What Is In A Name?

Name Badge for Rebecca
The Daily Post at WordPress suggested looking into the story behind your given name as a blog topic. 
There is a lot of story behind my given name.

For their first child, my parents had picked out the names Duncan or Robin.  I am glad I wasn’t a boy.  Mom says when I arrived, I didn’t look like a Robin.  I am not sure what a human Robin is supposed to look like, but apparently not me.  So instead they picked Rebecca which mom said meant enchantress.  She had liked the character Rebecca in Ivanhoe.  I will admit, I never read Ivanhoe, but I did read the CliffsNotes.  Rebecca in Ivanhoe is falsely accused of witchcraft.  It didn’t sound like my kind of tale, so I didn’t explore further.

During my school years, everyone wanted to know about my farm.  Mom must have been the only one to read Ivanhoe, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm was the fictional piece everyone else had heard of or read.  The count on that joke got quite high and was old after just a couple of times. 

Somewhere between birth and the teen years, the meaning of Rebecca was no longer listed as enchantress, but was  being defined as meaning heifer or cow.  That is just swell for friends of a teenage girl to find out.  I was no longer Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, but a cow on the farm.  I received a stuffed cow complete with udder as a gift from my boyfriend.  My eight year old brother had a  fascination for that cow and its udder.

So I was a bit concerned to do any research to see what the meaning might be listed as now.  It appears there is new confusion about whether Rebecca originates from Hebrew or Aramaic.  The meaning can change some in translation, depending on which you start out with.  So the current accepted meaning from one was listed as “noose”, while from the other language it is “to bind”.  I think I will go with “to bind”.

A list of nicknames for Rebecca really hit the mark though.  One of the nicknames was Bunny.

Follow Friday – An Etsy Find: Bellina Creations

Green Jade Bronze Wire Wrapped Birds Nest Ring

Click image go to item

Sapphire Blue Quartz Necklace

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Catseye And Copper Wire Wrapped Marble Sea Glass Necklace

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For my second Follow Friday post today, I have an Etsy find, jewelry artist Bonnie of Bellina Creations.  I have really just started to get to know her as the captain of the Etsy team, Lean on Me.  I can see already I am going to enjoy the very positive atmosphere she has created in the team threads and the many friendly people who have been drawn to the team.

This is a find, she just opened her shop less than six months ago.  Reading her profile I see she is one of the many who have become unemployed in this economy.  In her own words she is “taking a leap of faith and finding a different road”.

You will find lovely jewelry in her shop that is beautifully photographed.  I picked three favorite pieces to showcase here.   She currently has over 120 handcrafted jewelry items.

I love what she shares about her sea glass: 

But sea glass has a little piece of my heart. The reason behind this is that I put so much of myself into it. Each piece is found by me and can take days sometimes weeks to find a jewelry quality piece. Seeing that little shining gem lying amongst the rocks and sand is like finding a treasure!

I think there are many treasures waiting in her shop, so check her out: http://BellinaCreations.etsy.com.

Softly Whisper to Me … a Treasury

Softly Whisper to Me ...

Softly Whisper to Me ...

This is a treasury I created based things that are oh so soft … a lover’s touch, baby kisses, furry brushes against my leg, soft whispers in my ear …

Click on the picture to go to the treasury on Etsy.   Once you have the treasury open,  you can click on each of the items to view the full details or explore more items in these wonderful shops.

Enjoy!