HAPPY NEW YEAR!

                               THE EMPTYNESTERS

WHAT AN HONOR!

        Thanks so much Brando and Bogart for this awesome award and we will also pass on the honor.

Liebster Blog

Liebster means “dearest” in German, and the award is intended to help up-and-coming blogs get the attention they deserve. As with any award, there is a bit of ceremony involved. In order to accept the award, we must do the following:

1. Copy and paste the award on our blog.

2. Link back to the blogger who gave us the award

3. Pick our five favorite blogs with less than 200 followers, and leave a comment on their blog to let them know they have received the award

                     Our 5 picks in no certain order are:

#1 Emptynest

#2 Embee Cavaliers

#3 The social Hydrant

#4 Laceys Cooking Adventure

#5 Fat Man Writing
      
                  I enjoy these blogs and many more.  Happy blogging in 2012!

Thanks for reading our blog in
2011....Love Tucker, Sebastian
Rudy, sophia, cooper and Dexter
and of course our parents, Deb and
Rick.

.

 

2012 FAST APPROACHING

The New Year is fast approaching, not that it matters to the doggies.  As long as they have their food, water and a little love, they don't care what year it is.

My husband and I don't go out for new years, since we have had 6 dogs we spend most of our spare time with them(kids and grand kids too)Our dogs are our family and they do protest, quite loudly I might add when we leave without them.  Sometimes we do need to do things on our own though, so they have to get over it!

I'm thinking I'm going to have a new years resolution of not spending so much time with the dogs in 2012....Right as if that's going to happen. They could never survive without following me around the house as I dust and vacuum, wash the floors, hopping on the furniture to ride as I try to move it,or laying on the bed as I try to make it.  Yeah, I guess you could say we are pretty attached to each other.

 2011 has been a great year for us and I hope my loyal canine friends stay healthy and happy in 2012!

Rudy says happy new year everybody! 

  

CAVALIER CHRISTMAS

     The doggies sure had a great time opening there gifts, so we thought we'd share the video!
                                        Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everybody

NO SNOW FOR CHRISTMAS

Well, its official, the weather man has said it many times this past week, THERE WILL BE NO SNOW FOR CHRISTMAS!  To tell you the truth I don't even care.  Yes everyone says it makes it look more like Christmas with that white stuff on the ground but me and the doggies have been enjoying this mild weather.  I can still do dog walks and go out in the afternoon and throw tennis balls, actually , I'm loving it!

                    This is our awesome Christmas tree this year, so fitting.

So I'm sure you all heard...the Green Bay Packers are now 13-1.  Apparently a few of the guys forgot to show up to play on Sunday...oopsy!  All kidding aside, its all good, they are still the best team in the NFL.

Christmas is right around the corner and we all get together for a Christmas eve celebration.  All the presents are finally wrapped, even the dog presents.  I always hope I got what everybody wants and I worry, but guess what, as I get older I don't care as much anymore what people think and everybody has everything already before Christmas.  I do give alot of gift cards!

I hope everybody has a great Christmas and a Happy New Year and make the changes necessary to live a long healthy life, I no I will be.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

With only a few weeks left before Christmas, we have finally managed to get everything we needed to get done, done.  Of course with December here, it has gotten so cold and the dogs are antsy, not being able to play outside for hours like they used too.  I sometimes have to force them to go out for at least 15 minutes by standing out there myself and freezing.  I throw tennis balls for them to chase so they can expend a little energy.

Ebay is very busy now, especially since alot of people are last minute shoppers looking for that special gift.  We make lampwork beads as often as we can spare the time, without being totally secluded in the studio.  We normally have a 100% turn around at any given holiday, so that's alot of bead making! 





This is one of the new designs that we came up with for the holidays and it is a number one seller.

Wishing everyone a merry Christmas and a happy new year, cant believe it will be a new year already!

WHERE HAS THE YEAR WENT!

One holiday down, one holiday to go! In a few short weeks we will be celebrating Christmas and then ringing in a new year.  Wow, where has the year went?  2012 already and so many things that still needs to be done as time keeps ticking away.

It still has been a pleasant fall, not too cold, nice enough to still do dog walks without shivering the whole time.  The crispness in the air and the still warm sun makes fall my favorite season, but I do love the beauty of the emerging flowers in the spring.

Our tree was put up right after thanksgiving.  We go with a theme of different colors every year and this year it was in the honor of our football team, the Green Bay Packers, who are sitting at 11-0 right now.  Oh, and in case you didn't no, they are also the world champions.  The tree consists of green and gold bulbs, some gold garland and of course a green bay packer world champions football cap as a tree topper.

The dogs and I enjoy what nice days we have left now before it is too cold to go out and spend time in the yard. I also attempt to finish up the Christmas shopping and the menu for the food we will have.  I'm sure everything will work out like it always seems too and it will be over before we no it!

ANOTHER THANKFUL YEAR

I cant even believe that thanksgiving is here already! The summer beauty has faded and the drabness of falls end has set in.  All the beautiful flowers are cut down except for a few stragglers who insist upon growing until old man winter nip that in the bud.Nothing much you can do to change the seasons I guess, you just go with the flow.

I do love thanksgiving, especially the food!  The smells that permeate the house and your senses are unbelievable.  The dogs walk around almost drooling, waiting for a possible morsel that might hit the floor. The dogs no that there will be a bit of turkey and sweet potato for them at supper mixed with there kibble.

I own an eBay business so I am extremely busy with doing my lampwork beads to get them ready for auction for the two busiest days of Internet sales..Friday and Monday. Our new beads will post daily until Christmas, check them out at http://​stores.ebay.com/​Dichroic-Dreams    

We hope everyone has an awesome thanksgiving and enjoy time spent with family ( and fur babies ) Hopefully we will not get snow to soon and we can still have a little cool, but not cold fall weather left to enjoy until we have to hibernate for the winter!

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY

Life is a whirlwind of busy for my husband and I right now!  With the holidays approaching there is alot to accomplish to prepare, but dividing our time is becoming difficult.  We have a lampwork bead ebay business that is extremely successful so anytime taken away from doing handmade beads,puts us behind.  We also have kids and grandkids and birthdays are plentiful in fall and winter.  That usually means lots of birthday party's.  We also have 6 dogs.  They need feeding, walking and attention to become tired enough to relax so I can work on business things.  Shopping for thanksgiving and getting a start on Christmas presents is always a challenge even though I tell myself I will do it early next year, never do!

Thing normally do work out in the end, but it seems like theres no end in site.  So once again this year I will put myself threw this, take a deep breathe or two and GET ON WITH IT! 

We are in the last of our fall days here in Algoma WI.  The trees have lost there leaves and the fall yard work is coming to an end.  I have raked leave and carried them to the road to be picked up by the city department only to start over the next day. I don't mind though, since doing outdoor activities is a relaxing way to clear your mind and get the daily exercise I need.

My pond will be winterized today and the fish Will lay dormant at the bottom for a good 6 months. I sure will miss the beauty of my pond and the calming effect the waterfall gave me all summer long. The monarch butterflies and the flowers have long since gone, and the end of autumn becomes a cold reminder of whats to come.

The grill has been covered, we do not grill out in the winter.  Alot of people grill out year round, I am not one of them.  My dogs will miss the nice weather also.  They loved spending hours a day basking in the sun or laying under a shade tree.  They enjoy running in freshly fallen snow, but do not like the cold.

Soon the snow will come and although I do not like it, I do like to cross country ski. Maybe its time to get the skis out and wax them up and get ready for a new adventure!

SELLING ON EBAY

When I became a stay at home mom (to my doggies, since the kids were all grown) and because of too many lay-offs at my job, my husband and I decided to start our own ebay business. Well through all the trials and tribulations, I can say after years of selling, we were successfull at it.

We have sold charm links, sterling silver, and pandora style beads.  We were profitable at each one, but as other people jumped on board to sell the same product, sales went down.  The market was just too flooded.

My husband and I sat down one day at one of our weekly business meeting and contemplated our fate on ebay.  We needed to come up with a product that was our own, no one could copy, and would keep us successful.  Thats how  Harley J. Sanders Lampwork Beads was born.  Rick, my husband, is an awesome bead artist now but he didn't start out that way.  Learning all the tricks to making a sellable bead takes alot of time and practice and he has mastered what a lot of people never will, including me!

Anyone can be sucessful at what you do if you have the ambition and put as much into it as you can. We are extremely busy now because of the holiday season but we are having a whole lot of fun creating our one of a kind masterpieces!  Visit our ebay site and give us some feedback.... http://stores.ebay.com/Dichroic-Dreams

SUNDAY IS A FOOTBALL KINDA DAY

Who doesn't like a good Sunday football game!  My husband, doggies and I sit down to a roast chicken dinner and a great Green Bay Packers game every Sunday when there playing.  It has become a tradition of ours and if we have unexpected company they are welcomed in to join us.

 check out the great cavalier king charles spaniel slippers, goes great with the Green Bay Packer jersey!

We have great friends from Australia that we met on facebook and thought it would be fun to send football gear from our beloved team to them.  They loved the items and dressed up for us and sent us pictures.  It is awesome to know that some Green and Gold now resides in Drouin Australia!

We had a great supper bowl party with a few friends and of course our doggies.  I made jerseys for all six dogs and had doggie horderves for them.  They are our family and we wanted them to be a part of the glorious celebration and of course we won the supper bowl!

Our team is still going strong this year at a 6-0 record and we all look forward to another great super bowl party and the best thing that could happen would be our Australian packer fans show up!

ANOTHER WONDERFUL DAY IN OUR EMPTYNESTER LIFE

 The morning is always the same, get up, let the dogs out, make coffee, let dogs in, feed dogs, get coffee and sit by computer.  The dogs go back to sleep and the day begins for me.  First things first, I post my you tube video to our emptynester channel on facebook and then talk to my friend carol from Australia.

Facebook isn't what it used to be lately with all the changes, which brought me to search other alternatives for social networking.  A few weeks back I signed up for a google plus account and have really enjoyed it.  I also signed up our business account, hjsanders lampwork beads, there too and have met many wonderful bead artists (and of course dog owners too). I toggle between the two networking sites and would leave facebook but have met many Cavalier King Charles Spaniel owners who's company I enjoy.  That brings me back to my friend carol.

Carol and I begin talking on face book threw inbox messaging about 8 months ago.  At first it began as a few messages a week to a daily message.  We worried about each other if one didn't leave a message every day.  Its amazing how two people, worlds apart, who have never met each other except threw videos and pictures could be so close now.  We are like sisters, she is my best friend, and I hope to meet her in person one day.

Next thing on my computer list is EBay.  We are lampworkers who sell successfully on eBay and we are in the busy season.  It is awesome to see something that was made by our hands be so popular with so many people.  I package everything in the morning and send out in the morning mail.  I also check any messages left and do the auctions for the next day.  My husband makes beads alot these day, and it is amazing to watch him come up with the new designs that peak peoples interests.

The dogs are getting restless by then and need to go out for potty and exercise.  We are the happy owners of 5 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and a Brittany spaniel who are high energy and need to run.  I switch gears at this time and take them out for a run in the yard and do outdoor chores for a few hours depending on the weather.  Its a refreshing change from my inside duties and great exercise for all of us.

CANINES RIP THROUGH YARD & CAVALIER KING CHARLES SPANIEL DAY 255

AUTUMNS TRUE COLORS

 Yesterday was actually a better day, weather wise then was predicted.  Another record set in Wisconsin for consecutive days of 70 degree temperatures in October.  The dogs and I spent a good portion of the day in the yard, finishing up what needed to be done before the extreme cold and rain set in.  The real weather we should be having right now.  As I raked leaves, more fell from the trees and filled in the spots of already raked lawn.  Sometimes I think to myself "why don't you just wait until they all fall off ", but I never do.

The garage is finally clean and ready for winter use.  I couldn't wait for mu husband to put away the few things I asked him to, so I did it myself.  My favorite saying is, time waits for no man. Its sometimes just best to try to do things yourself if you can and avoid the frustration, and I have tryed to instill this onto my 3 daughters.   Most men are procrastinators and always wonder why they are so far behind.  I never have to wonder that, so I just roll my eyes and walk away.

Our weather will get back to normal fall temps as of today.  The pond will be winterized in a few more weeks and the fish will be in hibernation for 6 months.  I always look forward to seeing them surface again in April.  Koi and goldfish are hearty enough to overwinter in a pond and every so often one might float to the top in the spring.

So as the cool misty air sets in I contemplate a nice warm bowl of comfort food for supper.  A bowl of potato leek soup and a grilled cheese sounds great, what could be more comforting then that!

AUTUMN COULD'NT BE FINER

 Autumn has been just wonderful this year!  In October, we are having temps in the 70 and 80 degree range which is unusual for the area that we live in.  I have been slack on some of the housework these days figuring that I have plenty of time to do it when its cold and rainy out and we are stuck in the house.  I will miss autumn, it is my most favorite time of the year.  I love to rack leave piles and have the dogs run threw them.  I'm sad when I have to cut down my gardens that I have worked so hard on all summer but I prepare the gardens for the next year and go on, you cant stop the seasons from turning

. 

Hiking on the state trail brings about wonderful fall sights.  Leaves lining the trail and crunching under your feet as you enjoy the radiance of the season, nothing could be better.  Rabbits and squirrels and a few chipmunks tempt the dogs, they seem to be saying "catch me if you can"!

Winter time this year will bring  some extra joy for our family, we will welcome 2 new babies!  We are the proud grandparents of 7 already, 2 girls and 5 boys and I'm sure everybody wants too no what the other 2 are....They are GIRLS! we will almost be even then.   I would tell you the names but its not my place to tell people until there parents want them to no....sorry!

I plan on enjoying the last of this wonderful autumn weather, since that will be in a day or two, hibernating for the winter and looking ahead to spring!

THE UGLY TRUTH

   So the saying, do on to others, that you would have done to you, is such a lame saying. Most people now adays are takers and if there isn't anything in it for them,why give back.  Its a sad, sad world we live in!  My children were raised to lend a helping hand when they could and look out for there fellow man. Sure, every now and again your hand will be slapped but at least they could walk away feeling good about themselves.

Selfish, self centered people should have to spend there lives with there own kind only.  Those are the people who get no satisfaction out of what they do in there own lives, but get great satisfaction out of talking about others and feel jealous about any success they have.  Those are the people who have burned all there bridges in there own families and good friends lives, that they will start going to church.  They say they want to live a better life, but its only so they can make new friends who think they are decent people and don't know what they have done.

Who would think badly of "church goers".  The self centered selfish person would,  but there new church friends don't no there past, so they feel safe in there pretend world.  I do not attend church, too many hypocrites there.  I believe in karma, what goes around comes around.  I can read a person the first time I meet them.  I can tell if a person is truly nice, truly evil or just weird.

Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly is to the bone describes the selfish person who doesn't even like them selves much less other people.  There negativity starts to effect every aspect of there lives and the people around them.  They lie but feel good about it, and they try to convince everyone its true, and feel good about it and they destroy family relationships and feel good about it, but they are still human, so how good do they really feel?

Bit by bit it will eat a hole threw your soul, you will end up bitter and you will be alone, maybe not physically, but mentally.  So always be helpful, always be happy about others success, don't always think of yourself and always be HONEST!

ANOTHER GREAT DAY!

Couldn't have asked for a nicer day to finish up the fall yard work.  The temps hovered in the mid 70s and it was another short sleeved shirt day.  I had set a makeshift fence up by the pond to keep the dogs out of that area, so they could be in the yard with me.  I weeded and cut down old dried out summer plants but kept a few black eyed susans still standing in the garden, just for a little color.

The dogs had a blast!  They usually aren't allowed to go into my "Good Yard" as we call it, for fear of trampled plants or them eating something they are not suppose to.  I made an exception since the plants were mostly done for the year anyway and the dog toxic plants were already cut down.  They sampled herbs from the herb garden, sniffed and pee'd on everything and grazed on grass like they were a herd of cattle in a pasture. They rolled on the ground in sheer delight.

I was one hour into cutting down old vegetation and everything was good with the dogs up until then.  One by one they decided they had had enough sniff in the flower yard and would like to try a sniff of the pond area. That area was restricted to them since I still had beautiful fall flowers blooming there and also rhubarb plants which are toxic to dogs. I shooed the first one out only to turn around and have to say over and over "come", "good come", "and stay out of there now"!  At least my so called helpers were obedient ones.

I decided to coax the dogs back to their yard with the bribe of a treat and lock the gates behind them.  They'd follow me anywhere for a carrot.  I decided to carry on with my yard work on my own, while the tired dogs lounged in the nice warm sun.  It was great to have them spend the time with me but tomorrow when I do it again I will make sure there are no holes in the fence!

LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS, OH MY........

When my daughter decided to invite the whole family to celebrate her 22nd birthday with her with a trip to the zoo, I thought it was a great idea.  I had wanted to get to the zoo this year but there just wasn't enough time on the weekends to schedule it in.  Our in home business and our you tube videos, along with raising 6 dogs took most of our time, but family does come first.

The plan was for everyone to meet at 2:00 pm in the lobby where we paid to get in and the whole family was on there way, checking out the exhibits.  We had all the grand kids there (7) and it seemed like there was always one or two missing and we spent most of the time there trying to keep track of wayward children.  The excitement was just too much for them not to run off and see what else they could find. I held hands with what ever child needed to be slowed down a little only to have to run to keep up.  Kid legs can go pretty fast, gramma legs cant!

The hit of the whole trip was going up on the platform to feed the giraffes.  All the kids gathered around, with anticipation, to feed the leaves to the giraffes that the zoo had supplied(for a cost). It was a picture worthy moment.  We moved on to a few more exhibits to look at and papa and I decided it was time for us to go and get back home to the kids (dogs) waiting there for there supper.  We said our goodbyes, gave kisses and hugs and lined up for a group picture ( we too are picture worthy ) The zoo birthday celebration was worth its weight in gold and a wonderful idea of the birthday girl.  It was Priceless.........http://www.youtube.com/user/EmptyNesters365

AUTUMNS FURY

When I went to bed, I did expect to see a mess in the morning.  Winds were about 50 miles an hour and it sounded like the house was being ripped apart little by little, even our dog tucker looked at me a few times as to say I'm scared and left his pillow in the hallway to go lay next to the bed, he never sleeps there.  I could hear things thumping against the house which was either large branches from our big maple trees or neighbors lawn furniture.  Sleep was long coming!

Large and small branches littered the ground and the dogs were in heaven!  They didn't no what stick to eat first. and the fighting over who got what stick was my cue to take all sticks and dispose of them.  I  pulled sticks out of dogs mouths and threw them over the fence only to return to pull more sticks out of dogs mouths. Whats the significance of eating a stick, I guess Id have to be a dog :)

The handmade pond net had done its job also, it was covered with the leaves that had been violently ripped from the trees.  We checked for a regular pond net to cover our large pond which would of been hundreds of dollars and couldn't force myself to fork out that kind of cash for something that is only used a few weeks a year.  Of course it got my wheels turning and I thought,  " there has to be something cheaper", and "I'm sure there is something laying around here to use, there always is".   We had just purchased a roll of heavy duty window screen to re screen the patio door that one of the dogs had shredded and I looked at the leftovers and thought it would make a fine net for my pond.  It was narrow but could be cut to lengths I needed and sewed together with fishing line.  Brilliant thinking, I gave myself a pat on the back,  Ya gotta do that sometimes!

Guess Ill just stay in until the winds are gone and do the rest of the clean up tomorrow.  Maybe if I'm lucky the dogs will just eat all the sticks..........

                                                                                                                                  

  I wonder how I ever got everything I needed to get done, done when I worked outside the home.  Don't let anyone tell you that working from home is not a job, cause I beg to differ! The only thing different is instead of 5 children it is 6 dogs that keep us running. They squabble, need to be feed and get into mischief just like children.  I went out to finish my yard work this morning and as I put things away my Blenheim cavalier Rudy kept digging in the flower pots I had put away. I didn't realize that it was him taking them out and moving them to the middle of the shed until after about the fifth time I found them there and thought I was losing my mind..I finally caught him doing it. Darn kids!

  The marketing and research has to be done for the other web sites we maintain, auctions have to done for our eBay site, supplies have to be ordered and items need to be packed and shipped.  Then theres the everyday tasks like vacuuming, sweeping, dusting and cleaning furniture which must be done daily when you have 6 dogs. laundry  (which isn't so bad anymore since the dogs don't wear cloth)and cooking.  There are days I look up and say where did the time go!

  so as I finish writing this I am being circled by six hungry dogs who no when its time to eat and remind me I'm running behind again.  I am woman....but this woman's tired! 

      

So the saying "waste not, want not" also applies to gardening. at least in my life.  It is now time to start cleaning up the garden and throw away all the beautiful plants that made my garden that special place from may thru september.  I have a hard time letting go especially when the plants still look so nice!  I take cuttings of what I can to save for next year.  This works well for coleus, rex begonia and my pink double impatience that was a show stopper in my garden this year.  I dig out my spikes from the flower pots and the ones I plant around my pond and store them in a bucket of water in the basement.  The geraniums are dug out of the pots, cut off and stored in paper bags in the basement.   Works great to keep them and all you have to do is soak them in water once a month for a few hours. I also collect seeds from what I cant take cuttings from and divide what needs to be divided.  Might seem like alot of work to some but to me its a way to not waste resources that are right in front of you and I normally want for nothing when it comes to my gardens, it all right there in front of me. I lovingly put all the excess plant material that just couldnt be saved in the compost box and get a good feeling knowing that it will become a nutrient rich black gold for my gardens next year.  So as I ponder on what my gardens will look like next year I take great pride in knowing I didnt waste much!