My Little Lady, Ruby

The love of my life, Ruby, is finally peacefully sleeping forever. She passed away early Thursday morning as I lay next to her on my living room floor after collapsing the day before and never really regaining any strength. She was about 13 years old and the best damn dog I've ever known... more human than dog. I only had her for 3 years. I adopted her from a springer rescue group here in Oregon. I wanted to write about this to encourage anyone thinking about adopting a dog to really consider an older one. I wasn't sure how I would feel after Ruby died about my choice of adopting an older dog, knowing that you will have a limited time with them, but now that she is gone I know that I will do it all over again, because even though death is hard, the few years I did have with her were SO worth it, I wouldn't trade it for the world! And if you have an affinity for a certain type of dog and haven't really had any luck at a local shelter, there is a rescue group for just about every type of pure breed out there - just do a little digging, have a little patience, and you will find a good match. So, consider and older dog - they are already trained at least somewhat, they are beyond needing huge long exercise sessions, and basically just want a cozy person and home to feel secure in and live out their retirement years. Yes, they may come with a few more health problems (sometimes), but you just need to be aware of that and plan accordingly - they are worth a few extra visits to the vet! So, that's all for now....goodbye my little Ruby. I love you forever!

Some Beautiful Glasswork!

I saw some beautiful flame worked beads yesterday while browsing through the Etsy Finds email I get a few times a week. Here's the link to her shop:

AKDlampwork:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5297302




Anyway, her work just has an element of elegance and calm that I always wish I would see in American glasswork, but for some reason rarely happens . I know I've commented before on how I really want to like flameworked glass, but I dislike the "carnival trinket" look of flameworking - and finally I've found some work that I really love!
Funny thing is that I asked her what kind of glass she uses and it was the very same stuff I was looking at yesterday after I got a new glass catalog in the mail. The color palette is much more appealing to me than I've ever seen before. Now, I know next to nothing about Borosilicate glass, but it seems like they are finally making soft glass in a range of colors and effects that I think I've only really seen in the harder Boro glasses before. If anyone knows, please enlighten me!

Music Day

Went into the recording studio yesterday to lay down some cello and violin tracks for a friend's album. I've been so busy, I hadn't had time to develope any parts, but we got some good stuff in the end. The engineer was very good, too. It's amazing watching someone who really knows the board and the programs and is fixing and comping stuff in real time in between takes. It's like magic! I'm not sure if the studio is called "The Odditorium" or the rest of the building, but it's the Dandy Warhols building for whatever they want. Looked like there were some greenscreens around for shooting video/film and an area the size of a large club with a stage for a band. Basically, it looked like a warehouse that had been used for raves and no one took down the decorations. I think they might record there, but it might just be where they record acts they like or work with....all very vague to me! All in all, it's fun going in and acting like a quartet to add a little something something to some songs. Now back to restoring these windows sitting in my studio! Happy Labor Day all!

here's Pill Thief's info: http://www.myspace.com/pillthief

Window Restoration...

Well, I'm in the middle of restoring all the second story leaded glass windows for a client in town here. Pretty basic windows. Re-soldering all the broken metal joints, scraping out all the old putty, and reglazing the entire thing. You scrub the putty in with a scrub brush and the putty is a mixture of the regular window glazing putty, turpentine, and a colorant. It's the consistency of thick peanut butter. Needless to say, you get pretty sore from doing this for several hours! Sometimes it is pointless to try and do this with old windows, but these guys are in the perfect condition for it to be worthwhile.

Busy Times!

Well, when up to my mom's house for a few days of family time/hard labor and built this deck for her back yard. While I was doing that my mom and brother were building a retaining wall and pick-axing the horrible cement-like material that claims to be dirt in her yard. I think I got the better job. It's very satisfying to bang out a project in one day!


And here's part of the wall...



not my favorite stone material, but she's just doing it to fix the place up and sell in a couple years - so I guess I should keep my snotty opinions to myself. Hmmm, too late.