The Emails I Look Forward Too

First let me start out by clarifying that my very all-time favorite emails come from my friends and family.  I always scan the "from" info in my emails for their names, and always open them first, devouring any and all their words.

But my favorite all-time non-family/friend emails are the daily newsletters I get from Craftgossip.com!  Oh my goodness, when I see the email is from them, I always smile and open.  Sometimes there really isn't anything of great interest to me, but most of the time there is at least one or two links that get clicked.  Often it takes me an hour or more to read and view the newletter.  Often a click to this blog will lead me to see what blogs they are following, then click on other blogs, and pretty soon time has flown!

I always get so much inspiration from Craft Gossip posts.  If you are a crafter, you have to subscribe to their newletter.  But be sure to get yourself something to drink, a snack, and snuggle into your favorite chair, as you will soon be engrossed in and learning from the things you get to see!

Just click on the link under "favorite sites" to the left of this post.

Happy Earth Day!!

Today is Earth Day!  How will you celebrate?

For a plethera of wonderful green crafts, go to this site:
http://www.favecrafts.com/Green-Crafting


This is a link to a video on DIY Dish that shows how to make a wool felted shoulder bag from an old wool sweater.
http://www.thediydish.com/2010/04/episode-6-were-goin-green/


Vodka in your laundry, beer in your hair, cornstarch deodorant, banana shoe shine… Shed the chemicals and go to the kitchen for home and personal remedies in honor of Earth Day this year.
http://webecoist.com/2010/03/22/14-offbeat-green-cleaning-personal-care-recipes/

I Won a Blog Award!

I won my very first blog award from Anita at "It's A Sweet Thing"!  Thanks so much Anita.

Now, what I am supposed to do is tell you all 10 things about myself.  This is harder than it may sound, as essentially, I've always felt I'm not all that interesting.  It will take a bit to come up with 10. Hmmm....

1.  I lived in Okinawa for 3 1/2 years...and loved it!
2.  I have lived all over the US, specifically, in these states:  Minnesota, Washington, Wisconsin, Texas, Florida, and New Mexico.
3.  I believe in being prepared and emergency preparedness is very important to me.  I am currently working on a year supply of food/products.
4.  My hair is very, very grey.  Someone recently told me I should dye it and I was insulted they would even suggest that!  I like my grey hairs...I earned every one of them!
5.  I have so many interests that at times I feel overwhelmed wanting to do them all and often end up doing none.
6.  I have been on a diet and have lost 40 pounds so far...but have a ways to go to goal yet.
7.  I have two associates degrees: one in nursing, and one in technical communications.  I currently don't use either of these professionally, but I use the commnications one in my daily life.
8.  I feel passionately about the causes I become involved in; things like animal rights, children rights, ecological preservation and so forth.
9.  I have 3 adult children, 3 adult step-children, 9 grand kids (soon to be 10), 6 great-grand kids (soon to be 7), and love, love, love them grand and great-grand babies!!!
10. I am a happy person.  I have troubles like everyone else; I have times when I feel blue like eveyone else; but mostly I am happy.

PHEW!!!  That was really hard.

Thanks, again, Anita, for the award!

Earth Day 2010

Earth Day is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment. It was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in in 1970 and is celebrated in many countries every year.  In the US, April 22 is Earth Day. 

Many crafters observe Earth Day all year long with their "green" crafts.  Upcycling, repurposing, and reusing are the trends of the day, and good trends they are, too!   My favorite kind of crafts are the kind where you take something destined for the trash and find a cool thing to make from them.

In honor of Earth Day, I will post one such item...although it will be an item I made for Christmas.  I'm sorry that I don't have time right not to whip something up to share, but I do look forward to seeing what everyone comes up with for Earth Day.  Please share any links for cool things you find on the net that are in observence of Earth Day 2010.

Almost Free: Baking Soda Hair Wash Method

Almost Free: Baking Soda Hair Wash Method

I have never heard of this before, but after reading this article, I am definately going to give this a try! Just thought I would share. Click on the title and read the article and responses for yourself!

Wanted to add to this post that I tried this today.  It felt really weird and I was sure my hair was going to hang in strings and look terrible.  First there are no suds.  How can your hair get clean with no suds?!  But after massaging in the water/baking soda combo and then rinsing it out, my hair actually and literally "squeaked".  No matter how long I rinse after using shampoo, I never hear that "squeak".  I think it is because here we have such terribly hard water!  But after rinsing the water/soda out really well, my hair squeaked.

Now that it is dry and I brushed it, I am again surprised to report that my hair feels really, REALLY clean.  It is soft, but not shiny.  Not sure how to get that shiny look, as my hair never seems to shine.  But I can report that my hair is really clean!

I don't think I would use this every time I shampooed, but I can see me using it once a week for a deep, deep cleaning of my hair.  Try it and see what you think.

DeeDabbler: Bathroom Decoration on the Cheap part II

DeeDabbler: Bathroom Decoration on the Cheap

A while back I posted my project of making my bathroom decorations out of fresh step advertizements. (Click the link above to see the post)  Well, the other day our 5 year old grandson was over and had to use the bathroom. He came out and said, "Grandma, I was going to the bathroom and looked to my right and saw the cats!" I said, "Well, why didn't you close the door?" thinking he meant our cats Buddy and Willow. He said, "The cats on the wall! I like the black and white cat the best...he looks like Buddy!" Then he asked me where I got the pictures. Apparently he was so impressed with the pictures that he took Grampa in the bathroom to point them out and again pointed out the black and white cat as his favorite. I guess he really enjoyed them!

Well, I have found another new ad with a new cat, so will be adding another picture to the collection as soon as I can get a frame from the dollar tree. They are kinda fun!

Dollar Store Stash Bust April

I'm afraid I had to delete my button proclaiming that I was participating in the April Stash Bust by Dollar Store, but I bought the yarn for Aubrey's blanket in Tennesse, so ....   Such a good idea, but I just couldn't go through with it!  Phooey!

Another Cute Shrug Crochet Pattern

Still in Tennessee, but wanted to share a great internet find.  I love shrugs and I love to crochet.  Here is a pattern with both.  Just click on the title of this post and the link will open to the pattern.

New Baby Project

Here we are in Clarksville, TN.  After arriving, the hubster developed some health problems, so we are mostly sitting in the motel room rather then checking out the area.  However, that doesn't mean I am wasting all this time.  I've started a new baby blanket for Aubrey, our new granddaughter who is due in July.  Here is a swatch of the yarn...keep in mind the swatch is knitted, and I crochet, so the blanket looks like a whole different animal than this swatch.  But at least you can see the colors of the blanket.  I will post a picture of the finished product, but for now...the swatch: