So Very Helpful

I was taking some pictures of some chain bracelets to sell on Etsy. What you see at the bottom is my kitten Otto (8 months old) "helping" me display them :) Silly kitten loves chains more than string... the mere sound of chainmaille brings him running. It makes more noise, it's shiny (he loves shiny), and mom plays with them more. Last night he gagged himself on a piece of wire so he is hereafter banned from the bench while I am working wire.

Here he is "talking" to the birds. Handsome, isn't he?


I have a houseful of other animals; 4 other cats who despise this interloper, 2 Sheltie mixes and a Senegal parrot. I'm sure they'll find their way into one post or another at some point, but none of them are as "helpful" as Otto is (although Clio the parrot certainly would be if I let her).


Being helpful is very tiring.

Dawn is the Sacred Hour

Dawn is the Sacred Hour fine art photograph by Substrom

I'm up early this Saturday morning. No one to send off to school. Just me, and the crickets, a purring kitten curled up in my lap, my morning coffee, and the Tennessee morning mist that is a large part of why I love this place, and this hour of day. It's cool for August and you can feel the kiss of the mist through the open window. The trees are ghostly shapes across the road. All is right with the world. So I thought I'd blog about the way dawn feels to me, and went hunting for images on Etsy, and found this fine art photo that, well, sums it up perfectly in title and in content. Except that, this morning, I'm not red, I'm a mellow green that is one with the living things growing outside my window.

Good morning.

Belle Armoire Magazine

I've submitted four items for consideration for a feature in Belle Armore magazine, including Rhiannon, Prismatic (above), Canopy and Pharaoh. (See my Flickr for photos). They'll review the items, and if they like them, ask me to send them in for professional photography, and I'll get to write an article on chainmaille. I'll keep you posted on this.. they asked me to submit items about six weeks ago and I've been wanting to get a light box and take some really nice photos (and do more items), and I did the latter but not the former. And the camera is still broken, argh. If I could stop spending money on supplies I'd get it fixed :)

Anyway wish me luck!