Amanitas and Puffballs and Witch's Hats, oh my...

Today marks a full Day 3 of nonstop rain here in the Virginia Mountains. And rain in the fall = mushroom hunting! No, not these kinds of mushrooms pictured below (unless you're so inclined). There are plenty of delectable culinary and medicinal mushrooms pushing their fruit bodies out of the earth and decomposing trees this time of year. Our dear friends Zoe & Matt just brought us a whopping Maitake that we sauteed with butter, onions, garlic, and thyme.

image courtesy of curthendrix.wordpress.com

image courtesy of montezumabeach.com

image courtesy of wikipedia.org

Matt (on right) offering us a Maitake

To honor our fungi allies, here is my latest beaded piece. Now go take a walk in the woods.

For more views & info for Amanita Cuff in crimson, please visit my Etsy page.

Sixteen, going on Seventeen

Whew! Here it is, the cuff from my previous post. Officially number seventeen. I don't remember the last time I pushed myself to start and finish a beaded project in one afternoon (slash evening). Have I ever? Maybe, I must have blocked it out if so. But I was so determined to have this cuff in my possession, I just willed it to happen. That's an interesting thought: that if I really want something badly enough, I just need to sit down with enough back-to-back episodes of something on Netflix and lose myself until I have what I wanted. Is it worth pushing myself like that? Am I pushing other things out of my life by doing this? I'm not sure, but right now it makes me really happy. Not just happy, but fulfilled. It gives me balance with my job-life. I realize all this work is going towards a greater goal, and perhaps one day in the future I'll look back at this time in my life with misty eyes and think, 'Those were the days. My husband working on his artwork in the next room, the cats cuddled next to me, me beading away as the light changes outside.' So I guess right now I don't really want to think too hard about if this is good for my psyche, my social life, or hey, my eyes for that matter. Right now this is my peace.

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You can see the new version of Equinox Cuff in red on Etsy or my online gallery.