Stormy day in north Florida and the Southeast U.S.

We have stormy weather all around us. A very dynamic storm system is lodged to the west and north of us, in a diagonal line that's drawing moisture from the Gulf into the storm. The good news for us is that while this is occurring, so far the system itself is staying to the west. If it begins to drift eastward, things will change here.

I'm keeping my fellow Southeasterners in my heart and prayers this day. The Weather Channel promises it will be a long one and that these storms will not be over soon. And am also keeping those in Kentucky and Indiana in my heart and prayers, too. For the worst has happened to some of them, already.

It's always interesting, when I fear that Dooms Day may be approaching my home, to figure out what things to take into our safe place. I grab critical papers, my laptop and cell phone, my dog's critical things, my pillows, some First Aid... and then I look at my collection of studio tools (the fruits and acquistions of my life's work, gained painfully sometimes -- and critical to the future of my jewelry career) and try to think of what is absolutely core to the survival of my jewelry making.

My entire pliers collection and wire cutters, favorite hammers, raw materials and finished jewelry. This time I grabbed my scrap pile, because the silver has value. With two art shows looming in the near future, I would not have time to rebuild my inventory, should I lose my working studio.

This is when I get in touch with how tools and materials are the future for me. Insurance on the house would cover everything else, should it be lost. But my studio, since it's not specially insured, would not be. And this is also when I'm reminded that I need to scan in old family and childhood photos and store them in 'the cloud.' (If ever I didn't feel too busy...)

But mosty I get in touch with the treachery of stormy weather in this region and how vulnerable we and our materials things are.


Photo of Glen and me on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North  Carolina, in the mid 1990s! One of the few pics I've scanned in so far.