Beauty Berry

Although I  spent a few years trying to chop this out of my garden, once I let it grow and saw the berries, beauty berry has a home.  It grows wild here and I have it where ever it pops up.  I believe that the plant we have growing up and down the street is callicarpa americana  which is indigenous to the southeastern United States.

each berry is about 4-5mm

Lori Anderson, maker of fabulous jewelry and whirlwind of energy behind the Bead Soup Party, commented that she had never seen it before.  Neither had I before I moved to the South (USDA hardiness zone 8b).  You and Lori can locate your growing zones on the USDA Plant Hardiness Map at the US National Arboretum  site.  The map subdivides zones which really helped me to understand my growing zone.  Although we are in Georgia, we are more like central Florida than central Georgia.  In fact, my little corner of town is even warmer and wetter because it is insulated by acres of swamp.

Many people in this area spend time getting rid of it, but its long arching branches and palm-sized leaves shade a grouping of ferns that needed a bit of cover after I pruned a camelia back by a third.  I felt pretty good about allowing them to grow because the birds could eat the berries, but I have read that they will do this only as a last resort when all other food sources are gone.  They will grow in zones 5 to 8, and if you are looking to plant some, there are long discussions about them at iVillage Garden Web and Dave's Garden.  I've also read that it can help keep flies, ticks, and mosquitoes out of the yard.

leaves turn yellow in the fall and berries become brighter

and so begins fall

You must look hard, but you can find signs of fall here in South Georgia.  Slightly cooler weather, despite temps still rising into the 90's during the afternoon, is a sure harbinger of autumn.  There has been a change in wild flowers, seed pods are drying, mushrooms are popping up everywhere, and the holly and cedar have sprouted green berries.  My favorite is the beauty berry.  Bright purple berries cluster along the branches like beaded beads.

clockwise from upper right: trumpet vine pods, holly, mushroom in the pine straw, magnolia seed pod - fist size, creeping jenny, beauty berry, acorn in the sand, ripe palm fruit - smells like death, center - a mockingbird

roses still going strong

tiny wildflower

trumpet vine seed pods - about 6" long

beauty berry

Mingus picked up some seeds and grass on his walk

a patient, but cautious mockingbird

and so begins fall

Only a matter of time

I was expecting this, sort of.   My husband has laid claim to one of my seed bead projects.  I'm working on an impossible wide (40mm) cuff in black, reds, and greys.  I left my work next to the computer where I had been catching up on-line on TV programs which are on past my weeknight bedtime.  After dinner, he sat down there and must have been playing with the piece.  He actually called me over to suggest that he could wear it.  Now this is my machote husband.  The one who wears only solid colors, who just this summer wore bermudas in public for the first time, and still will not wear sandals of any type.  He wears a watch and his wedding band, but that is it for jewelry.  This is what caught his eye:

The pattern is by Pascale Guichaoua-Mikovic and appeared as an on-line project in Bead&Button magazine in 2009. From her website, you can click to her all peyote site.  She has lots of pattern grids posted.  Her work is spectacular.  Do not miss her galleries.

This is the piece I'm working with two needles to to avoid the bulk you get when stitching in odd-count peyote.  I've found the added bonus of this approach is that I need to add thread half as often!  Now I have to figure out what sort of closure will be masculine enough for Papi.

Sexagenerians in the City

My friend Karen and her hubby Dave have just moved back to Cleveland, Ohio from Carmel, California.  I met Karen about 19 years ago when I first started teaching.  She was the fun teacher in class - the kids always had some cool project they were working on for her class - and out of class - she led the way down the bike trail and to happy hour after work.  Long ago when we still worked in the same school and lived in the same city, and I was a young single teacher, Karen also set me up on some interesting dates.  She knows everybody.  And now that she has moved here and there around the country, she and Dave have finally started blogging.  They are co-authors of Sexagenarians in the City.  If you head over to check it out and happen to have lived in Cleveland, Ohio anytime in the past 40 years, yes, their friend Dan is that Dan, Daffy Dan.

The blog is a slice of life. Granted their life includes living in a loft in downtown Cleveland life, finding people making out on their doorstep, waiting for the water to cool off before taking a shower, navigating city traffic on a bike, and dealing with Eddie Eddie the super. 

Furminator

I  love the new Furminator.  Not only does it work like a dream, my husband loves to use it and brushes the dogs all the time.

Coltrane is his usual goofy self, except that he actually allows himself to be furminated.  This is a huge leap forward because he had decided after seven years that he no longer wanted to be brushed.  He would growl and throw a big hissy fit.  Despite the above appearances, here he is just being Coltrane and squirming all over.

Mingus always has on his big boy pants and knows how to behave.  Papi came in from working in the yard (yeah!  this weekend we had our first day under 90F since...well, maybe since April!) and gave the dogs a little brushing.  Yes, right in the middle of the kitchen.  But I know better than to discourage good works.

New work;silly dog

A foggy view because I didn't realize the lens was still not acclimated to the 100F

Ah, much better

This is a piece I finished a bit ago.  It isn't an original design.  I found it at one of the fabulous French blogs where patterns are freely shared for personal use.  You can find it at FlyBlog.  It is caled Boutonniere.  I liked the colors and the texture of the drop three peyote.  I added this antique metal button to Flymouche's pattern.  This is the first time I used these great bronze beads that I see all over the European sites and in many of the best American designers' work.  The camera really picked up on the slight tone difference between the bronze beads and the button, but in person they appear to be the same color.

The green is matte transparent.

I love the contrast of finishes among the beads.  The white are very pearly.

Even though this is an odd count pattern, it went together quickly in drop three.  Right now I'm working on a single drop odd count peyote, but I am using two needles to avoid one part of the bead fabric getting too stiff.  I thought I would have a big tangle of thread (actually Fireline), but all is going well.

I'm in the third week of school, have been sick for 1.5 weeks, and have 130 quizzes to grade right now. Final thought: Why does Coltrane always sleep with his head on a pillow?