Rosary Love... And A 5 Year Old Rebel In The Catholic Church...

Ever since I can remember, I was always fascinated by Rosaries. My parents were Roman Catholic (but never pressed us to follow the same religion, they wanted my siblings and myself to make up our own minds, fortunately!). I never saw anyone pray with a Rosary and so I believed Rosaries were jewelry pieces (now I believe they are fabulous jewelry, that you can also pray with). 

The first Rosary I ever saw was a black one, made with wooden beads and a silver cross. I loved the design and it had all this mystery that I found irresistible. I was 5 when I got my first Rosary, it was the black wooden one, as it belonged to my late maternal grandmother and as I was always playing with it, she eventually gave it to me. It was the greatest gift ever and I wore it every day.

   

Rosary Jewelry™ Collection
Red Moon Necklace, made with genuine
garnet beads ©2015 House Of Joris Jewelry

Madonna had nothing on me, oh no, when I was at the ripe age of 9, living in the house I grew up in, I came down the stairs early one morning, trying to blend in the morning routine, with 3 Rosaries around my neck, about 20 thin bangle bracelets and make-up. My mother was consumed by a story in the daily newspaper when she looked up (how did she know? I mean, I was being so quiet....). She put down the paper and said: "Oh no, no way, oh no, no way in hell you are going to school like that!" And that was it, my Madonna moment, sometime before Madonna had sex with the rest of the world. Needless to say, I went to school sans Rosaries, bangles and make-up. And red eyes from crying and wiping off the make-up.
Now that I make jewelry, I can not resist but using the traditional Rosary design. Before my head injury, I had a similar collection, the Rosemary Collection™. I do not know if I will go back to that collection, it is different then the one I am launching now. The one you can find in my store now is called the Rosary Jewelry™ Collection. It is very close to the traditional Rosary, except for the cross. I use meaningful- and sometimes playful pendants, like an elephant, a star, a hamsa, a guitar or a moon. You can still pray and/or meditate, depending on your choice of necklace. They are certainly made with love.

Thinking about being a child and the Catholic church, a memory comes to mind. My late father was the conductor of the church choir. My mother was a member of the choir. This meant that going to church was mandatory for me and my brother. First we went to a 'church daycare' but at the age of 5 I was sitting in the benches with everyone else.

During the week, I got to go with my father to church as well, as he would tune the organ and all that comes with it. I would walk around the church, all by myself or with my brother, checking out the paintings and playing under the benches. I also knew where to use the restroom. A very heavy oak door would take me out the church and into the Pastor's quarters, where I could use the restroom. The door was very heavy and if you did not close it, a very loud creaking sound would arise, all the way until this door was shut.

From the Rosary Jewelry™ Collection
Fleur De Lis Necklace, ©2015 House Of
Joris Jewelry.

One particular Sunday I was sitting in the benches, mostly I had no understanding of what the priest was saying, especially during the sermons. This particular Sunday the sermon was all about Catholic guilt and hell and fire. Instead of being afraid, I just plainly did not agree! I could not imagine that a God would punish so badly. About halfway during this sermon, I got up and walked quietly to the heavy door that lead to the restroom. I opened it and didn't pull it shut, on purpose. As I was sitting on the toilet, I could hear the Pastor trying to speak loudly above the incredible sound of the old oak door, trying to shut itself. The Pastor was not successful, neither was his sermon about hell, guilt and fire.

I guess I was born a rebel.

When Mindy Left And Mr. Kitty Stayed

If there is anything that creative people have in common, according to my observation, it is the love for animals and I notice especially a lot of feline friends among them. Myself included, I have 2 furry feline roommates of my own, Charlie, my beautiful black domestic male cat who is 8 years old and Mr. Kitty, my white/tabby/spotted feral friend, 2 years old.

Mr. Kitty, not liking the camera

They are my roommates, because that is just what and who they are. They have their own 'chair', their own 'bed', eat whenever they feel like it, sleep whenever they feel like it, they expect you to open the door when they want to get some fresh air (and let them back in when they have enough of being outside) and generally take over anything I try to read/type/write/eat or create.

Between these two, there is not much I can do without interference and their demand to acknowledge their presence. Charlie hates the jewelry making process. I will step away for 2 minutes, only to come back to him laying flat, stretched over all my wire, filigrees, tools and beads. How can that be remotely comfortable? It must poke him at all sides, but he doesn't seem to notice.... No, the fact that I have no choice but to notice HIM and not my jewelry supplies (as he believes I do not know where those supplies are now), that is the main goal.

Mr. Kitty couldn't care less about the jewelry making process, he is obsessed with the computer. I will step away for 2 minutes, only to come back to Mr. Kitty covering my laptop, giving himself a bath while all kinds of windows and help notices open on my computer screen, to the point where it will freeze for a few minutes... Charlie couldn't care less about the computer...

Charlie, about 2 years old here

Both love to sit right on top of the letters or paper I am reading, or the stack of papers I am trying to sort out.

When Charlie wants to go outside, he talks to me, very loud, impatiently, every 10 seconds, until I open the door, no matter if I am totally busy at the moment. When Mr. Kitty wants to go outside, he will climb on whatever furniture is closest to me, and will start to knock things off that furniture, until it hits the ground. Or if I am sleeping, he  likes to jump on my belly, not very gentle, until I sleepwalk to the door at 5 am, and let him out, because I can't stand it anymore.

But oh, how I adore them! Charlie came to me as a 6 week old kitten, right as I moved into the coolest place I lived in so far, here in Austin, TX. We lived there together 5 and a half years, then we had to move away. He is the sweetest and most loyal cat I have ever owned. I also know him very well and I can communicate with him, easy. He is amazing and I love him to pieces.

Mr. Kitty wasn't always Mr. Kitty. One evening I came upon Charlie hanging out with a tiny, ivory white, malnourished kitten, with a tabby tail and a few spots. He was part of a litter of feral cats in the neighborhood, and seemed unusual and was not afraid of me at all, when I met him, so weird, as he is afraid of all other human beings. Still, he will hide when friends come around. He was never afraid of me however. That was 4 days before I moved away from an apartment.

I locked the door of the empty apartment (I was sad that I had not seen the white kitten), but just as I stepped into the van, he came running up to me. I picked him up and put him in Charlie's carrier. He laid himself against Charlie and started purring like a motor boat.

Being born wild, the white kitten knew that whenever there was food around, to eat as much as he could, as he didn't know when he would eat again. I always have dry food in the cat's bowls. The very first day with me, he ate so much dry food! As I was sitting on the bed in our new place, he looked up at me, his tiny, skinny shoulders and hips connected by a huge, huge round balloon of a belly, full of dry cat food. He looked up at me and I fell totally in love, instantly.

Charlie washed him for the next couple of days, and the ivory kitten became snow white, with the cutest pink feet. As he was feral, he had barely a voice, just a whisper. He looked like a female, there were no testicles to detect, so I named him Mindy. Oddly enough, he didn't seem to listen to his name.

Two months later, on a lazy Saturday morning, Mindy was on my belly, turned around and to my big surprise I looked right at two white furry balls, right under his tail! By lack of a male name, he was temporarily Mr. Kitty. However, he listened to that name from the very start and still does to this day. Mr. Kitty is truly the most unusual cat, alpha male and fearless. He can be moody and demanding, but when tired, he wants to be as close to me as possible and fall asleep against me, as he feels most safe when I am around.

I love these two as if they were my own.

The Long And Winding Road...

In the past 18 months, I listed some jewelry at one point as I was working on my own online store and I wanted to have a place where I could show/sell new jewelry. This is all I have done in the last 18 months with my blog, so basically, shooting myself in the foot, I let a perfectly good blog suffer.... I truly neglected it. What, other then helping my business and telling the world my stories, has this blog done to deserve such appalling behavior on my side... I need to get more in touch with the inner blog in me, really! I need to let her out and do her thing!
Probably the biggest reason for this neglect is the fact that I very little had but any clue who I was anymore, in the past 18 months. This is no joke, I am afraid, nope, truly legit turn of events that all started one, way to early morning, back in late January of 2013.
I didn't see it (or rather: her) coming, I was completely blind sided and next thing I know, I can hear my brain slosh in my skull and my vision went out. I steadied myself by holding the wall and when my vision returned I was still in front of a roommate I was having a discussion with. On my left was also a roommate, however, this one was a shaking, crazed, fist still balled and crazy eyes burning of anger, unstable female, who had just punched me, with her fist full of all her pent up anger, nicely encased by her fingers. She hit me right on top of my left temple, and I mean hard! I don't think I have ever been punched that hard by anyone in my whole life! Me: "Why in the F... did you just hit me????", she: "You were mocking me." Simple as that. I was mocking her (which I hadn't, but easily could have as she is a walking mock-target. I will spare you the details). Since when is mocking someone a punishable offense? And why is the punishment so incredibly harsh? I mean, with that one blow, she messed up the next 14 months of my life GOOD. I mean, all the way, in every way. Truly unbelievable.
A heavy concussion is no picnic, but throw a hematoma in the mix and you really have a recipe for disaster.
At the time of the blow, House Of Joris Jewelry, my jewelry business was really taking off. I was working on my own website (moving away from Etsy was the main goal) and I had my first wholesale account with Foundation Gallery in New Orleans. I had visited stores in a popular area in Austin and quite a few were very interested in my work.
In early January 2013, I moved into a house with rooms for rent, nice and cheap so that I could make lots and lots of jewelry. The plan was to sell to stores and perhaps be a vendor on a popular market.
Well, all those nice plans vanished with the blow to my head. I started seeing double (and still my vision is not what is used to be, before the blow) for a few months, I got big black circles under my eyes and would have serious migraines about twice a week. My short-term memory became non-existent, I would call the same person 3 times in one day with the same message. I would repeat myself all the time, I couldn't find anything that I had just laid down somewhere. My dear friends urged me to go to the ER and indeed, it was bad and I was told to rest and not work for 8 to 12 months.
That meant no activity at all! No excitement, no nothing. And I was promised by the victim assistance program that I would be compensated nicely. Ha, what a joke that was. I received $1800 for a whole year.
Really, what a year 2013 was. I do not remember most of it, I had no idea who I was and that was a very scary feeling. My momentum with my jewelry faded away. I ran out of money totally and completely. I lived on a couch with friends. It was one big disaster.
So you see how I didn't feel like writing? I had nothing good to say, it was the hardest year of my life. Besides the physical troubles, I had some serious bad luck all around. It was just bad, bad, bad.
Things started looking up in February of this year, and slowly the seeds started growing and turning into prospects.
Now life is much better. And I have my jewelry business back. The hard thing about that is though, I have to start over all the way. I just recently re-opened my Etsy store, and I get a look here and there. I am a vendor on markets though, in the weekends. I have had good weekends, with money in my pocket and bad ones, with no penny at all. It is all again starting over. I did sit myself down and thought about this. Did I have it in me to do it allover again? Yes, I guess I do.
I just can not live without creativity in my life. I HAVE to create or I am seriously unhappy.
I did have to take on a part-time job, I mean, some money has to come in! But it is a right struggle. In fact, at this very moment money is so tight, I got into an eviction suit. I just moved here last May! And now I am at risk of losing my home due to a mistake by an organization that was suppose to pay my rent until I was back on my feet. The funding stopped after 3 months (and it took 2 months to get my belongings and jewelry supplies) and I wasn't notified. I just now am standing on the market, I had to make jewelry first. And for the online store, I had to take pictures of all pieces, choose 5 per jewelry item, write a description, come up with a name, a price, shipping, I mean it is a full-time job! One that I love though, so that is good.
But yes, I am a few hundred dollars short and could be losing my house here in the next couple of weeks. Please keep your fingers crossed for me, I need all the help I can get! In fact, out of sheer desperation, I am adding temporarily a donate button. If you can, please help me save my home! This is all happening so fast and I just got back on my feet, business starting to grow, if I lose my house now, I don't even want to think about it. If you can, please help me. I am burying my pride here, but sometimes you got to do what you gotta do. If you can not help, that's ok too, just thanks for visiting, I appreciate it!
Anyways, I will keep y'all up to date with what is happening and hope everyone is in great spirits, happy and healthy.
Next time there will be better news, glad I got this post out of the way, I wanted to explain what had happened to House Of Joris Jewelry and myself.
Till next time!