Cetta Cheese Chatter: January 2013

Well the world didn't end and I managed to make it back home for the holidays......The job in LA gave us 3 weeks off - and now they have extended it another 3 weeks - YAY!
Still deciding what my 2013 word for the year will be - last year it was PATIENCE (actually more like TOLERANCE) ...this year I'm thinking PERSEVERANCE or maybe FOLLOW THRU ...2 things I need to work on.....

What a whirlwind 5 months it has been...I did come home for 6 days in November for Thanksgiving - but it all went by so fast!
Here's a bit of a recap......

This is white tail, who doesn't come around anymore....

I am staying with Mrs.Thomas again while I am LA....her lovely home is in the Blair Hills above Sony Studios and it is so much easier staying there than a commute over the 405 to get to work each day. Country living in the city!

the bandits....there are 5 of them.

and this is gray tail...who OPENED THE SCREEN door, and proceeded to pull a bag of cat food outside....please note MARMIE the ginormous King of the House, just watching.......

you can see gray tail IN THE HOUSE on the right next to the open screen door.....

Feasting on the stolen food.....

We also have possums and foxes....

I am truly lucky and blessed!

I played with the Jool Tool today - polished a rock, and some bronze pieces.....

solid bronze hand cast pieces, a carved and polished rock...and in the upper left, a hand carved bird made from fossil mammoth ivory (eventually it will get ebony eyes)

Polishing was done with 3M polishing wheels only, going from 240 grit, to 400, to 1 micron to 6 microns.......very fast and clean and does a beautiful job..... when the Jool Tool and I are better acquainted i will do a review of it...
...The Bonnie Doon Vertical Vice is incredible- no more bracelet mandrels slipping, etc. As soon as I finish watching my Fretz Hammering and Forming videos (more great christmas gifts) I will try using the vise and forming tools to shape some copper....

Cool cabinet that holds all my new Christmas Tools my Dear Husband gave me for Christmas..........

On a more somber note, my Ex, and the father of my boys, passed away in October...I attended his funeral in Colerain, North Carolina with my boys - it was a real eye opener as to life and living each day to the fullest ...and I was very proud of my boys who planned a beautiful funeral - navy honor guard , et al.

Navy Honor Guard...there was even a live navy bugler who played taps......

The boys and I as well as my nieces Jenny and Britt had a wonderful time, despite the sad circumstances, meeting the boy's great uncles and great aunt, and (after 27 years!)my reuniting with their grandmother.....

dinner with the gang!

boy's great uncle

great Uncle Jack

Vince, Great Aunt Margaret, Sky

Then in November i had a momentous birthday, my son Vincent took me to a fabulous dinner at the pier in Santa Monica - fresh oysters, lobster, wine and ice cream cake...I'm sure we looked like quite the pair - a cougar and her hunky date - LOL

me and V

and then, my 4 sisters took me to Vegas for the weekend.....5 WILD AND CRAZY WOMEN behaving like bohemians..we had a BLAST!

In december, Vincent and I took a chocolate making class at Benchic chocolate. We learned to make ganache from home-made almonds and cashew milk, and organic, non dairy gluten free chocolates with ground cacao beans, honey, and cocoa butter. YUM - but way too rich!