A Social Perspective

Bev, of bjsartworks Gallery, hosts the Domestic Violence Awareness Project to raise awareness of domestic violence and to reach out to victims and their families. Her third annual presentation is titled "A Social Perspective"and it is taking place in her Gallery at The Shirt Factory in Glens Falls, NY. Local artists will be selling their art inspired by any social element of domestic violence and awards will be given to best in show for first, second, and third place, as well as an honorable mention.

All proceeds will be donated to Catholic Charities Domestic Violence Project, a local organization that has helped many local victims and their families. Charitable donations are also being accepted, please review the show cards designed by bjsartworks Gallery for more information.





Follow the personal and artistic journeys of bjsartworks at the following blogs:
http://bjsartworks-kimberlylong1977-2008.blogspot.com/
http://bjsartworks.blogspot.com/

For the Bride and Her Ladies

I try to keep a variety of jewelry in my shop to suit different styles and occasions. Some pieces are more appropriate for a night on the town, while others are better for work or a special occasion. Some are more versatile, dressing up a simple outfit or accenting something more elegant.

The Blog Carnival topic for the EtsyBloggers this month is weddings. I actually carry items in my shop that would be perfect for the bride's special day or as a gift to her bridesmaids. My crocheted pearl necklaces are popular for weddings. I don't mass produce them, but I do accept custom orders. It's helpful to me if you send me a picture of the color you are trying to match or a link to the beads you'd like me to purchase to use.

I offer a couple styles of crocheted pearl necklaces. My favorite style is the single crochet pearl necklace of either the same color pearl or of alternating colors. This works well with fresh water pearls or glass pearls.


Another style I can make is the single crochet strand that simulates a double stranded necklace. This requires two colors of pearls.



The third type is the braided crochet necklace. This uses only a few pearls and many tiny seed beads. It is similar to this necklace (without the starfish pendant).



Don't forget about jewelry for the bachelorette! I can make matching bracelets for the divas or a Bridezilla whistle lanyard.

Basin and Saddleback

I tagged along with the Albany chapter of the ADK to hike Basin and Saddleback. We had carpooled from Queensbury and fortunately were able to squeeze into two cars because the parking lot at the Garden was already full at 7am when we got there. Us passengers got a head start and walked toward the Johns Brook Lodge where we met two more in the group, while the drivers parked their cars at the overflow and walked back to meet us at the lodge. The walk from where we were dropped of at the Garden to the Lodge was 3.6 miles, mostly flat terrain.



When we had all of our group together we started off to Slant Rock via the Johns Brook Trail (Phelps Trail). We stopped to rest at Slant Rock before picking up the Shorey Short Cut trail which is a tough, steep climb, but allows you to avoid climbing Little Haystack. We picked up the State Range Trail which we followed up Basin. There were a few tough spots going up Basin requiring us to find foot and hand holds to pull ourselves up the bare steep rock.

The view from Basin was very rewarding, Haystack and Marcy were so close. It's not quite a 360 degree view but you can move around the summit and see almost everything. There's a tricky spot coming down Basin which leads you down a some steep rock (with some roots to hold on to) ending at the side of the mountain with not much between you and the bottom. From this spot you can see Saddleback ahead, as well as Gothics and Pyramid.





I had heard about the Saddleback Cliff that we'd have to climb, but it was not as bad as I had expected, though the other short women with me on the hike and I joked that there should be a Smokey the Bear sign at the bottom of the trail saying "You must be this tall (maybe over 5'6") to ride this ride." It is definitely helpful to have a taller person go up first and grab your had as you try to step across between a foothold and the other side of the crevice in the boulder where you need to be. I'm not quite my short legs would have made it across without the leader giving me a hand. There is one spot after that where assistance is nice, but then its pretty manageable. We pretty much scaled the cliffs on our hand and feet nearly vertical while joking that we were like Spiderman. It's about as close to technical rock climbing without actually being technical rock climbing. I was just glad we were doing a loop and I didn't have to go back down that!


The summit was a little smaller but had great views. We could look over and see Basin, where we just had come from. We took the State Range Trail to the Ore Bed Brook Trail and then back to the Johns Brook Lodge and followed the same way out back to the Garden.



The whole trip was about 16 miles and we completed it in about 11 hours.

To see all the pictures click here.

Colvin and Blake

I joined the Central New York Hiking Meet Up Group when I saw they had a group going up Colvin and Blake. We met around 9am at the DEC parking lot on Rt. 73 by the Ausable Club in Keene. Half the group split to head right up Colvin and Blake, but the rest of us took a side trip to Cathedral Rock and Bear Run.



We passed Cathedral Rock and continued on to Bear Run on a flat to small grade incline terrain. We had to climb up a narrow crevice between some rocks, and at the top Bear Run was waiting for us. There was a nice view where we stopped for some picture taking. Returning to Lake Rd from Bear Run we decided to take the Pyramid Brook Trail to pick up the Lake Road Trail again. We thought we saw the Lake Road Trail on the other side of the river, and we were trying to find the bridge to cross but nobody was sure how far back we would have to go to find it. We rock hopped across the river, I lost my footing and fell in. This was my first time wearing my new boots hiking, but this was a bad situation to test their waterproof abilities since the water had gone over the top of the ankles and down in. After zipping off the wet bottoms of my pants, pouring the water out of my boots, changing my socks and making linings with plastic bags to keep my extra pairs of dry socks from getting wet from the soggy interior, we were on our way. My pride was bruised but I felt a little less embarrassed knowing two others went in as well. The whole side trip took longer than expected and it was now noon as we began to pick up the pace.

Once we found the real Lake Road Trail we took that to the Bypass Trail and decided to save Indian Head and Fish Hawk Cliffs for the end if time permitted. We (the front half of the group) made it up Colvin in good time, took a brief rest on the summit with views of Haystack, Marcy, Basin, and the Ausable Lake.



We continued on to Blake before some of our group had caught up. Going down Colvin was steep in spots, a couple ladders have been built to make going down the steep bare rocks easier. We met those who skipped Cathedral Rock and Bear Run, including the barefoot hiker, just as the trail was starting to ascend Blake. Blake is probably my least favorite peak so far. It was a difficult climb up only to get a little peak through the trees at the summit. Only a tree carving indicates that you are on the summit.





Leaving Blake we had to go up Colvin again and at the summit we could see the rain clouds closing in. The weather forecast was for 30% chance of showers all day, but we had been blessed with blue skies and perfect temperatures up until this point. The rain storm coming towards us looked pretty fierce but we only got a little rain at the top of Colvin, and a little more once we were down.

We skipped the plans of Indian Head and Fish Hawk Cliffs and headed back to the AMR gate via the seemingly endless Lake Road Trail. We arrived at our cars just before dark. Though my feet were sweat soaked in the non-breathable plastic bag inserts in my boots, I was pleased to see that I may not have a knee problem after all! Every hike I had gone on this year my knee would be aching on the descent, if not earlier. I attributed the pain to my dystonia and the way my foot naturally turns out when I walk, figuring that over time it was taking it toll on my right knee - but maybe it was all in the footwear.

To see all the pictures from this trip click here.