Two Years Later.......

Wow!  I can't believe it's been two years since I last posted.  A lot has transpired since then: 

I retired.

I've gotten more involved with my church, enjoying bible studies and working with the women in different ministries and events.

I've got to travel some and spend a lot more time with family.  It's been neat, especially since the family is growing.  I even got to meet cousins I've never seen or knew I had.

I've been blessed with 2 new grand daughters, Mercia (Aug 2010) and Eliana (Jun 2012).  My son and daughter-in-law now have a total of 6 kids!

Two years ago today, I took a leap of faith and traded my home (and 1.4 acres) of 18 years for a smaller home with a much more manageable size yard.  This was exactly what I needed. 

Also in those 2 years, I have repaired, re-arranged, painted (I even painted the sky on my bedroom ceiling), changed out fixtures, dug-up old shrubs, planted a garden (it's much bigger now) and many flowers,  got rid of old stuff,  etc.    

 One thing I really like...I was fortunate that my new place came with this awesome building out back....perfect for a studio.



These are my work areas.  It gets kinda of messy when I get into torching.  Glass gets everywhere. 

I use a Carlisle Mini CC torch.  It's a surface dual fuel mixing torch with a nice bushy flame. 

 

 

Some of my glass stash.....and my kiln.   It's a Paragon with a hinged door on a bead collar.  It's got a digital programmable timer....so much nicer than my analog one.  I don't have to babysit it.  The finished beads I make go into the kiln to anneal for several hours to strengthen them and prevent stress cracks.

 

Whew!   It's been a good 2 years.  There's been ups and downs, trials and successes.  I've learned alot, especially about myself and trusting God.  Thank you God for your provisions, the lessons and your abundant blessings.

Girls Night Out

Nothing like good friends enjoying food and fellowship. 

This being summer and hot in Oklahoma, we decided to make it a Salad night.  Each had to bring some kind of salad.  There was a chicken salad, oriental slaw, italian seafood pasta salad, cranberry salad, and more.  they were yummy! And to top it all off, a citrus cake in a perfect setting at our hostess' house and table. 

Glass in the Spring

I can't believe it's March already. Now that it's warming up some, I need to get the torch going again. Glass is so cool! There's so much you can do with it....


Here's a few things I've come up with. I've updated my website too. Check it out: http://www.cjlampwork.com/

New Web Site!

Hi all,

I've got a new site for my lampwork jewelry. I've got a lot more pictures to upload and I'm making more jewelry for the site.

 Come check it out.  My site: http://www.cjlampwork.etsy.com/

LU,
Cheryl

Going Through The Emotions

I just came back from a business trip to Destin, Fla. It was beautiful, but bittersweet. It was the last place that Vernon and I shared a trip together a year ago. Last time, it was in February though. VJ couldn't believe work would send me away during Valentine's Day. So, he had to come with me....only solution. We had a good time, as we always did.

This time, walking on the beach without him was so hard. It brought back so many memories of fun things we shared there. I would take every opportunity to go out and walk along the shoreline, getting sand in between my toes and thinking happy thoughts. Sometimes I would sit for a while, cry, talk to him and wonder at God's immense creation and knowing that VJ was with Him.

God also graced me with a beautiful sunrise the morning I took some of Vernon's ashes out to scatter with successive waves; letting them take parts of him out every time they retreated. I prayed for God's healing peace, as only He can give, to help me get through this. I miss you so much Vernon.

ReCap

Wow, it's been a long time since i've posted. A lot has happened in the past 7 months since my dear husband Vernon passed (I don't know how I got here....parts of it was a blur). He was my rock. I've had a lot of adjustments to make in that time.

I miss him dearly. But I know where he's at. I got to walk with him to Heaven's door; but I had to stay behind. God's got more for me to do though....I'm still learning.

Spring time is just around the corner. Vernon loved to see everything greening up. Things would start bloomin and he would get anxious to get outside and putter around. Speaking of putterin'...another of his favorite things to look forward to was Golf! I'm going to miss our Sunday afternoon and anniversary golf games. I know he'd want me to keep doing the things we loved.

So, I've been putterin around here lately...with my latest sidekick....Buddy. He's an 11 month old, 86 lb (the last time I weighed him) German Shepherd. Vernon said if he ever got another German Shepherd, he'd name him Buddy...well, we've got one.

He keeps me pretty busy. He's like a 2 yr old....into everything, teething and re-landscaping parts of my yard. He's good company though.

I took him over to visit with the grandkids today. It took the little ones a bit to warm up to him since he's so big. They enjoyed him once he settled down.

I'm anxious now for the weather to warm up so we can spend more time outdoors, and to get back to my hobbies....lampwork, jewelry making and scrapbooking....more on those in future blogs. Later...

Lampwork

So, here are a couple of my lampworked beads. The process to create a bead.....with a torch, melt glass around a mandrel (dipped in a bead release), rotate to shape, heat, rotate, shape, heat, finish, anneal in a kiln. Sometimes, you just don't know what you're going to get until it comes out of the kiln.

Here's a link on youtube to see what I'm talking about....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtmR8Ib5z2s&feature=related