When we start to think the worst

It's cold here. I mean, it's really cold. The longest night of the year is almost here. People are rushed and tired. Christmas is so close now. I just realized it's 9, count them, 9 days away. I decided that tonight I would blog. I decided that I would make a comment about another blog. I tried to log in. The message said, "user name and password don't match." I tried again. I tried again. I tried again. I thought, "Someone has hacked into my blog!" It didn't make any sense, but it was the only explanation. I tried to change my password. My worst fear was becoming a reality. An email had been sent to my gmail account. I don't have a gmail account. Why would anyone want to hack into my blog? Nothing had changed. Nothing had been edited. My password was considered strong. I began to think the worst. I knew I had to check on accounts to see if any had been hacked into. I tried the help center. No help. I tried to see if there was contact information. None. Why would anyone want to hack into my account? I decided to try one last time. The information asked me for my email address. My email address? Was that what I was supposed to log in with to my blog? Oooooooooooooooooooooops! I guess that I wasn't signing in correctly. I'm sure glad that no one can see my face. It's really quite red right now. I did log in with my email address. It worked.
Oh, well, goodbye and good night. I'll be back to blog another day.

Time for more bead pictures!

Christmas is, officially, 15 days away. Wow! The Christmas cards are arriving daily now. I've quit being such a grinch about Christmas. But my love for beads still surfaces, even though, this year, I didn't make Christmas beads. Here are a few photos of some of my beads.
This set of beads is a small nugget set made of light silver plum. When I first used light silver plum, I had no idea of what could happen with the color if you learned how to treat it the way it likes to be treated. The color is dark, and, depending on how you use it, you rarely see the plum color. I have seen the actual plum color pop out in twisties, but the fascinating colors don't pop out until you whisk it through the flame, low and easy, for about five minutes. You can see hints of the colors that popped in the photo. The color is dark, but in the right light you see the lighter and more vibrant colors emerge. I love the plums. Dark silver plum has another set of colors to it, but you have to treat them lovingly and whisk them in and out of the flame.








I call heart "Confetti Heart." The base is white. After I shaped and formed the heart, I dotted the heart with as many colors as I could find to create a piece that looks like confetti falling from the sky at a parade. I love the outcome on this heart. If you notice the faded background, you can see the contrast and how this heart brightens up the photo.









I always love the first snow of winter. After that, well, there's ice and places to fall, and places to slide. Then the snow gets dirty. I think you get the picture here, but the first snowfall is beautiful. This bead reminds me of that first snowfall. The big, chunky globs of snow are falling and weighing down the plants and trees. The sky seems to sparkle. This reminds me of Christmas.

Well, that's all for today. I doubt that anyone is reading this blog but me, and that's all right. I had good writing teachers all through my years of schooling. Beads are my passion. Melting glass is my passion. I'm lucky. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

It really is beginning to look a lot like Xmas!

So far this year, I have been in a bah-hum-bug! mood regarding Christmas. There are no Christmas lights outside. Bah! The tree isn't up. Hum! It got really cold! Bug! For the past few years, the delights of Christmas haven't been so delightful, and this year, well, Bah! Hum! Bug!
I've been shopping! Yuck! I've been driving in the ice and snow! Yuck! And now, there are only 19 days left until Christmas. Oh, my goodness! What was I thinking? All of a sudden, there are Christmas cards to send, a Christmas letter to write, baking to be done, cleaning to be finished, a tree to be put up and decorated! What was I thinking?
I feel like I just woke up from a deep coma to see the freshly fallen snow and to feel the icy whip of the wind on my face and wonder, where was I all this time?
What changed everything? I'm not sure that it was just one thing. The snow fell today, and I took a picture. My dog posed for me in his antlers. I received a secret santa gift in the mail. I called a store to question why I didn't get my santa dollars on the gift certificate that I bought, and the store manager said that he would try to get them for me. I don't know. Maybe it's just that people are trying harder now. Maybe, in spite of the rudeness and crabbiness, there's a part that says, it's just the stress of the holidays. Be glad that you don't have that burden. Maybe, it was just time to wake up and smell the pine and remember and live each day to the fullest. I'm not sure.
People will be the same after Christmas. The snow will fall again and again and again. I think I just don't want to wake up and say anymore, "Where was I all this time?" In spite of the cold, I want to feel it on my face. In spite of the wind, I want to be able to say, "Dang it all that was cold." In spite of the hurry and stress, I want to say, "It's almost over." Like the ground, I don't want to glaze over and wait for the thaw. I want Christmas now! It's time to get going. There are cards to write. There are presents to buy. There is a tree to decorate. It's too icy to put out lights now, but that's okay. The neighbors did a great job decorating the neighborhood! It's time to celebrate! December 22nd will be the longest night of the year, after that, more light will creep into our days. I can hardly wait! Now, it's really Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.