Happily Home

I had a wonderfully refreshing holiday up in Marana. Five dogs, the quiet of the desert, and plenty of reading material. Not a traditional Christmas by a long shot, but that's how I like it. It was actually pretty easy to forget that it was Christmas, if I had the TV off. It was cool, but not cold, and beautifully clear. Felt like any other perfect winter day.

The dogs had a great time with each other. Chris got some adorable pictures of my girls loving up to their boyfriend, I'll have to get them off of his phone and post them for you all. And Daisy was just deliriously happy about all of the walking and jogging, I don't think her tail stopped wagging for a moment while she was on-leash. We even taught her how to use the doggie door.

Now it's time to start getting ready for my family's holiday celebration on New Year's Day!

Going dog-sitting

Tomorrow I'm going up to Marana to dog/house sit for my friend Helen. I have to say, I don't have a problem with the idea of dogsitting becoming a new Christmas tradition for me. It's so peaceful out in the desert, just me and 5 great dogs.

I'm not sure if I'm going to pre-schedule some lame filler blog posts to keep up my "blogging every day" goal, or let it slide. Probably let it slide, since no one really wants to read filler.

I'm back home!

Hello blogosphere, did you miss me?

I had a great time up in Marana dog-sitting for my friend. Her three dogs were lovely as usual, and kept me nice and warm at night by sleeping next to me. Unlike my dogs, they don't lick my face while I'm trying to sleep, so they're actually allowed in bed with me.

Admittedly, I decided not to even try to get onto the internet while I was there. I knew that if I did, I would get almost nothing done. Instead, I gave myself the very special Christmas gift of an entire day with nothing to do but play Solitaire or work on my book (seriously, I have almost nothing installed on my laptop). So I wrote. My book is 15-16 pages longer than it was before I left on Wednesday.

But I should really be talking about that over on my writing blog, shouldn't I?

I came home to find the beading kit that I ordered from Buy the Kit in my mailbox. I'm not sure if I'm going to start it right away, or save it for the next time that Chris is at gaming and I'm at home. Either way, I am back in the mood to bead. My back and shoulders feel better after a few weeks of barely beading. I'll just have to be sure to treat them better in the future so this doesn't happen again. Less stooping, more stretching!

Chris and I decided to exchange a couple of late Christmas/early New Years Day presents with each other today, so I have a couple more awesome new pretty shinies to photograph. Looks like I really need to get out to the game room and take a ton of pictures.

And now, off to my other blog!

Phoenix Feathers!

Well, I didn't get the website updated until almost 9pm because I wanted to finish Phoenix Feathers -- I think it was worth it! I love this necklace! Not only does it look nice on the black neckboard, but it is absolutely stunning on a neck. The fringes are long enough to really have some presence, without requiring you to wear a top that's TOO low cut.

Today's other new addition is Sacred Grove. I had hoped to have some earrings done today, too, but then I wouldn't have updated until 10. So right now the plan is that I will make some earrings tomorrow, and post them on Wednesday. This will be a double update week, because, after all, Christmas is coming.

Speaking of Christmas and other Winter Holidays, I will not be shipping anything after the 17th, so the ordering deadline is the 16th. I'm going to California for Christmas, so I probably will not be shipping again until at least the 27th... That means that if you want something to wear on New Year's Eve, you should also order by the 16th.

I'm now officially in the holiday mood, because while I was editing photos and updating the site, I was also listening to A Very Scary Solstice by the HP Lovecraft Historical Society. Good times, good times.