NEW DIRECTION - AWAY FROM OVERWHELMED

Okay, today my life takes a new direction...I spoke to Pieper about it and we decided that I don't relax enough...unlike her who just loves to lay on her back with her little paws stretched up to the air (nap style - The Blob, Prone), showing everything she has to whoever is interested enough to look! She's such a princess, she thinks we all care, but hey, whatever keeps her little meowy mouth shut works for me!

The Rooster tray pictured above is just one of the new items we have added to our Bonanzle booth. And this tray is one of the reasons for changing our direction, in a roundabout sort of way (I found it at a store sale, fell in love with it and just knew there were lots of beautiful, unique things out there just waiting for me to discover). Because Pie and I originally thought we would hone in on only homemade items, we have been spending every free minute creating, sewing and crafting items for our booth. Now, while Pieper lounges at home basking in her window seat, I work a forty-hour, four-day work week outside our home. The other three days, I sewed, crafted and generally made a mess of my small apartment; hence, the overwhelmed status of recent weeks.

Yesterday, I made a decision to spend more time loving my kitty, taking care of me and taking care of my house. I won't neglect my Bonanzle booth or my family there - it is my home away from home. But, I am going to redo my living area to be less work-related and more relax-oriented. I figure it will take most of the summer (and I'm NOT joking). But surprisingly enough, I am looking forward to washing walls! (I can't believe I just said that!), changing up pictures, maybe sewing a new table cover or making new pillows for the sofa, and occasionally sitting down and working on a cute counted-cross stitch picture I picked up of (what else) a pair of kittens in a knitting basket! Not the 18 x 24 inch counted cross stitch on tiny little squares that I would usually go for, but a small, finished in a summer, relaxing little cat picture!

Well, I feel better already! But, as usual, Pieper has something to say about what I wrote today. She is taking exception to my comment about her nap style. Here's what she had to say about that: "As a consequence of being handfed, my raison de'etre has for the most part been removed now that my prey comes pre-killed in a Whiskas can. As a consequence my alertness is less required and I am able to both conserve my resources AND remain decorative, a uniquely feline feat!"

OVERWHELMED

It was all I could do today to drag myself to the computer. I miss reaching out to everyone, but it's been a particularly trying week for several reasons. Well, I am pulling myself up by my bootstraps (whatever THEY are ... LOL) and moving into a brighter place. So, of course, what else can make me happy but kitties - every color, shape and attitude.

Pieper has recently been reading a book called The Cat's Manual, aka the cat's eye view to the human world, and she shared some very interesting facts with me today. Did you know that, according to the cat author of this book, it's bad luck to cross a stream with a cat in your arms?

This inane French proverb is not too hard to understand. You might as well say it's bad luck to light a match in a firework factory. Anyone with a modicum of smarts knows that nearly all cats hate water. (There are exceptions, but we don't talk about that side of the family.) Therefore, if you are foolish enough to try to carry a cat across a large body of the stuff, you'd better be prepared for some serious lacerations (my thoughts exactly). The cat would obviously be concerned that the human, whom most of us cats consider clumsy at best, would drop us, and really, don't most all of us prefer our water measured into bowls?

I have talked with Pie at length about why this water thing is such an issue? She has no problem lounging anywhere in the house, on her back with her four little paws stretched up in the air, unafraid that we will trounce on her by mistake...she doesn't mind sleeping right at my back, never giving a thought to the fact I could crush her if I turned over...or laying half on/half off the windowsill, apparently unafraid of falling several feet if she turns over in her sleep...but mention water to her and she turns into a ballistic little hairball with claws that could well ... scratch your eyes out.

Little good it does me to talk to her...she smirks at me through one half opened eye, stretches, rolls over with her back to me, and gets on with her lazy little life...such a princess...what would I do without her?

NICK ADENHART - August 24, 1986 to April 9, 2009

On Wednesday night, April 8, 2009, Nick Adenhart debuted as the starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels in the 2009 Major League Baseball season, throwing six shutout innings. Nick was 22-years old. His father flew into LA for the game; they spoke about it after. Nick was “living his dream” after overcoming serious Tommy John surgery at a very early age, but going on to grow up in the Los Angeles Dodgers farm team system, finally debuting in 2008, and pitching the first game of the 2009 season.

A few short hours later, Nick Adenhart was critically injured in a hit and run accident. Two of his friends in the car, Courtney Stewart, 20, and Henry Pearson, 25, died at the scene. Nick died in surgery hours later. Another friend, Jon Wilhite, 24, survived and was hospitalized, but on Sunday his condition was upgraded from critical to serious, while remaining in ICU. Hopefully, his physical recovery will progress.

I didn’t know Nick Adenhart. I didn’t know his friends; I didn’t know his parents. In fact, I hadn’t even heard of him since, although I enjoy baseball, I was not an Angel’s fan. I didn’t live close enough to be one.

I didn’t know the person who murdered those three young people. That 22-year-old driver ran from the scene, was later apprehended, found with alcohol three times the legal limit in his body, and was driving on a suspended license after conviction on another DUI charge. He went through an intersection against the signal. Since he ran from the scene, I can only assume that he was conscious enough to know that he killed three people and critically injured another. I hope he remembers. I hope he suffers. But probably, numbed up by alcohol, he will be able to “forget” or “not remember.” He is being charged with, among other things, three charges of murder. Well deserved, but sadly, another young life ruined.

Not everyone who is the victim of a drunk driver is a “celebrity” or “sports figure.” And while Adenhart was known by more than some, he is still a victim, one among many. His story made the national news – millions more of these tragedies don’t and the stories are only known by those left behind - parents, siblings, extended family and friends. The pain, the suffering, the endless torment of “Why did this happen to them? What was that person who hit them thinking?”

Accidents such as these illustrate the useless waste of lives by people who insist on driving drunk! I have a hard time talking about this subject because I so vehemently oppose the concept of drinking and driving…yes, I understand that alcohol lowers your ability to reason…but hasn’t anyone who has driven drunk ever planned ahead? Rides to and from the bar, designated drivers, the bus, a cab? (Yes, I know that many do and I am not talking about responsible drinkers.)

I guess the only way to attempt to protect yourself from people who insist on endangering your life by driving drunk is to follow something my father taught me at a very early age: defensive driving.

Dad taught me to never enter an intersection without looking both ways (even if you have the “right-of-way”) – this need not slow you down all that much, although some drivers behind you will get annoyed. Too bad, it’s your life you are protecting and perhaps theirs as well. And never assume that the other driver sees you, or knows what you are going to do. When in doubt, slow down until one or both of you is aware of the other and understands what the other is doing.

People don’t have to be drunk to make bad decisions. We all do from time to time. We’re tired, we’re late, we’re stressed … we’ve all done it. But this isn’t about those people. It’s about the victims of irresponsible, drunk drivers.

May Nick and his friends who are gone rest in peace. May God bless their families and friends and fill up the spaces that are left with the comfort of His love. May God heal the hurting hearts of all those who are left behind by tragic circumstances such as these. Whether we knew the victims or not, we feel the pain. I know I do…deeply.

UNIQUE STAINED GLASS

After a winter of careful spending, I decided to cheer up my home a little for Spring. Since I work nights and get home at 3:00 a.m., my family leaves one of the kitchen lights on for me. I hate to think what that costs me energy-wise, but it is comforting.

I love to peruse the Hand-Picked Lists at Bonanzle and found this adorable Ladybug Night Light on one of the lists and decided to order it! It comes from Unique Stained Glass and the items there are all handcrafted. She has a wonderful selection from birds,cats, insects and flowers, to unique items like the 3-D Eyeglass Holder pictured on the right!

You will find Lyn's workmanship impeccable and her customer service is extraordinary. My little Ladybug arrived in a few short days, so well packed the delivery truck could have run over it and it STILL would have arrived intact.

If you are looking for a unique, affordable, handcrafted item for Mother's Day, Graduation, Father's Day or another special occasion, please visit Unique Stained Glass at Bonanzle! It will be a wonderful experience!

SANDYPAWS - BEACH CAT RESCUE

Last month, Pieper talked about Sandypaws and her friends at the Beach Cat Rescue. These pictures are from Sandypaws' booth. You can donate to neuter a cat, feed a bunch of cats, or buy one of the beautiful items that Sandypaws makes to benefit the cats.

Beach Cat Rescue is a NJ Non Profit Corporation with 501c3 pending! Their rescue was created to address the needs of abandoned stray and feral cats in our community. They are a small home based rescue that focuses on the rehabilitation and adoption of abandoned, homeless and stray cats and kittens. All of the proceeds from Sandypaws and Willow Blue, their other booth at Bonanzle, are to support the cats and their needs.

So much energy and love goes into the beautiful handmade creations fashioned by Renee and sold on Bonanzle. Pieper and I hope that you will visit either Sandypaws or Willow Blue and perhaps help a cat or two. It was a hard winter on the beach; summer may be coming, but with it comes a whole new set of challenges. We thank you for looking and loving these little critters in your heart.

CAT FACTS: Did you know that cats smell with their mouths? It's true! It's called the Flehmen reaction. The cat sucks in pheromones through the nasal cavity to an area of cells that specializes in processing them. This area is known as Jacobson's organ and lies in the roof of the cat's mouth...And here I thought Pie's mouth was always open because she was just so in awe of me!

A CLEAN CAT IS A HAPPY CAT

A clean cat is a happy cat...a clean cat's owner...maybe not!

No matter how good Pieper is at cleaning herself, she always has something to share with me later...also known as "the hairball!"

It's a good thing that cats don't normally need baths (although I've heard there are some who love them) because Pieper would NOT be a clean kitty...but generally kitties clean themselves quite well with their rough tongues. They spend about 30 percent of their time grooming themselves (how is that possible when they sleep 90 percent of the time?).

Nevertheless, all cats benefit from regular grooming. Longhaired cats should be brushed once a day, shorthairs, once a week. Pie loves to hold onto the brush and just rub the sides of her face against the bristles. She fairly purrs doing it...all she needs me for is to hold the brush! I tried putting velcro on the wall at about her level, but no, she likes me holding the brush better!

Anyway, supposedly having us groom them lessens the chances of them swallowing too much fur and leaving us gifts...LOL.

PIEPER'S PLACE NOW MAKES CUSTOM BOOKMARKS

Need a special gift? How about a set of five bookmarks, personalized with pictures of a cat (or dog) you love, check out Pieper's Place booth at Bonanzle to see bookmarks like the ones pictured above. You simply e-mail me your favorite pictures. Pieper and I will fit them to bookmarks, add sayings, and put them in heavy-duty plastic covers with coordinated ribbons in the top. The price is $10.00 for five personalized bookmarks! Don't forget Mother's Day! Easter! Or that Special Birthday!

BRAINSTORMING BONANZLE

BRAINSTORMING BONANZLE – MONDAY MARCH 16, 2009

Bonanzle booth owners and other interested parties gathered last night at the Brainstorming Bonanzle podcast, hosted by auctionwally and attheboutique. We meet every Monday night at www.talkshoe.com at 8:00 p.m. EST for a two hour community discussion; on alternating weeks, we have special guests – either Bonanzle booth owners or others in the ecommerce business world.

Last night, we were delighted to welcome John (ColderICE.com) Lawson, the CEO of 3rd Power Outlet and a Platinum PowerSeller on eBay. John spoke to us about social media, i.e., using YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and other network services to promote our businesses.

One of the more interesting facts I learned was that YouTube is actually a more popular search engine than Google! I had never thought of looking up information on YouTube…have you? I always thought YouTube was for fun stuff, like watching cats play the piano, or people falling all over themselves. I never spent much time there because I never had much time to spare! Now I find that you can search for just about anything there and find out something about it just by viewing a video that someone has made.

John named three components that we can use to network: words, voice and video (which we just mentioned). Words would be blogs, voice is chat rooms and forums.

About blogs: John said that a blog is three things – not about YOU, not about YOUR STORE, and not a MONOLOGUE. I respectfully disagree with him on this point. I think a blog is about YOU – it is a revelation into your character, your beliefs and your world view; it’s about what you care about, what means something to you; what makes you “turn on.” Is this a bad thing for potential clients to know? I don’t think so. The Internet is very impersonal and quite scary when you hear some of the things that happen there. Building a following in a blog should be about people getting to know the real you!

Another, and more important point, is that you, as an ecommerce business person, need to define what works for you. If you aren’t comfortable with a blog, but love to mess with your video camera, do YouTube videos about your products or ways to use them. If you’re scared of Twitter, have tried it and found it not to your liking, then don’t do it. If you love Facebook or MySpace and are comfortable there, then by all means use it.

I always come away from Brainstorming Bonanzle with a head buzzing with ideas; it takes a couple of days to digest everything. Open forum nights are also very productive – last week we talked about the changes on Bonanzle which enhanced our selling abilities. If you’re interested in talking, you call in and share your ideas or thoughts via phone.

For me, the bottom line is get moving – don’t just THINK forever about which direction to go – just go. If it’s not for me, then I can turn back and try something else.

“You’ll never plow a field by turning it over in your mind.” (Thanks to my friend, Susan (Renagade), who twittered this quote this morning!