Happy Thanksgiving Canada

Yes - tomorrow is Thanksgiving in Canada.  Our boys are home for the weekend, so I cooked dinner yesterday, and we had a great day transplanting 46 small trees :)  Sometimes it's good to have boys! lol

All the fresh air yesterday made me tired, so I was in bed by 9pm, but that meant I was awake at 3:50am this morning!! Made 2 salads for lunch, now I'll go play with a little dog that is boarding here. Should be a good day :)

Hope everyone has an amazing Sunday & Thanksgiving!

Here is a little poem I got in an email from a fellow school bus driver.

TWAS THE NIGHT OF THANKSGIVING,
BUT I JUST COULDN'T SLEEP.
I TRIED COUNTING BACKWARDS,
I TRIED COUNTING SHEEP.

THE LEFTOVERS BECKONED -
THE DARK MEAT AND WHITE,
BUT I FOUGHT THE TEMPTATION
WITH ALL OF MY MIGHT.

TOSSING AND TURNING WITH ANTICIPATION,
THE THOUGHT OF A SNACK BECAME INFATUATION.
SO, I RACED TO THE KITCHEN FLUNG OPEN THE DOOR,
AND GAZED AT THE FRIDGE, FULL OF GOODIES GALORE.
GOBBLED UP TURKEY AND BUTTERED POTATOES,
PICKLES AND CARROTS, BEANS AND TOMATOES.

I FELT MYSELF SWELLING SO PLUMP AND SO ROUND,
'TIL ALL OF A SUDDEN, I ROSE OFF THE GROUND.
I CRASHED THROUGH THE CEILING, FLOATING INTO THE SKY,
WITH A MOUTHFUL OF PUDDING AND A HANDFUL OF PIE.
BUT, I MANAGED TO YELL AS I SOARED PAST THE TREES....
HAPPY EATING TO ALL - PASS THE CRANBERRIES, PLEASE.

MAY YOUR STUFFING BE TASTY,
MAY YOUR TURKEY BE PLUMP.
MAY YOUR POTATOES 'N GRAVY HAVE NARY A LUMP.
MAY YOUR YAMS BE DELICIOUS.
MAY YOUR PIES TAKE THE PRIZE,
MAY YOUR THANKSGIVING DINNER STAY OFF OF YOUR THIGHS!!

I am WAY to busy!

I think I've stretched myself a bit thin.....
Started a new team on Etsy in July, and just started a Blog for the team last week. Have way to much going on...


I have managed to make a few new Christmas ornaments and coasters for my shop:




Oh well. Of course this means that I don't have time to blog on my own blog!! Shame on me!!


Here are some funny signs a friend sent me in an email!!

How a Horse's A$$ Controls the world

Who Knew?? All makes sense in the end as you will clearly see

Railroad tracks.
The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number.

Why was that gauge used?

Because that's the way they built them in England , and English expatriates designed the US railroads.

Why did the English build them like that?

Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and that's the gauge they used.

Why did 'they' use that gauge then?

Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they had used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing.

Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing?

Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would break on some of the old, long distance roads in England , because that's the spacing of the wheel ruts.

So who built those old rutted roads?

Imperial Rome built the first long distance roads in Europe (including England ) for their legions. Those roads have been used ever since.

And the ruts in the roads?

Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagon wheels.

Since the chariots were made for Imperial Rome , they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing. Therefore, the United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches is derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman war chariot. In other words, bureaucracies live forever.

So the next time you are handed a specification/procedure/process, and wonder, 'What horse's ass came up with this?' , you may be exactly right.

Imperial Roman army chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the rear ends of two war horses.

Now, the twist to the story:

When you see a Space Shuttle sitting on its launch pad, you will notice that there are two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank. These are solid rocket boosters, or SRBs. The SRBs are made by Thiokol at their factory in Utah .


The engineers who designed the SRBs would have preferred to make them a bit larger, but the SRBs had to be shipped by train from the factory to the launch site. The railroad line from the factory happens to run through a tunnel in the mountains, and the SRBs had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad track, as you now know, is about as wide as two horses' behinds.


So, a major Space Shuttle design feature of what is arguably the world's most advanced transportation system was determined over two thousand years ago by the width of a horse's ass. And you thought being a horse's ass wasn't important? 

So, Horse's Asses control almost everything...

...Explains a whole lot of things, doesn't it?

My Dining Room - almost done

I did remember to take photo's of my dining room before and after I painted it.  We aren't quite done yet.  There will be a "chair rail" (oak) running around the room - as soon as hubby cuts the pieces, they get stained and installed.

I didn't realize that the room was so dark!  It was hard to take good photo's.  

Hubby didn't know about the red :)  It's call "barn" and the top is "sunbeam", not yellow, but more of an ivory color.  We are slowly getting used to it :)

I will take photo's once we have all the oak up, the oak shelves back above the windows and new blinds.

The Kitchen is next!  oh dear....

Insults Before 4-letter words

These glorious insults are from an era before the English language got boiled down to 4-letter words..

·A member of Parliament to Disraeli: "Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease."
·"That depends, Sir," said Disraeli, "whether I embrace your policies or your mistress."

·"He had delusions of adequacy." - Walter Kerr

·"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." - Winston Churchill

·"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure." Clarence Darrow

·"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary." - William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway).

·"Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it." - Moses Hadas

·"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it." - Mark Twain

·"He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends.." - Oscar Wilde

·"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend, if you have one." - George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill
·"Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second ... if there is one." - Winston Churchill, in response.

·"I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here." - Stephen Bishop

·"He is a self-made man and worships his creator." - John Bright

·"I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial." - Irvin S. Cobb

·"He is not only dull himself; he is the cause of dullness in others." - Samuel Johnson

·"He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up." - Paul Keating

·"In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily." - Charles, Count Talleyrand

·"He loves nature in spite of what it did to him." - Forrest Tucker

·"Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?" - Mark Twain

·"His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork." - Mae West

·"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go." - Oscar Wilde

·"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

·"He has Van Gogh's ear for music." - Billy Wilder

·"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it." - Groucho Marx

Pretties for a Little One

Do I wish I had grandchildren!! Ok - maybe not right now, the boys need to grow up a bit first :)  But if I did have grandchildren - bebbyjumpers would be really hard to resist! Love hand knit baby and childrens clothes!

Bebby is offering an amazing COUPON CODE for all my readers :)

BEBBYBLOG10 ~ to receive 10% discount from any purchase made from her shop, valid for 14 days! This might be a good time to start Christmas Shopping!!

I live in a ramshackled, tumble ~ down house in the south of England, near the sea and in the countryside, in a small village surrounded by fields of sheep, horses and cows, and hedgerows full of pretty flowers and fruits.

I begin everyday with a 4 mile trek through the fields with my faithful friend whatever the weather. Then I spend my morning working on the computer with a cup of coffee and a piece of cake.

My shop name came about when my sister's little boy who was 2 years old at the time, said "Bebbyjumpers" when he was helping to open a parcel of jumpers which I had sent to them in Australia. I have always been known as Bebby to my younger sisters and their children have called me Auntie Bebby. I guess I started my little shop because I wanted a wider market for my sweaters and Etsy was recommended by someone who recognised my talent at a local craft fair and realised I wasn't getting the recognition that I wanted. I do not consider this to be a business but I do enjoy knitting as a hobby and get great pleasure knowing someone else likes what I produce enough to want to buy and own it, to wear themselves, or to give away as a gift.

The 5 things that I want people to think when they see any of my products are:

~ the beauty of the finished product and how the colours of the yarn, stitches and buttons, if used, blend to create a garment that someone wants to snuggle into.

~ the professionalism of the finished garment which involves great attention to all detail throughout it's creation, and NO ghastly mistakes in the knitting which is often passed off by others as "part and parcel of home~made".

~ the originality of the finished garment as I have designed many of my sweaters myself.

~ that with the same care that I have used in producing the garment, it can be maintained in it's original condition for many years and give much pleasure to other wearers over the years.

~ the pleasure and joy of owning a Bebbyjumper of their own and I know many of my customers (both locally and from Etsy) get great delight seeing their little ones in a Bebbyjumper.

I just love yarns of all colours, particularly soft textures and bright colours, and often know immediately what I want to knit and how the finished garment will look. I keep all my treasured yarns in a room under lock and key......Sometimes I see buttons in a discarded button box and feel a huge urge to knit "just the right garment" to give those buttons a new life!!

My favourite knits in my shop are the arans that I design and produce in bright colours for children, which all have traditional touches and modern features. I tend to use acrylic yarn because it is very child friendly and can withstand machine washing and drying, but I will knit custom orders using other yarns. One of my favourites is this little sweater which I designed and won a 1st prize with at my local horticultural show in August 2011 ~ http://www.etsy.com/listing/77173760/childs-handknit-yellow-aran-sweater-with

I have other sweaters in my shop using this design which I call My Pearl Collection and was created when a friend was telling me how her aunt Pearl used to knit shapeless sweaters for the family and was always dropping and making stitches, so I have created this design using her name and skills ~ dropping and making stitches but still maintaining a beautiful pattern involving pearly things.

My favourite pastime is sitting in my garden watching my veggies growing and knitting. So peaceful. When I am not knitting, I enjoy making jams and chutneys which I sell at craft fairs, alongside my jumpers.

I can be found on ~
Etsy ~ www.etsy.com/shop/bebbyjumpers?ref=si_shop
Facebook ~ www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002527789071
but my Facebook page is more fun and up to date ~ www.facebook.com/pages/Bebbyjumpers/187799704613467
Twitter ~ twitter.com/#!/bebbyjumpers

"WARSHING" CLOTHES RECIPE

Never thought of a "washer" in this light before..what a blessing!

"Warshing Clothes Recipe" -- imagine having a recipe for this ! ! !

Years ago an Alabama grandmother gave the new bride the following recipe. This is an exact copy as written and found in an old scrapbook - with spelling errors and all.

WARSHING CLOTHES

Build fire in backyard to heat kettle of rain water. Set tubs so smoke wont blow in eyes if wind is pert. Shave one hole cake of lie soap in boilin water.

Sort things, make 3 piles

1 pile white,

1 pile colored,

1 pile work britches and rags.

To make starch, stir flour in cool water to smooth, then thin down with boiling water.

Take white things, rub dirty spots on board, scrub hard, and boil, then rub colored don't boil just wrench and starch.

Take things out of kettle with broom stick handle, then wrench, and starch.

Hang old rags on fence.

Spread tea towels on grass.

Pore wrench water in flower bed. Scrub porch with hot soapy water.

Turn tubs upside down.

Go put on clean dress, smooth hair with hair combs.. Brew cup of tea, sit and rock a spell and count your blessings.

================================================

Paste this over your washer and dryer Next time when you think things are bleak, read it again, kiss that washing machine and dryer, and give thanks.. First thing each morning you should run and hug your washer and dryer, also your toilet---those two-holers used to get mighty cold!

For you non-southerners - wrench means, rinse :)

Shop Hop & Treasure Hunt

Sign up here to join the Shop Hop & Treasure Hunt!

The "Hunt" will run from Oct 23-29, with Prizes drawn for on the 30th.

Rules for the "HUNT" will be posted on the 23rd early in the morning.  But basically people will be asked to look through the shops for certain things including the graphic below, come back here with the links to the items they have found, and then be entered to win prizes. There will be extra entries and special gifts for those who make purchases.

To Join as a Shop:

Add a link to an item in your shop, post your shop name in the "title" spot.

Sometime before October 22nd, please grab the following graphic and add it to one of your item listings:

** It must be on the first 3 pages of your shop

** Add it as the 2nd or 3rd photo of the listing.

Please send me a convo with the link to the listing with the graphic ... if I don't hear from you with a link, your shop will be removed.

Check back here on October 23 for the Shop Hop Rules to win prizes.

Promote Promote Promote!!

It's Ba-ack!

Today was the first day of school - so I'm back to work :(
Can't say that I missed it this summer.

Only had grades 4-9 on the bus today, so at least it was nice and quiet :)


I could have used another month or so. Didn't get the diningroom and kitchen painted yet - it's just been WAY to hot, and it's hot all week again.


When will fall arrive and cooler temps?

This Dude is NUTS!!

Luke sent us the link to this video - would you do this?

What a busy Month!!

Why are they called summer HOLIDAYS?

August was crazy busy for me.

* Canning:

17 quart jars of sweet cucumber relish

82 quart jars and 2 half gallon jars of apple sauce

corn

cut apples for the freezer

* Mowing grass - takes between 3.5 and 4 hours to mow everything, though since we haven't had any substantial rains since June - I don't think I'll have to mow for a while now.

* Just doing everything else that needs to be done around the yard and house.

Did get some crocheting done in the evenings as hubby and I bond while watching TV :)

Found these really cute ornaments to crochet:

Put one set in my Etsy shop and I'm going to also do them for the kids on my school bus this year. They don't take very long to make, can easily do a few in the evening.

Hopefully now I will have a little time each day to start painting some Christmas ornaments. Yes - it's time to start thinking about Christmas :) I'm almost 1/2 done my shopping! Hubby will be the hardest one to buy for... he really needs to start making a "wish list".

Hope everyone has had a wonderful and RELAXING summer holidays :)

Going to start blogging on a regular basis again - I hope...

I'm still alive :)

This week has been a zoo!
Trying to catch up on so many things. It finally rained this morning! WE HAVE PUDDLES! It's so dry here that the puddles will be gone in no time. My garden took a beating this morning with the thunderstorm - way to much wind, but I think the corn will survive!


Have you ever crocheted with t-shirt yarn? I've purchased a bunch of colors and I'm going to crochet a rug for my kitchen.

Now all I have to decide is what order to do the colors!


I've also been busy crocheting for charity - have another box full ready to go :) The rolls are a hat and scarf set. There are also 2 afghans under all the scarf sets.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!! Can you believe it's August already?

Beautiful Unique Jewelry

I'm not a girly girl, can't wear jewelry unless it's 14K gold, but I still love & appreciate beautiful jewelry. Dragonfly Creations is a wonderful shop on Etsy. It's so nice to see a unique shop :) Here is a bit about Cara and her jewelry.

I am from Long Beach, CA... and currently live in Seal Beach, Ca

I am a Resource Specialist for LBUSD when I'm not creating things. I also love hiking, playing with my dogs, spending time with my boy friend, family and friends. I enjoy reading, traveling and photography.

I started my business because people were always asking me to make them jewelry, and I luv to do it <3 When people see my jewelry, I want them to think: simple, unique, delicate, original and classic. Supply addictions: shells, beads, wire [I luv turquoise, shells on the beach, antique beads, faceted stones] The wrapped rings { www.etsy.com/listing/78582431/aquamarine-dream} have been my favorite things to make recently. I also luv making the nursing bracelets {www.etsy.com/listing/23527787/for-new-moms-nursing-bracelet-or}

I stay motivated by making/ creating something daily (this is my goal. doesn't always happen since life has different plans then I do)

My shop name is my first name and old last name. (my banner says dragonfly Creations) I actually am in need of moving my shop. In the future I will go by something else. Dragonfly Creations is my initial jewelry lines name, but realized very quickly it wasn't very original.

Advice: continue to create new things. get feedback from friends, listen to them and create a community online with other Etsy members. Also, try to get involved outside of Etsy, so you down micromanage your shop and get too obsessed.

My Favorite Commercial

Mango Smoothie

We have a cooking show up here - Best Recipes, that plays every day. The host is pretty annoying - WAY WAY to perky for me... but she has some really great recipes sometimes.


I've never tried a mango before (other than in a cooler), but saw her make this smoothie the other day and went mango shopping. It's really really good!!

MANGO SMOOTHIE

2 mangoes

1 bananas

1 cup milk

1 cup vanilla yogurt

1 cup ice cubes

Peel mangoes and cut into cubes; place in blender. Peel banana and break into chunks; add to blender. Add milk, yogurt and ice; blend until smooth.

I do 1/2 a recipe - since I'm the only one who likes smoothies. I would suggest that you blend the mango first quite well so the smoothie doesn't have quite as much pulp - unless you like pulp.


Going to try it with Strawberries instead of the mango - that would be really yummy too!

Is it Hot Enough for You?

I think I'm Addiceted to Yarn

Happened to be in Wally World a couple of weeks ago and purchased some yarn to make 2 afghans for charity. The red & black will hopefully look like THIS, and the other 4 colors will be a stripped afghan. May change my mind yet - but we'll see :) I'll make scarf/hat sets with whatever is left.

Found some brand new Phentex at the local thrift shop. Decided to try my hand at slippers. It's great for slippers, but not my favorite yarn to work with. Wouldn't go out a buy it again, unless of course it was this cheap :) The colors are red, yellow, pink and green. Made one pair of slippers so far:

Then I went on kijiji to see if I could find someone selling yarn, and found 2 people! Purchased 9 big balls from one lady for about a 1/3 of the cost elsewhere (there were also two balls of Ivory and 3 balls of White - already used them):

The other lady had her living room FULL of tubs of yarn she had collected over the last 2 years since her husband passed away. She said it had been to fill the void, however, now she was moving to a much smaller house and couldn't take it all with her. This is what I purchased from her:

I think I will be busy for a while :)

Plant a Little Sunshine

I have quite a few cards from ViveLaFranceDesign. They are all so beautiful, but I think I like the ones with flowers best :)


When I saw the card featured in the #1 spot - I just had to make a treasury. It's so bright and cheery! Hope this adds a little Sunshine to your day :)

Grandma Joke :)

Three old mischievous Grandmas
were sitting on a bench outside a Nursing home.

About then an old Grandpa walked

by, and one of the old Grandma's yelled out saying, 'We bet we can tell
exactly how old you are.'

The old man said, 'There's no way
you can guess it, you old fools.'

One of the old Grandmas said,
'Sure we can! Just drop your pants and under-shorts
and we can tell your exact age.'

Embarrassed just a little, but anxious to prove they couldn't do it, he
dropped his drawers.

The Grandmas asked him to first turn around a couple of times and to jump up and down several times.

Then they all piped up and said, 'You're 87 years old!

Standing with his pants down around his ankles, the old gent asked,

'How in the world did you guess?'

Slapping their knees and grinningfrom ear to ear, all three old Ladies happily yelled in unison--

'We were at your birthday party yesterday!'

Black Hills South Dakota Part 2

I love art - almost any kind.  But wood and metal are probably my favorites.  Oh - and glass!  This metal horse is one of the first things we say on the street across from the restaurant our first evening in Hill City.  The artist used all different types of metal tools to make the parts of the horse.

Isn't it amazing?

Just down the street where two guys making wood sculptures using chainsaws and grinders.

How do they do that?