Week three, in the blogging life of me!

I hope you've all enjoyed the three or so days of summer that happened this week in the UK. I’m a fan of being warm; having Raynauds Syndrome means when I’m cold or stressed the circulation decides to ... well stop circulating, mostly in my fingers but just for a laugh my toes and nose are affected too. So heat is definitely helpful in my life, however a 'heatwave' renders me incapable of wanting to do anything and that's not so helpful. BUT since the majority of the year is spent in a cold fog or persistent mizzle, I felt it was my duty to venture outside and “enjoy the weather”.

I spent one lovely afternoon on a cliff edge “enjoying the weather” in Tintagel, which actually was a pleasurable experience. Gorgeous views of turquoise and deep blue sea and picturesque cliffs, the sound of waves crashing below and the distant cries of seagulls. Very enjoyable until I had to walk back up the very steep hill on one of the hottest days of the year, thighs wobbly from bracing myself on the way down so I wouldn’t fall on my behind, and lungs burning from the exertion and breathing in hot air. Added to this was the realisation that the cool breeze I’d felt while enjoying the stunning views had been hiding the fact that I’d turned a glowing red colour where I’d missed patches of skin with the factor 50. So that was the result of my day in the sun; burnt, exhausted, verging on an asthma attack and walking like a 120 year old for the next two days!

As always there was a plus side, which took the form of sitting in the shade getting on with some more tree work the following day. I even managed to post up a short video on how I do bead and wire twists.

This short clip demonstrates the basic method of how every single tree I create is made; the only variation really is the number and type of beads, and the way it’s put together.

Speaking of putting trees together, a Facebook memory came up this week of the very first tree I made. It was a spindly looking thing made from uncoated copper wire and some gemstone chips that I’d removed from some old bracelets I had. It’s no longer in existence because I took it to bits before my last house move, but it was a timely reminder of how far I’ve come and it made me smile. That straggly tree made with some scrap wire and random gemstone chip beads opened up a world of possibilities and fired my imagination. Thanks scrappy tree for being part of the inspiration!

❤