Saturday, May 31, 2014

Just call me "Grace" ...


Okay, ready for this one, guys? The very next day after my car got pounded by the hailstorm, I had decided to go for a walk and do some shopping during my lunch hour at work. Since I didn't have my car, I figured 'why not?'  So ... clumsy me trips over an uneven sidewalk step, went flying (shopping bags, my eye glasses and all) across the sidewalk. I bruised my left shoulder and hit my head on the pavement leaving a little black and blue goose egg on my forehaed as well ... like I said, "just call me Grace!" LOL!


Anywho, this morning hubby and I took my car over to our local Sears Automotive parking lot where we had an appointment with Safelite, who had a tent set up there, to get the cracked windshield replaced so that I could finally drive it again legally. Now all we have to do is get the driver's side rear view mirror and the plastic part underneath the windshield wipers replaced.



I can't tell you how much better I feel about that! Unfortunately, many of my co-workers reported that their cars were deemed a total loss and sent to the State of PA as a salvage vehicle unecessarily by their insurance company and either had to look for another vehicle or BUY back their own car from the State! My view is that is a bunch of bull and I refuse to allow any insurance company to take away my car when it is still legally drivable (after taking care of the damages which were easily repairable) and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it mechanically speaking. So it has a few dents in it ... so what. It doesn't look as pretty as it used to, but I know of quite a few others who are also keeping their cars for the same reason I am.

Also, I was also told by the Operations Manager in my office that IF my insurance company so much as just sees my car and IF they decide to call it a "total loss" that I no longer had the option to withdraw my insurance claim at that time and it would then be their responsibilty by law to report my car to the State of PA in which case I would have to deal with them in order to "buy" back my car. No way!!! Our insurance agent told my hubby that isn't so since we have comprehensive coverage? Truthfully, I do not know who or what to believe anymore so I would rather just take care of the damage expenses on my own if possible. Honestly, what exactly do we pay insurance premiums for anyway??

That being said; however, I was so excited to get my car back that I bought a pair of new shoes on sale at the mall while hubby and I waited for the car to get done ... LOL!!


The Midsummer wreath ...


This is the wreath which I would like to giveaway in a Wiccan Life Midsummer/Summer Giveaway. However, I will first have to see if there are enough friends and followers interested in one. 

Thank you to those of you who have responded so far.  :)


Have a wonderful holiday weekend ALL!!

Latest creations and a Wiccan Life Summer Giveaway?? ...

Greetings all! Although I am still working on my Norse goddess "Freya" wreath, I have just finished a couple more cats, plus a few more creations including a couple of them for Midsummer/Litha ...


Large Heart-shaped Samhain Cat wreath

Small Spring Cat wreath

Large Heart-shaped Spring Cat wreath

Large Mermaid wreath w/small sterling silver mermiad holding a dark-blue glass stone

Also, I would like to have another wreath giveaway for Midsummer/Litha, but I need to know if any of you would be interested??

Brightest Blessings,

Kim

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Remembering our Veterans on Memorial Day!


To of ALL of our veterans who served in all branches of military service, and to whom we owe all of our freedoms today to ...

We say, "THANK YOU!"

Blessed Memorial Day!
  

(This wreath, which I have made in honor of all of our veterans everywhere, will be donated to one of our local PA veteran's associations)

Friday, May 23, 2014

Yes, Mother Nature "can" be a ...

I swear to you, my dear friends, that sometimes the universe only exsits so that it may teach us all that 'it's always something' in regards to "life" itself ... (*sigh*).  Quite frankly,  yesterday after our horribly damaging golf-sized hail storm in our area of Reading, PA, I feel like telling the universe to umm, "go blow" so to speak ...

For those of you who have not heard or seen it in the news, (or on any other friends posts for that matter), yesterday in an extremely unusal display of power here in PA, Nature decided to remind us all exactly who is boss (and BTW no offense intended here but, this kind of thing is exactly why I do not buy into the "global warming" crapolla ... as if WE as mere, yet arrogant humans, have THAT or any other kind of power over the Mother Nature Herself)!



 (These pics were taken by my co-worker in our parking lot both during and after the storm)

At approximately 3:15PM, whilst myself and my fellow co-workers could do very little but to sit by and watch it all happen, a golf-sized hail storm with its' horribe winds to accompany it left its' wrath after lasting only a few minutes. Most, like myself, had vehicles that were so damaged and/or totalled that they were not able to drive their car at all. Many, also including myself, had windshields that were either cracked so badly that all it would have taken was a tiny little speed bump to shatter it, or their windshields were completely blown out, rear-view mirrors broken, windshield wipers missing, etc., etc. Not to mention our cars being inundated with nasty "golf-sized" dents all over from front to back. 

They say "a picture is worth a thousand words"  ~  here is a vid my best friend and soul sister who was working in a building in Wyomissing only a few blocks away from me at the time posted on her Facebook page. "The Crowne Plaza" is a hotel just two blocks away from where I was working ...


These were some pics my hubby took after I very nervously tried to drive home in yet another hail storm before it was finally through with us ...


 Our front yard during ...



and after ...



The only "saving grace" I suppose you could say is that there doesn't seem to be any damage to our house! And, luckily, neither my parents nor my hubby's folks seemed to have had any issues. 

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Some more new wreaths ...

"Goddess Eostre" wreath #1

Brightest blessings everyone! Jusdt finished a few new wreath creations and thought I'd post them ...
  ;)


Eostre, The Tuetomic Lunar goddess of Fertility, dancing with Her rabbits

 "Eostre" wreath #2




I thought I would try my hand at the "Rabbit on the Moon" as well ...


"The Story of the Rabbit on the Moon" as told by The Buddha, Jataka Tale 316



And, finally another "Bastet" wreath ...


Next, I will be working on a wreath dipicting the Norse goddess, Freya and Her enchanting Norwegian Forest cats.   :)

Sunday, May 18, 2014

A "shopping" we did go ...

Well, yesterday hubby and I decided to do something we hadn't done in a very long time ~ go shopping at one of the local flea markets in our area called, "Zern's Farmer's Market" (also known as the "Gilbertsville Auction) located in Gilbertsville, PA.

We absolutely love visiting this place as they always seem to have what we are looking for at the time, and, at great prices to boot!

Here are just a few of our awesome finds ...


A lovely little rose picture frame that I now have sitting on our entertainment center for Beltane with Midnight and Tabitha's photo in it.


A cute ceramic mailbox with two kittens playing in it and a cool little hanging wooden sign that reads, "I love kittens."

More handcrafted decorations ...

This one is for hanging in my Reiki room

and a really fab block calendar for my Altar/Craft room!


Beautiful (and very, very soft) brand new cat blanket which only cost $4.00!

... Hmm, don't know why, but it reminded us of someone ~ LOL!!



We also picked up some of our favorite snacks at some really sweet deals from homemade honey roasted almonds to huckleberry licorice (they also had pina colada flavored, grape, lime, etc.) ...

Some containers of dried fruits, honey roasted almonds, assorted yogurt pretzels (cherry, blueberry, raspberry and orange flavored), and assorted licorice  (huckleberry, chocolate and strawberry).


Most of these items were priced way under $10.00 and we walked out of the flea market carrying quite a few bags of merchandise! 

All in all, a pretty good day! Although, now it is time to get down to some serious house cleaning ... LOL!


HAPPY SUNDAY ALL!!

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Nautical bathroom the frugal witch's way ...



One of the things I have been working lately here on the home front is our nautical-themed bathroom. And, since I am such a mermaid fanatic anyhow I thought it would be a good way to display some of my favorite pieces.

First of all of course, I decided to do some web surfing on Etsy. Wow, I love that site! I found a couple of small hand-crafted mermaid rugs to match the rather "odd" light greenish-blue color of my other bathroom rugs and towels ...

Mermaid Crossing beach floor mat art area rug indoor-outdoor area rug,  Floor Mat. Available in 3 sizes 


And, upon looking on a few other mermaid and nautical sites on google, I found a couple of beautiful, small handmade statues which I had decided to place on my only windowsill ...



 As usually is the case, I also came across a couple of items on sale at stores such as A.C. Moore, Michael's Arts & Crafts, the Hallmark Store, and even Wallmart while looking for other non-related things ...

 Small seagrass basket on the clearance rack at Wallmart hung on the wall above the towels. I added the ribbon by weaving it through the basket for an added touch.

 Assorted blue and clear glass bottles I bought at A.C. Moore & Michael's to decorate my windowsill.

 Lovely plate and metal holder sold at our local Hallmark store


I also used my imagination a bit as well by utilizing some of the decorations, which I normally keep aside in my craft room for my wreaths, to dress up a thing or two ...




Well, my dear friends, that is about all for our "nautical" bathroom. I suppose that old saying, "Where there's a will, there's a way," is true (the frugal witch's way that is ... LOL)!!

Many Blessings ~

Kim