Hug a Firefighter Today

The wind changed and the fire headed back the way it originally came; yay! We thought we might have to evacuate last night, especially when the power went out for a while, but thanks to a strong offshore wind, we're good. I think the fire's probably almost burned itself out, because the news isn't covering it 24/7 anymore. The Valley is still filled with smoke, however. My throat feels like I swallowed knives, and I can't breathe to save my life. That really sucks. The part about not having to evacuate rocks, though. Hurray!

I think in the long run, the thing burned somewhere around 20,000 acres, and you could actually see the smoke from space. (It looked like clouds.) 3,000 firefighters did battle with it, and they did a helluva job; only 3 or 4 structures burned - an unattached garage, a Rocketdyne building, and 1 or 2 homes, depending on which newscast you listen to. That's phenomenal when you consider the sheer area burned, how far it spread, and the density of population in Southern California, and this area in particular. I am amazed and think all those firefighters deserve medals, because they worked nonstop for like 36 hours and did an insane job. Seriously, firefighters are underpaid and unsung heroes, all of 'em.

So anyway, we now return you to our regularly-scheduled blog programming. Only I have errands to run, so I think the Finds will have to wait until tomorrow.

:)
Jenie

Fire Update 2

Fire has turned back this way and is burning in Calabasas, which is about 5 miles down the highway. We can see flames again and there's smoke between us (in a valley) and the flames we can see. Can smell smoke for the first time, which sucks, because that means the winds are toward us, which means so is the fire, which is definitely headed this way. I am less than thrilled, though the SO is not yet concerned.

Have I mentioned you can see the smoke from space? Because, you can see the smoke from space.

Fire Update

17,000+ acres burned, and growing. Still only 5% contained, but that's a pretty huge thing when you consider that at 11pm last night, it was 3500 - 5000 acres. At 5:30 this morning, it was 7 - 10,000 acres. 3000 firefighters working on it. Miraculously, only 3 structures have been burned, which is mindboggling when you see this thing and realize that 17,000 acres is the size of a small city. Huntington Beach, California, to be precise. (puts that in perspective, doesn't it, KJ?!) It's stretched 15 linear miles east to west from where it started. I'm really worried it's going to cross the 101 and move toward Malibu. That will be Bad. It's definitely a "terrain-driven" fire, so if it crosses over to Malibu, it will most likely also burn back this way and into Topanga Canyon, which we are about 1 mile northeast of. The last big fire in this area was 33 years ago, when the house that was originally on this property burned to the ground. That's something to think about, folks. Please pray it moves AWAY from us and doesn't move back east. I so can't afford to lose everything.

Thanks,
Jenie

Hey, where's the fire?! Oh, wait...

Chatsworth fire from Woodland Hills, California, 9 pm, Wednesday, September 28, 2005


To put the size of the thing in perspective, the bright lights in the bottom right corner are Warner Center, a large clump of office complexes taking up at least 4 square blocks about a mile away. The fire is 3 - 6 miles away and stretches in length probably 10 - 12 miles, and that's just what we could actually see. 3500 acres.

It's been an interesting day.

No Sale :(

My Jewelry for Katrina piece did not sell, so I'll be auctioning it off elsewhere. As I said, I'm open to suggestions, and I supposed I'd better take a picture, now that I have time, that more adequately shows the necklace, since the one I took makes it look like a sterling silver chain with just the 2 sections of rose quartz, a single pearl, and one piece of smokey quartz. Alas.

If anyone would like to buy it outright before I hunt up a place to auction, you can grab it for $60 on Dragonfly. Just click the image to go there. I'm bummed it didn't sell, but not surprised, since most necklaces went for around $35. I hoped people would be willing to pay more because it's for charity, but I guess not. It's worth more than $60, so I'm not selling it for less. If I were selling it for myself, I'd list it at $75, because it really is a beautiful piece and took a darned long time to make. I could sell it in a Sherman Oaks boutique for easily twice that, but at any rate, there it is.

Hope everyone had a good weekend.

Jenie

I hope everyone's having a good weekend. I'm taking the time while my dinner nukes to jot a few things down, and then it's back to the documentary transcription, which I'm trying to rip thru and finish by Sunday night.

I don't know how my piece did at the Jewelry for Katrina auction. I'm hoping someone bid, but since it was only up briefly, I'm afraid it didn't sell, in which case, I have to find some other non-eBay way to auction it and then send the proceeds to Jewelry for Katrina. I'm open to auction suggestions.

Seriously, if you haven't signed up yet for the Wickedly Chic Chic Report, get on it. :) She has the best fashion finds ever, and that includes perks for pampered pooches. I like one of her finds so much that I'm making them a Tuesday Treasure. :) More and more, I am falling in love with Wickedly Chic. She scores the coolest stuff. Take Leftside Art, for example; nifty cool jewelry. :)

And there's the sound of the microwave timer, so I have to go. Have a pleasant weekend. :)

Jenie

Jewelry For Katrina

Holy smokes, that was close, and I can only hope I made it in on time, since I didn't hit send on the mail program until 12:02 by my computer's clock, but here's my submission for the International Jewelry Designers' Guild (IJDG) Jewelry for Katrina auction. (click the image to see a larger, clearer picture)



I wish I'd gotten it finished sooner, but writing the description and getting a decent photo took longer than I thought it would, and I had no end of trouble just getting the time to make the thing. It took me over 4 or 5 hours to make, because I used 22 guage half hard silver to attach everything but the pearls. 22 guage is too thick for the drill in the pearls, so I had to use 26 guage for those. Every freaking bit of this one of a kind necklace is wired by hand, AND I wanted it to be nice and supple, so there's a tiny 2 or 3mm soldered ring between each pearl and the smoky quartz, and that smoky quartz was *hard* to wire close to, because most of it is cut on the slant, not nice and straight. I can't tell you how many freaking pieces of wire I had to cut apart and rewrap; it had to be at least a foot. And I had to junk one piece of smoky quartz because the stone was too thin at the end of the hole (thanks to the slant) and I chipped it. :( It sucks too, because that particular piece was really pretty and clear. The quartz is really pretty and a gorgeous brown and cost me $4 a piece, when you get down to the fact that I had to shell out for a whole strand, only 4 pieces of which (3, when one broke) were clear enough to use. And the pendant piece has a great rainbow fracture* on one side, which I think is really neat, considering it's to benefit people who made it through a storm. There are 3 pieces of smoky quartz, 4 rose quartz tubes, 5 4mm cultured pearls, 8 2xAB light rose Swarovski bicones, 8 shiny sterling silver bali beads (daisies), at least 14" of 22 guage sterling silver wire, at least 12" of 26 guage sterling silver wire, and exactly 12" of beautiful sterling silver chain. The whole thing is a little over 20.5" long, with a 1.25" pendant drop, and frankly, I'm pretty darn happy with how it turned out. I set a starting bid at $60, which, with labor and parts, is what it cost. (well, $62, but that would be nitpicky) ;)

* A rainbow fracture is a fracture inside the quartz which includes a vacuum, allowing a prismatic splitting of light which creates a small rainbow, rainbow ring, or pieces of rainbow to appear inside the crystal or across the face of the fracture when light hits it just right. If you click the image above, you can just see the small half circle of fracture visible near the bottom of the pendant stone, on the left side. When you look at that edge of the pendant straight on, it's actually a small round fracture that creates a very pretty rainbow ring.

Lemme know what you guys think. And get over to Jewelry for Katrina to bid on something. There's a wide range of prices over there and some neat stuff, and it benefits charities based in Baton Rouge, which is great, because the Red Cross is getting the lion's share of donations, and other charities in the area need help, too. I think I may make one another necklace or maybe a pendulum to auction on eBay and one more of something else to benefit an animal charity, Noah's Ark or the SPCA/Humane Society. I'm thinking a silk and seashell necklace with pearls and stone or glass. I'm still working on the design for that one.

Okay. Gotta go. My hands hurt from all that hideous wiring!

Tuesday Treasures: Lamoore Designs

You know the original Hans Christian Andersen story of The Little Mermaid by heart. You belt out "Under the Sea" with the car windows down and warble "Part of Your World" in the shower...along with the pre-song lines, and you can do a Disney heroine voice with the best of 'em. If Disney ever does a stage version, you are so landing the part of Ariel. And the one episode of Charmed you've seen a million times is the one where Phoebe becomes a mermaid. And okay, technically, it's a two-parter, which makes it really two episodes, but come on; it's really one story, and you never would have left the sea. Girl, you so shoulda been a mermaid.

And now, you can be.

From Cape Breton Island comes the sea-themed art and jewelry of Lamoore Designs. Nova Scotian artist Laura Moore brings her fascination with fairy tales to life in the form of mixed-media paintings and jewelry comprised of sea shell pendant necklaces and pins in bright, jeweled tones; drift wood earrings; and "beachcomber bracelets" of driftwood, shell, and glass. Never quite got the hang of flippin' your fins? For the woodland sprite inside you, Lamoore also offers the Enchanted Trail Collection of pewter and maple leaf pendants and earrings. From sea or by land, each piece is a one-of-a-kind, individual work of art, and all are signed and numbered and guaranteed by the artist.

I like the layout for Lamoore. It's all blues and greens in swirly shapes, and I love the whimsical swirly snail scroll bar in the left section. It's neat, too, that Ms. Moore provides a section explaining her entire process of creation, from start to finish. Lamoore Designs has no shopping cart, but prices are listed in the shop section, and I gather those who live far from Nova Scotia or who want a custom piece of jewelry in a particular color can order via email. I find Lamoore's jewelry prices more than reasonable, especially considering the amount of care and detail that goes into each piece, but thrifty shoppers who read all the way to the bottom of the price list will also find great deals on closeouts and 2004 items at prices even a mermaid could love.

When Bad Things Happen to Good Websites

I discovered in the wee, small hours of the morning today that my payment gateway was down. Seems Verisign changed its url for payment processing, and I somehow missed notification.

If you tried to order from Dragonfly via the web between August 31 and September 17, please accept my apologies and contact me for a discount on future orders. I would like to make it up to you.

Thank you, and please accept my sincere apologies for any inconvenience. :(

Jenie

Featured Venus, Part 2

I am the Featured Venus on the Wickedly Chic website, too! Woohoo! :) Many, many thanks to Amy at Wickedly Chic, and again, if you haven't been there yet, you have to go. The site is totally adorable, and Amy manages to hunt down the cutest things, and I am not just saying that because she chose to make me a featured link! :) Plus, she does neat giveaways and does deals so you can get discounts with merchants. Sign up for the newsletter! I like Amy's finds way better than anything Daily Candy or Style Bakery has to offer, frankly. She has great taste. :)

And it's not all that important or anything, but I love the image she chose for my link. It's one of my favorite ones. My boyfriend took it, way back in the day when I was first working on getting a site and actually starting my business, and even though it's the wrong size, I refuse to replace it. :)

That's it for the moment.

Spater, gator.

Jenie

Whew.

I have a lot of jewelry to make. A piece for the IJDG silent auction, two for Reality Relief, and at least one to sell on eBay to benefit animal rescue. And I still have 30 hours of transcription to do...I feel like I'm on an endless loop right now. I don't seem to be making any headway at all into transcription because I keep getting interrupted by other things. Oh yes. And that article on carnelian to write.

Guess I ought to get cracking.

Oops

I forgot a link in last Friday's Finds. I have now placed the link to the history of stained glass.

And, apropos of nothing, would someone tell me why Diet Coke is so completely addicting that I will shirk my water supply responsibilities to my body in favor of nothing but DC, until my body rebels and shuts me down? ::sigh::

Featured Venus: Dragonfly Design

Dragonfly Design has been named the Featured Venus in the current issue of the Wickedly Chic newsletter, available to subscribers only. :) If you don't receive "The Chic Report," sign up at Wickedly Chic, now. :)

(click image for an easier-to-read version)

I appreciate the mention!

Nods, To & From

Paper Bride shared the love and gave Dragonfly some super nice return sugar. Thanks, PB!

The "Reality Relief" benefit is bouncing around like flubber. I'll let you know when it's shored up. I'm hoping the new date I'm hearing about will be a week later and not sooner, because I need a little more time. I'm still in the middle of transcription, and I have another charity piece to make for the IJDG silent auction before the 21st. Which sounds like plenty of time, but I went from being someone with almost nothing to do to wading through weeds up to my waist. I am, as we used to say in my table waiting days, weeded. In the weeds. Big time.

Swing by Dream Life and give Lori-Lyn the love.

I'm gettin' a little worried about Miss Lauren of Nesting With Style. She hasn't posted since the pre-Katrina days of August 26. I hope she's not missing anyone. :(

Speaking of Nesting, I love the way Lauren has her forum set up over there. It's very pretty. :) Get over there and consider posting, nesters!

Whew; I'm really tired. I'm also switching back to a day schedule, and it's killing me. At least the weather is perfect for it.

Must go now. Long day ahead.

Jenie

Tuesday Treasures: Paper Bride

After an entire summer of froufrou bridesmaid gowns and last minute bridal panics (not hers), "professional bridesmaid" Erica Goldstein saw a void and stepped up to fill it: specialized thank you cards for the newly-wedded bride. But not just any thank you cards, cute cards. Cards with panache. Cards that say "bling". And you can get them individually or in nifty boxed sets. These are no fancy schmancy, sappily-engraved cards here, no sir. Illustrated by Alexandra Fletcher and ably-captioned by the ever-single-but-never-bitter (and actually, now newly engaged) Ms. Goldstein, Paper Bride's cards are the sort of thing you give your best friend, little sister, mom, and caterer.

Yes, caterer. Or florist, venue, and seamstress, just to name a few.

For friends and family, there are cards for your girlpals, little sister, mom, fiance, family-to-be, and even an apologetic one for slipping into Bridezilla mode. All of them walk the line between humor and misty eyes that perfectly captures the insanity of planning a wedding, whether you're the bride or just got swept along on the Crazy Train with her.

There are cards to ask your friends to serve as bridesmaids...and cards to thank the entire wedding party, from the Best Man all the way down to the flower girl. There's even a card to address the Bachelorette Party.

For more informal newlyweds, Paper Bride offers postcard books of announcements and thank yous, from the aforementioned Bling to Save-the-Dates and the highly Yenta-like "Thank God...!" Jewish-themed engagement announcements.

But the crowning glory of Paper Bride is the Deluxe Bridal Thank You Box, containing 50 cards and envelopes from every other themed box - all properly indexed and tied up with ribbon in an adorable keepsake box, of course. It even makes a wonderful gift; you're practically assured a thank you card for your thoughtfulness!

The Paper Bride website is easy to navigate and offers a straightforward ordering process. The layout is all pink and feminine, without being cloying or overly girly, and is obviously all about the bride, but fun enough for couples to search through without making the groom-to-be feel out of place or like there's nothing there for him. If you're a fun-loving spirit and want to share your feelings without the overbearing sentimentality of most bridal cards, Paper Bride may be right up your aisl--er, alley.

Who knows? You might end up sending Ms. Goldstein a thank you card.

Jewelry for Katrina & Reality Relief

Sorry for those of you who tried to leave comments and emailed me about the page 404. I have no idea what that was about. There was a big power outtage in LA today, so I suppose that could have been it, but if so, I wouldn't think you'd be able to read the page, so I don't know.

Man, I am so *over* transcribing interviews. And yet, I signed up for another 2 weeks of it, and I haven't finished what I already have. At least the subject matter is interesting.

The International Jewelry Designers' Guild, of which I am a member, is having an auction to benefit victims of Katrina. I just found out about it today, so I've gotta get a move on to produce some pieces for it. I was already planning on putting 2 or 3 together, thanks to KJ's lovely idea to do so. So I'll go ahead and crank one out for that, too. It's called Jewelry for Katrina, and there's some really pretty stuff there, so get on over and put in a bid, silent or otherwise!

KJ also has a friend who is helping run a shelter in Louisiana, and they desperately need some stuff. There's a list over at the Silver Parrot blog. If you need some prodding, KJ is very generously giving earrings to anyone who sends her a copy of a receipt from the shelter. Free earrings, people! Get thee hence!!! (or you know, just get there anyway, because that's the kind of standup person I know you are!) :)

As well, a girl I used to work with in reality television is putting together a benefit on the Queen Mary, Saturday September 24. The QM has very graciously donated the entire Grand Ballroom for the event, called "Reality Relief". There should be live music and all kinds of artisans and goody bags. Like, the kind of goody bags they give to all the contestants on reality shows, and that is some primo stuff, people. I'm talking spa treatments, jewelry, makeup, bath stuff, lotions, cute shirts, lingerie, purses, running suits, you freaking name it. Expensive, namebrand stuff. Every single season of The Bachelor that I worked I was so rabidly JEALOUS of all the girls for the cool stuff they were getting absolutely free. The organizer is working really hard to get great stuff and get the website up by Friday. I'll put the link up as soon as it's operational. And if you know someone who might like to sponsor the event, have them get in touch with me, please. It should be great exposure for a new company. I might sell some of my stuff there; I'm not sure. I'm hoping to volunteer my time to help with co-ordination, if not.

That's it for me at the moment. I was going to be a featured site on a shopping site today, but that didn't happen. I'll let you know when it does, and also when I have jewelry up for auction. I think I'm going to do a smoky quartz & gold-fill pendulum, as well. And one way or another, I'll be over at the Queen Mary on the 24th, so be sure to drop by and say hi. :)

Jenie

Friday Finds WE 091105

Quick Friday Finds, because I'm way behind work.

Axelhoney. I was [this close] to making Axelhoney a Treasure, but as its product range is rather limited at the moment, I am making it a Find, instead. Because it *is* a find. I like the Berrs a lot. They show a lot of creativity, though for some reason, my favorites are the monster berrs. That concept just cracks me up and is adorably twisted. Little teddy bears zombified and on the rampage; it doesn't get much cuter. I really like some of the illustrations, too. Not all of them are my cup of tea, but a lot of them are, and I think they're very good. A 70s-esque girl daydreaming in the sun. A huge-eyed hippopotamus staring back at you from the water while a bird perches on its head. Girls sleeping peacefully on clouds of floating, fluffy white sheep (genius, that one), and many, many more. There's also a huffy little robot painted on a box that cracks me up. The girl behind Axelhoney, Melissa, has a degree in Fine Art and works as a graphic designer. I like that her site is set up like a little leather address book, and she's definitely a creative soul. Give Axelhoney a looksee. :)

Remember back in the day (ha ha), when I was posting about aprons and wanting to find more feminine, vintage-style aprons? Well, I just found Sweet Pea Handcrafts this week. :) Sweet Pea offers "retro" aprons, both bib and waist styles, with a distinctly vintage look. I'm actually not a fan of bib aprons because they make my neck hurt, no matter how I tie them (too many years spent wearing them while waiting tables and bogging them down with heavy things), and they're not wide enough to actually protect your shirt from splatters (every single time I make spaghetti sauce, I spatter myself). But Pea's have nice wide bibs that actually look to protect your entire front, and that makes them aces, in my book. :)

Ahrr, matey, thar be 10 short days left until International Talk Like a Pirate Day, September the 19th. Will ye be ready? Sail on over to the Pirate Page, ye scurvy bilge rats, and belay what ye need before barnacles form on yer bottoms. ;)

Or um, something. :)

Take the What's My Pirate Name quiz at fidius. My quiz results are below, although I am Buccaneer Maggie at MSN's pirate name generator and Grace Cutthroat at Froggynet.

Here's a place you can go to post or see photos others have posted of actual gas prices across this wide land.

And finally, a history of stained glass.

Sorry there are no fun fashion finds this week. They're scattered about in my bookmarks, and I don't have time to really put together a proper entry. Sorry, mateys--er, hearties--er, um, friends.

Have a good weekend. 'Til later. I am

Yours very peacefully,
Bloody Jenny Bonney

Help Save the Pets Left Behind in the Gulf States

You know, in addition to the usual charitable organization people think of donating to at a time like this, I’d really like it if people would also give to the (A)SPCA. There are a lot of pets in the stricken area who were left behind and are in danger of starving, disease, and dying of thirst, same as people would be. Only they are far less able to care for themselves. Some of them are even tied up or confined to yards, where they have no hope of foraging. Please consider a donation to the Louisiana SPCA or one of the following:
The Humane Society of the United States animal disaster fund
Texas SPCA
Houston SPCA
the Humane Society of South Mississippi, in Gulfport MS.
or The Animal Welfare Society Gulf Disaster Relief Fund.

In lieu of a cash donation, you can also foster a pet or pets. (at least, the HSSM offers that option)

Those organizations are already on the ground at Ground Zero, trying to rescue pets. The Louisiana SPCA says it will board pets until their owners can come and get them, but we all know that will only last as long as the money to pay for their keep does, so please donate. Heck, donate again, later.

Thanks,
Jenie

I Am a Shrubber

Man, I am so getting nothing done. I've been working on this documentary for over a week now, which necessitates 9 - 12 hours a day of watching interviews and typing out word for word what the person says. It's interesting work much of the time, but that's a lot of typing, and spending a minimum of 6 hours with each interview subject gets tedious, no matter how interested you might be in what they have to say. The SO came and sat with me a couple of times and worked the dvd remote so that I could focus on typing, and he was like "wow...this is really hard. you got that? you heard what he said? wow, you type really fast." I kinda wondered what he thought I'd done every single day of the last 5 years at work 10 hours a day, but I guess it's one thing for me to tell you "I type what people say," and it's quite another for you to sit next to me and see exactly what that entails and how aggravating it can be...and these people are public speakers by trade, so they are much better at it than most. Certainly, they have a far greater command of the English language than the average Joes and Janes I used to transcribe for reality television.

Anyway, I have to go sleep now, and tomorrow/today, I have jewelry to make for an order, and then it's back to the transcription grind stone. I'll be really glad to finish this project, interesting as it is. Ah, jewelry and plants, how I miss them.

"Oh, what sad times are these when passing ruffians can say Ni at will to old ladies. There is a pestilence upon this land, nothing is sacred. Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress in this period in history."

Gotta love those Python boys.

Hurricane Katrina

Please visit the blog over at CraftJoint and read Mallory's entry to read about Mallory's experience and get a more personal account of how badly hit the people in that area of the country are. The entry also contains the url's for charitable organizations on the ground in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Mallory is a co-blogger at CraftJoint who also runs Dismantled Designs, and CraftJoint's founder, Shareta, has started a fund to help Mallory and her friends and family, many of whom lost their homes and/or businesses. You can donate to it via the CraftJoint community blog. I already emptied the sad balance of my Paypal account into it, but the $49.46 that's in the fund as of this writing isn't going to go far, I think.

As well, Craft Revolution is sponsoring a sort of "crafts drive", proceeds of which are going to the American Red Cross.

Thanks,
Jenie

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

Feeling bad for the people who lost everything in Katrina and worrying about my friend Sue, who has been horribly silent since this all went down. She’s a single mom with an autistic son, so I’m sure she has her hands full, but it would be nice to know she’s okay.

Wouldn’t it be awesome if we were all able to take care of ourselves, so that times like this were a little less trying? We’d still need and offer help, but I can’t help thinking fewer people would suffer.

And if you run into Sue Whittiemore, tell her to call Jet.

Thanks.