I have been putting off beading for a long time, so this past weekend I made time to create this pendant. As I was making it, I remembered how much FUN it is to create using different beads and color combinations. I get so excited to see the finished product!
This design is given by the good, generous people on http://www.beadsmagic.com. This is not a paid advertising but they have great patterns and are free, just wanted to share. They have beautiful and easy patterns, most can be done in a day. I finished this pattern within an hour.
This pattern requires seed 11/0, Arcos par Puca (turquoise colored), 4mm round beads but I used grayish bicones, and silver Superduo (honeycomb shaped) beads.
See below my working mat which included all my supplies for the project. This tray is a lifesaver in the world of beading because you can take it anywhere and leave in place for each project. Notice the tiny thread I used and the sliver of a needle? My eyes have gotten bad with age but so far I am still able to thread a needle of that size.
Hopefully I can post more beading projects in the next few months. I am hoping to go back to school soon too so I will probably be stretched real thin! The important thing is gotta remember to schedule time for it!
After I came back from vacation I noticed my garden had a big burst of blooms from my lilies and hibiscuses. The weather had been around 90 degrees Fahrenheit every day this past week. Every morning before I go to work I would water all the pots and vulnerable plants like hydrangeas. By the afternoon, all the plants in smaller pots wilted.
A few seedlings died while I was on vacation but I am TRYING to come to terms that I can’t save every plant I have out there. I hate to see things die so it’s hard to take time off from watering when it’s hot outside. I just have to learn to let it go.
Speaking of things that died…on the day we came back from vacation, our housesitter told us she let one of our naughty dogs, Hunter, out at 3 a.m. and he sniffed a dead skunk or something because he came back with the stench! First thing I did when we came home was air out all the rooms and gave both dogs a bath. Hunter had 3-4 skunk shampoo washes on his face! I had my husband disposed of the skunk carcass and it reeked for days after! Something always goes wrong with the dogs whenever we go on vacation. This Hunter dog is a super manipulator! He whines and cries until they let him out. I never let him do that!
LILIES
Lavon Lily Royal Sunset Lily Pretty Lady Lily TreePurple Lady Lily
Hibiscuses
Althea White Rose of Sharon Hibiscus
That’s all the lilies and hibiscuses for this weekend. Have a great weekend! Stay hydrated and cool wherever you are.
Ooops! I made a mistake the other day in my post about my road trip vacation. I forgot to post pictures of my Reno visit! We didn’t stay long enough to explore and get nice pictures but there are several nice areas I wouldn’t mind retiring to some day. There are parts that looked a little bit rural and small community-like.
Reno, Nevada
We stayed in Reno for only one night after we traveled for most of the day from Death Valley. Pictured here is the historic landmark Reno Arch which served as a downtown gateway. The Arch is usually lit up, Las Vegas casino-style at night. Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay to see that since we were tired from traveling for over 5 hours on the road. It is within walking distance to the popular Riverwalk which we also skipped out on. Darn!
We did manage to get a picture of the National Bowling Stadium which I thought was the coolest structure there in downtown with a shiny, silver dome. For reference, it was shown in the 1996 film Kingpin which started Bill Murray and Woody Harrelson.
South Lake Tahoe
After we left Reno, we stayed in Lake Tahoe for two nights with almost two full days in Tahoe.
The pictures below are at Pope Beach which is a beautiful, sandy beach. It is calm and scenic but on the 2 days we were there the water was so cold. Daytime temps were around 62-65 degrees Fahrenheit. Early in the morning temps were around 32-36 degrees.
Emerald Bay
We drove by Emerald Bay but could not stop because all the available parking areas at all the lookouts were packed. If you drive around the lake, it’s best to go way early and not go around 11 in the morning like we did. We don’t normally go to popular places so late but we didn’t plan to go there specifically that morning. The drive around the lake is the prettiest though.
Beach at Lakeland Village in Heavenly
Our hotel was right in front of this beach and everything was in walking distance to restaurants and the shops at Heavenly Village. If you go to South Lake Tahoe, I highly recommend staying within walking distance in this area for an abundance of things to do.
Sequoia National Park
My husband and I have been to this park before but we wanted to do a quick stop here so that our boys can see the great General Sherman Tree. The Sherman Tree is the largest tree in the world, measured by volume. It is 275 feet tall and 36 feet in diameter at the base.
My boys standing in front of a couple of sequoia trees. You can get an idea how big those trees are.
This tree fell over and was turned into a walk-through tunnel.
This is a view of the Moro Rock in Sequoia. It is a steep hike up that rock, my son and I got up about less than a third of the way to take pictures. The view from there is amazing.
They had a planned or “prescribed fire” that day so you can see smoke coming up in one of the pictures.
The tunnel tree that we managed to drive through. A couple of cars were lined up waiting to enter the tunnel.
Well, that is it for my vacation. After that long trip we were so glad to be home. We missed our dogs and eating healthier than we have been on this trip. I hope you enjoyed the pictures and hopefully you can travel to these places soon.
Verdant Garden 