The Best Laid Plans of…….. by Pam Todd

Well, you’ve heard the saying, “The best laid plans of mice and men….” and the one about a certain road paved with good intentions!  That seems to be the case right now!!  Having a hard time being timely…. And also wondering why my Comcast internet signal always seems to come and go on Friday mornings … if it isn’t one thing, it’s another, as another old saying goes!

Thanks to all those who entered my giveaway in celebration of my fourth year (October 13) on Etsy with my shop:  www.bagsandmorebypam.etsy.com where I feature hand-crocheted items for people, pets, and homes.

As promised, I took a photo of the entries hand-written on small pieces of paper, somewhat neatly folded, and placed in my stainless steel mixing bowl, (which by the way belonged to my grandma, and which I have had since January, 1964, and which she had had since 1952) and then stirred diligently with a wooden spoon (only a few years old).

The second photo was of my dear hubby’s unbiased, completely impartial hand (certified by Price, Water…..whoops, actually by me), reaching in to draw out the lucky winner!

However, I’ve been through the photos on my iphone (forwards and backwards), and those photos aren’t there!! There are two empty white spaces there……….no doubt the missing photos! So, I apologize for not having the photos of the entries being stirred and the winner drawn.

The winner is El, and this is what she chose (as my giveaway allowed the lucky entrant to choose anything from my shop that he or she wanted valued at $28 or less)-- a 100% cotton Pamper Yourself Bath Set

Each entrant will be contacted via email, thanking them for participating, and letting them know I wish I could have made them all winners! 

LiveJournal Tags: bagsandmorebypam,contest,giveaway,winners,crochet,anniversary,celebrations,etsy

In Celebration of Four Years!

Almost four years ago on October 13, 2007, I opened my Etsy store, featuring hand-crocheted items for people, pets, and homes.  To celebrate my 4th anniversary, I’m having a giveaway.  Just follow these steps to enter:
1.  Go to http://www.bagsandmorebypam.etsy.com/
2.  Browse through the shop
3.  Choose any item valued at $28 and below that you would love to have.  Click on that item.  Copy the link at the top and put it in an email to me:  ptodd614@comcast.net
4.   When your choice arrives, I will write your name on a piece of paper, fold it, and put it in a large stainless steel bowl (sorry, I don’t have a fish bowl!)
5.  Giveaway entries accepted from  Sat., October 8 through Tuesday October 18 .    Please enter only once, or my stainless steel bowl may overflow!  The drawing (after stirring and mixing the entries) will be done by my blindfolded husband (he did this for me last year, and I promise, he won’t cheat!) will be done on Wed., Oct. 19.  All entrants will be notified by email of the lucky winner.
6.  Giveaway open to all!  Have fun!

Oooooooops!!!……………………………….by Pam Todd

You may remember Mary Frances.  She was featured here (www.crafting4animals.blogspot.com) awhile back. She had been found by her owners, Bill and Clarice, lying on her side amidst the rest of the flock, dehydrated.

Bill and Clarice brought her to the house, where they nurtured her back to full health.  It was several weeks before they decided she was ready to rejoin the flock.  As Mary Frances sauntered back to the chicken yard, they watched her go, being very thankful that she had recovered so well.

Just this week, I went down to Bill and Clarice’s house to buy some home grown tomatoes (gave up on growing my own a few years ago, when one evening we had the tallest, most beautiful tomato plants one could imagine, staked up all lush and green, and the next morning we had six inch stems.  Every plant had been eaten by deer.  That was a sad day.  I love homegrown tomatoes.)  And, also to buy some fresh, brown eggs laid by the mommies in their flock.  As Clarice was getting my eggs, she said, “Did I tell you about Mary Frances?”  I said, “No, is she oaky?”  She laughed and said, “Well, when she walked back to the flock that day, she stopped, lifted up her head, puffed up her chest, and crowed the biggest crow you could every hear.  I looked at Bill, and he looked at me, and Bill said, ‘I think Mary Frances just became Marty Francis!’”

I giggled all the way back to the car.  You just never know!  Apologies to Marty!

This post written by Pam Todd, a member of the Crafting for Animals Guild on Artfire, and owner of Bags and More by Pam, a shop featuring hand-crocheted items for people, pets, and homes.  Pam also supports the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee, (www.elephants.com).  She will also participate in the Crafting for Animals team’s October project to publicize National Adopt a Shelter Dog month by featuring a coupon that will donate 10% of her sales during one week of October to the Close to Home shelter.  Watch for more information on the team’s project to help this wonderful shelter.

LiveJournal Tags: cfa guild,chickens,roosters,animals,eggs,tomatoes,farmers,dehydration

Meet Mary Frances by Pam Todd of Bags and More by Pam

This is Mary Frances.  She is one of 52 chickens that my friends, Bill and Clarice, have in their flock. 

A coupe of weeks ago, they went to feed the chickens and found Mary Frances lying on her side.  She was dehydrated from the heat.  They took her straight to their house, where it was cool, and placed a bowl of water on the floor.  She drank and drank and drank that first day.  But, she didn’t eat.  The second day, she drank less and started eating a little bit.  They offered her corn and chicken feed.  The day I stopped to visit, and purchase some fresh brown eggs, my friends and Mary Frances were all sitting outside in the yard.  I asked whether the beautiful chicken was their newest pet.  That’s when they told me the story of her dehydration.

Clarice said, “She thinks she has her own private motel now,” and grinned.  I asked, “Why is that?”  Bill answered, “Well at night she comes into the house and sleeps in a cage.”  Then I asked what she does during the day.  They said that when they are outside in the lawn chairs, she stays close by, hunting for food in the lawn.  She likes bits of grass, too, they said.  When they are inside the house, Mary Frances stays on the patio, under the picnic table.

I asked how long it would take Mary Frances to fully recover. They thought about two more weeks, and then she would return to the flock and continue providing the fresh brown eggs that these well cared for, naturally fed chickens are producing. 

When I think about the loving care my friends are giving to their chickens, I am thankful.  And when I think how delicious those eggs are, I feel fortunate that Bill and Clarice and their 52 chickens are just down the road.  And when I look at Mary Frances, with her beautiful golden brown feathers, well, she is just simply adorable.  I was so glad I stopped by.

This post written by Pam Todd, www.bagsandmorebypam.artfire.com, an avid animal lover, who is fascinated and loves learning about all kinds of animals.  Pam hand crochets items for people, pets, and homes.  She contributes annually to The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee and provides gift certificates to fund-raisers benefitting animal shelters and rescue organizations.

LiveJournal Tags: chickens,hens,eggs,farmers,animal lovers,pets,bagsandmorebypam,cfaguild

Coyotes Next Door

We have two acres bordered on the west by our neighbor’s 20 acres, most of which is wooded areas, ravines, creeks, with lots of underbrush.  My husband mows probably three acres around the log home that sits there.  He often takes Eddie, our Boston Terrier, for walks on that property, with the neighbor’s permission, of course.  This morning, Eddie had his first encounter with a coyote.  We hear them often, and see them, sometimes even crossing our back yard.  Eddie isn’t very good at staying right with his buddy, and suddenly my husband heard yipping and other noises as if a fight was about to occur. A gunshot into the air brought Eddie running as fast as he could, and when the coyote saw my husband and heard the report of the gun, it also ran away.  Eddie thinks he can run right up to other dogs and sniff them out.  But, I expect that Eddie will stay closer to his protector next time they walk in the woods and across the mowed area next door because he has a bite on his butt.  We will be off to the vet in just a little bit.  He has had his rabies shots, thank goodness, but we don’t want to run the risk of infection or any other problems.

That isn’t the only encounter we have had with a coyote.  One day about two years ago, my husband motioned through the patio doors for me to come outside.  He walked to the storage shed, and there was an animal lying curled up in the front corner.  We stood and looked at it, wondering if it was a stray dog or what.  Then the animal saw us, stood up, and walked right past us, not four feet away from where we were standing.  It was a coyote!  It walked about twenty feet farther, turned and looked at us, and then continued on its way.

Housing developments have forced animals into smaller and smaller areas, and it is no longer unusual to see coyotes where we live.  In a suburb of Indianapolis recently, a news report told how a small dog was taken by coyotes and killed.  The town has an ordinance that no guns may be fired within the town limits.  I feel so bad for those folks who lost their small furry family member to animals that shouldn’t be forced to live so close to people.

Would be interested in hearing from others who have experienced close encounters with coyotes where one wouldn’t expect to do that.

LiveJournal Tags: coyotes,dog,urban sprawl,wild animals,animal habitats,rabies,animal bites,woods,pets,pet exercise,veterinarians,animal lovers

Is Humane Treatment for Farm Animals too Much to Ask?

A letter to the editor in our local newspaper certainly caught my attention.  The writer called attention to Factory Farming and the fact that three states are attempting to pass or have already passed legislation to prohibit videotaping or audio taping of conditions on their farms.  Meat, egg, and dairy producers in these states favor such legislation as they do not wish to have the inhumane treatment of animals publicized.

The letter writer gave some examples of farms with less than acceptable treatment of the animals: one in Texas where calves were chained in tiny crates and then bludgeoned to death with pickaxes and one in California that was found to be putting live chicks into a grinder.  He also mentioned the recall of millions  of eggs due to salmonella contamination at an Iowa farm.

He continued by saying that such horrible conditions will probably not change.  The writer suggested that people avoid eating animal products.  Other websites I checked suggested the same, as well as being sure our senators and representatives are aware that we care about how animals are treated and want regulations in place to assure that they are cared for in a humane way. 

Here are some links that you may wish to check out, giving more information about the laws mentioned above, and some of the conditions that have been exposed by undercover animal rights investigators.

http://www.naturalnews.com/032274_factory_farms_animals.html

http://votersforanimals.org/issues-legislation/current-legislation-2011-2012/minnesota-legislators-aim-to-ban-whistleblowers-from-exposing-inhumane-conditions-in-puppy-mills-and-factory-farms/

It is my hope that we will find ways to support the humane treatment of animals that provide milk, eggs, and meat as part of our food supply.

This blog post written by Pam Todd, a member of the Crafting for Animals Guild on Artfire, an avid animal lover, and whose shop www.bagsandmorebypam.artfire.com features hand-crocheted items for people, pets, and homes.

Technorati Tags: animal cruelty,factory farming,humane treatment of animals,food supply,dairy,eggs,cattle,hogs,sheep,fowl,cfaguild

Treasuries and Collections Here and There!

Treasuries can refer to many things:  the money the government controls, the funds of organizations, special keepsakes, collections, and in these times of online stores for handmade arts and crafts, it is a collection of items from various shops that a curator is featuring on any given day. I have been really excited lately to have a new friend, who is an Etsy seller based in the United Kingdom, select many of my items for treasuries she makes almost daily, and sometimes several in one day.  The funny thing about our communications is that the UK is five hours ahead of those of us in the US EDT zone.  So, when I’m at the computer later in the evening, Margaret, is sometimes sound asleep.  And when she is up early in the morning creating treasuries and chatting with folks, I’m still sleeping away!  Nonetheless, her latest treasury features one of my sweaters.  You can my other creations here:  www.bagsandmorebypam.etsy.com and www.bagsandmorebypam.artfire.com

JaminaRose (her shop name) is also having a drawing for gift vouchers.  You may want to check that out:  www.jaminarose.etsy.com

Here is the link to her two latest treasuries as well:

www.etsy.com/treasury/4dd90d1d709f8eef490edd83/angel-with-a-messageprize...

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4dd962db4c096d919071258f/guiness-tastes-better-in-dublinprize

The latter one includes one of my latest scarves.

I’m also so appreciative of Expressions for creating a collection from members of the Crafting for Animals Guild on ArtFire and including one of my hats.

Our ArtFire Guild centers on our team members’ interest in animals, perhaps making items for their use, for being advocates for animals in a number of ways, for helping support organizations that rescue, protect, or otherwise serve animals, and our pets, of course.  We have a blog with regularly published posts about a variety of topics related to animals.  You may also want to take a look at that.  (I have written several of those blogposts in the past year.)  You can find that at

www.crafting4animals.blogspot.com

Here is the shop for Expressions.  I know you will enjoy seeing her  shop.  http://www.artfire.com/users/Expressions

You can find her

collection of CFA team members work here:

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=20963

Thanks to JaminaRose and Expressions for curating lovely collections of handmade items.

Technorati Tags: etsy,artfire,treasuries,collections,handmade,arts,crafts,jewelry,clothing,accessories,art,vintage,patterns,sweaters,neckwear,hats,bags,earrings,necklaces

About Haiku

Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry.  Each poem consists of three lines with five syllables in the first line, seven syllables in the second line, and five in the third line.  Here are some examples I’ve written.  Take a few minutes, and try it yourself.  Creating in this way is interesting and fun.

	Haiku
	A bit of haiku
	Thinking, sharing, just for you
	Boomers, buddies, friends

 

	Spring
	Spring, blowing, growing
	Wind swooshing, flowers blooming
	Beauty all around

	Life
	Eat, sleep, work and play
	Giving, caring, through each day
	Friends and  families

 

	Talents
	Blessed with many skills
	Jewelry,  clay, yarn, paints, glass
	Lovely creations

 

	Boomers
	Creating, chatting
	Caring, supporting, smiling
	Always there for all

 

	Creations
	Colorful, unique
	Paintings, pottery, jewels
	Fabric, yarn, treasures

 

	Colors
	Pinks, purples, greens, blues
	Many shades and many hues
	Created for you