Puppy Love

Is there anyone out there that doesn't love a puppy? If so, I don't think I want to know you. Except to ask you why.  WHY?  What about kittens? Do you love a kitten? What about a box of kittens? Baby Pandas? Monkeys? Whales? 

There must be something, unless your allergic. I don't want to get those shots, either, so that's understandable. Except when it comes to whales. I've never heard of anyone being allergic to a whale. They couldn't possibly have dander. Barnacles yes, dander no.

Okay, so maybe you don't like puppies, but wouldn't you like to have all the boundless energy of a puppy? Just think of all the rolling around, tail chasing, and chewing of stuff you could accomplish in a day. The belly rubs would be nice, too. (I don't know about you, but I have to pay someone to rub my belly.)

This is Gus. I realize he doesn't look particularly active in this photograph, but trust me, at 8 weeks old he was getting stuff done! He had places to go, things to sniff, cats to investigate, greyhounds to chew, squeakies to squeak, stuffed toys to pull the guts out of, and of course, balls to chase. He never stopped moving. Not by choice, anyway. At some point his little body (it must have been his body, if it had been his brain he would have slept hours earlier) said enough! We must stop NOW. One second he was throwing the cat toy up in the air to make it squeak and the next he was sleeping on his way to the floor. 

Lucky for Gus, he didn't have a long way to go to get to there.

Sophie-Daas

Recently, I was inspired to write a blog post. The words just flew off my fingertips. My keyboard was on fire. It was hot! At the very least, it was smok'n. It was epic! My best writing, ever.

Then I deleted it. 
Not on purpose, mind you.

Luckily, there's a pint of ice-cream on reserve in my freezer  for such occasions...

...and it seems I'm not the only one in the house who finds it drool-worthy.

And the winner is...

We have a raffle winner! Jená is the lucky recipient of all the demo-beads we made during Open Studios. (Sorry you didn't win, Kirby. Maybe we can get your humans to kick down one of their new beads to add to your collar.) We promised at least 16 beads, Jená is getting a whopping 18 beads (street value = $420!!!), plus a $20 gift certificate to Talisman Beads in Old Town, Eureka, where she will get oodles of help and professional advice about turning her beads into lovely wearable art!

A big, big THANK YOU to all (including puppies and bunnies) who visited  us during North Coast Open Studios over the weekend. We met so many nice people, made new friends, visited with friends and family, shared some great food and drink and introduced a lot of people to the fine art of glass bead making through the beautiful beads we had for sale and the many demonstrations we did throughout both days. THANK YOU, everyone, for your interest in our beads...and the baked goods. Some of our visitors came just for the baked goods once they heard the rumor that Laura and Laurie did the baking. Next time, we'll have to display our beads on top of the baked goods!

Special THANKS to our friends and family members, whom we love deeply. You are the biggest contributers to our success, in our bead making endeavors and somewhat more importantly, in life. You people rock! Thanks for baking, cooking, bartending, bookkeeping, setting up, taking down, reminding us to eat, directing traffic, your laughter, smiles and encouragement, and the simple pleasure of your company, this weekend and all the days of our lives. 

And THANK YOU to everyone who makes North Coast Open Studios possible, especially the unflappable Taffy Stockton who works hard for all the artists involved to put together the best Open Studios possible for each and everyone of us!

And to the Times-Standard, our local newspaper, THANK YOU for visiting and including us in the coverage in Sunday's paper, including a great photo of our good friends Bailey and Heidi, and of course, Naomi's arms (and Merry's shoulder).

It was a perfectly wonderful weekend. Thank you everyone! We are proud to be a part of this amazing community in which we live.

~ Kelly, Merry and Naomi