Szarka's Life?

2009-12-29T16:05:00.000-08:00

My birthday is January 29th and the kyote got me an early present. A Damale bracelet by Bill Murdoch. She's gorgeous!!

"DAMALE - VARISCITE / FAUSTITE & PAIUTE - TURQUOISE The Damale mine is located 30 miles east of Austin, Nevada on the east side of Damele Mountain at the south east end of the Simpson Park Range. The site is about a mile southwest of the Dry Creek (Godber) mine. Damale turquoise is distinctive because of the unusual colors the gems in a yellow-green to bright mint green with excellent hardness. The Damele deposit produces very little material of the standard blue colors most people commonly associate with turquoise. Mineralogically, most of the material produced here is likely Variscite, Chalcosiderite or possibly Faustite. The mine consists of a single medium sized open pit excavation. The adjoining Paiute turquoise deposit shares the same hill with the Godber mine, produces material of a standard good blue color. The Damale material is mostly in nugget form, with a webbing consisting of a dark brown to black matrix. Its availability is limited because the mine is fairly small and considerable laying back of the steep pit walls will be required for further production. The mine is worked only sporadically by the owner on a small scale. Due to its rare, bright and attractive colors, Damale is considered a collectible gemstone." Info from Nevada Outback Gems

More Show Pics

2009-11-03T20:27:00.000-08:00

In this set we managed to snag a picture of dear Karen. This was at the Wimberely Bead Society trunk show, smack dab in the middle of summer in Texas. I tell ya I am dedicated!

Oh a very poor picture of me. Just remeber it's like 202 degrees out!

Belly dancing belts we carry at shows ............... made in Pakistan.

I really should give her a name. I think we might be living with her for awhile. At $300 someone who really loves skulls and labradorite will have to come along.

More Gem Show Pictures

2009-11-03T17:28:00.000-08:00

Tera the undead?

2009-06-30T00:53:00.000-07:00

I was off to Dallas to do a gem show and dad took Tera out to the local hangouts birthday party. Looks like it was a rough night!

On the Road Again - Gem Shows

2009-05-19T22:51:00.001-07:00

Tucson Turquoise

2009-02-03T15:47:00.000-08:00

The ol man is playing in Tucson. He likes to go see the friends we have we use to sell with and other people hopelessly involved in the gem trade. He enjoys eating too much smoked barbeque and then supporting a few of the old turquoise dogs that mine their own and make up beads and jewelry to support their addiction. It's nice to see everyone I guess, next year I get to go? Maybe. Here are some beauties he picked up to support "turquoise family" humans. If we can't support each others addictions who can? LOL

Robyn snapped a pic and had it in her blog so the surprize was spoiled. I don't mind.

www.magpiegemstones.com Wholesale Gemstone Beads

Damale Turquoise Nugget Birthday Present

2009-01-28T12:39:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is my birthday and today is my anniversary. My ol man got me a natural Damale turquoise nugget necklace. The nuggets are huge. I know many people will not know the meaning of Damale but that's ok. I still want to share. She is a beaut ......... I plan to take her apart and make a bracelet and earrings to match. I will post those later.

Damale is my favorite. The beads were hand made by Bill Murdoch.

Just wanting to show off. The ol man did good this time. Usually he gets me a new fridge or new door 0_o

Here she is done.

http://www.magpiegemstones.com/ ~Premium Quality Wholesale Gemstone Beads~

It's Getting Better Everyday!

2008-05-23T02:12:00.000-07:00

The plants are growing. The frogs have taken over. The fish are getting fat. Does it get any better than this?

Furry Buddies

2008-04-30T22:34:00.000-07:00

To keep the squirrels out of the garden my husband has been building trapese feeders for the furry guys. It keeps them entertained. This one has become adept at swinging while he eats.

Tera's 7th

2008-04-08T19:49:00.000-07:00

Water water everywhere?

2008-03-15T13:24:00.000-07:00

There are somewhere between 13 and 26 gold fishes to eat the skeeters. I am not sure though, they are elusive. There is some plants from the river in the pond and the fish like to hide from me.

You can't see the juniper tree on the left front but you can see the one on the right. I am going to use them as trellises for the scarlet runners. The very top bed is for the strawberries. The rest, hm, I have a map of what plants companion with other plants and it looks like a maze drawn by a drunk monkey. I guess when I get out there shovel in hand I will figure it out. The tree on the back of the garden is a live Oak. I hope the garden gets enough son. It will definitely get enough shade!

My daughter is swing crazy. We have put up four swings now in the really big Oak tree's. She swings for hours a day.

I have been busy as a beaver watching Kyote build and put up a pond with the unending help of a friend. I also had some help rooting out layers of limestone rock and then I hauled in garden dirt by the wheel barrel full to get a bit of a garden going behind the house. It is much bigger than the picture looks. I am having a hard time adjusting to the difference between gardening here in Texas compared to Canada. Canning jars? Why would I need canning jars when we can plant all year long? Too weird.

I was going to plant today but they are calling for 50 mile an hour winds for the next three days and then I am off to the warehouse to buy beads so I guess the garden doesn't go in for another week. I sure hope I won't be too late then before the summer heat hits and melts all the plants.

Deep Green Icing Flowing Down

2008-01-30T17:37:00.000-08:00

I managed to suck air while the planet made another swish around the sun. My reward was a homemade carrot cake with green icing. mmmmmmmmm

New Teeth

2008-01-18T00:20:00.000-08:00

A six year old teething is not something I expected to experience. The parenting books seem to end at age 5 when I guess the school is suppose to take over? Hmmm I am not sure, but yup I have a teething six year old. See those big new beauties showing up? Well we're darned proud .

Thank goodness the dog ain't teething.

My daughter takes better pictures that I do. She's a natural. I better get her clicking shots of those beads.

Off to the mail

2008-01-02T11:40:00.000-08:00

Oh yeah selling beads is so romantic. Long waits at the post office. Counting beads until numbers float in my head while I sleep. LOL
Am I complaining? Nope it is a labor of love, an addiction, a being that takes over and demands its way. It's all good I say.
Now my daughters are they complaining? Heck yeah. Look at the pain and anquish on their faces while they wait in the car at the post office. They don't even bother to come in anymore.

What's new?

2007-09-18T23:48:00.001-07:00

New House?

2007-03-31T01:13:00.000-07:00

Bus pictures so I don't loose them!!

2007-03-16T19:18:00.000-07:00

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In the wire wrap jewelry forum on yahoo we are talking about living on the road full time so I pulled these pictures out of ether to show how we lived for many years while on the road.

I wish I had more pictures of the bus but back then we didn't ever get the camera out. A digital is something we didn't yet have and who ever went near a photo Center? You can kind of see the denim bag behind her. It hung from hook at he end of the shelves lining the bed. It was for dirty laundry. When I had a hard time getting out of the bed into the kitchen it was time to find a washing machine in some little town some where.

Tera is sitting on her stool in front of the wooden built in trunk that housed all our dry goods and tripled as a step into the big bed in the back of the bus and had a cushion across it so you could sit in the kitchen.

The dog hated the cat but the cat didn't care. One of he few times we let the dog on the couch in the living room so he wasn't going to start a fight. We built the couch to be long enough for a 6 foot human to sleep on which was good when our teenage son moved back "home". We made sure we built it high enough to fit the long high milk crates. We got four under there. One for shoes, one for toys, one for overstock, and one for yarn to crochet.

From the edge of the bed in the living room. Out of sight to the right is the fridge and stove, to the left two sinks. Behind the rainbow curtain was a toilet built like a closet so there was storage over it accessible from the kitchen. Big things like kettles etc lived there. The "stuff" under the dinning table was a box that had slide on front covers. When we would settle down I would take off the faces and Tera's play room was under the table. Behind her is the big couch that was the size of almost a single bed.

Us on the big couch. I refused to have anything that rode in the bus since we would stop anywhere to eat or stay. Everything had to have it's permanent home. No piles of lawn chairs on the floor while we travelled. The second we "stopped" we were good to do anything.

Above us and on all sides of the bus was a built in overhead shelf that was open but had rails. Everything lived up there! Storage storage storage! We had learnt that from living in an RV. They suck for storage space.

When we moved out of the bus into a 35 foot motor home we had to get rid of so much stuff because it wouldn't fit and we didn't even have the booth anymore!

Tera and I in her "playroom". The table also could come down and we could make another single bed. We only did it a few times when someone was sick. Then we would have a house with three beds to lounge around in.

The seats at the table were storage and held all my beads and wire. I made sure we built a BIG table. I could set out all my beads and work indoors if I had to.

On the couch watching TV. The shelves beside her also had fronts that I pulled out when we were sitting and slid in when we were travelling. The other knick knacks I glued down .

I found this picture on someone else's website about a festival they were at. Obviously we must have been there too?

Uncle Mick of Mic's Rocks set up in front of us at a barter fair in Idaho I think.

Tera and her bus buddies sharing some sort of treat on the hood of another bus.

Da Family

2006-11-02T22:54:00.000-08:00

When the babe was young ............ at the slabs in Niland CA during the talent show.

How?

2006-11-02T22:44:00.000-08:00

My jewelry is rustic and earthy and very different from a lot of peoples. My booth reflected and excentuated that fact. You will probably not want to mimic my display but since you asked to see it ................. Hundreds of pairs of earring hang on a hand crochetted cotton curtain. People would spend an hour at the curtain alone choosing earrings. How could you leave with just one pair?

Expensive and unique pieces were displayed in the glass cases and hung from the sides of the wood dislay cases to attract attention. You can not see them in the photos but the stood out from the path by the booth and pulled people in.

This is the inside of the bus we use to live in on the road. This is the living room couch. My daughter is watching cartoons on the TV in the consol above the drivers seat while sipping a smoothy.

This a part of the booth when set up in Quartzsite Arizona, that is why you see more than just jewelry and a lot more stones etc.... This was not the ussual set up. This was for a few months at a time so it varied from the one I did on weekends at Festivals etc....

These are the beautiful buffalo hide boots Ky makes.

Another stand up jewelry display that was bolted onto the table. No blowing away of anything on my watch.

One of the many displays of rings, wire wrapped.

LOL This is in Quartziste and my daughter decided we needed to sell large stuffed animals which was a dismal failure mixed with jewelry and people who live in RV's. It made Quartzsite very bearable for her that winter though, I broke even and gave the rest away to another vendor.

To the right you can see a row of hand crochetted clothing. In the far back a large display of hand crochetted buffalo wool hats I use to make. To the left and behind is another 10 by 20 booth in an L with this 10 by 20. At weekend shows I would only set up one.

Tera telling a terrifying tale, LOL. You can see a bit more of the wood display for jewelry behind her.

These pictures do not show the richness and depth of the booth. Nor how it looked at festivals but it gives you a bit of an idea. This was close to break down and much had been packed away for our trip to the North.

You can see the pink bus now at http://www.thepinkbus.com/

Clay Jeanie Cup

2006-09-06T15:17:00.000-07:00

Dog Wedding

2006-08-24T14:51:00.000-07:00

My daughter married her dog to the stuffed dog "Jim". She wanted me to acknowledge the occasion by posting it on my blog. It was exciting.