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What is the Birthstone & Flower for October?

For those who were born in the month of October the Opal is the traditional birthstone. The October birthstone poem reflects some of the properties with which the Opal is associated - hope, innocence and purity. The Traditional Metaphysical Properties for the October Birthstone Opal are happiness, faithfulness, loyalty and confidence. The healing properties of the October birthstone are reputed to be effective for health problems relating to the eyes and eye infections. The Opal is also used to enhance visualization, imagination, dreams and healing.

October Birth stone poem - the Opal

"October's child is born for woe,
And life's vicissitudes must know,

But lay an opal on her breast,

And hope will lull those woes to rest."

The word Opal is derived from the Latin word "opalus" which means "a stone". The precious opal presents a peculiar play of colors of delicate tints, and is highly esteemed as a gem. One kind, with a varied play of color in a reddish ground, is called the harlequin opal. The fire opal has colors like the red and yellow of flame. The Common opal has a milky appearance. Menilite is a brown impure variety, occurring in concretions at Menilmontant, near Paris. Other varieties are cacholong, girasol, hyalite, and geyserite. The crystal structure of the Opal (hydrous silicon dioxide), the October birthstone, is Amorphous. Opal miners restrict use of the term opal to precious opal, calling material that does not show a good play of colors, 'potch'.

The October Birth Flower is the Calendula (Marigold), as shown below:

( Photo by Delicious Monster of Flickr )

The meaning of the October Birth Flower, the Calendula (Marigold) is sorrow or sympathy

Sign of the Zodiac and Dates:
Libra - September 23 - October 23

October Birthstone: The Opal

Characteristics of Libra :

Charming, Perceptive, Diplomatic, Pleasant & Refined

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ABS-CBN - Tuesday, September 29

MANILA (AFP) - – Philippine flood survivors crowded into the presidential palace, gymnasiums and hundreds of other makeshift evacuation centres on Tuesday as the death toll from the disaster soared to 240.
The humanitarian crisis facing the government deepened significantly after it reported hundreds of thousands of people had poured into the centres, where food, medicine and other relief supplies were in dire shortage.
The government said 374,890 survivors of the devastating rains unleashed by tropical storm Ketsana on Saturday across the nation's capital Manila and surrounding regions were now sheltering in the centres.

The death toll had also jumped to 240, 100 more than Monday's assessment, after authorities finally started to record those killed in Manila.
The government said 101 people had been confirmed killed in the capital, up from seven on Monday, but the death toll was expected to rise even further with some areas of the disaster zone still submerged.
After admitting it could not cope on its own, the government on Monday appealed to the international community for help.
"The potential for a more serious situation is there and we cannot wait for that to happen," Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said as he launched the appeal.
The floods on Saturday followed the heaviest rain in more than 40 years in Manila and other areas of Luzon island, leaving 80 percent of the capital underwater.
President Gloria Arroyo described the floods as a "once-in-a-lifetime" event and in an extraordinary move opened the Malacanang presidential palace to flood survivors.

"Evacuees will be given shelter in available areas among the Malacanang buildings and in tents that will be put up in between the buildings," Arroyo said in a statement late on Monday. Related article: Flood hero who perished
"If required, our employees will yield their work stations to provide more space for our displaced countrymen."
Arroyo said she had temporarily moved office to the headquarters of the presidential security force in another section of the compound along the Pasig river. Related article: Arroyo opens palace residence
Elsewhere, hundreds of thousands of people crammed into schools, open-air gymnasiums and other makeshift centres, with officials in charge of them saying they could simply not cope.

"We need clothing, food supplies, food rations and medicines," village chief Joe Ferrer told AFP at an evacuation centre for 3,000 people in Cainta town, east of Manila.

"We don't know how long we will be able to sustain this," he said.

Send a Fee-Free Money Transfer to Help the Typhoon Ondoy Relief Efforts

Xoom is concerned about the situation in the Philippines and our hearts go out to everyone

impacted by Typhoon Ondoy. To help the Typhoon Ondoy relief efforts, we are offering

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How to Use Xoom to Help the Typhoon Ondoy Relief Efforts.

Use the following steps to make a donation to the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC):

Step 1 – Sign up for a Xoom.com account, or sign in to your existing Xoom.com account.

Step 2 – Select Bank Deposit as a disbursement option.

Step 3 – Enter the following Recipient Name and Bank Account details:

Recipient Name - Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC)

Bank Account Details - The following Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) bank

account details will be needed at the time of the transaction. You can enter any one

of the following bank accounts to make their donation:

PNRC Peso Accounts:

• Banco de Oro – Peso Account: 453-0018647

• Bank of the Philippine Islands - Peso Account: 4991-0010-99

• Metrobank – Peso Account: 151-3-04163122-8

• Philippine National Bank – Peso Account: 3623-3680-0011

PNRC Dollar Accounts:

• Banco de Oro - Dollar Account: 453-0039482

• Bank of the Philippine Islands - Dollar Account: 8114-0030-94

• Metrobank - Dollar Account: 151-2-151002182

• Philippine National Bank - Dollar Account: 375-283500026

Enter Recipient Address and Phone Number:

Philippines National Red Cross

National Headquarters

Bonifacio Drive, Port Area

Manila 2803, Philippines

Phone Number: 632 527 0000

Step 4 - Enter the coupon code "HELPONDOY" at the bottom of the Payments page.

Please forward this to your friends and family who would like to donate to the

relief efforts.

Thanks So Much For Your Support !

Even my own hometown ( see video below shot about few streets away from my own little house in Villa Silangan ) where my mother and son live right now was not spared from the devastation of " ONDOY" . My house in Sta Cruz Laguna was submerged in water too but I'm so relieved that my love ones were safe although my small house was damaged .

This Tree was huge just like most of the trees you'll notice growing in Singapore. It surely looks very creepy at night if you're walking underneath it . But luckily, we were walking on an overpass just right beside it and there were lights all over the place. Kids were a bit scared despite of the lights surrounding the area ... like as usual when they walk near bushes and trees at night what else is to be expected with them ?

WHAT'S WIRE CROCHET ?

Wire Crochet (pronounced /kroʊˈʃeɪ/) is a process of creating jewelry from metal wires using a crochet hook. The word is derived from the Middle French word croc or croche, meaning hook. Wire Crocheting consists of pulling loops of wire through other loops.

After opening my Etsy shop just a few days ago , I'd been so occupied of doing Wire Crochet for the very 1st time. I used to do the normal crochet creating pillow covers and table doilies when I was young . But then, only thread / yarn is what I had used . But this time, I want to create a unique line of jewelry ( for my Etsy shop ) out of this technique but with metal wires and not just yarn. So, equipped with rolls of Non tarnish Artistic Beading wires stocked in the cabinet for a long time now and a pc of size 6 Crochet Hook I had left after I had stopped crocheting for about 8 years now, I started crocheting for my new collection of beaded jewelries .

#SPN135 - Lady Manhattan Wire Crochet Necklace

A Wire crocheted choker created on Sept 11, 2009 in memory of the Sept 11 attacks in New York city. Red sponge corals for the red color which is In human color psychology the color associated with heat, energy, and blood, and emotions that "stir the blood", including anger, passion, love and pain . While The Blue Turquoise represents the color of blue which is according to the English language, blue often represents the human emotion of sadness.
This necklace was embedded with different stones such asSponge Corals Rounds and Chip Beads, Round Turquoise Beads , IMIT TURQUOISE Barrel Bead and Silver Plated Brass Beads. This design took exactly 4 hours to design, create and finish on Sept 11, 2009 ( 9:30am to 1:30 pm ) . The choker itself measures 20 - 21 inches long and 5cms wide from the pendant area and fits really nicely. Closed securely with wire crocheted toggle clasp .

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1st Bracelet I had Made & Created on on Sep 9, 2009

#GSBB468 - CROCHET PEARLS Fuchsia / Blue Color Bracelet

This Bracelet was created with no other beads but only Fresh water Pearls in 3 different colors. Using the Single crochet technique in combining 28 gauge Non tarnish Gold Artistic Beading wires and Fresh water pearls in Fuchsia Pink, Dark Golden Bronze & Mauve Shades . Measures about 7"up to 7 1/2" in lenght and secured with Gold Plated Slide Clasp.

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2nd Bracelet I had Created on on Sep 9, 2009

Created with no other beads but only Fresh water Pearls in 3 different colors. Using the Single crochet technique in combining 28 gauge Non tarnish Gold Artistic Beading wires and Fresh water pearls in natural White, Gold & Lavender Shades . Measures about 7"up to 7 1/2" in lenght and secured with Gold Plated Slide Clasp.

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1st Wire Crochet Necklace I had made ! Created on on Sep 10, 2009

#SPN134 - Lady Victoria Wire Crocheted Pearls Necklace

Embedded with different colors / shapes of Fresh water Pearl Beads ,MOP nuggets in White & Natural Colors and a MOP Resin Focal barrel Bead. This design took exactly 3 -1/2 hours to design, create and finish on Sept 10, 2009 ( 8:30am to 12:00 pm ) . The choker itself measures 18 inches long and 4cms wide from the pendant area and fits nicely when worn. Closed securely with wire crocheted toggle clasp .

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My latest Jewelry designs were created to on the technique involved which is how to Crochet with Wire. This technique is a relatively a new way of creating jewelry and requires a basic knowledge of crochet .

Over the years crochet has found its way into jewelry using thread , thin cord and then lately , metal wires .

Tips when starting Wire Crochet :

A). Arrange Beads accordingly and prepare 26 gauge or 28 gauge wire + Crochet hook.

A) .

B). String the beads onto the wire. Chain until its long enough (About bracelet / Necklace length or longer) and leave at least 12 inches tail end for more room .

B).

C). Don't twist or turn your wire too often and don't cause too much tension to avoid unnecessay breaks and folds on the wire.

C).

D). Place the wire spool in a safe place away from disturbances such as being caught on something around you . ( I had used the kitchen rack for spoons and forks that can hang on any cabinet doors & drawer ). keeping the spool placed in a box or container will keep it away from getting the wires spiralling out of the spool.

D).

http://www.seafore.com/wire/wire.html

Oh no ... into my dismay, I had realized my blouse had rubbed its color & had transfered its navy blue color even on my belt and pants. Quickly, I grabbed a piece of paper towel and dabbed it with alcohol then rubbed it slightly on the belt first but it didn't do anything on the stains. Even on the bag there's no reaction on the stains at all. I was in real panic ! So I took some baby wipes and tried to rub the stains off ... still the stains remained . Then I washed the belt 1st in cold water and rubbed some mild soap on it but still nothing was solved. OMG ! I went to the internet and searched for possible solutions to remove the stains. Searching ... searching ... How to remove stains from White Leather bag / White Fabrics blah -blah-blah etc. .... ok , good I found one solution. It says use an eraser. So I did rubbed the bag with the Staedler eraser and the bag's stains where removed just a little bit and not much . Big Sighhhh ! It was for me one hopeless scenario and I decided to ask my helper for Acetone coz she does nail polishing all the time on her day-off. I tested the Acetone on the belt first . After some rubbing and more pressure, the stains on the belt came off ! Finally ... something had worked !

Oh... heaven ... what a relief ! So i tried it on the bag ...

Well it was a bad move ... it was a sure DISASTER !

The beige color of the material came off but not the blue stains ! So the problem with the bag became even more visible ... Still I didn't give up . I checked google search for more solutions and found another one ... try the hair spray and rubbed it off with a soft material . I did followed the instructions and got my daughter's hairspray. Result ? It was even a much bigger catastrophe !!!! The stains where still there and the surrounding part of it became even whiter. That's it ... I had given up ... I had lost all my hopes ...

The bag is already ruined and there's nothing much I can do to solve the stain problem. So I'll just leave it as it is now... Poor Thing !

Trying to think all that had happened, I'm somehow still Lucky that the damage was on the back and so , I can still hide it . But lesson I learned today was : Don't use white or off -white colored bags , leather white belts & pants with a dark colored top whose fabric has the tendency to transfer colors . Even if the Dark color is dry don't take the risk or be sorry ! Oh well, Can you imagine how much more damage if the dark color was wet ?

So, Next time. I'll just wear everything in the same color or in both light color materials . Or just forget using White or Light color bags and pants !

But anyway, the day started with fun so ...

Happy Birthday again Elsa ...

Thanks so much for the awesome Lunch !!!

And hoping You liked My Gift for you ...