putting the knit in shizknitz

Many of my long time friends frequently hear about how busy I am… but these last few weeks have been beyond busy. I’ve taken on some new duties at work, I was finishing up an evening class, and I’ve been trying to keep some resemblence of a life. However, I love every minute of it. I swear by the “work hard, play hard” type of motto and adore the fact that life keeps me on my feet. I’ll do one update post on a few things….

Emerald Cut Ring
This has been my project since my last lucida-inspired ring, I had purchased a gorgeous 5.1 carat emerald cut light amethyst (light pink in color) which I’ve been working on a very basic (look, not basic to do) basket prong setting with knife edge band. The stone is so beautiful that I wanted everything else understated. The basket setting takes quite some time, as I ran into a number of times where soldering one corner un-soldered another, just from the heat. The reddish stuff you see is the anti-flux, which helps keep it from un-soldering. This last week I was able to saw off the bottom of the basket and attach the band, and sand paper. Hopefully I will finish this upcoming week - I only have 2 more classes left! Please forgive the crappy photos, the lighting is all wrong…. jewelry is one of the most difficult things I’ve found to photograph.

Birthday, etc.
Wednesday was a crazy, crazy day. With everything else going on, bless my guys for remember my birthday (or even to know when it was!). They got together with a few more of my coworkers to get me a new espresso machine. Let me explain. One of my guys found a small espresso machine he cleaned up after my complaints about the latte’s at work. We started making our own dang espresso-based drinks - any given day you’ll hear us whistling away some milk in the mornings (and sometimes in the afternoons too). I’ve been looking for a nice espresso machine for home, usually when I’m that into it, I’ll buy it. But what do you know, where on earth do you go to buy one? We went to Bed, Bath and Beyond, Target, Dept Stores and a few other places but I could only find either super-cheesy or super-expensive. Well…. they got me something really, really special. Then I started doing some reading on the art of espresso. Who knew there was so much to it - the tamping, the milk, the art of it all. T also sent me some gorgeous flowers too….

Because of all the crazy things going on, dinner had to wait until last night. T surprised me with dinner to Yamashiro’s, a well-known asian fusion restaurant atop a hill which has the most amazing views. The place looks like an old Japanese Palace… it is all one-way streets up this hill until you get to the very top. The food was pretty good too….. T had gotten a great table which overlooked the city at sunset.

Work Party

Good food, good wine, and good friend. ‘Nuff said.