I Just Wanted To Show You.....!

       Hubby took some really good photos of...what I am now calling...my Hobo Yoyo Circles Bag! I wanted to show you the photos...and something else too. But first...the bag! :-)

       I probably should've put something in it so that it would look full or something.....Ummm...I just now thought of that! ^_^ Okay, so I'm a Yoyo bag crocheter whose kinda slow! 

      Oh Well, it's too late now! I already listed it in my Wuglyees shop! :-) ... I had a hard time with the pricing thing too. I enlisted hubby to help me out. His original price was ridiculously low...in my opinion.
      So what we decided to do was do some Etsy research!...How much would a crochet bag similar to my style bag...because there's none out there EXACTLY like it, I don't think...go for?! Here's some of the gorgeous bags we turned up!
       This Over-sized Tote by TheFyberStud, going right now for $180.00...

      The Bead Knit Drawstring Evening Bag by eggmoney, going for $180.00...

        The Crimson Tide Shoulder Purse by PopTopFashion, for #200.00...

     The Giant Crochet Hobo Bag by IMBUTTERFLY, for $265.00...

       And the Madder Onion Bag by SusanoftheEast, for $385.00...

      I can see how much work and materials they put into their bags. And we saw that some of their other bags in their shops sold for these prices too! So we felt comfortable pricing my Hobo Yoyo bag at &225.00...What do you think?! Too high?! Too low?! Whatever. As I said yesterday, if it doesn't sell...oh well! :-) In fact, if I still have it when I reach my 1,oooth follower, maybe it'll be the Giveaway gift! ^_^ You never know with me!
     There is another bag I wanted to show you though. It's this Handmade Black Knit Bag by hibbe...

       This gorgeous bag wasn't a part of our research though. This bag was in the treasury entitled Black alone and Black with color done by AWITCH...

         Along with the Crochet Flower Button Sock Slippers from my Wuglyees shop...

     ...she also included in thistreasury this Crochet Flowers Bib Necklace by wearaddiction...

       These Elegance Crochet Gloves by VaiZONE...

       This pretty Crocheted Bracelet by mccustomjewelry...

        ...and this fun and colorful Long Gypsy Skirt by subrosa123...

        I love her theme...'Black alone and Black with color'...and I can see with every piece how she stuck to her theme..."Thank you for including me!" :-)
      On a kinda sad note...for me anyways...I ran into a 'snaffu' with the 'Pastel' colored scarf I was going to give away. I ran out of the purple and green shades I was using. :-( I've had hubby running from store to store to store for a few days now, and no one has the shades I need to finish it! :-(
       So I'm going to have to take the whole scarf apart now and try to configure it in a way that those colors stay in it, but not to the degree that I had originally intended. :-( So, if you entered the Giveaway for the 'Pastel' scarf...sorry. It'll be those colors, but more like a 'Wuglyee' version of them now...That's what I'm gonna be working on all day today.
      I hope you all have a good day today too.  :-] What are you working on?!!

Never As Expected

Why can't things go as expected?
No left turn. No oops!...'Snaffu'!
There's always got to be a fly
in the ointment, soup or stew!

Why can't things go as they should,
Without a hitch, impending doom?
Instead of 'Steady as she goes'!
There's always Click, click, click! Then BOOM!!

Monday Musings About The Fall, Crochet, Parks, Owls And Gardens

(Chunky Fall Blocks by dustinshelves)

        It's Monday...whether you want it to be or not! ^_^ I hope you all had a good weekend. I did. Not because there was anything special going on...but because there wasn't anything special going on!! You know....no drama!....Just peaceful....quiet.....nice! :-) Except for the humidity we're having right now...(which is suppose to break by Wednesday...YAY!)...it's like the perfect Fall/Autumn season.

       And I guess I'm not the only one feeling that way because I woke up to the nice notices of being in two new treasuries. One having to do with the Fall. The other having to do with a special kind of garden. 

       First...NatCraftsandPhotos included my Chocolate Brown and Pumpkin Orange Brazilian Citrine Crochet Dangle Necklace from my Wuglyees Etsy shop...

        ...in her Fall-inspired treasury entitled Signs of Fall...

     She also included a scarf from her own shop in there too! Her Lots of Color Crochet Scarf...

          I love the colors she chooses for the items in her personal shop...And I also like the colors of a couple of the things she chose for this particular treasury...like this 'Encinitas Cotton photo print' by rachelheath...

        Very pretty, right!..."Thanks Natalie!" :-)

     There was also another treasury waiting for me this morning...with a whole different look and theme. This one was curated by happybabyshoes! It's entitled My Owl Garden...

        There's blues and yellows and greens in this one. Happy colors for a Monday, don't you think?! :-) And who doesn't like an owl?! Especially one as cutely made as this Oliver Owl Throw Pillow from RobinsNestBoutique!

     And if you're not in the mood for a pillow, how about a Ceramic Owl Yarn Bowl that, in the front, says "Create", and on the inside, says "Imagination will take you everywhere"?! 

       It was made by claylicious...Cool, right?! :-]

       I also liked this pretty-colored Ceramic Pendant by lillysnightgarden...

       ...This Miniature House Village by thelittlereddoor...

       ...and also this Flowers Photograph by Lori411.

       Oh Yeah! Don't let me forget the Birds On A Wire Turquoise Beaded Blue and Green Crochet Flower Dangle Necklace of mine from my Wuglyees shop! :-)

        "Thank you happybabyshoes!!" :-)

      So those are my musings about Monday...except for a couple of other little things. If you noticed in my blog title I mentioned Fall. Talked about....I mentioned Crochet. Talked about with my crochet items that were featured in these two treasuries.

       I mentioned Owls and Gardens. Talked about...But I also mentioned parks! I left this subject for last because I think this subject will take you away from this blog and over to Vicki's blog (2 Bags Full...). She posted the first installment of her and her hubby's National Parks Adventure trips. Oh! Such beautiful photos of Zion National Park in Utah! You have to see them yourself. Click HERE!

       If you can't stand to tear yourself away from this blog...^_^...I'll share a couple of her photos...

      "Hello!!!.....Anybody still here?!" O_O...LOL Well, just in case you are, I'll regale you with a poetic turn of the phrase as a thank you...And say Have a good Monday Everybody!! :-)

For all the Mondays

For all the Mondays that come around,
and all the Fall leaves gently falling down;
For all the wet soil, caked and brown,
and all the worms it must have drowned;

For all the honking, and chatty sound
from all the folks scurrying round the town;
For aching feet and hearts that pound;
and lists and nerves to be unwound;

For bags and keys that hit the ground,
when well-tired bodies fall in a mound;
For deals and prices that do astound,
and all well worth it, pond for pound;

For all the Mondays that come around,
and all the weekends gone with a frown;
For adjectives needed, not just a noun,
Much thanks to Mondays that come around.

The Tale Of The Yoyo Bag........THE END!!

       Hello Everybody! I hope your weekend is going great so far...Considering that hubby and I have been to Greece and up near Boston Massachusetts, had Greek pitas and salad, Fig Newtons, and I got my Yoyo bag back...with a lining in it!...my weekend is going great!! :-)
     The header photo is one of the photos from when I was making the Yoyo bag. I was really having fun with all of those beautiful colors...while at the same time dreading what was to come...putting a lining in it!
      When it was all done...except for the handles...it looked like this...

        When I finished it I sat back with a 'Cheshire cat' smile on my face, happy at my accomplishment. :-) Then I put in away...for months now. Why?!...Simple. I didn't want to do the lining! 
       Then, last week sometime, when I was talking to my friend...my friend who is an expert seamstress in my opinion...I told her about my Yoyo bag, and that I really should've had it online for sale, instead of tucked away..out of the sight of 'lining-wanting-pocketbook-hunters'! ^_^
      She said: "Give it to me. I love doing linings!" After I stopped and contemplated what universe she must have been born in, where a person could come out of it 'loving' to do pocketbook linings...then I begged her to "PLEASE" put a lining in my Yoyo bag....PLEASE!!!" She was happy to do it!........And here are the results!.....

         She asked me what color I wanted it to be, but I told her to decide. Imagine my glee when it was green!!!...my favorite color!! :-) ... And look how well it's sewn!...

      I am a very happy, Yoyo bag owning, 'bout-to-sell-this-baby' toting, camper!! ^_^

         You know...I'm actually contemplating making another one now!! ^_^ My friend loved making the lining so much that she said to let her know when I wanted her to put a lining in any of my creations!.....I think we might have a 'pocketbook crocheting, lining-making' corporation just getting started on the ground floor right about now! :-)

          And you're not gonna believe this, but she didn't want money for the job either!! She wants me to make her a feminine lacy cowl scarf for her neck...for winter. "Is that all?.....DONE!!" ^_^ But I think for future projects I'll have to insist on actual 'cash'...or else I might start to feel like I was a slave labor boss! I mean...in my book anyway...making pocketbook linings definitely categorizes as 'slave labor'!! LOL
      So, what do you guys think?! Do you like the green?! What color would you have chosen?!...Oh! By the way, speaking of color...and green...the sister color to green...blue...was the theme of goodegear's Etsy treasury. And she included my Blue Wooden Button Dangle Crochet Flower Necklace from my Wuglyees shop in it!...

         Her treasury is entitled Winter Blues...

         My favorite items she chose for this treasury?!...
           A Victorian Rosette Gift Bag by crochetbymsa...

       A Shaggy Crochet Handbag by NzLbags...

       And a Turquoise Crocheted Necklace by KnotTherapy.

        All gorgeous pieces!!....But in fact, the rest of the items are really nice too. You can click HERE to see the others.
       Okay, I'm off to eat a little breakfast, see if I can get hubby to take some better photos of my new 'lined' Yoyo bag...so I can go ahead and list it in my shop today, and then get back to doing the fringe on the scarf that's in my Giveaway. The 'bright' one. {The other one...the 'Pastel'...is only half done. I ran out of yarn...Hubby is gonna get me some more today. No worries, it should be all done by the Giveaway deadline, October 1st...
        Speaking of which...I only have about 4 entries for the scarves right now! O_0 Nobody wants a free scarf?!!...Okayyyyy!...But if you're interested, you can check the right hand sidebar on this blog...the scarf photo. Or you can follow the link HERE as to how you can enter the Giveaway.}
      Thank you all so much for being so supportive of me with your kind...and sometimes very funny!  ^_^ ...words! I hope you're enjoying the interchange as much as I am!...although I don't know if that's possible!  :-) ... Have a good rest of the weekend!

When I am alone

When I am alone,
with just my pen and pad,
I can talk about myself,
whether I'm  happy, tired or mad.

When I am alone
all the words just fly
from my brain of 'Busy'-ness
to the sight-line of the eye.

When I am alone
there is no veiled conflict;
There is only what I think,
and my ball-point Bic.

When I am alone
I can just be calm;
and if there's  been a fight,
words can soothe like balm.

When I am alone
I confirm, with glee,
that I really like myself
and that "I'd  be friends with me!"

When I am alone
there's  no loneliness;
and what I am feeling
I don't  have to guess-
I just put down pen, and press!

Did You Guess Where We Went For Our 'Virtual' Date Last Night?!

(The Rio-Antirio Bridge)

        Just looking at the bridge (in the header photo) might not have given you a clue as to where we went. It would have told you that we went somewhere that has beautiful water...but whenever we choose a 'Date Night' destination pretty waters are almost always something we look for!

      But if you saw these images (below) you would definitely know where we went! :-)

 (The Parthenon)

(The Olympic Rings)

 (The Olympia Stadion 2004)

         You guessed it now, right?!....Greece! :-) Beautiful,...with a 'whole-lot-to-do-in-it'...Greece!!...And we had a good time too y'all!!...Beautiful water everywhere!...Interesting beaches...

 (Shipwreck Beach in Zante, Greece)

      ...Scenic Ports...

 (Piraeus Port of Athens)

      ...Historic sights...

(The Acropolis)

      ...An island of white-washed houses by night...

(Fira, Santorini)

       ...breath-taking mountain vistas by day...

 (Mount Olympus)

      ...and a 'whole lot' of other stuff in between!! :-) Phew! It was some trip!!

       Hubby and I, being Bible students and teachers, have wanted to go to this land of rich biblical history for a long time...and it was out of our price range. But when money...

 

         (Euro Banknotes)

         ...I mean Euros...are no problem, the sky is the limit for a tourist going to Greece...'vacationing date night-wise'! ^_^

            There is waaaaaay too much about Greece to put in one blog post...and I KNOW you're not ready for that kind of history lesson today!!!...but if you want to, you can check out Wikipedia HERE for the details. 
        Here's just a couple of things I found interesting though...some of these are things you probably know already...
-- Greece a country in southeastern Europe. 
-- Athens is it's capital.
-- Although the Greeks call the country Hellas or Ellada, in English the country is called Greece. (I didn't know this! Did you?!)
-- Eighty percent of Greece consists of mountains, of which Mount Olympus is the highest at 9,570 ft.
-- Greece is the birthplace of the Olympic Games...I'm sure you probably knew this, right?!...In case you didn't...or you're not sporty at all,...here's a little about the Olympic Games...
     They're a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. They have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition.They're currently held every two years, with Summer and Winter Olympic Games alternating, although they occur every four years within their respective seasonal games. 
      And while I'm a 'sporting fool', even I know that there's a whole lot more to Greece than the sports!

        And let's not forget the FOOD!!!!!! :-) ... Greek cuisine is generally an example of the healthy Mediterranean diet. It incorporates fresh ingredients into a variety of local dishes such as moussaka, stifado (which is rabbit or hare stew with pearl onions, vinegar, red wine and cinnamon. Beef can be substituted),...Greek Salad,...

        ... spanakopita....Oooo! I know what that is!! Remember this post?!...
           And, of course, you can't forget Greece's world famous Souvlaki!

      (Souvlaki)

          It's a meat that's traditionally lamb in Greece and Cyprus, but in modern times it's increasingly pork, due to the lower cost of pork. In other countries and for tourists, souvlaki may be made with other meats such as beef, chicken and sometimes fish (especially swordfish)...And put a little garlic bread with it and....I'm in!!! :-)

(Souvlaki Plate, with garlic bread)

      All of my friends will tell you....I'm a girl that does love some meat on a stick!! ^_^
      Now, for dessert, how about a little Greek candy with sesame seeds and honey...Pasteli! (If you follow the link you'll even find a recipe on how to make some yourself!)

(Pasteli)

      We went on the hunt for some of it in our area yesterday. We didn't feel like cooking that late...and we didn't have the ingredients in the house anyway!...But we couldn't find any. And we couldn't find any of hubby's 'first choice' for dessert either!...Baklava! 

      It's a rich, sweet pastry made of layers of filo pastry, filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey......And now you know why it was his first choice! :-)

      We did find something to kinda sorta substitute though....

      ...The good old...

       ...fig...

      ...Newton!! Ha! Ha!...Okay, so it's not EXACTLY Greek! But they do eat figs in Greece, right?! ^_^

      Hmmm....I may be getting fig leaves and grape leaves mixed up!...But that's okay too, because hubby and I 'did' find some stuffed grape leaves!!! :-)

      We had them alongside a Greek chicken salad...

        It was soooooooo good!!! And, in the name of experimentation, we bought tooooooo much!! ^_^ We had this pita salad pouch on the side too...

       I'm almost embarrassed to tell you that we also bought a Greek meatball pasta dish too!...*hanging my head in shame*... ^_^ But no worries, we didn't even touch that! And, for that matter, we hardly touched any of the rest of this either. We tasted a bit of this...and tasted a little of that...and had some fig newtons and called it a night....except for the dancing!....which at this point, we NEEDED to do!! ^_^ ... Opa!!!...Wanna join us?!

     It was a great 'Date Night'!! I can't even imagine that next week's destination could touch this one's fun with a 10 foot pole!!! ^_^ But we'll see! We already decided where it will be!! :-)
      We have another little mini trip today...compared with Greece I mean. It's a trip to fill up something else besides our stomachs!! LOL We need to stay balanced!...And tomorrow I have some Yoyo bag photos to share!!...So, it's gonna be a good weekend, starting today...despite the rain!....UGH! I hope your weekend is a good one too! :-)

Balance

You teeter totter, in the middle,
Lean a little, OOPS! You're off!
Now you know that you're not balanced,
and you hope the ground is soft.

It's not easy to achieve,
and once you have it, to maintain.
In almost every part of life
our balance is so hard to gain.

You have to balance your emotions,
how you eat, and how you spend.
And when you're balancing your checkbook,
try to keep a level grin.

Staying somewhere in the middle
takes a conscious, careful touch,
because it doesn't take a lot
to go from balanced to 'too much'!

So try to keep a balanced eye,
 a balanced plate, and balanced life.
Keep your feelings all in check,
and minimize the stress and strife.

And don't compare your sense of balance
 to your neighbor's...you're alone.
Because your neighbor's also trying
to get some balance of his own!