gratitude

We've spent the last few days in Florida, slowly unwinding after all the recent difficulties. The slow pace, surrounded by family and familiar sights is a comforting thing. Max is back to his old self, healthy appetite and rambunctious spirit included! In the picture above, he's playing near a tide pool, with his big sister Azalea and the rest of the gang in the background, swimming.

I thought this particular shot captured how peaceful and magical our little spot is. I've relished watching Max recover from such a scary state, everyday gaining strength. When we first left the hospital, he couldn't walk, or even hold his head up. The physical therapist warned us it could be a month or more before he would be back to his old self. We are happy, no thrilled to say our little boy is back to normal!

We will spend a couple more days in Florida, relaxing and feeling truly grateful that our little family is happy and healthy. It boggles my mind how quickly everything progressed, from thinking he had stomach flu, to realizing he had perforations in his intestines from swallowing a set of 'mighty strong' magnets (not a pearl after all!). Those tiny things nearly killed him (so of course we threw out every last one of them). Things will shift back into place, our routines and rhythms will continue and I will look on my boy with gratitude and happiness.

recovery

Max has been ill since Tuesday, with what we thought was gastroenteritus or stomach flu. He had all the symptoms, vomitting, diarhea and listlessness. So, my sister and I took him to the doctor, expecting the medicines he gave us would work and Max would get better. Well, they didn't do much, so we took him to the e.r. and waited for the i.v. that would make all of his issues go away. He seemed better, alert and even eating a little. That evening he grew worse, so were back at the hospital. Since then it has been an exhausting battle to try and figure out why his symptoms weren't responding to the treatments. When his belly grew distended and he was in obvious pain, the doctors used x-rays, ultrasound and finally a ct scan to see what the problem was. It looked like he had swallowed a pearl from the scans, but it didn't explain the blockadge. They decided he needed to go into emergency surgery to find out what was wrong. A few hours later they informed us they found three holes in his intestines, with white blood cells attempting to repair the damage, forming the blockadges. They didn't find the pearl. He is slowly getting better,he isn't vomiting constantly (a really good thing) but his tummy is still really swollen and things aren't progressing as fast as everyone hoped, but we are optimistic.

I've heard throughout my life that there is nothing more agonizing and frightening than seeing your child in a hospital bed. I discovered just how true that statement was during this week, when I wouldv'e gladly given a limb, if it meant his healthy return. I've left his side only when I absolutely had to, needing to watch him closely for signs of improvement. I thought I'd known real fear, since I'd been through some scary events, but the fear I had for my boy was bone deep. We're not out of the woods yet, but I can tell you I've never looked so forward to going home in all my life.

new masters

Here's the next batch of masters. These are cast in silver and aren't polished or antiqued. They are destined for our pewter line. You may remember seeing the polymer version of this piece, when I was trying to decide what to do with it. I think it looks particularly good in silver.

Here's the back of the piece, engraved with the first lines of one of Emily Dickinson's most beautiful poems:

Hope

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

This little horned owl has been in more sketchbooks....but I just never got around to carving it. I've drawn it over and over, with different faces, feather patterns and body shapes. I sat down to make something entirely different, a rabbit, I think, then this took shape. He's quite small, perfect to dangle from a bracelet or in a long necklace with oval shaped beads.

I haven't made many pieces with openwork, but found a bit of antique handmade lace in my sewing box and thought it would make a lovely necklace. The first thing I thought of was a choker type piece, strung all the way around with the lacy drop pendants, with tiny briollettes wire wrapped in the middle opening and from the hole at the point. It would have a rather opulent and vintage feel, perfect for a summer wedding. I'm looking forward to making myself something with this design!

I love carving flowers and leaves, there is something quieting in the familiar shapes. It's almost meditative. Anyway, I carved this little dangly piece to go with our floral clasp. I think it'll look great with so many styles- retro or vintage, depending on the beads. These new pieces will also debut at the Bead and Button Show, so stop by and say hello!