Back with Babbles

I know this will be a huge surprise but I have decided to get back to writing here.  I thought I would keep an actual paper journal this year but it doesn't seem to be happening.  I do have a cute blank book that I bought at Joann's that is cut in the shape of a letter D.  I decided to use that as a journal and use colored fine tipped sharpies to add quick journals and doodles.  I planned to add something daily but as it turns out I have too many days where I feel bad and don't get out of bed.  I never like to write about feeling bad because that's too depressing.  When I feel bad I want to think about positive things to keep my spirit up.  Sometimes that is very hard so I just listen to music in bed and rest and I don't journal.  I have been working at keeping my mind blank and stopping the constant chatter in my head.  I just listen to music and try to relax.  Sometimes I read a quote and try to focus on that.  That is why I sometimes only write a quote in my journal with no notes about it.  It is really hard to write about anything when I'm in a lot of pain.  It is even hard to talk when in pain.  Many people don't understand how difficult it is to just form sentences when in a lot of pain.  You have to think about what you are going to say too and thinking is totally out when pain is to the roof.  That is why I don't want to talk or text or anything when I feel bad.  I just want to zone out.  

Anyway, I have found that it is easier to let my thoughts flow freely here.  I am going to work at writing here more often.  Sometimes I do fall to the negative and type out of bunch of stuff and then just delete it.  It does help to get that out of my system but then deleting it is freeing.

I was just thinking that I am so glad that I can fall hopelessly in love with anything I want to and it doesn't matter what anyone thinks about it.  It is like how you can fall hopelessly in love with someone famous, like Brad Pitt, and it doesn't matter.  It isn't like he is going to care or even take notice.  He has no choice in the matter actually.  Not that I like Brad Pitt but his name was the first to come to mind.  I'm actually hopelessly in love with my husband and it is really amazing how I can keep falling more and more in love with him.  He is constantly surprising me and becoming more and more loving and sweet with age.  I am so blessed.  

So, currently, I am hopelessly in love with beading.  I can't think about anything else.  I love to play around with them and often spend hours tinkering with beads, putting different ones together to see how they would look and then trying a different combination.  Sometimes I never end up making anything with them but I enjoyed the play.  I have been posting pictures of things I have made on Instagram.  

I have a stack of beading books and I am just getting started learning what I can do.  I decided to start with a book called Beading Basics by Carol Rodgers.  This is definitely a book for totally new beginners.  It has instructions for the most basic aspects of beading so someone who has already been beading would find it useless.  I also found that the page teaching peyote is not even correct or complete so I learned that online.  I did learn a lot from it about the various beads and findings, bead looming and various bead weaving stitches but I usually end up looking up the various things mentioned to learn more about them than was in the book.  I have been learning a lot from Beadaholique.com.  They have a lot of great videos showing how to use the products they sell and project tutorials and beading tips etc.  Their videos are on youtube so you can look up their channel and subscribe to be alerted when more are added.  I am working my way through the projects in the book Beading Basics now.  I have to say, this is the book I started with because I had it already on my shelf but I am sure it is not the best beginning beading book out there.  I have been frustrated several times because of information I didn't find, like the size of beads in some places and mistakes in others.  I really think, before someone writes a book like this, they should sit down with a group of people wanting to learn beading, teach them, and take note of their questions for the book.  One thing I wondered that I had a difficult time finding the answer to was how beads were measured.  I know beads are measured using a caliper which you close down over the bead and it measures the bead or the hole etc.  What I wanted to know was, in a pattern that says to use a certain size bead, do they measure from top to bottom (hole to hole) or the other direction?  This is important if the bead is not round or square. The first pattern in this book was for a single strand necklace and it specified which beads to get.  The problem was I really didn't like it (because I'm not 80 yet) and wanted to use different beads.  Since the pattern did not say the actual finished length of the necklace I wanted to find beads I liked that would be the same size so when I followed the pattern it should work out.  I did not find the answer to this online by searching but I found a beading forum on facebook and asked the question there.  I was told the beads were measured top to bottom, hole to hole.  This is the type of question that might seem obvious to people who already bead but not to someone completely new to it.  

My necklace, and the matching earrings for which I did not follow the pattern in the book, turned out nice and more my style.  

I'm not sure if I will still be so hooked on beading as the weather gets warmer and the snow clears.  I am really itching to get outside and walk again.  Right now it is actually nice enough but the ground is very slick.  I have a hard time just walking to my mailbox without falling so I'm waiting for the snow and ice to melt.  I can't wait to see the first peaks and green and flowers.  My youngest son has been taking Buddy the beagle for walks though since it is warm enough for him.  He loves to run so it is difficult for me to control him.  I certainly couldn't do that and keep from falling so I'm so glad he is taking him.  

Later gaters,