Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Secret Garden: Photo Serial

 
 
 
Photo serial by Ida Tomshinsky, 2016

It Will Be Okay

Face with a clue
The eyes of the world upon you
Make another bold play
Examine and x-ray
Believe in yourself,
It will pay
For every workday.
 
Information gateway
Shines bright as astray
Try to pass way the gray
Hey,
Feel the breezeway
At the causeway,
We are "hurray"
Study, learn and obey,
It will be okay!
 
Lyrics: Ida Tomshinsky, 2013

 
Photo: Ida Tomshinsky, 2016

Monday, November 28, 2016

Poetry Again

Like a shooting star,
As the soul,
Unencumbered,
Alive, ageless,
Meets the pristine moment:
Poetry again.

From "Birthday Present," A Durable Fire, by May Sarton

Sunday, November 20, 2016

Turquoise & Zircon, December Birthstones


 
Turquoise is among the oldest known gemstones and its popularity has spanned the globe for centuries. As a fact, the world has had a fascination for turquoise for over 7000 years.

Information facts:

The Turquoise graced the necks of Egyptian Pharaohs. The oldest known example of any jewelry carved from Turquoise and set in gold was a bracelet found on the mummy of an Egyptian queen.

In the American Southwest, Native Americans have mined Turquoise since prehistoric times. Many legends surround Turquoise; it is believed to bring good fortune and health.

While Turquoise was once used as currency in the American Southwest, it has been treasured as an adornment throughout the centuries worldwide.

This beautiful ‘robin’s egg’ blue gemstone has been attributed with healing powers, promoting the wearer’s status and wealth, protecting from evil and bringing good luck.

Turquoise is an opaque, light to dark blue or blue-green gem. People say that its finest color is being an intense blue. Turquoise may contain narrow veins of other materials either isolated or as a network. They are usually black, brown, or yellowish-brown in color. Known as the matrix, these veins of color are sometimes in the form of an intricate pattern, called a spider web.  

While the demand for Turquoise has increased dramatically, the supply of genuine Turquoise is limited. To satisfy the demand for Turquoise, many have turned to man-made imitations, often plastic or other dyed material.
 
Information facts:

Most people think of a bright sky blue when they hear Zircon, but it is also available in beautiful earth tones of green, dark red, yellow, brown, and orange.

In the Middle Ages, Zircon was said to aid in resting, to bring prosperity and to promote honor and wisdom in its owner.

Today, the most popular colors of Zircon are the vivid blue and bright Caribbean Sea colors. The spectrum of beautiful colors, its rarity and affordability are why it is becoming very popular in current time. Some gem collectors seek out Zircon from different locations capturing gems in every color of the rainbow – colorless, green, blue, yellow, brown, orange, dark red, and all the colors in between.
 

Recommended list for reading and discussion:


               Etan, Eric. (2011) Turquoise. – Gareth Stevens Publishers. –
               24 pages. (Gems: Nature’s Jewels).

 



Saturday, November 12, 2016

Real Value of Life

The real value of life are not purchasable with money. You can't buy peace and good will. If you could, the problems that face us would be simple. All you do, at most, is to help provide a setting, a scaffolding, an atmosphere, a soil perhaps, where these values can have at least some chance to grow.

(John D. Rockefeller Jr.)

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Inspirational Poem of the Day by H.W. Longfellow

"Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the stand of time...
Let us, then, be up and doing
With a heart of any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing
Learn to labor and to wait."

H.W. Longfellow