Yellow Flies and Joseph Campbell

Every year I am surprised anew by exactly how hot it can get here on the coast in August. And I don't even want to think about September's heat still to come. We are all broadcasting our anti-hurricane vibes as we approach the peak of the storm season. At least if we have one I don't have to worry about trees falling on the house - Hurricane Ivan took out the three long leaf pines four years ago. I guess there's a silver lining to every cloud after all.

Last night I took the little red dog for a walk around the neighborhood and was eaten alive by yellow flies. If you don't know what those are, they look like a cross between a large housefly and a yellow jacket and bite the crap out of you. They are very sneaky and will land on the back of your legs or arms so lightly that you don't even feel them until the poison starts kicking in. Luckily, I am one of the people who is allergic to their bite so I get to watch large red welts come up and itch like nothing you could ever imagine. This link will give you more info than you probably ever wanted on the little bastards. Next month, we'll celebrate the fall arrival of the love bugs. Oh joy. Enough about bugs. http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/livestock/yellow_fly.htm

A few weeks ago I found a beautiful pale green aventurine teardrop pendant at, of all places, Wal Mart. The color was a perfect match for some aventurine rounds I had purchased last year from Fire Mountain. After pondering for a few days - pondering is actually my Olympic sport, I have been known to effortlessly ponder away a whole weekend - I came up with a design using two different size round aventurine beads with small silver plate beads and small, round freshwater pearls. A sterling silver toggle with a twisted rope look fastens the necklace and the pendant looks great hanging front and center. I had planned to put it on Etsy but I don't think I can part with it.

Speaking of Wal Mart, I found some nice blue and white porcelain beads in the sale bin last weekend. Some of them look like Hello Kitty. The silver squares with cobalt blue enamel centers are really nice, too. Don't know what they will become. As you can see, I'm not a bead snob - if it looks pretty to me, I'll get it no matter where it comes from. I'm not into jewelry crafting as a serious business, I just like making pieces and if someone else likes them and wants to own them, fantastic! I really seriously doubt that any of my creations will ever end up in a museum or around someone's neck at the Oscars. Lately the Etsy fora have been inhabited by folks who are really serious about their craft and only buy from the top notch suppliers. I say more power to them. But I do believe there is a place for those of us who sinply love to make things with our hands and really do do it for the love of crafting. Joseph Campbell said to follow your bliss. I believe my bliss is found when I am in my craft room. Pretty lucky, huh?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Campbell

I love this book