Christmas in July

    I'm so excited!  Christmas has come early!  One of my bracelets, the aventurine and pearl spiral one, was featured in today's Christmas in July blog.     It's the third one listed.  
    The focus of the article is on the latest Pantone color for fall, which is Koi.   I wasn't familiar with that name for a color, but when I saw the picture of it I recognized it immediately.  It's the same color of the aventurine beads I had used.  
     Until now my bracelet had reminded me of orange sherbet.   Now it will remind me of Koi, Nemo (as in the movie "Finding Nemo"), and all things fun and wonderful.
     Thank You Christmas in July for making my Monday special!
 

Listed on Etsy at https://www.etsy.com/listing/161601856/aventurine-pearl-and-crystal-delicas?

 

Aunt Virgie's Jewels

    Aunt Virgie, my father's sister, was my favorite aunt.    She was fun to be around and, since she lived out of state, her yearly visits were always a special treat.   
     As the years rolled by, I grew up and the family changed.   My father, my grandfather, and my uncle all died.    When Aunt Virgie came to visit, she stayed with my mother.   
   

    In 2004 Aunt Virgie gave me an envelope that had broken beads in it and a note.   She wrote that the crystal necklace and bracelet had been given to her in 1950 by her church friends when she and my uncle moved to Chattanooga so he could attend school.   They knew they weren't going to return to Ohio.  They later moved to New Orleans and made that city their home.   At some point the necklace broke, but she kept it because it reminded her of her friends.
     I'm not sure why Aunt Virgie gave it to me.   I didn't make jewelry back then, and I didn't wear fancy crystals.   But, like my aunt, I kept the beads and the note because it reminded me of her.    When I moved to Arizona, I brought the broken jewelry and her note with me.

     Last Friday I took a workshop on how to make a crystal pendant.   I wasn't very happy with the one I made in class, and I thought I would try again at home.   That's when I remembered Aunt Virgie's broken jewelry.    I found the envelope with the beads and the note.

     I had to modify the pendant a bit in order to make it work with her crystals.    The workshop used 11/0 Delica seed beads in between the crystals and to form a bail.  But when I tried to use them, they were too small for Aunt Virgie's crystals.  The seed beads kept going inside the large crystals.  Their pretty effect was lost. 

     I tried Toho #6 gold beads, and they worked better.   Then I tired gold Czech glass, and I liked that look best of all.       

 

   The workshop used all 6mm bicones, but Aunt Virgie's jewels were larger.  They were also in graduated sizes because they had come from one of the broken necklace strands.   I used larger ones on the bottom of the pendant and smaller ones near the top.  I used the smallest ones for the earrings.    I added gold filled ear wires and a gold chain that I had been saving.   The beads have a new look, but they are still Aunt Virgie's jewels.  
     Next week we're going to a music show entitled "Sentimental Journey".   I plan to wear my new/old jewelry there.   I think Aunt Virgie would approve.



 

Golden Friends

    Last week we had a special treat when Ohio friends Larry & Connie came to visit us for a few days.   Larry had been a chemistry major with Kent.  He retired earlier this year, and they were planning a trip to the national parks to celebrate.    Unfortunately the government shut down ruined their park trip.  
      They decided to come west anyway since we had been planning this long overdue visit for months.  We were glad they did.  It was great to see them again.   We picked up the friendship as if it had only been a few months, not 30+ years, since we had been together.   Golden friends are like that.
     We took them to the Desert Botanical Gardens, one of my favorite places in Phoenix.   They had never seen so many cacti.   I remember thinking that, too, the first time I visited there.    

 

     We had lunch on the patio at Gertrudes at the Desert Botanical Gardens.   Yummy as always. 

     The butterfly pavilion was filled with Monarchs, too.

 

      Another day we went hiking in the White Tanks.   This county park doesn't compare to a national park, but it is beautiful in its own desert way.   Unfortunately there weren't any plants in bloom this time of year.   

    

 

We took the Black Loop trail, an easy and popular trail.   

 

      They visited other great Arizona sites--Sedona, Jerome, Tombstone--and we had lots of grilling out on the patio time.   We've already made plans to visit their lake house in Ohio.  

      And we're not going to wait 30 years to do it!

    

Javelina

     The newest visitors to the neighborhood have been javelina.   I haven't seen them here, but our neighbor, Irene, saw two in her yard.     
      Here's what a typical javelina looks like:

 

 

       Although they look like a small pig, they're from the peccary family.    Fish and Game has info on them here:    http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/urban_javelina.shtml  

       He's not a beauty, that's for sure.   This pix came from a Tucson newspaper since none of us have been able to photograph one.  

       I saw a small herd a few times while I was driving through the Aquila area, which didn't surprise me.   It is very rural out that way.   Having them here inside Grand surprised me.  

       When we were walking last night, we passed a couple who said they had just seen one crossing the street.   We kept a look-out, but we never saw any.   

        We know they've been to our yard, though, because they knocked pads off of the Indian Fig cactus and ate bites out of it.  

 

 

     I love the wildlife here, especially the coyotes and roadrunners.   But the javelina can keep on traveling as far as I'm concerned.    

 



Arizona Swing Kings

Arizona Swing Kings

 

       Once again the Grand Cabaret gave us a great evening out.    The Arizona Swing Kings performed to a sold-out crowd last Saturday and got a standing ovation at the end of the evening.  

        We enjoy all of the Cabaret events, and the Swing Kings are one of our favorites.   Lenny King is the musical director and plays trombone.   This time they were even better because they added two treats to the mix, vocalists and a program.  

        The Swing Kings usually play swing and jazz.  But this performance featured all Broadway hits, which is why they needed singers.    The five vocalists were great.     The two men, Art Bigornia and Mike Rust, were new to me, and I hope to get to hear them again.   Bigornia first sang "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You", which was very good.  But he nearly brought the house down with "Bring Him Home" from Les Miserables in the second half of the show.    Mike Rust sang "Who Can I Turn To?" and "Almost Like Being in Love", which was my favorite.   I love Brigadoon, and he gave a fantastic performance.  

         The three women were wonderful, too.   Joni King and Katie Iverson were new to me.  Joni King sang the first song of the night .    The Swing Kings had started off the show with "There's No Business Like Show Business", and Ms. King followed with "Lullaby of Broadway".  What  a great way to set the stage for the evening!   In the second half of the show she did a great job singing "Over the Rainbow".

          Katie Iverson has appeared in Grand productions in the past, but I missed them.   She  sang two great songs, "All That Jazz" and "Don't Cry for Me Argentina".  She was in fantastic both times, but especially when she sang the Evita hit.  Ms. Iverson will be appearing on October 25 in Broadway Broads here at Grand.  That show is already sold out.  Lucky us --  Kent and I and our friends, Chris and Lou, already have our tickets.                   

         The third woman, Cheri Seith, performed recently at the smaller Cimarron Cabaret.   On that night she was acting as well as singing, and she sang in character.   It was a good performance, but the character limited her.  With the Swing Kings she sang "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Broadway Baby" as herself, and she was great.  I'll be watching for her again, too, in the future.   

         The Swing Kings were, of course, great.   There were five saxophones, four trumpets, including Dan Reed, a Sun City Grand favorite, four trombones, plus drums, bass, piano and guitar. 

         This is the first time that I remember the Cabaret using a program, but I hope they do it again.   It's great to be able to see the names.   The band directors always introduce the musicians, but it's impossible to remember all the names.   Having a program will help so much!   Plus it's fun to look over the order of the songs and remember them again.

          The AZ Swing Kings are performing again at Grand during the Oktoberfest on October 12.  Some Ohio friends will be visiting us that weekend, and I hope we'll be able to introduce them to one of Grand's real treats.              

 

 

 

Flat Spiral Bracelet

     One of the great things about Sun City Grand is that it offers clubs and classes in so many things.    Grand Stitchers, my favorite club, recently offered a class in how to make a Flat Spiral Bracelet.    I used amethyst for my bracelet. 

      This is a popular class both at Grand and everywhere else.   A quick Google search turned up lots of hits on "how to's" for it.   A beautiful one is Emerald City Flat Spiral Bracelet.   There's even a video on how to make it on Auntie's Beads. 

       I found the center row of amethyst at a bead show last year.  I've been waiting for the perfect project for it.   Along the edge are smaller amethyst beads and Delica #11 crystals.   I added a silver plated crystal magnetic clasp to it.    Although I sell a lot of my jewelry on Etsy, I'm keeping this one.

        One of the interesting things about the Flat Spiral pattern is that you don't have to make it flat.   I used faceted round aventurine to make this one:

 

 

  Along the edges I added 4 mm glass pearls.   It's like wearing an orange sherbet. 

This one is for sale on my Etsy shop.

 

   The Flat Spiral is so versatile, it can be doubled for another different look.    Auntie's Beads did a video on this version, too.  I can't wait to try it.    

      
     
 
      

The Unofficial Last Weekend of Summer

        
        Labor Day weekend always meant the last weekend of summer when I was a kid in Ohio.   School always started on Tuesday after Labor Day Monday.     All the schools started at the same time back then, too.   The trees wouldn't start turning red and gold until after the first frost, which might not be until late October.   Still, as soon as school started, summer was over.
         Here in the desert, summer isn't much of a treat.   Actually it's a time to leave, if you can. 
         The heat rises from mid-June until August.  Most days are well over 100F.  The really bad ones are over 115F.  You try to do all your outside work (as little as possible) early in the morning.   Same with running errands.   Then it's inside for the rest of the day.   I've made a lot of jewelry this summer in my air conditioned casita. 
         Occasionally we'll get a cool day or two where the temperature drops below 100F.  Whenever there's a little rain, like today, we get excited and frequently walk around in it.  It's very scattered, however, so not everyone will get a shower.   This morning the rain was light and gentle.
   

 

         The huge monsoon rains start anytime after July.   I always hate driving in the summer here because you never knew when a storm might pop up.      
        A monsoon storm is totally different from any rain I had seen in Ohio.  A monsoon rain comes down so fast and hard you can't see the road, or even the car, ahead of you.  The roads flood and washes fill with water. The wind howls, kicking up dust, tumble weeds, and who knows what else.   Dust storms are huge walls of dust that completely obscure the road.  They are terrifying. 
        These storms were a real problem when I was working in La Paz County and had a 2 1/2 hour commute each way.  It's very rural there and not much weather forecasting seems to go on.    More than a few times I left Parker when there were sunny skies and no hint of trouble ahead.  But the farther I drove toward home, the darker the sky would get.  I knew I was in for trouble.  
         One of the greatest things about being retired is not having to worry about driving home in a monsoon.   When you're in the city, you can always pull into a lot and park.   But in the country, there's no place to pull off.   The roads are narrow and the shoulder is frequently non-existent.    When the road gets flooded, it's very dangerous.   The water is muddy so you can't see how deep it really is, and it is amazingly swift and strong.   I don't think there have been any deaths this year, but there were last year when a few drivers tried to cross the washes.   I'm very grateful to be spending this monsoon season safely inside.
       

 

       Right now raindrops are on the leaves and the temperature is 83F .   Even though it will get hot later today, I'm going to enjoy this little break.  Summer isn't over here, but it's on its way out.