Saturday, February 28, 2009

Jewelry Box in Stained Glass

My first jewelry boxes were more "box" than "jewelry" though each has its own theme and they turned out nice; I made a leap with my last two jewelry boxes. I designed a_heart_inside_a_heart. I opted to not patina (color) the solder as I think the silver adds to the beauty (and since all my work is lead-free it is safe too).

Some day I'll figure out how to make money with this hobby, but for now I'm having a great time coming up with new ideas. My next project will be to make a drawer in the bottom of a jewelry box.

Let me know what you think...

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The Hershey's kiss (hugs) help establish the size.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Quote for life.....

I was listening to MPR (Minnesota Public Radio) and a guest speaker gave me a nugget. She said. "Everything will be okay in the end; And if it's not okay, it's not the end."

This goes well with President Payne's saying. "Nobody gets out alive."

So, keep it real! And keep your perspective!

Monday, February 2, 2009

My miracle - Thank you!

My little miracle (okay miracles aren’t measured big or little, but here’s my story). I lost my cell phone a few weeks ago. I was bummed, it was new in a new holder; it was going to take a long time to get 200+ contacts loaded into another phone.

I went shoveling at the neighbors who, for age and health reasons are unable to shovel snow. Then, I went to pick up a friend and her child for our family night (her car has bad tires and we just got a lot of snow), while I waited for them to come out, I shoveled a walking path on their driveway. On the way to my house we saw a mini-van stuck in the snow. We stopped and helped the van out.

At home I realize I can’t find my cell phone, I can’t remember if I had it with me or not… It’s a bit disappointing when I look around the house and the car without locating it. I know from past experience winter camping that snow is a thief and there are three or more locations the snow could have robbed me.

I decided there was only one who could help me, the one who knows all. I prayed, Heavenly Father if it is thy will, help locate my cell phone.

Prayer alone is not enough, so I went looking. I went to all the locations my phone could have been and called my number from Mary’s phone. I could not hear a single chirp from my phone, I could tell it was active as I didn’t go directly to voice-mail, but if it was at these locations it was buried.

I continued to pray. I figured if it showed up at the shoveling locations someone would find it and I would get it back. So, the area of concern was the street corner where I had pulled the mini-van out. I drove by the corner and looked for my phone. Soon the snow was plowed back by the snow plow, my faith was being tested, I could just picture my phone smashed to pieces and buried ‘til spring.

I prayed more and hoped for the best. In the mean time I replaced my phone, but didn’t load phone numbers unless I had to call or received a call.

Saturday we had a big melt and I was able to clear a lot of snow and ice from the driveway. After the basketball game I was driving home and felt I should drive by the corner again. I stopped the car. I walked along the street scanning the ground. Guess what I found on top of the snow bank – my phone, still in its case. It works just like the day I lost it.

It was a miracle, and I am grateful God answers prayers. Sometimes He answers “Yes”, sometimes “No”, and sometimes, like this time, the answer is “in time, be patient”.







Not my phone but you get the idea...

FireProof Movie


We are always looking for good movies. We started renting from the little red box at the golden arches. Saturday the children were all at different locations so Mary and I watched FireProof together. It has a great message. I enjoyed the focus on marriage and working through life's challenges. After you watch it, tell me what you think of "tomatoe juice".