Handmade Fuzion

It seems as though there is a new shopping/networking site in the works: http://handmadefuzion.com/ This is what their website says so far:

We are a Social Networking Marketplace dedicated to the handmade community.
We are currently only accepting vendors of handmade and gourmet items.

Hmmmm. I wonder what kinds of things they'll be selling? I like the part about "gourmet"...

Ahhh, the Olympic games!

There is so much excitement around the Olympic games this year-more, it seems than usual. I started wondering about the origins of the event as well as where it is headed-given that it is increasingly becoming a platform for political expression. Of course, the games began in ancient Greece: participants were required to be young men from various Greek cities who had trained for a minimum of 10 months preceeding the games. (Women, it can be noted, were only permitted to participate in equestrian events). There were a number of skill-testing games, among them footraces, chariot races, wrestling and boxing. I was particularly interested in boxing. Initially soft leather covered their fingers but eventually hard leather weighted with metal was sometimes used. That got me thinking about metal on hands and, being a metalsmith, I wanted to capture the simplicity and harsh brutality of this event. So I created this ring: I think it captures the kind of raw determination you would need to spar with an opponent wearing metal-tipped leather gloves!

Truce was called during the games to allow the safe passage of the athletes and visitors-wars and legal disputes were put on hold and generally this was observed. There is a story however, that claims that the Spartans were forbidden from attending the games and fined 200,000 drachmas for assaulting the city of Lepreum during the period of the truce, claiming that the truce had not yet taken hold.

Crazy Spartans. Always lookin' for a fight.

The ancient Greeks exhibited a great understanding of human nature when they realized the potential for political grandstanding and took steps to prevent this during the games. But nowadays there is a growing tendency to use this global event to express political viewpoints, in spite of the original intent.

What about you? Do you think the games should symbolize peace, goodwill and sportsmanship throughout the world? Or do you think that it is an ideal opportunity to capture the world's attention and make a stand for what you believe in? Our very own Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper boycotted the Olympic games this year to make a statement.

As for me, I'm grateful that I live in a place where I have the freedom to choose.

Can you say flexible?

Ummm. Yeah. I know that this pic looks entirely unnatural, but can you say flexible? I was doing a little yoga this morning, and as I was doing Downward Dog, Oscar was observing. Not to be outdone, he can be seen here doing Sideways Cat. He must've thought I was an absolute beginner!

Helen of Troy and Oscar the Fearless

Sorry I haven't posted in so long. Terrible I know, but I'm back. As you know, I have a recent addition to my family: Oscar the supermodel Norwegian Forest cat. A beautiful and entertaining creature, NFC's are known to be loyal, talkative and I believe they like to play fetch.

In addition to these wonderful aforementioned qualities, they are also excellent hunters, and will stop at nothing to protect their home and loved ones. Especially if your home has been invaded by the dreaded woolly mice. Woolly mice, very dangerous and clever creatures, will endeavor to invade the home - Trojan Horse style - usually hidden in a seemingly harmless household object, such as a roll of toilet paper. Once inside, they will get up to all kinds of devilry, such as building nests in the fur coats of less suspicious cats, usually when they are sleeping.

Anyways, I have recently confirmed that such an attack was indeed scheduled to take place the other night, but wait! Thwarted they were by none other than Oscar The Fearless. Surveillance photos later confirmed the events: Nashford looks on nervously from a high, safe vantage point.

Oscar saves the day!

Flowers from Outerspace?

Haha! Made you look, didn't I? Well take a look at this pic, and tell me that you don't think this flower looks like it might have come from outerspace!

Finally, my columbine (aquilegia) is blooming, and although it may have come from space, right now it is enjoying the summer in the Tangled Forest in my backyard. And blooming for the first time ever, now that the deer have stopped repeatedly munching it down to nothing. (I now have a fence!) In fact, many of the plants that I had previously tried to grow to no avail, are now doing well. I can hardly wait for all of them to bloom.

And the Oscar goes to...

Meet Oscar.
The first time I laid eyes on Oscar was about a year ago in a local no-kill rescue. His elderly owner had passed away, and he was brought in. I frequent all of the shelters in the city, and when I spotted him I thought he was a real charmer: fur as fluffy and weightless as a cloud, and a beautiful blue color, a charming demeanor, with amber eyes that seduced. We became fast friends, but I did not bring him home. I was looking for a younger cat, one who would liven things up for my two older cats. He was a bit older.
As time wore on, many cats came and went, but no one chose Oscar. He greeted me warmly every time I went to search for a cat, even when he became quite ill in the shelter-he still raised his head to me. Still, I wanted a younger cat.
I had encountered many cats of varying ages and personalities, as you can imagine. None of them seemed quite right for our household though. My search continued.
Two days ago I was back at the shelter: Oscar was still there-sadly approaching his one year anniversary of being there. I took him out and patted him for a bit while I chatted with the adoption councilor. "I really like him" I said yet again, placing him back into his kennel. "But I really wanted a younger cat. Someone who'll be really playful".
Back in his cage now, I turned to leave, but froze in my tracks as he gave a sharp call. Staring at me, he picked up a little pom pom toy and tossed it in the air. Another meow, and he grabbed a different ball and batted it around, then stopped to stare at me.
I looked at the girl, who stood there with her mouth open. "He's never done that! He's not usually that playful!"
Looking into his face right then, I said "I think I'll be back tomorrow".

Tomorrow arrived, and I bustled back to the shelter, my heart doing flip flops because I was finally going to bring Oscar home. But when I bent down to look into his cage, it was empty and cleaned out. Tears welled, but I figured at least he had finally found a home. I straightened up, swiped a hand discreetly across my eyes, and toured the shelter to mask my disappointment. He wasn't anywhere. Turning to leave, a volunteer walked up to me and asked if I needed a hand with anything.
"I guess someone finally adopted Oscar " I said, trying to sound happy.
"What?" she replied. "No. We just cleaned out his cage. He's in the kennel on the floor in the corner!"

Oscar, a beautiful Norwegian Forest cat, has settled in very nicely to his new forever home.

Summertime shopping - Cool ideas!

Summer is officiallly here: flowers, patios, great food, friends and....that's right-shopping! If you're like me, I spend my money on things that make me happy. And there is a whole lotta happy over at http://www.etsy.com/, where you can find a mind boggling assortment of handmade products -everything from food products, clothing, and jewelry to furniture and objects d'art.

(Ok, I'll admit it...I have been known to spend hours at a time perusing amazing sellers). Etsy is a kind of cyber warehouse for wonderful artists to sell their creations, using a standardized and user-friendly format. A great example of this is my Etsy shop to the right of this blog post-clicking on any of the items shown there will take you right to my etsy shop where you can purchase the items you like; or, by scrolling a little further down this page, you can see examples of other etsy sellers that are some of my favorites, and clicking on those images will take you to their shop. Fun huh?

One of the other fun features is what is known as an etsy treasury: members choose 12 of their fav items (from their fav sellers) and compile them onto one page-to kind of showcase other peoples work. It is a great compliment to be chosen for a treasury, and it makes you feel great, like people really appreciate your pieces.

I have been lucky enough to have been chosen for another treasury, by seller http://moyou.etsy.com/, click on her link to check out her amazing shop, check out her treasury below, and say hi to my "woolly mice"!

Lucky day!

I have been known to say "I never win anything"-but no more! I was visiting one of my fav blogs http://nnairdas.blogspot.com because I love what she has to say. She was running a contest (fun), which I entered not expecting to win (but also fun) and guess what? I won!(yay)
I won a book, which I love, but I wanted to share with everyone the beautiful way in which it was packaged and shipped to me-check out the pics:

It was such a treat to unwrap this gift that I just had to take a couple of fun pics. She used recycled materials and her skills at scrapbooking and cardmaking are wonderful as you can see. I certainly was reminded of the fact that I myself can do more in the way of preserving our planet, and do it beautifully. Give yourself a treat and check out her blog.

Haha

more cat pictures

1st peek at the garden!

I've just had a week's worth of holidays, and while the weather was quite rainy for alot of it, there were still a few glorious days. And the garden is not only in, but starting to bloom in pockets as well. Here's the first peek:

And this little guy, who I discovered nestled in the petunias. Once he realized what the pictures were for, he agreed to pose.

Cancer Foundation-Relay for Life!

"One day the world will be cancer free!"

For those of you following my blog, last night was the big event! Tons of people turned out, which was great because it had been pouring rain all day, and it was very windy and cold. However, as the emcee for the evening put it: "Of course the event will take place in spite of the rain. Rain doesn't stop cancer, does it?"

That about summed up the spirit of the evening, which held a celebratory note in spite of the damp! Hundreds of people for whom neither wind nor sleet nor snow nor hail would keep away, and they were definately there to congratulate each other's win against this horrible disease.

The survivors were the first group to walk a "Victory Lap"-a turn around the track accompanied by bagpipes, and cheered on by friends and family. The rain kindly masked the fact that many tears fell during this heart-warming processional-tears for those loved ones that fought and lost, for those still fighting and unable to attend, and for the victors walking it right there and then.

The survivors, wearing bright yellow shirts and ranging in ages from little children and up, served as a reminder that cancer chooses it's mark indiscriminately, without regard for age or status; it is only through a united effort that we will be able to finally conquer this disease and develop the cures needed for the hundreds of types of cancer that steals away our loved ones.

I was able to finish pieces from my Hope Collection of jewelry, and each member of my mom's team received a commemorative piece-I hope everyone liked them-I certainly enjoyed creating them. Here are a few more pics:

Dragonfly Treasury

I was very excited to discover that my Julia Copper Dragonfly pendant has been featured on a very pretty dragonfly treasury. The treasury was created by slvrlily, you can find her very interesting and fun shop on Etsy right here slvrlily.etsy.com

I love dragonflies, and can hardly wait to see them zooming around this summer. Maybe this treasury will flatter them enough to encourage them to arrive sooner!

Check it out: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=46448

Hope Collection Part 2

I've had a couple of days off and was able to complete (and photograph) a bit more of the Hope Collection (see earlier post for more information about this ). These pieces are for sale in my Etsy shop, but I'll be donating some to the Cancer Foundation's Relay For Life. Here is a sneak preview of one more piece...I love the orange glass flower in the middle, and I think that this may be my favorite piece! And I couldn't help but include a pic of the little gift boxes that they come in-the boxes are so cute!

Stay tuned for more photos!

Food rant!

Someone I know turned me on to a great food site http://www.tastespotting.com/ . Now those of you that know me, know that I love to eat! Not that I'm a food snob, mind you, because while I love good food I also eat junk. A fair amount of it, actually.

So browsing through all of the gorgeous entries from tastespotting, I said to myself:

"Self! How come all of these people have time to search for new recipes (or develop them!)? And then where do they get the time to run around for all of these ingredients? Then make the meal, photograph it-sometimes step-by-step- eat the meal, and then write about it?"

What, exactly, am I doing wrong that I don't have that much free time? I mean, I make lists and cross stuff off when it's done. I am pretty organized, can plan my day down to the minute and come in pretty close on my daily accomplishments. But I don't think I have time to do a food blog, as much as I'd like to! (OK I'll admit I really just want to eat the meal, nevermind the rest of it). But maybe that's the thing-maybe these foodwriters don't have much more time than the rest of us, and need to celebrate their accomplishments with photos and a write-up! If we all needed that much praise, there'd be blogs with before and after pictures of dirty/clean laundry, dirty/clean sinks, messy homes, etc.

Still, I need to eat, and so I'll try, at least for the summer, to have a Food Friday or something like that. Starting with today:

Remember to take time to enjoy your life!

The Hope Collection

Many of our lives, or the lives of those we love, have been touched by illness. In particular, cancer has sounded its deafening roar throughout my own immediate and extended family.

My latest Etsy collection honours those friends and family who have lost their courageous battles, as well as celebrates the survivors among us. Each piece literally tells the story of the joyous life we live, the precious love we are surrounded with, the faith that keeps us going, and our hopes for a cure.

My mom will be participating in the Cancer Foundation's "Relay For Life" fundraiser on June 6, and every member of her team will be receiving one of 5 styles of a pendant to commemorate the event.

Please join me in wishing them success in their fundraiser, and in their cause to find a cure!