So....

how are you doing? me too.

Blogfire Blitz Cozy to Just Imagine Crafts

As the first snow fell this morning here in Jackson I was thinking about ways to feel cozy. Food comes to mind and I think about things like long simmering soups and stews on the stove or in the crockpot. What is cozier that a crackling fire in the fireplace and a soft chair, a cup of tea and a good book? Sound good to you? If so you might consider adding one thing to this picture and I have it in my shop.

This shawl is so soft and warm it will keep any fall or winter from your back, neck or shoulders. Since this post is part of a Blogfire Blitz I encourage you to check out the next blog that is part of the blitz. Just Imagine Crafts has a charming shop on Artfire that features among other things collars and leashes for your canine fur babies.

Is your dog a rockstar?

It seems such a silly thing but I found out an old family story was a bit off. I was told that the night I was born the doctor took a break from waiting for me to arrive, went home, watched an episode of Gunsmoke, came back and delivered me. The part that is a bit off is that I was born in June and the show, Gunsmoke, did not start its first season until September. I wonder what he did watch?

PS I am around and still figuring out whether to try and catch up here from the summer or just consider myself starting over. I do have some summer memories I would like to share here if only for myself.

Today the father of Blue Grass, Bill Monroe would have been 100. I love this song!

My Latest Handmade News

First of all I want to say thanks to Pallas. I won her blog giveaway. The little quiltie is perfect in my guest bedroom where I show off quilts I have collected. In my opinion she put a great amount of charm in it with the photo, the fabrics and the trims.

In other news I sold a scarf last month. The customer was having some trouble with payments and because I now have an account with Squareup.com I was able to help him out. With no account required on Artfire we completed the sale offline and it all worked out.

One last bit to share, well two. First, I have been feeling a bit of guilt about not being one of those bloggers that cheerfully chats every day. I just can't do it and the more behind I perceive myself to be the worse and longer I procrastinate doing anything at all. New schedule for blog posts here is once a week on Thursdays.


So until next week I hope you all stay cozy.

What a surprise!

 

Yes, yes, I know, it has been more than a month since I last posted. I had a fun and busy July that I will catch up on another day. 

I had to share what happened just off my back porch this morning. As I was pouring a second cup of coffee I heard one of those "what the heck?" sounds. Looking out the kitchen window I saw a hot air balloon coming down in the field just over my back fence. The sound I heard was the burner going off and on.

I have no idea what the problem was but the balloon was deflated, loaded on a truck and the passengers were put in a van and within half an hour they were all gone. I was told the intention was to float along the Snake River which is fairly close to my house but evidently it did not work out that way.

The plan for blogging, yes I always make plans, is to reduce my guilt over not posting several times a week by committing to post something here every Wednesday. I think I can keep with that and quit beating myself for not posting more.

Until next week......

In the morning

Jim got us a Netflix account which I am loving. I have discovered that is is not a good thing to be trying to count on a row of lace while watching a movie though. I have a row that needs to be undone. I will do that in the morning when the light is better so I don't mess it up.

The Weight of All Things by Sandra Benitez

The Weight of All Things written by Sandra Benitez was one of the books I picked up at the library book sale last month and it was a good choice. I really don't know much about the conflicts that have happened in Central America. This book showed me some of the very human part of that through the eyes of a nine year old boy in El Salvador. Nicolas relies on his faith in the Virgin Mary and the constant love of his grandfather to get through it all.

Two New Headbands

I finally spent an afternoon with the camera taking some pictures of headbands. It always takes awhile to get pictures done. I mean, I like my headbands, I am proud of them, but really how many ways can you take a picture of them?

Next comes writing descriptions, thinking of tags, listing the size information and materials. Some times it is hard to make your items fresh and inviting. It can be tough to sell online since your potential buyer can't touch the item or try it on but I try.

Here they are and there are more to come. I have about six more styles made and ready to go. I have split the number I made between my Artfire and Zibbet shops.

Update - I have left my Artfire shop go. As of this writing o 3/5/2013 all my things are being moved to Etsy.

Featured on a Friday Julie Magers Soulen Photography

Julie Magers Soulen is a photographer I have watched for awhile now. I am a fan on Facebook and follow her blog. You can find her work in a shop on Etsy as well as one on Artfire.

From her bio page on Artfire you get hints of the type of person and photographer she is.

Since I moved to Colorado more than 20 years ago, I have been an avid outdoors enthusiast. In the late 90s we moved to a solar powered off-grid home and I love the independence. I also love being outdoors hiking in the surrounding forest with my two dogs. My love of nature is reflected in my photography. I find nature to be inspiring in all its many forms.

I was thinking about the birds around my house today. For some silly reason I love watching birds. It is something that really started when we lived in Arizona. In fact if you see me online anywhere my avatar is a bird that I took a picture of in my backyard one day. He (I think) was a bold little guy that chirped at me as I sat on the patio.

Back to Julie and why I am featuring her today. Since moving to Wyoming I got to see the beautiful and boldly colored mountain bluebird. Guess who else has seen and photographed them too? Yes, Julie. She has several different prints in her shop and I love them all. What do you think?

If you find these birds as charming as I do you may want to check out her shop (Click here.) for some full sized prints. While you are there look around and she what else she has to offer.

sun and moon

I remember a song with the line "I got the sun in the morning and the moon at night."

It's true I have exactly that. See what I mean.

Finished another book.

I signed up for an account at GoodReads. Poking around I found a 2011 Challenge. I set a goal for myself of reading 50 books this year and since I started late I am a bit behind but I think I can make my goal by the end of the year.

I just finished reading Celine Dion's autobiography, Celine Dion:My Story, My Dream. I found the story of a woman who does not do anything half way in her singing or her love of husband, son and family. I wouldn't say she is a great author but I do feel, as in all she seems to do, she wrote from the heart.

I couldn't leave this post without sharing the song so many of us link to her from one of the best movies of all time, Titanic.

A Quiet Day

Yesterday was my birthday. It was a quiet one around here but it was nice. I had a couple phone calls and some birthday wishes from family and friends on Facebook. Even though DH was on a business trip I had some company. The morning was peaceful and beautiful and I posted some pictures on it on an album on Facebook. You can see that by clicking here.

Later in the day the elk came close to the house again so I spent more time with the camera in the sunshine. There are always birds around too. I see a lot of crows and magpies. Earlier in the spring I had a lot of robins around the house hunting for worms in the bark of the flower beds and around the trees. I have seen some mountain bluebirds too but these white ones, which are new to me, were chirping at me from the roof while I sat on the deck. I don't know what they are but if you do leave a comment please as I would love to know.

As I come out of the house I try to move slow and quiet so I don't spook the animals. Getting pictures of the south end of a running elk is not what I want. Being careful I still get looked over. When I see I am getting some attention I freeze so that I don't appear to be any kind of threat.

After awhile they seem to relax and just watch me now and then while they browse or lay down wait to get hungry again. You can see fast growing antlers covered in velvet on the males. What I keep hoping to spot are babies but they either hide them so well in the grasses I have not spotted any or there are no babies in the groups around our house even though a good part of the groups are female.

I suppose at every party, not that I go to many, there is always the rowdy, fun loving guest and I had one of those too. Below you see this elk splashing in the water. He did this for a couple minutes reminding me of a little boy jumping in puddles. He stopped and jumped over the fence into the field when a pickup truck drove by.

So I am 56 now. When I was a silly teenager folks in their 50's seemed to old and I guess that is normal. But 56 don't feel so bad and I suppose there are alternatives that are not so fun to think about.

eat pray love

I am sure there are a whole lot of people who loved this book. Some parts of it probably made a great movie but I don't know since I have not seen it.

My own opinion is that by the end of it I really didn't can what she ate, who she prayed to or why or who she found to love, but as I said that is just my opinion.

What is yours?

Amusing and a Question

I find it very amusing that my husband, who has an attitude lately of so what more elk, woke me at 6 am yesterday to see two males with velvety antlers parade through our yard.

Another thought or question for tea drinkers. Do you find that the first cup from a freshly made pot of tea always tastes the best?

Once Upon A Time

Once upon a time, in the winter of 1997 actually, a young lady was born. Her parents were in a all things cowboy loving stage of life and named her after a little town in Wyoming. That town is Kaycee, Wyoming.

I had a chance to visit this little place not long ago. There is not much to it but charm. You will find a school.

There was a diner that had some great soup and sandwiches for lunch. Almost everything on main street is in an old west style with lots of wood for buildings and signs, even on the post office.

The town of Kaycee is getting ready for a big event on the 18th of June. The town will be hosting the first annual Chris LeDoux Days. This event is to celebrate the opening of a memorial park and includes some rodeo type events as well as a street dance. The park is finished and all dressed up with flowers, a wagon, and a statue.

To learn more about this little bit of Wyoming you can visit the Chamber of Commerce website.

Moose and Art

We saw quite a few animals not far from our home over the weekend. I told you all about a moose on my other blog in this post. In thinking about that I wondered how artists might be using moose in their work on Zibbet where I have a shop, a bit inactive right now but my shop nevertheless.

I came across a shop that I thought was amazing so I wanted to share it with you here. The shop is Quilling by Sandra White. The moose you see above is in her shop. She also does flowers, Christmas ornaments and scenes that she calls window boxes. When you go check out her shop make sure and take a look at some of her birds too. They are so charming!

Moose and a Surprise

I said yesterday I had some things to share about my weekend. Well here goes...

Jim and I attended the 52nd annual Spring Fling put on by the St. John's Hospital Auxiliary. The event was held in a lodge on Jackson Lake in Teton National Park. My outside pictures did not turn out so great because the days were rather cloudy and even snowy at times.

As we left home we had someone to wish us a good time.

All the way to the lodge you could see animals, mostly buffalo and elk. Where ever there were cars stopped to take pictures, and there were a lot since the visitors have started to arrive, I wanted to say,

"Take your pictures on the road folks but I have actually had those guys in my own backyard and how cool is that, huh?".

I can understand why they do it though. There is no place on earth like Jackson Hole. I am lucky to be here and I know that.

The Spring Fling was a fundraiser that included dinner, a dance and a silent auction. My surprise was that Jim bid on a necklace I liked and had the winning bid. I don't usually wear pieces this big but I love the colors and the wire work. The necklace was made by Bev Hoffman who works at St. John's Hospital.

Over the Weekend

Among other things that I will tell you about tomorrow I finished two books this weekend. I have been reading a lot lately. I have so much stuff knitted and crocheted to photograph and get online that I haven't wanted to start new projects lately.

Both of these were fast reads. The Keepers of the House won a Pulitzer Prize. It traced the life of a house and family in the South through several generations. It was not a slow moving southern story but an intense one of family and conflict. My other read was an entertaining thriller by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge. It was fun to get to the end of some chapters and think the story was done and the plot details all making sense and then another twist was put on the story. No spoilers here though. You just have to read these for yourself.

Finished The Lion's Game

I finished The Lion's Game last night. This was one of the books I picked up at the library book sale last week.

I have not read anything by Nelson DeMille before The Lion's Game. It was a good thriller. I don't want to give anything away here though. I understand there is a sequel to this book and I am going to look for it next time I go to the library.

I have started reading The Keepers of the House by Shirley Ann Grau which was another book sale find. This book won a Pulitzer Prize in 1965 and I am looking forward to the story.

Really?

Do these folks ever really get some one interested in this stuff?

Peace

My Name is Favour and Esther Palati Son/Daughter of Late Mr George Palati.We are From Liberia Our Father was killed by some rebels during the war Crisis in Liberia.So we ran to Ghana for our security.My consignment contains $14 million United States dollars and some quantity of gold,which I cannot specify.

After clearing the consignment from the Airport,Dr.Richard Kalusi(DIPLOMAT) called Mr.Womack Hardee to tell himthe description to is house for the delivery,but is House Helper answered the call and told Mr.Richard Kalusithat Mr.Womack Hardee hard a fatal car accident which lead to his death.

Please,my sister and I seek for you to stand as our Beneficiary/God Loving Parent to get in contact with the Diplomat so that he can deliver the Consignment to you.Please try and get back to me through email.

Thanks and God bless you
Favour and Esther Palati

I got this yesterday and just had to laugh. Oh yeah and I am not interested unless you tell me how much gold there is.....

Yesterday's Surprise

It was a quiet rainy day around here yesterday. In the late afternoon I was on the computer that has windows to the front of our house checking email, forums and reading blogs. That is what I do before I start fixing dinner and while waiting for Jim to get home from work. I heard the garage door and then my name. Actually he said "Homer". He calls me Homer and I call him George. Silly I know but back to what happened. He asked how long the buffalo had been in the backyard and I had no clue they were even there but there were about 8 of them. Of course I grabbed a camera. See-

After taking pictures we just watched. The buffalo slowly wandered across the street to another house that had some good strong scratching trees.

You know winter may be long here, very long in fact, spring may not exist and summer is short but where else on Earth will you ever see the beauty and animal life that is so common in Jackson Wyoming? I hope the newness and my sense of wonder about it all never wears off.

Saddles to Sushi

I went to the local library book sale last Friday. I picked up about a dozen books to share between Cindy and me. One of the first I finished reading was Saddles to Sushi. I liked some of the stories so much that I read them out loud to anyone I could get to stand still over the weekend. I may have been a bit of a pest.

The book is a collections of newspaper columns written by Mike Bressler in the character of Clyde Thornhill. Poor Clyde is surrounded by cowboys, granola and big money. He is a simple man who just wants a beer and a date.

Saddles to Sushi by Michael Bressler a.k.a. Clyde Thornhill

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Loved this book. It helped me see my new home town in a new way. For those who know me from Utah this is a bit like Robert Kirby for Jackson Hole. The author pokes fun at everybody including himself.



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