7 weeks.

as gorey as it still looks, my knee has improved greatly in 7 weeks. i was just thinking earlier today about how 6 weeks ago, just to put on underwear, i would have to lay them on the floor and squinch my toes, millimeter by millimeter, across them until my foot was over the leg-hole, and then gingerly tug them up around my ankle and leg so as to not touch or move my knee. it was almost like playing that game where you remove the bones from the little slots with tweezers and try not to touch the edges, lest it buzz. except instead of a toy buzzer, shockwaves of searing, stabbing pain would assault me, making my ears ring, my eyes water, and i would double over and sob. today i can bend my knee to an almost perfect 90 degree angle. i can lift it slightly to put on underwear, leggings, skirts; but i can't yet walk stairs. at night, when i try to sleep, i have phantom tingles, itches, and muscle spasms; however, because of a nerve severed during surgery, i don't actually have any sensation in the top of my knee, other than internal pain and pressure. i long to stretch and pull my foot towards the back of my thigh, but it's an impossibility. i haven't had a full night's sleep in almost 2 months.

i am now officially a member of the bike punx crash club. as of 3am saturday morning, that is.

like the klutz that i am, i fell off my bike riding down a curb and broke my knee.

it's a transverse displaced fractured patella if ya wanna get all technical and shit. in layman's terms, i broke the shit out of my kneecap and now it's floating around in multiple pieces inside my leg. i knew something was immediately wrong after i fell and touched my knee and felt my knee cap up near my thigh. being the brave little soldier that i am, i avoided calling an abulance because i didn't want to disturb the sleeping neighborhood and i waited to cry until i saw the xray and someone told me i might not be able to ride my bike for another 6 months.

but let's end on a happy note. here i am about 7 hours prior to my accident, content as a clam, at the san marcos community bike project (ironically after watching a bmx biking documentary full of crashes and accidents). ha!

i have been moving more and more towards salvaged objects for my jewelry. my latest work includes fox teeth + bullet casings:

vintage dog tax tags:

an antique edison phonograph cabinet key:

and of course, the ever-present locket.

new year.

2012 is fast approaching...and i realize i slacked big-time on updating the ol' blog. and flickr, too. so this new year's resolution is to get organized, mentally and physically, and keep the updates and pictures flowing. we'll start off with a self-portrait i took on december 7th to showcase my newest makeup aquisition, Besame lipstick in red velvet.

i'm not a big makeup person...i usually buy about 2 tubes of lipstick a year and maybe one pot of blush and an eyeliner pencil. so this was a big splurge for me...but it was something that i've wanted for a long time (good reds are hard to find!) and i was delighted to be able to purchase it from my friend Allyson's store, Coco Coquette. (hint hint, she also carries my jewelry and select frippery)

so, as promised, new jewelry updates coming to the etsy shop. my goal is to work on the fripperies monday thru wednesday and update le shop every friday.

thursdays are still my best junkin' days...you'll find me traversing the backroads of central texas before sunrise and afterwards unloading the goods for purchase at Max's Haus in New Braunfels. definitely looking forward to lots of happiness in 2012!

{safekeeping necklace}