Spring cleaning

It's not spring yet and I'm not cleaning my house as you might think now.

The cleaning I want to do is in my inventory. I feel there are some older pieces which could use a little rejuvenation. I'm not sure at the moment how far that will go, it depends a lot on what Mabel is telling me.

Have I ever told you she likes to hide in drawers, little bags, on wire spools and in boxes? I have to admit it, sometimes I am not very organized.

So today I found a bag containing nothing but a wire spool with some 9 ct. gold that I had gotten myself months ago to see if it would work for wire crochet (it doesn't ....) - with some faceted garnet beads on it! I remember thinking then  how gold and that red would go together perfectly, then I got discouraged by the wire breaking and packed it up, only to forget it. Like my grandmother used to say "the house doesn't lose anything".

One of the patients on my rejuvenation list had been a rope, spool knitted from dark red ribbon. Red garnets ... red ribbon ... hm ..... what about that tiger eye rock still lying around. Red and dark ... dark mood ... a dark pendant on milky white skin (thinking of my second doll head Lilith here) ... no silver ... gunmetal wire! As you can see, Mabel has been hard at work here which was no easy task as my head is not the best tool at the moment.

So here's the result - the "Lady Jean" necklace, now in my ArtFire studio.

Quote of the week

Today's quote is one of the most famous of TV history.

It has been used by many comedians and even you might have said it one or the other time, maybe slightly altered. I say it to my cats which doesn't make sense at all, it's not like they listen to me. Cats will be cats, but there will only ever be one Lassie ... and one after that and one after that ... you get the point.

So which one is the quote you remember best from the countless episodes of Lassie?

"Timmy is in the well."

You know what? Timmy was never in the well. I don't know why, maybe the writers didn't like wells. We'll never know how Lassie would behave in a well crisis. And still that quote will stay out there. TV history.

Lassie, USA, 1954 - 1974

P.S. In the picture you don't see Lassie, but a collie girl who has been very dear to my heart, Flocki. I still miss you, girl.

Deduction and dents

I love Sherlock Holmes, always have. I always wished I could be as smart as him, have his ability of deductive reasoning and maybe live in London.

The way he knows the profession of a man or woman from an ink spot on his arm or their past from a faded tattoo, their identity even behind a mask or a man's life circumstances from a good look at a bowler hat ... just amazing.

And then sometimes I wonder what he would say about me. Would he know I'm a librarian from my long hair and glasses (you would be surprised how many people used to tell me these were perfect reasons to become a librarian)? He certainly would be able to detect four different kinds and colors of cat hair on my clothes, so my furry friends might not be a secret to him, but would he be able to say something about me, having a look at my bowler hat? Actually that started this string of thoughts ... I put on my hat the other day and then the "Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" came to mind.

Then I had a look at my fingernail.

No matter how often and carefully I file it, there is always this little dent that keeps coming back. Would Sherlock know it's the spot where my nail touches my crochet hook to hold it steady while I work? I have to admit I don't know how the English hold their crochet hooks. Here you can see two different styles, people holding them like pencils or like hammers for example. I'm the hammer kind girl, the other way doesn't work for me.

Enough rambling. I think I'm going to file at my dent now ...

A photo story

First let me say that I'm not in a great mood at the moment ... which is why you don't see me around much. Believe me, that's a good thing.

This I had to share with you, though. It's what the "security camera" picked up right now, and boy, am I ever glad it did or I would have to get my sister a new necklace.

1. The master thief detects a piece of jewelry which has not been secured by a lock or something. He reaches in to check out what possibilities he has got.

2. The master thief has dug in and released the loot easily from its poor hiding place. In expert manner he checks out the value of the piece, ignoring the sceptical look of Lady Agnew of Lochnaw.

3. It's always of interest to know how long the chain is. This one is probably too long to give it to one of his girlfriends.

4. Now that the question about the chain is answered, it's time to have a closer look and sniff at the pendant itself.

5. Finally the master thief takes notice of the security camera. In an attempt to feign innocence he drops the necklace.

P.S. I cheated a little on the order of those pictures, due to bad light I had to put together pictures from different attempts to steal the Crown Jewels. Actually he tried about five times while I had trouble to hold the camera still and keep myself from rolling on the floor laughing! You'll forgive me this little artistic freedom, won't you? ;-)

Quote of the week

In a former life I learnt Latin in school. Actually one of my two major courses was Latin.

Through many years I also tutored students in the difficult art of Latin.

Maybe that's the reason I enjoy this little scene from Monty Python's Life of Brian so much, it brings back countless memories.

Centurion: What's this, then? "Romanes eunt domus"? People called Romanes, they go the house?
Brian: It says, "Romans go home."
Centurion: No, it doesn't! What's the Latin for "Roman"? Come on, come on !
Brian: Er, "Romanus"!
Centurion: Goes like?
Brian: Annus.
Centurion: Vocative plural of "Annus" is?
Brian: Er, "Anni"!
Centurion: "Romani"... *writes "Romani" over Brian's graffiti* "Eunt"? What is "eunt"?
Brian: "Go".
Centurion: Conjugate the verb, "to go"!
Brian: Er, "Ire." Er, "eo," "is," "it," "imus," "itis," "eunt."
Centurion: So, "eunt" is... ?
Brian Third person plural present indicative, "they go".
Centurion: But, "Romans go home" is an order. So you must use... ? *twists Brian's ear*
Brian: Aaagh! Imperative!
Centurion: Which is...?
Brian: Aaaaagh! Er, er... "i", "i"!
Centurion: How many Romans?
Brian: Aaaaagh! Plural, plural... er, "ite"!
Centurion: "Ite"... *writes "ite" on wall* "Domus"? Nominative? "Go home" is motion toward, isn't it?
Brian: Dative! *Centurion pulls out gladius and holds it against Brian's throat* Aaagh! Not the dative, not the dative! Er, er... accusative, accusative, "ad domum", sir, "ad domum"!
Centurion: Except "Domus" takes the...?
Brian: The locative, sir!
Centurion: Which is...?
Brian: "Domum"!
Centurion: "Domum"... *writes "Domum" on wall* Um. Understand? Now, write it out a hundred times. 

Ms Evler, Mr Pflock, I bow to you for my years of Latin in your classes. This post is for you.

Life of Brian, UK, 1979

Treasure

It had been like an adventure movie - the jungle, the snakes and the spiders, a competing team (even if they didn't carry poisoned arrows, but laptops and electronic devices), the heat, the excitement, and now they were here at the temple's gate.

They looked at each other. Who was to go first? There wouldn't be a trap, there wouldn't be a curse. This was the 21st century, none of them believed in curses and none of them carried a whip and wore a battered hat. They were scientists and still ... in these surroundings even hard-core scientists could suddenly feel doubtful about what to expect in this ancient temple.

Again they looked at each other and laughed in a slightly embarrassed way. Together they opened the heavy stone gate, and holding their torches up high they walked into the dark.

Suddenly one of the torches caught a sparkle, so they walked towards it and there it was - the face of the God.

When I had finished this piece, it reminded me so much of an ancient mask that I suddenly had this image in my mind. I myself would be much too chicken to fight my way through a jungle (the bugs would be my smallest problem, but the heat and the dampness and weird food), but we all probably have dreamed of a moment when we discover a treasure.

This treasure is in my Zibbet shop now where you can also see more pictures.

Quote of the week

What do you get if you have two psychiatrist brothers, an ex-cop father, an English psychic health caretaker, a radio producer who gets around and a few more characters?

You get "Frasier", a popular TV series that was around for eleven seasons.

While I myself adore Niles, the younger brother, today's quote is the one you'll hear most in the series as Frasier is a radio psychiatrist.

"I'm listening."

If only sometimes he did more of the listening than the talking! ;-)

Frasier, USA, 1993 - 2004