Locked and loaded

Do you recognize these beads? They were featured in my blog entry titled "I know I know" from August 13th.

Well, they have been transformed into a full 3 piece set of jewelry titled Treasure based on the focal that reminds me of a find in a treasure chest. It's chock full of color...thanks to my friend telling me to get more light flowing through it for better photographs!

I'm finishing the photography today and should list this on Etsy by tomorrow so be sure to visit me there to see the end result. I'm still surprised at the range of depth and color from light to dark that all work together. Quite spectacular, or "delicious" my friend tells me.

So I'm beginning to think that with all the traffic that has come to this blog since I posted my previous entry regarding Chihuly that I should just say Chihuly in every other post as that seems to be what gets people here! 42 visitors in one day...uh...people, from 5 a day to 42...that's quite a jump!

Hey, locked and loaded...moving on from the jewelry world and into our real little world of every day life I have to share something with you that just blew my mind. How many of you know that on foil and plastic wrap boxes there is a little lock on each end to keep the product from rolling out of the box???

I did NOT know this...neither did my sis when I asked her and I just couldn't beLIEVE it! I've included close-up shots for you and have to say that "press" as instructed just doesn't work: you have to get in there with a knife to slice two sides of the tab to get it to pressing state....so simple and unbelievable that it's been there all this time.

I mean, come on, who hasn't had a roll slip out and onto the floor. Now, what's the rule on THAT? 2 second rule? 5 second rule?

So it just goes to show you that you never know what you'll learn when you visit this blog. Gosh I'm just full of important knowledge...LOL.

Okay, gang, I want to hear your comments. I should take a poll on this box lock situation just to see how many of you were in the dark with me!

By the way, the day AFTER we visited the (I'll say it again:) Chihuly exhibit there was a gigantic 3 day concert in Golden Gate Park called Outside Lands...just below the museum we had visited. I didn't find out about it until its first day was completed. I don't know how I missed that when checking the area activities to decide what day to visit Chihuly. I only knew that I didn't want to go into San Francisco on a Friday or into a weekend....and this is why!

I feel so Chihuly

The Dale Chihuly blown glass exhibit at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco was a marvel. Left is the Macchia Forest, and below, the chandelier room. There were 11 rooms in all. Black walls and ceilings and dark floors were the perfect dramatic backdrop for the beautifully illuminated glass.

I spent most of my time in these 2 rooms. This may sound crazy, but the red chandelier? I wanted to consume it like liquid so it could become part of me. I know that sounds completely bizarre but that is how I felt...isn't art strange! The color of it, the striations in the glass tubes, the power of it...just wanted it to be part of me. No art has made me feel that before. These photos are from Chihuly's website and you can see more photos of this particular installation and others at www.Chihuly.com.

I didn't bother taking a camera and was surprised that snapping pics was acceptable as long as no flash was used. I spied one woman's photo on her camera and with just the lighting in the room against all that black, her shots turned out well, but I figure, hey, I'll just buy the book with the professional shots.

The Art of Chihuly book features this particular exhibit and was for sale at $45 which isn't bad but I told my son I knew I could get it for less online and I did. As soon as I got home, I searched and found a hardback copy still in shrink wrap for only $23 plus $4 for shipping...such a deal. Now I can relive the beauty and emotions whenever I wish.

My dad drove up from the central coast to join me and my son at the museum and he treated us to lunch afterwards in the museum cafe which featured all fresh food, cold & hot, and the prices weren't bad at all. We ate outside in the garden area.

The weather was overcast and wonderfully cool, just right for tee-shirt attire. It was fun to watch birds, from little Brewer's blackbirds to pigeons to one big seagull, munch on whatever lunch bits people dropped, be it on purpose or accidental. From our seats we could see the odd, multi-storied domes of the nearly finished construction of the new Steinhart Aquarium.

The domes are dotted with small round windows or solar panels maybe, and the rest is covered with what looks like moss. In the newspaper today an article stated this quote:"it is supported by recycled steel, insulated with recycled blue jeans and topped with a living roof." Interesting photos can be found here: Steinhart Aquarium.

Well, I highly recommend you visit the Chihuly site above to see if he's going to be near you any time soon. It's something not to be missed!