Catching New Ideas

Some people talk about 'dry spells,' writer's block, general doldrums & creative apathy. A lack of ideas (though granted they aren't all ready for prime time--evidently my enthusiasm for my invention 'Yonuts' (frozen yogurt filled doughnuts) was purely my own) was never the issue. Hours in the day--the real problem. 

When my ex & I had the used goods warehouse store on St Croix years ago, I had to train myself not to see potential in everything that walked in & out of the door. That evidently requires periodic retraining, because my house is pretty full of stuff that only I see as having possibilities.  I'm OK with being alone in that vision, as long as plans & ideas come to fruition every now & again. Thanks to some help (ranging from opinions to heavy lifting) from my friends, several plans are becoming real this summer:

1.  I finally exchanged the cursedly mundane brown trim on my little house for a refreshing dark cool grape.  

2.  The porch ceiling was my first foray into what I intended to do since I bought my 70's house in 2008--paint ceiling & beams all one seamless color. I'm so pleased that next week the rest of the ceilings will become one big creamy white united front as well.  

Then last week I used some stuck at home with respiratory crud downtime to polish off another lingering unfinished project--this one:

I call it 'Big Clay Pots Painted Green, topped with Plants & Filled With Sea Glass"

But you can tell from there they're full of ...potential!!!

Puzzle Prep?

Today's project--FULL of sea glass!

Happy purple bromeliad on a new table

Before Sudoku, before the Rubik's Cube, before Space Invaders, there were these little puzzles with plastic tiles in a plastic frame & they would slide in only 2 directions (evidently diagonal hadn't yet been invented in the late 60's). I don't remember the object but my fingertips have a memory of how the puzzle felt in my hands as I pushed the tiles up, down, left, right. It was really rudimentary.

Who knew I was learning such a useful life skill?  In a small house with a lot of stuff I spend a lot of time trying to create, improve or relocate some mode of storage. 

Today's project was to paint gigantic clay pots bright green & fill them with the sheer tonnage of sea glass I've collected here over the years & have been storing in tarp-covered under-bed chests on my porch. Once full, I covered the pots with sheets of plexiglass & placed some of my many plants on them. They make wonderful side tables & plant stands & they aren't about to blow anywhere in a storm. And now I can get rid of those ugly plastic chests. I used 3 med-lg & one enormous pot today & offloaded the contents of one large & almost 2 medium plastic chests. It worked so well I'll be back at Home Depot tomorrow buying 4 more pots & four more sheets of plexi. I have enough paint. 

I know these numbers will be enough to hold the contents of the remaining 3 chests because in the 70's & 80's I learned another outmoded skill: Algebra. My favorite formula is 'this is to that as that is to 'x'.   When you live in a compact home, you use that one a lot.  

Oh, & the final result of all this puzzling & calculating should be a cleaner looking porch with more usable, non-plant-covered tables. Drinks will have a place to rest, & there will be room to serve dinner for 6.  And when I'm ready to sort sea glass for my next batch of angels, jellyfish, crabs or Jumbies, I'll have a lovely & practical way to do that....and more time to play Scrabble!

St. Croix Summer

Andrè Millar, a fave orchid 

Summer in St. Croix is a pretty wonderful, lazy thing. I look forward it like teachers must--lists of deferred projects made, edited, lost, recreated & usually forgotten when the flat, clear, signature 'Tiffany blue' of the Caribbean Sea calls. The sea calls to me year-round, but I'm able to answer more often when cruise ship port calls dwindle to one stop every third Sunday. And there's the yin-yang summer bonus cache of sea glass unearthed by tropical storms on their way through our neighborhood. I'm also addicted to seeing my favorite fish--a jr. Puffer type with his perpetually surprised expression & his two young French Angelfish friends. This summer I've never snorkeled alone, having a friendly entourage of very pushy 3"-4" long silver fish with me at all times. They swirl around me as I gather glass, & actually head-butt me sometimes. I call them Mumifish, named for my pup who uses similar tactics to get my attention.
Despite all the time spent 'self-brining,' I am getting some projects done, including a few house face lifts that have had a similar effect on my mood. Regular roof maintenance turned into trim work.  Trim paint (deeeeep midnight purple or 'Grape Ape,' as we've taken to calling it) quickly segued into porch ceiling paint (also 'Tiffany blue) & so on. I've put pics in a 'Projects' album on my personal FaceBook page (add yours to the comments section on this & I'll 'friend' you if you'd like) & new sea glass designs on www.facebook.com/FromtheC.

I finally opened an Etsy storefront at www.etsy.com/de/shop/fromthecstonegems.
I also post lots of pics of the orchids & fruit I grow on FB. Pineapple season in my yard was particularly splendid this year, with 21 beauties quickly dispersed & dispatched by my friends & myself. I even got around to boiling the peels this year to make a delicious unsweetened juice I used to bump up the flavor quotient in banana bread & muffins.  Mixed with light cran juice, the pineapple juice makes a really refreshing drink too.
Speaking of which, I'm about to have a glassful & toast to your lovely, lazy summer, wherever you celebrate it.

Happy

So I had an appointment that I expected to be quite somber this afternoon.  Instead I left the spot with a snappy tune in & a ridiculous grin on my oh so round head.
A friend was recently diagnosed with a serious medical problem, one that caused her to lose her voice (temporarily) & those who knew her to gain some worry furrows. After several postponements of our regular standing monthly appointment (while she was off-island for treatment), fear & anxiety were building their walls on the foundation of the unknown.
  Earlier this week I finally received the call setting firm the appointment & by the time I arrived at the designated spot today I was twitchy with uncertainty. After I've known her for 2 decades would she look/sound/feel in some sense different or diminished?
When she opened the door the music fairly bounced out the door. My friend is a diminutive person, even so I've always marveled at how unfailingly perfectly put together she is, with the final detail always a spiky pair of beautiful heels (despite the fact she works on her feet for hours at a stretch.) When the door opened this afternoon I expected flats & probably an outfit more suited to comfort than style.
She wore a perfectly cut red dress, her black apron & a gorgeous pair of strappy leather high heels.  Her voice is back, as is her smile. The only visible change is a narrow clear strip of bandage at the hollow of her neck. After the initial relief, I relaxed & only after 20 or so minutes had passed did I become aware of the song, the soundtrack to this surprise. It was Pharrell Williams' 'Happy,' from 'Despicable Me 2.'
My appointment was at 4:30 this afternoon.
She had been playing 'Happy' on continuous repeat since 9 this morning.
No one complained.

Streamlining Your Stuff

I'm reminded daily of George Carlin's old routine on 'stuff.'  He talked about how we're never comfortable unless we have our stuff with us--whether it is placed all around our home or workspace, or packed in smaller versions in our luggage when we travel. The smart phone & tablet were both created in response to this need, & I'm just as codependent on them as most people.
But here I'm talking about a more tangible version.
The best version of stuff is a ziplock sandwich bag with my driver's license, a pack of gum & a ten dollar bill inside. Paired with towel, snorkel, mask & mesh collection bag, it comprises my most streamlined stuff, & is all I take with me to snorkel. I don't take stuff to change into, or swim fins (HATE confined feet, on land or in the sea). I don't take my phone. If you're really my friend, you know I'm in the sea between the hours of 4:45 & 6:30, but that I can be reached in person there or you may leave a voicemail.  Since I don't 'do' my hair or wear makeup other than lipstick, I can be showered, shampooed, dressed & ready for dining out by 6:45.
Stateside stuff involved coats/gloves/umbrellas/hats/shoes/boots/scarves/briefcases/travel mugs/book bags & backpacks.
I love my little Baggie!

Chicken Foot* (*-note)

So somehow I managed to leave the discussion of St. Croix Agrifest 2014 without mentioning my absolute obsession from that event. I am completely fascinated by and totally enamored with...wait for it...the chicken tractor. Yes, I said the chicken tractor.
Perhaps you, like me had never heard of such a thing.  Or even better, perhaps your brain is conjuring up a picture of a rooster driving a John Deere.  But no! A chicken tractor is in fact a system rather than a vehicle.  Every evening as I was leaving the fairgrounds I had to pass the chicken tractor. It was actually an open work mesh pen or enclosure with no floor and roosts built for the chickens.  I would pass this apparatus every evening as darkness was setting in on my way off the fairgrounds. It was home to several of the best looking, fittest, chunkiest chickens I have ever seen.  I marveled at
how plump and soft feathered they appeared when all our local chickens look a little tougher and
more sinewy.
And on the final evening when I slowed down to read the educational sign attached to the chicken tractor, I discovered the reason for their fitness was the design of the gizmo.  It was in fact designed to give them a better life. The fact that it has no floor allows the chicken farmer to move the enclosure from place to place so that the chickens will have fresh green grass, grubs etc. to scratch around in.
Oh, and it was called the chicken tractor because the group of chickens within the coop performed many of the functions of the tractor – aerating the soil, keeping the grass down, and obviously fertilizing the area.

So here's to the chicken tractor, and to the many innovations and ideas that changed hands and heads during this year's Agrifest!

Chicken foot*(*note):  if I wanted to get crazy with the metaphors as I am wont to do, I might say something here about what the chicken tractor means in the big picture. I have two theories about why this thing fascinated me:

1.   Perhaps despite being able to see the larger realm, we're each given our own parcel of life, with boundaries real or imagined. The trick is to make the very best of what we've been allotted, & improve it if we can.  Or conversely…
2.  Perhaps some of us are just waiting for the moment when the coop is lifted and we can make a break for it!

Too Long at the Fair

Sea glass pendant on 'bamboo wrap' band--the big seller at AgriFest this year

(See more at fromthecjewelry.com)

So the St. Croix Agrifest is over for another year. I followed a dump truck full of fair remains up Queen Mary Highway  this morning, & every time he hit the brakes, a balloon would fly out of the bed of his truck & drift away. Late yesterday you could tell things were winding down. Babies & toddlers were cranking & whining. Happily exhausted crowds flowed by with glazed unseeing eyes.

The slamming of legs on folding tables rang from several vendors' booths, & the family members who had set up supportive encampments behind booths bagged their sling chairs & grudgingly left their posts. Most had been there two or even three days of the fair, each covering the 'sales floor' for the vendor at some point while they went off to stretch legs, to buy the local delicacies made specially for this event, or just to see who & what they could in those short breaks.

As we took practiced shortcuts to avoid the inevitable traffic snarls of vendors trying to bring their vehicles onto the grounds to haul away displays, a gorgeous glow arose from behind the plant display building--a lovely sunset to this 43'rd annual event. Sitting in traffic on the short ride home, my mind ran to ideas for new designs for next year's fair. Visions of larger, hoop style earrings, new charm bracelets & anklets slowly paraded by my mind's eye. Despite having created well over 100 new pieces during the 3 days of the fair, I seriously considered unpacking my tools when I got home... & then I lapsed into a sofa-coma & left that for another day.
See you next year!

Before the parade passes by

Greetings from day two of  St. Croix AgriFest 2014!  The day started out rainy and gray but ended up
as colorful as a rainbow, with every possible shade of madras plaid on the many family members that went by.

Quadrille dancers in full regalia--swishing plaid dresses  & matching starched head wraps with white eyelet trim--paraded by one after the other, bound for the stage and a lively performance.  And I survived the second full day of torture, watching patrons go by burdened with bags and boxes full of gorgeous & colorful tropical plants that I would most assuredly have spent every penny I have on, if anyone had been foolish enough to watch my booth.

Just some of what I made in preparation for the fair...see more at  fromthecjewelry.com

Eager culinary students met in the Innovative tent in the morning to compete in a test of culinary skills and knowledge.  And speaking of eager, Stephen O'Day and his famous donkey Eeyore came by, giving happy children rides through the fair.  Those not brave enough to ride walked along, gesturing excitedly.  One little boy just stood stock still, gaped at the furry, friendly beast & squealed.

Even bigger squeals came from adults running into people they hadn't seen for years. Agrifest is always a source for homecoming and a lot of people come to visit their families during this special time of year.  Some people come home for Cruzan Christmas carnival and some people come home for Agrifest... and some people come for one and stay through the other!  There were college students home on break, running into old classmates, schoolchildren running into current or former teachers,  and just a general whole lotta catching up going on.  I must've overheard the question how's mommy? About two dozen times today.

Also eager and enthusiastic were the two impromptu interns that helped me sell today, Naomi and

D'Janee.  They pronounced my work their favorite at the fair and when I commented that their clothes even matched the colors of the booth and that they could be spokes models... they took me seriously.  They pitched to passersby in the street for about 20 minutes before their enthusiasm flagged and they moved on, but I was very happy to have them there. They were bright and sunny and despite their age (probably 11-ish) would be an asset to any company lucky enough to have them.  Thanks girls!

Agrifest-A-Palouza!

It is that time of year again!  This long weekend is Agrifest & St Croix has looked like an anthill all day, with everyone scurrying around corralling their products, plants, piggies, preserves, pickles & in my case. PENDANTS.

See more on www.fromthecjewelry.com 

I've been working like crazy prepping & primping, & I can say without equivocation or reservation I've got an array of some of the most beautiful sea glass pieces I've ever had in one place at one time.

From the C 2013 Agrifest booth

From the C 2014 Agrifest booth

This year I'm in exhibitor booth number 3, almost directly behind the Ag Department offices. I hope you get a chance to stop in, to say hi & let me know how you're enjoying the Fair.

Moko Jumbies at the Fair

On Poseidon & Procrastination

Pendants I make with my sea glass finds (www.fromthecjewelry.com)

Last night’s swim was an afterthought…that morphed into unfettered joy.  More about that in a moment.  First, a note about procrastination, a favorite hobby. 

Turns out I can procrastinate about anything—even things I LOVE to do.  Swimming is the perfect example.  One thing you’re accustomed to stateside that you give up here in the Caribbean is the notion of twilight.  We just don’t have it.  We go from sunset to full darkness in what seems like the flip of a switch. 

After 21 years here, I’m used to that & don’t really miss it…until I’m taking my after-work swim.  If I start for the beach at 4:45 I’ll have a full hour to swim & search for sea glass before I’m plunged into murk & everything I pick up looks like or is a rock.  I live 12 minutes from the beach, door to shore.  Sunset now is at 6:10, & I’ll be able to see my quarry for exactly 6 minutes after that & before everything that brushes my leg as I swim becomes an imaginary eel.  I love all sea creatures, except eels.  They are basically big-mouthed snakes underwater, some with the added fun of being electrified, & who needs that combo? 

I keep my towel, suit, mask/ snorkel & collection bag on a hall tree I painted aqua to go with the other craziness on my porch.  I like to have them all together & ready, like a firefighter’s gear…except I’m going to water, not fire.  I’d always be early to swim, if it weren’t for Sun-dried Tomato flavor Wheat Thins.  I work through lunch & I’m hungry when I get home, hence the allure of the aforementioned.  Crackers lead to water, then to mouthwash & tooth-brushing before I jump in my gear & head west. 

Non-Judgy Mu, Happy I'm staying home

And when I’m running late & my dog looks at me judgmentally for thinking of leaving her again after being at work already, I sometimes lose resolve & end up staying home.  Of course I never know what I missed at the beach, but it is human nature to think that you’ve missed something great by being a slacker & staying home…& I am human despite my gills. 

So last night I answered the Wheat Thins & was about to (literally) throw in the towel on my plans to swim when the beebeebeep of an incoming text sounded & there was a picture of my first boyfriend Chris, standing in a snowdrift in North Carolina.  He had taken a snow day from work & that picture gave me the required shove to get out the door & head West. 

The surf was doing the regular push/pull, but the unusually strong undertow from last week has left the building & Neptune & I are buddies again.  All last week’s churning unearthed some wonderful sea glass, & I pulled in several pounds of good pieces in an hour, in about a 25’ stretch of beach.  There was a lot of ‘live entertainment’ as well, in the form of many huge schools of fish, seemingly organized by grade order.  First I swam in a ‘herd’ of neon-sized (Kindergarten?) sprat & three graduated sized schools later, I was with a bunch big enough to be working on their post-grad studies. 

So thanks, Chris, for the arctic motivation.  Hope you & NC thaw soon & you have an early spring.  That’s the best I can wish for you, while I’m paddling about in the surf & watching the sunset.  Sorry!

Unexpected Treats

My orchids, always a wonderful surprise!

I’ve been vending sea glass ornaments & jewelry by the sea (fromthecjewelry.com) for a few years now, & you’d think it would be more predictable…but it isn’t.  Seems every day & every ship there is something or someone new & different.  Some come with a little warning.  Others… BLAM & there they are. 

A year ago I had some warning in the form of a few emails leading up to a day visit (she & her husband were on a cruise) by one of my dearest childhood friends, Anna.  I was set up & vending that day, but she spent some time with me & we got a chance to catch up.  WONDERFUL, after not having seen her for well over two decades. 

Last week I stepped out of my booth to stretch, glanced across the waterfront park between my booth & the cruise ship pier, & thought ‘WOW, there’s somebody with Anna’s face!’  And then I realized it was Anna! This year she opted to just surprise me & show up, which was almost as much fun as anticipating her arrival. 

Other recent surprises weren’t as personal (& didn’t come off a ship), but pretty wonderful anyway.  Around the Christmas holidays, we had another unexpected visitor here on St. Croix—none other than Martha Stewart.  She had a great visit here & even spent considerable time in a friend’s coffee house (among various other restaurants & attractions).  She wrote several glowing blog postings with loads of photos & we were thrilled to have her here.

But back to the ships.  In the middle of a vending day last week with cruise ship passengers milling all around, I glanced at the coral stone steps leading up to the clock tower in front of my booth...and noticed something unusual.  There were three gentlemen in white suits standing there looking rather twitchy & expectant.  A moment later we knew why.  Here came the bride!  She was lovely, with a gown that appeared to have been designed for her.  The short ceremony was all in Spanish, & there were a handful of attendants & a few more guests. 

Some surprises come in smaller packages.  This little guy is the youngest of the flock of shore birds Ms. Joan, my neighbor vendor refers to as her ‘children.’  She feeds them crushed crackers & they are quite tame.  The adults are much darker in coloring, but the babies are mostly white, like Jr. here. 

The Breakfast Club, by Lea Ann Robson

As a kid I judged the quality of vacation days by the number of wet bathing suits draped over the porch furniture by sundown.  Now I’m 50, & happy to say I judge weekdays that way. 

The sea was a little too riled up to snorkel this morning at dawn, but I wore my mask to try to avoid large rock & coral formations that might prove dangerous when coupled with the surge. Even trying to pick glass out of the shallows before I got in, I was nearly knocked on my fanny.  I took some comfort in the presence of the ‘breakfast club,’ the gang of retired people who gather to bob in the surf & talk politics & current events most mornings.  Some of them move slowly or may need a cane to walk on land, but they take their ritual soak in the sea even when it is rougher than I like.  I suppose they’ve been through hurricanes & rougher things than the surf that gives me pause.

What I do with my Quarry (sea glass pendants)

It was too rough to stay in the shallows next to the rocks, so I swam out a bit, past the coral formations I know by heart.  Today they were shrouded in opaque aqua surf & the only thing I could make out startled me—a large spotted eagle ray.  He had a full length tail unlike a lot of the rays who have had close encounters with boats, & I initially noticed him because he tipped to the right & a ray of bright sunlight hit his white belly. 

 

As I swam back, I was able to grab a couple of pieces of glass before the surf tried to yank them out of my hands.  I realized as I struggled back onto the beach that though my collection bag was lighter than it had been in ages, I’m glad I came to the beach.  I’m ALWAYS glad I come to the beach, no matter what the conditions.

Company Is Coming! by Lea Ann Robson

The car is loaded, packed as tight as a hybrid can be.  Laundry is hung to dry (including today’s bathing suit).  Banana/Mango smoothie (product of my prolific yard) is frozen, along with my big water bottle.  Iced coffee is chilling in my big stainless mug. 

'Bamboo wrap' sea glass necklace

The cases in my car are loaded with fresh designs, from palm trees to earrings, to holly clusters, all bright & cheerful & as happy as I was making them over this last week.  The only thing left out is my tools, wire, bells & some glass.  I can never put those away until the last possible minute, always thinking ‘what if there is an emergency & I need to make reindeer…tonight!?’  Don’t laugh.  Could happen. 

Tomorrow morning will start at 5 & not too long after I’ll be at my spot on the seawall in Frederiksted by the pier.  I’ll be building my little house (tent, actually), decorating (filling tables & hanging racks with all my designs), & then I’ll put on a fresh coat of lip gloss, fluff my hair & wait.  I’m waiting for company.  I’m waiting for you.

Aqua long earrings

You got on the boat in Bayonne, or Miami, or San Juan.  You’ve left snow or freezing rain, or just bare trees & days when you can see your breath.  You may have had to scrape your car windshield before you could start the first leg of your trip.  You’ve been at sea for days or weeks or just hours.  You may have been to St. Croix last year or this could be your first trip here.  You’re on vacation, & I’m lucky enough to live where you want to visit. 

Believe me, I know how lucky that is.

If I don’t know that tonight, I’ll definitely know by the time you have to get back on the boat tomorrow.  Because for one day I get to talk to people from all over the country & the world, find out what makes them happy or curious, & share a lot of my island & a little of their vacation. 

I’ll meet honeymooning couples & people celebrating landmark anniversaries, & those will leave my booth with a handmade memento & my admiration of their faith in love & their fortune at finding the one. 

I’ll meet kids slathered in sun block & curious about sea glass & how the waves & surf make this phenomenon.  I’ll meet kindred souls who have been beachcombing as long as I have, & I’ll listen with some envy as they describe beaches full of treasure scattered all over the globe. 

My 'From the C' booth by the cruise ship pier

I’ll recommend the St. George Botanical Garden to all who ask about attractions, because I have so much affection for the place that after renting for 16 years here, I actually bought a little house in the neighborhood (knowing I’d be able to grow stuff there).

And as you board the ship & sail off to your next island or the final port on your journey, I’ll pack my tent, load my hybrid & return to my permanent house to water my orchids & pineapples, to skritch my dog Mu, & to think about the connections made with you on one day of your vacation. 

With luck I’ll have an email or a blog comment from one of you who I met a year or a month ago, one who was hesitant to break the connection or anxious to make the move to paradise.  I hope so!

Inside the Sunset, by Lea Ann Robson

My absolute favorite place to be is at the beach at sunrise…my favorite except to be at the beach at sunset…more specifically IN the sea at sunset.  Dorsch Beach (where I get the sea glass I use for all my From the C designs) on the west end of St. Croix is a long expanse of soft sand punctuated by only two or three inns & condos.   It is as popular with residents as tourists, & is the one place I always feel confident recommending to day-trippers, positive they’ll come back with glowing reviews before they get back on the ship & set sail. 

It is diverse & active, & most mornings I share my first swim of the day with a guy I call Horst.  I don’t know his real name, but I like to name animals, so Horst it is. He is sleek & black & loves the water as much as I do.  His trainer is a small guy with waist-length dread locks, & he hangs onto Horst’s mane & floats as the stallion swims further out than you’d believe.   While they do their slow circle out & back, their landlubber counterpart, a roan mare wearing green legwarmers, trots circles in the sand around a rather large man who sits on an inverted drywall bucket.   They’re usually my only company other than an occasional early-rising guest, coffee in hand as they scan the sea from the deck at Sand Castle by the Sea, the first inn on the beach.  I imagine the guests returning to their room full of sleepy family & reporting on the calm & intensely aqua water in anticipation of the lovely vacation day ahead. 

'From the C' 'bamboo wrap' necklace

There are much worse ways to start your day than snorkeling for sea glass, watching a horse swim from underwater, & sharing a moment of vacation with guests who are always fascinated in the day’s haul of treasures.

And so I always think this is the BEST part of the day as I drive home to shower & go to my other job…right up until after work, when I run home to change back into my suit & zoom back to the beach for sunset.  Fighting the dying light, I stubbornly stay mask down until the absolute last possible minute, when I pop up to catch my favorite moment.  There’s an instant when the sky & sea seem to exchange places & properties, when the reflected colors in the water’s surface are so bright, the sky seems to darken by comparison & the water feels like it could levitate.  Standing chin deep in that bright water, I feel my concerns rise also, leaving me limp with contentment & with only one remaining item on my to-do list, to dry off & make the short drive home.