Getting Ready...

I leave for my conference next week and I suppose that I should start packing ...  I'm really bad about sitting down and getting things into my suitcases.  I have a pretty good idea about what I want to have access to at the conference, but that is followed by a workshop that I really don't have any idea about.  And I still have to finish my charms.   Oh - my charms.  There is a charm exchange at the conference. I really enjoy participating in it and getting a variety of wonderful charms from fellow jewelers.  I made my charms (after many difficulties) out of Art Clay Copper.  I had planned to enamel them, but time constraints made me shelve that idea.  Then I was going to darken the sigil on the front and paint some of the back - I scrapped that also because I wasn't getting the look that I needed.  So after having repickled the metal and tumbling the metal again, yesterday morning I decided to liver of sulfur the charms, then I can hit them with the polisher and get them assembled.  I was dipping the charms and they darkened well.  I had the acid in a glass bowl on my hotplate to keep it warm.  When I picked up the bowl to dispose of the LoS, the bowl cracked into two and LoS went everywhere!  What a mess.  Of course I work in copper a lot, and I had pieces on my bench for other items I was working on.  I had to rescue them from the solution very quickly, then mop up the mess.  The studio, of course, smelled like sulfur.  Today I start polishing these cursed items and I hope things work well on this because my patience is coming to an end (as is my time - LOL). 
 

Mark Cavendish wins again.  He's one of the highlights of this year's Le Tour de France. 

Today is the final time trial for Le Tour de France.  Mark Cavendish won the sprint yesterday - the man is simply amazing.  Show him a finish line and he will accelerate to cross it first, no matter what.  That kind of focus is a good lesson for all of us in life.  Show us the finish line - goals to be achieved - and then focus on crossing that finish line first.  Of course, he wouldn't be as successful without a team to make sure he is in a good position to make his strike.  So while you are focused on achieving your goals, don't turn down the assistance of those who will help you achieve your success.  Have a creative weekend and enjoy the final ride into Paris on Sunday.  Vive Le Tour!