Sunday, October 10, 2010

This Is What Happens When You Sit Still...DEATH and LIFE!

      All I've been doing mostly,...for days,...is listen to the sound of my own heartbeat, and sit still. I didn't have much of a choice because of the pinched nerve. (Which is getting better and better every day now, by the way. I actually forget about it sometimes...until I go to reach for something that's just out of my range of motion. And then O-U-C-H!!!!) Now, you'd think that this sitting still would be a really bad thing....Well, some of it is!! LOL ...but mostly it's been good!
     One reason it's been good is because it's been giving my mind something to chew on. Something good that I've been thinking about for my blog readers. For YOU! I'll tell you about it in a minute. But first...PICTURES! I haven't shown you what's been going on in the backyard lately. The header picture shows that my lawn, that was looking pretty bad a few months back because of the heatwave (remember this!), has come back to LIFE!
    It's all lush, green, and pretty......just in time for everything else around it to start going through the cycle of DEATH!...Ain't it always the way?!!...The potted plants are dying....Well, let's face it. They're already dead!!
     The leaves on the trees in the backyard are dying, getting ready to become mulch to cover the ground, so that the coming winter snow....YES! I said snow!..... doesn't completely destroy my backyard.
       Some of the plants and leaves are hanging on for dear life though!
      Sadly, the sunflowers.........................not so much!
      Alas, their purple fantastic-ness is just a distant memory...*Sigh!*
    But, thankfully, the Fall season's reminder of things dying also reminds you of how wonderful it is to be alive. Look at these great photos hubby took yesterday. He went out to grab us some breakfast and came back with these shots of the Connecticut River.
    I know! You're thinking: "You live in Massachusetts, don't you?!" Well, yes I do. But the Connecticut River meanders right through Holyoke. This is literally right near where I live!
      I'll share some more shots he took tomorrow. Pretty great to have this to look at for breakfast, huh?! :-) Who needs to go to Hawaii or Maine or anywhere else for a vacation when all you have to do is go over a couple of streets and enjoy this for nothing?!! Doesn't cost a penny!!...And it works wonders for the mind when all you're allowed to do is sit still.
   Now, what my mind has been chewing on is a giveaway! If you follow this blog you know that I crochet scarves, necklaces, brooches, pocketbooks and gloves and such, and that I sell them in my Wuglyees shop on Etsy. But what you may not know is that when I started my shop over a year ago I was featuring my 'Ugly Wuglyee Scarves' and blankets....adult sized and baby blankets!
    It didn't take me long to realize that selling either of those things online was going to be a problem. 1.) because the blankets were so heavy that I would've had to charge shipping costs that nobody wanted to pay, and 2.) the CPSIA laws about selling baby and children's items (for under 12 year olds) was waaaaaay too much of a hassle!! {I was only charging between 30 and 45 dollars for the blankets, but it would've cost about the same amount to ship them. We're talking LARGE, HEAVY blankets people!!; And just to sell baby items, who could afford to have all of their buttons and materials tested in some lab, and find and sew on permanent labels saying what everything was made out of?! NOT ME!!}
    So, every since then my blankets and things have been here...taking up space. I even have a TON of Wuglyee scarves that I never put online. I got chicken, thinking that maybe nobody would buy my 'Ugly' babies and my feelings would be hurt!! LOL I was only charging $7.00 for them too!! I was so surprised at how quickly people bought them. {And, trust me when I tell you, some of them were truly ugly!! I mean, if you have a door with a crack underneath and cold air is getting in, they would be GREAT cold door shields!! LOL}
     But as of today, I'm going to have a monthly giveaway of these things for my blog followers only. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly have to GO!! The way I'm going to do it is anyone who follows this blog, and comments, from now on will be eligible for the giveaway. That's all that is required. {I would appreciate it if you shared the giveaway with your followers, or tweeted, or Facebooked about it, but that is not a requirement to enter.}
     I will include your name in the box for one entry every day if you comment every day. You can comment as much as you like, but only one entry will be added a day. I may even do it twice a month at times!! On the 15th and/Or 1st of the month I will do the drawing and contact the person to see if they want it. If not I will draw again! What do you think?!
   To get the ball rolling, I'm giving away a baby blanket I made with some soft sport weight yarn. The size of it is 29 & 1/2 x24 &1/2 (74.9x62.2cm). It's pink, green, blue, yellow and white, with little shiny flecks!
    I'm not going to be talking about this giveaway all the time. I truly want it to be for my followers. And if you're still here and reading, you probably ARE a true follower, because I can really do some talking!!! LOL Now that my arm is feeling better....WATCH OUT!!! ^_^
    Okay, poetry and then I'm OUT! And just as a disclaimer, I'm aware that all people don't think alike. This poem is "MY" thoughts. No argument, or debate is being pursued here. I just am sharing things I've written recently or in the past. I do welcome your thoughts or questions about anything I write though. :-)

No God?!

They say that there's no God-
But, there is thought, without a book;
There is birth, without a cook;
Stolen time, without a crook.

They say: "God cannot be!"
But, cannot that thought, too, be dunce?
or can there be two thoughts at once?
(Amazing strength can come from runts!)

They should say that they don't  know,
instead of ignorance enhance,
and publish books with all their rants.
(And all the while-God makes light dance!)

14 comments:

  1. Anonymous10/10/2010

    What beautiful green, lush grass you have. It's not to often you see grass so green. I agree with the dieing part. I love the colors this time of year, but I hate that pretty soon it's going to be really cold and nasty. What a beautiful lake also, I would love just sitting there and relaxing on a warn sunny afternoon. Looks so peaceful. What a gorgeous afghan, love the colors. Of course another great poem. Peggy

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  2. Hi Peggy! Thank you so much for your nice comment. Yes, the grass is green!! I'm as surprised as you considering what a bad time my backyard had with the high heat this year! But it's beautiful now...until the snow completely covers it up! ^_^ Oh Well. The snow won't cover the River!!!...And thanks for the complement on the baby blanket too. In fact, you're the first one entered in the giveaway for it today!!! I forgot to say what size it was. I better go and fix that! :-)

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  3. Anonymous10/10/2010

    I agree gorgeous lawn.Im lucky if I get a few blades of grass.Actually at the begining of july mine starts to look good but slowly dies again.

    I love the baby afghan so cute.Love the colors you picked for it.

    Happy new week!

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  4. Thanks Becky! I had all kinds of grassless patches a few months back. The heat just burned it out! But now......Ahhhhhh! :-] I just put your name in the drawing for the baby afghan!

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  5. What a lovely view of the river you have! I can't get over how calm the water is. The baby blanket looks lovely too. I love that pastel colour combination for baby stuff.

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  6. It "is" pretty, isn't it Joanne?! It's in such a pretty setting too when the leaves really start to change!...And thanks for the nice words about my blanket It may be your blanket soon! ^_^ Your name is going in the box!!

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  7. I think your grass is looking great! Just in time for it to "die" for the winter huh? Your hubby's photos of the river remind me of some of the great photos we got this weekend! I can't wait to show you, but I'm too tired to do it tonight. Sometime this week, I promise! Nice poem too! Looking at all the color made me thankful that our God is such a wonderful artist too!

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  8. Anonymous10/10/2010

    Hello there - Happy to hear that you're feeling better. I love the pixs of your lawn - it's so green!!! Our mums are really opening up this week. Mums = fall for me. Your DH's pixs of the river are beautiful too! Now you know I love the baby blanket....but I love anything that your crochet...hahaha!!!

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  9. I'm glad you are doing better!
    The grass in your yard looks great. Our lawn is still green too but all the leaves on the trees are now golden or red. It looks great but they all fall off the trees and somebody has to remove them from under the trees ;)
    The river in your hubby's pics looks wonderful and serene! Would love to visit :)
    Your giveaway idea is great! Wonderful of you to do it! However what happens if you give away a baby blanket and a person, who doesn't have a baby, wins? :) Of course the person could then give it to a relative or a friend as a present but I think it would only be fare if the winner would step down and let another blog follower win. Just thinking out loud here :D

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  10. Hi Cin!! I missed you this weekend! I'm glad you liked hubby's photos. I have others I'm going to be posting the next couple of days too. And I can't wait to see yours!!...Thanks for the poem complement too, by the way! :-)

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  11. Hi Craftgal! Thanks for all of the nice words! And are you going to do a blog and show off some of those mums, or did you post them already on Facebook and I missed it?! I'm not very good about checking over there all the time...Hubby will be happy to hear that you liked his River photos. He's getting pretty good with that little sure shot!! Ha! Ha!...And by the way, you never know, that baby blanket could end up being yours! I'm putting your name in the box!! ^_^

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  12. Mariann, Hi! I missed you little fox!!! :-) Yes, I'm doing better. It's taken much longer than I thought it would...Ha! About the leaves! I guess that "somebody" to remove them would be...Oh! I don't know....YOU?! ^_^ ...As to the baby blanket. I make baby blankets all the time and I don't have a baby!! Ha! I make them, save them, and when someone has a baby...Voila! I'm ready!! So, whoever gets it can use it as a baby gift to someone if they like. Everybody knows somebody with a baby, about to have a baby, or who will eventually have a baby! It's the way the world works!! ^_^

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  13. Oh darn I missed a giveaway and your anniversary. Congrats on your shops anniversary. Such a lovely baby blanket.Your lawn looks so lush that I just want to go run barefoot in it. LOL

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  14. SnowFlakeDreams, Ha! ha! Yes, you missed that giveaway, but your name has gone in now for every comment that you made on the different days!! So, you may be the winner on November 1st!! ;-))...And come on over quick, before the snow comes, and run barefoot in the backyard! ^_^

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