Harvest Hankerings

Finding time to post has been kind of tough lately, I have been picking up more subbing jobs and real estate tasks and there is always lots to do to help hubby with his work. Spending more time indoors means I am turning more time to my kitchen. After picking apples last weekend with my daughter, I turned our efforts into my favorite dessert, apple pie. I am including a tutorial of how my mom taught me, and now I hope to pass it on to my daughter.

I have been busy making stuff for a harvest show benefitting our Early Childhood Association, so I decided to put my crafts together with 3 other friends, we are calling our little group, "It Takes a Village". I know it is not original, but we have more than one reason to call ourselves this. We each have special needs children, we try to help each other out with life's little challenges, and we all attend the same church, and have over the years volunteered our time to others in similar circumstances. We plan to donate a small percentage of our sales to the work of special needs groups at our church.

Been busy making stuff for my etsy site too; though don't know if they are being seen by anyone? Times are tough for everyone, I know I am not shopping for much for the holiday, knowing that it will have to be handmade, by me. So I have been searching the internet for good ideas, the hardest ones to make for our the boys and men. Anyone have some easy, inexpensive ideas for crafting for the guys that would be a gift they'd actually enjoy? Post your ideas, here and I have a flower pin/band or clip for the winner, to be drawn by next Friday, Nov 7th, 9pm. Post a comment, even if you don't have any brainy ideas, ok?

Last topic I wanted to share some of my "collections". I try to limit my hoarding to groups of things, here are a few pics of them. What kinds of stuff do you hoard, and why? Post a comment here also if you have a pic or a category to share. I think it is amazing how these little collections take over, but kind if in a sentimental way, right?

I have more, this is just part one, of stuff!

Lighthouses in Life

It was the weekend, and another night on our boat and Halloweekends at Cedar Point. I couldn't pass up the Marblehead Lighthouse Festival, and Craft Fair at Lakeside, Marblehead on a beautiful Saturday. I need to balance the intensity of amusement park lines and rides with something more bucolic and restful. I got my wish! Pictured are my daughter and friend Sara enjoying the sights. We met some lovely people and enjoyed a great pizza lunch at Sloopy's. We left my hubby to puttering around the boat, so he could get something done.

Lakeside, Ohio is a unique place, a collection of turn of the century cottages and shops that started out as a Methodist Summer Camp. Today, many families return every year to vacation together, in a low tech environment. My best friend from high school's family still goes there every summer. They come from all over the country to hang together. Well it was a beautiful day to get some sunshine and to peruse the crafts. I gave the etsy address to two ladies who were selling dog jackets, something I thought of doing, if I could make it worth my while. I urged them to check out etsy.com, they said they would.

Lighthouses have been pivotal in my life, named our real estate company Lighthouse Realty, met my hubby in a park with a lighthouse. Always loved the bible passage, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your works and glorify God in heaven." I think this was our class motto as well at my Lutheran parochial school. Lately, I have been traveling down memory lane, remembering my mom, who has been gone almost 20 years, lost to breast cancer. I have kept her smiling pic on my refrigerator, since the day she was diagnosed. She is a reminder of the beacon of light her faith was to her, and now, as her daughter, I must keep the light shining. I know it is my duty to shine the way for my kids too. That is the hardest job of all. But so worth it. Well, I got all serious on this blog, but it it cathartic.

Today I attended a family baby shower, and I made my gifts, after seeing similar items on an etsy shop. (I love how inspired I get checking out what people make!) Here is a pic of what I made for my niece who is expecting in December. An etsian calls the loopy blanket, Hug and Tug, it was a big hit! I might try making more in the future, easy, but fun stuff. Check out my site, a few new items have been added, the4rs.etsy.com I have some great boat pics, for another day...as we say adios to Indian summer!

Crazy for Crazylilcraft

What do you want to cozy contest, garnered a winner. Congrats to Karen of Crazylilcraft! I put each entry (post) into my bowl, and had my daughter Katerina (Kate) pull a winner. Karen Meyers name came out on top. She suggested putting a zipper on the top of the cozy to make it into a clutch! Great idea, it just might end up being recycled again into a purse. Thanks to you all, Karen, you won a gift certificate for any item in my etsy shop or any future item. Convo me or send me an email to redeem! Thanks again, to everyone, I had fun, and I am making lots of great friends!

The Winners?

Birthday treats for daughter(shhh, surprise)

Hi, I will announce the winner of my gift coupon after I return from a benefit for our schools, hopefully it won't be late, it is a school night after all! Still time to enter more ideas, for more entries, thanks to all who have posted so creatively! Spread the word, I will draw around 9:00...!

Follow?

Cozy Contest closes by 6:00 pm on October 5th. Enter as many times as you wish, I will put all the names and their suggestions in a hat, and pull one for the $5.00 coupon on anything in my shop or in the future!

Quick posting for newbie bloggers like myself. A fun option you can offer your visitors allows them to follow your blog, and post that they are following you. This tidbit from the Blogger People: "A few posts ago we let you know about Blogger Following. The feature lets readers publicly subscribe to your blog (so you know who's reading) and adds a Reading List to your Blogger Dashboard so readers can stay updated with the blogs they follow.Now it's available to all users in English. We'll keep you updated about when we launch it in Blogger's other languages.To learn more about Following, read the Blogger Buzz Post or the Google Blog Post." I would love to have you be a follower, just click and join me on my adventures!

I don't know if I am totally up to speed on bloggin, but I sure love Google Reader. I use it every day, it saves time, and sorts out what I want to read. I use the Google Shared Calendar with my hubby, so we both know what the other one is doing, and the kids' schedules. It sure helps us stay organized. I put my part time work schedule there, soccer games, etc, and it comes up like a home page with my blogs, weather, and favorite sites. If you haven't used this feature yet, try it!

Meanwhile, I cranked out my second tote, "Heart Cats", that I am putting up for sale on my http://the4rs.etsy.com site. I love marrying doilies with whimsey and practicality. Big words for fun! More later...