As$backwards......

Well, well, well - the little red planet has gotten turned around again and our lovely hours of hellishly ridiculous freaking chaos mercury in retrograde are upon us - which means nothing but fun stabbing yourself in the forehead with dpns and crying to the sky, "Why are you doing this to me?".

It may be superstitious, maybe foolish, maybe a little gullible, and oh so modern in the way we try to pin the blame on SOMETHING but I still embrace it (because when I haven't the pain mingled with humiliation seem to have been worse). I have walked many paths in my life - some I may well go down again - with great sincerity, true skepticism, and honest seeking. They have all taught me something but the one that I generally mock the most - astrology - tends to be the one that is also stunningly accurate. Take the retrograde thingie - the ole horoscope warned of electrical and computer malfunction and, boy, oh boy were the stars right on that one. So, I am a day late in my give-away announcement. Pam won the drawing for this give-away (yeah, Pam, your yarn is on its way to you this day!).

This giveaway got me thinking (always a futile process) about how much I enjoy giving back. Some of you may already know that I generally send a little 'gift' with every purchase. I don't like to advertise it because then the very nature of the sentiment is defiled a little. Sometimes, the gift is a new set of batts we've created (in sample portions), sometimes it's just a little stitch marker. I suppose if someone ever REALLY pissed me off it might be a ball of lint or a few strands of yarn ends (I've always enjoyed with sadistic pleasure that idea of retribution). Most people see it for what it is - just a superstitious woman believing in peace and love and somehow deciding that the perfect answer to how to thank properly the people that make it possible for me and my family to work and live the homestead life that we treasure is to give something from the heart in addition to the 'purchase'. Some have given me far too much credit (oops, I'm drooling and maybe off topic for a wee second because I typed that in as fart oo much and I am nothing if not tacky and immature) in thinking that I do this because of some well-hidden business skill that helps me perceive an opportunity to infiltrate the minds of customers and practically force them to buy more. Surely my disorganization and frantic nature are proof that no such genius resides within. Generally, everyone is grateful, some are touched, and only one customer in history has every been irked by it and that was only because the 'gift' was not the color she wanted (note to self - you suck at ESP).

So, it being the beginning of another year and me being the sort to really get off on being Santa now and then - I've decided to give a hardy shove to the large kharmic wheel and do a monthly giveaway for 2008. I'll announce the details for each month (like whether it is a random drawing or a contest, etc.) and the prize in the first week of each month and the contest will end in the middle of the month. Sound good?

Loribird made me squeal this week when she tagged me for the make my day award. Okay, honestly, after the squeal there was more immature laughter about the picture that popped into my head - Loribird walks into a saloon, holsters full of yarn and needles, a spindle stuck to her shotgun sling. She throws a knitting bag on the bar and frightens the bartender so much he drops the glass. She says, 'go ahead, make my day'. I know, I'm such a dork! So, after I finished the moment of being 11, I was right back in the camp of being oh so flattered to have such a wonderful knitterly-spinny-blogger friend. I was about to panic with the weight of responsibility for whom to pass the award to so I decided that the only thing to do was just shoot from the hip (I'm still 11!) so here goes (oh, and there's some repetition from her post but that can't be helped):

~ Aija - I know she's on the list already but I just have to say that this woman is totally awesome. Love her spinning, love her knitting, love her, mkay?

~ Judy is a woman after my own heart. Her knits are great and her fibery, homesteady, nature loving self is a treasure. I check in on her when I'm having one of those 'wtf am I doing?' days wherein I doubt my sanity (that would be today, Judy - smile )

~ Jenla - not just because they said nice things about me - I'm not THAT vain! They make me laugh, they make me knit, they keep me from the brink of insanity - or at least they prove good company when you've fallen over said brink.

~ Sharon is a recent find of mine in blog land and I'm glad for it....plus I feel all 'wordly' with my round the globe knitter/spinner friends. She's up to some great things down there....

~ Rosemary brought us the Ice Queen and since I developed an immediate and almost perverse desire to knit it in every imaginable color, I kinda follow her around salivating at all of her choices. The fact that she doesn't have a restraining order against me yet is a testament to the woman's patience.

~ Lime & Violet made my day by making our shop the Etsy Shop of the Day today. Awww, thanks ya'll!

~ Marnie made my day when she designed this - which has embedded itself into my deepest knitterly desires and will be the pattern I knit the handspun Lady of the Lake from my stash (see post on Mission Possible 2008 - too lazy to link).

~ Call me corny - but I re-tag Loribird...again...and again....are we at 10 yet?
There's too many more and I'm getting drowsy but if I had the time, the brains, the typing skills, etc. - I'd likely sit here and type you all in so as not to leave one single blog I read out. Trust me, I could be that boring. Count yourselves lucky that I required at least 5 hrs. sleep a night to stay alive!