Homossassa Springs Florida

Went to Homossassa yesterday and got to play more with my new camera... posted some of my favorite shots on facebook.

Was a nice relaxing day.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2492624593335.2145067.1184396732

Guess The Theme Game Week 16-Prizes 4 Winners

It is Game time again. Please submit guesses to me in Email..Do Not Post here so all can play. You can email via my Etsy account where the game is posted Or at gottaspoilem@yahoo.com

On Tuesdays the Answers and game updates are Posted Here in the Comment Section

GUESS THE THEME GAME WEEK 16

Rules
You can email me as many guesses as you want between Now and Tues afternoon when I post the answers.

There is 1 correct guess to this Theme.

This Round DOES NOT have a Bonus 16. --Bonus 16-- Guess the meaning/symbolism of All 16 and Win the Bonus round.

PRIZES

This Week

First 5 to Guess the Theme correctly will win a $10 gift certificate to my shop.

Good Luck.

Guess The Theme Game Week 15-Prizes 4 Winners

It is Game time again. Please submit guesses to me in Email..Do Not Post here so all can play. Emailed Guesses can be sent to me thru Etsy OR to gottaspoilem@yahoo.com

On Tuesdays the Answers will be posted HERE in the comment section.

RULES, HINTS and PRIZE info is at the link below.

GUESS THE THEME GAME WEEK 15

Guess The Theme Games Week 14

It is Game time again. Please submit guesses to me in Email..Do Not Post here in the Comment so all can play.

Emails can be sent through ETSY or to gottaspoilem@yahoo.com

GUESS THE THEME WEEK 14 LINK


Rules
You can email me as many guesses as you want between Now and Tues afternoon when I post the answers. See Blog Link above to See Answers

There is 1 correct guess to this Theme.

This Round DOES have a Bonus 16. --Bonus 16-- Guess the meaning/symbolism of All 16 and Win the Bonus round.

Hints

Look carefully at the Pictures.
Read the Names of items
Read the Item Descriptions.

Clues can be Anywhere

This Week

First 5 to Guess the Theme correctly will win a $10 gift certificate to my shop.
First 5 to Get the Bonus 16 Correct will win a $10 gift certificate to my shop.

You can win BOTH
Good Luck.

Like Raffle Giveaways? Make sure to stop in the Aloha BNRs and BNSs

Guess The Theme Game Week 13-Prizes 4 Winners

It is Game time again. Please submit guesses to me in Email..Do Not Post here so all can play. USe gottaspoilem@yahoo.com OR send in an email Via Etsy where the game is posted

On Tuesdays the Answers and game updates are Posted in the Comment section here
There is 1 correct guess to this Theme.

This Round Does NOT have a Bonus 16. --Bonus 16-- Guess the meaning/symbolism of All 16 and Win the Bonus round.

GUESS THE THEME GAMES WEEK 13


PRIZES

This Week

First 5 to Guess the Theme correctly will win a $10 gift certificate to my shop.

Good Luck.

Like Raffle Giveaways? Make sure to stop in the Aloha BNRs and BNSs

Guess The Theme Game Week 12

It is Game time again. Please submit guesses to me in Email..Do Not Post here so all can play. I prefer the Guesses be sent to my Email Via Etsy because it helps me keep all the guesses together, but if you prefer can send Guesses to gottaspoilem@yahoo.com (Please title Guess the Theme Guess)

On Tuesdays the Answers and game updates ae Posted Here in the Comment section.

GUESS THE THEME GAME WEEK 12


You can email me as many guesses as you want between Now and Tues afternoon when I post the answers.

There is 1 correct guess to this Theme.

This Round Does NOT have a Bonus 16. --Bonus 16-- Guess the meaning/symbolism of All 16 and Win the Bonus round

Hints

Look carefully at the Pictures.
Read the Names of items
Read the Item Descriptions.

Clues can be Anywhere.

PRIZES

This Week

First 5 to Guess the Theme correctly will win a $10 gift certificate to my shop.
Good Luck.

Like Raffle Giveaways? Make sure to stop in the Aloha BNRs and BNSs.

Guess The Theme Game Week 11

It is Game time again. Please submit guesses to me in Email..Do Not Post here so all can play. I prefer the Guesses be sent to my Email Via Etsy because it helps me keep all the guesses together, but if you prefer can send Guesses to gottaspoilem@yahoo.com (Please title Guess the Theme Guess)

On Tuesdays the Answers and game updates ae Posted Here in the Comment section.

GUESS THE THEME GAME WEEK 11

You can email me as many guesses as you want between Now and Tues afternoon when I post the answers.

There is 1 correct guess to this Theme.

This Round Does have a Bonus 16. --Bonus 16-- Guess the meaning/symbolism of All 16 and Win the Bonus round

Hints

Look carefully at the Pictures.
Read the Names of items
Read the Item Descriptions.

Clues can be Anywhere.


PRIZES

This Week

First 5 to Guess the Theme correctly will win a $10 gift certificate to my shop.
First 5 to Get the Bonus 16 correct win a $10 gift certificate to my shop.

Good Luck.

Like Raffle Giveaways? Make sure to stop in the Aloha BNRs and BNSs.

Guess The Theme Game Week 10

It is Game time again. Please submit guesses to me in Email..Do Not Post here so all can play.

Rules
You can email me as many guesses as you want between Now and Tues afternoon when I post the answers. Prefer emails in my Etsy mailbox Or can send Guesses to gottaspoilem@yahoo.com

The Answer will be Posted HERE in the Comments on Tuesday.

There is 1 correct guess to this Theme.

This Round Does NOT have a Bonus 16.

First 5 to Guess the Theme correctly will win a $10 gift certificate to my shop.

GUESS THE THEME GAME WEEK 10


GOOD LUCK TO ALL

Guess The Theme Game Week 9

OK last weeks game was truly hard. This weeks may or may not be easier for some of you.

The rules/hints and prizes are all explained in the treasury. Link is Below.

GUESS THE THEME GAME WEEK 9

There is room for a possible 10 winners.
First 5 to guess the theme win $10 gift certs to my shop.
First 5 to guess the Bonus 16 correctly get $10 gift certs to my shop.

It is possible to win Both for a double prize.

Answer will be posted on Tuesday.
Good Luck to all

Guess The Theme Games Week 8

This weeks game is up and ready for players. The Game can be seen in an Etsy treasury I made. The link will be shown below.

There is no bonus round this week. The Prize is a $10 gift cert for my shop. The first 5 to get it right win.

GUESS THE THEME WEEK 8


All the Rules and hints are at the link for the game.

IF you like Raffle give aways make sure to like me on facebook or join my circle on Etsy. I curate the Aloha BNR every Monday and do a raffle give way during them.
FACEBOOK PAGE

Guess The Theme Game Week 7

Week 7 of the game is up and ready for guesses. I made it easier this week to give all those tired thinking caps a little break.
There is no Bonus 16 since this week Just the Theme portion.

Rules and Hints are Posted at the Link below.

GUESS THE THEME WEEK 7


There are only 5 winners this week since there is no Bonus Round.

Answers will be posted on Tuesday in the Comment section.
Remember Do Not post Guesses Here or on at the link.. Please Email me guesses so that all might have a chance to play.

Christmas In July Sale

I am having a Christmas in July Sale in my Etsy Shop. Below are just Some of the items effected by the sale.
***ALL Critter picture items (includes photo prints and magnets) that are 4th of July or Christmas are marked down 50%.
***Buy ANY Mother of Pearl Necklace or Bracelet and get a Mother of Pearl Ring FREE.

VISIT MY ETSY SHOP

This is in Addition to my Regular Special of Buy 2 listing and Get 1 3rd Free.

Guess the Theme Game Week 6

Week 6 of the game is up and ready for players.
The prizes are the same as last week.
First 5 to Guess the Theme will win a $15 gift certificate to my shop.
First 5 to Get the Bonus 16 correct win a $15 gift certificate to my shop.
Be one of the 1st 5 to get Both right and ....yup get Both prizes.

**The Bonus 16 is harder BUT sometimes if you figure out this part the Theme will come to you. The game consists of 16 clues in the form of an Etsy Treasury. Figure out what Each of the 16 items mean/symbolize and you win that portion of the game.

Guess The Theme WEEK 6


Hints/ Tips/ Rules are all listed at the link above.

Answer will be posted in a comment below.

Hairless Critters: Love Them or Hate Them

At one time, I was raising several types of small animals and the hairless ones were my favorites. I found that people either loved them or hated them. To me their little male pattern baldness, just made them adorable in my eyes.

Some of my favs of the critters I have had over the years have been hairless. Shown is Chaos the Hairless Guinea Pig, Nudle the Hairless Rat, Winter the Hairless Mouse and Hercules the Hairless Hamster. (yes I know he was wrinkly but sweet.)

People who have allergies to Furred small animals can often have the hairless varieties without issue. Of course this will depend on what the person is Truly allergic too. Many people with allergies to animals are not allergic to the Fur but the dander or their bedding or litter or so on and so on. If the allergy is mainly or entirely to the Fur or the sheading of Fur, then a hairless pet may well be the answer.

There Are special care instructions for hairless small pets (most likely this applies to bigger hairless pets such as the Sphynx cats). Hairless animals, contrary to popular belief, are Warm. I used to call them my little heaters. But in order to maintain their body temp, they tend to eat a little more than their furred counterparts. Without hair, they burn up what they eat faster in keeping their bodies at the right temp.

Hairless critters do not do well in extreme temps. They should never be left in a very hot spot or drafty either.
Since they have no hair.. they can actually be prone to Dry skin. An easy solution is....Olive Oil. I know it sounds like I must have slathered them up for snacks but I used Olive Oil because it is natural and harmless if they lick it. **Olive oil will also help deter mites.

They can also scratch themselves easier. Simple fixes here too. One keep their water bottle in a spot where you can place a small brick or piece of sand paper beneath. Everytime they go for a drink, they will also be filing their nails. Another fix is to use a soft recycled paper type bedding.

There are issues in breeding with the major one being some species of hairless females have trouble lactating so they are not easy to breed and it can be difficult to get the litters to thrive.

There was some differences in the babies. The Hamsters and Guinea Pigs, I raised, had babies that were as nakie as they were. The type of Guinea Pigs I had are called Skinny Pigs and they do have small tufts of fur. There is another breed of Guinea Pig that is completely bald. Hairless Hamsters and Skinny Pigs can be born with all sorts of markings, depending on how the parents were marked and colored. Hairless Rats and Mice are born nakie but then get in a coat of fur before losing it again. The Hairless Rats will get a thin sparse coat that is slightly wavy to curly. Hairless Rats babies will then begin to lose their fur and take on the Hairless look.

The Hairless Mice, to me, were some of the funniest to watch from newborn to adult. Like the others they are born nakie, then like hairless Rats they get in a coat of fur. Unlike Rats, their coat comes in complete just like their furred littermates. Then one day you look in on them and some have this Naked patches around the eyes that look like glasses and it slowly spreads down their bodies until they are completely hairless. The only markings they maintain is if their coat was black or dark bown, they will have darker skin.

The Life and Times of Payton P Dog Pt1

This will be a series of blog posts. They will tell the story of my poodle Payton. He was my first Big purchase when I moved away from home. I will always miss him.

Part 1 How Payton Got His Name

In the early 90s I moved out of my parents house. Up until then, I had always had pets...often many at once. I missed having a pet badly. At the time, I worked 2 part time jobs, at a local mall. On my breaks, I would walk around and browse in the other shops. Back then there were pet shops in the mall and it was one of my favorite stops.

One day, I stopped in and they had gotten in several new dogs. There was a big kennel section holding about 6-7 standard Poodle pups and one Runt looking one. I asked about the small one and was told he was the only toy they got in. Ended up playing with him my entire break. Over the next week I went back every time I had a shift and he was still there.

Since I worked not 1 but 2 jobs at the mall, it is obvious I did not make a great deal of money..but I was completely smitten. At the end of the week of my visiting, the store manager asked me Why I did not just buy him. I explained that $475 (a bit of $$ back then)was just not an amount of money I had to spare. I do not know if it was the manager Really wanting to sell the dog or that he felt bad for me, but he struck a deal and let me make payments on him.

YUP I was probably the only person to ever get a dog via Layaway. I gave the store manager money out of every paycheck for serveral more weeks and even took My Dog a couple toys...giggle.

I finally got him paid off and was... Yay... allowed to take him home. Well... I shared my place with my buddy from high school and I had not Actually Told her I was getting a Pet....let alone one that cost so much that I had to make payments. SOO I took my puppy home in the kennel I got him and waited for Cindy to come home, so I could tell her what I had done.

When I showed her this small dog and explained the payment bits and all...she took him and put him in our smallest sauce pan and exclaimed... "Look at him..Not even big enough to Eat if we are starving...."

Of course she ended up loving him too...despite his thinking everytime she laid in the floor that her pony tail was a dog toy, to tug on.

I still needed to Name him and just could not decide on one and then it hit me ...I Did Pay a Ton for him...so he was Dubbed Payton P Dog. (P after my last name since he was my baby).

Payton was great from the start. He was house broken in a day and learned to sit, lay down and roll over. Oh and fetch..but letting Go of that toy was never his strong suit. He also Loved riding in the car but those are other stories.

Guess The Theme Week 5

I did not do a seperate post for weeks 1 and 4 because they were a little easier (so I thought) and had not bonus 16 rounds. If you want to check them out you can from the links below.
Guess the Theme Week 1
Guess The Theme Week 4

OK this brings us to This weeks game. The answers will not be posted until Tuesday July 5th so there is still time to get your guesses in. Please email them to me at my Etsy email, so I can keep all together.

Guess The Theme Week 5



There has been 1 person, so far, to get the Theme AND the Bonus 16 correct so far. You can submit as many guesses as you like prior to the answers being posted. Rules, prizes and tips are all posted in the first comments of the Treasury.

Answers will be posted in the Comments section.

Guess The Theme Week 3

This one had everyone stumped except 1. One one got the theme correctly and no one got the Bonus 16. Most dont attempt it though.

Again this one is couple weeks old and a couple of the items that were in the treasury have since sold. I will give the answers to those items that remain.

Guess The Theme Week 3


The Answer to this one was The Garden of Eden.
The Bonus 16 round is as follows (less those items that have sold)

1)Print of Walking. Signifies that while they lived In the Garden, they got to walk with God.
2)The baby in the Lion cap. 2 Things. One a baby signifies Innocence(Prior to eatting forbidden fruit). Two the Lion was what God slew to create clothing for Adam and Eve when they were being made to leave.
3)Exotic Fruit soap.. This one you had to go and Read the scription. One of the Main ingredients is FIGs. Adam and Eve hid their nakedness with Grape Leaves.
4)The Pendant has the word Delight in its name. The Word Eden is thought to have come from the Sumerian word that means Delight. Also mangos and tangerines Could have been some of the Fruit in the garden..we will never know.
5)The Bonsai tree is a Crab Apple. Apple has been thought through the ages to have been the Forbidden fruit. But it most likely was not.
6)The necklace is named Mesopotamia. That is one of the places thought to be the Original site of the Garden of Eden.
7)The Oil Paintings are of Twin trees. In the center of the garden were 2 trees. The tree of Life and the forbidden tree of Knowledge.
8)The hedgehog cake toppers. Adam and Eve could be thought of as the First married couple.
9)The T Shirt was a hard one. It shows a Heart for Love. God loved them even after breaking the rule. The shirt also shows Crossed Swords and a Flame. After being expelled the entrance was gaurded but Cheribim with Flaming Swords.
10)The Notecard was simple ...say Life is Better... It Was bette in the Garden.
11)The Oriental pendant is named Obeying. All they had to do was Obey.
12)The lipstick case withe the Skulls. Afte leaving the Garden, Adam and Eve could no longer eat of the Fruit of Life so Death unavoidable.
13)That cute hairless hamster (was our pet)..This was another one where you had to read the Description. IT was the BIGGEST CLUE. Her name was Eden.
14)The waterfall tulip earrings. The waterfall and tulips could well have been in the Garden.. But the Word Fall is key. The story tells of the Fall of mankind.

Guess the Theme Game Week 2

I figured I would post about my Weekly Guess the Theme game on Etsy. I will post answers to the bonus 16 rounds on the harder one. I will be back tracking a little on these first couple since we are in week 5.

Guess the Theme: Week 2


The 1st week was pretty easy but by week 2 decided to really start challenging people.
The game is set up around an Etsy Treasury. There are 16 items in a treasury and Each one is a clue. Clues can be the picture itself, the name or somewhere in the item description. For hard ones, there is a Bonus 16 round because, Each of the 16 means something else and ALL point to the answer to what the Theme is, for that week.

1)Greek Key Purse-- Cleopatra family was Greek by origin (Macedon area)
2)Sandwhich bag is named Alexandria---the Seat of Egyptian power for Cleopatra.
3)The butterfly--Now this one was tricky.. if you read the entire name if is Arsinoe. Arsinoe was one of Cleopatras sisters. The one she got Caesars help to combat and gain her reign.
4)The Ruler--pretty straight forward there.. she was a ruler.
5)The Beads are Pyramid shaped.
6)and 7) got together. The Vulture and Snake were the crown symbols for Eygptian rulers.
8)The ring has a Laurel Wreath design..signifies Caesar.
9)The Rug stumped lots of people. Cleopatra hid herself in a rug in order to sneak in to meet Caesar.
10)The Library Print. The library was one of Cleopatras prized possessions. It was burned while Caesar helped her gain her crown.
11)The Easter Chicks were too cute to not include. Bigger chick is riding in a Chariot...Mode of transport then.
12)Print of Dionysus signifies Mark Anthony. He was a bit of a party boy and often associated with this diety.
13)and 14) The necklace is named Helios and the haircomb Selene. The names of the Twins that Cleopatra had witht Mark Anthony.

Only a couple got this one correct.