ATTENTION Shoppers...

I love a great deal just as much as the next person BUT I got this email a couple of weeks ago, it's long, I want to share with all of you...

Some really good ideas!

Christmas 2011 -- Birth of a New Tradition

As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods -- merchandise that has been produced at the expense of American labor. This year will be different. This year Americans will give the gift of genuine concern for other Americans. There is no longer an excuse that, at gift giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by American hands. Yes there is!

It's time to think outside the box, people. Who says a gift needs to fit in a shirt box, wrapped in Chinese produced wrapping paper?  Everyone -- yes EVERYONE gets their hair cut. How about gift certificates from your local American hair salon or barber?

Gym membership? It's appropriate for all ages who are thinking about some health improvement.

Who wouldn't appreciate getting their car detailed? Small, American owned detail shops and car washes would love to sell you a gift certificate or a book of gift certificates.

Are you one of those extravagant givers who think nothing of plonking down the Benjamines on a Chinese made flat-screen? Perhaps that grateful gift receiver would like his driveway sealed, or lawn mowed for the summer, or driveway plowed all winter, or games at the local golf course.

There are a bazillion owner-run restaurants -- all offering gift certificates. And, if your intended isn't the fancy eatery sort, what about a half dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint. Remember, folks this isn't about big National chains -- this is about supporting your home town Americans with their financial lives on the line to keep their doors open.

How many people couldn't use an oil change for their car, truck or  motorcycle, done at a shop run by the American working guy?

Thinking about a heartfelt gift for mom? Mom would LOVE the services of a local cleaning lady for a day.

My computer could use a tune-up, and I KNOW I can find some young guy who is struggling to get his repair business up and running.

OK, you were looking for something more personal. Local crafts people spin their own wool and knit them into scarves. They make jewelry, and pottery and beautiful wooden boxes.

Plan your holiday outings at local, owner operated restaurants and leave your server a nice tip. And, how about going out to see a play or ballet at your hometown theatre.

Musicians need love too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.

Honestly, people, do you REALLY need to buy another ten thousand Chinese lights for the house? When you buy a five dollar string of light, about fifty cents stays in the community. If you have those kinds of bucks to burn, leave the mailman, trash guy or babysitter a nice BIG tip.

You see, Christmas is no longer about draining American pockets so that China can build another glittering city. Christmas is now about caring about US, encouraging American small businesses to keep plugging away to follow their dreams. And, when we care about other Americans, we care about our communities, and the benefits come back to us in ways we couldn't imagine.

THIS is the new American Christmas tradition.

Forward this to everyone on your mailing list -- post it to discussion groups -- throw up a post on Craigslist in the Rants and Raves section in your city -- send it to the editor of your local paper and radio stations, and TV news departments. This is a revolution of caring about each other, and isn't that what Christmas is about?

I don't know who the author is but it makes sense to me.  I know everyone will be busy with family, Thanksgiving festivities, shopping, sewing & other stuff...so, I just want to say 'Have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!'.

ps...no comments on this post, I've taken up enough of your time already.

Public Service Announcement

This is a reminder to drink water during this 'SUPER HOT' time...unless your Barb in Seattle freezing...hehe!  I'm not a health care professional but I do know that we need to keep our bodies hydrated.  Everyone's busy with work, gardening, swimming, sewing...blah, blah blah...and the list goes on and during this busy time you might have a 'thin girl' moment and forget to drink fluids.  Please make sure your kids, parents, friends and pets are getting enough water.  Thank you.

ps...defining 'thin girl' moment - some of you might have heard a thin person say 'No, I haven't eaten.  I've been so busy I forgot.'  I wish I had that problem! LOL!

This past weekend the weather here was wonderful.  We spent a good part of it outside.  It was sunny & really breezy.  We had all the windows open.  And throughout the day, we had the sweet smell of honey suckle drifting all around the front of the house & throughout the living room!  This vine is growing on our front porch.  I'm enjoying the spring time much more this year.

I've been working on this quilt for a lady in the next town.  I finally finished the top.  Now I just have to quilt & bind it.

After I finish the t-shirt quilt, this is what I'll be working on!  If you were to see & touch these vintage sheets/fabrics, you would start giggling!  Talk about fabric envy, these beauties belong to Gail.  I'm going to make her a patchwork quilt.  I can't wait to get started.

Enjoy the rest of the week...talk to y'all later...

I did it!

And it wasn't that hard to make!  I did get a little crazy with the hot glue gun but I wanted to make sure nothing would come loose.  If I would have focused on this one project, I could have been done in a hour...lol!

If you are interested in making this cute little pincushion on a golf tee, you can find it right here at the Polka Dot Pineapple Blog.

Wordless Wednesday...

(Okay, I got this picture in an email.  Does anyone know where this is?  Is this place real?  If this place does exist...I want to put it on my list! lol!)

Stephens Passage, Alaska

Another neat animal story.
Four young Sitka black-tailed bucks fell upon good luck Sunday as they were pulled from the icy waters of Stephens Passage, Alaska by a group of locals on Tom Satre's 62-foot charter vessel. Four juvenile Sitka black-tailed deer swam directly toward the boat.

Once the deer reached the boat, the four began to circle the boat, looking directly at the humans on board. Clearly, the bucks were distressed. With help, the typically skittish and absolutely wild animals came willingly onto the boat. Once onboard, they collapsed with exhaustion, shivering.

Here the rescued bucks rest on the back of Tom Satre's boat, the Alaska Quest. All four deer were transported to Taku Harbour . Once the group reached the dock, the first buck that had been pulled from the water hopped onto the dock, looked back, then leapt into the harbour, swam to shore, and disappeared into the forest. After a bit of prodding and assistance from the humans, two others followed suit, but one deer needed more help.

Here he is being transported by Tom Satre

Tom, Anna and Tim Satre help the last of the "button" bucks to its feet. They did not know how long the deer had been in the icy waters or if there had been others who did not survive. The good Samaritans (humans) describe their experience as "one of those defining moments in life." I sure it was for the deer,as well.

***This is an email I got from a friend, it looks & sounds to be true.  Anyhoo, it was a neat story & I wanted to share it with you.

Pretty in Pink...

Hope everyone enjoyed the Christmas season...NOW to my post...

You know the movie with Andie, Duckie and Blane?  Well, over Christmas vacation my sister & I watched Pretty in Pink.  Right before the last part (the prom) it goes to commercial and my sister goes on to tell me...do you know why Blane's hair looks so screwed up at the prom?  I said no.  And I know for a fact that every time I watched this movie, I've always wondered...WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS HAIR?!?!?! LOL!

WELL...my sister read an article saying that originally the ending of the story is that Andie ended up with Duckie but at the test screenings the audience did not like the ending.  Majority of the people wanted Andie to be with Blane.  So, they had to redo the ending and during that time, Andrew McCarthy (Blane) had already shaved his head for another movie.  But they brought him back and PUT A WIG ON HIM!!!!  After all these years...now I (& you) know the rest of the story. lol!

Wordless Wednesday...Nature's eye candy...look at those colors!

Uploading pictures online could lead to stalking

Uploading pictures online could lead to stalking

With the holiday season on it's way, there will be tons of pictures & videos being sent all over the world wide web - especially of children.  In this crazy world you have to be informed & I thought you should know.  As much as technology is amazing, it also has a dark side.

Knowledge is power...

Please click on the article link (in red) above.

Wordless Wednesday...

Sneak Peek...

"You know what I'm thinking?"

"Yeah, Butch..." (smile)

DIY Fix/Paint the House Vacation & a finish!

This was a fun quilt to make!  I can't wait for M.E. to pick it up.  She's the one that picked the M. Miller fabric and I guess if I had a daughter, I would want crowns for my princess too.  Very nice choice!  There's a few things I want to share about making this type of quilt but I'll do that in a later post.

Oh, the last 4 days have been exciting & exhausting!  We've been replacing trim and painting the outside of our house.  We have finished about 1/2 of what we wanted to get done.  Considering we are not professional contractors, we're excited with what progress we have made - very exciting!  I've been working so hard, the muscles in my hands are ripped...lol!

Secret Santa Update...I'm almost done with the wreath.  But I was thinking...maybe I might want to do this instead...

I still have time, right?  Well, I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.  The weather is BEAUTIFUL here!  Talk to ya'll later...

Wordless Wednesday...GOD BLESS AMERICA!

A real find on the Bargains Galore on 64 trail...

If my memory serves me right, we were traveling west bound on 64 and we just got through Conway, AR.  We were in a curve (with neon signs stating a sale up ahead) and as I was slowing down, we come up on this...a real treasure...

It's like out of now where, there is an artist located on HWY 64?!?!?!!  LOL!  We couldn't help but start checking out the sculptures.  There were 2 different sellers set up on this man's land & approached us to let us know that there were more sculptures in the back yard.

Well, to come across something like this was like a cool, tall glass of lemonade for the soul.  It was refreshing.  I appreciate most forms of art and to find this in the middle of Arkansas was a real treat.

Bargains Galore on 64 - The treasures...

Here are a few things I got on Friday.  I got several hoops so I can display some of my favorite fabrics.  Then I scored a set of Laura Ashley Flannel sheets.  The wooden Pepsi crate (in great condition) - $1.00.  I KNOW!!!  The women at this sale had many items over priced & her husband was standing next to me when I asked him how much.  He didn't have to tell me twice, I handed him the dollar & took off running before his wife could find out what happened.  That was a funny moment.  And to top it off, my husband told me the crate was made in June of 1975 - very cool.  I asked him how did he know - it's stamped inside the crate...duh...

This chair was one of my best finds.  It's old & could use some work but the more I look at it the more I'm glad I didn't have to fight anyone over it...lol!  It's one of those chairs that folds up into a step ladder.  I figure I could give the old quilt rack a rest and stack my quilts on this chair.

 I got this sewing cabinet to use in my sewing room.  Not only is it a great spot for my computer but also to use as a cutting table.

 This lamp is also for my sewing room.  I wanted more light near my sewing machine and I saw this beauty.  It originally came with the glass cover sitting on the table but I still bought it even though it had chips.  I figure I would just get a replacement cover and sure enough - a few sales later, I came across an old ceiling fan with 5 glass covers for a BUCK!

These magazines are very cool!  For .25 cents a piece, I couldn't pass them up.  It was a day of treasure hunting, there were times we felt like the guys from American Pickers - minus the camera crew...LOL!  And speaking of treasure, I have one more to share but that can wait til later...

Bargains Galore on 64 - Review for 2010

It was AWESOME!  The adventure started on Friday, in Beebe AR at 8am.

It took 5 hours to travel 31 miles - most of the time was spent on sales that were on the right side of the road.  There were many home owners/sellers participating in the event and the bright, neon signs they had posted helped A LOT.  It definitely helped drivers slow down in time to pull over.  I figured the best way to try this type of sale was to start on one side of the road and then at a designated time come back and hit the other side.  It worked out pretty good.  The only problem was the heat...104 ?!?!?! and that was around noon...

Besides the excitement of - looking for things, all the people were nice.  It made the experience much more enjoyable.  And with the extreme heat, some of the sellers had jugs of water with cups for the buyers.  Then there were some that were selling bottled water & sodas.  That was really nice because you didn't know when you would get to the next town or gas station.  Oh and they didn't try to take advantage of the situation...very nice.  So here are a few shots I took - when I could remember to take pictures...

  There were many different things being sold, you just had to look.  And a couple of items that were different...

 

I would have taken more pictures but it was hot.  By 3pm it reached...

Yes, it reached 108 and that doesn't include the heat index.  It was around this time the people who were selling had their goods covered up.  They were done for the day and I didn't blame them.  At least us shoppers had the luxury of getting into our a/c cars to cool off.  It was a fun day.  I can't wait to go back next year.  For next year, I'll remember to do a post a couple of weeks early so if anyone is interested, they can make plans to go.

Oh, and I'll be doing two different post in the coming week to 1. show you some of my finds & 2. a really special find.  If I left out anything, I'll put it in the next post.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!  Talk to y'all later...

'Comment' problem

Due to technical problems (& probably hitting the wrong key) comments are not showing up on my blog. So I'll be trying to figure it out. If anyone has suggestions, please leave me a comment - because it will go to my email. Thanks!

GO BRETT!!!

GO VIKINGS!!! That's all I'm going to say about that!

BLACK FRIDAY! It's on!

It's the SUPERBOWL version of the best shopping day of the year...and if you haven't seen some of the deals going on, and your into the event, you really need to go check out www.bfads.net.  For example, Jo-ann's is having one heck of a sale...like 50% off of quilting notions - thread - all batting, 40% off of quilting bundles and they also have a Rowenta DX6900 Duo Iron for $39.99 (reg. 79.99).  I can feel my heart pounding from all the anticipated excitement to come!  Oh, and then there's Target, Kohl's, Michaels & Hancock's...too many stores to list them all.  If you want more infomation, you really need to go check out the website.

DISCLAIMER...Prices & discounts are subject to change so make sure to check/verify the vendors ad to see what they will have on sale.  I don't want anyone mad at me for a misprint.  LOL!  This website is supposed to have all the black Friday ads listed on it's website - www.bfads.net.  Even though it's about a week away, it doesn't hurt to start planning ahead!

I'm tired.

Since I have started quilting/sewing I can't remember ever being too tired to work on something.  But today was a long day & I'm feeling it tonight.  I'm just dog tired.  I wonder where that saying came from?

Yes, I'm going to say it...I think I'm going to take a break tonight and just watch the Jets & Dolphins play...and maybe make another pumpkin roll?  Hope y'all are having a better night than me...until next time, happy sewing!