Any Excuse for Cleanliness

I've lived in my house since December of 1997, so it's been over 11 years.

I'm gonna tell you a literal dirty little secret: we've never had the carpets professionally cleaned. Until now. And I'm trying to be a better blogger, so I took before and after pics of the craziness for you.

Unfortunately, I didn't think of pictures until after Matt the magical steam cleaning man was done with my family room, where all the nastiest stains had gone to die, but we'll work with what we have, shall we?

My hubby tried to blame me for these stains, which happen to be under the table I bead on.  He ignored the 857 parties we've held in this house.  Um, sure honey, these stains are totally my fault.  I bring stuff in here and sling it around while I bead, wild woman that I am.

Ewww, right?  And here's what the same carpet looked like when Matt was done with it.  Matt was my new best friend by the time he was done in my house, lemme tell ya.

This was a nasty rust ring left by a really beautiful Tiffany style torchiere I have in my formal living room. Ooh, not good.

But that stain was no match for Matt the magical cleaning man!  I was shocked that it all came out.  Good work, Matt!  And you didn't even get any of that steamy residue on your cape!

So what precipitated this cleanliness, you might wonder?  Well, I was throwing a special party for my friend Jennifer, pictured below, and I figured it was a good excuse.

We had a lovely shower in my newly cleaned home.  Now I need to talk my hubby into letting me bring Matt back to do the upstairs!

It's Still Rock 'n' Roll to Me

If you don't follow me on twitter and haven't heard me ramble about this, I've been excited about this for over a month now:

That's right... last night I fulfilled a dream I've had for, um, longer than I'd care to discuss.  We'll just say, since junior high.  I got to see Billy Joel live and in person.  The fact that he was playing with Elton John was a big bonus.

I had looked at the two dates they were playing in Texas, and unfortunately, I found out too late to get tickets.  Houston was way past sold out, and San Antonio only had single tickets available. At that point, I went to my good friend the internet and started looking in other places.  Since this was a once-in-a-lifetime event, I figured I could go ahead and spend the bucks for a floor seat.  Turns out I could get a 2nd row seat in Phoenix for $1600, or I could go to Tulsa and sit farther back for not much more than face value.  Hmmmm... I choose sanity.

Tulsa built their BOK Center about a year ago, according to some friendly folks we ran into at dinner before the show.  There was apparently some public curiosity about whether Tulsa could pull in big names with an arena.  Turns out Kevin Costner was right: if you build it, they will come. Here's a shot of the stage prior to the show.  You'll see that screen again later.

I went with my friend Heather. There are only so many people you can drive 15 hours and stay in a hotel room with over two days. She's a keeper. She also took all the pictures; I was afraid they'd ban my big DSLR from the arena, so I left it in the car.  Awesome photog job, Heather!

I'll grant you that her camera has a big ol' zoom on it, but this was a cool stage setup, and just being in the room with these two men was electric.  Elton is on the left; Billy is on the right.

These men can flat THROW DOWN on the piano.  Their styles are vastly different, though; it didn't take long before I didn't need visual cues to tell me whose hands I was watching.  Both are just stunning to watch play, to say nothing of their songwriting and singing talents. I went in with expectations set on "sky-high" and they exceeded all of them.

Here's a second picture of the two of them on that giant screen you saw before. They used this screen for all kinds of stuff: pics of the two of them, illustrations of stuff in the song (the stuff they played during "We Didn't Start the Fire" was really interesting and obviously historic), cartoony fun stuff, you name it. Great use of a set design element.

Also, since we were in an arena, there was the huge thing hanging over our heads with screens on four sides.  We weren't in the best position to get a good pic of it, but Heather got shots of both men on it.  Billy first:

Then Elton.

And if you want the real nitty-gritty details, here are my notes from the night, complete with set list.

There was no opening band.  The stage started bare; the pianos rose out of the stage, complete with dry ice and all that wonderful stage-y stuff.  They began by playing and singing together, trading verses in each others' songs.  They then played individual sets (Elton first, then Billy), coming together at the end for another set together.

The entire concert was three and a half hours -- longer than Heather and I had dared to hope. They played every monster hit and many little-known songs. Every song that Heather had been dying to hear was played, so she can now die happy. I would have loved to hear some that were not played, but they were never hits, so no complaints from me.

We were sitting quite a way back from the stage, on the left edge of the floor seats (or stage right for you theater types).  The couple next to us were also huge Billy Joel fans and were very nice. There was a group of four people in front of us (two couples) that was, er, interesting. Both women had bought flashing LED glasses frames that they wore throughout the show. Fortunately, the stage lights were brighter, and we didn't notice them most of the time.  

Set list (songs are in bold; my notes are not): 

Elton and Billy together:

Your Song

Just the Way You Are

There was a woman two rows in front of us, clearly intoxicated even before the show, who was dancing energetically to the two slow opening songs.  Ummmm, ok...

Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me

My Life

Billy sang backup on this one -- his own song!  I found that amusing.

After "My Life," Billy left the stage, and Elton did his solo portion of the show.

Elton's solo set:

Peachtree Road (I have this title wrong, but I didn't recognize the song)

There was one person standing on the floor during this song.  Perhaps you might guess where he was?  Yes, that's right: directly in my line of sight to Elton.  Granted, Elton wasn't who I was there to see, but still, I thought it was rude.

Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting

Burn Down the Mission

Mad Man Across the Water

Tiny Dancer

I noticed on this song that Elton wasn't even trying to hit the high notes in his songs.  Either another singer or the keyboard player would hit the high notes, and he would take a lower note. It wasn't terribly distracting, but I noticed it because I was looking for it; Heather and I had wondered if these guys would still be able to hit those notes (Billy still hit all his, which impressed me). Elton's voice is still amazing -- his tone is beautiful, and his voice is strong and resonant. He just doesn't have the range on the top end that he once enjoyed.

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

He had the audience singing along to hit the high notes on this one.  We didn't mind.

Daniel

This was the one I most wanted to hear from Elton.

Rocketman

He did probably a 10-minute jam on this song.  I thought he was finished with his set after this, but he faked us out.

Levon

I'm Still Standing

Crocodile Rock

This song is even more fun live than on a recording.  We had a great time dancing around to it.

This concluded Elton's set. He received a long standing ovation, walked around the entire stage (which was more or less done in the round), and shook hands and signed autographs before exiting. I was pointing up at the screens and telling Heather, "For only $1200 more, that could have been us!"

Yyyyyyyyyyyyeah.

So, up next was Billy's solo set.  And holy cow, Elton had done 11 songs with some seriously long jams!  What did we have to look forward to?  Lots of great stuff, as it turned out.

Billy's solo set:

Angry Young Man

I wasn't really familiar with this song, but I figured that would be the exception to the rule.  In fact, it was the only exception.

Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)

By this song, Heather and I and the couple next to us were on our feet, singing along and dancing.

Allentown

Zanzibar

Billy introduced this one by saying it was "what used to be commonly referred to as 'an album cut.'" He told us it was a great tune and urged us not to use this time as a restroom break. Since "52nd Street" and "Glass Houses" were the first two Billy Joel albums I owned (and I do mean albums -- I had them on vinyl originally), I knew every word of this song.  And I will never hear it the same way again.  Not the album cut I wanted from "52nd Street," but whatcha gonna do?

Don't Ask Me Why

Another great tune from "Glass Houses."

She's Always a Woman

Like he could get out of there without playing this.

Scenes from an Italian Restaurant

This was the one that Heather most wanted to hear.  She learned to play piano because of Billy Joel, and she and her dad and brother used to play this tune together (dad on guitar, Heather on piano, brother on either bass or the egg).  It holds a lot of emotion for her. I was so glad he played it.

River of Dreams

Another great one to sing and dance along to.  I was seriously feeling bad for the people in the non-floor seats who were all sitting down.  We were having so much more fun.

We Didn't Start the Fire

Billy played guitar on this, and did some crazy things with the mic stand, throwing it up in the air and catching it.  At the end of the song, he threw it literally the length of the stage to one of the other musicians, who caught it. Wild.

It's Still Rock & Roll to Me

More singing and dancing.  I love me some Billy Joel.

Only the Good Die Young

Still more singing and dancing. Seriously, the man is an amazing entertainer. Loved it.

After this song, Billy made his rounds of the stage, also shaking hands and signing autographs. Heather and I were both struck by how gracious both men were with the fans, and also by how much fun they seemed to be having playing, entertaining the crowd, enjoying the music, each other, and the fans. I don't think you can fake that.

Last part of the set:

Duo, part two:

I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues

Great tune.  On this song, as with many others, I noticed that Elton couldn't help singing along (away from the mic) during Billy's parts of the songs.  Billy did the same thing during other songs.  Also, during one song (and I failed to write down which one), Billy clearly came in at the wrong time and mouthed an exaggerated "Oops!" face at the camera.  Good stuff.

Uptown Girl

At the end of this song, a female (fan?  not sure) got onstage, dancing to the song.  She danced over to Billy, kissed him on the cheek, then went over to Elton and kissed him on both cheeks followed by a big smooch on the mouth. She then left the stage. I didn't see security hustling her off, and Elton and Billy just kept playing, but it was weird.

The B!tch Is Back

Again, not familiar with this song, one of Elton's.  The crowd was really into it, though. Bleeped the word cuz, y'know, I'm a family blog and all.

You May Be Right

I was happy to hear this one.  It was great as a duet.

Benny and the Jets

Billy took all the high parts on this.  Worked out well.  Another great singalong.

You Say It's Your Birthday

Not sure if that's really the name, but whatever the rock 'n' roll birthday song is.  They asked if anyone was having a birthday, then they sang it. It was cool, but there are other things I would rather have heard from them.

Back in the USSR

Candle in the Wind

Heather said later, and I agreed, that if she'd been asked she would have said that she could have gone a long time without hearing this song again since it was so overplayed back in the day. It was fantastic live, though.  Really beautiful.

Piano Man

Yes, they saved the ultimate singalong -- and their theme song -- for last. It had to be played.  It was epic.  They stopped playing and let the the audience sing one round of the chorus.  Wow: the power of 20,000 voices.

These men have been entertaining people for well over 50 years between them. They are serious about music, and they blew. me. away.

Babies and Beads and SXSW

Last weekend I got to meet a new little person.

I didn't ask permission to post her picture, so I won't post her vital stats.  Let's just say her name is NOT Valencia Orange, although I will continue to call her that for the humor value.  And she is beautiful.  I can't wait to babysit her and spoil her rotten.

In other news, I have been melting more glass.  The one on the right was going to be the same shape as the ones in the middle and on the left, but my hubby begged me not to squish it.  Now I want to make another one like it just to see who was right.

I had made the pendant to this prior to Christmas for my friend Heather.  I finally got around to making its two companion beads and stringing it.  Heather and I have a very exciting trip coming up this week (which is its own blog post), and following that, Heather will be going to Paris.  I'm trying not to hate her for that last part, but I think she should have cool jewelry to wear.

This is the completed bead set for a friend in Washington.  We agreed that I would make two sets: one for her to keep, and one for her to bead for me.  She does amazing bead work.  I have no idea what I'm going to make for me, but I think this is her set... unless I come up with something else.

Last but certainly not least, I met my friend Robin last Friday, who had been my Inspired Bliss editor for several months, when she came to town for SXSW.  If I were a better blogger, I would have pics of our meeting, but alas, that is not the case.  In another couple of hours, I'll pick her up for breakfast before taking her back to the airport.  We'll see if I remember my camera for that.  Ha!

Also on Friday, I picked up my friend James, who I haven't seen in years and who was also here for SXSW.  Again -- no camera.  My hubby and I went to lunch today with James and four other friends who all go back ten years or so.  It was great to look back at where we've been and catch up with where we are now.  James has gotten married, and he and his wife have had a baby, since the last time I saw him.  We don't often catch up since he's a Londoner, but it was great to see him.

This concludes the Cliff's Notes version of the last week of my life... stay tuned for Bad Bloggers Catch Up, Continued.

Like I Need Another Hobby

I did something on Thursday that I've never done before.

Hmm, should I tell you or show you?

Like the bad blogger I am, I forgot my camera.  Fortunately, my friend Kate (or rather, her daughter Clare) has a camera identical to mine, and they were gracious enough to snap a few pictures to document the occasion.

Kate's mom Ruby has been making pottery for years, and she has her own studio on their property (they all live together, along with Kate's hubby Edward, which is impressive in this day and age).  This shot is of me beginning to work the clay for a small bowl.

This is the lovely Ruby.  I'm sure we're laughing because she's telling me I can come back anytime because -- unlike her daughter and granddaughter -- I take direction from her.  These ladies are all delightful, and I will definitely go back!

In this picture I'm shaping the edges of the bowl around the mold.  You can't tell, but there is a pattern on the inside of the bowl (pressed in using a cake decorating mold -- very clever!).

I'm texturing the outside of the bowl using a rock.  Ruby's had this rock for 15 or 20 years, she said, because it's perfect for a rough texture.  You find the right tool, you keep it!

And of course, the artist always signs her work.  Funny thing, you can't sign a bead or a piece of jewelry, so I don't have a lot of experience with this part of the process.

This picture is of Clare, Kate's daughter, who is painting a past piece of her own.  Clare is usually the one behind the camera -- and is a far better photographer than I -- so it was fun to turn the tables on her a bit and showcase her beautiful work.

I'll post again and show the finished results once the bowls are done (I did two of them).  They're drying now.  Next time I go, I will glaze them, and they will go in the kiln to be baked to pottery perfection.  I can't wait to see how they come out!

Side note (and Kate might kill me for this, but whatever): Edward deserves mad props for doing this for Kate last year.  She's survived two bouts with cancer, three pacemaker operations, and a TIA (small stroke).  It's not an overstatement to say it's a miracle we still have her with us.  I wonder what God has in store for her?  I know she's curious.  And I know I'm thrilled to still have my friend.  Love you, Kate!

Kiss My Glass

I've spent far too much time away from my torch, and I can tell.

I *heart* my torch.  The fire, the molten glass, the mesmerizing joy of creating something that didn't exist before I made that bead.

It's also been a really long time since I posted any pictures here.  So now you're going to be inundated.  If you hate pics of beads and jewelry, close this window now.  You have been warned.

First is a picture of a necklace I made for a friend's mom for Christmas.  I've known this friend since college (the first time, 20+ years ago) and his wife since junior high.  For him, I made this pendant three times; I simply didn't like the first two.  This was pretty much my all-time favorite bead when I made it.  I had a hard time sending it away.  I hope she loves it as much as I loved making it.

Next up is two pairs of earrings that I made for a blogger I love and admire. She made a New Year's resolution to wear earrings more often.  I hope she's sticking to it!

This is a necklace I made for the lovely Jessica, my Taiwanese co-worker who is invaluable in helping make sure that all the administrative wheels keep turning for me.  She requested a pink and green necklace.  Again, this is a pendant I made more than once.  The first one is ugly enough that I won't post a pic of it. I liked this one a lot though.

The next four pics are beads that I've made in the last few months that I don't think I've taken pictures of.  I actually took the pics to show to an online friend who beads, but since I have them, you can see them too.

The bead on the left in this pic is another favorite.  It's made with a silvered glass (yes, the glass has actual silver in it) that does cool things under certain conditions.  This particular glass is called Psyche and is one of my favorites because of all of its cool effects.  The one on the right is OK, I suppose; I just haven't gotten around to making anything with it yet.

You may notice a similarity between the bead on the left in this pic and the one on the right in the pic above.  I was trying for a particular effect with the bead below -- the base glass before being heated is a sort of translucent white. Unfortunately, it's what's called a striking glass -- it changes colors after it's heated.  It turned burnt orange, which is about my least favorite color, and I thought looked horrible with the pink and purple twist running through it. Strangely enough, it struck again in the kiln firing process and turned pink.

The middle bead is made with a base of white glass and two different silvered glasses.  The one on the right is made with a dark clear glass for the base, with dichroic added for the big pop of sparkle, and dots of two kinds of silvered glass for accent.

The bead on the left below was the second attempt for a pendant in my friend's mom's necklace.  See -- it's OK but not as great as what I ended up with.  Next to it is a bead in which I was trying to replicate one of my favorite beads -- seen in the bottom pic in this post -- epic fail.  The other three beads are just me noodling around with the fun silvered glasses.

There are some fun beads in this pic.  On the left and the bottom right are black beads with raku (multicolored glass chips, rolled onto the molten bead, then melted in), then twisted with a pink stringer (stringer is just a skinny glass rod).  Between those two is a white bead with Psyche accents.  You can see all the color variation and the way the Psyche fumed the white glass -- love it!  The two small beads on the opper right are three different kinds of silvered glass. Even if you don't see the silver explicitly, they're just a little shinier than other beads.

Now on to the beads I've made in the last few days... These are more twisted raku like the ones above, only these are in a lentil shape.  They will either be strung with the pendant above or be shipped off to my online beading friend.

Below are two more lentils made with silvered glass -- an experiment.  It's hard to tell in the pic, but they look completely different, even though they were made in exactly the same way.  It's both the charm and the curse of that particular glass (Michelangelo) that it rarely comes out the same way twice. The pink ones are earring replacements for my sister, who lost one.  And the large bead may be my new favorite.  I like it a lot.  It's the same base glass as my previous favorite, but the surface decorations are done with my two favorite silvered glasses, Psyche and Black Pearl.  Yummy.

And, last but not least, I revisited the guitar bead.  I figured out how to make actual strings on this bad boy.  Unfortunately, I didn't consider that I should have made a "pickup" or terminus for the strings to the south of the "hole" in the middle of the guitar.  And of course, during this bead is when my propane decided to run out.  I've had that tank for a year.  So this will be remade with a pickup, the strings will run where they should, the white decorative part will look better since that's where the gas ran out, and there will be tuning pegs.  I do think the strings look cool on top of the fretboard, though.

And that's all I have for you today.  I have some more raku beads and another guitar to make, but my hubby has run off with my camera, so we'll see when I get more pics posted.

If you could have a bead or bead set that represented you, what would it look like?  I always like a new challenge.  Comment me up!

Planning to Plan

I used to be really organized. Then last year I started working from home, and I lost my organizational mojo. It's amazing how a change in venue can mess with you.

Now, I'm working hard -- sometimes feels like treading water -- to find tools that work for me to re-organize myself, personally and professionally.

In my personal life, I'm giving Google Calendar a try. I'm in front of a computer most of the day, so hopefully GCal will keep me from double scheduling my often hectic social life.

For grocery lists, for our family, simpler has always been better: if someone notices something is out (or about to be out), it goes on a list, which is on an index card. It's a nice size to carry with you, and stiff enough to mark things off while you're wandering the store.

Now I just need to get back to the tried and true method I used to use of flagging and filing mail in MS Outlook. I've gotten lazy about keeping up with it, and I hate looking for things in my inbox!

How do you stay organized? Go over to Natalie's Whatev' Weekend post and see what other people have to say... but leave me a comment and let me know about yours!

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury

It's been a long time since I had jury duty, and I almost forgot I had it today.

Almost.

Fortunately for me, I was summoned to my local municipal court, which is about three minutes from my house. I got there a few minutes late to find a crowd standing around. I handed in my jury summons form and waited. And waited some more.

The woman who collected the forms explained that the defendant hadn't arrived yet. Bad form. Both for the defendant, who should be on time for trial, and for the clerk, who shouldn't tell the jury that the defendant is late (or so I would think). Isn't that prejudicial?

We were finally seated in the courtroom. I was Juror 27. That's a nice comfortable number, especially once I noticed the six juror seats at the front of the room.

Then they made us go to the back of the room and reshuffled us. I then became Juror 7. Uh-oh. That's not good, especially when two or three of the seats in front of me were empty.

The prosecutor told us the trial was for someone who had been pulled over for running a stop sign. He asked if any of us had gotten a ticket we felt was unfair. Several hands went up. He asked each of them for details. They were all for speeding, and none was issued in our small town outside Austin. I didn't raise my hand, but I probably should have; I was recently issued a speeding ticket in Austin for which the officer said I was going faster than I think I was. But no matter.

When they called the names of the jurors, I was among them. There were four women and two men on the jury. The prosecutor and the officer had prepared their case carefully: they had pictures of the intersection, video of the officer pulling over the defendant (useless because of wind noise), notes the officer had made on the back of the ticket.

The defendant had made a diagram on a small white board, and she told us how she knew she had stopped: she was turning left at the intersection, and there was a Suburban turning right. There had been a jogger crossing the road that the Suburban had to wait for before it could turn, and she couldn't see around the Suburban to turn left. So she had to stop in order to see. She described every detail and admitted to us that she had thought she was being pulled over for failing to signal the turn. And why else would you insist on a jury trial for failure to stop at a stop sign unless you felt you were not guilty?

The officer didn't remember the details of the Suburban and the jogger, and her notes on the back of the ticket were wrong; she'd said the defendant was turning right at the intersection, not left.

When we got in the deliberation room, it really just came down to this: we all believed the defendant. We took a quick pre-vote a few minutes after entering the room, and it was already a unanimous Not Guilty. I was elected foreman due to my proximity to the door, so I got to write up our verdict -- although the judge read it, which I thought was anticlimactic. We were dismissed before 11am.

The best detail of the day came after all that, though. I pulled into my driveway and saw my neighbor from across the street, which wouldn't be relevant except that I had heard his name called that morning -- he was supposed to be in that room with me as Juror #2! So I waved him over and informed him that he was in violation of state law. He chuckled, but when I told him he had jury duty, his jaw dropped. He had just forgotten, like I almost had. I told him that, since he's retired Secret Service, I thought he had just gotten out of it somehow -- hey, he's done his public service time, believe me. Then we joked about how his son, the local police officer, could come and arrest him. Good times.

This is my first time to get picked for a jury. I'm glad it wasn't a serious criminal charge. What's your jury duty experience? Been called? Been seated on a jury? Tell me about it!