Bouncing Back...

I appear to be beginning to heal, though still tender I'm able to do a bit more, which is good because Annette being bored is a BAD thing… now that I'm a bit more able to enjoy life here's what I've been up to the last couple days…

I was getting restless last night, and decided I could manage to make a loaf of bread because the mixer I use (a very heavy model) was already on the counter… so I went ahead… I was using a different brand of bread flour, not because I wanted to try something new but because the store was out of my "usual" brand… This brand behaved a little differently, and I was so happy with how pretty the bread was looking during baking that I sat down on the floor and took this picture through my striped oven window.

I think I found a new favorite bread flour brand… this loaf took longer to rise, but the final result was wonderful!!

This morning I deconstructed a large bouquet of flowers (given to me by my friend Patsy on Superbowl Sunday), and made two small bouquets of the flowers that were still doing well.  This red carnation & greens are in a fun vase that was given to me by my sweet hubby Jeff on one of our anniversaries - and yes, its made from a test tube, a rock, and some heavy brass wire…

This is the rest of the thriving flowers, purple & yellow (Vikings colors) in a cute vase given to me by my friend Kathy (or one or both of her daughters).

Yep, that's my handsome hubby Jeff… standing by an Ice Castle that was built up by the Mall of America… he had the day off today (President's Day) so we decided to go "play"…  Believe it or not I was the one who suggested this (yes, even after my bad fall) but I did wear my Yak-Traks & held Jeff's arm when walking over slick patches - don't need to make things any worse.

I couldn't get back far enough to get this large structure all in the frame of my iPhone camera, I only got about half of it… there were several structures, this was the largest one.

A closer look at some of the ice...

 I love how the ice resembles Stalactites!!

After seeing the Ice Castles we decided to go for lunch, we went somewhere we'd not been before (Cuchina del Bario) and we loved it!!  There are 3 in the twin cities, the one we went to was about the furthest from home (but was on our path as we played) so we'll have to check out the one that's closer to home some day - it was really good!!

Our final stop on our "play date" was to Groth Music… a very large music shop in the Twin Cities - if you're a music geek & in the area you really need to check this place out!!  I took the pictures above & below because I thought the forms could potentially translate into jewelry…

These are kinda jewelry-like already, so not much of a stretch…

After we got home I actually went down into the studio and unpacked & wiped down my new Rolling Mill (a heavy piece of equipment)… and of course I had to give it a quick try… it still needs to be bolted down to a strong surface (I'll get Jeff's help to do this in the near future).  The good news is I was not held back from doing this because of my recent injuries - I'm feeling good enough to get back in the studio - YES!!

Thanks to all who have prayed for me after my ice-related fall!!

Tomorrow is supposed to be single-digit weather, I'm going to stay home… and I'm looking forward to having an entire day to spend in the studio!

It's official, I'm Cracked!!

Or at least that's what the nurse thinks… a rib, from my fall last week (read previous post)…

So… I've not been doing much… and I've been a bit bored… and for some reason I haven't been in the mood to read… hmmm….

Oh well, this too shall pass… that's all for today…

Just call me "Grace"

Actually, if you call me by my name (Annette) you are… it means something like "Graceful Walk"… Now, I learned long ago I don't fit the meaning if you're speaking of a Physical walk, if that were the case my name would be "Klutz"… but if you're talking about a Walk with God that's marked by Grace, well that suits me just perfectly!!

I'm wearing this today in honor of Valentines Day

Today being Valentines Day I have a word of advice to all you romantics out there, if you're going to "fall" & "kiss" make sure it's not with pavement… Ouch!! So what did I go and do yesterday?  I did just that!!  I was on my way back from my (empty) mailbox when suddenly I found myself kissing the driveway… it just kinda happened, it wasn't planned, if it were love I'd say "love hurts"… but it wasn't love that caused this "fall" & "kiss", it was ice… Ouch!!

It all happened so quickly I don't even remember the actual falling down moments, just the moment my chin contacted the pavement… after which my first thought was "I must not have a glass jaw because it didn't knock me out"… in case you think I'm exaggerating…

Isn't that just lovely?

This is not even 24 hours later… I also tore up the side of my left hand, scraped my right nostril, scratched up my glasses, injured my chest (I think I fell on my right fist, not sure)… the part that's bothering me the most is the chest - if I just happen to move the wrong way it really hurts… so I'm being forced to be a bit sedentary (thus sitting at my computer & blogging)…

By the way, did you see the earrings in my chin photo?  They go with the necklace & I'm wearing them today too… I'm bummed that I can't do much without hurting, I'm itching to get down to the studio and work on a few things… and I've discovered that typing is painful (I'm a 10 finger typist) when I type letters with my left pinky (torn up near the tip)…

Tonight we have dinner reservations, I'm so glad that where we're going has covered parking & I won't be out walking on the ice… I did get back out to the mailbox yesterday… I made myself drive around the block so I could drive right up on my driver's side - yep, decided I wasn't going to walk out there again until it's not so icy…

It snowed last night, only a couple inches so hubby decided not to bother to shovel this morning, neither of us thought they'd bother to plow this time… we were wrong!!  But guess who's also not going to go shovel snow off of ice… that's right, I'm claiming my right to be lazy (I am sore after all)…

Well… I think I've beaten this topic to death… I think it's time to pet the lap-warmer (a.k.a. Oreo) then go downstairs & make myself some lunch…

My sweet little girl Oreo...

Until next time & hoping your life isn't bumpy…

D by D B with B S in S

Deer by Deck…

That's right, the ROUSs have returned after the latest snowfall… see the whole story & lots more pictures here.

Blooms with Books…

This little Freckle-Face plant (located in my little library) keeps blooming despite us being in the thick of Winter outside… more plant pics & such here.

Silver in Studio…

I've created a gallery of my silver work to date, this picture shown above is my most ambitious piece to date, the gallery can be found here.

I was thinking about how working with metal reminds me of how God works in our hearts & minds & lives… these are the things that are done with silver, so I'm just going to provide the list & let you meditate on how God works:

Refining - the process of removing metals from their source materials, removing impurities

Melting - turning solid metal into liquid in order to completely reform it

Casting - creating a new shape with molten metal

Annealing - applying heat in a controlled manner in order to soften metal to allow bending / shaping / forming of previously hardened material

Soldering - joining metal to metal using heat / fire

Bending / Forming - using physical forces to move & shape

Filing / Sanding - removing unwanted material, removing tool marks, removing burrs or sharp edges

Buffing / Polishing - brining forth the glow & shine of the metal

God is working to create something beautiful of my life… I hope you are experiencing Him doing the same sort of work in yours.

Yikes!! I've been quiet...

Yep, been keeping busy… mostly keeping busy in my downstairs studio, trying to get better at making jewelry…  Here's a handful of recent pics, check out my Art Blog if you'd like to see more:

Jeff & I went to a new restaurant yesterday, its called "The Happy Gnome"… 76 different craft beers on tap… Jeff had a tough time deciding what to try - we'll be going back someday!  Yes, the food was awesome too…

Kitty has been enjoying her heated bed off & on… she's already puked on it twice, so its already been washed twice… just wish she didn't puke so much :(   We've kinda decided to give up on our one carpeted room, I cleaned up around 16-18 puke spots last week that were from just a couple weeks… and she's already got 3 more spots laid down: off-white carpet + puking cat = frustrated kitty mommy!!

Ok, gotta get up out of the computer chair, there's laundry that needs to be folded… until next time!!