Friends I've never met and my next tattoo!!!!

Below is a picture of my next tattoo....this piece of beautiful artwork was specially created for me by a famous master calligrapher, Kakayi. He is a wonderfully generous man who lives in Belgium but originates from Kirkuk, south of Kurdistan. I found his work on the net and asked if I could use one of his pieces for a tattoo. He immediately replied and I explained that I am very passionate about Palestine and human rights. He offered to do a drawing in the diwani style of Arabic script and suggested the words "freedom never die". To me, these are hopeful words and words that echo my feelings for all people who are seeking freedom.
His response was ;
HI Davina i promesd you and i made in one good moment the calligraphy
i sent it in this a ttachment in a large format i hope that you well like it its not easy but but i have a very nice result
it is in diwani scripts ( Al huriyyatu la tamutu ) freedome never die injoy it after that i well loaded up in my own website and in the facebook also for the freedome of people every where greetings kakayi- Belgium

Kakayi is a friend I've never met.

http://kakayicalligraphy.webs.com/

Now I have to find a tattooist that will do this justice.

 

I am planning a trip to Palestine for my 50th birthday next year. A friend in Nablus has extended a kind hand and heart and said I could stay with her. She is warm, intelligent and very creative. She is the person who inspired me to do jewelry making. Another friend who lives in Jordan has said I can also stay with her and she'll take me to Petra and a few other places. A friend in Kuwait has offered to provide me with a motorbike so I can ride around with him and his friends if I go there. A friend from Australia is in Palestine at the moment and has been sending updates, stories and pictures back here. My friend is Nablus sent me her phone number to pass on to him so they might meet up while he is there. He has assured me that if they do meet he will take a photo of her for me.

These are all friends I've never met and their kindness and generosity makes me more determined to save and get over there to meet them. I know that they are all sincere in their offerings and I am honoured and grateful.

A man in Nigeria saw my necklaces on the net and asked if he could buy one. I told him that if he picked one that I still had I would send it to him as a gift. There were 10 pictures and the necklace he chose was the only one that I actually still had in the house. I thought that was an omen...he was meant to have it. So I posted it to him. Unfortunately I didn't write AIRMAIL on the envelope so it will take ages to get to Nigeria...but it will get there.

 

Wilfred's necklace

Imagine all the great people and opportunities you miss if you never reach out.

What's New....

My youngest son, Matt, and his girlfriend Zarah came for a visit this week. They'd flown to Brisbane for a few days, picked up a car and drove back to Newcastle. They stayed for a few nights and although Matt was pretty sick with a throat infection it was great to see him. His sense of humour is so out there and he's quick witted, which I've really missed. It was great to talk to him and see him.
I am no longer involved with wine, lavender or eucalyptus. The job just didn't pan out the way I'd hoped it would. The people who worked there were lovely and it was gorgeous driving through the property to my office every day but I couldn't see myself being there until I retired. I start a new job on Monday in the office of the Salvation Army. I'm looking forward to it because it will be nice to be working in an environment where everyone shares the same beliefs in human rights as I do. It will be good.....

My husband has a few friends up visiting this weekend, doing men things, so I've been busy doing some jewelry making. My mother-in-law, Kay, wanted a pair of garnet earrings. You can't just have earrings without the necklace so I made her that too and used a Swarovski crystal as the focal piece. I was happy with the way they turned out.

A friend wears a lovely amethyst necklace so I made her a bracelet to match using sterling silver chain and wire, crystals and gems.

Then I played around with some nickel silver wire and unakite...nice!
My dad sent me some old pennies the other day. I was so excited because he found one for for each of us with the year of our birth. So mum, dad, myself and my two sisters will all be getting copper wrapped coin pendants...it sounds like something from The Brady Bunch.

My Favourite Past Time - Jewellery Making

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