Resin-Filled Pendants, Shining Up Bronze, and Earbuds That Stay In My Ears

So back to that last batch of metal clay... I made two bronze bezels and filled them with various stuff (like poppy seeds and Kañiwa) and resin.

 

These I love...

... but just like any highly polished metal (including what you get from Zales, etc) they will dull when worn and exposed to body oils, fingerprints, elements, etc.  It's just a matter of shining them back up occasionally.  I truly hope my customers understand that.  I want them to be able to shine up their jewelry when needed with very little fuss, muss, or expense.

Here's a photo of a hammer-textured bronze ring pendant that I wore non-stop for a couple months.

The image on the left is right after I took the pendant off the chain.  It's dull because of water, soap, elements, and body oils.  After less than half a minute of polishing (the image on the right), not only does it shine but you can actually tell the metal has a texture.

And now just a bit more sharing of my morning adventures...

The horses and cows seem to enjoy people watching.

I have to give kudos to a pair of earbuds that finally stay in my ear.  Yurbuds, sport earphones, developed for women.  The package says "Guaranteed to never fall out". 




And I can totally hear approaching cars on the road.  I'm very happy with them.

I went shoe shopping yesterday.  I figured with all this walking I should probably have some decent shoes.  Ideally two pair, but I'll work my way up.

First I tried on a bunch of walking sneakers.  They were all too narrow.

Then I tried on a bunch of hiking shoes.  They were wider, which is great for me, but something about them made the ball of my foot hurt.

I was about to give up when my friend suggested hiking sandals.  Tada!  Got myself a pair of men's Keen sandals.


Not "pretty", but I wore them today and everything seemed fine.  Yay!

I also got a pair of Injinji socks for when I alternate with my regular walking shoes (sneakers) because when my toes are close together (as they are in sneakers) I get blisters.

So that's my life now.  I get up (usually pretty early), eat breakfast, then hit the road.  :-)  I kinda do feel like I have more energy even though it's only been a week of daily 5-mile walks.  Even if it's psychosomatic, I'll take it.  :-)