Here is a before and after photo of our backyard after Tennessee Valley Authority has cut down our 100+ year old oak trees, leaving holes in the yard and killing the grass.

Tennessee Valley Authority Should Be Shut Down!

At this very moment, our neighborhood is being destroyed by Tennessee Valley Authority. There is a transmission line easement through our backyards and has been since 1942. All of us who live here were aware of the easement when we bought our homes. Every 5 years or so, TVA would send reps out to check the vegetation growing near the lines and they would ask us to trim our trees. We have oak trees that are over 100 years old in our backyard, as do many of our neighbors. We have always complied with their requests and have enjoyed the shade and privacy our trees and shrubs have provided us. That has changed. In June, we were informed that TVA is clear cutting along their easement. That means that no vegetation that has the potential to grow over 6 feet tall will be allowed under the transmission lines. Nothing that can grow over 15 feet tall will be allowed along the remainder of the 75 foot easement. The reality is that they will cut down anything they want to. We are losing 4 massive oak trees that are between 60 and 70 feet away from the lines, dogwood trees, crape myrtles and a dwarf butterfly bush. Our neighbors are losing or have already lost sycamores, oaks, maples, bradford pears many shrubs. One neighbor's wood fence was cut and shoddily repaired after his trees were cut down. They don't care and don't think they owe us anything. These crews come in at 6:15 AM and start getting their chainsaws ready to destroy. They have cut down trees that were previously tagged by their "Specialists", but they have cut down a dwarf butterfly bush in our backyard that wasn't tagged. We have been lied to and disrespected by these "Specialists". Whenever we ask questions, they give us scripted replies, that have nothing to do with the questions asked. We have talked to 4 groups of 2 reps at different times, and they recited their scripts each time. We heard them so many times, that we were able to recite along with them. TVA has a presence in 7 southern states. They claim our electric rates are lower, but that remains to be seen. TVA is not environmentally friendly. TVA still operates coal fired plants. They are not replacing "unacceptable" vegetation with "acceptable" vegetation, they are just destroying millions of trees and causing erosion and air pollution. They have several nuclear power plants that were scrapped or deemed unsafe and abandoned. Now, they are wasting millions on this destructive clear-cutting along their transmission lines. TVA has a deficit in excess of $25 BILLION dollars, yet Washington keeps pumping more into this monster. We should all be protesting to our Congressmen and Senators to stop this waste of our tax dollars. Even though TVA operates only in the south, everyone in the USA is paying for TVA's waste. President Obama wanted to shut TVA down and privatize it. He should! TVA SUCKS!

Black Friday/Cyber Monday Special!

I am having a special in my ArtFire shop (GlassFancy)for Black Friday/Cyber Monday. From Friday, November 23rd through Monday, November 26th, free shipping on all jewelry. This special is only on my jewelry section. Lots of fused glass pendants! Some are Christmas themes, some dichroic glass, millefiori, decals. http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/GlassFancy/1/7/11707//

Goodbye Ruby Tuesday!

Just got back from Ruby Tuesday. It is really disappointing to see how they have gone downhill. Their $5 drinks now come in on the rocks glasses (yet the menu shows them in tall glasses) and we got a big plate with two tiny little turds of cold dried up biscuits on it. We didn't eat them. Our plates had no garnishes, so my crab cake looked very lonely on that big old plate all by itself. The crab cake didn't slide off the plate because it was stuck on the plate with the remoulade sauce. Very appetizing! My husband ordered a fried shrimp plate and what he got was the shrimp and a baked potato on a big plate. Very plain and unappealing. They were cleaning 3 tables beside us when we came in, but left all the trash on the floor. Nice looking at a shrimp tail and various sugar packets, skewers and straws getting stepped on while we ate. Not worth it even with a coupon. We noticed that the restaurant was not even half full, a far cry from what it was two years ago. Sad that they ruined it by being stingy and cheap. Goodbye Ruby Tuesday.....

I am enjoying having a kiln. Fusing glass is addictive! These pendants are available in either my Etsy or ArtFire shops (links in the left hand column).

So Long, 2011!

I sit here, wondering when I will take down the Christmas tree and decorations. But, there's no time limit, so it will get done when it gets done. I no longer make New Year's resolutions, I make revelations. I realized that I was always pushing myself and staying in a rush for no good reason. No more of that.

There were a couple of nice changes in 2011. We adopted a young male lab/pointer mix as a companion for Gremlin. They are inseparable now and sleep in the same bed much of the time. He has ended up being more like a moose than a dog and eats like one, too.

I also bought a glass kiln. I wanted to move away from stained glass, into glass fusing. So far, I have slumped wine bottles. My next project will be fused glass pendants. I'm ready to learn!

Recycling Bottles

I bought a kiln this year. I will eventually be fusing glass, but at the recommendation of some of my fusing friends, I have started out slumping wine, beer and liquor bottles. The are really cool! They can be used as snack or cheese trays and beer bottles make good spoon rests.

It has helped me familiarize myself with the kiln. I know that it's going to take 5 hours for the program to run from start to finish. The hardest part is waiting for the kiln to completely cool down so the glass is room temperature. Have to wait until the next morning.

I guess the neighbors think we are lushes, there are boxes of bottles people have saved for us in the garage. The laundry room looks like a liquor store with cases of bottles stacked. At any rate, I'm having fun!