is awesome.  I went and saw the movie “MOON” last night at the beloved Belcourt Theater here in Nashville, and I enjoyed it enough to share.  Directed by Duncan Jones (perhaps the space theme should be expected, he is David Bowie’s son), “Moon” is the story of Sam Bell, a man whose job is to live on the moon for 3 years while harvesting a new form of energy and shipping it back to Earth.  Three years is a long time when you are the only living person around, your only company the robot Gerty (voiced by Kevin Spacey) whose purpose is to see to all of your needs.  Hallucinations and mind-boggling discoveries result in an…interesting…identity crisis.  Rockwell is very convincing in his role, that is all I’ve got to say.  You should see it.

I’m on vacation visiting with my family on Sanibel Island, FL which is a barrier island off the coast of western Florida on the Gulf of Mexico.  It’s a nature-lover’s paradise.  If you don’t know anything about it, you should give it a quick google.  There’s a large preserve here called Ding Darling that has many alligators and a 10 foot crocodile that’s been here for 20 years.  It swam over from the Everglades to be here, has been sent back a couple of times but keeps returning so the park rangers have let her stay, while keeping a close eye on here as she’s quite dangerous.  There are zillions of bird species and the island attracts many birdwatchers.  On any given day you can see Eagles, Osprey, Pelican’s & Ibis.  A lot of land is held in conservancy trusts so that it will remain undeveloped and kept as a sanctuary in perpetuity. Every species of animal is protected here.  There are also bobcats, cougars, snakes, sea turtles, dolphins and manatees.  We’ve seen them all with the exception of the bobcats & cougars- and we’re ok with that.  One of the biggest attractions in Sanibel is the shelling.  Because the island lies East to West, it acts as a scoup for shells.  It’s probably one of the most famous shelling areas in the world- certainly number 1 in North America.  There is also an excellent shell museum here, displaying shells from all over the world in an impressive collection.  Here are some of the shells that we’ve found on our vacation.  We’ll only keep the perfect specimens and will return the rest to the Gulf.  The shelling highlights of this trip include:  several alphabet cones, a couple of flat scallop shells, a unique imperial venus clam, a golden striped olive & an angel wing.  We’ve also found really nice nutmegs, apple murex, lightning welks, tulips & horse conches.  As you can see, we are really into it!  It’s like treasure hunting- very addictive and no equipment needed with the exception of trained eyes, sunscreen & patience!  Shell on!

We are loving our new 3 stone cocktail rings.  We are making tons of different combos and they are looking great.  Here’s what we have so far.  They look really nice when stacked with our wrapped bands as well as our new thick hammered bands.  Check them out!  There are endless combinations & we can make any combo of our available stones.  More pix later!