Forever Paris Contest: Ode to Pandora

Pandora recently held a contest on Instagram to win a limited-edition gold Eiffel Tower charm. Fans were asked to, "Share a photo and write why you are a true Pandora fan." I submitted a photo and write-up on five of the six days that the contest ran. And one of my submissions won! This was my entry for June 26.

For your information the contest details are at the end of the post.

Ode to Pandora

 

I do love you Pandora,

You are always on my mind.

Where's the latest catalogue?

On the nightstand you will find.

Every morning when I wake I think,

"What will I wear today?"

My clothes should match my bracelets

That is the only way!

I have bracelets in every colour,

And a leather one to match.

There's always at least one bangle

In amongst my daily stack.

I tie the cotton cords

And wear them with special charms.

I feel that I am naked

If there's nothing on my arms.

 

For when I need to know the time,

There's my bracelet with silver beads.

These novelty and animal charms

Tell daily lessons that I need.

All of my Essence charms

Are gifts that I receive.

My husband says, there's always hope

And that helps me believe.

"Curiosity, compassion, faith,"

He says, "I learned from you.

With happiness and trust,

Out of friendship our love grew."

 

"Health, wellness, and energy,

A peace one that is blue,

These beads represent

All the things I wish for you."

My kids picked out two Essence,

To represent me as a mom.

The affection and dedication are

From my daughter and my son.

A few Essence are from friends,

For the spiritual journey that I'm on.

To represent our friendships.

I love them every one.

 

I wear all my Essence daily

They're always on my right.

They give me strength and help me

Carry on from morn' 'til night.

There's resilience and wisdom

And on my bracelets you can see,

What I admire about my children,

And what lessons they've taught me.

For mindfulness and meditation,

Pandora meets my needs,

When I say the affirmation

I've attached to every bead.

I even have Pandora

Taped on my bedroom door!

The photos remind me

Of the ones I'm working for.

Pandora is how I express myself.

Each bracelet, a work of art.

Each charm represents a goal I've reached

Right from the very start.

Pandora is my hobby,

In case you're wondering why,

All my photos are of bracelets,

A true Pandora fan am I.

My winning entry

The three dimensional details on this charm are fabulous.

Related Posts:

Forever Paris Contest: grieving the loss of my mom - the winning story and photo, now with more photos of my mom's trip to Paris and the surprise I discovered; my submission for June 21, 2016

Forever Paris Contest: using Pandora charms in my recovery - a story about the role Pandora has played with links to stories about some of the charms; my submission for June 22, 2016

Forever Paris Contest: the meaning of Pandora's box - a story about how Pandora has helped me and what it represents, now with photos of my Pandora's box charm and the bracelet it's on; my submission for June 23, 2016

Forever Paris Contest: Pandora fans are not Grinches - a story about collecting Pandora promo items and the community of Pandora collectors (with some Dr. Seuss inspired rhyming); my submission for June 24, 2016


Here is Pandora's description of the contest:

"To celebrate summer in the city of love, Pandora has created a limited-edition 'Forever Paris' dangle charm, and from June 20 - 26 you can win it in our #PandoraForeverParisContest. Each piece is beautifully crafted from 14K gold and features two diamonds.

 

"Because they are true collector's items, only 500 have been produced. Each dangle charm is engraved with a unique number (from 1-500) and they are only sold in selected stores in France but we have kept 10 for you!" 

 

Contest rules were available on Pandora.net.

The charm was valued at 599 € (approximately $860 CDN/$665 USD)

Throwback Thursday - in memory of my Dad the camera guy

If my father were still alive he would have turned 91 last week, on Wednesday September 10. My father had a very difficult childhood, and I had a very difficult relationship with him. But there were some positives. He taught me how to ride a bike. He built me an indoor trapeze. He taught me how to use a jigsaw and rewire a lamp. He proofread my school essays. And he was the most gentle splinter-remover ever. I have come to believe that he did the best he could with what he knew, at the time.

My father (and his cameras) with my brother and I

But the greatest gift he gave me was to share with me his passion for photography. He gave me my first SLR (Single-Lens Reflex) camera when I was in middle school, the same age as my twins are now. I was Sports Editor for the school yearbook and wanted to take photos of various sports. He taught me what film speed to use, how to use f-stop and shutter speed, and the technique of panning to photograph people in motion. 

My father was a professional photographer with his own studio, for a while. He was considered the finest wedding and portrait photographer east of Montreal, back in the day. And he did some of the first motion picture commercials for television. I remember him having a treasure chest that he had used in a commercial for Lifesavers. He later painted it red and made it into a toy box for my brother.

 Lifesavers ad from the 1940s

My father wasn't a great business man. He wasn't a great father. But he WAS a great photographer! So that's what I celebrate.

On the first anniversary of my father's death in April 2012, I purchased the camera charm in his memory, and had it engraved with his initials and a heart. I wear this camera charm on an all-silver bracelet with my Pandora timebead.

All-silver bracelet with the timebead with a mother-of-pearl face

I usually stack the timebead bracelet with a colourful bracelet and a matching leather or cord.

The camera charm reminds me to "pursue my passions" - one of which is photography; another, of course, is Pandora.