Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Bitter Sweet...

Hi all, So by now most of you know that we are on our way back to America. California, the land of sunshine, where our home is & most of our family & friends live...the last year in England has been awesome, we have visited so many great places, we have lived in Oxford known world over for its lovely spires and prestigious schools...one of my fave is the New College which was built in 1379 ...This town is so gorgeous that during WWII Hitler told his military not to bomb it, he wanted to live here after the war...we have met some lovely people & made great friends here...going back home is always sweet, but leaving great new friends behind is the bitter part...what more can I say, our life is good indeed & we are grateful for all of it...

over the weekend we went to the British Museum & saw a couple of exhibits...I must say the one about Shah Abbas, one of the Kings of Persia who ruled about 400 years ago, was not as cool as I thought it was going to be. It seems that the new Government of Iran is trying re-write history again. They were responsible in a large part for making the exhibit happen, this was so apparent to myself & many other Expats as we noticed that the Persian part of Iran was kept out of the exhibit for the most part, all the writing & art that was displayed from the time of Shah Abbas was all in Arabic & Islam related...it was kind of deflating to see that the new Muslim Government of Iran is trying to kill off the Persian in the Persian History of Iran...After all Persia's history precedes Islam by about 1500 years or more, don't get me started...

The photo above is of the Egyptian part of the museum, its of core formed glass perfume bottles, coal eye liner bottles & fish made over 3200 years ago, I actually teach this technique of Core Forming in one of my advanced classes...as you can see contrary to what modern glass bead makers might tell us, raking designs have been around for many a millenia...

I have listed 2 new bead sets on etsy, click here to see them...

Kristen wins the bead for last week, send me your addy girl...The Pink Berry Splash bead above is this week's giveaway bead, you can enter to win it by making a comment on this blog post...

I had such a great time with Laura these past few weeks...will miss her lots...

Thanks for stopping by & for all the love...see you on the other side...

Jelveh

Peace

19 comments:

Sue said...

Hi Jelveh,

Travel safely.

I love the picture from the museum. Maybe we will see some Jelveh designs with these lovely colors and angles in a few weeks?

Sue

Anonymous said...

I think the Pink Berry Splash Bead is beautiful. I like the colors and design.

acptuser(at)hotmail(dot)com

Ring by Ring Designs said...

I can understand Bitter Sweet very well. Though we have been here in MA for 28 years, before that we moved a lot. In each place, we have many friends that we miss.
Like your newest bead.

Laura Sparling said...

Those vessels are amazing!

Have a safe journey tomorrow. I'm so pleased that we met, Jelveh. I'm going to miss you! I'll be out to see you soon .....

Lots of love and take care

Laura xxx

Anonymous said...

jelveh! 3200 years ago; hard to wrap my little pea brain around how old those beautiful pieces really are. wow! perfect name for the gorgeous freebie this week. travel safe, kind regards, lisa d., portland, oregon

juju said...

Hi Jelveh Welcome back to the states. I know how it is to move and leave friends behind. The new pink bead is great. Love the little sparkle running thru it.

The museum sounds like it was very good. Liked the pics of the old glass. So interesting to see exhibits of the old glass. Saw one in CA with old turkish glass. One never thinks of formed glass as being so old.

Hope Sammy made it safe and sound. It will be a big change for all of you when you arrive. My first time back to the states gave me culture shock lol

Peace as always

Maria João Rebelo said...

So soon?!!
Fly safely, let us know you're ok and be back soon!
Not everyone was as lucky as Laura and had the opportunity to meet you!!
I'm next on line! Don't forget to come again to the old continent and you may as well start with Lisbon!!!
Take care!!!

Anonymous said...

Hi Jelveh,
Love the colors in the weekly giveaway! Very festive!
I can imagine the "bitter sweetness" of the moment..always great to get back to close family, but hard to leave good friends.
This has been a great week for me...our 7th grandchild...a little girl... "Barrett Catherine Ann Morey" ...was born yesterday afternoon and she is gorgeous. Yes, life is good.
Have an easy move...good luck!
Sandi R.

Anonymous said...

I'm very excited about pink berry splash, that's a stunning bead!
Hampster is cute running in the sun. Jelveh, I am glad you had the opportunity to live abroad for awhile. That's interesting tidbit about Hitler & the city of Oxford & how beautiful it is there. Reading your blog weekly makes me feel like I was a part of your life there somehow. Welcome back to America!

Anonymous said...

Hi Jelveh,

It was very interesting reading your blog. Being an expat myself living in California for the past 20 years, it is interesting to hear what people think of my country. It sounds like you had a wonderful year there, and saw many things. It'll be nice for you to come back to the warm weater though, there's nothing like the California weather.

I just love the colors you have mixed together for this week's bead givaway. Great for spring! It is also such an unuasual shape, which is also great, as it gives a piece of jewelery that unique touch.

Have a safe trip home.

Nikki

ginny said...

Hi Jelveh:
It is understandable that you would have mixed feelings about moving. We are retired now but, as you know, my hubby was a Navy pilot. We moved every two years for 24 years. I always felt the way you do now. Good thoughts coming your way.
I love the raked design on that fish. It reminds me of a technique I use in making marbled paper. A vat is filled with water and a substance that makes it very dense. The ink is dropped onto the surface and then raked. Then the paper is carefuly placed on top. Amazing designs can be made. I love to do it. The problem is the mess it makes. LOL!
Your bead is beautiful. It reminds me of a tropical wave.
Ginny

SuziFitz Beads said...

Hee-hee, I love it! The "New College". It makes me wonder how old the "old" college was!

Beautiful new bead!

I truely hope your move goes super smoothly!

Vered said...

"it was kind of deflating to see that the new Muslim Government of Iran is trying to kill off the Persian in the Persian History of Iran...After all Persia's history precedes Islam by about 1500 years or more, don't get me started..."

Haha but I love reading about your political and religious views. I enjoyed one of your comments on my blog a lot. I value your views and find them fascinating.

Anonymous said...

Another magical bead by Jelveh! Have a safe trip - I'm sure you'll have some great stories to share with us next week :)

Anonymous said...

may god be with you & your family(including sammy) as you travel back to the states - just think if you hadn't gone to live in england for a year you wouldn't have made all those new friends..............leslie

Miss Chillipots said...

I love the give away bead. Very californian colours. Safe travels back and I am only sorry we didnt get to know each other sooner while you are in Oxford. I hope I will get to see you at Amy's in the summer or Turkey in the Autumn.
Love Kx

Anonymous said...

Hi Jelveh,
You're so lucky to have seen so much of the world, but there's nothing like going home. I miss Ohio where I am originally from. All of my 5 siblings are still there and I try to visit as often as possible. Mu husband and I are pretty well settled here in New York, although I'd much rather be in Ohio.

Your new beads are gorgeous, as always. I'm saving up to get a couple more for my collection.

namaste,
stephani

Unknown said...

You'd better have a very good trip (and safe) cos I totally expect you and Martin to come visit this summer :P I totally just realized why Martin's grandma and grandpa said his parents were going to Cali shortly--haha I'm dumb or rather exhausted...I know you'll miss England but a new chapter is about to begin! And what a story that will be!

love
Julia

Anonymous said...

I know Mom & Dad are happy to have their family back together. Hope you have a good flight. I think you will find that history is being rewritten all the time and that is just so wrong. I love the new beads that you have been making some of your best. Carolyn