Friday-Bead-O-Rama

My mother has recently been actively encouraged to take "early retirement" by her employer. Troubling under the best of circumstances, it is even more so because we share a house, mortgage and utilities. I love my mother, but she is crap with money. I keep seeing myself having to support her, and I barely support myself. I have to actively force myself to not hyperventilate on a regular basis... And lets not not talk about the ulcer (imaginary or not) that I am trying to keep at bay with happier thoughts, pixie dust and M**lox.

She is trying her hand at jewelry making as a source of additional income. I am not talking about about metal working, but stringing beads in an attractive way to form necklaces, bracelets and earrings. No she doesn't suck at it, but her results are not , shall we say, accomplished. She also doesn't have mass production and replication on her mind. She AGONIZES over each piece and spends far more time than she should developing each one as an "original." I keep saying, design it once, make five more at the same time, and then move on. But that's not how she wants to do it. Whew...hand me that paper bag to breath in, will ya.....

Well, there is a craft show tomorrow, her first realistic showing. There was one dreadful experience about a month ago where she only sold three or four items, but it was a very small venue and the foot traffic was anemic. I don't believe anyone sold much, but she pay attention and notice the items people seemed to like, even if they didn't purchase. I think she is getting a bit uneasy about the quantity of her wares, because she has suggested that if I wanted to make some earrings or something, she would sell them for me. Of course since this was all said without looking me straight in the eye, my guilt-o-meter went through the roof and I agreed. The truth is I haven't been very supportive since she did whatever she did to get herself no longer employed, and I have been a mite selfish worrying about ending up homeless and all.

And I'm a procrastinator....I should have been making things for more than a week now, but I have only dabbled with the beads. I have designed three earring sets, and duplicated one design about ten times. So I'll be beading all night as I snarf coffee. I am planning on taking pictures of the earrings I'm making and I'll give you a peek later.

Blood-shot beading, here I come.