moon and venus...

This was taken yesterday after sunset. If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you can see Venus up high in the branches to the left of the moon. The moon will be heading in that direction for a conjunction tonight. Not sure if I'll be able to see Mercury and Jupiter down low on the horizon unless I find a flat field somewhere, but it's pretty darn cold today ;0)

Here's some expanded info on these transits from Aquarius Papers.


And if the first photo is too hard to see, here's a bit more zoomed in shot.

photo opportunity....

from SpaceWeather...


NEW YEAR'S EVE: What a way to end the year. On Dec. 31st, Venus and the slender crescent Moon will gather together high in the southwestern sky for a beautiful conjunction visible for hours after sunset. The two brightest objects in the night sky can be seen through city lights and even fireworks--so everyone can enjoy the show. Meanwhile, closer to the horizon, Mercury and Jupiter are converging for their own Dec. 31st conjunction. This one is not so easy to see, but rewarding for those who make the effort to find the two planets shining through the rosy glow of sunset.

driftwood jewelry...

I found this website and blog(s) in a round about way. I just spent at least ten minutes trying to retrace my steps to see how I actually did find it ;-).
Jewelry and other pieces all made from driftwood found on the beaches of Alanya, Turkey (map to the left from Wikipedia.)



There's not a lot of information on any of the sites, but lots of photos.
First, the website YALOS,
the first blog YALOS ALANYA and the jewelry blog ALANYALOS.

And, how I got there? a little link under a photo at this blog Karin's Style Blog, which I found from a link on this site Lines and Shapes Connect Us, which is the latest project from one of the makers (mav) of the year long photo blogs 3191 a year of mornings and 3191 a year of evenings (stephanie is the other blogger.)

Lots of links for lots of inspiration!

an experiment...

Inspired by an ornament made by Lynn Davis...here.
The glass was etched using a rubber stamp. The technique uses embossing powder which is later removed after the glass is etched, but I liked the way the embossing looked so I let it stay.

























Here's a cute video from Ashley's Creative Corner showing how to etch....

winter solstice...