Trying New Skills

Here's a photo I took several days ago, in the early morning. It looks nice and cool, especially right now when the Vista weather gadget on my computer screen says the temperature is 84 degrees. Fortunately I have a breeze here, so I've been relatively comfortable all day, but soon the sun will drop down below the edge of my umbrella, and then I'll be quite warm.

I spent the entire day working on a bead bezel to surround one of Jon's cabcahons. I have seen a number of necklaces done that way and I admit there are many of them that I don't care for, but I've been intrigued just the same. It turned out to be easier than I thought it would be. I started at about 10:00 this morning and it took me until about 4:00. Six hours is a long time, but I'm definitely getting faster and more skilled. By creating the bezel, I also did some peyote stitch, a skill I hadn't mastered until today. Now I have. Of course, each time I learned a new skill, it opens a door to more possibilities.

I have a tendency to think of spending my time at Spanish Village coming up with ideas, being creative, but of course there's also the time spent learning and practicing new skills. If I had been at home today, I doubt I would have spent six hours working on the same project. I probably would have played with my dogs and taken a nap. This was better. I like making things, and I like being productive.

I admit that I like to lie around, napping and eating. However, I'm trying to lose weight and so I've taken up exercising again as well as eating less. My favorite form of exercise is swimming. Actually, I walk back and forth in the water. Frequently when I am there, I'm alone in the pool or maybe there will be one or two other people. When that's the case, I find myself thinking about jewelry projects and solving various problems like making a new type of clasp or bracelet. I enjoy that. Frequently I plan what I'm going to do once I get to the studio. That's a big help to me.

I brought my computer to work today, because Philip said he would help me with a web site program, so I can update my website. So that's a new project for me. I'll watch the videos first and see what I can learn. If I have the computer here on my work table, I can work on it until I get bored and then switch to bead work for awhile. That sounds like a good plan.