HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Schmap Selected My Photo!

Several weeks ago, I was contacted by Schmap, a company that makes maps of cities and features special events and locations. They wanted to permission to consider a photograph that I took at the this year's Taste of Omaha celebration in the next edition of their Omaha offering. I granted permission and was notified this week that the photo is going to be used.



Now, that might not be news worthy for many people. But those who know me know how I struggle with getting proper shots of the items I list for sell on Etsy and Art Fire. Photography just hasn't been one of my special gifts. So for a photo of mine to be selected is both an honor and a head shaking moment!



The featured photo is the one above. It shows Thelma Miske, my son's girl friend, trying to make order out of the booth after the tornado hit at this year's Taste of Omaha event. You can view other pictures of the devastation done to other vendors at two different venues on my Flickr site:
http://flickr.com/photos/jstinson/sets/72157605855143811/detail/



Now, can you believe that I, Joni Stinson, am a featured photographer? Wonders never cease. It just goes to show that one never can tell what path will open to you along your trail if you just keep plugging away!

Apache Seasons

• Sacred Sites......The Four Directions
  
  Painting by friend, Donel Keeler, Dakota Artist

As evidence that winter is upon us, my trees and grass are covered with a light dusting of snow. Now mind you, winter is not historically my favorite season. However, I may find this one a little easier to bear thanks to my friend and fellow beadweaver, Judy Citta.

• Judy and I belong to the Omaha Beady Bunch. This is an organization of men and woman who enjoy beading, meet once a month, and do a beading project. The projects are usually instructed by a member. At our November meeting, Judy not only presented the class but shared the following Apache story with us. I hope you will enjoy it.


• There was an Indian Chief who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.


• The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest in the fall.


• When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.


• The first son, who went in winter, said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted.


• The second son, who went in spring, said no..it was covered with green buds and full of promise.


• The third son, who went in summer, said he disagreed. It was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful. In fact, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.


• The last son, who went in the fall, disagreed with all of them. He said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.


• The Chief then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen only one season in the life of a tree.


• He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end...when all of the seasons are up.


• If you give up when it is winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, and the fulfillment of your fall.

In summary:

• Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all of the rest.


• Don't judge life by one difficult season.


• Live simply


• Love generously


• Care deeply


• Speak kindly


• Leave the rest to God


• Happiness keeps you sweet


• Trials keep you strong


• Sorrows keep you human


• Failures keep you humble


• Success keeps you glowing


• But only God keeps you going.

Maybe my winter won't be so bad this year and I have great hopes for yours as well!

Who Is Felipe Rose?

Who Is Felipe Rose? You probably know him....you just might not recognize his name.

• Felipe Rose is of Native American and Puerto Rican decent. His adoptive father, Eddie Three Eagles, is Lakota. As a result, Felipe has often used his long standing fame to help make a difference for the Lakota people living on reservations in South Dakota. He has also donated his time for many years for various programs and projects benefiting all Native people.His involvement includes helping with organizations such as the American Indian College Fund, Unity, United Nation Tribal Youth Council, and OneNation Walking Together.
• A gigantic blizzard unexpectedly hit western South Dakota on November 5, 2008. People became stranded and without heat, supplies, food or the ability to leave to get help. Roads were blockedwith twenty foot snow drifts in many areas. Over two thousand power lines were knocked down. Roads remained impassible for days before snowplows could even begin to clear them.
• Today, Felipe is trying to assist the Lakota Sioux Reservations in South Dakota with relief recovery efforts critically needed due to this recent blizzard crisis. This blizzard was the worst to hit western South Dakota in decades. The devastating storm left thousands of people withoutpower and, one month later, there are still people on the Reservations without electricity.
• Well this is what Felipe Rose is doing. Now can you tell me who he is? Don't write your answer in the comments or you will give it away to the next person. Send your comment to www.jstinson.etsy.com. Go there and then click "contact".
  

Hearing On The Barrick Gold Mine

Follow up on my What Do We Treasure Post November 30. Please read that first.

Copied From Canandian Newspaper:
Shoshone activists seek to halt Barrick Gold mining project in northern Nevada
Sandra CherebDecember 2, 2008 - 11:03 a.m.
RENO, Nev. (AP) - A lawyer for environmentalists and tribal activists told a federal judge that the government's approval of a big gold mine was flawed and would prohibit the Western Shoshone from practicing religious rites on a mountain in northern Nevada.
But attorneys for Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp. countered that not all Western Shoshone share the views of Carrie Dann and the Western Shoshone Defense Project, and that their arguments are without merit. U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks, after a two-hour hearing on Monday, delayed ruling on a motion by tribal activists for a temporary restraining order to halt work on the 6,700-acre Cortez Hills Project that would include a 900-acre open mine pit 2,000-feet deep. Instead he urged lawyers for the Western Shoshone and Barrick to reach agreement on what work can proceed without causing extensive environmental harm until another hearing on an injunction request is held. "The pit itself is the big issue here, frankly," Hicks said.
"If you are unable to resolve a proposed stipulation in the next two or three days, I will get you a decision on the TRO within a day," he told lawyers.