Franky is a Star!

Little ol turquoise froggy bead Franky was beautiful enough to be featured on the wonderful website, Found Handmade.  There are so many gorgeous goodies out there for the frog lovers of the world.  Thanks to our friends over there for choosing Franky for the spotlight.  Have a look at the lovely grouping of handmade frog inspired creations they chose:

People often ask Guy why he likes to make frog beads so much.  He taught himself how to make glass beads by studying Corina Tettinger's fantastic guide to glass beadmaking, Passing the Flame . On his journey through mastering each unique technique, the one which continuously stumped him was that of her adorable frog beads.  She is truly the master at glass frog bead making!  He passed through the majority of her tutorials with fun and ease and practiced  them for hundreds of hours over the years but the frog beads alluded him for ages.  And when I say ages, I mean almost 3 years before he started making frog beads that he was really happy with!  He's very particular about the way the feet and hands come together, the thickness of the stringer he uses to make these features, the googley eyes,  the shape of the body, the way the body of the frog slumps over the bead, the way the joints of each limb connect to each other...

 

 For the amount of frogs that we have sold, we've more than likely given away roughly the same amount!  Which is not such a terrible thing.  Giving beads to people is a lot of fun and they are typically very well received.  We have left a trail of glass beads all over Texas, New York and Israel thanks to Guy and his generosity (or quest for perfection, depending on how you look at it).  As a matter of fact, he thinks some of his frogs are so bad that they are not even worthy of being donated!  He holds onto them as a lesson to himself.  I'm pretty sure we left those defective froggies somewhere back in America, though.  The way he learns from his mistaken frogs is by making a better one next time and the next time after that and the next time after that.

 

It's funny how beadmaking goes: sometimes you can be in the middle of making a bead and something goes wrong (a number of things can go wrong!) and you say to yourself, 'should I keep going or put down the mandrel and try again?'.  Guy always seems to keep working on the bead.  Sometimes he spends time correcting little mistakes he's made only to make the bead worse and sometimes he succeeds and it's a winner.

 

Kind of like life you could say!  I guess the point is to keep on trucking.  Eventually you will get things right.  And when he gets these gorgeous little creatures the way he wants them, they are truly a beauty to behold!  

It makes me think of me acquiring this new language, Hebrew.  If I don't try to speak with people, try to say what I want to say, then I won't get very far with it.  All kinds of things go wrong when I try to speak the language but depending on who I am speaking with, things can sometimes get better (as in they understand me) or get worse (as in they give up and just speak English with me).  I'm enjoying the process and not getting too frustrated along the way.  Maybe I should be?  Guy learns a lot from his frustrations, that's for sure, as he does on a daily basis with his bead making!

 

I'm learning lots of new things everyday: new words, phrases, slang, greetings, etc.  I'm not remembering everything I hear but I think the language is slowly seeping into my brain.  Just as the art of making glass frog beads has slowly seeped into Guy's brain.  And who knows what will result from all this learning going on in our lives?

Good night from the moshav,

Blanche 

Working with Legend

No matter what horse farm he steps on, Guy always finds one particular horse that catches his eye.  In the case of his newest farm, he spotted Legend pretty quickly.

Legend is full Quarter horse stallion and is only 4 years old.  He's still got a lot of learning ahead of him.  He doesn't have very much respect for humans yet, instead he likes to walk right over them!  Since last week was Guy's first time working with Legend, he took things slowly and worked with him in the arena for awhile, putting into practice techniques he learned from watching Dennis Reis and Clinton Anderson on RFD TV (back in The States - we don't have it here in Israel).

Their are all kinds of exercises Guy can do with him there to help him learn to respect humans and their personal space.  That is a big thing for a horse to learn.  I don't think they are aware of the fact that by their sheer size and mass that they can kill you.  So they need to be taught to keep their big ol bodies to themselves and to work with the human body. 

One thing that Guy really loves about this horse is that he's got a lot of white in his eyes compared to most horses.  It's a feature that our dog Chillum has, too, and I think it makes them look more human or something!  People always commnet on Chillum's eyes, that they are kind of haunting.

Also, when Guy is working with Legend, I often hear him say to him that he is quite the 'sarcan' ('actor' in Hebrew) and that he's got a goofy personilty.  Young horses are fun to be around because of their playfulness and lack of knowledge.  I guess kind of like the little kids that were visiting us for the weekend - they are still in a pure state of conciousness!  They haven't learned many behaviors, much less bad ones.  So it's refreshing, in a way, to be around a being that is clueless!  Guy really loves the challenge of working with these young studs and goes home with a huge smile on his face.

Guy took his time working with Legend from the ground before he went ahead and got on his back.  This is important because his wife is standing nearby and she doesn't want to witness him getting thrown off this beautiful creature.  Once he decided that the ground work was enough, he carefully hopped up on Legend and started trotting around the arena.  There was a flock of white pigeons hanging out with us.  They got startled away once Legend started to kick into turbo gear.

 

This horse, like most other animals, really wants to please.  He wants to work hard for you and give you a thrilling ride.  Like any other youngsters, though, he needs to learn how to do that.  He's got great potential and Guy is excited about working with him.  It didn't take them long to fall for each other.

I really enjoy times like this, when I get to watch my partner do his thing.  He's brilliant.  I love him with all my heart.  The end!

 

You can see some of the videos I took from this session over on our YouTube page.  Thanks for stopping by today.  Have a great weekend! 

Oz

This is Oz.

Poor guy has a fly on his ear.  He's usually got flies following him.  He's kind of smelly.  He lives next door.  I don't think his family has too much time for him these days.  But not to worry, he's taken care of and still has his manly equipment!  Lucky him (Dino told me to say that).  He's free and roams all over the street all day long.  His favorite past time is ... well, I'll let you guess.

 

Here he is barking at me.  Begging. Pleading.  Hoping that I'll do what he wants me to do.  But I've come out onto the mirpeset (front porch) to photograph Guy's new beads.  Not to entertain Oz and his obsession.

He doesn't give up easily.  After all, he sits outside on the front lawn and days go by before he might see a suitable partner in his obsessive game of ....

Lemon Fetch.  Yes, that's mister Oz's obsession: collecting any fallen lemons, and chewing them up while he waits for someone to throw the darn things.  Then he fetches it, comes back, sits next to you and laughs inside as he holds onto the lemon.  You think the taste would make any normal dog spit out this bitter fruit immediately.  But no, not Oz.  He's not a normal dog.

I try to ignore him, really, I do.  I am afterall holding onto a big camera with a big flash and a dish full of precious beads that Guy worked on for many hours.  To risk dropping all of this in order to play lemon fetch with this crazy, big black dog?  Sure!  Why not?  How many times has a gorgeous black Labrador asked you to play fetch with him? 

Who could resist that schnaaaawz?

Happy Turkey Day!!!

Feeding Animals .. again!

No matter where we have moved over the years, Guy always manages to find a gig feeding animals.  Usually horses.  And he has not disappointed us over here in Israel.   A friend called a few weeks ago asking him if he wanted some work feeding horses.  Guy said yes.  This job was right up his alley.

Here he is the other morning.  Bright and early.  I usually don't get up so early but I decided I should help him out a bit, even though he says he doesn't need my help.  It was nice for me to see the sun rise.  When it was hotter here, I got up earlier so I could beat the heat and get the dogs walked early on in the day.  Now that it's winter time, it's nice to stay in bed, warm and cozy under the covers.

We were greeted by these happy fellers.  They are always happy to see the dude who has come to dump grain and hay in their buckets.  The little kitty lives there with his mama and another sibling.  They are pretty shy of people and so far have not let me pet them.  I'm allergic anyways so it's better for me that way!

 

A big white rooster also lives there.  I didn't manage to get a photo of him. Next time!

The owner of one of the horses stopped in to give his sick horse a shot of something.  It was funny to watch them.  I snuck this picture of them, him and his friend, on their way to work apparently because both of their shirts said Avis - as in car rentals.  He looked very gangster-like with the cigarette hanging out of his mouth while he was filling up the syringe.

Instructions hang from each stall's door, informing us what each creature gets.  In this case: one cup of oil along with his one pitcher full of grain, and an extra 1/2 cup of aspeset which is basically condensed tablets of rich alfalfa hay.  See, I'm learning Hebrew everyday!

 

Guy hauls big bunches of hay in the wheelbarrow to each horses stall.  In America, the hay usually split up into smaller flakes but here the hay comes in huge, square bales that you simply tear apart.  It's very dusty so I have to take an allergy pill before I go near the farm!

 

So up he gets, each morning, practically at the crack of dawn to go and feed these gorgeous beasts.  I think he's enjoying it.  It's not a bad gig.  Time on your own with the animals that you love deeply, nobody telling you what to do or how to do and it and having a generally good feeling about what you are doing.  There are worse jobs one could have, no?

 

Exploring Tel Aviv Jewelry Shops and Opinionated People

Bernie the glass frog bead on a green leather necklace

I had fun touring around Tel Aviv the other day.  My feet got tired pretty quickly but it was fun to walk around alone.  So many faces and places and sounds and smells.  And in the cooler weather, this was fun.  I found my way to Gil Raphael which is the main glass supply store here in Israel.  It was a thrill to pick out rods of glass for Guy rather than order them on-line as I had done in the past.  We've only once lived close enough to a glass supply shops so the internet was our only option.  We're always jealous of those people in Oregon and Washington state that have glass supply warehouses on what seems like every corner! So in my excitement I went a little overboard and bought two big bundles of glass.  One chunk from Bullseye and a big chunk from Effetre, which comes in meter long pieces!  The sales guy kindly cut them in half so I could pack them in my bag. 

Another view of Bernie the Frog

I didn't realize they had a studio in Gil Raphael!  I overheard a man inquiring about classes and peaked into the back room where I saw a real live glass studio!  They do fusing, slumping, stained glass, boro, soft glass ... and probably a few more things I'm not familiar with.  It was nice to see a professional set up.  I left a cool froggy bead with the owner's son in hopes that they might ask Guy to teach a class someday.  I think Guy is a great teacher and it would be nice to get involved with glass artists and students here.  We'll see!

Madge the glass frog bead on a green leather necklace

Hill Tribe Silver flower charm

 Sometimes when we speak to people here about beads the general concensus seems to be, are you crazy? You spend time making tiny little beads and try to sell them online?!  I tell them that lots of people all over the world participate in this craft and make decent livings from it.  I don't know.  I love being in the Moshav but sometimes people just have no idea about art or creativity.  I guess the longer I live here the more funky people I will meet.  But for now most people seem very caught up in all kinds of other things besides art.  Maybe it's not that they have no idea.  I mean sure they know what art is in all its different forms.  They just don't see any importance in it.

Rodrigo the glass frog bead on red suede necklace

Forget about art... what about dogs?  I can't tell you how many people have told us straight to our faces that we are certifiably insane for bringing our dogs here with us.  SEVERAL!  One woman was completely puzzled by this.  Well, make that several woman.  Lots of people!  She told me that she thinks its a complete waste of time to care for a dog much less two dogs!  I guess one day we had joked with someone that they are like our kids and that woman heard that so she had decided that we equate our dogs with real, live children.  Of course we see a clear difference.  A dog is not a child, we just joke that they are our kids.   I didn't even know what to say to her.  That she was telling me that the last 11 years I've spent keeping my dogs happy and healthy has been a waste for me?  Do you even know anything about me that you could be able to surmise this?  I just smiled at her and told her how cute her little grandson was.  The little boy was having a nice time petting the dogs as his cranky grandma was busy judging me.  Hmmph!  Ironic, eh?  

Betsy the red frog bead on a red suede necklace

It's kind of worn off now but yesterday it came up again with someone who didn't know we brought our dogs.  It's funny - the conversation can go either way.  They either make really big eyes and give me a look saying you're nuts or they can say awwww that's so nice, good for you and good for the dogs! 

So... the more I write from here the more I realize people are the same the whole world around.  Not that I've been all around the world but I have been a lot of places.  I'm not too hurt by these things, I just enjoy noticing the way people act and react.  I love my dogs and am grateful that we were able to bring them here with us.  I can't imagine having to leave your dog at a shelter after having it for so many years.  Lucky for me my Guy feels the same way. 

Rudy the green glass frog on a rainbow bead

I was looking for leather necklaces in the jewelry supply stores.  I found a bunch of crazy colored ones but was disappointed that they closed with base metal clasps.  I usually make my own leather necklaces but I can't always keep up.  It's time consuming to make them with the little coils at the end.  Or should I say I don't always have the patience or desire to make them?  That's more correct!  So I caved and bought a bunch of the ones with the base metal findings instead of sterling silver.  Hopefully my customers will be able to see through the base metal-ness and see the catchy colors that match the frogs.  

It's fun to see our work evolving over here.  You just never know what might come next!  Guy has been busy helping out a friend who's wife is about to have a baby.  They are painting the baby's room today!  Between that and his new gig feeding at two horse farms here in the moshav, he's not had a lot of time to sit and make beads.  Yesterday he had some time and made some of his wonderful dotted beads in a nice color combo.  I will see about posting pictures of them later.

Right now I have an urge to go walk a new dog I met yesterday.  Her parents are gone up north for the weekend so she would probably appreciate a walk out in the field.  She's very cute - an Australian shephard with one blue eye. 

Thanks for stopping by!  See you later!

 

Dogs With Jobs

Heading out to the field

I've been getting up each morning recently and heading out to the pecanim with the dogs and a cup of coffee.  The days have turned a bit cooler and the skies are magical in the morning.  I'm enjoying the 'winter' here in Israel and have gotten to wear the odd sweater.  The 'pecanim' is what we refer to as the back of the 'meshek', the family land.  Guy's grandparents moved to this village of mostly Bulgarian immigrants in the 1950's and immediately started planting trees of all kinds including pecan, olive, lemon, grapefruit, kumquat.  They have both since passed away and the farm has sort of died along with them though there are still remnants of it.  So I like to go back there with the dogs and just sit and take in the air.  Their are lots of birds flying around and the clouds and big sky make the world very peaceful.  A good place to start the day.

 The dogs getting to work

Of course the military flies by on occasion, too, with their magical little helicopters and sometimes very loud fighter planes.  They are always on guard here, protecting the country.

Teamwork!

Chillum and Dino's favorite past time is searching for moles.  And boy have they hit the jackpot here.  From the first step into the field, I can see a handful of molehills.  I'm not entirely sure why these hills pop up on the surface of the land but they are funny to see.  The dogs best sense is their nose so they get to work immediately.  While I'm still strolling through the field, they are already hard at work digging for the little creatures.  This is not anything new to the dogs.  They've done this in almost every place we've ever lived.  They've gotten quite good at it.  Dino is a chow chow mix and I'm not sure they are known for their hunting skills so I think he's learned a lot of it from living with Chillum for so long.  She looks like a big border collie but her mother was actually a giant schnauzer which probably explains the need to hunt small vermin.  I've brought other dogs out to the field with them and nobody seems to interested in the moles, only my two.  They get really into it!  It's fascinating to watch them.

I think he just went that way.

They only actually catch a mole maybe once a week, if that.  They both take part in the finding of it and then usually Chillum stomps on it a few times.  I don't think they really mean to kill the little guys, it just happens.  She just wants to play with it but in the meantime it gets the fatal blow.  Then Dino comes around and carries it in his mouth for awhile.  You can tell that he's not really sure what he's supposed to do with it.  He just feels the urge to carry it and keep an eye on it.  God forbid someone else gets his prey!

I think he went THAT way!

Last night Guy and I went to the supermarket together and I asked the lady at the meat counter if she had any big bones with marrow inside.  She smiled and came back out with a giant big leg with the ends still on.  I guess they are the joints.  So she said she'd cut it into two pieces for us.  I brought it home to the dogs and they had a great time gnawing away at the pieces.  Chillum really loves these big bones.  She finds a solitary place on the lawn and gets very focused on the bone.  Dino on the other hand doesn't have the best teeth in his old age so he just guards the bone for awhile until he makes the decision to go ahead and start chomping into it. 

Hard at work!  But getting tired...

Can you tell I like dogs?  If I could I would buy every dog in the moshav a big, raw bone to chew on!

The tails are wagging, constantly. 

I know the neighbors down the street have a new german shephard puppy in their house.  I hear him whining and barking in his little puppy voice when I'm sitting out in the pecanim.  I almost want to go knock on their front door and ask them if I can take him for a walk.  I know he would love to come out to the field and play with Chillum and Dino.  Some people buy dogs for security although I don't know what they are so afraid of.  This particular house has a big concrete wall the entire way around the property and big steel gates.  So you need a dog on top of all that?  We'll see... maybe I'll meet them in the street some day and start a chat about dogs.

A decaying tree in the pecanim.  

I've been reading "The Places That Scare You" by Pema Chodron, a Buddhist monk.  This is one of the few books I took with me from my old house in New York when we came here to Israel.  Honestly I've had the book for about 4 years but never took the time to read it.  She gives the familiar message as many other spiritual teachers, highlighting different points along the way.  I've read and listened to so much of Eckhart Tolle and really understand a lot from his perspective.  It's comforting to understand another spiritual teacher and to hear similar ideas.  Here's a quote from a page I read this morning:

"In meditation we discover our inherent restlessness.  Sometimes we get up and leave.  Sometimes we sit there but our bodies wiggle and squirm and our minds go far awy.  This can be so uncomfortable that we feel it's impossible to stay.  Yet this feeling can teach us not just about ourselves but also about what it is to be human.  All of us derive security and comfort from the imaginary world of memories and fantasies and plans.  We really don't want to stay with the nakedness of our present experience.  It goes against the grain to stay present.  These are the times when only gentleness and a sense of humor can give us the  strength to settle down."                                                          

                                      

Tip Toeing Through Tel Aviv

 Yavneh Train Station

A woman in Tel Aviv saw one of Guy's frog beads at beautiful Yasmin's studio in Givatayim. She called us and asked to see some of the beads. I was supposed to meet her outside Gil Raphael last Wednesday but, um, somebody was passing a KIDNEY STONE that day so I couldn't make it. So off I went today, all by my lonesome, on the wonderful train system serviced by Israel's finest workers. I left home a bit earlier than expected because Guy's dad was going to Yavne around 11am and I planned to take the train around 12:30 to meet my potential customer by 2pm. So off I went at 11:26 in the morning from the local town train station.

Yavneh Mizrach Station - as in Yavneh West Station - as in Isaac Mizrahi!

I am very impressed with Israel's train services!  The trains are pretty much immaculate in comparison to some trains that I have ridden in New York.  I don't think I rode any trains outside of New York so unfortunately that's all I have to compare it to!  I brought my camera with the intention of taking many more pictures but I just didn't.  I was kind of shy I guess, to rip it out of my bag.  I already feel like everyone here is looking at me.  Such a ridiculous thing to think but the mind, as you must know already, can be quite insane!

 Looking east toward the mountains of Jerusalem

So I buy my ticket (in English, as everyone knows that language (for the most part, although they do give me a quick second glance upon my uttering of the foreign words) and take a few moments on the platform to document the event.  Me.  On a train.  By myself.  In Israel.  Hey, it may not mean much to you but it was a right of passage for me!

 

 Train parking lot

The photo above is just to show you that, hey, people in Israel drive their cars to the train station each morning and leave them there for the rest of the day, just like in the rest of the world.  Amazing how much we are all alike, eh?  The train approached on time, got to the station, the people got on and all was well in the world.

The train approaching from the south in the distance

There was a similar rush for the doors, just as at 42nd street, but not with the same underlying fear.  In Israel, people don't really push you without any care for what they are doing.  I guess it's kind of hard to explain. I probably need to experience more of it before I can start to understand it.  They push, but if you say, 'hey, I was here first, get the fuck out of my way' most of the time it seems that the other people will agree with you... It's hard to put my finger on it.  In America I think people take it very personally, the agressiveness in the cities.  Here, it's kind of expected.  I think I notice it this way because I am very laid back so people notice it even more.  They almost stop their pushing because their is no resistance from me.  They stop and look at me like, dude, is there something physically wrong with you that you can't push your way onto this train/bus/etc?  I'm still learning, mind you.. What do you think, Israelis?

   The train tracks heading north to Tel Aviv

 I find my spot on the train and am so tempted to pull out my little Digital Rebel because I know we are passing through the town of Lod (pronounced like it's spelled: lawwwwd) and their are a lot of camels outside the train station!  I think this is why I packed my camera to begin with, to capture the camels!  Because when we lived in the States, lots of people over the years would ask Guy, 'oh, did you like have a camel and like ride it to school?' ... So when I see a camel I giggle because they truly are not prevalent in the landscape of central Israel.  Maybe in the south or the north of the country a bit more, but not so much here in the 'center'.  But I didn't have the balls to pull out the camera.  I was afraid to be looked at .. and the sun was shining right through the window anyways.  So there!

 The big red train is getting closer!

The camels were munching on some hay under the shade trees far away from the tracks anyways.  I only counted three this time around.  I'll have to eek them out elsewhere.  I did notice sheep this time around, though!  I think they are Arab/Israeli farmers there in Lod.  I won't say much cuz I really don't know it at this point... And god forbid I ask Guy!  He seems to be more foreign to this land of his than I am!  Sometimes (more like often) he doesn't know how to translate stuff for me into English.  Yeah, very entertaining!  Especially when you are in the ER with said person!

The train is here!

I reach the station in Tel Aviv that I plan to exit from and make my way pass the Central Bus Station.  As our friend told me this evening, it's as if you are in downtown Bangkok over there!  It's the mecca of foreign workers - Thailand and the Phillipines mostly it seemed to me though I did see Chinese and Indian, too - making money changes and phoning home, using internet, western union, etc.  Kind of an odd place.  I was warned by Guy's mother before I left that I'd be passing by there and there was a lot of druggies there at night.  Well I passed by in the daytime and saw my fair share of nut jobs.  Hey, don't get me wrong - it could happen to any one of us!  It wasn't that bad at all but it was a different experience.  Too bad I don't have any photos!

The beautiful big, open sky over Israel!  I hear some big rain might be coming tomorrow!

I make my way to Allenby Street and have fun observing all the different people as I'm steadily walking down the street, not really knowing what's going to happen for the rest of the day.  My phone rings and it's Yasmin's student.  She's outside Gil Raphael.  I backtrack to meet her there.  We make our way to some public benches over by another shop.  She's enthraled with my baggies full of frog beads and buys one.  She says she's not a fan of making purchases off the internet.  I try to convince her to have more faith.  I guess there are millions like her.  Better learn to do it though because I think it's the future!  I guess I've lived in enough far away places that I appreciate the option to buy on-line.  Whether it is a book or a piece of handmade art - the opportunities we have to purchase from artisans all over the world?!?! Better start having more faith in e-commerce, folks!

After meeting with our first Israeli customer :)  I wander around the jewelry supply stores nearby, collecting a few small bags of cool, new supplies.  Of course I had to watch my budget since I'm technically unemployed but in order to make new jewelry, one must have some supplies!  I had fun picking out new colored rods of glass in Gil Raphael.  I spent more than I planned, but of course!  But was happy to bring back two big chunks of rods for Guy to play with.  I picked up some Bullseye glass this time around.  I love the colors they offer.  I think I need to start playing with glass beads since I am not allowed to work here yet.  Might as well use my time learning a little.  I'll still be sitting on my ass but at least I'm practicing the art of glass bead making.  I made three super-pathetic beads the other day so that's a start!

Some freaky ladybug type things on a decaying branch I spotted last week

All in all - I finished the day off feeling happy that I'm an independent, English speaking, satisfied and intelligent woman.  I think there is a lot to be said for that.  In certain circles of society, women are often perceived at various 'levels' shall we say.  I definitely do feel a bit of the machismo side from some Israeli men with regards to women in this part of the world but it's not all that different from the way I felt the energy from men, let's say in San Antonio, Texas or Phoenix, Arizona or the Bronx, NY.    So really it's just a man thing.  There is some reason those particular men feel the need to treat a woman as an object instead of a fellow human being.  And there are perhaps many more reasons why those said women will allow those said men to treat them in that way.  I don't confront men directly with verbal attacks here when I feel that vibe from them but I sure don't give them the attention they want/need/think they will get from that behavior.  I'm onto something here, right?!