By clicking on the picture above you'll be able to view a brief on the book that will hopefully be published late 2016; it's a documentary based on a true story... by Anne Agius (Dyer-Gelicrisio)
THE BEADS
The items that are available for sale, as seen on this website (http://pikkedwithlove.wix.com/olive-rosarybeads) are all handcrafted and created by © Anne Agius (Dyer-Gelicrisio) ©; who is Australian and currently lives in Malta, holding dual passports and who is operating this project alone; as a business, 'pikkedwithlove' is not yet registered because it is brand new and requires funding, however the intention to register is there.
It all started when I walking around hungry again in the main streets of Valletta (Malta) while enduring homelessness, as a result of ceasing co-habitation from my husband who subjected me to family violence; and a system, which employed him failed me!
I noticed from a far distance a cute girl attending a souvenir store and decided to approach her with the intention to socialize – because as a homeless person, unless you are happy to commit crime (which I am not), you have no friends.
I introduced myself and we soon got talking about religion, a core strength in this small minded
community.
In the midst of a very friendly chat she told that she makes Rosary Beads and I immediately took an interest because the 'Holy Rosary' Prayers is a daily practice of mine and after experiencing the
'opening of the doors', is very much close to my heart.
I ended the conversation when a customer required her assistance and in order not to be in the way of the purchasing customer, I walked away in the opposite direction leaving the city center.
The idea was circling my mind and I could feel the excitement building but I had no income and therefore, could not possibly fund the purchase of such beads that are required to make the Rosary Beads – food is a necessity and I will ask for that on good will but craft beads are a luxury when you are homeless and therefore, I wasn't about to ask for that.
As I was walking along the side of the road out of Valletta, I was wrecking my brain trying to figure out how on earth was I going to fund these beads and decided to resort to a natural resource that is readily available in Malta and FREE OF CHARGE. I occasionally stopped to pick seeds from flowers and trees at random, testing out their strength and durability but nothing sufficed. Then I looked up and mumbling to myself I said, 'please God, help me find something that's for free to make these beads, I need a natural resource that I can work with, independent of tools and people to supply them...' and then I stopped without thinking in front of this large olive tree (boasting ripe olives) to tie my shoelaces which came undone nearly tripping me over in front of passing traffic, and when I stood back up I looked up and noticed what was standing right in-front of me. 'OMG, THANK YOU GOD, THANK YOU, I LOVE YOU', I said out loud jumping up and down for joy as if I had just won the lottery. I dropped to my knees and kissed the ground three times and then looking up to the heavens among the clear blue sky I yelled out, 'God Bless Malta', in the presence of passing pedestrians who judging by the look on their faces, all thought was loosing my head. One of them told me to get off the ground and I replied with, 'Don't you know this land is Blessed by the Lord, it's an honor to kiss the very soil he touched!'
I couldn't wait to pick them but decided to hold off until I could figure out how on earth I was going
to find the tools (free of charge) to put a hole in the middle of the core of these beautiful ripe olives
grown on Maltese soil that God had blessed.
I took one with me as a sample and stripped it back to the core, juggling the pip from one finger to
another for an entire day trying to figure out how I was going to put a hole in the middle of it.
Then I put it in my mouth and bit it to test how hard the core actually is and nearly broke my tooth so I kept walking preoccupied with this problem I couldn't wait to solve.
I stopped at the entrance way of garage doors that were open to ask the men/women working inside if they could kindly assist me to drill a hole through the middle of the olive pip to test the possibility of truing the core into beads to make Jewelry native to Malta and they all thought I was crazy whispering the word 'mignuna' among themselves (which means crazy woman in Maltese).
One man who really liked the idea and loved Australian's, did try to use a very fine drill piece to assist me but the vibration of the drill proved too much for the core, which shattered in his hands.
Then I figured that to soften the core, I have to burn it a little and picked up a lighter from the ground to test this theory but it was discoloring the beautiful natural fawn color of the core of the olive, so I dumped that idea.
Continuing on my mission, I then borrowed a kitchen knife and finely cut into the top end to create a groove for threading; and I was able to push out a hole with a very thin metal wire that I picked up
from the ground of an abandoned construction site. There was only one thing left to do, thread it.
I was given waxed string by a very kind man operating a work shop in Msida, fixing 'Queen Anne'
Furniture; and shorty after found broken car windscreen wipers dumped on the ground, which I
stripped to separate the metal piece found in the middle, which has a hook at the end to catch the sting and pull it through the hole.
...AND THE CREATION OF BEADS FROM NATIVE OLIVE TREES WAS BORN.
THE HAIR TREATMENT
As I was pipping the olives (after spending hours carefully picking them according to their size and
maturity), I ran my hands through my hair on a very windy day to keep my fringe off my face and
noticed how it all of a sudden stayed put. The natural oil of the olives hardened keeping my hair in
place.
After washing it all off, I noticed my hair was soft and conditioned, despite using ordinary liquid hand soap from a public toilet dispenser, as I could not afford shampoo and therefore had not washed my hair in six months. So now I am offering the sale of this lovely natural resource, which is extracted while pipping the olives, smells refreshing and is pure in it's all it's glory.
THE ANTI-AGING FACE MASK
This is a very special blend of the flesh from the olives mixed with natural herbs, mainly Rosemary. It leaves your skin feeling soft and relaxed; no water needed, just wipe off and enjoy!
References:
Http://pickedwlove.wix.com/olive-rosarybeads
Http://onenation4nondiscr.wix.com/we-are-one
http://pikkedwithlove.wix.com/olive-rosarybeads
I LOVE OLIVES!