I have posted a couple of tutorials up on YouTube but neglected to pos tthem here!

This one is best watched AFTER one has mastered the Jens Pind chain. This video is for a graduated jens pind chain – going from a very small gauge, up to a large gauge. I make a pair of earrings in this tutorial, but one could use the same technique and apply it to necklaces/pendants/bracelets if wished.
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This January, as everyone is wont to do, I looked at my life and made some squishy resolutions — squishy because I knew I was not likely to keep them! More like, goals to head towards.

When we moved to Colorado, I left my full time web designer job, with the goals of making a good solid go of this jewelry stuff full time. Be successful enough to contribute to our family’s finances, and be here in our home so our kids aren’t in daycare.

A year and a half later, it seems like those goals really are happening! I don’t seem to need to go looking for web design work, so that’s a plus! Starry eyed visions of me at home getting all the laundry done with dinner on the table at 5:30 every night have kind of gone by the wayside.. but overall, this home business of mine is working out nicely for our family.
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Ender at the animal hospital, post surgery

Well, I hope I didn’t jinx poor Ender by introducing him and his sister Valentine on this here blog in my last post.
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Late last fall, we lost our dear 15 year old kitty, Friday.

I went to put the kids to bed and noticed that Friday was panting, as if she couldn’t catch her breath. I took her to the emergency vet and the news was not good. Heart failure, fluid in lungs and chest, not a lot we could do. James and I got her as a wee kitten when we first met, and lived together in Georgia. It is hard to say goodbye to the pet you have had your whole adult life.

The kids took it OK, we had some sad teary moments for a while.

Soon after, we adopted 2 sibling kittens from the same litter from our local animal shelter.

Friday was named after a Robert Heinlein book of the same name. We decided to go with the same sci-fi book character theme.

Introducing Ender and Valentine – named from Orson Scott Card’s novel, Ender’s Game.

Ender is mostly black, and has a very pronounced little face, kind of angular and hard. He is aggressive, and knows what he wants, and goes after it.

He often jumps straight up to my lap, and then my chest and starts licking my face. I will be sitting quietly, reading on my phone or watching TV, and then SUDDENLY THERE’S SOMETHING ROUGH AND WET RUBBING AGAINST MY CHEEK. It actually got to the point where it was unpleasant (kitty tongues are like sand paper!) and I had to teach him not to do that anymore. He needs no coaxing to purr, he is affectionately called “the purr bomb” because he just drops on you like a bomb, and purrs when he LOVES YOU, aggressively.

His coat is shorter than his sister’s, and had a rough, not very soft feel to it when we first got them. I researched cat food and we started them on what I think is the best (blue buffalo FTW!) and now, while his coat is not as soft or as fluffy as his sister, he is sleek and very shiny.

Valentine is about half white and half black. She is a skittish little lady, who talks and meows to let you know what she wants, even when I think perhaps she isn’t sure herself.

We debate on whether she is smarter than Ender at times — in the beginning, we thought for sure she was, but on reflection, I think that is because she is more cautious and will hang back whereas Ender rushes in without any reflection on the consequences of his actions.

She is a love, and a dream to hold, with her super soft fur, a slightly longer length than Ender’s. She meows and gives you her approval when you pet her, and sometimes deigns to curl up on your lap, but more often she prefers to sit on the couch by herself, or on the kitty furniture where she can curl up unmolested (even by petting). She can sometimes be a puzzle, letting you know with her meows that she wants SOMETHING, and she wants it NOW.. but then following her does not show empty kitty food or water bowl, so that wasn’t it, but still she will look up at you and mew incessantly.

They play together, sleep together, fight each other — which inevitably turns into bathing and grooming each other, and one is not far from the other at any given time. These pictures were taken in their first month with us, but now they are about 6-7 months old, getting teenagerish, a touch less playful, and more set in the day to day routines.

This photo is more recent — taken in December. They can be found in this box on my desk most of the time during the school day — I had to make them their own spot on my desk lest they knock everything over. They still sometimes jump straight to my shoulder while I’m working at my bench — very dangerous when I’m doing torch work!!

Our new kitties are a welcome addition to the household. And we will always miss our dear sweet Friday.