website updates & recreation

It has been a cold week and I have been enjoying our wood-burning fireplace.  In the evenings, before retiring for the night, I snuggle up on our loveseat and read near the wood heat. It's so nice and cozy. In my opinion, a wood heat is better than any other. That combined with a good book to read is a superb way to relax.

As time allows, I have been adding more patterns and making a few changes on the website this week. You will find that a new page has been created on which I explain a little more about our products, which should clarify some things.

Yesterday was a busy day as my sister and I helped our dad sort out some important business. My sister did more of the bookwork part of it and I did more of the locating of things. Teamwork, you know. Then when my husband arrived back from work he met me at Dad's and we all four went out to supper to (our) favourite restaurant. That topped off the day nicely for me.  In fact, we all enjoyed it. 

Remember I told you about winning a book in January in a writers chat room? It arrived yesterday! I am looking forward to reading it. The author, Sherrill Bodine, included a note and picture for me and I have been in touch with her. She loves to travel, said she has been to Nova Scotia and that it is beautiful here (of course I agree!), and this week she is leaving on a trip to China! If I get to town for groceries and a little shopping for the extras, I feel I am doing well! :)

So ... my questions for you this week are:

• Do you do much travelling?  
• What are you doing to relax?  
• How are you helping someone else?

Thanks for reading, and ... Blessings on your day!  :)

website updates & other things

Just a quick post tonight to keep things updated ...

I have been busy working on my website. Yes, I finished loading onto my Quickbooks program everything that is on the website, (yay!) so this weekend I started adding patterns.  Some are for sewing but most are for quilt projects.  Such lovely patterns.  I have many more to add, plus books and other things.  Keep peeking in to see what is new. 

This year I have been taking our little grandson to Sunday School and he is enjoying it.  Today was his third time.  It is beginning to look as if it may become a challenge for me as he is getting more settled into being there - and more restless before the children go downstairs for their class.  It is important for him, though.  :)  After church we go to my husband's and my favourite little seafood restaurant for dinner - great food there.  Our grandson likes to eat in the "pirate's boat" which is fun for him. 

I am reading more and loving it as I am rather eclectic in my reading.  I was in a writers chat room tonight and when they drew someone's name for a copy of our guest speaker's book ... I won!  What a fun surprise! :)  I look forward to receiving that.


Very soon I have to get to work on the next Valley Sunshine issue.  (Please contact me if you want to subscribe or ask about it.) 

As you can see, there is always lots to do around here. :)  Remember to check out the website (link at right).

So, what has been keeping you busy so far this year?  Any new projects?  Any old projects to complete?  I'd love to hear about it. 

Thanks for reading, and ... Blessings on your day! :)

blogs, business & beauty

More snow last night.  Not a lot, but more.  Enough to be very pretty out there, enough to make the birds have to dig a little deeper to find food in the feeders.


The first week of the new year has passed already and almost all of our Christmas decorations have been taken down - except our outdoor lights.  I did leave up a few lights over the fireplace since they look so nice, and candles in some windows because the house is bare with everything gone at once.  My husband undecorated our Christmas tree and then placed it outside, leaning it against the end of our deck, securing it there so the winds won't knock it over and carry it away.  I like the tree there till Spring for the birds.  It adds extra natural shelter for them near the feeders, and they seem to enjoy hopping down into its branches.


We had the most gorgeous snowfall a few days ago, and I have posted two pictures for you, although a camera cannot capture the true beauty. The first one shows our Christmas tree buried in snow against our deck. The second one may give you an idea of how the snow clung to tree limbs. This snow was not like the usual.  It fell and piled up, stuck like whipped cream, thick and hanging off everything. A heavy wet snow that adorned all the world, so it seemed.  It was exquisite, profoundly quiet and breathtakingly beautiful .. so much so that one hated to step out into it and make tracks to ruin its magnificence.

Since I have been thinking a lot more lately about writing I started a blog on WordPress.  It will be used mostly for my chatter and progress on that topic so that this blog will be mostly about business and other things - which is what I had intended in the first place.  The challenge will be to keep up with both.

A few weeks ago I downloaded QuickBooks Pro to help me with bookkeeping, and lately have been trying to get all my website items listed on it. Once I am caught up I will start loading more on the site.  It all takes so much time!  And I am not one who can stick forever at one thing, so it takes me longer than it should.

I have plans to expand my website's visibility later to build a broader customer base.  There are certain things I want finished on it first and then I'll make my move.  :)  I will let you know what that is about when it comes time.

So .. what was the best thing that happened for you during the Christmas season?
What did God stir in your heart?
What are your goals - or 'intentions' as a friend calls them - for this new year?
If you have any thoughts on what I have posted ... you  know the drill!  :)

Thanks for reading, and ... Blessings on your day!  :)

website update

Just a brief FYI:

On my website ( http://www.novascotiaflavour.com ) I have added more to the Crocheted Items category. Also, I have listed a few beautiful pillows in the Ring Bearer Pillows category - with more to come.  In case you are interested or curious to look, those items cross categorize with Jewellery and Sewing.

I am gradually getting things on there.  Tomorrow I hope to add more products and then I may have to pause for a few days as I must get into Valley Sunshine newsletter publishing. It is time for the Winter issue already!  If you have any questions regarding that, please send me an email and I will be pleased to inform you.


Thanks for reading, and ... Blessings on your day!  :)

security

Just a quick note: 
Today increased security has been set up on my website so that anyone wishing to place orders online can feel safe about it.  Security is an important issue, and Starfield makes it their business to provide that security.

There may possibly be small glitches to work out yet on my website, but if they do exist those will be discovered and handled as we go along.  That is the normal for when starting out.  There are around 100 products loaded onto the site so far, and that number plus many more have yet to be listed. 

I hope you take a few minutes and check it out.  (Address in the right column.)

Thinking of security .. some of my family were experiencing stressful situations this month and for one member in particular security was found almost immediately in and through prayer.  It is always encouraging and reinforcing to be reminded that God hears and acts on behalf of those who love Him.  PTL!

Thanks for reading, and ... Blessings on your day.  :)

programs, patience & progress

Wow!  Has it only been four days since I last posted?  It really seems longer than that.  It could be due to the fact that I have been hours and hours working on trying to improve my website pages.

I am making progress.  I am learning to work with the programs.  AND I am finding it to be a test of my patience. But, did I say .. I AM making progress!  PTL! (Praise the Lord!)

My website designer, Ray, is such a patient man. He explains things to me and understands that I just don't get it the first time, or maybe even the second time, but I keep at it until it makes sense to me .. or just happens to suddenly fall together and work.  LOL!  He is deserving of lots of credit as he is trying to help me so that I can do this work myself.

I am enjoying this process, though. My frustration level goes up and down, along with my stress level, but perseverance pays off.  Last night is a case in point.  Earlier in the day I asked Ray many questions, he gave me appropriate answers and instructions, and I set off last night to make it work. Well! At 2 AM I gave up, wrote him an email saying please help me fix this mess I have made! But I didn't send it.  I decided .. this is not going to beat me! Instead I kept trying (and praying to understand) and at just before 3 AM .. click!  There it was. The way I wanted it. And the email got deleted, I got a few hours sleep, and here I am again.  :)  There is so much to do.  I tend to be a perfectionist and I want this website to be a nice place for people to spend some time.

This morning I enjoyed being outside for a little while on this lovely Fall day.  Between working on my website and probably catching a nap this afternoon, (up till after 3 AM does not work for me very well!), I knew that I would need to get out and appreciate a little of God's world.  It inspires and refreshes me .. and we all can use more of that gentle calm in our lives, can't we? 

Now, back to business.  As for you ... what are you working on that is taking so much of your attention and time?

Thanks for reading, and ... Blessings on your day.  :)

Website open to the public

Just a quick note ...

This is to announce that I am 'officially' opening my website to the public.  Even though my site has actually been available for viewing on the 'Net' for months, it has taken me (personally) a long time to get to this place.  Now I am in the process of activating the items I have on there, and this is just the tip of the iceberg as I have many more to load on.  I also have more things to order in after that, bolts of fabric to be specific, which I plan to do as soon as I can manage it. There is so much to do with just what I have so far!  It doesn't help that I am so slow at it, but ... little by little ...

Small beginnings, but I hope you will accept my invitation to at least take a peek at my website, and maybe even let me know what you think.  That would be great!  Thanks!

so ...

Thanks for reading, and ... Blessings on your day!  :)

thankfulness, time & anger

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, Canada! 

Today is Thanksgiving Monday, but yesterday our family got together at Dad's for our annual Thanksgiving feast.  Our son-in-law is home from Alberta for a few days, but even so, there were only ten of us this time since two of our daughters could not get home.  (I'm really missing them lately.) One of our daughters out there celebrated a birthday last Tuesday. (Happy 26th, Sweetie!)

It is such beautiful weather right now.  The leaves have turned colour and are starting to blow around in the nippy Fall wind, but as long as the sun is shining I don't worry too much about the cold yet.  So far we have not had a frost here in our location, but that will happen all too soon. It rained earlier - with a quickly passing thunderstorm last night - but now my husband is taking advantage of the good weather to get our wood split and put into the shed for Winter -- hard work. We have an outdoor wood furnace which my husband decided several years ago that we should buy, and it has made such a positive difference for my health.  Once we start using the furnace in the heating season, it only has to be filled twice a day - and I don't have to do it!  It has eliminated our need to purchase furnace oil, too.  Gotta love that!


Last week marked a whole year since I started meeting with the housegroup once a week.  Amazing how quickly time passes, isn't it?  I really think the world - and the whole universe - is turning and moving faster, all part of the creation's appointment in God's plan. Any thoughts on that?

This past week was productive regarding work on my website.  Yaaay!!  :)  It is coming together better now, but someone visiting it will notice little change since I have not validated many items yet. I have other things to address first, but it is coming along.  PTL!  Soon there will be lots to see on there.

Last week I posed questions about Twitter.  I still have not made a definite decision, but I will mull that over further.  I'm still hoping to hear from more people about their experience with it, so please leave comments for me to ponder.  How time consuming is it to keep track of postings on your account?

I will leave you with this to consider:  On Sunday our pastor talked about Thanksgiving and how we often express what we are thankful for as being those things we have materially, or healthwise or things like that.  He pointed out that true thankfulness comes from the heart and mostly within our relationship with God. It is a spiritual thing.  He also addressed anger, saying that anger is mostly based in our often deeply rooted anger toward God about things that have happened or that we wanted to happen and didn't, and such.  Bottom line .. we blame God.  I believe that those two points are really beneficial to consider, and it will make a huge difference in how we view life and live it out.

What do you think?  I would love to hear from you.

Thanks for reading, and ... Blessings on your day!  :)

change can be beautiful

I realized today that it has been a whole year since I started blogging, having begun in September 2008!

Already it is the end of the first week into another Autumn, and - after rain this morning - today is warm and beautiful. The leaves have been changing colour, as I was pointing out to my little grandson yesterday to draw his attention to the beauty that God has made. He is so teachable at this age, being all of four years old as of June.

Sammy is four as well, born in September. Last week I took him to a professional groomer for the first time. Sam is a Maltese x miniature wire-haired Dachshund. That means he has a medium long coat, long body, longish ears, and short legs. Cute. His 'mama' (my daughter) kept his coat trimmed to a more manageable length, but with her currently being in AB I decided the grooming part of his care is not for me. The groomer had her problems with him, and it took 3 1/2 hours instead of 3 for his first time. I had her shave his coat right down short and I guess he was not happy about this stranger being so intimate! Oh well, he seems to feel a lot better now ... and he looks much more like a dachshund. And still cute, although the images below do not capture that very well.                                                       

                                                                                              
<-- Before              After   -->


     Yes, it's the same dog!
                                           (doesn't like the camera flash)

I have added a few titles to my "Other Blogs I'm Following" list, some of the blogs that I decided I am interested in enough to follow. It would be nice to have more followers of my own, but maybe that will increase once I get things going with my website.

If you 'happened upon' my blog I would love it if you would sign up as a follower and/or leave comments. It is nice to know someone is reading what I write. Comments would make it even better. Thanks!

Thanks for reading, and ... Blessings on your day! :)

moves, machines & missionaries

If you have been visiting my blog for new postings, then I must apologize for the long delay in updating. This will be an abbreviated one just to catch up.

The month of June was busy, the highlight being a wonderful visit with our daughter home from Alberta. It was so nice knowing she was in her old room for a few weeks. The time passed far too quickly, though, and before we were ready she was on her way back to AB. As for her, she was glad to be home in NS, but missed 'home' in AB. It seems that for now she has found a good fit for her life. Since her return there she has a 'boyfriend' - a nice young man who is a bull rider and also has a steady (less dangerous) job.

At the end of July - four days after her 19th birthday - our youngest daughter took her first airplane flight and is now living with her sister in AB for awhile. This pushed my husband and me right into 'empty nesting'. After over 30 years of having children at home it has been a bit of a shock. I still have the 'feeling' of her going to be coming home from work some days. Hard to get used to. Her move has left her little dog, Sammy, in our care. Each evening for the first two weeks he would sit near the door waiting for her to come in. He now seems to have adopted me.

I was late getting the last issue of Valley Sunshine mailed out to my subscribers. Along with other delays, the final one was that my printing equipment quit working properly. I now have the drum being checked over, and I am hoping that the problem can be corrected. Printing the publication on my printers is too costly. If I need a new drum for my machine I may be in real trouble. What I have been using is a now very outdated Gestetner duplicating machine - a Gemini 5170 copier/printer that uses copy printer ink CPT1 and CPMT1 masters. I had to order comparable supplies from a company in the US and if I need a new drum ... not sure where I will find that. I hope I don't have to start shopping for a new machine!

Speaking of shopping, my husband and I have been looking to purchase a new or kindly used car. My! There are so many new styles to choose from now. Have you seen the new Nissan Cube? I like it, odd as it is.

The last thing I will mention in this posting is a missionary family home on furlough. At housegroup this week Patrick Finnerty joined us and gave a very interesting presentation about their mission work in Rwanda. I would love it if you would check them out at http://www.vineyardrwanda.org . The Vineyard church is mainly their support church, but our housegroup - which includes people (myself included) associated with churches other than the Vineyard - is actively and enthusiastically supporting them and their cause however we can. I hope you will check them out at the above mentioned website as they are sincere and wonderful people with a heart for the Rwandan people, even through much personal sacrifice. The Lord has been working through them for the undertaking of a great work there.

Finally, I am trying again to get my own website/business worked out. If you have been interested in that, please don't give up on me. :) I easily get confused with details but once I have it things should go well.

Thanks for reading, and ... Blessings on your day! :)

prayers, pilots & pets

May passed far too quickly, don't you agree? To me it brought a mix of events and emotions.

Are you keeping well? A few weeks ago I was exposed to H1N1, otherwise known as 'swine flu'. One Sunday I felt really blah so stayed home from fellowship just in case, but fortunately I did not come down with the virus.

Our son-in-law got home from Alberta for about three weeks in May, which was wonderful. He keeps busy while home and I do not have our grandson to babysit when his daddy is around.

My web site is not progressing quickly yet - admittedly my fault as I have not been working on it because of other things ... and work on Valley Sunshine took priority because my readers subscribe to it. This issue just sent out on Friday is on Prayer - a very important part of our relationship with God. It is - simply put - conversation with God and touches on all areas of our lives.

2009 marks 100 years of powered flight in Canada. There was a related contest held for school age children, and I am pleased to say that my 12 yr. old nephew (my sister and brother-in-law's son) won in the intermediate photography category. On May 20 we attended the impressive demonstrations, air show and activities at Greenwood Base. During the awards ceremony my nephew received a certificate and other things, which he was very happy about. Following that was the air show and if you have never seen the Snowbirds in action you have got to add that to your "things to do" list! Those pilots are AMAZING! It was exciting, loud, breathtaking, heart stopping and so worth seeing as they demonstrated their skill and teamwork. I loved it! - prayed a lot, too!

After the air show my nephew got the pilots to sign his certificate. He and the other young winners stayed overnight on the Base on May 22nd for a fun time, from which he came away with a bag stuffed full of neat gifts. My husband picked him up at the Base the next morning and we had the pleasure of his company that day because his parents were attending a conference. Not having sons, only daughters, I always find it interesting how boys' interests differ from girls', although now video games and such make it fairly neutral ground.

Our daughter who lives and works in Alberta arrived home last night for a visit of a few weeks with us. SO happy to have her home!

Now for the very sad news -- Late one night last week our beloved, healthy, nine year old dog, Shasta, started having seizures. We took her to the Animal Hospital and even though they did all they could for her, she passed away in the wee hours of May 29. It is a puzzle as to what happened to her. It seemed like poisoning but we cannot find anything that would have harmed her. The veterinarians have not been able to figure it out, except it may have been fungal infection which is usually devastating to dogs. Whatever it was hit her hard and took her quickly.

I am surprised at how much losing her has upset me; it is a great sorrow and tremendous loss to us. Shasta was such a good dog, the offspring of a purebred German Shepherd (her mother), and a husky/wolf (her father), so had personality plus. She was protective, funny, smart, loyal, playful, affectionate, and enjoyed her family (us) so much. She was excellent with our little grandson and motherly with our daughter's miniature breed dog. The two dogs played ball together, and if Sammy would get too rambunctious, Shasta would walk over and put her foot on him until he calmed down. Sammy has been confused by her absence.

Gone are the days of hearing her howl (so much like a wolf), and my being playfully pushed over when I squat down to tie my shoes, and being informed when anyone comes onto or near the property, and seeing her sit for hours patiently waiting for a scolding squirrel to attempt its descent from a tree. Pets play such a huge role in our lives, don't they?

Tonight we bring our beautiful Shasta home from the Animal Hospital where they are keeping her for us and then we will bury her beside the flower garden she liked to snuffle through (and sometimes dig in). My heart is heavy, but I have lots of good memories. She was a happy dog.
Hmmm ... I just realized, my husband will have gooseberries to eat this Summer; Shasta won't be here to pluck them off those thorny bushes before he gets to them.

Do you have any stories to share about what interests you, or anecdotes about your pets? I'd love to read them.

Thanks for reading, and ... blessings on your day. :)

Spring projects

Welcome Spring weather! Warmer days and nights. March winds, April showers .. and mayflowers; love those sweet bouquets of Nova Scotia!

Since I last wrote we have celebrated the meaningful Easter season. On Easter Sunday I attended a combined service, some of the members of four fellowships all together in one church. It is always special to meet with others and worship the Lord together, rejoicing in Who He is and what He has done.

Later my family and a couple of guests met at Dad's for Easter dinner, but we missed two daughters and a son-in-law who had to work or were too far away (in Alberta) to be with us. Even so, there were eleven of us there for a great meal and family togetherness.

In April a second copy of my manuscript for a children's book was rejected. :( I am not sure right now if I should spend time pursuing that dream as my business website is ready to be fully launched, as far as its construction is concerned. My designer had the work done in four weeks, earlier than he had expected! There will be some touch-ups later, and I have yet to load my items on there and get the site ready to my own satisfaction. There is so much to learn, but my designer is patient and willing to help me when I need it, even after all his personal instruction. It is a challenge for me to remember everything. Hopefully, I very soon will have it to the place where I will take down the Under Construction sign and welcome customers and visitors. (Actually, I am already getting visitors even though there is not much there to see as yet.) So, I guess the writing has to wait again, the business takes priority right now.

My husband is going to start building shelves for my business so that I can have better storage for fabric and books and things I will be selling on my web site. He is such a great guy, my husband. :)

Further to the above projects it is soon time for mailing of another issue of Valley Sunshine publication, the Christian newsletter I publish, so that is also on the proverbial drawing board. There is a lot of activity going on in my life, anyway. :)

Do you have any interesting Spring projects on the go? I would enjoy hearing about them.

Thanks for reading, and .. Blessings on your day. :)

rejection & possibilities

Well, it happened yesterday. I returned home after a day consisting of playing train dominoes with my sister and brother-in-law, sitting in a lengthy meeting with my new website designer discussing the possibilities for my new website that is soon to be under construction, chatting with a friend briefly and making conversation with my young soon-to-be-a-teenager nephew, followed by the drive home ... then rushing around to get the house set in order after my being away since the day before ... and making supper for my dear husband and myself ...

then it happened. My husband came in with the mail. My first manuscript copy -- the one I had to send twice because their address in two public places was the incorrect address ... the first copy of my manuscript was returned.

I told my husband .. I am on my way to being published! This is my first return.

One less thing to use brain cells on right now, anyway. Two more publishers to hear back from .. one of them not at all if not interested.

So, ask me if I am having fun yet!

Life is full of ups, downs, sunny days, foggy days, days not worth the time it takes to crawl out of bed, and those days you love to live over and over and over again in your head and heart. I have had all of those in the past two weeks! No wonder I am tired! lol

And how is your day?

(The above is an email I sent a friend & I thought it worked well for here. I am not terribly disappointed about the rejection letter with my returned manuscript. There is still hope for my story and lots more ideas where that one came from.)

So, how is YOUR day?

Thanks for reading .. and Blessings on your day. :)

under construction -- God's timing

I can hardly believe it has already been two weeks since my last posting! During that time Spring has finally taken hold here; although we got more snow it is fast melting away now. Gotta love that! It's quite funny that many people think that all of Canada is covered in snow and ice most of the year, but that is not the case. We may not get a very long summer, but it is beautiful and hot when it comes. But right now I am looking forward with great anticipation to Spring's fragrance of new grass, flowers, sweet warm breezes, and more birds' songs.

If you recall, in past postings I was bemoaning my website woes. Well .. I had been praying for weeks about this, but last week I gave up and in desperation told God I can't figure it out or find anyone to help me, and I don't know what to do. I asked Him to "Please Help me! I need direction!" On Sunday things started falling into place, although I still couldn't see it yet. A friend told me that God had impressed upon him the word 'direction' for me! wow! He prayed for me right there and I knew God was doing something; I experienced His peace. On Wednesday the next step was taken - at housegroup that evening another friend contacted a friend who builds websites. Well!... on Thursday I met with that person and oh my! We are on the way to great new things! I am excited! The original website is gone as I refused to pay the other people another cent when my year of hosting was over yesterday - since they would not fix the errors nor give any help at all. My new design team is on the ball and has it in hand. SO, right now if anyone goes to my site they will see an Under Construction sign, but that doesn't worry me since it will not be there longer than it needs to be. What I will have when it is completed will be far better than what I had. PTL!

I have learned a lot over the past months regarding websites, business ethics, and giving God time. It is that last point that I will explain a little. I had been asking God for help, but always I kept looking for the right person or company to come to my aid. What I needed to do was keep waiting, and through each contact God showed me something more to learn. It has been a rough ride, but it was when I gave up that the Lord put the final pieces into place. As an extra blessing there will be much more 'direction' and guidance for me as this company is very goal oriented. That is so good for me.

God knows just what we need and when, we cannot rush Him. Waiting could be the hardest thing we do but He can see the whole picture whereas we can see only the moment we are in. It is an exciting walk if we allow Him His place in it. :)

Do you have a similar story to relate? I truly would really love to hear it!

Thanks for reading ... and blessings on your day. :)

pursuing dreams

It has been too long since I last posted - in November - and now it is already well into March '09! We recently had more snow and this time more ice too, which resulted in such a beautiful world around us. I just had to show you. Soon Spring will have full sway and there will be new beauty to enjoy.

I mentioned in an October post that a friend was selling me her old Singer treadle sewing machine, and as of very early in January it now belongs to me. I haven't even tried to use it yet, but I am delighted to have it. This machine came with the cabinet, and perhaps I can take a photo later and show you that, too.

Further into my "spiritual walk", I have been going to a church again as of the first Sunday of January. I go where God sends me, which is a nice place to be. :)

In December I sent a box of items to a deployed Canadian soldier in Afghanistan. He will be returning home in April, so I am waiting for information of another soldier in order to send the box I have almost ready to go.

This week I mailed out another issue of Valley Sunshine publication, later than it should be, but it is in the mail and already received by some. Now I am free again to do other things. One of those things is writing children's stories. I have had the interest for years to write children's stories (books) and took a great course of study which covered every angle. I had, several years before that, gone to Acadia U. for an evening class in literature which introduced me to Professor Hilary Thompson. She became someone very special to me, a lady I deeply admired and respected for her talent, courage and view of life. She was very encouraging to me and gave great advice, and we would chat whenever we got the chance. Not long ago Dr. Thompson passed away at the early age of 65, due to cancer. Such a sad loss to so many .... I, for one, will really miss her.

This sharing was to say .. I think Hilary would be so proud of me if she could know that I have come back to writing and have sent off manuscripts with the hope that someone may take a liking to my most recent story and want to publish it. That would be a very exciting event for me!

My website still is not proving out, but one fantastic thing has come from it. A lady sent me an email to ask about an item she saw on there, and it turns out she is an author! We are corresponding now! How about that? (A "God thing" if I ever saw one!) :)

Do you have a dream that you have not pursued yet? What is holding you back? I would love to hear about it. Or, have you had a dream and finally set off to take hold of it and make it happen? I would especially enjoy hearing about that!

All for this time. I hope to hear from you.

Thanks for reading ... and, blessings on your day. :)

determination

It is truly a Fall day here today! Windy, rainy, but warmer than usual - for which I am thankful. The fields are being covered in a golden and red carpet of leaves now, though.

I am later posting than intended, but sometimes it is difficult to put thoughts in order. I have been going to my sister's on Wednesday evenings for housegroup meetings and coming home late on Thursdays, and that has been a welcome change and blessing for me. On my way home last Thursday I went to my doctor and told him I have bronchitis. After his questions, during which I assured him that yes, it is bronchitis, :) he listened to my breathing and agreed with me. Because I have been 'patiently' (his word) waiting for it to go away and it hasn't, he gave me a prescription for an antibiotic because it has obviously turned into a bacterial thing. Apparently it is affecting many people around here in the same way. I started the meds on Friday afternoon, and what a difference in how I feel in just three days. I hadn't realized how pulled down I had been by this. It is so good to have more energy again.

Business news is that I have finally listed some fabric on my website, long overdue, and there is much more to add. (Funny, isn't it, how one's brain works better when feeling better?) The shopping cart is not giving accurate shipping rates, though, so anyone wanting to order anything has possibly been put off by the cost of shipping. I have added a statement that the quote is an estimate and to contact me if wanting to know exact postage. This has been such a concern to me, but I will find a way to make it work. Someone told me today that "determination is the battle", and if one is determined enough then things will get done.

An exciting thing for me is that a friend is selling her treadle sewing machine to me! I have wanted one for years. Mum used to have one, but Dad thinks they sold it because it isn't there anymore. I think they did, but I will have my own by the end of this year. Why am I 'collecting' sewing machines?, you may ask. Well, why not? :) I am interested in the good oldies that have been proven to be hard working and efficient. Perhaps they will add to my decor more than being used, but that's okay too. :) They will be enjoyed either way.

Stay safe!
Thanks for reading ... and Blessings on your day! :)

Thanksgiving

Here in Canada it is Thanksgiving Monday already! How did you spend your Thanksgiving weekend? We had our family dinner on Sunday at Dad's. Only eight of us were there instead of our usual eleven to fourteen. It was a smaller and quieter group, but as always there was lots of conversation and an abundance of good food.

The days are quickly getting cooler now and night falls earlier with the days being shorter. I love the colour of Autumn leaves but do not wish to see those trees getting bare as it means the cold weather is not far off.

Remember in my last post I was pondering my spiritual situation? Well, I felt led to attend the housegroup meeting at my sister and brother-in-law's on Wednesday evening. It was good to be there and I felt welcome among brothers and sisters in Christ. Because of the distance to their place, I stayed overnight and came home on Thursday. Now it remains to be seen how often I can manage to do that due to other things in my life. It does 'feel right', though, so we shall see.

I have been busy sorting through my fabric stash. My! I have a lot of fabric! It is hard to part with this beautiful selection I have, but my stash is growing and I really must move some out. (How else can I make room for more to touch and admire?) ;) Sometime this week I will be making some available for purchase on my website. Someone will enjoy it, I am sure.

I have been carefully rinsing (cleaning) Wild Turkey feathers too, for sale on my site. They are lovely feathers for crafting or fly tying. The turkeys I am collecting from are alive and well - they all were spared this Thanksgiving - and these are just what they drop as they stroll around the farm. Comical birds they are!

All for this time. Count your blessings as we do have much for which to be thankful.
Thanks for reading, and Blessings on your day! :)

relationships, changes & chat

Here it is the first weekend of October already, and a beautiful one! Tomorrow it will be the 25th birthday of one of our daughters - (Happy Birthday, my darling!) - and I won't get to hug her because she is living and working in AB. That is the way of things here in the Maritimes now, but I do not discourage anyone to go, temporarily, where the work and money are. When they get established and debt free, they can move back home. Maybe by that time things will have improved here. One can hope and pray so, anyway. The main thing is that if they leave family here at home (spouse, children), they keep the lines of communication open so that nothing breaks up that family unit because of economic choices having to be made. Our married daughter and her husband are doing that and it is not an easy thing, but they are making their way through the plan they have in mind.

We now have a solar panel on our house. My husband and his dad installed it yesterday. The goal is to have it as an assist to heating our home, and especially the downstairs (basement) where we have finished rooms and my business is set up. It gets chilly down here, so I am looking forward to seeing what difference is made. Are you doing anything to cut down on fuel consumption or to use clean fuel? Solar power is so underused.

Have you had a chance to check out my website yet? I am still hoping for things to soon get settled out regarding it, and when that happens there will be lots of work for me to do on the site. I have some of the turkey feathers listed, and eventually I will be thinning out my fabric stash and listing lots more fabric on the website (while biting my lip!) That is not as simple as it sounds because ..'Hello, my name is "sew amusing" and I am a fabriholic!' :)

I learned several days ago during an appointment with my naturopathic doctor, that I have bronchitis. It was good to know the reason why I could not get rid of the tiring deep cough I had for about three weeks. I am taking some capsules she suggested and the gradual healing is happening with less coughing and it no longer burns when I do cough.

Been wondering a lot lately about where I am in my relationship with God. There is so much to learn, so much He has planned for the ones who love Him, and I wonder if I am way off track in my walk with Him - if I have moved too far one way or the other. I miss the fellowship I had with others and the Bible studies I held here at my house. But ... I will see what comes ... and trust Him for direction.

Do you have any thoughts on any of what I shared here today?
** I just added Google Talk chatback to my page so that if you really want to, you can talk to me online if I am available. Just click on there and maybe we can chat for a few minutes. :) **

Thanks for reading, and Blessings on your day! :)

how I got here

Since I have made a step into this Blogging world, perhaps I should share a little of what brought me here - just in case someone is interested in knowing.

I enjoy crafting, sewing, learning some quilting -- not that there is any one thing I feel particularly accomplished in, but I like to try my hand at making nice things. A friend I met online built a very pretty and well constructed site for me a few years ago so that I could sell the ring bearer pillows my daughter made. I was very pleased with it, but although I had some visitors, sadly I got no business that way. Several months ago I did some research and found a few things I could do differently, so then I hired a local little business to build me a more involved web site. I needed to branch out.

Have you ever built a website or had someone do it for you? If it has gone smoothly I would like to know how that happened! :) It has been five months since signing up with them and there have been a few snags that have had to be ironed out (not unusual); one is still an issue which my web site designer tells me they do not deal with ... but I am hoping and praying that the problem will be resolved soon.

Even though I have not had any sales as yet, I do have another nice web site! :) I have much more to load on there but stopped in frustration until an important feature was worked out, so now I will start adding to it again. If you want to take a peek: http://www.novascotiaflavour.com

The fun thing is that my web site is not just for me. Although the plan is to sell my own items - and there is quite a variety - I also have clients here in Nova Scotia for whom I hope to sell their art and crafts. It is a great way to introduce their 'work' to the world. I will be excited when sales start happening!

Because I am getting into online business, someone said that I should also become known on Facebook. That does not really interest me at this point, but then a friend suggested 'blogging.' I decided to look into that and after viewing a few choices I selected Blogger.com. Maybe it will add a new good dimension to my life. :)

Thanks for reading .. and Blessings on your day!