Taking A Time Out

It was the prompt for Day 12 of Picture Fall... and I kinda need it. I am trying to process a lot over here and just want to you know I won't be gone for long from this space, but I need a short time out. ~k

Oh! and a bit of Woe...

:: i was going to wait and share picture fall photos all together in one post, but i find myself photoless today... so... here is a peek at a few.
:: oh! i am so in love with everything about this time of year *sigh*... crisp air and toasty house-warming fires in the wood burner daily, it curls my toes
:: taking time to listen to a few heart whispers lately
:: settling into a new rhythm with andrew here and i am working on being okay with that
:: learning to be okay with ebbs and flows of creativity too


:: kinda feeling thankful for this down time...
:: life is over flowing in different ways, but creatively, i am good with it
:: rusty and lola are starting to get along a little better... i don't worry about him eating her
:: completely rearranged the living room twice in the past week..
:: officially started christmas shopping on saturday when i purchased a beautiful hand painted nightstand for lauren from my talented aunt at a craft show.


:: i am going to be helping my mom deliver bulldog puppies this week! (olive is having her first litter on thursday)
:: tried to torch yesterday only to discover my oxygen concentrator has died, it is being shipped in for repairs :(
:: oh woe is me...
:: but see, even the universe is saying i should be taking a break...
:: my knitting needles and a slice of blueberry apple bread is calling me.

Talk About A Golden Afternoon...

aka... What Is Up With Me And Yellow These Days
aka... I Thought I Hated Gold.
aka... Even The Margaritas Are The Right Color
(all honest and true, possible post titles for today)











You'll have to excuse my spotty posting of late. Such is life... when it rains it pours and my plate is very very full right now. Happily though, I got to spend a few hours with my good beady friend Christine while she was in Rochester this past weekend. Naturally, being the wonderful host I am, I dished up a day full of sun and junk and margaritas. If you come visit, I will take you too ;)

What's Your Favorite

I need a little help from you, my dear and wonderful readers. No, not because I am stick in a tree, but close. I am working on a secret little side project and I could really use your thoughts. (oh... in case you are wondering, Andrew and I went for a walk yesterday in Big Field and he took pics of my new scarf for me. I said someone has to climb that tree... he refused... left me no choice...)

Do you have a favorite blog post of mine? Yeah, which blogpost just popped into your head?!?

Send me an email or share here in the comments. I can't tell you what it is for just yet, but I would love to hear your thoughts!!

Me? I am stumped.

Twisted Tuesdays - New Kit Release!!

Confession 1: The last time I spent more than 30 secs in my studio, more than a run down and grab a pair of scissors or tube of glue amount of time, was nearly sixs weeks ago.

Confession 2: I have had about 8 big boxes of new studio goodies delivered to my house this week but I have barely had the heart to open them. They are filled with a plethora of new glass colors, a complete "The Smith" torch set up, and foot upon foot of wire.

I could go on to confess other things right now, like how I am still in my pjs at 10am and haven't had a shower even though I have been up since 6am, or the main reason for confession 1 is that I am avoiding a hip high pile of laundry, but HEY, it is Twisted Tuesday!! and we need to celebrate all things TOTALLY TWISTED. Forget the pjs and laundry... forget the messy studio and unpacked boxes... forget that life gets away from us sometimes. Agreed? Agreed. I am ready to dive back into the studio for some quality cleaning time and to get back to creating some beautiful beads. (Although I may not be able to take part in that art show I mentioned the other day, I can still squeak out beads here and there while Andrew is at tutoring!!)

I have a surprise for you!!

I am ready to roll out a new kit from Totally Twisted!!

I thought a lot about which project would make the best new kit. And, I have two for you. One will be released today and the other next week. I wanted a kit that would have great bang for its buck and one that is easy to tackle for newbies or pros alike (and for me in the studio too). SO, the first kit will be for The Eyes Have It, found on page 129 in my book. A few of you that have seen me in person recently (like at ArtBliss!) got to see the beads for these kits in person, and I was thrilled with the reactions. Oh what fun it is to hear oohhhs and aaahhhs when dumping out a pile of beads on a desk.

Here is how the new kit works. They will be made to order (unlike kits of the past which are usually ready to ship), they will be available in three color combos to start, and I am limiting the quantity I will make to 5 in each color. Also, the price of sterling silver is sky high at the moment, so I am also giving you the option to order just the beads (minus the sterling) if you like. Being that this kit uses 8ft of 16g wire, at today's price, it will save you $35 (kits are priced at $120, just the beads at $85)! I will need about 10 days to make the beads, clean them, kit them, package and ship them. Meaning, orders placed today will be shipping on or before Friday Oct 29th. And they should be in your beady hands by Nov 1st!!




The three color combos I am offering are 1)The Original - black, pink, and rose, 2) Ivoried - ivory, dark red/brown, and silvered ivory, and 3) Tealy - transparent teal, turquoise, periwinkle, and coral. I love each of the combos so much. The Original is rather fun and sassy, I think it is a great anytime color combo, but will be especially nice come Valentine's with that lovely pink. Ivoried let's out a bit of your wild animal side with the way the edges of the dark red/brown feather into the ivory. This combo would be great with oxidized copper or brass too!! Tealy is just plain fun, and possibly my favorite. I can't get enough of these colors!!

An important note: these kits are intended for personal use only, NOT FOR RESALE. You are more than welcome to purchase just the beads and use them how ever you like in other projects of your choosing to resell. however, I am asking that you not purchase the kits, make The Eyes Have It, and then offer it for sale. Thanks for your understanding on this!! These make GREAT GREAT gifts though!! Christmas is around the corner, hint hint. ALSO, please remember, INSTRUCTIONS ARE NOT INCLUDED! A detailed, step-by-step, tutorial is available in my book, Totally Twisted.

HAPPY KIT SHOPPING!!

Now It Is Fall

First, I want to thank each and every one of you for your thoughts and prayers on Friday's post. Your love and support means more than I can say. So, thank you. And now, I interrupt the regularly scheduled Random Monday to bring you highlights of the BEST fall weekend. Yep, you guessed it, yesterday was our annual family Fall Walk and I just have to share photos from the day. (no one actually uses dial up anymore, right? cuz, yeah, there are lots of pics!)


















It never *really* feels like Fall until we go on the Fall Walk. The weather was fantastic yesterday, and to switch things up, we went to the eastern most end of the trail. That big bridge is Rt 14, where you'll find countless NY State wineries (we skipped them this year). Dispite a big storm on Friday, there was still a lot of color to be seen in the trees.

Now, if you are one that like to look through family photo albums, check out more photo from this year's walk (including a shot of me getting goosed by Ron, HA!) and years past:

2010 Fall Walk
2009 Fall Walk
2008 Fall Walk
2007 Fall Walk

Official 2010 Bogert Family Photo!

Welcome Distraction

Sometimes, you just have to say screw it, let's go get a kitten.

There is a part of me that wants to tell you all about what is going on behind the scenes here. I know so many of you love my kids and are invested in what happens to them, especially Andrew, after following this blog for nearly 6 years. At the same time though, as they are growing and becoming more independent, I am starting to feel like their stories are becoming theirs to tell, not mine. And another part of me, just wants to protect them/him. It is a fine line to walk and understand. I know there will be times that I cross it, pour my heart out and ask for support, and there will be times that I hold it all back, sharing nothing. This is a blog about my life, and it is in a constant state of change, so we learn together what is right and comfortable. Yes?

While I was in England, Andrew was involved in an incident at school that led to a 5 day suspension. It was a situation of four bullies against one, and my one overreacted. There are just too many details to tell them all, but the events of the last week have led school to feel that they can't keep Andrew safe and they can't meet his emotional and mental health needs. At an emergency Committee for Special Education meeting on Wednesday, school decided to transition Andrew into a BOCES program in another district that will have him in a 6:1 classroom with professionals trained in understanding and supporting children with emotional disabilities. We haven't had a lot of time to process all of this, and honestly, I can't say what I am feeling about it. I waver every couple of hours it seems.

The transition process into this new program is going to take several weeks and Andrew will be home with me until then. I am taking him to tutoring every afternoon for two hours so he doesn't fall too far behind in the curriculum. Over the next couple of weeks, I will be running round town to doctor's appointments, intake meetings and interviews, tutoring, school, and learning how to be home with just Andrew. So, something has to give. It was with a very heavy heart that I called yesterday to cancel my participation in The Fine Craft Show (an art show I have done for the past three years at the local art gallery). I know with my whole heart that my place is with my family right now, not my studio, and with them is where I want to be. I get teary when I have to talk about it, but, in my gut, I know I am doing the right thing.

Back in August, I started whispering to Ron that, come Fall, I was going to get a kitten. He just shrugged his shoulders and ignored me (he isn't the pet person I am, and I understand that/ love him anyway, wouldn't keep me from wanting/getting one though). Well, yesterday, Andrew and I went on an adventure across town to bring a welcome distraction from all the yuck in life right now. He might just love animals more than I do. The five of us (YES, FIVE!! Ron loves her too) are so so excited to have a new baby in the house to pour love and affection into. And no, we haven't forgotten about our Mr.Rusty Sprouts either... he is getting lots of extra love these days too.

The new baby is an 8 weeks old little girl. She comes from a litter of 5. The Momma wandered into the host family's life unannounced and expecting. They couldn't bring themselves to turn her away so they gave the Momma a home and cared for the kittens. It was so hard to choose. Andrew and I decided that this little one was just right for us. She has a wonderful sweet temperament. We love her stripes, we love her freckles, and we love her sweet little meows. And, as a family, we named her...

Lola Boomer Jane Bogert... Lola for short ;)

The Brighton Coast

Life behind the blog scenes is extremely overwhleming at the moment. I can't really go into details right now, but eventually I will. I would love say that is bead/jewelry related, but sadly, it is not. It is life with a child with mental illness related and it needs all my attention right now. I hate to leave you hanging though! So...













First, on Monday and Tuesday, I neglected to introduce you to my "host" family for my UK visit!! You might remember my visitor, Lucy and our 18 year friendship, from her trip to NY just a couple of summers ago. I was so very excited to get to spend a week with her, her children (Charlotte age 9, and Alex age 7), and her boyfriend, Ben. I couldn't ask for better friends!! Lucy emailed me a few weeks before the trip to ask "is there anything special you want to do while you are here?" To which I said "can we take a drive to the coast?" Lucy knew just the place to take me... Brighton.

On Sunday, we packed up the kids (Ben included) took an hour or so drive south and the place we came upon was a throw back to a completely different time. The weather was miserable. The sky opened up with a torrential, sideways, soaking rain as soon as we stepped out of the car. You should have seen the five of us walking down the pier with heads of hair that looked fresh from a shower. You would have also seen grins from ear to ear. As I said, you can have a lot of fun when you are soaking wet and it makes for memories that much more tactile. I loved every minute of being in that rain!! Eventually though, we took shelter in a fantastic arcade at the halfway point of the pier and hid out until the heaviest rain passed. Then we popped across the street to Harry Ramsden's for fish & chips, followed by a walk through "The Lanes" (a shop lined area), and then down to the shore to search for heart shaped rocks while the angry English Channel roared under a stunning sky. Seriously good memories... seriously good.

Sunday night, I was in for another treat, but left my camera home for this one. I got to spend some time with my original host family (Lucy's parents) and then we walked to the local pub (Fox & Hounds, HA, love that name) for a few pints. Thanks to Lucy's sister, Amy (who was just 4 the first time I went to England and is now a lovely 22 year old), for watching the kids for us. And thanks to Ben for convincing me to try Guinness!! And oh how I like it now. I wish the darft Guinness over here was as good. ;) Three pints later, we had a giggly walk home and, needless to say, I completely crashed and had a great night's sleep.