~Soctoberfest Update~

Well, the end of October is here, and I have completed:



...Which does not equal the two pairs that I thought I was going to accomplish this month! However, I'm happy with my progress. The first sock was challenging, in that I had to keep ripping back. I did the heel three times, the gusset twice. The pattern itself wasn't challenging, things just kept going wrong (and I'm super picky--that sometimes works against me).

I've gathered sock yarn here and there, as evidenced by my small collection:

Left to right: Lang Jawoll superwash, Regia Cotton, Tofutsies, and "Pigs in the Mud" by Sunnyside Ellen.

So you see, I have my projects all lined up! The Pigs in the Mud is the newest yarn, but will probably be my next knit.

~Wearing dresses in the winter~

Vogue IV

Awhile back I did a series of posts titled regarding "A week in dresses" (You can read the posts, starting here.) It was spring time, right around Easter. Since then, I have gotten several questions about what to wear in the winter, and I have also noticed that I get a few hits each week from people doing searches for "Wearing dresses and/or skirts in winter", so I thought I'd share some things I've done to keep myself warm during the winter!

Many dear ladies who like wearing dresses think that they cannot wear dresses in the winter time, because they would be too cold. Now, teenage girls in Michigan must not have that compunction. I have seen many teenagers wearing flimsy dresses with flip flops or fashionable sandals; bare-footed, bare-legged. I ask them if their feet don't get cold? "Well, yes, my toes do get cold when I walk through snow." (LOL)

So obviously teenagers are intent on fashion alone and oblivious to the danger of frostbite. What about those who might be a little more sensible?


Mother and Her Child Walking Through the Wintry Snow Pause to Look at a Robin

I am a California girl, transplanted to Michigan. I have weathered three snowy winters, all in dresses! How did I do it?

***I invested in Cuddl Duds. Seriously, you will get your money's worth from these! They are thin, so you can wear them under anything. I hemmed up one pair to just below my knees. I can wear them with dress clothes, when I'm not wearing boots. When I am wearing boots, and won't be removing them (such as when I go grocery shopping), I wear the full length ones. If your skirt is long enough, they do not show.

***Tights are also a good investment. Buy a size larger than you normally wear, and they will last longer. These keep your legs warmer, and you can wear them along with the Cuddl Duds on extremely cold days. Watch sales and clearance racks and you can stock up at the end of the winter. I've seen women with jeans or sweat on under their dresses, but really, if you have tights and Cuddl Duds on, I think it is warmer than pants would be, and it is a much more feminine look.

***A good pair of boots will also help. I only have one pair of boots, and when we bought them, I went for fashion vs. functionality. I wish I had gone for something a little warmer! I am going to be looking for a better pair of boots this winter! If you aren't taking your boots off, wear boot socks, sold in the sock department. These are very thick socks, and are worth the investment!

***In the car: I keep a fleece blanket in the car. I throw it over me to keep myself warm as my husband is apt to open the windows to cool down (I'm serious!).

***Warmer, thicker skirts. Materials like suede, corduroy, and other warm fabrics will trap the heat and help you stay comfortable.

***A long coat. Really, I am surprised at Michiganders. The majority wear waist-length coats most of the winter. I prefer a much longer coat. Again, you can get a coat on clearance at the end of the season, or watch sales. JC Penney is notorious for putting their coats on really good sales throughout the winter season.


An Elegant Hat for Winter Wear with Feathers and Lacy Bows

Also:

***Scarves go a long way in keeping you warm. Wrapped snugly around your neck, and even useful in pulling up over your face if the wind is biting, a nice scarf keeps those chills away.

***Hats also keep you warm. Most of your body heat escapes through your head, anyhow. You can wrap your scarf around your head, wear a coat with a hood, or wear some nice wool hats.

***Mittens and gloves! These are a must! Buy a pair that you can drive with, and always have a pair in your coat. I have a good pair in my church coat, and knit pairs in my other coats.

Here in Michigan, as soon as the thermometer comes back around to 40* after a long cold snap, people are walking around in shorts! I've even been known, on a sunny 30-40* day, to take my coat off because I'm getting hot. So you see, cold is relative!

~Fall Y'all Bloggy Giveaways~

***Contest is now closed***

Once again, I'm participating in the bloggy giveaways hosted at Rocks in My Dryer. Only this time around, Shannon is hosting it at her Bloggy Giveaways site. So, grab a cup of coffee, and head over to join in on the fun! But before you do, please enter in my giveaway!

I just can't get away from polka-dots. They seem so cheery, I suppose! Whatever it is, I definitely have a case for polka-dots. I am made this set of zipper pouches for one lucky winner. They will help you keep your purse organized in style! The smallest one is 4 inches wide with a vinyl pocket on the front, and perfect for all those little things that like to roll around in the bottom of your purse. The larger pouch is about 6 inches wide with a contrasting ribbon trim on the front.



Please visit my Etsy shop. I have a small selection of handmade items for sale, including a pouch set similar to the one I'm giving away.

To enter, please leave a comment! Please note:
1) I am willing to ship anywhere in the whole wide world!
2) If you do not have a blog, you must include your e-mail address in your comment. Otherwise, I will not include your name in the drawing. I have to have a way to contact the winner!
3) Only one entry!
4) Winner will be picked and notified sometime Friday evening (Eastern time).

I will be notifying the winner in three ways: announcing it at the Bloggy Giveaways blog, e-mailing you/commenting on your blog, and announcing it on my own blog. So if you win, there's no chance you'll not find out! *Smiles*

~Concord Grapes~

Oh my goodness! Have you ever had Concord grapes? They are sooooo delicious!!! My husband had a work-related activity one evening a few weeks ago, and it was catered. One of the things they served was Concord grapes. I just never knew grapes could be so good!

I found some at my grocery store last week, and they promptly went into my cart. Not the cheapest fruit I've ever purchased, but they are a delicious treat! They taste exactly like you'd expect a grape scratch 'n sniff sticker to taste like! LOL

Picture found at http://www.concordgrape.org/

~Four Fat Quarters~

What can you do with four coordinating fat quarters?



A lot!

Here's what I made:

~A tea cozy~



~A tiny zipper pouch~



~Another zipper pouch~



~Lining for a small purse~



~A wristlet~



~Another wristlet~



~Another little zipper pouch~
This is going in my purse to hold travel size dental floss, and some mints. I used all four fabrics for this pouch. The back is made with the pink polka-dots, and the lining is made from the blue patterned fabric.



~A coaster~
I pieced this out of 1 1/2" squares. A fun little project! The backing is the larger flowered print. I hand quilted it, then bound it with bias tape. The binding is a little wonky! LOL This is going to have a home in my sewing room, when I bring my tea in I'll have a place to put it!



~What's left?~
Tiny little scraps! This is all that I have left! I'd say I made good use of the fat quarters! *Smiles*

~Christmas Shopping!~

In 2004 I went Christmas shopping all.year.long. I created a spreadsheet in Excel, and kept track of not only how much I was spending, but how much I was saving. Almost every single gift was bought on clearance. For example, the wallet we gave my dad cost $8.04 and if I had bought it full price, I would have paid $26.81. The best deal I got was a blouse and vest for one of my sisters. I spent $3.80; full price would have been $60.07! Oh, and one thing funny with my family, is that we like to exclaim (as the family member is opening our gift): "guess what? I got that for under $4!!! It would have cost over $60 new!" (leaving the original price tags on and taking the clearance stickers off is impressive as well! LOL) Shopping totals for 2004, for 18 persons: $99.69. If I would have paid the original prices on all these items we would have spent $381.59!

As I have mentioned before, I have a large family. Kevin and I like to get a gift for each family member, which translates into a lot of gifts! So saving money is a good thing. Interestingly, 2004 is the only year I've done my Christmas shopping in the above-mentioned manner. I don't know why. I guess I don't really like shopping that much!

So now Christmas isn't too far off, and I felt the need to get started! I actually have a few things set away that I bought last year after Christmas, and a few projects started, but not quite enough! I sat down and wrote out a list of who we would be buying for, and came up with ideas for each person. I've already purchased a few gifts since I wrote out my list. It really helps the budget to spread out the gift-buying! Plus, it is ideal to not have to "wonder as I wander" through the store, looking for a gift, any gift, on Christmas Eve! Oh, any ideas for an 18-year old brother? Brother, feel free to comment as well. ;-)

Do you have your Christmas shopping underway as well? Need some ideas? I just found this site, which has some ideas for each person on your list!

~Fall at My House~

Last year I didn't get to decorate for fall, because the living room and dining room were a work in progress!

I pulled out my fall decorations this year though! I think I'll look for a few more items on clearance this year, since I got rid of a few dilapidated decorations.

My front door decoration:


Fall garland, with white lights:


My coffee table (see the doilies? I got them for 5 cents each at a yard sale. They may be out of style, but they're perfect for fall!) with a basket of crocheted pumpkins:


One of my bear friends. If you look closely, you'll see that the bear, candle topper, and even the picture on the candle all match. I saw these at a store called Country Clutter, and I literally had dreams about getting one, I wanted it so badly! Kevin bought her for me!


Another little friend. He doesn't look too scary does he? I originally had him on my front porch, but the wind would blow him over. This corner in the dining room is perfect for him!

~Fall Sale~

I have a number of fall items in my Etsy shop. I am now offering 10% off each item that has "Fall" in the title. Please enter "BLOG1" in the checkout, and I will send you a revised invoice. Please note, shipping remains the same. Happy shopping!

~Slavery~

I have mentioned that I'm attending a ladies Bible study at my church. We're going through the book of Philippians, and so far it has been so good!

The first verse says:

Paul and Timotheous, the servants of Jesus Christ...

In our study, it was mentioned that the word "servants" is actually "slave" in the original Greek. The idea of being a "slave" doesn't sound appealing, does it? It didn't to me anyhow! Why would God want us to be a slave? Didn't He free us?

To further my study, I pulled a book off our shelf which is written by Oliver B. Greene. It has been very insightful! I want to share what I've learned so far:

When one becomes a believer, though he may be a slave from the earthly standpoint, he is spiritually a freeman through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ; he is set free from the bondage of Satan. It is equally true that though the believer may be materially free, in bondage to no man on earth, in a spiritual sense he is a bondslave of Jesus Christ, as are all believers. We owe everything to Christ--body, soul, spirit, and service.

--From The Epistle of Paul to the Philippians
Oliver B. Greene

And what does it benefit us to be slaves?

A master is wholly responsible for his slaves--for their food, clothing, housing, every single need they have.
He is responsible for their duties. A slave doesn't choose what to do each day. Similarly, we should look to our Master for directions each day.
The master must provide the supplies needed by the slave to complete the task he has given him.

Quoting again from the same book:

Believers - released from the bondage of sin - are in spiritual bondage to a Master who supplies our every need, lays out for us all of our duties of stewardship, and puts at our disposal everything we need to discharge the duties He has laid out for us. He furnishes grace sufficient for every moment of every day, and for every duty we have as His servants.

In this light, slavery to our Lord becomes desirable!

~Finally gaining ground~

My Monkey sock has been giving me fits ever since I started the heel. I was meeting the gauge set by the pattern, but the heel just seemed so huge to me! But I plugged on, knitted the gusset and started on the foot. Then I found a dropped stitch up by the heel (how on earth? YUCK) and ripped back to here (red line):



I was able to pick up my stitches and continue on. I did a different heel, and it turned out shorter and more to my liking. Now I'm finally using new yarn from the skein again! Current progress:



And a little visitor from the other day:

~Links~

Wow...just "wow". I can't believe how high this auction is. I'm sure the charity that it is going to is doing back flips just watching this auction!

I've really been enjoying Recipezaar for cooking inspiration and new recipes. It is easy to navigate and search through their many recipes.

I believe I've posted the link before, but Mrs. Pear's Land of Nod Cinnamon Buns are delicious. I speak from previous experience, because the ones that filled the house with their wonderful aroma this morning walked out the door with my husband. (I made them for him to take to work and share--I didn't think it would be very nice for him to take it with part of it gone! But oh, it was so hard to smell them and not get to eat them!!!)

I came across this link a while back and bookmarked it: 21 Ways to Improve Your Photography. I can't vouch for the rest of the site, but this article has some great points in it. OH HOW I miss the focus feature on my camera! LOL

Five All-Star Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes. MMmmmmmm...they all look so good!

A blog I've been enjoying is Sallie's Stack. Sallie of A Gracious Home is posting all her interesting links on one site. It provides for some great reading.

Have a great day!

~Betsy-Tacy Book Review~

I recently finished reading all the Betsy-Tacy books. The books were fun to read, and a peek into the past.

If I had a daughter, I would let her read these books, but we would discuss a few things afterwards. For instance, the girls start going out with boys at the young age of 14. There is party after party, with school work often suffering. One Christmas, Betsy gets a Ouija Board, from her Baptist parents, no less. Now, the first time I read the book, I had no clue what a "oo-ja" board was, and gave it little thought. LOL So anyhow, there are a few things like that, that would be discussed.

Oftentimes, when I go into antique stores, I am able to figure out what different objects are, because I have read older literature. This book depicts the early 1900's way of life for readers, and is a fun way to learn about the past.

~Pumpkins, right side up!~

In my shop:


The pumpkins landed the right way this time! =)

~Rainy Day~

Yesterday was a very cozy, rainy day. It rained most of the day. If I don't have to be out in the rain, I just love rainy days!

In the morning I went to a ladies Bible study that our church is having. We're going through the book of Philippians, and it has been a great time of learning and growing in God's Word. I'm glad that I can participate in it.

When I got home, I had leftovers for lunch and then snuggled up on the couch to crochet.



Little did I know that I would be crocheting the same row three times over! I got to the end and realized:



I was out of yarn! Ack! So I pulled it back half way, and crocheted tighter. Still not enough, but I had gained a little bit. So I pulled it all the way out, and crocheted both rows very tightly. I ended up with about a yard of yarn leftover. Phew!

I had put stew in the crock pot for dinner, but it didn't cook in time for dinner. Ah, what to do? I stuck it in the pressure cooker for about five minutes, and then it was done! It turned out really good; next time I'll have to start it earlier in the day!

In the evening, Kevin and I played games, and I crocheted some more on my afghan. Now that the weather is colder, it is nice to have an afghan to work on! I am hoping, hoping, hoping that I don't have to buy more yarn, but I may have to. We'll see!

Today's weather is sunnier...but still cool. I hope whatever the weather, that you have a great day!

~Winter Warmer: Butternut Squash Soup~

I love soup. There are very few soups I've come across that I did not like! I also love winter squash, so what could be better than soup made from winter squash?

For Sunday's dinner, I wanted to do something with a butternut squash I had, and thought of making soup. Many soup recipes for winter squash also call for cream, which I didn't have on hand. I looked through some recipes on RecipeZaar and came across Spiced Squash and Apple Soup. Oh my goodness! It is so delicious! The apple gives it a slight sweetness, and the spices make it taste and smell wonderful!

It is so good, I had it for breakfast this morning! *Grin*

Note: the recipe calls for 2 butternut squashes, to equal five cups. My one butternut squash was six cups, and I used it all.

~My Purse~

I needed to clean out my purse, so I thought I'd create an easy meme...just empty your purse and take a picture...post the picture on your blog.

Here's my purse. I really like it. I got it a few months back.


And inside my lovely purse:


If you play along, leave me a comment so I can see! (Make sure to turn over receipts and things with information on them before you take the picture! *Smiles*)

~Laundry~

Acme Delux Iron

For some reason, I seem to "forget" that I have laundry to do. I guess having the laundry facilities in the basement is conducive to my memory loss. Hmmm...

Today has been spent catching up on laundry. I also decided that with the cold snap we've had it was a good time to haul up all my seasonal clothes and switch out my closet. Do you store your clothes by season? Or do you keep everything out all year? If I had the space, I would leave my seasonal clothes out (in another closet, or separated from the current season's clothing). But I do not have space, so I store the opposite season's clothing in the basement.

I have way, way more winter clothes than I do summer clothes. Now I know why there were so many extra hangers in my sewing room this summer. LOL

So besides the normal laundry and resulting ironing, I've been ironing winter clothes. Ahhhh....I'm tired!

~Etsy~

Kathy sent me an e-mail and asked if I would do a post on Etsy. So I said, sure, why don't you send me some questions you'd like answered!

Kathy's questions are in italics.

How much work is it to maintain?
It really doesn't take that much time to maintain it. Once you get your shop set up, you basically just list new items, which doesn't take too much time. It gets faster after you've listed a few things.


It is easier than doing e-bay?
I think so. There are five easy steps to listing an item, and you are walked right through them.

Is it cheaper than doing ebay?
Yes, it is much cheaper than e-bay. Etsy charges 20 cents per listing no matter what the item costs, and you get five free pictures with that listing. E-bay, on the other hand, charges 40 cents per listing (if it is under $9.99), the first picture is free, and then 15 cents for each additional picture. The final value fees are less as well. Etsy charges 3.5% of the item's cost.

What kind of traffic does Esty get? As far as numbers and types of visitors.
That, I'm not really sure of. Etsy is hugely popular among crafty people. I have heard that it is mostly crafters buying from crafters, but I don't think that is entirely true. There are different ways you can promote your own shop (give-aways on your own blog, give-aways on other people's blogs, list your promotion on the Etsy forum, send an item to someone to review on their blog, etc.)

How long have you been doing it?
I joined Etsy in August of 2006, and didn't make any purchases until February of this year. My first items listed were in April, first items sold were in July.

Has it been worth it?
Yes, it has! I enjoy making the items for my shop. I have made profits on everything I've sold.

Some other high points of Etsy:
***Each listing is in your shop for four months or until it sells.
***I feel as though Etsy is a more relaxing way to sell your items. E-bayers can be obnoxious. I haven't run across that, or heard of, obnoxious Etsy buyers. (I'm sure they are out there though!)
***It is easy to give it a try! You can list a few things to see how you like it. If you don't like it, and your items don't sell, you've only lost a few cents trying.
***It is fun to buy from Etsy sellers. They really go the extra mile when packaging your sale.

I'm a newbie when it comes to selling on Etsy, but I've had a very pleasant experience thus far! If you have any more questions for me, I'd be happy to give a shot at answering them!

~And the winner is...~

~For the pumpkin bib~
Please send me an e-mail with your mailing address!

~African Violets~

Still blooming away! I love these little flowers!

~How I spent my afternoon~

Seventeen packages; all but two were e-bay sales. Whew! Glad that's over with!

The post office had a little hand cart that I used, so I did it all in one trip. That was nice. The man who waited on me was polite. Sometimes bank tellers, store clerks, and postal workers can get irritated if one person has a boatload of business to take care of. Thankfully, I got someone who was nice!

~Mid-West Sizzle~

The Mid-West set records this weekend. It was hot, humid, and quite miserable on Sunday! It didn't feel like October, if felt like July. Quite unbelievable, considering that last year we had snow on the ground!

To take advantage of the heat, we sped off to the Lake last night after dinner. The water was actually warmer than it was the last time we went, though still cold (!), and we had quite an enjoyable swim with the sky tinged in pink. It was a fun experience to be in the Lake at sunset.

The restrooms/changing facilities were already closed for the season, so we had a trip home in wet clothes. But, it was so worth it!

It was definitely the last hurrah of the season; tomorrow is supposed to be in the low 50's!

~Fabric Heaven~

Last week I needed some material for a project I was working on, and I decided to look for a better fabric store. Surely something better than Jo-Ann's was in my area? I looked in my phone book, and found a store that wasn't too far away.

The store building is nothing to be in awe over. In fact, I've passed this store many times and not even realized it was a fabric store! However, as soon as I walked into the store, I knew I had found a much better place to shop for fabric!!!

All the popular fabrics that I see paraded all over sewing blogs were in this store! All the popular designers (Amy Butler, Kaffe Fassett, to name just two) have their fabric in this store! I browsed with delight!

Now, I'm not totally "against" Jo-Ann's. They are usually reasonably priced, and they offer half off on their patterns, with specials on their patterns regularly. However, I have spent hours in that store trying to find coordinating fabrics! When I made this bag, I spent close to three hours in the store, just trying to come up with two coordinating fabrics. Even to find a solid fabric to go with a print is nearly impossible! At one point I stopped looking for two fabrics, and instead looked through the pattern book in order to find a pattern that only took one fabric. My mom told me she had a similar experience as well.

Not so at this new store! I bought fabric for my project, and two fat quarters:


I can't believe it, but I'm in love with a store! LOL

~Bib~

Tell me, what do you notice about this bib?



If you have a baby under the age of one, just write a comment and I'll draw a name and send you the bib, free of charge!

I still think this bib is cute, but goodness, I didn't realize the pumpkins were upside down until I was taking pictures. The one place a pumpkin would have been right side up, was in the neck hole. I'll have to make another one for my Etsy shop, but until then, I thought someone could enjoy it and also give me some feedback on the neckties, how it soaks up drool, etc.

~Monkey Business~

Ah, today I really have been monkeying around. I've done quite a bit, actually, but in between times I've been goofing off, and watching my e-bay auctions. It is exciting when it gets down to the last few minutes! Oh, and I figured out what to do with the bidder who no longer wanted to bid: sellers can cancel bids! I'm glad I figured that out before the auction was over!

I'm going off to the library to get some books, and then when I return I'm going to work in earnest!

Have a happy Saturday!

To answer several questions about my socks:

Yes, you see four needles. I use a fifth to knit with. It is a little tricky when you first start out, but after awhile it isn't too hard!

The yarn I'm using is made by Lang Yarns, and is Jawoll Superwash. It is made in Italy for a company in Switzerland. There's barely any English on the label! It is 75% new wool, 18% nylon, and 7% acrylic. I purchased it when my LYS was closing their doors. Oh, and it is lovely to work with, but it slips off the needles too easily, even my wooden needles. So I have to really pay attention, and have a crochet hook handy for when it comes off.

~Autumn Etsy Collection~

I was a busy gal sewing today, and now there are a few new things listed in my shop:

Wristlet:


Zipper Pouch:


Little Zipper Pouch:


Pumpkin Bib:


Jelly Bean Bib:


And this has been listed, but I didn't mention it previously:

~Pets Galore!~

My youngest sister is nine years old, and she has quite a fondness for animals. Apparently, she wants everyone to share her love of animals!

In a recent e-mail, my mom told me:

When B. (my littlest sister) prays now, her prayers always include petitions for animals. She prays, "Help me to get a rabbit, C. to get a goat, T. to get a Jersey cow, Dad to get a Llama, N. to get a turtle, and Mom to get a meat cow. At the end of her prayer N. always informs her that he does not want a turtle, and that if he wanted one he would have picked up the turtle that was walking across the road in town one day. N. was driving down town and there was a turtle (probably about 9 inches long from front to back) slowly crossing the street. He stopped to let him go across. I asked him if he wanted to pick it up, and he said no. Then, the truck behind us stopped and picked him up. Anyway, N. reminds B. that he could have had a turtle if he really wanted one. Still, she prays that he will get a turtle. Sometimes she asks God to give someone a poodle. I think she figures if she asks for enough animals, the Lord will give us something. We will see...... It really is good that God doesn't answer every prayer we pray with a "yes". Can you imagine how our place would look??? God is good!

I just laughed so much when I read this e-mail! My family does live out in the country, but they do not have the room for farm animals! LOL

~Monkeying around~

Last night with the beginning of Socktoberfest, I cast on for a pair of Monkey socks. I've seen these socks all over blogland, and I even bought this yarn with the intention of making this pattern with it. So far, so good. I detest swatching, so usually my "swatch" is casting on and seeing how things go. It looks like it is making gauge just fine. No frogging...at least yet!

This yarn is intriguing to me. It is brown, but it has silvery undertones. I can't wait to see them finished!

My goal for the month of October is to make two pairs of socks! We shall see!

~e-bay stuff~

I hope my parents don't mind me sharing this story, but I find it too funny to keep to myself! *Smiles*

My dad has been an e-bayer practically since e-bay opened their online doors. And so, when he saw a copper tea kettle listed, he wanted to get it for my mom. My mom, however, did not want it. She told him so, several times. But he "won" it for her anyhow. ;-)

One of my sisters went to use it shortly after we got it. She put it on the stove, and left it to boil away, till the water boiled out and the kettle was over-heated. I came through the kitchen and right as I did, the spout fell off the kettle!

Oh, we all laughed and laughed. My sister who had stuck it on the stove was apologetic, but my mom just thought it was funny. Hmmm...

~*~*~*~*~
Ok, a little vent! If you were bidding on a foreign auction, wouldn't you check to see if they ship internationally before you place your bid? Wouldn't you know, someone from Brazil has bid on a 10-lb. book! I checked online, and it will cost roughly $50-60 to mail! I'm not very happy with this bidder; I think he should have asked beforehand. At least it is a book that has a number of watchers, hopefully he will be outbid, or be willing to pay that much for the shipping!

~*~*~*~*~
Do you buy things on e-bay? What's the best item you've bought on e-bay? My best deal was my hand-knotted canopy. I got it for less than half then it would cost new!

~e-bay~

The last week or so I have been checking e-bay on a minute-by-minute basis. Why? Because I've spent hours listing books on e-bay! If anyone is interested in Greek manuals, let me know, and I'll e-mail you my user name so you can look at them. There are also a few Christian titles I've listed as well.

We condensed our bookshelves so that we could take one of the bookshelves out of the office. It covered up the vent and it was always hot in the summer, cold in the winter. Now it's cold in the summer. ;-)

After spending a combined six hours listing books this weekend, it is very gratifying to see people bidding on my books! In the past, I had entertained visions of selling books on e-bay as a home business, but this venture has quickly squelched that idea. I am so finicky about my descriptions (if there is one page turned down, I'm apt to mention it in the description), so it takes me a long time to write up each listing. But in the end, I feel like it is worth the time taken, because it ensures a positive feedback!

Well, off to check on e-bay! LOL

Image from e-bay.com