PBS

This guest post from Doris Dillon

I am so glad that my kids enjoy watching PBS. It was included in our package of channels from Direct.TV. I remember watching PBS as a kid with my mom. We would spend hours watching Anne of Green Gables and I remember loving to snuggle up with my mom on the couch while we watched it. Now I can continue that tradition with my daughters. It is hard to believe that PBS still shows the same movies after so many years. It is hard to find wholesome shows and movies on television these days, so I am grateful that PBS has not lowered its standards. My husband told me the other day that he has never even heard of Anne of Green Gables. He is the oldest of four boys, so I am sure his mom could not have convinced any of those rowdy boys to cuddle up on the couch with her for a movie like that. That is one of the many reasons I am glad that I have daughters. Now iff only I could get my husband to watch it with us.

This post brought to you by your friends at http://www.direct.tv/

Fixing up the spare bedroom for my mom

Guest post written by Kim Turner

I've always been sad that my husband and I found jobs a few hours away from my mother. I dreamed of when I was a little girl living down the street from her and letting my kids get to spend so much time with her. Well it exactly didn't end up that way. But now she's coming to live with us. i think that it will be great for the kids to help her around and in turn she'll be better living with someone else all the time for health reasons.

I'm going to fix up the spare bedroom for her and was looking online for some nice decorations that I could use for it. While I was doing that I ran across the sitehomePROIMPROVEMENT.com. We've been having air conditioning problems and I thought now would be as good of a time as ever to get our system replaced, so I'm going through that website to do it.

I found these really nice looking picture frames and I'm putting some of my favorite family photos in them to hang on the walls of her room. Of course she's going to bring some of her things too.

Brought to you by your friends at http://homeproimprovement.com

Is the USPS Becoming Obsolete?

The United States Post Office recently announced it's plans to close nearly 4,000 locations, the biggest closure of branches in history.  From the Wall Street Journal:

The financially struggling U.S. Postal Service said Tuesday it would consider closing 3,653 post offices, mostly in rural areas, an announcement certain to trigger a battle with the targeted communities.

Postal officials say the agency, an independent arm of the federal government that is supported mostly by postal fees, has no choice but to downsize as people increasingly click on their computers to communicate and pay bills rather than drop letters in the mailbox.

As the article mentions, nobody sends letters anymore and there are less and less bills being sent through the mail.  Advertisers are less likely to send out print ads in the current recession as well.  I've noticed that the price of sending a package via Parcel Post is sometimes the same as sending it out Priority Mail.  It would seem that the Post Office is trying to do away with this service however in doing so, they are also encouraging people to look to other methods of shipping.  Shipping companies like FedEx and UPS are gaining in popularity as the cost to ship through the Post Office increases.  There has even been talk of doing away with Saturday mail delivery.

It seems like the Canadian Post is also having similar problems as evidenced by their recent strike that lasted 13 days (Canada's Post tried cutting costs by reducing wages).  It sounds like to some, however, that the strike may have worked against the office and it's employees as people started to find alternative ways of shipping.  Some people also realized that the lack of mail delivery didn't effect them that much since their checks were direct deposited and they didn't miss the junk mail.  It had also, of course sent some of the public into an outrage as people were left waiting to receive checks and small businesses (hello, crafters) were forced to ship through private companies which cut into their profits.

It does seem like the Canadian Post has other ways of earning money; like through their Comparison Shopper.  Say, you're shopping for your hobbies, you just go to their search engine and find listings from stores in both Canada and the US to compare price history, user reviews, store policies, etc.  It seems like this might be a way of generating more cash for the Post by generating advertiser dollars.  So far as I know, the USPS doesn't have any additional resources other than just jacking up postal rates.

Truth be told, the Post Office has offered a crucial service since the 18th century.  It may seem like it's becoming obsolete in this era of technology but where will you go if you need to send a letter?  Not everyone sends e-cards.  Even with the increased postal rates, it often still is less expensive to ship through the Post Office than through private couriers, especially for small businesses.

How will this effect your crafty business?  Well, for one, driving to your local Post Office may turn into a much longer drive which will take more time out of your day and increase the amount of gas you use to get there.  

What's your take?  Is the Post Office becoming obsolete?  Do you still use the Post Office?  Will you miss it if no longer existed?

Check this list to see if your local branch might be closed.   

Blue Sky Scrubs

Back in April I did a post with a brief little history about hospital scrubs.  Curious, I know, but I actually thought that it was quite interesting!  What I didn't know at the time, however, was that the woman that founded the company that I highlighted (Blue Sky Scrubs)  is essentially a crafting entrepreneur.  There's a new look to the website http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/ and while I was browsing around, I discovered that little tidbit.


Shelby Marquardt was an anesthesiology resident at Hermann Hospital in Houston, Texas when she created the Pony Scrub Hat in her living room out of necessity.  She spent much of her time in the operating room and she found that the traditional scrub hats were unattractive and ill-fitting, especially for her long hair. 


"After cutting, sewing and altering the hat numerous times, she finally perfected the pattern—a sleek, slim-fitting cap with a ribbon-tied pouch that neatly ties back a short or a long ponytail. Once she started wearing the hat to work, her co-workers clamored for their own Pony scrub hats, and she began spending her weekends sewing."


She even went so far as to create the Pixie Scrub Hat for women with shorter hair, a scrub hat for men, and even improved upon the traditional scrub top & bottom design.


It gets even better.  Not only is this a great story of a crafty entrepreneur, but she has also made a commitment to give back.  With every purchase, Project Blue Sky will send a free hat to a cancer patient.  Their mission is to provide a small ray of light to those striving to beat this disease.  


I've never worn medical scrubs before but if I were going to, I think I would try Blue Sky Scrubs in order to support what started as a handmade business and to support their charitable mission.


Brought to you by your friends at http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/.

Favorite Science Fiction TV Show

Thanks to Jonathon Woods

Television is an amazing thing. It let's us browse thousands of channels each with different and unique content. There are soap operas for drama queens. There are reality shows for those who like a dash of life in their TV. There are criminal shows for those who like the legal system. Basically if you enjoy something in real life you're going to enjoy watching television. My personal favorite shows have a touch of reality in them about science. In other words, I really like science fiction TV shows. My personal favorite is most definitely Mythbusters.

At Mythbusters they test common everyday myths to see if they're true or not. On my directstartv.com I can choose from numerous episodes every day. For example, have you ever heard the myth that the only living animal left on earth would be the cockroach if there was Nuclear warfare? They literally put 3 bugs through a bunch of radiation tests to see which ones lived. All in all the cockroaches were pretty resistant to the radiation, but other bugs faired much better. So the myth was busted. There are hundreds of episodes of this show and all of them are entertaining. Plus, they're family friendly. They're a great way to get your kids involved in the world of science. Jamie and Adam, the hosts, are quite the pair!

This post brought to you by your friends at Direct Star TV.

What Kind of Promotional Products Do You Use?

I've been doing a lot of reading, research, and work on promoting my shop and blog lately.  Ultimately, most of the work I've done and ideas that I've read about have been for online promotion.  That said, I have an event that I will be vending next weekend (more on that soon!) so I was also thinking about promotional products.  To date, I usually include a little charm like this with all of my orders:

It's a little something that has a minimal cost involved so far as the metal goes, but it does take time to make a significant batch of them.

Recently, someone suggested to me that maybe I should think about doing something like promotional pens or customized mugs when I add teas in the apothecary section of the shop.  The idea of doing mugs sounds somewhat appealing to me but I think it's a bit out of my price range right now.  Not only is there a cost for the item, but most places have some kind of logo charge and set up fee.

A lot of small, crafty businesses either make their own promotional items (as I have or like some graphic artists who put their artwork on magnets and such) or they buy stickers, scratch offs, etc. from other small, crafty businesses.  What are some things that you do to help promote your shop?  Do you have ideas for fun little promotional products that customers can walk away with that will make them remember you when they get home from the fair or remember to reorder from your shop?  Let's share some ideas!

Why Are Scrubs Green?

The other day at the thrift store (bunch of great finds, by the way) the girl at the register was wearing a women's scrub shirt and not only did it look super comfy, but it also looked pretty cute!  I've always loved v-necks.  Anyway, it got me curious about medical scrubs.  Odd, I know but did you know that today's modern scrubs only became popular in the 1970's?!  Prior to that, the 1940's is the earliest that any kind of dressing gown for the operating room was really seen with any regularity.  Prior to *that*, in the early 1900's surgeons only wore a butcher's apron and a cotton gauze mask (collected from cotton mill sweepings) and that was to protect them from the patient!  I found all of this quite fascinating.  If you think about it, Louis Pasteur discovered his germ theory of disease in the mid-1800's, so why did it take so long for the medical profession to adopt an attitude of cleanliness?

I spent a little time browsing scrubs and found that there are tons of different fabric patterns available.  But I have to say that by far, the most favorite thing I found were the Pony Collection of Scrub Hats for Women at http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/.  They are really adorable and come in some really groovy fabrics.  I'm wondering if something like that might work to keep hair back & out of the way when working out...  


And, by the way, back when doctor's wore a butcher's apron and then when they started wearing dressing gowns, all of this apparel was white.  But in a modern operating room with the bright lights, this led to eye strain.  They abandoned the white for various shades of green which provided a high-contrast environment, reduced eye fatigue, and made bright red blood splashes less conspicuous.  This uniform was originally known as "surgical greens" because of its color, but came to be called "scrubs" because it was worn in a "scrubbed" environment.  Just in case you were curious. 


Brought to you by your friends at http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/.

Word World Fosters "No Child Left Behind"

I appreciate the guest post, Graig Brooks

PBS has definitely hit the mark for my favorite educational TV show with “Word World”. This show is a favorite with three of my grandsons ages 5, 4 and almost 3. Not only is the programming at PBS commercial-free but provides meaningful educational information to viewers of all ages and interests in an entertaining fashion.

It is a known fact that we retain 25% of what we hear, 50% of what we see and 75% of what is simultaneously seen and heard. World World is definitely learning in disguise with its captivating characters and storylines.

The way this program builds words is unique since the letters become a picture of the object but in a fashion which is not degrading to presch! oolers who view themselves as beyond the picture book age.

In each episode through the eyes and feelings expressed by all the characters, children receive a valuable lesson in how words can affect others around them. The characters also deal with social issues as well as manners.

For parents and caregivers, the World World characters offer opportunities for extended learning about the real animals these characters represent such as dogs, frogs, elephants.

While this program is basically geared to preschool age children, there are valuable episodes for children in the early grades as reading concepts such as the formation and use of compound words. Check outwww.directstartv.com/localchannels/ to see if you get PBS.

This post brought to you by your friends at http://www.directstartv.com.