I can’t seem to get out of a "How can I find Time to Post Anything on the Web?" syndrome, or whatever you want to call it. The house is underway ( the slab has been poured, framing to start soon, and I need to choose and order kitchen, office and bathroom cabinets), we’ve done two (or is it three?) shows since I last posted, and one more coming up (Dallas), many orders to fill, galleries selling stuff (thankfully), and what else? Oh, we’re going to Houston this Monday for Jim’s three-monthly check in with the Baylor PD clinic for his "trials". That is, his "Did he get the brain implant, or did he get the sham" contestant search. He has to be on and off his meds, answer a lot of " Are you depressed?" type questions, and generally be a guinea pig for the study. Maybe this time we will find out the results, and you betcha’ ,we’ll let you and  everybody else know if this implant thing works. If it does, a lot of PD patients around the world will be clamoring for it. And if it doesn’t, we’ll wonder what the heck did happen, since he has been so much better since October 2006. If it was the placebo effect, well, give us more of that, ok.

So, in the midst of all of the above, I just haven’t done much else but make stock, drive to shows, sell it, package it, and, really, not get around to posting or listing it anywhere. I did, by the way, win "Best of Category, Glass" at the Texas Arts and Crafts Festival, and also "Jurors Choice, 3 D", at the Fayetteville Art Walk. So there – I’m proud!!. Get it while you can. Here’s two samples.

My Mother was absolutely my biggest fan. She wore my jewelry everywhere, shamelessly promoted it, gave out business cards, and "talked me up" at every occasion. Before I made lampworked beads I created one of a kind pieces using antique beads. I made her a very special necklace with one of her favorite gemstones, amethyst. In the necklace were some carved ivory rabbits, probably made in Japan as  Ojime, beautifully done, and coincidentally, very valuable. The necklace was one of her favorites, and she wore it everywhere, which included  packing it for a trip she took to Europe. On her way home, she wore it, and the  U.S. customs agent stopped her at re-entry, saying that she must declare it and pay a high duty. Oh, the agent was no match for her: "Young man", she said, "My daughter made this necklace, just for me. It may have ivory in it, however, she bought it long ago, and I AM NOT paying duty on it. It has been in my proud possession for many years. Here is her card!" And with that, he (according to my Mother, who I have no reason to doubt), took my card, promised to look up my web site, and humbly said to her: "Next time you leave the country with your necklace m’am, please declare it upon leaving so that you may re-enter without question."

Ah, my biggest fan,and how I still miss her, gone now since she died in 2002. My husband and I thought, just as we had returned "to land", that we would have many years left with her nearby. It was not to be. The acute pain of her death is gone, but the moments I want to turn to her, or call her, and say "Mother, guess what?" don’t lessen. She taught me many things, telling me over and over as I grew up, "Lyn, You can do anything you want to in life, be anything, anyone you want to be. Don’t hold back, go for it, whatever you want to be or do."

She constantly inspired me, just by her being.  In addition to raising two girls, she was a successful writer, holding many jobs in various writing capacities, and wrote and published  two books. (And all of this in an era way before "Women’s Lib").  She always encouraged my business capabilities, as well as my creative abilities. And when we set off to sail around the world, she  also encouraged us even then, in spite of her underlying fears that we would be harmed or not survive the rigors of the oceans. The book I am working on about our journey is dedicated to her (and to Jim’s mother) with the following inscription:  "For our mothers, Ina Lee Hansen, and Carolyn Harrell Kilgore; They taught us to follow our dreams, and loved us enough to let us go."

And my mother surely loved me enough to let me go, and see me soar in business. Thank you Mother, I miss you and love you still.

P.S. The topic of this post was suggested by a group I belong to: Flaming Hot. Follow the link to read posts by  other bead artists blogging about their life with glass.

I’m a little behind on my blog – well – maybe a LOT behind. The weeks are flying  by, and I’m grabbing tail feathers, dragging along for the ride. Whee!  After our show in Houston at the Bayou City Art Festival, we drove home, and I wrote  about orders, running on a hamster treadmill, and trying to calm down. The calming down part worked a little bit – until we hit the road again for a show in Tallahassee.  Driving I-10 across Texas, Louisiana, and Florida was a L-O-N-G haul, especially towing a trailer, and paying $3.50 a gallon for gas along the way.  We made it though, and came home with a little bit of money in our pockets. Not nearly enough for the effort, so I don’t think Florida will see us again anytime soon.

This past weekend we finished another show (nearby in Fayetteville) and I’m working on orders again. Meanwhile, at the Round Top Library fundraiser last  Saturday, May the 3rd, the necklace Jim and I created sold for $900! We were really pleased, and with funds matched by benefactor Sterling McCall, it added $1,800 to the library kitty. The entire event raised about $173,000 – WOW! A big thank you to everyone who worked so long and hard on the event, and all the many people who contributed in so many ways. 

Here I am showing off the necklace to a potential bidder (Friend Randy took the picture with his cell phone – a little blurry, but you get the idea.). And here is the final necklace ( off now with its new owner):

Both of the Galleries that represent my work are steadily selling my pieces, and I’m also finishing orders for them both, so what with this, and what with that, I’m swamped.

Did I mention that the house contractors have started building???So will you forgive me for my lack of attention to the blog? And "Flaming Hot" says "What does your web site do for you?" – Well, its does a great deal for me, which is good, and bad – not bad really, just challenging. While I was down in Houston at the Bayou City Art Festival I sold two items off my web site. Luckily, using my laptop, I checked my site at the end of the day – but oops, I had also sold those same items during the show. Since every thing we make is one of a kind, I had to write some embarrassing notes to the customers -  and remade similar items for them later.

Also, several people came into my booth, toting numbers and prices and pictures they had gleaned from my web site,  and were ready to buy. GREAT – pre-sold – Suits me.

So, learning my lesson, prior to the Tallahassee show, I posted a note on the site saying that the items might sell from at the show. Posting the warning worked, and after I got home I sold a necklace that no one in Florida had purchased. Great! Sales while away, and sales from the site.

My site also keeps me in the public eye, and is a reference point for customers who have purchased previously, and want to buy again, or order matching earrings, or whatever. The site  keeps me on my toes (hopefully) – prodding me to update what is new, what is fresh – and to write this blog, keeping you informed about what I am doing.

Ah, if only I could really catch up ————————

So, for tonight, here’s the latest – not even priced, not even posted, but pretty, eh????????