Thank a Teacher. Please!

It is so strange, to not be working in a school in May, anticipating the year's end. This year is the best May EVER. (except for May 1982 when our son was born)   It's not that I didn't love teaching, but May always dragged on for ages, and I always called it the month from hell. It was always so hard to keep the kids on task at school, and I wanted to teach until the last minute.That's what they pay me for, right?  The students, on the other hand, wanted to be done with the school year, and if there was misbehavior  in their mind, they would go for it. Stir in nice weather and more extra programs and activities than will fit on your calendar.  Then add in testing. report cards, class celebrations, inventory, budgets,  ACK!! Oh right... and yearbook!  which was the ultimate in stress.  The students have their own stress.  Testing, doing those end of year programs in every activity they are involved in, and their stress showed also. If a kid might misbehave, May is the month that is best for the picking.  It's weird to see if there might be pushing or hitting or arguing, it can escalate more quickly in May, leading to suspensions.
Most of the end of year jobs had to be done when there were no students in the room, of course, so May was a lot of stress, long nights, not enough sleep, and trying very very hard not to be cranky. I remember one very hot Friday afternoon, sitting in a storage room sorting out 400 yearbooks, after everyone had left for the weekend.  (ok...  I had a little pity party that time and cried as I sorted them, and was more organized the next year.. and  the tears were, of course, just from all kinds of stress. )
 Let's add here, that my husband also teaches, and living with a stressed out spouse is a challenge also when you are stressed yourself.  WHEW  how many times did I say STRESS in this!??
I had my first nightmare about being in a classroom... about a week ago, and it was 'May in the classroom' 
This year, I have a garden, and go for walks, and work in my studio, and enjoy my part time job, and think my husband is a sweetheart, admiring how he can get through this last month of school. I always wondered what life was like without teaching and can say, May certainly is better!!  I went to school every year since I was 4,  so this is a new kind of world.  :-)

If you have kids in school, please please remember to thank their special teachers. It means so very much, and makes it all worth it.  Believe me. You just can't imagine how much it means to someone.  And even better, a little treat.  maybe a flower from your garden, a certificate for a cup of coffee, a snack and a soda, a thank you note (I kept them all).  They do so much for their classes and a thank you means the world to them.
If you aren't a teacher, enjoy this beautiful month.  If you do teach, stay with it my friends, the kids need people like  you.   XXXOOO   from me, and a big THANK YOU!!

Artsplosure Raleigh

Next weekend I am lucky to participate in Raleigh's Artsplosure which is a marvelous Arts Festival.  Great music all weekend, and great art work.
So my head has been down over the work table in the studio working, working!   If you are around Raleigh stop and see me.  I'm in booth 147. My usual spot, not far from Rum Runner's  (which my husband thinks is so convenient!)
Maybe I'll see you there!!

SpringFest on Saturday!

What have I been up to?   Getting ready for a show or two.  This coming Saturday, I will have my torch set up as a demo at Sweet Peas Unique Boutique here in Mount Holly.  I'll have my jewelry there too.   Maybe you can stop by!  It's SpringFest in Mount Holly Saturday, so  there is also an annual  5k .

You could run or walk in it!

Enjoy!

Plastic Bottles? or Handmade Soap? Easy Decision

Most liquid soap comes in nonrenewable plastic packaging. Substituting one bottle with a bar in each U.S. home would keep 2.5 million pounds of plastic out of landfills.

Being respectful of our environment is something important to me. Possibly it is because of being brought up in farm land. Walking fields with my friends, riding in wagons filled with grain, ice skating on the river that went through my friend's farm, it made me, as a child notice the environmental impact on the land. That river that went through the farm was always being fished. My Dad told me that we couldn't eat the fish from that river because it was too dirty. That was in the 1960's and industrial waste was coming from where? Or was it from farm fertilizers? But to a kid, it's a sad thing to know that . I know kids swam in that river too, and once my brother and I found the rope swing that went over the river. I fell from the rope swing (thus learning what 'lost your grip means') and when I got home, my Mom made me go straight to the shower. I've wondered why that river was considered dirty, and do know that it has been cleaned up.

As I've written before, I was also brought up with a family that grew most of their food, and recycled just about everything. When I went to college, and then 'out in the world' it was a big surprise to me to see what people throw away.

Lately a discussion has been going on that I am involved in. We've been talking about the environmental impact of plastics. A friend told me she feels plastics are the major problem we have created for the planet, and potentially the most damaging to our children's and grandchildren's health and well-being. One thing she mentions is using bar soap instead of bottled soap as it would make a huge different to the amount of plastic in the environment.

Did you know that the soft soaps you buy in pump bottles have a negative impact on our environment? That never has crossed my mind. Maybe I have never considered it because I like a good bar of soap. Something that is creamy and smells good. Handmade soaps are at many groceries, farm markets, and on line. They smell good. Did I already say that? They have no chemicals in them. You can get all kinds of soaps with different types of base oils. They last a long time. They cost less money than the soap in a plastic bottle.

When looking on Etsy for handmade soaps, I found a local crafter here in Mount Holly, NC.

Kali at the Etsy shop Love Toast and Jelly has some handmade soap in her shop. Her soap is pictured here and if you click on it, it will take you to her listing. It's a nice olive oil based soap. Doesn't that sound just naturally good?

Or maybe you are hooked on liquid soap. Make your own and pour it into a ceramic or glass soap dispenser or reuse that plastic one you have sitting by your sink. I'm going to try it.

Here is a recipe from Frugal Living:

Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: 10 minutes of hands-on time

Here's How:

1. Grate or finely chop a bar of soap (about four ounces of soap).
2. Bring four cups of water to a boil.
3. Turn off the heat, and add the soap. Stir to melt the soap. Continue stirring until the mixture is fully combined. At this point the mixture will be very liquidy.
4. Allow the mixture to cool for at least 15 minutes. Then, stir again. At this point, the soap should be slightly thicker.
5. Allow to cool for another several hours or overnight.
6. Stir to check the consistency. If it seems too liquidy, reheat and add more soap. If it seems too thick; reheat and add more water.
7. Once you're satisfied with your soap, add a few drops of essential oil and coloring, if desired.
8. Then, pour your soap into dispensers, and enjoy.

Tips:

1. Want to make a bigger or smaller batch? Just use one cup of water for every ounce of soap.
2. This recipe stores well. Make up a big batch, a few times a year.
3. Results will vary depending on the type of soap used. Tweak the recipe until it meets your needs.
4. For a super-smooth consistency, run the finished soap through a blender before pouring into dispensers.

How To Clean Your Silver

Did I ever tell you how to clean silver? This is a snap! Being close to running out of our favorite laundry detergent, I picked some up in the grocery. The new pods for laundry look great. In my opinion, they will be real helpful since we (ahem... my husband) won't use too much laundry soap in each load. These are pre-measured. In trying them out, they are working great and smell wonderful. But then, I thought it's a good idea to take the rest of the powder we have and put it in a storage jar. Why? Because Tide is great for cleaning silver, and before art shows, there are times I use it for getting some nice bright silver pieces back to their shiny state.
I've seen this done with boiling water and baking soda also, but this technique is super easy. Take a plastic container or a glass pan and line it with aluminum foil, shiny side up. Add some Tide. (maybe 1/4 c liquid or powder) Pour hot water over it and dissolve the soap. Then you just put your silver into it. In moments the tarnish is gone. Weird huh? I rinse the silver and wipe it with a soft cloth (or it will feel sticky) and the laundry soap itself... it can be thrown in with a batch of jeans. No yuck in the soapy water. It's on the foil.
Voila! Make yourself a pin that says 'GENIUS' !!
I have also tested this by leaving a chain maille bracelet in the pocket of my jeans and washing them in Tide. hahaha it worked..............but maybe that's not the best technique.

How I learned the Easter Bunny wasn't real

Well, Maybe it was already evident there really wasn't an Easter Bunny, but due to my fondness for spiced jelly beans,even at age 4, I wasn't telling. LOL But one day my Mother and Grandmother wanted to go to a local greenhouse for a visit with the Easter Bunny. There was a long line, and that greenhouse 'smell' The damp floral kind of mossy smell. We waited in line and I got to go up and see the Easter Bunny. Somewhere in this world possibly a picture like this exists with me on the lap of a bunny who looked exactly like this. Isn't that the strangest thing to recognize the costume? Unless he really was real............... If so, I wonder why when he moved his arm, a watch became visible next to where that paw (glove) stopped and the sweater started.
"Mom! He's not real. He has a watch on!"
"Yes, Susie, he has to get his baskets done on time" translates as.... Yes, Susie, adults can lie when necessary. LOL!! (My parents still call me Susie, and I love it)
The neat thing was he also gave me a rose. A single rose that went into a pretty vase. Could that be when I discovered how beautiful a cut rose is? That was a decent trade.

A Fun Bead Day

Today was a fun day. A friend, Carla, had an extra ticket to the Intergalactic Bead show which is in Charlotte this weekend. There was a good mix of vendors, and a nice crowd today. The weather was beautiful, so I'm glad we went in the morning. We were there several hours and found stones and cast jewelry components, and beads. Lots of nice people were selling their work and it was fun to visit with them if they weren't swamped with customers. The tables with stones, especially, had a many customers.
I found some colorful little beads that will look super with discs in jewelry. You know how I love to make lampwork discs!
And this disc? I finally took some pictures and posted on Etsy. My laptop has been in the shop so I used my husband's new desktop computer. Ok. I like it a whole lot better! The display is nicer with color and it was easier to use my Adobe program. Poor guy... now he'll have to share!