GIVEAWAY - Large Format Poster 18" x 24" Print

We all love taking pictures and some of the them just come out so great wouldn't it be nice to have them turned into a poster? Think of the possibilities; you could take a favorite photo of the kids, or a delightful memory from vacation and have it big and beautiful on your wall. Me, I am thinking of using this photo of my goats and mounting the poster to use at craft fairs and farmer's markets to help draw people to my booth. Who can resist a picture of adorable goats?

My blog sponsor Large Format Posters is giving one of my readers a poster sized print. Woo hoo! How cool is that? They do beautiful poster printing and you can even have them print custom posters for you.

But you want to know how to win....it's easy and you can even have more than one entry:

1. leave a comment on this post telling me if you would print your poster of people or scenery or whatever
2. follow my blog publicly and comment that you have
3. tweet about this giveaway: Broken Teepee and Large Format Posters are giving away 18 x 24 poster @ http://tinyurl.com/lk2a3t
4. blog about this contest and leave a link to the post - this is good for 5 entries so leave 5 comments

See, easy! There are some rules so be sure and read and pay attention:

Giveaway is open to US/CAN residents. Ground shipping of prizes is free, but there is a $5 handling fee that must be paid by winner.

Large Format Posters reserves the right not to print obscene or offensive materials.

All designs submitted in the form of a giveaway may be used by Large Format Posters for online marketing and promotional uses. The designs will be used solely as examples and will not be printed or commercially distributed.

The giveaway will end on Wednesday, August 5, 2009, at 9PM MDT at which time I will go to random.org to pick a winner. Be sure to have your email address in the comment so that I may contact you. If I do not hear from the winner within 48 hours I will choose another winner.

So come on, PICTURE YOURSELF A WINNER!!!!!

Random Tuesday Thoughts

I thought I would try and be random. On Tuesday. I am random most of the time so trying to corral my randomness to one specific day is going to be fun. This is of course, The Un-Mom's plan. Get everyone being random and then she can get all organized and take over the world.

My goats are going to kill me. Well maybe just Mallory. She either butts a goat into me and tries to break my knee or there was today's trick - she butt Pricilla into the fence gate and the fence gate flew into my shoulder. Who needs feeling in their left arm? Certainly not me.

The zucchini have started. So that means the zucchini won't stop until the killing frost which will be sometime in November. He planted THREE zucchini plants again. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY FREAKIN' ZUCCHINI THAT MEANS I WILL HAVE?! *sigh*

There is soap curing on every level surface in my trailer. I wouldn't be surprised if I had soap curing on a cat. The Farmer's Market has been very successful which is nice but I have been making soap three or four nights a week to keep up and to make sure I have enough come the winter/holiday season.

I CANNOT WAIT UNTIL I GET INTO THE DAMN HOUSE. I cannot express that enough. I am tired of living in 400 square feet yet having a life that needs more space. I process enough vegetables and fruit that the only produce I have bought in the last year has been some onions and celery to make stock and some bananas and strawberries 'cause I wanted them. This is hard in a kitchen small enough to fit in most people's bathrooms and a 15" three burner stove.

Boy that felt good.

Why Aren't You Branson Bound?

With so much to do in one place Branson, Missouri, sure is a wonderful vacation spot. With gorgeous hotels like the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing you have a comfortable starting point for a myriad of activities to keep you and the family happily occupied for days! It is so conveniently located - right in the center of the shopping and entertainment district that you won't even need your car once you arrive. You can walk around to great restaurants and attractions thereby working off some of the great food you will be eating. Nothing like a dual purpose stroll, right? And if the Promenade is full, well you can find the same wonderful Hilton service at the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel right across the street.

What will you do on your vacation in Branson? What won't you do? There are a series of championship golf courses to tickle any duffer's fancy. There is shopping galore! With 49 theatres showing live concerts and shows you can bet that you will find something to entertain you and the family. What about the 21st Annual Downtown Branson Fiddle Fest or Silver Dollar City’s fun-filled National Kidsfest . There are events and concerts all year long.

The hotels are on the shore of beautiful Lake Taneycomo so there are gorgeous views and opportunities for walks along its lovely shore. You will also find opportunities for fishing and boating. Is there a more perfect place for a vacation? I think not. So go, give Branson, Missouri a try.

Want to Win Some Cool Pots?

I do! I always love new stuff for my kitchen. And well, someday I will actually HAVE a kitchen so new pots for them will be really nice. And you can have a chance to win cool pots too. One of my favorite blogs Nanny Goats in Panties is having a giveaway for a set of Rachel Ray pots. You just need to click on the photo below which I lifted from her site. I sincerely hope she doesn't mind that I lifted the photo since it is in a good cause....

You can also click here. The rules are simple and the giveaway ends on August 2nd at 6pm Pacific time so head on over to enter.

You should also read the blog, cause it's absolutely hysterical. Especially when there are random goat photos. You know I love goats!

Well, I am 50 Now *sigh*

I turned 50 on Saturday and you know what?

Not a damn thing changed.

I still had goats to milk.
I still had vegetables to process.
I still had soap curing on every level surface of the trailer.
I still had a husband who thought a romantic birthday surprise was a piece of xerox paper with "Happy Birthday 50" on the outside and "Gift Certificate for dinner sometime in Missoula" on the inside. At least he remembered this year.
I still had two out of three brothers that didn't bother to call me this weekend.
I still had grey hair.

Whoopee!

Now I get to see if I actually get to go out to dinner in Missoula "sometime" or if "sometime" never comes.

Now he is a good man. He takes good care of me when I am sick. He is solid as a rock. But he sucks at romance. He has sucked at romance for the 28 years we have been together so why do I think he is going to change now. Why do I think that if I ask ONE MORE TIME for a romantic surprise it is going to happen.

Why do I do this to myself? WHY have I not learned this even by 50?

Will I learn it by 51? Stay tuned.

It's Vacation Time

Most people like to take family summer vacations. I don't blame them - I would LOVE to take a vacation but eight goats prevent me from leaving. *sigh* I love my goats but there are times....

So I have decided to dream about vacations. Dream about where I could go if I could my goats into stasis and take some time off. Hmmm, would I like a beach vacation? Better yet I think I would do better with luxury beach vacations. That is definitely more my style. Remember we are thinking no goats on this trip and that just means luxury! So were would I go? To make it easy I would go to FatPassport; it's a great website where you can plug in the parameters you would like and the site comes back with recommendations for your trip. For example I put in for a luxury couples vacation in North America ( I dream big!) and it came back with trips to:

Maui - now I love Maui. I have been there and it is beautiful, romantic and luxurious.
The Napa Valley - again. I have been here and it is romance with wine.
The Big Island - one of my most favorite places in the WORLD!
Miami Beach - OK, this one would not be my top pick but I have been to Miami and it is bustling.

There were dozens of other choices and it is very easy to change the parameters to suit YOUR perfect vacation idea. I think I could sit there ALL DAY and play. It lets me relive some of the beautiful places I have been and dream about spots I would just love to see. Is there a better way to spend a lazy afternoon? Unless, of course it is actually going on the vacation.

So why not go to FatPassport when family vacations are on your mind. You can plan for a budget vacation or you can plan that trip of a lifetime. Knowledge is power...

New Earrings!

I found a little time to create again. I finding these times harder and harder to squeeze into my days as the garden takes over my life. I knew this was going to happen but it doesn't mean I am happy about it. I WILL be happy come winter but right now I am just feeling overwhelmed. So having a day to just play with pretty sparkly things was a delight. I made three pairs of earrings. They will be listed in my etsy shop for sale.


The first pair has labradorite topped by sapphires in different shades of yellow. I oxidized the findings to a rich, dark grey but used 22kt gold vermeil pins for the sapphires. I was really pleased with the look of the mixed metals and the yellow and grey. The labradorites are quite flashy, but of course trying to find that flash for the camera was challenging.




The second pair showcases a beautiful pair of faceted pink topaz hearts. They are sparkling and clear. I topped them with a wire wrapped jumble of grey and yellow sapphire rondelles. I love this technique and have used it many times before. I also oxidized the sterling here. I guess I was in a "dark" mood.




The third pair is a classic color combination of white, grey and red. Ruby, sapphire and labradorite stacked with 22kt gold vermeil spacers on gold fill hooks. There is a lot of sparkle on the sapphire, lots of flash in the labradorite and lots of depth in the ruby. Classic!


And remember, everything is still on sale in my shop! All items are 25% off with free shipping 'til the end of the month. Hooray for that!

Fire Season

Fire season has begun.

Summer is interesting here in Western Montana; I live for it. Six weeks of the most perfect weather a person could ever want. At least in my estimation. My husband doesn't care for the heat - I thrive in it. But summer also brings fire season. When you live in an area that is 90% National Forest this is a bit of a concern. Fortunately for us we had a very late, very cool, very wet Spring. This caused the powers that be to consider Montana out of the drought it has been in for the last 10 years. This does not mean that the forests aren't going to burn, it just means that perhaps they won't burn as much. We still have a terrible beetle infestation problem and issues with the forests not being managed properly. I won't get into that because well, I am just not going to.

I woke up yesterday to smokey skies. Uh-oh, I figured something was burning nearby. I mean this is what I had all around me - usually my summer skies are clear, bright blue, cloudless and so sharp it almost hurts your eyes. This is what my favorite view looked like yesterday (it's not much better today.) My blog header is what it looked like in the Spring - on a rather grey day without benefit of Summer's gorgeous sun.

I emailed my hubby - he is fire chief in our town - to see if he knew what was burning. He did.

British Columbia.

Apparently all the smoke that is inundating my little town is coming down on the Jet Stream from British Columbia. We often get smoke from Idaho and Washington but Canada?! That is some well traveled smoke!

Every direction I looked it was the same. I could barely see the mountain across the river..


Nor could I see any of the mountains towards downtown Superior...

Now I like Canada. It's a beautiful country with some really nice people in it - BUT THEY CAN KEEP THEIR SMOKE. We will soon have enough of our own.

Busy Weekend

I have had/am still having a very busy weekend. Yesterday was the weekly Superior Farmer's Market. And it was a busy one! The Annual Softball Tournament was in town and we had quite a few people come visit the market which was great. It was my second best day for sales. Plus I picked up an order to make small soaps for a local hotel - now that is exciting!

There was a vendor from Washington State selling gorgeous apricots so I bought ten pounds. I don't like fresh apricots. So why did I buy 10lbs of them? Well, I adore apricot jam. I know this makes absolutely no sense but I never said I would make sense, did I? The first batch is out of the canner and it is a beautiful shade of well, apricot and it tasted delicious. Tart and apricotty, which I know is one of the more ironic things I have ever typed. I have another 5lbs to work with and am trying to decide whether to do more jam, make syrup or dry them. I also love dried apricots. I know, I know - I am just weird.

One of our neighbors - whom we haven't met yet - put a flyer on our mailbox for a Block Party today. They are making the brauts and anyone who wants to come brings their own drinks, chairs and a dish to share. I thought this was just a lovely idea! We haven't met all of our neighbors yet and it will be fun to do it in this kind of setting. I made a pound cake and am about to make a lemon glaze for it. I am also going to take some of the pickles I put up last year.

As soon as I am done with this post I am off to inventory Pricilla's soaps. My new inventory system and I seem to be at odds with each other. I tell it one thing and it tells me pfffftttttt! This is not good. I am going to have to give it a good kick in the pants and let it know who is in control. *sigh*

Don't forget the big sale going on at Broken Teepee Designs. I'm turning 50 and therefore you all get to celebrate with 25% off and free shipping.

Big Birthday Sale at Broken Teepee Designs

To celebrate (?) the fact that I am turning 50 (!) the end of this month I am having a big sale in my shop. ALL items are 25% off with FREE SHIPPING (except to Italy where there is a discounted $5.00 Global Priority fee.)

So why not celebrate with me and buy yourself something nice. Now is certainly the time. I have waaaaay too many items in the shop to go through and lower the prices so I can either send a new invoice or you can pay and I will refund you the difference whichever you prefer.

Wouldn't a lovely piece of jewelry just brighten your day?

New Business Cards

As you all know Uprinting is one of my blog sponsors. It has been a delightful relationship from the start. They are wonderful to work with and have done nothing but good things for me, for my blog and for my business - and this is not a post they have asked me to write!

I recently did a post and was rewarded with an order of business cards. It was ironic because I had already been perusing the site as I needed new cards. Sometimes the stars just align, ya know? I had discovered that Uprinting's pricing was VERY fair and they indicated fast turnaround. I was just about to order when I got word of the giveaway. Aren't I a lucky sponsoree?

So I went to the site and created my cards. It was very easy. They give you a choice; you can use one of their templates or you can start from scratch. I chose to start from scratch because I wanted to include a photo of a pair of earrings I had designed. You can pick what size card you want from a pretty broad range of sizes.

I uploaded my photo and I put in my wording. I could pick different fonts and colors and the process was fun! I was able to match the printing colors to the colors in the earring photo.

I put the order through. Within hours I had a pdf file emailed to me for final proofing. I OKed the order. My beautiful new cards were in my hands in a week. They are high quality; nice heavy stock with the gloss I was looking for. The colors are strong and vibrant and the photo is sharp and clear. I could not have asked for more. When I need more cards I will most definitely go back to Uprinting. When I need anything else printed for my businesses I will go to Uprinting. They are fast, helpful and of great quality.

I am very happy they came to me and became a sponsor of my blog. Again, this post was not sponsored. This post is in response to my happiness with my business cards.

Well, here they are; I have photoshopped out my personal information for obvious reasons. They cards are not all icky under my name :)

ShoeMall Wants YOU to Win Free Shoes- Enter Now!

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The Sad Reality of Farm Life

I am a city girl. I have mentioned that many times in the past. Farm life is new to me. New since we moved to Montana, got the goats, added the chickens and of course the huge garden. I understand that animals get sick and that they die but in my past experience it had only ever been my cats. If they got sick I would take them to the vet and if it was time I would have them put down quietly, quickly and painlessly.

We were gifted my goats from very good friends. They gave us Pricilla and Abby and started us on our goat odyssey. From two Nigerian dwarf goats we now have a herd of eight. Our friends were looking to change from the dwarf sized goats to full sized goats. They got some Oberlhasli and Nubian does and created their herd.

On Sunday my friend called saying three of her goats were sick and she needed help. My husband and I rushed right over to see what we could do. One goat was very, very sick. We weren't sure at first what was wrong. I sat with that poor goat for hours. I tried to keep the sun off her face. She noticed if I left so I really didn't want to leave her. It was finally decided that she was too far gone and she needed to be put down. A neighbor came over and very kindly handled that.

We worked very hard with the second goat. We got an IV line in and gave her some pain killer and other medicine. We even got her to stand. My husband and I left thinking she was doing better but we called this morning only to learn she had passed in the night.

The third goat was doing OK at the time of the call this morning but she was still vomiting. I really hope she pulls through. This is so very sad for my friend. Goats are very personable animals and it was very hard for her to lose her animals.

I hope to heaven I never have something like this happen to my little herd.

We think her goats got into a pile of alfalfa hay and ate too much which causes bloat. Goats will eat themselves to death if given the chance and it looks like these goats did. It was a very painful lesson for me. I will keep my grain locked up and never let them near if we buy alfalfa hay.

Just When You Think You are Done....

As I mentioned in a previous post I was lucky (?) enough to have a large quantity of cherries to put in my freezer for the summer. I pit them and lay them out on cookie sheets 'til they freeze and then put them in zip bags. They really do taste good in the middle of winter when you NEED that taste of summer

I do wish I could figure out where in the devil I had put my pitter. But oh well. I managed to pit the 40lbs I had and was feeling quite proud of myself. I have12 bags of 4 servings each and 6 bags with 6 cups of cherries for pies or sorbet or whatever I might want to bake. And better yet - no more pitting.

Yay!

But now the sour cherries are in. *sigh* I now have about 10lbs of them awaiting me. So what am I doing? Writing this blog post for one. Do you sense that I am tired of pitting cherries?

Fun in Branson

As I have mentioned many times in this blog, my husband and I spent three years traveling around the country in our fifth wheel trailer. It was a wonderful way to see the different sights in many different states. I am sorry to say that while we wanted to get to Branson, Missouri, we just never did get there. I think it would be a delightfully fun place for a vacation. My goddaughters are going there with their parents and grandparents this summer and I know they are looking forward to the trip.

I think a great place for them to stay would be the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing. It's on Lake Taneycomo and it's located in the new Branson Landing shopping and entertaining district. That would make it very easy to walk to dinner or to a show. No reason to drive short distances when you are in a beautiful area and the scenery/people watching make walking so pleasant.

Another great choice would be the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel which is directly across the street. So many wonderful choices which is one of the things that makes Branson so attractive.

While I think my goddaughters would prefer shopping I suspect their dad would love the Payne Stewart Golf Course. 18 beautifully landscaped holes open to the public. What a way to relax - especially if he gets a bit of time by himself!

How would I spend my vacation in Branson? Well I am sure I would love the Butterfly Palace and Rainforest Adventure. Then a nice train ride on the Branson Scenic Railway would be very relaxing - my hubby loves trains. Most men do - they never seem to grow up about such things, do they? Then a nice dinner and show and back to my beautiful hotel room at the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing. On my second day I couldn't resist a bit of shopping - well the hubby got the train ride, right? Then a visit to one of the local wineries would be very interesting. Then I think a late lunch, a nap and another rocking show. I think that would make a perfect weekend away. But of course there is so much to do I suspect I could stay much, much longer and still not do it all!

So why not check it out as a possible destination for your next vacation?

Cherries, Cherries and MORE Cherries

The putting up for the winter continues. This time it is cherries. We don't have a cherry tree - well two cherry trees as they need to be in pairs - yet but we hope to. But there is a seller from Washington State that comes to the town next to us that sells REALLY good bing cherries. They are reasonably priced and the quality has always been excellent. This year was no exception. We went to the stand on Friday and bought 28lbs of cherries.

Yes, I am crazy.

Yes they all have to be pitted.

No, I still don't know where I stored my pitter. I put is somewhere safe. It is so safe it is even safe from ME. So they are all being pitted by hand. *sigh*

Over half are done. Some went into my annual cherry pie. I make one cherry pie a year. I love it. It is half eaten already and I only made it on Sunday. About 6 cups of them went into a Cherry/Blueberry Buckle for the fire house meeting on Monday night. I made a mini buckle for myself so I can attest that it was quite yummy. I have consumed my entire mini buckle. I am a pig. I failed to take photos of my baked goods so you will have to use your imaginations. You can also imagine the size of my butt.

Most are going in the freezer; I pit them and freeze the halves on my cookie sheets and then put them in zip bags. They taste really good in winter when you need that touch of summer. I was going to finish them today but I woke up feeling crappy and went back to bed. I have been between naps most of the day. Ugh!

My wonderful neighbor called and their cherries are in and need to be picked - like pronto - so the hubby will be heading over there tonight to pick me some more cherries. They have sour cherry trees and bing cherry trees. The sour cherries make the best sorbet. Last year I froze bags in the quantity needed for sorbet so I could just thaw and add the simple syrup. This also tasted yummy in the winter. Very fresh, very refreshing.

So I guess I will be pitting cherries for much of the rest of the week. I will probably pull some back out of the freezer when the tomatoes come in to make my blue ribbon winning Cherry Barbeque Sauce as I am almost out.

My life, at least currently, is one whomping bowl of cherries.

Man, Would I LOVE Some New Jeans

I won't even share with you the last time I bought jeans. OK, I will. My sister in law, whom I love dearly, is always trying to bring me au currant with styles. She took me to the mall and we bought a ROCKIN' pair of jeans to fit my new bod. I had lost a lot of weight and my other jeans were just a touch big. Like 4 sizes too big and no belt on earth was going to make them fit. When was this shopping expedition you ask? Oh, ABOUT 6 YEARS AGO. I think it might be time for me to think about a new pair, don't you?

Armani Exchange is the new premium denim and their jeans start at $98. They have a variety of styles to choose from and this girl went a lookin'. Of course I didn't find myself liking the plain pair. Oh no! I fell for this striking pair of embroidered jeans. I think I would love them. Of course I would NOT wear them in the goat pen!





Now would you like to have your very own pair of Armani Exchange jeans? Of course you would! And I can tell you how to get them! Armani Exchange is currently sponsoring a contest to win a pair of jeans every day for the month of July. Woo hoo! All you need do is text AX. That's right just text the keyword "DENIM2" to ARMANI (276264) and you might be the lucky winner.

Armani has a special offer going right now. Special offers are good! If you purchase a full price pair of jeans either in the store or online between 7/7/09 and 7/19/09 you will receive a $20 gift card for a future purchase of $100 or more. Cool! You can go shopping again.

Armani Exchange is the cool sexy line created by designer Giorgio Armani to be casual and sophisticated all at once. You can keep up with all the latest news about Armani Exhange on the A|X Blog

Wha.....?

So the mail arrives on Friday and in it is a piece of paper for my husband. In order for him to be able to order certain government supplies for his fire company he had to take a class. FEMA won't let just ordinary Fire Chiefs order supplies oh no. They have to sit in a room and learn the bureaucratic way to order supplies. So now I am married to a:

CERTIFIED PROCUREMENT SPECIALIST

I said it sounded more like he now had a fancy certificate telling the world he was a pimp.

Creative Spurt

I finally had some time to myself today. Boy is that getting harder and harder to find. I was able to sit and make some jewelry which is truly my relaxation. I thoroughly enjoy playing with color and texture and creating something pretty. Today I created 4 somethings pretty...2 necklaces and 2 pairs of earrings.

I have had these beautiful gem grade Swiss blue topaz briolettes for quite some time. I have a pair of them and at first I thought I was going to make earrings with them but I ended up using one for this necklace. The stones are just stunning and really don't need much. I just accented with a gorgeous Akoya pearl for a simple, yet stunning necklace that can be worn everyday yet still be special.

The second necklace is an eye catcher. Part of my Sticks and Stones Series it features some truly magnificent pink Biwa pearls paired with large, smooth prasiolite (green amethyst) nuggets. Smooth gold fill rounds provide additional texture and accent.

The earrings are dainty and feminine. The first pair features sterling silver orchid posts studded with tiny, sparkly cubic zirconias. Falling below are mystic colored topaz in pink, fuchsia and green with a sterling wavy bead and a pearl. Simple yet unique.

And my final creation for the day was a lovely pair of earrings again featuring the sterling wavy bead. This time with a pearl and mystic prasiolite. Next to it is a headpin with golden apricot topaz and a prasiolite cube. On sterling leverbacks.

I had a wonderful day making my new pieces. They are in my etsy shop . So check them out, literally, heh heh.

I am participating in the Weekend Deals on etsy this week. All non - sale items in my shop are 20% off through July 6th. You can pay and I will refund you or just wait for a revised invoice. Remember too, all non - sale items always ship free; except to Italy which has a discounted $5.00 shipping charge.