Back home and back at the canvas

Arizona winter

It goes without saying that I've done a poor job keeping my blog up this winter. My excuse, are people interested in travelers that stay in one location for 5 months? But it has been a busy stay in our  Mesa location. With a lapidary and silver smith shop housing all the tools a rock hound and jewelry person could want, I turned out several finished pieces and have several in the works. And this years weather has been amazing! The pools and hot tubs have had a workout and the park has had some amazing entertainment! The latest trend seems to be tribute bands, the favorite to date, a band named "One of these nights" and yes, an Eagles tribute band that was spot on. Tomorrow night it's a Frankie Valli tribute. Just a few weeks before we start our slow trip home.

Time to stop and smell the roses

Caring for the 204 rose bushes on the west end of Mesa Regal is truly a labor of love. It's not often you have a job where you can actually stop and smell the roses!

Old is new again

I've been busy in both the lapidary and silver smithing shops. The shell neckless was made from shells we collected last winter in Florida. They had a certain smell that took some work to eliminate but I'm happy with the results. The second piece is a stone found in Yuma, shaped in Mesa Regal two years back by Gary and the design is a collection of material that my mother (also a jeweler) had collected while I was in high school. It includes half of a Boy Scout neck tie scarf holder. I learned the craft in my junior and senior year in high school. After seeing my efforts, my mother was excited to learn as well. She took a class at the local community college, and collected many of the materials needed to make jewelry. I have enough to keep me busy for a long time between her materials and my stuff. The last piece was done by my mother, I just finished and polished it. 

Keeping busy in AZ

Two of the amenities included in our stay at Mesa Regal are the lapidary and silver smithing shops. The heart is crafted from a stone Gary and I found hiking the desert, cut, shaped, polished and drilled this fall. The stone is jasper and the chain was my mothers. I have three other pieces in the works that I should be able to show in the next few weeks. In between the yoga classes and swimming. I'll get there.