The Five Cent Tour

Welcome to my little corner of the world.  My nest.  Or would that be lair?  Okay, so it's supposed to be the "family" room but everybody in my family knows it's my room.  Yes, my husband designed it to be his room with a big television, comfy oversize leather furniture and hunting decor.  But he did such a bang up job of making it cozy that I pretty much moved in and took over.  Come in, let me show you around.

The wood slab coffee table used to belong to my husband's parents.  They had it in their living room for years and the grandchildren all played on it - there's a perfect child-sized hole there with one of the lower legs running under it that makes a "desk".  After my father in law passed away and my mother in law moved into a smaller house, the table just didn't look right.  It got passed along to us and I think it looks fabulous in this room.  It also makes a dandy place to pile beads.  You'll see I have a color palette there for a swap I'm doing with the uber-talented Lindsay Starr and a bunch of Czech beads I'm considering for another swap.  And you can see the niche where the kids always sat:

My workboard is on the other side of the table with my current work in progress.  I'm stalled on it, though, since I ran out of copper seed beads and had to order more.  I would have sworn I had another package of them...

And then comes the command center:

The actual center of the universe, as far as I'm concerned.  Can you tell where I sit?  The cushions are so worn on that end of the couch that they're permanently squished.  The fuzzy blanket gives the dog and I something to fight over.  I like it over my feet and she thinks it's hers.  In all fairness, she's little and the leather IS cold when you first sit on it.  I can't imagine how it must feel on her belly when she lays beside me, so I usually let her have it. 

Gosh, I could have at least picked up my oatmeal bowl, but nope, there it is.  Right there for all to see.  Yes, I drag food here and eat in front of the TV.  At least this was healthy food - the overnight oatmeal/yogurt with chopped up mango in it.  I love that stuff and it's not just for breakfast!

You can also see my phone, one of my hundred pair of reading glasses, the TV remote and a few random beads.  Doggie's collar is on the other side of the lamp because my son always takes it off her so she can run naked.  He insists she likes being naked.

The shelf underneath has more beads I dug out for a project.  I've wanted to do a fringe bracelet with an under-the-sea theme and I've been collecting bits for it.  I have some Czech glass fish and shells, some real seashells, stick coral, some starfish charms and a random assortment of seed beads there.  I'll get around to that one of these days.  Or I'll sort it all back into the containers of beads I have by color and they'll surface again somewhere down the line for some other project.  Nothing stays static for long here - ideas come and go faster than I can keep up.

The little tote on the floor is supposed to hold my essentials like my scissors and assorted pliers.  Right now, however, it also holds a nail file, hand lotion, Epoxy clay and duct tape.

And this is me.  And that's the nickle tour.  Thanks for coming and be sure to tip your guide.