Louise Sanchez / Herbs Crafts Gifts

Father's Day Gift Ideas June 16, 2013

2013-05-21T12:00:00.000-06:00

We have so many nice things for Father's, Grandfathers, Uncles, Godfathers or any other man in your life.

Vintage from the 1970's. Choose from a large selection of beer mugs and steins.

When we ran out of things to give our Dad we gave him things like this mug. He was always amused and cherished them.

Snoopy & golfing go together. Lots of ties including baseball, Tabasco Sauce, Looney Tunes & many more.

Wood inlay with Brass & Lapis Belt Buckle

Men's jewelry perfect for the gentleman who likes to dress and look the part.


Army or Marine adjustable wind spinners guaranteed for life.

We enjoy our eBay business and offering these wonderful treasures to be loved and appreciated by new folks. Please visit our store to see all our merchandise with something for everyone.

Big Texan Steak House, Amarillo TX Tourist Attraction too

2013-05-18T11:00:00.000-06:00

We have visited this restaurant several times and each time it is more amusing. There is more to it than the food (which is delicious by the way!) They will send a free limo to pick customers at from the local hotels. The driver is a big, tall good looking cowboy and the car had a set of long horns on the hood. Just a riot!

Just like everything in Texas, this chair is huge. (See the statue behind the chair to really appreciate how big it really is.)

The founder - R.J. "Bob" Lee

They sell these old time photos in the gift shop. When you walk to the side you see the ugly side of that person!!


Scary!!!


They even had one where the head turned into skeleton skull.

The room is covered and surrounded with stuffed animal heads, horns etc.


Notice the long horns under the deer and elk head. I blurred those folks out because I did not have permission to publish them on the internet!!

Next time we go thru Amarillo we will stop at this novelty restaurant again, and definitely get the limo to bring us there.

Original Donut Shop, San Antonio, Texas

2013-05-15T05:05:00.000-06:00

A San Antonio icon, our family recommended this restaurant to us for the best tacos in the city. The donuts are not shabby either. ;) Totally unassuming and it does not have to be fancy to be enjoyed.

Jefferson/Deco District 3307 Fredericksburg Rd
San Antonio, TX 78201 - where Vance Jackson ends on the south end.

A taco in this part of Texas is a soft flour tortilla with a filling. Breakfast taco with egg, bacon & potato. My anglo mouth was afraid the sauce may be too spicy, but I dribbled on a few drops and it was delicious.

Gene loves hot, spicy food and the breakfast taco with chorizo, egg & potato was just what he wanted.

The line in the morning for both drive ups goes out toward the road and along the shoulder lane. Clever to have the 2 drive thru lanes!


Thought this was funny, no wait - really - no guns? Guess this part of San Antonio is still part of the old west.

Before we headed for home, we went back for donuts about 11 AM and the selection was vastly reduced. So this is one of those places where you better get their early for the best choices.

For local food this is definitely someplace not a place to pass up.

American Proud - Show Your USA Pride!

2013-05-11T14:16:00.000-06:00

'Tis the season of Patriotic Holidays - Memorial day - May 30; July 4th; Labor Day (1st Mon. in Sept.) and election day. There will be parades, rally's, BBQ's and parties all over this wonderful country. Many folks who live outside the 50 states like to show support of our country too.

Perfect for groups to wear for parades or rallys

A waving flag scarf - most popular of our 3 flag scarves!

Soak in water and it swells up into a flexible tube. Wear around the neck to stay cool at all those hot outdoor events.

A Chorus bought these last year and wore them on TV while they were singing during the 4th of July Celebration from Washington, DC.

Would be such a cute table decoration or to float in the pool or hot tub.

Ahhh just made from seed beads and safety pins. (Only 1 left!)

All these items are available in our eBay store in limited quantities.

We are proud to help celebrate these American holidays. Please check out our eBay store for hundreds more great items.

How to reHeat Leftovers without a Microwave

2013-05-09T09:15:00.000-06:00

I am an old fashioned cook and never really did learn to rely on a microwave except for melting butter. We use stackable bamboo steamers. The first time we were so amazed. The mashed potatoes came out fluffy and moist, the gravy - perfect. Many times we will make like a TV dinner plate for each person and steam the whole plate. Other times we will do just each thing separately.

Thanksgiving leftovers

Our Corningware dishes have shallow soup bowls that we use for each person.


Each dish goes in one steamer and can be stacked pretty high.


The steamer is sitting in a Cuisinart Wok but any wide pot / pan will work, just be sure keep an eye on water level. I just shared this idea on my Facebook Group - What's For Supper.

Rate Sheet for eBay Sellers May 1, 2013

2013-05-01T11:56:00.003-06:00

Subscription Rates (Subscriptions auto‑renew)

Free Listings

Insertion Fees (After your free listings per month;

Final Value Fees (Maximum fee $250, with percentages based on the t

Top Rated Plus listings get a 20% discount on item's final sale price*

Monthly

Per month, with yearly subscription

No insertion fees
(Auction-style or fixed price)

Auction-style
(Per listing)

Fixed price ‡
(Per listing)

N/A

Up to 50 FREE listings per month
(Exclusions apply)

30¢

10%

eBay Stores

$19.95

$15.95

Up to 150 FREE listings per month
(Exclusions apply)

25¢

20¢

4%	Computers/ Tablets & Networking, Video Game Consoles
6%	Consumer Electronics, Cameras & Photos
7%	Musical Instruments & Gear, Coins & Paper Money
8%	Motors Parts & Accessories
9%	Clothing, Shoes & Accessories, Collectibles, Home & Garden, Camera & Photo Accessories, Cell Phone Accessories, Business & Industrial, All Other Categories
Some category exclusions apply.

$59.95

$49.95

Up to 500 FREE listings per month
(Exclusions apply)

15¢

10¢

$199.95

$179.95

Up to 2,500 FREE listings per month
(Exclusions apply)

10¢

5¢

‡ If you list in Books, DVDs & Movies, or Music & Video Games, the insertion fee is only 5¢ for fixed price listings.

Exclusions and other terms: Pay no insertion fees for the first allotted free listings per calendar month. Optional fees (including advanced listing upgrades and supplemental service fees) and final value fees still apply. Motors Vehicles, Real Estate, Heavy Equipment, Concession Trailers & Carts, Imaging & Aesthetics Equipment, and Commercial Printing Presses are excluded. You're charged one insertion fee per listing, per category, regardless of the quantity of items, for any duration including Good 'Til Cancelled. For Good 'Til Cancelled listings, insertion fees and advanced listing upgrade fees are charged every 30-day period. Terms are subject to change. Learn more about fee schedules for categories, listing formats, and Stores subscribers.

* eBay listings that qualify for Top Rated Plus will receive a 20% final value fee discount on the item's final sale price (not including shipping).

Link to eBay Announcement Page

Why I Blog - Updated!

2013-03-15T12:45:00.000-06:00

Gene, Danna and Jimmy

In Oct. 2008 I Gene and I had the privilege to drive Danna and Jimmy Crawford (powersellingmom.com) from an eBay gathering in Hays, KS to Denver.

In the 4 hours we were in the car Danna asked me if I blogged. I gulped and said no, not really - thinking what would I write about and who wants to read about me, or my stuff or my life?

Boy was I wrong.

A blog can be many things and for me it is to promote our eBay listings by using keywords to get folks to the blog and then hopefully they will be curious enough to click on our logo that will take them to our listings.

Picking a subject that is keyword rich is the secret I use to be visible on the 1st page of a Google, Yahoo or Bing search.

A restaurant that was on the Food Network - Diners, Drive-In and Dives that we ate at in Chicago

One easy way to get started is to do reviews of businesses in a community or city that will bring locals to the blog looking for a review of that business.

For every 4 non business blog posts I do one about our eBay business or about things I have listed. Lately I have been bad about following my own advice and really need to get back on track!!

Another blog we did that was very popular especially in Sept when folks are thinking about Halloween costumes was about the Colorado State Fair in Pueblo CO. Every few days Wendy & Frosty would walk around the fairgrounds and I took their photo.

Please email me at HerbsCraftsGifts@aol.com with a link to your blog so I can become a follower.

Try it - blogging can be alot of fun and you can meet alot of new, interesting people along the journey.

Why Bump & Speedy Bump Sites

2013-03-05T15:18:00.000-07:00

What is a bump? It is a program that was 1st designed to promote eBay listings. It has been expanded to eBay stores, blogs and several other things. The creator - John- is the owner of auctionbump and speedybump.

How does it Speedybump work? The item listing number is copied and pasted into a box and viola the listing shows up with the picture.

Imagine a column of 25 boxes. The bottom box is #1 and the top box is #25. When you fill in the form with an active eBay listing number it will automatically insert that listing into box # 25. The item in box #1 falls off - is bumped off!

The number in front of each link is the number of items the owner of that page allows each seller to have on their page at one time.

5 - http://tucsontiques.com/advertising/free-ebay-advertising/
3 - http://boostbump.com/
5 - http://powersellingmom.com/
4 - http://theirishshamrockcompany.com/
3 - http://auctionbump.com/
4 - http://www.sassyssavings.com/
3 - http://sb55-graphics.com/
4 - http://www.magiesplace.info/
4 - http://catpurry.virtualonlinelearning.info/ (was Mystery Bump)
5 - http://www.seasonedwithtime.com/ebay-bump/
3 - http://buzzbumpadz.com/speedy-ebay-buzz/
4 - http://justbumpit.info/
? - http://learn2earnok.com/Featured_ebay_Stores___Webs.html
3 - http://www.advertiseyourauctionsfree.com/
? - http://www.paulajeansjewelryandcloset.com/
3 - http://promobump.com/

Why bump? I think that eBay is spending lots of money on branding and bringing folks to the site. But with big box stores, and large commercial vendors - I - as a very small speck of sand on the eBay beach - can get lost. So it is part of my job to help bring people to my store. And one way I do that is by bumping.

I have compared myself to a very tiny corner store in a very huge mall. The mall does a lot of advertising but I need to do something to to get myself noticed,too. Just sitting and waiting for folks to wander by is not enough for me.

How do I get noticed? Several years ago I learned about branding myself on eBay. What does that mean exactly? To me it means that when someone sees my name or logo they know immediately who I am. I bet right now if I say a big red bulls eye you would think Target. That is the idea of branding. So when I bump my scarves I hope people recognize the mannequin and know it is me.

What to bump? Now that is a good question. I notice that some folks bump the same item over and over again on every bump site. I suspect for some that is the only listings they have and that is great. It is so nice to see them helping themselves.

I like to put different items on every site in order to give a broad overview of my offerings. Here's how I do it - I go to the list of all my listings and then sort by whatever - never by best match or ending soonest. (Don't want to bump something that is ending today.)

It depends on my mood and what is happening - some days I will do a color like pink in Oct.for breast cancer awareness, another time highest price 1st, or just Christmas items, only scarves or rubber ducks or I follow a theme or holiday. Somedays I will do one of each of my largest category items per bump site. So it is really up to each seller to decide what they want to promote.

How do we know results? - When you go to My eBay page on the right side near the bottom there is a link to traffic reports. Click on it (doesn't work all the time), go to finding methods and referring web sites. It is really interesting to see how the report changes from month to month.

Can I say an item I bumped today sold? For the most part no. Have I made sales within a category and 24 hours of bumping? Yes! Does it matter if an item that is bumped sells or not? It would be nice but as long as people visit my store and buy something or know what I have so when they need it they can come back, I am satisfied.

I can go through that whole list in 20 minutes. Who can't afford 20 minutes a day to promote themselves and drive their own traffic?

In the end we all have to be responsible for our own business and not totally rely on someone else to bring us customers.

And we have to be so grateful to the owners of the bump sites for allowing us to promote ourselves on their page / blog. Thank you bump site owners!!

(If you like what you read please leave a comment, or Like on Facebook or Retweet - thanks.)

Dad's Collection of Mugs

2012-11-14T08:59:00.000-07:00

Smaller Lidded Stein- Hofbrauhaus, Munich Germany

The question always was 'what do we buy Dad for his birthday or Christmas'? Being German one of the default things was a Beer Stein or coffee mug. He did not drink much - a beer now and then, but never out of one of his steins. They sat on the top of the bookshelf in the front hall for years.

Now we are getting to the age where we have to decide what is going to happen to all the 'stuff' my Mom & Dad accumulated over the years. None of our 6 kids want it so we are having to sell it.

Zurich, Switzerland Lidded Stein

Christmas 1977 Ice Skaters Lidded Stein

Father's Day 1979 William Tell.


Original Play Boy Club Mug / Glass with Bunny & Key

For lots more cups, mugs, glasses and steins please visit my eBay Store.

Straw Ornaments - Popular European Craft

2012-11-11T16:53:00.001-07:00

Straw Angel

I can't even imagine weaving or creating anything with straw. It is a dying art still practiced in Europe. We bought these ornaments in Door County WI at Al Johnson's Swedish restaurant....

....where the goats roam the roof and eat the grass!!

6 pointed star with gold thread.

Reindeer with really long antlers!

3 dimensional in all directions. Not flat.


And last but not least my favorite - a snowflake or 8 pointed star.

Please visit my eBay store for lots of other ornaments and lots of other great holiday gifts many under $10.00

Thanksgiving Rubber Ducks

2012-11-08T13:14:00.000-07:00

One year I tied a little tag around the neck and used them as a place setting marker

We have been selling these rubber ducks for several years and now have over 170 different ones. I just thought they were so cute and had trouble choosing which ones to get, but then we found out there are alot of collectors. Here are just a few of the 'family"!!

Pilgrim Boy

Pilgrim Girl

Native American Girl


Native American Boy / Brave

Please visit our eBay store to see all holiday ducks and so many others. Great for thank you gifts, party favors, gift ties, to float in tub or hot tub, desk top or just for a collection.

Winter Holiday / Christmas Scarves

2012-11-08T11:22:00.000-07:00

Red Poinsettias on white.

Our long 13" x 60" satin stripe scarves are perfect to add interest to what might be an otherwise boring outfit. Even though they look thin and light weight they are actually warm. The scarves can be washed and dried and come out looking brand new.

All our scarves are new, with the original tags - not cut tags or 2nds! They are made in Korea and we buy them from the importer in the garment district of New York City.

Christmas trees Tied this way is perfect under a coat or jacket to keep the neck and chest warm

Merry Christmas in several different languages. I like to wear them flipped over the shoulder too, especially with a high neck blouse or shirt.

Squares with holiday designs like holly, poinsettias. This will go with so many outfits.


Holly with berries and gold colored reindeer. Very popular this year!! Same as the others but I wanted to show the detail with the closeup.

Cutey snowman and snowy trees on blue background. We also have it with a black background. Party time scarf!!

There are over 80 different designs including all the holidays in our eBay store. Or the link is on the top right of this page.

Craft Shows Herbs Crafts Gifts Will Be At 2012

2012-10-06T12:18:00.002-06:00

Time to get your Name on Rice Necklace / Key Chain custom made. It is that time of year and all the holiday craft shows are starting up and all our shows will be in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

We will be also showing our scarfs including a huge selection of the string scarves, gag gifts, Christmas gifts (stocking stuffers) and rubber ducks.


Coronado High School October 20 & 21 9AM - 3PM. Gifts & Crafts.

Foothills Elementary School Rockrimmon area

Nov. 11/3 9AM - 4PM Gifts & Crafts

Liberty High School in the atrium against the west windows Nov. 10 9AM - 4PM Gifts & Crafts.


Sand Creek High School across from the stage Nov. 17 9AM - 3PM. Gifts & Crafts.


Doherty High School under the Spartan on the back wall. Dec. 1 9AM - 3PM Dec 2 11AM - 3 PM. Handmade Crafts only.


Palmer High School Dec 8 9AM - 4PM & Dec 9 12N - 4PM. Handmade crafts only.

The trend so far this year has been to have all the names of the kids, grandkids and grands put into the glass vial. We are doing them as necklaces for the Moms & Grandmas and as a key chain for the Dads & Grandpas.

We do take phone orders, credit cards and will ship.

If you can't make to a show please send an email expressing your interest in one of these unique very special gifts.

Sometimes People are Very Entertaining

2012-09-14T12:21:00.001-06:00

Having alot of friends on Facebook is pretty fun, but today a post from a relative really made me giggle.

This guy is over 70 and posted a link to his Swingers group. I doubt very much they are referring to dancing!!!!

This is an instance where I am so tempted to say something like - "have stock in Viagra?" or "when the RV is rocking don't come knockin" or so how is retirement? and many other inappropriate things. But will exercise restraint.

There is alittle background to this post too. When we were RVing we attempted to meet up with him and his wife but it never happened. Whew things do work out for the best!. Then a while back I got an email from someone on his mailing list. Just to be a smart Alec I replied 'to all' and received many emails back asking if we were swingers, too. LOL

So you just never know who is doing what, when and with who. I sure could have lived the rest of my life without knowing this and hope I do not break out into hysterics when we see them again.

Would you say something or how would you handle it, if at all or just let it go?

Please visit my eBay store at HerbsCraftsGifts.com

Our Trip to Zion National Park, AZ 7/2012

2012-08-27T13:38:00.001-06:00

In July we took off a week from eBay and drove to Zion National Park (just north east of St. George, Utah) and Las Vegas, Nevada. Here are some of sights we saw on the way.

River rafters on the Arkansas River in Western Colorado

Western Colorado - near Grand Junction

Near Colorado - Utah border

Eastern Utah - that is quite the median - see the vehicles on the other side!?

Ate lunch on 2nd day here in Salida, UT

View from the road driving in to Zion National Park

Zion - there are lots of hiking trails- see folks on top - they hiked up there!


Rock climbing is allowed on any rock face. Zion is like the Grand Canyon in reverse. Grand Canyon goes down, Zion goes up.

There are so many visitors to the park that the Park Service has these shuttles that take folks to many different stops on the valley floor. We just rode the round trip along with hikers, rock climbers and photographers etc.

Guardians of the Spirit Road Ming Dynasty

2012-08-15T17:51:00.000-06:00

All 12 - 6 different animals - 1 standing and 1 sitting or laying.

The Guardians of the Spirit Road are one-of-a-kind handcrafted miniature sculptures of huge, real and mythological creatures which stood guard for 4 long centuries on the roads that led to the tombs of the Emperors of the Ming Dynasty made of Jade colored glass.

Elephants

These creatures were released in 1983 as a a limited edition by the Franklin Mint.

Horses

Camels

Ch'i Lin (Foo Dog)


Hsieh Chai Please see all these animals listed individually on eBay. Do you like to stay in contact with family and friends who do not use the computer much? Do you need to thank customers or business associates? Then Check out my website and send a greeting card for free with no strings attached. Promise we are not harvesting names or emails!!!

Miller Farms CSA Program 2012

2012-08-03T15:19:00.000-06:00

Until last year I had no idea what the CSA program is = (Community Supported Agricultural program). I'm sure there are CSA programs all over the country but I only know about ours with Miller Farms from Loveland, CO.

Here is how it works - There are 2 different subscription levels - Full family plan = $600.00 and the Small family plan = $400. Since there are only 2 of us we went in with another couple so it cost each of us $300.00.

Each week both of us can fill a 1/2 bushel basket with all the veggies they offer at several Farmers Markets they anchor in Colorado Springs. It has been interesting to see how the season progresses as to what is offered.The plan lasts from the middle of June to Oct which is 20 weeks.

Here is our haul each week so far.

This is only part of it, Yellow and Red Beets; Cucumbers; Peppers, Green beans, English Peas, Tomatoes, Zucchini.

All Eggplant, Corn, Onions, Cabbage, Kohlrabi

Then Patty Pan Squash and Red Potatoes

Colorado Purple Potatoes; Cauliflower, Cilantro, Lettuce

White Eggplant, Summer Squash, Broccoli

We have eaten several all veggie dinners and have frozen alot but the best is that I have learned to pressure can and did 4 pints of grilled / roasted corn yesterday.

We can't wait for tomatoes to get to peak season we can can them and make tomato jam and green tomato relish. YUMMY.

Christmas in July Sales - Christmas and Gift Items - 2012

2012-07-23T10:57:00.001-06:00

On Sale - Tree with carved Creche, gold highlights

We have marked down over 200 Christmas and gift ideas. Here are just a few of them, but check out all our listings too. There are many that are inexpensive like the holiday rubber ducks and Christmas craft items.

On Sale - 13" x 60" Scarf with Christmas wishes in different languages

On Sale - eBay Green Team baseball cap

On Sale - Authentic COACH purse with gift receipt

Holiday toys rub ons for craft projects - several different ones available

Moose Snowboarder Ornament - a few other moose ornaments too

One of many handmade straw ornaments from Poland


On Sale- Kneeling Angel Stainless steel wind spinner

Please visit our eBay store to see over 700 collectibles, scarfs, rubber ducks and so much more.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/herbscraftsgifts/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=100&_sop=1

And check out this secure web site too.

WHICH WICH - Superior Sandwiches - Colorado Springs CO

2012-06-25T16:22:00.000-06:00

A new sandwich shop in Colorado Springs.

Interesting concept - you pick the category of sandwich and the corresponding bag. With a marker you mark what dressing, veggies, cheese, type bread, toasted? etc.

Take it to the counter pay for it and the day we were there 8 folks were working the 'line'.


There was an error on what we were charged, but this manager took care of it immediately and gave us a card all punched out for a free sandwich Fantastic customer service!!

We were so impressed we went back the next week with out of town grandaughter and her friend.

Which Wich

6 Hocking Glass Canisters 1940's

2012-06-16T09:37:00.000-06:00

6 Hocking Canisters mid Century Like New

So I guess I should start at the beginning. After my Mom passed away in NY we inherited the house and all the contents. By the time we were done sorting stuff we found over 500 drinking glasses. So to say there was alot of stuff is an understatement.

We were lucky enough to know an appraiser who came and spent a whole day going through all the stuff, while he talked and gave values, his wife was going through drawers and cabinets! There were no big treasures but we wanted to know the values so we could yard sale alot of it before we moved back out west.

Our garage here was jammed packed and are determined that this is the year we really make decisions about it all. We had taken these canisters out and they were waiting to be photoed for eBay. Our good friend Danna Crawford was here, saw them and said I really needed to get them listed

I had no idea what they were until one day I was on Pinterest and saw a jar like mine that said Jadeite / Jadite. That day became one of research and alot of discussion on a Facebook group. One gal has a friend who is an expert on Jadite and gave me alot of very helpful information. The Green Color is flash on or fired on over clear glass.

Flour Shaker

There was some discussion that they may be reproductions because they are in such good condition. I wrote in the description that I really think they were a wedding gift to my parents who married in 1941. Mom's kitchen was always blue and Grandma (who lived in the same house as us) - was red. There was no way either of them would have put anything green in either of their kitchen.

See more photos

BTW - Prior to the early 1940's Hocking was the Glass company. Anchor was the company who did the lids and after they merged they added the Anchor logo. My canisters do not have the anchor logo!!!

Our Hail Storm Colorado Springs CO June 6, 2012

2012-06-07T12:18:00.003-06:00

Our back yard.

We were at a little League game. Weather prediction was 10% chance of rain. The games were put on hold because of lightening. At the very same time I received a weather alert that there was a severe thunderstorm for the whole county, it started hailing.

We had to drive the 7 miles home in the rain in hail after pausing a few minutes under an overpass.

It hailed the whole way home and the water was running hard, fast and wide. Had we delayed any longer we may have been stuck in the fast moving water. News said it was a 100 year storm and 4" fell in 2 hours with some baseball sized hail (thank goodness we didn't see any of that!!)

Here are some photos I took last night and this morning

The yard is blanketed with shredded maple leaves

Our pot of pansies devastated

Parsley and Chives without leaves and blooms and hail still there at 10AM this morning.

Yarrow crushed and a hole in St. Francis' bird bath

Water rushing in our gutter, sidewalk and driveway. The street is 5 lanes and the water was from curb to curb.

The mall near us. These piles are the way there were, not plowed.

The drainage is so bad the hail piled up. The roadway was cleared but it was solid last night. 12 cars had to be pulled out.

See the 2 workers on top of the pile. An opening was plowed so cars could pass through.


Our grass and swing. It will be amazing if our garden survives.

We are very lucky, little damage and a few dents in the car but our neighbors and many people have water in their basement. Heard on the police radio a blind woman called 911 because she felt water on her feet and thought her house may be flooding. Can you imagine that fear?

Father"s Day and Gift Ideas for Men

2012-05-31T11:40:00.002-06:00

Father's Day in the USA is always the 3rd Sunday in June. This year it is June 17th. Here are a few things that a Dad may like.

Christian Dior Vintage Silk Neck Tie

Brushed Silvertone Cufflinks

Goldtone & Faux Pearl Cufflinks

And when did tie tacks go out of style. And Why? Ties should not flop around Jade look tie tack

Neck Tie Lions - Dynamic Duo

Cool Scarf - Soak in water a few minutes and it stays cools for hours Use for work, BBQ's & sports.

And cutest of all and sure to bring a smile lots of rubber ducks

My Spring Garden Flowers

2012-05-17T15:12:00.000-06:00

Spring is here in the Rockies. Most of these photos were taken on 5/9/12.

Bleeding Heart

Herb Garden before most of this years plantings with St. Francis and a planter of mint. From bottom left going clockwise - Rosemary, Oregano, Mint planter, Yarrow, Thyme and Basil. We had added Cilantro and Dill to this bed. There is alot of volunteer Cilantro coming up from last years seeds.

Chives, Parsley and Strawberries on top level,. All these are last years and new ones from when they reseeded themselves.

Honeysuckle

Volunteer Johnny Jump Up

Deep Purple, double Lilac

Double Lilacs

Single Lilac

White Lilac

Snowball


Spirea

Most all the bushes were here when we moved in. The scent of the of lilacs is so strong you can smell it all the way out to the front street.

Next to do is the veggie garden and more herbs. I have already made Chive vinegar and drying parsley!!

"The Green Thing" - Being Green from a Seniors Point of View

2012-05-08T12:08:00.001-06:00

From a recent email -

The Green Thing

Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.

The woman apologized and explained, "We didn't have this green thing back in my earlier days."

The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations."

She was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days.

Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady is right. We didn't have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana .

In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she's right. We didn't have the green thing back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn't have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus, and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their mums into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?

Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smart-ass young person.
Remember: Don't make old people mad. We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to tick us off

Author Unknown

I Love eBay

2012-04-28T08:59:00.001-06:00

eBay is so many things to so many people. For us it is a way for us to keep busy, now that we are retired. There is so much to sell.

Our eBay listings

For many years we did craft shows and state fairs and found merchandise that folks really liked that we have continued selling on eBay.

Over the years, like everyone else, we have accumulated 'stuff' and for the most part, none of our children want any of it. So besides the new items, we are selling the other 'stuff' for 2 reasons 1 - so they won't have to and 2 - so we can enjoy the $$ LOL. It also helps to keep our bodies active and minds agile..

As an experienced seller, I am also an Education Specialist Trained by eBay. I love to talk about eBay all the time, enjoy meeting like-minded folks. Now I can really talk about the wonders of eBay all the time, help buyers and train folks face to face or on the phone, too.

I am also helping to revive this Meetup group, here in Colorado Springs.

As this group grows our mission is to help sellers increase sales by learning and understanding all the ways to make the job easier, more fruitful and the roll social media plays in promoting our eBay listings. It is also good to help buyers understand the process.

I also have a group on Facebook - eBay Sellers Only. Lots of conversation about the workings of eBay, we all help each other brainstorm situations and how to create a better listings and so much more.

eBay on Location 2012 - Denver and Philly

Every year eBay holds these events in different cities. This May 2012 it will be in Denver CO and in Sept. in Philadelphia, PA.

If you have free time and stuff to sell, consider eBay as an additional source of income People from all walks of life are also making a living selling here too from 16 year olds to 80+ and everyone in-between working for just a few hours a week to full time +.

Our business is a partnership. I do all the computer work and Gene keeps and stores the inventory and does all the shipping. Somedays we feel like the find of a lifetime is just waiting for us at the next yard sale or church sale, so we both go sourcing together, too.

If I can answer any questions or help in any way I am always available through the comments section on this page and if you liked this blog, please like or leave a comment. Thanks

HerbsCraftsGifts