Transitions

As we all feel the change over from Summer to Fall, it is especially acute for me right now. this is a segue in my life that has many transitions and transformations.

The first and most obvious is the fact that I am starting a new blog here at blogger. Along with that, I hope to be putting a renewed and enthusiastic effort into the process of maintaining an active blog. I have met and befriended many special people in my efforts to sell my Jewelry on-line. I hope to keep them up to date on the many facets of my life, as they do with their blogs. I really enjoy keeping in touch this way.

Another transition that has been developing over the past few months is my commitmet to work in Sterling Silver and precious gems. I owe this new adventure to a dear friend I met at Etsy. WhiteFluffyDogs was a friend before she ever bought anything from me. She saw me growing as an artist and knew it was time for me to break into the Sterling scene. With her gentle nudging and encouragement I finally took the plunge and have been having a great time with it ! Not only did I buy a bunch of wire and sterling findings and beautiful gemstones, but I also learned to Oxidize silver and bought other supplies to continue to try new things. It has been very rewarding and I continue to pursue the new ideas that have come to me as I explore the possibilities that have opened up to me.

I am proud to show you my first major sterling silver and precious gem project ! This beautiful bracelet shown above.

There is yet another transition happening in my life right now. Two full-time nurses have left the clinic where I work delivering Chemotherapy to cancer patients. We only employ three Full-time nurses, so it was a big blow to our staffing, which was never optimal. One exodus was planned for, as the nurse was leaving to teach at a local college. The other exodus was sudden, but not totally unexpected. Our army reserve nurse has been called to duty. She will back-fill for nurses going to Iraq. Her service will be in Louisiana, for at least a year. We can not "fill" her position, as it needs to be available for her when she returns from duty.

What does this mean for me ? I work part-time, by choice, so that I can have the time and energy to pursue my jewelry making hobby. For this to coincide with my new enthusiasm working in sterling silver is unfortunate, as it will interfere with my ability to follow through on that. I have agreed to work full-time to help fill in the shortage of nurses at the clinic. I can not do this for an extended amount of time, as I tend to burn out if I can not drink from the pool of creativity.

I also play guitar and must prepare for our annual memorial service at which I perform. We are a busy office that treats both cancer patients and hematology ( blood disorder ) patients, and although we do better every year to keep people in remission from their diseases, we lose about 200 souls per year. Many of whom have become like family to us. It is a hard job, but comes with many rewards.

I hope I can juggle it all and still have time to unwind with my craft. I will document my challenges and successes here for my friends to share. I find comfort and renewed spirit sharing with my interweb friends, sometimes even more so than those I have in RL. Thanks to those who follow my babblings, I feel loved, admired and supported - you know who you are ;>)