Calico Hammers Women Build

I miss my time with my Women build team helping Habitat for Humanity build homes.  This pic is a few years old and is at the end of the day.  The group is a fun bunch of ladies to work with.   I am in the red shirt & purple hard hat on the right side of this pic. 

Flower City Habitat for Humanity (FCHH) is our local Habatat.

Want to know how easy it is to help build with us?  A little goes a long way.  

You can donate to help here:

Kim's Page

Calico Hammer will be back as a team in 2021.  We are helping in many ways this year as individuals.  

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For Education  Search 
 I Can't Breathe
Black Lives Matter
and read from fact checked news sources.  As a supporter I need to speak up.  Please join me. 

 Black Lives Matter!  Flatten the curve. Wear A Mask. Stay Safe. Practice social distancing.

Welcome August 2020

August has arrived in my western NY garden.   The hazy, hot, & humid month of summer is here.  On the positive side we have has a few visitors recently I wanted to share with you.  Two stunning examples Mother Nature sent me this week.  Blue dragonfly and yellow swallowtail butterfly.  It is great to have these minders of the beauty and delicate nature of teh creatures around us always.  we may not see them but they are near by and they are worth taking notice of.  Stop and enjoy the moment. 

For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stays in the community.

 

Black Lives Matter!  Flatten the curve. Wear A Mask. Stay Safe. Practice social distancing.

I did virtual back flips yesterday when Presidential candidate Joe Biden announced his pick for VP,  Kamala Harris. She is an amazing congress woman and she will be a fantastic VP.  I ask all of you to please vote in November.  Be sure your friends are registered and that you all vote.  Here in NY they have made it easy by sending absentee ballots to all registered. 

I will end with my recommendations for all of us to become educated and support our sisters this anniversary of the 19th amendment  Celebrate the centennial the way our fore-mothers did and stand together in unity. 

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For Education  Search 
 I Can't Breathe
Black Lives Matter
and read from fact checked news sources.  As a supporter I need to speak up.  Please join me.

Jewelry Safety and Precious Metals

Since February 2009 the Federal government in the USA has required manufactures to have their products for sale to children tested for lead. 

I am often asked why I use gemstones and precious metals in my work.  Why not go the the local craft store and by the cheap stuff on sale?  I use precious metals gemstones in the creations of the jewelry because I make a quality product.  I want my work to last, not be disposable & throw out after wearing once or twice.   Precious metals do not need certification at this point.  The materials used to create them are known.  For complete safety I do not sell or market my work as children's jewelry. 

For more information about safety in Jewelry and there hazards in our home. Made Safe. 

their blog on jewelry jewelry blog

I have often written about my process and the materials I use.  My precious metals blog Metals 101

Honesty and discourse of what someone is buying is a integral part of my business.  the earring have have surgical steel earwires; as the copper patinas(turns green), your ears do not. I always tell people jewelry is a body decoration and do not swim or sleep in it.  

For Education  Search 
 I Can't Breathe
Black Lives Matter
and read from fact checked news sources.  As a supporter I need to speak up.  Please join me. 

Just finished reading this last week &  I am humbled.

when they call you a terrorist

a black lives matter memoir

Black Lives Still Matter!

Seeds of Kambaba in Sterling silver below.  One of my gavotte gemstones to cut.  

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

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

Celebration of Fruits

Happy Garden 

Celebration of Fruits in this happy garden.  The red & black raspberries are doing well.  Watering  them frequently helps.  Most years the first tomatoes are early July.  the wait on them had been LONG this year.  The darkness on the top of the fruit belongs.  these are Indigo Blue tomatoes from Harris Seed.  Surprised they are the first ripe fruits of 2020 on my tomatoes. We are growing 7 varieties of tomatoes this year. 

Add caption

My cucumber vines are extremely happy this years. They climb a trellis which is over four feet tall and they have completely overgrown.  This is necessary here in my Rochester, NY garden to keep mildew away and to keep slugs off my fruits.  Hope to have some to harvest in the next 10 days.  The two recent rains have helped with over 2 inches each in the past two weeks.  We use soaker hoses to keep the vegetable garden alts watered which keeps our water use to a minimum.  It gives a deep soaking on the roots of the plants and helps prevent issues from wet foliage. One of the smartest changes int he garden for us.  in under 2 hours we have the 12" by 35' garden watered.  during the heat wave we do this every other day. 

For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stays in the community. Black Lives Matter!  Flatten the curve. Wear A Mask. Stay Safe.

Sterling Silver Pendant 

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For Education  Search 
 I Can't Breathe
Black Lives Matter
and read from fact checked news sources.  As a supporter I need to speak up.  Please join me.

2020 Events Artisit's Life

Any other year, this would be a time of year when I would share the success of the season so far.  This year was off to a fantastic start with my goal of participating in more events then ever before in a calendar year. 

 My success ratio was the best in several years and I had many new projects / designs in process.  the Winter was working well to develop the ideas & prototypes.  

Thanks to corona virus no live events / shows from March forward for the rest of 2020.  The beginning of this I spent two months unable to create.  60 days unable to do what I love.  that was HARD!

On the upside:  have a roof over my head,  food to eat, & great friends to talk to during this pandemic.   

I wish I could say I understand how the African Americans feel.  It is time we listen. Let our sisters & brothers take the  lead & show us what we can do to help them. 

I know we can fix this and become one nation again.  It will be a process and it will take time.  Be patient and show your LOVE of others now more than ever. 

DISCRIMINATION,
POLICE BRUTALITY
& RACISM are  WRONG. 

How do you help you ask?  >>>>>>>>>>>>

this is a problem we had had for generations and we need fix it NOW!

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My shop:  Panda Wear Website
Facebook:  PandaWire Facebook
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For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community.  

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

Please join on on the 100 anniversary of the 19th amendment. Seneca Falls Revisited conference 2020.   We are doing a virtual party in 2020   It is an amazing collection of of topics & speakers. 

Register here 2020 Conference

Conference teaser

Join your sisters and Celebrate this Centennial !

Summer Arrival in Rochester

Summer Arrival Weekend

Father's Day, Juneteenth and the Arrival of summer....3 important days in the year in one weekend.  I attended a fabulous Juneteenth celebration Friday night online.  It was amazing and inspirational. I Learned so much & enjoyed the celebration of this freedom day with the group. 

This organization hosted Welcome  

What is this you ask?  Juneteenth defined

This is something I know my father would support

BLACK LIVE MATTER always!

Garden

Spent my time watering the garden due to the semi-drought we are in.  I do not remember another June recently seeing the neighborhood lawns look so dry. We are having some extremes of weather in my city that challenge the garden.  Thankfully we have soaker hoses to keep the plants doing well.  These are a new surprise tomato, Indigo Blue Beauty from Harris seeds.Supporting local business is vital right now.  I have used primarily Harris seeds for over a decade. so my garden is celebrating this heat with some stunning yields. 

These are my greens  Kale,  collards& my brussels sprouts.  The lettuce is ding fantastic and my greens are growing quickly

. I kept my focus on forward because memories of Father's Day in my teens were hard.  I lost my Father to Cancer when I was 14.  This event forever changed my life and shaped me. At that time I was not ana adult so I recanted as one would expert in a teenage without an adult role model in my home.  Now as an adult, I understand much of what my Dad taught me and honored hm  by doing things I know he would be proud of.  Father's Day is always hard for me because I do not have him to spend it with. Oh  what I would give to be able to go on a hike with him again.  "Have you had your hug today?" he would often ask. For my dad, please hug those you love today and tell them how much they mean to you. 

 

 

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Want to learn more?  Search 
 I Can't Breathe
Black Lives Matter
and read for fact checked news sources. 

As a human I need to speak up.  Please join me.

Juneteenth 2020 from my garden

Juneteenth

Definition WIKIpedia

Celebrated Friday 6/19 this year. It is the oldest known celebration honoring the end of slavery in the United States. Twitter & square made it a company holiday.  My city, Rochester, NY  has an event every year.  Take time and see what is offered where you live and step up to help the celebrations.As always there are many great sources for information please fact check before you share stories.  Truth Matters! 

Garden

It has been a week of firsts in the veggie garden.  First snowpeas of 2020 harvested & first Gigantic woodchuck.We hope he was passing thru and it not still around.  Happy to have all the vegetable planted.  The Cucumbers & Bush Beans went into the ground and that feels wonderful.   Prolific harvest of the greens & lettuces because of  good care of them.  Water is vital in the unusual heat we have had this Spring.

Yes it is still spring.  The first day of summer is June 20th.  Two of the wonderful & happy Kale in my backyard garden



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My shop:  Panda Wear Website
Facebook:  PandaWire Facebook
Twitter:  Panda Wear Gems  
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Want to be educated?  Search 
 I Can't Breathe
Black Lives Matter
and read for fact checked news sources.  As a supporter I need to speak up.  Please join me.