What’s Happening To Our Food? Part 2 of 6
In February 2007, as battered California growers were trying to figure out how to protect their leafy greens from E. coli and other bugs, the first case of a new food-borne outbreak caused by a rare strain of Salmonella surfaced.
But it would take eight month – and 139 victims in 30 states – before epidemiologists realized that the cases were linked to a single kind of food.
Salmonella is normally found in the intestines of animals. The strain responsible for this outbreak had the user-friendly name 14, [5], 12:i:- (pronounced four-five-twelve-eye-minus). Throughout the spring and summer of 2007, local health departments continued to record three to four cases of the infection every week, but they couldn’t figure out where it was coming from.
In August, it struck Amy Reinert’s 19-month old daughter Isabelle in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. The child suddenly became violently ill with unrelenting diarrhea and a temperature that hit 104 F.
After Isabelle suffered a seizure and lost consciousness, Reinert rushed her to the hospital, where the infant was given IV fluids and antibiotics. Doctors sent her home, but the diarrhea persisted for nearly six weeks.
Isabelle had Salmonella, but the doctors did not know how she gotten it.
In September, the number of reported cases spiked to as many as 12 a day, and by early October, Minnesota state epidemiologists had gathered enough information to finger the culprit: Banquet Turkey Pot Pies.
Manufactured by ConAgra, the company balked at a recall. They related it to consumer under cooking. But the directions on the Banquet package were confusing.
For example, the front panel said “Ready in 4 minutes,” which suggested that the pies simply needed to be reheated. They really required thorough cooking and three different cooking times, depending on the microwave’s wattage.
Food safety expert, Doug Powell microwaved a pie for 6 minutes, the maximum time specified in the directions, and letting it stand for 3 minutes, as directed, Powell reported that “the interior of the pot pie reaches 148F, while “the recommended safe endpoint temperature for poultry is 165F. Ewwwwwwwwwwuuu!
Amy Reinert said she cooked the pot pie for her daughter 7 minutes in the microwave, and 10 minutes in a conventional oven to make the crust crispy. Yet Isabelle still got sick.
ConAgra eventually relented and issued a recall of 3.4 million pot pies. By the time the outbreak petered out in December of 2007, 401 Salmonella cases in 41 states had been confirmed. A third of them had to be hospitalized.
The CDC estimates that for every reported case of food-borne illness, 38 additional cases go unrecognized or unreported, so it’s likely that more than 15,000 people got sick eating Banquet Pot Pies.
What Went Wrong?
So which of the more than 25 ingredients in the Pies was responsible for the Salmonella and how did it become contaminated? U.S. Department of Agriculture and ConAgra inspectors were never able to identify the culprit. Like many companies, ConAgra didn’t test ingredients for dangerous bacteria, but they do now, at least for the pot pies.
What To Do
Following cooking instructions doesn’t guarantee you’ll be safe. Consumers need to understand that although some convenience food products look like they’re already cooked, they may not be.
ConAgra has replaced the “Ready in 4 Minutes” claim on its label with a warning: “Must be cooked thoroughly.” The label also tells consumers to cook only one pie at a time, and recommends using a conventional oven.
Your Family History Here
I have been wanting to do this post for some time and I wanted to make sure I had the time when I did.
My reasons for doing this is one, I really want you to get-to-know your fellow bloggers. I want to create a community here that we can all come to and it feels like family. A kind of sanctuary. A place to wish, tell, dream, vent, share, help, teach, educate, create….This is your blog. I do realize I’m not the only blog you visit. I don’t have a lot of time to blog hop so instead I’ll spend my time here, creating a space you want to visit.
Secondly, I never knew my parents. I was adopted when I was 21 days old. My adoptive parents, Marian and James (mom and dad) are children of immigrants. My moms parents where from Germany and my dads parents, Germany and Czechoslovakia. Both my parents spoke fluent German. I never knew how cool that was til I got older. I never meet my grandparents on my dad’s side. They both died before I was born.
I’m the middle(oh boy)child. I have two sisters and we are all from different families.
My Mom
My Dad
My Dad at 11 with his dog Trouser
I’m really digging my dad’s shoes.
Me and my sista's
My little sister, Maria is full blooded Spanish and my older sister, Joyce is German and French. Me? no one knows?
So I would love for you all to post some of your family history. Type as much or little as you want.
You can even add one picture. Just send to my email jbj@jkdjewelry.com and I’ll insert into post for you. I think I can, I have never tried before. If not, I’ll let you know.
What’s Happening To Our Food? Part 1 of 6
This is part 1 of 6 different posts about food safety and where does that leave us? First up is SPINACH.
Are we playing Russian roulette with our food? In August 2006, Bonita Ferus of Albuquerque, New Mexico, made herself a fresh spinach salad. “The spinach said ‘ready to eat’, triple washed,’ but I washed it anyway.” “I thought I was eating something good for me.”
Over the next several days, the 51-year old single mother, who worked three jobs to support herself and her nine-year old daughter, developed bloody diarrhea so severe that she began to drift in and out of consciousness. A friend rushed her to a hospital emergency room.
Several days later physicians diagnosed what was wrong: a severe infection of E. coli 0157:H7, a bacterium that is found in the intestinal tract and excrement of animals. Ferus survived, but not before suffering permanent changes to her kidneys.
The spinach Bonita ate was picked in a field 1,000 miles away in San Benito County, California-a few weeks before she ate her salad.
What Went Wrong?
A government investigation couldn’t pinpoint exactly how the spinach became contaminated with E. coli. Maybe wild pigs broke through a wire fence to reach the plants and left manure behind on some leaves. That’s all it takes. Or maybe rainwater drained from a nearby cattle pasture and splashed cow do-do on to the plants.
But no matter how it happened, the contamination mushroomed when the tainted spinach was mixed with spinach from other farms at a processing plant.
What started out as a limited number of contaminated plants from one small farm multiplied. According to plant records, 41,760 bags of spinach were packed that day for the U.S. market, and 720 bags were shipped to stores in Canada.
Three weeks later, Wisconsin health officials alerted theCenter for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that four people had been diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), the serious kidney disease caused by E. coli.
Within a week-after Oregon, New Mexico, and 17 other states reported new case of E. coli infections-the FDA and the CDC advised consumers not to eat fresh spinach and spinach-containing foods.
By the end of the outbreak, 205 people in 26 states and Canada had become ill, 103 were hospitalized, 31 developed HUS, and 3 died. Sales of spinach and leafy greens plummeted, costing California producers and processors $100 million.
What To Do
Thoroughly wash all produce before you eat it, even though that’s no guarantee that it will end up bug-free.
Your best protection, though, is a more vigilant industry. And that’s just what the spinach outbreak may have produced. Unfortunately, if often takes an outbreak to motivate the industry to change.
USDA-trained auditors who work for the California Department of Food and Agriculture now inspect each Leafy Green Products Handle Marketing Agreement (LGMA) member’s farms and processing facilities a least twice a year. One of the visits is unannounced.
Most distributors now insist that their suppliers be certified by (LGMA).
If you’re buying a packaged salad or a whole head of lettuce or a bunch of spinach, you can now be pretty confident that they have been certified to have been grown under good agricultural practices.
How is the program working? Since the LGMA went into effect in the summer of 2007, several small E coli outbreaks have been traced back to California greens-including one to romaine lettuce from the Salinas Valley that sickened at least 10 people and one to produce farms in Santa Barbara that sickened a least 46 people.
But there have been no large outbreaks like the one in 2006 that came from eating contaminated spinach…and no reported deaths.
Got a 10 Bead Space Bar?
I COULDN’T DECIDE WHICH NAME I LIKED BEST. THEY ARE ALL GREAT. THE BRACELET IS UP FOR GRABS ON MY WEBSITE FOR $8.
I wanted to doing something again like my seed bead cuffs, but different. I was sketching away in my little sketch book that I sell on my website and it hit me. Use space bars. I’ve had these 10 bead space bars forever. I hear from people that bars like this intimidate them and they don’t know how to use them.
The first thing you need to do is come up with a color palette and the type of beads you what to use. Then decide how many bars your want to use. I used nine in mine because of the size and weight of the beads. I also wanted uneven sections of beads to add aesthetic interest. If you use light weight beads you many not need as many bars. The less you use the easier it will be. Also, if this is your first time I would suggest to keep your beading sections between the bars even and use the same size beads. Use beads uniform in size to. Using uneven beads like I did in this peice is very hard and I do not recommend doing that. Use heavy stretch cord.
This bracelet needs a name. If I use the name I will offer this bracelet to you 75% off at $8.
Made with love, jeannie
New Goddess Bead
Here is Eris, counterpart to Ares. She is gold and black. I don’t have room on my website right now, so if you’re interested, let me know. $8 each.
ERIS was the goddess or spirit (daimona) of strife, discord, contention and rivalry. She was often represented specifically as the daimon of the strife of war, who haunted the battlefield and delighted in human bloodshed.
Because of Eris’ disagreeable nature she was the only goddess not to be invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. When she turned up anyway, she was refused admittance and, in a rage, threw a golden apple amongst the goddesses inscribed “To the fairest.” Three goddesses laid claim it, and in their rivalry brought about the events which led to the Trojan War.
Eris was closely identified with the war-goddess Enyo. Indeed Homer uses the names interchangeably. Her Roman name was Discordia.
Bead Trends
I have two featured bracelets in this current issue. Someday I’ll have to get them back on my website. I’m giving one issue away with any $30 purchase. Or your can subscribe here. Click on subscribe and renew.
March Contest
Meet Stewie. He wants you to join the contest. This month I’m adding a twist. You will be given a mystery polymer clay piece. Here’s the twist. You can request up to two and enter each individual piece for more chances to win. Once you accept them you have to use all of them. Make sure you can make the deadline and use all you requested or you will be charged for the piece(s), shipping and handling.
Guidelines:
- Post a comment here AND send your address to my email BEFORE March 3rd and I will send out your mystery piece(s). I will mail out on March 3th.
- You will receive the number of pieces you requested. Limit is two. You can make anything you want. Doesn’t have to be limited to just jewelry. Each piece has to be used separately. You can’t use two pieces in one design.
- Deadline for submission is March 22nd.
- Make sure you can make the deadline or you will be charged full price, shipping and handling costs. Out of fairness to others I will not except late entries. No exceptions.
- Send your submission to my email without logo or initials in jpg form. No attachments. Bad photos will influence how people vote. Send only one picture.
- Voting will start on March 23-30.
- Winner will be posted here on March 31st.
- Once voting poll is up, you need to get people here and vote for you. Tell your friends and family, post on myspace, facebook, twitter, post on any beading forums or blogs you belong to. The more people who vote the better chance you have of winning. That is how Poll Daddy works. Don’t forget to vote for yourself.
Winner will receive one of my polymer clay sand dollars with matching art bead I made special for this contest and dyed shell beads.
Runner Up will receive this beautiful swarovski crystal filigree earrings
March Give-Away’s
Next give-away will be 5 bracelets. Guess one and it’s yours. Keep track of what has already been won. One guess, one bracelet per day.
CARY YOU ARE THE RANDOM WINNER OF THE SILVER SWIRL BLUE BEADS. I SEE A PRETTY NECKLACE IN YOUR FUTURE.
Next give-away is this strand of glass beads with a silver swirl on them that you can use it your own designs. Leave a comment and I’ll pick a random winner on Wed, March 10th. Just a note: If you win something, anything on my blog I will alway need your address send to my email. I don’t keep a record of addresses on file.
DONNA YOU ARE THE RANDOM WINNER OF THE HEART. Send your address to my email.
I made a wrapped heart for this give-away in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. I’m not Irish, are you? It has the word “LUCK” on it and is just shy of 1-1/2″ long. Leave a comment and a RANDOM winner will be picked on Monday, March 8th. “GOOD LUCK EVERYONE”
Winner of the art beads and ink hearts is Jeni picked by random.org. (I can’t fiqure out how to display that on my blog so you don’t think I just make this up) I’ll keep trying. I will mail out next month. Need your address sent to my email.
First up this month is two 35mm ink hearts and two art beads. One of the art beads has a hole in the middle. I was thinking spring when I made these.
Leave a comment and a random winner will be picked on Friday, March 5th.
It Will Never Stop
***WARNING: this post my upset some*** Follow-up post to “Silent No More.”
I’m really on my soapbox today so beware! I have decided that I will no longer keep my mouth shut or push down my feelings about jewelry copycats. I’ll blog about it.
Yesterday I finally got a minute to page through the latest issue of Stringing magazine(I’m in there). And there it was, my necklace! A design unique to me that was published in a book in 2006. I have the proof and the publisher to back it up if need be. She at least did a good job. So I went back into my URL history and sure enough, she has been on my website.
I can always tell when my stuff will get pouched because there will be several hits daily on one piece over a span of 1-2 weeks.
Later I received an email from someone(watchdog) informing me of a website claiming beads as their own with no mention of me or a link to my site. When I went to her site I was outraged. One of the beads was a “free with purchase” and next to it was another she bought. I sent her an email and kindly asked her to either remove the jewelry from her site or give credit where credit is due!
I’m thinking about changing the name of my website from Jewelry By Jeannie to Bead Whore. Seems more fitting since I give it away for free, never see any money and always take a beating.
I realize that if I shut down my blog, it will not stop this. This unethical behavior is like a virus. It’s motivated by greed mostly, ego and a lack of respect. Where is their moral compass? How can you take credit for something you didn’t do.
One way you can help is to watch for this and support individual artists by buying from them and not mass retail. I know some of the jewelry on my website is, but it has been a LOOOOOOOOOOOng time since I purchased from mass retail. I also donated $900 last year of beads and jewelry to help my community and charities. $3850 last year to give-aways, contest and free shipping. My point being, don’t take from me. If you ask and don’t steal, I’ll give it to you if you play nice. At some point Jewelry by Jeannie will have a whole new face or will go under. I’m not producing, what I call standardized stock jewelry anymore. I may just become a bead maker or custom order. I have also thought about selling all my inventory and dedicating all my time energy into my fine designer and stone line. What I do know is…”this is waring on me.” Time will tell.
These thieves don’t belong in this community of hardworking artists. I urge you to watch for this and buy from individual or local artists. Your jewelry will be unique and something you can feel proud of. It’s good Karma!
I have shed my skin of making stock or trend jewelry as I call it, many years ago. I want and do make jewelry that has more heart and soul, and a little piece of me, along with unique components made by individual artists. I have sprinkled in some of this type of jewelry on my website. Example would be the bracelet called Heather Fields. The Lampwork beads are made by a local artist here in the Twin Cities. The beautiful flower shapes have a unique color. The earrings have artbeads made by your truly.
So has that bracelet design been done before? Yeah, but NEVER, EVER with those beads or combination of beads and chain. How do I know? Because those beads are OOAK. It’s not so much the design of the piece, it’s the unique components you put into them that sets your jewelry apart.
Until you make this transition, you can’t call yourself a jewelry designer or artist of any kind. I was an artist long, long before I made jewelry, or painted abstracts or tinkered with mix media and paper art. But that’s for another day and a different blog post.
I don’t mean the whole piece has to be entirely made from designer beads. Just a small charm or one art bead.
I also have a problem with newbies on the scene who post pictures of something they just saw in a beading magazine on blogs, forums, or social networking sites. Or they post something and say, “oh, I just made this for my aunt Trudy.” or “I wore this and got so many compliments I sold it” or ”I made a bunch of these…Blah, Blah, Blah. Really!??? 9 times out of 10 that’s a lie. They are testing the waters thinking they can sell it. If you get into making jewelry with the thought of making money…GET OUT!!!!!!!!!!! GET THE HELL OUT!!!!!!!!
You should not be thinking about money. You NEED to be thinking about your target market and what type of jewelry you want to make.
If you want to sell it, pay for a website, start a blog and quit making up stories.
If you like, I can periodically post some links to some awesome artists. Search Etsy, or other hand made sites. You will be blown away. Let me know and please direct all your beady friends and customers to this post. They need to know.
Wait for my next post about this. Someone stole my pictures on my website and then………….
You Can’t Tell A Food By Its Label
This is a pet peeve of mine. Reading a food label can be like deciphering an insurance policy-tough, but necessary.
That’s because companies are always making claims designed to make you think their foods are “terrific” and “healthy” for you. I scoured the grocery store and found these. Some of my favorites: GRRRRRRRRRRRR!
0g trans fat-It implies that a food is healthy, though some, like Edy’s Dibs frozen snacks, are loaded with saturated fat.
“Now helps support your child’s immunity”-This one makes me angry. This bogus claim appeared on Kellogg’s Cocoa Krispies. “I OBJECT.” Most children’s cereals are full of corn syrup(sugar) and void of any nutritional value.
6g whole grain-The cracker isle is a travesty. I could spend the whole day there. You’ll find it on foods like Sun-dried Tomato and Basil Wheat Thins, which are mostly refined flour and sugar. YUCK!
Omega-3 fats-Companies use it to imply that their eggs are good for your heart, despite the eggs’ slug of cholesterol.
Naturally flavored-Don’t fall victim to this. It’s typically in small, skinny letters near a word in bold type (“Strawberry,” for example). And it often means that the food contains little or none of the ingredient. Usually none.
All natural-This is the worse offender. You’ll see it on some foods that are made with (non-natural) high-fructose corn syrup.
After years of inaction, the FDA is finally going after some dishonest labels.
In 2009, for example, the FDA stopped misleading cholesterol-lowering claims on Cheerios. I almost passed out when I first saw this commercial. And it triggered the collapse of an industry-wide labeling scheme that awarded a “Smart Choices” logo to Froot Loops and other sugary cereals. I hope the FDA will expand on this in 2010.
Lies aside, the FDA should require labels to disclose other information: Nutrition Facts labels should reveal how much added sugar is in a serving of food. High-sugar foods shouldn’t be allowed to carry a “healthy” claim. Ingredient lists should disclose the percentages of the key ingredients. Unreadable, small, skinny, capital letters on a non-contrasting background. Maybe I should go into designing labels instead of jewelry. I might pan out better for me.
What’s more, the FDA should require manufactures to put key nutrition facts on the front of the package.
But there’s no need to wait for the government to grind out new regulations. You can avoid deceptive labels right now…by buying more foods that have no labels-fruits, vegetables, and bulk grains, seeds, beans, and nuts.
Next month I’ll be doing a series of articles on Safe Foods. Which foods are most likely to make you sick, and what the latest outbreaks reveal about weaknesses in the food chain, and how to protect yourself.
Silent No More
By nature I’m the type of person that has no problem with confrontation or speaking her mind….I just never do it on my blog. Today that’s going to change. I have two things to cover.
Myself and my fellow designers and artists are constant victims of pouching. People copying and selling our designs and/or art beads with their name on it. It wouldn’t be so bad if they at least gave credit to the originator. For those of us who work very hard at this and try to eek out a living, this is not cool. All my jewelry has copyrights and some even have patent law rights. I could have five lawsuits going on right now and that’s only the copycats I know about. This also happens with my artwork.
A few days ago I just saw some of my polymer clay word tags and beads on another blog crediting herself and patting herself on the back. Same colors and even the same words. Her blog is full of rip offs. This is someone who is new to polymer clay and has asked me for help by sending me countless emails with questions. Stuff like this makes me want to cry and never want to help anyone again. I’m a intuitive reader and from her very first email, an alarm went off in my head.
This of course goes against my nature. I have spent my whole life helping others, listening intently and observing quietly. That’s who I am..I teach EVERYDAY. I guide people to foster better lifestyles and mindsets. I help them empower themselves. Like I say, “you can depend on me, but don’t become dependant upon me.” One of my business tag lines is Be Fit, Be Strong, Be Your Best. Now am I going to see this on some one’s blog to?
The other bad part about this is every time I see my stuff or others being knocked off, it’s done so poorly. If you’re going to copy, at least do a better job. (I was going to swear here, but I think it’s a sign of laziness and poor vocabulary.)
Being published in magazines and books or being featured on blogs opens us up to more of this despicable behavior, but it doesn’t make it right!
Case in point. Green Girl Studios is being ripped off by Forever Silvers. In the latest issue of Stringing magazine they have exact replica’s of their fairy heart charm and round bird pendant. Their website is full of knockoffs. I’m outraged by this! I suggest you boycott them.
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Secondly. I’m tired of ungrateful people taking advantage of my generosity. I host give-away’s and contest on my blog by choice, not because I have to. With the give-aways, the contest give-aways, the prizes, shipping costs etc, I BLEED money everyday. Not to mention the time it takes to make these things and offer them to you. Often times it’s never reciprocal. So when I get an email from someone that complains about the contest or the give-aways, or the prizes or voting isn’t fair, or they’re upset because they didn’t win, I’m shocked and hurt by this. Most of the emails are from people who read my blog everyday, but never leave comments or enter the contests…some are not. If it continues I will have to make a decision to shut down my blog altogether. Every minute I spend on my blog it’s time I take from my family, my business, my work, my clients, and my employees. I have always felt that this in not my blog, IT’S YOURS and what I do on it is all for you. That’s why I don’t publish personal stuff on here. It’s not my blog. For those of you that have never complained and always say “thanks” words can’t express MY gratitude. |
Beads From Morocco
A friend of my just got back from Morocco with her husband. (Yeah, I know!) She brought me back the most beautiful beads. So yesterday we sat down and went through them. I made a bracelet for her, me and the one pictured here will be on my website.
The red, bumpy lamp work bead and the amber bead next to it are the only beads not from Morocco. I strung this bracelet on heavy stretch cord. The large oval amber bead had a large hole so I use Vintaj 20 gauge wire and wrapped it around and close to the hole. On the other side I added a red glass bicone. That took care of the large hole problem.
I thought this bracelet deserved a blog post. These beads are unbelievable beautiful.
Inspirations By Cary
Cary used one of my polymer clay art beads in this BEAUTIFUL set. She did a wonderful job and really pulled the colors together. Cary’s Blog.
“Well, Jeannie, here they are! I have to admit, with the first bead, the thing that inspired me most was the color! I just went glamorous! I used the prettiest, flashiest beads I had, and alot of silver filigree caps. I think it is pretty, I hope whomever buys it, or receives it as a gift loves it!!”
Cary bought one of my new God Art Beads called Ares. See her thoughts and inspiration for this set below. See history of Ares on my website.
“For the second bead, Ares, alot of thought went into this one. I think Ares was one twisted, hard dude…thus, he got a twisted necklace! The stones are very hard, marble-like beads. The black beads are vintage ones I found in an antique shop. I threw in some sterling silver beads to match the sterling clasp and earwires. I think it turned out pretty well, the focal bead makes the necklace, though.”
Cary this turned out more then “pretty well.” You really captured the essence of the bead and again really pulled the colors together. Your choice of beads are perfect!!!! “Well Done Girlfriend.”
For sale here on her blog.
75% OFF SALE
GOING ON NOW 75% OFF SALE ON OVER 150 ITEMS ON MY WEBSITE.
50% off on other items
50% OFF ON DISCOINTINUED GOD AND GODDESS ART BEADS.
Inspirations By Dagi
These photos were sent to me by Dagi using my paper beads and one of my polymer clay art beads. Below are descriptions of the paper bead set and bracelet in her own words.
She calls it “By The Sea.” Perfect isn’t it?
Hi Jeannie,
I just wanted to share the finished set of paper bead jewelry, made with the paper beads you once sent me. The necklace is made with a wide variety of beads like bone, mop, glass, pearls, wood and shell and of course paper. It is around 63″ long and can be worn several ways, up to three times around the neck. No clasp needed. The bracelet is made with stretch thread. The earrings feature two drop beads from one of the latest swaps and handmade copper ear wires. They are almost 2″ long and very lightweight. I think this is a nice summer set. Enjoy and thanks for your inspiring beads!
Dagi
Coffee Garden
It’s made of 10/0 seedbeads, hand made copper findings (connectors and bead frame) and a copperplated toggle clasp. I struggled with this one, because it was so hard to finish it with the right length. But I love it, especially the colors.
Dagi
I love it to Dagi. I like how you wrapped the bead in wire. I hope I can inspire you all with my creations because they’re all made with love.
Here is a link to her ArtFire Shop.
Check out her Blog. She does some amazing things with leather.
More Polymer Clay
The switch plate on the right is a special order I made with black polymer clay and resin based pearl powders. I love how it turned out so I wanted to translate this into some focal pieces. The results are awesome. They are double sided.
The round is 35mm and would look great with some green and gold/yellow pressed glass.
The oval is 1-1/2″ wide and would look great as a focal in a bracelet or necklace with some amethyst nuggets and lapis lauzi gemstones. For a more budget friendly option a gob of matte raka plum iris seed beads from Artbeads. On sale now.
The two art beads are sold.
New God Art Bead
I’m fascinated with Greek and Roman mythology and that’s what inspired these god and goddess art beads last year.
These have a flair of sophistication to them unlike the God they represent. The branch impression is made from an actual dogwood branch. See name of God and history on my website.
These were quite a task. I ruined so much clay trying to get the right color..then I could not get the right color blended paint…first it was too white then too dark. I have been working on these daily for the last two weeks. I only made six and once they are sold, they’re gone and then I move on. Now I have to come up with the next new goddess art bead.
In the meantime I’m having a 50% off sale on the art beads on my website.
Steller Explosions
Last month, after A LOT of begging and weeping I convinced “the astronaut” to allow me to post the upcoming year of events happening in are skies. After the outpouring of emails and some great blog comments I asked “the astronaut” if he would like to contribute monthly. He was not amused and said, “NO.” Guess what I found in my email this morning. He said he thought I would find this interesting since I work in gold and silver.
For purposes of anonymity and respect I will refer to him as “the astronaut.” He in no way wants his name mentioned or published in my blog. Here is his email to me verbatim. He is a scientist and author of several books.
There’s star quality in all of us.
The iron in our blood and the calcium in our bones are the stuff stars are made of. Even the gold and silver in our wedding rings and jewelry was part of a star eons ago.
All heavy elements in our universe are the result of supernovas, giant stellar explosions that bring a cataclysmic (violent change) end to super massive stars.
Scientists agree that these stellar explosions are the only things that can produce heavy materials like gold, silver and uranium.
Through the course of a star’s life, hydrogen atoms fuse into heavier helium atoms inside a star’s core. This is called nuclear fusion.
When the hydrogen inside the core is exhausted and only helium atoms remain, gravity causes the helium core to collapse. This produces a tremendous amount of heat that triggers nuclear fusion in the outer layers, and the entire star bloats into a red giant. This is the fate of our sun in about 4 1/2 billion to 5 billion years.
When that happens, the sun will grow so large it will swallow up its two closest planets, Mercury and Venus, and its bloated outer edge will be close enough to Earth to boil away the oceans.
An average star like the sun remains a red giant for about 1 billion years until it runs out of nuclear fuel. Then, the red giant can no longer support itself and begins to collapse into a white dwarf, not much bigger than Earth. Eventually, it flickers out.
More massive stars meet a much more violent end. These stars go through normal lifetimes and become super huge red giants.
One example in the southeastern night sky right now is Betelgeuse, the second brightest star in the constellation Orion, the hunter.
Betelgeuse is a huge star that beats like a gargantuan heart. At its minimum, Betelgeuse’s diameter is about 400 million miles, but it regularly balloons to 1 billion miles in girth.
Sometime within the next thousand – or million – years, Betelgeuse will produce a supernova.
A super giant red star like Betelgeuse develops an iron core as it loses its ability to produce energy through nuclear fusion. It collapses on itself and that core becomes unstable.
Then it explodes and the stellar shrapnel is flung in all directions at speeds greater and 10,000 miler per second.
Heat from an explosion like this cooks heavier elements like gold, silver and uranium. This “cooking” process is more formally known as nuclear synthesis.
Materials including heavy elements spread far in all directions and end up seeding surrounding clouds of developing star clusters and solar systems.
Our own solar system was laced with heavy elements from a supernova billions and billions years ago.
It has been a long time since we’ve had a major supernova in the Milky Way Galaxy. The most recent occurred in 1054 A.D., and it was so bright it was visible in the daytime sky for many weeks.
Remnants, though faint, are still visible. The collection is called the Crab Nebula, (picture above) and it’s next to one of the horns of the constellation Taurus, the bull.
Scan the southeast evening sky with a small to moderate-sized telescope to see if you can spot the faint patch of light that once was a mighty star.
Secret Admirer
I received this in the mail today from a secret admirer. I was pleasantly confused (I don’t get packages) until I read the thank you note:
Jeannie, (that’s me)
I just wanted to thank you for your generosity…for all your give-away’s, contests, advice, etc. You are great!
Cary
Happy Valentines Day!
WOW! I was so surprised to receive something from one of my customers and blogging friends it stopped in my tracks at the post office. This is the first….EVER! You have truly touched my heart Cary. “Thank You.”
I put the earrings on and went to work. Cary this jewelry is so sweet, did you make the pendant? A girl can never have too much bling or chocolate.
One of my male clients who notices everything (even though he’s male) and relentlessly teases me because he knows I can take it and will give it right back him, said this, “hey, bruiser,(that’s his nickname for me) what’s with the butterfly earrings in the dead of winter and it’s 3 degrees outside and there is a winter snow storm on the way?” Being the lady I am I told him to “bite me.”
I got him back later and made him do 20 extra push ups. He wasn’t laughing then.
