New Addition to our Family

As of this past Monday, July 6th, we are the owners of a 10 month old Wirehaired Pointing Griffon (we think she's a purebred) named Marlie. She comes to us from a rescue organization in Washington State. What a sweetie she is! We're in love with her already and she and Fergus get along famously. Joe has been looking for a Grif for some time now, but the price was an issue. So we thought we'd check out rescues and we found Marlie!

Our ongoing garden saga

Our garden is growing like gangbusters! We are eating our own lettuce now. The tomatoes are reaching for the sky. My carrot seeds are just sprouting. I bought some of those seeds for the little short, stubby carrots. We have raspberries on our vines now. It won't be a bumper crop, but they are all ours (and the birds). Our blueberries really took a hit with moving them last summer and our terrible snow and wind storm last December. I don't think we're going to get much from them this year. They're my favorite!

I just posted some new additions to my Etsy shop. Check them out!

I keep waiting for my daughter to get proficient at lampworking so I'll have another source of beautiful lampwork beads. Check out her shop, http://www.junipergems.etsy.com. She is just learning the trade, but I know she will be excellent at it. She has such a creative mind.

Garden Time!

It's been a while since I last posted on my blog. I started working part-time and with my Etsy shop, I just ran out of time to work on my blog.

The weather finally turned nice and my husband built two raised beds in our backyard for veggies. Two of our neighbors came to our rescue and helped haul dirt from our driveway down to the backyard for the beds. Don't know what we would have done without them (we'd still be moving dirt)! Last weekend we bought some plants and seeds and got everything planted. Now we have to wait for the produce! With 4 tomato plants we'll be begging our friends and neighbors to take tomatoes.

My Ouchee!

Last Thursday afternoon, I had surgery on my right foot to fix a hammertoe. Sooo, I've been sitting around for the last 5 days with my foot elevated and iced. Not being able to do much has really cramped my style. Of course, our weather just changed and it's been in the 70's for the last three days. I can't go out and do any gardening at all. It's breaking my heart. I have been able to bead and use the computer by placing myself in a very awkward position. I'm attaching pictures of the "lovely" boot they give you to walk around in. I think it's going to be this way for about 4 weeks, Yuck! I have a wonderful little friend (Fergie) that keeps me company when my husband goes off to do his thing. He's the same light chaser from a previous post.

Featured Items from Bastille Bleu

One of the artists that I purchase lampwork beads from has featured me (PG's Gemspirations) and my daughter, Audrey (Juniper Gems), in her blog. I am so honored to be there. Nikki from Bastille Bleu Designs makes gorgeous lampwork beads in her Milwaukee, Wisconsin shop. Take a few minutes to visit her Etsy shop at http://bastillebleu.etsy.com. I am posting the bracelet I created from her beads in this article.

Buy One, Get One

To get things moving in my Etsy shop, I have instituted BOGO (Buy One, Get One) offering a free pair of matching earrings with some of my bracelet listings. It's my hope this will jumpstart some more sales for me.

One of the BOGO listings is "Pink for Emily" dedicated to my gorgeous granddaughter, Emily. She always loved pink growing up and so I thought it appropriate to name this lovely pink bracelet for her.

Softest Pink Necklace

I am about to list a new necklace on my Etsy site. It is made up of pink and white seed pearls all braided together with a dangle of coin pearls and Swarovski crystals. I love how this turned out. It is absolutely gorgeous and would be awesome for a bride! Here's a sneak preview of that listing.