Waiting for Summer...

With one week left before school's out here in the Pacific Northwest, we are not seeing many signs that summer is near. Sure the flowers are blooming, the days are getting longer and the birds are singing but we have been getting a rather large dose of rain and chilly temperatures this May and June. We do get the occasional sun break to tease us that summer is coming but it's been pretty short lived.

I think this picture of my cat Ace illustrates it well. When the sun shines here in Washington state we make darn sure that we bask and revel in it, even if it's just for a fleeting moment!

... may you have sunshine this weekend!
~Debora

CRAVING COLOR...

With all the seasonal blooms surrounding me with vibrant color this summer, I was beginning to think that my jewelry shop needed some splashes as well. I love sterling silver jewelry because it just GOES with everything you could possibly wear, but there's nothing like color to perk up your spirits! Sorry for the self promotion here today, but I wanted to share a few brand new pieces I've just added to my shop. My favorite color is blue so it's only fitting that this is where I start! The first photo above is a lariat necklace with Aqua blue (my favorite shade of blue) chalcedony briolettes called "Sea Breeze".

Dreamy Blues... AAA London Blue Topaz Earrings


And for those that love soft pastels...Hopeless Romantic Coin Pearls


Thanks for letting me share. I'm off to dig through my stash of gemstones for some more colorful additions to my jewelry shop. Next is a necklace to match the pearl earrings.

Have a great day and enjoy seeing all the summer colors because they only last for so long!

LAZY SUMMER DAYS...

Makes for a lazy blogger! Yes, I admit it, that's me. I haven't blogged for over a week and I don't know where the time went!

Well, let's see... I've been enjoying these schedule free days by catching up on sleep (very important), lounging around with my son and eating the occasional ice cream treat, shopping, reading news on the internet, going for walks, etc. If it weren't for filling jewelry orders in my Etsy shop, I would be positively brain dead!

I must say after 2 weeks of school being out, I'm going a little stir crazy. My son is a homebody, but I think it's time to get out and enjoy this beautiful summer we've been having. We've done so much work on our house that a major vacation is out of the question this year, but a little trip to somewhere hot might be in order, perhaps Leavenworth, WA. I'd also love to buy myself a bike and get out on some of the trails around here again. I regret that I gave away my old mountain bike a couple of moves ago and haven't replaced it. I really love to play tennis and need to pick up my racquet again. And finally yesterday, I received some more metal clay in my mailbox that is ready to be rolled and shaped into some new designs for my jewelry shop.


Here's a collage of things I could be doing:

1. Ahh, the days when my son loved to get out on his bike, taken 5 years ago.

2. Family tennis, taken recently at the local courts.

3. A beautiful 18 hole mini golf course in Leavenworth WA, very fun!

4. Metal clay in the process of drying on my hotplate.

Okay, I'm off to get something done, but first maybe another cup of tea and catching up on the news in the local paper first... lazy, lazy, I tell you!

STRAWBERRY PICKING DAYS!

Yes, it is officially summer, although it doesn't feel much like it here today with our overcast skies. I'm going to make strawberry jam, so I thought I'd snap a picture of these red beauties before I smash them into a pulp! I've already eaten way too many but it's so hard to resist the sweetness and juiciness of freshly picked strawberries. Along the main street of our small town there are fruit stands that beckon you to partake of this local fare.

Every year during this time, childhood memories of picking strawberries come floating back to mind. I reminisce of my 2 sisters and me, many years ago in BC, Canada, deciding that we were going to make lots of money picking strawberries in the fields. We responded to an ad in the paper looking for pickers, where they drive you by bus to the fields, about 45 minutes away. We picked all day in the summer sun, probably ate too many strawberries, (seems to be a pattern here) and came home hot, dusty, sweaty and with only a few dollars in our pockets. Yes, our hopes of loaded bank accounts were dashed and we didn't make it back the next day. I remember coming home and my Mom had fixed strawberries for dessert! At that point we didn't want to look at another strawberry! I guess that's why to this day I just buy the berries already picked. They just seem to taste better that way!

One more thing. Here is a treasury I made that reminds me of those strawberry picking days. If you click on it, it will take you to the treasury room where you can comment. It's only there for 2 days so don't delay!

SUMMER ARRIVES EARLY

Here in the Pacific Northwest we've been having a heatwave. Well, for us it's a heatwave. While this is standard fare for much of the United States, we in our little NW corner of our country are not used to (or prepared for) temperatures in the high 70's in early June. Our average high summer temperature in July and August, our hottest months, are a humorously low 67°F, yep you read that right!

We do not have air conditioned houses, outdoor pools, and many of us do not have basements (although we do) so many lack a sanctuary in which to "cool off". Thankfully, temperatures do lower at night and it never lasts for more than a few days. After being in Kansas for the last 2 summers, I'm not complaining though. At least I can open every window of my house for some cool ocean breezes (our version of AC) and feel somewhat of a respite.

I thought I'd share a few photos of "Signs of Summer" in a collage. From left to right starting at the top:

1. Shorts and sandals

2. Fans are our AC

3. Planted pots

4. Backyard squirrels

5. Ahh, pink lemonade

6. Short sleeves

7. Rockrose

8. Sunshine

9. Beaded jewelry of course!

Are you seeing signs of summer in your part of the world or are you in the dog days already? Our kids aren't even out of school until the middle of June!