RHODES CHARM and a SWEET KITTY

The closeness to the Turkish mainland is obvious in many buildings left from Turkish times... The Orient feels not far when you are in the magical alleys of the Old Town...

And here is a sweet cat in bliss! For all cat lovers: don't worry about the moment when I'll be leaving, Pippi is taken care of by my boyfriend! :) And I think she must have another home too, because she is well fed even when she disappears for a few days, she is always very clean and healthy and she never has kittens (meaning she has obviously been neutered)! And yesterday, when I kissed her sweet little head I think I could smell boiled meat (another house?)...

Hey Batter Batter

Jacob is my little baseball player. He loves to play ball with his dad. And he absolutely cannot play baseball without his new Mariner's hat. Plus, he already has a baseball player's name: "Jacob Palmer."

The problem: I think he inherited my hand-eye coordination. And my batter's stance. And my problems with balance. At least he will never have to learn to walk in heels. And he's got a pretty mean swing (and by "swing" I mean "full-bodied twirl"-- see 0:26).

Note: real baseball players don't need pants.

Getting ready for my jewelry exhibition on SYMI!

I'm really excited, I'm going to have a jewelry show on the beautiful island of SYMI this coming Monday! Symi is an enchanting little island just a few miles off the Turkish coast of Anatolia and quite close to Rhodes too (50 minutes by speed boat). Time seems to stand still here, as mass tourism has never arrived and never will. Wonderful neoclassical houses line the main town's natural harbour, and the white-washed alleys and stairs leading up the hills are just dreamy.

The Olive Tree, a lovely cafe on Symi, is going to host my jewelry show, and I'm so excited and thrilled! The Olive Tree is a lovely location in the upper village (Chorio), and it's really more-than-just-a-cafe, as Jenine and Tina offer so much more than lovely drinks and food! They host lots of interesting events, they organize walking tours and even art classes. So this is a great location for my show!

Snips And Snails

Jacob is two. Almost three. He is your typical toddler boy. He is opinionated. He is adventurous. He is ridiculously cute. He is Trouble.

Today we went an an impromptu morning trip to the park. I packed up our bag and we headed out on a nice walk. Jacob wanted to ride his scooter. For two blocks. Then he wanted me to carry it so he could chase a squirrel.



Then he wanted me to carry his scooter so he could sit on a rock.



Then he wanted me to carry his scooter so he could poke a snail. He quickly lost interest in playing with the snail and insisted that I let him take pictures of the snail instead. Exhibit 1:



15 minutes and 32 photos of Jacob's thumb later, we finally arrived at the park. Little did I know, the snail had also arrived at the park, via a toddler boy's pocket. (Luckily I was spared that discovery until pieces of snail shell tumbled out of his pocket during a potty break.)

Jacob went down the slide just a couple times before he spied some unsuspecting seagulls. No creature is safe, I swear. We chased seagulls all the way to the "ice cream store." That's when Jacob loudly proclaimed that he was "very thirsty" and "could we please get some water at the ice cream store?" I'm certain the entire thing was a ploy so that I would buy him a treat.

As soon as we entered the "ice cream store," Jacob looked up sweetly at me and said, "Can I have a treat?" What did I tell you? Do I know this kid or what?

I looked back down at him and asked, "What's the magic word?"

He thought for a second. His eyes lit up. And he said, "Abra-ca-dabra!"

RHODES!!!!!!!

I'm enjoying the first days and first impressions on my beloved Rhodes!

We have a sweet cat coming to our house... she is smaller than Zoe but she reminds me of her in color (although her spots are darker than Zoe's). I won't tell Zoe so she won't be jealous... :)

NEW ISLAND-INSPIRED RINGS!

Here are the new rings I created! I mounted my handmade polymer clay disks and the wooden beads with copper wire, adding a small polymer clay bead in a glowing mix of orange and gold. I love the look of these little "islands" floating on a magical turquoise sea...

And this is the second ring... similar but with its own personality, and different as they are both one-of-a-kind!

COLORFUL EARRINGS

Do you remember the colorful Cuban terracotta beads I had found in a thrift store? Well, I have decided to turn them into colorful earrings! I think they will be perfect for the summer!
I decided to keep them simple, so as not to distract the attention from the focal: these beads are a beauty!