This is my Muse

This is my muse...

It is not the memory of some long forgotten teacher

It is not an inspirational mentor I once had

It is mearly a ring

But, oh, what a ring!



It was dug out of the ground by my husband and given to me


It is about 1,800 years old


And I give it many different stories...


Maybe it was made by a jeweler, way back when, who was trying to find the perfect gift to give his betrothed. She wore it everyday after for the rest of their lives.



Maybe is was used as part of a dowry needed for the hand of some lovely girl at the hand of a less fortunate tradesman.


Maybe it was used as a bribe to keep some sinful secret hush hush

Maybe it was given to a daughter as a loving gift from a father
who had made it with his own two hands




I have an endless pool of ideas on this ring

All I know is when I wear it, I am wearing the same ring
that was in the hands of the jeweler who made it eons ago


and I feel a sense of historical comraderie


It gives me ideas when they arent always there.


It reminds me of why I love doing what I do


It makes me smile when I am frustrated


It helps me accomplish what can sometimes seem impossible

And that it the best you can ask from a muse

a ring for every finger

Well, at least every finger on one hand- couldnt make 10 rings today without pulling out too much hair- so 5 it is...

I can tell I am entering a ring phase- don't know why it happens, but it does.

And now onto serious matters. What if you were to change yourself completely. Step out of your self completely. Like joining the witness protection program.

What would you become? I have been thinking about this today while I was deep in ring production and my music ran out and I was too lazy to switch discs. There are so many possibilities in the world that are just not me:

1. I will start to grow organic veggies, weave my own shoes and learn to play the lute. My nic name will be Sasha and I will smile at people even when they cut in front of me in the bank.

2. I will finally get a sensible haircut for "my age" and get my tatoos lazered off. I will clip coupons and always carry hand sanitizer and cereal bars in my tote. I will always have a "tote" versus a handbag and I will always be in bed by 11:00

3. I will become permanently cranky and start pushing my way in front at the bank. I will wear half length stocking even with skirts and eat oatmeal every day and possible Metamucil. My hair will go way to silvery and i will wear clip on earrings. i might acquire another cat or two. My kids will start calling me Ma'am.

4. I will start wearing cothes about 2 generations younger than I should, but my legs let me get away with it. I will wear too much eyeliner and make purring noises at young boys. Enough said!

But these are just options.....

Mara xo

on a roll...

Today was like a little jewelrt factory took over my hands. Some days, everything just works out- some days, all I do for hours is break saw blades. Luckily today was the first of those options.

Worked a long time on this scorpian. Dont know why I had to make it, but I woke up and just had to do it- I have no natural affinity to scorpians- or anything that crawls for that matter- but I HAD to make a scorpian- I am quite happy with the results- 36 little pieces later and many many hours of engineering:

Hope there are some scorpian lovers out there...

Here's a few more baubles I made today:

Hope this astreak continues tomorrow. Also, a big shop update tomorrow!

labor or love

This bracelet... has caused me to scream- throw things- curse in a truly disgusting manner- eat a large amount of chocolate- be snippy with my cat and finally smile.

Two days in the making and 39 seperate pieces, but i love it in the end!!!

This next one involved better behavior on my part, but the stone is so to-die-for that I might still made inappropriate loud noises occassionally

Now for a serious dilema:

If you were the last person on earth- and the earth was still full of food that was untainted, would you just eat as much as you want and just get fatter and fatter, cause no one is there to see you anyhow?

Well, I was presented with this question, and thought, NO -cause if I did, no doubt I would run into an obscure group of people who also survived and were restarting man kind- and there I am 300 pounds knocking on their door! Yikes!!

Also, I would prefer to be the last person on earth (plus a chef)

If I has a choice...

In the Kitchen

Kids are out of the house tonight and I feel like making a nice romantic dinner for two tonight! Here is what is on the menue:

1. cold cantaloups soup
2. fresh green beans (I hate them , but as an adult must serve something green)
3. whole wheat couscous with cranberries and almonds
4. grilled sea bass
5, lemon sorbet- HOMEMADE!!!

doesnt that sound refreshing???

A Day At The Beach

One relaxing Saturday at the beach with nothing but a book, and a chair and Umbrella. While Tamir surfed the waves, I did absolutly NOTHING!!! It was fabulous!!

Water clear green blue and as warm as a bath- jelly fish all gone- I forget how amazing the beaches are 10 minutes from my house!!! The Mediterranean is such a gorgeous sea!

Amazing view except for the mystery paddle ball queen

Tamir and his third child

And now to serious matters: There are a few things in the world that might make me one day go out and buy a gun and actually use it. This is the main one:

Number 1: people who are in front of you in the supermarket and take their time to pack without paying first, so those in line have to wait until they finish packing and THEN pay, so we can get our turn.

How difficult is it to pay, pack and be on your way?! Also, what's with those people who then after packing, start digging around in their bags for any form of payment, and cant seem to find it for like an additinal 10 minutes!!

Number 2: (still at the supermarket) when people walk up to you with only a few items and ask in an assuming way that they only have a few things and is it ok to go ahead- NO- IT IS NOT OKAY

That is why there are express lanes!!! And that is why we wait for answers before assuming things!!!

Obviously I had a bad day at the super today... sorry for ranting

Mara xo :)

De-carbing...

Not sure if "decarbing" is an actual word, but my oh my- I need to start! Ten days in Italy- non stop pizza, pasta, biscotti and gelato! Thank god for walking- jeez- it was a 10 day eating orgy!!!

Sicily was "nice", but not like the rest of Italy- Southern Italy in general is a bit run down. Not like Tuscany or Lake Como- so after a week in Sicily, we high tailed it up north a bit to the most gorgeous place on earth- the Amalfi coast and Capri. Blindingly beautiful... no words for there except- well, none actually...

Back to Sicily: The house was lovely, but creepy as expected. Many 16th century portraits stairing down at me from all walls. And my disturbed imagination to give them life led to a few sleepless moments!!

Here are a few pics of here and there:

On Top of Mount Etna

Worth Every Calorie!!

The view down from the top of capri

Altogether, I have over 400 pics, but there is just so much time I can figure out what to put on... Mount Etna was other worldly- as most active volcanos are, I would guess. And populated by millions of lady bugs- which also most active volcanos are for some reason.

Now, back to the jewelry factory- my hands has a 10 day rest- ready to get dirty again!!!

xoxo