A Really Great Raffle!!!

I am trying to do my little piece and help promote a raffle being held by fellow jewelry artist and Etsian, Bridget from Heart of A Cowgirl. Tickets are only $2 (or 3 for $5, or 7 for $10) and you have the chance of winning this great Cowgirl Cuff, handcrafted by Bridget. The proceeds from the raffle will benefit Equine Voices Sanctuary and Rescue, a safe haven for unwanted PMU mares and foals. To find out more about this raffle, or to purchase tickets, just click on the Heart of A Cowgirl link above. You can also find out more about the sanctuary by clicking on the Equine Voices link above. I've always admired those who find time to volunteer for such organizations. I've given a lot of thought to volunteering at the local animal shelter, but find it hard to squeeze time to volunteer into a schedule that already includes a full time job, 2 hour daily commute, and part time jewelry business. So, I'd like to think I'm contributing a small part vicariously through Bridget!

Hot Off the Bench!

Here are a few of my latest designs hot off the bench. They have been listed in my Etsy shop.

Swimming on Sunday - A Day in My Dog's Life

I took these pictures of Doom, our pitbull, a few Sundays ago. If there's one thing he loves, its swimming in the pool. He just turned 14, and I am amazed at his incredible drive. I guess we can chalk that up to good breeding (his bloodlines can be traced back to the original pitbulls, the Old Family Irish reds) and a rather spoiled life!!!

A Story for Dog Lover's

Okay, folks. Make sure you have your tissues ready when you read this story. It's a tear-jerker, but has a happy ending. I found this on www.pawnation.com.

Do you believe in canine guardian angels and the kindness of strangers? You just might after reading this story.

Early one morning, Yolanda Segovia's neighbor, Stacey Savige, knocked on her door and asked her to temporarily take in a stray dog she had found. The scruffy terrier mix had no collar or microchip. Segovia eyed the pooch -- burrs sticking to his belly and mud caked on his fur -- and reluctantly agreed to foster him for one day.

An erstwhile hairdresser, Segovia hasn't worked since 2006. At 47, she is a survivor of breast cancer and cervical cancer. A divorced single mother of two, Segovia shares her Port Tampa, Florida home with her 10 year-old son Azaiah and 21 year-old son Christian. Her elder son has Downs Syndrome; he cannot speak or bathe himself, and he has had heart surgery and a kidney transplant.

Azaiah immediately took to the dog, whom he name Raelee. Segovia and her sons bought the dog a collar, leash, ball and brown bed from the dollar store, and all that day, Azaiah played with the dog, laughing gleefully whenever RaeLee licked his face. "Don't fall in love with him, " Segovia warned.

Segovia and Savige made 4000 FOUND flyers with the dog's picture, stuffed mailboxes and put an ad on Craigslist. When no one called, RaeLee stayed the night at the Segovias' house. His dog bed was placed in the living room, but when the boys climbed into their twin beds, RaeLee dragged his bed down the long hallway and bunked with the boys in their room.

By Saturday -- four days later -- no one had called to claim RaeLee, and he was still living with the Segovias. The honey-colored terrier had started responding to his new name. He almost never barked, loved playing rambunctiously with Azaiah, and was tender with Christian.

One afternoon, the dog settled himself on the floor near Christian as he watched a "Barney" video in his room. Segovia was outside watering the plants when the placid moment was shattered by the sound of RaeLee crashing into the screen door and barking crazily. Alarmed, Segovia opened the door, only to have the dog race back through the house towards the boys' room. Segovia followed, screaming when she caught sight of her son. Christian was "slumped over, his body writhing in a seizure, blood streaming from his nose and mouth." RaeLee stood next to him yelping, but suddenly went quiet when Yolanda reached down to hold her son.

"If he hadn't come to get me," Segovia said, "the neurologist said Christian would have choked on his own blood and died." The dog, she decided, was a keeper.

But the next day, Segovia and her sons were heartbroken when someone called to claim the dog they had come to love. Randy Cliff, 34, who lived six blocks away said he has been searching for his dog -- real name Odie -- for over a week. Odie had lived with Cliff, his wife, their four children and infant granddaughter. Savige cried, telling Cliff, "That dog saved my friend's son."

When Cliff came to collect his dog, RaeLee a.k.a. Odie, leapt off the Segovias' porch and into his arms. Christian watched from a window. Azaiah stood on the porch watching the man hug the dog he knew as RaeLee. "We're going to miss you, " he said, tearfully.

Looking up, Cliff took in the scene -- Christian looking scared, Azaiah looking downtrodden -- and asked, "Is that your brother?" Azaiah nodded yes.

With a sudden change of heart, Cliff put the dog back down. "Maybe Odie was supposed to find you," Cliff told a stunned and delighted Azaiah. "Maybe you should keep him."

And that is how the kindess of strangers -- Savige for rescuing a lost dog, Segovia for taking him in, and Cliff for giving up his pet to a pair or brothers who needed the dog more - brought Raelee to live with Azaiah, Christian and their mother.

Mud Bog at Palm Beach International Raceway

Last Saturday night Dave and I went to the first mud bog at Palm Beach International Raceway (the old Moroso) in Jupiter. The racing started at 4:00pm, but we didn't get there until 7:00pm and the place was packed!!! The bleachers were totally full, so we walked down to the end of one of the race lanes and stood behind concrete Jersey barriers. We had a great time and spent much of the night dodging mud! Dodging the mud will kind of explain the quality of some of the pictures...they were taken with my cell phone and a few were while I was backing away from the spray! While we have been to plenty of "mudfests" this is the first race we've been to. PBIR did a good job of setting it up, but I think they may have found that they need to make it a little safer for the crowd to watch. We were able to get pretty close to the vehicles as they came down the lanes and there were a few close calls on the opposite side where they only had orange construction fencing, and not the concrete jersey barriers. One of the trucks came pretty close to having a moment that could have been filmed for "Most Shocking Videos"! Luckily, no one was hurt and the racing continued. They raced everything you could think off...trucks, jeeps, cars, buggies, and even a couple of snowmobiles! They also had a pretty big food and vendor area. We're already looking forward to the next one!

Quote of the Week

Hold fast to your dreams, for if dreams die, then life is like a broken winged bird that cannot fly. - Langston Hughes.

Giving e-Bay a Try

I've decided to give e-Bay a try. They are offering 5 free listings (ok, they're not really free, but pretty close!) every 30 days so what's there to lose? I see many people who have been very successful and figured I may as well throw my hat in the ring. I've sold a few items on there before, but have mostly been a buyer. If anything, I'm just hoping for a little more exposure and I know e-Bay has one of the biggest audiences. Unfortunately, they don't allow you to post links to other venues you are selling on, which to me is kind of surprising since even the handcrafted only sites allow you to do that. Do they really think they are going to lose that much business to the other sites? My plan is to include my business card that shows my other links with any items that sell (and hopefully they do). Maybe it will result in another sale, maybe not, but it's worth a try. So, I'll keep my fingers crossed and see how it goes. If you want to check out my listings, you can use the advanced search and look for seller's ID shellysinc.