Finding that special gift

Finding that special gift takes time and effort. You know the person so well that you really want your gift to be meaningful. You have several options available for shopping. You can go to the mall and look through several different stores. You could go to one of several department stores and look through lots of everyday items. Or you can shop online. Still nothing jumps out and tells you this is the right gift.

One option online is going to a "HANDMADE" site. Many designers and crafters, like myself, make and sell our products on ETSY.com. On ETSY, you will find thousands of shops making a wide variety of items, all unique in their own way. Because it's all handmade no two items are exactly identical. I make my products out of wood. The grain in the wood is different causing each finished piece to have just a little different look, all it's own.

One other point that I need to mention is that most of the people who sell on etsy can design an item just to fit your needs. This is not an option at the mall. Some of the products that we make are pictured here in the right side of this blog. To get to our shop just click on the words OldTimeCountryCrafts on the right and it will take you there. It's located just above the e-mail sign-up form. Sign up for our e-mail list to keep up with our new products and promotions. We don't e-mail often, only to let you know of new products or special offers just for our subscribers.

Fall is HERE and CHRISTMAS is coming

Another summer has gone by. It doesn't seem possible but it's gone. Time to get ready for the fall holidays and start our Christmas shopping. I've been busy with several projects. I'm starting to feel better now that my surgery has healed and the treatments have begun. I've been putting together a new web site just for my home decor items. This internet world is all new to me and it changes so fast it's hard for me to keep up. I'm trying to build the new site myself so at the moment it's a work in progress. I have added an E-mail sign-up form here so please sign up. I don't intend to send more than 3 or 4 e-mails a year. I only intend to send them to announce sales and include promotional codes to people on the list. This list will be for my use only and your names will not be given out to anyone else.

We have several fall and Christmas listed in our Etsy shop. Stop in to OldTimeCountryCrafts.etsy.com and take a look around. Everything we sell, we make, so if the size or color isn't right, let us know how we could change it to fit your needs.

It has been a long week of @#$%^^? things , one right after the other. I'm not healing right after my surgery and my truck still isn't fixed. If I so much as twist just a little , I disturb my incision. I guess I'm not supposed to move at all. I know this is all for the better but gosh, HEAL ALREADY! Maybe I'm just in a hurry to start my treatments and expecting things to happen faster. My truck is another sore subject. My mechanic, who has done all are work for 10 years, is being a royal pain. I say that they didn't do the work right and they say they did. Like I have time for this battle. Fix the truck right and you will get paid. Somehow this seems wrong to them. I don't know, maybe my business sense is screwed up or something

Another year is already half over. Where does the time go? Gee whiz, I know time flies but this is going super sonic or something. Time marches on. Summer is upon us bringing new things to concentrate on. We have our outdoor activities, vacations, and the thought that winter and Christmas is right around the corner. So with Christmas in mind, as an independent crafter, it's time to start promoting Christmas. All the projects that you do only for the season come off the shelf and back to the work table. HoHoHo and here we go again. There is nothing like a summer craft show, 80+ degrees outside, and a table full of Christmas. But it produces sales and orders for that one day of the year when we all get to be young again. Even if it's only in our minds and is short lived.

Frustration

Have you ever wondered what life would be like without all the problems we face on a daily basis. As much as I complain about things, I think it would be too boring if all was well all the time. I could do with a few less things to deal with, but too little would be about the same as too much. We all have problems of one kind or another. So even though my life isn't exactly the way I had it planned as a teenager, it isn't as bad as it could be. We all face challenges on a daily basis. We just keep plugging away and do the best we can with what we have.

Hopefully on the way to recovery

I had my surgery last week. I'm tired and sore but once I heal, I will have to feel better than I have felt for a long time. I don't understand why more people with kidney problems don't opt for peritoneal dialysis instead of the normal hemo dialysis. I can do this at home, at night while I sleep and still have my day free to do what I have to do. I now have a catheter coming out of my stomach but I felt this was a small price to pay for my freedom. I change my fluids and hook-up the circulator, then go to sleep. In the morning, get up, change the fluid and I'm done until night. I felt this was a better option for me. Going to the hospital 3 times a week for up to 6 hours a day just didn't seem like a good fit for my lifestyle. So here's hoping I made the right decision.

As usual I'm a day late and a dollar short. The powers that be have gone and changed the system. I was just starting to understand a little about SEO and Meta Tags, and now I can learn the new way. The internet Guru's all make it sound so easy, but for an old farm boy like me it's a load of Blah Blah Blah. At least now I understand some of what they are saying and doing, I'm not completely in the dark. This internet system changes faster than the weather. New ideas, new systems, new avenues to explore. It just keeps growing. So now I'm off to find myself in cyberspace and try to make it so others can find me easier. It all in using the right words , at the right time, in the right places. Yee haw, here I go again.