Squid Angel Blessings: Peyote Stitch, Canadian Music, Kansas, and a Hawaiian Recipe

I've just been made a Squid Angel for the next three months which gives me the opportunity to give lenses I find a little extra boost.  I'm going to feature the blessed lenses here on my blog as well.

Peyote Stitch

Peyote Bead Work:  Turning Glass Into Cloth tells some interesting stories of how lensmaster Margo_Arrowsmith found women who were doing intricate beadwork for very little monetary compensation.  It also shows how to do the peyote beading stitch.

Canadian Music

Obama's Canadian Playlist ~~ 49 Songs That Define Canada and Our Music (created by Treasures-by-Brenda) is about how the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation created playlist of songs that they thought represented Canada to give to President Barack Obama.
I was lucky enough to know a Canadian who loved music and he introduced me to so many great bands and musicians I wouldn't have known about otherwise.  It's really a shame that people here in the US aren't exposed to more of them.  So of course I had to bless this lens.

Kansas

I have a good friend who just moved from near where I live in Iowa to Kansas to be near her daughters and her new grandchild.  We used to go on a lot of day trips together, driving all around eastern Iowa, northern Illinois, and even Wisconsin.  Now I'll have to get to Kansas so we can have fun discovering what all there is to see there.

I happened across this lens completely by accident on my first day as Squid Angel:  Must See Places in Kansas, created by of_different_sorts.  As much as I love to read guidebooks and research places to visit on the Web, sometimes it's nice to have the most interesting places listed up front in an easy to find way.  This lens does just that by listing the Top 10 Places to See in Kansas.

Hawaiian Food

I have been learning about the culture of Hawaii lately through a group I belong to which practices Hawaiian shamanism, or Huna.  I found this quirky Hawaiian recipe lens in the Travel category, Loco Moco, A Traditional Hawaiian Breakfast Food, created by Susan52.  The story goes that it was created by hungry surfers getting ready to go out and spend a long day in the water.  You'll have to look at the lens to see just what it consists of. :)

Just Desserts: Sugar Cookie Recipes

I just have to take a moment to toot my own bright orange Squidoo horn. If you are part of the Squidoo community you know that making it into the top 100 Lens ranking is a big, big deal. So I was thrilled when my Sugar Cookie Recipes lens made it there earlier this week. I then set my sights on the Top 50 so I could put another shiny new badge from Lens Candy on my lens (having just proudly "hung" one for Top 100). But I didn't really think it was possible. Lo and behold, much to my wondering eyes did appear a lens ranking of 49 when I checked this morning!

If you think this was an overnight success it isn't. I created this lens in November 2007 based on my grandma's Christmas lemon sugar cookie recipe. It got close to the Top 100 last year but never got over the threshold.

And to those of you who don't have a Squidoo lens this may seem like a lot of hoopla over nothing, but I've spent countless hours crafting my lenses and it feels like, as the title says, just desserts to be rewarded in this way. Oh, and I actually make money from it! So if you're inspired to join in the fun, click on this link to start creating your own.