Happy Thanksgiving

We've got a lot to be thankful for this year. Our furnace kicked the bucket last week. Thankfully, we were able to find a (fairly) affordable option and are enjoying the warmth from our new furnace. Never had a new furnace, always inherited a very old one.

The boys (our two dogs) are still with us and at 14 and 15 years old, are keeping us on our toes as we care for them round the clock. Sans the ability to turn back the clock, I couldn't think of a better use of time. Ms. Kitty is doing well and loving every moment she has to snuggle with her boys.

We've had a very wet summer and fall. Thanks to the chance we were given to dig out the "waterway" that runs through out property, our yard has not been flooded as it has in years past. It feels good to see something turn out right!

Our "traditional" vegetarian Thanksgiving will be vegan this year, as 2009 was the year we went 1000% vegan. Never felt better. We are preparing our menu now. I am looking forward to a few days of relaxation and fun with the husband and furry kids. We always try to cram in so much in a short period, but there are so many games to play, lights to put up, and dreams to hatch.

Yep, it has been a year of hard work and transitions, but at the end of the day, when the guys are running in their sleep, the cat is napping at their feet, and we are warm, dry, and loved, the world seems kinda perfect. Just don't turn on the news, the radio, the internet, or answer the phone. :)

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I do hope you take stock of your life and gain a little perspective. We have a lot to be thankful for this year.

ETSY Apps - Help and Fun For Your Etsy Shop

Are you aware that there are a number of applications you can use to highlight, improve, and link to your Etsy store(s)?

The Etsy Developer Community has a number of great applications you might find useful. Including:

Heartomatic - Makes your item and store "hearts" easily viewable and they also have a search feature that tells you if you've been featured in an Etsy gift guide or on the coveted front page.

has a list of amazing features, including Where Am I?, a tool that shows where your shop appears in an Etsy search. Some other neat tools include: copy listing (create a listing based on a current one), RSS Feedback (create an RSS feed of your Etsy feedback), and Shop CSV (download current listings to upload them into a spreadsheet). There are more tools listed, so check them out.

Yammi Handmade is a fun site that offers a lot of info. for the handmade maven. Not only can you be listed in the handmade shop directory, but they provide links to your blog, Etsy and Artfire shops, Twitter, MySpcae, and Facebook accounts, and more. My favorite tools are the gadgets/widgets you can plug into your blog that feature your item hearts, items sold, and items listed.

Here are a few other sites that will help you make the most out of your Etsy store:

Easy Etsy - They've created a great list of the tutorials and tools that Etsy experts use to help promote and improve their stores.


Etsy Wiki - Sometimes the information you need about how to best use Etsy can be difficult to locate. Not so with the Wiki.

Got any helpful sites you'd like to share?

Documentary: It Was A Wonderful Life

I love documentaries. Many nights I can be found watching a documentary about any number of subjects and topics. Documentaries open up your world and your mind, who couldn't love them?

I just finished the 1993 documentary, It Was A Wonderful Life, a moving film about the "hidden homeless" population that highlights the lives of six witty, intelligent, talented, and homeless women.

While it may be from 1993, the film is no less relevant today. Not unlike our current economic situation, the recession of 1992 - 93 left many Americans without a job or home. As the women featured in the film attempt to find jobs and safe housing, my thoughts went to our local homeless who are fighting city boards as they take up residence in tents, parking garages, and their cars. Sadly, not much has changed in the struggle to be safe and warm when one is homeless.

The women in this film have so much to offer society. They are articulate, artistic, intelligent, funny, and inventive. They are not the stereotypical images of homelessness. These women are "every woman," and if you passed them on the street, would never guess they are homeless. It couldn't be made any clearer that anyone can become homeless when dealt a losing hand of circumstances that can arise from divorce, lack of health care coverage, and unemployment.

The daily struggles faced by these women are no easy tasks. Do you know where you would go if you were alone and needed a shower? How could you afford to keep your clothes clean? How would you keep your dignity intact when the world tells you that you don't matter?

After watching this film I guarantee you'll never again complain about going to the basement to do laundry. You'll think twice about being "too tired" to cook dinner. Maybe you'll remember to extend a smile to the woman you know is homeless in your town. The one who lives in the only sanctuary she knows, her car.

Jodie Foster narrates the film with an original musical score by Melissa Etheridge.
Director: Michèle Ohayon
82 mins. in length

Crafting a Confident Woman

Glamour magazine has done an amazing job of bringing the topic of body-confidence for women to the forefront of conversation with their latest "beautiful bodies" spread in their November issue.Glamour promises to continue featuring "a wide range of body types" and celebrating the diversity of size, shape, and race.

Check out this screen shot of the online photo and article. Check out the link below to discover more about the models in the photo. Their stories are very interesting.I love this photo. Real women. Real issues. Real beauty. Kudos to you, Glamour!

Supermodels Who Aren't Superthin: Meet the Women Who Proudly Bared it All Health & Fitness: glamour.com

Shared via AddThis

Fall Flutterings

Late this summer we noticed a plant pop up below the apple tree. It grew in a straight line and produced lovely yellow flowers that resembled the squash in the garden. Had we planted anything here? Nope. We had laid out a pumpkin last winter for the birds and raccoons to have their way with.

Apparently a few seeds took:

Our robins appear to have left us for the season. Oh, one or two will always stay behind just to taste the first cold snap. Friendships and nest mates are expanding as winter comes near.

The grey skies don't lie...fall is here.

And finally, the butterflies are floating among us as we go about day attempting to prepare for the colder weather ahead. It isn't hard to get transfixed as we stop on our way to gather more insulation, make needed repairs on the doors, and make a warm spot for the feral cats who will make their way to us soon.

 

How does fall look from where you are?

photos © wingsandfences