Winter 2021 and My Garden Inspirations

 

 Michelle Obama

What an inspirational lady she is and so happy to have seen the great things she did while in the white house.  Starting for me with the way she changed the gardens there and brought back vegetables.  She is an incredible lady and doing many things including her inspiring Girls Opportunity Alliance.  

Becoming (to buy)

 The Girls Opportunity Alliance, a program of the Obama Foundation, seeks to empower adolescent girls around the world through education, allowing them to achieve their full potential and transform their families, communities, and countries. We engage people around the world to take action to help adolescent girls and the grassroots leaders working to educate them.

 Girls Opportunity Alliance

Quotes

The below quotes from Michelle are inspirational to me.  It is amazing to start this century with two African American administrations.  To now have Kamala Harris as our vice president shows that the places we can go as women are unlimited. yes we have work to do as women and as a country but the opportunities are unlimited. 

 We need to do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own 'to do' list.

Success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.

Don’t ever make decisions based on fear. Make decisions based on hope and possibility. Make decisions based on what should happen, not what shouldn’t.

 

 Black Lives Matter

 

We are in this together. Wear a Mask, Stay home, Stay safe, Flatten the curve, Facts Matter.

We need to listen and be ready to stand with them. We have a local Black Lives Matter group in our city.  Free the People ROC.

 FB page  Free the People ROC

For Education  Search 
 I Can't Breathe
Black Lives Matter 

and read from fact checked news sources.  As a supporter I am speaking up.  Please join me.

 

 

Buy Local from the Maker              

 
My shop:  Panda Wear Website
Facebook:  PandaWire Facebook
Twitter:  Panda Wear Gems  
Instagram: Instagram

 

Why shop small?  For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community.

 

Everyone is inspired by different things.  These ladies of 2021 inspire me.  Whom are you inspired by?  feedback welcome here. 

 

Happy Birthday

 February is the Birthday month for two very important people in my life my Father & his Mother, my grandmother.  I think of my family and the fantastic gardens at Grandma & Grandpa's house when I was a child.. The cottage, their summer place my Grandfather built is where the fishing happened.  A good day is shown on the table below where many fishes were prepared for family meals over the years. The sound of the water takes me back to the cottage in the 1000 islands and long summer weekends with my father when I was a child.

This is a great photo I have of my grandmother, Clara from when my father was a child.  I always remember her with white hair.  Seeing younger grandma is inspiring to me.  I appreciate her enthusiasm for gardening even more with these younger pics of her.  Seeing the joy she has with her children show below,. 

Happy Birthday Dad. We miss you and know you are with us in spirit. You taught us by your example every day.
 He spent many hours with me showing and teaching me how to change the oil in the car or replace the brake pads.  I cherish those memories and getting dirty for hours with him.  As the kids from my neighborhood can tell you my father was the first to lend a hand when one of the bicycles needed to be repaired. He had a big heart and was always the one to step up and offer assistance.  It is one of the core values I have that he taught me. 

Older pic of my Dad,  his senior year I believe. #happybirthday #father #grandma #lovewins
#memories #young #bicycle #neighborhood

The results from a good day on the boat at the cottage.  This table has been part of preparation of many family meals for many children whom have enjoy their time at the cottage in the 1000 Islands. 

Grandma with two of her sons, My uncle Russell and my father.  The same day as seen in the above pic with the happy fishermen in the pic.  I am certain my grandfather caught a few of these also. as a rule all fishing people were taught how to bait their own hook.  We had help if needed in reeling in our catch.  

 Black Lives Matter

We are in this together. Wear a Mask, Stay home, Stay safe, Flatten the curve, Facts Matter.

We need to listen and be ready to stand with them.We have a local Black Lives Matter group in our city.  Free the People ROC.

 FB page  Free the People ROC

 

 

I invite everyone to stand up, listen to others, be kind and speak up. 

#blacklivesmatter

#standup

#speakup

#listen 

      Buy Local from the Maker 

My shop:  Panda Wear Website
Facebook:  PandaWire Facebook
Twitter:  Panda Wear Gems  
Instagram: Instagram

Why should we all shop small?  For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community.  

 My Mother's Day brooch from a few years ago in copper to show the beauty of this material.

 

Garden Design Week 2021

My favorite day is the 1st day digging into the dirt in my garden for the the initial pea seeds of the season. It is about 2 months away.  I am preparing for the 2021 Veggie garden, and will work on design through this weekend. Enjoying the pile of seed catalogs from my mailbox & the many choices.  

 

My garden has some outdoor residents.  this is one of them.  She eats my weeds in the lawn in the warm weather.  Her favorites are clover and dandelion leaves.  This was taken last week in the early morning. She & I seem to enjoy breakfast together.
As an avid gardener, we have dealt with visitors for over 15 years.  We have a 7 foot seasonal fence around the vegetable garden to keep our veggies for the people not the outdoor guests.  as winter has set in here she is frequently uncovering some of my plants and enjoying the dead parts of them for her meals. Most are perennials which regrow from the roots every year so no permanent damage. We have a compost pile which is great for garden fertilizer every spring.  She also seems to like my root vegetable peels and tops from the edge of the pile. 

My inspirations from nature helped me to design & create this.  This is a piece of Rhodochrosite from Sweet Home mine I transformed into a beautiful cabochon.  I believed it need other spring colors to compliment the patterns in the gemstone.  I have not made many pieces in seed bead work so I am learning.  Another one I have in process is a stunning dragonfly.  As soon as my tendonitis calms down, I can work on it again. Rest for it is the best medicine combined with topical anti inflammatory treatments.  My favorite insect is dragonfly and we have several whom visit our garden pond every year.  

 

 

 

Here is another simple cabochon in Rhodochrosite set in gold filled wire. This is not my favorite shape to cut  thought it looks fabulous in gold. Both of these pieces show the real beauty of the gemstone.  Photos do not do either of these justice. 

 Buy Local from the Maker 

My shop:  Panda Wear Website

Facebook:  PandaWire Facebook
Twitter:  Panda Wear Gems  
Instagram: Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

For Education  Search 
 I Can't Breathe
Black Lives Matter 

and read from fact checked news sources.  As a supporter I am speaking up.  Please join me.

 

Black History Month 2021

We need to listen and be ready to stand with them.We have a local Black Lives Matter group in our city.  Free the People ROC is the group.  the FB page of the group Free the People ROC

Black Lives Matter in ROC

The Group in my city is Free The People ROC

 I invite everyone to stand up, listen to others, be kind and speak up. 

#blacklivesmatter

#standup

#speakup

#listen  

We are in this together. Wear a Mask, Stay home, Stay safe, Flatten the curve, Facts Matter.

 

Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and social activist. In 1982, she published the novel The Color Purple, for which she won the National Book Award for hardcover fiction, and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Black History Resource

As Covid contines I know many are having trouble.  there is help outstare.  remember if you know someone who sounds different reach out have another friend reach out.  Send a letter, snail mail is very uplifting.  

NSP link

Help NSP

Buy Local from the Maker               

My shop:  Panda Wear Website
Facebook:  PandaWire Facebook
Twitter:  Panda Wear Gems  
Instagram: Instagram

Why should we all shop small?  For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community.

this is Biggs jasper I hand cut into this beautiful gemstone.  I am happy to help with Valentine's month gifts.