Roy’s Boat, Fishing at Goose Island, and making pendants and bracelets for up coming shows

Last year we all went to an estate sale where Roy spotted an older six horse outboard motor. He made an offer and they finally agreed to the price as long as he also took the old pram. While most saw a worthless old fiberglass pram, Roy saw an opportunity and started on a complete rebuild. Never bet against Roy.

After acquiring the boat and motor he worked on it, finished it this year, loaded it on a redesigned trailer and launched it at a nearby hurricane destroyed harbor. I helped him launch it and was surprised at its light weight! It floated nicely, the reworked motor started right away, and he easily motored around the small harbor. Now it’s time to take it out fishing! We know quite a few protected places where we have caught fish. Many are places where we have fished with our kayaks but this time we will have a motor, (Renita and I will still use our kayaks)

Roy and I did go fishing on the Goose Island State Park Pier, but the water level was extremely low and the fish were not there. The tides cause changes in the water level, but the biggest factor is the wind. We had a strong north wind gusting to forty miles per hour. It pushed the water out of the bay, leaving the oyster beds high and dry! In the photo you can see oyster beds that are normally covered with water.

After the shows last summer, we made cabochons to replace all that we had sold. To make each one we had to saw, grind, and polish the rough stone before attaching bails or wire wrapping them in sterling silver or fourteen karat gold filled wire, (gold filled wire is made by using heat and pressure to bond sheets of gold to a base metal wire and does not peel away the gold like gold plate). It has been known to stay beautiful for over one hundred years.

Each pendant and cabochon takes me about three hours to finish while the bracelets and their stones take five to six hours. Both require a steady hand, keen eyesight, (mine is not so keen anymore), and a magnifying glass mounted on a Opti visor!

If you have been reading our blog you can see the blue and white larimar, from the Dominican Republic, four rhodochrosite pendants, Morenci turquoise, and other beautiful agates and stones. All of the stone’s colors are natural as we do not use dyed stones. Our first show is February 4th and our first juried Gem and Mineral show is the first weekend in March.

The above picture is of all wire bracelets made of sterling, gold filled wire, and ar every popular! Its always a rush to get finished as fishing, bird watching, dolphin antics, and making jewelry compete for our time. Time is the most precious asset we have and so we try not to waste it. Clear