Do you have some favorite places to purchases gifts for family and friends? I do and some have been discovered this year.

First off, on Saturday I announced the new auction for Bridget and Barrett here. Wowee!  The auction has about seven more days to run and it is close to reaching the goal of $5000 already.  There are still some very terrific things to bid on.  For example, do you have a skier in your house?  There is a darling Norwegian Sami skier pin.  Created by Tala Gull of Solvesmie AS near the Nordkapp, the northernmost point in Norway, it is sterling silver  Bids start at $30. Or how about some tealight holders? 

There are also many autographed books and book critique services.  Check it out here: http://www.32auctions.com/organizations/163/auctions/163

User name: bridget
Password: rules

Auction ends on December 11, 2009.

One the greatest finds this year has been Bunny’s Bath.  Lynn, the owner and creator of some pretty terrific lotions and sugar scrubs graciously donated a fabulous spa basket for the Portland Bridget auction last May.  I ended up with the basket and wow! 

If you want natural products that feel great one your skin, check it out here: http://www.bunnysbath.com/ There is a holiday 20% sale.

Another natural skin products/make-up line I discovered this year is Terra Firma Cosmetics.  They are located in Raymond, WA which just happens to be where friends of mine live.  I love their loose mineral foundation and eye make-up.

Are you looking for jewelry?  There are two great places to look.

First is the silver work of Laura Ludwig Hamor.  She, too, donated to the Bridget Zinn auction last spring.  I love her silver bracelet with the word “write” stamped in it. She also has some other inspirational work bracelets at her Etsy shop, Silver Freckles.

Another great Etsy shop is none other than Anne Boles Levy.  She is the extraordinary organizer for the CYBILS.  Her shop is “Quartz Trail” and features fresh water pearls and some great hammered metal earrings.

And how could I forget books?  Please visit your independent bookstore for your book gifts.  Two favorite bookstores in Portland, Oregon are Annie Bloom Bookstore and the Looking Glass Book store.

I announced that a new silent auction for Bridget and Barrett was about to begin in this earlier post.

And tah-dah…it has begun!

Browse, bid, and win for a good cause!
November 27 – December 11, 2009

Bridget Zinn and Barrett Dowell face steep costs related to Bridget’s treatment for colon cancer. Their friends are holding an online fundraising auction – anyone can bid and win, and support a good cause! All proceeds will go to Bridget and Barrett to cover their expenses.

 There are  dozens of generous donations of items for auction.

• Many authors – Bridget’s friends and acquaintances – have donated signed copies of their books;
• There are also a number of manuscript critiques and proofreading services for authors.
• Works of art, food and drink, baby gifts, jewelry, and more.
• Did you miss out on the bidding of the 3 night stay in Pt Townsend?  It is being offered again.

Many of the items would make lovely gifts, just in time for your holiday shopping. Take a look – you may find just the thing you’re looking for!

I donated two items. 

A turquoise and amber necklace and earrings set.

And a set of four cards with images of the Oregon Coast:

To view other  items up for auction:

Go to http://www.32auctions.com

Enter the Auction ID: bridget

Password: rules

You will need to create an account on the site in order to bid on auction items. (Creating an account simply requires your name, email address, and a password, and it is required so that we can contact you if you win an item.)

 Here’s the small print:

• You are bidding on an item or service donated by an individual or business, with the proceeds going to Bridget Zinn. This is not a tax-deductible donation.
• If you are the highest bidder on an item, you will be contacted by email after the auction ends (Dec. 11 or 12). You must respond within 3 days, or the item will go to the next highest bidder.
• Payment will be accepted by check or through PayPal. (Payment instructions will be included with the notification that you have won.) Once your payment has been received, the donor or the auction coordinator will contact you to arrange how you will get your item.
• Email any questions about the auction to cailin.oconnor@gmail.com.
• If you would like to donate to Bridget without purchasing anything in the auction, please send an email to BridgetKicksCancer@charter.net for instructions on where to send a check.

 Bridget’s Story:

Bridget is a 32-year-old writer and librarian who was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in March. She and Barrett, who have been together since they were teenagers, were married in the hospital just minutes before she went into surgery to remove a large tumor on her colon. She is now undergoing expensive treatment to shrink – and we hope obliterate – additional tumors. The treatment seems to be working, but much of it is not covered by her health insurance. Bridget & Barrett’s friends and family are rallying to help them pay the bills so that they can focus on Bridget’s health. You can learn more about Bridget at her blog: www.bridgetzinn.com/blog.

The goal is to reach $5000 but lets beat that the way that Bridget is beating cancer.

 Thank you Cailin for organizing this. What a terrific friend.

 Read Write Poem invited us to write about food associations.  I thought and thought and thought this week, lots of things surfaced. Getting them into a poem? Not so much.  So I discovered that I had not shared this poem which I wrote about 15 years ago.  And sharing it here gave me opportunity for revision. (I may use this for the basis of a pantouom.)

Adelanto

Rancho Cucamonga lined in palm trees
Snakelike San Bernardino Mountain Pass
Sage foothills, Joshua tree desert
Foot fights with younger brother
Butterfly stomach
on windy, carnival road
Highway food stand
Purchased black, green olives
minutes from Adelanto
Desert white masonry brick house
Eucalyptus and castor trees
lined gravel driveway 
Cool refuge from a sweltering sun

Great aunts, aprons on
Busy ricing potatoes
Great uncle hugged nonstop
Bleu cheese, tomato soup
Bubbled through cauliflower
Table set for a feast

Sun porch swing
Rocked me until
Eyelids slammed shut
Starlit night debuts
on black damask
Fairy lights twinkle far off

 a day’s journey

I may have to make the bleu cheese tomato soup cauliflower casserole this weekend.

Visit Read Write Poem and see what others are writing about this week.

When the “Poetry Stretch”  prompt to write about your favorite childhood game appeared, I immediately thought of playing  ”jacks”.  I played for hours at recess and was pretty good. Tried recently and was awful!  How was I possibly coordinated enough to play?

But I also thought about the other game I played a lot: “hopscotch.”  Last week’s prompt, the ricameter, seems to fit for this weeks prompt:

hopscotch
short hop, scratched lines
invented by Romans
throw your marker in the box, hop!
 hope other player misses, steps on line
winner completes course first
sometimes I still
hop, hop

Wikipedia was my source for some history about “hopscotch”.

More poetry about childhood games can be found here.  BTW, Jane Yolen has a fabulous poem about the game of  “jacks”.  Poetry Friday is being hosted at The Drift Record by Julia Larios. 

Check It Out features a poem by Lucy Maud Montgomery.

Gautami Tripathy of Rooted provided the prompt, “reincarnation”  at One Single Impression.

Yesterday as I made “using up the leftover’s soup”, I realized I was reincarnating the items in the refrigerator.

wednesday’s roast
simmers in pot, sunday soup
no one goes hungry

Head over to One Single Impression to see what others are writing about with this prompt.

Bridget and Barrett at the “5th Friday” October Kidlit Drink Night

So the holidays are coming.  Is there any better way to get gifts and help someone out?  Another on-lin silent auction for Bridge and Barrett will be held starting the end of November.  Bridget’s friend Cailin is organizing this one. You should contact her at cailin.oconnor@gmail.com if you are interested in donating an auction item.  I am donating a handcrafted necklace and earrings combo and a set of my Oregon Coast cards.  Will blog later in the week about them.

In a recent email, Cailin offered this information:

Artists, authors, business owners… please consider donating an item or service to sell in an auction to benefit Bridget Zinn and Barrett Dowell. Bridget is a 32-year-old writer and librarian who was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in March. She and Barrett, who have been together since they were teenagers, were married in the hospital just minutes before she went into surgery to remove a large tumor on her colon. She is now undergoing expensive treatment to shrink – and we hope obliterate – additional tumors. The treatment seems to be working, but much of it is not covered by her health insurance. Bridget & Barrett’s friends and family are rallying to help them pay the bills so that they can focus on Bridget’s health. You can learn more about Bridget at her blog, www.bridgetzinn.com/blog.    Between Friday, November 27 and Friday, December 11, we (a group of Bridget’s friends) will hold an online silent auction on the website www.32auctions.com, with all proceeds going to Bridget and Barrett to help with their expenses.
 
Here’s what it means to donate an item or service to the auction:
- You are donating the item to this auction, all proceeds of which will be given to Bridget Zinn. This is not a tax-deductible donation.
- You must provide an item title, description of up to 400 words, and starting bid for the online auction. You may also choose to provide a subtitle, fair market value, reserve price (amount that must be reached in bidding for the item to be sold), up to two photos/images, and website address for further information about you or about the item. All of this should be emailed to cailin.oconnor@gmail.com no later than November 25.)
- You may choose how you want to get the item to the winning bidder: (1) Keep the item until the auction ends, and mail it to the winning bidder (or contact the winner to arrange pick-up/delivery if feasible). We will contact you with the winner’s contact information when payment has been received, and ask that you put the item in the mail to the winning bidder within 3 business days. (2) Give your donated item to one of the auction organizers, who will get it to the winning bidder. This is a good option if you will not be available in the middle of December when the auction ends. If you are giving your item to an auction organizer, please indicate that (and who) when you send in your item description.

Loch Rob provided the prompt and the inspiration.  I have three chair photos begging for a poem or two.

Backstage Chair in Ringwood, NJ

abandoned
lost lines engraved on the wall
final curtain drops

Back Stage Chair II, Ringwood, NJ

departed, left behind
spiders live in hidden coils
as the seasons change

And finally in memory of George, like an uncle to me:

Story Teller’s Chair, Hagerman, ID

storyteller told
tales between tomato rows
now departed
memories shout out
who is listening?

See what others are writing about at One Single Impression.

This week the challenge was to write in the poetry form, rictameter.  It is a 9-line poem with a syllable count of 2/4/6/8/10/8/6/4/2 in which the first and last lines are the same.

Since today is Friday the 13th, our third one this year, I wrote a rictameter in its honor.

thirteen
unlucky number
Friday the thirteenth scares
a vast population
who avoid black cats and walking on cracks
six years before it comes
around again
thirteen

I also discovered some great big long words meaning the fear of Friday the 13th:

paraskavedekatriaphobia

friggatriskaidekaphobia

Friday the 13th will not occur again until 2015.  Greg is hosting Poetry Friday at Gottabook.  Tricia posted other rictameter poems here.  I have a review of a poetry, nonfiction and photography book at Check It Out.

Invited back to a small, intimate holiday bazaar at New Harmony Health, I have been working on pendants.  I love creating but not for the masses.  Not my thing.  So this year I decided to create a few items and play with just making pendants.

Playing with wooden buttons and wire wrapping.

Close -up of the button and wirewrap.

Love the natural stones: turquoise and amber.  Has earrings to match. Also did one in turquoise and coral.

Sterling Silver wire wrap and beach glass.

So I have about 15 pendants ready to go for tomorrow.  I also have photo cards for sale.  It has been a wonderful day of preparing.

Have you begun to think about gifts for the upcoming holiday season? I like finding unique, handcrafted ones for friends and family.

In May, several of the Portland Kidlit community hosted an on-line silent auction for our friend Bridget Zinn (battling stage 4 colon cancer). One of the auction items was this fabulous silver bracelet created by Laura Ludwig Hamor:

Bridget modeling the “write” bracelet.

Not only did Laura send one bracelet, she sent three! One went to Bridget and the other two were big hits in the auctions.

Well, Laura had told me that she was working on getting a blog of her silver work together and her store at etsy.com. I recently received an email from with an update.

So here is a fabulous wonderful place to visit if you are looking for a special gift for that creative person in your life. Her new silver website is over at etsy. You can find it by going to www.SilverFreckles.com.

At her blog, Laura Ludwig Hamor, she says this about her work, “I love the process of creating silver pieces, and most of all I love the result. As a clay artist with a love of jewelry it is the best of both worlds.”

She has a blog contest going for her birthday, November 12. Anyone who promotes http://www.etsy.com/shop/silverfreckles will be entered into a drawing for one of her fabulous creations.

If you have bought a bracelet from her in the past, go to her blog and let her know. You will be entered in the contest and if you should by chance mention that you read it here, I will get another chance!

Otherwise, I am putting her website on my Christmas and birthday lists. Generous people such as Laura deserve support.

And you can follow Laura on facebook at SILVERFRECKLES! I am looking forward to reading her blog about her creative process as it unfolds.

Thank you to Laura for allowing me to use  photos of her work.