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I’m back

I’ve been receiving unhappy email from people who are used to me blogging regularly (you know who you are!), so I apologize for my absence.

Steve and I and our friends Cheryl and Tim spent the past week at an all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic. Yes, they do have The Internet in Puerto Plata, but I chose to unplug for the week. So sorry! Here are some quick pictures before I deal with my 142 new email messages, back-log of orders, and end-of-month paperwork…

Anne & Steve Back yard Beds on the beach2 IMG_0323b Ready to snorkle  Our villa Ocean World My first limo rideTravel buddies IMG_0375b

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New York Weekend

Steve and I went to New York City on Friday; he had a conference and I hit up my favorite jewelry suppliers. On Saturday we joined friends for Hairspray and dinner, then we rode the train back to DC on Sunday. Fun!  Here are some pictures…
Full of Italian food Hairspray  Times SquareComfort DinerNYC in April NYC08 Today Show set  Rockefeller CenterWorking on the train

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Holly Lane Studio

Last week I went to visit my PMC friend Tiffany Scott in Purcellville, VA. She has a teaching studio in her house and I seriously thought about moving in. So beautiful, so well-organized. She apologized for it being so “messy” and I told her she was not allowed to come to my studio. Tiffany showed me how to transform a drawing into a stamp. Brilliant!  Texture is something that is so fascinating to PMC (or even polymer clay) artists. It often becomes an obsession… finding objects around the house that have a unique pattern, looking at commercially available texture sheets, making molds of everyday things. I recently purchased a pack of sage leaves, took molds of them, and threw them away. Another day I asked the waitress at a restaurant if I could purchase a spoon because of the texture on the handle. It’s a sickness.

Tumbler and kiln  Sink area  So organized  Teaching table   Actually a garage

Tiffany also introduced me to Lucketts, a tiny town near the Leesburg outlets known for its antiques. That’s where she gets a lot of decorations and furniture. My brain was too full that day to shop, but I will return. With the big car.

Lucketts

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Blimey!

Last week Steve and I checked out Irish Isle in Middletown, Va. We went that night because Tuesday’s live music du jour is Robbie Limon who not only sings John Denver songs but is also from a long line of jewelers. (I love JD. I remember how sad I was when I walked into a freshman chemistry class and found out he had died). Anyway, the food was great; I had sausage in a pastry crust. It makes me wonder if that’s really what they eat in Ireland. On Saturday we joined our friend Reid for Shamrock Fest at RFK Stadium. There were hundreds of people dressed in green metro-ing to the same venue, so we never had to stop and think about which way to go. The people-watching alone was worth the price of admission. We saw Carbon Leaf in concert and got some festival food, then went out for tapas in Arlington. Steve’s family is of Irish descent, and after seeing this Irish Blessing the emerald isle is definitely on our list of places to go. After all, Guiness is good for you. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

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Good weekend

Steve was gone all last week, so I was extra glad to have him home. We kicked off our weekend on Friday by checking out the new Thai restaurant in town and watching Reign Over Me. On Saturday morning we rode the Metro to DC and met up with Steve’s Swedish boss who was in town. We walked around the Mall so he could see some of the monuments, then we went to the Air & Space Museum, had some Mexican-style tapas (!), and did the Museum of Natural History. The funniest moment for me was in the Minerals exhibit Steve & Jan were taking pictures of the huge quartz specimen to show colleagues (quartz crystal is the basis of their technology), yet only steps away everyone else was crowded around the Hope Diamond.

Yesterday (Sunday) we hung out with my brother Tom and his family who were visiting from Kentucky. Travis is almost 2, cute and sweet, and is very close to saying “Anne.” After dinner my dad got a call from a neighbor inviting us to come over and use his telescope. The Orion Nebula (M42 on this map) and Saturn (and the telescope itself) were pretty impressive. No pictures the whole weekend – sorry! I did just order a pocket-size camera so I can keep it with me for times like these.

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Refreshed

Steve and I spent this past week in St. Thomas. It was beautiful and I am so grateful for the time to recharge think about things I had on the back burner. We basked, ate like kings, shopped, visited St. John, and read a stack of books. But if it makes you feel better, I caught a cold and was miserable for a couple days too.
Pictured here is a piece of sea glass I found on our trip and submitted as a pendant for YOJ Week 3. We found only a few pieces of glass, largely because our hotel was located on a hillside overlooking Charlotte Amalie harbor, miles (and a $20 cab ride) from a beach. No real complaint about not going to the beach much; the pool doesn’t leave sand in my hair, and Pedro-the-snack-bar-guy kept us properly outfitted with fruity drinks. For the Vitamin C! An interesting tidbit about Charlotte Amalie: several streets retained their names from Danish occupation, so we were familiar with the words because of our Scandanavian travels.I’ve used CheapCaribbean.com twice now and are happy with their service… If you have vacation time and cold toes, check out their “Ends Soon” page (and notice that’s the total price including airfare). Just don’t go to Bermuda at this time of year, no matter how good the bargain!

More pictures…

cruise ship Bluebeard's Castle find the iguana dinner with a different view dinner with a view ferryroom with a view plumeria our pool more shopping StThomas2008Sapphire Beach sailboat night view shopping Louie & Louise when in the Virgin Islands yacht haven view of St John

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Break

Steve and I spent Christmas with his family in upstate New York. All 7 of the kids and their peripheral people were there, so we had a full house and a lot of fun. Good travels, good company, good food, and a white Christmas! Before we left I was in Frantic Mode trying to get gifts wrapped, orders in the mail, and all the last-minute things I have to do before leaving on a trip so it took me a few days to unwind and feel relaxed.

Now that we’re back home and Christmas is over, I want to address a few back-burner things like my horribly messy house and studio and projects that are unfinished (or even unstarted — Have I mentioned that my sewing machine is in a box from the move?) I love getting letters telling about how my friends are doing and how their kids are growing, as long as it doesn’t sound too perfect. But December is a crazy month for AnneMade and I never send Christmas cards any more. So this year I’m hoping to send New Years cards so I can actually devote time to it.

Other things I have put off are getting my lampworking studio set up (thanks for the inspiration, Kerry!) and working with PMC before my certification course. So if I don’t write that much for a while, forgive me for doing what I actually ought to be doing. Happy 2008 to you all!

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Weekend

Friday
Drove to Ikea to get the rest of my new desk. I went last Friday and forgot one piece. Sometimes it backfires when their stuff is so customizable.

Bead show at the Dulles Expo Center, am very excited for new pretties (freshwater pearls & smoky quartz pictured).

Went to see I Am Legend at the Imax theater in Harrisburg. The movie was exciting and made me think. I recommend it.

Saturday
Slept in.

Made gingerbread pancakes with Steve. Still not the same as the ones at Perkins, but very good (read: 6T butter).

Shopped with Cornerstone people for a local family whose house burnt down. (We are so blessed to have this group of friends. We have fun no matter what we’re doing). Because of the forecast the group Christmas party was postponed, but most of us still hung out and watched Elf.

Sunday
We’re getting an ice storm, so I’m hoping to post pictures later. Going to look for some coffee and leftover gingerbread pancakes… Hope you all had a good weekend!

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I work weekends

On Friday morning I drove to Maryland to meet with one of my favorite clients – The Silver Buckle – in North East, MD. They’re all stocked for the season with AnneMade Jewelry, so check ’em out if you’re traveling on 95 over the holidays. After that I had a trunk show & lunch with Steve’s former colleagues in Wilmington. It’s always great to see them. Then I drove to Sparkles to visit with Connie (who was on vacation when I was there a month ago) and do some wirework with a new student. This lady (Hey, Randie!) has an awesome collection of lampwork beads, and now has a few more ideas of how to use them. On Friday night my pal Cheryl and I headed to Cheeseburger In Paradise and then did some “market research” at Borders. After gingerbread pancakes yesterday morning (yummm) I headed up to King of Prussia to teach some of my college friends how to do the Byzantine weave. They did GREAT and we had fun catching up. Pictured from right: Dawn, Laura, Jocelyn, Ann, and Anne.As much as I wanted to stay and shop in King of Prussia, I headed home last night. Steve had been at a conference all week, so today we just took it easy.