The Art of YOUR Journey
This is a custom pair of earrings designed to mimic the scroll work in the bride’s engagement ring. The bride originally requested Swarovski crystals be used because she is on tight budget but I am a believer in creating something that will become an heirloom. I decided to use white topaz and a single blue topaz instead of crystals as a gift and created something that is completely within budget.
These are hot off the workbench!
Few of us are familiar with the 4th verse of the Star Spangled Banner:
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation!
Praise the Power than hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
Regardless of your practices of American Patriotism, belief in the the United States, the Constitution and democracy large or small, the following newspaper article should make it clear that we are quickly coming to some serious crossroads if we haven’t already. The recent event in question took place in a Northern California high school.
Are there solutions to the quicksand we have found ourselves? Yes there are. However, these would-be solutions are most likely difficult to address, difficult to accept, and would inevitably have one group or another issuing orders for an angry uprising. We already have states boycotting other states based upon the perception of what exactly it means to be the home of the brave and the land of the free and how to interpret the Constitution. Is this boycotting just the first step of many to incite revolution even if it is a cold revolution? Are we still the greatest nation on earth?
Each of us should take a hard look inside ourselves to discover what our world means to us; what our life means to us; what our lifestyles mean to us; what our next door neighbors mean to us; what our families mean to us; what kind of people we are on the inside and what that means to us; what the United States means to us; and if we willing to walk our talk or remain cloaked in apathy. And if this internal review finds areas that are lacking will we have the courage to do what must be done?
In spite all that is current events, I have faith in good outcomes even if the journey is neither easy nor short.
Happy 4th of July, 2010
Five Live Oak High School students’ First Amendment rights were challenged Wednesday morning when they were asked to leave school because they donned American flag T-shirts on Cinco de Mayo. Officials at the school chose not to comment on the situation, but one student said an official called the T-shirts “incendiary.”
“They said we were starting a fight, we were fuel to the fire,” said sophomore Matt Dariano.
The Morgan Hill Unified School District issued this statement: “In an attempt to foster a spirit of cultural awareness and maintain a safe and supportive school environment, the Live Oak High School administration took certain actions earlier today. The district does not concur with the Live Oak High School administration’s interpretation of either board or district policy related to these actions.”
The five teens were sitting at a table outside during their brunch break about 10:10 a.m. when Assistant Principal Miguel Rodriguez asked two boys to take off their American flag bandannas. The boys said they complied. In the same conversation, sophomore Dominic Maciel said, Rodriguez told the group to “walk with him to the office.”
Dariano called his mother Diana, who spread the word to the other parents, who all arrived soon after to have a conference with Rodriguez and Principal Nick Boden. The group said they were not instigating anything and did what they always do at break – sit and talk and eat.
The boys were told they must turn their T-shirts inside-out or be sent home – and that it would not be considered a suspension – but that Rodriguez did not want any fights to break out among Mexican-American students and those wearing American flags. Dariano said other students were wearing American flags but since they were a group of five “we were the easiest target to cause trouble” according to Rodriguez, he said.
The boys told Rodriguez and Boden that turning their T-shirts inside-out was disrespectful, so their parents opted to take them home.
“I just couldn’t believe it,” said Dominic’s mother Julie Fagerstrom. “I’m an open-minded parent, but it’s got to be on both sides. It can’t be five kids singled out.”
A front-desk secretary said Boden was unavailable for any comment on what had happened Wednesday and Rodriguez was busy with testing, the secretary said.
More than 100 students were spotted wearing red, white and green as they were leaving school. Some had the Mexican flag painted on their faces or on their arms.
Nothing in Live Oak’s dress code policy addresses what transpired Wednesday, but it does state that “the school has the right to request that any student dressing inappropriately for school will change into other clothes, be sent home to change, and/or be subject to disciplinary action.”
One Mexican-American student, freshman Laura Ponce, had a Mexican flag painted on her face and chest, peaking out of her low-cut shirt. She did it because, “it’s our day, the only day we can show our spirit.” A school administrator took away the Mexican flag she was carrying as she was waiting to go home. Ponce said: “not cool.”
“There was a lot of drama going on today,” Ponce said. Some were saying “Mexico sucks” while Mexican-American students responded in their second language.
“Some were yelling Spanish to us,” Maciel said, who is half-Hispanic. “I couldn’t understand it, but it sounded bad.”
Some Mexican-American students said that their flags were taken away or asked to be put away, but none were sent home for wearing red, white and green. Since Boden would not comment, it’s uncertain if any other students were sent home for what they were wearing on Cinco de Mayo.
Live Oak High School even hosted a group of professional baile folklorico dancers, who waved flags and played traditional music from Mexico.
“It’s sad it’s come to this,” Fagerstrom said. “But we stand behind their patriotic nature and the boys expressing their individuality.”
The boys wrote a two-paragraph statement that they each signed detailing their support for American patriotism and that they felt disrespected and discriminated against when their First Amendment rights were discarded Wednesday at school.
“We were not going to start a fight. We wanted to show our pride,” Dariano said.
We are a group of friends that don’t spend enough time with each other. We like to dissect the world for signs of intelligent life and generally talk about anything and everything with no holds barred. We don’t take things personally. We don’t get upset when someone has a differing viewpoint. We all share in the goods and the not-so-goods of life. We have fun and we laugh together…a lot!
During a recent outing we started talking about what we thought we couldn’t live without. What was SO important to us that we would work to have it at any cost. One of the most vocal questions was “if you were going to be on Survivor, what is the personal item you would take with you?” I have never watched Survivor but I guess the contestants are allowed to bring one or two items of importance with them so that sparked lots of bantering.
This all morphed into a discussion on kitchens and which food items are the ones that you must have in your kitchen at all times. We then agreed to take pictures and post them to our blogs no later than today. Some have posted already and it’s quite interesting what the gentlemen came up with; they seemed to have taken this challenge very seriously.
Here are the staples that you can always find in my kitchen.
Never be Without Apples and Onions
Blueberries & Blackberries - Brain Food!
Watermelon is a Summer Staple
Pink Himalayan Salt, Kosher Salt, and Pepper
Slow Roasted Chopped Garlic in Olive Oil - Homemade
Greek Yogurt; How Did I Ever Live Without It?
Homemade Lavender Sugar - Always Good for a Last Minute Dessert Ingredient
Spices - A Girl's Best Friend
This is for YOU, Mr. D!
Just added to my my 1000 Markets store. Sparking White Topaz and Freshwater Pearls with gently oxidized sterling silver.
Dear State of California,
You will NOT be receiving my check until the very last moment and shame on you for making me pay more taxes. You should realize that I already pay enough in taxes to cover myself, my family, and the guy down the street. Apparently the words “fair share” have no meaning for you.
Thank you for listening,
Your Faithful Servant
I very recently came across this quote by David Hieatt of Howies. It is something to consider and perhaps take on as your own:
“You know that dream you carry around with you each day? It’s kinda important. Wasn’t it what you were put on planet Earth to do? They say everyone has a calling, can you still hear it? Doesn’t it eat away at you? That treadmill you are on, did it ever get too much? Did you ever feel time was passing you by? Just how many days have you left before your last? Did you ever wonder about stuff like that? Did you ask yourself ‘what was stopping you?’ There is never a right time. You will be too old. Too young. Too something or other. When was the last time you took a risk? Did you remember how alive it made you feel? There are no guarantees of success. It’s not called a leap of faith for nothing. It’s not too late, honest. Jump. You may fall. You may Fly.”
Business Taxes…blech!
Okay, maybe that was 3 words.
This poem was written by Derek Wolcott, a poet and writer who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992. As is with everyone, Mr. Wolcott has had his share of controversy in life. His father was a painter, a water colorist; Mr. Wolcott has chosen words as his canvas and poetry as the finished picture.
Invite yourself as the honored guest at the feast that is your life. You are the life of the party! Go…enjoy!
Love After Love
The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the others welcome,
and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you
all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,
the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.
Yes, I’m alive and not MIA, contrary to what is being said.
Where does the time go? I turn around and it’s been a few months since I last landed on this page. I *just* uploaded a few pics to flickr that I took last April (!) and I finally picked up my tools and happily began the task of twisting wire and working with some lovely, sparkly Songea sapphires last weekend. I had ignored my workbench for far too long and really, really missed immersing myself into the creative process. So yeah, it seems I’ve been slow all the way around and for no particular reason that I can find other than life happens.
So, what’s up? Sales have picked up a bit and I’m keeping all my fingers crossed that these are some small yet positive signs of changes to come. Slow changes perhaps, but changes nonetheless. I find more and more information being written and published about artisan products and the artisans themselves and that’s encouraging. Perhaps there is a growing movement to return to purchasing from small, or local, or community based enterprises whenever practical…a modern resurgence of sorts of the very successful arts and crafts movement of so many years ago.
Personally, I have purchased the most amazing artisan body cremes, lotions, and potions direct from the makers and none of them, not one, contained any ingredients that sound like a science experiment gone wrong. My next venture will be purchasing some candles since I adore using candles for any occasion or no occasion at all. There are some very lovely candles to be had that are sculpted (some by hand) into beautiful works of art, or maybe some simple square or cylinder shapes will be just the right touch.
I continue to be blessed in my life and I love the endless possibilities that life throws in my path. Even during some of the most stressful times, which there have been quite a few of the professional nature the last couple of weeks, something will always catch my eye that is quite simply, joyful.
I don’t know if this is joyful or not but I certainly have had quite a few laughs over it; a “swear pot” arrived in my office early this week because of late, I have been quite mouthy and could put a sailor to shame with my cursing. Thanks T for passing on to me your legacy of the swear pot, and the actual container, and now I’m contributing even more to my “someday” retirement fund. So, not only do I pay myself when I slip up at work, anyone who is in my office also must pay when they slip up. Oh, and there are a lot of slip ups – A LOT!
Since my office contains conversations that are of a manager, friend, confidante, shrink, comic relief, shoulder to whine on, laughing almost hysterically, Mom, mentor, all around “you want the truth? you can’t handle the truth” and even some theological types of discussions, there’s very often quite a bit of swearing that goes on behind my closed doors. Yep, I see lots and lots of contributions in my future! At best, perhaps I’ll be a bit better at self-monitoring what I say and at worst, it’s a lot of fun hearing the clink of coin or the rustling of dollar bills in the container. =)
I will make every attempt to update here more often. My facebook page is quite cloistered but I am working on a fan page for my company, which will be public. I have a bit of overstock raw products and a few studio samples that I will be listing for sale as soon as I can make myself take product pictures, write descriptions, and post them online (Artfire?). And therein lies the challenge…me taking pictures and writing descriptions. Blech! Would someone pleeeeeze come over and take the product pics for me? Seriously, you’re welcome to use my light tent and lights just as long as I don’t have to do it.
Oh, and food and drinks are on the house!! I make a mean martini and have been known to crack open a bottle of champagne or two…
