Treasury Thursdays

I thought that today, instead of showing you all a treasury that I had made, I would show you some treasuries that my Etsy friends have made in the last week or so, that just so happen to feature yours truly ;-) Please note that you can click on any of the images above and it will take you to the item directly, for your shopping pleasure! Or, you can click on the title of the treasury (above is "It Was a Wondrous Day...") and it will take you to the treasury page, where everything is larger and easier to view.

The first treasury is one that shows the volunteers for my Etsy for Animals team on Etsy. I love the colors and how soft everything is. I'm the Yahoo administrator for this group, so I was lucky to be featured too :)

  This treasury is from a woman in my Plurk team. If you don't know what Plurk is, see the left column of the blog...just a bit lower, and check it out. It is like Twitter, but better! Joy created this treasury with items from a few of her Plurk buddies :)

This treasury was created by another fellow Etsy for Animals member, in the vein of hoping for spring (aren't we all hoping for spring at this point!). It has some really stunning paintings and prints in it...I've added a few things from this list to my wishlist for sure!

This is another treasury from an Etsy for Animals member (boy are we active, or what??). With a variety of items, ranging from dog harnesses to catnip toys to ceramic mosaic, there is something for everyone on your gift-giving lists (Mother's Day is coming up soon, you know) :) Have a great day, be sure to come back tomorrow for a fantastic featured artist you won't want to miss!

Magpie Love Treasury

Check out my latest treasury, featuring all Team Etsy for Animals Members in shades of red and black! Click the image above, or here to go directly to it, and don't forget to give these great artists some love :) http://www.etsy.com/treasury/NjEwMTAwMXwyMDIxNzc4NTYw/magpie-love?index=0

Thankful Thursday - So Glad it Turned Out the Way it Did

An Unexpected Visitor

 You know those days that start out so well, anything could go wrong? You know those days that start out well, and then go wrong, but then right themselves so you can go on and have a great day anyway? Yesterday was one of those days. It all started out so innocently. It was humid, hot, the kind of day that quickly becomes incredibly hot and melty, but in the beginning of summer is still very welcome. I got out of bed with only a little help from the alarm and managed to get the dog fed and watered, Brennan's lunch, breakfast and tea made, got myself fed and watered, and all in good time. I was laughing that the dog had gone back to (my) bed, and I was about to sit down to write yesterday's blog post when I heard it...
Ting, ting-ting-ting. scratch.
It came from the top of the chimney. I wasn't worried, but Brennan immediately thought that a squirrel had climbed onto our house and was in our chimney.
"Don't be ridiculous! The squirrel would have to climb twenty feet of siding, and then another 2 feet of smooth metal to get into the chimney. It is just another bird catching bugs on the top of the chimney, I've heard it before." I grab my tea and a glass of water and put them beside my laptop, which is in the living room, right in front of the fireplace.
"Babe, I'm telling you, it is in the chimney!"
"Brennan, it is not in the chimney, it is at the top of the chimney. If it was IN the chimney, you'd hear a Whump and a clatter" My last words are, of course, interrupted by a "whump and a clatter" and then a little screech and flapping sounds.
Crap. There's a bird in my chimney, right above the flue if I am hearing things correctly.
Brennan says, "QUICK! Grab a box to grab it!" and gets a shoe box (which I'll have more details on later, LOL) for me to put in the bottom of the chimney to "catch" the bird. How I'm going to close the lid on it, I have no idea. But, I put the box in the bottom of the fireplace and then close up the doors.

The Unexpected Visitor Tries to Get Out

 I pray a little bit, something along the lines of, "Please God don't let this actually be happening," and then, "Please God don't let me kill the poor little bird," and then, "Please God, don't let me get my eyes pecked out or get rabies from this damned, poor little bird."
I open the flue.
A rather sooty little black bird comes clattering into the fireplace and starts to panic as it finds its way blocked by the doors and screen of the fireplace.
Okay, next plan.
"QUICK!" I say to Brennan, "Grab a big recycle box, close all the curtains, get the dog into a bedroom, close all interior doors, and open all the exterior doors!" I'm telling him this, of course, as I'm doing it, and he is staring at me like I'm crazy.
"If we close the curtains, and the interior doors, it won't have anywhere to fly but out the doors!"
Comprehension dawns on his face.
I grab the giant recycle bin and my gardening gloves, just in case. I curse myself for not being fast enough to grab my sunglasses so that I don't get my eyes pecked out, or rabies, from the poor, damned bird.
I pray.
"Please God, don't let this poor little bird die from stress in my house." and
"Please God, don't let this bird crap all over my house."
I open the doors to the fireplace...

The Unexpected Visitor, Gone

And he flew right out the door, no scrabbling or freaking out at all. Just flew out like it was the way it was supposed to be all along.
Which it was.
And it allowed us to have a really good day after that.
Especially because I didn't get my eyes pecked out or get rabies from that poor, damned bird ;-)
Have a great day,

Arwen The Wonder Dog

Arwen in Profile

Ok, I missed yesterday's ArWednesday post, so here it is Thursday, just for you. I'm playing with my ancient manual macro lens on my digital camera body and of course, Arwen is a great subject. She did, however, put her ears back when I took this one, probably not liking the clicky-thing being so close to her, but I still like the shot anyway :)

Mystery Mondays - er - Thursdays Part 2

Ok, ok, I've been bad, I haven't posted in a while, but I've been busy. Here is the next installment of my book, Hidden. Please remember all work is copyright 2011 Meghann Gervais! For the first page, see here: http://meglittlestudio.blogspot.com/2011/03/mystery-mondays-part-1.html

“Michaela, you’ve got every i-Gadget known to the human race, why don’t you join the twenty-first century and get e-books?” I strike a horrified pose, eyes wide, mouth making an O-shape.
“Because I, unlike you, like to live in the Stone Age; I like the feel of the paper in my hands, you know that. And besides,” I tell him, hands-on-hips, in a mock battle stance, “not all books are published electronically, and there might be a good one that I haven’t read yet.” I walk away before he can make fun of me further and say that I already own almost every book ever published. It is a definite over-exaggeration, though I had managed to fill yet another tall bookcase... So I was addicted to reading, there were worse habits, right? At least I was always learning something new.
With these thoughts I am carried to the book rack at the airport canteen. I have read most of the books. Damn, my habit foils me again. I had just turned to the next rack when I feel as though I am being watched. Looking up, I can see a tall man with dark hair under a dark cap glaring at me. Kind of creepy, but it takes all kinds, I think and turn back to the books.
“Rachel? Rachel! Oh my God, how did you get here so fast? I was, like, turned around for two seconds and you’re all the way over here? Shit!” I noticed the glaring man turn around and leave the canteen from the corner of my eye, and when I turn and look at the girl speaking, I can sort of understand why.
She is a very tall, bleached blonde, skinny young woman wearing clothing more fit for a jeans fashion shoot than an airport. Sky high heels, low-slung, tight black jeans and a bubblegum pink shirt is really just the beginning. She has on enough makeup and jewellery to drown a drag queen, and a handbag in black-lacquered nailed hands that costs almost as much as some people’s cars. She is also now staring at me with her jaw dropped, and eyes comically wide.
“I’m sorry, were you talking to me?” Sounds odd, but this really does happen all the time. Toronto is a big city, and when you’re five foot eight, blonde, slim and blue-eyed, you get mistaken for other people, or at least I do. Maybe I just have one of those faces.
“Oh my God, HA!” This last was shrieked in an almost sonic note. “Holy shit, you look just like my best friend! Hold on one second, ‘kay? I gotta bring her here to show her. HA!” With that, she totters away, hand bag swinging wildly, to find the best friend, apparently named Rachel. Shrugging, I return to the books, almost immediately finding one that I have not read, and find interesting. I am paying for the book when the clattering of heels turns me around. I drop my change in astonishment.

That's all for this week's page, tune in soon to see the next page!

Thoughtful Thursday: Ringing Bells for Barry

~We Don't Have Bells, But Arwen's Collar Jingles and That is What We're Using to Support Barry at 2PM Today~

It's been a rough year for Barry, over at An Explorer's View of Life. He first found a problem with his throat upon choking on a chicken bone at a restaurant. Fast forward nearly a year, he's been diagnosed with incurable throat cancer which has metastasized to his spine and hip, his mother in law passed away, and his own mother is very sick. Through it all, Barry has come through with raised spirits, positivity, and a unique glimpse into the life of someone dealing with their own mortality in a very unique situation.

However, today gives Barry something to cheer about, and allows us to cheer him on. At 2 PM today, hundreds of people will be ringing bells to commemorate Barry's last dose of Chemotherapy and Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto. The hospital erected a bell in their lobby for cancer patients to ring when they finish their last treatment, and so hundreds of us from around the world will also be ringing bells to cheer Barry on.

Arwen and I will be ringing Arwen's collar, since we don't have a bell. Arwen wanted to get in on the action so we will be shaking her collar, resplendent with metal tags that make a jingling sound every time she moves.

Here's to you Barry, keep fighting, we'll be right here in your corner, ringing bells for you!

and Arwen

Thoughtful Thursday: What Can You Do? And Dog Cookie Recipe

With Christmas around the corner, the advertisements, window displays, catalogues and spam will be filling our senses with the need to spend, spend, spend, and another year may go by with us feeling empty, empty, empty. Things don't mean love, friendship or any of that. Our actions, thoughts and feelings do. To remind us all what kindness really is. And think to yourself...what can you do for someone, instead of what can you buy for someone? Some thing small, like holding the door for a person with a stroller? How about giving a can of just bought food to a local food bank? Think about it, and post it here when you've done it. You might just win something :-)
My thoughtful thing today is to share Arwen's favorite dog biscuit recipe. Here it is (it is easier than you think!!):
Arwen's Favorite Biscuits
2 Cups Meg's GF All-Purpose (Bread) Flour Mix click the link for the recipe for that)
1/2 Cup Garfava Flour (or bean flour)
1/2 Cup Pumpkin Seeds (raw, unsalted)
Dash Organic Garlic Powder (optional)
1/2 tsp Salt
3 tbsp Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Unsulphured Molasses
1/3 to 1/2 Cup Milk
Preheat Oven to 350F.
Mix all dry ingredients together in a medium-large bowl. Add wet ingredients and mix until combined. Mixture should be slightly tacky.
Roll into tablespoon sized balls, place on a lightly greased cookie sheet and press lightly with fingers, until 1/4 inch thick.
Bake for 1/2 hour. Turn the oven off and let sit in the warm oven for another 15-30 minutes. Allow to cool thoroughly, then place in resealable container to store.
To serve: break cookies in two (smaller pieces for smaller dogs) and serve 1/2 at a time.
Cookies will stay fresh for a month, more if placed in a freezer or fridge.
Enjoy!!

Please try and do something thoughtful today. Try and do one little thoughtful thing each day and encourage others...it might not change the world, but it can certainly change someone's day for the better :-)

Happy Thursday,

Thankful Thursday: Cooking Class Success and Award

I am happy to say that my first ever cooking class was a terrific success! Partnered with RHN Melody Busuttil, in conjunction with Nature's Way Select Foods in Kemptville, and hosted at the Kemptville college, we had over 12 students and a fabulous time.

This past class was all about Quinoa (keen-wah) and many delicious and gluten free recipes were made (and eaten!). More classes are on the way, thank you to everyone who came out, I hope you will come to the next ones!
Also, Audrey from Audrey's Country Crafts gave me this award! This award focuses on friendship, and Audrey certainly deserves it as well. Please check out her blog to see her shop, as well as all of the fabulous artists she features each week.
I am passing this on to anyone who reads this blog - you all deserve it! Also, I don't want to single people out, as I give out awards to many people and don't want to over do it :-)

Arwen wishes me to thank everyone for their overwhelming responses to yesterday's post - she would blush if she could from all of your praise, and I certainly did over your liking the bracelet I am working on. Thank you!

Until tomorrow,
and Arwen

Thankful Thursday: I've Received An Award!

Well! I was so very pleasantly surprised to get an email from the delightful Sonia at The Dark Ravens Nest saying that she had given me a blog award! I am so happy to have received this award. This is the "One Lovely Blog Award" and the rules are as follows:

1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.
2. Pass award to 15 other blogs that you've newly discovered.
3. Contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

As I am a fan of so many blogs that have already received this award, I am going to say that anyone who reads this blog is welcome to have it for themselves also.
Thank you Sonia!

Thoughtful Thursday - Or, What I'd Like for an Etsy Valentine's Day

Mini Top Hat from LastWear, Pinup Dress from MissBrache, Sexy Black Heels from ShoeMissy

Celtic Journal from ArtisanGraham, Jewellery Box from FLGardenGal, Pink Chalice from BudandLucysKid

I've had my eye on these items for a while......and if I had the money I'd have them all...and a few more! These items are fantastic, as are the sellers, so please feel free to click on the images to go to that seller's Etsy Store.
Also, I am featured in a fantastic treasury, see it here: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=39190
Enjoy :)
Meghann

Thoughtful Thursday

I was going to do a quick blurb about online marketing and networking tools, but this popped up and I had to show you!
I was on Mishkat's blog this morning, just clicking away, when I saw her post on "The
Story of Stuff". It intrigued me. I am always trying to figure out how to be more efficient, more frugal (one of my favorite words, said with a Scottish accent), but I didn't know all that Annie Leonard had to say. If you click on the image above, you'll go to the site where there is a video on "The Story of Stuff". It'll get you thinking. While I don't agree with everything she says, it makes a really good set of points about how we live our lives in a disposable manner. Check it out, you'll be glad you did :)
We need to be conscious consumers. We need to think about why we are purchasing the items we want. We need to pay what the items actually cost, and stop thinking that cheap, disposable, toxic products from giant factories making children work long hours is okay.
Buy responsibly. Buy handmade. Buy consciously!
Okay, today's sermon is over!
Meghann