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Administrator on February 3rd, 2007
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Okay, now that we’ve had a month to recover from the last spate of holidays — here comes another one! Granted, most people don’t get so frantic about Valentine’s Day, but I really wouldn’t want to let it go by without getting a Valentine gift for him Nor would I be terribly thrilled if he forgot to get something for me either! It kind of hurts to be forgotten or taken for granted all the time.
Anyway, my current dilemma is that I haven’t managed to come up with a good idea yet and time’s getting mighty short. All I’ve thought of so far is a new optical mouse for the home computer as our current mouse seems to be have developed Alzheimer’s — poor thing IS pretty elderly. Since we’d all use it though, it wouldn’t really be a present just for him. He got plenty of dark chocolate and port at Yule though, so now where does that leaved me? If anyone’s got a good idea, please leave a comment! This is NOT an invitation to the sellers of online pharmaceuticals, fake Rolex watches, and other comment spammers. Such useless comments will be deleted as usual.
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Administrator on November 29th, 2006
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Anyone who has ever worked in retail will know that this time of year is crucial. This is generally when the profit for the entire year is made, so it’s “make it or break it” time! Since I’ve been in business for just over 21 years, it’s beginning to wear me down. Managing to keep my “brick and mortar” store going, keeping up with the production of my handmade gifts, AND managing to bake all the holiday cookies, fetching and decorating a tree, wrapping presents, etc., etc., etc., is beginning to seem overwhelming. At least I’ve been able to do most of my own holiday shopping on-line this year, which saves a lot of running around time!
I’m assuming that everyone is familiar with “Murphy’s Law” (the perversity of the universe tends to the maximum — otherwise stated as “anything that can go wrong most certainly will!”) I’m a firm believer myself. For instance, since my martini candles have been in demand over the last couple of months, I placed a large order of martini glasses with my glassware supplier. Now, suddenly, there seems to be more interest in the Pirate’s Treasure candles and other drink candles so I need to shift gears, order different glassware, and try to find a few more hours in the day in order to keep up with it all.
Somehow we all seem to muddle through this crazy time one way or another. To all of you who also feel that they are chasing themselves around in circles, stop — take a deep breath, and if at all possible, just take a little time out to be good to yourselves. The holiday madness will be over again soon. I’d like to wish you all a cool Yule, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanuka, Happy Kwanzaa, or whatever holiday you may be celebrating.
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Administrator on November 12th, 2006
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It’s getting to be THAT time of year again and I have to decide what kind of pies to bake for Thanksgiving and which kinds of cookies I’ll be baking for Yuletide. I’m beginning to dread this time of year as there’s just more to do than any one person can accomplish.
My garden produced a surprise this year —- something I’ve dubbed "squmpkins". Apparently pumpkins and squash can cross and it wasn’t that I’d managed to mix up my seeds after all. The seeds that I’d saved from the yellow crookneck summer squash produced some squash vines and some that grew strange-shaped orange-colored fruits. I guess we’ll have Squmpkin Pie this year (but next year I’m going to buy some new seeds for the summer squash!)
I usually bake five or six kinds of cookies and send some home with each of my siblings. We also mail some to England for family members on my husband’s side. It costs a small fortune to ship, but they all seem to enjoy them. In order to get all of this done while taking care of my hobby shop and tending to my increasing web business (the martini candles have been especially popular), I have to start mixing up the cookie dough right after Thanksgiving and either freezing it or baking and freezing the finished cookies.
My poor neglected garden plot is looking awful as I still have to get out there and remove all the tomato cages and the viney stuff so that we can get it tilled before the ground freezes. Half the time it just doesn’t get done, but I suspect that this has been contributing to the bug problems during the growing season, so am determined that it WILL get done somehow this year. It’s raining today, but not terribly hard at the moment, so I may just have to grit my teeth and go brave the elements to get some clean-up done. Adios for now.
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Administrator on October 27th, 2006
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It’s getting to be that time of year again when most of us start thinking about holiday gift giving. Whether you are celebrating the Winter Solstice, Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa (I’d include Diwali in this list also except that it was early this year and is already past), coming up with bright ideas for the people on your list is often the hardest part.
If you are looking for unique handmade gifts, please come by and take a look. If nothing else, it might inspire some creative thinking! Whether it’s something that I’ve made myself or something that I’ve purchased, finding that perfect gift to match a family member or friend is the most rewarding experience of the holiday season (well, next to seeing the look on their faces when they receive the gifts, that is).
Last year I was able to come up with handcrafted gifts for both of my sisters-in-law and they were both delighted with them. Of course, it would have been better if my brother had actually provided me with the correct size for his wife! I knew that my sister in law really loved Native American leather clothing, but the prices were way beyond what the budget would bear. We usually try to attend a big powwow in late Summer and since there’s usually a booth that sells pelts, I’d determined to buy some deerskins and see what I could come up with. The fringed vest turned out really well, but since my brother had underestimated his wife’s size, it didn’t look so great on her. She put it on and wore it for the rest of the day anyway, so I know that she was really pleased with the effort. I’m hoping to try again at some point and make her a jacket — only in a much larger size!
If time allows, I’m planning on posting an article on how to make your own dangle earrings sometime before the holidays. The only problem is getting someone to photograph the steps so that it will be easy for others to follow the directions. (I often find that a picture is much clearer than a written description when reading “How To …” instructions.)
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Administrator on September 15th, 2006
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We have had some visitors in our yard for the past couple of weeks. They don’t come every day, in fact it’s more like once or twice per week. We have had female wild turkeys visit before, but they never brought the whole family. This time it’s a female and six babies! I never knew that they had so many at once. We unfortunately did not get any pictures on their first two visits and, boy, do they grow a lot in one week’s time! Anyway, thought that you might enjoy this wildlife photo. (My husband had to run outside in his robe and pajamas to try to get the photo and one of our cats appeared right behind him. I wish I’d had my camera handy to snap a photo of that parade.)
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Administrator on March 23rd, 2006
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Hi!
You’ve found a brand new blog. I’ve decided to use this space for articles related to gifts; those that we give, those we receive, and (sometimes) even those we were born with.
I have a business website devoted to the sale of unique handcrafted gifts which may or may not be of interest to you. In this space I intend to give you some information, tips, and even recipes — all for free.
When it comes to giving gifts, everyone is familiar with the usual holidays and special days (birthdays, wedding days, anniversaries, etc.) when our culture makes a gift nearly mandatory. I’d like to mention another type of gift though — the “just because” gift. This is my absolute favorite because it is totally unexpected and therefore often more appreciated and remembered. My husband once presented me with one of these “just because” gifts when he returned from a trip to the supermarket. It was a little ceramic planter full of purple crocus and I have fonder memories of that than of many much more expensive gifts he’s given me over the years. It could be a wildflower bouquet, a pack of licorice, just about any little thing, but what it says is “I was thinking of you.” and many other messages besides.
I guess that’s it for the moment as I’m feeling something like stage-fright right now. I’ll be back!