hisssss. scratch.

since the weather has turned cooler earlier than normal, i kind of assumed all the turtles had found a nice patch of dirt and dug themselves in until the spring. i haven't really seen many turtles at all this year, but this morning as i was on my way to take some pictures for a client, i saw a turtle. it had already crossed the road and didn't appear to be in danger, so i kept going, and then on the way home i saw another turtle (and this is after i've gone more than a month without seeing any)!

i actually had to turn around twice for this girl, but it's always worth it. once i got to her, i realized that she'd probably been hit before, by a car or lawnmower or something else, because she had a large crack and chunk from the right side of the front of her carapace, and a smaller part from the back. luckily those were older injuries because i could see where they've healed nicely. anyway, she hissed at me more than any turtle has hissed at me, and she threw her head back to bite me with such force that i was afraid she'd hurt herself! since she was close to my house, i put her back in the vehicle with me and headed home so i'd be able to release her far from a road, and near woods and a creek. once i put her in the floorboard, she hissed once more (loudly), then ran to the opposite side. after we got home and i got her out, those tyrannosaurus rex toenails scratched the crap out of my hands! she hated me, and she made that very clear, but i love her nonetheless.

i love turtles so much it's difficult to even try and put into words. as much as i like seeing them, a part of me is always glad when they turn in for the fall and winter so i don't have to worry about them crossing roads.

i guess that's the most exciting news i have from today. how about you, anything to report?

hey kids, how's life?

the universe, that crazy kidder, must have read my last post about how i'm not so sure about blogging anymore, and how i don't know if i want to keep up with it. well, it turns out i do, but a sneaky little virus made its way into my laptop (and i can thank my addiction to watching True Blood online FOR FREE for that) and metastasized into some giant flesh and baby-eating disease. so basically what i'm saying is, i wanted to blog sooner, but i'm kind of at a loss when everything i do and need is on my laptop! i shouldn't be too upset though, because we do have a desktop computer that is so old i bet a pterodactyl used it to check its email so i can at least get a few things accomplished!

lately, i've felt like the lady smashed by the book, only i've felt like i've been smashed by a truck. at first i thought it was allergies, but it ended up being one heck of a bad head cold. i think i'm finally starting to feel a little better...for a few minutes anyway! also, i've been immersed in a book for book club. i finished it on tuesday evening, and i ended up really liking it. it's called "the worst hard time" and it's a non-fiction book about several families that lived in the dust bowl in the dirty thirties. i didn't really like the writer so much, but the things i learned and read about were both interesting and heart-breaking. it's hard to imagine living somewhere like that and knowing you can't leave (example). and aside from that, i've been filling my head with trash by watching too much jerry springer, i did manage to make a few pieces of jewelry yesterday, and if all goes well, i'll try making donuts for the first time this weekend! so how's your life? what's been going on?

about the legs in the book - is that not the most awesome bookmark you've ever seen? i want it / need it / have to have it. i showed it to chris the other week and told him that while i wouldn't pay $25 for just any old bookmark, i would consider that an investment 1. because i love to read and always have a book or forty near me at all times, and 2. it's a piece of art! so what's not to love?! you can find other styles in the etsy shop HoneyCase2.

white.

well, i planned on blogging today, then i decided against it, but then after caitlin pulled me back from the brink of blogging disaster, i decided i'd go ahead and do it. lately i've been feeling like i've said all i can really say, showed all i have to show, and i'm just not sure that i have anything left for blogging. do you ever feel like that? don't get me wrong, i'm perfectly content with my life, but it's very simple, and simple doesn't always translate to interesting blog posts. i don't really know where i'm going, but for today at least, i'll keep blogging; who knows what i'll decide tomorrow.

i've just about completely decided that cotton is my favorite type of bloom, or blossom, however you'd classify it. chris and i grow a little bit of cotton, and from the time the pale pinkish-purple blooms start to appear, i'm smitten. i don't know that another plant is as beautiful. like i said, we only grow a small amount, but if you've never been to the eastern part of north carolina, it's a treat for the eyes; seeing acre upon acre of nothing but white is absolutely gorgeous. i can't help but smile when i see and touch this miracle that has come from such an unassuming seed.

not completely white, but kind of: business cards. i made these new ones a little while back, but after i got this package ready for mailing i thought to myself, "self, that looks pretty, maybe you should take a picture of it for your blog." and now that i've finished typing that, it makes me think of jan brady in a very brady movie where she's talking to herself in her head. i swear i don't do that.

i've talked a few times about the book club, but after we finished reading the last book - the painted veil - i didn't mention anything about it (mainly because it was pretty boring, and it was my pick, so i'm feeling some reader's remorse on behalf of the rest of the group), but now book club will include movie night! i didn't know when i chose the painted veil that it had been made into a movie, but because we're feeling like the main character, kitty, will have a heart in the movie (unlike kitty in the book), tomorrow night is book club movie night! WOOO!

so i guess that's all i've got for now. how has your week been? have any special plans for the weekend? my plans are: hang out with my grandma and my great aunt who is coming into town. you may be thinking, "hanging out with old ladies? boring." boring it is not, they're crazy! the end.

from film with love. and then a rant.

the other week i posted some black and white film pictures that i'd scanned in, but since i couldn't decide on just four or five, i knew i'd need to split them up so as not to give you photo overload! also, things have been, well, crazy to say the least, so i haven't had a spare minute to look at any other pictures or even think of what else i should blog about.

i love the look of black and white pictures, but if i'm being completely honest, i'm not a huge fan of using black and white film. i guess if i'm going to use film, i want to see the soft colors, the variation in colors from light leaks, etc. oh, and it probably goes without saying, black and white is quite a bit more expensive to have developed that color film is!

i feel like i need to just get things off my chest now. i know that what's going on in my life has no bearing on many of the readers, but since a blog is a journal of sorts, it's a good place to just spill, right?

first, i'm still upset about helen passing away. about two hours after her funeral was over we had to get to a wedding rehearsal and it was difficult to hold it all together when i really just wanted to cry. i feel like so much has been going on lately that chris and i haven't been able to properly mourn. it saddens me to think that we'll no longer have a conversation about mockingbirds (her telling me they're too cross, me telling her she's wrong and they're amazing), her telling me she knew it was me before she saw me because of the sound of my walk, giving her a hair cut even though i told her i was too nervous to do it, and so many other things.

second, chris and i went to court this morning hoping to have a final judgement on the tens of thousands of dollars of backpay chris's former employer withheld. i should say i was surprised to find that wayne and his lawyer made a calculated move to file for bankruptcy on friday, but i guess i'm not. why is it that people with no moral compass always seem to get by and screw everyone else? what in the world could chris and i have done that was so bad we deserve this? try as i might, i cannot understand the workings of a corrupt mind. i want to choke wayne until he begs me to stop, i want to harass him until his only option is to pay up and skip town, i want to make him face some sort of consequence for his impropriety, but unfortunately i can't. several years ago when chris and i were on the way home from one of his motocross races, we were driving through a backwoods town in west virginia when we saw a sign that read, "bobby ray is a liar, a cheat and a thief." i laughed at the time, but now i wouldn't mind making my own to drive into the ground in front of his office that reads, "wayne hardison is a liar, a thief and a coward. do not trust this man." but my conscience stops me. i don't bring religion into my blog as i don't know others beliefs, and i've never liked those that push things on you, but to try and keep my anger and appetite for vengeance in check, i keep repeating to myself, "dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place to wrath: for it is written, vengeance is mine; I will repay, said the Lord." i sure hope vengeance will be served.

now i guess the ranting is over. i'm still going to be fuming mad for who knows how long, but i plan to eat a big philly cheesesteak dripping with pepper juice and lay on the sofa watching school of rock so at least i'll get some joy out of the day. i hope you had a good weekend!

i want to come outside...

so many times i've gone outside only to find flojo on the loveseat by the window watching me. she'll dance and talk and do anything she can to get my attention! each time i've seen her by the window, i've regret my decision to go outside without my camera. on sunday, i finally remembered to take it with me so i could take her picture, and a video of her dancing to get my attention!




flojo just makes my heart so happy! lucky for her, i won't be spending much time outside this week as it's supposed to be rainy, and i saw that the high temperatures are only supposed to be in the lower 70's, and even the upper 60's in the middle of the week! WHAT?! i love weather like that because it makes me feel so cozy and snuggly inside reading a book or working on jewelry.

so how was your labor day weekend? ours was good and bad. chris's grandma died on sunday morning, and even though we all knew it was coming, it's always hard to understand or accept a loss. monday was nice though; last month we'd signed up for a marathon to benefit the rachael horton compassionate care fund, which was started after rachael (chris's cousin) and her husband aaron died in an apartment fire in april. it was amazing to see the number of people (over 200) who came out to support rachael's dream and honor her memory. so i guess it's back to jewelry work for me. have a good tuesday!

flytiers jewelbox

every now and then, when i get a large order, i treat myself to a little something i don't need, but would really like to have. the other week, beca sent me a link to the shop flytiers jewelbox, and i'm so glad she did! i don't wear much jewelry, but one thing i've always liked, maybe more than the rest, is bracelets! i added this bracelet to my favorites thinking maybe i'd get it, maybe i wouldn't; i made it mine.

since my wrists are the same size as those of a fetus, i had to get sonja to make a mini sized one, and seriously, i can't even say how much i love it. would i sound crazy if i said i planned my outfit around it today so that it would be the thing to stand out? if i would, then i didn't, but if i wouldn't, then i totally did.

sonja's shop is great, and i especially love the leather tassel bracelet. i'm thinking my wrist will cry little wrist tears if i don't get it eventually. also, i'm pretty sure i want the last two bracelets to wear with my yellow wrapped bracelet for an awesome collection. i just really love bracelets. really.

i guess i don't really have much more to say. oh, well i did see a bald eagle near my house on the way to work today, and that's incredibly unusual since they don't nest here and the nearest river is about 20 miles away. also, you know how you have those days where you feel like you just can't seem to make people happy? it's one of those days, which means i should probably stay away from the internet, otherwise i'll be tempted to whine, and who likes a whiner? no one. i hope you've had a good thursday!