Thursday, May 31, 2007

Sapphire and Computer Woes!



I love sapphires and I love to work with them. The sapphire bracelet that you see here features some fairly large faceted sapphire rondelles that are mixed with tiny little sterling silver beads from the Karen Hill Tribes.
I'm having so many problems with my computer and with the blogger program at the moment (my pictures are refusing to upload) that this may be my entire post for the moment. I have been busy, and there will be some new jewelry pieces on the Cluny Grey Jewelry website soon (some are there already although not all have the complete description or the shopping cart beside them yet). My new computer ships June 21st, so I'm holding my breath that this one holds out until then!).


Friday, May 25, 2007

Cool widgets at Bookmooch.com

Bookmooch has become a big part of my life. It is an international book trading site, which allowed me to increase my number of books at home with at least 500 additional book. I keep nagging hubby that it's time to soon buy a house, the 135 m2 flat - for the two of us, I might add - is not enough anymore. One room is full of my books.

Having said that, I love how Bookmooch is evolving. John, the genious behind Bookmooch added a cool new feature, 'widgets', little scripts that you can play with and add to your site.
What else is there? For now, the latest book(s) that you added to your boomooch inventory, with cover or without, latest book(s) that you added to your wishlist, or that you recently aquired (traded, or mooched, how they call it on the site).

For example, my latest 10 book that I added to my wishlist, which I'm hoping to get eventually, are these:



If you are into reading books, and think about trading books with people all over the world, by letting go of your old ones and getting some new ones to read in return, check out bookmooch, and visit my page as well *wink*.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

News from a friend...from beyond?

It is no big secret among my friends that I am deeply interested in spirituality, in a life beyond death, reincarnation. However, I do try to keep this part of myself to me, and not talk much about it.
Today though, while reading We are their heaven, by Allison DuBois (the medium who inspired the same name famous tv series), I realised something that really shook me up, although it happened 2-3 days ago. I just didn't pay attention to it at that time.

A couple of years ago I met online a person who would become a very dear friend of mine, maybe one of the best friends I had, ever. We wrote each other emails every day, talked about his family, I talked about mine, he was sort of a guru in Excel programming, taught me pretty much everything I new about creating VBA macros and helped me quite a lot with my work. Every morning (as he was living in the States) I was rushing to get my emails at work, knowing that i will get one from Tom. And there it was, indeed. All his emails started with 'Good morning, Sunshine'. Nobody ever called me sunshine before. Now don't get me wrong, our relationship was not only 'platonic', but there was never ever any allusion of anything else beyond being best friends.

After about 3 years of being that, he told me one September that he found out he had cancer. He was devastated, and so was I. He tried every cure, alternative thing that he could, he told me all about it, and he was so positive. Actually I don't think I met a more positive person in my life before or after. He just wouldn't give up. Nevertheless one day, early next year, his emails stopped coming. I visited his website, tried calling him, but nobody would answer. After a few months, his number got disconnected. I knew he passed away, but of course, nobody ever contacted me to tell me he died inded. How would they, nobody knew we were friends.

Since I am so interested in the paranormal, I was always asking him to talk to me, to give me a sign that he is ok, any way he could. Nothing happened.

He never left my mind, I still keep thinking of him pretty often, but not in the way of looking for a contact any longer, just with simple nostalgia of great past times and sadness that they are no longer here...

A few days ago, out of the blue, a friend sent me a message which he started with 'how are you sunshine?' I froze. All the memories came flooding back and I tried to stop the tears. I think I even told him that nobody ever called me sunshine before, except a friend who died a few years ago. But still, I didn't think much of it.
Later on in the day, somebody else in the office called me out of the blue 'hello sunshine'. I was in a hurry to a meeting though so I didn't give it much thought.

Tonight, while reading the Allison DuBois book, after my meditation, while in a calm state of mind, it hit me. Tom finally managed to come through to me, by the only way he knew how to make me understand it's him: by calling me sunshine by two people who would not normally call me so.

I now know that Tom is in peace, and happy, I guess, and I got a first personal confirmation of what I so much wanted to get: that the world beyond really exists, that death is not the end.

Is it strange that this happened so soon after my reiki 2 attunement, when my energy level has been raised a notch? I don't think so, but is good to know that, indeed, it works :-)

What's New? Gold, Bangles, Ankles, and Coral

May is not just my birthday month, but the month of weddings, it seems, and I have been busy which has delayed some putting some pieces of jewelry online. I am very fond of gold; in fact, for years, I really did not wear silver at all or rarely until my son gave me a multi-strand liquid silver necklace that I fell in love with and my husband gave me a Yurman cable bracelet with only touches of gold. Silver became a major part of my jewelry wardrobe although I've never banished gold completely. I make many sterling silver bangle bracelets, and now I am adding a page of gold bangle bracelets to the website. The butterfly bracelet above is made with Golden Shadow Swarovski crystal butterflies and 14 karat goldfilled curved tube beads. Does it sparkle! The lapis bangle bracelet is also part of the new gold collection of bangles that I hope to get back to soon.

I've also started a page of gold ankle bracelets; here are two ankle bracelets that are gold and gorgeous and will show off those tanned legs. The first one is very simple: a 14 karat goldfilled chain with a single faceted genuine ruby rondelle hanging beside the clasp. With a red bikini...very sexy (but take it off before you go into the water: chlorine and saltwater are not good for sterling silver or for gold filled metals). The next ankle bracelet has little aquamarines dangling at intervals from the gold filled chain.

The exquisite lampwork beads of Lynn Nurge of Laffingull lampwork were the impetus for this coral necklace featuring one of her focal lampwork beads in the shape of a flower.
Finally, a citrine necklace features some of my favorite faceted citrine nuggets and gold lampwork beads in an interesting nugget shape. Summer is a wonderful time to wear jewelry with all the bare skin showing! And skin is the most beautiful backdrop for any jewelry piece - whether it's an ankle bracelet, necklace, or bracelet. This summer keep cool - wear more jewelry than clothes!

All of the jewelry here and much, much more can be seen on the Cluny Grey Jewelry website.

Saturday, May 19, 2007

"The Smoke Lives" The Bookmooch TBR Club Blog

As a member of Bookmooch.com, THE international book trading site, I joined a TBR (to be read) group, where we agreed to each read (at least) 2 books each month, and review these books online. For this purpose we have created a blog, where we all upload our reviews for others to read. I have already done my two reviews for May, if you want to check them out, along with a lot of reviews form some great books, visit "The Smoke Lives" The Bookmooch TBR Club Blog.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Earrings: Neglected But Necessary

There are a couple of things that I will not leave my house without; one of them is lipstick, and the other is a pair of earrings. However, while I am always wearing a bracelet, I feel totally naked without earrings. When it comes to making jewelry though, I have to force myself to remember to make earrings! Funny, when I love to wear them so much!
I love to design and make bracelets as much as I love to wear them; I also like to do necklaces although I do not make as many as I do bracelets. But when it comes to earrings. . . maybe it's because I see them as necessary rather than something "special". I've been working on them lately though!
The first pair of earrings are made with genuine rubies and 14 karat goldfilled accents. I really like these ruby earrings quite a bit. The next pair are amethyst earrings made with Karen Hill Tribes sterling silver and the neatest posts with a cabochon amethyst bezel-set in the middle. The faceted nuggets make these earrings special because they have a lush and lavish look. They are a pretty dark purple colour, but not so purple that they look black. The amethyst earrings below feature the circle look that is so in style. The gemstones here are amethysts also, and the earwires have a cabochon amethyst set in them.
The last earrings are amazonite earrings created with some great amazonite that I recently received. It is the lovely light teal blue colour that very good amazonite is and fairly even throughout. I can't wait to make a bracelet with some of it!