Boy it's good to be home...

Well the creative juices are flowing again and I am so glad to be back in my element. I have developed this problem tho. I usually create one of a kind designs and I am finding that I want to keep them sometimes...then I try to re-order a pendant or stones and they are not in stock anymore and the wholesaler isn't getting anymore, or doesn't know when. I must re-adjust my thinking, No? I initially started this thinking that my designs would be limited editions of about 10 or so. Locally I would keep one available but on the net, they would go to different parts of the world (as it turns out) so you wouldn't be likely to run into yourself in the same necklace.....I don't know when they became so singular, but that must stop.



I really love this Tibetan pendant and cannot get anymore. This piece is one of the best that I have done and I want to keep it, but I have put it up on Etsy and will let it go if someone else loves it too. (http://www.webgemsltd.etsy.com) That'll teach me.



Also, I want to recommend a designer of fabulous jewelry, an eclectic mix of exciting materials who's work I admire immensely ( so much so I have started buying from her too....is this getting out of hand?) Elksong Jewelry can be found on Etsy too (http://www.elksong.etsy.com/) and I hope that you like her work and will visit her shop and mine too. Thanks for visiting.

Tomorrow she will be gone....

Well, this will be a terribly sad one. The boy has gone home and tomorrow so will Maya. She can no longer get up without help. I knew that she would not make it through another winter. This house has stairs on both sides and she cannot handle them so well anymore. She falls down them a lot and has trouble getting back in. It is only her magnificent heart that keeps her going, but she keeps giving me the eye as though "This is awful, what are you going to do about it?" I used to work downstairs on my computer and she would join me and sleep at my feet, where ever I was, so was my dog but the last few times she fell down the stairs and gave up on joining me, she would wait on the landing for me to come up, now I work upstairs with her at my feet. She still manages a wiggle of joy when she sees me come home and I love her so. I'll never find another dog so sweet and cute. She's everything I ever wanted in a companion but at 15 almost 16 she's had a good life and I will cry like a baby tomorrow I'm sure. I'll have her cremated and sent to me in Connecticut and we will have a ceremony for the two finest dogs that ever lived and spread their ashes in the meadow they loved to chase the deer out of. They were unique in that they only chased the deer to the edge of the field and then turned around and came back, satisfied that they had monitored their turf. Any other dogs would have run the deer to ground. I lost her brother two years ago to cancer. He was my hero dog. He watched my children like a hawk and actually smiled when he went down to the river and just sat in the water while I swam. He used to teach himself tricks and make the children laugh. When he died my grandson called me the next day to tell me that his bonzai tree that I had bought him at the flower show had bloomed one white blossom, a Hobie blossom in honor of his friend. These dogs were litter mates and looked nothing alike. Hobie was a 110 pound golden and Maya was a 62 pound while shaggy thing that was comical to look at. No one believed they were brother and sister and of course everyone questioned their parentage. They had many good years together. It really was all good...

The Summer of September

I've been kidding all my friends about the 5 days of summer that we have had this year. It was very cold, cloudy with little rain most of the summer. My tomato plants let me know what they thought of the weather by simply not growing. It was as if someone had sprayed them with a growth regulator, they never got more than 10 inches high and only one produced a fruit about an inch across. The whole midwest suffered unusual weather and at least we didn't get the floods that many areas were faced with but, something happened last week and we have had the most glorious weather of the year for 6 days now and this may continue into next week. This is Labor Day Weekend, the emotional end of summer and yet here is the warmth of the sun drawing you out, begging you to lay down in the grass and watch the clouds go by. Honestly, it's been perfect. I don't care much for excessive heat so the 72-76 F temps during the day are just right for me. At night it drops down into the 50-60's which means excellent sleeping weather with the windows wide open and a good fuzzy blanket pulled up around your shoulders. And if that isn't perfection enough for you, there was a full moon a few nights ago, which made it as clear as daylight outside with the way it shone down upon us... It was huge. Last night it came up pink and round over the farms of Luxemberg where we were attending a party. We gals all walked out on the deck and marveled as it rose above the trees, I'll bet it was even more fantastic rising over Lake Michigan. Then the frosting on the cake, Fog! I love fog, the thicker the better. I watched it form tonight as the moon rose, thin little layers floating across the back meadow, moving slowly in the night air, not much wind this past week either. The Fog will build most of the night, it will sit above the roads and you will drive in and out of it, the Fog will whirl around the other cars that pass you by, but by morning it will be solid and I won't be able to see the Bay until the sun rises and burns it off, with a little help from a morning breeze, isn't that beautiful?



I can't believe how wonderful these past few days have been. Tonight we walked down to the bridge to fish and we stayed long past the last nibble. The sun set with a hot pink flourish that spilled across the water, broken only by shadows of the boats moored in the bay. We rocked gently from the wake of boats racing back into harbor to beat the oncoming night. Even the dog understood this serenity and she never moved, she just laid there and rocked with us. There was a reticence between us, almost like a love affair about to end, neither of us wanted to say, "good-bye"and ruin the moment, but the chill in the night air told us we must go.



I don't know if I can capture these feelings again over the next few days and perhaps that isn't the way it should be. I only know that I feel that way now and I'm grateful for this wonderful peace that envelops me at the moment....I wish you moments like this....its all good.

Northwest Totem, Lava Jewelry

Well, it seems as though a third element has been added, a job in Northern California between the Redwoods and the ocean....Gosh, this will really be a hard one. Well at least I would be near the Native Americans who's art I cherish so. I've lived in Washington state before and I love the territory, (but not the mold) I don't know if this would have the same hazzards. It would mean separation again, transiting between Wisconsin and California because I could not sell this house at this time, and it could be another adventure and some fun, new lands to explore etc. Hmmmmm

On the newsfront, I have started my Northwest Indian art as jewelry segment. I love the towering volcanoes that dot the land, Mexico has a string of similar peaks, so I used vesicular Lava for the stones that host the totems. I love this set....this seems rather providentials NO? And somehow, It's All Good....

How Green is my Forrest?

Well something interesting is on the horizon. I am currently living in the house of my dreams and my husband will be losing his job at the end of October, hmmmm. I love Sturgeon Bay and my house and even though I still own my home in Connecticut I cannot go back there to live as my daughter and grandson are living there now and want to purchase the home from us. I have an extra lot ( 7 acres actually) on a river and it was always my Tara in terms of survival so I have had a hard time thinking about letting it go. I could build a small place there and retire.

Quandry: Do I insist on keeping this magnificent home on the bay which would require my husband to continue working instead of retiring or should I sell everything and find a place for us to be. He has offered to continue working, but I've had a double by-pass and 4 stents and the heart requires repair every year and half or so, and the doctors are much better up here, and really, how much time do I have left? What do I really want to do with my time, and where does he want to be, he never gives me a straight answer (He always wants to make me happy) so it's hard to get input for this situation. Besides he is a workaholic, who talks about retiring but never does any planning so I'm totally in the dark.

I've priced other homes in Connecticut and we've been priced out of the market. The other exciting idea is that we build a "green" home on the back lot near the river. A zero home with possible water generation of electricity which is outrageously expensive there. The river is slow and not more than a few feet deep but it's a possibility, I've always wanted to do that, but that means no more here and I love here. Well I love there too , but what a decision we have to make.
The Goddesses will really have to help me with this one, It's all good

Hurry Up and Have a Good time

Well, the quiet settles in now that they are gone. What a whirlwind my daughter is, we ate out constantly, had drinks at several pubs, went to the beach, went sailing, spent the day at the Kewaunee Fair watching horse pulls, rode Segways around Penninsula State Park for hours, played miniature golf, rode go-karts, ate out some more, did the Farmer's Market, made some jewelry (grandson and I) and generally had a great time, and that was on day one. LOL, not really, it was laid out like a military campaign, cram in all we could, more actually than I have done in a year. Even managed to get the kids to the Y for a swim a few times. For her, it was all good.

Me? I'm a little more laid back but am glad for the ocassional push. I've wanted to ride those Segways since last year, when we couldn't get in, I can't tell you how much fun they are, two wheels and you just lean and they go. They are programed to not go over 12 mph within the park and that is good because you have time to look around. I used to spend a lot of time hiking in the forrest and I forgot how wonderful it smells there. The fragrance really triggered some memories in me and made me want to go camping, desperately, so I could hike around. I will do that before winter, and fish too, I miss doing that. If you want to check out our pictures, contact me (Patricia Medeiros) on Facebook and have a look. It was a wonderful week, but Tyler didn't want to leave and neither did his Mom. They had a good flight home, even with the delays, and miss being here, I guess that makes it All Good.

Still enjoying that child called Tyler. He's excited because he has a new degree of freedom in this small town. He can ride his borrowed bike across the bay bridge to his friends house, then find his way back to the market the next day. Before he never rode around more than the condo's they lived in. He and his mom now occupy my house in Connecticut and they are miles from everything and he can't go that far, it's not so safe there. For the first few days that he was here I drove him around and explained the lay of the land and quizzed him on how he would get home to me, he caught on pretty quickly, then his friend took him on a six mile ride, he was exhausted but happy when they got back. So now he ventures forth alone a bit and I think that he relishes that freedom,but I keep a watch nonetheless. I know that he has good guardian angels too, he's an old soul, but it never hurts to keep an eye. I wish children could be safe always, I wish they had the freedom we had so many years ago to just be children. Tyler spends way too much time texting but I'm glad that he has that little beast with him, just in case. I just wish he would look around a little more. We went to a Pure Prairie League concert tonight and I had him shut it off, oops, I shut mine off too, have to go turn it back on LOL, his momma will call me to see how he is doing. It's all good......

the goodness of the Goddess

It's all very strange, but now people are popping up and looking for the Goddess and I have had two sales of Necklaces. I want to thank my 12 year old grandson who just arrived. After I created the two necklaces for the client to choose from Tyler set about preparing photographs of my wares. He got out the light tent, set up the lighting, put my camera on the tripod and took the photos. Then he helped me download onto my computer, up load to Etsy so that I could send them for review. The client liked them both so much that she bought both of them! How great is that. We had so much fun on the computer, he's showing me lots of shortcuts and I may become semi-literate by the time he leaves.

This child and I have always been close and I was afraid that after being apart for over two years, and the fact that he is now 12, we might not have the same raport. But, the day after he arrived he came upstairs and announced that he had unpacked. I"ll alert the media, that's nice.

"No Nana, you don't understand, I never unpack no matter how long I will be visiting, I unpacked!" Of course my heart melted, he knows when he is home and I love him so dearly I could weep. I love living up here,but, darn I miss that child and I can't wait to see what kind of adult he will become. Pray for him to be whole, he gets passed around a great deal to his other Grandma and Father who lives in the South. He'll be so well traveled by the time he's a teen he may become Jaded, I hope not. But, he knows that wherever and whenever we are together that that is home. Peace and love to you all. I am happy because it's all good.

HealingStones and I met on an etsy chat room for vendors and instantly connected, then we decided to trade Goddesses and that is the start of my incredible journey. I received the Goddess Mala along with some prayers from the seller and incredible things have begun to happen. I keep the Mala close and my spirits are lifting, some other wonderful people have joined my life, they live all over and one cannot explain how she got to my site but stopped dead in her tracks. We now visit and are developing our friendships. Other people are appearing out of nowhere and connecting with me on a very deep level and it is truly wonderful. I am grateful to HealingStones for leading me to this blog, providing technical advice (I'm computer illiterate)and her prayers for the goodness that has come into my life. Visit her site and look at the beautiful prayer beads and earrings that she creates. HealingStones has an abiding interest in the properties of stone and is very knowledgeable about their use. I promise you, you will not be disappointed in her wares, tangible or not!

If you look around in this world of uncertainty you can find an amazing amount of goodness. So often we dwell on what is wrong, we are baraged by negative news, but I'm here to tell you that life is fantastic in so many ways and I hope that you will add to the list of goodness or kindness that you are exposed to on a daily basis. You only have to stop a moment and there will be something wonderful there, you must learn to be open to it and then you can enjoy the many wonders of your life.

Two years ago I joined my husband up here in Sturgeon Bay where he had been working for several years. We had been commuting between Connecticut and Wisconsin where I maintained our home, but I was stricken with various heart problems and he wanted me closer to him. It was not easy to make the break with my home of 30 years but we sorted out our life and packed up, bought a house and relocated. That, in itself was difficult to say the least, but what I got in the trade was my dream home and a new life.

The winters are long and hard up here and I was used to being very active so being housebound was a lonely start to our life here in Wisconsin. I didn't know anyone and my husband worked long hours, worse, two weeks after I arrived my father was injured in a fall and I had to fly home to care for him. That first trip home lasted two months, then there were five more as his health began to fail. The goodness that came of that was that my Dad and I really learned to appreciate each other and before he died. I knew that he understood how much I loved him and I think that he was able to appreciate me as a daughter, rather than as a step-child

When I returned I decided to put my archaelology and art background to work and I began to design jewelry. When I had enough material I placed my items on Etsy which is a site of handmade items, clothing, jewelry, soaps, just about anything you can think of, but the key word is hand made. Being on Etsy has led to wonderful contacts with other artisans all over the country and the world and a wonderful sense of community. I felt so blessed by the kindnesses that I experienced. I began to expand my world here in Wisconsin and discovered that tho there is a great disparity of wealth in this area, no one falls between the cracks. This is the most giving community I have ever experienced. It is very artsy up here, many artists, artisans, musicians and a huge drive to see that the children have varied opportunities to explore their talents in so many ways.

I joined Habitat for Humanity and helped to create a branch of Women Build. We offered training for 8 weeks and have participated in the first home to go up this year. There will be two more, the third being the Women Build, for a total of 30 homes for low income families. It really is so much fun, and I love power tools and the comraderie and friendships that have been forged. The goodness is in the fact that volunteers are providing three homes for families this year. I urge you to volunteer in some way within your own community, it's "A good thing" and it gives you much more than you give it.

The next best thing is that this place is beautiful despite the harsh winters. People up here love to garden and the flower gardens that reclaim the spring are so stunning that I sometimes pull over just to enjoy the beauty. Life is tenacious and when it springs back it can stop you in your tracks. Enjoy a garden somewhere or create your own, it quiets your mind and makes you aware of weather, growth and fruition of your labors. You fall in step with the seasons.

The other thing that I love about this place is the wild life. We actually have a flock of Pelicans that summers here. I was so shocked the first time I saw one in Green Bay, I thought I was seeing things. Then, last summer we had 15 at the end of my street in the bay. I love to watch them when they fly, I always think of that last scene in Jurasic Park as the Pelicans fly off. I have bird feeders that attract Scarlett Tanagers, which are marvelous is their brightness, and also the fattest squirrels that I have even seen.

Well this is my beginning and I hope to add a listing of other Etsy crafters that have shared their beautiful creations with me. I buy a bit too much but its hard to ignor the magnificence of their creations. I hope that you will visit the sites that I provide and also I hope that you will add your tales of goodness, even small ones, and share the things that make you happy. I used to keep a journal of good things to see so that my children could read it and then go see what I was talking about, then we would share our experience, but they are grown now and living elsewhere so I will join the computer age and share with you. Join me in the wonder of life and let's see where this leads.

My Etsy Site is www.webgemsltd.etsy.com, come and visit and look at my things and feel free to comment. I so look forward to hearing from you. I have friends in the high desert, on the coasts, even in New Zealand, see where Etsy leads you, I promise it will be an adventure. As soon as I can figure out how to load photos of our work I will add samples of our work.

Other sites that are highly recommended are:

www.healingstones.etsy.com
www.Febrarose.etsy.com
www.sensualdesigns.etsy.com