What's new in Meghan's Etsy Shop...

 Meghan has started making "Mix" packages of seed beads in 6 coordinating colors.  They come in 10 ounce containers.  Above is her Fall Mix.  Click HERE to see them.

 She has over 70 different colors of seed beads for sale now.  Every month we add about 30-40 more colors.  So she has a lot to choose from.

This is her own design...  A jack-o-lantern seed bead tube.  We made it into a pendant and she has it for sale...  Click HERE to see it.

Mom's Birthday Bracelet

This is the bracelet Meghan and I made for my Mom's birthday a couple weeks ago.  Meghan made the beautiful beaded tube beads and I made the lampwork beads.  The silver beads are made by TierraCast, which I sell in my Etsy shop.  Meghan sells her tube beads in her Etsy shop.

Meghan's new endeavor...

Meghan has joined the "business" with me :) She is making these awesome beads for Pandora style bracelets. They are very time consuming as she weaves the little delica beads into tubes, then hand flares them onto metal tubes for a more stylish look. Plus, they can be used in other designs (see above). She has an Etsy store of her own at http://www.etsy.com/shop/DragynGirl

I created a "water color" of a sunset photo I took while Chris and I were canoeing the other night. I used a new app I got in the Apple App store, I think it looks pretty neat :)

Negligent Blogger - Again!

I have been negligent in my blogging, again! But so much has been happening in the past month and a half, I haven't had time - I swear!

First, Chris went to California for a few days to play in a golf tournament to benefit a scholarship set up in Jillian's name. He had a blast! Above is a picture of Dennis, Eric, Chris and Scott at the tournament. It was held at Rancho Vista Golf Course in Palmdale and was a tremendous success. I have a photo album of the event on the left side of the blog if you would like to see more pictures.

Then, in the beginning of July, Jenn and the boys came for a visit. Above is Jenn, Seth and Sam at Koosah Falls.

And then... Brenda and Hailey came up for a week to visit as well. Unfortunately, poor Eric had to stay home and spend his birthday alone as well because he got an exciting new job and couldn't get time off. But steady employment sure beats the on-again off-again jobs he has been used to. Anyway.... Above is Brenda and Hailey at Benham Falls. Aren't they cute??

Well, that is about it... Now we can focus on building Chris's garage, which is coming along well. The cement is nearly done, they pour the slab this week and we are hoping to begin framing the walls this weekend.

My 15 Minutes of Fame...

A set of my beads were used in a bracelet made by one of my customers in the 2011 edition of Easy Wire Magazine. This is an annual collectors magazine.

Above is a picture of the spread. Lori Anderson created the bracelet. You can follow her blog at www.prettythingsblog.com.

What kind of fool torments a bobcat?

This little guy does. I got this shot tonight as Chris held the spot light on him.

The raccoons, for some reason, have no fear of Eddie... In fact, they are brave enough to reach in the cage and try to steal cat kibble! But they also like to sit up in the trees around Eddies cage and torment him! A couple times, Eddie has gotten a hold of one, with raccoon fur around as evidence.

North Twin Lake

North Twin Lake is one of many lakes that are less than 1/2 hour away from our house. This particular lake is fun for me because it has a little shop and cafe, not to mention flushing toilets, hahaha!

This is, what Eric described as, "a little nugget". Chris caught 2 little catfish and that was it.

However, this osprey was in the tree right next to us, just waiting in case Chris DID get a fish. He was poised and ready to swoop down and steal it!

There were lots of pretty birds around to take pictures of.

If you enlarge this picture, you can see this little birds white eye. Kind of creepy!

A couple hours later...

All dug and ready for concrete.

Nice and level. Chris learned how to use a new tool, now he wants his own level tool thingy.

Carly says "Does this mean I CAN dig holes now, too??"

Richard from his supervisory position... His truck! He just had his second knee replacement about a month ago. He can yell at Chris just fine from here, and if needed honk the horn! Lol! He said it's good to be yelling at Chris again :) Richard taught Chris everything he knows about building right out of high school. Richard has saved our family many a time and it is so weird that we move to Oregon and found out he lives here, too. So, here he is helping us out, yet again. Richard has been a constant in our lives and is more family than friend :)

Let the Garage Building Begin!

Chris is building a garage on the back of our property. Our property is a long lot that has a road on both ends. So the garage will open to the road on the back of the property. It will be 30' x 36' and will have a room upstairs that is 12' x 36' for Chris to have a pool table and game area. Spoiled man! Today they are digging the dirt for the footers. Richard, our dear friend, will be supervising the project to make sure Chris does it right :)

A couple weeks ago Sean, the excavator (aka "Tractor Guy") cleared the trees and Chris made the area level with some kind of contraption that my dad had that drags behind the quad. The amazing thing is that it did a good job and it is really level.

Eddy is really NOT pleased with the whole tractor situation. The loud noise scares him, so he stays in his den and watches, apprehensively. Proof positive, that bobcats are more afraid of you than you are of them. Poor kitty!

Jeanette & Dennis

Jeanette and Dennis, our "adoptive" family came up for a visit. This photo is taken in the Lava Cast Forest 9 miles from our house.

We said "Hey Dennis! Go out in the snow so we can take a picture of you wearing shorts in the snow." Well, little did we know how deep the snow was!

Needless to say, I think the warm car was a good thing for him after this!

My "Peacock Feather" European-style slider bead was featured in an Artfire Collection

Peacock of the Walk

  Curated By: summertriangl...

ArtFire.com

Handmade Jewelry

"Challenge" bracelets

I have been having fun making wooden decopauge focal beads and challenging myself to make the perfect lampwork beads to match. Above is my Sleeping Fairy bracelet for sale on my website at www.dragynsfyre.com
And this is my blue butterfly bracelet, also for sale on my website. They were both a lot of fun, I can't wait to make more!

Lizard Photo Shoot

This is Axl, the newest member of our animal family (3 dogs, 3 cats, 1 bobcat, and now 1 lizard and an infinite number of woodland creatures that hang out on our property)
Today, Axl had a professional photo shoot in my photo box. Show me sexy lizard!

Jillian Rose Houser

Jillian Rose Houser

May 16 2002 - January 26, 2011

I have to admit that I have been neglecting our blog on purpose because I just could not bring myself to post about Jill. Jillian passed away on January 26th this year, yes... in the same month as we lost our brother Todd (below). Jillian was a strong little girl, such a beautiful little ray of sunshine. She had so many struggles in her life, struggles that would make a grown adult throw in the towel. She was born with Cystic Fibrosis, then last year found out that she had Leukemia. We will miss her so much.

I also want to take a few minutes to thank people that were there for us in our time of need. Jeanette and Dennis, our dearest friends, who let us stay in their mansion-on-wheels, picked Chris and Eric up at the airport on a moments notice, and played Uno Attack with us in the evenings to help take our mind off of things. Misti and Scott, who not only came to Todds funeral when we called Misti, but came to Jill's service when we just were too grief stricken to let her know. Chris and Andrea Minghelli - it was so great to see you, thank you for finding us at Todds fundraiser!

Thank you to everyone!

In loving memory of our brother Todd

Our brother Todd passed away on New Years Day. He leaves behind a wonderful wife, Jen, and two adorable twin boys, Seth and Sam. Todd was 32 years young and had a whole life ahead of him. Our heart hurts from his absence and there won't be a day that goes by that we won't think of him. We love you Todd.

Todd Houser

September 27, 1978 - January 1, 2011

If you would like to leave any photos or memories you may have of Todd, here is a link to a website where things may be posted for his family:

http://www.hompalmdale.com/obituaries/tribute.html?url=http://stei-23715.tributes.com/show/Todd-Houser-90466621