This is my latest doll. I haven't named him yet. Any ideas? His face is from RAMA and is raku. Each doll I do seems more finished to me. My techniques are improving, but I still have a long way to go. I have been teaching a doll class at my LBS and those with the courage to take it seem to enjoy it. It's a wonderful form of self-expression. There are no rules to follow and if you use a fabric like batik, you don't even have to bead all of it. I often do projects where I follow and exact pattern, but my love is anything free form. Each of my dolls seem to take on it's own personality. Beyond putting a face on it, I have no concrete plan of how to bead it. It's all done with bead embroidery, and maybe a little peyote thrown in. All I know is it's lots of fun to see how each one turns out. 

About 5:30 pm last Thursday, we left Fresno for Sacramento where we spent the night. Friday morning we went to a favorite bead shop for just a few things. We set out for Clear Lake, Ca. and a concert by Trace Adkins. A short stop in Kelseyville for more beads, and we got settled in at the Resort. The concert was stupendous!
This picture is of a few of the elk herd we came across on our way to the resort. They didn't seem to be very afraid of humans. We did get some rain, but so did the rest of California. Saturday morning we drove down through Napa Valley. What a beautiful drive. Of course, I took lots of pictures even in the rain. No one ever said it had to be dry to take pictures. On the drive home we discovered another bead shop in Stockton. Love new places! A good night's rest and we were ready for Marcia D'Coster's all day class at our LBS. Her classes are always so much fun. It was a busy weekend, but well worth it. 

This is a picture I took several years ago of downtown Fresno,Ca. They quit lighting up the downtown area with the electricity bill sky high. I couldn't duplicate this picture now. Fresno's a medium sized city smack the middle of California. It's half way between the coast and the Sierra Mountains. We're right in the middle of the agriculturally prolific San Joaquin Valley. It's changed alot since I was a child. It used to be dry and dusty most of the year, but with water available to everyone now, It is lush and beautiful. We grow the best fruits and vegetables in the world. 

Sedona

This picture I found on the internet is the inspiration for a new bracelet I am designing. I want to use the colors of the canyons like this I think it's going to be to be predominately peyote and somewhat dimensional. The layers of the different colors fascinate me. The hardest part will be to record each step so I can teach it later. I'll be doing this for the first time with this bracelet. 

I'm currently working on a doll for a Spring Doll swap. She's bright and very colorful. I love doing dolls because there is no pattern to follow. I just go where the beads take me. Another one of my favorite things to do is to make gifts for my friends for their birthdays,etc. I may string a bracelet, weave a bracelet, ring or crystal wheel, or bead a bottle. It's fun to see their surprise and I even get positive feedback from the guys I work with. Of course, they don't get too many bracelets!  

Yosemite

Sometimes when my anxiety or depression want to get the best of me, I mentally go to this place or one like it. I've been spending a lot of time there lately. There isn't anything specific wrong, but I've become increasingly blue over the past several weeks. Wish I knew how to stop it. However, even though I'm not of the Catholic faith, I've made a conscious decision to give up depression for Lent. I figure if I can make it through 40 days without it, maybe I can give it up for good. Guess I'll never know if I don't try.
I think what triggered it was the fact that we've lost seven, yes, seven, of our dearly loved patients since the first of December. Fortunately, none of them died at our facility, but that doesn't make their loss any easier. These wonderful people often don't have anyone but their caregivers or us to care about them. Most of them lived in Board and Care Homes and were well cared for.
I miss seeing their smiling faces and making silly jokes with them. After a while, they become like family. God grant that someday I will see them all again.