Boys will be boys

This little male Chaffinch has been keeping me company whilst I've been beadmaking all morning. He can see his reflection in the window and thinks it's a rival for the prime real estate of my garden (which is well stocked with bird feeders) and obviously the most des res in the area.

He keeps flying up and gesticulating frantically for the other male to depart but his efforts are in vain. He doesn't seem to be hurting himself but his persistence looks very tiring! I have tried to explain to him that rather than fight himself he should really be building a nest and then finding a nice young lady to settle down and have eggs with but he's not listening. I even tried taping white paper at the window so he couldn't see his reflection so well but it hasn't worked. He is undeterred.

I do hope he decides to have a family soon and so becomes too busy for such testosterone fuelled duelling. After a while it gets a little unnerving ... when he's still like this, it looks like he's staring at me. I've seen Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds", when some goldfinches appeared on the niger feeder and THEN some pigeons on the bird table, I decided it was time to come in ...

Please excuse Sue from attending her stall at the market today

The weather forecast was so bad for Cambridge both on the BBC and xcweather (which is often more accurate), that I decided not to do my stall today. Standing around in the damp only to make a loss after paying for fuel and stall fee just didn't sound attractive when the alarm went off at 5.45am this morning.

Instead, I have been sorting out my glass shorts (gosh, I may not need to order any more glass for months!) and also doing some jewellery photography.

I've been really bad at updating my website lately so I've decided the only way to go is to list them on my other Etsy shop, SoozJewels and here are the ones that I've managed to do so far

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Coppery highlights and a dog blanket

I went to see George (short for Georgina) yesterday and she sorted out the mess left by the other hairdresser and I also had some coppery highlights put in. These have inspired me to create the above new beads (but more of that later). First I have to tell you how absolutely wonderful George is, she has got my world back on an even keel. Before yesterday, EVERY day since my last hairdresser appointment was a bad hair day. George used to cut my hair when we lived close to Lincoln, I followed her around to 3 salons because she was so good. It was a sad day seven years ago when I went to see her for the last time before we moved to Cambridge.

These days she is her own boss running "Aspire" on 46 Clasketgate in Lincoln. She's now about an hour's drive away by the time you get through very heavy rain near Newark and get parked but well worth it.  I've put photographs of her work taken when I got home in an album entitled "New Hairdo" on Facebook, click the link to see if you're interested! (I've made it public so you should be able to see it even if you're not a Facebooker yourself).

The beads in the photograph are made using a custom frit blend which I mixed myself (secret recipe so don't ask for it!) This is the first frit blend I have created and I'm really pleased with it. I made lots of different beads with various base colours and techniques and the ones in the photograph are the best of the bunch. They came out brown and coppery to match my hair, there is a new brown spankle bead in there and an orangey twiddly twirly bead. I'll be going into production to make more of these so keep an eye out for jewellery made with them very soon!

Update on the wrist, it's still a little sore from time to time. I have to go back to see my GP next week to check he's OK with me continuing to take anti-inflammatories and wear the brace. But I know it's getting better, it's nowhere near as bad in the mornings; most of the time apart from the inconvenience of the brace getting in the way, I don't feel it at all. From time to time though doing something (like chopping carrots or operating scissors) will give cause for malediction and for some things I have to take the brace off for (like signing my name), I barely recognise my handwriting at all actually!

I even started tentatively knitting again yesterday. I am breaking myself in very slowly and knitting a square every night for a Battersea Dogs and Cats Home blanket. Battersea is asking crafters across the country to help its most sensitive dogs by knitting them a special security blanket. If you're a dog lover and a knitter and would like to take part, there's a free pattern download on the link. Share the love!

Five new bead sets and looking for my third hairdresser

I've added five new sets of bead just now to the Etsy shop including these. This is a brand new colour in the twiddly twirlies, I did a rusty red version, green and mauve one previously. Given how much I like blue, it's odd that I didn't do a blue one first, anyway the omission is now remedied.

I realised as I was listing that three of the other sets are also blue too but one is a red version of the new deckchair beads

Just got back from the hairdressers. This is my second try at finding a new hairdresser where we're living now. The last one did the cut OK but when she blowdried it, she did it all bouffed up and I looked like a middle-aged spinster, it was all very big hair 80s. She was pregnant, which I didn't know when I made the appointment over the phone else I would've chosen someone else - it's very traumatic changing hairdressers as it is without having to change AGAIN next time you need it trimming. Anyway, I couldn't wait to get home and get the straighteners on it before I was happy with it.

So I had to go to another hairdresser this time, I'm afraid she's given me the worst haircut I've ever had, I told her I wanted it straightening rather than blowdrying after the cut and so deliberately didn't have a shampoo. She didn't listen to anything I told her about my style (which had admittedly disappeared because it I've been putting off going). She has taken far too much off the back and sides and not nearly enough off the top and my fringe. I told her three times to take more off and I just couldn't face having to tell her a fourth time. She still blow dried it after she'd dampened it and I never saw a straightener AT ALL. Sigh. It will grow out I know but am left looking for someone else to cut my hair and due to the small amount she took off the top, it will have to be far sooner than I'd like.

My old hairdresser was a mobile one and she doesn't come out as far as where I live even though it's only 10 miles or so from our last place. All the other hairdressers I've been happy with have left to have families or are now too far away from here. I'm wondering if I could just go bald and shave it myself to save all the trouble, no-one would notice me going grey then ..!

Get the deckchairs out!

It's been lovely here today, warm sunshine, very springlike. These beads came out the kiln yesterday (and are now for sale in my Etsy shop), the narrow stripes remind me of deckchairs (and so does the weather!)

Can you tell I'm looking forward to summer?