Been a week now

Would that be a good title for a country music song? Been busy playing with CorelDraw and fancying up my MISI shop. Adding the stuff I had made and working on my mad scientist project of home electroforming which has had me ordering chemicals over the interweb.

TS is expecting a visit from MI5 anytime now to find out just what I am up to.

The electroforming is still at the waiting for stuff to be delivered stage but you will be able to keep up with it on the jewellery blog.

I really need to get out of jewellery land and sort things out for our trip to France. The lovely Debra has offered food for our first night there so I'm fairly laid back about the whole thing that side of the channel. We may have to rethink the cat holiday plans though as Uncle Oscar has now been joined by Zena a fiesty princess who is not altogether sure she will tolerate Oscar and hasn't had the pleasure of meeting our pair yet .

I'd tell you more but The Project beckons waha waha wahaha (that was my creepy mad scientist laugh by the way)

Of Divas and Divs

I'm ready for my close-up

I suppose this belongs on the other blog but sometimes life can't be neatly divided (most times?).

I decided not to do the craft show next week but to list my stuff on my sadly neglected MISI shop. The main reason being I didn't feel like I had enough jewellery ready and the second reason being I felt pushed to make something rather than making what I like and feel proud of. Same as the first reason I guess.

This meant a day spent in my photographic studio (bedroom and/or front doorstep if the sun is shining). Its a blummin good job the sun did come out too as Dora, on discovering her services as a model were not required, flounced off in full supermodel mode "accidently" batting one of the lamps to the floor and breaking it to cries of "for F****s sake Dora!" she really took the hump then and went downstairs to sulk with her trusty sidekick Max.

He doesn't have delusions of divaness but is a bit of a div he has extended his love of soggy sponges to anything that might be found in the bathroom. So razors, tubes of toothpaste and the pumice stone are the latest things that have to be hidden if you don't want to find them in your shoes of a morning and the toilet rolls continue to be sacrificed to the gods of the u-bend. We really must get a lock on that bathroom door.

Well I warned you

Bluebell Wood Necklace  - Sold

After a day watching the wedding though I'd no intention of doing more than checking out the highlights I'm back to inflicting my jewellery on you.

That and Dora and how beautifully she is growing up and her amazing copper coloured eyes

Dora Copper Eyes Priceless

I'd show you my new short haircut too but that would be just too much.

Cats and Blogs

No the title doesn't mean anything but then again does it ever? It mainly means I was thinking about blogging and to be honest I've not a lot to say except about jewellery and the cats and you've already had jewellery this week.

 I don't like to blog about work because well I'm at home now and though it's a rich untapped seam of comedy capers it's not nice to talk about people behind their backs. Especially people who might sack you. Hell now I'm tempted !

Work does come into it a bit because I decided to share some pics which TS sent to cheer my working day (which I looked at in my break of course!)

I suppose the reference to sponges and bottle tops needs explaining ? For some reason Max is under the impression that washing up sponges are his natural prey. He hunts them down wherever they hide then runs round the house with them in his mouth growling. The sort of thing that other people's cats do with mice. He likes his sponges succulent, that is fished out of the washing up bowl as wet as possible, so that he can cause maximum mayhem running round soaking everything in sight. Our bed being the favoured final resting place.

His other main obsession is beer bottle tops. The minute you open a bottle of beer he swoops in and runs off with the top. It disappears in the time it takes to reach for a glass though usually it reappears upside down when you are walking round the house in bare feet looking for the washing up sponge. I did tell you Max was TS's cat didn't I?

Dora of course is perfect

The Cube

I went looking for ammonia on Friday to get a blue/green patina on copper. Could I find any? Well obviously not or I wouldn't of mentioned it. Whilst wondering round the shops chuntering to myself about not being able to buy basic things because greedy b*****d supermarkets wanted to repackage basic stuff and make us buy 50 different cleaning products at 10 times the price and the world wouldn't be in the mess it's in if everyone didn't fall for it I spotted something called a cat cube. I had got myself into the kind of mood where I thought they'll probably get just as much pleasure from a cardboard box,  but them remembered Max's unfortunate habit of peeing in cardboard boxes.

I should have known it was going to be trouble when I undid the packaging and it sprang out like one of those self inflating lifeboats and smacked me in the face. This was at work so at least someone got a laugh out of it. It's sort of a springy wire and cloth type thing with cat sized holes on three sides and it defied all my attempts to get it back in the packaging so I finished up kind of screwing it up and securing it with elastic bands then sat on the bus waiting for it to explode out of my bag all the way home.

Dora liked the look of it and sort of went in and out of the holes and batted the bits of tape around, thought it might be a good thing to sleep in then along came Max. He promptly evicted her and claimed it for his very own boys toy. Initially it was just a case of storing his collection of beer bottle tops in there and repelling Dora as she attempted to get back in which he did at the cost of one of his bottle tops. Dora tried tempting him out by batting the top around the floor. This is where the trouble really started for whilst trying to get his top back but keep at least his bum in the cube he discovered that it was mobile. Thus began the reign of terror,  nothing quite freaks out a semi senile old dog who lives up to the name of Sissy like a bright orange cube with claws hurtling across the livings room

The cube is coming to get you

 Especially when it blocks the path to the door

Are you feeling lucky dog?

Missing you already

The kittens are going away for the weekend to stay with Oscar. They have been for visits before but this is their first time of staying over. These are all practice runs for mutual cat sitting for holidays and such to make sure everyone can get along.

Whilst I will miss the little darlings and I have insisted that they are delivered home first thing Sunday morning (I can't be without them for the WHOLE weekend) I have to admit the thought of leaving out my jewellery making gear without danger of interferance is rather pleasant. Not to mention not having to go into total lockdown when I want to use the kiln.

Usually I set my stall out then Dora appears on the table. It all starts innocently enough with her sitting there front paws together tail curled neatly around looking politely interested but it can't last

" These little bits are good that you have put in this tray. Look I can hook them out and spread them all over the table for you"

"Look you dropped a bead I'll get it! oh,  I've accidently pushed it under the fridge"

"Those saw blades are quite fine aren't they. Are they crunchy too?"
" If I push this hammer off the table will it bounce do you think?"

"This box of scrap metal is actually comfier than it looks you know"

Eventually she gets sent to "help" TS with his studies

"Wow these are notes are they?  Don't they slide well you can get them under the sofa and everything. Were they in any particular order?"