The Lobes Have it Again

 Ooh, aren’t these interesting.  I have had them for years and they are such a fun aqua-ish color!  I got them in a department store of all places, but you know what is so cool?  They are made of rolled up magazine paper.  Yep.  They must be 25 years old, and I’m still enjoying their lovely recycledness.  Brilliant.  I should learn how to make these.  Course, I don’t really read magazines much anymore.  Now with the internet, so much reading is done on line...  Maybe someday there will be recycled CD’s and keyboard letters for jewelry?


These earrings were given to me by my niece Julianne who drew my name two Christmases ago.  They are very unique - more than shows in this photo.  They can be either peach or moss green, depending on which way the light hits them.  They are small and fun and a memorable token from one redhead to another.  You see, Julianne and I have much in common.  Besides an indescribable love for peanutbutter and chocolate, we both love to create.  I am very proud of her many accomplishments and am so glad to have another redhead in the family!

 These perky pinks were super cheap, but I love ‘em like their priceless.  No one gave these to me -- they were an impulse buy.  They remind me of lipstick color.  Not many mature women that I know like to indulge in pink anymore.  Somehow it says childish, or worse yet - popular.  And my circles are often filled with the alternative, critical thinking, and expressive  - but rarely pop.  Me, I like pink.  And these are fun.  No analysis please.

How ‘bout these purple diamonds, eh?  These are so fun and unexpected.  I rarely wear them.  But I should.  Perhaps I need to endow them with more worth. They are pretty and unique.  They were not given, but chosen by me and very cheap.  I think that fact subconciously keeps me from wearing them often - well, that and they’re awkward with no back - just a hook and the metal is not so good for my ear hole as they always leave a little dark smudge behind.  Sigh.  Now maybe I shouldn’t... vanity or good sense?

This pair of earrings was given to me by my great friend Lisa.  They represent both her and me.  Her, because of her first nations roots and sacred traditions that I am still trying to know.  Me, because of the turquoise and red put together - bright colors.  They are long (me) and thin (her) and slightly elegant (me, she is more of a "stunner"),  hand-made Aboriginal (her).  And there is the moon image - such a feminine connection and symbol of nighttime longing...  We are unlikely friends, but grateful to know one another so deeply.  We’ve been consistent with each through many a crisis - big and small - and our main method of communication is the telephone.  So it is especially poignant to wear these earrings to remind me of her.

 These lovely green blue originals were made by my creative lover-of-life friend Alysa van Haastert.  But the great thing about my love of these earrings (and part of that love being that they go with 75% of my wardrobe), is that I found them and chose them and DIDN’T KNOW SHE MADE THEM until after I bought them!  Yep.  I purchased them at the Rosebud Country Inn after pie and tea and who should ring them up, but Alysa herself with a pleased smile. So you see, it was not out of helpfulness but sheer want, and she knows.  I am inspired by Alysa’s entrepreneurial spirit (and yes, I had to look up the spelling for that word), her mutual love of blue and green, and her frequent craftiness.  I think of her every time I wear them.


These earrings are very lightweight.  I love how they bounce in the wind.  They’re sneaky that way because you think because they’re made of metal that they’re gonna be heavy - but -No!  I found them in Jacksonville Oregon once when visiting my sister and brother-in-law and taking in some AMAZING Shakespeare down the road in Ashland.  Jacksonville is such a great town.  Hip and unique and old fashioned all at the same time.  Dave and I spent part of our honeymoon there and often think back on it.  We’ll never forget our breakfast at the Jacksonville Inn: refills of fresh squeezed orange juice, French toastified crousant-like yum yum, and golden raspberries with fresh cream.  That spoiled ordinary egg breakfasts for months to come just from the salivating memory....

These earrings were an impulse buy on opening night of the Passion Play 2012.  I had bought a new sand colored dress (rare color for me), and it needed a certain kind of bra, and when I found said bra in a certain store, lo and behold, there were accessories to tempt me and a suddenly extravagant husband who insisted on not only these danglers, but a sizable necklace as well!  I pulled them out for my trip home from Vancouver last Sunday to wear with another brown ensemble to just make my return to the prairies a bit more dignified, because frankly, I was already accustomed to the blue sea and mild climate of Vancouver.  Everything was so familiar of earlier days, and I could have stayed quite happily.  That is, until I remembered that I was a wife and a mother and that my dear family was stuck back in a coulee in southern Alberta... that brought out the speckled danglers for my journey home.

Ahhh, these little ambler sparklers were picked out by Weston and purchased by Daddy.  I’m sorry to say, I can’t remember if it was birthday or Christmas, but it was some occasion where Weston thought of me and sincerely wanted me to have these.  They are special.  They are smaller than most of my earrings... I guess I usually wear big or none at all.  But I love that he picked them out.  The color is so original.  Not sure if he thought of me because they are almost the same color as my hair, or if he just likes them.  I should ask him the story.  I wore them the other Sunday when I stepped in to lead church.  They connected me somehow to the me I really wanted to stay grounded in - the beloved mom.  That day there were many prayer requests spoken with great longing and loss.  I prayed the Spirit would intercede as we all contemplated these prayers, so I just mentioned the name of each individual slowly three times.  It was different, but I believe it gave us time to think, and remember, and let their story affect ours.



 
So, thanks for tuning in for the latest installment of The Lobes Have it!  Tune in next time for Rings on my Fingers, Bells on my Toes...!