helping aarp help others

Dear Faustina,
I’m so grateful for your generous contribution of 4,000 points. It’s friends like you who make it possible for AARP Foundation to create and advance effective solutions that aim to help older adults secure the essentials they need to thrive.
Thank you for choosing to use your AARP Rewards points to help those in need. We truly value your support.
Warm Regards,
Claire Casey
President, AARP Foundation
 

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I'm glad to know my points are helping make wishes come true!

wedding salon for uzbek women

This 35-year-old woman is Odina and she has operated this wedding salon in Qorgontepa, Uzbekistan for more than a decade.

Her work provides an income for her and her three children, including the fees for them to attend school.

Now, she has applied for a loan from Kiva because she wants to expand the selection for her clients, to help provide them the wedding day of their dreams.

After all, a woman's wedding day is a day of dreams for the future, dreams of a life with children, dreams of creating their new family.

Having a choice in the wedding gown for that day is part of the dream.

I remember that for my wedding in 1992, I could not find the gown of my dreams, so I created it myself, with my aunt's sewing machine.

Of course, I live in the USA and electricity is everywhere.

Many homes in Uzbekistan do not have electricity unless they are in big cities, so many new brides depend on wedding salons for their special day.

As a Nerdfighter, of course I supported Odina and her mission to help others' dreams to become reality.

Fortunately for me, part of the money I loaned her was supplied by Kiva.

The rest of the money for her loan came from funds repaid by other borrowers to whom I have loaned money this year.

Full circle.

My thanks to them all.

(smile!)

time for watermelons!

I've been aware for a while that I've had some funds to re-lend at Kiva.

Usually I find a suitable  recipient as a birthday gift for myself, too.

However, I finally jumped at all that tonight!

That's because Kiva will grant me another $20 for making a $25 loan.

Buy one, get one means I get to help two people's dreams come true!

 

I chose Siri, the member of the Benkadi group there in the middle.

Yes, she's the one holding the huge bowl of peanuts!

She's 50 years old, and has been farming for over 30 years.

I wouldn't say that Mama was a farmer, but she certainly enjoyed tending to her gardens for as long as I can recall.

I think that perhaps she guided by eye to this loan.

(smile!)

There are two reasons that I really liked it, though.

"Peanuts! Watermelons! Summertime foods that are favorites!"

That's the rationale I left in the comments section of her page.

And the other reason this loan makes me smile?

 

The country looks like a party dress that's been left on the floor!

Mali is a landlocked country in northwest Africa, with some lush green areas in the bodice, but also lots of desert there in the skirt portion.

I think that would be a fun dress for dancing!

What a sight it would be, twirling around to the music!

"Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me...!"

(smile!)

still wishing with others

Yes, that's right, I used 4000 of my AARP Reward Points again to help others' dreams come true!

That was earlier today, before my volunteer shift at the 13th Savannah VOICE Festival.

It was right in keeping with the concert theme, too, come to think of it!

"Once Upon A Time"... yes, wishes and dreams and fairy tales can come true!

Just ask anyone at the Wish Of A Lifetime Foundation!

there's a new queen bee in Chicago!

(No, this bee is not from Illinois, but Georgia. I wrote about him here. I just thought the photo was appropriate for this post, too.)

Today, I received an email that made me cry.
Tears of happineess, tears of joy, tears of gratitude.
Thank you, Jana, for sharing your news... and making me part of it.
This is truly why I support projects on kickstarter. I want to believe that Mama's money is helping people achieve their dreams, make a difference, pay it forward.

Update #12
Jul 25 2014 1:40 PM
Third Summer

Hello Backers,

I just wanted to share some thoughts I had the other day.

I was out checking on two of my hives down in Fuller Park, one of which was queenless. Sometimes hives become queenless because she gets squished or injured, sometimes it's just a mystery. This time, I had killed her. She wasn't a good queen. She didn't lay eggs consistently, and earlier in the year the colony had sacbrood. Since the queen is the only bee laying eggs in the whole hive, a viral disease like sacbrood originates with the queen. It was a painful Executive Decision but I knew it would be better for the colony in the long run.

After I got rid of the original queen, we transferred over queen cells (young, pupating queens) from the other healthy hive nearby. Soon a virgin queen would emerge from one of those cells, and after she's mated, the colony would accept her as the new matriarch. I left the garden, and hoped that everything would go as planned.

I came back a week later, and even though I knew a queen had already emerged, they are so small before they are mated and laying eggs that it's hard to spot them. They look like any other worker bee — almost. But, I just wanted to peek inside the hive anyways. I opened up the hive and carefully removed a frame, and OH MAN! I spotted the virgin queen! There she was, looking trim and not quite regal yet. How on EARTH did I spot her? And how lucky was I... She was on the first frame I grabbed! She walked amongst the other worker bees, who don't regard her with much respect yet. I can't explain it, but, queen bees, even when not yet mated, walk around with this... "air" about them. Like they have something on their mind. I mean, I know they don't, but I was so impressed by my trained eye that I could spot her.

I carefully put the frame back into the hive, closed the lid, and got on my bike. The sun was shining and just starting to get low in the sky; it was a heavenly Chicago summer afternoon. I was done with beekeeping for the day, and what a perfect way to end it. Getting to see a virgin queen, one small insect that was about to make a dangerous journey out of the hive to mate with neighborhood drones. I couldn't believe it. Suddenly I became overwhelmed with emotions (this happens often while beekeeping) and I started to cry. I thought about how this is my life now. That I get to do this every week and that it's the most fulfilling thing I have ever done.

I want to share this because I would not be beekeeping in this capacity if it wasn't for my Kickstarter backers. You guys LITERALLY (and I am using this word appropriately) changed my entire life. You, who donated a little bit of money, collectively changed my life. I wanted to share this because my project was a unique one... It wasn't a product or an event, it was an ambitious idea that I couldn't do by myself. You really took a risk with this one, but there is so much your money has done.

Not only has it changed my life, it's changed the lives of countless urban gardeners, neighbors, and community groups who now have a positive relationship with pollinators. Children all over Chicagoland who were once scared now care about bees now because of Bike a Bee, or as they know me, "the bee girl." Bike a Bee's education efforts are the most important aspect of the project for me.

On a personal level, my favorite accomplishment with Bike a Bee has been mentoring Abby, an intern I took on last year. Abby worked with me almost every day I went beekeeping last year, and I got to see her turn into a fantastic beekeeper. She even got to be a part of the business side, helping us become a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit. This year, Abby is caring for her own Bike a Bee hives and also beekeeping with me (we really love working together). The other night she told me she couldn't imagine a life without beekeeping. So not only did you change my life, you changed Abby's.

The long and short of it is: I don't think a lot of people on Kickstarter realize that they are changing people's lives when they throw $20 at a project. I just wanted to remind you that you are, and while I am enjoying my third summer beekeeping, I want to thank you with all of my heart for backing this project back in the winter of 2012.

- Jana (+ the bees)

I am so touched that she wrote this, to share her news and her gratitude.
Her mother must be very proud of her - I am.

game time for cafe murder, folks!

Cafe Murder is up and running! Just click this link and you can buy Zack and Eli's game and play it on your smartphone for less than $2. (I have a dumb phone, sadly.)
The official release party will be June 8th in Atlanta. If I had planned ahead, I would be there, to shake their hands and give them big hugs, too.
For the International Gaming festival, the guys at Beaver Toad Software made this video about how to play the game. Quite informative and fun, too! I'm not sure I could keep up with all the food flying around the room - and keep Stabby from killing the diners - but that bazooka o'sandwich is a handy tool. Oh, yeah!
Apparently, many concepts of electronic games never make it into this stage of life. I am so very proud of Zack Wood and Eli Burke, two guys from Georgia, not Simi Valley, who dared to dream it and then put in the many long hours of WORK to get it done.
Again, Good job, y'all!
And happy birthday to me!

friends of the sunset starlet

Well, look at that!
Second column, ultimate listing, in purple.

Fliss

Pretty sweet! And all I had to do was be there when the spontaneous girl needed funds for her film. That's right. Lori Precious sent out her call, via kickstarter, for the money to make her dream film, and I was fortunate enough to find the project in time to help it.
Maybe my position in the listing is an indication of my late arrival to the funding party? No matter! It's all about timing and I was there!
"The Curse of the Sunset Starlet" will become a reality and not a dream.
That's magical.
The script, by Lori and her husband, Steve Erickson, combines elements of magic and mystery with her own use of butterfly - and moth! - wings for portraits, among other works of art.
Hold up, you say? Her husband is the novelist and writer for various magazines such as Rolling Stone and Esquire??? Yes, he is, and he has even written for the New York Times. That particular piece was an interview with rock star Neil Young.
Color me impressed!
But please do so with iridescent, bejeweled gossamer wings...
I do so look forward to this film!