Fresh from the Garden

Yum. Fresh picked snap peas from our garden. A quick rinse under the garden hose and the overflowing basket was minus more than a few before we went into the house! The ones that made it inside were quick blanched and then frozen for future use.

What's growing in your garden this summer? Ours has snap peas, broccoli, tomatoes, corn, squash, cucumbers, pumpkins, 3 varieties of lettuce and garlic.

The birds also have their own snacks from our giant sunflowers! I love early summer mornings when the bunnies and deer are all over the front lawn grazing. Yes, another day to be grateful for simple pleasures.

Gift after the Rains

We've had so much rain here in the Northeast the last few weeks. With the humidity comes the daily thunderstorms in the afternoons! As long as I'm snug and cozy inside, I love the rain (although if it's a light rain, I do love the feeling of it on my face).

One day I happened to look out the window while firing my kilns and was treated to this beautiful rainbow.

Simple pleasures are the best.

New Work - Grooved Fused Glass Cabochons

New from Willowglass' studio this week are a new line of fused glass cabochons with grooves. Dee has grooved a channel all the way around these cabs which are perfect for wireworkers and jewelry designers to use in their work. Fun times in the studio!

So excited!!!!

Today on the radio show I listen to in the morning (Magic 100.9 in NY's Capital Region), I won a pair of tickets to next week's Gordon Lightfoot concert at Proctors Theatre. It was a "name that tune" question and the song was Lightfoot's "Rainy Day People". I've been a huge fan of Gordon's since the early '70's and his huge hit "Sundown" was actually the only song that my son Chris (who's now 34) would fall asleep too. Odd lullaby, but it worked for him!

Lightfoot's melodic, soulful voice is unmistakable. A modern day troubadour, he has touched the lives of millions of people with his thoughtful, evocative portraits of Canadian life and landscape. He's a musician steeped in the folk tradition, his catalogue of songs, including such classics as Canadian Railroad Trilogy, Sundown and The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald have earned him a place in the pantheon of Canadian icons.

I'm so excited!!!

Pantone Challenge for Glass Artists

The Etsy Glass Artists recently had a Creative Challenge to create a piece using the Pantone color forecast for Spring. The Pantone 2008 Spring color palette includes Golden Olive, Spring Crocus, Rococco Red, Pink Mist, Croissant, Freesia, Cantaloupe, Daiquiri Green, Snorkel Blue and Silver Grey. http://www.fashiontrendsetter.com/content/color_trends/2007/Pantone-Fashion-Color-Report-Spring-2008.html

Here are some fused glass cabochons using Pantone's palette of Snorkel Blue and Silver Grey, a pair of earrings using Pink Mist and a pendant using with Cantaloupe and Croissant as part of the color mix. I used Bullseye glass to create these glass piece and am happy with the results which are very close to Pantone's!

All available from Willowglass in my Etsy shop!

Still lots of white stuff in the Northeast

There's still quite a bit of snow here in the Northeast, so I thought I'd use it to my advantage and see if I could get some good pictures with it as a backdrop.

The weather is supposed to be warming up a lot today, so I'll have to snap quickly! Luckily these can be taken right outside my studio door, so I'm not tramping a lot of wet snow and mud through the house (nah, I'm not a huge fan of washing floors!)

Sunrise over the Vermont mountains

January 4, 2008. View from my front door facing the mountains of Vermont. Sometimes there's no words to fully describe a moment, so I'll just let you enjoy it with me.