Sometimes a little silence can't hurt

Especially when you don't have anything important to say.
So I'll just indulge in a little bit of self-promotion today.
I want to thank Gimla of the Mature Natural Blog for her special feature of a few Etsy hat stores showcasing our summer tams and snoods.
Thank you so much for including me!
The feature is here
Work in progress is the title of the picture below and following are a few new clothing items pictures. My materials and supplies are overwhelming and I need to create!
A pile of hats that is awaiting to be finished and listed.
A patchwork skirt that finally came to life after concentrated sewing.

I had already given boxes full of baby yarn to charity groups, but I need to put the rest of my light weight skeins to good use myself and I have decided to make these little summer halter apron tops for girls.
(Tops and skirt available in my Etsy shop.)

Watching things grow

My zinnia seeds are sprouting. Instead of buying annuals this year I have bothered to plant ordinary cheap plant seeds...and voila, some have come alive. Between crocheting, gardening and answering my emails, I have finally (yeah for me) limited my time that I spend in so-called online communities, Etsy, craftster org. and more. It's the time of the year to get back to nature and down to some plain old garden work.

An ordinary day -- that's the way I like it

Things are finally returning to a slower and less hectic pace. Sid is recovering from his nose surgery, not quite there yet, but he is doing pretty good.
It's gradually warming up, but still windy outside. The strong wind gives me a headache and I had been "headachy" for days now. Today I feel much better. I started to plant my first flower seeds. I am an awful gardener, but with big plans each spring season. Trial and error:)
So, what do you write about when there is not much to write about? I guess I just appreciate the fact that nothing out of the ordinary is happening. Leaving me enough space to just work on my hats, drive grocery and yarn shopping, organize the house, go outside and -- feel content. If only for a while.
Last night I was lucky to stumble on another re-run of the movie Crash on FX. The finale/conclusion always makes me sad though. But what a refreshing show considering all the other crap that is usually shown on TV.
Blogging for others or writing my own personal journal?
Probably the latter recently, but I have drifted away from the whole "blogging about Etsy thing", daily store features of other Etsy sellers, Etsy community talk and all the other social network sites where sellers hang out. Oh well, maybe someone will look and read anyway:)
But, I have not been idle, so, I show off some new tams today:
(Above picture) I call it the "Traveling the gravel road tam" because it reminds me of a gravel-covered path or walk way, the colors range from black to light-colored stones, with a bit of brown earth thrown in there.

And here is a longer totally unisex tam for guys and gals.
Available at PurpleSageDesignz.

Looking forward to our vacation

Sid and I have been under the weather for a while now.
The weekend didn't happen as planned and we didn't drive to Shawnee's Arts & Craft Fair. It was an overall cool cloudy weekend with some sunny high lights, but the forecast of rain made us change our plans and just take "time out". It's a strange feeling when you are not really sick, but you don't feel like a "powerhouse" either. And your body sends you that message to take it easy or it will go into strike mode. I am a big believer in listening to body messages.
Great news is that we got our tickets to fly to Cancun, Mexico and stay at a nice hotel close to the beach for a few days.
A typical tourist vacation package nevertheless. But, I have done my fair share of back pack traveling throughout my life in Europe. For me this is actually a novelty. The convenient way of vacationing. So we''ll be the the typical American tourists, haha.
After camping in the Rockies and train riding through Germany we may actually enjoy it. My first trip to Mexico ever. I was thrilled to visit Spain when I was still living in Germany. I love tropical sceneries and I am a sucker for palm trees. Yep!

A Mix of Winter and Spring

Ponca City, OK

25°F
Cloudy
Wind: N at 12 mph
Humidity: 80%

Today

Ice on roads and walk ways should be forbidden at the end of February:)
As an accessory and clothes maker I have been thinking spring ever since Christmas was over, ha!
Far away from reality. More out of lack for any better ideas I was working on some warmer scrap hats and listed them on Etsy and my website.
A good move after all. Some have already sold.
So, should I wish for spring or hope that winter will make us freeze a little bit longer? The first choice would be so good for my sun-seeking warmth-loving personality, the latter beneficial for my business. How should a hat crocheter decide?

It's easier to go "green" in small steps

(I listed this new tam on Etsy today, I took the picture last summer, isn't nature beautiful in its bloom?)

I wanted to write about "going green" for a while now, but I knew it was going to be a task to put all my thoughts into words. Therefore, I decided to write a short article about how ecological-conscious living can be achieved in small baby steps.
When I moved from Germany to the USA it was scary and challenging at the same time to witness what environmental "sins" were still allowed in the beautiful state of Oklahoma, please keep in mind, that urban and country living in Germany had been restricted by many laws considering trash, garbage disposal, paying high taxes on any energy-intensive product like gasoline, even for plastic grocery bags....
I also take into consideration that a densely populated country requires different restrictions in order to keep the environment alive and healthy.
My DH and I sometimes still don't see "eye-to-eye" on certain steps, but here is how I try to implement my European roots into the American Way of Life:
***Recycle for private and business matters, whatever possible I buy at the thrift store, clothes, ribbons, bags, books, dishes.............I guess anything other than underwear, socks and shoes!
***Never throw anything out of your car window and onto the streets or roads
***Avoid plastic bags if possible, use fabric totes
***Turn off lights and devices if not needed, electricity costs natural resources and money
***Return batteries, hazardous waste if possible, not throwing it into the house garbage
***Composting kitchen waste
***Save water (we have our own water well, but I still see it wasted if it's just flushed down the drain without any purpose)
***Buying less is more, enjoy an uncluttered living
***Refurbish used furniture with toxic-free stains and paints
***Wear a sweater when it's cool, keep the heat on moderate temperature
***Fill washing machines and dishwashers before running the wash cycles (I never had a dishwasher until I moved over here, so, that's one convenience I am thrilled with, but I fill it properly and scrub pots by hand:)

***Buy handmade and homegrown/homemade, we don't need cotton swamps made on other continents just to have them shipped across the ocean so that we can save 50 cents at the store. Buy seasonal fruits and vegetables which are grown in your area. Don't support sweatshops without any quality control and environmental-unfriendly production methods. Saving a $ does not justify importing all our daily goods, because it takes an immense amount of energy for transportation, unsafe uncontrolled materials may threaten our health and the huge quantities of unnecessary trinkets and one-way-products eventually will exhaust the resources of OUR earth.

Small steps, but we should never feel helpless, we always can do something good for our Mother Earth.
And one more thing, if I was an American national, I'd vote for a candidate with an environmental program.
But my naturalization is still a matter of the future.
PEACE and have a great weekend!

More online articles to read:
Small steps to reduce waste
Going green in the kitchen
10 environmentally friendly ideas for college students
Green parenting
Micro-Green - Small Steps to a Greener Existence

Giving color choices...and a fabulous trade

People love to pick their colors, I know I do!
Here is my newest listing for a custom color netty dreadlock tam hat.
Available on my website Purple Sage Designz
(Contribution to my February design challenge, a fresh idea on Superbowl Sunday 2008)

Etsy is also a fabulous place where you can trade with other artists. Here are Lighting Your Path (Goddess Mama Lamps) Earrings, I absolutely love to wear them and Kasey of shivsister
has sent some good vibes along with them.