Friday, July 23, 2010

Blog-cation

blog to-do

Give Away Winner!

Congratulations to

"R" who said "I stumbled across Melissa's beads not long ago and treated myself to Totally Twisted a couple of months ago. I think I may now have sone motivation to hey busy with my pliers again. THANKS!"

Please send me an email at kerry(at)kabsconcepts(dot)com with your address so I can get your winning beads to you!

Thanks to all who entered and showed Melissa lots of love! I hope Twisted Tuesday Artist Spotlights continue to be just as awesome!!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Twisted Tuesdays - Spotlight Melissa Rediger

Welcome to the first post in a new Twisted Tuesdays series spotlighting the work of the bead artists featured in Totally Twisted! I am so excited to be sharing these spotlights with you. It is such a blast getting to play interviewer and I am thrilled to be able to help support these fabulous artist friends.

If you have a copy of Totally Twisted handy and flip through it right now, you'll discover that the artist I am about to spotlight isn't in the pages as she should be. So much of the publishing process is out of the hands of the author, it wasn't until I was looking at the laser proofs of the book that I said "hey, were did the Hula Hoopla earring project go?" and it turned out it had been edited out due to the book already being more than a dozen pages longer than expected. I was totally bummed because Melissa Rediger of Sea Of Glass is a wonderful glass artist that I really wanted to share with everyone.

Thankfully, I was able to convince Step By Step Wire that this project needed to be shared and Melissa's beads are getting their due time to shine. Be sure to check out the August/September 2010 issue for step by step instructions on creating a really unique earring design below. You can pick up the same beads I use in the project here on Melissa's website. And while you are there, besure to browse all her other beautiful beads. (I already spy a few that would be perfect for my second book!) AND, make sure you read through to the bottom of the interview because there is a special code just for you blog readers.

One more thing before the interview, there is an interesting tale to tell about Melissa and me. We were a "first" for each other each in a special way that the other will never forget!! For Melissa, in 2006 when launching her new website, she had set the site live and waited and waited and waited to see what would happen. Feeling a bit silly for thinking an order would come in right away, she took a walk to take her mind of it. When she came home, lo and behold, she had her first order. It was from me!! Who remembers this bracelet and this bracelet? That was the summer I was just learning to make beads and didn't have a torch of my own, let alone a kiln, or I dare say a studio. Fast forward to the 2007 Bead and Button Show and that is where the first for me happened. It sounds a little silly and even a little vain on my part but, Melissa was the first person to ever recognize me in public, LOL. Yep, I was walking the aisles and wandered in Melissa's booth. She said to me "Hey, aren't you Kerry from that blog?" I will never forget that!! It is wild when the cyber world and real world come together like that.

Without further adu, I would like to intoduce you to... Melissa Rediger!!! (insert applause here)

Hey Melissa! Thanks so much for chatting with me today. Of course, I have to ask, how did you get started making beads?
I am so honored to have this opportunity to share my beads with you and a little bit about myself. I got started making beads kind of randomly. I had never seen lampworking before or been into beads. Seems like so many artists I know have fun stories about collecting rocks as kids, rummaging through their Grandma's buttons, beads, etc. I have no such story. I had never been into beads or jewelry. I graduated from the University of Iowa in Elementary Education and substitute taught for a year or so before having our first daughter. I knew I wanted to stay at home with her after she was born. I was surfing online one day looking for "things to make" hoping to find something that would make me RICH ;) I came across lampworking, found a class in Iowa City and it took off from there (after convincing my husband of course) I would make a bead set in the afternoon when my daughter was sleeping, sell it on ebay for $20-$30 and be thrilled! I started making beads about 9 years ago when there wasn't as many listings on ebay.

I love love love color and by the look sof your beads, you do too. Is your favorite color in life also your favorite color in glass? What are a few of your favorite combinations to work with?
My favorite color is green or orange, so I would probably say it is not my favorite glass to work with. That is one of the struggles I find myself in, trying to think out of my box of favorite color combinations and think of what others would like. I am not a pink/purple person, but I know lots of people are. I am always worried that my sets would have the same colors or look alike, but the compliment I hear the most is that I have such a wide range of colors and combinations, so that really helps me to know I am doing what the customers like. I use a lot of glass frits in my beads, I love the way they react with different glass and silver. I would say that my favorite though is working with boro glass. I love the look of the organic swirls and earthy colors. I get bored easily, so it's good for me to be able to switch from soft glass to hard glass (borosilicate).

What gets you super excited, creatively, at the moment?
Right now I am excited about some upcoming publications that will be coming out, or have already come out with some of my beads in it. I am excited to see this issue of step by step wire with the earrings Kerry made. There is an issue called Creative Jewelry that has a couple pieces with some of my beads in it by Jess Italia Lincoln and Trish Italia. I have a necklace with one of my flower focals that will be in the October issue of Bead Trends. I also just got an email that some of my beads were used in a project that will be in an upcoming special issue of Handcrafted Jewelry. I LOVE that and appreciate it so much when people use my beads in publications.

One thing we have in common is kids and I have talked a few times this summer about struggling having the kids home on vacation. How do you balance the titles of both artist and Mom?
I feel very blessed that I have found something that allows me to be at home with my children and help my family financially. Finding the time to balance the two is a struggle for me. Having a business at home, I feel like any spare moments I have I should be working on beads/jewelry. There is so much that goes into owning a small business besides just making the beads. There is the marketing, organizing, advertising, creating, shopping, etc. With 4 children, it is hard to manage it all. That is why I appreciate so much when I have beads/jewelry in magazines and the advertising that comes with it.

Any future plans you have coming up that you would like to share?
This was my second year doing the Bead and Button show and I had a blast!!! (along with selling lots of beads) It's at a good time for me because then I really don't have any shows during the summer and can gear up for my fall and winter shows. Well, here we are, almost half way through the summer and I have not really made any beads. It is really hard to do when the kids are home from school and want to do things and be outside. In the last few days I just realized that my first show is in September and that is going to be here soon. My youngest will start preschool this year (sad face), so I will have a little more time to work on beads. Starting in September I usually do 2 shows a month until December. I do some trunk shows at local beads shops, a local festival where I set up my torch and do demonstrations, and I also have a store at my house and have an open house. I have lots coming up ~ not to mention all 3 of our girls birthday's are in December.

Thanks so much Melissa! You are awesome and I love that you were a part of my twisted book writing experience. Best of luck at your shows this fall!!

And as promised for those of you that made it all the way to the end here...
A Special Offer!! Melissa would like to offer my faithful blog readers a discount on bead orders placed through her website. Enter the coupon code totallytwisted in the code box when checking out and get 15% off your order through Friday. Visit www.mjrbeads.com to place an order!

And if that weren't enough...

A GIVE AWAY TOO!! In honor of that first order of mine, Melissa is giving away a set of the beads I bought that day! Just leave a comment here (say hi or tell me your favorite color, what ever you wanna do!) and I will draw a winner on Friday July 23rd at noon. What are you waiting for, leave a comment and enter!

Monday, July 19, 2010

Cliche Monday

solitary moments

:: It is going to be one of those Mondays... the cliche kind where everything goes hay wire.
:: My website is down until further notice. Ugh. Waiting to hear if my web designer has time to check every file on my site to ensure it belongs there.
:: At least my blog is still here!!
:: Heard a sound like something falling down the stairs at 3am, still haven't figured out what it was.
:: Cooking week is under way with Jacob planning a steak dinner for tomorrow!

Andrew at camp

:: Summer camps finished up for the boys last week. Andrew loved Exhibit Design camp!
:: Mirrors are cool.
:: Excited to be taking Stephanie Lee's Homestead Metalsmithing e-course. It'll be like summer camp for Mom!
:: Sometimes I wish I had a fancier cell phone. *sigh*
:: It is getting rather gray out... wonder if we are in for a shower?

natural shapes

:: Home grown broccoli, anyone? It is delish!
:: Been eating cucumbers like they are apples. The cucumbers are very plentiful this year.
:: Thinking the boys need a mini farm stand in the front yard to earn pocket change and share our garden goodies with passers by.
:: Loved this quote sent by a friend after Friday's post... "Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes, courage is the little voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.'"
:: Here is to tomorrow...

Technical Dificulties

My website has been taken down by my hosting service because it has "been compomised and is being used to set up back door access to the server." (whatever that means!) I am working with them to get it back up ASAP!!

Friday, July 16, 2010

Head In The Clouds

catching the breeze
I feel like I start way too many posts with something along the lines of "I hemmed and I hawed about yada yada yada". That is just who I am though. I think things out to no end. I don't like feeling like I am doing the wrong thing. No doubt that comes from being a perfectionist of sorts. I say of sorts, because there really just seems to be a handful of things I really feel the need to have perfect. I will go out in public in my pjs if I want, my kids' cloths don't match at family picnics, I go to book club without reading the book, and although I love me a good cleaning spree, I leave the dishes dirty in the sink most nights, and I hate laundry.

One of the places I do always always try to do my best is my work. I find I don't take risks often unless I know it is something I will succeed at. The confidence it takes for me to be a working artist is a fragile thing. Too many failures and I probably wouldn't want to be an artist in a public way anymore. I don't post beads that aren't perfect, I waited a year before submitting my book proposal, and I have waited 5 years to teach a public lampworking class. It may seem like I put myself out there all the time and that I am doing amazing spectacular things, but to me, in my heart, I know that I am not. I play it safe, most of the time. I celebrate the successes here with you, and although I often talk about the yucky stuff that my family goes though, we don't often talk about my professional let downs. Well, I recently had a big one. I wasn't sure if I should share it here, but it has been such a huge part of my life recently that I can't figure out how not to talk about it.

During Kelly Rae's e-course, we talked about dreams, and I have seen, on many a blog, projects about dreaming big. I find that dreaming is something very hard for me. I don't dream big. I don't know where I hope time takes me. Most of the time, I feel I live an along-for-the-ride life. I have theories as to why that is, but I need to work through them more before I can talk about it. I think many people might think that artists are full of dreamy possibilities, with their heads always in the clouds, but that isn't me. At least, not until this big dream. I feel like I have spent the past two months walking on air. I let go of the ideas that usually keep me grounded. I grasped onto strings attached to balloons filled with wishes and let them carry my hopes way up high. Monday, it would seem there was a bit of lightning in those clouds and it popped my balloons.

It is hard to let go of a big dream like this one. It really really felt right, it felt true, it felt possible. Needless to say, I had a rather weepy evening. I had to grieve the loss of that dream. As one who only takes calculated risks, I think that I am feeling an extra sting because it isn't often that I can't achieve the things I go after. I am sure critics would say its a good lesson I needed/deserved learning, but *sigh* I wish I didn't have to. I am holding close a message that my friend emailed me, a fellow e-course flyer, that reminded me of something that Kelly Rae talked about in one of her posts during class. She wrote of another author that wrote of a Buddhist belief that essentially says that when things start to go wrong all at once, it is to protect some thing bigger waiting to be born. That thing needs us distracted so that it may come to us as perfect as possible. I so so hope that is the case here.

With my head in the clouds for so long, I feel a little lost being back on the ground now. I am not sure which way to head on the path in front of me. I am a little purposeless at the moment. Slowly, but surely, I will figure out which way I want to head. And never fear, I am sure if I were to stumble upon another cluster of wish filled balloons while walking down my path, I would grasp those strings again and float right back up to the clouds.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

We Have A Plan

treasures

I started July with a note to this putrid, I mean, pleasant mid-summer month. I made it clear to July that, granted, we don't get along, but things can change and I am going to make an effort. Here we are and it is already the 15th. I have made it halfway through! Most of it has been a blur, but I am happy to be through it. Last week, our family and a friend got together for a special meeting. These meetings are usually reserved to work on family issues surrounding Andrew, but this time, I requested the meeting be to help me out. Together, we formulated a plan for the rest of the summer. I have always thought I should do this, but never really made it a reality. I thought I would share the plan with you in case any other Mom might be struggling to tackle and cope with July.

Weekly Themes & Activities for Summer 2010
July 19-25: Cooking Week
Plan the week's menu with the kids, visit the farmers market, create a family cookbook, have kid-cook nights where each child plans and cooks the meal from start to finish, make more jam.

July 26 - Aug 1: Camping At The Cottage
Our family is planning a trip to Keuka Lake for the week. Activities will include: sleeping out in the tent, canoeing, paddle boating, swimming, smores, camp fires, a birthday celebration for Andrew (turning 11!), fishing, exploring, and more.

Aug 2-8: Tourist @ Home
Visiting local attractions all week! Eastman House, Planetarium, Zoo, Highland Park, Mount Hope Cemetery (I am if-y on that one), go on an Art Walk, go to the local beach.

Aug 9-15: Picnics & Parks Week
Just like it sounds... pick a different park to have a picnic at each day that week. If it is hot, the parks will be beach side. If it is rainy, who knows.

Aug 16-22: Sports Week (Bead Fest week for me, so this is Ron's week)
Play: tennis, mini golf, bowling, bike rides, board games, baseball

Aug 23-29: Person Of The Day, Week
Monday, Ron. Tuesday, Andrew. Wednesday, Lauren. Thursday, Kerry. Friday, Jacob. The person of the day gets to pick which activities we will do and what meals we'll have.

Aug 30- Sept 5: Media Week
Make home movies, visit the city library, rent video games, go to the drive in, have a family photo shoot.

And just like that, they will be back to school. Anyone else have a set plan for summer? Share it on your blog and leave a link in the comments! The more support we can give each other, the better.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Newsstand Goodies


There are a couple of new magazines on newsstands right now that I want to point y'all to. Both feature my work, as well as the work of a few of my beady friends.

First up is the latest issue of Step By Step Wire Jewelry, Aug/Sept 2010. There is a special earring project of mine in this issue, but I will tell you more about that next week on Twisted Tuesday. Besides little ole me, you will can find a gorgeous mixed media project by my pal, Mary Jane Dodd. I also love Cindy Gimbrone's (of Art Bead Scene) lampwork glass headpin ring project. Flipping through this issue, I couldn't help but feel inspired by the overall look and feel of things. The colors are fantastic and the projects have been photographed beautifully.






Also out now is the annual special issue, Creative Jewelry. This 2010 issue holds 4 projects from me, each using simple stringing techniques with my glass beads. I love the flip-through quality of a special issue like this. When ever you feel like you have hit an idea brick wall, you can flip through this and, no doubt, you will be whacked upside the head with new things to make. Seriously. It is whack-up-side-the-head good!!

Later this afternoon, I will be listing the 4 necklace designs in Creative Jewelry on my website.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Twisted Tuesdays - TV Appearances

I am combining Random Monday & Twisted Tuesdays into one post this week!

hotel morning
:: I drove to Cleveland OH Sunday afternoon to shoot another appearance on Beads Baubles and Jewels.
:: I ordered room service and watched The Princess Diaries on cable. I also treated myself to a piece of chocolate cake that ended up being the size of a football.
:: I brought the cake home for the kids :)
:: I didn't sleep a wink, can you tell?
:: Confession: coffee is my friend again.

in the green room
in the green room with susan lenart kazmer
:: I got to hang out back stage with three fabulous ladies. Katie Hacker (the new host!), Candie Cooper, and Susan Lenart Kazmer.
:: I was a big girl and dressed myself this year. Both the knit shell in dark teal and the gray wrap were found at TJ Maxx, cheap. (Remember picking my outfit last year?)
:: And my stars, my hair has grown! Check out details from last year's taping HERE and HERE
:: It was such a delight to see all the projects that will be shown this season and peek at the things people are working on. I even got to see Susan's new Industrial Chic line in person.

tv cameras
on air
:: Yes, there really is an "on air" light that goes on.
:: Thankfully, my nerves weren't terrible this time around. I just got flutters when I was setting up my stuff on set.
:: I did what is called a Show & Tell segment rather than a Demo, and it was 7mins 15secs.
:: New to wireworking and wondering what wire is good for which jewelry application? Tune into Season 1300, Episode 11 to have all your questions answered!
:: I consider 13 my lucky number.

on set
on set with the host katie hacker
with the host
:: The make-up artist, Karen, is a miracle worker. Unfortunately, I am wicked allergic and was halfway to hives about 20mins after getting dolled up.
:: Season 1400 will be filming in December, and I really really hope to be invited back again. Wouldn't I make a fab-regularly-appearing-wire-guru? LOL.
:: Lots of hugs went round when it was time to head home. Even though this was the first time meeting Katie, it was like we have always known each other!
:: The drive home was uneventful as I listened to Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Titan's Curse on CD.
:: I was happy to see my family when I got home, but really should NOT have checked my email. That, as they say, is a story for another day though.

Friday, July 09, 2010

Bead Fest Philly Update

Bead Fest Philadelphia is just a little over a month away and I WANT MORE STUDENTS, dang it!! I have been watching my class stats for months, seeing spots fill here and there, but there is still room for more. The workshops at this show are taking place August 18-22 with all my classes happening in one day long wire twisting marathon on August 19th.

In case you missed the post earlier, here are the class details:
(to view classes on the Bead Fest Registration page click "Thursday August 19th", then "Wire and Beads", then "Kerry Bogert")

Framed: (9am-12pm)

Framed Class

Timeless: (1pm-4pm)

Timeless Class

Bang Gals: (5pm-8pm)

Bang Gals Class

If you are on the fence about coming to the show and signing up for a class, let me just tell you, it is an experience you won't soon forget. I promise you, you will leave with more inspiration than you'll be able to handle. It is just impossible to describe the kind of magic that happens at these big bead shows. It is awesome.

I hope to see you there!!

Thursday, July 08, 2010

One Thing Leads To Another

grp 28
When I first pulled these colors into this combination, what I imagined they would be as beads was completely different than what they turned out to be. When you scroll down to view this post and you see the beads, I am imagining that you are going to shake your head saying "no way are those the same colors". But they are! Granted, I didn't stick to just these four colors. I added ivory as well, and transparent ink violet and transparent straw yellow too. Those colors really enhanced the others though, they weren't the color combo deal breaker. Just one color did that.

See that color second from the left? Yeah, the one that looks as if it could be a hollow tube. That is a beautiful new color called "Streaky Pink". When I saw it I thought "ooohhh streaks of pink, I bet that is really pretty." I think I thought it would do a little sumthin' sumthin' like my cotton candy headpins. I found the color so intriguing and tempting that I decided it would be the first color I used when methodically working my way through all those 30+ color combos I shared. (Do you know how delighted my OCD alter ego, Carrie, was when I told her we would do that? Very very happy, indeed.) So, Sunday morning, first thing, I locked myself in the studio feeling that it had been far far too long since I last torched. I pulled the rods above and the extras I mentioned. Then, set to work.

The minute the streaky pink hit my torch flame I knew we weren't going to get along. I knew this color... it is that color. E.D.P. Yeah, evil defecating purple. It craps on all other colors and doesn't care. It ruins beautiful beads and doesn't feel remorse. NO, it has nothing to do with the skills of the artist using it. It is the glass. This glass sucks. OH, and what is that color in the center? Rubino Oro. You can't get too more opposite glasses in my opinion. EDP needs a near reduction flame (propane heavy, cold flame). For me, that brings a film of metal to the surface that I can easily etch off to reveal a lovely rich purple. The rubino oro needs a hot oxygen rich flame, but not too hot or you burn off the gold in it. A reduction flame turns rubino oro black. Insert frustrated grumbling and table kicking and a couple of choice swear words under my breath when I put this rod in the flame and it frosted the transparent ink it was next to and went a funky bleached out purple.

Okay okay, I am a professional glass artist. I can handle this. I refuse to let EDP get the best of me. I could to make this work. So I just went for it. I came up from the studio 2 and a half hours later with a dozen hollows soaking in the kiln. I had the feeling that they would come out as some of the prettiest beads I ever made, or the ugliest.

drum roll please,

swiftly bound 1
swiftly bound 2
swiftly bound 3
swiftly bound 4
swiftly bound 5

Oh. My. Stars. I am so glad I made these beads! I didn't know how much I wanted/needed them, not how I saw in my head, but just like this. They are perfect and I love them. And they have already been wired up into and amazing necklace for my book two pitch. I called them "Swiftly Bound". I think they turned out pretty-ugly. The kind of ugly that is actually pretty and insanely hot right now. I love their random streaky goodness. They are rustic and hearty. I thought I wanted them to look like a fantastically viberant sunset but this works just as well.

Any happy/annoying/delightful/frustrating accidents happening in your studio these days?

Wednesday, July 07, 2010

Holiday Weekend Fun

blanket view
cold water
street view
little detail
We have had a rather delightful weekend around these parts. Ron had an extra long four day holiday weekend that extended through Tuesday. The heat is being oppressive (as it is all over the country, right) but we have kept busy and cool. On the 4th, we spent a few hours in the creek at Webster Park. On the 5th we rented movies and stayed inside with just short bursts out in the backyard to pick garden goodies and mowing the yard. Yesterday was my favorite though, we hung out all day in my studio!! Ron was finally ready to finish tackling the metalsmithing desk he started back in January. It couldn't come at a better time, but more on that another day. Not only did we do all of this, but I was also able to make beads and finish three more samples to pitch my second book. I couldn't be more excited.

Along the way, through the weekend, I have had my camera at my side for the Picture Summer project. (Today is the last day to sign up!!) I am love love loving the daily email prompts, the classroom discussions, the feedback from fellow students, and how I am getting to know my camera better. I am going to have fun on August 1st making a mosaic of the month!!

How did you spend your holiday weekend? And what are you doing to stay cool?

Saturday, July 03, 2010

Picturing Summer

lakeside 3
blueberry wine
July 1st marked the start of Picture Summer on Big Picture Scrapbooking with Tracey Clark. Already I am really enjoying this!! We gearing up for a hot hot holiday weekend here. I hope you find ways to stay cool and celebrate. See you later in the week.

Friday, July 02, 2010

Because I Can

cartwheeling
Yesterday, I spent a lot of time thinking on this new approach I am taking to the month of July. And I was thinking on some of the projects I have going on. And I was thinking on how so much is out of my control. Which led to wondering what I can control right now. And that brought me right back to thinking on how I can work on my summer attitude. I may not be able to hurry up a process that I want to hasten and I may not be able to end the vicious cycle of heat and humidity, but there are other things I have power over. Right? There has to be.

I was emailing back and forth with a friend the other day while feeling rather low. She made every effort to distract me and help me find a new path to wander down mentally. One thing she asked was "... are you imagining other things?" Of my situation, I said this, "I feel like all my eggs are in this basket and what if nothing hatches? I am not imaging anything else." What an awful feeling to be overwhelmed with, isn't it? Me, not imagining? That was when I wrote the note to July and that is why I was doing cartwheels in the wet grass at 8am this morning. I need to reconnect with ME and find a way to breathe again. It all has me feeling like there is a lot of possibilities in the weeks to come. I am keeping my basket of eggs close by, but I am looking for other hidden eggs too and I'll add them to my collection. Something is bound to hatch sooner or later, right?

So, one pretty little egg that was revealed to me by that same wise friend was a challenge of sorts. Y'all know I have been taking Kelly Rae Roberts's Flying Lessons E-course. One of the things we talked about was building a since of community. I love this idea, and I crave it. It is probably why I spend more time on my computer than in my studio recently... I want to be connected to people. Kelly Rae takes part in something she calls Lovebomb. And right there is where the challenge comes in. I have been told I should start planning a super-fabulous something to connect with like minded people. The suggestion instantly had my mind going a mile a minute with wants. Really though, the idea is in its infancy. I am thinking a weekend in a cabin/house on one of the Finger Lakes here in NY is a good place to start. Who is with me?

Thursday, July 01, 2010

Hello July

hello july
Hello July,

It has been a while, July. What? Like a whole year since the last time we visited, right? I hate to say it, but I have to be honest with you. You aren't my favorite month. In fact, you might possibly be my least favorite month. With your heat and humidity and endless sun, boredom ensues so easily 'round here. You lend yourself to whining and sleeping with the fan on and mosquito bites and bickering siblings and faded hair color. Not this year though. This summer, together, we can change things. It won't be easy, I doubt you are going to compromise that much. And like it has been in all the other areas of my life, I am going to have to be the one to embrace refinement. That's what we do in our day to day isn't it? Refine it. Mold it. Make it what we want it to be. It used to be that I would blame others for what is wrong with my life and expect them to change. But now I know that I need to look at me first. You are lucky there, July. I am not completely blaming you for what is wrong with summer. My attitude is part of the problem.

Here is what I am thinking should happen, Mr. Month. We need to lighten up and laugh a little more. We need to wear our hair in big tails and we need to have more tea parties and teach the kids to cross their eyes. We need to acknowledge that a lack of structure, though it sounds tempting, doesn't work for us. We need activities, we need a plan of attack, I mean, fun. Let's turn the TV off and turn the radio up. Let's have backyard picnics and take naps under the maple tree or watch clouds float by. I promise to say YES! more and no less. I'll let go of expectations if you will give me a rainy day here or there, please. We can squirt water guns and color on the side walk more. We can disconnect more from technology and connect to each other and our hearts.

Seriously, I don't think you realize just what a commitment this will be for me. It goes against my grain to think that summer has possibilities. I know I sound like a baby, but at least I am willing to try. Right? It's just you and me, July, for the next 31 days. Here is hoping we can find a way to get along.

Yours Truly,
Kerry