I am at present my own webmaster, so I have to learn a lot of things I know nothing about, but with enough failed attempts, something might finally sink in.  Or I completely shut down mentally…

I have been failing at setting up emails from my website to work with my Mac mail service, but I’m sure I’ll figure that out soon enough.  So, you know how when you’re looking everywhere for info on how to do ONE thing, you inevitably stumble upon something else?  That’s how it all went down.

In the end you may not be as excited as me, but I have added a “Tulaa Blog” tab to my website, and when you click on that it will automatically redirect you here to my blog!  Like I said probably bigger news for me than you but what can I say, I spend a lot of time alone.

Thanks for listening, and as a treat here’s something new not on website yet, but will be very soon…

Love ya’s!

It took some time, and a lot of guidance from RJ (my mentor, and master jeweler Robin Jordan), but here she is…

It was really challenging to fabricate the prongs for this piece.  Being my first, I was unaware of what really went into prong placement.  We had to be very careful because of the crystal structure of the druzy.

You can see how we had to direct the prongs around certain areas.  I was a bit intimidated by the process, but was heartened when RJ said  “I may have lead you down the wrong path, we have picked probably the most difficult typ of stone to set for your first time out!”  He explained that in the future, with practice, things get easier, especially if I am working with a more uniform surface.  Oh well, I always am making things way more difficult for myself!

Here is a back view where you can see how cool this stone is from all angles

I have since finished another druzy piece, and I am going back for more. Next time it’s a labradorite cab with a lot of fire…this is what we call a teaser!  Until next time!

These beauties are quartz (on left) and smithsonite.  Druzy has become very hot lately due in large part to its “organic” rough look.  Not long ago when a lapidary was cutting away on some rough and came across a pocket of crystals like this, they might have tossed it aside into a “flawed” category, because it was not seen as stable material for shaping into finished pieces.  Thank goodness times have changed!

So I returned from Tucson with a new bag of rocks, and a yet unknown problem…

I had no idea that I could not set these stones with my current skill set…

So there they sat for almost a year.  I had a busy year unrelated to jewelry, so my stones lay quietly waiting in my home studio. They had spent thousands of years waiting to be unearthed, what was one more year of waiting to see what would happen to them?

Last week I took them with me again to see my teacher and mentor, Robin Jordan.  We looked at how we could set them based on my fabricating knowledge, and quite frankly, it was going to be a job.  I won’t bore you with technicalities (assuming you’re not bored already), but I’ll be honest: I love learning new skills, but this didn’t excite me beyond the fact that I would be able to see these lovelies worn around someone’s neck.

But then, Robin looked at me over the rim of his glasses and said;

“Or we could doing something really wild”

Well, who wouldn’t have their curiosity piqued by that statement?

And so, I finally started to learn about the wonderful new world of wax casting!

Again, I won’t bore you with the technical process, but here is a glimpse at my first three silver casting pieces, still in progress

So now I am even more excited than I thought I could be about fabricating jewelry.  The rules of the game have changed, the sky is the limit with possibilities, and I am rejuvenated!

So in walks this buff young thing….

Already knew him, he’s been hanging around, and now he is with me everyday in the studio “doing his part”.

I am so lucky!

So much to do! Taking care of minor details...

You think I’m kidding?

In a way, yes, but to be honest since I have been in here nearly everyday, so has Queso.  He knows the value of putting in a days work.  He could be grooming and sleeping anywhere in the house…but he chooses to be with me.

Which brings me to musing on cats and their sensitivity to energy.

If you have a cat,  I know you have been in one or another spooky situation with your cat. You know, home alone at night, enjoying some peaceful time.  Ah, being alone is so great sometimes, house to myself, romantic comedy on the Netflix maybe a glass of wine… BAM!  No warning,  said cat jumps up and bolts of the couch like a shot after having looked right out the back window. Wine spilt, nerves shot, WTF?

Or how about when your lovely feline companion insists on not looking lovingly in your eyes, but about 6 inches either right above you or to the side?  WHAT are they looking at?

Are cats more in tune to what we can’t see, or are they just nuts?

This tickled a thought in my head and reminded me of something one of my Russian friends once mentioned.  Yes, I said Russian…oddly enough Myrtle Beach is teeming with said nationality, and surprisingly I have met all of them at my local yoga studio, Shanti Yoga Studio .  Russians LOVE the yoga!

Anyway, I have also learned Russians can be  a rather superstitious lot.   I recall once hearing that upon buying or moving into a new house, that many people would not enter unless a cat first entered.  Now, why is that?

So you can see my obvious leap from my cat to Russian superstitions.

So I looked into it a bit more yesterday and found some basis to this theory of cats, houses and energy.

Enter the Domovoy!

Turns out there is this rather mischievous, opinionated house spirit in Russian folklore known as the Domovoy.  The Domovoy rules your house, kind of like a patron, who supposedly likes to hang out in doorways, and does not tolerate laziness.  I’m sure he does a lot more, and you can get the extended version here.

Well, turns out it’s true!  According to lore, people would try to lure the Domovoy into a new home by first letting in a cat (or a cock, but I won’t go there), as it is believed that cats communicate with the Domovoy.  Some even believe that the Domovoy is inhabiting the family cat at times.  God knows I have seen some crazy eyes looking at me sometimes and I wonder what they are thinking!

So, maybe Queso’s being here is a good thing.  Either he is luring the Domovoy in here to keep me from being lazy ( which seems to work for the most part), or he is now in fact possessed.

The jury’s still out on that one.

What IS he looking at???

http://www.hootsuite.com

We went on a “field trip” to the SC Aquarium in Charleston yesterday. The kids and I have been there a couple times on various school trips, although it has been about 2 years since the last trip. This one was a little different in that we had Pat Pierce, Hali and Ian’s teacher, as our own personal tour guide. Pat volunteers at the Aquarium now and then as a teacher’s teacher. She teaches other SC educators about the Aquarium and more I’m sure, which is a perfect role for her! Anyway, as a result of that, she knew of the turtle hospital there and wanted to share it with us. This hospital rehabilitates turtles brought to them from all over, some as far as Maine! Their goal is to rehabilitate the turtles so that they are able to return to their natural habitat.

This is where the story gets personal. Last summer Richard came home to tell us the story of how they rescued a turtle off the beach that day. Pearson, our shuttle captain, on a regular shuttle run noticed something unusual in the water. As he came up on it, he saw it was a sea turtle with a crab trap rope and I think part of the trap wrapped around its neck. He said that the turtle really struggled to make it to the surface to breathe, and every attempt seemed weaker and weaker. He went into to shore to get some help, and they went back out to the turtle. They were able to pull the turtle in the boat, and bring it to shore. No small feat as this turtle weighed about 80 pounds and was very weak. They brought it to the beach and awaited DNR to come pick it up. We had heard that the turtle was transported to Georgetown and was to be tranferred to Charleston, and that was the last we heard.

When Richard heard we were going to the Aquarium, and that the turtle hospital was there, he was really curious to see if anyone remembered our turtle, whom the beach guys had named “Pearson”.

It only took a little time talking to Jackie, one of the hospital employees, to determine that “Pearson” was still there! When Richard was describing the circumstances of the rescue, she asked “Did he have a rope around his neck?”, and then yes, we found him.

They keep all the turtles in individual tanks so they do not harm or infect each other. She brought us over to “SCUTE”, and introduced us. We found out he was a loggerhead turtle, which is the state animal. “SCUTE” is an aconymn the used to name him (they already had a “Myrtle”, and a “North Myrtle”) which stands for South Carolina United Turtle Enthusiasts. Even she thought it was a reach! Any way, he was beautiful, now weighed about 100 pounds and is scheduled for release soon. She said he really loves people, is very active and very happy – if you can gauge a turtle’s happiness!

It was really awesome to see that not only did he make it, but that he has the chance to make it back to where he belongs to hopefully live out the rest of his natural life. If you ever see an animal in need, please help. You can make a difference! And if you are lucky enough, like us, you may one day see the results!

http://tinyurl.com/yb9mo5c

Enjoy!

No worries, all calm.  We looked all over town, but it was a Saturday morn before 9, so we rolled the dice, and decided to head out to the Mesa.  Good call, everything was fine.  So Mesa Verde was of course incredible.  Just seeing the mesa in the distance, and realizing we were going to climb to the top was exciting enough.  But then we get on the park road, which loops and climbs for 20 miles through the wilderness, and we are blown away.  The views just don’t quit out here.  Then, when we approach the top we notice that it looks as if we are in a ghost forest.  All the trees are bare and gnarled looking.  We find out later at the Visitor’s center that there was a fire on the mesa back in 2003 that scorched the whole area.

Richard and I are not guided tour kind of people, so we set off with our maps, and headed to Spruce Tree house- I think that was the name.  It’s a very well preserved example of all the dwelling there, and easily accessible.  We wandered around a bit, top and bottom of the cliff dwelling, then had lunch, then moved on.  We only had a few hours after all!

There is a loop drive that takes you by all the hotspots, and all are interesting, but after awhile, you’ve seen enough for a day.  Lots a great pics though.  Richard is a budding photog!  It really is amazing how these people not only adapted to the land, but actually lived prosperous lives there.  It was estimated that at one time there was between 30,000 to 40,000 people living in that area…in the cliffs and on top of the mesa.  Unbelievable.

a Kiva

atop a burnt mesa

We leave our mark at Mesa Verde

Mesa view

Typical Richard

We headed back to camp, had another good meal, and got ready to head out in the morning for warmer climates.  New Mexico, Land of Enchantment, awaits.

No swimming please-160 degree hot spring!

Pagosa Springs

But, all well and good, the springs were hot, but the air was cold, and we elected to not partake.  A little grocery shopping and back to camp we went.  A lazy night, but nice just the same.  I originally thought we would leave the next day, Saturday, but Hali was not ready to end her visit with grandma, so we changed plans again.  We decided that the kids could hang out at Grandma camp, and RG and I would head to Mesa Verde.  Always wanted to see Mesa Verde, and tomorrow would be my chance!

fun with the top down

the moments when they like each other...priceless

Colorado beauties, just hanging by Mom's mailbox!

At Piedra Falls

Mom

Ian

Frank had also made us his much talked about, and anticipated bacon wrapped stuffed chile peppers.. Right now I am holding the belief that bacon is not actually meat.  But, he stuffs green chilies with cream cheese, wraps them in bacon, and roasts them over the fire.  Yum!  I was so hungry, and it was so good, that I ate the first one rather quickly, and it took a few moments for the burn to catch up with me, but, it did.  I drank my first “danarita” rather quickly to try and put out the torturous burn in my mouth, but it was futile.  I was in for the long haul.  Had to ride out my greediness and suffer.  Until it went away and I ate two more!  Heat does not stop me!