What I Did On My Summer Vacation

So there I was back in July, cranking my brain over and over to come up with a readable post for my blog. And I took a much-needed break to air out my brain case and let life happen. Now, I'm brimming with things to talk about and I don't know where to start.

~

Two weeks ago, Marble Man and I climbed into our sweet little miata, put the top down, slathered on some sunscreen, and drove the 10 hours up north to Longport, NJ for a week-long family reunion and beach getaway. Despite driving toward this as we approached Absecon Island,

the weather was perfect during our stay: cool breezes and hot sun. No worries - we kept cool

and paddled into the surf when we got too hot

and enjoyed the sight of kids being kids in the sand.

My favorite thing we did that week? We drove to Atlantic City to see Patti Lupone perform here

Have you ever had the pleasure of seeing her on stage? She was personable, very funny, and has a throaty, sexy singing voice so powerful she didn't need the microphone she held.

She told funny stories related to her many stage performances. She didn't perform this for us, but the video will give you an idea of how much fun we had...



After the show, Marble Man's brother and his wife talked us into heading to the slots to try our luck. Still smiling from the show,

we walked through the shining temple of prosperity that is the Borgata Hotel to see some of the Dale Chihuly glass sculptures there,

Marble Man, sister-in-law J, and brother W

and then proceeded to win back the price of our show tickets! A great night all around.

Bending Mind (And Beads)

Now that I'm able to spend hours at a time in my studio, I am focused on learning more intricate beading techniques long-admired in beading magazines. One of those is the Dutch spiral, a version of peyote stitch but with a technical twist. This results in a wild and organic shape that is visually exciting.

Thanks to my mother's dear friend, Mikkey, an opportunity to learn the Dutch spiral fell into my lap. She sent a necklace kit for me to make up for her. Perfect! The beads were included, as well as wonderfully detailed instructions. I made my way through the pattern, row-by-row. It took me about 5 hours start to finish, which I think was pretty good time.

Now, I've made three more, using my own beads and I've whittled the time down to 4 hours. This first one came out quite knobbly because I experimented with bead size. In additional to #11 seed beads, I added #15's and #13 charlottes. Using such tiny components tightened up the spirals, which is interesting to look at, but I liked the gentler twists of the original necklace better.

This blue version went back to #11 seed beads, and I added some deep iridescent fringe beads, which poke out of the design. Wonderful textural interest there!

More experimenting with color here: Reds, lavender, brown, green, and gold.

The ends of the rat-tail cord are embellished with tubular peyote stitch "cuffs" and beautiful art-glass button closures.

The original pattern had the bead embellishment as individually stitched parallel circles of beads. I didn't love this finishing method - the rows didn't nestle together neatly, and it took much longer to do than the peyote stitched ones I did later on.

These three necklaces are available through my Etsy shop - click on the pictures to view the individual listings. I'm hoping these will take off as they are a lot of fun to make!

Working with this new technique had me singing this fantastic song by Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross as I stitched...



As I watched this, I wondered, "So WHEN does she get to take a breath?!?" Amazing phrasing there...

I Want To Be Shirley Bassey

I've been rediscovering the music of Dame Shirley Bassey. Her powerful and sassy voice lends itself well to jazz and pop, and it's a great sound to work to as I bead in the studio. At the age of 72, she's still belting out beautiful noise, AND she looks both sexy and badass while she does it! I want to be her...

Everybody knows her version of the James Bond Goldfinger lead-in song, but there are so many others too. Like "History Repeating" which she recorded with The Propellerheads back in 1997. This video has an old-timey British feel to it...



Then there's her version of "Let's Get The Party Started"...



The hauntingly beautiful "Without A Word"...



Her wonderful sense of humor comes through in her live performance of "Something" by George Harrison...



She can serenade me anytime.

Beaded Bag Progress

After I posted this, I knuckled down and got to work on Mikkey's "Venus" amulet bag. The first few rows were a complete nightmare. I had trouble reading the pattern - there are so many rows, and the peyote stitch creates half-step rows to make things worse. I remembered a magnet board I used when I did cross stitch many years ago. I dug that out, and it made life so much easier! By late Saturday night, I'd reached this point:

After I finish a row, I skootch the magnet bars up about 1/8 of inch to line up with the next row. Be very careful! Too far, and you've got a mess!

I always work a little faster when facial features start appearing - the piece starts to come alive for me then. This is where I am with it right now:

There's been a great deal of experimentation with my work environment during this project. The intricate pattern requires total involvement: body and brain. Any less, and mistakes start to happen, which means the household swear jar gets an infusion of quarters.

I've tried silence, but then I talk out loud to myself as I count the bead sequence for each row - very wearing. I found my mind wandering every couple of rows and I'd go get a snack, walk to the mailbox, read some email, not really wanting to go back to work.

Next I tried some instrumental music and found it works for this setting. My favorite: Ottmar Liebert and his Luna Negra band. Here's a little sample of his phenomenal classical guitar work:



It's a pleasant background, and surprisingly, the repetitive nature of it keeps me focused. Then, every four or five rows, my back and shoulders cramp up and my brain freezes. I switch over to some Billy Idol. It gives me a chance to get up and dance around my studio like a crazy person. Ahhh, now I'm loosened up and can get back to work. BUT, before I can get up, I need to leave all sorts of notes to myself reminding me of where I am in the project. If I don't, I get hopelessly lost.

I'm very nearly done with the main cylinder of the bag. Once that's done, I need to go to my local bead emporium for some lessons on the next step. The pattern designer assumed a great deal of knowledge on the part of the beader - just a reminder for me that I've overstepped my skill level this time.

Stay tuned...

Fado - The Sound of Portugal

Fado (translated as destiny or fate) is a music genre which can be traced from the 1820s in Portugal, but probably with much earlier origins. In popular belief, Fado is a form of music characterized by mournful tunes and lyrics, often about the sea or the life of the poor. However, in reality Fado is simply a form of song which can be about anything, but must follow a certain structure. You can read more about it here. (Source: Wikipedia)

Mariza image borrowed from mia.remezcla.com

In my continuing quest to expand my music appreciation, I recently saw some videos by Portugal's Mariza, who's passion is singing Fado. Let me stress the word "passion"! Her voice is gorgeous and powerful, and her sense of drama on stage is intense. I enjoy her very much, but kind of like chocolate: a little goes a long way. While learning more about this song style, I've also been reading Isabel's poetic and sweet memories of her childhood in Portugal at A Room of One's Own. It seemed like fate (or should I say... Fado?) that Mariza's videos appeared on the World Music program at LINKtv during this time. The first video I experienced was Meu Fado:

~

I did a search on You Tube for some more and found the beautifully arranged song about "saudade", Gente da minha terra:



"People of My Land"

It is my and yours - this fate
A destiny that binds us,
Even when we deny it,
To the strings of a guitar

Every time we hear the lament
Of a crying guitar
We are immediately lost
With a need to cry

People of my land
Now I understand
This sadness I carry
I received from you

It would seem like tenderness
If I let myself feel it
My sorrow would be bigger
But my singing less sad

People of my land
Now I understand
This sadness I carry
I received from you

~

And finally, if the soaring slow drama of those two is not to your taste, try Rosa Branca. I love this one - it'll definitely get your feet moving.



"White Rose"
(this song is based on a children's song about roses)

In the ring with the rose on my lapel
I danced with anyone
So many turns I have dances
That the rose petals fell

Who has, who has
The love that fits them
Pick the white rose
And put it on the lapel

Oh Rose bush, little rose bush
Rose bush in my garden
If you love roses so
Why don't you love me?

Who has, who has
The love that fits them
Pick the white rose
And put it on the lapel

This song is based on a children's game. Kids would make a ring and dance around it until they picked the girl or boy they liked.

Don'tcha just love all those rolled r's? And I'm particularly fond of the jangly sound of the Portuguese guitar - so different from the warm Spanish guitar sound.

Many thanks to Isabel for her translations of these two songs - you're a peach!

More Beautiful Music

While Marble Man is out of town for a long weekend with his family, Pooch and I are getting in some quality time together, exploring new musical genres. For a long time I was stuck in the 60's, 70's, and 80's (especially the 80's!). And while that's all fun and good, it doesn't do much to stretch my mind. So, I've been watching World Music on LINK TV again, and now have a new favorite singer.

She is Kiran Ahluwalia, Indian by birth, raised in Canada, and intensively trained in singing Gazals and Punjabi folk songs for the past 10 years. She is truly amazing: her voice is pure, her band is modern while maintaining the exotic feel of the musical color and rhythms. When I listen to her, I close my eyes and I can imagine the smell of hot, spice-filled air and beautiful sari-clad and bejeweled girls dancing. If you are looking for Far eastern music with a truly authentic, dreamy quality, she's your girl!

I hope you enjoy this gazal composed by her (her husband is playing the electric guitar):

Expanding My Horizons

As I mentioned here, I've developed a deep and abiding love for Brazilian music. Thanks to our satellite dish and LINK tv's program titled, World Music, I have a new Brazilian group to add to my playlist of faves, called the Tribalistas. Unfortunately, they have disbanded, but in 2002 and 2003 they made beautiful music together. With an alluring blend of voices and a dreamy musical quality, I could listen to this all day. (And I did!)

My two favorites are Carnavalia:


and Passe Em Casa:



I think it's a hoot that one of the band members is playing the "dustbuster" - who knew that was a musical instrument? And, I do wish I could understand Portuguese! No matter, whatever they are saying, the beautiful rhythms make me want to get up and dance. So... here I go.

I Like to Move it, Move It - New Music to Dance To

Last night I watched a movie that Marble Man recorded from the Documentary Channel called: The Sound of Rio:Brasilerinho. The subject is a native Brazilian style of music called Choro (pronounced "shor-oh" with the "r" rolled), which predates Samba and Bassa Nova. I LOVE IT! I downloaded a whole bunch of songs from the soundtrack this afternoon, as well as some others recorded by the featured artists. Now I've got music guaranteed to haul my lazy ass out of the sofa. Watch me dance my booty-licious self around the house!

Here's a sample (it even has subtitles so you can get how funny the subject is):

Wasn't that fun? Who could sit still while THAT'S playing?

While that was a very energetic song, there are also some beautifully lyrical examples like this one by Yamandu Costa:

This guy just about knocked my socks off!

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So things aren't as bad as I thought they were yesterday. Sure I was royally P.O.'ed at myself for being lazy about my health, but today I got up at 7:30 AM and hustled out the door for a 30 minute walk. Bundled up with a warm hat, fleece jacket, gloves, and the all-important ipod, I had a very nice time: 10 minutes to warm up, 10 minutes of race walking, and 10 minutes to cool back down again. I felt wonderful afterward. I'll do that every other day this week, then add 5 minutes to the race walking section next week. I know from past experience that if I start out too fast and hard, I'll wind up in Physical Therapy for 2 months and then I'll have to start back up even slower.

Now it's a few hours later and it's still pretty cold outside. I've got the dog dressed in his "business suit" (named so because he wears it to go out and do his business).

Can I coax him into going on a short walk? It would be great to get another 10 minutes in today.

What are YOU doing to get up and moving?

~~

1/4/09 Update:

I've got to take a short break from walking - call it a false start, I guess. I was OK yesterday morning, but throughout the day I found it harder and harder to get around. My ankle is swollen! NOW what?!? I taped it up and took some motrin. Hopefully, it's just a temporary thing. My sister-in-law warned me: she said as you reach the age of 50, things go wrong and you have no idea why.

Jump-Start Your Christmas Spirit!

Time to load up my ipod with Christmas music. Like a crazy person, I bop 'round the house as I rediscover some old favorites like this one:

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Here's a bright, shiny, upbeat (and thoroughly modern) version of God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen for you by the Barenaked Ladies, featuring Sarah McLachlan. Strap on your dancin' shoes, hoist a cup of nog, (oops, no...I mean THIS,) and enjoy!

~

Most of our gifts are ready to go, Al I need is some time this weekend to wrap 'em up. My goal: get them to the post office on Monday. I think the wrapping is as important as the gift it contains, and I've gotten some fabulous ideas from Gabriela Delworth's blog. She has some very stylish and fairly easy ways to dress up a gift. Why not check it out if you haven't seen her site yet?

A week from tomorrow, my favorite people in the whole world, my Ya-ya's, are getting together for our annual Christmas lunch. This year it's a pot luck Tea Party. We'll have yummy sandwiches, goodies, and lovely teas to sip - we're each bringing a tea pot, so I think we'll have LOTS of different teas to pick from.

We're also doing a group project this time: gingerbread houses. I've never made one, so I'm looking forward to it. To make it easier, we've each bought a house kit from Trader Joe's, and we'll add our own candy embellishments. The finished houses are tiny, so I bought two. When I've finished putting them together, I'll give them to our neighbor's small children. That way, I won't be tearing off any roofs at 3 in the morning when they call my name!

What are your special Christmas plans this year?