A bracelet for Spring!

Thought I'd show off this lovely bracelet I made. Lots of fun stones: Cherry quartz, Peruvian opal, Amazonite, Agate, and Shiana silver! It's for sale here.

Big Fishes eating Little Fishes, what does this mean about me?

Your Animal Personality

Your Power Animal: Eagle Animal You Were in a Past Life: Whale You are active, a challenger, and optimistic. Hard-working, you are always working towards a set goal.

The Animal Personality Test

Mmmmm! Caramel!

You Are a Caramel Crunch Donut

You're a complex creature, and you're guilty of complicating things for fun. You've been known to sit around pondering the meaning of life... Or at times, pondering the meaning of your doughnut. To frost or not to frost? To fill or not to fill? These are your eternal questions.

What Donut Are You?

Fin!

It's my first day at the Edmonton CSZ (Canadian Society of Zoologists) Conference and I am already finished my talk. Hooray!! The text had to be in French and English, so here is my title! Cute lovebird eh? I tried to use cute photos to my advantage this time. I will have to see if it works, I am in the running for a presentation award but it is pretty stiff competition.
So now I can enjoy the Edmonton conference without stress. It mostly means going to talks, but they are short, and I get lots of coffee for free, so it is good times indeed

Greenpeace doen' it for the Whales

Sometimes I think Greenpeace overdoes it a bit, well, they did it here, but I'm going to have to applaud them with this protest against Minke Whale Poaching by a Japanese fishing vessel - I mean 'research' vessel. But since when did Research have anything to do with killing this many whales! I mean sure, collect specimens of animals that reproduce often and with lots of offspring, but whales have a huge gestation period with only one calf. I have the sad feeling that the only research done on these whales is the culinary sort...

Squid Hat. Pattern, Poem, or Both??

You be the judge, I am now intrigued to make a squid hat for my cats. But then who would win, the squid or the cat?

Not Canoe Weather Yet...

But it appears that Taylor is ready! Thank you for the photo Julie!

Grant-Tastic!

I just found out I got a research grant! Yay! A small one but a good one none-the-less. It is called the Jake Duerksen Memorial Scholarship, and it is to aid in my research travels this summer. I am going to Washing DC to the Smithsonian for about 3 weeks, just to look at bird skeletons. Hopefully this will be the last bit of data collection I need to write up my thesis. Yay Yay!!

Missing my MAC

Why am I so sad that I do not have my laptop with me right now??? Maybe it is because my life revolves around it? Maybe it is because I programmed Photoshop to work just perfectly so? This computer, that I am working on right now, although much more expensive, in a way, *sucks*
I don't have my MAC because Renato borrowed it to do a presentation tonight. I trust him with my MAC, but I still wish it were here... I think I will go down to the Microstore and look at groovy accessories that I could pimp my MAC out with...when it returns to me...

My First Store

My Etsy store is up and running. BlindCaveFish (also in the bar on the left) I don't have a lot in it *yet* but we shall see. If you have any suggestions on things I should change/add/emphasize I sure would appretiate it. This is my first online store, how exciting!

Lariat

I really like wearing this piece. it's 40 inches long, made of seedbeads, copper, and has a great Shiana silver focal. It even got complements at work, and that NEVER happens!

I've become a really big fan...

Of Penguin sweaters!
See: http://www.sltrib.com/ci_3713118# for the whole story

Wishbone Cartoon

Excellent!

Fun bracelet

Fun Fun Fun!
It makes noises!
I am trying to set up an Etsy store, and this one will probably the first one on it (since the photo turned out so well) Once I figure it out I'll make a link to my store!

Bunny Cookie Disasters

I decided to make my students sugar cookies shaped as bunnies for their final lab exam, it's not until the 25th so I wanted to get them done early. Last night I started...Rolling out dough, cutting out little bunnies with my little bunny-shaped-cookiecutter. All done, over 100 of them for sure! But then I tried one... YUCK!!! They were soo gross! I looked back at the instructions and found my fatal flaw, I left out the baking powder! (sigh) now I feel defeated by the bunny cookies for sure. I think I need a few days to recover

I made these earrings..pretty copper!

Hey Sal, how you doing?

Sal: I Looooove sheepskin. Oh yah! I'm sooooo comfortable

Just scratch behind the ears and I'm in kitty heaven.....sooooo comfy.......zzzzzzzzz

Organization Sensation

Because I usually make jewelry in front of the TV in the living room, I've created quite the swath of gadgets, beads, and tools all over the floor. They are organized in a very complicated way in which the average passer-by might think that it was a 'big mess' or a 'pile of junk'. Renato seems to have gotten fed-up with my big pile (the cats enjoy sitting on top of it) and has come up with a great solution.... He made me a storage cabinet. It's a very cool design: all of the shelves are mounted on a pipe in the corner, so they can all swing out individually. There is also a spot on the top for the really heavy things. He brought it home last week and we have finally finished it (stained and varnished) so that it can be used to its full potential. I'm very much in love with this cabinet, I'm going to fill it tonight. These 2 photos show the before and after...

Hoops and Studs

I made these earrings last week and forgot to post them. Silly me! The first pair are stirling silver hoops with little blue lace agate bead dangles. The second pair is my first attempt at 'stud' type earrings. They are pure silver, with a lot of texture

New Family Members

We now have fish! The Gallery was not able to take care of the fish tank they were given so we took it... Now they are ours! I know fish are sometimes messy and easy to ignor, but I think that we can handle it, Ren and I both have a lot of fish tank experience! So here are some pictures of the tank. The fish we got were 4 feeder goldfish (unnamed due to the fact that I can't tell the difference between them) and a plecostomus, whom I've named Franco.
Sal and Inertia really love their new fish tank. Cat TV. They stare at it all day. The tank is big enough that they won't break it, and the top is covered so they can't get in. Inertia really loves the fish food, not to eat... just to smell. She attacks the bag when I feed the fish. It must be kept out of reach or she will rip into it and cover the floor with fish food (eww!)
Here is Franco:

Here's Sal drooling over the fish:

Here's Inertia drooling over the fish food:

Life Without a Truck

The truck was a gas guzzler, and it was loud, and way too big, but I do miss it.
We got lots done with this truck, however:
1) Went to IKEA (as I've already given away)
2) Groceries gallore!
3) Recycling gone
We didn't get some stuff done on my list, like cat food and litter, and the market. But we had a limited time with the truck, we did, however, get some unexpected things done:
4) Pick up the cabinet Renato made for me (I'll explain in the next post)
5) Pick up the fish tank (yet another fun story)
We also acquired 4 gigantic rubbermaid bins, which will come in handy soon enough... You can never have too many rubbermaid bins!

What a fun day at IKEA!!

we got:

and these for me:

and this for Renato (properly named RENS)

some stain to make some of our wood stuff match

This was the major purchase

it will soon be taking the place of the dreded CHEST FREEZER. And, yes, we still have it. I've made ads for it and people have called to look at it but no one seems to want to make the effort to just look at the dang thing!! It will go soon...very soon...

Gotta Truck!

Our wonderfull friend Terance loaned us his truck!!!! Sooo many things to do when you have a truck!!!
1) Buy a tonne of heavy groceries
2) Buy large bags of cat food and kitty litter
3) bring recycling to depot
4) IKEA!
5) Farmers Market
And oodles of other things we just can't do without a vehicle!
I made more earrings the other day: Citrine brios, handmade stirling chain and hooks
Now I must go dissect a chicken...

Going to Mexico!

Well, not until October... But Yay! Mexico in October!!! I am going to an Ornithology (Bird) conference. Click on the title and it will link you to the homepage. Why a bird conference in Mexico in October you ask?? Well at that very time of the year all of the birds are migrating south to warm South America, and the larger birds (eagles, cranes, owls) must travel along the mountain ranges to use the thermal updrafts to lighten their load (small birds just fly right across the Caribbean) So, apparently, on any given day in Veracruz in October, You can see hundreds of golden eagles, bald eagles, ect, flying overhead... all traveling south. I guess I will have to get some binoculars!

Ahh... But to be a cat...

Another Pair!

These were made of hammered stirling rings, little copper beads, and hand made hooks. They seem to weigh nothing, which is awesome in my opinion...and they're very shiny!

Earring obsession

I'm going to try and make more earrings. I like them, I can wear them to work, it's spring... and earrings seem to be a great way to feel more springy. I've always found earrings to be a challenge, there are a lot of constraints with shape, size, and material... plus I tend to like long and dangly earrings so that's what I tend to make. So I am going to force myself to make a new pair of earrings every day (when I can) to explore the world of earrings... and hipefully come up with some new styles. These are my first pair. Carnelian brios, silver chain, and silver hooks.

I made this piece for a monthly challenge. The challenge was to make something Industrial looking. I went for weathered copper and rivets. So this is two layers of copper, sandwich together by silver rivets. The bottom layer has been patina'd to a aqua green/blue, and sealed with wax. I like how streamline and clean it turned out.

Meal Worm Madness!!

We are starting a meal worm colony to feed the turtle and any future lizards we aquire. Sal and Inertia LOVE the meal worm bin. They keep pulling it out of the cupboard and trying to get at the beetles. The added bonus of meal worms is that they eat a lot of your compost (see apple core in bin).

That's one Big Neckalce

It sure is.....
I made this out of a lot of copper and a lot of silver. But I am so proud, because I made 'most' of the componants all by myself. I made the 2 silver beads, all of the caps, the chain (Jen's Pind weave) and the clasp! I did not make the 2 large copper beads (but I sure do like them) the lampwork central bead, the 2 jasper discs, or the 4 Thai silver washers. This looks great on, it's not as heavy as it looks because most of the beads are hallow.
Hope you like it!

MMMMMMM.....cookies!

I made some cookies last night from a recipet I got of of this website http://baking.wordpress.com/2005/10/09/toffee-chip-cookies/ they are fantastic, and I bet they would be even better with a little milk-chocolait drizzeled on them. They are making my teeth hurt tho

Pretty Green Stones

I am so very proud of this piece! The green quartz stone is wraped in sterling silver, tiny Thai silver beads, and tiny green quartz beads using a style founded by Eni Oken. The chain is Viking knit (also in silver), and the silver wrapping on the stone also acts as a clasp. It wears really nicely and is easy to put on since the clasp is on the front.

Talk = Lesson

I got some fantastic news today: 2 things
1) Warren (lab coordinator and zoo museum curator extraordinare - and my boss) asked if I could turn my talk into a lesson for the birds and mammals course! No, I won't get paid, but dang it makes me feel good
2) Somehow I won 2 ski passes to Sunshine (Large ski resort outside of Banff)? How, I must have entered my name somewhere? Now I get to go skiing (with Renato, of course)!!!

Done and Done

Sigh, It's nice to have that over with. I think my talk went well, some people said I looked very relaxed, others said it was really good. The final remarks will come from my advisor this Thursday, and my evaluations from the audience. Tonight Ren and I are going for supper at a friend's house. We are going to meet their 2 dogs, and see if we are a good match for dog-sitting...Horay!!! I am so excited!

Be calm, my shakey nerves!

Every friday our division (Zoology) has a public talk. Usually only people from the division come, but students tend to show up and that is the best thing. This week I have to give a talk... 20min or so... On a subject other than my research, to broaden the minds of everone else in the division. I choose to present findings on flight kinematics, and to relate it to my research in the end. The good thing is flight kinematics is really interesting. The bad thing is I only gave myself a week to write the talk. I'm now getting nervous, and doubtful that the talk is any good. We shall see. I finished it at 12am last night, and will soon read it over a million times or so - with cue cards!!! Tomorrow's the day... finally! I can get this dang talk over with and sleep a full night again.

Feeling Blue?

I found the best website for cheering me up. Now, whenever I feel sad, I go to stuffonmycat.com, and all that sadness melts away....

VanGo

This is VanGo, our red-eared slider who lives on the dissection lab. He's probably less than a year old, but growing fast because everyone who sees him can't help but feed him!

Hollie Buys a Book!

I splurged today and a bought a Big Book of Parrots. Named: Parrots of the World by Joseph M. Forshaw. (http://www.pupress.princeton.edu/titles/8024.html) I will probably spend all of today looking at beautiful Parrots and discovering where they come from

Glad I don't Live in Texas

I cannot believe it's 33 degrees where Kris lives, that's INSANE! When I left for work his morning it was flurrying again. Love the flurries, not too fond of the ice hiding undernieth. I can live with it tho!

More and More

As long as it keeps snowing I keep taking pictures of the snow! Wagon wheels kick ass!