Hugs to you and your
Shirley




In message , ~Candace~
writes
Before I begin...Skype...I have no idea what my account settings are
set to, as I think I've only actually used Skype twice. But how
terribly rude of it to say I wouldn't share!

So, as many of you know, we were living in the Evil House Of Mold, and
expecting our third child. He was born in August 05, and I'll spare
you the gory details. (Okay..maybe one or two..like how DH nearly
decked the gal who set up my epidural--she was a mean, mean, MEAN
person!) We were pretty strapped for money around then, so I was
trading my jewelry for baby stuff, with other RCBers Almost all of
Elijah's newborn layette came from trading, or the virtual baby shower
that a group of my beading friends from RCB threw for us. The
beautiful outfit made by Shirley has since gone into his Keepsakes Box

That fall, DH's parents approached us and said they'd back us if we
could find a house to buy. With their outstanding credit, we'd be able
to get not just a house, but a lovely house--one that would fit all
five of us and the kitty. So we began looking, in our town and the
surrounding towns, for something that would suit our needs. Plans got
put on hold when my migraines escalated and we found out that I have a
condition called Transient Ischemic Attack Syndrome. Basically, it
means that the spasming blood vessel that causes my migraines is also
cutting off precious oxygen to my brain. If this goes on long enough,
I have a mini stroke, and have an increased risk of full blown stroke
within the next few days.

The first time that happened...eeesh. All I knew was that my head
hurt, and I was mostly unable to see anything, and then DH was leaning
over me, holding the baby, as I lay on the floor. I had passed out
cold while trying to make it from bed to living room, to tell him that
something was wrong--my thoughts were garbled, confusing. I made it
two steps from the bed before I had a piercing pain, and the next thing
I knew, Adam was trying to get a response from me. He'd heard the
*thump* of my hitting the floor. It took a couple of hours, but my
mind righted itself--I was just exhausted.

Luckily, I've only had two more mini strokes since then, but now I know
the signs (that tell me a migraine is not going to be Just a migraine,)
and I can usually head it off with medication. There's no lasting
effect, thankfully. Its scary when it happens, tho--to look at your
kid and think...oh..what a cute baby...I wonder who he belongs to? Or
to try and try to recall what my husband's name is, or how to do
something I normally do 10 times a day.

But enough about that.

Last spring, we began looking again, and found the house we wanted
fairly quickly. It was in the town closest to Adam's work, which is
good. Unfortunately, its also a very small town--even smaller than
where we were living. We miss city life, so this is a constant
struggle, this small town life. The hardest part is that we live in a
very narrow minded, bigoted, racially aggressive area of the US. Yuck.

With the help of Adam's parents, we bought our first home. You can see
it he http://www.collierco.com/new_pages/W...316closeup.htm
So we moved, and that was an experience I won't soon forget! I had two
broken toes, a 3 year old and a 8 month old at home all day, a 7 year
in school, and migraines happening at least three times a week. DH had
to work all day, and I was hardly any use, where getting us moved was
concerned. We actually had the house for a month before we moved all
the way in, and we spent that time moving things over bit by bit while
Darian finished up 1st grade. We painted the kitchen a color that was
supposed to be terra cotta, but instead got pumpkin orange, LOL! (This
is on the list of things to fix--we have new paint, just haven't done it yet.)

Darian spent the summer making new friends, missing his old ones, and
learning what it means to live in *your own home.* Adam spent last
summer enjoying his new ten minute commute, versus the old 60 miles
round trip he had been doing. Tyler quickly realized that he now had
room to actually PLAY! Elijah got past his "I'm a new baby" and
settled right in to being *the little brother.*

I spent my summer working to establish myself as a seller on Etsy.com.
http://duet.etsy.com It was slow going at first, but I had a partner in
crime--some of you may recall her from here--"lunamom" aka Diana.
She's been my best friend and confidant for quite some time now, and
even though we still haven't ever seen each other face to face, I knew
there was no one else I'd rather share an online shop with. Sales
picked up towards the end of last year and I was able to give my kids
one heck of a good Yule celebration In January, I began selling my
hand coiled wire beads and my sales have risen steadily ever since.
(My hot item right now is hand formed ear wires, mostly in sterling.)
In March, Diana opened her own shop there, and she's been busily
creating beautiful polymer clay items ever since.
http://lunamom.etsy.com I don't think either of us could be more
pleased with our progress at this point

So, I haven't left the world of beads--I still make jewelry, and now I
sell it, too!!! I've got some submissions in for a new book coming out
late this year...waiting to see if my work was accepted. I've been
asked to submit a how to article for a major beading magazine, but I
simply haven't had the time to do so yet. I still run the Yahoo Group
Orphan Beads, which ebbs and flows like any group does. Life is pretty
gosh darn good, you know? We are so much happier now.

I suppose y'all might like to hear our latest awesome news 3 days
ago, we set up our lampwork bench in the garage. I bought a kiln about
two months ago (a brand spanking new Jen-Ken!) and we still have the
little HotHead that was gifted to us in a TFNR. Our happiness meter
has shot through the roof! We have a small collection of beginner
beads, and will work at it until we become the best we can at it. Adam
is a natural--he had never even seen a video of someone lampworking
until two days ago, and yet he's whipping out perfectly round and
centered doughnuts like an old pro. I, on the other hand, will need
some time to catch up to his natural aptitude for the glass

The house is a mess--who can clean when there's glass to be melted???
and we've had take out a couple times too many, but the kids are fine
and we're happy, so who cares, you know? LOL! He's got a 4 day
weekend, so we'll split the time between chores and glass, and
hopefully come out for the better in the end. Adam is waiting eagerly
for his ten days off in July--he's got the hot glass bug and I think
its great! I just hope that some day in the not too distant future,
I'll be able to send him to a class--there are none in our area, so
this will take some time, planning, and of course, money.

(On a side note....if any of you lampworkers know where we can find
good used tools of the trade, please let me know. _Especially a pair
of glasses--we have one pair, but two people_ Our set up is *very
basic* and we'd love to be able to do more with our glass.)

So, I think that about brings us to now. Darian finishes 2nd grade
tomorrow, and we're in the process of having Tyler evaluated for
Asperger's Syndrome (one of the many afflictions in the Autism
spectrum, but a milder one.) I can hear Elijah waking up in his
bedroom, so Momma time is starting (well...round three of it..Round 1
starts at 6 am, round 2 begins around 7, and now is Elijah time, lol!)

If you'd like to see some pics of everyone, have a looksie here, and
check out the various albums http://flickr.com/duet

Thank you Shirley, for pulling me out of my hidey hole I love you
muchly, dear lady.

~Candace~
http://duet.etsy.com

--
Shirley Shone

http://www.allcrafts.demon.co.uk

Wow what a cool house! I'd like to buy it myself! LOL I really need to get
one all on one level like that and the arched doorways are lovely.

And your work at your etsy shop is beautiful! I'm so happy that you are
doing so much better. Best wishes with yours and Adam's glassmaking
experiments!
Hugs,

--
Karleen Page
Member International Jewelry Designers Guild (IJDG)
Vibrant Jewels web sto http://www.vibrantjewels.com/jewelry/welcome.htm
Vibrant Jewels JustBeads Auctions:
http://www.justbeads.com/search/ql.cfm?s=21770
CLICK HERE to join myYahoo Group:
"~Candace~" wrote in message
et...
Before I begin...Skype...I have no idea what my account settings are set
to, as I think I've only actually used Skype twice. But how terribly rude
of it to say I wouldn't share!

So, as many of you know, we were living in the Evil House Of Mold, and
expecting our third child. He was born in August 05, and I'll spare you
the gory details. (Okay..maybe one or two..like how DH nearly decked the
gal who set up my epidural--she was a mean, mean, MEAN person!) We were
pretty strapped for money around then, so I was trading my jewelry for
baby stuff, with other RCBers Almost all of Elijah's newborn layette
came from trading, or the virtual baby shower that a group of my beading
friends from RCB threw for us. The beautiful outfit made by Shirley has
since gone into his Keepsakes Box

That fall, DH's parents approached us and said they'd back us if we could
find a house to buy. With their outstanding credit, we'd be able to get
not just a house, but a lovely house--one that would fit all five of us
and the kitty. So we began looking, in our town and the surrounding
towns, for something that would suit our needs. Plans got put on hold
when my migraines escalated and we found out that I have a condition
called Transient Ischemic Attack Syndrome. Basically, it means that the
spasming blood vessel that causes my migraines is also cutting off
precious oxygen to my brain. If this goes on long enough, I have a mini
stroke, and have an increased risk of full blown stroke within the next
few days.

The first time that happened...eeesh. All I knew was that my head hurt,
and I was mostly unable to see anything, and then DH was leaning over me,
holding the baby, as I lay on the floor. I had passed out cold while
trying to make it from bed to living room, to tell him that something was
wrong--my thoughts were garbled, confusing. I made it two steps from the
bed before I had a piercing pain, and the next thing I knew, Adam was
trying to get a response from me. He'd heard the *thump* of my hitting
the floor. It took a couple of hours, but my mind righted itself--I was
just exhausted.

Luckily, I've only had two more mini strokes since then, but now I know
the signs (that tell me a migraine is not going to be Just a migraine,)
and I can usually head it off with medication. There's no lasting effect,
thankfully. Its scary when it happens, tho--to look at your kid and
think...oh..what a cute baby...I wonder who he belongs to? Or to try and
try to recall what my husband's name is, or how to do something I normally
do 10 times a day.

But enough about that.

Last spring, we began looking again, and found the house we wanted fairly
quickly. It was in the town closest to Adam's work, which is good.
Unfortunately, its also a very small town--even smaller than where we were
living. We miss city life, so this is a constant struggle, this small
town life. The hardest part is that we live in a very narrow minded,
bigoted, racially aggressive area of the US. Yuck.

With the help of Adam's parents, we bought our first home. You can see it
he http://www.collierco.com/new_pages/W...316closeup.htm
So we moved, and that was an experience I won't soon forget! I had two
broken toes, a 3 year old and a 8 month old at home all day, a 7 year in
school, and migraines happening at least three times a week. DH had to
work all day, and I was hardly any use, where getting us moved was
concerned. We actually had the house for a month before we moved all the
way in, and we spent that time moving things over bit by bit while Darian
finished up 1st grade. We painted the kitchen a color that was supposed
to be terra cotta, but instead got pumpkin orange, LOL! (This is on the
list of things to fix--we have new paint, just haven't done it yet.)

Darian spent the summer making new friends, missing his old ones, and
learning what it means to live in *your own home.* Adam spent last summer
enjoying his new ten minute commute, versus the old 60 miles round trip he
had been doing. Tyler quickly realized that he now had room to actually
PLAY! Elijah got past his "I'm a new baby" and settled right in to being
*the little brother.*

I spent my summer working to establish myself as a seller on Etsy.com.
http://duet.etsy.com It was slow going at first, but I had a partner in
crime--some of you may recall her from here--"lunamom" aka Diana. She's
been my best friend and confidant for quite some time now, and even though
we still haven't ever seen each other face to face, I knew there was no
one else I'd rather share an online shop with. Sales picked up towards
the end of last year and I was able to give my kids one heck of a good
Yule celebration In January, I began selling my hand coiled wire beads
and my sales have risen steadily ever since. (My hot item right now is
hand formed ear wires, mostly in sterling.) In March, Diana opened her
own shop there, and she's been busily creating beautiful polymer clay
items ever since. http://lunamom.etsy.com I don't think either of us
could be more pleased with our progress at this point

So, I haven't left the world of beads--I still make jewelry, and now I
sell it, too!!! I've got some submissions in for a new book coming out
late this year...waiting to see if my work was accepted. I've been asked
to submit a how to article for a major beading magazine, but I simply
haven't had the time to do so yet. I still run the Yahoo Group Orphan
Beads, which ebbs and flows like any group does. Life is pretty gosh darn
good, you know? We are so much happier now.

I suppose y'all might like to hear our latest awesome news 3 days ago,
we set up our lampwork bench in the garage. I bought a kiln about two
months ago (a brand spanking new Jen-Ken!) and we still have the little
HotHead that was gifted to us in a TFNR. Our happiness meter has shot
through the roof! We have a small collection of beginner beads, and will
work at it until we become the best we can at it. Adam is a natural--he
had never even seen a video of someone lampworking until two days ago, and
yet he's whipping out perfectly round and centered doughnuts like an old
pro. I, on the other hand, will need some time to catch up to his natural
aptitude for the glass

The house is a mess--who can clean when there's glass to be melted??? and
we've had take out a couple times too many, but the kids are fine and
we're happy, so who cares, you know? LOL! He's got a 4 day weekend, so
we'll split the time between chores and glass, and hopefully come out for
the better in the end. Adam is waiting eagerly for his ten days off in
July--he's got the hot glass bug and I think its great! I just hope that
some day in the not too distant future, I'll be able to send him to a
class--there are none in our area, so this will take some time, planning,
and of course, money.

(On a side note....if any of you lampworkers know where we can find good
used tools of the trade, please let me know. _Especially a pair of
glasses--we have one pair, but two people_ Our set up is *very basic* and
we'd love to be able to do more with our glass.)

So, I think that about brings us to now. Darian finishes 2nd grade
tomorrow, and we're in the process of having Tyler evaluated for
Asperger's Syndrome (one of the many afflictions in the Autism spectrum,
but a milder one.) I can hear Elijah waking up in his bedroom, so Momma
time is starting (well...round three of it..Round 1 starts at 6 am, round
2 begins around 7, and now is Elijah time, lol!)

If you'd like to see some pics of everyone, have a looksie here, and check
out the various albums http://flickr.com/duet

Thank you Shirley, for pulling me out of my hidey hole I love you
muchly, dear lady.

~Candace~
http://duet.etsy.com

On May 23, 8:19 pm, "Vibrant Jewels"
wrote:
Wow what a cool house! I'd like to buy it myself! LOL I really need to get
one all on one level like that and the arched doorways are lovely.

And your work at your etsy shop is beautiful! I'm so happy that you are
doing so much better. Best wishes with yours and Adam's glassmaking
experiments!
Hugs,

--
Karleen Page
Member International Jewelry Designers Guild (IJDG)
Vibrant Jewels web stohttp://www.vibrantjewels.com/jewelry/welcome.htm
Vibrant Jewels JustBeads Auctions:http://www.justbeads.com/search/ql.cfm?s=21770
CLICK HERE to join myYahoo Group: "~Candace~" wrote in message

et...



Before I begin...Skype...I have no idea what my account settings are set
to, as I think I've only actually used Skype twice. But how terribly rude
of it to say I wouldn't share!

So, as many of you know, we were living in the Evil House Of Mold, and
expecting our third child. He was born in August 05, and I'll spare you
the gory details. (Okay..maybe one or two..like how DH nearly decked the
gal who set up my epidural--she was a mean, mean, MEAN person!) We were
pretty strapped for money around then, so I was trading my jewelry for
baby stuff, with other RCBers Almost all of Elijah's newborn layette
came from trading, or the virtual baby shower that a group of my beading
friends from RCB threw for us. The beautiful outfit made by Shirley has
since gone into his Keepsakes Box

That fall, DH's parents approached us and said they'd back us if we could
find a house to buy. With their outstanding credit, we'd be able to get
not just a house, but a lovely house--one that would fit all five of us
and the kitty. So we began looking, in our town and the surrounding
towns, for something that would suit our needs. Plans got put on hold
when my migraines escalated and we found out that I have a condition
called Transient Ischemic Attack Syndrome. Basically, it means that the
spasming blood vessel that causes my migraines is also cutting off
precious oxygen to my brain. If this goes on long enough, I have a mini
stroke, and have an increased risk of full blown stroke within the next
few days.

The first time that happened...eeesh. All I knew was that my head hurt,
and I was mostly unable to see anything, and then DH was leaning over me,
holding the baby, as I lay on the floor. I had passed out cold while
trying to make it from bed to living room, to tell him that something was
wrong--my thoughts were garbled, confusing. I made it two steps from the
bed before I had a piercing pain, and the next thing I knew, Adam was
trying to get a response from me. He'd heard the *thump* of my hitting
the floor. It took a couple of hours, but my mind righted itself--I was
just exhausted.

Luckily, I've only had two more mini strokes since then, but now I know
the signs (that tell me a migraine is not going to be Just a migraine,)
and I can usually head it off with medication. There's no lasting effect,
thankfully. Its scary when it happens, tho--to look at your kid and
think...oh..what a cute baby...I wonder who he belongs to? Or to try and
try to recall what my husband's name is, or how to do something I normally
do 10 times a day.

But enough about that.

Last spring, we began looking again, and found the house we wanted fairly
quickly. It was in the town closest to Adam's work, which is good.
Unfortunately, its also a very small town--even smaller than where we were
living. We miss city life, so this is a constant struggle, this small
town life. The hardest part is that we live in a very narrow minded,
bigoted, racially aggressive area of the US. Yuck.

With the help of Adam's parents, we bought our first home. You can see it
hehttp://www.collierco.com/new_pages/W...316closeup.htm
So we moved, and that was an experience I won't soon forget! I had two
broken toes, a 3 year old and a 8 month old at home all day, a 7 year in
school, and migraines happening at least three times a week. DH had to
work all day, and I was hardly any use, where getting us moved was
concerned. We actually had the house for a month before we moved all the
way in, and we spent that time moving things over bit by bit while Darian
finished up 1st grade. We painted the kitchen a color that was supposed
to be terra cotta, but instead got pumpkin orange, LOL! (This is on the
list of things to fix--we have new paint, just haven't done it yet.)

Darian spent the summer making new friends, missing his old ones, and
learning what it means to live in *your own home.* Adam spent last summer
enjoying his new ten minute commute, versus the old 60 miles round trip he
had been doing. Tyler quickly realized that he now had room to actually
PLAY! Elijah got past his "I'm a new baby" and settled right in to being
*the little brother.*

I spent my summer working to establish myself as a seller on Etsy.com.
http://duet.etsy.comIt was slow going at first, but I had a partner in
crime--some of you may recall her from here--"lunamom" aka Diana. She's
been my best friend and confidant for quite some time now, and even though
we still haven't ever seen each other face to face, I knew there was no
one else I'd rather share an online shop with. Sales picked up towards
the end of last year and I was able to give my kids one heck of a good
Yule celebration In January, I began selling my hand coiled wire beads
and my sales have risen steadily ever since. (My hot item right now is
hand formed ear wires, mostly in sterling.) In March, Diana opened her
own shop there, and she's been busily creating beautiful polymer clay
items ever since.http://lunamom.etsy.com I don't think either of us
could be more pleased with our progress at this point

So, I haven't left the world of beads--I still make jewelry, and now I
sell it, too!!! I've got some submissions in for a new book coming out
late this year...waiting to see if my work was accepted. I've been asked
to submit a how to article for a major beading magazine, but I simply
haven't had the time to do so yet. I still run the Yahoo Group Orphan
Beads, which ebbs and flows like any group does. Life is pretty gosh darn
good, you know? We are so much happier now.

I suppose y'all might like to hear our latest awesome news 3 days ago,
we set up our lampwork bench in the garage. I bought a kiln about two
months ago (a brand spanking new Jen-Ken!) and we still have the little
HotHead that was gifted to us in a TFNR. Our happiness meter has shot
through the roof! We have a small collection of beginner beads, and will
work at it until we become the best we can at it. Adam is a natural--he
had never even seen a video of someone lampworking until two days ago, and
yet he's whipping out perfectly round and centered doughnuts like an old
pro. I, on the other hand, will need some time to catch up to his natural
aptitude for the glass

The house is a mess--who can clean when there's glass to be melted??? and
we've had take out a couple times too many, but the kids are fine and
we're happy, so who cares, you know? LOL! He's got a 4 day weekend, so
we'll split the time between chores and glass, and hopefully come out for
the better in the end. Adam is waiting eagerly for his ten days off in
July--he's got the hot glass bug and I think its great! I just hope that
some day in the not too distant future, I'll be able to send him to a
class--there are none in our area, so this will take some time, planning,
and of course, money.

(On a side note....if any of you lampworkers know where we can find good
used tools of the trade, please let me know. _Especially a pair of
glasses--we have one pair, but two people_ Our set up is *very basic* and
we'd love to be able to do more with our glass.)

So, I think that about brings us to now. Darian finishes 2nd grade
tomorrow, and we're in the process of having Tyler evaluated for
Asperger's Syndrome (one of the many afflictions in the Autism spectrum,
but a milder one.) I can hear Elijah waking up in his bedroom, so Momma
time is starting (well...round three of it..Round 1 starts at 6 am, round
2 begins around 7, and now is Elijah time, lol!)

If you'd like to see some pics of everyone, have a looksie here, and check
out the various albums http://flickr.com/duet

Thank you Shirley, for pulling me out of my hidey hole I love you
muchly, dear lady.

~Candace~
http://duet.etsy.com- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Candace,
You can try asking Mike Aurelius about used glasses. He owns
AuraLens and their website is www.auralens.net. I believe he has a
program for supplying used glasses to people who are just starting
out. I think he talked about it at one of the Gatherings I went to. No
harm in asking anyway. Explain your circumstances.
It's good to see you back,

Patti
www.pattiwhiteley.com

On May 23, 8:17 am, ~Candace~
wrote:
Before I begin...Skype...I have no idea what my account settings are set
to, as I think I've only actually used Skype twice. But how terribly
rude of it to say I wouldn't share!

So, as many of you know, we were living in the Evil House Of Mold, and
expecting our third child. He was born in August 05, and I'll spare you
the gory details. (Okay..maybe one or two..like how DH nearly decked
the gal who set up my epidural--she was a mean, mean, MEAN person!) We
were pretty strapped for money around then, so I was trading my jewelry
for baby stuff, with other RCBers Almost all of Elijah's newborn
layette came from trading, or the virtual baby shower that a group of my
beading friends from RCB threw for us. The beautiful outfit made by
Shirley has since gone into his Keepsakes Box

That fall, DH's parents approached us and said they'd back us if we
could find a house to buy. With their outstanding credit, we'd be able
to get not just a house, but a lovely house--one that would fit all five
of us and the kitty. So we began looking, in our town and the
surrounding towns, for something that would suit our needs. Plans got
put on hold when my migraines escalated and we found out that I have a
condition called Transient Ischemic Attack Syndrome. Basically, it
means that the spasming blood vessel that causes my migraines is also
cutting off precious oxygen to my brain. If this goes on long enough, I
have a mini stroke, and have an increased risk of full blown stroke
within the next few days.

The first time that happened...eeesh. All I knew was that my head
hurt, and I was mostly unable to see anything, and then DH was leaning
over me, holding the baby, as I lay on the floor. I had passed out cold
while trying to make it from bed to living room, to tell him that
something was wrong--my thoughts were garbled, confusing. I made it
two steps from the bed before I had a piercing pain, and the next thing
I knew, Adam was trying to get a response from me. He'd heard the
*thump* of my hitting the floor. It took a couple of hours, but my mind
righted itself--I was just exhausted.

Luckily, I've only had two more mini strokes since then, but now I know
the signs (that tell me a migraine is not going to be Just a migraine,)
and I can usually head it off with medication. There's no lasting
effect, thankfully. Its scary when it happens, tho--to look at your kid
and think...oh..what a cute baby...I wonder who he belongs to? Or to
try and try to recall what my husband's name is, or how to do something
I normally do 10 times a day.

But enough about that.

Last spring, we began looking again, and found the house we wanted
fairly quickly. It was in the town closest to Adam's work, which is
good. Unfortunately, its also a very small town--even smaller than
where we were living. We miss city life, so this is a constant
struggle, this small town life. The hardest part is that we live in a
very narrow minded, bigoted, racially aggressive area of the US. Yuck.

With the help of Adam's parents, we bought our first home. You can see
it hehttp://www.collierco.com/new_pages/W...316closeup.htm
So we moved, and that was an experience I won't soon forget! I had two
broken toes, a 3 year old and a 8 month old at home all day, a 7 year in
school, and migraines happening at least three times a week. DH had to
work all day, and I was hardly any use, where getting us moved was
concerned. We actually had the house for a month before we moved all
the way in, and we spent that time moving things over bit by bit while
Darian finished up 1st grade. We painted the kitchen a color that was
supposed to be terra cotta, but instead got pumpkin orange, LOL! (This
is on the list of things to fix--we have new paint, just haven't done it
yet.)

Darian spent the summer making new friends, missing his old ones, and
learning what it means to live in *your own home.* Adam spent last
summer enjoying his new ten minute commute, versus the old 60 miles
round trip he had been doing. Tyler quickly realized that he now had
room to actually PLAY! Elijah got past his "I'm a new baby" and settled
right in to being *the little brother.*

I spent my summer working to establish myself as a seller on Etsy.com.http://duet.etsy.comIt was slow going at first, but I had a partner in
crime--some of you may recall her from here--"lunamom" aka Diana. She's
been my best friend and confidant for quite some time now, and even
though we still haven't ever seen each other face to face, I knew there
was no one else I'd rather share an online shop with. Sales picked up
towards the end of last year and I was able to give my kids one heck of
a good Yule celebration In January, I began selling my hand coiled
wire beads and my sales have risen steadily ever since. (My hot item
right now is hand formed ear wires, mostly in sterling.) In March,
Diana opened her own shop there, and she's been busily creating
beautiful polymer clay items ever since.http://lunamom.etsy.com I
don't think either of us could be more pleased with our progress at this
point

So, I haven't left the world of beads--I still make jewelry, and now I
sell it, too!!! I've got some submissions in for a new book coming out
late this year...waiting to see if my work was accepted. I've been
asked to submit a how to article for a major beading magazine, but I
simply haven't had the time to do so yet. I still run the Yahoo Group
Orphan Beads, which ebbs and flows like any group does. Life is pretty
gosh darn good, you know? We are so much happier now.

I suppose y'all might like to hear our latest awesome news 3 days
ago, we set up our lampwork bench in the garage. I bought a kiln about
two months ago (a brand spanking new Jen-Ken!) and we still have the
little HotHead that was gifted to us in a TFNR. Our happiness meter has
shot through the roof! We have a small collection of beginner beads,
and will work at it until we become the best we can at it. Adam is a
natural--he had never even seen a video of someone lampworking until two
days ago, and yet he's whipping out perfectly round and centered
doughnuts like an old pro. I, on the other hand, will need some time to
catch up to his natural aptitude for the glass

The house is a mess--who can clean when there's glass to be melted???
and we've had take out a couple times too many, but the kids are fine
and we're happy, so who cares, you know? LOL! He's got a 4 day
weekend, so we'll split the time between chores and glass, and hopefully
come out for the better in the end. Adam is waiting eagerly for his
ten days off in July--he's got the hot glass bug and I think its great!
I just hope that some day in the not too distant future, I'll be able
to send him to a class--there are none in our area, so this will take
some time, planning, and of course, money.

(On a side note....if any of you lampworkers know where we can find good
used tools of the trade, please let me know. _Especially a pair of
glasses--we have one pair, but two people_ Our set up is *very basic*
and we'd love to be able to do more with our glass.)

So, I think that about brings us to now. Darian finishes 2nd grade
tomorrow, and we're in the process of having Tyler evaluated for
Asperger's Syndrome (one of the many afflictions in the Autism spectrum,
but a milder one.) I can hear Elijah waking up in his bedroom, so Momma
time is starting (well...round three of it..Round 1 starts at 6 am,
round 2 begins around 7, and now is Elijah time, lol!)

If you'd like to see some pics of everyone, have a looksie here, and
check out the various albums http://flickr.com/duet

Thank you Shirley, for pulling me out of my hidey hole I love you
muchly, dear lady.

~Candace~http://duet.etsy.com

Welcome Back Candice Good to hear from you and yours smile cant wait
to see what you and Adam come up with in Glass! Victoria

Candace, great to hear from you!!

have fun with the glass, and keep the B vitamins flowing for Tyler
especially--we take Emergen-C packets with lots of B's everyday and it
really REALLY helps with many of the Aspergers behaviors. Dail B vits, and
LOTS of consistancy....my son needs it too, and we've managed to get him all
the way through public school, he graduates this weekend! There were times
we realllllllly wondered...but he made it. Good luck with your school years
to come.
Sarajane

--
Sarajane's Polyclay Gallery
Beads-Dolls-Wearable Art
http://www.polyclay.com

See the progress at "Pieces"
http://www.polyclay.com/store.htm

"Vicky" wrote in message
ups.com...
On May 23, 8:17 am, ~Candace~
wrote:
Before I begin...Skype...I have no idea what my account settings are set
to, as I think I've only actually used Skype twice. But how terribly
rude of it to say I wouldn't share!

So, as many of you know, we were living in the Evil House Of Mold, and
expecting our third child. He was born in August 05, and I'll spare you
the gory details. (Okay..maybe one or two..like how DH nearly decked
the gal who set up my epidural--she was a mean, mean, MEAN person!) We
were pretty strapped for money around then, so I was trading my jewelry
for baby stuff, with other RCBers Almost all of Elijah's newborn
layette came from trading, or the virtual baby shower that a group of my
beading friends from RCB threw for us. The beautiful outfit made by
Shirley has since gone into his Keepsakes Box

That fall, DH's parents approached us and said they'd back us if we
could find a house to buy. With their outstanding credit, we'd be able
to get not just a house, but a lovely house--one that would fit all five
of us and the kitty. So we began looking, in our town and the
surrounding towns, for something that would suit our needs. Plans got
put on hold when my migraines escalated and we found out that I have a
condition called Transient Ischemic Attack Syndrome. Basically, it
means that the spasming blood vessel that causes my migraines is also
cutting off precious oxygen to my brain. If this goes on long enough, I
have a mini stroke, and have an increased risk of full blown stroke
within the next few days.

The first time that happened...eeesh. All I knew was that my head
hurt, and I was mostly unable to see anything, and then DH was leaning
over me, holding the baby, as I lay on the floor. I had passed out cold
while trying to make it from bed to living room, to tell him that
something was wrong--my thoughts were garbled, confusing. I made it
two steps from the bed before I had a piercing pain, and the next thing
I knew, Adam was trying to get a response from me. He'd heard the
*thump* of my hitting the floor. It took a couple of hours, but my mind
righted itself--I was just exhausted.

Luckily, I've only had two more mini strokes since then, but now I know
the signs (that tell me a migraine is not going to be Just a migraine,)
and I can usually head it off with medication. There's no lasting
effect, thankfully. Its scary when it happens, tho--to look at your kid
and think...oh..what a cute baby...I wonder who he belongs to? Or to
try and try to recall what my husband's name is, or how to do something
I normally do 10 times a day.

But enough about that.

Last spring, we began looking again, and found the house we wanted
fairly quickly. It was in the town closest to Adam's work, which is
good. Unfortunately, its also a very small town--even smaller than
where we were living. We miss city life, so this is a constant
struggle, this small town life. The hardest part is that we live in a
very narrow minded, bigoted, racially aggressive area of the US. Yuck.

With the help of Adam's parents, we bought our first home. You can see
it hehttp://www.collierco.com/new_pages/W...316closeup.htm
So we moved, and that was an experience I won't soon forget! I had two
broken toes, a 3 year old and a 8 month old at home all day, a 7 year in
school, and migraines happening at least three times a week. DH had to
work all day, and I was hardly any use, where getting us moved was
concerned. We actually had the house for a month before we moved all
the way in, and we spent that time moving things over bit by bit while
Darian finished up 1st grade. We painted the kitchen a color that was
supposed to be terra cotta, but instead got pumpkin orange, LOL! (This
is on the list of things to fix--we have new paint, just haven't done it
yet.)

Darian spent the summer making new friends, missing his old ones, and
learning what it means to live in *your own home.* Adam spent last
summer enjoying his new ten minute commute, versus the old 60 miles
round trip he had been doing. Tyler quickly realized that he now had
room to actually PLAY! Elijah got past his "I'm a new baby" and settled
right in to being *the little brother.*

I spent my summer working to establish myself as a seller on
Etsy.com.http://duet.etsy.comIt was slow going at first, but I had a partner
in
crime--some of you may recall her from here--"lunamom" aka Diana. She's
been my best friend and confidant for quite some time now, and even
though we still haven't ever seen each other face to face, I knew there
was no one else I'd rather share an online shop with. Sales picked up
towards the end of last year and I was able to give my kids one heck of
a good Yule celebration In January, I began selling my hand coiled
wire beads and my sales have risen steadily ever since. (My hot item
right now is hand formed ear wires, mostly in sterling.) In March,
Diana opened her own shop there, and she's been busily creating
beautiful polymer clay items ever since.http://lunamom.etsy.com I
don't think either of us could be more pleased with our progress at this
point

So, I haven't left the world of beads--I still make jewelry, and now I
sell it, too!!! I've got some submissions in for a new book coming out
late this year...waiting to see if my work was accepted. I've been
asked to submit a how to article for a major beading magazine, but I
simply haven't had the time to do so yet. I still run the Yahoo Group
Orphan Beads, which ebbs and flows like any group does. Life is pretty
gosh darn good, you know? We are so much happier now.

I suppose y'all might like to hear our latest awesome news 3 days
ago, we set up our lampwork bench in the garage. I bought a kiln about
two months ago (a brand spanking new Jen-Ken!) and we still have the
little HotHead that was gifted to us in a TFNR. Our happiness meter has
shot through the roof! We have a small collection of beginner beads,
and will work at it until we become the best we can at it. Adam is a
natural--he had never even seen a video of someone lampworking until two
days ago, and yet he's whipping out perfectly round and centered
doughnuts like an old pro. I, on the other hand, will need some time to
catch up to his natural aptitude for the glass

The house is a mess--who can clean when there's glass to be melted???
and we've had take out a couple times too many, but the kids are fine
and we're happy, so who cares, you know? LOL! He's got a 4 day
weekend, so we'll split the time between chores and glass, and hopefully
come out for the better in the end. Adam is waiting eagerly for his
ten days off in July--he's got the hot glass bug and I think its great!
I just hope that some day in the not too distant future, I'll be able
to send him to a class--there are none in our area, so this will take
some time, planning, and of course, money.

(On a side note....if any of you lampworkers know where we can find good
used tools of the trade, please let me know. _Especially a pair of
glasses--we have one pair, but two people_ Our set up is *very basic*
and we'd love to be able to do more with our glass.)

So, I think that about brings us to now. Darian finishes 2nd grade
tomorrow, and we're in the process of having Tyler evaluated for
Asperger's Syndrome (one of the many afflictions in the Autism spectrum,
but a milder one.) I can hear Elijah waking up in his bedroom, so Momma
time is starting (well...round three of it..Round 1 starts at 6 am,
round 2 begins around 7, and now is Elijah time, lol!)

If you'd like to see some pics of everyone, have a looksie here, and
check out the various albums http://flickr.com/duet

Thank you Shirley, for pulling me out of my hidey hole I love you
muchly, dear lady.

~Candace~http://duet.etsy.com

Welcome Back Candice Good to hear from you and yours smile cant wait
to see what you and Adam come up with in Glass! Victoria

Thank you Shirley I'm quite proud of those wire beads--they really
are such a simple thing to make, but it takes some fussiness to make
them neat and uniform, every time. It took me a little time to discover
the trick to making them neat, tight, and uniform (would you believe
that you have to STOP using the coiling tool in the middle of the
process to achieve this? lol!) but they really are so much fun to make.
I think I have probably have over 9000 feet in colored wire. Who, me?
Addicted? Never!

Okay now, you need to tell that heart of yours to stop with the funny
business. 'Nuff of that, ya hear? There still so much to do, and you
can't very well do those things if you aren't here!

*hugs*

~Candace~
http://duet.etsy.com

Shirley Shone wrote:
Thanks for telling what happened to you.
Your wire beads are lovely and I love the pendants especially the green
ones.
I hope your health improves, I know what it is like to be plagued by an
illness that does not want to behave. I have been having some funny
heart moments myself the last 8 months.

I am so glad that I have pulled you out of your hidey hole.
Now I wonder if I can pull some others out. LOL

Hugs to you and your
Shirley

We're pretty pleased with it Not too bad for a 60 year old house that
was apparently "the party spot" for many years. The arches really sold
me on this place...that and the hardwood floors! We still need to rip
out the remaining carpets and refinish some of the floors, but we have
plenty of time to do so.

Thank you, Karleen! I'm in a place where my jewelry really represents
me--and couldn't be happier about it!

Speaking of glass experiments....I caught the edge of a packet of copper
leaf out of the corner of my eye the other day--stuff I use on polymer
clay. Well, I wanted to see what would happen if I encased a bead with
it, so I gave it a try. Mmmmmmmmmmmm.....nice burn, nice boil, and nice
gunmetal grey effect, LOL! So, so, so not working

~Candace~
http://duet.etsy.com


Vibrant Jewels wrote:
Wow what a cool house! I'd like to buy it myself! LOL I really need to get
one all on one level like that and the arched doorways are lovely.

And your work at your etsy shop is beautiful! I'm so happy that you are
doing so much better. Best wishes with yours and Adam's glassmaking
experiments!
Hugs,

Thank you Vicky We're having a lot of fun and frustrating moments
with the glass. I did have a *yay me!* moment when I programmed my kiln
correctly on the first try--thought I'd bought a pre-programmed
controller, but I was wrong. The booklet was a tad confusing, but I
managed it!

~Candace~
http://duet.etsy.com



Welcome Back Candice Good to hear from you and yours smile cant wait
to see what you and Adam come up with in Glass! Victoria

Hi Sj! Oh, I've missed you and your fabulous hair You'll be happy to
know that whenever someone over in etsy asks about polymer clay, luna
and I send them to your website. Then we follow up with glassattic,
since ya just can't beat that treasure chest of info

We're sort of stuck in a holding pattern right now, where Tyler is
concerned. A combination of lack of qualified people to DO the
evaluation, only having one car, his Ped being 20 miles away, blah blah
blah......we'll get there, tho. We know he has it--I've done the
research, matched him point for point, etc etc. We've changd the way we
interact with him, since January, and the improvements have been
drastic! He called me Mom, directly and appropriately, for the first
time since he was a little baby, in February. I cried buckets of tears

He gets a daily multi vitamin, but I'll have a try with adding a boost
of B vit, too. Thanks for the tip!

~Candace~
http://duet.etsy.com


Sarajane Helm wrote:
Candace, great to hear from you!!

have fun with the glass, and keep the B vitamins flowing for Tyler
especially--we take Emergen-C packets with lots of B's everyday and it
really REALLY helps with many of the Aspergers behaviors. Dail B vits, and
LOTS of consistancy....my son needs it too, and we've managed to get him all
the way through public school, he graduates this weekend! There were times
we realllllllly wondered...but he made it. Good luck with your school years
to come.
Sarajane