Solar Flare Blog Hop

I'm delighted to participate in another Blog Hop! 

The Solar Flare blog hop was based on a different idea than any other hop I've participated in before now.  Our blog hop host, Sam Siegel of Ultimate Supplies, caught a cool image one night-

Then he found out his picture was taken while this was going on:

Solar Flares!

 



Pretty cool, huh?  So he had the great idea to offer a blog hop based on the solar flare images.   Each jewelry designer used these images as the inspiration for their unique jewelry creation.

I liked the idea, and I'm excited to participate.

I am sad that I haven't completed my piece...  Life kind of messed up my project time-line. Getting the part in Charlotte's Web, getting sick, & having both of my girls home sick last week...

However, I've got a pretty good start on it, and expect to have it complete by tomorrow night.  I have finished the wire-work on the focal segment and I wanted to share that today. 

(Don't worry, that's not all I have completed, it is just all that is shareable at this time.)

I am currently twisting the central section using pearls, crystals and stones.  I'll need to use chain in back and attach a clasp.  I'm looking forward to having the whole piece put together by late tomorrow night.

For some more fabulous solar flare inspiration, check out the rest of the blog hop participants.

Gloria Allen
Blog Link:http://innovativedreamsjewelry.blogspot.com

Shawn Marie Mills
Blog Link: http://shawnmariedesignsatbentwire.blogspot.com/

Karin King
Blog Link: http://maverickbeads.blogspot.com/

Alicia Marinache
Blog Link: http://www.allprettythings.ca

Pam "The Crazier Sister Blog:
http://crazycreativecorner.blogspot.com/?m=1

Kelly Hosford Patterson
Blog Link: http://travelingsideshow.blogspot.com/

Delia Marsellos-Traister
Blog Link: www.phoenixmagyk.com

Dana Lang
Blog Link: http://tumblestonehandmakery.blogspot.ca

Mischelle Fanucch
http://micheladasmusings.blogspot.com

Jessica Murray
Blog Link: http://whimsicalweavings.blogspot.com/

Cynthia Abner
Blog Link: http://createdtreasures.blogspot.com/

Charlie Jacka
Blog: http://clay-space.com/blog

Shannon Hicks
Blog Link:http://uptwnsh-fallingintothesky.blogspot.com/

Zoe Marcin
Blog Link: http://beadsteaandsweets.blogspot.com/

Rebecca Sirevaag
Blog Link: http://godsartistinresidence.blogspot.com/   YOU are HERE!

Miranda C. Ackerley
Blog Link: http://mirandack.com

Paula Winchester Hisel
Blog Link: http://simplybeadiful.weebly.com/simply-stated.html

Lynn Jobber/Lo/The Creative Klutz
Blog Link: http://thecreativeklutz.blogspot.co.uk/

Alenka Obid
Blog Link: http://pepita-handmade.blogspot.com/
Thank you, Sam!

Saturday/Sunday Smiles

Oops!  Totally missed my Saturday Smiles yesterday. 

Beth & I did our first Holiday bazaar, and I was completely knee-deep in prep Friday night.  I got something like 3 hours of sleep, then we woke up at the crack of dawn to dash to Monroe High School (actually very little dashing was going on due to the icy roads).  We set up, I spent a couple of hours with Beth, then went to rehearsal (hee-hee!  I love saying 'rehearsal'!), then I went back to Beth and we cleaned up.

We sold three things the entire day...  Pretty stinky.  We didn't think about the fact that this year all the construction has been right in front of Monroe on Illinois St...  So nobody could just drive-by and see their big sign.  And very few people could figure out how to get there.  And very few people came to the bazaar.  One of my bazaar friends also told me that the News Miner article had the wrong date and times....  All in all a very depressing day. 

Anyway, we got home and crashed.  I fell asleep on the couch, ate dinner, and then fell back asleep on the couch.  My awesome husband made dinner.  Bless the man!
*****

So, a little late, but still ready to go!  I offer up a couple of things that have made me smile this week:

1) Jake- My husband!
He has responded with enthusiasm and delight to the fact that I'm in a play, Charlotte's Web. =)  He knows how much I'm going to be gone the next several weeks, and he has been incredibly pleased for me.  Bless the man!

2) Rehearsals!
I've been at two rehearsals this week for Charlotte's Web!  I'm a wacky nut, but I love rehearsals. I've always liked the process of preparing for the big performance as much as the performance itself.  I'm delighted with the cast the director has put together.  And after the first two rehearsals, I can say with pleasure that I'm delighted with this director.  What an honor to be working with this cast and crew!  I'm smiling just thinking about all the work we're going to get to do together.

Do or do not, There is no try

 

“Do not let what you cannot do,

interfere with what you can do.”

from the late John Wooden who coached the UCLA Bruins

to numerous NCAA basketball championships

 

 

Photos by Jake Sirevaag

Me! Mrs. Arable!

I got a part in FDA's production of Charlotte's Web!  I'm Fern's mom.

I'm very excited, and thrilled, and delighted.  We did our read-through tonight and got to meet all the members of the cast.  My first play in a long time.  Glad to have finally broken that very long, dry spell.  Yes, I got to direct when I was teaching drama, and children's musicals.  But directing and acting are very different.  YAY!

November is going to be very, very busy.  I have a lot of rehearsals most weeks.  I'm looking forward to the challenge.  I'm wondering how it is all going to balance out with Deborah in the Nutcracker and me in a play...

Saturday Smiles

On Saturday I post about a few things that have made me smile over the last week.
*****

1) I auditioned for a part in Charlotte's Web!

I know I already said something about this, but I'm still smiling.  I don't know if I have a part yet; however, I'm so excited about reading a script and hanging out with theatre folk that I'm still riding high.

2) My Reading kids are leveling up.
We did re-assessments on my reading students this week, and every single one of them is on the upward swing.  It's exciting to see that what I am doing is making a difference. 
Last year I had one student who just never improved and it was so disheartening to re-assess and try to figure out what I could change over & over.  This year what we are doing is helping, and I love seeing those gradual, and sometimes sudden, improvements.

3) Aurora Borealis

Last night Jake, my daughters & I went up to the Large Animal Research Station behind the University Campus and watched an amazing display of the Northern Lights.  My girls didn't remember ever seeing the Lights, and it was a wonderful introduction to them.  The aurora was moving, rippling and changing colors across most of the sky above us.  Fabulous!  So beautiful.

Auditioned!

I auditioned for a part in Fairbanks Drama Association's production of Charlotte's Web!  I may not get a part, and that's okay.  I actually enjoyed the auditioning process (which I used to hate), and I got to be around some of 'my' people (theatre folks). 
I haven't been in a piece since 2004, I think.  And I haven't directed anything since 2009, I think.  That is a long time!!!  Much too long.  I am ready!  Ready enough that I actually went and enjoyed an audition. =)
I want to be in a play so BAD!!!  However, if I'm not in, I'll be glad I got to audition anyway, because I read from a script and it went well.  I got to stand around and talk to other actors.  It sounds like a really fun production.

Learning to Listen

There’s never a time Jesus is not speaking.
Never a place in which Jesus is not present.
Never a room so dark, that the ever-present, ever-pursuing Jesus is not present.
Max Lucado

I am learning to listen, but you have to believe that He speaks to hear His voice.  A crazy balance to maintain!  How can I believe He speaks if I have never heard His voice?
I am thankful that Jesus Himself said, "His sheep know His voice."  So when I think, "Is that Jesus speaking to me?"  -Prompting me to do something... Or pushing me not to do something...- If I am questioning whether that's Him, it probably is.

For those who say God no longer performs miracles, look at the sun rising & setting, look at babies being born and middle-aged men finally forgiving their brother for some long ago heartache, at leaves changing color and falling, and the miracle of spring's rebirth.  Miracles happen every day.  We're just used to them, so they have become common place. 

Saturday Smiles

On Saturdays I post about a couple of things that have made me smile over the last week.
*****

1) Sharon Shinn's new book The Shape of Desire

 

From Shinn's website: Maria Devane has loved Dante Romano since she met him. But he’s a man with a secret: He’s a shape-shifter who spends an increasing amount of time in animal form. Or so he tells her—in the fifteen years they’ve been together, she’s never actually seen him take another shape. She tries not to wonder if that’s the truth. She tries not to think about the other reasons he might disappear for weeks at a time. But she has to start asking herself extremely hard questions when there’s a series of brutal murders in town and the most likely culprit is someone who is half animal, half human.

I love Sharon Shinn's books- she creates believable sympathetic characters and I fall in love with them consistently.  Her intricate plots and fully-realized worlds are fun to jump into and I never want her stories to end. My favorites are the Twelve Houses novels, but I enjoy everything she has written.  Her Samaria books combine faith with science in a way that always makes me think deeply about who I am & what I believe, but they are still enjoyable simply as high-quality stories.

I admit that I wasn't too sure about The Shape of Desire at first.  It took me a couple of chapters to become engrossed, but then I had to finish the book in one big gulp.  I stayed up last night to finish it and I'm glad I did. 

Yes, this book could be subtitled, "My Shape-Changing Boyfriend".  However, Shinn takes the cliches & old-record-grooves, and creates something new and interesting.  Shinn's counter-point story, a co-worker caught in a seriously abusive marriage, causes Maria to question her relationship with Dante in a manner no serious 'Twilight' fan would find acceptable.  I thoroughly enjoyed this thoughtful paranormal romance/mystery.

 

2) Quiet Time

No Farmer's Market craziness!  I love Farmer's Market, but I'm glad to be released for a season to do other things- like read, watch some TV, enjoy my girls, and bead for pleasure.

 

3)  I am out of my boot!!!!

 

I saw the foot doctor this week, and my fractured foot is well enough for me to leave the boot behind!  No exercising, or dancing for a while yet, but I'm free to wear just plain old shoes!

Not Writing

So, I've been feeling a little dark and depressed lately, probably related to the chilly fall-into-winter weather.  I dread the long cold nights of the Alaskan winters, and generally get a little gloomy as the cold & dark descends on us.  We've had a little snow up here, but mostly just frosts.  In the mornings we've had 20's and low 30's, and I don't like being cold!
I tend to hibernate, hide and read a lot when the weather starts changing....  I want to not get so dark this winter!