They depend on us.....

but sometimes finding out what it is that causes the problem can be frustrating. Our pretty girl Katie who is 12 started limping a few weeks ago. Off to the vet, had Xrays and could not see anything but what appeared to be an old injury where her toes had been broken. Give her some aspirin they said. And don't let her lick it and try to keep her quiet. Katie is anything but quiet. She hops and bounces around all her waking hours. Yesterday things started getting worse again. I have checked her paw, I have soaked it figuring MAYBE there was something in it and it was getting infected. Today I took her to the animal hospital. They cannot find anything either. So we did a soft wrap on her little paw and put her on a pain med to try to make her a bit more comfortable and I check with her regular vet again tomorrow. Don't you wish they could talk sometimes?

Helpful Hannah Denim tote

One of my favorite denim fabrics. I purchased tons of it when I could and used it all up. Someone mailed me a box recently and it had some in it. Here is the first "Helpful Hannah Tote bag". We use canvas tote bags for shopping and all kinds of things. Many of them are too small. The Helpful Hannah totes are nice and roomy. Look for more of them in the future in different colors and fabrics. You won't be able to have just one!

Roses

It's always nice when hubby thinks of you. Especially nice when you're feeling down and he comes through the door with roses. He's a sweetheart and I love him.

new projects

I started listing some foam backed coaster. Same high quality foam pad base as my mouse pads. They can be made in a wide variety of colors. If you need something to fit your decor from these funky blue and green retro ones to.......






these classy black with white Scottie or westie silhouettes or something a else altogether I can custom make them. Just contact me and we'll talk.

Wordless Wednesday - morning visitor

http://nannybird.blogspot.com ...contest!!!!

I just finished up with my little contest now am asking for you to help me participate in another one on another site. Hey you can join in the fun too.

Just hop on over to
http://nannybird.blogspot.com/2008/03/last-week-of-blogiversary.html

Leave a comment telling her I sent you! (That's D-A-Y-N-A) just so you get the spelling right! Join in the fun and enter yourself!

And we have 2 winners!

I asked hubby to give me a number between 1 and 99 and he gave me ....drum rollllll......

47!

Beadbug00 left her answer first so she has first choice (she chose the dogs with the red collars pictured on the right)

Ginger will get the other one. (So Ginger....get in touch with me 'cause you won the pink with black scotties!)

I have a contact for Beadbug00 but Ginger could you contact me with your info please?

I had fun with this. Thanks to all who participated. I hope you enjoyed it too. Now to think up another contest!

Have a sparklin' day!

And the Winner IS.......

Poop! No one picked my number....

I was sure someone would.

It was 21.

I've gone through the list several times just to be sure.

But.....I can't NOT have a winner.

Sooooo....I'm going to put all the names in a basket and draw onw to be the winner. Back later....

Get your guess in!

Don't forget to leave a comment with a guess. Contest runs until I get up on Easter Sunday morning. Winner will be announced here on my blog so check back!

That winner might be YOU!

http://scottieacres.blogspot.com/2008/03/whose-got-lucky-number.html

reminiscing....

My Mom passed away this past November. My Dad had passed away back in 1969 less than a month after I married. The last photos we had of him were taken that day. This is my father and I on that day...taken before we left for the church. This past week two of my sisters had been going through my Mom's things and sorting things out to send to all of us kids. I suppose as the oldest I should have been there but that is not always the way family dynamics work. I had gone down for the funeral and as is usual with families it was a reunion of siblings and aunts and uncles and cousins that you haven't seen in years. We are scattered all over the US. While we were there my youngest sister who would be taking care of the estate asked if there was anything special I wanted. Other's had things they really wanted to have but my answer was no....just something small to remember her by. I never got anything that belonged to my Dad. That bothered me for years. I thought it was important to have something tangible to take out and look at and touch to make the memories of him real. An event changed my mind about that a long time ago. I lost everything in a fire. Pictures, my kids Christmas ornaments that they had made, things that I had collected. But the kids and I were still alive and unscathed. After that my material possessions had little importance to me anymore. Yes... I got upset if someone broke something. But the person and their feelings were more important than the item could be. But I guess I regress. I spoke with my two sisters this morning and they had finished the task and said they had sent a package out on Tuesday. It arrived today. There were some pieces of her pewter (she collected it for years) and some of her jewelry (just costume jewelry but we had similar tastes) and along with that were some little things that followed my life. There is the little beaded bracelet from when I was born? Not sure. It has blue beads but don't recall when they stopped using them. I was born in Luella's Maternity home in Skowhegan Maine in the middle of a blizzard. I've been told it was so cold that Luella took me into her bed at night to keep me warm. Boy...how times have changed. Picture of me and my Dad and me and my Mom when I was little. There is a copy of my maternal grandmother's obituary. She died while I was away in Australia for a year. Graduation photos and proms and my debutant photo. There's a charm bracelet of my mother's with all of us kids (there were six of us) birth dates and her wedding anniversary and my first wedding and a couple other charms. They were real popular there for awhile. All these things evoked memories. The most important thing is....I have these memories and don't need to bring out the items (though they will be cherished and shared) and can enjoy these memories when ever and where ever I want. Yes - I shed a few tears as I went through things. But that's okay.

Three days left!

Don't forget to leave a comment with a guess. Contest runs until I get up on Easter Sunday morning. Winner will be announced right here on my blog so check back!

That winner might be

YOU!

http://scottieacres.blogspot.com/2008/03/whose-got-lucky-number.html

goody box!!!!

I have this friend....you know....the ones you know but have never actually seen but the Internet has allowed you to share so much that you think you know the person? My friend lives in Naples , NY with her husband and two kids and of course...two Scotties. She makes soap and once I tried her soaps I can't stand to use store bought soap anymore. I especially love her almondoolah. She sells her soaps and supplies at

http://www.olivetreesoaps.com/catalog/

I also like reading her blog. She has always wanted to be a photojournalist so there's usually some neat photos to look at. And she can be entertaining too. If you go to her blog real quick tonight you can see her St. Patrick's Day cake that just didn't want to co-operate http://bristolwood.net/

The whole of this leads into the title of tonight's blog. I needed to tell you a bit about Katya and then you can see what she did. Arriving on my doorstep today was a 20 pound box. Yes....20 pounds! Seems she had a closet that needed cleaning and it had fabric....lots of fabric....and she decided that I needed it more than she did. Below you can see the array of textiles spread across my table like a feast. That box of ribbon standing up was in there too. And if you scroll down.... to here....you'll see a purse and 9 dog collars that she sent along. She knows I go to the Door County Scottie Rally every year and there are silent auctions and raffles and donation bins to raise money for Scottie rescue and the Scottish Terrier Health Fund. These will go there in her name. Who says you can't make friends over the Internet? God brings us all together and today she really brightened mine! Thanks Kae!

Wordless Wednesday - He's ccccccccold???

My BBEST Swap item

Our Boomers and Beyond Etsy Street Team decided to have a swap this month. One of our members collected all the names of those who wanted to participate and sent them out. No saying who we got. It's secret until your swap recipient receives their item. I finished mine today and it will be mailed out in tomorrow's post. They should have it in time for Easter. It is quilted and a good size so can carry most anything. If you enlarge the first photo you will notice my signature Scotties. Had to have them. This really was fun although I agonized over what to send.

Thanks EcoEtsy!

This weekend I participated in the EcoEtsy St. Patty's Day Scavenger hunt! You had to find this cute little EcoEtsy bird in the shops. I had a lot of fun and the threads that were following it seemed to show that so was everyone else. I'm sure the ones putting it together....doing all the behind the scenes prep work are glad it's over. They should all be applauded.

And I won a prize!!! I love candles so winning a candle from

http://brandywinedesign.etsy.com/

was great!

The flavor/scent is called Hazelnut Coffee and Cinnamon Apples.

Doesn't it look yummy?

She offers some other nice candles so you might want to stop by and see what she has to offer. All the prizes for the hunt were donated by shops that are members of the Ecoestsy Street Team. If you would like to check them out just do a search with the tag

teamecoetsy .

And don't forget that I am running my own little contest until Easter Morning. check it out here.... http://scottieacres.blogspot.com/2008/03/whose-got-lucky-number.html

whose got the lucky number?

I have decided to run a little contest here. I think I'll run it from now until Easter Sunday morning when I get up. The question is???? what kind of a contest do I want to run and have it be fair? Hmmmmm....... How about if you pick a number between 1 and 99 and leave it in a comment. The one who guesses the number I just wrote down will get to chose one of these two sets.

Each set includes a mouse pad, a check book cover and a brag book for keeping your favorite photos in. In case of a tie I will put the names in a hat and draw one. Winners will be announced right here on my blog Next Sunday! Please leave a way for me to contact you or check back to see if you have won!

Happy Guessing!

presenting ..... thewildhare

This shop is a family affair. Parents, Children, Grandparents - everyone is getting in on the fun. I don't know exactly who does what but they cover quite a few different mediums. This cute little card is just a sampling of the cards they offer. I have some of them in my stash. Just couldn't resist. They also have die cuts and artwork pieces.Another section in their shop is named ".from the garage" . Check it out....you'll be amazed at what you see. Below is one of the several beautifully knit and crochet items. They have a little bit of something for everyone.

Why don't you stop by and visit with them. Tell them I said to say hello. You'll find them at

http://thewildhare.etsy.com

Or visit their blog

http://thewildhare.blogspot.com/

I'm So Glad - We all have different Faces

Most of the Treasuries I make on Etsy are based on color themes or song titles that come into my head and just hang there. This morning the treasuries came open and I didn't have anything in mind but we had a new member join our Boomers and Beyond Etsy Street Team. Her shop is

http://srallsmith.etsy.com

and she paints masks on palm frond boots. You'll have to check out her shop to get more info but she was the catalyst for the treasury. I rather like the diversity. Just as in life we see many different faces ... in art we see faces differently.

featured artist Sue Lambert

A few weeks ago I purchased a couple orders of glass discs from an artist on Etsy. Didn't know what I would do with them but wanted them anyway. That's usually how things work around here. These are some of the discs I bought.Sue has designed and created jewelry since 1993, selling at art shows and in galleries. She studied metalsmithing and casting for about 5 years at a silver studio near her former home in Northern Michigan and has also learned the art of lampwork from some talented artisans. She also works with PMC and art clay silver. Sue now lives with her husband in North Carolina where she continues stretching her talents.

I asked her to make me some shiny red discs. I DO HAVE a project in mind for these! They are now on their way to me! Check out her shop at
http://susanlambert.etsy.com
and her blog
http://northcarolinasusan.blogspot.com

wordless wednesday - pretty cold

Five years and the passion still grows

As you have read over the past few days my husband and I share a passion for model railroading. It was that passion that in a round about way brought us together. I met him on the Internet through a Pennsylavania model railroading list. I had lost the love of my life and his wife passed away a few months later. He was in Wisconsin and I in Connecticut where I had lived most of my life. Emails in September led to phone calls in October which led to him flying out in November. He arrived on November 18th and on the 20th he proposed and I said yes. On March 11th with my children and a few close friends gathered around we were married. The Justice of the Peace was a model railroading buddy and our wedding bands are Pennsy Keystones that we had specially made. The photo below was taken the day we had our wedding blessed in May once we had sold my house and moved me out to Wisconsin. I don't regret it for a minute. Here is a photo we had taken at one of those photo places you can get dressed up at. It graces both our computers and I smile everytime I see it.

Bring it down to size

I have gotten some emails wondering about the size of our layout. I always like to show it off even if it is far from complete. Some people have no concept of what HO scale is either. They are not modelers so I don't expect them to. This first picture gives you a view of a good portion of the layout room. Not all of it but it gives you an idea of what we are doing. You can click on any of the photos to enlarge and see detail better. Now this picture will give you a better idea of the size of the actual pieces. That is a quarter photographed with a scene of roofers tarring a roof. The quarter is larger that the guy is tall. Getting the picture a little better here?

The photo below is of the building that those little roofers are on top of. If you enlarge the photo you can see one of them to the left on top of the roof. Now if you go back to the first photo and look at the building on the right of the center island. That is the building that these little guys are tarring the roof on.

Hope this helps put things into perspective for those that had questions as to size.

pieces of a bigger picture

Some people know that my husband and I are avid model railroaders. They also know that is how we met. But that is another story for another day. We have a rather large layout in our basement. It in the building stage as most model railroads usually are. We are having an open house this Sunday. Here are a few little scenes. Excuse the photography as it is not one of my better talents. Here is the supermarket in Clarksville. Notice the little shopping carts! Here is Pete's garage.

This gives you a picture of Heritage Furniture on the left, with Siegelman's clothing warehouse behind the trees in the middle and the Golden Fame fuel oil on the right. You can see we are working on a second level also.

Here is the entrance to the junkyard. Notice it has it's own little mailbox next t the fence.

Here is another photo of the junk yard from a different angle. The barge in the front is loading scrap metal. The junkyard has several cranes on railroad tracks that unload cars coming into the yard.

wordless wednesday - still wintery here

Busy, busy, busy....but not the furkids!

This is Bert and Miss Sassy. Bert is 9 and very arthritic from previous abuse. He also has a pin in one of his legs. A real sweetheart. Miss Sassy (next to the crate) will be 13 tomorrow. She was rescued from a puppy mill where she was a baby machine. She had never played on grass or felt a loving touch until she came out. She was 7 years old at the time. Skin and bones, hardly any fur and frightened. Now she sleeps in soft places and gets plenty of food and water. This is my Big Boy....Mr. Murphy. He is the biggest and is mommie's lap dog. This is a rare photo as he usually takes off as soon as he sees or hears the camera. Mr. Murphy is 7 years old.

This is our elder statesman Sam E. He will be 13 in May. You couldn't ask for a sweeter dog yet he was considered a biter at one time. He bit because he was afraid. His place when I am at my desk is right there behind my chair...guarding for anything that might come get me. Both he and Miss Sassy have lost their hearing.

And the last one to join the clan is Miss Katie. She has a bed under my desk on one side and crate pads on the other and goes back and forth between them when I am in here. She sleeps on the bed by my feet at night and when I leave the house she sleeps next to the back door until I come home. She will be 13 in November but has the energy of a 2 year old!

As you can see they are helping me with my work.....NOT!