Manatees!

Unfortunately, this fabulous picture of a manatee pair was not taken by me.
It was found on the internet, but I don't know the source.

Last week we spent our annual week (or 2 or 3) on Anna Maria Island in Manatee County on the west coast of Florida.
The front of our resort home faces the Gulf of Mexico while our back garden overlooks a lovely tropical garden and Tampa Bay.
There was a precious manatee living under our boat dock while we were there and a mother and her calf were residing in the waterway beside one of our favorite restaurants.
Delightful!

For those of you with whom I converse regularly, our internet connection has been down due to 'improvements' being made by our local telephone company which also hosts our interent connection.
I'm home, alive, and relatively well and hope to be in touch soon!

Ruth Ann
http://www.deerhaven.etsy.com

Diamond Doggy Duds

I saw this beauty while surfing the internet this morning.
The doggy collar is a mere 7 carats of diamonds priced at only $1,800,000.00.
I'm sure that our precious Poppett would love it.
If she doesn't, I know that I would!
Arf!

First Flowers of Spring

Despite the winds and chilly weather, our flowers are becoming quite lovely.
The roses are full of blooms this morning, but pictures are impossbile because the rain is peppering down.

It's a wonderful morning for sitting by the window and sipping cappuccino.
I've become addicted to my beading.

It has been many years since I beaded professionally, but the minute I picked up my needle and thread, the bug bit yet again.
I have decided that the direction I should take is toward designing and offering kits for jewelry making.
I will be offering a few finished pieces for sale in the galleries that I worked with in the old days, but I'm getting too slow to offer finished jewelry on a regular basis.
I will post on this site when new items are on offer.

My regular website is
http://www.deerhaven.etsy.com

I will be opening another site soon that will be dedicated to my jewelry and kits.

Problems Posting

I'm sorry to have been so long in posting, but as you can see from my previous post, my blog kept appearing in another language. Some research proved the language to be Hindi. Lord only knows how this happened, but I seem to have it fixed for now.

If this post goes through OK, I will begin posing again soon.

फर्स्ट फ्लोवेर्स ऑफ़ स्प्रिंग

Stringing Beads

While a major embroidery project stitches on my machines, I have decided that it's time to return to one of my first loves - jewelry making.
I found some of my older beads that I had stashed away and have bought quite a few more.
My how prices have gone up!

This ring was one of my best sellers in the 'old' days and I had enough beads left over to make this ring, so now I'm addicted again.
I have purchased a few gemstones in the past week and I can't wait for them to arrive!
My mind is swirling with new ideas!

Someday you might see some of my creations on my Etsy site,
but, for now, I'm just having loads of fun!

Hand Knit Rose Table Cloth

The table cloth pictured above is hand knit from an old British pattern.
This will be my summer knitting project.
The cloth shown is for a tea table, but instructions are included for a full sized table cloth.
I hope to do the largest size, if it doesn't get too hot!

I love to knit in the late evening while sitting in the swing on the front porch, drinking iced tea, and watching the sun set over the mountains.
If the honeysuckle happens to be blooming, it is pure Heaven!