A New Year

"Well, at least this year's ending better than it began," she thought with a flicker of a smile. Although, really, at the beginning of last year, she'd had no idea how bad things were. Nor did she really know how good things were now. So perhaps there wasn't much difference after all. She'd been as hopeful a year ago as she was today; however, she sincerely hoped that she was not as clueless as she'd been 365 days ago.

"Nice way to begin," she thought, ruefully, "not exactly a strong start." But never mind. Today was the last day of what had been a very difficult year; and tomorrow morning would present her with a beautiful, brand-new, shiny clean new year to start her life all over again. Perhaps this time...

She felt definite possibilities.

© 2007 Cynthia Newcomer Daniel

Sterling silver, freshwater pearls, moonstone necklace. Hand fabricated.

Catch me if you can

She flung out her arms and twirled around; enjoying the brief sensation of flight that she always found in dizziness. She heard her daughter giggle as she copied her; did she feel the same sudden loss of contact with the earth? She darted off, twisting and turning, running crazily, but never going very far.

Her tiny daughter followed her every step; arms outstretched, laughter contagious.

© 2007 Cynthia Newcomer Daniel

Sterling silver, amethyst. Hand forged and hand fabricated.

Tamesa Aestuarium

The river Thames ran long before we came, and it will run long after we leave. It has run under many names; its waters have nourished and carried many people, from well before recorded time until now; there is no reason to think it will not see many more generations.

It is an estuary; the river flows into the North Sea and the sea rises in turn to meet it. Its tides have brought people from many lands to its shores. Beneath the river lies the evidence of many lives; tesserae from the Roman occupation joins the skeletons of fish consumed in Celtic times and create homes for the peculiar denizens of the brackish waters.

They keep their own counsel, these waters; they have seen the rise and fall of more than one civilization.

© 2007 Cynthia Newcomer Daniel

Sterling silver, lampwork by Donna Millard of Fyrebeadz. Hand fabricated.

Londinium

She loved to lose herself in museums, and the Museum of London was ideal for that purpose. More than any other she'd found, it let her disappear into another time in this very place. Between groups of schoolchildren, she imagined peeling back the layers of asphalt, dirt, stone and mortar that was London today and walking on the mosaic floors that were hidden from view, virtually everywhere in this city.

But the more things change, the more they remain the same; romantic fancies aside, she knew that this very spot, where bits of Hadrian's wall still stood, was every bit the business center then that it was today. She grinned ruefully; no doubt it would be just as hard to find a late supper downtown, regardless of the time she found herself in.

© 2007 Cynthia Newcomer Daniel

Sterling silver, lampwork by Donna Millard of Fyrebeadz. Hand fabricated.

Love me, love me knot

She wasn't ordinary. She had a style all her own, and had lived a life that was an inspiration to the girls and women who had known her. Her humor and her creativity were her legacy; her granddaughter thanked her silently as she worked, grateful for the gift of letting the work lead her to its own conclusion, thankful for permission to happily make changes midstream and follow the flow of the design as she worked.

Her granddaughter hadn't been born with that ability; oh, no, quite the contrary. As a young girl, she'd wanted to make things do what she wanted them to do, and she'd been quite humorless about it when they didn't cooperate. It hadn't been easy for her to accept her grandmother's easy attitude toward changing things; she'd struggled and tried to force fabric and thread to bend to her will. She could not laugh about failure at all.

It was only in her later years that she appreciated her gift.

© 2007 Cynthia Newcomer Daniel

Sterling silver, lampwork by Donna Millard, freshwater pearls, czech glass. Hand fabricated. In the private collection of Ida Newcomer.

Fairy Wife

Once upon a time in fairy land, a mother was busily airing out a tiny house in preparation for the arrival of her daughter and new son-in-law after their wedding trip. She'd opened up the door and all the windows, shaken out the cobweb lace curtains, swept the floor, and made up the bed with the softest dandelion fluff linens imaginable.

She was such a round little thing, as she flitted hither and yon; her iridescent gown sparkled in the sunlight and her golden head and toes shone gaily as she went about her work. Just moments before their arrival she cut a few of the roses that grew around the door and placed them in the foyer on her way out.

She wanted her daughter to start her new life surrounded by love.

© 2007 Cynthia Newcomer Daniel

Sterling silver, gold-filled beads, jelly opal. Hand fabricated.

Shining light

She smiled as she unpacked the box of decorations; she wasn't one of those people who buy new every year, no, her decorations may be a bit shabby looking to anyone else, but to her they were priceless. She carefully hung the ornaments her children had made in kindergarten; they were all grown now, but how easy it was to remember their gleeful faces and little fingers hanging them on the tree that first year. She hung them low, just like they had.

She hung the stockings at the mantle, next; one day, when her children had families of their own, their stockings would go home with them to hang on their own mantles. She patted them, smoothing out the wrinkles, remembered making them when her children were still babies. Perhaps she would make more, one day, for her grandchildren.

She put all the boxes away, poured herself a cup of tea, and lost herself in the lights.

© 2007 Cynthia Newcomer Daniel

Sterling silver, cubic zirconia, freshwater pearl. Hand fabricated.

Hello again

He looked familiar, but not totally so. Perhaps he just reminded here of someone she knew, but she couldn't quite put her finger on who it might be. She had the oddest feeling that she'd known him well; but, if that were the case, surely she'd remember.

Nope, better just forget about it; she was far from home and the chances of running into someone she knew were slim to nonexistent. She was probably just projecting her homesickness onto the most attractive man in the room.

She glanced around the room again; yup, he was definitely the best looking man there. Did it really matter if she knew him or not? She wanted to know him now. She walked over to his table before she could change her mind.

"Hello, again!" She said, merrily. "Remember me?"

© 2007 Cynthia Newcomer Daniel

Sterling silver, lampwork by Glass and Splinters Lampwork Art. Hand fabricated.

Angels Unaware

She hated the old pump; hated the way it froze up; hated going outside to fetch water every time she needed some. She'd heard of people rich enough to have water piped right into the house; she'd heard that all they had to do was turn a knob and watch that water pour out, never stopping until the knob was turned back the other way. She wasn't sure she believed it, but oh, she wanted to. Just once in her life, she'd like to turn a knob and have water pour out; she wouldn't turn it back the other way, oh, no, she'd let that water pour in until it filled the house. What an idea!

She laughed at her own fancy as she lifted the buckets and headed back toward the house; she saw the men, working hard in the fields behind the house, and she quickened her step. The dishes would wait, and she could always pump more water.

© 2007 Cynthia Newcomer Daniel

Sterling silver, aquamarine, lampwork by Gail Kops of Beadles. Hand fabricated.

Pilgrim's Progression

Christianne automatically leaned to the left as her overloaded handbag began to slip off her right shoulder; she caught it in the crook of her arm with a jerk that would have made her lurch into the woman in front of her if she hadn't already counter-balanced herself. She took advantage of the moment to rub her shoulder ruefully; the bag had worn such a groove, it was amazing that it ever slipped off. Her husband always wondered if she had bricks in there; she wasn't sure why it was so heavy, but she was quite certain that there wasn't anything in there that she could live without.

When it was her turn, she rummaged in her bag, found her wallet and paid for her purchases. She added the new bags to the ones she was already carrying; re-shouldered her handbag, and went on her way.

© 2007 Cynthia Newcomer Daniel

Sterling silver, lampwork by Donna Millard of Fyrebeadz. Hand fabricated.