This is the First Day of the rest of my life

[Shaeliya]

Good day to start a new life. January 1, 2012. Hey, 2012 has finally arrived!

I'm 63, mother of three, grandmother of ten, wife of one, live on a mountain in the Colorado Rockies, in a small two room cabin we heat with wood, have running water because we run and get it, have sawdust composting toilets, off the grid and get power from the sun, internet from a wireless, broadband connection, own too many goats (37 last count), two large dogs, one cat that owns us, huge garden, and generally have an independent life.

I've had several different incarnations of "who I am" during my life, starting out as a performing musician, morphing into a published writer, and now I'm an artist with beads. I just finished building a beading loom yesterday and plan to begin a new project of making tapestries with beads. I was doing off-loom weaving of beads, and have figured out that what I really love about beads is making pictures, so I'm trying this new approach of a bead loom large enough to do wall hangings.

As for raw food, it's been a bouncing life - in and out of raw for the past four years. Raw is the only way I've ever successfully taken weight off and kept it off, so I'm back with it again. With a few bounces out (Thanksgiving, birthdays) I've been mostly raw for the past two months and have lost another 30 pounds. Over all, my total weight loss has been 100 pounds with raw food. I have another 130 pounds to go.

Shaeliya

[MysticTree]

hello and welcome,

What a wonderful life you describe. I would love to see some of your work if you have any pictures to share.

[GoodCat]

Welcome... We're in Colorado as well.. We would love to get a cabin in the mountains and be off-grid!! Hopefully someday soon.

I'm with you that I only seem to do well when raw. I tend to bounce as well, but I'm trying to make the bounces less and the all raw more

Blessings,
Cathy

[Shaeliya]

Thank you! I'll see if I can successfully attach a picture here. This is an eagle I designed for my husband who is a pipe carrier in the Lakota tradition and whose totem is the eagle.

[MysticTree]

I have millions of beads and am planning to start making some this year but I wouldn't have the patience I think to make these impressive pictures. I make light-pulls and necklaces and suchlike with mine.