Month: October 2017

My Pin Collection – 2

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Post 2. I’m not sure how I missed that I have two sets of doubles. Oh well, they’re pretty.

L-R: From my Fantasy Collection: Shield with chains. (This was my first pin that I remember getting for myself. I wore it all the time. I was a medieval history buff and a medieval re-enactor, so it was apropos.) Fancy feather with silver locket, Crescent Man in the Moon, Unicorn, Lion on a Shield, Carousel Lion (I collected many lions when I was in a medieval group. Our town was called Lions End), Castle on a mountain with a crystal ball. (c)2017


Clockwise: Art deco pin with purple crystal, Art deco pin, Gold pin with red and white crystals, Silver bow, Gold oval with filigree details, Gold Knot with “pearl”. (c)2017


L-R, top to bottom: Silver twist with pink “pearl”, Gold braid with clear crystal, Kilt pin, Art deco with purple crystal (again), French horn with “pearls”, Gold leaf with Oval Rose picture, Oval gold flowers, Art deco – silver with white stone, Silver bow (again). (c)2017

My Pin Collection – 1

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This is post 1, but it is only a small selection of the pins that I’ve collected over the years.

L-R, Top to bottom: Supernatural’s Devil’s Trap, prison food, The Walking Dead’s Michonne, Supernatural’s Anti-Possession Symbol, Just one more episode, Star Labs from The Flash, piss me off, not nailed down, Harry Potter’s Hufflepuff House. (c)2017

L-R, Top to bottom: Green Lantern symbol, Free Comic Book Day Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Doctor Who’s The Tardis, Guardians of the Galaxy’s Groot, Batman, GOTG’s Groot, Green Lantern symbol, The Flash symbol, Doctor Who’s Starry Night Tardis. (c)2017


Clockwise: Green Lantern Emerald Warrior, Vote DC, Last Action Hero, MCA/Universal Home Video, T2 (Terminator 2: Judgment Day), RIP Superman. (c)2017

A Few of My Favorite Things – Pins

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After reading Madeleine Albright’s book about her pin collection, and spending the rest of the day on Thursday photographing a few of my pins to post here in the next few weeks, I thought I would share a couple of my favorites. Favorites come and go, and they’re not all here, but these…these are special.

Some of my favorite things: Clockwise: Gold Butterfly with Rainbow Stones. This was my mother’s. I think I probably gave it to her, and then got her entire butterfly pin collection when she died. This one is just bright and beautiful like she was. Blue stone Celtic pin. This was a birthday present from my college roommate when I joined her in England for three weeks of traveling. I think she gave it to me when I first arrived. I believe we were on the shuttle train going from the airport to wherever she was taking me. I remember it came in a bright red envelope. Star Trek 50th Anniversary Pin. One of my Gishwhes friends procured this for me at a convention and sent it after I begged for it to commemorate not only Star Trek, but my 50th birthday as well. Hard Rock Cafe pin from Manilla Philippines. My husband got this when he was in the Philippines for a work trip. It has two butterflies, which I love, and it’s green – my favorite color. It is one of the most thoughtful gifts I’ve ever received. Safety pin in pink and purple with a Mom charm made for me for Mother’s Day by my daughter. I think this was in kindergarten. The initial “K” that I received from my class as a student teacher. (c)2017

These are my two most recent pins. On the left is a Christmas tree which I found at Cracker Barrel, and really thought it would look great on my jacket for Christmas. On the right is a family piece that belonged to my mother-in-law’s sister. My daughter was given some of her jewelry to look through and keep, and she thought that I would like this one because green is my favorite color. (c)2017

Fandom Friday – Wayward Sisters

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​I have talked, here and other places, about my perceptions of the differences of being a fan and being in a fandom. Those of us in fandoms take things just one step, maybe ten steps further, and for each us it happens in varying degrees and with a variety of participation.

Of all the fandoms that I’ve participated in, I would say that the biggest part of my fannish heart belongs to the Supernatural family, or #spnfamily or abbreviated further as #spnfam.

They are the kindest, most compassionate people who volunteer their time and donate their money to just causes and people in need with their only reward the thankfulness for letting them be a part of it.

From Misha Collins’ Random Acts charity to Jared Padalecki’s Always Keep Fighting campaigns to Jensen Ackles’ raising money and awareness for Down’s Syndrome, and he and his wife (along with the Padaleckis and Collins’ and the rest of the Supernatural and CW folks) raising an incredible $400,000+ for hurricane relief – Stronger than Storms.

They’re supportive.

They’re encouraging.

They’re inspirational.

In addition to the charitable works, Misha’s Scavenger Hunt, Gishwhes, which just finished its final year, the depression awareness, self-harm help, and suicide prevention Always Keep Fighting campaign, a small group of vocal women created a group based on the women we admired of Supernatural.

I say “we” but I was not part of the initial germ of an idea; I joined with other fans in supporting the concept of Wayward Daughters, which became Wayward Daughters Academy. The use of the word “wayward” is a nod to Kansas’ song, Carry On Wayward Son, the unofficial theme of Supernatural. The concept was the the wayward orphan girls on the show would live with Sheriff Jody Mills, and hunt monsters. It’s a nice idea, and the fans loved it. And Kim Rhodes loved it. As well as Brianna Buckmaster, who plays Sheriff Donna Hanscom, and as more orphans arrived on the show, and more kick it in the ass female characters arrived, it grew.

And it grew.

It became a hashtag. #waywardaf

It became a charitable campaign through Creation Stands, now known as Stands.

It morphed into sisters instead of daughters; not biological sisters, but a family of choice.

And now, we fans have realized a wonderful dream: a possible spin-off show starring Kim and Brianna as well as Kathryn Newton (Claire Novak) and Katherine Ramdeen (Alex) and a few other young women.

Their pilot is called a back door pilot. They will have an episode in Sueprnatural’s Season 13 giving us a glimpse of what a Wayward Sisters show would be like, and if it gets enough viewers and potential fans, it’s a go.

I am so excited!

Girl Power!

The future is female!

This is the perfect year for this opportunity.

In addition to a sidebar in this week’s Entertainment Weekly, the Ladies of Supernatural have produced a calendar, sold through Stands for charity. All proceeds will be going to the Jacmel Children’s Center in Haiti.

It’s more than twelve months of pretty pictures; it is also life advice from an amazing grup of independent, empowering, bad ass, wayward af women!

Click picture to buy calendar. (c)Stands, 2017. Pin above used from Kim Rhodes Twitter. (c)KimRhodes, 2017

42/52 – Read My Pins by Madeleine Albright

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Madeleine Albright was born in 1937 in Prague, Czechoslovakia and after living in the United Kingdom and Yugoslavia, her family applied for asylum and emigrated to the United States in 1948, becoming a US citizen in 1957.

She received a Bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College and a PhD from Columbia University. In 1993, she was the UN Ambassador to the United Nations, and in 1997 became the first woman to serve as Secretary of State, continuing until 2001.

In 2012, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

As many women in government and the political fields, she is often judged or at the very least has had her fashion sense scrutinized by the public and the media. Does anyone remember conversations about Hillary Clinton’s pantsuits?

For Secretary Albright, she was often seen wearing pins. So many pins of all shapes and sizes, colors and styles. I can relate. I have my own collection of pins, ranging from plastic holiday pins to show off as a teacher to fandom as well as pewter pieces and place name souvenirs from trips I’ve made.

Unlike mine, her pin collection was put on display and she wrote an accompanying book to go along with the collection’s display. I’ve recently read it, and was fortunate to see many of Secretary Albright’s pins, at least in picture form. I enjoy sharing this with her.

Below the cut, I have included many of photos of my own pins in a variety of groupings.The photos are in no particular order of importance. It’s just how they were imported onto the site.

Every time I went to post this since Tuesday, I came across more pins that I wanted to share, so instead of editing this again, I think I will post pictures of more pins next week in its own post.

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