Bear With Me

Bear with me...I am feeling a bit blue today.  I know very soon Lily, Hope, Jason and Faith will leave their bedsite not far from their winter den, and they will be out of camera range. It is very bittersweet.  As much as I would love to continue watching Lily and Hope and the new cubbies, I am also excited for them to start their new adventures this year.  Hope, the yearling, just may get another year with Lily, because of the birth of cubs this January.  It's a long story....

So I am feeling blue and decided to get busy adding my new BEAR WITH ME design to the main website, www.pointsnorth studio.com, the new etsy store http://www.etsy.com/shop/pointsnorthstudio and on all my designs on items I don't produce in-house on Zazzle http://www.zazzle.com/pointsnorthstudio+gifts.  This new design is available on the zazzle store with different state names!

I have been busy.  I also know I have to get busier, with more jewelry designs; I am loving pearls and knotting lately, as well as making the Tree of Life pendants...I just love those.  I try to put a lot of thought into those pendants, with specific stone or crystal beads for awareness and color significance.  I have made many Tree of Life pendants in honor of the black bears of Minnesota...those in the wild and those who reside at the North American Bear Center in Ely, Minnesota.  These bears got me through this long winter.

Now that the snow has melted away, except for the huge mounds on corners and in parking lots, the gardens are beckoning for tender loving care and the koi pond is a bit thick with winter yuck.  The fish look healthy, happy and hungry.  This won't be work, it will be relaxing therapy after the long winter.
I can hardly wait for our magnolia's to bloom.  Love that we can grow these in MINNOHSOCOLDA!  HAH!  I will post a couple pics as soon as they are a blooming!

Enjoy the spring and be good to each other,
Janice

Tree of Life

I haven't posted for quite awhile.  This has been a very long winter.  Hardest one in a long time.  Too much snow, too cold, too long.

I have been keeping myself busy indoors creating Tree of Life pendants.  Each pendant is unique with special meaningful semi-precious gemstones and crystals.  I will be posting them to the website over the weekend as time permits...and as energy permits.

I am especially proud of 2 pendants I donated to the Lily The Black Bear "New Beginnings"  fundraiser on the LTBB Facebook fan page.  This new fundraiser starts on Sunday, Feb 28.  The pendants will be offered separately as "drawing" items so everyone has a chance to win without having to bid auction style.

The first one I created for Lily, her yearling cub Hope and the new cubs Faith and Jason.  Beads were selected for each, as well as their birthstones, protection beads, black bear moon beads, nature, etc.  Lots of beads!

The second Tree of Life was created for all Black Bears!

I also create custom Tree of Life pendants, for special occasions, purpose and/or with birthstones.  Each tree is beautiful and unique!

On another note, the time to write letters to Protect the Radio Collared Research Bears is on the forefront of my mind today.  There is a list of folks we need to write to on Lily's fb page...or go to www.bear.org to find information there as well.  This is important.  I can't imagine getting news one of our beloved research bears has been "taken" this year during hunting season.  We lost Sarah & Cal last year...too sad.

I will try to write again soon...it has been too long.
Enjoy the day....Think Spring!
Janice

New Coffee Offering at Points North Studio

We love coffee at Points North Studio.  Drink a lot of coffee.  I like mine with 1/2 & 1/2, no special flavorings.  yummmmm...

As a young adult I never even wanted to taste coffee.  Didn't even enjoy the smell of it perking away.  That all changed when I moved to the Mesabi Iron Range of Minnesota.  Moving in day was December 31st and the temps that night got to 42 degrees below zero.  My brother helped with the move and brought along a bag of fresh ground.  It smelled heavenly; I drank a cup willingly and have been enjoying coffee ever since!  I can't even image starting a day without coffee now.

We just added our first special blend of coffee at Points North Studio; a delicious, organic, medium dark roast blend of SHB Central Americans, South American and Indonesian.  A rich, aromatic, full-bodied, smooth, low-acidic blend. This is a delicious, high impact cup.  Available now in 14 oz. resealable vacuum packed bags; whole bean or auto-drip grind.  ahhhhh....just love it!

 

We will be adding a dark roast (we like it dark) in the near future so be sure to watch for it.  We will also most likely switch to 12 oz. bags.

Back to the Mesabi Iron Range.  I really wasn't sure I would survive that brutal winter on the range.  Sadly, all my record albums didn't make it.  One day shortly after the move as I was still unpacking I kept saying "Where are all my albums?".  No one seemed to know.  It was like they had vanished into thin air.  About a week later they were discovered, still in the cabinet they had been moved in.  That cabinet ended up in the barn (never knew why) and all my beautiful albums were warped!  Oh, my Moody Blues, The Doors, all my Beatles, Jethro Tull, everything warped.  I believe I cried.  It was a sad finding.  I most likely sat down and had a good cup of coffee with that cry. 

Lily and Hope Tree of Life

By now you know I have a passion for bears, especially the black bears of the North American Bear Center and the Wildlife Research Institute in Ely, Minnesota.  On January 22, 2010, Lily the Black Bear gave birth to her first cub Hope.  Lily gave us Hope.  I call this new  3" pendant piece "Lily and Hope Tree of Life".  Look for this and other Tree of Life pendants, including custom made with birthstone gemstones, coming soon to Points North Studio (www.pointsnorthstudio.com).  You can also email me at janice@pointsnorthstudio.com for details.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Brrrr...Can't seem to warm up today in MINNE"OHSO"COLDA!

 

We received our first real snowfall this past Saturday.  Looks like it is here to stay as the sun is not shining and therefore no rays to melt the snow.

I was not ready for this.  I am having trouble putting my sandels away in exchange for winter boots and wool socks.

My brother came by the studio today to help with some screen printing.  As he was leaving he stopped by the snow bank and left me a little suprise.  No, not yellow snow....He made the world's smallest snowman.  Very special.  Wonder how long the little guy will hang around.  I am hopeful the sun will soon come out and beat down the little guy..is that cruel?  No.......

We are looking forward to the Thanksgiving holiday as I am sure you all are.  Time to enjoy friends and family without any pressures of gift giving and/or receiving.  Just good food and plenty of it.  I am responsible for the green bean casserole and crock pot stuffing this year.....yummmmmmmmm.

My favorite has always been the stuffing/dressing.  Love it right out of the bird.  Guess we're really not supposed to do that are we?!  And now we have to get the bird right back into the frig too after people have filled their plates or it is supposed to go funky.

I still thaw my bird in a paper grocery sack on the counter.  Okay, I do thaw it in the frig for a couple days first, but then in the bag and on the counter it goes.  And if it is really slow I will even put it into cold water in the sink, wrapped, of course, wouldn't want it to go bad..hehe..

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM MINNE"OHSO"COLDA! 

Black Bear Hunting Ends Tonight!

Soon the sun will set over Northern Minnesota and with that the black bear hunting season will end.  Ahhhh......collective sigh of relief will be felt by thousands of Lily The Black Bear fans.  This has been a very long six weeks.

I cannot believe it is already mid-October.  The weather has been very warm and dry.  I feel the change coming today though.  It is windy and cloudy and it just feels like winter is just around the corner.  There is still much to do to prepare for the very long cold Minnesota months.  MINNEOHSOCOLDA!

We are stocking up on the comfort type foods; condensed soups for those casseroles and hot dishes, as well as the pastas and rices for the goulash and "no peek" dishes.  Spring bulbs for forcing in December and January are in the frig.  Homemade kraut and this season's raspberries are in the freezer.  Yesterday we made a gallon of kaluha.  It should be ready by Christmas!

Summer clothes are stored away now; sweaters, gloves, hats, scarves and the heavy winter jackets are at the ready:)  I imagine if we don't do some winterizing for the vehicles they will be letting us know they are unhappy.  Okay, just made a post-it to remind me.

Off now to watch the end of the Vikings/Dallas game and get some dinner before I join my "bearhead" friends on Lily's facebook page for the end of bear hunting celebration.

Yes, it has been a very long six weeks, here in MINNEOHSOCOLDA!

September - A time for those "Minne-oh-so-colda" temps to start dropping!

I love September.  The temperatures are now dropping to a more comfortable level and the humidity vanishes.  I can breathe better in September.  I can get out in the gardens more and get all the work done that needs to be done before winter sets in.  I love September.

Except this year I am more cognizant of MN Bear Hunting season.  I fear for the bears near Ely, MN that I have come to know and love.  I fear for the researchers who walk with these bears.  I am hopeful the hunters will "Spare the Radio Collared Research Bears".  I don't want to hear any bad news about these bears I now know by name.

If you are interested in learning more about the MN Black Bear I invite you to visit the North American Bear Center's website at: http://www.bear.org

and the Wildlife Research Institute's website at: http://www.bearstudy.com

Both sites are loaded with so much information and are valuable education tools.

You may have already heard of Lily the Black Bear through newsprint, radio and television,
ex: http://www.twincities.com/minnesota/ci_15939256?nclick_check=1.
She and the NABC/WRI have become stars this year after Lily gave birth to her first cub Hope, all witnessed by thousands of fans viewing the live den cam.  I hope you take time to visit the websites and learn more about these gentle creatures.

Meanwhile, I will be out in the gardens, pruning and deadheading and transplanting...getting ready for the thick winter snow.