Sweet Saturday: I Can See My Desk!

For those of you that wanted to see my work space, you're in for a shock, not a treat. This is the first time I've seen my desk in about 4 months. No Joke. I have had so many papers, projects, and miscellaneous junk on it that I just about had a meltdown the other day and decided to clean it. It's not that I'm a messy or disorganized person, it's just that I have so much stuff and so little storage. Not for long: I have decided how I am going to redo my office, and when the store restocks the shelving that I want, I am taking the plunge. No more waiting, I can't stand to be so crammed that I can't fit a jewelry project and my laptop on my desk. I don't even have a large laptop, or large projects, it's just that I have, as I said, so much stuff to store on my desk that I can't do much more than pick out my materials and get out of there as fast as I can!

I will admit to one cardinal sin, though: I LOVE bookkeeping. I love it so much that I will let it pile up so that I have at least a few solid hours of sitting in front of my laptop, entering numbers into spreadsheets and doing calculations. That, for me at least, is like a yogi sitting and meditating to relax. It clears my mind and lets me have some fun with numbers (I know, I know, but I never said I wasn't a nerd, quite the opposite really!).
Now that the papers are cleared away, I have found that, not only am I caught up on all my bookkeeping for the year, but I have some space that might need filling on my desk! This is the start of a new project that I will keep you up to date on. It is similar to the Victoria's Bangle Bracelet that is currently for sale in my Etsy store, but will be done in dark, lapis lazuli-colored blue and amber-colored seed beads, inspired by Egyptian Queen Nefertiti. It will take the better part of a week (my hands cramp up so that slows me down a bit), so I'll try to update you often without boring you. It is using a bead weaving or stitching technique that is very fun and relaxing.

Arwen, meanwhile, is fast asleep, her paws making little twitching, running movements - I think she is dreaming of the deer we saw on our last walk!

Have a great Saturday,
and Arwen

Soulful Sunday - A Little Bit of Cleanup

I decided to go and clean up some trash on the sides of our roads on Friday, as I had mentioned in another post that there was trash everywhere on our beautiful country roads. Arwen was sleeping so I left her on the couch while I went and played superhero:
I was amazed that after only TEN MINUTES, I had a trash bag FULL to the point where I was having a hard time carrying it! I only did about 800 feet of road (400 feet on both sides), and I didn't even get to do our whole frontage (we have about 500 feet). What disturbed me most was that there were mostly coffee cups and ALCOHOL containers! Here is the large trash bag:I have decided to try and get out once per week and spend ten minutes picking up trash. I figure if I am going to paint my nails once per week, spending time on me, that I should spend time on our neighborhood as well. I even thought of inviting the neighbors to make a road clean-up rally day, where we could stop at different houses and mingle and collect garbage to keep our roads looking pretty.
I got home and Arwen was still sleeping, probably dreaming of chasing robins, happily unaware of all the trash that had been cleaned up :)Tune in tomorrow for some great info on new jewelry to come!

Thoughtful Thursday - My Own Neighborhood

~What's That You See Arwen??~

~Oooh a Hungry Robin Running through the Yard!~

~And a 2-Egger By the Look of That Belly!~

It was a nice day today, so I thought I would take Arwen for our first dry-ish walk of the year (we haven't been able to go out during the winter as the snow makes the roads too narrow to not get hit by other cars, and the spring makes the roads ridiculously muddy). It was beautiful, just before sunset....the birds were chirping....the frogs were croaking in the swamps....the shoulders were covered in garbage! I couldn't believe it! The day after earth day and I was standing on my country road, surrounded by nature that is covered by trash! I was appalled to say the least. So, I have decided to go out tomorrow on our walk and bring a garbage bag and rubber gloves to pick up as much as I am able to. I think I may do better to bring a wheelbarrow, but I'll do what I can.
Is there anything you can do to beautify your neighborhood? Arwen has decided (well, I have decided for her) that she will not chase the robins anymore!
Cheers