12.28.15 Saved by the Blog

I can’t believe this is my last post for 2015 – and what a year it has been.  I am grateful to everyone who has followed along, and hope that you’ll stay with me as we move into the new year.

The last few weeks have been difficult – just watching what is going on here at home and around the world – and more than I expected it to be, the blog and jewelry making have been a source of beauty and comfort for me.  There is something so affirming about being able to work with my hands and make art – and it has given me a way to escape reality for a few hours at a time.

I’ve had so much encouragement – from my amazing family, especially my husband – my friends, my jewelry instructors, and you – my readers.  Every time one of you reads a post, I get a little electronic validation, and I can’t overstate how good that makes me feel.

When I started writing last January my goal was a post a week, and to take jewelry classes…and I did it!

In that first post I wrote:

For the past 30 years I've been in the public policy business.  For 25 of those years I've been raising children.  My nest is now empty, and I've long had a pipe dream of being in the jewelry business (although I have no formal training - I do have years of shopping and wearing experience).  That said, I'm seriously considering trying to make jewelry more than a hobby...so this is where I'm going to start.

And so it was – a start.  My world has expanded; I’ve worn more different pieces of jewelry in the past year than well, I can’t remember when; and I’ve made jewelry – I’ve cast it from wax, formed it from metal clay and cut, shaped and soldered it together (more about that soon).

This post, is not an end, but the next beginning.  I want 2016 to be the year I sell my first piece of jewelry (watch for updates when I have some things in my Etsy shop) - and I want to continue to learn, grow and share my adventures with you, my readers.

Wishing you all the best for a very happy new year.

Until next time.

12.21.15 What's in a name (or a monogram)?

"mom" tags - with kiddos birthstones

My husband and I just celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary.  Coincidentally, someone asked me recently why, even with all three of my kids out of the house, my husband refers to me as "mom"...and not by my name.  My response - that IS my name .

My full given name is Debra Suzanne Haas.  Debra, from the biblical judge Deborah – but my mother didn’t like the spelling of longer version.  I can’t really remember using my middle name much, for as long as I can remember I’ve been Debra S. Haas legally and professionally.  It’s what has always been on my driver’s license and business cards.  It’s how I sign my name. My mother, father and husband have always called me Debra.  My parents’ friends still call me Debra, but since high school, my own friends have called me Deb.

I’d never given my first name a lot of thought, probably because for those of us born in the 1960s it was a perfectly common and normal name.  As for my last name, I didn’t realize quite how attached to it I had become until the night before I got married.

James Avery disc earrings

My husband’s last name is Hood.  All three of our children are Hood.  I remain Haas. At our rehearsal dinner, someone asked if I was planning to change my name and I answered that I wasn’t sure.  My mom, who had a wicked sense of humor, said “well, you could hyphenate it and be Debra Haas-Hood, but if ‘haashood’ is the state of being a Haas, I don’t really see the point”.  That was it, I got married, my life changed, my name did not. 

When I got married, I became a stepmother to two wonderful young boys (now fine young men).  While I insisted they treat me with respect, and as a parent, I never asked them to call me anything other than Debra, because they have a mother who loves them very much.

Chicks Picks acrylic monograms

When I became pregnant with our daughter, my younger stepson, then three, became concerned.  “What should we call you after the baby comes” he asked?  “Why would you call me anything other than Debra?” I answered.  He told me he was worried that if he and his brother called me "Debra", that the baby would be confused and stated authoritatively that starting at that moment, he and his brother would call me “Mom”. (That baby just turned 20, and arrived home from college for the holidays over the weekend).

Even now, twenty years later, I kvell when I think of that day, because since then, I really have been “Mom”.  It’s what both the boys call me, it’s what my daughter calls me, even my husband uses Mom when he refers to me, or we are talking to each other.  So, while the name my parents gave me may be the one I use out in the world, it is “Mom”, the name my children gave me, that I cherish the most.

Stella & Dot "mom" and "D" charms

Until next time.

12.14.15 Visions of Sugarplums danced in their heads

Ballet Austin Nutcracker Cast 2013 - my daughter's last show

When my daughter was 3 years old, we were invited to a mother-daughter event to see Ballet Austin's production of Cinderella.  For more than 2 hours, she sat on the edge of her seat, and when the curtain went down and the lights went up, she said to me "Mommy, I'm going to be a ballerina".

My response was "of course you are" - because all 3 year old girls want to be ballerinas.

However, my girl really DID go on to be a ballerina; for 14 years she danced at the Ballet Austin Academy, and for 10 of those years she was part of the annual cast of the Nutcracker (she STILL dances for fun and exercise).

Charms - all the roles

My daughter was so excited to be cast as an angel her first year, and I bought her a James Avery angel charm, and had the date engraved on the back, as a keepsake.  The next two years, she danced as a mouse in the battle scene, so I bought mouse charms, and by her fourth year, it occurred to me that maybe instead of putting these charms on her regular charm bracelet, they needed to be own their own...so it was...that over the course of those 10 years we created a shiny record of all of her performances.

I confess, I tired of the schlep to rehearsals and the theater, and saw the production more times than I can count...but I got involved in my own way.  I became a docent - going into schools in the Austin area to talk to elementary school students about ballet and what they will see when they attend the performance.

Backs - all the dates

Being a docent is hands down my favorite part of the Nutcracker.  There is something so special and fulfilling about the opportunity to bring an art form I love to students, who often, have never seen a live performance.  For most of my presentations I rely on the wonderful materials provided Ballet Austin Community Education staff.  In addition to the presentation itself, each docent receives a bag chock full of props including, of course, a Nutcracker. For the past several years I’ve also been the docent for a particularly special group of children – the students at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired - and I was excited to see them again last week.

When I was first asked to do the presentation for TSBVI, I was already an experienced docent.  I said “yes” without a full appreciation of what I was taking on.  I knew the students would have little or no sight, but what I did not know what the range of other special needs the residential school serves.  Some students are sight impaired, but very high functioning in other areas, and some have much more severe disabilities and special needs. Fortunately, the school has a wonderful music teacher who gave me great advice on what would spark their interest and be appropriate for her students.

A TSBVI student holds a Nutcracker

Being the docent for TSBVI made me think about ballet in a way that goes beyond the visual.  To bring the Nutcracker alive for these students I focus on their other senses.  Students hear the story through descriptive audio services when they attend the performance at the Long Center, and Tchaikovsky’s fabulous score provides signature phrases for many scenes.

In the first act, there is the ominous music that precedes or indicates the arrival of the Rat King.  At the end of the act, there is snow - which does not fall silently – but as the rhythmic tapping of 32 perfectly timed pointe shoes moving across the stage.  In the second act, each "sweet" has their own musical theme, and as we listen I ask students to imagine the taste and smell of coffee, tea, cinnamon, chocolate, almond and peppermint. 

A TSBVI student tries on a costume

The students also love the costumes. Over the years I’ve made a point of taking well embellished tutus so that students can feel the beading, embroidery and tulle – allowing them to “visualize” the garment in their minds - truly creating visions of sugarplums.

My daughter is in college now, and we attend a performance every year when she is home.  But it is my time with these special children that really helps me to "see" the beauty of this "holiday gem".

Until next time.

12.07.15 Happy Hanukkah!

Last night was the first night of Hanukkah, and frankly, because we don't have any of the kids around for the holiday it was pretty low key.  Honestly, in the hierarchy of Jewish holidays, it's a minor one, but I still miss watching my children open presents. Yes, there was a miracle, and the oil lamp in the restored Temple burned for eight days. However the transformation of Hanukkah into a widely celebrated event with gifts is more about modernity - and the assimilation of Jews into American society beginning in the late 19th century - than it is about the events of biblical times.

Photo credit: Harry & David

Because the Hebrew calendar is a lunar calendar, the Jewish holidays move around.  This year, Hanukkah is too early for any of the kids to be home from school - so all their gifts have been shipped - including the obligatory Harry & David "eight nights" boxes.  A couple years ago, in 2013, it was so early that it started in November - on Thanksgiving - and merchandisers had all kinds of fun with that. This year, it's just the week before exams.




Nonetheless, its appearance on the calendar provides and excellent opportunity for me to write about some of the Judaic treasures in my jewelry collection. Like much of my jewelry, there are items from two of the most important women in my life - my mother and grandmother - and includes two very traditional round Star of David pendants.

The older of the two is silver with the Hebrew word "Tzion", or Zion,  in the center with blue enamel accents.  My grandmother wore this for years before she gave it to me when I was about 12 years old.

My mother had an almost identical one - except that it is gold with silver tablets (the Ten Commandments) in the center.  I wear them both often, especially on a day when I feel like a I need a little extra something to get me through.

I also have a couple of my own.  One is the simplest of gold stars - a souvenir from the summer of 1980, when we went to Israel as a family.  I've worn it alone on a gold chain, with a small gold "D", and these days I wear it in a charm jumble, with a mezzuzah that also belonged to my grandmother, Gertrude.

The other is a more contemporary gold star that I acquired recently from Jewelry by Cari.  I wear it on a jumble, too - with my other Cari charms.

Finally, I have a favorite that I bought for myself many years ago - it is a pin with the Four Matriarchs - Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah.  I love the bright colors and I wear it when I feel the need for strength - reminding myself (and others) that the foundations of a just society are built as much by the women of the community as by the men.

In this busy holiday season, as we plan events, cook meals, wrap gifts, and take care of others - my pin serves as a reminder to me (and then I remind my friends) - that it is important to slow down periodically, and take a little time for ourselves. I'm sure you have this kind of strong women in your life, too, so reach out and let them know they are special (perhaps with a piece of jewelry?).

Wishing all my readers a warm and happy holiday season.

Until next time.