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Saturday, August 27, 2011

Fibromyalgia and CFS

I was honored this week to have a blog post written about me.  It was written by Winn the designer of the purse frames that I use in my shop and came as a result of several emails which started when she complimented my workmanship.  It meant such a lot to me that she felt my work to be exemplary given the number of purse makers she sees, and it meant even more given the tears I've shed when my fibro and chronic fatigue syndrome have made it impossible to work on a purse I've been excited to make.

It's hard to explain fibro and cfs but this blog post gave a snap shot into my life and the ways I try to work around my limitations.  To me it's just my life and for every good day there are at least an equal number of bad when I'm a weeping mess, but I like to focus on the bright side so I'm sharing the link to my story here.  I've been contacted by someone already who was cheered up by the post as she realized she was not alone - my hope is that it might help someone else too.

https://clutchme.wordpress.com/2011/08/24/exemplary-craftsmanship-in-clutches/ 

Kiva loan August 2011

Whoopee!  I have been able to make another loan through Kiva as a result of sales in my little shop.  I am incredibly grateful to all that help me do this and it makes all the hard work worthwhile.

The latest loan, the third now, has been given to Sanoat.  She is 38, married and a mother of 5 children who lives and works in Yavan, Tajikistan.  Her husband works abroad: with a husband who also works away from home for brief periods of time, I cannot imagine the difficulties of trying to raise 5 children alone. 

I was moved by her request to buy seed to grow the vegetables she raises and sells to make a living, and whilst her photograph is beautiful and lush, I felt it also depicted a woman who looked a little overwhelmed by her surroundings.  I am honored to be able to help support her request.




When making a loan, the hope is that it will be repaid as agreed so that it can be lent to someone else in need, but it is always possible given the dire situation of some of the borrowers, that circumstances may work against them making it impossible to repay the loan.  That has indeed happened to the first loan made to a farmer in Kenya. This loan is currently delinquent (Kiva's word) which I am assuming is due to the severe drought.  I hope to receive more information and if/when I do I will post it here.

'Do not loan more than you can afford to give away' is very wise advice and I make these loans in that spirit.  If the money comes back, that's wonderful because it means the loan improved someones life as it was meant to.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

American Red Cross donation August 2011

The images out of the Horn of Africa are heartbreaking and it is hard to believe that such a disaster has happened once again.  With the economy being so bad around much of the world, private donations are harder to come by than ever as family budgets tighten, including my own, which is why I created By My Touch.  I wanted to try to earn the money so that we could continue to donate to charity.


This latest donation was given to the American Red Cross to aid relief efforts for those suffering the drought.  Where I live in the Pacific Northwest where we have copious amounts of rain, it can be hard to 'step into the shoes' so to speak of those who have walked for days or weeks to find food and water to survive, but as a parent I can relate to how it feels to see your child suffering and even to experience the loss of a child.  For these reasons, this particular donation is especially meaningful to me and, once again, I am grateful to my customers for their support of my little shops and their purchases which enable me to make these donations.