Hellooo! Anyone remember me? (long...epic-ly long ;o)

Ahhh...it's been tooo long! Well, as some of you may remember, my family
and I decided to move up to the Pacific Northwest. We moved, but ended up
closer to San Diego ;o) DH had been out of work since November, but he
promised to get a job before the kids' birthdays. Sure enough, he did, on
March 15th, with three days to spare *gg* (Ashley turned 2 on the 18th,
Isaac 4 on the 24th). He has an awesome job (he's a "legal hacker";o), and
it brought us to a little Orange County town called Aliso Viejo. I *love*
it here. It's small (comparatively, about 20K population), really spread
out, and get this: there are BUNNIES in my backyard!! Living in big cities
for so long has really softened me to having wildlife around. I just sit on
the back patio for hours watching the bunnies eat the grass, and the birds
playing tag...we even have a friendly racoon that comes around to torment my
cat every once in a while (they play, like kittens, actually...it's really
cute, albeit a bit scary). I'm embarassed every time I freak out at little
noises at night. I keep expecting a moutain lion to jump out at me, or
something, LOL. Embarassing, because I grew up in the country, sleeping
under the stars in the backyard for most summers, catching snakes, etc....I
feel silly, but it's worth it to see my kiddos chasing those little brown
bunnies ;o)

Our new place is perfect; the rent is just a little bit higher than we paid
in L.A., but we get a lot more for it (they come and take our trash out
three times a week...yeah, like, seriously, our kitchens, bathrooms...it's
like having a maid, almost! *ggg*) I have a huge walk-in closet in my
bedroom that I have (almost) converted into my sewing room. The kids have
their own room now, tho the baby still prefers to sleep with us *yawn*
We've managed to break our bank accounts decorating, and STILL aren't done,
but it's been a fun ride. We've suceeded at making our home look like an
IKEA showroom, LOL....we're going out to get some not-so-obviously-IKEA
things this weekend ;o)

And, uh, bead-related...I don't have a dedicated "station" for my beading
anymore, but we DO have a dining room table now, so I at least have a flat
spot to work on. I'm a little baffled (tormented, is the word;o) by how I
am going to make my supplies/beads portable, but easily accessable when I
need to use them. Right now I have everything in plastic shoeboxes inside a
big box out in the storage shed. It's not too hard to get to, but by the
time I have everything pulled out and arranged, it's eaten a half hour out
of my already-strained time. I'm thinking of some sort of cart on wheels,
but I am not sure where I will even put that (the storage shed would be the
obvious place, but it is full of shelving).

I have been going through my beads, and pulling out everything that I don't
like. So far, I have about 2 pounds of hand-me-down polymer clay beads, and
a handful of ceramics. I haven't actually MADE anything in a long time, but
I am still making a new pendant for my grandmother every month, per her last
year's Christmas gift of (hey hey) a new pendant every month ;o) I'm really
short on wire, so that's really putting a damper on my creating. I have
been designing in my sketchbook almost daily, though )

I've kinda sorta caught up on the last couple days of postings here. I am
glad to see everyone doing well, and it has been SO NICE to see all the
lovely pics ) I'm happy to know that my recent beading slump isn't a
universal thing (which it sorta feels like, having no contact with others
beaders ;o)

--
Kyla

HI KYLA!!! Welcome home.


Becki
"In between the moon and you, the angels have a better view of the crumbling
difference between wrong and right." -- Counting Crows

Welcome back Kyla!!

Sounds like things are going well for you - glad to hear it!

Kathy K
"Kyla" wrote in message
news:Yjcpc.1275$65.480@lakeread06...
Ahhh...it's been tooo long! Well, as some of you may remember, my family
and I decided to move up to the Pacific Northwest. We moved, but ended up
closer to San Diego ;o) DH had been out of work since November, but he
promised to get a job before the kids' birthdays. Sure enough, he did, on
March 15th, with three days to spare *gg* (Ashley turned 2 on the 18th,
Isaac 4 on the 24th). He has an awesome job (he's a "legal hacker";o),
and
it brought us to a little Orange County town called Aliso Viejo. I *love*
it here. It's small (comparatively, about 20K population), really spread
out, and get this: there are BUNNIES in my backyard!! Living in big
cities
for so long has really softened me to having wildlife around. I just sit
on
the back patio for hours watching the bunnies eat the grass, and the birds
playing tag...we even have a friendly racoon that comes around to torment
my
cat every once in a while (they play, like kittens, actually...it's really
cute, albeit a bit scary). I'm embarassed every time I freak out at
little
noises at night. I keep expecting a moutain lion to jump out at me, or
something, LOL. Embarassing, because I grew up in the country, sleeping
under the stars in the backyard for most summers, catching snakes,
etc....I
feel silly, but it's worth it to see my kiddos chasing those little brown
bunnies ;o)

Our new place is perfect; the rent is just a little bit higher than we
paid
in L.A., but we get a lot more for it (they come and take our trash out
three times a week...yeah, like, seriously, our kitchens, bathrooms...it's
like having a maid, almost! *ggg*) I have a huge walk-in closet in my
bedroom that I have (almost) converted into my sewing room. The kids have
their own room now, tho the baby still prefers to sleep with us *yawn*
We've managed to break our bank accounts decorating, and STILL aren't
done,
but it's been a fun ride. We've suceeded at making our home look like an
IKEA showroom, LOL....we're going out to get some not-so-obviously-IKEA
things this weekend ;o)

And, uh, bead-related...I don't have a dedicated "station" for my beading
anymore, but we DO have a dining room table now, so I at least have a flat
spot to work on. I'm a little baffled (tormented, is the word;o) by how I
am going to make my supplies/beads portable, but easily accessable when I
need to use them. Right now I have everything in plastic shoeboxes inside
a
big box out in the storage shed. It's not too hard to get to, but by the
time I have everything pulled out and arranged, it's eaten a half hour out
of my already-strained time. I'm thinking of some sort of cart on wheels,
but I am not sure where I will even put that (the storage shed would be
the
obvious place, but it is full of shelving).

I have been going through my beads, and pulling out everything that I
don't
like. So far, I have about 2 pounds of hand-me-down polymer clay beads,
and
a handful of ceramics. I haven't actually MADE anything in a long time,
but
I am still making a new pendant for my grandmother every month, per her
last
year's Christmas gift of (hey hey) a new pendant every month ;o) I'm
really
short on wire, so that's really putting a damper on my creating. I have
been designing in my sketchbook almost daily, though )

I've kinda sorta caught up on the last couple days of postings here. I am
glad to see everyone doing well, and it has been SO NICE to see all the
lovely pics ) I'm happy to know that my recent beading slump isn't a
universal thing (which it sorta feels like, having no contact with others
beaders ;o)

--
Kyla

Welcome Back, Kyla!

Barb

Hi Kyla! What an adventure... and your new place sounds wonderful!

-Kalera
http://www.beadwife.com
http://www.snipurl.com/kebay


Kyla wrote:
-snip-
I've kinda sorta caught up on the last couple days of postings here. I am
glad to see everyone doing well, and it has been SO NICE to see all the
lovely pics ) I'm happy to know that my recent beading slump isn't a
universal thing (which it sorta feels like, having no contact with others
beaders ;o)

YES!! I remember you! Welcome back!

Ahhh...it's been tooo long! Well, as some of you may remember, my family
and I decided to move up to the Pacific Northwest.


~~
Sooz
-------
"Those in the cheaper seats clap. The rest of you rattle your jewelry." John
Lennon (1940 - 1980) Royal Varieties Performance
~ Dr. Sooz's Bead Links
http://airandearth.netfirms.com/soozlinkslist.html

and get this: there are BUNNIES in my backyard!! Living in big cities
for so long has really softened me to having wildlife around. I just sit on
the back patio for hours watching the bunnies eat the grass,

This is killing me. Wow, I love that. I love bunnies.

by the
time I have everything pulled out and arranged, it's eaten a half hour out
of my already-strained time.

This happens every time I bead. I have to arrange my materials, even if most
of them are already out. I consider it part of the creative process -- but I
probably have lots more time than you do. (I'm a lot of help, huh?)

I'm thinking of some sort of cart on wheels

Check out the taborets (which is exactly what you're talking about -- a little
tower of drawers, on wheels) at your local art supply stores, or on eBay, or at
online art supply places (I have a list of links to those if you need it --
just ask). They're a bit pricey, but there's nothing like them. Fantastic.
~~
Sooz
-------
"Those in the cheaper seats clap. The rest of you rattle your jewelry." John
Lennon (1940 - 1980) Royal Varieties Performance
~ Dr. Sooz's Bead Links
http://airandearth.netfirms.com/soozlinkslist.html

Check out the taborets (which is exactly what you're talking about -- a
little
tower of drawers, on wheels) at your local art supply stores, or on eBay,
or at
online art supply places (I have a list of links to those if you need
it --
just ask). They're a bit pricey, but there's nothing like them.
Fantastic.
~~
Sooz


I did check those out, per your suggestion. They do look really nice (and
pretty enough to be seen in the house). They are a bit outta my price
range at the moment, but that's never stopped me before ;o) LOL I have a
couple of art stores in the area, so I think I will go see if they have any
displayed, so I can play with them, and get a better idea of how many beads
I can fit into one ;o) Thanks for the lead!

In the meantime, I bought a tackle box. The biggest dang tackle box I could
find at Walmart, hehe. I *should* have thought it through better, because
it is kind of a chore to lug it around, now that it's full, but it's working
out pretty well. It's a nifty front-laoding kind; basically, the front face
of the box unlatches, and flips down, and holds plastic divided boxes (just
like the ones sold for crafts) that pull out/push in like drawers. I
managed to fit all my beads in, except for my large container of soup (which
I am starting to wonder if I am ever going to USE...so far, I just run my
fingers through it, LOL).

Kyla

I've been using iris drawers, made into towers of two sets each....so far I
have 1-1/5 of them, fulla beads and beady stuff...and they're much cheaper than
the more sturdy and nice ones that are made of wood or metal....

The Blessed Fiddy, Patroness Saint of the Disorganized
LC in Sunny So Cal
Personality Development Specialist (Full-Time Mom!)

In article ,
says...

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from "Kyla"
:

]I
]managed to fit all my beads in, except for my large container of soup (which
]I am starting to wonder if I am ever going to USE...so far, I just run my
]fingers through it, LOL).

then you don't have nearly enough beads!

Yes, precisely. I've noticed the same problem with "bead organizers" that I
have with CD racks -- anyone with a *serious* collection is never going to find
one that's large enough!

(My main CD rack is a 400-slot spinner, about 7/8 full to leave room for
expansion. Then I have a couple of smaller spinners and 4 60-slot drawer units,
all pretty much filled. One friend, the first time he saw the big spinner in my
living room, said, "My ghod, you could start your own radio station!")

Celine

--
Handmade jewelry at http://www.rubylane.com/shops/starcat
"Only the powers of evil claim that doing good is boring."
-- Diane Duane, _Nightfall at Algemron_