Reviewing 2014 looking forward to 2015

 This has been a very busy year. We set a goal of giving away 100 bags a month.This was quite a challenge and we had to make adjustments along the way. a few times because of Jessie's health issues. Major changes have occurred in our lives and adjustments are ongoing.

Though this his year has had its ups & downs.  Through it all we are happy to say we still hand made and donated most of our bags. Most of the bags were given to breast cancer survivors; some were donated to volunteer ministers and some to nursing home residents.

In 2014 we did not charge for our bags, when non survivors wanted our bags we accepted donations. This at times caused us stress as funds were always limited. Our expenses are low but there are ongoing items needed to keep Jessie’s bags afloat. We appreciate all of the donations, large and small. And you always supported us which we appreciate.

We also want to say how grateful we are for the supportive volunteers who sewed, created & tied tags, worked on fabrics and listened when we needed advice.

                                                                                                             

We need help to continue to grow and keep moving Jessie’s bags forward. We think what we are doing is encouraging to all who participate and we enjoy doing good deeds. We have met so many wonderful people along the way who support us in a variety of ways.

 So as we begin 2015 we hope we will be able to expand to get more people involved in what we do , we want to give more surviving ladies Jessie's Bags. We hope you will continue to support us and we pray for god’s direction in this effort. The bible at Luke 14;28-29 says “For example, who of you wanting to build a tower does not first sit down and calculate the expense to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, he might lay its foundation but not be able to finish it, and all the onlookers would start to ridicule him, saying: ‘This man started to build but was not able to finish.’”

In our counting the cost we find that we will need to pay for some of the things happening here at Jessie’s bags, for example we see the need for consistent sewers to do finishing work for us. . At this juncture we need to shift the bulk of the sewing from Jessie to others. We want to make this shift so that Jessie will still sew some items whenever she wants to.  We do not want her to feel obligated to sew every day. To date she is still the primary seamstress.We do have others who sew when they can.

 In 2014 we were very creative in getting volunteers as well as funds to carry on our project. We got young and old to volunteer, we go into schools, senior centers, and nursing homes assisted living locations all to find willing volunteers. We had monthly groups of family and friends in our home working right   alongside Jessie & me. I’m her daughter as many of you know, Jessie and I both have been at many of these events, but I’m noticing  a slows down, as she has more pain she is missing from the majority  of them now. And so many of you ask for her know this, Jessie always wants to go with me but I know it is not possible. This is another reason we need funding we need to hire a few people to handle these events when we are unable to attend them personally.We are working on finding grants and funding to help us in this area. Many of these require a nonprofit status so we are working on that also.

 We travel a great deal to pick up supplies which cost time and gas. On the last trip I took Jessie with me to Lewes Delaware the trip I can make in one day had to be made in two so she could rest. We made it a mini vacation you can see the shots of Jessie on the board walk on Instagram.  The pain in her leg kept her in the bed for a week when we came home so that may have been her last road trip.

Follow our events see the places we visit look at the bags we create. Volunteer to join us, Helps us along the way. Spread the word to others about what we are doing or make a donation using  pay pal  on our website.

If you Instagram you can see the sites and follow our journey. Look for Jessie’s bags around town…. Drop us a line..

Read about our experiences and see some of the people we meet along the way...... #jessiesbagsontheroad

#jessiesbags

Jessiesbags.com

Jesbags.blogspot.com

Jessie's Bags can't wait to see what happens next.......looking forward to 2015.....

BFRIN Philadelphia Library Breast Cancer Event 2014

Last night we attended an event “What you don’t know about Breast Cancer” hosted by                                                                              BFRIN.

A beautiful location the skylight room at the Philadelphia Main Library.

 The presenters talked about how they were affected by breast cancer personally or through a family member or friend. One of the ladies lost an aunt, several sisters & nieces all to this epidemic.  Sometimes hearing another survivor’s story can help you see how your live could be a whole lot worse. We are only dealing with one case of breast cancer in our family.  Meanwhile all the everyday struggles and stresses of everyday life keep going on as well.

There is a bible account that talks about Hannah Who couldn't have children.  After praying to god about the problem she when off to get busy and she became self-concerned no more. She shifted her focus.

This is what I am attempting to help Jessie with. I want her to stay busy making bags. When this is happening she is self-concerned no more. Then the knee pain is not so overwhelming. And the focus isn’t on the place she is in her life. The negatives don’t over take us. Oh we have our moments but they become more manageable.

One of the things we do is go to nursing homes and senior centers to get the residents to help us make parts of Jessie’s bags. This helps us put our issues in perspective. On One visit to a nursing home, as Jessie was complaining about her pain in the knee we turned a corner and came face to face with a woman in a wheel chair who had no legs.  I looked at her and she looked at me. Later when I said well it could be worse. She agreed and realized her pain was manageable. This was the day we found out she had another blood clot. So the pain was real and intense. But the lack of legs was also real and intense. No matter how painful her walk was, she was walking and moving independently.

A lot of things we go through are all about perspective.

I’m trying to view the changes and the negatives in my life as positively as possible. It might take a few minutes to find the positive but it is there.

 If we look around at others and not just ourselves it can also help to change your perspective.  Just for a minute be self concerned no more..... stop taking SELFIES ....   take a look around and see something a different perspective. 

 Look around, you may see something spectacular, and you might actually enjoy the view!

See Our Viewpoint!

Beauty is all around us!

A Positive impact

There is so much negative news in the world today.  I rarely watch the evening news because it is so depressing. If I watched it every day and worried about all the possible threats I would never leave the house.

We need to have a daily news report that only reports the good things that are happening. In your city or neighborhood every day there are people doing good things for others, being nice and neighborly.

Today these events are used as filler pieces, so you can tell when it’s a slow news day.

Here at Jessie’s Bags we want to share only positives and good news. We go through difficulties and hard times don’t get me wrong. We try to find the positives even through these adversities. There always has to be a positive even if it is a small thing.

Faith and Hope are positives. It is being so sure something is going to happen that you can see it, taste it and feel it. The bible describes Faith this way at Hebrews 11:1 “Faith is the assured expectation of what is hoped for, the evident demonstration of realities that are not seen.”

We are sure someone will benefit in a positive way when they receive one of our bags. It may be because a friend or family member thought about them and gave them a bag, or it may be because of the encouraging bible based note they read that we include

.

We hope that Jessie’s Bags will always have a positive impact on others. If you are a volunteer who helps us make the bags you share the joy of giving to others. If you receive a bag, know that others share your pain and are thinking of you, Also know that our heavenly father cares about you and is there for you whenever you need him, and that is the best news we can share.

( 1 Peter 5:7 “you throw all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.”)

Stay positive!

                                                                                           Stay positive!

all about the bags

Changing seasons of life

Where we live seasons change and the views around us change every day.

 In the spring you see the foliage wake up and come to life. You hear the birds singing and feel the restoration. As colors pop you get a renewed vitality. You want to get outside to be in the beautiful surroundings. Everything is fresh and new. This is the time of year I want to be outside, I want to go go go. This reminds me of new babies and children. They are full of vitality and energy and the energy levels are high. I watch friends with their young children chasing them as they learn to walk. Stopping them and slowing them down so they don’t hurt themselves, And the kids straining at the bit to go go go.

Its fall right now and the leaves are changing colors.  Look at All the gorgeous hews red, gold, and brown. Everything that was green changes, and the view outside my windows are beautiful. But as this starts to happen you start to nesting. You lay in supplies for the winter which you know will be here soon. You pull out the winter clothes and pack away the shorts and light weight clothes. You begin to stay inside more and more. I feel like this is where I am in life. Not so young anymore and not as old as mom. I am what they call middle age. If I live to be 100 I am middle age or a little above. I feel like it the fall time of my life. I’m not so rush in life now, I don’t want to run around and work. I want to slow down a bit and enjoy the views. We like to take our vacation time in the fall of the year. I love going to the beach when everything calms down and all of the tourist are gone and it’s a sleepy little town again.  A ride on the highway when trees are changing color is beautiful.  I feel like I've mellowed like those leaves. I see a lot of the changes in my life, I’m much more reflective. That’s why I’m writing these pieces.  I use to spend a lot of time reading books. My favorite authors were the ones who made me live it with them. I was right there in the room as the events were happening. I hope that’s how I write. I hope you can see what I see. Our lives changing and  changing leaves. 

one hour of Jessie making bags... October Breast cancer month

Jessie has been sewing most of her life. She has made wedding gowns, costumes for plays (dramas) and clothes for people without a pattern. She worked in a factory making children’s clothes 6 months to 6 X. She even worked in a bra factory and a tuxedo factory. Most of those jobs are now out of the country.

She makes the bags for breast cancer survivors like she still works in a factory.

This means if I put fabrics together when she is feeling good I look around and she has sewn up everything in sight in just a few hours. I can hardly keep up.

These are the bags she just finished in the last hour.a group of friends will be wearing our bags the week end at a Breast Cancer Walk! 

 she put handles on all of these in 1 hour <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

 I have never been a person who sews. I could mend a hole or hem my pants but I never made stuff.

As a child mom and I made doll clothes... well mostly it was mom.

Now I find working with the fabric is like therapy for me. It relaxes my mind. I love to be up early in the morning the house is quiet and I can create. I enjoy the colors & textures juxtaposed and positioned just so. Each bag is a new creation since we make our bags out of recycled materials. Someone just gave me an old awning. I look at the scalloped edges and I see pockets for bags. All of our bags are one of a kind. We may never have this fabric again. We often get people who ask can you make me one like this a little smaller or bigger. I usually say no, sorry folks it is what it is. When you see a bag it is unique. And we don’t have them long.

You can’t buy our bags. We don’t have them for sale anywhere at the moment. If you want one of Jessie’s bags you can make a donation through pay pal on the web site and we will give you a bag.

You will usually meet Jessie or her daughter when you get a bag. We tell you about how we started and what our plans are. 

 You can volunteer to help us work on bags and we will give you a bag for helping. We go to senior centers and people volunteer to work with us.

So if you and a group of your friends would like to help us make Jessie’s bags we will hold a build a bag workshop. Contact us to set one up.

Jessiesbags.com or #jessiesbags 

The family fabric...

Families are like fabric interwoven, interdependent, stronger together. Each one adds a different shade or tone or texture to the family.

When you deal with a death in your family you notice the individual pieces and threads that make up a family.

When one of the threads is no longer there you feel the void. There is a hole in the fabric now. How to fix it this is the hard part. Everyone has to step up do a little more take on a bit more of the responsibility, help with the restructuring of the organization that is the family. Some respond willingly some are forced to make changes they don’t like, but you come together and patch the void. Or you cut the fabric up and create a new patchwork style family. At times the pieces don’t seem to fit but given time they start to function as a new fabric working together for the greater good.

While all of this is happening you still grieve for the one you loved who is not there anymore. I think it helps to remember everybody is feeling the loss. Some are affected more than others but all see and feel the hole and know it needs to be patched. As we keep patching and plugging the holes we appreciate those around us who are still here working side by side for the greater good of the family. You see their true color shinning brighter as they pick up the slack. You see how strong they are not easily broken. You can see their flexibility and willingness to make changes.

So whoever you are in the family. Maybe you are the the strong one or the organized one or the sensitive one or the stubborn one or the tired one or the sad one or the jealous one or the scared one or the worried one or the angry one remember we need each one to create the fabric of our family. And together we are stronger than alone. Remember we have help putting the pieces together and making them fit. We have help to  keep the family together and like scotch guard protects us through the rough times. The bible tell us what god promises at Isaiah 41:10 “Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be anxious, for I am your god. I will fortify you, yes I will help you, I will really hold on to you with my right hand of righteousness”. It may take some time but we will persevere and get the holes patched and we will create a new family fabric we won’t notice the hole so much but we will remember where it was and the way things used to be.

The Survivor’s club

There is a group of people (a lot are women) in this world that are united in a very special and unique way. It doesn't matter how old you are or how young you are you may be a part of this Club.  Race and ethnic background doesn't enter the picture. This is club no one wants to join but so many do.  No one wants to continue their membership in this club however they never ever want to leave it. Once you are a member you spend the rest of your life there.  This club chooses you as a member. This club changes your life. This club changes everything around you your whole world and your family’s world.  This club alters your reality and perception of life. Your focus and priorities adjust because of this club. Some of us are members because of a close friend or family member belonging to this club. You are reminded of this club even when you want to forget it.  With every doctor’s appointment, every mammogram, every pain, every extra test we have to take, every pill we swallow. Some are reminded every day as we get dressed, or take a shower, or look in the mirror. Every time we meet another member you recognize each other. There is no secret hand shake or special word you say to greet one another but the signs are there. Sometimes it’s the pink ribbon they wear, or maybe it’s the lack of hair, maybe you see the skin tone that has changed its shade or they just look a little off today. Or maybe you look in each other’s eyes and you see thee reflection of the pain you have suffered, the stresses you have lived through. Perhaps what you see reflected is the fear and loss of control over your life and your future. Survivors club members search to find a way to cope.

 Being a survivor’s daughter means I wake up at 4 am and write this because my brain is on over load. For Jessie it means she sews all day so she doesn't think negative thoughts. She keeps busy every day concentrating on other people who get her bags hoping to encourage them. We write notes and cards, letters of encouragement. We also talk to other survivors. We tell other survivors where we draw comfort. We read the bible every day. We pray for strength to deal with each day’s anxieties.

 We read articles on line at JW.ORG.  We always find a positive encouraging bible thought there.

Articles like ….Is god interested in you? When tragedy strikes- how you can cope. Why do bad things happen to good people?  

When we meet other survivors we want to give you one of Jessie’s bags. We hope you like it. We hope you can use it. We hope it makes you smile. Maybe when you see it you are reminded there is someone else who understands your unique struggle and is fighting to survive each day too!

We like new ideas!

It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since we began our 100 bags a month program. We started making 100 bags to give out in October to breast cancer survivors. We got schools and volunteers to join us and we did it.  At the beginning of 2014 we decided we wanted to try to make 100 bags every month.  Some months we hit our goal others we didn't due to health issues however we consistently made bags and donated them every month to survivors. We recently have a few more sewers to help us. This works out well when Jessie isn't up to sewing. 

 I spoke with a young man who wants to make some bow ties for men. This is a great idea.  We hope he can start this process with some of our fabric scraps and donate a portion of the proceeds to Jessie’s bags.

Up-cycling trash 

Pillows

some of our new ideas

This got us to thinking there may be other ideas and designers we can team up with to create items that will benefit Jessie’s cause. We have some fabric to share. Do you have any suggestions? What is your skill? What do you make? We try to up-cycle as much as possible.  Contact us jessiesbags@gmail.com  let’s see what we can create together.

learning from each other

A friend’s daughter is spending a few days a week with mom and I while on summer break from school. I thought this would be a good time for her to hang out and maybe learn how to cook a few dishes, work on her sewing and just be around mature women this summer. I use to spend a lot of time growing up with my aunts and grandmother while Jessie worked. It’s interesting how we are learning from each other. Today I asked this 11 year old summer helper to show me how she creates some shots put to music on Instagram. I follow her and have seen her pictures using this format all the time. So today she taught me something new. And she produced my 1st flipagram on #jessiesbags. We love all the talented people who volunteer their skills for Jessie’s Bags. We have the potential to really grow if we get people to do what they love for Jessie’s Bags. Volunteers what do you want to do we will let your creativity shine!

I hate to sew so I don’t do that part of the process. Jessie loves to sew so that’s most of what she does.

One of the volunteers loves flea markets & yard sales so she is always looking for items we can use…

If you join us you can do what you love.

Always looking for more help!

  ..If you follow jessiesbags you will be seeing more of these flipagrams. 

Our bodies are wonderfully made

Jessie’s bags have been on the road at least once a week this summer.

We enjoy taking a look around and snapping pictures of all the sights.

The site I have been looking at for the last few days has been out my bedroom window. I had a few days of rest while Jessie attended her convention for 3 days in the mountains of Pennsylvania.

 Since she is not home and not Sewing I have Time for rest and relaxation,  great plans began to be made... Maybe I’ll go to the lake & get in the pool, take some pictures of the boats, fishing, maybe a state park I wonder which one PA, or DE?   Should I get my friend with her kids to go….

On a routine trip to Walmart Friday I felt a major pain in my back. I could hardly get home. I had to ask someone to close the car door for me. It was too painful to reach over to close it. The pain was so intense. I have been suffering with this issue for a few years since a car rear ended us. This has been one of the more pain filled times.

 Doctors always ask on a scale of 1 to 10 what the level of pain is; this was a 15 at least. So began my not on the road weekend. The hardest part of this trip was the trip to the bathroom. It was an adventure to say the least. First you have to try to roll out of bed so you are not using the normal mussels that are not working & in pain. Trying to sit up and not use any back muscles is almost impossible. I feel like a turtle flipped over on its shell. I roll….I slide….I shift….  Finally out of the bed! This only took 10 min, seemed a lot longer.  Then I shuffled into the on suite bathroom like I’m 103 trying not to move too many muscles. Did I mention the pain was a 15? Once the trip to the bathroom is complete and my mission accomplished I have to stand back up…..oh the pain! Now begins the long journey back to the bed. Now I need more pain meds. This requires water. Oh boy here we go again I drink water with the meds which means I will have to go back to the bathroom again, a terrible cycle!

 Our bodies are wonderfully made the bible at Psalms 139:14 says. That’s so true and you never even notice till they don’t work right. Most days we do some things without even noticing it. Bathroom breaks are one thing you don’t usually take a look at. I notice my aunt in the nursing home can’t stand and needs assistance to toilet. This is something that is a major thing in her life because she has to wait for a C N A’s help. They have to answer her call so she can answer the call of nature. Let’s just say…. I learned some empathy this weekend.

I’m appreciating the small stuff in my life things like muscles, walking, eating drinking, closing my own car door, and going to the bathroom. Our bodies are wonderfully made!