Lookee!  It's my "not even quarterly" blog post!

It's not that there's nothing going on - it's just nice, mostly pleasant life stuff - like that we're watching birdies through our transom window as they've built a nest, laid eggs and are now feeding the hungry lot -

Or that I've been knitting, spinning and very occasionally making glass beads -

What I can't believe is that I didn't blog about our once-in-a-lifetime trip to China during Chinese New Year in January - wow!  On the other hand, I seriously think Facebook has usurped a lot of blogs.  I did post a nice album there.  Wanna see pix - here are a few and here is a linky to the album! 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150514400784926.375685.584949925&type=3&l=12c50aab3d

Wrapping up 2011

For me, it's been a good year.  I hope it's been good - or at least bearable - for you!  Now, I'm not saying it was perfect, but I'd be an absolute fool to complain about much of anything.  I have a wonderful husband and a happy critter-filled home, I found a new job that I love, I made new friends and visited a lot of great places (Colorado, Napa, Pensacola, Atlanta, and NYC among them).  I foresee 2012 being another year of discovery and change (which can be very good).  In the near term future, Rich and I are doing something really exciting - we're going to CHINA for a week in January!  You'd better believe we'll come back with some great stories and pictures!

I thought I'd include some pix of 2011 to help wrap up the year -

We lost two dogs in less than a year (R.I.P. the two Buddys) and added a new one.  Meet Mr. Wally




Glass played a part in my life but I REALLY enjoyed working with fiber this year.  I spun up a storm on my two new wheels - an Infinity (see post below) and a Schacht Ladybug (I am SO fortunate)!

 Laceweight Alpaca mix

 Fluffy, fluffy Alpaca in BIG skeins

BFL sock weight












We saw a little more of the world - some of it I'd seen before but will always go back.

Got to make a trip "home" to Colorado, to Pueblo, where I grew up and got to show Rich some of southern Colorado's hidden gems like Cripple Creek and the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, where we fed giraffes.

Celebrated my in-law's 50th(!) wedding anniversary in NYC.  Went to Dean and Deluca - one of my favorite places evah!  The cheese selection is to die for and we took home a tiny bit of one of the most expensive in the store.

Napa, CA.  Got to spend 5 days with my sis and her husband, winery hopping.  It was wonderful!

How can I leave out (no pun intended) these beautiful grape leaves.  So nice....










Here's wishing you the best of the holiday season!

Love,

Janelle

Is this blog dead?

Well, it's not dead - just realllly neglected!

You know how it is - you have every intention of writing and then life gets in the way. Ok, so where did we leave off? Last I wrote, I was a self-employed web developer with little time on my hands. NOW, I'm a fully employed Director of Digital Marketing at a local publisher and I still have little time on my hands. Wow, has life changed! I love my job, my commute isn't bad and things are going well!



I got that beautiful spinning wheel and took it apart and finished it. Here ya go - it's called an Infinity wheel. The maker is a very helpful and talented woman, who along with her retired machinist dad made up about 8 wheels. I'm not sure yet, but that may be all they make as their lives have gotten busy and "dad" has had some health things. I wish them all the best though and hope their wheel-making venture continues as I love mine. I may post my review in my next post.

What else? Still making beads. Had a great time at The Bead Biz's "Beadapalooza" event last weekend. Lots of single beadies and sets will be made into jewelry, this time by someone else.

Next weekend is a visit to Colorado - can't wait! I haven't been home in a long time!

Busy is Good

You know how when it rains, it pours? That's me this week. I had car troubles, client meetings, new websites to do, show prep and so much more. On the car front - nothing major, just corroded battery terminals and new brakes.

I have a show coming up - the Montevallo Arts Council puts on a one-day show every year. I was honored to be accepted and am working on inventory. In addition, I have requests for jewelry, doll eyes and more. The only problem is finding the time to do it all!

Spring has sprung in Birmingham and everywhere I go, I'm seeing lovely Wisteria (which is literally a weed here, it takes over everything), Dogwoods are blooming and the grass is greening. I'll have to see if I can get some pix.


My sweet hubby brightened my day "just because" this week with these lovely Star Gazer lillies. Aren't they wonderful?

Sometimes the News Gets to Me

Good Morning!

I've said this before but I really should just stop reading, watching, etc. the news but there's no escaping it. Even reading through my friends' FB posts and emails yields a trove of the not-so-pleasant sometimes. We all go on and live our lives though, wish the best for those facing adversity and hope that tomorrow brings better tidings.

St. Pat's Dinner was awesome as evidenced by the steaming bowl o'beef, cabbage and taters shown here. The Guinness was a nice addition as well.









I'm prepping for the arrival of my new spinning wheel. On Ravelry, I found a program run by a lovely Alpaca farm. "Spin a Bag, Get a Bag" means that the farm sends two bags of Alpaca fleece. One for me and one for them. I received a beautiful caramel-colored fleece for me and a white fleece to spin up into lofty two ply for them. The white fleece was pretty dusty so I washed up some and it's been drying in the sun for the last day or two. Nice fluffy cloud-like fiber - I can't wait to spin it!

While my life goes on, my thoughts are with the people of Libya, Japan and friends who recently received bad news.

St. Patrick's Day - As Good a Day as Any to Start Blogging Again

Yep - it's been what, like almost a year since I posted last? Maybe not quite but sometimes there just isn't that much to say or you know what? I think social media and blogs are sort of at odds with one another. I put a lot of what I'm doing up on FaceBook and totally forget to chronicle it here.

Anyhow - Happy St. Pat's Day. To me, it's an excuse to break out the corned beast and cabbage and potatoes. I've chosen to put my hands on my ears and say, "La, la, la..." to the actual history of the holiday. I'm not really "celebrating" anyway.

So, what is up with me? I am still working from home at the moment. I have created about a dozen websites since January - which is awesome. It gives me a sense of satisfaction to create a tool to help other artists, businesses, and non-profits to promote their ventures.

I'm torching - not as often as I need to be but I have some upcoming shows so I HAVE to.

I've had this undeniable itch to do something with the piles of yarn and fiber I've amassed around me. I recently sold my Ashford Kiwi spinning wheel to a beginning spinner to finance the purchase of a similarly priced but more versatile wheel. I'll be talking about that more once it arrives. It's an American, woman-made wheel - I'm very excited about that.

Enough rambling. My thoughts go out the Japanese people. I've been glued to NHK and CNN for a week now. This is so much bigger than all of us!

Someone new? Yep, ME!

Ok, so months have gone by again but I DO have a little bit of an excuse (but not really). Other people manage to keep their blogs up to date despite the busiest of circumstances.

Life has just been motoring along and I've just been trying to keep up with it. The biggest news I have is that Rich and I GOT MARRIED. So, while of course, I'm still the same person, my new name is Janelle Zorko Schultz (or it will be after I do all those paperwork things).

We had a lovely and very small wedding in Pensacola, Florida on May 7th. Are you wondering why you weren't invited? Well, actually no one was! We chose to make it small (the person marrying us and his wife, plus two witnesses). You see, our family is scattered, there were cost concerns and the boat we were on only held so many people. We were married on Gulf Islands National Seashore in a short and sweet ceremony. I feel that life is short and sweet and so it was perfect!

In other news, I continue to make beads, create and update websites, garden (Rich and I put in a really nice one, pictures soon), experiment with fiber and tend to our ever-aging pet herd. Speaking of which, we lost one of them to kidney failure. So sad that kittehs and puppehs can't live as long as we do!

In Rememberance - Miss Mia Maria

Weekends are for fun

My idea of a fun weekend may not mesh with your idea a fun weekend - but then again it might, if you're so busy during the week that staying in and making things makes you happy.

That's exactly what I did. I squeezed in some web and other work but when I wasn't doing that, I was MAKING STUFF and I love it! Saturday into today, it was Purim - a Jewish holiday I mentioned last year. Purim is traditionally a fun holiday that commemorates a time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination. I won't go into it here but if you want to read more about it - here's a link to some info - Purim. I am not Jewish - but since Rich is, I'm learning and since I love baking, I made the customary "Hamantaschen" cookies again. This time I didn't have to send them clear across the country so that my guy could enjoy them.



Since I was on a "make it from scratch" streak, I decided to haul out my seldom-used Salton yogurt maker. Have you tried Greek yogurt? Rich and I have been buying the Chobani brand - and we love it. What we don't love is paying upwards of $2 per small container of the stuff. So I started reading up on it and interestingly, all it is, is regular yogurt with some of the whey strained out. So, as I said, I made some yogurt (pretty economical) and then I set it in some cheesecloth to strain out a lot of the whey. I mixed it with some fresh kiwi and honey - nummy!



What a nice weekend! Now, it would have been perfect if the US hockey team could have pulled out that last point, but hey, I didn't even know I was a hockey fan...until today!

Getting Out There

Yesterday was a long day. I spent the morning preparing for the afternoon - which included an eye opening meeting with two lovely ladies at University of Alabama's Children's Hospital so that I could see the oncology and hematology clinics. I will be demoing at their Beads of Courage Hope and Cope event on April 25th. In case you're not familiar with Beads of Courage, you should check it out. Such a great cause. At the meeting and tour of the hospital, I learned just how important this program is to kids of all ages taking part in the program. The kids get a bead for various milestones in their treatment. Guess what? They need beads! Please check out the site to learn how to donate.

Then, later in the afternoon, I met with a gallery owner and her intake person. I was honored that they like my work and will be carrying it in their gallery. I have a few more of these somewhat nervewracking meetings this week as well. I need to get my work out there - well, for financial reasons, but also for the satisifaction and maybe a little validation that others like what I create when I'm in front of the torch. The gallery carrying my work is JenniferHarwellArt. You can click on the link to go to their page.

Here are a few items you can find in their gallery -

So many things to blog about - and so little time...

More than a month has passed and time just gets away. I've been at the torch, out there marketing my work, planning my schedule and of course, continuing on the eternal search for a full time job. I love my life, my schedule, etc. but there's something to be said for the security of working for someone else and the mental stimulation that working with actual PEOPLE provides.

At times, my main conversations are with this guy -

And he just doesn't talk much!

It's ok though. All this solitude is giving me a chance to think...design...enjoy, well, everything. I'm designing today as a matter of fact and will return with some photos of the results.

A New Year

Happy New Year!

Hard to believe it's 2010 - that sounded so futuristic a few short years ago. Since the last time I wrote, I slowly recovered from the pneumonia, only to be hit by a nasty cold. What doesn't kill ya (and I was never in any danger) makes you stonger...

I'm not normally one for new year's resolutions but I'll make some now. I resolve to be happy, creative, productive, thinner (couldn't leave that one out) and healthy!

I wanted to show you some things I've been making that I plan to market, and hopefully get accepted, into a few retail locations.
Tiger Cufflinks (for all those LSU and Auburn fans)

Beadable Tableware

A plethora of bead pens

I hope that 2010 is everything you want and need it to be and especially, I wish you love and happiness!

New Orleans - or How I Got Engaged to a Fantastic Guy

So, I just realized that I was so caught up in my pneumonia misery that I never actually blogged about my New Orleans trip - and what a trip it was!

We left Birmingham for New Orleans on Nov. 29th - which happens to be my birthday. Rich tried really, really hard to keep it a secret but at some point, he let it slip - poor guy! He really wanted to surprise me. The drive was about 5 hours - not bad and driving across Lake Ponchartrain at sunset was awesome!



We stayed at the Saint Louis hotel - right in the heart of the French Quarter. We had a wonderful balcony so we could sit out and listen to the music and wonderful food smells wafting up. That evening, Rich took me to Commander's Palace - another New Orleans staple and a fantastic restaurant. Rich made sure to tell the waiter to put us in a fairly private spot and while we were waiting for dessert, he produced a little black velvet box and asked me to marry him. Of course I said, "Yes!" The waiter brought balloons and wrote "Congratulations" in chocolate sauce on our bread pudding souffle plate. From Commander's, we went to Pat O'Brien's for a hurricane and to The Cat's Meow where Rich wowed 'em with some karaoke. What a night!

Isn't it beautiful? It's a champagne diamond in a gorgeous setting.

We spent the next couple of days enjoying New Orleans. It was a little cold and rainy but it was December, after all, and nothing could spoil this wonderful trip. I didn't get to see the French Quarter while I was in NOLA doing animal rescue several years ago so I was very happy to see the businesses open and that so much of the rich history was unharmed. We went on a culinary tour, to the aquarium and we even spent a little time (and even less money) at the casino.

Pralines - they were everywhere!

Beignet and coffee at Cafe du Monde - I loved these so much, we went back twice

So, after our three days were up, I was sad to leave but happy to return home to our critter crew and "real" life.

How'd I get so lucky?

Pneumonia Sucks Wind

Right about this time last week, I was sitting in a doctor's office, being diagnosed with walking pneumonia. Oh my! What an awful, awful illness. You see, I NEVER get sick. Ok, well not exactly never but the last cold I even had was three and a half years ago at Bead & Button. So, this came as quite a surprise and I found that I'm not all sunshine and light when I'm feeling under the weather! Of course, it's hard to be happy when you feel like someone is sitting on your chest and trying to fill your sinuses with something awful.

I'm on the mend though and I even felt well enough last night to finish a sock I started working on, oh, about two years ago. That's a good sign, right? Now that I'm back in the land of the living, expect a few more updates and maybe even a bit o'blogging about my upcoming birthday trip to New Orleans.

Pic of sock coming soon!

A Looonng Hiatus

How does this happen? Well, actually I know how it does. Life gets in the way and blogging suffers.

So, the move went off pretty much without a hitch. My wonderful friend, Lori, chauffeured us (my 6 pets and me) across country in a 26ft moving van. We made it from Spokane to Birmingham in about 4 days. Utter exhaustion followed for several weeks while we all adjusted to a new climate, culture and time zone.

Slowly but surely, it's all returned to some sort of normalcy. I've been swamped with web work, the job hunt (not easy in this economy) and lo and behold, I actually feel my creativity coming back (it was missing during the adjustment, I think).

Look for more frequent updates. I know, I know! I've said this before but I have so much FUN going on now that I'd like to maybe post about it. Today is a great show (attending not vending) at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Next weekend, I may be vending at the Down the Street Bead Show in Atlanta - I need to think about it today. At the end of the month, Rich is taking me to New Orleans for my birthday!

I'm such a lucky girl!

Changes A Comin'

I used to move every couple of years. That was exciting but kind of disruptive - all that packing, moving expenses, changing one's life... This time I'm sooo excited for it! I've lived in little 'ol snowy Deer Park for three years. I moved here under the pretense of making a better life for myself than I had in hectic Seattle. I can't say it completely turned out that way but I've made some wonderful friends along the way.

In about 5 weeks, I plan on packing up the house and moving to be with Rich in Birmingham. Oh my - it's a little overwhelming thinking about hauling myself and 6 animals across country. I'm not as young and adventurous as I used to be! It will work out though and It'll be interesting, if not down right fun. I'll update as the plans progress.

This week, I continued on with my little beadmaking streak and popped out these color tests of Momka's glass. The blue is Aurora Borealis and the red is a brand-new as of yet unnamed color. I'm so lucky to get to color test!

I have missed a month and a half of blogging. Oh how we make promises to ourselves and don't keep them! Terrible, terrible.

I have a few good excuses - I went to visit Rich in Birmingham and had a lovely time. In fact, while there, we went house hunting and found a beautiful one we both agreed on. He'll be buying it in a week! That left me scurrying to ready my house for sale so that I can join him as soon as I can. The house is "on the market" (here's a link to it) and I'm not-so-patiently waiting for buyers to call. In this economy, selling a house is a scary thing. I guess we'll see.

My crafty/artsy exploits have been sorta stifled but I did manage to get on the torch last night to try out some of Momka's new glass. One color, which she and I have named "Whisper Pink" is so very beautiful, I want to eat it up!



Since I have nuttin' else to show this time, enjoy a picture of Beanie - his face is art to me!

An Old Project Revisited

I don't know if you remember this post - Brother Francis Llama Rescue?

Basically, I was gifted bags of wonderful llama fiber from Brother Francis Llama Rescue and my intention was to process some of the fiber, spin it into yarn and knit and then felt a toy llama for the rescue to sell or keep or do with whatever they chose.

Finally, I've picked up the project again and this week, I finished spinning a second skein of this beautiful fawn-colored llama. Beanie helped while I was winding the yarn onto the niddy noddy (a device that helps you wind the yarn into a skein).



Here's the second skein.



Here's the llama in progress. I hope to finish him before I leave for Birmingham at the end of the week! More pix as he progresses.

Electroformed Inspiration

I dunno what happened, but my drive to electroform seems to have returned. It comes and it goes. I get on these streaks where my beaker must be full of some organic goodie or another and at other times, I can pour the solution back into its bottle and not think about it (or feel guilty about it) for a month or two. This week, a local flameworker called and wanted a kit. I went to the studio and gave an hour-long electroforming demo. Guess that got me thinking and I promptly had to get on the torch to make a couple of base beads. I'm still digging through my stash of dried leaves as spring has been so slow in coming to these parts.

These are the results.

I'm getting ready for my trip to Birmingham in less than a week and thinking about the millions of things I need to do to get my house ready to put on the market when I come back. I plan on moving down to Birmingham when it sells. Birmingham presents a new set of adventures and challenges but I'm very ready for a change. Bring it on!

I am a terrible blogger!

Well, I guess that means I've been very busy "offline".

Last I left you, I was making Hamantaschen for Rich and getting ready for the Glasscraft Expo in Las Vegas. It was a very nice show. A little slow at first, but traffic increased as the show went on. Met some fantastic new customers, business associates and saw old friends. The really nice thing about this show is that it's all things glass - from big to small. One comment about small - the table was way narrower than at other shows, which made it look like I had a lot of stuff but it actually made it difficult to fit it all on.

Rich met me in Vegas and we spent the week seeing everything we could see. We ate at the Carnegie Deli at the Mirage, rode the NY NY rollercoaster, saw a Beatles tribute band and walked until our feet couldn't take it any more. The week went waaay too fast - it was a wonderful time.

Now? Well, lots of web work and I'm preparing for a trip to Alabama in a couple of weeks.

I've listed some new items in my Etsy Shop - you can check them out at http://janellezorko.etsy.com!

Hamantaschen

Yep, that's what I said - Hamantaschen. I was reading about Jewish holidays this week and I realized that Purim is coming up (tomorrow, in fact) and I came upon a bunch of different recipes for these triangle-shaped cookies. Being the avid baker than I am, I had to try them. I'm also not one to pass up a recipe that uses either apricot jam or poppy seed filling so there you go! To read more about what they are and why they're made, check out this site for an explanation - Judaism 101: Purim. I have no idea if they taste right or not, not having ever made them or had them anywhere. Rich can tell me what he thinks - against my better judgement, I sent him some. He can expect a package of 'em this week!

I'm still torching in anticipation of the Las Vegas show (less than a month away now!) and here are a few things that came out of the kiln -



We're supposed to get a teeny bit of spring next week. I couldn't be happier! It's been snowing off an on (more on than off) today. Confirmation once more that I moved to a place with 6 months of winter. Four seasons, yeah sure - but winter takes up half the year!