I feel the earth...move...under my feet....

In doting memory of that classic 1970 something song, I did feel the earth move right under my own this morning, here in grand old Pasadena.

Having only lived here for about 4 years, I've felt two and this, by far, was a good one!

I'm glad nothing serious happened and obviously a hat's off to the savvy construction crews who have built up surrounding Los Angeles to withhold a decent rumbler when they do happen!

Back to the originally programmed scheduling now....

I went running today

for the first time in a long, long, long, long.........long, long......long, long, long.....time.

Can we say Hurt Like a Sommabitch?

The only thing that isn't sore are my finger tips. Actually...wait...yes, they are.

Blech.

Oh, the air we breathe....

I live in the area of Los Angeles.

Let me say.

The air outside looks like the color of my widely known obsession for triple shot iced mocha beverages. Can we say just slightly brown? If only it smelled like my coffees tasted.

A tree snail moves faster than what I accomplishing this day. I'm over-heated, I'm tired, and I'm sure my lungs are devalued by 50 percent.

I'll explain that.

See, I run a cash system on my lungs given that, at any moment, I'm sure I'm carrying enough precious metal to pay for any future college educations for my future kids. Bar any coughing from particulants within my system, I should be more valuable especially in this high priced precious metals market. Unfortunately, after coughing, wheezing and hacking miserably, I'm now losing in the stocks. Sigh.

Please rain here. I must sign off to perform a rain ritual which may involve naked dancing.

My Journey into the Abstract....

May as well begin here. I am typically known for making bridal headpieces, which are themed yet elegant and dare I say on the side of non-traditional.

I have begun a wave of making abstract, freeform pendant designs to which I love the play, the diversity and the texture of them all.

For example:

and another recent creation featuring a blue sapphire and gold beads:

I will feature more as I get these in action and uploaded...but feel free to share your thoughts!

The most AMAZING place in the world....

Was, for me, my recent trip to the Grand Canyon, Bryce National Park and Zion National Park. There just wasn't enough time to fully see and explore all the nooks and crannies the parks have to offer.

To hike amongst these canyons puts a new perspective on your own size in life. Even the way these structured and large trees found life amongst high wall embankments makes you feel so...well...small.

The Grand Canyon, while breathtaking and beautiful, was actually not my favorite. It was surreal, like a painting, and you lose much perspective whilst staring out for over 15 miles of foreign cavities and ridges of prehistoric time. It's something you lose yourself in and quickly find you need to turn away to get your head back to square. Wicked history, right there.

I will post more but I wanted to capture a beaming me, on my trip, and these waterfall shots at the canyon of Bryce, where it's desert, dry as a bone and no water to be found except the remnants of sponged rainwater coming out of the rocks...some water as old as 4000 years!

It was an amazing and gorgeous trip...one I will remember for the remainder of my life. Y es, it was that profound and powerful. A spiritual moment that we all need from time to time. It's nothing you can get from a book, per se. It's all right here, under our very noses, in our own backyards.

How friggin' cute is this? You see, I've been "looking" at pop-up trailers for a while now. Ever since my near death camping experience in a two seater tent, from REI, really meant for a small...no...miniature toy poodle.

Anyhow, I'm devouring my sites at these wonderful contraptions to which embrace the idea of RV'ing in a more earthy way. You could call it a poor man's RV or a rich man's tent...either way, I'm all over this idea and think it's a perfect investment!

eBay is shooting themselves in the foot

I have a gripe. A formal complaint against this company. I have been with them for over 7 years and recently, I was in "violation" with keyword spamming in my listings. I make hand-crafted bridal circlets with a very Celtic, Renaissance and Medieval feel and I had about 25 listings wiped away due to spamming? How does one describe their product without using words like Celtic, etc, if that's what it truly is? I'm feeling a bit miffed and hope, eventually, that all the hard work I did on eBay will migrate over to another forum, such as Etsy, or my personal website.

Should I close my store front account with them or leave it up with a link directing here? Anyone know if that's doable?

Again, this is so frustrating. I pay outrageous fees, been a loyal and 100 percent feedback seller all this time, and this is how they repay me? I feel like I'm being targeted. It especially upsets me given that I see other merchants doing the same thing and they're not being targeted at all.

Perhaps, given this recent activity, with the French Connection via fraudulent watches, and in this sue-happy era, ze Francois won a 60 million settlement from eBay...which means that any of us who use indicators to describe our listings which may seem suspicious, to eBay, will get pulled. Still...totally not fair.

Heaven's Blevins...What a glorious view from here!

I just came back from an *amaaaaazing* 5 day quick trip to Bryce Canyon, The Grand Canyon and Zion National Park.
5 days isn't enough for one park let alone three...but wow. For anyone needing a bit of spiritual restoration, please...I cannot stress this highly enough...please make time to see one of these!

It's food for the soul.