I just stuck up a big batch of jewellery on Etsy. 
I've never done this before, or was even registered on Etsy, so it's rather big and scary. 
Tomorrow I formally inform HMRC I wish to be self-employed, and send off the exemption certificate informing them I don't wish to pay two sets of national insurance contributions. 

So here it is.  Please take a look and give me any relevant feedback.  Much appreciated. 

On a more cheerful note, I have been beach-combing. 
Some time ago I found this little spot which seems to have some strange combination of currents and tides which means the beach is always full of glass and ceramics (oh, and apparently sea ceramics are an official thing, like sea glass is).  The glass is frosted from being in the sea, but not as rounded and smoothed as most sea glass, presumably because there aren't really waves in the Straights, just currents and tides. 
As well as the more common stuff, I've found some pretty neat things...

There's a small area of beach down by Bangor pier where by some combination of currents and geography there is always loads of glass and broken china.  Lots of it looks pretty old, all worn away round the edges by the sea.  
I've been wanting to do something with the stuff for ages, so I thought I'd give it a go with wire-wrapping like Gwen taught me.  I've ended up with a bunch of pendants, and today I made some charms out of small pieces and made a whole necklace.  
I'm thinking of selling stuff I make online.  I think the whole thing's pretty neat, but I need outside opinions - is this proper jewellery, or will I get laughed of teh interwebs for flogging someone's rubbish?

I made a necklace (and matching bracelet). It was meant as a birthday present for a friend. But I can't stop wearing it. Oops. Fortunately her birthday is in May. Is it cheating if I keep it for myself until then?

By the way: Eeeee! New camera. Which can cope with close-up detail!

My friend Sarah has been enthusing about this abandoned warehouse she's discovered that she wants to explore.  This January we finally got down there.  It was so much more than an old warehouse - a huge factory complex which once employed 2000 people, just rusting and falling apart in the rain.  

( Cut for history and pictures )

Last week I purloined some metal owls from xanthalanari's jewellery stash, because owls are awesome. 
This weekend I made some earrings.  I didn't have two matching pieces, so they turned out in two different colours.  (The owls swing within the larger pieces). 

Apologies for lousy photo.  Am seriously considering buying a new camera. 

I'm really bad at having good ideas at bad times. 
For example, while I was trying to work on NaNoWriMo I had an amazing inspiration about how to hide undead at Maelstrom, and while I was trying to get to sleep two days ago, I had an inspiration for a piece of creative writing about my D&D character. 

What Geoffrey Did on his Holidays

For those not familiar with the character, Geoffrey is an incoherent hairy swarm druid with a propensity for turning into a heap of voles.  Except when he uses that daily skill which will turn him into a single vole (to better hide in beards etc). 

morgawse challenged me to write on this subject after we were both marvelling at ursulav's short piece.  (Apparently their D&D group all write little stories over the Christmas break). 

I've had a busy weekend. 
We went to Chester en masse to finish off the Christmas shopping and have a meal out with Raun and Iestyn. 

I think most of my Christmas presents are sorted bar a few that are still in the post and a few more I have all the parts for but have to make. I need to mail a few things myself though. 

I also tried out the flexible beading needles xanthalanari and I found at the market last week.  They seem to work really well, and pass through even the smallest seed beads, and are dead easy to thread because they don't have an eye, they just flex apart all down the middle.  Here is a necklace I made for my cousin.  My camera still demands - but is unable to - use the flash every time, so all my photos are lousy quality.  The five charms are four-leaf clovers, a favourite of hers. 

So I finally finished NaNoWriMo, and three days early at that.  Well, I say *finished* - I mean I got past 50000 words - but I haven't actually finished the damned plot.  I waffled too much at the beginning when I didn't know where I was going yet.  I reckon if I write the end and cut out all the earlier waffle, the whole thing might come to around 50K words.  Will carry on writing it,  but at a slower pace, methinks. 

Now I finally have time to start working on Christmas.  Somehow me and hammerhydra both actually get the period between Christmas and new year off, meaning I won't have to waste £50 on train tickets to get back home after having to work one lousy day.  Have also made a start on Christmas presents.  Have also made a start on making stuff.  If I'm uninspired about what to get people, they're going to get something home-made inflicted upon them.  That gives me bonus-points because superficially it looks like I've made an effort, which masks the fact I'm actually being lazy :)

Went on strike today.  Can't be arsed to debate the politics.  Bored of arguing on the internet. 

On a side-line, what's the etiquette on Facebook friends-of-a-friend who are trolling?  Because twice recently (not to do with the strike) I've encountered people who blatantly are, and I'm not sure what's polite to do.  The first one I just blocked, and the second I called 'troll' on and he went away.  But I don't know how he knows our mutual friend, so I don't know if I have to apologise to her.  If people are on someone's FB friends list, it's very unlikely they're total strangers, and somehow that makes bad behaviour worse.