It Snowed At The Colosseum ??

The Boys hanging out. 

Valentines orders and inventory have been keeping me away from my blog.  I think that is almost over!

 I did hear the end of a news story about snow at the Colosseum.  Our recent time in Roma came back to me in a flash.  I pictured the Faux Roman Gladiators who are sandal clad, and mini skirted were a bit cold.  The image of them tromping through the snow in sandals tickled me.

Everyone has seen this outer photo, but rarely inside.

I thought I would share a few photos from the day we took the tour.  We have spent so much time in Roma and NEVER went to the Colosseum.  I'm so glad we did.  The photos say it all.

Not sure whose heads these are...

Now I am off to bed!
Thanks for stopping by!
xo
Suz

The Knives for the Invitational

Front and back bolsters are Moki-ti, bookending blue Mastodon.

Every year Bob goes to a show in Las Vegas called "The Tactical Invitational."  A select group of tactical knife makers are invited to a small room at the Palms.  There is a buffet with the guy slicing the roast beef (big hit with Bob!), a DJ, and buyers have 3 hours to fondle the knives.  Bob will have 7 knives this time.  Each knife on the table will have a little box behind it to put tickets in.  One ticket per box per person.  There are those who bring several "helpers" to the show.  Because one ticket is drawn for each knife, and that person gets the "opportunity" to buy that knife.   If you bring 7 friends, and they all put tickets in a box of a favorite knife, the odds increase of getting it. 

Single Checkering Ebony bookended by Damascus bolsters

A "Persian" blade, Moki-ti bolster, with a lightening strike handle.

So here are a few of the knives going to Vegas.  I will stay home and keep the home fires burning, so to speak.  Vegas is just not my scene.  But these are some high end space age materials that Bob used.  One is "Moki-ti" that is a layering like "mokume" with different kinds of titanium.  Frankly I don't even understand how they make it.  The other really cool material of the knife directly above this is "Lightening Strike" carbon fiber.  It was designed by Boeing to make planes out of.  The copper wire running through the carbon fiber is an all encompassing lightening rod.  Pretty cool.  Bob also made one knife with a ceramic blade.  The knife below is made of "Superconductor" and "Lightening Strike".  The superconductor is from the super collider in Texas that they scrapped.  Lucky me gets the scraps, and those turn into jewelry in my Etsy shop. 

Even the thumb disc is Superconductor

We've both been beavering away in the shop.  I have several superconductor hearts I sell as pendants.
I'm so grateful to be able to work with these cool materials...thanks Honey! And I know at the end of the night Saturday, the knives will all be going to new homes.  I better take one last look.

Superconductor sliced many ways gives it different patterns.

Thanks for reading.  Each day is a gift, open now.

xo,

Suz

Out Of This World Love

A finished heart

Rarely does a material come across my bench that speaks to me the way meteorite does.   I had seen it used for knife handles by many knife makers.  I had also seen it cut on a lathe for wedding bands.  The machinery needed to work with meteorite is intense.  I use a large band saw that I sit at.  Very slowly the blade works it's way through the iron, and can only cut a straight line.  I joke that I could cut our living room couches in half with this saw, but it's true.  Then tough belt grinding to shape the hearts.  It heats up quickly, so I must protect my fingers while grinding.  Drilling the hole for the chain dulls drill bits, and gets too hot to hold before the hole is done.  I etch them in nitric acid which pops the texture.

Traced and ready to cut

Band saw cutting

The other reason that meteorite is so meaningful to me is it's origin.  I'm a space nerd.  Thinking about a meteorite  careening toward Earth, and crashing to the ground excites me.  I know, I'm a weird woman.  I don't care.  I think wearing something, or having something that has been flying around our galaxy is fantastic!  Which is why every year for Valentine's Day I make and sell meteorite hearts: "Out of this world love"  I call them.

The cost of the material is starting to make it prohibitive, as materials and my time to make this item make it costly for buyers. However, there is no one else making anything like them.  So I do. My husband doesn't even use this material.  But because of him, and sharing his knife making shop, we have the tools to work meteorite.   Below is the history of the pieces I am using for other science minded types who want to know more.

"Two masses were found in 1967, total 323 kg. It was determined as coarse octahedrite, bandwidth 2.0 mm(iron llE). There was new expedition on Seymchan meteorite place in 2004. During the expedition there were several finds of different size meteorite individuals. Recent find shows that this meteorite is close to Glorietta Mountain and contains NUMEROUS OLIVINE GRAINS!!!! SEVERAL SMALL INDIVIDUALS FOUND ON SPRING TERRACE. It was a big surprise after cutting the individuals that they contain few olivine grains and shows a nice structure. Iron meteorites are composed of primarily iron and nickel alloys and are believed to be derived from planetary cores that were broken apart billions of years ago. Meteorite is absolutely stable, not any rust going on it after cutting. The pictures shows metal structure, olivine grains forms, It is interesting that some individuals contain olivine and other not contain olivine. Some individuals has surface with fusion crust like Sikhote-Alin, some looks like Chinge, and some looks like Sikhote shrapnel."

Each piece is different.

Thanks for reading.
Each day is a gift, open now.
xo,
Suz 

Happy 2012 !!!!

The Kiva fireplace with tree rings cut from years past where we write the family history of those years.

I am spending my last day with my daughter and grandson before they leave for home.  The last day is always so bittersweet.  I cry all the way home from the airport.  But, that's the way it is.  I am so happy that we spend our time together.  Bob really is crazy about her.  That's nice to see.

Kneading the dough, Kell stood on a stool for leverage!

We finally got our Italian pasta machine. So on New Year's Eve we had a pasta making family activity.  We tried the recipe from the cooking class in Italy...and that did not work.  Much too dry.  So we added water, olive oil and were able to roll out the pasta.  Bob loves Fettuccini with shrimp, so he made that.  We ate crab legs with that for dinner.  Donning our Christmas Cracker crowns, and opening the last of the Kinder Eggs, we had a great dinner.  Gosh, we were stuffed.  Later friends came with their kids and we played Apples to Apples.

Fettuccine !!

Glitter from New Years party favors is all over everything in the house.  I want to clean it up, but it's a reminder of our lovely time together, so I am taking my time.

I wish you all a happy new year.  May your heart's desires come true.  Lots of love, and thanks for reading. Bring on 2012 !!!

Each day is a gift, open now.
xo,
Suz 

Merry Hanukkah

It's early in the morning on Christmas Eve.  Tonight we will have a turkey dinner for friends who have no family here, or are alone this year.  My Etsy shop orders kept me busy until the last minute.  I tried to shoot a photo for our card, but it proved harder to get a photo of a  chicken in a santa hat than I anticipated.  :-)  It's been an exciting year.

Roma 2011

We got the chickens, which now number 23 hens.  The "coop mahal" was built and is working very well in the unseasonably cold weather we are having.  Travel was plenty with our trip to the National Parks and "home" to Rome for an extended stay.   We lost two elderly cats Francesca, and Columbo.  I spent 6 months in a cast with a broken foot. But now it's almost 100% and I am up and running.  For this I am extremely grateful.  My first walk around the block felt like a gift last week.

Bob and Fausto meet for the first time.

Last week I found 2 kittens as a gift for Bob for Christmas.  He missed sleeping with a cat in the bed.  And technically, they are to be his kittens.  I searched for a long time for a kitten who would "purr on contact."  The local shelters all got to know me well.  One ended up calling me last weekend to say she knew of 4 kittens that I would like, that would be available that day.  We got two 12 week old street cats.  Short haired, male, long bodied balls of purring fur.  One is named "Fausto" and the other "Figaro."  They are extremely friendly, and social.  Just what I was looking for.

Fausto and Figaro their first morning in our bed.

I also found out recently that my Grandmother from England was a Jew.  Anyone who knows me well knows that I have a latke party every year, and have lit a menorah on Hanukkah most of my adult life.  I am proud to be a Jew, if only by heritage.  Just as I was delighted to know I was a tiny bit black.  All of this was a family secret kept well hidden.  I continue to pursue our true genealogy in hopes of solving some other mysteries.  I feel a book is on the horizon telling the story of my Father's true father. Which looks to be a man we know as "Uncle Gus" who came to visit my Grandparents for 2 weeks.  He stayed for 22 years!!!  I imagine it's a long story.

Francesca and Columbo: their last photo together.

So tonight when I light the candles on our dinner table, I will be lighting our menorah.  My daughter and grandson arrive this week.  We will have our first latkes, and matzoh ball soup together.  I really look forward to celebrating all of my heritage with my kids. 

Columbo from Hanukkah's past

I wish you all a Happy Christmas, Beautiful Hanukkah, and a fantastic New Year!

Our tree from 2008. We decided not to get a tree this year with kittens.

Thanks for reading.  Each day is a gift, open now.

xo,

Suz

Finding Geppetto

The wall on the edge of Calcata

More from Italy.  The day we took the cooking class our chef took us to a town just 4km away from the class.  A town called Calcata that was built in the 11th century.  Artisans of all types live there.  Even a knife maker.  We stopped in a literal hole in the wall for shots of coffee (cappuccino).  The narrow cobblestone streets, wooden shutters and doorways looked like a scene from Pinnochio.  I joked with Bob that I expected Geppetto to pop up at any moment.  And she did !

Foot traffic only

House #14

I knew Pinnochio was here somewhere. At the cafe, it turns out.

Some of the many cats in Calcata

Calcata style door

A Dutch puppet maker  Marijcke van der Maden  was sitting in her shop.  Wood burned in her stove for heat.  The walls were carved into stone.  Everywhere I looked there were marionette parts, tiny clothes, and puppets hanging  from the ceiling.  In the back nook I found over a hundred puppets posed that I was told were part of her Nativity Scene she makes every year. She said she adds a new town member every year.  She doesn't say who it is, and surprises them.  Her shop was magical.  I would have spent more time there, if we weren't scheduled for our class.

Marijcke was carving heads

Part of the town Nativity scene.

Marijcke and her marionettes

A fave of mine.

The door handle to her shop.  I collect hands...so of course I swooned.

Thanks for reading.  Jet Lag has brought you this blog today...as I can't sleep past 5am :-) Below is a link from the NYTimes about Calcata.
Each day is a gift, open now.
xo, Suz

http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/living/articles/living-in-the-italian-hill-town-calcata.shtml

http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/travel/28dayout.html

Filling Christmas Orders

Bob checking out the Gladiator's blade at the Colosseum

I am home, and slammed with orders.  Will write more later.  Here's a photo of Bob and a "Gladiator" at the Colosseum. :-D

Thanks for reading.
Each day is a gift. Open now.
xo,
Suz