The weekend went off rather well for the birthday girl and family and friends who were involved. It didn't go too badly for me, I simply hid away ^_^ my mother in law has just had a new garden 'installed' (if that is the right word? Or perhaps it is that the old one got overhauled or 're done'. Not sure!) and it looks absoloutely beautiful. Less like a wilderness and more like the suburbian paradise that such gardens are meant to be. Much time was spent in said garden and enjoying the glorious sunshine and wonderful birthday cake.
This had a twofold effect on myself. First off, I've managed to catch the sun and have, for the first time in years, had to invest in sunblock. My nose is blotchy where it has peeled, and my forehead is flaky. My chest is the same kind of bright red colour my mum's goes when she gets flustered, and in the exact same little triangular area, which has kind of made me a bit paranoid about age and the appearence of my skin, but then again I don't think my mum looks bad for her age so hopefully I'll follow in her footsteps! As for my forearms, the angry red has calmed down into what is quite an impressive tan. Sadly, I was wearing 3/4 length sleeves that day, and it didn't catch my underarm so it looks like I've painted brown over the top of my hand and up the top of my forearm which stops abruptly 2/3's of the way up before it gets to my elbow!
I'm not a huge fan of tan, it has to be said, so hopefully I'll turn back into my pale and interesting self sooner than later. One thing is for sure, I shan't be going out on sunny days without liberal ammounts of sunblock!
The second effect, that of birthday cake and celebration food and drink, is that diet went completely out of the window. However, I did keep track of every morsel that went past my lips. So I start my calorific week on saturday and it runs till Friday (shopping and weigh in day!) and as of yesterday I was 2000 calories over my weekly basal metobolic rate. I have, however, not just sat around all this time and have taken some walks, so obviously my BMR isn't going to be an exact match on what my body has actually burned. I don't expect to have not put on some of the weight I lost, but I know now that it won't be too much of an effort to get back down again.
I treat myself to some new beads and wire this past week after having found inspiration in a wire jewellery magazine. It's an American publication and I found it on the shelf of the independant news agent's in my mother in law's hometown, which is a shame as I don't know where else to find it. I know where to buy it online however so perhaps in the future I will do just that. The only other jewellery making mags I've ever been able to find here in Liverpool are the general beading mags in Smiths.
I have to admit, beading and stringing on its own doesn't really fascinate me so much as making wire wrapped jewellery (Although the beadloom does, when I get round to buying all the correctly sized and coloured seed beads for it!). I think there's something very ethereal and fantasyesque about wire jewellery and I also find the process of wrapping and tucking and bending lengths of wire into something more cohesive and beautiful really calming. I once made a wire tree and was going to attatch it to a polymer clay base and give it little crystal chip leaves but then it got knocked over and trampled on and ruined. It was an accident (and symptom of our crazy chaotic situation at home at the time) and such is the nature of wire that it can still be bent and wrecked if not treat carefully, but maybe I shall make another one if I have enough wire left over after my projects have all been completed.
So expect soon some pretty pictures of what I'm making. Currently I'm working with fluorite and amethyst. I've also got something experimental going on with some olivine leaf beads and olivine/celsian flower beads, but I'm not sure how well that is going to turn out!
Oh, that's something else I love about making jewellery - I can mix it with my love of mineralogy!
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