Thanksgiving with family and fried turkey...

Oh yeah, the fried turkey was a fantabulous idea! First, Mike and Rick did the cooking of the bird - yippee! Tammy and I were truly delighted to spend 30 minutes cooking the side dishes of mashed potatoes (plenty of lumps, trust me!), cranberry relish, sweet corn and green bean casserole. While the fellas spent 1 hour getting the oil to the right temperature, then another 40 minutes watching the bird fry - while the temperature outside was a balmy 32F. Oh, and the snow was light! LOL Anyway, it was wonderful! I would recommend frying the turkey to anyone able to afford the oil. We used peanut oil (which is highly recommended by me and every cook out there) and 4 gallons ran me almost $40. Not an everyday meal, but for a special occasion it sure was worth it.

Mike in the kitchen, doesn't happen often! And the turkey in all its glory.













Tammy and the turkey in the kitchen....sorry Tammy, but it is a good shot of the turkey!

















The destruction of the turkey took all of 10 minutes!

















Mike finishing up the carving with a little help from Rick.















Kelly on Tammy's lap, thrilled to watch someone else do the turkey!

Some new stuff

So, I've been beading. Not many interesting things, if you ask me. But, they are new and they were ordered, so I finished them.

Here we have a pair of earrings, kind of sweet actually. I used silver lined orange beads and brown fire polished rounds. They work up quickly and look pretty good on. I made a larger pair, actually 4 more larger pair, in black for the shop in Madison, Indiana.

And this is a lariat. The color is off, I used brown and blue beads and finished the fringe off with bugles and fire polished brown rounds. Hmm, looks much better in person. I think I'll retake the photo and see what happens.

17 years and looking forward...

Oct 27, 1990 is our wedding date. I was 26, Rick was 32. Both of us were ready and looking forward to a long life together. Here are some pics from back then...oh yeah, Santa Claus was the best man!

Pam, Rick's niece, 16 yrs old, died the following March in an auto accident. Erin, good friend of mine from Jeffersonville, Indiana. Laura, me, Rick. Leonard, aka Santa Claus, my brother Dan and my brother Mike.

Laura was my best friend in Hanover, Indiana. Though I lived there for only a year during junior high, our friendship lasted longer than any other I had during my 'growing up' years. So I asked her to be my matron of honor.

Leonard, aka Santa Claus, was a good friend of Rick's. We joined him and his wife on a trip to Talledegha to watch NASCAR up front and personal! It was wonderful. Leonard and Rick still keep in touch. Leonard and his wife Lorie live in Elizabethtown, KY now.

Expectations...

If an expectation is not clearly defined, how can you not meet it?

I was asked to leave my job on Friday because I didn't meet his expectations. I didn't know what they were, and am baffled at how I couldn't meet them. Hmmm. Most management positions include a clearly defined job description, expected actions and results, and measurable progress indicators. Not this one. It's been quite an experience. One I've learned a lot from. And, the break up was quite respectful and amicable. They won't be replacing me soon because they really don't know what they want out of the position. Considering I'm the third in as many years, I'm glad they'll be taking some time rather than throwing someone else in right away. The people hurt by this will be the team of 6 in the office. They'll have to deal with no direction, no training, no support.

In the meantime, I now have more time for finishing that beading order for The Floating Cow!

Oh yeah, if you know of any project/contract/short term jobs I can participate in or manage, just give me a jingle - my primary talents lay in project management, data analysis/management, customer service.

The Floating Cow

and other beautiful things! That is the name of a new gift shop opening December 1, 2007 in Madison, Indiana.

Why does this warrant a spot on my blog? Well, mainly because the owners purchased 2/3 of my current inventory to re-sell in their store! Yepper, I'm not kidding.

Marni, Ann and Ann are the owners. Three wonderfully wacky and generous women from the Madision area. They're going to be awesome business owners because every piece they reviewed was with the customer in mind. You can't go wrong when that is your focus!

So, opening day is December 1. I'm planning to be there for support and for information. I'll gladly tell anyone who asks about my beadwork and techniques.

In the meantime, I'm making additional pieces for the store, trying to finish up a few designs I've left hanging, and looking forward to being creatively free! Amazing how much of a charge this has given me.

Gallery Update

So, Katherine and I meet up on Saturday afternoon and chat before going to the gallery. I knew better than to go by myself, my mouth was liable to get me into some real trouble! Actually, Rick told me that I would be better off going with another person. He knows me too well :)

Anyway, I get to the gallery and see that all is well. The only thing he's done is move some items around to better display them. I didn't see any additional artwork interfering with my pieces, or Katherine's for that matter. Got myself all worked up for nothin'!

So, I joined Katherine and David for dinner and talked with Katherine about her misgivings and misunderstanding of the whole 'moving my stuff' around. Once we got things settled, we both agreed we did not like the way he does business and won't be doing business with him again. In the meantime, I'm going to participate in a professional photo shoot on Wednesday. Free. Yepper, I said free. Katherine's photographer is offering his services to us. What all this really means is that new photos will be in my flickr album later this week!

Opening Night - Great! The Rest - Not so Great

Well, despite rain, hail, possible tornado and high winds...opening night was a success for me! I sold a few pieces, met some interesting people, shmoozed about and overall enjoyed myself. Downers: starting two days before opening day...the owner cannot locate my box of price tags. Then he says he will go out and purchase some, then using my price/inventory list will tag my items. Opening night...he didn't do this - instead he used MY business cards, marked a price and inventory number and haphazardly placed them on a few items. Then, coming back to clean up on Saturday morning and finding all my bottles of water and extra cookies gone. Then, being asked if parts of my display is for sale - "everything in here is for sale"- he says. NOT!!!!

This guy is costing me way too much money. I'm out business cards, jewelry tags, some jewelry boxes, 20 bottles of water, about $15 worth of cookies. In addition, days before the show he tells me and Katherine that we're responsible for advertising and marketing! Yepper, he hasn't dropped one dime.

I'm not impressed.

As for the rest of the days...not so great. Seems he is not that interested in presenting/selling my things, or Katherine's for that matter. Instead, on a pretty regular basis (read daily) he's taken liberties with our displays, has moved our items about the room, has recently moved our items OUT OF THE WAY to be able to display someone else's art. Pretty gosh darn rude and unprofessional.

So, because I committed to showing my things until September 13, and I helped pay for advertising and marketing, I'll be keeping a few things there. Tomorrow, though, I'm stopping in to pick up a lot of my things. I'm having a hard time trusting this guy.

In other news today...

I'm researching a new business. Something I can do out of the house. I attended a networking lunch of local business owners and picked their brains about the usefulness of the service I'd be offering and got really positive feedback. I'll be attending additional networking meetings and asking the same questions...while at the same time I'm in the middle of researching the business/company itself. I hope to make a final decision as to whether or not I'll do this by end of September...when we've returned from Michigan :)

Until then...keep smiling, it makes people wonder what you're up to!

It's Official-Press Release and Flyers Are Out!

"Pearls and Beads and Bling! Oh My!"
Jewelry by Katherine Autin, Michael Skrentny and Charlene Burke; paintings by Carol McLeod.
Chez Moi Art Gallery, 974 Barret Ave. Reception: 6-9 p.m. Thursday. Ends Sept. 13. Hours: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday.

WooHoo! Yepper, opening night is this Thursday and I'm half as ready as I should be. But, at least I have 40 pieces out and ready for someone to take home :)

I'm offering two classes this time. One will be Nikia Angel's Sparkly Wheel, a beginner class that all student should complete. Anyone who has taken this class really enjoys it. The second is my own design, Cuff bracelet with Loops. It's an intermediate class using flat Ndebele.

I'll update as the show continues. Please spread the word about the classes!

See me at Chez Moi!

Yessiree, I'm in a gallery, again :) Located on Barrett Ave in Louisville, Kentucky is a small grouping of row houses converted into galleries. My pieces are being shown in addition to Creations by Katrina - wonderfully designed pearl creations. And, in August, Katherine (aka Katrina) and I will be the primary exhibitors at the gallery! I've been asked to teach a few classes and possibly develop a bead presentation during the exhibition. Goodness, I am certainly going to be busy beading in preparation! The main pieces I currently have in the gallery are Derby Flower pins/brooches and horse earrings. Hey, it's Kentucky...it's Derby time...what else am I gonna do! LOL

Love butterflies and Spring!

This is a butterfly I originally beaded about 2 years ago. It sold for $55 at a show I did in the Louisville, KY area.

I used the same pattern and color scheme to make a brooch/pin for a very good friend of mine, Mary. She gave me my business name "By Char", in addition to having been the first to purchase my work :) So, as a Christmas gift, I gave her this butterfly as a pin. She absolutely loves it!

Spring is right around the corner...oh my goodness, am I ready to do another butterfly!