An Introduction To Me

I really have no idea how to start this off, I seem to get a complete blank. Tempted to start as.. Once upon a time... lol

Anyway, first and foremost though, I am my mum's carer. She has MS (multiple sclerosis). She was diagnosed about 1993 I think. I left work almost five years ago, to become her full-time carer. She's still a very independant person, thank goodness. I just basically do all the carrying and fetching, cooking, housework, etc, the day-to-day stuff. Sometimes she'll have a fall, which is very scary, and really brings home how debilitating MS can be. Her MS isn't as aggressive as some forms of it. Apparently, the first sign that she had it was when I was about 18 months old. She had double vision, but as the tests of the time showed nothing, and it eventually cleared up, they put it down to other things. Basically, it went into remission for an incredibly long time. We have no idea what cause it to show again. It started off with her dragging a foot, our neighbour had actually thought she'd had a stroke. But this time, the tests showed up the MS.

After I left work, I was at a complete loss. It's amazing how boring it can be to do nothing. I didn't have a hobby or any real interests at that time, and was soon ready to climb the walls. In early 2004 I discovered beading, beaded jewellery to be exact. One of my friend's birthday was coming up and I decided to make her something. Of course, those first pieces have since fallen apart lol Dont worry, I did remake some jewellery for her, which has held together! lol I have completely fallen in love with beading and jewellery making. I love using sterling silver, gemstones, crystals and pearls. It's amazing the variety that is available. I think it's the colours that get me though, soooo many stunning and lush colours, from delicate pastels to vibrant gem shades.

From jewellery making, I discovered another hobby.. lampworking! This is where you take a coloured glass rod, melt it in a flame and make beads. I've come to believe that I am a bit of a pyro! When I haven't had a chance to torch, I definitely get withdrawals! It's incredibly addictive! It can be very uncomfortable torching in the summer though, as it can reach a scorching 40+ degrees celsius here. And considering I torch in the metal shed in the back yard I tend to stay inside in the airconditioning those days lol I'm finally getting a kiln too, which is crucial to anneal beads, so that they dont fracture due to stresses in the glass. So far, up to now, my friend has been annealing my beads for me. I should hopefully be getting it in about 4 weeks now, fingers crossed. Apparently they build them to order.

Amazingly, I have a third hobby as well, and that is designing graphics. Specifically, designing business cards for my beady friends. I've been doing that for a while now and have created a lot of different cards. I'm actually considering doing a correspondence course in Desktop Publishing sometime. That way I'll have something to fall back on when the time comes that mum doesn't need a carer anymore. Also, doing it via correspondence means that I don't have to leave home for an amount of time and therefore I'm always here for mum if she needs me.

Well, that's it for now. Thanks for visiting!

Cheers
Anne