This, That, and Some More of This and That - LOL

So we now enter the weekend. It's Saturday, a usual day at the shop for us, and then on Sunday I'll have to work from Noon until 4:00 pm for our second of three Sundays open. Last Sunday we had no customers (but we got a lot of computer work done, which was essential). Historically, we don't get many/any customers on our Sunday hours, but it's a convenience for our customers, nonetheless. It also means we can get some more work done on the massive project that DH started about 2 to 2-1/2 months ago - repricing ALL of our precious metals products. That's a LOT of product - everything from earwires and earposts to Sterling Silver wire that we sell by the foot. 

If you're really interested in how precious metals pricing has 
changed over the past 100 years, here's an interactive link 
for you. 
https://www.macrotrends.net/1470/historical-silver-prices-100-year-chart
The big spike in 1979 was when the Hunt Brothers were cornering 
the market, but wee broke through that high and moved back 
down. Now we've been climbing again. Today we're at record highs. 

The metals market has gone through the roof, and for years we've been putting an "adder" onto each sale. The adder would be determined by the daily market price of precious metals. DH knows that during our closing sale, we simply won't be able to do things that way, so he dove into the HUGE task of repricint our sterling silver components, as well as our gold-filled and our 14K gold items. I actually think he's getting to the end of that project, but it's been his nightmare over the past eight weeks or so. 

A certified copy of a court decree can only be obtained 
through the courts and, of course, has to be purchased - LOL. 
I bought six certified copies from the court last week, so 
that I can get my driver's license, passport and social 
security changed appropriately, and still have a few copies 
in reserve "just in case". 

I received my certified copies of my official name from the courthouse yesterday. Now I can set up an appointment to get an updated driver's license as well as get a passport going. I haven't had a valid passport since the late 1980's, and my driver's license is set to expire early next year. I'm not sure I'll have the time to deal with the driver's license until 2026, but DH's birthday is this month, and his license will expire on his birthday, so he actually has to get in. He did as much online as possible, but was unable to make an appointment online, so he'll have to be at the License Bureau as soon as they open in a week or two. As I recall, they open at 7:30 am, so not horrible. 

I'm expecting a questionnaire from Travis that both 
DH and I will have to spend some serious time and 
effort on. All of our publicity will be based on what 
we answer and the history that we provide. We'd better 
be comprehensive. 

We're waiting on Travis to send us the next part of our business closing stage. It will be a lengthy questionnaire, and we should take our time with it, and really fill it out with paragraphs of information, if necessary. All our promotional materials, etc will be based on our responses to the questionnaire. I'm anxious to see what the questions are, and I'm sure DH and I will have different answers to almost all of the questions, but we'll see. 

So, I'm wrapping this up, having a quick breakfast, and heading to the shop. I have a bunch of stuff to do, and need to maximize my time today. Have a great weekend and I'll be back on Monday. Slava Ukraini. 

Shining and Polishing - New from Old and Spiffing Things Up Again

Can you believe it's almost mid-summer? Solstice is on Sunday, and I haven't even shared my Winter Solstice cards with all of you yet. Life got in the way. So, my intention is to share those wonderful cards from friends and relatives throughout the world with you to celebrate Summer Solstice Eve - Saturday. If I end up with too many images to share, I'll push on into Monday and bookend the Solstice. 

My "Moons of Hecate" pendant is pewter, so it
 won't catch shine as much as my silver pieces, 
but it is scuzzy and needs a good cleaning. 
It's been a favorite of mine for many years 
now. I originally wanted this design for the 
tattoo I have at the back of my neck, but 
the particular artist I chose was unable to 
handle the detail, so I chose a different 
triple-goddess symbol instead. It was quite 
a few years ago. I don't think I'd compromise 
now. 

I'm bringing a couple of items to the shop today to drop them into the tumbler I keep there. I've been wanting to make simple necklaces from stones lately - maybe one more aspect of grounding for myself. On Tuesday I purchased some amethyst I've loved for a while, as well as some glass to go along with it. I'm thinking about pairing them with an old pewter Hecate pendant I've owned for more than a decade - a long-time favorite of mine. 

You're probably familiar with the basic Celtic 
triskellion - the triangular shape, often with 
spirals in each of the three lobes. My triskellion 
pendent is sterling, features a Pentacle in the 
center surrounded by a full circle, and has 
the waxing and waning moons in the bottom 
two lobes with a small cabachon of amber 
at the top. It's the sun and the moon all tied 
up in a neat, small package. Perfect for me. 

I'd like to polish my triskellion pendant too. This is a standard Celtic triskellion with a pentacle in the center that DH purchased for me years ago. I wear it and love it. I'm also taking a close look at a fabulous enamel piece DH bought for me for another anniversary - this is from Magick - enamels I had lusted after for many years. I adore the piece, I'm always seeing something new in it, and their skill with colors and the depth of their enameling work is stunning. 

The enamel pendant I have is in this 
style, but with much better coloring, 
some blues and greens on the right, 
purple on the left, with a swath of 
yellow instead of the purple above. 
It's small, but so beautiful. I've known 
Fusagar on and off for many years, 
and this was the final year we were 
able to meet. I'm so glad I had the 
chance to get one of his pieces. 

So I'm doing some cleanup today, and maybe some creative work, and I'm sure DH left me with a whole bunch of computer work still to do. My general suspicion ... I won't be bored today - LOL. I hope all of you have a wonderful and productive day. I'm going to do my best, and I'll be back tomorrow. Also, of course, please be kind and stay safe. 

Sunday Was A Day Of Cleaning

Yesterday's goal was to catch up on some really needed sleep and to polish things that I needed to get back into inventory at the shop. There's nothing like polishing sterling silver chains that have been buried and unfound for more than fifteen years. Icky tarnish. I had polished them a week or so ago with a dip, but wanted them brighter and shinier, so Sunday's task was using a foaming-style rub-on cleaner. It took time and elbow grease, but they look much better now and I will happily have 18" chains for sale at the shop once again. 

There's something really wonderful about bright,
shiny silver. It tarnishes fairly easily, though, so
keeping it happy and shiny takes a bit of work. 

DH said he wanted me to unpack the four boxes stacked next to my red tool chest, separate what could be put on the breezeway soldering bench (not much, since it's not a heated space) and get the inside stuff put away properly. That took most of the afternoon, but I achieved success. I now have my chest refilled with my tools and materials, and my drawers are labelled appropriately. I can actually find things! It's a shock, I know - LOL. There's still so much to do, but we're actually getting there - things are working and the inside spaces are starting to get organized and cleaned. 

I love my tool chest, and now that I have my stuff back in it, I'm
even happier. I've put things away and I've labeled my
drawers. There's still organization needed, but at least
everything is where it needs to be, not buried in boxes. 

Another wonderful and happy things from yesterday was that both of our respective football teams won their games. That's a rare thing, and I was totally smiling when I went to sleep last night. All in all, it was a good Sunday. Now to see how the week ahead pans out, but I'm the eternal optimist. It's going to be a great one! Hope you have a wonderful Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. 

Back to the Designing Board...

So, after e-discussions with a fellow enamalist, I decided to order some Ferric Nitrate for etching silver. I did buy two small containers yesterday to be used with silver. I don't need to go as large as I do for my copper etching since I very much doubt I'll be etching the quantities that I tend to do in copper. I standardly use a large quantity of etching solution for my copper and usually am etching up to 20 good sized pieces at a time. But, I figure since I'll be etching silver for my trees project, I should probably design at least one other piece to go into the etchant also. So, I'm going to design a cuff bracelet to get etched also.

Yesterday I set up my new photography lights. What fun! They are awesome. They aren't making the shades super hot, they have long life full spectrum bulbs, and I get great lighting. I should probably get some new scatter sheets because the ones that I own are small for the diffuser that I use for my products. I also want to look into some different lighting and positioning for my items. But for a first time, I'm happy. I'm posting one of my "Peter Rabbit in Hieroglyphics" etchings that I did two-three years ago. This piece was etched on 20 gague copper, hand painted, and then protected with clear epoxy. It was a very intense project, but a lot of fun.