80 Things We Love About Arta: #43 - Be Fashion, Wear Large Jewelry

When I moved to Calgary in the mid-1990's I had a chance to spend time with Arta and several of her daughters. We would spend time talking and sharing stories while staring at the two racks of earrings on top of a tall dresser in the large basement bedroom. The racks were full of the most large, magnificent, shiny, metallic, glistening earrings I had ever seen. I thought I had worn large earrings. I thought I had amassed an amazing collection myself. No. Mine was insignificant.

An example of the type of earrings,
but not an actual pair.

Another example of the type of earrings,
but not actual earrings.

She began a family trend wherein a family members began wearing larger and larger earrings, necklaces, and rings. So may beautiful rings that took up a knuckle or more. 

Here is an email from my mother in 2015, when she was on one of her travel adventures, about jewelry and Arta:

"Tonia, I saw the biggest, nicest, outrageous lapis ring. I want to buy it but you will have to pay me back. It is a huge oval with twisted rope around the outside to finish it off. Only tomorrow left to go get it for you. It was less than half the price I paid for Arta's ring and my ring. It will fit the ring finger. Tell me to go buy it for you."

Of course she bought if for me and it is on my finger in this picture. This picture was taken at the Highwood Diner Buffet at SAIT, one of the Bates' favourite places to dine on Thursday at lunch. The most stunning buffet created by all the students in the culinary program. A lunch event that Arta's co-workers at the University of Calgary introduced her to many years before. Love these lunches and the amazing company!

Notice the beautiful and large jewelry we are both wearing.
My right hand is covering the lapis lazuli ring
my mother mentioned in the email. 

Then my parents moved to London, UK from 2006 - 2010 and my mother discovered Portobello Road, London, UK. She discovered a shop on the road (we will insert this information soon) where she goes to purchase stones, pearls, and beautiful accoutrements to make large jewelry. Arta and her daughters, and Wyona and her daughters all have a great time making purchases after Wyona's finishing her hard creation work.

Delightful pearls and necklaces.

Stunning Moon Stone rings.

It is too much?!?

Does anyone have any more pictures of Arta with large jewels on? Or perhaps pictures of Arta, Wyona, and Moiya dressing up and heading to Canadian Tire for an excited jewelled adventure?  Let me know and I will add them to this post.

In all, don't be afraid of large, metallic, shiny, wonderful pieces of jewelry. You are a star. You are magnificent. Say it with your bling.

Love,

Tonia

Bug Fashionista

Tonia posts these pictures on her facebook page and says:

My mother has played with bugs since she was a girl.

We grew up with dead framed bugs on our walls after we left Malaysia.

A friend posted a blanket with a large spider on it and my mother said she loved it.

Today she showed me her new jewelry, bugs and lizards.

Some people's passions never change.

__________________

I want to add to Tonia's words.

She has captured the essence of her mother in 4 photos.

I would have tried to write a whole essay and not caught for us what you have presented.

Smashing!

Few will ever know this amazing woman's talents -- extra-ordinaire school teacher of the disabled.

She is a water-color painter, and jewellery designer.

She is a seamstress, an alteration expert and a dress designer.  I own a beautiful designer Chinese black silk jacket, a gift from her.

She is a quilter, and a cheese-cake cook. She just doesn't make one at a time.  She makes three.

She is the grandmother of all grandmothers, rounding up all of her grandchildren online to see Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Love Never Dies", and paying for their snacks, $20 each.

And oh, what about the 5 star zucchini cakes, bridge player who should be going after masters points, and now on-line bridge player through pandemic times with her family. 

Wyona is a dancer, a woman who is longing for the dance floor on cruise ships to open up again.

Oh, the snacks she brings on a road trip.  The cooler is always full of ice and soda.  Ritz crackers, cheese, red licorice, bridge mix, apples, grapes, Hot Rods, min-chocolate bars are pass from the back seat to the front and back again.

She also loves bugs.

Arta

How to Tie a Scarf

Hello,

If I had been out shopping with Wyona, I could have called this post, How to Buy a Scarf, since we are good at that.

However -- How to Tie a Scarf?

Not so good until this morning when I got an advertizement from the scarf department of Liberty London: five different ways to tie a scarf.

 Here are 5 YouTube demos -- four of which the ordinary person might be able to do.

Check it out:  Liberty London
Arta