Ukelele Club

My living room was filled with over 25 members of

the Long Beach Uke Club for a holiday gathering...

My home was filled with joy, laughter, food

and the extraordinary folks who belong to the club.

Uke players are the best people...

and making music is the greatest way I  know to

get by in this sometimes harsh and troubled world.

It eases stress, people like it and you fill your time with a productive

and entertaining.

My home glows and comes alive when it is filled with

living breathing musicans.

Playing the uke is easy and fun...I have played it

all over the country, as many places have clubs,

retreats and festivals.  I have played with strangers who became friends.

  If you never thought you could

play a musical instrument give a uke a try...

or get one for your kid...

Happy Boxing Day and Novica Contest Winner

HAPPY BOXING DAY!

Congratulations to the winner  of the Novica contest...
Deb from Deb’s Desire.
Please contact me Deb so I can mail you your coupon code.


enjoy your shopping adventure at NOVICA.
Thanks to all who entered the contest.

'Twas the night before Christmas

Merry Christmas

from my house to yours....

Cynthia, Giuseppe and Ginger

Novica Boxing Day Giveaway

There are many stores online that offer gifts for the special people in your life, but one store stands
out and that is NOVICA  They are in association with National Geographic who have searched out
special artisans from impoverished areas of the world, and given them hope and a chance at a better
life through the selling of their handcrafted goods.   A real win win for all of us.
You get a chance to “meet” the people who you buy from, hear their stories, and then choose from
a wonderful array of high quality goods.

  They have recently added some new features to make shopping even easier... The Novica Gift finder.
Now you can dial in to what it is you are looking for...romantic gifts for her ...gifts for the man in your life hostess gifts and even by how much you want to spend gifts for under $25  This new feature takes the guess work out of selecting gifts and the time spent looking for them.

 Now, Novica has kindly offered a shopping gift certificate for $40 to one lucky person, who I will
choose in a random drawing.  Follow the link above to go to their homepage or one of the gift finder
links, come back here and tell me what it is that you would want to choose should you win.

So pop on over to Novica, read about what a fantastic company they are, look at cool
stuff ( I especially love their shawls and scarfs) and then come back here and leave a comment on
what you would select should you win.  Contest closes Christmas Day, winner will be announced on December 26...please make sure I can get in contact with you via email or Etsy store...

They send their items in lovely gift wrappings...you get a picture of the people who made the items, a chance to share in their journey and what Novica has done for them...not to mention the quality merchandise...hand crafted and on top of it all you are supporting the very real people who make them.

Gun Control....

  What more has to happen?  Why  do people fight so hard against gun control?  Where does

a 2o year old kid get semi-automatic weapons?  These guns are not for hunting...they
are for killing people.  And if the gov steps in and trys banning them all the pro-gun
idiots will be out there claiming its against their rights.   Would they feel the same if
it was their 6 year old kid that was killed? 

I feel sick today.  When will we learn?  when are things going to change.?   These kids have spent

their whole lives sitting at home playing violent video games and we wonder why this is happening.

They watch horrible, violent movies and Hollywood doesn’t want to take any responsiblity either...

they just want their millions.  Ask yourself why is this happening?  Violence is a way of life...so

let your kids watch and do what they want...heaven help you if you have to discipline them or say

no.  Music is the worst... I'm open minded and love a lot of current music.. I even like Taylor Swift now because I think she is a positive role model to young girls and gives them information in her songs how to take control of your life.  This wasn’t happening when I was a kid...unheard of!

More will come out but i betcha its a kid who was home all day without supervision and had violent

video games and a bunch of money to buy semi-automatic weapons...and oh yeah, they always wear

protective clothing....bullet proof stuff...why is that?  So they don’t get shot?   No I think its because
they are copying what they see in the games and movies.  Why does this young kid have the money to buy this stuff?  Does he have responsibilites at home?   Does he pay rent and bills?   If he  did he wouldn’t have money for such stuff.

  Something has to

be done...and it starts with a banning of semi-automatic weapons...period.

It starts with the makers of these games... take responsibility for what they are putting
out there.  Some are R rated but still the kids watch and play them.
And go out there and throw a ball to a kid...why too is it always boys?
You never see a young girl doing this...yet.   She’s to busy copying
the slutty stuff that they are being fed by the media.

Who needs the fiscal cliff...who cares about 12-21-12
we are already living a nightmare that seems to be
getting worse...

Think Peace...
xxc

More stuff...and not the pretty kind

Little boy Mr. Ginger was poorly for several days...no eating,

no drinking, bones protruding...well I thought, I’m loosing my

little guy.  He didn’t crawl out of his basket for days.  I played healing

Reki music, massaged him, lit candles...

In the middle of the night, he jumped up on the bed and barely breathing

snuggled oh so close as I cried and with tears streaming  down my cheeks

I said my good-byes.  He came up to die in my arms I thought.

I didn’t expect to see him in the morning still alive...  then we noticed a big lump on the side of his throat.  Mr. Beatnheart took him to the vet where he was rushed into surgery for

a puncture wound.  A puncture wound?  Now where in the world would this indoor cat get a puncture wound? I can’t even imagine.But after an overnight stay, he is back with us,

humiliated with his plastic collar...eating, drinking. even jumped on his

favorite chair in the window and stratched the couch for good measure.

So a big sigh of relief and maybe now I can get some work done as our little home

is back to a certain degree of normal.

He is 14 years old and since his momma died he is a different cat.

He is very “verbal” now...lots of talking and chatting.

A friend came over to play guitars and was wondering what a missing

chord was...Ginger just chirped it right out...pitch perfect...

That’s my boy...

Working away...

In my continuing search for something new and different

(well for me at least)  I have become infatuated with these long

dangly earrings.  I have realized that as you get older a earring

that hangs near chin level adds a brightness and sparkle to your face

and makes me feel more cheerful and happy.

These frames are fun to make but oh boy what a challenge for

me to try and make them alike and also balance the components...

They are like little mobiles for the ears... so they sway and move.

 I used vintage Czech beads on these from a broken old necklace from the 1930

 now brought back to life in a new form.

Here are some long simple “ dreadlocks”    I used tiny jasper, bone and

other natural beads on these.  I thought they were pretty cool and hip. They have sold so I guess someone else seems to think so too.  

I am also fighting the urge (big) to buy more beads..!

I just love looking at the beads in Etsy shops and my shopping cart is full of them...

They seem to inspire new ideas but really I am fully stocked...only problem is is

that my tastes have changed so much since I first started to buy beads that now

I’m not so jazzed about what I have...it is a continual problem...I just have to

find ways to use what I have.

Happy Thanksgiving

I am grateful for so many things...

every year gets better and better and for the first time

I am feeling comfortable in my skin.

This has been quite a year with tremendous

ups and downs...but all is all good...very good.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my blog friends

and my lovely customers.

Thank you for making it so.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder...

Well at least I hope so because boy have I been absent...It seems that once I got an Ipad,

this blog and me visiting others have fallen to the wayside.  It’s very hard to leave a comment

on an Ipad...especially when you have to do the two words (prove that your not a robot) well,

those words end up hiding underneath the “keyboard” so you can’t even see them to type them

in and I get easily frustrated so I just don’t comment.   And hey...I can’t see or read those words...it’s like Latin or something so I squint away trying to work out the words letters numbers and then just give up . So I have visited, to be sure, but often

times my comment visited the ether.

When I first started to blog, I had nothing much else going on.  I had just  gotten my uke...

I wasn’t making jewelry... I didn’t have an etsy shop...now I have so much more on my plate that

the blog has certainly taken a back seat.   It has been a gateway to so many things...my world has

done a 180 since I started blogging and I have met so many nice people from all over the world...

 But now I spend so much time on the computer doing my Etsy shops that the blog just sometimes

gets forgotten.  And hey...I am lazy and disorganized and easily distracted...why I can spend an hour just going through a box of beads and picking out the tiny seed beads as dirty dishes are piling up in the sink.  I see some women on some blogs do it all...and they have like six kids and a farm and are home canning and growing organic food and making their kids clothes from fabric that they loomed themselves from sheep that they raised and spun the wool and dyed it from roots and berries.  But

that is not me...and the truth is is that the older I get the worse I get...

Today is election day...I hope for our country...and no matter who gets in I wish we would just unite for the common good...and put aside our differences and focus on what needs to be done and what we can do as individuals to make our country, our world, our planet a better place.  

 Hope all is well with everyone.  Thanks for hanging in there with me as I separate the wheat from the chaff. xx c

Some New bangles.

Yeah...more bangles.

Making these are like knitting to me...

when I am stuck I go to the bangles to free me up...

I don’t have to think too hard ...just create and play...

add and subtract...I know how they will turn out (basically) and

the problem solving is minimal...so I am still working

without busting my brain apart trying to figure something out.

I’m working on new techniques and I have

to say...they are rockin my old standards.

What’s different?  The wrappage for one...

What I am aiming for is a bracelet that really looks

and feels like it came from some remote tribe

with not many tools and not a whole lot of things at

their disposal.  I wanted the wrapping to look thick,

like leather...old worn leather...used before but still

usable...I wanted more volume... more feel...so I 

wrapped it and then wrapped it again and then just

globbed on my secret potion of wax and scents and mojo.

It all started when I cleaned my workbench....I mean

really just swept the whole kit and caboodle into baking pans...

clean sweep...put those pans away and looked at just was left

in my table top “containers” and decided to work with what was

there in front of me...

I said to myself....use this stuff up...work with it...manipulate

it into something else...

and use the beads you have...Got this zebra one from a

gift package/ exchange...can’t remember who but dang so

cool....Thanks to whoever...wish i had a pile of these...

and my ever continuing journey of messing around with picMonkey

and now using photobooth on the Mac to get these shots of how

the bangles look on...and designing my beatnheart t-shirt and
playing America’s top model without a head.

Well...blogger is not letting me add more pictures and gee wiz

you just can’t  fight it sometimes...

The Universe is telling me to get back to the work bench...

But all is well...it’s hotter than hell

like 90 something but I’m feelin

good today...Husband is on his way

down the 405 South... from his LA Mid-town stu dee o...

maybe I can talk him into taking me out to dinner

cause i don’t wanna cook don’t make me no sinner

and after all it wouldn’t hurt if i ended up thinner...

(say that like you was (w)rapping...)

so peace out homies

till next time...

bh

Belle Armoire Jewelry September 2012

,

Well the day finally arrived.  The autumn issue

of Belle Armoire Jewelry magazine hit the newstands...

and yes...I was in it...well exclamation points galore

because who would have  ever thunk something like this would 

happen to me.

I was contacted by the editor herself asking me to submit seven of my pieces.

I thought someone was playing a cruel joke on me...

and beyond flabbergasted... just couldn’t believe it ...How did it happen?

So I got  to work and did my presentation...all the info on how I made the pieces,

what materials I used, took photos and shipped them off to the mag.

The magazine features articles and also has a section called The Boutique.

The Boutique shows a picture of your piece and your name.  I thought

that there was maybe a remote possibility of me getting in there...Remote...

very remote.

An article, is well pretty darn cool and so is being in the boutique section

but an article is,  well,  AN ARTICLE!!  with words and pictures and who

you are and your influences and all that cool stuff...you know like a movie star.

Well I didn’t expect anything...why me?  nothing like that ever, ever, happens 

to me.  I’m from Sheboygan for cryin out loud!  But low and behold, in about

two months I got an email from the editor saying congratulations you are getting

in and we are using all seven of your pieces and you’re going to have an article

and you have to write it!   Well geez I have to write a magazine article? 

WHOA!

So I set  myself to work and  wrote up my articles, but basically it was the same

stuff I did with my submission, so cool -not that much work left to do after all.

So, now that I am a famous celebrity Super Star will

I still talk to all you guys?  Will you start asking me to

lend you money?

But wait....there’s more...The sweet, adorable wonderful editor is putting the rest of the submissions

in the next issue.....so that means I’ll be in two magazines this year and since they are on the newstands

for 3 months I’ll be sitting around in Barnes and Noble and all the very fancy magazine stands for a  total of one half year.   I embarassed the crap out of my husband by waving the magazine all around
 the store, telling everyone in line I was in the mag, showing them the article, signing autographs...it was pandemonium!  

So yeah...life’s ups and downs eh? 

Thank you Belle Armoire Magazine for making my wildest dreams come true.

A New Day

 I am home after a trip that ran the gamet of emotions and events from flying in a Cessna plane... Meeting a blogger friend Jeanine from Chippy Shabby in one of the most beautiful little towns on the shores of Lake Michigan... Doing yoga with my big brother and reuniting with some old dear friends..

    And in my mailbox , on my return home, the latest issue of Belle Armoire  Jewelry Magazine... More on that when I catch my breath, re-group, refocus and carry on with new power, strength, meaning and purpose.


Thank you all so much for your condolences... You are all part of my life as dear and close friends and companions that share all the moments, both good and bad, sorrowful and joyful with me and through your kind words help me in inmeasurable ways.   I love you all.

Beatnheart 

Princess rest in peace

My little Princess passed away Thursday August 23rd at around 11 am...

.. My husband was home at the time

... She left this World  peacefully and swiftly...and she left it in her house on her terms
Just as I prayed she would... She went when she was ready and in a natural fashion
And for that I am so  so grateful.

I am glad I wasn't there .. It would have been more than I can take

 But right now I would do anything to be home..

To one of the most beautiful, soulfull and extraordinary animals that I ever had the pleasure
to know....I will miss her forever and she will always be a part of me and in my heart.

On Vacation

I’ll see you all the first week of September...

Etsy Shop is open 24/7...

Shipping will resume on September 1st

keep cool if you can..

xx

Beatnheart

loading up the shop

I’m getting ready for my trip to Wisconsin.  This will be the first time back since my mom’s passing.

I don’t know how I’ll be feeling... but it sure will be weird being in the house she died in and I’m bound to go through a lot of changes,  but I have some fun things planned and I’m ready to get out of the big city and be in my homeland which I miss, especially in the summer.   I am going to see one of my favorite bands, The BoDeans, in Oshkosh with my brother.  I also have a Blues Festival planned for a weekend so things ought to be pretty cool.

So in preparation, I’m working non-stop to fill my Etsy shop before I leave.  I just park myself in front of the fan because now it’s just too hot to sit outside.  This old 1920s house is hotter than a pistol inside.

More bangle stacks cause the ladies just can’t seem

to get enough of them....

and they keep selling..

and that makes me very happy.

I made many of these while watching a Marilyn Monroe

marathon on TCM...Bus Stop, Seven Year Itch

(The Sheboygan Conservatory of Music) and How to

Marry a Millionaire.

boho wedding

In closing, here’s a heart shaped

pee spot in the litter box...

I just couldn’t resist...

exciting adventures ahead.

I got a new table and chairs  so now I can

work outside.    

This makes just a swell spot to work in when our

house gets to be 100 degrees inside.   And to think

we used to park our car here.   Now it’s a whole new room.

I move the beads I’m using and all my tools, wire and

stuff out there.  My mandrel and hammers are all set up as well.

So here is what I’ve been working on since 7 this morning.

They remind me of a crown of thorns... These are a lot

of work for me...just kills my hands...but when I look at

them now well gee whiz I just love em.

I wanted to use up all these tiny beads that I have...The holes

are so small so you can’t just bangle em up you have to weave

them in there.  It’s like sewing with wire.  I had these tiny

laboradite beads sitting around so I did some of these bangles

and experimented and tried new some techniques...fun.

It’s sort of mindless, like knitting or crocheting.

Here is my famous" hammer as arm shot".

Spending the same amount of time trying to get some decent

pics of them.

Kitty cat update

Well my friends miracles do happen... Prayers do get answered... And sometimes when you think that what you have in front of you is a lost cause you get a reprieve. Such is the case with my little cat Princess. That amazing tiny little animal of mine has made a stunning, unbelievable come back. She is on my lap as I write this... " marching" away, creating her own little nest on her human mommy.   She jumped up here on my daybed on her own steam...something I thought I would never see again as just two short weeks ago I was lookin into having her.... ( words that I can't even say out loud).   She was so bad that I called my husband at work and said " this is it... You better come home". She couldn't even make her way to the water dish.    But a miracle happened in our little cottage.


     Here is what I did. She was still eating but oh so very skinny so I thought"what fattens you up?"... Fats... So I started to put olive oil on her food. She loved it and lapped it up with a crazy gusto and she started to become more alert and started to put on some weight and I would find her in the living room, the bathroom shower floor lapping up drops of water and now jumping up on the bed... A miracle ... A bonafied miracle... The work of a divine agency!
 Another thing I did... I let her go. I didn't hold on so tight... I stopped worrying...fretting obsessively... I went back to my yoga classes which let me tell you folks...get out of the house and on your yoga mat and find yourself and your focus and your breath.  It works for real and I could go on and on about the benefits of a yoga practice.

   Now mind you she is still blind and still skinny and her days I am sure are numbered, but then whose days aren’t.   Meanwhile...I can relax a bit more and get to enjoy my little best friend a little while longer.

 Life is like that... A roller coaster of events...downs and ups... Fast and slows... When you think it can't get any darker it starts to brighten up. It has taken me many years to stop dwelling in a negative headspace. I was brought up to worry. I came from worry and fear and negativity... I have had to claw my way out of that way of thinking and as you all know it is a lot easier to live in the comfort zone of the familiar than pinching yourself  in the midst of a negative thought and saying out loud STOP!
stop what your thinking..  " change the channel” as my friend Larry use to say.  Pull yourself out of the gloom and doom and think another thought, a better thought.   Be grateful for all you have and the daily miracles that are available to you, once you allow them to come to you.

A Day in the Long Beach Marina

 Some of our Wrigley

neighbors got together and rented this boat out

on the Marina here in Long Beach...

 I did not expect it to be that much fun but

we laughed our heads off and enjoyed a nice

couple of hours out on the water...

exceptionally nice weather...

breezy, sunny and not too hot..

You are able to rent all kinds of water vehicles...

This one involved the whole family...

It’s like two bikes that you pedal...

looked like a lot of work.

Living in limbo

happier and chubbier days

I know it has been awhile since my last post. My sweet little girl cat Princess has taken ill and has gone from bad to worse. I have watched her waste away before my very eyes and I' m afraid that I am not taking it very well. When you watch a vibrant little animal first go blind and then turn to skin and bones and barely walking, eating or drinking, well, I must confess that this  has turned me into a worrying and fretting mess, a raw exposed nerve and not very nice to be around.  Fear snaps back as anger and every insecurity I have is even more pronounced and I am as vunerable as a child.  I do not do sickness or death well.  I end up spending a lot of time going back to my old friends junk food and tv...not a good combination for me but for many a year my drugs of choice when the going gets tough.  Funny how when you are hurting the first thing you turn to is something that is going to cause you more hurt and discomfort rather than going to the gym or doing yoga  and eating nourishing and sustaining food.

  I suppose when you don't have children your pets are your kids and the bond is much stronger. She has been in our lives for 14 years... since the first time that we saw her , dragging her five kittens across our front fence. We reluctantly took all of them in , spayed and neutered them, saved them from too numerous to remember illnesses and disasters and ended up with keeping two, my Princess and her son Ginger. We became a little family and I watched as my husband who said he was allergic to cats, baby talk and play with them.  I gained a new respect and love for him as I saw his tender side revealed.

   I've never had a pet this long. I didn't have much luck with animals. My mom never let us have a dog or cat as kids cause she said it was too much of a heartache. I now see where she was coming from... obviously from the voice of experience.  Heaven only knows what she went through as a child...I shudder to think.  I also cannot imagine how people endure what they do in life...losing a child must

be so utterly devastating...and for all of you who must be thinking that a pet is nothing in comparision and what is this crazy lady going on about, well I wholeheartedly agree with you...the suffering that many go through is just impossible for me to comprehend.

 I just lost my mom in September and now I am going through it all over again...  caring for and watching someone you love die.   She is still eating and drinking and purring..maybe a miracle will happen?... so we wait and watch and suffer right along with her.

  If you are lucky, you find a soulmate or two in this life... She is one of them for me.  I use to tell

my husband that I thought I saw my dad in her...she gave me a look that said Hank to me...it makes me cry just thinking about it and I still mourn the loss of him.

 She has been my constant companion and helped me through a lot of stuff with her unconditional

 love and sweet little ways that helped me to forget my problems.  My best buddy...  a little clown and a diva and a life force and a huge personality all rolled into one tiny extraordinary package.  

 To all of you....thank you so much for your words of comfort and kindness....geez blog love is like pet love...

honeymoon hotel and new nursery

See that jasmine arbor to the left?

It has been the focus of our attention

lately as two mockingbirds have decided to

turn it into their honeymoon haven...

First the building...

It went on for days as they flew back and forth

with beaks of straw and twigs and grasses.

In and out they went...

until finally they were satisfied...

They settled in nicely...

while the honeymoon went on...

but sooner than a blink...

eggs were spotted in nest as we had to take a

peek inside...days went by.

Soon more in and out and out and in...

with beaks filled with tasty little morsels for the little ones.

I am convinced that the parents are the wee ones we

had two seasons ago when they built a nest very near our bedroom

door in the Wisteria ...then we could see and hear them...

They are “my mockingbirds”....

They have used my husbands sculpture as a landing spot.

New work and lovin the monkey.

I’ve been on a necklace making binge.

Suddenly, without warning, I had some ideas...

so I took this old crystal  I had and painted it pale pink...

Then I wrapped that baby in wire as I have a tendency to do.

and added those little tiny czech seed beads that I had

since the 70s.

Then I added a few more beads...pretty pale girly.

a smattering of hope....

Not only do I love how this turned out...I mean want to

keep it!

Hey and look!   Another one!

Geez...feast or famine for me...

I got these fabulous Bohdi Tree beads at the bead show

down south...

They are so earthy, textured, wonderous things.

They were for a Mala... Tibetan Prayer beads...

I wear my heart on my sleeve...

I’m finally starting to be able to mix beads up...

without getting all fussy and counting and first one

and then another about it...freedom!

And these pics!

well I’m loving those too....

Thank you PicMonkey...which is the bomb...

Turns meh into beauteous...

bugs, mice, birds in bronze

Mr. Beatnheart is working on a commission

for a hand railing...He made these first out of wax.

Then sent them to a foundry to be cast in bronze.

This little mouse will sit on the railing...

along with these Rails...

early stages of this bronze bug 

made from Mr.B’s imagination...

Installation of this is next week...

Silent protest on ETSY

Oh I love me a good protest!

 I join today in closing my Etsy shop in protest of them allowing " factories" to sell on their site. Etsy is meant for people like me who make items one at a time, by hand. I have often wondered, how can this young lady be making these bracelets for so cheap... In her smoke free, pet free home... Well because... She's probably not working from "home" but" workin for the man”

 let's keep it real.... Keep Etsy HANDMADE... Thank you and see you tommorrow.  Read more if
you want to join in....  power to the people!

 More informations : http://www.protesty.com

Looks like I’m on vacation...

Naw....just went to my neighbors house.

Bill is a talented landscape designer

and his house is like something out of a magazine.

Remember how I mourned the loss of Picnik the

photo editor?   Well...welcome PicMonkey!

A lot better than picnik...I love the options

of frames and textures...also just easier to use.

This texture is called “Smudge”

well I’m smudging just about every pic I take...

I love its old fashioned quality.

Bill’s exotic living room...like hanging out Morocco.

His extraordinary Brugmansia Trees

View out of his bedroom French doors...

Frisco the Wonder Dog

couldn’t leave this out...

We have had this orchid for 5 years...

this is the first time it flowered...

Happy Sunday!