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?