Everybody needs a calendar - AGLF fundraising

You may be aware of that part of the lampwork and other artist community has been under attack from a wacko. This is going to court. To pay for attorneys, some money is needed and those attacked and those concerned have been raising fund for a while.

I know this is a bit on the late side for a calendar, but lampwork artist Elizabeth Wait (aka betsymn) of Greyhavenart has put together a gorgeous calendar of lampwork beads that is sold to raise finds for the AGLF (Artisan and Glassworkers' Legal Fund). I have mine. You can either get it from her Etsy shop or from Debbie Pierce on her web page that also has links to the other AGLF fundraising items. I believe that ordering direct cuts down on overheads and gives more money to the legal fund.

I will add at least one fo the images to this post, but from a computer where I can paste in the URL.

Closing UKIRT ...

Twenty-odd hours after first hearing the news I think I can finally write something without breaking out in tears.

Those of you who know a bit more about me than just the beading side probably know that I'm working at the Joint Astronomy Centre (JAC), for UKIRT, and have been for the past 13 years.

We (UKIRT) were supposed to be funded until May 2012, which is near enough but leaves some breathing room. Yesterday we got the big bad news: the STFC wants to stop funding UKIRT as soon as they possibly can (I heard March 2010 by rumor). Here's the (click link) Press Release that came out at 4 a.m. this morning our time. Our management doesn't like for us to have to find these things out from elsewhere, so they told us about 12 hours ahead of time. We don't know how long we have at UKIRT at this time. It may be only a few months.

In the meantime, attrition happens. Some people, me included, may be able to switch telescopes. It was after all JCMT that got me to Hawaii in the first place, helping with the commissioning of a brand new sub-millimeter telescope. Some of it I remember like it was yesterday (but it was in 1987), things changing ALL the time. Things you knew how they worked yesterday worked differently the next day/night. For now JCMT is funded through 2012. But that (for me at least) was true for UKIRT yesterday.

FYI: I had to change the link to the press release in the middle of writing this - because STFC changed it.

A Fair in December: Sunday, Dec. 6 at Hilo High School

The Hilo High School PTSA have their Christmas Craft Faire on Dec. 6, 2009 (that's a Sunday (!)), 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Hilo High School Cafeteria. I managed to get the last available table, and in addition to jewelry, beads and beading supplies - on the table as space allows - I will also be selling home grown cloves (I'm not the only person in this area who grows cloves, in case you wonder) and table top Christmas Tree size potted Norfolk pines for those who would like a live tree.

And a P.S. on Memories of Tim Hawarden:
obviously I wasn't the only one who had memories of Tim Hawarden to share. The ATC put up a web page about his life and career http://www.roe.ac.uk/roe/staff/tgh/index.html with a link to anecdotes and memories at the bottom.

In Memory of Tim Hawarden

In case you ever wondered what got me to Hawaii, Tim Hawarden was the first person I ever talked to who had anything to do with me getting here and this whole outfit. In the summer of 1986 my phone rang. It was to invite me to a job interview in Edinburgh, Scotland. The person who called was Tim. At that time he was the "UKIRT Astronomer in Charge, Home End". I went to Edinburgh, my second time ever on an airplane, and while things didn't work great (I came in about 5th for 3 jobs, but in the end 2 people pulled out, that's another story), I ended up here. Tim's wife Frances, about the second person in this whole outfit I ever talked to, made my travel arrangements, first for the job interview in Edinburgh, later for my second interview in Hawaii, and eventually to move here.

I got to Hawaii in January of 1987. Imagine my surprise when in the summer of 1987 Tim and Frances came here too. Frances had retired for health reasons, and Tim came to UKIRT. I was working at the JCMT then. I remember applying for a job at UKIRT, where I had worked as a temp for several months in 1990 or so. I remember Tim quizzing me about servos and eventually saying "OK, I know you know more about servos than I do". I the years to come I went to the CSO and Tim oversaw the UKIRT upgrades program - and a few other things. He was still there when I went back to UKIRT now almost 13 years ago. They moved back to Edinburgh some time later. I had the opportunity to visit with them (and their cats) last in 2006 after Tim had retired to take care of Frances who has MS (which is why she retired in the first place) full time. I love both of them, as well as Miranda and Sam (Tim's children from his first marriage).

God bless all of them.

Added later: I was so taken aback by the news when I wrote this that I forgot to mention why I wrote it, but I guess the title of the post sort of takes care of that. We got the news that Tim passed away this morning, very suddenly.

Fairs this month

This month I'm signed up for 2 fairs, both in Hilo.

The first one is at Keawe Center (190 Keawe St. in Downtown Hilo, if you know where Island Edges bead store is, that's where it is), Saturday Nov. 21, and rather short, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.. I will have all of my beads and other supplies including dome that aren't on the website yet there, but probably not all of them out. Of course I'm also going to have my jewelry - and possibly some plants if I have space left in the back of the truck.

The second one is at the East Hawaii Cultural Center, Saturday Nov. 28, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m., jewelry and lampwork beads though I will probably have 'the other stuff' under the table. If you happen to be in town that day and need fresh water pearls, gemstones, chip strands or crystals (etc.), I'm going to have them there but not out. I'll be in the same space as last year, close to the back entrance.

It's my mom's birthday

was by most accounts yesterday. She is 82 now, and I meant to call her last night. I got side tracked. Then, I woke up at 5 this morning, said, even if they are probably in the middle of afternoon coffee, I have to call. I'm glad I did. My brothers and their families were there (minus one college student), and they were indeed having afternoon coffee. I'm happy to report that both my parents are well. I am concerned about them not having had flu shots yet, at least they are going to, but don't seem to be too concerned about H1N1, talking about getting the regular flu shot only. DH and I just getting over H1N1, it's not something to mess with. We got it before vaccines were available here, so not much use for us getting vaccinated now.

Get yourself vaccinated when/if you can, the sooner the better.

Clove tree seeds

Really nothing to do with beads, but it's that time of the year that I have clove tree seeds. For those of you who haven't come across them: out of water they live for maybe a week. Some die on the way to Ag inspection (and there really is no way of telling ahead of time). But, there definitely are survivors. I was sent a picture of a clove tree seedling in Germany last week.

I have clove seeds again now. I can ship those to any US state, Canada and to the EU that I know of. There may be other countries that don't require more than a free inspection, but I don't know which.

I am not certified to ship plants out of State.