Warm Hearted

I received the following request via e-mail yesterday, and was so moved by the story. Such an amazing proof of one person making a difference! If you live here in Anchorage, please feel free to donate through Nestlyne. If you live elsewhere, please consider participating in similar contribution drives.

Thank you,
Shannon/Green Gemini

Hello Everyone! It’s about that time again. When little fingers and little noses get cold in the mornings. It’s not too bad at this point – but I’d like to get started early this year, before fall and winter set in! Every year my daughters and I conduct a charitable drive called “Warm Hearted” where we collect hats, coats, scarves, and mostly GLOVES for children at neighboring homeless shelters.

We started this event when my daughter (now eleven) was only two years old, and my youngest was a year old. I was a single mom with two babies – life was so stressful and hard for me and I thought to myself, “It can’t possibly get any worse.” And then something happened that changed my entire perception on my own hardships. There was a homeless mother and child (of about 2 or 3 years old) standing on a corner in Anchorage, AK. It was December. It was probably 15 degrees outside plus a wind chill factor – pushing the cold into the “below zero” temperatures. I pulled over and asked them to meet us at Barnes and Noble where I purchased them a hot meal. Their skin was chapped and beet red from the wind. I asked if they wanted a ride to the shelter or food bank – and she politely declined. She thanked me for the food and when they got up to walk away I noticed they weren’t wearing any gloves. Their fingers looked as if they had been soaked in a pot of boiling water – it was so red from the cold that it was burned. Frost bite. I took my own gloves out of my purse and handed it to the little girl. Imagine my shock when the mother took them for herself! And then, to my everlasting surprise, I watched my two-year-old take off her little mittens and hand them over to the little girl. She was copying mommy. I was so very proud at that moment. Proud of both my little girls. And that is when I learned that no matter how difficult I think my life is – there is someone else out there whose road to travel is not as paved as my own. Now, every single year, I teach my daughters lessons in humanity by collecting gloves and other warm winter items and we distribute them to locale homeless shelters.

If you would like to help – please join our yearly outreach. One person may not make a big difference. But a group of people united in a cause – makes more than a just difference…

We Impact Lives.

My name is Nestlyne
my e-mail address is nestlyne@gmail.com

OPTIONS FOR HELPING:
1.You can purchase gloves and I will collect them from you for distribution/ or you can drop them off.
2.You can send me a check for a donation - and I will purchase the gloves for you for distribution. 3.You can go through your old winter wear and I will have a collection box set up at both my home and my place of employment for any donations.

The donations/gloves can be anonymous – but I will be sending everyone receipts and notes from the women/children that we help! Please attach a return address and your names.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH

Nestlyne

One Voice

This song, One Voice, by Barry Manilow, has always been amazing for me. Goosebumps. Hope and inspiration.

I hope you enjoy it, too!

One Voice

Too much doom and gloom

It has been a long summer. So much stressful weather, so much stressful news. So many stressed people. Nerves and people are fraying around the edges. I've been thinking about this situation, and tried to figure out what I can do to be a maker of positive ripples.

So I put this question out to the universe, praying, mulling it over. What can I do? Really? Really! What can I DO? Little by little, the answers have been showing up. I can use this teeny tiny corner of the vast ocean of the internet to be positive. To show beauty and kindness and hope and love and growth and sparklies and sharing and courage.

I would love for you and others to share things that make you smile and proud and happy and hopeful. One positive ripple can influence the next.

So, here goes!

PLINK!! in goes the first tiny pebble to creat the first tiny ripple...

All Wrapped Up...Well, Mostly!

I had the marvellous opportunity this last week to take several wire-working classes at The Alaska Bead Company from Dallas Lovett, the amazing designer and teacher. He is a soft spoken, calm teacher who makes everyone feel that they can "get it" and create his beautiful designs....and we could! I enjoyed getting to see his current work, and to get glimpses of his new directions. I find it very inspiring to see how such accomplished artists process the influences around them into something that has never existed before.

I had to walk to my own bassoonist, of course, so I worked in different wires and colors, but I got some items finished during class.

AND.......a couple I didn't quite get finished! (But I will, promise!)

Christmas Cleaning...um, Decorating!

My brilliant housecleaning moment today: Not so much! My sweetie brought up all the Christmas decoration boxes today. We are having a couple small gatherings here this season, so I am going all out on decorating the living and dining rooms for the first time in a couple years. Of course, decorating in my small-but-tall house means getting all the tchotschkes and doo-dads and collectibles down from way-high up, then cleaning and dusting rarely-accessed levels.

Being up on the stepladder puts me at eye-level with the chandelier, which has upward-facing glass cups. And I see dead bugs in the glass cups. Eww. So I had the oh-so-clever idea of using the canned air to blow them out. It worked. It worked VERY well, unfortunately! Dead bugs and bug parts fountained feet into the air and rained down on me, my hair, the workbench/kitchen table, on the floor. I now get to sweep and vacuum, and I will be finding bug parts in my beads for AGES!!

I am convincing myself that the chandelier is brighter now, and that bug-parts-surprise was worth it. Because I have another chandelier like this one in the foyer, and I'm talking myself into tackling that one, too. Maybe tomorrow!