Sunday, October 1, 2017

Coming up for air

Lately, things have been a bit busy at my pesky day job, to the point where the only break I've had since the beginning of July was a few days up at our camp with some of my beady friends in early August. Other than these days I've worked non-stop (nights and weekends) for what seems like an eternity. Now you all know why I've been M.I.A. in the blogosphere lately.

All that said, my handful of days up at the camp were bliss. Christine and Amy joined me for a few days of beading, hiking, drinking some wine, birding, did I say beading? There was lot of that, which was fantastic. There was the usual bead swapping, pattern sharing a bit of tutorials and teaching. It is exactly as a bead retreat should be. It was made better by being able to bead out on the screened porch and bead to the sound of the birds and the water.

Amy brought a book of patterns she had organized for Christine and me, which included a tutorial on a bangle pattern she has designed. We all tried the pattern, then Christine did an extra for good luck. The pattern is gorgeous and the beads Amy chose gave the best sparkle to this bracelet.

There was also some birding going on. Both Christine and Amy are experienced 'birders' which I can't say I understood much of that discussion! But I did enjoy the hike looking for a few of the local birds up at the camp. We caught the Chief Birder (Amy) birding and taking pictures at the end of the lake where many of them nest. She is an experienced photographer who takes the most amazing close ups of birds! No idea how she catches them in her photos but it always takes my breath away when I see them. Seriously look at these of a snowy owl on the beach. How does she get these pics?

Hard to believe that we're heading into Fall, and somehow I seemed to have missed most of my summer. We're talking about getting another retreat set up, which I can't wait to escape again with my beady friends. Soon.

13 comments:

  1. Those short getaways are a must to maintaining sanity! It sounds like you ladies had a wonderful time. I would love to get into birding in retirement. It seems like such a relaxing hobby. I became intrigued by a news bit recently at a local bird sanctuary where they have a program for the sight impaired. They go birding but instead of looking for the birds they listen and identify the songs. So wonderful!

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  2. Beads, birds, food, nature and friends. It doesn't get any better.

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  3. Well, I hope things quiet down at work so you can have more relaxing times doing beading! Those bracelets are lovely.

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  4. What a great retreat for you and your friends! I do hope your work quiets down, so you can start beading and relaxing a bit! Big Hugs! Great to hear from you! You have been missed!

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  5. I forgot to say, LOVE the bracelets!

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  6. Sounds like a perfect beady retreat to me! The bangles are incredible! I love those! I can't read patterns though so I'm sure it's way out of my wheel house.

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  7. I think I can accurately identify about three species of birds...
    Sounds like a really fun retreat! I hope you're able to plan the next one for sometime soon.

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  8. It definitely sounds like y'all had a great time. I'm bummed I missed out, but so glad you updated us on what all y'all did. Those bracelets are fabulous. I'm so glad you had a good time and appreciate you sharing it with us.

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  9. I'm so glad you managed to get away from your super busy schedule for some fun craft time! Beading, birds and wine...perfect :) Loving the turquoise/gold bangle!

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  10. Somehow I think we all missed Summer. Sometimes just getting away and back to nature helps our creative side. Loving your beaded bracelets! One of these days I will get time to start creating some jewelry again!

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  11. These four photos take me right back...to a place I want to be at least once every three months with you ladies! What a delightfully relaxing, much needed few days! Encore!!!

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  12. Beading, friends and nature are a wonderful combination. I love your photos too.

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  13. That birding, beading, together with close friends sounds like a great time which I feel envious for. I love the bracelets you have made - nice pattern and colours. If you like bird watching I recommend my neighbour's site: http://mateuszpiesiak.pl He is a young boy but really talented. He wins award in different photography contests both polish and international. This year he published his first calendar. Best wishes:)

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