HE GOT THAT JOB

WOOO HOOO!

Ok so my husband got the job and next June we will sadly be leaving Oman. Home to Australia for a few weeks then to Singapore in August to start our new life there....

I am EXCITED BUT i think because it is soo long till we move that a little of the excitement is gone as the waiting has set in...

What can I do. Too early to pack or organise anything really. Go on living life like normal - but no. Every time I have been shopping the last couple of weeks I think NO shouldn't buy that or wouldn't the kids love that - NO - cause I HAVE to downsize.

So the camping stuff is pretty much sold. Did that today. Yesterday I sorted out under the stairs and now have a room with stuff to sell in it - lots of baby stuff etc that we don't need to take with us. Then only the stuff we intend to keep went back under the stairs.

Crazy you are probably thinking - BUT this time I figure if I do little by little it won't be such a burden to sell all the things we don't want to take with us at the end just before we send off our shipping. When we moved here from Germany I only had a couple of weeks and that was not fun.

Don't get me wrong though we are not living in a half packed up house for the next few months. All I am doing is getting rid of the excess (and we have way too much stuff that we don't use) so I don't have as much to sell at the last minute.

BUT next week we are off to Europe for a 3 wk holiday. A cold winter YEEES! Don't know how I feel about it yet but anyway... have pulled all our winter clothing out and bought heaps more for the 2 boys. My youngest has never experienced COLD and oldest who was born in Germany does not really remember what COLD is like either. So it is going to be an adventure. After a 45 degree + summer here it is going to be fun. My brother is also living in the UK now and will be great to visit him.

OH BUT I AM REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO CHRISTMAS IN EUROPE - a white Christmas would really be nice!

MY KILN

So my Caldera Kiln from Paragon arrived last week and over the weekend I finally had the chance to use it. It is absolutely a great kiln. It works really well and is sooo easy to use with digital controls. I made a few glass beads and used the kiln to anneal them and it was perfect! Not that I can say that about the beads yet. I need more practice but I am getting there. They look good and the colours are such fun to play with. I get the feeling though that I am going to go through glass fast and need to buy more... only problem is I have to ship it to oman.

Another exciting purchase to add to my tools is a ring sizer. I found a great one in the souk the other night at a silversmith supply shop. I was going to eventually buy one online (BUT they are very heavy) and so was excited when I actually found one here AND it was only 33OR. HOWEVER it is made in India - not US or Italy so here's hoping it works just as well. I am still waiting for my silver order to come to test it out.

SLOW mail - it's so frustrating when I need something quick. Fire mountain gems use fed ex and it always gets here within 3-5 days. Some other purchases I ordered nearly 2 weeks ago still haven't come and since then I have got 2 orders from fire moutain.

Weekend with Friends

We had some friends from Australia spend the weekend with us and we showed them some of the sights of Oman. The weekend here is Thursday / Friday.

Wednesday we spent the day at a shopping center. Then Wednesday evening we went to the souk (local market), where we visited our regular shop owners and of course I HAD to get some more silver. Bargaining, eating looking out over the harbour, browsing the shops and smelling the frankincense made for a very enjoyable evening.

Thursday we set off down south along the new highway to Tiwi (a popular white beach and popular for camping). We spent the afternoon on the beach collecting flat rocks, playing in the sand and toasting marshmallows on the fire. Then back to the sink hole for a quick look and home again.

Friday was an early start and off to Nizwa (the old capital) and to the goat market. I poked around the souk but was quite unhappy with the high prices aimed at tourists. I pay considerably less in Muscat. However, I went back to a shop I had been to before and he was willing to bargain a little and I acquired a beautiful silver ring. A new Omani ring but old design. AND an old Omani pendant necklace. I am not quite sure of the age... I am going to have to reasearch some more.

I have started buying books on Omani silver and found an interesting one the other day. I hope to reasearch and investigate the history of omani silver and the designs...

Last night I was too tired to head back to the souk here in muscat. So my husband took our guests while I stayed at home with the kids. He did a bit of research for me and found an Omani silversmith. Two of his apprentices were on leave but invited me to come when they return. I can't wait.

FINISHED

Finally we have finished my studio and I now have a wonderful space to work in and make a "mess". My bench didn't turn out how I wanted it. It wasn't cut to the correct size so we had to do it ourselves, but that meant pulling the legs apart and cutting everything down - something I didn't want to have to do. I want to use it - so we just adapted and even though there is part of the frame sticking out the side I think I will find it useful for using to clamp things etc.

Now I have purchased some supplies from the US and I am waiting for them to come, along with my KILN. Yeah I have got a Paragon SC2. I wanted the SC3 but was too expensive to ship to Oman!!! More than 250US dollars so that was not such a viable option.

So now I can really get into my lampworking and silversmithing!!

BUT

on a sad note for me...

I am going to have to go back to work for 1 or 2 days a week or so. Nothing set just some temp work. I don't want to leave my babies... and I want as much time as possible to use my creativity. But has to happen sometime so...

Will let you know how it goes.