This is adorable

This little puppy by Jtnee is beyond adorable. Jtnee has been in my favorites a long time and I love checking this clay artist's shop from time to time to see what fabulous new creations have been added there. Another favorite of mine in this shop is the skeleton figures. They crack me up. Please check this shop and you will see what I mean.

Visually Stunning Item Shots on Etsy

One of the benefits of shopping on etsy is enjoying the imagery of the listings. I love the fact that I can be shopping for an item, such as a scarf, and be stopped in my tracks with a visual treat such as this:

This image is one of the shots of ecological artist's Cochineal Pink Scarf.

The colors are so bright and vivid within the shot and I love the chickens, Mr. tough guy rooster strutting his stuff with a hen in his wake. Looks like something out of a children's story. And all of this topped off by the hanging wisteria blossoms. Fabulous!!

Even Pneumonia can't slow him down

My little guy is such a trooper. I took him to the doctor last Thursday for his school physical. My thinking was that since he no longer was running a fever, he was on the tail end of the summer flu he had picked up. My hubby was also recovering from his bout with the same flu. Well, you can imagine how shocked I was when the doctor listened to his lungs and told me he had pneumonia and also an ear infection! Yikes! Poor little guy. We were all amazed that he was not complaining of any pain. So he has been on an antibiotic and seems to be doing much better, even though he wasn't doing so bad at the time. My mom guilt kicked in because I felt bad I did not realize how sick he was, but this kid is so hard to read. He is such a ham and so sweet even when he is sick. I shot some video of the two little ones playing ball on Monday. He is really feeling much better now, as you can see in the video. They totally crack me up.

Weekend in DC, Sickies & Job Interview

Well, as summer as winding down, I am looking more and more towards the arrival of fall. My oldest is off visiting her dad in North Carolina, and I miss her and am ready for her to be home. Also, the sickies have descended upon us, some horrible fever/aches/chest congestion thing that has had by son and hubby in a pretty pitiful state of existance. Luckily, hubby was not too sick this weekend to enjoy our trip to DC. We stayed at a really cool hotel in Arlington and enjoyed biking, hiking, dining and shopping in the Northern Virginia area.

Driving home Sunday, I got a call about a job I had applied for, they wanted me to interview Monday. With hubby being home sick, I was able to meet for the interview. It is a part time secretary job in my church. I think it is the perfect job for where I am at right now, but I wasn't really thinking of working so all of this is kind of sudden. I guess I am not going to worry about it until they offer me the job, then I will go with my gut. I think I am ready for a bit of a break, my nerves have been a bit on edge being with the kids all day, every day, so part time may be the perfect answer.

I have started a couple of new projects. With the cooler weather, I am feeling more like creating. I find having a three year old is a major road block on the crafting super highway. She is not like my other kids, very into everything and always grabbing and touching. I let her do her own crafts, but most of the time she ends up coloring herself or stuff around her. She is definitely my handful. Yes, a break may be just what I need.

Poor, mis-treated blog

I have been a terrible blogger! The summer has been so hectic and recently I have been on a crafting hiatus, not really by my own choosing, just not feeling very inspired these days. Also, it does not help that my craft room is still turned upside down from some major redecorating and re-organizing that I can never seem to get finished.
As for the book Last Child in the Woods, I started it, and it is so good, but it brought me quickly back to my days as a Wildlife Management Major at Virginia Tech and my anti-textbook gene kicked in and I was immediately put to sleep. I don't know why things like dates and historical facts are an instant cure for my insomnia. But, I quickly remembered the many unfinished/dropped college classes and decided to try the book again later.
Instead, I have read Redeeming Love (which was one of the best books I have read in a while) and Sundays at Tiffanys (which was great light reading for vacation).
I am feeling the summer burnout and am so ready for fall. I am hoping the recent cooling spell we have had will get my crafting juices flowing. Also, I have two kids getting ready to go back to school. I hope that will help... but, then again, I have just applied for a part time job at my church, so that may completely turn my world in another direction. I just wish decisions were easier for me.

Let's Read this Book

I have been dying to read this book and it is time for me to go ahead and buy it and get to reading. The website by the author, Richard Louv is jammed packed full of wonderful links and resources. I have heard so many wonderful things about this book.

So, who is going to join me? I think I am going to order my copy tonight.

I will let you know when I get it.

Resisting Urban Sprawl

Every minute, 2 acres of land is lost to urban sprawl.
I have titled this not fighting urban sprawl, but resisting urban sprawl because for many like us, being landowners, it is about the resisting of the temptation of the big bucks. All around my area, landowners are cashing in big, selling their fields for property development. We are talking profits that can range up beyond a million.
My dad farmed the land, and now that he is no longer with us, we rent the property to be farmed. But the profits from renting barely cover the cost of the taxes. I can not blame those who choose to sell, it is their right as landowners, they earned that right as United States Citizens. But is selling the right thing to do....
From 1982 to 1997, the US population grew 17%, but land development grew 47%
Many would say it is simple to decide, of course you do something like a conservation easement or sell your development rights... but a decision like that is a major decision, one that can not be undone. That can be like somebody handing you a check for 1 million and shaking your head no.
I do love this quote from The Progressive Farmer magazine, the March 2008 issue, where the gentleman was asked, after selling his rights to development in order to protect his farmland, if he was robbing his children of their future inheritance. His response: "I have the opportunity to farm this land because previous generations preserved it. What gives me the right to determine that this farm is not to be farmed by future generations?" Oh, I love that quote!!

Going Green for the Wrong Reasons

OK, I am pulling out my soap box, which usually means I am about to stick my foot in my mouth because I stink at speeches and usually say things in a way that they come out completely different than I mean. But I need to vent. I really appreciate the whole going green concept. I am especially fond of the shop local and buy handmade movements. But I am finding that there is a growing number of corporations who are trying to make a public statement by appearing to go green, but are they really?
What has spurred this rambling of thought, those gosh darn reusable shopping bags hanging in the checkout aisle at WalMart. Every time I see them with there "Plastic or Paper? Neither." slogan I feel a little mini throw up trying to happen. I totally understand some people may disagree with my reaction, but I honestly can't help it. Seeing those bags with WalMarts logos plastered all over them, like they are so environmentally conscious... ugh!! See, I live in a small town, and I know a lot of people look at those bags, and think, oh how wonderful, WalMart is trying to be environmentally friendly... whatever!!! It is all show. It is politics and advertising at it's finest. It is all about money.
People, please, please, please buy your shopping bags from somebody who hand makes them. I look around my small town and see what WalMart has done and it makes me sad.
Just one thing I read tonight I would like to share.... remember when you had to pay quite a bit of money for things like toasters and coffee makers, and they were simple machines without digital buttons and computer chips, and when they broke, you took them to the repair shop to fix them. Now, we buy these things yearly and they continually get tossed into the landfills. Things have changed so much, I think it is time to look back on things and find out how to live a little more simply and a little less wasteful. Cheaper is definitely not always better. Find a local fruit stand, or handcrafter and try to pick one thing that you can buy that is locally grown or made. And, the next time something breaks and it is simply thrown away, try to think of another way to create the same end result that will not result in a large hunk of plastic and metal ending up in a landfill in a year's time.
Do you feel like I am lecturing, I hope not. I am by no means living a simple, handmade life, but I am focusing on making steps, and even if they are small steps for me, they are going in the right direction.

These boots are made for.... all kinds of stuff

I am so in love with the leather from my old early 90's Nine West boots. It is gorgeous and soft. And for this reason, I just keep making all kinds of cool stuff with it. My latest was this beautiful amber ring.

Other items made from these boots are:

Earrings

More Earrings

Vintage Button Bracelet

Wallet

& More

I love reclaimed leather!

Busy weekend!

This weekend was a whirlwind of activity. I barely got a chance to visit my etsy site this weekend. Saturday started bright and early at 7:30 am in my hometown getting together with hundreds of volunteers through Operation Inasmuch. I have a few more pics at my flickr site. A bunch of community churches pitched in to volunteer time, money and effort to make a difference in our community. Everybody had assigned jobs and blue shirts could be seen from one end of the county to the other doing good for others. Our free clinic got fresh paint on the trim, the social services office got a fresh coat of paint, people's houses got painted and repaired, prayer shawls were knitted and it just keeps on and on. My job was to go around and capture these events on film. I do not have my memory card back but I did have a few pictures of the opening ceremony on my internal memory. Operation Inasmuch is based on this verse: "...Truly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me." Matthew 25:40

After I was done with my job, I went home and met up with the family and we headed to Pocahontas State Park for a bike ride and some outdoor fun. By the time I got home around 7:30pm, I was ready to pass out. But... my oldest daughter is turning 10 on Monday and her birthday party was planned for Sunday, after church. So, I pulled most of my supplies together and hoped I was ready for the next day.

We were like a whirlwind coming out of church today. But we were able to get everything else we needed, get to my Mom's and with the help of family and friends we celebrated and decorated all at the same time. The party was fabulous. I once again was reminded how blessed I am with the people I am surrounded by. My daughter had a great time and by the time we got home this evening I was ready to pass out in the bed... which I did while everybody watched the new Alvin and the Chipmunks movie.

Shew! I am glad Monday is coming... I need a break from my weekend.

Hope all of you had a nice weekend too.