fini 2008!!!

Mes deux dernières créas pour clôturer 2008!!

My last 2 pendants to finish 2008!!

Christmas Merry-Go-Round

Jump on and join a group of artists/crafts-women as they link around the world and tell you a little about their lives in art and craft.

This month's question: How do you celebrate Christmas? What traditions do you have?

Well... I wouldn't go as far as describing the way I celebrate Christmas as full of of traditions... in fact, the only tradition I really have kept over the years is to eat and drink until I cannot physically stand the sight of either... When I lived in France, Christmas Eve used to be the big night: huge meal, several bottles of wine with the family tribe, open the presents at midnight, then boggie the night away in a local nightclub or in church for the Christmas Mass - and yes, I have been known to do the latter in the middle of the dance floor...:)
Next morning is spent looking at the gorgeous presents from the night before - and bracing yourself for lunch...Aperitif first, of course, which takes an hour. My mum likes to go for the catered Christmas style, and it always starts with a huge plate of shellfish - I say shellfish, well, one year we were unlucky enough to have another type of shelled buddies on the plate, YUCK!!:( white wine flows freely and after an hour of scraping crab legs, we're all already pretty squiffy and having a good time, then arrive 2 kinds of meat (complete with tons of veg and salad), some poor kangoroo or other supposed to bring exotism in the middle of rural Brittany - exotism is why my mum goes for the caterer's funky menu... I said to her to go for shark or snake next time, but she told me off French style, shrugged-of-shoulders and mouth a perfect O: "Oh dis pas de conneries!" - then cheeses with red wines, then dessert with "digestif", by then 5 hours have disappeared. Dad then flops on the sofa and snores loudly over the Christmas programmes.
The rest of the day is spent dropping on family (or being dropped on), sitting, eating, drinking, catching up..

In Turkey this year, Christmas is a quiet affair, just my husband and I, and our little dog, Jack. We ate like pigs last night, did it again all day today, opened our presents this morning, gave Jack his treats from his own stocking, went for walks by the sea, enjoying the crisp sharp sea air and sunshine. Lovely...

Check out The Merry-Go-Rounders replies: direct links can be found on your right.
Thanks for reading!
Merry Christmas to you all!!!

Natural Little Treasure...

A little natural treasure this time... almost literally from my backyard: I took Jack (our terrier) for a walk a few weeks ago and discovered quite by chance a natural mineral growth a few meters away from our house. The houses around here are built on hills - not enough flat surface to go round, this is earthquake country - and we live a pigeon's wing's away from the sea. I did some research on the internet and found on Eni oken's www.jewelrylessons.com a free tutorial to download on identifying rocks, from Shelby of www.skeenastormstones.com. Still unclear, I contacted Shelby, who was about the most helpful and lovely person EVER, and who talked me through all the tests and possible things my mineral could be. In the end, we got it: it's CALCITE! Thank you Shelby for all your help and advice!!!

Calcite has metaphysical and healing properties too! This is what I found about calcite on http://crystalsandjewelry.com:

It increases and amplifies energy. One of the energies it amplifies is learning abilities, so it's a great stone for students.

All calcites are helpful in lessening of fear and reducing stress. Calcite is probably the premier cleanser of stored negative energies in the human system, and works on all levels from the physical to the etheric. This makes it a very purifying stone. It can also be used to clear negativity in the environment, such as a room that it's in.

In the realm of relationships, calcite brings its properties of grounding and centering, to make it a stone of reconciliation. Calcite can ameliorate arguments in a relationship, and help maintain a practical balance between the people in the relationship.

Physically, calcites are good for back pain, increasing physical strength, teeth, eyes, and are generally good for healing. Clear calcite can be used for treating all conditions. It can also be used for detoxifying and as an antiseptic agent. Calcite is especially helpful with emotional and mental conditions.

What a treasure!!!!

Play Misty for Yuna

Yuna is a little 5 year old girl who is fascinated by opalites. Her aunt (my sister-in-law) owns "Play Misty for Me", an opalite necklace I made last year, so I've been asked to make a similar one for Yuna. I hope she likes it!




Yuna est une petite fille de 5 ans qui a flashé sur les opalites du collier de sa tante Yannick. Yannick est ma belle-soeur, propriétaire du collier "Play Misty for Me" que je lui avais envoyé l'année dernière, et elle m'a demandé si je pouvais refaire un collier d'opalites pour Yuna...J'espère que ça lui plaira!